Biography of John G. Land

John G. Land, whose intimate friends call him Jack and who is representing the Prudential Life Insurance Company of America as manager for the territory embracing Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas, was born in Springfield, Missouri, May 26, 1878, and is a son of J. G. and Nancy A. (Berry) Land, both of whom are deceased. The son was educated in the public schools of St. John, Kansas, and in Marmaduke College at Sweet Springs, Missouri. When sixteen years of age he took up the study of telegraphy and for fifteen years was an operator. In 1898 he came to Muskogee … Read more

Biography of John F. Richards

John F. Richards, born October 23, 1834, in Bath County, Virginia, the founder of the wholesale hardware house Richards & Conover Hardware Company of Kansas City, Missouri, and now residing at 200 Forty-fourth Street in that city, is not only one of the merchants who have risen to prominence in this section of the Middle West, but had a career connected by many experiences and activities with the Territory and State of Kansas. His parents were Walter and Nancy (Mayse) Richards, both natives of Virginia. Their old farm, Cloverdale, was situated on one of the stage lines which then crossed … Read more

Biography of Col. J. C. Cravens

COL. J. C. CRAVENS. Among the most esteemed and respected citizens of Springfield, Missouri, there is not one who has been a more faithful soldier, a more pleasant or agreeable member of society, or a more thorough or sagacious attorney than the gentleman whose name is mentioned above. He is a native of Saline County, Missouri, where he was born February 18, 1838. The son of Dr. John and Ruhannah (Chaplin) Cravens, the former of whom was born at Harrisburg, Rockingham County, Virginia, a son of Dr. Joseph Cravens. This family is of Scotch-Irish descent and first took root on … 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 Edward Everett Wall

Edward Everett Wall, water commissioner of St. Louis, who has ever met the requirements of his public position in an eminently satisfactory way, was born at Cambridge, Saline county, Missouri, August 15, 1860, and is a son of John and Mary (Gault) Wall. The father, born in 1819, went to Saline county, Missouri, in 1833, his father there entering three hundred and twenty acres of land, a greater portion of which constitutes the farm now occupied by two of the sons of John Wall. As a member of Doniphan’s regiment John Wall served through the Mexican war and afterward crossed … Read more

Biographical Sketch of George H. Carlyle

George H. Carlyle one of Westminster’s successful dairymen, was born in Woodford County, Kentucky, March 23, 1827. His father moved to Saline County, Missouri, in 1855, and followed farming there until his death twelve years ago. He had nine children. For several years George (or Henry, as he was generally known) was connected with the stage line under Ben. Holiday, from the Missouri river to Fort Kearney and Salt Lake City. After this he followed farming and the dairy business at Independence, Missouri, until he came to California in 1887. Buying eighty acres of land in the Westminster colony, he … Read more

Biography of Edward S. Rea

Edward S. Rea. One of the largest milling concerns in Southern Kansas is the Rea-Patterson Milling Company of Coffeyville. The plant was established at Coffeyville in 1894, and at that time the daily capacity of the mill was 400 barrels. Since then, by gradual additions and improvements, the daily capacity is now 1,800 barrels of uour and 600 barrels of meal, while the elevator capacity is 700,000 bushels, this being one of the largest mills in the state. In fact the product from the Rea-Patterson Milling Company has a very wide distribution, particularly over the South and Southwest, and the … 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 Nathaniel G. Cruzen

Nathaniel G. Cruzen was born in Jefferson county, Virginia, October 14, 1826, and is the son of Richard R., and Aurelia W. (North) Cruzen. His father was born in Loudoun county, Virginia, and for thirty years filled the position of inspector of the National Armory at Harper’s Ferry. His mother was born in Fairfax county, Virginia. Our subject was educated at Harper’s Ferry and worked under his father’s instructions in the armory until he was twenty years of age, and then immigrated to Missouri and settled upon a farm in Saline county, where he remained until 1849. Then becoming imbued … Read more

Biography of Thomas Harper Cobbs

Thomas Harper Cobbs, lawyer and senior member of the firm of Cobbs & Logan, 1111-1116 Third National Bank building, St. Louis, Missouri, was born August 26, 1868, on a farm in Fairview township, Lafayette county, about six miles southeast of Napoleon, Missouri. His father, Thomas T. Cobbs, was a native of Tennessee. His grandfather, Thomas Cobbs, was a native of Virginia and a descendant of EnglishWelsh parents. His grandfather was among the pioneer settlers of Lafayette county, having come to that county in 1830, and having built the first gristmill in that section. After his grandfather’s death, his father operated … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James Rodgers

James Rodgers of Pennsylvania, settled in Nelson Co. Ky., where he raised a large family of children, and gave each of them a Bible. Presley Rodgers, his son, married Elizabeth Folay, of Kentucky, by whom he had Matha A., Mary E., James. John. Plicehe, Felix G , Elizabeth E., Nancy, Jitlia A.. Fernesia, and America. Mr. Rodgers came to Missouri in 1831, and settled in Howard County, afterward in Boone, then in Saline and finally in Montgomery. He was a blacksmith, and worked at his trade until his death, which occurred in December, 1863. He built the first blacksmith shop … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Mrs. Jay Paul Brown

