CHAPTER XXVII (Part 120)
BIOGRAPHICAL
R. A. Guynn, president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Montrose, Missouri, was born in Pennsylvania, December 10, 1860, and is the son of Vincent and Hannah (Shelby) Guynn, both natives of Pennsylvania. Hannah (Shelby) Guynn was a niece of Gen. J. O. Shelby of Civil War fame. The Guynns migrated to Illinois in 1861 and came to Henry County, Missouri, in 1867, locating upon a partly improved farm in Bear Creek township, which Mr. Guynn purchased. In later years, Vincent Guynn lost his health and retired to a home in Montrose, where he died in 1883 at the age of 55 years. His wife, Hannah, was born in 1832 and died in 1885. They were parents of seven children: R. A., subject of this sketch; Mrs. Jennie Sagesser, deceased; Mrs. Annie Walker, a widow living at Appleton City, Missouri; Mrs. Linnie Williams, residing in Ohio; John, deceased; May, and Richard, deceased.
The early education of R. A. Guynn was obtained in the public schools of Calhoun, where his father was located prior to settling upon his farm near Montrose. He pursued a course in pharmacy and in 1872, he established a drug store in Montrose. For a period of thirty-five years, he was successfully engaged in the drug business and is one of the oldest business men of Montrose in point of years of service in business. He engaged in the banking business in 1907 and is making a success of finance. Mr. Guynn is interested in agricultural pursuits and owns a splendid farm of 428 acres near Montrose, the cultivation of which he personally oversees. R. A. Guynn and Miss Zella Kistler were united in marriage in 1893.
Mrs. Zella Guynn is a native of Ohio and a daughter of J. C. Kistler, who resides upon a farm one mile west of Clinton. Six children have blessed this union: Emmet, born in 1894. resides upon a farm north of Clinton; Reuben, born 1895, a chemist by profession, now in the national service, as first sergeant at the Base Hospital, Fort Doniphan, enlisted at Kansas City, Missouri, in April, 1917, disposed of his drug business at Kansas City, first stationed at Jefferson Barracks, then at Fort Snelling and now at Fort Doniphan, was married when home on furlough to Miss Mattie Wallace, a teacher in the Chilhowee, Missouri, schools; Lucille, born 1897, a graduate of the Clinton High School and a teacher in the Franklin school at Clinton; Genevieve, born 1899, a student in the Chicago Conservatory of Music; Shelby, born 1901, graduate of the Clinton High School, class of 1918; Zella, born 1903, student in the Montrose High School, class of 1918.
Mr. Guynn is a Democrat in politics and is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He is one of the substantial and leading citizens of Montrose whose influence has ever been on the side of advancement for his home city and the surrounding territory.
Farmers and Merchants Bank, Montrose, Missouri - The statements of the Farmers and Merchants Bank of Montrose, Missouri, show that the region tributary to Montrose is prospering as never before in its history. From November 20, 1917, to March 4, 1918, this bank had an increase of deposits exceeding $50,000, which is no small item for a bank in a small city. This bank was established in 1907 with a cash capital of $10,000 by Mr. R. A. Guynn and others. Mr. Guynn was the first president of the bank, and the first cashier was Mr. Linton. The present officers are: R. A. Guynn, president; C. M. Clark, cashier; Charles H. Engeman, vice-president; R. A. Guynn, C. M. Clark, Charles H. Engeman, J. N. Kauman, C. J. Kauman, Mrs. W. J. Brownsberger, and Mrs. R. A. Guynn, directors. Every dollar invested in the stock of this bank is owned and controlled by home people and is distributed among twenty stockholders.
The official statement of this bank as made to the State Bank Commissioner on March 4, 1918, shows a capital stock of $10,000; surplus of $8,000; undivided profits of $2,500; and total deposits of $187,742. This bank is an United States Depository for postal savings.
Nicholas Bayard Conrad, attorney at law, Montrose, Missouri, member of the Clinton bar and actively engaged in practice since 1894, was born in Henry County, two miles east of Montrose, May 4, 1868, a son of John and Elizabeth Margaret (Wolfrum) Conrad, the former a native of Canton Graubuenden, Switzerland, and the latter of Bavaria, Germany. In early life, the father was a stone cutter, learning the trade in the old country. His family had lived in Switzerland for many generations and was of old crusader stock. When twenty-eight years of age, he crossed the Atlantic to the new world, intending to work his way across the continent to California, where he had relatives. He was a cousin of John Sutter, in whose mill-race gold was discovered in California in 1848. But while he was at Leavenworth, Kansas, the Civil War broke out and he enlisted in the Second Regiment of Kansas Infantry as a private, becoming a member of Company A. He re-enlisted, serving in all four years. He saw General Lyon shot at Wilson's Creek, and was afterwards at the battles of Lookout Mountain, Chickamauga and Chattanooga. He was twice wounded, once by a musket ball, and again by having his collar bone broken by a piece of shell, but was never in a hospital.
