Biographical Sketches

Biographies from Cole County People



Frank Dallmeyer

 Dallmeyer, Frank, Created Moreau Park
Frank Dallmeyer was born and reared in this city. Following his completion of the local school work he spent a year in Dissen, Germany, under the tutelage of the old professor who had been his father's teacher.

In 1909 he married Miss Fern Johnston of Callaway County and they had two children. Rudolph Johnson and Louise Pauline. Louise married Charles E. Prettyman III, of Neosho, an attorney. Rudolph married Margaret Phillips in 1936.

Prior to 1909 Mr. Dallmeyer was associated with his father in the dry goods business. Persuaded by physicians that an outdoor life would be of benefit to his health, in that year he bought a tract of land two miles southeast of Jefferson City and created picturesque Moreau Park, then the only resort in this part of the state. He cleared the underbrush, trimmed the beautiful forest trees, improved a cottage on the place, built benches, swings and tables, made hitch racks (this being in the horse and buggy days), provided boats and a boat landing.

The idea, then novel in this part of the country, made a hit from the start. As business developed, additional improvements were made. Lodges, bath houses, a dining pavilion, outdoor ovens, refreshment stand and other developments kept the place abreast with an ever increasing demand for recreational opportunity by people who learned the value of a change from the routine of every day life. As the Lake of the Ozarks and other recreational areas developed, the demand for such recreation became almost universal and Moreau Park, beautiful and convenient of access, was a distinct asset to Jefferson City. Mr. Dallmeyer built a modern home on his farm and developed a dairy business of considerable consequence.


Rudolph Dallmeyer

 Dallmeyer, Rudolph, Dry Goods Merchandiser
Rudolph Dallmeyer, the youngest son of the family of nine children of RH and Pauline Dallmeyer of Dissen, Provence of Hanover, Germany, was born on January 27, 1857. He was educated in Rector Frey's School for Boys in his home town. He came to this country in 1871 and remained in St. Louis and worked for his brother, Herman Dallmeyer, in a dry goods house for three years. He moved to Jefferson City in 1874 and was made manager of the dry goods store owned by his brother Col. W.Q. Dallmeyer. In 1881 he founded his own dry goods store. In October 1898, he moved his business to 206-208 East High Street where he continued until he was killed in a motor car accident near Lone Jack, Missouri on July 4, 1924.

Mr. Dallmeyer was united in marriage on Valentines Day of 1878, to Louise, daughter of Frank Schmidt and Kunigunda Korn Schmidt, the latter from an old pioneer family of Cole County. Mr. Schmidt built the largest hotel at the time in Jefferson City, the Madison House. Five children were born to this marriage: Frank William, Pauline Ann Russell, Mathilde Katherine, Charles Herman who died in infancy, and Alvin Rudolph. Mrs. Dallmeyer died February 9, 1916.

Mr. Dallmeyer was a member of the Evangelical Central Church and made his home at "Maple Terrace" on East High Street.

 Maple Terrace, Residence of Rudolph Dallmeyer Family
Maple Terrace, 325 East High - the Missouri River Regional Library now stands on this lot.

Pauline Dallmeyer was married to William C. Hoefer on April 25, 1906. They had only one child, Anne Russell Hoefer, and the family lived at 500 East Miller. Mr. Hoefer died November 10, 1936.

Alvin Dallmeyer was united in marriage on October 2, 1918, to Lucille Ford of Excelsior Springs, Missouri. They had two sons, Alvin Rudolph and Ronald Bernard, and one daughter, Sarah Ford. They lived in St. Louis.


W. A. Dallmeyer

 Dallmeyer, William A., Banker
William Augustus Dallmeyer, third of the five living children of Col. W. Q. and Louise Lange, was born December 17, 1865 on a his father's farm in Gasconade County, Missouri. His parents moved to Jefferson City when William was three years old, where he acquired his early education. He later attended the Kemper School in Boonville where he graduated in 1882.

On August 2, 1882 he began a position with the Exchange Bank of Jefferson City which he was later promoted to Assistant Cashier and finally President. For ten years he was city treasurer. He served on many state boards, commissions and associations, including the state board of agriculture and the state fair board of which he was president for a number of years. He also served as president of the American Hereford Breeders Association and on the board of that organization, recognized as one of the leading Hereford breeders of America. He had interest in various business activities outside the bank, and conducted a large insurance organization.

