Andrew County; John of Oklahoma; Sigel of Oregon; George of Wis-
consin; Susan, Alice and Dora, all of whom married brothers named
Davidson, and the two first are now deceased; Lucy J., the eighth child,
died in infancy.

In 1872 Mr. Samuel Coffman married Mrs. Christina (Nix) Turner.
She was born in Whitley County, Kentucky, March 5, 1850, and when
two years of age came to Andrew County with her parents, John and
Mary (Raines) Nix, who were natives of Kentucky and spent their
last days in Missouri. Mrs. Coffman by her marriage to Silas Turner
had two children, who are Bell Holland of Savannah and Lucinda
Rhoads of the same place. Mrs. Coffman has three children by her
marriage to Samuel Coffman: Martha Holland of Helena. Missouri;
Bertha Ferguson, deceased ; and Pleasant. Mrs. Coffman is still living,
and has the unusual distinction of having twenty-four grandchildren
and four great-grandchildren.

Pleasant Coffman was born on his father's farm in Nodaway Town-
ship January 23, 1878, and grew up and has lived here with his mother
since his father's death. He operates 166 acres of the old homestead,
and owns a part of this farm. It is well known throughout Andrew
County as the Old Homestead Farm, and most of the land has been in
continuous ownership under one name for more than three-quarters of
a century. Pleasant Coffman has been very successful and has a repu-
tation in this part of Missouri as a breeder of saddle and draft horses
and mules. Politically he is a republican, and is a member of the Meth-
odist Episcopal Church. His fraternal affiliations are with the Masonic
Order and the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

John N. Schreier. Not only is John N. Schreier the architect of
a substantial fortune, acquired through agricultural enterprise, but in
its acquisition he has maintained the reputation for industry and re-
liability established in Andrew County by his pioneer father, the late
Nicholas Schreier. Mr. Schreier belongs to that class of Northwest Mis-
souri farmers who have passed their entire lives in the vicinities in which
they now live, and who for this reason have an intimate knowledge of
conditions here. His life has been devoted to agricultural work, and
at the present time he is the owner of an excellent tract of 240 acres,
located in section 28, Jefferson Township.

John N. Schreier was born in the vicinity of the Village of Ama-
zonia, Andrew County, Missouri, June 13, 1859, and is a son of Nicholas
and Annie (Zimmerman) Schreier. His father, a native of Switzerland,
emigrated to the United States as a young man with little capital save
his zealous ambition to succeed, and located in the State of Ohio, where
he met and married his wife. Together they came to Andrew County,
Missouri, taking up their residence amid pioneer surroundings and
experiencing all the hardships and discouraging experiences incident
to such an existence. Together they labored faithfully and indus-
triously, and through their untiring toil succeeded in winning an inde-
pendent position and accumulating two good farms, so that their de-
clining years were passed in ease and comfort. Both are now deceased.
Five children were born to them, as follows: Jacob, who is engaged in
farming enterprises in Andrew County ; John N., of this notice ; Emma,
who is the widow of John Wiedner of Savannah; Carrie, who is the
wife of Henry C. Schneider of Avenue City, Missouri ; and L. W., who
is a resident of Savannah.



HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI 1705

John N. Schreier received his education in the district schools of
Andrew County, and passed his boyhood and youth much the same as
other farmers' sons of this locality. He assisted his father in the
work of the homestead, was thoroughly trained in farming and raising
stock, and remained under the parental roof until the time of his mar-
riage, when he located on his present land. This is a tract of 240 acres,
lying three miles south of Savannah, and is now one of the really valuable
farms of Jefferson Township. There were but few improvements on the
property when Mr. Schreier first became its owner, but as the years
have passed he has put in new equipment and machinery and has erected
buildings of attractive design, modern architecture and substantial
character. In his general farming operations, he grows the staple grains
and produce, for which he finds a ready market, and he has also been
successful in raising all kinds of high grade stock. Modern methods
have always appealed to him and he keeps fully abreast of the advancing
times, so that his labors yield him a full measure of prosperity. Mr.
Schreier is a republican, but his activities in politics have been confined
to performing the responsibilities of good citizenship. He has shown
himself to be fully in accord with the progressive movements which are
advancing the community's welfare, and lends them his hearty support
and cooperation.

On June 13, 1889, Mr. Schreier was united in marriage with Miss
Anna Mosser, who was born in Andrew County, Missouri, February 21,
1854, a daughter of Peter Mosser. She died October 2, 1912, the mother
of two children : Alva M. and Warren, both residents of Andrew County.
Mr. Schreier is a consistent member of the German Reformed Church.

