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Asa Brockman, biographical sketch
Includes information about his parents, Joseph Embree and Mary Jane (Culbertson) Brockman, his grandparents, Stephen and Elizabeth Brockman, his siblings, his wife, their children and their spouses.
Asa Brockman. Possessing a farm in township 51, range 28, Ray County, adapted to the growing of grain and the raising of stock, our subject pursues both departments of agriculture with assiduity and success. His position in the community is one of prominence and he is held in esteem by all who know him. He was born in Clark County, Ky., April 19, 1826, and is the son of Joseph E. and Mary. (Culbertson) Brockman. His parents were natives of Kentucky, the father botn June 1, 1805, and the mother March 20, 1801.
The father of our subject (Joseph) was educated in the district common school and remained with his parents until his marriage, which occurred when he was but eighteen years of age. Afterward, he rented land for one year, and then removed to Howard County, Mo., where he raised one crop. In the year 1828, he came to Ray County, Mo., and bought the farm now occupied by our subject, consisting of one hundred and sixty-five acres. The country was new, he being one of the first settlers, and his farm was heavily timbered with white oak and walnut, in which deer, turkeys and bears were plentiful. He drove hither across the country with horse teams. His first home was built of logs and was roofed with boards weighted with poles, while the door was of puncheon.The children of his marriage, eight in number, were: Asa, our subject; Milton, Clifton, Harmon F.: Israel, who died in early manhood and three who died young. He and his wife were devoted members of the Christian Church. The principals of the Whig party were very dear to him and he was an enthusiastic follower of Henry Clay. His parents were Stephen and Elizabeth Brockman, natives of Virginia, who settled in Kentucky at an early day.
Being but a child when he (Asa) came to the wilderness, the educational advantages of our subject were very limited. The primitive schoolhouse in which he gained a rudimentary education was constructed of logs, with a log cut out of the whole length of the side for a window. A log split in two, with sticks for uprights, answered for seats and desks. The teachers of those early days were not as thoroughly trained for their work as those of the present time, and "licken' went along with "larnin'."
Our subject left his parents for the first time in 1849, when he went to California, making the journey with an ox-team in company with seven others. The party was on the road from April 10 to August 20, when they arrived at Sacramento. The hardships endured in the journey were many, but were bravely borne. Our subject began work in the Golden State by chopping wood at $8 per cord, and soon thereafter went into the mines, where he remained a few months. Later, he proceeded to the Sonomas Valley, where he worked at fencing for a large land company.
In the spring of 1850, Mr. Brockman returned to the mines and there made sometimes as much as $100 a day with the pan. In a few months he went back to the valley and worked for $100 a month, after which he took a trip to the mountains as a hunter of deer and elk. In 1851, he returned home by way of the ocean, and upon resuming his former occupation purchased his father's farm. Previous to this, in 1850, his parents went with him to California, where they resided until their death, the mother passing away in 1888, the father in 1890.
Our subject remained in the East after his return in 1851. In 1852, he married Sarah F., daughter of Ballard and Nancy (Jackson) Hudgens, a native of Ray County, Mo., here parents being natives of Kentucky. The children of this marriage were ten, two of who died when young: John C. married Mary Rush; Harvey M. married Hattie Keller; Nancy J. is the wife of Joseph Rosell; James A. married Maud Jones; Lou Isabell is the wife of Joseph A. Brown; Sarah A., deceased, was the wife of Luther Phillips; and Asa B. married Ida Smithey. Mr. Brockman and his wife are earnest and active members of the Christian Church. In politics, he is a Democrat, voting and working with that party. In 1861, he entered the Union army, enlisting in Company E, Fifty-first Enrolled Missouri Militia, under Col. Barr, and was in the battle of Glasgow, where he was captured, but fortunately remained a prisoner only a short time. Soon afterward he was paroled and discharged. Returning home, he resumed the duties connected with the management of his well-appointed farm of two hundred and eighty-seven acres, upon which he carried on general farming and stock-raising.
| Owner/Source | Portrait and biographical record of Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton, and Linn counties, Missouri |
| Linked to | Portrait and biographical record of Clay, Ray, Carroll, Chariton, and Linn Counties, Missouri; Asa Brockman; Clifton Brockman; Hannah Brockman; Harmon Foster Brockman; Israel Emory Brockman; Joseph Embree Brockman; Milton Brockman; Stephen Brockman; Mary Jane Culbertson; Elizabeth Embree |
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