Mr. Hamner came to Atlas without a dollar, bringing a tent with him and living in it in Jockey Hollow in Atlas township through the greater part of one summer. He is truly a self-made man, acquiring his possessions entirely through his own efforts. At the present time he is enjoying a creditable and gratifying measure of prosperity, having become the owner of a good tract of land, which he has placed under a high state of cultivation, so that he annually harvests good crops that bring him a very desirable financial return. He has not allowed himself to become discouraged and disheartened by any obstacles or difficulties in his path, but has regarded such as an impetus for renewed effort; and his indefatigable energy has been one of the strongest features in his success. In politics he has ever been a stalwart republican, and fraternally he is connected with the Modern Woodmen of America. He now has a large acquaintance in Pike county; and no man is more deserving of representation in this volume, among its representative citizens, than Henry Jasper Hamner. J. H. BILLINGS Of the younger men who have won prominence in Pike county by reason of superior business ability, none are more
deserving of mention in this volume than J. H. Billings, a capitalist of Rockport, who from a humble financial
position has worked his way steadily upward, his business careen being such as any man might be proud to possess.
Characterized by strict adherence to the rules which govern unfaltering industry and unabating energy, he has so
utilized his opportunities that he stands today among the most successful business men of the western part of Pike
county. He was born in Atlas township, near Rockport, on the 28th of February, 1864, and is a son of Samuel and
Fannie (Bowman) Billings. The father was a native of Scott county, Illinois, and became a prominent farmer of pike
county. In 1884 he removed to Dutch creek, where he died in 1893, his remains being interred in the Taylor cemetery,
about four miles from Rockport. His wife survived until March 13, 1903, and died in Louisiana, Missouri, after
which her remains were brought back to Pike county for burial by the side of her husband in Taylor cemetery. |