The Garner Family of Ray County, Missouri

JOHN C. GARNER.

John Campbell Garner was born in Clarke county, Kentucky, January 21, 1811. His father, Colonel Jesse W. Garner, was a carpenter, architect and draughtsman, and is known here as the original contractor and builder of the Missouri penitentiary at Jefferson City. His father came to Missouri some years before the subject of this article, and young John was reared by his uncle, John Campbell, after whom he was named. John Campbell was a revolutionary soldier and served through the entire war. He held the rank of lieutenant. Mr. Garner's uncle left his nephew, at his death, a handsome legacy, by will, of one hundred and sixty acres of land, and two valuable slaves. After the death of his uncle he took charge of the farm for his aunt. This aunt was the sister of Governor Clark, of Kentucky. Mr. Garner never married, and his aunt and a cousin were his housekeepers, until 1854, when the former died. He then sold his farm for seventy-five dollars per acre, and the next year came to Missouri. He had been very successful in dealing in horses, mules and cattle, in Kentuckv, and he brought about twenty-five thousand dollars away with him from that state. After coming to Missouri he first stopped near Morton, in Ray count) but remaining there only a few months, he removed, in March, 1857, to the place where he now resides, on the Kingston road, nine miles north of Richmond. Here he purchased six hundred and forty acres of land, and at once began improving it by fencing and building a dwelling house and barn. Mr. Garner had just gotten his place improved, and was ready to commence business in earnest, when the war came and his slaves were taken from him. Mr. Garner spent most of his time during the war in Richmond. He has never engaged in any but agricultural pursuits, and owns now about nine hundred and thirty-eight acres of excellent land, all lying near his homestead. Though Mr. Garner has never been a candidate for office, he has always taken a great interest, and kept himself well informed in political affairs. While he was living in Kentucky he organized the second Know-nothing council in Clarke county. Formerly he was a whig, but since dissolution of that party he has acted with the democracy. He has been, for a number of years, a member of the M. E. Church South, at Richmond. Although Mr. Garner did not enjoy many advantages for getting an education in his youth, he has read so much and so diligently and attentively, that his vigorous and retentive memory is well stored with valuable knowledge. His health has not been good for some time, and he is kept much indoors. This gives him a better opportunity to indulge his taste for reading. Mrs. Smith, his sister, keeps house for him. John C. Garner has been very successful as a farmer and stock raiser; he is an obliging neighbor, an honorable gentleman, and a highly respected citizen of the county of Ray.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

CHRISTOPHER T. GARNER.

