Biography of J. R. Reed

J. R. REED, of the firm of Wood & Reed, Gainesville, Missouri, has for the past twelve years been one of the most enterprising and successful business men of the county. He owes his nativity to Bradley County, Tennessee, where he was born January 21, 1861, the eldest child born to Alvin and Emeline (Wood) Reed, native Tennesseans, the former of whom was engaged in tilling the soil, and was killed near the close of the war, during which struggle he served in the Confederate Army. He was a son of John H. Reed, one of the early pioneers of … Read more

Biography of J. E. Wood

J. E. WOOD. This gentleman is a member of the well-known mercantile firm of Wood & Reed, of Gainesville, Ozark County, Missouri He was born in Washington County, Tennessee, July 18, 1846, but came to this county in 1871 from Bradley County, Tennessee. His parents, Jesse and Margaret (McCracken ) Wood, were honest, industrious and law-abiding tillers of the soil, and the father was born in the Old North State about 1820, where he was a member of one of the early and prominent families. When a young man he removed to Tennessee, was married there, and there made his … Read more

Loftis, Hermal Donna Bushong Mrs. – Obituary

Hermal Donna Loftis, 81, of Pendleton, died Friday, Jan. 10, 2003, at Elizabethan Manor, in Pendleton. A private family memorial will be held at a later date. Hermal Donna Loftis was born May 24, 1921, in Brixey, Mo., the youngest of 10 children born to Marion and Nancy Bushong. She married Earl Loftis of Brixey, Missouri. The had two sons, Lester and Eldon. They were later divorced. Moving from Missouri in 1952 to Pendleton. She moved to Baker City in 1956 to attend Business College. She worked for Doctor Pollock for 22 years. in 1988 she moved back to Pendleton … 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 M. M. Pease

M. M. PEASE. This resident and prominent citizen of West Plains, Missouri, came originally from the Granite State, his birth occurring January 15, 1855. At an early date he came with his father to Missouri, and in this State he has since made his home. In the year 1877 he started out in business for himself and engaged in saw milling in Douglas County. This business he has followed for the most part ever since. He is also doing business at Dora, Ozark County, where he is a member of the Pease Milling Company. The members of this firm are: … Read more

Biography of George W. Osburn, M. D.

GEORGE W. OSBURN, M. D. The life of the popular, successful physician is one of incessant toil, self-denial and care, yet all true followers of the “healing art” strive to attain prominence in their profession, regardless of added burdens which will rest upon their shoulders. Such a man is George W. Osburn, who was born in Gwinnett County, Ga., November 15, 1841, a son of Ectyl and Cynthia (Nelson) Osburn (see sketch of Dr. M. H. Osburn). George W. attended the common schools of Georgia, was brought up to the healthy and useful life of the farmer, and when the … Read more

Biography of Martin S. McCreight, M. D.

Martin S. McCreight, M. D. A resident of Kansas since early boyhood, Doctor McCreight is one of the oldest business men and professional men of the City of Oskaloosa, where he began the practice of medicine and surgery over twenty years ago, and during the greater part of the time had also conducted a drug business and is vice president of the Jefferson County Bank. Doctor McCreight was born in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. February 19, 1870, and is of Scotch ancestry. His grandfather McCreight was a native Scotchman and on coming to America located in Pennsylvania. Johnston McCreight, father of … Read more

Biography of John Wallace Howe

John Wallace Howe. Few men are able to comprehend within a period of less than seventy years such a variety of experience and achievement as John Wallace Howe of Independence. He is one of the youngest vsterans of the Union army in the war between the states. Besides the part played by him as a faithful soldier in that struggle, he had been a farmer, a carpenter, had lived in a number of different localities, and was one of the pioneer settlers in Montgomery County, Kansas, having established his home there on the frontier more than forty-five years ago. Public … Read more

Leek, Velma Dolly Pendergraft Mrs. – Obituary

Velma Dolly Leek, 92, a former North Powder resident, died Aug. 22, 2003, at Yellville, Ark. Her graveside funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at North Powder Cemetery. Pastor Lenny Spooner of the First Church of the Nazarene will officiate. Visitations will be from noon to 8 p.m. Friday at Gray’s West & Co. Pioneer Chapel, 1500 Dewey Ave. Velma was born Sept. 19, 1910, to Jim Vaughn and Ellen Pendergraft at Rock Bridge, Mo. She married Clarence Leek at Gainsville, Mo., on Feb. 4, 1932. The couple moved to Prineville where they remained until 1960. While at Prineville, … Read more

Biography of Hon. Stephen C. Herndon

HON. STEPHEN C. HERNDON. During the seventy-two years that have passed over the head of the gentleman whose name stands at the head of this sketch he has been an active observer of the trend of events, but has been not merely a “looker on in Venice” but a citizen who has, through his enterprise, his integrity and his public spirit, contributed his full share to the magnificent development of the section in which he resides. He comes of an honored ancestry, for the well-known old pioneer, George Herndon, was his father, from whom he inherited many of his most … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Stephen Carlile

Carlile, Mrs. Stephen (See Ghigau and Hildebrand)—Sadie, daughter of S. P. Luna and Sarah (Butler) Luna, born July 10, 1888 in the Ozark County, Missouri. Mar­ried at Tahlequah, September 29, 1909 Stephen Foreman, son of Thomas Holmes and Levannah Elizabeth (Catron) Carlile. born January 5, 1873 in Tahlequah District, educated in Tahlequah District and Male Seminary. They are the parents of: Hazel, born August 1, 1910; Helen, born May 25. 1912; Stephen, born January 12, 1918; and Leo, born February 22, 1920. Stephen Foreman Carlile died September 5, 1919, Carlile is farming near Park Hill.