Judge Thomas A. Reece is one of the upstanding and forceful
figures in the citizenship of Andrew County. For the past four years
he has served as presiding judge of the County Court, and the
people recently set the seal of approval on liis administration
by electing him for a second term. His chief reputation, however,
is as a breeder and raiser of fine Hereford stock, and the Oakhurst Farm,
six miles north of Savannah, is a model place of its kind and its im-
provements and adaptation to the uses of modern stock raising are the
results of an exceptional degree of enterprise on the part of Judge Reece.

Thomas A. Reece was born in Rochester Township of Andrew County
December 6, 1867. His parents were William A. and Obedience A.
(Hobson) Reece. His father was born in North Carolina and came
to Andrew County about 1848, being then eighteen years of age. He
lived for a number of years with the family of Stephen H. Hobson.

Obedience Hobson, whose parents were Thomas and Rebecca Hobson,
was born in Indiana and came to Missouri with her parents during the
'40s. She is now living at Bolckow in Andrew County. William A.
Reece and wife were married on the place now occupied by the county
farm. Her parents were natives of North Carolina, settled first in In-
diana, and on coming to Missouri bought the farm now occupied by
Judge Reece. Mr. Hobson bought the land from the original entrant.
The house, which was built in 1848, is still standing, and Mr. Hobson
subsequently acquired the land now contained in the county farm.
He died in Rochester Township July 21, 1889, in his ninety-fourth year.
He was the owner of four good farms at one time, comprising an aggre-
gate of nearly a thousand acres. Judge Reece 's father died on the
farm in Rochester Township January 25, 1881, at the age of fifty-three.
Prior to his marriage he had followed his trade as a bricklayer, and
was afterwards a farmer. The children were five in number, as follows:



1706 HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

Mary Jane, wife of Isaac Neely of Bolckow ; Louisa Alice, the deceased
wife ,of William E. Brown • Rebecca M., wife of G. W. Neely, who Uvea
near Bolckow ; Thomas A. ; and Estella Elizabeth, wife of George Buck,
who lives near Bolckow.

Judge Reece was reared on the home farm in Rochester Township,
and two years after his marriage in 1891 moved to his present place.
The Oakhurst Farm comprises 300 acres, lying partly in section 25
of Nodaway Township and partly in section 30 of Empire Township.
When Judge Reece took possession 240 acres of the farm was in the
heavy timbers, and he has done more than the individual share in clearing
off and putting the land of Andrew County under cultivation. All of his
land except twenty acres is now cleared and under the plow, is well
fenced, has a modern home and substantial outbuildings, and is excellently
equipped for its purposes as a stock breeding farm. Judge Reece set
out the flourishing apple orchard which is also a feature of the place.
Since 1905 Judge Reece has been engaged in the breeding of Hereford
cattle, and keeps about a hundred head. He also raises hogs and horses,
and none of the grain and grass raised on his farm is ever sold, all of
it being fed to his stock, while he buys a lot more. The Oakhurst Farm
is conducted under the business title of Thomas A. Reece & Son, and
the firm are extensive advertisers in the American Hereford Journal
and their stock has a recognized reputation among Hereford cattle men
all over the country. Several of the registered bulls from Oakhurst
have been regarded as among the best specimens of this stock in America.
A lifelong republican, Judge Reece in 1910 was elected county judge
of Andrew County, and was reelected in 1914. Since January 1, 1911,
he has been presiding judge. By an interesting coincidence Judge Reece
received 1,958 votes at both elections, and in 1910 his majority was 351,
and in 1914 it was 329. In all the four years of his incumbency of the
judicial office he has never missed a day from court. Several times when
the roads were blocked with snow so that a horse could not get through
he has walked the entire distance of six miles from his home to the court-
house.

