Shannon County MO Genealogy – Page 2 of 2

Biography of John F. Church

JOHN F. CHURCH, senior member of the well-known firm of Church & Kissel, Winona, Missouri, is one who has built by years of industry and good management a business that is recognized as being one of the best of its kind in the country, a credit to Winona and Shannon County. Mr. Church is a man who possesses the inherent qualities requisite to commercial success, in a very high degree, and in his chosen calling has attained an eminent position among his compeers, and the high regard of his fellow-citizens, entirely through his own efforts and sterling personal qualities. Mr. … Read more

Biography of Spencer Hugh Ware

SPENCER HUGH WARE. Efficient, capable and trustworthy would be the verdict passed upon the character and official standing of our subject by any one in Shannon County to whom the question might be asked. Spencer Hugh Ware, circuit clerk and recorder of this county, is a most ardent Democrat, and most loyally stands by and works for the nominees of his party. He is a native Missourian, born in Licking, February 10, 1851. The son of Henry and Martha (Mitchell) Ware, natives of Maryland and White County, Tennessee, respectively, the father born in the year 181I. Henry Ware left his … Read more

Biography of James Franklin Norton

JAMES FRANKLIN NORTON, merchant and farmer of Eminence, Missouri, is a native of the Blue Grass State, born in Lawrence County, in 1839. His father, David Norton, who was reared in Virginia, moved to Kentucky at an early date and when our subject was but an infant came to Audrain County, Missouri, where he passed his last days. He was a prominent farmer and stockraiser, and while a resident of Audrain County held the office of justice of the peace. Politically he was a Democrat, and fraternally a Mason. His death occurred in 1852 when about forty years of age. … Read more

Biography of Hon. Jacob B. Reaser

HON. JACOB B. REASER. This prominent and successful stockman and farmer of Birch Tree, Missouri, was born in Jackson County, Tennessee, in 1837. A son of Peter and Emeline (Brown) Reaser, who were natives of Virginia, but removed to Tennessee with their parents, where they were reared, received such education as the schools of that day afforded, and were married in Jackson County, Tennessee. In May, 1822, they came by ox team to Oregon County, Missouri, at which time that section was very wild and unsettled, and for a long time the most of their marketing was done at St. … Read more

Biography of James McCaskill

JAMES MCCASKILL. This resident of Texas County, Missouri, owes his nativity to Maury County, Tennessee, where he was born February 13, 1854. His parents, William and Mary (Blassingame) McCaskill, were born, reared and married in Giles County, Tennessee They immigrated to Shannon County, Missouri, in 1855, where they entered land and began making a home for themselves and family. Mr. McCaskill served in the Confederacy under “Old Pap” Price during most of the war and was with him in his famous raids through Arkansas and Missouri. He was captured on Pike Creek, Shannon County, but effected his escape and returned … Read more

Biography of Hon. William Alexander Ramsey

HON. WILLIAM ALEXANDER RAMSEY. This able associate the Shannon County Court, from the Western District, is a native of Stanley County, N. C., born in 1845, and a son of Sanders Taylor and Leah (Light) Ramsey, who were also born in the Old North State, where they lived until 1846, when they removed to Tennessee, and four years later to Alabama, and two years from that time to Iron County, Missouri, where Mr. Ramsey died in January, 1894, aged about seventy-five years, and his wife in 1866, both having been members of the Southern Methodist Church. Mr. Ramsey was a … Read more

Biography of Judge Hezekiah Weaver

JUDGE HEZEKIAH WEAVER was unquestionably one of the ablest and most popular of Shannon County’s judges, and aside from this is a polished gentleman and a worthy neighbor. He is a Blue Grass Kentuckian, born in Laurel County in 1832, and in that county he received his scholastic training. When twenty-two years of age he married Miss Catherine Brock, also a native of Laurel County, Kentucky, and of the eleven children born to this union ten are now living. Mrs. Weaver died in 1890 and the Judge took for his second wife, in August, 1891, Mrs. Mary J. Willbank, and … Read more

Biography of Stephen Birlew

STEPHEN BIRLEW is a native Tennessean, born in Smith County, January 1, 1842, the son of John and Wilbrey (Robinson) Birlew, the father a native of North Carolina and the mother of Tennessee. John Birlew was a young man when he went to Tennessee, and he there met and married Miss Robinson, who later moved with him to Christian County, Kentucky There they resided until 1853, when they came to Missouri and located three miles east of the present town of Winona, in the woods, then Pike Creek Valley, and here Mr. Birlew died in the valley in 1872, when … Read more

