Daviess County OH

Biography of Major Joseph H. McGee

Joseph H. McGee, born on July 6, 1821, in Clermont County, Ohio, came from a lineage of Irish immigrants. After moving to Missouri in 1837, he pursued a tailoring career and transitioned into public service, becoming county clerk for multiple terms. He served as a captain and later major during the Civil War. Post-war, McGee held various political offices, including state register of lands and common pleas judge. A man of strong convictions, he shifted from his early Democratic beliefs to support the Republican Party during the Civil War.

Biographical Sketch of John H. Kemp

John H. Kemp was born on June 24, 1847, in Daviess County, Indiana, to John and Ellen Kemp, who settled there in 1838. He was one of six children. After his father’s death in 1865, Kemp continued to live on the family homestead with his mother. He married Amelia J. Brown on November 22, 1877, but she died in May 1879, shortly after giving birth to their daughter, Etna, on April 29, 1879.