Springfield-Greene
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of Many of the Representative Citizens
JOSEPH S. EAGLEBURGER. It is no very rare thing for a poor boy in our country to become a prosperous man and occupy a commanding position in the business world, but many who have fought their way from poverty to wealth, from obscurity to-prominence, retain some marks and scars of the conflict. They are apt to be narrow and grasping, even if not sordid and unscrupulous. Joseph S. Eagleburger, who for many years was one of the enterprising farmers of Greene county but now engaged in the grocery business in Springfield, although he did not come up from the ranks of the poverty stricken and has not reached the affluence of the rich, yet he has worked his way from a modest, beginning to a comfortable station in the world of affairs, being an instance of a man who has achieved success without paying the price at which it is so often bought. His success has not removed him further from his fellow men, but has brought him into nearer and more intimate relations with them, and although he has led a busy life, he has yet found time to devote to those interests which develop the intellectual and moral nature of man, living not to himself alone, but laboring, when necessary, to aid his fellow men.
Mr. Eagleburger was born March 1, 1853, in Noble county, Indiana. He is a son of John and Frances (Spencer) Eagleburger. The father was a native of Switzerland and the mother was born in Connecticut. The former grew to manhood in his native land and there attended school and learned the trade of shoemaker, which he followed until he emigrated to the United States, after which he followed general farming. He was married in Ohio. He finally removed about 1856 with his family to Story county, Iowa, where his death occurred about 1888. His widow survived some two years, dying in Greene county, Missouri, in 1890. They were the parents of the following children: William and Samuel are, deceased; James lives in Story county, Iowa; Margaret lives in Story county, Iowa; Isaac lives in Greene county, Missouri; Lucy lives in Moniteau county, Missouri; Joseph S., of this sketch; Susan lives in Washington; John is deceased.
Joseph S. Eagleburger received a common school education in Iowa, and he grew to manhood on the farm, and began life for himself as a farmer, which he followed with success up to six years ago. He remained in Iowa until the fall of 1873, then moved to northwestern Kansas and took up government land which he operated about twelve years, then moved back to Iowa, and in 1885 came to Greene county, Missouri, locating ten miles north of Springfield, buying fifty acres. As he prospered with advancing years he added to this until he became owner of two hundred and forty acres, all in Franklin township. He carried on general farming and stock, raising there until 1908, when he sold out and moved to Springfield and on July 20th of that year began in the grocery business at his present location, 2304 Springfield avenue, where he owns a substantial brick block and is conducting a thriving business under the firm name of Eagleburger & Son, carrying a large stock of staple and fancy groceries, feed and flour.
Mr. Eagleburger was married June 3, l882, in Kansas, to Mary Noel, who was born in Lee county, Illinois, April 23, 1859. She is a daughter of Mathias and Anna (Fredericks) Noel, who were natives of Prussia, emigrating to this country in their early years and locating in Lee county, Illinois, where they established the family home. Mrs. Eagleburger, wife of the subject of this sketch, was one of sixteen children, thirteen of whom still live in various sections of the United States.
Mrs. Eagleburger moved to Kansas shortly before her marriage. Her parents died in Illinois. She received a good education.
Ten children have been born to our subject and wife, seven of whom are still living, namely: Barbara, John (deceased), Frank, Charles, George, Ella, Maud, Bert, Lillian (deceased), and Blanche.
Politically, Mr. Eagleburger is a Democrat. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, including the
Encampment. He belongs to the Baptist church, in which he is a deacon and is active.
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