He was united in marriage on October 12, 1898 to Olive, the daughter of Judge Gilson T. Ewing. They made their home at 615 East Main Street. Their daughter, Kathrine married Judge Robert Otto, one of the state's leading attorneys. Judge and Mrs. Otto had twin sons, Robert and William. Robert Ewing, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dallmeyer, was an officer of the Exchange National Bank. He married and had two sons. William A. Jr., their youngest son, was accidentally killed in 1932 while a junior at Princeton University. Olive Ewing Dallmeyer died April 12, 1934.


Col. W.Q. Dallmeyer

 Dallmeyer, William Q, Col. CW, Legislator
Col. William Quintillen Dallmeyer was born in Dissen, Kingdom of Hanover, Germany on October 23, 1829. He immigrated to America in 1845, settling first in New York. There he was employed in the dry goods business until 1849 when he left for New Orleans, where he engaged in commission business until 1854. From New Orleans he moved to St. Louis where he worked in the dry goods store of Mr. Polkoskey until 1856 when he moved to Gasconade Co. establishing a general store on the old state road near Second Creek and then establishing a store on Third Creek, Cooper Hill. He also served as Justice of the Peace and Postmaster.

During the Civil War he served in Captain Cooper's Company of Home Guards and later served in what was known as Dallmeyer's Battalion, of which he was Lt. Colonel. In 1864 he was elected member of the Legislature, serving in1865 and in an extra session in 1866. Her was re-elected in the fall of 1866 and served a second term. In 1868 he was elected Treasurer of the State of Missouri of which he served until 1870. In 1868 he moved to Jefferson City where he lived for the remainder of his life.

In 1871 he helped organize a national bank in the city and continued as cashier until August 1882, when he took a position as cashier at the Exchange Bank of which he became president. He was married on April 15, 1875 to Louise Sophia Lange of which 6 children were born, five of whom lived to adulthood: Ferdinand, Pauline, W. Augustus, H. Rudolph, and Viola.

He was a Royal Arch Mason, for eighteen years was a member of the school board. Col. Dallmeyer died March 15, 1908.

 Home of W. Q. Dallmeyer - circa 2006
Home of W.Q. Dallmeyer - circa 2006


J.A. Dampf, DDS

 Dampf, John A., DDS
John A. Dampf was born on a farm one-half mile west of Russellville on April 5, 1873. He was raised and educated in the public schools, later graduating from the Kansas City Dental School in 1898. After graduating he located at Russellville where he built up a large practice as well as made many calls to various towns in Maries and Miller counties.

















E. W. Decker IV

Ernest William Decker IV, son of Ernest W. and Gertrude Ramsey Decker, was born in this city January 14, 1914. He graduated from the Jefferson City High School, was active in mechanical work and represented the U.S. Tire company. On his mother's side he is a grandson of the late George Clinton Ramsey (see sketch). His paternal ancestors included two pioneer families, that of Dr. Bernard Bruns (see sketch), and E. W. Decker I.

Ernest W. Decker I was born in Gruenberg, Silesia, Germany, in 1809. He was educated in German universities, and in his youth was tutor to a manufacturer's family. Leaving Germany in 1832 with the Engelman family on account of political upheaval, he settled in the wilderness of Shiloh Valley, Illinois, where he married Caroline Engelman. There he farmed for a time, operated a soap factory and manufactured candles. In 1840 he came to St. Louis with his wife and two children, Ernest W. II and Lena who later married Theo Hildenbrandt. In St. Louis he practiced law as a member of the firm Crum, Decker and Crum. He died in 1847. To support and educate her two children his widow kept boarders, -many who afterwards became prominent in their city and state.

Ernest W. Decker II, born in 1838, attended school in St. Louis, graduated from the Cincinnati School of Law, and practiced in the St. Louis firm Finklenberg and Decker. In the Civil War both partners enlisted in the Union army, Decker as lieutenant in Frank Blair's First Missouri Infantry. He became captain and was judge advocate. At the close of the war he resumed his law practice. He was a member of the legislature in 1867. He married Effie Bruns, daughter of Dr. Bernard Bruns. To this marriage three sons were born, all of whom led active lives. Harry B. Decker lived in Maplewood. Gustav graduated from the St. Louis School of Law and practiced with the firm Nagel and Kirby. He died in 1914, leaving two children, Dorothy and Gustav, Jr. Ernest W. Decker II died in 1871. At the time of his death he was rising to prominence as an attorney.

