Wilkerson, the subject of this sketch, was educated in Miami University at Oxford, Ohio, after which he took up the study of law, at Wilmington, Ohio. He was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court of the State of Ohio, at Columbus, in March, 1862. He practiced law at Wilmington until 1867, when he came to Sedalia, Mo., where he has since remained. He was married in 1870 to Sarah E. Doolittle, Painsville, O., a daughter of John T. Doolittle, and by this union they have two children, Frederick D. and George R., also one deceased. Mr. Wilkerson has been eminently successful in his practice, especially in the settling of claims of real .estate, among which is the estate of General George R. Smith. As a lawyer he is not only a success, but deserves success, and stands without dispute among the very few who are in the foremost rank of the profession.

THOMAS WOOD.

He is the son of Samuel Wood, a native of England, who emigrated to the United States in the year 1842, and settled near Richmond, Virginia, but afterwards went to Ohio, then in 1860 to Pennsylvania, where he now resides, at the age of seventy-one. The mother of Mr. Wood is also living. Thomas Wood was born in Staffordshire, England, Sept. 12, 1840, the second in a family of eighteen children. His school days were spent in the subscription schools of Virginia. When about nineteen years of age he began firing on the Terre Haute, Alton & St. Louis Railroad, where he continued about one year, then accepted a position as brakeman on the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad. He then came to Missouri and engaged in the employ of the Missouri Pacific Railroad at St. Louis, as fireman, in the year 1861. Here he remained till 1864, when he was promoted to engineer. He filled this position till the great strike of 1868, when, with many others, he struck, and then returned to the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, where he remained about five months. Next he went to Omaha, and worked with the Union Pacific Railroad. After remaining here for some time he returned to the Marietta & Cincinnati Railroad, where, after about nine months' service, he took a position with the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. He then came to Sedalia and accepted a position as engineer on the Missouri Pacific Railroad, which he has held since Oct., 1872. He was married Dec. 14, 1865, to Miss Mary E. Allen, of Warrensburg, Mo. Their family consisted of five children, two of whom are living, Edgar W. and J. Herbert. He is a careful and reliable engineer. During his service on the Missouri Pacific Railroad of ten years he has met with no accident worthy of mention, and he is considered one of the best in the employ of the corporation.

SILAS A. WRIGHT.

Was born in Jersey County, Ill., in 1850. His father, Silas W., was a

native of New York, now living in Oregon. His mother, Mary, nee Redmond, was a native of Ohio, still living. Silas A., the subject of this sketch, was reared in Wisconsin. In 1868 he came to Springfield, Mo., where he engaged in the sewing machine business, operating at various points in that section of the country. He was given the general agency of the American Sewing Machine in this State. In 1877 he removed to Sedalia, where he has since made his headquarters, and where he has a large store. He keeps a full stock of machines, besides all kinds of repairs. He keeps one or two men constantly on the road, wholesaling all kinds of sewing machines, and is perhaps the largest dealer in Central Missouri. Mr. Wright is a member of the Masonic fraternity, also Knights of Honor and K. P. In 1874 he was married to Miss Hackendom of Webster County, Mo. They have one child living, Una. One deceased.

JOHN J. YEATER.

President of the Citizens National Bank. Is another who began at the first round of the ladder and who by energy and pluck has established himself among the foremost. John J. Yeater was born in Lincoln County, Mo., in 1831. His father Charles H., a native of Kentucky, came to St. Charles County, Mo., in 1808. Later he moved to Osceola, in southwest Missouri, where John J., the subject of our sketch, was reared. In 1857 he was married to Miss Sarah J. Ellis of Connecticut. In 1861 he was burned out by Jim Lane's forces, losing two large store houses with their contents. He then entered the Confederate army and served four years as Quartermaster. In 1865 he came to Sedalia and engaged in the grocery business, and being a very shrewd and successful business man he has taken his place among the foremost business men of Sedalia and Central Missouri. At the organization of the Citizens National Bank in 1872, he was chosen vice-president, and served until the death of Clifton Wood in 1877, when he was chosen to fill the vacancy, which position he now occupies. Mr. Yeater is also extensively engaged in the grocery business, running both a wholesale and retail establishment. Mr. Yeater is also engaged in stock feeding, having on hand over six hundred head. He has four children living, Charles E., attorney at law, Sedalia, Laura, at Columbia Christian College, Merritt West and Stella W.

