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That success along agricultural lines is not confined to man alone is evident in the attainment along that line which has been achieved by Mrs. Harriet Hargrave, who owns a valuable farm of eighty acres on section 18, township 58, range 24, Livingston county. A descendant of early and sturdy pioneer stock, Mrs. Hargrave was born in this county on October 12, 1837, and is a daughter of John and Sarah (Boucher) Cooper, both of whom have passed away. The father was one of the very earliest pioneers in this section, to which he came in 1825 from Tennessee. Mrs. Hargrave was brought up under the parental roof under the guidance of father and mother and received such education as was available at the time in the public schools of Jackson township, laying aside her text-books at the age of sixteen years. She then assisted in the household and the farm work such as falls to the lot of women, and remained at home for four years, after which period she married Dowell Kirk, an agriculturist of Jackson township. Of this union were born two children, Georgiana, the wife of John Kesler, of Kansas City, Missouri; and Elizabeth, who married Moses Fifield, a farmer of Linn county, Missouri. Her first husband having passed away, she subsequently married Lemuel Hargrave, also a resident of Jackson township, and by him became the mother of five children of whom James and Mollie, twins, died in infancy. Of the others, Emma became the wife of Arthur Dunbar, a professor of Omaha, Nebraska. Mrs. Dunbar died December 10, 1908, finding her last resting place in Sampsell township and the only child born of this marriage passed away in 1901 about seven years before the death of the mother and rests beside her. Susie, another daughter, remains at home with her mother and Calestine became the wife of William A. Sparks, a resident of Clay Center, Kansas. Mr. Hargrave has also gone to his final rest.

Since taking charge of her property Mrs. Hargrave has made many improvements thereon and erected a residence, which was the home of her children, and such other farm buildings as she considered necessary to a profitable cultivation of the farm. Dividing her time and attention between the rearing of her children and her duties on the farm she has succeeded in both and has carried high commendation from her friends and neighbors for her courage and undaunted spirit which carried her to success. Although over seventy-five years of age, Mrs. Hargrave is still active in the management of the property, being venerated by all who knew her as one of the most honored women of Livingston county, having earned the high place that is given her, by leading a life consistent in Christianity, rich in labor and also rich in attainment.

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