Elizabeth M. Wolfrum came from Germany in 1839 with her father, mother, and three brothers. They were on the ocean all winter, having suffered shipwreck and went up the river to their destination, Kansas City, where she lived with her father ten years. Her father had been a soldier in the German army and had served under Blucher at Waterloo, and the father wished to get his sons away from the danger of European wars, but two of them died from disease contracted while serving the Union during the Civil War. Her father's brother, Jacob Wolfrom, came to Henry County in 1839 and entered land. In 1849, she was married to Andrew Gunther of Jefferson City and they moved to Henry County, two miles east of where Montrose now stands, bought out her uncle and built a new log house, a mill and a distillery. Four children were born of this marriage: Mrs. Rosalie Berneker, of El Centro, California; Andrew J. Gunther of Montrose, Missouri; Mrs. Fritz Datweiler of Clinton, Missouri; and Mrs. Theresa Brownsberger of Montrose, Missouri. Andrew Gunther enlisted in the Federal Army in 1861 and was shot the same year. In 1866, the widow married John Conrad and two children were born to this marriage: Nicholas B. and Albert M. Conrad. John Conrad died August 4, 1887, and Elizabeth M. Conrad died July 5, 1903.
N. B. Conrad supplemented his early education by study in the Clinton Academy under Prof. E. P. Lamkin. Mr. Conrad received the degrees of Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts, and was valedictorian of his class. He then taught school five years, obtaining his certificate from County Commissioner W. W. Palmer and had, at that time, the highest grade of any first grade certificate in the county. Mr. Conrad afterward pursued a law course at the University of Missouri, graduating in the law class of 1894 in the first rank with distinction and wrote one of the prize theses of the year, and in June, 1896, was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of the State. In 1906, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Henry County, the only Republican ever elected in the county for over forty years. During his incumbency of the office, he made an efficient officer and never had an indictment quashed. For some years, Mr. Conrad was the editor of the Henry County Republican of Clinton, Missouri.
On September 22, 1896, Mr. Conrad was married to Miss Emma L. Arnold, who was born in Wisconsin, a daughter of Christian C. and Sarah J. (Snowden) Arnold, the former a native of Pennsylvania and the latter of Canada. The father learned the millers trade in the East and upon his removal from Pennsylvania to Wisconsin engaged in the milling business in that State for a number of years. In 1883, he removed with his family to Montrose, where he operated a mill for a number of years, and afterwards, for fifteen years, was owner and editor of the Montrose Record. Mr. Arnold was a veteran of the Civil War, having served in the Forty-first Pennsylvania Volunteer Reserve Corps three years, participating in many hard fought battles, among them being the battles of the Wilderness and Gettysburg. Mrs. Conrad was educated in the public schools of Wisconsin and Missouri and graduated from the Montrose High School as valedictorian of her class. She taught for three years in the Montrose public schools, and later graduated from the Northern Indiana Normal School at Valparaiso, Indiana. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Conrad: Elizabeth Margaret, Arnold Bayard, and Wolfrom Snowden. Mr. and Mrs. Conrad are active members of the Presbyterian Church, of which Mr. Conrad is an elder. He is a Mason and has filled all the chairs in his Masonic lodge and has taken the Royal Arch Degree.
Edwin B. Hunt - Under arching and spreading trees at the crossroads in the center of Walker township, where the little cluster of buildings known as the town of Piper stands, is the Hunt blacksmith shop. Always busy, jolly, friendly to all, ever ready to do work which requires skill and strength, Edwin B. Hunt has conducted his blacksmith and wagon shop for the past fifteen years and has waxed prosperous as the years have passed. He is one of the "old timers" of Henry County in the sense that he is native-born to Henry County, his father before him having been one of the pioneers of Walker township.
Edwin B. Hunt was born October 20, 1868, on a farm located just a half mile south of his place of business. He is the son of William (born April 11, 1809; died April, 1874) and Priscilla (Covey) Hunt (born December 6, 1825), and at present, the oldest living pioneer woman of Henry County.
William Hunt was a native of North Carolina, and his wife, Priscilla, was a native of Tennessee. His first wife was Agubeth Hunt, who was born in 1816 and died in 1846. The following children were born of this marriage: Elizabeth, Mary Margaret, John, William H., and James W., all of whom are deceased. By the second marriage the following children were born: William, John Samuel, Enoch Johnson, Joseph Levi, William Robert, George Jacob, Edwin B., Lydia Ellen, Nancy Hester, Susan Priscilla, Martha Jane, and Elizabeth Catharine.