Judge Reece is an active member of Mount Vernon Baptist Church,
and was elected a deacon in the church at the age of twenty years and
has held the office ever since. On December 23, 1888, Judge Reece mar-
ried Rosa B. Elliott, who was born in Nodaway Township of Andrew
County October 18, 1867. Her parents were M. M. and Elizabeth (Town-
send) Elliott. Her father was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and died
in 1900 at the age of eighty-four. During the Mexican war he went out
from Missouri with the troops under Gen. A. W. Doniphan and was a
teamster in the long march to New Mexico and Old Mexico, while later
he saw service in the Missouri State Militia during the Civil war. He
"was a farmer .by occupation, and owned a place of 224 acres. The
Mount Vernon Baptist Church stands on a part of his original farm,
and he donated the land for the site. Both he and his wife were active
members of this church. Mrs. Reece 's mother was born in Monroe
County, Indiana, February 9, 1831, and came with her parents to Savan-
nah, Missouri, in 1847. She was married February 14, 1850, and died
September 28, 1914. She was the mother of eleven children, eight of
whom grew to maturity. Judge Reece and wife are the parents of
three children : Verna Maud, who died at the age of six months ; Virgil
Thomas, who lives at home and is associated with his father in the
management, of Oakhurst Farm ; and Mary Obedience, the wife of D. C.
Middleton of Andrew County, and -they have a son, William Thomas.



HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI 1707

Hon. Jacob Wall. When Judge Jacob Wall first came to Missouri,
thirty-nine years ago, his possessions included the clothes which he wore,
$1.50 in money, and a limitless stock of ambition and determination.
With these he resolutely set about to make a place for himself in a
growing community, and, once established, he directed his labors in such
an able manner that today he is the owner of the beautiful Elm Grove
Dairy Farm, a tract of 221 acres, located in section 33, Rochester Town-
ship, and is known as one of the substantial men of his locality. His
career is one that should be encouraging to the youth dependent upon
his own resources, for all that he now owns has been accumulated through
his own efforts, always directed by the closest adherence to honorable
and upright principles.

Judge Jacob Wall was born April 11, 1854, in Casey County. Ken-
tucky, and is a son of W. H. and Mary J. (Lucas) Wall. His father
was born May 3, 1825, and his mother February 18, 1836, both in Ken-
tucky, where the father in his earlier years was engaged in the trade
of blacksmith. In the fall of 1881 they came to Andrew County. Mis-
souri, where W. H. Wall engaged in farming, and his death occurred
in 1900 in Gentry County, Missouri, where he had resided for a few
years, the mother passing away in 1913 at the home of a daughter in
Lafayette County, this state. Both died in the faith of the Christian
Church, in the work of which they had been prominent in Kentucky.
They were the parents of twelve children, as follows: Jacob, of this
notice ; Hezekiah, born February 15, 1856, a resident of Hayes County,
Nebraska ; Francis M., born April 11. 1858, who lives in Nodaway
County, Missouri ; Randolph C, born January 13, 1861, a resident of
Phelps County, Nebraska ; Coleman L., born March 13, 1863, who also
lives in that state ; Ann, born March 23, 1865, who died at the age of
two years; Mollie, born Januarv 2, 1870, who is the wife of Thomas E.
Wade, of Lafayette County, Missouri; Laura E., born April 27. 1867,
who is the wife of William E. Sheeley, of Clinton, Oklahoma ; William
S., born September 7, 1872, who is a resident of Harlan County, Ne-
braska; Henry C, born August 19. 1874, who lives in Atchison County,
Kansas; Ramon C. born July 9, 1877, also a resident of that county and
state ; and Arthur S., born January 15, 1881, who lives in Phelps County,
Nebraska.

Jacob Wall was reared on his father's farm in Casey County, Ken-
tucky, and there was given his education in the common schools. He
remained under the parental roof until 1876, at which time, embark-
ing upon a career of his own, he made his way -overland to Andrew
County, Missouri, and here soon secured employment as a farm hand,
working four years for agriculturists in the county. With his carefully
saved earnings he next rented a small property for two years, at the
end of which time he felt ready to start operations for himself, and
accordingly bought sixty-five acres in the northern part of the county,
which he improved and subsequently traded for eighty acres in Rochester
Township, this tract forming the nucleus for his present beautiful farm,
a tract of 221 acres, the greater part of which is under a high state of
improvement. Here Mr. Wall has made many improvements and erected
numerous substantial buildings, including a commodious residence, a.
large and well-built barn and a modern silo. A nice grove of white
elm trees suggested the name which he has given to the property. Elm
Grove Dairy Farm, and this is one of the best watered properties in the
county, having three fine springs and two good wells. Mr. Wall has
engaged in general farming and has extended his operations to agri-
culture in all its branches, shipping several carloads of hogs annually.



