Johnson County MO

Biography of Marion Francis Mulkey

Marion Francis Mulkey was born in Johnson county, Missouri, November 14, 1836, and was a son of Johnson Mulkey. At the age of ten years he accompanied his parents across the plains to Oregon. The family settled on a donation claim in Benton county and here amid the scenes of the frontier the boyhood of our subject was passed. From his parents was instilled in him a desire for an education and after a brief experience in the log school house, under the tuition of such men as Senator J. H. Slater and Hon. Philip Ritz, he pursued higher studies … Read more

Biography of Hal R. Coleman

Hal R. Coleman, attorney at law with offices in the Central National Bank building in St. Louis, was born in Warren county, Missouri, December 25, 1878, a son of the late Daniel T. Coleman, a native of Kentucky and a grandson of Jesse and Mary Ann (Trout) Coleman, who were likewise Kentuckians by birth. They came to Missouri in 1841 and here Jesse Coleman devoted his attention to farming and stock raising. He also served his country as a soldier in the Mexican war. The Coleman family comes of English and Scotch ancestry, the progenitor of the American branch being … Read more

Biography of William S. Norton

William S. Norton. Whatever their environment, men of true ability have the power to raise themselves above circumstances, and apparently handicaps and difficulties act only as a spur to increase effort and accomplishment. There are few Kansas whose careers better illustrate the truth of this assertion than that of William S. Norton, who is known so well in Cherokee County as a financier and business man. Mr. Norton could review by personal recollections practically every phase of life in Southwestern Missouri and Southeastern Kansas during the last half century. He was a Union soldier during the war and the keynote … Read more

Biography of James N. Dunbar, Hon.

Hon. James N. Dunbar. As lawyer, judge, farmer and stockraiser, Judge Dunbar has long been one of the prominent citizens of Cherokee County, and has taken an active and valuable part in local affairs. It was the confidence felt by the people in his judgment and integrity as well as his sterling reputation as a lawyer that brought about his election to the district bench, and his administration of that position has more than justified the expectations of those who supported him for the office. Though most of his life has been spent in this section of Kansas, Judge Dunbar … Read more

Biography of Charles S. Elliott

Charles S. Elliott. Some of Topeka’s most valuable citizenship had been furnished by the Elliott family during the past forty years. One of them was the late George N. Elliott, who was prominent as a lawyer and at one time filled the office of probate judge in Shawnee County. Mr. Charles S. Elliott, son of Judge Elliott, was for some years connected with the work of the first State Railway Commission of Kansas as its secretary, had been active in business affairs at Topeka for many years, and only recently retired from the office of president of the Topeka Commercial … Read more

Biography of James Walter Gowans

James Walter Gowans, superintendent of the city schools of Winfield, is one of a trio of brothers all of whom are graduates of the University of Kansas and all capable school men in this state. Mr. Gowans is not only an educator but a thoroughly constructive administrator in educational affairs, and the public schools of Winfield have benefited much from his superintendence. Though a resident of Kansas nearly all his life, James Walter Gowans was born at Centerview, Missouri, September 21, 1877. He is of Scotch ancestry in the paternal line. His paternal grandparents, Walter and Elizabeth (Donnan) Gowans, were … Read more

Biography of W. J. Peak

W. J. Peak, physician, surgeon and druggist, Oakland; born in Warsaw, Gallatin Co., Ky., April 3, 1836, where he devoted his whole attention to his studies until he attained his majority, the last four years exclusively to the study of medicine, graduating from the St. Louis Medical College in the winter of 1860; he immediately commenced the practice of medicine at Warsaw, Ky., for a short time, when, in the spring of 1861, he located in Johnson Co., Mo.; during the summer, and in the fall of the same year, he went to Texas, where he was placed, from force … Read more

Biography of Chester C. Houston

Chester C. Houston. When he came to Elgin nearly twenty-five years ago Chester C. Houston still had his fortune to make, and he was first known among his fellow townsmen as a hard worker at any employment he took up, until he finally graduated into independent merchandising. He had made a success by studying the needs and demands of his customers and had built up the largest and only distinctive clothing store in the town. Mr. Houston was born at Orangeville, Cass County, Illinois, June 23, 1866, a son of W. T. and Sue C. (Gaines) Houston. In the maternal … Read more

Biography of William M. Malone

Among the enterprising, capable and successful business men who have contributed substantially to the material growth and prosperity of Vinita is numbered William M. Malone, who as manager of the Vinita Building & Loan Association has developed the largest financial institution in northeastern Oklahoma. He was the author of important legislation in this connection which has greatly promoted the success of the various associations of this character throughout the state and has become widely recognized as a leader in the field in which he is operating. Mr. Malone is a native of Ohio. He was born in Jackson County on … Read more