Effie Bruns Decker was born at Westphalia May 3, 1844 and died at Maplewood September 30, 1937 at the age of ninety-three. She was educated at home by a private tutor, attended the Ursuline convent in St. Louis and the Young Ladies' Seminary in Jefferson City. Following the death of her husband she taught in the St. Louis school for many years, retiring in 1914 when she moved to Jefferson City where she spent the remainder of her life with her sister, Mrs. Charles E. Hess. She was a woman of marked culture and intelligence.

Ernest W. Decker III, born and reared in St. Louis and educated there in the state university, came to Jefferson City in 1897 where he was employed by his uncle, Charles E. Hess, as engineer for the power and light company. He became superintendent of that company, serving until 1912. From 1913 to 1934 he was interested in automotive merchandising. Since then he had an interest in building and loan and real estate activities. A Republican in politics, he was twice elected judge of the county court, in which capacity he sponsored the development of a modern highway system. He was largely instrumental in securing bridges across the Osage and Gasconade rivers, and for twenty years was special road commissioner. He was secretary of the old Commercial Club in 1912 and 1913, and was president of the Capital City Building and Loan Association, the second oldest in the city.

In 1906 Judge Decker married Miss Lillian Gertrude Ramsey. E. W. Decker IV was their only child.


Charles E. Dewey

Charles Edward Dewey was born December 6, 1975, in Litchfield, Illinois, the son of Harriet Elgiva Howe and Hiram Shipman Dewey. He came with his parents to Jefferson City in 1878. Mr. Dewey was a descendent of Thomas Dewey who came to America in 1633 and many of his ancestors were active in the settlement of the New England states. His grandfather Howe owned and operated Howe's Cave, later known as Howe's Caverns and advertised as one of the scenic wonders of the state of New York. Mr. Dewey's father was a civil engineer and made surveys for the early building of railroads in thirty states of the Union. Upon coming to Jefferson City he superintended the building of the city water plant and also served as city and county engineer.

Mr. Dewey was valedictorian of the graduating class of the Jefferson City High School in 1894 and was a student at Missouri University from 1894 to 1899. At Missouri University he was an outstanding student and athlete, being manager of the Tiger football team for the year 1897-98. During vacation he was assistant surveyor for the Jefferson City engineer. In 1901 he was editor of the Jefferson City Press and for several years was reporter for several metropolitan papers. Mr. Dewey was a member of the First Baptist Church and an active member of the Jefferson City Rotary Club.

In 1902 Mr. Dewey became associated with the Equitable Life Assurance Company of New York. In 1909 he purchased two thousand acres of land on the Osage River and for fourteen years was actively engaged in farming. Since he became of voting age, Mr. Dewey was active in Democratic politics, serving for twelve years as secretary of the Cole County Committee. He was Official Reporter of the Missouri State Senate for twelve years. In 1922 he ran for Congress in the old Eighth Missouri District and was defeated in the primary by Mrs. Luella St. Clair Moss of Boone County. Again in 1932 he made the race, but was not among the thirteen successful candidates running at large that year. As a member of the local Boy Scout Council, Mr. Dewey selected and surveyed the site for Camp Maries, selected the carpenters and superintended the construction of the Boy Scout Cabin on that site, paying for same with funds collected by a personal canvas. In 1903 he purchased the northwest quarter-block at the intersection of Washington and McCarty streets. The property at that time was a part of Mrs. Ada Price's pasture and Washington Street at the alley intersection was a public dump. Mr. Dewey prevailed upon the city council to open the street, then built a home upon the corner lot. He also at one time owned the site where the Muny Links Club House stood in 1938 and property on Green Berry Road. In 1935 he purchased five hundred acres of farm land in Callaway County.

Mr Dewey was a member of the Jefferson City Country Club and the Muny Links Golf Clubs. He also was an enthusiastic and skillful fly fisherman.

Mrs. Charles Edward Dewey was born in Jefferson City, Mo. on February 23, 1878, the daughter of Rose Reynolds and John Hart Stuart. She was a descendant of one of the oldest families in central Missouri, three great-grandfathers having been identified with the religious, civic and cultural activities of the state more than a century before. Major Alfred Basye was a member of the state legislature when it met in St. Charles. Governor Thomas Reynolds was elected governor of Missouri in 1840. Samuel Leake Hart, his family and slaves were charter members of the first Presbyterian Church organized in Jefferson City in 1834. Mrs. Dewey's Grandfather Stuart was a vestryman in the first Episcopal Church in Jefferson City and at the time of his death in 1863 was Worthy Master of the local Masonic Lodge.