1708 HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

as well as some horses, keeping about twenty cows, manufacturing butter,
and operating a butter wagon, he having a large patronage in the latter
line among the private families of St. Joseph. He is known as a
good business man, and in commercial circles has an excellent reputation
for integrity and honorable dealing. A democrat in politics, in 1909
Mr. Wall was elected county judge from the eastern district of Andrew
County, and served in that capacity from January 1, 1910, until January
1, 1912. He has made two other races for this office, but has been unable
to overcome the large republican majority, there being about 300 of
that party in the district. Judge Wall is a member of the Christian
Church at Long Branch, Missouri, and for the past ten years has served
in the capacity of deacon.

On December 25, 1879, Judge Wall was married to Miss Eliza J.
Reece, who was born in North Carolina, February 26, 1862, and came to
Missouri in 1867 with her parents, Joel M. and Mary M. (Fleming)
Reece, natives of the Old North State. The father was born February
15, 1833, and the mother about one year later, and he met his death by
a stroke of lightning in 1874, while the mother passed away in 1871.
Ten children have been born to Judge and Mrs. Wall, as follows : Wil-
liam, born January 1, 1881, who died January 10, 1881 ; Maggie, born
November 24, 1881, who died September 29, 1903 ; Mary, born February
23, 1884, who is the wife of Elmer Bowlin, of Rochester; Maude, born
December 24, 1885, who resides with her parents; Loren, born November
27, 1887, who resides at home; Laura, born February 23, 1891, who is
a schoolteacher ; Lula, born November 6, 1893 ; Arthur, born May 12,
1896 ; Archie, born July 23, 1898 ; and Jacob, born July 23, 1902.

Henry B. McDonald and Dudley S. McDonald. One of the long
established and prominent families in Andrew County in the vicinity
of Savannah is the McDonalds, and their home farm, known as Elm
Place, south of the county seat, is a well-known landmark in that section.
The McDonalds through three generations have had many interesting ex-
periences in Missouri and the western country, and the more important
facts in the family history are appropriately related in the following
paragraphs.

Henry Buford McDonald was born near Harrodsburg, Mercer County,
Kentucky, May 23, 1844. His parents were Daniel and Martha (Mc-
Murtry) McDonald, both of whom were natives of the adjoining county
of Washington in the same state. Daniel McDonald was born August
13, 1803, and died at what is known as the Jimtown Farm in Andrew
County, October 24, 1876. His wife was born May 21, 1804, and died
June 3, 1873, also at the Jimtown place.

Henry B. McDonald was educated in the common schools of Ken-
tucky, and during the terms of 1859 and 1860 attended the Kentucky
University, then situated at Harrodsburg. The battle of Perryville
in the fall of 1862 was fought within ten miles of his father's home.
About a year after that battle Henry B. McDonald moved from Ken-
tucky to St. Joseph, Missouri, arriving in the latter part of September,
1863. The winter of 1863-64 he spent clerking in the store of his brother,
R. L. McDonald, at St. Joseph. His brother had collected a large drove
of mules which he designed to send overland and market in California,
and Henry B. McDonald gladly accepted the commission to take these
mules across the plains. Leaving St. Joseph, May 16, 1864, he crossed
the Missouri River on a ferrjr boat, having a hundred head of mules
and six wagons. The wagons were loaded with goods designed for the
Salt Lake market. Others of his immediate family who accompanied






HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI 1709

him on this trip were his uncle Dr. Silas McDonald and son Daniel.
They had two wagons loaded with drug supplies for the same market.
In 1864 there was an immense emigration to the West, and the Mc-
Donald party was never out of sight of covered wagons throughout the
journey along the Platte River. For about one week they were delayed
at Julesburg by the high waters of the South Platte River, which at
that point was nearly two miles wide. It was possible to swim the mules
across, but it cost ten dollars for each wagon, which was taken over
on a flat boat. Salt Lake City was reached July 16th, and they remained
there three weeks awaiting the arrival of Henry's brother, R. L. The
goods were sold in Salt Lake, and the wagons were likewise disposed of
with the exception of two. From Salt Lake Mr. McDonald went on
west, accompanied by his brother to Austin, Nevada. There Dr. Silas
McDonald and son and R. L. took a stage for California, while Henry
B. remained about six weeks in Nevada. This delay was to take advan-
tage of the abundant grasses found in Nevada, on which the mules
were recruited. In the latter part of October he started for California,
and after a hard trip over the Sierra Nevada mountains, on account of
scarcity of feed, he arrived in Sacramento the day of the presidential
election of 1864. For several preceding years most of the California
country had suffered from drought, and feed was very scarce. Con-
sequently he drove his mules down in Sonoma County, where they were
fed during the winter on straw from the good crops of oats and barley
made possible by the fogs from the ocean. In the spring the mules,
being in fine condition, were sold and delivered to the Government at
the Presidio in San Francisco.