Biography of Webb Littlefield

Webb Littlefield, treasurer of the Guaranty Trust. Company of Muskogee, was born March 12; 1884, in Knobnoster, Missouri, a son of Charles B. and Theodosia (Webb) Littlefield, who were at one time residents of Kentucky and afterward established their home in Johnson county, Missouri. The father engaged in banking in Missouri for thirty years and in 1906 came to the Indian Territory, settling at Claremore. Webb Littlefield pursued a public school education in Missouri and afterward attended the Teachers’ College at Warrensburg, that state. He started out in the business world as a clerk in the employ of the National … Read more

Biography of Marion Francis Mulkey

MARION FRANCIS MULKEY.- This gentleman, the eldest son of Johnson Mulkey, and who took up, and conducted in the spirit, and to some extent in the method, the pioneer activities of his father, was born in Johnson county, Missouri, November 14, 1836. He was therefore but a boy of ten when, in 1847, he accompanied his father across the continent to Oregon. His, however, was one of those old heads on young shoulders; and so responsible was he, and so capable of affairs, that he was intrusted with the driving of oxen, and all work adapted to his strength, with … Read more

Biography of Col. Fidelio Sharp Jones

Col. Jones is the son of Col. Joseph and Matilda (Sewell) Jones, and was born in Tazewell, Claiborne county, Tennessee, July 19th, 1835. His father and mother were both Virginians, and the former was once colonel of militia in times of peace. Fidelio S. was the oldest of ten children, eight of whom lived to be grown. In 1837, his parents moved to Greene county, Missouri, locating at Springfield, where the subject of this sketch was reared and educated, and where both his parents died, the father in 1865, and the mother in 1881. In 1852 he began his business … Read more

Biography of James W. Reid

James W. Reid, assistant general attorney of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas Railway Company at Parsons, is one of Parsons’ young lawyers and a man of many brilliant qualifications and of rising reputation. He was born in Johnson County, Missouri, July 22, 1883. His ancestors came out of England and were early settlers in the State of Ohio. His father J. N. Reid was born in Ohio, and died at Xenia in that state in 1896. Most of his active career was spent in Missouri as a farmer, and he was also a traveling salesman for a number of years. … Read more

Biography of Raymond William Moore, M. D.

Raymond William Moore, M. D. Medicine embraces a vast field of knowledge and the successful physician must be a man of varied learning. Never at any time has the healing art demanded more in its practioners than at the present day and never has the profession given so fair an account of itself. Find the leading physician in a community and this acquaintance will indicate, with few exceptions, the man of most intellectual attainments, the keenest mind, the most progressive spirit. In this category stands Raymond William Moore, president of the Crawford County Medical Society, who since 1899 has been … Read more

Biography of Aaron Jacob Lesh

A. J. Lesh at different stages in his career had been a successful teacher, merchant, pharmacist, physician and oil refiner. He is now head of the Lesh Oil Refining Company of Arkansas City, and through his business energy and activities had contributed one of the most important local industries to this section of Southern Kansas. Mr. Lesh had been a resident of Kansas for over thirty years. For a man who had done so much on his own account it is natural that Mr. Lesh should take justifiable pride and interest in his line of worthy American ancestors. His lineage … Read more

Biography of Frank L. Ball

Frank L. Ball, M. D. A resident of Kansas nearly all his life, Dr. Frank L. Ball had for the past fifteen years been one of the leading physicians and surgeons of Cherokee County. His family were among the pioneer settlers of Southeastern Kansas, and the name had been closely identified with the agricultural development and with the civic and professional life of various communities. The Ball family is of Scotch-Irish descent. Originally they were Quakers, and it is said that the first of the name came to Pennsylvania with William Penn. Doctor Ball’s grandfather was Guy Ball, a native … Read more

Biography of Abraham Ellis

Abraham Ellis, for many years a resident of Miami County, was popularly known as “Bullet-Hole Ellis,” from the fact that for twenty-three years he carried a deep wound, almost in the center of his forehead, in which had originally been buried a bullet fired by the noted raider, William C. Quantrill. His recovery was one of the most remarkable in surgical annals, and the ball which inflicted the wound, as well as the twenty-seven pieces of froutal bone which were picked from his skull at the time, are among the remarkable exhibits displayed in the Army and Navy Medical Museum … Read more

Tyler, Annie Elizabeth – Obituary

Annie Elizabeth Tyler passed away Thursday, Dec. 18, 1941, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Frank J. Hambelton, where she had made her home during winter months for the past six years. Two and one half years ago Mrs. Tyler suffered a paralytic stroke, which resulted in her death. Her funeral was held in the Booth chapel Saturday morning, with Rev. O. M. Adams of the community church officiating. Annie Elizabeth Conley was born in Warrensburg, Mo., Feb. 10, 1862. On September 30, 1877, she was married to Henry Francis Tyler at West point, Mo. They came to Wallowa … 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.