Christopher Trigg Garner, son of Colonel Jesse W. and Docia (Trigg) Garner, was born March 25, 1825, in Fayette, Howard county, Missouri. Colonel Jesse W. Garner, a native of Virginia, was born in Northumberland county in 1791, and when a boy removed to Winchester, Clark county, Kentucky. He married Docia Trigg January 15, 1810. In 1819 he moved to Missouri, and settled in Old Franklin, Howard county. About a year afterward he removed to Fayette, and from 1820 to 1841 lived in that town and in the vicinity thereof. In the year last mentioned he moved to Ray county, and in 1848 to near Liberty, Clay county, where, in June, 1850, he died. He was one of the Missouri pioneers, a carpenter by trade, and built the first court house and college buildings at Fayette. He was a leading Mason, and was present at the organization of the Masonic Grand Lodge of Missouri. He was a man of integrity of character, decision, energy and enterprise, good judgment, and strong, practical, common sense, highly esteemed and universally respected, kind any affectionate in his family relations, generous and philanthropic. Docia Garner was the daughter of Gen. Stephen Trigg, and was born January 21, 1782, in Bedford county, Virginia. She was a descendant of the Trigg family that emigrated from England and settled in Spottsylvania county, Virginia, the sons of which distinguished themselves as soldiers in the revolutionary war, in the war of 1812, and in the Indian wars of a later period. They were in the siege of Yorktown, the battle of King's Mountain, and in the Indian battle at the Blue Licks, Kentucky. C. T. Garner, the subject of this sketch, until he attained his majority, worked at daily labor for his father, attending school irregularly, for short intervals, in the log school-houses of that day. His education was obtained mainly by his own exertion. He taught school about a year, then went into a store as clerk for a few months. Desiring to study the law, he entered the law office of Honorable George W. Dunn, of Richmond, Missouri, in 1845, and read law continuously for nearly three years. In May, 1848, he received license to practice his profession from Judge Austin A. King, afterward governor of Missouri. The judge, on handing him his license, advised him to locate permanently at Richmond and engage in the practice of his profession. He yielded to the suggestion with great reluctance, as the bar of Richmond was then composed of such eminent lawyers as Philip L. Edwards, George W. Dunn, Ephraim B. Ewing, Charles E. Bowman, Mordecai Oliver, and E. A. Lewis. Without any money, library books, or office furniture, he was allowed the privilege of occupying a table in a drug store for his office; a copy of the revised statutes of Missouri, kindly lent him by a friend, was the extent of his library. The first earnings of his profession were applied to paying his legal preceptor for board and instruction while studying his profession. Afterward he purchased such books as his limited means would allow. Sympathizing friends gathered around him, and his prospects for a living practice began to brighten. He soon acquired a remunerative practice, which he has retained at the same bar for a period of thirty-two years. He has traveled his own circuit and practiced in the courts of ten counties. On the 5th day of November, 1850, in Callaway county, Missouri, he was married to Miss Elizabeth B. Mosby, an estimable and accomplished lady, the daughter of Major James Mosby. Mr. Garner was a whig. His judicial circuit, during the existence of that party, was composed of the counties of Ray, Clay, Carroll, Clinton, DeKalb, Harrison, Daviess, and Caldwell, which were then, by a large majority, democratic in politics. In 1852 he became a candidate for circuit attorney, and was elected by a handsome majority over his opponent, who was a good lawyer, a popular man, and a democrat. He discharged the duties of the office until the expiration of his term, in 1856, with success and ability, when he declined a candidacy for re-election. In his prosecution he met such distinguished lawyers as Colonel A. W. Doniphan, Colonel James H. Moss, Governor Willard P. Hall, and Honorable H. M. Vories. Mr. Garner was chosen to draw up the charter for the city of Richmond and secure its incorporation. In 1858 he advocated, by a thorough and energetic canvass, the proposition submitted to the people of his county for voting $200,000 to aid in building a railroad through the county. In 1861 he was strongly and decidedly for the Union, doing all he could to resist the wave of secession, which threatened to involve his native state in civil war. With unfaltering firmness he remained loyal to the government until the end of that memorable struggle. In 1864 he organized a company for the purpose of defending the town and people against the depredations of bushwhackers, by whom they were threatened. In 1862 he was elected a member of the general assembly from Ray county, and became a wise, prudent legislator, a prominent leader of the conservative element of that body, and exerted a propitious influence over its deliberations. In 1866 he assisted in procuring the stock and organizing the Ray County Savings Bank, was elected a director, and has been annually re-elected to the present time. Upon the organization of the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern Railroad Company and the St. Joseph & St. Louis Railroad Company, he was retained as one of their attorneys, and is still so employed. There is not a public enterprise in his section to which he has not contributed by his talents and influence, having been, and still being, a liberal contributor to the building of churches and institutions of learning, and to the support of churches, schools, and all movements for the public good. Though not a member of any church, his life has been exemplary, temperate, and moral. He is a Mason, but belongs to no other charitable organization. He is identified with the democratic party, though originally a strong whig. Mr. Garner has an interesting family of seven children: James W., Christopher T., Jr., Elizabeth B., William H., Sarah J., Mary V., and Jessie C. His three eldest children are well educated, being graduates of Richmond College. His wife, Elizabeth B., was born February 6, 1832, in Callaway county, Missouri, and is a most excellent Christian lady, having united with the Christian Church before her marriage.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

HENRY C. GARNER, M. D.

