Benton Miller was born on December 26, 1838, in Sardis, Ohio. He moved to Missouri in 1855 and served in the First Missouri Cavalry Militia during the Civil War, achieving the rank of first lieutenant. Post-war, he engaged in general merchandising in Gallatin and contributed to the community as a tax collector and supporter of local enterprises. He married Mattie A. Robinson in 1866 and they had three children: Norman B., Virgil G., and Ida B., all born in Gallatin.
I. B. Gurney, born on April 10, 1845, in Ohio, grew up on a farm in Lake County after his family moved there. He received his education in local schools and attended Berea College. He began his career in the oil industry in Pennsylvania before relocating to Missouri, where he managed a drug and grocery store. Gurney served as a mail agent on the North Missouri Railroad for three years, later returning to farming and teaching. He married twice and had one son.
Robert Carter was born on February 28, 1822, in Holmes County, Ohio. He grew up there before moving to Daviess County with his family, where he began farming at nineteen. During the Civil War, he served in the State Militia and later returned to Colfax Township, where he managed a 247-acre farm. He married Sarah J. Kier on October 5, 1843, and they had ten children, including James A., John, and Martha.
Lewis Evans was born in December 1834 in Watertown, New York. He spent his early years on his family’s farm before moving to Minnesota in 1854, where he worked for nearly two years. After returning to Jefferson County and subsequently relocating to Daviess County, he settled and continued farming. Evans married Adaline Paddock on February 22, 1866, and they had two children, Leona B. and George.
Thomas J. Wood, born on March 15, 1836, in Fountain County, Indiana, spent most of his life in Daviess County, Missouri, where his family settled in 1839. Enrolling in the State Militia in 1862, he served two years in the home guards. A dedicated farmer, he resides on an improved farm near Winston. In 1869, he married Emily J. Ray, with whom he had six children, five of whom survived: Ida, Susan, Joseph, Josephine, and Benjamin.
Dudley Malcolm Clagett, M.D., was born on March 24, 1846, in Natchez, Mississippi. He moved to St. Louis at age ten, graduating from high school in 1865. After studying medicine with Dr. G. O. Hardeman, he graduated from St. Louis Medical College in 1872. Clagett settled in Victoria, Missouri, before establishing his practice in Winston in 1875. He married Mary A. Wood and had one surviving child, Oscar F. He also served as Daviess County coroner and was a member of the local Odd Fellows lodge.
Henry G. Deering was born on August 11, 1826, near Grayson, Kentucky. He moved with his family to West Virginia, then back to Kentucky, and later to Ohio, before settling in Daviess County in 1848. A farmer by trade, he married Melinda M. Hanna in 1850 and had twelve children, nine of whom survived. Their children include John B., James W., William E., Sanford B., Martha F., Ida M., Henry E., Albert D., and Margaret B., born as twins.
Frederick Converse Eastman, M.D., was born on December 28, 1842, in Ontario, Canada. Following his father’s death, he worked as a clerk and pursued education at Gilsonburg Academy. Eastman began studying medicine in 1861 and graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1865. He established a successful medical practice in Alto Vista, Iowa, before moving to Winston in 1878. Married in 1877 to Carrie F. King, they had three children, all of whom died. He was active in his community and church.
Michael W. Young, born on August 17, 1831, in Europe, immigrated to the United States with his German parents at age four, settling in Stark County, Ohio. After his mother’s death, he worked for his education until he began farming. Young married Sarah Koons in 1858 and moved to various locations, including Will County, Illinois, and Daviess County, Missouri, where he engaged in farming and brick-making. The couple had eight children, and Young was an active member of the I.O.O.F. throughout his life.
Thomas John Jefferies was born on November 9, 1841, in Somersetshire, England. At the age of eight, he left home to pursue a new life in the United States, arriving in New York City in 1849. He was taken in by a farmer, Reuben Reynolds, and lived with him until 1870. Jefferies studied at Knox College and later pursued a career as a station agent for the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad. He married Helen Orr in 1877 and was active in local organizations and government.
Henry C. Kelso, born on December 13, 1846, in Daviess County, Missouri, was the son of New Jersey farmer E. C. Kelso. He received his education at home and began his career at nineteen. After a year of travel, he worked in a drug store in Hamilton before returning to Daviess County to pursue farming. In 1873, he married Virginia A. Ray, and they had two daughters, Leah and Anna D., the latter of whom passed away at a young age.
A. J. Kemberling, born on March 24, 1828, in Union County, Pennsylvania, was engaged in farming and education until the age of twenty-one. He moved to Seneca County, Ohio, in 1849, farming there for twelve years before relocating to St. Joseph County, Michigan, for nine years. Kemberling later settled in Daviess County, purchasing a farm in Colfax Township before managing a hotel in Winston. He married Rebecca Oldt in 1850, and they had four children; she passed away in 1880.
Joseph Henry Mallory was born on March 22, 1844, near present-day Winston. Orphaned shortly after birth, he was raised by a relative and received limited formal education. At nineteen, he married Matilda Man-ring and began farming before establishing a successful business in stock and grain shipping in Winston. Mallory’s operations average 200 car-loads annually. He and Matilda had three children—Roxey, Amanda, and Leona—and he is affiliated with Winston Lodge No. 370, I.O.O.F.
John Milton Bickel was born on December 18, 1847, in Elkhart, Indiana. After his mother’s death, he lived with his grandparents until reuniting with his father. He was educated in South Bend and Goshen and began teaching at eighteen. In 1871, he settled in Daviess County, initially farming before entering the implement business. He later returned to teaching and worked in sales. Married to Hettie Fry on March 18, 1869, they had four children and were active in their church and local fraternal organization.
Frank B. H. Brown was born on April 14, 1836, in Canada. He began his career in clerking before moving to Minnesota, where he farmed and entered the livery business. Brown married Elizabeth Caslor in 1858 and served in the Civil War as part of the Minnesota Volunteer Cavalry from 1862 to 1865. After the war, he farmed in Missouri before transitioning to a drugstore owner in Winston. Brown had two marriages and is the father of seven children.
Samuel Stecker was born on August 18, 1841, in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. After working on farms in Illinois and Michigan, he enlisted in the Twenty-fifth Michigan Volunteer Infantry in 1862 but was wounded and discharged in 1865. He returned to farming before moving to Missouri, where he worked in carpentry after settling in Winston. Stecker married Fannie Fleicher in 1870 and held public office as constable and street commissioner in Winston. He is also a member of the local Masonic lodge.