Mrs. Dewey received her education in the local public school, being a graduate of the class of 1894. For two years she taught school in the country and later was employed in the office of the state department of education. She was married to Charles Edward Dewey in Joplin, Mo., on June 25, 1901. One son Charles Edward Dewey, Jr., born June 30, 1917, attended Missouri University school of electrical engineering. Another son, John Stuart Dewey, born April 22, 1919, died July 7, 1921. Mrs. Dewey was a member of the First Baptist Church, BW Chapter of P.E.O., Jane Randolph Jefferson Chapter of D.A.R., the Tuesday Literary Club and the DeMolay Mothers Club. For six years she was president of the Athena Chapter of Delphian and for many years was active in P.T.A. circles. She was secretary of the Cole County Chapter of American Red Cross and a member of the Board of Regents of Central Missouri State Teachers College.


J. H. Diercks

 Diercks, John H., Legislator, Judge
John H. Diercks was born on July 2, 1831 in Wedel, a village near Hamburg, Germany. His education was in his native town, which he left at the age of twenty, coming to America settling in Mineral Point, Wisconsin. He remained there for two years engaging as a clerk for a hotel. He left and settled in St; Louis, attending the Jones' Commercial College of which he graduated and taught one year, after which he moved to Castle Rock, Osage county.

While in Osage Co., he engaged in merchandising, farming and milling. He also served as Judge of the county court and also represented the county in the State Legislature for one term. In 1885 he removed to Jefferson City, dealing in wood and coal. While engaging in this business, he was appointed to the office of Probate Judge, holding the office for four years. Upon the opening of the Merchant's Bank, he was offered a position as book keeper and then promoted to cashier.

In October 1858 he married Lillie Thornton, who ten years later passed away. Three children were born to this marriage: one was the wife of Mr. Wood; another was Mrs. Lockett, wife of a cattleman in the panhandle of Texas; and the third daughter was Laura Wells of Jefferson City.

Later, Mr. Diercks married Adelia Thornton, sister of his former wife. Two children were born to this marriage: Jessie and Florence. Mr. Diercks was an active member of the Presbyterian Church and member of the I.O.O.F.


P. J. Dierckx

Peter J. Dierckx was born in Eclo, Belgium on April 5, 1828 (some sources say 1829). He immigrated to America with Father Helias, noted pioneer priest of Cole County, at the age of nineteen and located in Taos, Liberty Township, where he engaged in business as a general merchant. Two years later he returned to Belgium, where he remained until 1850, returning to Taos where on June 22, 1852 he married Anna Helen Bekel, a native of Germany, at the St. Francis Church in Taos. Eleven children were born to this marriage: Henry Joseph, Charles L., Peter J. Jr., Clement A., Emil J., August V., Otilla M., Sophia C., Joseph F., and Frank G. Henry J. died September 20, 1888. One child died as an infant. His wife was postmistress of Taos, which was continuously run by this family since 1854, except two years during the Civil War. Helen Dierckx was born November 18, 1833, and died August 23, 1924. She came to America at the age of eight.

Mr. Dierckx met with heavy financial losses during the Civil War and suffered many hardships; all the corn in his fields were taken by Union soldiers amounting to about 500 bushels, worth $1.25 per bushel; and his barn which contained all his wheat, four horses and a good mule was destroyed in July 1867; the wheat being worth about $3.00 per bushel and flour worth $9.00 per 100 pounds. Mr. Dierckx was a Democrat; member of the Catholic Church and died on April 20, 1886 (another source says December 20, 1866) at the age of 57 years and 15 days.

  Residence of Peter J. Dierckx Family
Taos home of the P. J. Dierckx family

Clement A. Dierckx, fourth child of Peter J. and Helen Dierckx, was born January 16, 1862. He farmed until 1893, then ran a store at Centertown for nine years. He then moved to Jefferson City where he was city collector for the years 1905-1906. In the election of 1906 he was made county clerk, and served continuously until 1934. This was particularly noteworthy, in a county closely divided politically with many offices being held by members of the opposite party.