Biography of William G. Pumphrey

WILLIAM G. PUMPHREY. This prominent citizen and retired farmer and stockraiser of Sugar Loaf Township, Boone County, Arkansas, was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee, in 1824. His grandfather, Larkin Pumphrey, was probably born in North Carolina, but at an early date moved to Kentucky, and from there to Tennessee, dying in Rutherford County, of the latter State, where he had followed farming. It is thought that he was a Revolutionary soldier. His marriage resulted in the birth of six sons and three daughters, of whom our subject’s father, Lewis Pumphrey, was one. The latter was born in North Carolina, but … Read more

Biography of George Washington Webster

GEORGE WASHINGTON WEBSTER. As a progressive tiller of the soil the subject of this sketch has no superior throughout Ozark County, Missouri, for he is industrious, decidedly progressive in his views, and has always taken advantage of all new methods for the improvement of his land. His fine and valuable estate is located ten miles west of Gainesville on Bratton Spring Creek, and comprises 480 acres, in two different tracts, all of which has been acquired through his own efforts. He is also quite extensively engaged in the raising of stock; in fact, is well up in all branches of … Read more

Biography of Edward Coker

EDWARD COKER. This gentleman is one of the active stockmen of West Plains, Missouri, and an influential and progressive citizen of the same. He is a product of Arkansas, born in what is now Boone County, at Lead Hill, August 30, 1856, to the marriage of William and Margaret (Holt) Coker. The Coker family is probably the oldest in north Arkansas. The mother of our subject was a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of William Holt who moved from Tennessee to Marion County, Arkansas, in the thirties. Mr. Holt was a farmer and a prominent man in his section … Read more

Biography of Lewis R. Pumphrey

LEWIS R. PUMPHREY, of the well-known firm of Pumphrey & Cantrell, general merchants and cotton dealers, of Lead Hill, Arkansas, was born in Cannon County, Tennessee, in 1839, to the marriage of Thomas and Margaret (Holt) Pumphrey, also natives of Tennessee. The parents were reared and married in their native State, and about 1839 moved by wagon to Ozark County, Missouri, where they were among the first settlers. There they resided for six or seven years and then moved to Fulton County, Arkansas, where Mr. Pumphrey died soon after. Mrs. Pumphrey then moved to what is now Boone County, Arkansas, … Read more

Biography of Guy T. Harrison

GUY T. HARRISON. The protection afforded by the laws of a country are inestimable. When the people overturn the jurisdictions of their nation, a chaos prevails in which the good is lost sight of in the terrible mobs and riots of the liberty-drunken citizens, as exemplified in the bloody revolution in the city of Paris. A wise people is that which abides by the edicts of its head, and employs agents to explain the methods of that body. Prominent in the ranks of the intelligent and successful lawyers of Ozark County, Missouri, is Guy T. Harrison, who has a most … Read more

Biography of Milton G. Pattillo

MILTON G. PATTILLO. He whose name heads this sketch is a fair representative of the better class of men who began life’s battle at the lower rounds of the ladder, and through his own efforts he has gained a substantial place near the top. Practically speaking, he is today in comfortable financial circumstances, and the position he now occupies is direct evidence that he possesses the confidence and esteem of his fellow-mortals. He was born in Gallatin County, Illinois, February 11, 1826, a son of John S. and Mary (Trawsdale) Pattillo, the former of whom was born on Blue Grass … Read more

Biography of Judge W. W. Luna

JUDGE W. W. LUNA. Ozark County, Missouri, is an Eden of fine farms and agricultural tracts. There are comparatively few very small tracts, and each farmer tries to outdo his neighbor in the cultivation and improvement of his land. Of the many fine, attractive places none are more conspicuous than that belonging to Judge W. W. Luna, comprising 280 acres of fine bottom land, of which he has been the owner since 1883. The place is well improved, is principally river bottom land, and everything about his estate indicates to the beholder that a thorough and experienced hand is at … Read more

Biography of Alfred J. Dunegan

ALFRED J. DUNEGAN. Of the many men who are engaged in tilling the soil in Ozark County, Missouri, none is more thrifty, honest and persevering than he whose name heads this sketch. He has followed the occupation of farming from his earliest boyhood, and as a result every detail of this line of human endeavor is familiar to him, and he may be said to be an honor to the calling. He was born in White County, Tennessee, in 1817, of which State his parents, Samuel and Sallie (Speers) Dunegan, were also natives, in which State they made their home … Read more

Biography of William A. Conklin

WILLIAM A. CONKLIN. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is the efficient county clerk of Ozark County, Missouri, and his career thus far in life presents an example of industry, perseverance and good management, rewarded by substantial results well worthy the imitation of all who start out in life as he did, with no capital except a good constitution and a liberal supply of pluck and energy. In addition to discharging the duties of his official position with marked ability, he is also the proprietor and editor of the Ozark County News, a newsy and instructive weekly, published in … Read more