Biography of John Hornbeak

Success in business life is a guerdon that is very cautiously bestowed upon a person by the goddess, who in a measure guides, and invariably decorates, man’s efforts. And this same success is far more apt to come because of the pursuer’s genius or adaptability for his calling, than from any mere luck, ambition, push or demand. There are favorable opportunities in men’s lives, which, if taken advantage of, will take them far along the road toward the consummation of their ideals, and, too, there are those who have a strange intuition of that time and avail themselves of it. … Read more

Woodyard, James A. – Obituary

J. A. Woodyard Is Laid To Rest A Minister and Servant of God Has Been Called to His Reward Elder J. A. Woodyard died at the home of his son-in-law in North Kittitas precinct twelve miles north of this city, Friday morning at 12:30, June 7, 1912. The remains were brought to this city and placed in charge of Ross & Inman who prepared for the same burial. The funeral took place from the Christian church, Sunday afternoon at 2 o’clock. The remains were followed to their last resting place by a considerable number of his old time friends and … Read more

Biography of Arista Tarvin Hayman, M. D.

Dr. Arista Tarvin Hayman, a physician and surgeon of St. Louis, was born July 8, 1874, in Monticello, Missouri, a son of Ervin E. Hayman. The father, a native of Missouri, was a son of Peter Deshields Hayman, a pioneer settler of St. Louis, who was a native of Kentucky and at an early day removed to Missouri, becoming a pioneer merchant of Monticello. Ervin E. Hayman was reared and educated in Monticello and became a pharmacist, devoting his life to that business. In politics he was a democrat and served as county treasurer of Clark county, to which position … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Rev. Plant Senior Meadows

Plant Senior Meadows, (Born Feb. 15, 1841) Shawneetown, is a native of Lewis County, Missouri. At 17 in 1859, he was sold by the administrator of the Cecil Home, and a sugar planter at St. Mary’s Parish, Louisiana, became his master. Here he was employed at various kinds of mechanical work, until he was accorded his freedom, at 26 in 1865. Mrs. Cecil taught him to read, and during this early period, he made the best possible use of his spare moments, by reading all the good books that were available. As soon as he was free, he became a … Read more

Russell Todd of Lansing MI

Russell Todd7, (Chauncey6, Jonah5, Stephen4, Samuel3, Samuel2, Christopher1 born Jan. 5, 1830, died Feb. 25, 1907, married Sept. 10, 1875, Cora A. Brown. He was ordained to the deaconate by Bishop DeLancey in 1860 and to the priesthood the following year by the same bishop. His various charges have been: Morris (assistant) Westmoreland, Clark’s Mills, Augusta, Oriskany Falls and general missionary work in Chenango County, all in New York; Caro, Michigan; again in New York at Whitney’s Point; then in Missouri, at Lebanon and Marshfield, Cape Girarfeau and Canton. At the close of his labors at the latter place, his … Read more

Biography of Benjamin Harper

The subject of this sketch needs no introduction to the older generation of Rock Island County, the larger enterprises of which he was intimately associated with throughout the many years of his residence here. Benjamin Harper was born February 12, 1817, in the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and died April 3, 1887, in the City of Rock Island, Illinois. When about fourteen years of age his parents removed to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he served his apprenticeship to the wagon-maker’s trade, upon completion of which, that spirit of bold initiative and energy which characterized his whole after life, asserted itself in … Read more

Abell, Wendell H. – Obituary

Island City, Oregon Wendell H. Abell, 81, of Island City died Saturday at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Boise. Viewing will be from 4 to 6 p.m. today at Daniels Chapel of the Valley, 1502 Seventh St. A graveside service will begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday at the Island City Cemetery. Mr. Abell was born Dec. 23, 1924, to George and Josephine Graham Abell in La Grange, Mo. He had polio as a child. The family made three trips to Oregon before finally settling here. He began working in a lumber yard in Portland at the age of 16. On … Read more

Biography of Maj. Emanuel N. Martin M. C. K.

Maj. E. N. Martin, M. C. K. The medical profession in Clay County compares favorably with any in the state, the practitioners being not only well qualified in the main, but men of high personal standing. During the seventeen years that Maj. E. N. Martin had practiced medicine in Kansas, he had advanced to the front rank as a careful, skillful nd conscientious practitioner, and his professional judgment is valued in such organizations as the Clay County and the Kansas State Medical societies and the American Medical Association, of all which representative bodies he is a member. The war had … Read more

Biography of William Lenox McWilliams

Many interests claim the time and attention of William Lenox McWilliams, a foremost citizen of Miami, who is president of the First National Bank, being also extensively interested in stock raising and mining, and he is likewise one of the leaders of the republican party in Oklahoma. He was born upon a farm near La Belle, Missouri, April 29, 1865, his parents being George Washington and Lucy M. (Clapp) McWilliams, and is a representative of an old American family, his ancestors having been passengers on the Mayflower. The father fought in the Civil war and gave up his life for … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Joshua W. Alexander

Joshua W. Alexander, only son of Thomas W. and Jane Alexander, was born at Cincinnati, Ohio, January 22, 1852. When he had reached the age of four years, his parents removed to Anoka County, Minnesota, and settled upon a farm. There his father died in 1859, and in 1860 his mother removed to Canton, Lewis County, Missouri, and soon after returned to Cincinnati, where the subject of our sketch attended school until July, 1863, when they once more made Canton their home, and there he attended the graded school until 1868, when he entered the Christian University at Canton, graduating … Read more

Slave Narrative of Lewis Mundy of Hannibal, Missouri

Mundy, Lewis West Center Street Hannibal, Missouri Marion County, Missouri Lewis Mundy, now living on West Center Street, Hannibal, Missouri, was born in slavery on the farm of John Wright, five miles north of La Belle, Lewis County, Missouri. He has lived there for over thirty years, and has a wide acquaintance among both white and colored people. The following is his story of his life: “Mr. Wright had eleven slaves, my mother and ten of us children. Mr. Wright had eight children. My father was owned by Billy Graves, whose farm was joined to master’s farm. I don’t know … 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 W. F. Cook

W. F. COOK. In looking over a comparative statement of the institutions of a financial character doing business in Willow Springs, we find them, in comparison with the same class of organizations elsewhere, solvent, prosperous and useful in the highest degree. The Willow Springs Bank adds no little to this, and is one of the best and most substantial of its kind in the county. Mr. W. F. Cook, its well-known cashier, was born in Lewis County, Missouri, February 2, 1868. Son of Dr. J. F. Cook, who is president of La Grange College, at La Grange, a position he … Read more