Biography of James Sidney Rollins

James Sidney Rollins, lawyer and statesman, distinguished for extraordinary public services, was born April 19, 1812, at Richmond, Kentucky, and died at Columbia, Missouri, January 9, 1888, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. His parents were Anthony Wayne and Sallie Harris (Rodes) Rollins. The father was a native of Pennsylvania, a graduate of Jefferson College in that state and an eminent physician. He was a son of Henry Rollins, who was born in County Tyrone, Ireland, emigrated to America during the Revolutionary war, enlisted in the Continental army and fought in the battle of Brandywine. The mother, a lady … Read more

Biography of Dudley R. Dickey, M. D.

Dudley R. Dickey, M. D., is a California pioneer of 1850, and the longest in the medical practice of all physicians in San Bernardino County. He is a Buckeye by nativity, born in Washington County, Ohio, January 11, 1829. His paternal grandfather, who had been a soldier in the Revolutionary war, settled in Athens County in that State soon after the birth of our republic, and there the Doctor’s father, Thomas Dickey, was born. He moved from Washington County and settled in Fairfield, Jefferson County, Iowa, in 1836, when that State was a part of Wisconsin Territory. Dr. Dickey was … Read more

Biography of Joseph C. Wilson

Joseph C. Wilson. Aside from the prominance which is his in the business world by reason of his position as sales manager for the Burroughs Adding Machine Company, at Topeka, Joseph C. Wilson had the distinction of belonging to a family which for three generations have been active in the business, civic and moral development of Kansas. The name had always stood for honorable and public-spirited citizenship and for participation in progressive movements, and Mr. Wilson is proving himself a worthy representative of this old and respected family. Mr. Wilson was born in the City of Topeka, Kansas, June 28, … Read more

Biographical Sketch of John Jacobs

John Jacobs, of Germany, came to America and settled in Virginia, where he married Sarah Crawford. Their children were David, John, Peter, William, Elizabeth C., and Susan H. William married Margaret A., daughter of Daniel McDaniel and Mary Anderson, who were natives of Edinburgh, Scotland. By her he had Charles A., George R., Mary, Anna, Sallie, Sophia, and Catharine H. Mr. Jacobs died in Virginia in 1828, and in 1831 his widow removed to Missouri and settled in Montgomery County, where she died in 1850. Charles, who was a wealthy merchant of New Orleans, died without marrying. George R., who … Read more

Biography of J. H. Stephens, Mrs.

Mrs. J. H. Stephens. As president of the City Federation of Women’s Clubs, an active factor in the Current Club and a member of the Carnegie Library Board, at Coffeyville, Mrs. J. H. Stephens occupies a prominent position in the social, civic and intellectual life that has made this city one of the centers of cultural interests in the state. Mrs. Stephens (Esther Logan) comes of an old colonial family of English origin. The Logans were pioneers in Kentucky, in which state Mrs. Stephens’ grandfather was born and died. Her father, G. H. Logan, was born in Somerset County, Kentucky, … Read more

Biography of Judge W. I. Wallace

JUDGE W. I. WALLACE. Biography should be written for the sake of its lessons; that men everywhere may place themselves in contact with facts and affairs, and build themselves up to and into a life of excellence, where they may keep and augment their individuality. For this reason a sketch of Judge W. I. Wallace is here given, his career having been both honorable and useful. He was born in the Green Mountains, Franklin County, Mass., December 25, 1840, his parents being Zebina and Lucinda (French) Wallace, who were of Scotch-Irish lineage. The Wallaces trace their genealogical ancestry back to … Read more

Biography of John W. Jacks

The value of the local newspaper in the upbuilding of the best interests of any community is universally conceded. The rule is that good papers are found in good towns, inferior journals in towns of stunted growth and uncertain future. It is not so much a matter of size as excellence and of adaptability to the needs of its locality. These conditions given, in an appreciative and progressive community, the size of the paper will take care of itself in a way mutually satisfactory to publishers and patrons. Montgomery City is fortunate in having the Standard as its local instrument. … Read more

Biography of Col. Walter Crockett, Sr.

COL. WALTER CROCKETT, SR. – The lineal representatives of many of the distinguished families of the Atlantic states have become the builders of our own communities. Such was Colonel Crockett, who was in the line of the old Virginia family that went out West to settle in the early days of Braddock’s war. The father, Colonel Hugh, was of Norman-Irish descent, and earned his rank in the Revolutionary war. His mother, Rebecca Larton, was a Knickerbocker, born at Jersey City, New Jersey. It was near Shawsville on the upper Roanoke, whither the Colonel had gone to settle, that his son, … Read more

Biography of Ludwig O. Muench, M. D.

Dr. Ludwig O. Muench, a veteran of the World war, who as a member of the Medical Corps won his captaincy while in France, and who has done important hospital work in St. Louis in addition to his extensive private practice, was born in Washington, Missouri, June 16, 1890, a son of Dr. Otto L. Muench, also a native of Missouri, and a representative of one of the old families of this state. The paternal grandfather, Ludwig Muench, came from Gottingen, Germany, in 1848, making his way direct to this state, where he resided until his death. He was a … Read more

Missouri Atlases and Plat Books

Sample Missouri Plat Book closeup

198 online plat books and atlases organized by county and ordered by date for the State of Missouri. At the bottom of the page are two items that can help you use these documents in your genealogy research. The first is a blog post Plat Books Revealed: Mapping Generations of History and the second a video where Ben Clark explains what plat maps are used for, how to navigate them, and pulls out a few interesting stories from them.