Henry C. Garner was born March 21, 1827, in Fayette, Howard county, Missouri, and lived there with his parents till 1841, when he came to Ray county, where he has lived ever since. In 1844 he went to Kentucky to complete his literary and medical education, and entered, as a student, Transylvania Medical College, at Lexington, Kentucky, from which he graduated in the spring of 1850. He then returned to Richmond, Missouri, and formed a co-partnership, for the practice of his profession, with Dr. Joseph Chew, now of Kansas City. After Dr. Chew's removal to Kansas City, Dr. Garner practiced alone for some time, and entered into partnership with Dr. Geo. W. Buchanan; they continued to practice together till 1860, when he formed a partnership with J. M. Allen, M. D., now the president of the state medical association of Missouri. This partnership lasted until 1861, when Dr. Allen joined the Confederate army. Dr. Garner subsequently became associated with Dr. W. W. Mosby in the practice of medicine, and so continued till 1874, when he was elected cashier of the Ray County Savings Bank, which position he now holds and has held ever since. On becoming cashier of this bank he retired from the active practice of his profession, and, at present, his services are available only in cases of consultation. Dr. Garner had a large and lucrative practice; in his early days it extended into the counties of Clay, Carroll and Lafayette. He was a close student and kept fully abreast of the progress in medical science. Henry C. Garner is eminently a self-made man, having begun life as a poor boy; by energy, perseverance and rigid economy, he acquired means to educate himself — solely by his own efforts, excepting some pecuniary assistance received from his brother, Jno. C. Garner, whom he afterward fully repaid. He has always enjoyed the confidence and esteem alike of his professional brethren and of the people. While Dr. Garner was a remarkably successful practitioner, well read and learned in his profession, it is not as a physician that he is to be most admired; his high moral character, devotion to duty, gentlemanly bearing, and sterling worth as a member of society, challenge the respect of all. He was treasurer of Ray county from 1863 to 1867; has also been mayor of the city of Richmond, and has held other positions of public trust. December the 9th, 1852, Henry C. Garner was married to Eugenia A. Hudwall, of Chariton county, Missouri. They have eight children living, four boys and four girls: Thomas H., Edward S., Mattie M., Eugenia A., Henry C, Trigg, Docia Elizabeth, and Mabel Everett. Dr. Garner and his wife, who is an amiable lady of intelligence and refinement, are members of the M. E. Church South. He is also a Mason.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

JAMES W. GARNER.

James W. Garner was born in Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, on the 4th day of March, 1851. His father is the Honorable Christopher T. Garner, Sr., of Richmond. His mother, E. B. Garner, is the daughter of James Mosby, Sr., and sister of W. W. Mosby, M. D., also of Richmond. The subject of this sketch graduated from the Richmond College in the class of 1870 and '71. Immediately after graduating, he entered upon the study of law, in the office of his father, Honorable C. T. Garner, and General A. W. Doniphan, who were then co-partners in the practice of law at Richmond, Ray county. He was a close, careful and persevering student, and being naturally of superior intellect, his comprehensive mind thoroughly mastered the theory of law in all its intricate fundamental branches; and on the 6th day of March, 1873, was admitted to the bar. Though the Richmond bar was exceptionally able, and many of its members distinguished for their learning and ability, our subject, by dint of his pluck, energy and many department, entered at once upon a paying practice, which has ever since continued to increase, till he now enjoys a reputation as a lawyer second to few men in the fifth judicial circuit of Missouri. Mr. Garner is a young man, scarcely yet in the prime of life, and an honorable and successful career, both professionally, and as a private citizen, is undoubtedly before him. November 4, 1873, James W. Garner was married to Miss Leonora Snoddy, of Howard county, Missouri, daughter of Samuel W. and Susan F. Snoddy. After his marriage with Miss Snoddy, he formed a co-partnership with his father for the practice of his profession, under the firm name of C. T. Garner & Son. This partnership existed till James W. Garner was elected prosecuting attorney for Ray county, (see list of county officers) which position he now holds. Mr. Garner is a democrat, and on the democratic ticket has been twice elected by the people of his county as their prosecuting attorney. During his first term of office, a great many important cases were tried, among others the noted case of the State of Missouri vs. J. T. Keyes. The trial of this case occupied fourteen days, and was conducted by our subject with singular ability and energy. There was also much litigation arising from the issuance of certain municipal bonds, in aid of the St. Louis & St. Joseph railroad, involving several hundred thousand dollars; all of which he attended faithfully, without assistance, and without causing the county additional expense. Mr. Garner has held several important and very responsible positions, and in the discharge of all his duties, official and private, has been honest, faithful and capable. He was one of the local attorneys for the St. Louis, Kansas City & Northern railway company, and in 1878 was a member of the city council of the city of Richmond. As an officer, James W. Garner is entirely equal to the trust the people have conferred upon him; their confidence is in nowise misplaced. As a gentleman he is genial and obliging, and in every department of life, honest, honorable and reliable.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.