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John E. Lynch, president
of the Bank of Moberly, and United States
marshal for the Eastern
District of Missouri, has had an unusual and
successful career. Mr.
Lynch was born in Randolph County, just nort
of Huntsville, Jan. 11,
1858, and is a son of Patrick and Amanda (Stevens)
Lynch.
Patrick Lynch was a native
of County Carlow, Ireland, and was
born in 1818. He came to
America in 1848, and the same year settled
in Randolph County near
Roanoke, and a few years later, he removed
to a farm north of
Huntsville. Here he resided until 1860, when he
came to the vicinity of
what is now the city of Moberly, and during
the Civil War he cultivated
a portion of the present site of Moberly,
and lived at what was
known as old Allen, and after the war when
the railroad was being built
the railroad company offered Mr. Lynch
and others an amount of
land in Moberly equal to that which they owned
at old Allen. Mr. Lynch
was the first to accept the proposition and
moved his residence to
Moberly. The original town site of Moberly con-
sisted of 40 acres of land,
and was bounded on the east by Morley
street, on the south by
Wightman street, on the west by the alley be-
tween Clark and Williams
street, and on the north by Union avenue.
Mr. Lynch's house was
located on block No. 12, and his barn was
located on block No. 7,
where the Merchants Hotel now stands. After
the Wabaash shops were
built, Patrick Lynch was employed by
that company, and spent
the remainder of his life in Moberly. He died
in 1883. 'Amanda
(Stevens) Lynch, wife of Patrick Lynch was
tive of Virginia. She died
at the age of 68 years, and her remains and
those of her husband are
buried in St. Johns cemetery.
The children born to
Patrick Lynch and wife are as follow: Thomas
Allen, was engineer on the
Southern Pacific Railroad, and was killed
in a wreck at Centralia,
Wash.; Richard Moberly, died in infancy;John
E., the subject of this
sketch, and James C., Omaha, Neb.
John E. Lynch bears the
distinction of being the oldest living
resident of the city of
Moberly from the standpoint of continuous- Residence
here. He came here with
his parents when a child, and here grew
to manhood, and since
that time he has been closely identified with
the growth and
development• of this city in many ways. He received
his education in such
public schools as the town afforded in the early
days of its existence.
When a boy his first work was driving team at
the construction of the
Wabash shops here. He received $5.00 per week
for his labor. After that, he
worked in the shops for three years,and
then was a fireman for
three years. In 1880, he was elected Chief
of police of Moberly and
served in that capacity for three years.this
was an early day in the
history of Moberly, and like other new towns
of that epoch, the limited
police force found itself confronted frequently
by duties that were
difficult to perform. Mr. Lynch met all these
conditions and by his
courage and capabilities always succeeded in
maintaining law and order.
After having served three years as chief of
police, he was engaged by
the city to run the city fire engine for two
years, when he was re-
elected to the office of chief of police .and held
this position until 1894. He
was then appointed United States marshall
for the Eastern District of
Missouri by President Cleveland, and capa
bly discharged the duties
of that office for a period of four years At
the expiration of that time
Mr. Lynch began operating as a construc
tion contractor, and
specialized in paving and sewer construction,and
was successfully engaged
in this line of work until Aug. 15, 1914,when
he was appointed United
States marshal for the Eastern District of
Missouri by President
Wilson, and ~at the expiration of his four year
term in that office, he was
reappointed and holds that position at the
present time.
Mr. Lynch was elected
president of the Bank of Moberly in Febru
ary, 1916, and since that
time has held that position, and in the capacity
of chief executive officer
of this well known and substantial financial
institution, Mr. Lynch has
evinced the same keen foresight and clear
judgment that hss
characterized his successful career in other fields
of endeavor.
My Lynch was united in
marriage in 1882 with Miss Mary A. Hall
of Truesdale, Warren
County, Mo. She is a daughter of Denny and
Elizabeth Hall of that
county. To Mr. and Mrs. Lynch have been born
the following children:
George, chief deputy United States . marshal,
St. Louis, Mo.; John E Jr
of the Lynch-McDonald Construction Com-
pany, of Moberly; Nellie,
Grace, Frank, Lucille aud James Robert. The
latter served in the United
States navy during the World War.
Mr. Lynch is a Democrat
and for years has been active in the coun-
cils of his party in
Randolph County and. Missouri. He has served two
terms as a member of the
state legislature. He was a delegate to Demo-
cratic National Convention
at Baltimore, which nominated Woodrow Wil-
son for president, and is
recognized as one of the leading. Democrats
of the state. He has an
extensive acquaintance and many friends, not
only in Randolph County,
but throughout the state and country. |