Biography of George W. Haverstick, M. D.

Dr. George W. Haverstick, a physician and surgeon of St. Louis, was born in De Soto, Missouri, January 8, 1866. His father, the late William J. Haverstick, also a native of this state, was a son of George Washington Haverstick, while the latter’s father was a native of Switzerland and became one of the pioneer settlers of Missouri, where he took up his abode ere the admission of the state into the union. He became a resident of Jefferson county, being among the first to locate in De Soto. William J. Haverstick was reared and educated in De Soto and … Read more

Biography of Jefferson Beauregard Searcy

JEFFERSON BEAUREGARD SEARCY, county clerk of Shannon County, and one of the most popular officials of the county, is a product of Boone County, Missouri, born December 30, 1858, and the son of George N. and Amanda J. (Cochram) Searcy, both natives of Boone County, Missouri In this county the parents were married, and here passed the remainder of their days, dying when comparatively young people, the father in 1865, when thirty-three years of age, and the mother in 1868, when thirty years of age. The grandfather, Lemuel Searcy, was an early settler of Boone County, Missouri, from Kentucky. The … Read more

Biography of Archibald W. Turner

The subject of this sketch is one of Malheur County’s heaviest property owners, having an estate of eleven hundred and sixty acres of fine soil and very valuable as a hay producer. He is one of the prominent men of the country, a man of fine capabilities, and highly respected and esteemed by all. Mr. Turner was born in Boone County, Missouri, on February 1, 1827, being the son of James and Sarah Turner. He was reared on a farm, gained his education in the primitive log school house of the time and at the native place on October 7, … Read more

Biography of John Owen Bradshaw, M. D.

Dr. John Owen Bradshaw, a man of high professional attainments, has been identified with the medical fraternity of Welch since 1913, and although he engages in general practice he devotes the greater part of his attention to the treatment of diseases pertaining to the eye, ear, nose and throat, in which he has become recognized as an authority. A native of Missouri, he was born in Lebanon county on the 9th of January, 1875 and his parents were Silas R. and Mary (Bradshaw) Bradshaw, the former a native of Kentucky. The mother’s birth occurred in Lebanon County, Missouri, and although … Read more

Biography of Lewis A. Markham

Lewis A. Markham was a physician by profession, but the services by which he will be longest remembered in Kansas as elsewhere were those he rendered as a devoted minister of the gospel. He spent his last years at Baldwin City, where the family have been prominent for over a quarter of a century. Doctor Markham practiced medicine for six years in Ohio, part of the time in Akron and part of the time at Massillon. He was married at Akron, September 19, 1858, to Sarah Wirt. Sarah Wirt was of a family of pioneers. Her father was born at … Read more

Biography of Orphred H. Brooks, Jr.

Orphred H. Brooks, Jr., the president of the O. H. Brooks Realty Company, was born in Montgomery City, Missouri, March 7, 1875. His father, Orphred H. Brooks, Sr., who is engaged in the contracting and building business in St. Louis, is a native of the state of New York and in 1867 came from Niagara Falls to Missouri, settling in Montgomery City. There he conducted a farm machinery agency and also handled real estate. He likewise engaged in vehicle manufacturing and maintained a retail business at Montgomery City for thirty years before removing to St. Louis in 1901. Since taking … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James Rodgers

James Rodgers of Pennsylvania, settled in Nelson Co. Ky., where he raised a large family of children, and gave each of them a Bible. Presley Rodgers, his son, married Elizabeth Folay, of Kentucky, by whom he had Matha A., Mary E., James. John. Plicehe, Felix G , Elizabeth E., Nancy, Jitlia A.. Fernesia, and America. Mr. Rodgers came to Missouri in 1831, and settled in Howard County, afterward in Boone, then in Saline and finally in Montgomery. He was a blacksmith, and worked at his trade until his death, which occurred in December, 1863. He built the first blacksmith shop … Read more

Biography of Henry Jackson Waters

Henry Jackson Waters, president of the Kansas State Agricultural College at Manhattan since 1909, is a leader in that group of men who have served to elevate and dignify the science of agriculture. His work and influence are of growing value every passing year. His reputation is by no means confined to Kansas and Missouri, the states in which most of his work had been done. The agricultural journals and writers all over the country are coming to pay special attention and respect to any movement or experiment with which the name Henry Jackson Waters is in any way associated. … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Ezekiel McCarty

Ezekiel and Ira McCarty were sons of James McCarty and Jane Harding, of Virginia. They settled in Clark County, Kentucky, in 1806, where they lived and died. They had twelve sisters, all of whom married and settled in Kentucky. Ezekiel was a soldier of the war of 1812, and was in the battle known as Dudley’s Defeat. He married Elizabeth Sidebottom of Kentucky. Their children were Shelton A., Eli, James, Sally, George W., John W., Joseph K., and Alfred S. Mr. McCarty removed to Missouri and settled in Danville in 1836. He died in 1866, and his wife in 1873. … Read more

Biography of Abner E. Callaway

The old adage that ‘”truth is stranger than fiction” finds exemplification in the annals of the northwest. The most marvelous characters of the novelist cannot exceed in courage and daring the hardy pioneers who have opened up this vast region to the advance of civilization. Traveling across the hot, arid, sandy plains, climbing the steep mountains, threading their way through dense forests of towering trees, they came to this land of the “silent, sullen people,” whose hostility made existence most uncertain, and here they have established homes, churches and schools, developed the rich agricultural and mineral resources of the country … Read more