Biography of George W. Stone

GEORGE W. STONE. This gentleman who resides in James Creek Township, is the owner of a fine farm, which attests by its value and productiveness the excellent qualities of thoroughness and system which mark the owner. He is a native of Ozark County, Missouri, where he was born in 1848, a son of John and Maria (Bayless) Stone, natives of Tennessee, where they were reared and married. From that State they removed to Greene County, Missouri, and later to Ozark County, of the same State, where Mr. Stone died when the subject of this sketch was very small. In 1862 … Read more

Biography of B. W. Hogard

B. W. HOGARD. There is nothing which speaks more eloquently of the enterprise or prosperity of a town than does the well-kept hostelry and Central Hotel, of which Mr. Hogard is the proprietor, at Gainesville, Missouri, which is one of the best in the county. Its neat and orderly appearance distinguishes it among others, and the polite service which its patrons receive and the excellent character of the cuisine, has influenced their permanent custom, and the place is exceptionally popular with the traveling man. Mr. Hogard was born in Weakley County, Tennessee, November 5, 1850, a son of Rev. John … 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 George W. Pearcy

GEORGE W. PEARCY. Ability, when backed by enterprising business measures and progressive ideas, will accomplish more than any other professional or commercial requirement. An illustration of this is found in the mercantile establishment owned and conducted by George W. Pearcy at Thornfield, MO. This gentleman was born in Platte County, Missouri, in 1848, but his parents, William H. and Jane (Henry) Pearcy, were born in Kentucky in 1813 and Indiana in 1818, respectively. After their marriage, which occurred in Indiana, they came to Platte County, Missouri, later removed to Dallas County, and when the subject of this sketch was four … 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

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

Biography of Andrew J. Coffey

ANDREW J. COFFEY. Ozark County, Missouri, is well known for the richness of its soil, and among those industrious farmers who have assisted in making this section the rich agricultural district that it is may be mentioned Andrew J. Coffey, who was born in Ashe County, N. C., in 1833, of which State his parents, Cleveland and Susan (Hayes) Coffey, were also natives. During the early boyhood of Andrew J. Coffey, he was taken by his parents to Hawkins County, Tennessee, and soon after to Granger County, where the mother died some fifty years ago. Mr. Coffey remarried afterward and … 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

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 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

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 Capt. James H. Sallee

CAPT. JAMES H. SALLEE. This gentleman is a Protestant Methodist minister and a farmer of Ozark County, Missouri, and as a citizen, neighbor and friend is highly spoken of by all who know him. He owes his nativity to Madison County, Arkansas, where he was born April 10, 1833, a son of Arany Shasteen and Martha (Greene) Sallce, who were born in Indiana in 1811 and in Illinois in 1821, respectively. Their marriage was celebrated in Schuyler County, Illinois, soon after which they removed to Marion County, Arkansas, where they lived a few years, then returned to the Sucker State. … Read more

Biography of Richard S. Holt

RICHARD S. HOLT. It is a pleasure to write the biography of a man of unusual personal merit-the possessor of a combination of gifts so comprehensive that happiness and success in any enterprise is bound to follow the application of his qualities to the solution of almost any reasonable problem in life. It is an unwritten law that the secret of success in life in all individual cases is the common property or heritage of all unfortunates of the human race. It is therefore eminently proper for the historian or delineator of character to review the lives of those individuals … 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 Jeremiah B. Simpson, M. D.

JEREMIAH B. SIMPSON, M. D. There is no man more highly esteemed in a community than the medical practitioner, and there is not among all the physicians of Baxter County, Arkansas, one who is held higher in public favor than Dr. Jeremiah B. Simpson. This gentleman was born in Wayne County, Illinois, in 1851 , to John W. and Sallie (Murphy) Simpson, the former of whom was also born there. The paternal grandfather, William Simpson, was a Tennessean, and a pioneer of Wayne County, Illinois, where he lived and died. John W. Simpson was a worthy tiller of the soil, … 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 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