MATTHIAS ZENER.

General insurance agent. Mr. Zener was born in 1835 in Vermillion County, Ind. His father, Adam Zener, was a native of Kentucky. His mother, Mary, nee Hopkins, was a native of Pennsylvania. Matthias, the subject of this sketch, enlisted in the Eighteenth Regiment Indiana Volunteers, Co. C., in July, 1861, and served one and a half years in the army. Afterwards he taught school for a time, and in 1864 went to Iowa, where

he engaged in insurance business. In 1865 he came to Clinton, Mo., where he sold drugs and engaged in insurance; was also superintendent of schools here from 1866 until 1870. In 1871 he gave up his other business and has ever since given all his time to insurance business. In 1873 he came to Sedalia where he now resides. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity. He was married in 1870. They have three children, Helen M., Mary L., Alice G. Mrs. Zener has one child by her first husband, Anna A.

CHAPTER XII.-HOUSTONIA TOWNSHIP.

Introduction-Name--Organization-Configuration--Physical Features--Some Interesting History--Col. Houston's Celebrated Preceptor--Marshal Ney--The Colonel's Biography-His Statement Regarding the Marshal-- Description of the Man--His Admiration for Napoleon Bonaparte--Death of Napoleon's Son--The Marshal Destroys His Private Papers--Corroborative Statements--Houstonia Village--Its Business Interests--Churches-Schools--Railroad--The Great Cyclone of 1875-Biographical.

In the northern part of Pettis County is situated the beautiful scope of country comprising Houstonia Township, and running diagonally across the township is the branch line of the Missouri Pacific Railway, connecting this township with the enterprising city of Sedalia, giving it every connection for transportation, which, with its natural facilities and resources, gives its inhabitants every advantage that could be wished for by the agriculturist, the stock raiser and the capitalist. A few years ago the present site of Houstonia and the village of Hughesville was a wild, uncultivated waste of rolling prairie belonging to the Government. This was sold by the Government at 12 cents to $1.25 per acre when opened for settlement, and the fortunate purchasers of large tracts have reaped rich rewards in the investment of their savings, at an early day, in the rich upland land of this township. The township, as a whole, is unsurpassed by any in the county. While this township is by no means so rough and broken as the others, it has the advantage of having an abundant supply of timbered land along its borders, and with every means of comfort near at hand its people are indeed fortunate and happy.

NAME.-Houstonia Township derives its name from the principal town situated within its borders, that of Houstonia. Hon. Thomas F. Houston laid out the town, and it was named in his honor. From his grandfather the town of Houstonville, Iredell County, N. C., is also named. Col. Houston having been for many years prominently identified with the interests of Pettis County, it is appropriate that we give him a short notice in connection herewith, and it is also not inappropriate that we give some history of his illustrious preceptor, the great Frenchman, Marshal Ney.

