Biographical Sketch of Presley Anderson

Presley Anderson and his wife, Elizabeth Steele, settled in Montgomery Co., Ky., in 1779. Their children were John A. S., James, William, Presley, Jr., Lucy, and Eliza. John A. S., better known as Captain Jack, was a remarkable man in his day, and is well remembered by the old citizens of Montgomery and Callaway counties. We give his history elsewhere. Presley, Jr., married Euphemia Jones, of Tennessee, and settled first in Warren Co., Mo., in 1814, from whence he removed to Montgomery County in 1817, and settled near Brush creek. He brought his family to Missouri on pack-horses, and they … Read more

Biography of Henry Heier

Henry Heier, engaged in the undertaking business in St. Louis, was born in California, Missouri, March 20, 1871. His parents died in his infancy and he was reared in a German Protestant orphan’s home on St. Charles Rock road in St. Louis county, there remaining until he reached the age of sixteen and a half years, when he started out to provide for his own support, securing a position with a wholesale glass and queens ware company of St. Louis. His capability and trustworthiness were so manifest that he remained with the firm for eight and a half years, working … Read more

Biography of William Victor Niess

William Victor Niess, who has held various important positions as a draughtsman, for which work he has been qualified by a thorough course of study in engineering and who is now well known in professional connections in St. Louis, was born April 20, 1878, in the city of Goeppingen, in the kingdom of Wurttemberug Germany, his parents being Christian Ulrich and Marie Louise (Mueller) Niess His father, now deceased, was also a native of Goeppingen and in his early man hood studied the enameling business in Switzerland. After his return to his native city he there established the first enameling … Read more

Biography of Myron M. Buck

Myron M. Buck was born in Shortsville, Ontario county, New York, January 16, 1835. His ancestors settled in central New York, when the state was wild and uncultivated, his maternal grandfather, Theophilus Short, in whose honor Shortsville, New York, was named, having been a member of the “Old Holland Land Purchase Company,” and prominent in every way in the affairs of the community. Attracted by the fertility of the soil in this undeveloped district, the company purchased a large portion of central New York. They at once proceeded to establish homes for the pioneers who were the leading spirits. The … Read more

Biography of Rev. Patrick Joseph Kane

Rev. Patrick Joseph Kane, who for a third of a century has been pastor of the Church of Our Holy Redeemer at Webster Groves, is a native of Ireland but during his childhood days was brought by his parents to the United States and became a pupil in the public schools of Bloomington, Illinois, where the family home was established. He afterward attended a local business college and later became a student in the Christian Brothers College at St. Louis. Having determined to enter the priesthood he subsequently pursued his theological studies in St. Mary’s Seminary at Baltimore, Maryland, and … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Lawrence Long

Lawrence Long, of Culpepper Co., Va., settled in St. Louis Co., Mo., in 1797, and built a saw and grist mill. His children were Gabriel, John, William, James, Nicholas, Nancy, Sally, and Elizabeth. John married Rachel Zumwalt, by whom he had Lawrence and Andrew J. He died soon after, and in 1823 his widow and her two sons removed to Warren County, where she married Newton Howell. Lawrence married Malinda Hutchings, of St. Charles County. Andrew J. married Mary W. Preston of St. Charles County.

Biography of Hon. J. W. McClurg

HON. J. W. McCLURG, ex-governor of the State of Missouri. A man’s life work measures his success, and the man who devotes his powers to the accomplishment of an honorable purpose is to be honored. If a careful study is made of the motives which actuate every man’s life, there is always to be found some object for which he lives. In Hon. J. W. McClurg it seems to have been an ambition to make the best use of his native and acquired powers and to develop in himself a true manhood. A native of St. Louis County, Missouri, he … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Charles Woodruff

Charles Woodruff, of Buckingham Co., Va., married a Miss Gatewood, and their son, Wyatt P., married Mary Talphro, and settled in St. Louis Co.; Mo., in 1825. In 1827 they removed to St. Charles County, and from there to Montgomery County in 1832. They had John, Charles E., Robert H., Francis S., and David B. all of whom live in Montgomery County.

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 Isaac Burrows Snow

ISAAC BURROWS SNOW – Forty years of experience in the insurance business, preceded by several years of pioneer railroading in the West, represents the experience of Isaac Burrows Snow, who is now living retired in Bernardston. Mr. Snow is a member of the Mayflower Society, being a direct descendant of Elder William Brewster, and of Stephen Hopkins, of the “Mayflower.” Nicholas Snow, the immigrant ancestor of Mr. Snow’s line, came to Plymouth in the ship “Ann” in 1623, and had a share in the division of land in Plymouth in 1624. In 1634 he settled in Eastham, Massachusetts, where he … Read more

Biography of Hon. A. E. L. Gardner

Hon. A. E. L. Gardner, lawyer and lawmaker, representing the twenty-fifth senatorial district in the upper house of the general assembly, makes his home in Kirkwood but practices in Clayton and is also a representative of some of the more important corporations of St. Louis. He was born at Millersport, Ohio, December 4, 1867, and is a son of Thomas W. and Maria (Lindsey) Gardner, who were also natives of the Buckeye state. The father was engaged in mercantile business in Lancaster, Ohio, for many years and in 1879 came to Missouri, settling in Sedalia, where he engaged in merchandising … Read more