Brown, Mrs. Jay Paul (See Grant and Foreman)—Alma Ramona Taylor born in Hanford, California, July 16, 1884, educat­ed in Missouri Valley College, Marshall, Missouri and Fairmont Seminary, Weatherford, Texas, graduating from the latter in 1905, specialized in instrumental music. She married at Chouteau November 27, 1917, Jay Paul, sons of Paul Jay and Martha A. Browns, born October 15, 1874 in Wood County, Ohio. They are the parents oh Martha Sue Brown, born at Muskogee, December 28, 1919. Mr. Brown is a merchant at Chouteau. Ann Olivia, daughter of Isaac and Catherine (Rathiff) Bushyhead was born in Georgia, November 27, … Read more

Biography of Sidney Thorne Able

(Sketch written by Judge Nelson E. Lurton, Commissioner of the United States Court, at Shanghai, China, who served in Mr. Able’s law office as his assistant from 1912 to 1916.) It is so unusual to find read merit displayed in a man until he has been put through some of the trying experiences of life that it is a pleasure to find such in one born and reared as Sidney Thorne Able was, surrounded with all the comforts of life, the son of a southern banker and cotton planter. In order to know a man well we must know something … Read more

Biography of A. P. Fonda

A. P. Fonda has made a most creditable record as a farmer, as a lawyer and particularly as a citizen whose devotion to the welfare of the great majority Is a recognized fact. A resident of Independence, he was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, March 30, 1878, his parents being Anthony Philip and Laura D. (Wier) Fonda, the former a native of the state of New York and the latter of New Jersey. His parents became acquainted and were married in Leavenworth, Kansas. The father conducted the first wholesale grocery in Kansas City, which place was then known as Port Fonda. … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James Nowlin

James Nowlin and his wife, Martha Collins, were natives of Scotland. They came to America prior to the revolution, and brought all their household and kitchen furniture with them. They settled first in the eastern part of Virginia, but afterward removed to Pittsylvania County. Their only son, Bryan W. Nowlin, was a Captain in the American army during the revolution. He married Lucy Waide, of Virginia, and they had fifteen children, thirteen of whom lived to be grown, and twelve of them married. The eldest son, Peyton, married Lucy Townsend, and settled first in Kentucky, from whence he removed to … Read more

Biography of Frank T. Martin

When, in 1871, Frank T. Martin first saw the Snake River valley, Idaho, it was a vast, desolate and unexplored wilderness, not so inviting to settlement as it might have been otherwise, because of its arid, unproductive soil. Mr. Martin was then a youth of seventeen, and he came with thirteen others and drove seven hundred head of cattle across the plains from Saline County, Missouri. They were one hundred and eleven days on the way, and after they reached the Snake river valley the company separated, some of its members going to different points round about, and some to … Read more

Biography of Frank Harris

Modern progressive agriculture in Washington county finds a prominent representative in Frank Harris, who is the owner of a desirable farm near Ochelata which in its neat and thrifty appearance gives every indication of the practical methods and careful supervision of the owner. He was born in Greene county, Illinois, of the marriage of Martin A. and Mary (King) Harris, the latter also a native of that county. The father was born in France and was brought to the United States when but three years old. He is a farmer by occupation and is now residing at Ramona, where he … Read more

Biography of George W. Dailey

Few men can recite the story of Kansas since statehood from their own recollection. One of these men is George W. Dailey, now a resident of Topeka. Mr. Dailey is a true pioneer of Kansas. He arrived when this and all the country west of the Missouri River was a wilderness. He bore the hardships and difficult circumstances of the frontier settler. He helped defend the country when there was danger, and a public spirit and willingness to sacrifice himself for the benefit of others had been one of the distinguishing traits of his character. In March, 1860, he arrived … Read more

Biography of Otto F., Dierker, M. D.

Otto F. Dierker, M. D. Among the well-established physicians and surgeons of Lincoln County, Kansas, no one is held more trustworthy than Dr. Otto F. Dierker, who had been suecessfully engaged in the practice of his profession at Sylvan Grove, Kansas, since 1905, coming here shortly after his graduation from college and the securing of his degree. It is creditable both to Doctor Dierker and to the people of this pleasant little city that the cordial relations established at this time have never been severed, there being warm friendship, trust and appreciation on both sides. Doctor Dierker had built up … Read more

Biography of Sargent, John Richard

John. Richard Sargent, who for five years before his father’s death was junior partner in the firm of the Sargent Cut Stane Company, was born April 17, 1871, attended both private and public schools, including the Marmaduke Military Academy at Sweet Springs, Missouri, and learned the cut stone trade from his father. He worked in the shops with his father for several years before he was taken into partnership. On May 8, 1894, he married Miss Grace Churchill, and their four children are Mary Eloise, John Churchill, William Carroll and Elizaboth Alice. He is one of the active young business men … Read more