Benton Missouri

Biographical Sketch of E. B. Christie

E. B. Christie was born in Shelby county, Kentucky, March 10, 1851; son of J. B. and Letha Christie, nee Bohannon, both natives of Kentucky. His parents came to Missouri in 1853 and lived in Daviess county till 1862, then removed to Harrison county, where they still reside. Young Christie was a diligent student and at the age of eighteen qualified himself for teaching which calling he followed very successfully in Daviess and Harrison counties. He was the first teacher in Pattonsburg of which he is now mayor. On August 20th, 1876, he married Miss Marv E. Best, a native … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James A. Meadows

James A. Meadows, the subject of this sketch, is a descendant of one of the pioneer families of Daviess county. Over forty years ago his parents, John and Nancy Meadows, settled in the neighborhood known as the “Virginia Settlement.”‘ They reared a family of eight children: Mary E., Sylvester S., Joseph T., Martha B., Hudson C., James A., Susan P. and. William J. His father died in 1880; his mother is now living on the old homestead. James A. Meadows was born in Benton township, Daviess county, Missouri, February 26, 1843. He lived with his parents until May 24, 1863, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of David M. Smith

David M. Smith was born in Van Buren county, Iowa, October 10, 1840; son of John J. and Sarah Smith. His father is a native of Virginia, and his mother of Tennessee. His parents were married in Tennessee and moved to Kentucky, then to Illinois, and in the spring of 1840, to Jefferson county, Iowa. His mother died March 17, 1871; his father is still a resident of Wapello county, Iowa. Our subject was reared and educated in Jefferson county, Iowa, and there, May 2, 1861, married Miss Elizabeth Howard, a native of Pennsylvania, born April 15, 1841. Her parents … Read more

Biography of John W. Casebolt

John W. Casebolt was born in Fayette county, Ohio, December 29, 1819; a son of John and Prena Casebolt, nee Harrison. His father was a native of Greenbrier county, Virginia; and his mother of Kentucky; she was a first cousin to General Harrison. His parents came to Ohio at a very early day and were pioneers in Ross and Fayette counties. His father died when the subject of our sketch was but an infant, and his mother died 1868. At the age of four-teen years, John W. Casebolt left his native State and went to Fountain county, Indiana, and there … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Ward

William Ward was born in Clinton county, Missouri, December 8, 1844. He is a son of Rev. A. J. Ward, a minister in the Baptist Church and now laboring in this and adjoining counties. His father was a native of Kentucky, and his mother whose maiden name was Nancy. Sharp, was a native of Tennessee; she died when he was about ten years of age. At about the age of seventeen years he enlisted as a member of Company C, Eleventh Missouri Cavalry, and served about three years and was with the regiment in its many scouts and marches and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John Watson

John Watson was born in Lancashire, England, September 22, 1828. He was reared and educated in England and learned the engineer’s trade. In 1865 he came to America and settled at Nebraska City, Nebraska, remained three years, then moved to Peru, same State, where for two years he- was engaged in the saw-mill business. From there he went to Hamburg; Iowa, and entered the agricultural, implement, and flouring business, and was there burned out. In 1876 he located in Pattonsburg, and began anew the milling business, now being the owner of a flouring-mill and also a saw-mill, and is doing … Read more

Biography of N. G. Dillon

N. G. Dillon was born in Benton township, Daviess county, Missouri, January 27, 1845. His father, William Dillon, was born in Ohio, but removed to Illinois when quite young and in the year 1838 came to Missouri, and located about six -miles north of Pattonsburg: thus he stands entitled to the honor of being one of the first pioneers of Daviess county. His mother, Lydia Dillon, nee Poe, was born in Tennessee, but married William Dillon in Illinois, and shortly afterwards the young couple came to Missouri and located in this county and selected for themselves out of the then … Read more

Biographical Sketch of H. B. Best

H. B. Best was born in Howard county, Missouri, July 7, 1818; son of Humphrey and Catherine Best, nee Enyart. His father was a native of Maryland, and his mother of North Carolina. In 1816 his parents located in Howard county, Missouri, and afterwards lived in Carroll, Clay and Daviess counties. His father died in Grundy county, January 1, 1849. The subject of our sketch was reared on a farm and received most of his education in Clay county. At the age of eighteen he began working for himself, and March 26, 1845, permanently located in Benton township, and has … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Dr. F. E. Venable

F. E. Venable is a native of Prince Edward county, Virginia, born May 12, 1829; son of Samuel and Elizabeth Venable, nee Wright, both; natives of Virginia. When our subject was three years of age his parents moved to Missouri and located in Chariton county, where they lived for three years, and from there went to Livingston county, which was their home for six years, when they removed to Gallatin, this county. At an early age in life his father studied medicine but never practiced till he located in Livingston county; prior to that time he labored as a minister … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Mary A. Newcomb

Mary Ann Ross was born in Bedford county, Virginia, January 13, 1812. She deserves a prominent place among the pioneer women of Daviess county, for early in November, 1839, she and her husband landed and located upon the farm now occupied by them in Benton township. February 1, 1837, she was married to Philip R. Ellis, a native of Monroe county, Virginia, born August 23, 1815. After marriage they lived in Monroe county, Virginia, until 1839, then with one team and just enough to bring them through, they came to Missouri and settled as above mentioned, when this was but … Read more

Biography of John H. Moores

J.H. MOORES. – Among the immigrants who came to the Sate of Oregon in 1852 was Honorable John H. Moores, the subject of this sketch, who deserves more than passing mention for the service rendered by him to the commonwealth during an active business career in the state extending over a period of twenty-eight years. Among the older residents who played a prominent part in the earlier development of the state was his father, the late Colonel I.B. Moores, Sr., whose love of novelty and adventure brought him as one of the first pioneers to Oregon, where he located in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of W. T. Miller

W. T. Miller was born in Hawkins county, Tennessee, December 4, 1828. His parents Obadiah and Susan A. Miller, were early settlers of Missouri; his mother died May 5, 1876, and his father, May 25, 1878. When twenty-one years of age he began by renting a small piece of land, was industrious and saving, and in 1853 was able to buy forty acres of raw land. He has kept steadily increasing his possessions until he now owns over four hundred acres of highly improved land. On June 23d, 1853, he was married to Miss Charity W. Nance, a native of … Read more

Biography of Rev. Robert R. Witten

Rev. Robert R. Witten is one of the pioneers of the Methodist Church in Missouri. He was born October 8, 1831, in McMinn county, Tennessee, and is a son of Rev. James Witten, who was born in Tazewell county, Virginia, January 5, 1793. The parents of Rev. James Witten with their family, moved to Sequatchie Valley, Tennessee, James then being sixteen years of age and the oldest of the family, and his father being quite feeble, nearly all the work of opening up a new farm in a heavily timbered country devolved upon him; he never attended school to exceed … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Charles E. Hill

Charles E. Hill is a native of Wisconsin, and was born on the 21st of December, 1854. His father, Alonzo Hill, is a native of Vermont, and his mother, Caroline Hill, nee Rhimes, was born in the State of New York. Mr. Hill came to Daviess county and has long made his home in Pattonsburg, and is one who by his uprightness and integrity, perseverance and industry, has won for himself an honorable place among his fellow-citizens, and that, too, almost by his own unaided exertions. He does not court popularity but wins it by honest toil and deserving merit, … Read more