William Hunt came to Henry County from Pettis County, Missouri, in the early fifties and entered a large tract of free Government land in Walker township. He died upon his home place near Piper and his aged widow now makes her home with Edwin B. Hunt. Of the twelve children born to William and Priscilla Hunt, six are living: Edwin B.; John S., Washington; W. R., Idaho; Mrs. Elizabeth Raybourn, Idaho; and two half-brothers; also William H. Hunt, Deepwater township, and Mrs. Mary Reavis, Bear Creek township.
Mr. Hunt learned the trade of blacksmith under Thomas J. Pitts, but since his boyhood days, has been skilled in iron work and showed a special aptitude for the smithing trade. His first shop was located one mile west of Piper, and in 1910, he located at Piper, his present location. He has not only made a success of blacksmith but has been and is a successful farmer. He is owner of 400 acres of land in the immediate neighborhood, his holdings including the Hunt home place.
Mr. Hunt was married in April, 1888, to Martha C. Long, daughter of J. C. Long, one of the early settlers of Henry County. Mrs. Martha C. Hunt was born October 28, 1867, in Henry County, and is the daughter of John C. and Ruth (Burgess) Long, natives of Miller County, Missouri, who located in Henry County in 1866 and spent the remainder of their lives in this county. There were ten children in the Long family, nine of whom are living: Mrs. Pink Osborn, Oklahoma; Mrs. Eva Chadwell, Oklahoma; Doc Long, Lowry County, Missouri; Mrs. Nellie Jackson, living in Lowry County, Missouri; Kid Long, and Dutch Long, St. Clair County, Missouri; Mrs. Mary Edwards, St. Clair County, Missouri; Mrs. Edwin B. Hunt; Arch Long, Kansas.
The children born to Mr. and Mrs. Edwin B. Hunt are as follows: Pearl, a farmer in Walker township; Mrs. Ruth F. Hill, Walker township; James J., Charles A., and Ervin J., who is farming the Hunt acreage.m Mr. Hunt has always been a Republican. He has served as a member of the township board and is the present justice of the peace of Walker township. He and Mrs. Hunt are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Andrew Wally was born in Switzerland, May 14, 1853, and is the son of Joseph and Bertha (Minch) Wally, both of whom were natives of the Canton of Graubunden, Switzerland, and immigrated to America in 1870. They first located in Michigan, where they joined their son Andrew, who had preceded them to this country. From Michigan, they went to Illinois and in 1871, they came to Montrose, Missouri, where Joseph Wally followed his trade of stonemason and also engaged in farming. Recently, he removed to his son's ranch in western Arkansas and is making his home there. He was born in 1827. Mrs. Joseph Wally was born in 1836 and died in 1911. They were parents of four children: Mrs. Margaret Negg, deceased; Mrs. Eve Herman died in Bates County, Missouri, April 18, 1918; Mrs. Mary Kloeppinger, Rockville, Missouri; and Andrew Wally, subject of this sketch.
When he had attained the age of fifteen years, Andrew Wally left his native land in order to find fortune in America. He first located in Michigan, from there went to Illinois and in 1871, he arrived in Montrose. For a period of two years, he was employed as section hand on the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad. For seven years, he was engaged in the mercantile business in the employ of O. S. Johnson. In 1880, he embarked in business on his own account with a small stock of hardware goods and a small capital which represented his savings for the past seven years. The business grew constantly and in 1885, Mr. Wally found it necessary to erect a new building, now known as the Wally building, in order to adequately house his large stock of hardware and implements. Mr. Wally succeeded in building up one of the largest hardware concerns in Henry County and he continued to operate the business until his retirement from active business affairs in 1910. He is owner of a large and well-equipped ranch in Benton County, Arkansas, located six miles west of Gravette. Mr. and Mrs. Wally divide their time between the ranch and Montrose. They have a beautiful, modern home in Montrose, built of stucco and very attractive, both inside and out.
Mr. Wally was married in 1883 to Wilhelmina Beckman, who was born in 1858 at Stadfelt, Saxony, Germany, and is the daughter of Heinrich and Amelia (Reinhart) Beckman, the latter of whom died in her native country in 1864. Heinrich Beckman immigrated to America in 1872 and settled on a farm located fifteen miles from Washington, Missouri. He died on his farm. Mr. and Mrs. Wally have one son and a daughter: Joseph Henry, engaged in business in Kansas City, married Edna Regnier, and has two children, Joseph, Jr., aged five years, and Bettie, one year old; Minnie, wife of Wallace Carl Duewel, who is operating the Wally ranch in Arkansas.
Mr. Wally was formerly a Republican but, of late years, has become an independent voter. He has filled all local offices in Montrose during his long business career in this city and was always found in the forefront of civic movements which were intended for the betterment of the community in general. He and Mrs. Wally are members of the Presbyterian Church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Ancient Free and Accepted Masons, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and is also a member of the Masonic Blue Lodge, and the Commandery.