SOME INTERESTING HISTORY.-In connection with the history of Houstonia Township, it may not be inappropriate to give the following sketch of the illustrious preceptor of Col. Thomas F. Houston, in whose honor the village and township of Houstonia takes its name. From the St. Louis Republican, of July 8, 1877, we copy the following: "In February, 1876, in response to an inquiry, Col. Thomas F. Houston, of Pettis County, made public in the Sedalia Democrat a statement, giving his reasons for controverting the historical facts concerning Marshal Ney's execution. For the purpose of giving it an enlarged publicity and enlisting others in the work, a copy of all the facts bearing on this question has been obtained, thoroughly revised, and thus presented through the Republican. Col. Houston's character and unquestionable veracity are too well known in Central Missouri to need an introduction, but for the benefit of all others a short biographical sketch is appended. Thomas F. Houston was born July 30, 1818, at Houstonville--named in honor of his grandfather-Iredell County, N. C.; received a collegiate education under the instruction of Marshal Ney; adopted the profession of law; admitted to the bar June, 1840, and located at Statesville, in his native county. In 1845 he married Miss Mary M. Hampton, a relative of the Hampton families of Virginia and South Carolina. He emigrated from Alabama to near the present site of Bunceton, Cooper County, Mo., in 1846, and since that time has devoted his whole energies to agricultural pursuits and stock raising. In 1851 he removed to the northern portion of Pettis County, Mo., near where he subsequently located the town of Houstonia, named in his honor. He is one of the largest farmers in Central Missouri, having raised over 2,500 acres of corn in 1875, and sold in one contract in St. Louis 50,000 bushels. He filled the office of President of the first Pettis County Fair; subscribed liberally to the capital stock of the Lexington and St. Louis Railroad (now the Lexington branch of the Mo. P.); held the position of president and director for many years, and to him much credit is due for a change in its starting point from Lamonte to Sedalia. He was selected as the historian and orator at the Centennial celebration at Sedalia on the Fourth of July, 1876, and gave a very interesting "Historical Sketch of Pettis County,' from the first knowledge of this region by the whites up to that date. His address was copied from the Sedalia papers into the St. Louis Republican, and endorsed by some of the "oldest inhabitants" as correct as to facts stated in relation to the earliest exploration and settlement of Central Missouri; and the facts contained therein will furnish items for all future histories of Pettis County and Central Missouri. He now lives in the enjoyment of good health on his magnificent estate near Houstonia, an industrious, enterprising, intelligent Christian gentleman.

COL. HOUSTON'S STATEMENT.

Sixty years have elapsed since the reported execution of Marshal Ney, and history records it as a fact. Nevertheless, at the risk of being considered credulous and easily deceived, I will give you a brief account of the life of a man who was known for over thirty years in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, as P. S. Ney (Peter Stuart Ney), and with whom I was intimately acquainted and associated for a good many years, and I do not hesitate to say, in my opinion, was the veritable Marshal Ney. I will here state that I can refer to many persons still living who knew him, and know that there was a general belief among those who knew him best that he was Marshal Ney.

If

my information is correct, Marshal Ney landed in America, in Jan., 1816, but I knew nothing personally of him until ten years thereafter. About 1826 (fifty-one years ago,) my uncle, Col. Francis Young, of Iredell County, North Carolina, employed this old man, Mr. P. S. Ney, to teach the languages to his sons, at Oak Hill Academy, and my first recollection of him was seeing him come to the postoffice, at Houstonville, for his mail matter. I was too young at that time to attend school, but in January, 1830, I became his pupil and continued so most of the time, until 1838. Part of the time he boarded in my father's family, and as I grew up to manhood a warm friendship existed between us, at least, on my part towards him.

He was a man a little under six feet in height, not much fleshy, but muscular, and weighed about two hundred pounds. He showed his military training in his style and bearing. He was probably sixty years of age when I became his pupil. His head was quite bald, and showed a scar on one side, which he said was a sword cut in battle. He was marked with small-pox. He was a good teacher and scholar, possessing the peculiar faculty of imparting instruction, and taught more for the pleasure and employment which it afforded him than for the profit, as he only asked his board and $200 per annum.

He spent his leisure hours in reading and writing; read the newspapers attentively, and occasionally wrote for the National Intelligencer, at Washington City, and the Carolina Watchman, published at Salisbury, N. C. It was his custom to set up very late at night, only sleeping from four to six hours in twenty-four. He said that was a habit contracted in camp, while in the army. It was evident he was not an ordinary soldier, but a man of rank and genius.

He was a great admirer of Napoleon Bonaparte, always spoke of him in terms of the highest admiration, and up to the time of the death of Bonaparte's son, he often expressed his determination of returning to France. This was probably about the years 1834 or 1835. He was greatly distressed by that event; destroyed many private papers in his