... James Robert Estill, was born in 1819 and grew up on his father's farm on the Speedwell turnpike. He attended public schools in Madison County and in 1835 he was sworn in as deputy sheriff and served under high sheriff Richard Broaddus. Between 1835 and 1843, he and his father, Wallace, had made several trips to Missouri for land speculation. On one of the trips to Missouri, Wallace Estill helped lay out the town of Booneville, Mo. Wallace Estill never lived in Missouri, but had land interests there.
When Wallace Estill died, he left his fine estate on the Speedwell pike to his son Clifton Rodes Estill. Clifton Rodes had tried to raise cotton and had lost his fortune. On his death, the farm and mansion was put up for public sale, (Richmond Climax 1887). The sale also mentioned a Mattie Estill. Mattie was an infant, and that her father, William Rodes Estill Sr., a brother to James Robert Estill, married a second wife, Martha Coleman Van Meter. Mattie was a year old when her father died. William Rodes had inherited the homeplace when his brother Clifton died unmarried. James Robert Estill came from Missouri and bought the home place at public auction. He later {1899) sold it to Taylor Rice and H. H. Collier.
James Robert married in 1845 Mary Ann Turner, the daughter of Talton Turner and Sallie Turner. Talton Turner was a native of North Carolina, was one of the pioneers of that section of Missouri, and was a man of great prominence and influence. He conducted an extensive trade with the Indians, and accumulated a large fortune. He had served in the war of 1812 under General Green Clay.
James Robert and Mary Ann Estill had 8 children. Three had died while young and five survived to marry and have their own families. ...
... James Robert started with a purchase of 460 acres and gradually he added land until he had 3,200 acres of land in one body. In early days, he devoted a considerable portion of his land to the cultivation of hemp, and bred and fed mules for the sugar plantations in Louisiana. Later, he engaged largely in the breeding of fine stock. In 1883, he imported from Scotland a herd of Angus cattle and from this importation and additions thereto came the famous Angus herd of Wallace Estill, on exhibition at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. This herd won over $4,000, making the best showing of any herd of beef cattle. Also, he won prizes and money at the 1904 St. Louis Fair.
The large estate also included the famous Burckhart salt spring, where in 1812 Nicholas Burckhart employed over a hundred men in the manufacture of salt. In 1865 soon after the close of the civil war, Col. Estill became a director in the old Tebo Neosho Railroad, planned to run from Sedalia to Hannibal, which subsequently became a part of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railway system (called the Katy Line). Later, a railroad ran from Franklin on the Missouri river to Hannibal through Estill's property. The railroad established a station and called it Estill.
He was always aware of and had a keen interest in the cause of education. When the orphan's school was moved from Camden Point to Fulton he interested himself in its welfare, becoming one of its foremost promoters and benefactors. He and his wife both gave scholarships to this institution, and assisted it in numerous other ways. For many years, he was a member of the Board of Curators of the Missouri State University at Columbia. He and James S. Rollins, the president were close friends, and visited each other’s homes. James S. Rollins was born in Madison County, Ky., to Dr. Anthony Rollins and Sarah Harris. James S. Rollins played a important part in the start up of Missouri University as he was in the legislature from Boone County, Mo., he also was a state senator and was a member of Congress during the Civil War.
He was identified with various other institutions, among which was the Farmers Bank at Fayette, and the Franklin Bank at Franklin, Mo., in which he served as director for many years. Though at no time a resident of Kansas City, he possessed a large amount of valuable property in that city.
Col. Estill was in many ways a remarkable man. In the first place, he was recognized as the qualities which endeared him so closely to the young was his desire to help young men help themselves. His numerous benefactions were performed in the most modest manner, and rarely, if ever, did he find his confidence misplaced.
James Robert Estill died March 11, 1900, in Estill, Howard County, Mo. He was buried in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery near the old homeplace. Mary Ann Estill died March 20, 1900, nine days later. She is buried in the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery on Highway 5 south of Estill, Mo., near the old homeplace.
I would like to acknowledge the following sources in support of this article:
State Historical Society of Missouri, the National Park Service, the Ancestry.com Community, Harold Kerr, Howard County Mo. Genealogical Society, the Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri, edited by Howard Louis Conrad and David Green, Madison County Court Records.”
