Benjamin Franklin Pugh was born on January 31, 1842, in Daviess County, Missouri. He grew up on a farm and received education from local schools. Pugh enlisted in John McNeill’s company in 1861 and later served in the Enrolled State Militia. He married Abigail Mills on October 11, 1865, with whom he had two children, Miles O. and Charles H. Pugh has been a successful farmer throughout his life.
E. J. Phillips was born on May 18, 1831, in Chesterfield County, Virginia. He learned carpentry and worked in various trades before settling into farming after moving to Missouri in 1852. He acquired a 200-acre farm in Platte County by 1877. Phillips married Eupha Beim in 1854, with whom he had eleven children, six surviving him. After her passing in 1877, he remarried Cora A. Bowen in 1881.
William N. Nickell, born December 27, 1838, in Monroe County, West Virginia, was the son of John A. and Mary J. Nickell. He received his early education in Virginia and attended Washington College. Enlisting as a private in the Confederate Army in 1861, he rose to sergeant-major and fought in several key battles. After the war, he farmed and pursued ministry in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, being ordained in 1875. He married Sue P. Wicklin in 1864, and they had five children.
George K. Nickell was born on January 3, 1816, in the county where he was raised on a farm. His parents were Robert Nickell from Virginia and Ann Kemp from Maryland. He educated himself in local schools and pursued a career in farming, operating a threshing machine for eighteen years. In 1861, he worked as a teamster on the plains until 1865. Nickell married Angeline Goodbar on April 9, 1869, and they had two children, Orestis and William N.
Wilburn K. Nation was born on July 1, 1817, near Lexington, Kentucky. His family relocated to Tennessee and then to Missouri, where he participated in significant historical events, including the expulsion of Mormons and the battle at Honns Mill. He married Nancy Tarwater on November 8, 1841, who hailed from an early settler family in Daviess County. Together, they had eleven children, and Mr. Nation dedicated his life to farming.
Simon P. Miller, born January 4, 1851, on his family’s farm, is the son of Henry and Martha Miller, who settled in the county in 1839. Educated in local schools, he has dedicated his life to farming. On January 2, 1876, he married Eliza Long, and they had two children: James K. and Mattie. Six of his twelve siblings are still living, and the family is actively involved in the Baptist Church.
John M. Miller was born on May 31, 1834, in Greenbrier County, West Virginia, and was raised there after his family moved from Virginia. He ventured to California twice in 1859 and 1860 before serving in the Enrolled State Militia during the Civil War. A farmer by trade, he married Elizabeth C. Foster in 1863, with whom he had six children. After her passing in 1877, he married Mary A. Goodbar in 1879, and they had one child together.
A. H. McLure, born on May 14, 1838, in Clinton County, Indiana, was raised on a farm after his family relocated to Howard County and then Warren County, Iowa. He served as a bugler in the First Regiment Iowa Cavalry during the Civil War, participating in several notable battles. Following his discharge, he returned to Iowa and moved to a new county in 1868. McLure married Martha J. Rogers in 1866 and they had five children together.
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.
John M. Hunter was born in Montgomery County, Indiana, on May 2, 1842. Orphaned at five, he lived with guardians until adulthood. He moved to Iowa in 1857 and enlisted in the Sixth Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, participating in key battles and sustaining a foot injury. Hunter reenlisted in 1863, serving with Sherman until the war’s end. After the war, he became a farmer, marrying Martha A. Wiles in 1869 and raising six children together.
Frank M. Harris, born on January 7, 1843, in Marshall County, West Virginia, was the son of John and Drusilla Harris. He received a basic education and learned carpentry from his father but primarily pursued farming after moving to his current county in 1877. He married Eliza A. Wilson on November 30, 1865, and together they had four children, two of whom, John A. and Lydia A., are deceased.
Joseph D. Feurt was born on August 15, 1817, in Scioto County, Ohio. He trained as a blacksmith at seventeen and established the first blacksmith shop in Daviess County in 1840. After four years, he purchased a farm in Grand River Township, balancing farming and blacksmithing until 1870. Feurt married Rachel Walls in 1842, with whom he had eleven children. Following Rachel’s death in 1862, he married Sarah Shuman in 1869 and later settled in Jameson.
Allen Conner was born on July 10, 1824, in Greene County, West Virginia. His parents were William and Mary Conner, both from Virginia. Educated in local schools, he initially worked as a millwright before transitioning to carpentry and cabinet-making. In 1851, he migrated to a new county, where he purchased a 200-acre farm. He married Margaret Warren in 1850, with whom he had three children, but she died in 1859. He remarried Martha M. McClung in 1860.
Joseph Caraway, born on October 18, 1811, in Greenbrier County, Virginia, moved to Illinois in 1837 and settled in his current county in 1839. He became a successful farmer and married Mary Kipers in 1840, with whom he had eight children; she passed away in 1864. Caraway remarried Rebecca McNeel in 1866, and they had two children together. He has lived in the same location since his arrival, only upgrading from his original log cabin to a new home.
George P. Allen was born on July 30, 1821, in Botetourt County, Virginia. He pursued civil engineering and worked as a surveyor, with early involvement in mercantile activities. In 1854, he moved to Daviess County, Missouri, where he served as county surveyor from 1856 to 1861. During the Civil War, he volunteered for the Confederate army and was captured in 1861. Post-war, he returned to Daviess County and continued his role as county surveyor. He married Sarah A. Miller in 1847 and had four children.
Abraham Reed was born on June 6, 1814, in Washington County, Pennsylvania. Orphaned at seven, he started learning the blacksmith trade at fourteen, working for five years. At twenty-three, he moved to Coshocton County, Ohio, then to Brown County, Illinois in 1863, finally settling in his current county in 1865, where he became a successful stock-raiser on his farm. In 1837, he married Eliza Sluser, with whom he had six children, two of whom died young.
Dr. R. H. Robertson, born on September 15, 1819, in Augusta County, Virginia, pursued his education at the University of Virginia and Richmond Medical College. He began his medical practice in 1842 in his home county and later moved to another county in 1857, with a brief period in Texas from 1861 to 1869. Married to Elizabeth A. Miller in 1839, they had nine children, seven of whom survived. In 1881, he was elected justice of the peace.
James Waugh was born on May 11, 1826, in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by John Bower and became a blacksmith, a trade he practiced for twenty years. In 1855, he moved to Iowa, settling in Jones County, and later relocated to his current county in 1857. Waugh balanced blacksmithing with farming before devoting himself entirely to agriculture, achieving notable success. He married Mary C. Hoffman on December 6, 1849.
Sanford Smith, born August 17, 1850, in Daviess County, is the son of Rev. Benjamin F. Smith, an early settler. Raised on a farm, he received his education locally and became a successful farmer. He married Carrie Netherton on November 16, 1876, who passed away in 1879, and later wed Jennie Warner on January 16, 1881. Williams’ personal and professional life reflects his deep roots in the county and commitment to agriculture.