On June 5, 1865, Henry B. McDonald left San Francisco, and after
a hard stage trip arrived in St. Joseph, July 1. On the 7th of April,
1865, his father had come from Kentucky to Missouri and bought a
farm south of Birds Mill in Andrew County. The son remained with
his father on this farm until 1872, in which year they all moved to what
is known as the Jimtown Farm north of St. Joseph, now owned by
R. L. McDonald, a brother of Henry. As already stated, it was on the
Jimtown Farm that the parents died in 1873.

On June 20, 1877, Mr. McDonald married Sarah Emily Rogers. She
was the daughter of Edward Payne and Joanna (Steele) Rogers, both
of whom were natives of Woodford County, Kentucky, where they were
married. The Rogers children were : Mary Bowman Wilson and Sarah
Emily McDonald, both natives of Mercer County, Kentucky, Sarah Emily
having been born December 25, 1853, and after the Rogers family
moved to Andrew County a son, John Bowman, was born. Mr. Rogers
bought a farm in Andrew County near the old Rochester Road, but
subsequently sold that and moved to St. Joseph. Edward Payne Rogers
died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. McDonald. August 18, 1895, while
Joanna Steele Rogers died July 12, 1900. Mrs. McDonald was married
at the home of D. M. Steele in St. Joseph.

In the spring of 1880 Mr. and Mrs. McDonald, with their two children,
and with Mr. Edward Rogers and a colored girl named Louisa Mosley,
started for Montana. From St. Joseph they went as far as Yankton by
railway, taking with them thirty head of Shorthorn cattle, a span of
mules and one riding mare. They arrived at Fort Benton, the head of
navigation on the Missouri River, about June 30th, having traveled
by boat from Yankton. From Fort Benton Mr. McDonald started with
his family in a spring wagon, looking for a location for a home. After
a few days he found a ranch, known as the Rock Creek Ranch, which
nleased him very much and which he afterwards purchased. Rock



1710 HISTORY OF NORTHWEST MISSOURI

Creek Ranch was the McDonald home in Montana for almost five years.
During that time the family made a trip in a covered wagon to Yellow-
stone Park, and spent six weeks enjoying the delights of that great
natural park. In 1881 Mr. McDonald bought over four hundred head
of cattle to run on his range, and three years later, the price of cattle
having advanced and the range having become short, he sold out and
also disposed of the ranch. He then returned to Missouri, arriving
February 22, 1885. For almost two years he was again located on the
Jimtown Farm, but in the fall of 1886 purchased a farm in Andrew
County, one mile south of Savannah, known as the China Clark Place,
and the family took possession the same fall. Mrs. Henry McDonald
named this farm Elm Place, and not only the trees but many other
surroundings and improvements give it an attractiveness which marks
it out among the country- homes of Andrew County. Mrs. Henry Mc-
Donald died August 24, 1890.

To their union liad been born four sons and two daughters : Dudley
Steele and Mary Lydia, who were both born on the Jimtown Farm;
Rufus Lee and Joanna Steele, who were born on the Rock Creek Ranch
in Montana ; Henry Buford, born after the family returned to the
Jimtown place ; and William Wallace, who was born at Elm Place.
The youngest child died at Elm Place March 29, 1895. Mr. Henry
B. McDonald was converted at a meeting held in Jimtown by Rev. T. M.
Miller and Rev. Jesse Bird in the year 1865, and joined and helped to
build the church at Fairview. From there his membership was trans-
ferred to the Presbyterian Church at Savannah, where it has since
remained.

In the fullness of his three score years and ten and after comfort,
peace and plenty had succeeded to the varied experiences and vicissitudes
of the career which has just been sketched, Henry B. McDonald was
called away by death on December 1, 1914. Both during his active
lifetime and at his death there were many substantial evidences of his
high standing as a man and citizen. His useful career has ended, and'
its influences are now transmitted through his children.

Of the children, Dudley S. is now operating the Elm Place Farm, and
has gained a more than local reptuation as a successful stock raiser,
especially in cattle and hogs: Dudley is a democrat, and married Grace
Maxwell. The daughter, Mary Lydia, is the widow of Charles I. Rowe