Biography of James C. Chilton

JAMES C. CHILTON. As a follower of the primitive occupation of man-farming-this worthy “son of the soil” has become widely known and has accumulated a fortune, and the prosperity which he enjoys is but the result of worthy qualities rightly employed. He is a native of Grainger County, Tennessee, and was born on the 2d of May, 1831, a son of Thomas and Rebecca (Daniel) Chilton, who were born, reared, educated and married in Tennessee, and there made their home until 1836, when they came by boat to the Mississippi River, and thence by wagon to what is now Shannon … Read more

Biography of John Goldsberry

JOHN GOLDSBERRY. The parents of this much esteemed citizen, William H. and Elizabeth (Fouts) Goldsberry, were natives of the Old North State, born in either Davidson or Randolph Counties. In 1836 or 1837 they left their native State and came to Missouri, locating on Gasconade River, in Pulaski County, where they made their home until 1846. From there they moved to Polk County and after living there a short time moved to Hutton Valley, Oregon County, before Howell had become a county. From Hutton Valley they moved to the place where Mountain View now stands, and there the mother died … Read more

Biography of Hon. George Washington Shedd

HON. GEORGE WASHINGTON SHEDD. He whose name heads this sketch has been successful in the various occupations to which his attention has been directed throughout life, and at the present time he is not only successfully engaged in tilling the soil and raising stock, but he also practices law, in which profession he has attained prominence. He was born in the county in which he now lives April 17, 1847, a son of William C. and Mary A. (Sinclair) Shedd, who were born in Reading, Vt., in 1800 and Washington County, Missouri, respectively. The father spent the early part of … Read more

Biography of Jacob Kissel

JACOB KISSEL, junior member of the firm of Church & Kissel, began at a very early age to assume the practical duties of a business life, and by diligence, good habits, and a judicious use of natural tact has developed a character which will tell for usefulness in his day and generation. He has acquired a commercial standing which portends for him that prosperity and rank among his fellow-men vouchsafed alone to those who have worthily earned them. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1854, and is a son of Jacob Kissel who was born in Germany, but … Read more

Missouri Atlases and Plat Books

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 Hon. Thomas G. Mills

HON. THOMAS G. MILLS. This very successful farmer and stockraiser of Shannon County, Missouri, is a native of Rutherford County, N. C., where he was born in 1833 to Calvin and Margaret (Jackson) Mills, who were also born in that State and county. When the subject of this sketch was two or three years old they removed to Lumpkin County, Ga., where the father died in 1866, and the mother in 1867, the latter having long been a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. The paternal grandfather, John Mills, had been a soldier of the Revolutionary War, was of Irish … Read more

Biography of Franklin Marion Chapin

FRANKLIN MARION CHAPIN. This prominent citizen of Winona, Missouri, owes his nativity to Overton County, Tennessee, where he first saw the light in 1837, his parents being Paul Stillman and Sarah (Harrison) Chapin (for parents’ history see sketch of John A. Chapin and John W. Garrett). He was the tenth of twelve children born to them, the other members of the family being: Mary (Garrett), of Howell County; Hiram, who died in Los Angeles, Cal.; Paul Stillman, who died in Hopkins County, Tex.; Elias H., who died in Howell County; Martha, who died in Overton County, Tennessee; John A., of … Read more

Biography of Lewis Harvey De Priest

LEWIS HARVEY DE PRIEST, sheriff of Shannon County, Missouri, is a young man, but there is not one in the county more capable of discharging the duties of that position or better qualified in every respect than he. He was born in Jefferson County, Illinois, near Mount Vernon, in 1865, and is a son of Abraham and Elizabeth (Aden) De Priest. The father first saw the light in south Missouri, probably Shannon or Oregon County. He was married in this State to Miss Aden, who died May 3, 1882, when fifty-three years of age. His second marriage was with Mrs. … Read more

Biography of George Washington Collins

GEORGE WASHINGTON COLLINS. This wide-awake man of affairs is engaged in a most important business, for he is an extensive manufacturer and wholesale dealer in yellow pine lumber at Low Wossic, Shannon County, Missouri, and has been for a number of years past. He is a native of White County, N. C., where he was born in 1857, a son of Wilson and Almira (Mills) Collins, who were also natives of the Old North State. The father was a noted politician, and for many years was prominent in public life. He filled the positions of county clerk, collector and circuit … Read more