Mr. Dierckx was married June 25, 1895 to Miss Barbara Schubert, a native of this country born at Taos, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. George Schubert both of whom were born in Bavaria. They had three children, Estella married Fred Tanner, Jefferson City druggist. George C., a graduate of the Missouri State University, was a high school teacher in Los Angeles. He married Miss Ruth Wagoner and they had two children, David and Joan. Elsie married R. D. Lewis who was connected with the gas and light company of St. Louis. They lived with their daughter, Nancy, in Webster Groves, Missouri.


Judge William C. Dixon

William C. Dixon, judge of the county court of Cole County, was born in this county in December, 1884, the son of Walter Scott and Marie Annie Smith Dixon, both of whom were also reared in Cole County. His mother's father was a native of Virginia; his father was the son of Henry Edward and Letitia Glover Dixon, both of pioneer Cole County families.

Judge Dixon was a farmer by occupation. In 1911 he was married to Miss Nannie Isom, daughter of Lou C. and Rachel Lamkin Isom. They had one daughter, Rachel Ann who married George S. Mitchell of Kansas City.

Mrs. Dixon's father died in 1936 at the age of seventy-nine. He was the son of Richard Isom of Virginia ancestry. Rachel, wife of Lou C. Isom, was the daughter of Josiah and Margaret Menteer Lamkin.

Josiah Lamkin (1810-1891) was the son of Samuel Lamkin, born in 1777. Samuel was the son of Uel Lamkin, born in 1745. Josiah Ramsey Lamkin was a nephew of Josiah Ramsey, Jr., first commissioner of the permanent seat of government and one of the first two men to residen in the present limits of Jefferson City. The families of Josiah Ramsey and William Jones lived here before the first sale of lots in 1823. In 1817 Josiah Lamkin with his mother and sisters, his father being then dead, came to Missouri and located in Callaway County.

In 1824 the family came to Jefferson City, being the third family to make their home here. The farm entered by her grandfather, just southeast of the city limits, never passed out of control of the family and in 1938 was owned by Judge and Mrs. Dixon. At that time there were three living grandchildren of Josiah Lamkin: Mrs. Dixon, Uel Lamkin, president of the Maryville State Teachers' College, and Charles Lamkin of Keytesville. From the time he reached manhood Josiah Lamkin, like his mother's brother, Josiah Ramsey, was greatly interested in Jefferson City real estate and bought many lots in the city. He was twice married. After the death of his first wife, Evelyn Pl Berry, he married Margaret Menteer.


The Dorris Family, Pioneers

The Dorris family (formerly spelled Dorriss), of Tennessee origin, was one of the first little group of founders of Jefferson City who built log cabins in the wilderness here to form the village which was to be the capital of the state. In 1826 McDaniel Dorris was established in business here, operating a distillery which he continued for many years. There was, at this time, no internal revenue tax. His product was said to be clear and sparkling like spring water, with a potent quality that caused those who drank it to fight snakes where others could see no snakes. His marriage to Polly Buckner January 4, 1827, was among the first marriages in Jefferson City.

Joseph, the son of McDaniel and Polly Dorris, was born in Jefferson City October 29, 1834. On November 13, 1861, he was married to Nancy Ann Hammen. Ten children were born to them, eight of whom lived to maturity. Joseph Dorris was a farmer by occupation; he died in 1917.

George M. Dorris, the son of Joseph and Nancy Ann Dorris was born on a farm near Jefferson City in 1866. June 20, 1894, he was married to Miss Anne Dell Dodd. They had two children. Doctor Richard P. Dorris, Jefferson City physician, married Mary Larue RAithel, also of this city, and had one daughter, Paula Gretchen. Dorothy Dodd Dorris married William John Schulten of this city.

For the greater portion of his life, Mr. Dorris was engaged in the manufacture of shoes. For the Brown, Internation, and Priesmeyer, later the Tweedie Company, he had been a quality control man, foreman and superintendent. He later worked the the state highway department as a right of way man.

Mrs. Dorris was the daughter of Thomas Truxton Dodd, born on Dodd Island near Bonnett's Mill, Osage County, November 17, 1849, died February 7, 1930. Her mother's maiden name was Ellen Eliza Krone, born in Osage County (now Maries), November 20, 1853, married Captain Dodd, November 30, 1871, died February 4, 1933. Mr. Dodd in later life conducted a store in Jefferson City, coming here when Mrs. Dorris, his only child, was fourteen. In his younger years he was a river pilot, steamboat captain and owner successively, operating on the Osage, Missouri and Mississippi rivers. He was a buyer and shipper of walnut lumber and in the days when horseback riding was the popular means of transportation, furnished stock for the local saddlery company. He came of a line of seamen, his father being captain of a British ship who on a sightseeing journey from St. Louis into "the wild country" met and married the daughter of the owner of the Neill plantation adjacent to Cote Sans Dessein in 1820. The descendants of this couple still owned a portion of this fine old pioneer plantation in 1938.