Biographical Sketch of James Adams

James Adams, of Virginia, settled in St. Louis Co., Mo., in 1818. He married Sally Brown, and their children were Burrell, James, Polly, Sally, Elizabeth, Lucy, Rebecca, Martha, and Nancy. Burrell was a soldier in the war of 1812. He came to Missouri in 1816, with Judge Beverly Tucker, and was married in 1818 to Harriet Allen, a daughter of John Allen, who died in 1830. Mr. Adams died in Danville, Mo., during the-summer of 1876, in his 82d year. He had eight children William B., B. T., J. B., James B., Susan F., John A., C. C., and Sarah … Read more

Biography of Henry Jackson Waters

Henry Jackson Waters, president of the Kansas State Agricultural College at Manhattan since 1909, is a leader in that group of men who have served to elevate and dignify the science of agriculture. His work and influence are of growing value every passing year. His reputation is by no means confined to Kansas and Missouri, the states in which most of his work had been done. The agricultural journals and writers all over the country are coming to pay special attention and respect to any movement or experiment with which the name Henry Jackson Waters is in any way associated. … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Charles Ferdinand Wimar

Charles Ferdinand Wimar, usually known as Carl Wimar, was born in Germany, 1828; died in St. Louis, November, 1862. Came to America and settled in St. Louis during the year 1843. A few years later he met the French artist Leon de Pomarede, with whom he later studied and made several journeys up the Missouri for the purpose of sketching. Went to Europe and returned to St. Louis about 1857. His Buffalo Hunt, now reproduced, was painted in 1860, exhibited at the St. Louis Fair during the autumn of that year, when it was seen by the Prince of Wales, … Read more

Biography of Justin E. Joy

Justin E. Joy, a prominent lumberman of Missouri, who always deserves mention in a history of the state as the one who was practically the builder of Webster Groves, was born at Oquaqua Junction, Iowa, June 17, 1844, his parents being Mr. and Mrs. Edward Joy, who removed to Burlington, Iowa, during the infancy of their son. There the father operated a sash and door factory for many years, or until 1874, when he removed with his family to St. Louis and in subsequent years was employed as superintendent of building by his son Justin. The latter was educated in … Read more

Biography of Robert Capps

ROBERT CAPPS. This gentleman has been a resident of this section since 1837, coming thither from St. Louis County, Missouri, where he had settled in 1836. He was born in Mecklenburg County, N. C., February 2, 1820, in which State his parents, Richard and Rachel (Barnhill) Capps, were also born and reared. After their marriage they removed to Tennessee and made a good home for themselves in Grainger County, but in 1836 removed to Missouri, and the following year came to this section of Arkansas. The father became a prominent farmer of Newton County, but was called from life in … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Peter Rockafellow

Peter Rockafellow, and old revolutionary soldier, was of German descent. He married the widow McGlathan, and settled in Montgomery County, Missouri, in 1822. (He lived a short time in St. Louis County, when he first came to Missouri.) He had but one child, Anna, who married Andrew Hunter.

Biography of John Baptist Miege

John Baptist Miege, first Catholic bishop of Kansas, was born in 1815, the youngest son of a wealthy and pions family of the parish of Chevron, Upper Savoy, France. At an early age he was committed to the care of his brother, the director of the episcopal seminary of Moutiers, and completed his literary studies at the age of nineteen. After spending two more years at the seminary in the study of philosophy, on October 23, 1836, he was admitted to the Society of Jesns. The following eleven years he spent in further study, a portion of the time at … Read more

Biographical Sketch of William Banks Rogers

Rogers, William Banks; clergyman; born at Cincinnati, Dec. 7, 1857; son of Joseph Hill and Mary Rose (Mcllvain) Rogers; academic and collegiate course St. Xavier’s College, 1869-1875; St. Stanislaus Seminary, Normal, Florissant, Mo., 1875-1879, Woodstock College, Maryland, philosophy, science, 1879-1881; Louvain, Belgium, metaphysics, ethics, 1881-1882; Woodstock College, theology, 1887-1891; taught English and classics, St. Ignatius College, Chicago, 1882-1884; St. Xavier’s College, Cincinnati, 1884-1887; ordained Roman Catholic priest, 1890; perfect studies, St. Xavier’s College, Cincinnati, 1891-1892, Marquette College, Milwaukee, 1893-1895, St. Louis University, 1896-1898; pres. Marquette College, 1898-1900, St. Louis University, 1900-1908; resigned February, 1908, on account of ill health; in … Read more

Houses of the Illinois Confederacy

Although the tribes of the loosely constituted Illinois confederacy claimed and occupied a wide region east of the Mississippi, in later years centering in the valley of the Illinois River, nevertheless certain villages are known to have crossed and re-crossed the great river. Thus, in the early summer of 1673, Père Marquette arrived at a village of the Peoria then standing on the right Mississippi, at or near the or west bank of the later it had removed to the upper Illinois. Two months passing the Peoria, Marquette discovered another of  the Illinois tribes, the Michigamea, living near the northeastern … Read more