J.A. Droste

 Droste, Joseph A., Circuit Clerk
Joseph A. Droste was born in Jefferson City on November 17, 1870, his education being in the public schools. At the age of nine he began to work on a farm near the city which he continued when not at school, until the age of nineteen. After this, he moved to St. Louis and was employed by Wycoff, Seamans and Benedict for 18 months, then returning to Jefferson City taking the position of Deputy Circuit Clerk of Cole County. . Mr. Droste was a worthy young man with good habits. He made his home with his father, J.G. Droste, one of the pioneer settlers of Cole County.












H. J. Dulle

 Dulle, Henry J., Collector, County Court, Bank President, JC Transit Co.
Henry J. Dulle was born in Jefferson City on June 7, 1848, son of Girard H. and Anna Maria Haake, natives of Hanover, Germany. He was educated in the public schools and St, Pepter's Parochial School of Jefferson City, and in his early life engaged in farming with great success. He continued farming until 1868 when he and his half brother, J.W. Schulte, entered the mill of his father, G.H. Dulle, whose death occurred in 1885, when the G.H. Dulle Milling Company was established, he becoming President.

Mr. Dulle was a Republican and served as Deputy Collector from 1884-1888. In 1894 he was elected presiding Judge of the County Court from 1894-1898, during which time the County Courthouse was built. He was also Director and President of the First National Bank; Vice President and stockholder of the J.B. Bruns Shoe Company; Director and stockholder of the Jefferson City Bridge and Transit Company. He was an active member of St. Peter's Church of which he served as Treasurer for many years as well as a member of the Catholic Knights of America and one of the trustees of the St. John's Orphan Society.

He married Tracy Peschel, daughter of Wenzel and Mary Peschel, natives of Austria, on October 3, 1870. Of the children born to this union, the eldest, Edward H. was a bookkeeper for the J.B. Bruns Shoe Company; Theodore was the bookkeeper of the First National Bank; Mary Clara was the wife of H. Herman runs, Secretary and Treasurer of the J.B. Bruns Shoe Company; Victor died at the age of 15 months; Emma, Edith, Anna, Henry J., Jr., Joseph B., and Rosa were all students at St. Peter's Parochial School. They made their home on a farm in the West suburbs of Jefferson City.


A. T. Dumm

 Dumm, A.T., Lawyer, Legislator
Located in the Dallmeyer Building can be found one of the favorably known and largely patronized law firms of this city. Well-appointed offices equipped with an extensive law library are maintained. The members of this firm are Messrs. Edwin Silver and A.T. Dumm. Mr. Edwin Silver, senior member of the firm, has been practicing law in this city for a long term of years, and in 1909 the present partnership was formed.

Mr. A.T. Dumm, the junior member was born in Golden City, Colo., in 1874. He was reared in Carroll County, Mo., and was admitted to the bar in 1899, after having read law in Salisbury, Mo. He was assistant reporter of the Supreme Court for nine years, and was elected Representative of Cole County to the Legislature at the last election. He has lived in Jefferson City for 12 years, and is a lawyer of great ability, a public-spirited citizen and tireless in his efforts to see that the views of his constituency are carried out.

From Jefferson City Past and Present Progress and Prosperity Published 1912







Fred L. Dunlap

Frederick L. Dunlap was born in 1882 at Coagh County Tyrone, town land of Aughevy, Ireland. He was the son of Samuel Dunlap, born in County Tyrone in 1824, died at Mt. Ayre, Iowa, July 3, 1899. Samuel was the son of William Dunlap and Elizabeth Vance, both born in County Tyrone. William Dunlap's people came from Scotland and descended from the Dunlop clan. Elizabeth Vance's great-grandfather came from Holland to Ireland about the middle of the seventeenth century with King William, Prince of Orange. He served in the Battle of the Boyne.

Fred Dunlap's mother's maiden name was Jane Elizabeth McCullough. She was born in March 1843 in County Down, Ireland, and died July 12, 1829, near Breckenridge, Mo. She was the daughter of William McCullough and Mararet McDowell, both born in County Down. Her father's ancestors came from Scotland, her mother's from Scotland and England.

About the middle of the seventeenth century when it was decreed that all Protestants should yield up their bibles to be burned, William McCullough, great-grandfather of the above mentioned William McCullough, refused and was with others ordered to be tied up in a barn to be burned. An influential Catholic friend secured his release.

Samuel and Elizabeth Dunlap with their seven children came from Ireland to Mt. Ayre, Iowa, in 1884. Following the death of the father, the family moved to Daviess County in 1903, settling near Gallatin.

The coat of arms of the ancient and honorable Dunlop family of Scotland, from which the American Dunlops and Dunlaps trace their descent, is described in Burke's General Armory, 1884. The early lines of the family in Great Britain were chiefly of the landed gentry and yeomanry. J.B. Dunlop of Belfast, great uncle of Fred Dunlap, in 1888 invented the pneumatic tire.

Fred Dunlap in 1918 was elected to the state legislature by a large majority and was re-elected in 1920. He was a member of the first legislature to occupy the new capitol. He was chairman of the committee on agriculture, helped ratify the Volstead Act, women's suffrage and the law creating the state highway department. HE introduced the bill creating the state museum. With the assistance of S.L. Payne he organized the Capital Mutual Insurance Company in 1922, of which he was secretary-treasurer and general manager. By 1938 it was the largest insurance company of its kind in Missouri with over twenty-four million dollars of insurance in force.

Mr. Dunlap was married in 1919 to India Mae Wellman, who was born at Gallatin March 17, 1899. They had three daughters, Bonnie Mae born in 1922, Betty Lou in 1924 and Rita Kathleen in 1928. The family was members of the Christian Church.

Mrs. Dunlap organized the Jefferson City Garden Club in 1935. She was a state board member of the Missouri Congress of Parents and Teachers. Her father was William Zura Wellman, born near Terra Haute, Indiana, October 30, 1867, son of Warren Wiley and Elizabeth Morris Wellman of Arkansas City, Kansas. Elizabeth Morris Wellman was a descendant of the Pickard family of Georgia. Her paternal great-grandparents were Levi and Hannah Sacket Wellman, Levi being a son of Benoni Wellman, a soldier in the Revolution. Benoni was the son of Silas and Catherine Payson Wellman, the former being a veteran of the French and Indian Wars. Founder of the family in America was Thomas Wellman who in 1634 became a member of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Mrs. Dunlap's mother's maiden name was Aldaretta Rupe, born at Clyde, Kansas, May 12, 1870, the daughter of John H. and Mary Rupe. The Rupe family was of Dutch ancestry. John H. Rupe, a native of Indiana, was a lawyer, a sergeant of cavalry in the Civil War, and a member of the Kansas Legislature. The Wellman coat of arms is described in Burke's General Armory in 1884.


Judge Curtis L. Dunn

Curtis L. Dunn, probate judge of Cole County, was born in the adjoining county of Callaway June 12, 1891, the son of Richard Rufus and Fannie J. Stubblefield Dunn, both natives of Callaway County. Judge Dunn attended high school in Jefferson City. He then went to the Colorado Agricultural College at Fort Collins, following which he attended the Missouri State University. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1923, following which he formed a partnership with W.C. Irwin which continued until he assumed the duties of probate judge January 1, 1927.

Judge Dunn served in the First Marine Aviation Force during World War I, and was wounded in service. Prior to the war he edited a newspaper at Cedar City and worked as a printer in Jefferson City. He was associated with his father in real estate business before and after the war.

June 21, 1933, he was married to Mrs. Sadie H. Turner. He had two children by a former marriage, Jane May and Curtis Leslie Jr. Judge Dunn was always active in the service of the Democratic Party. He was a member of the Masonic Lodge, of the U.S.D.V. of the state bar association and of the Cole County bar association, the American Legion and the Disabled Veterans.

The Dunn family is of Virginia origin. The father of R. R. Dunn in 1834 came to Callaway County from that state, from a location now included in the state of West Virginia. He married the daughter of Captain John M. Reed, who with his wife came from Kentucky to Callaway County in 1837, and entered land near New Bloomfield. Captain Reed, a farmer, real estate operator, member of the Baptist Church, was prominent in Callaway County during his lifetime. The Stubblefield family, to which Judge Dunn's mother belongs, came to Callaway County from Tennessee.




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