MARTIN SINGLETON. A well-kept hostelry is a blessing to any community, and this has been found to be the case in the Singleton Hotel of Ava, which is a popular and well-patronized establishment, and is managed in an able manner by Mr. Singleton. He was born in Hamilton County, East Tennessee, April 27, 1847, a son of John and Susanna (Scott) Singleton, who were born in Georgia and Tennessee, respectively, the former being a son of Leonard Singleton, who was one of the early settlers of Tennessee. Upon the removal to Missouri of John Singleton and his wife they settled in St. Francois County, but a year or two later moved to Washington County, and in 1857 to Douglas County, and located a short distance east of Ava. The father is now living on a farm ten miles east of that place, where he is a highly honored old citizen. During the war he served in the Home Guards; in politics is a stanch Republican, and has long been a member of the Baptist Church. He was left a widower in 1888, his wife dying at the age of fifty-five years. Their children are as follows: W. B. is a man of family, lives on the old home place, and was a soldier in the late war; Martin; Thomas S., who is married and resides near Ava; Austin is living two miles southeast of Ava, is a farmer and a man of family; Isham is a farmer residing three miles east of town; W. H. lives on a part of the old homestead; Cynthis J. is the wife of W. T. McDonald, of this county; Ardamissa is the wife of Benjamin Vinson, of this county; Robert J. died in 1862.
The subject of this sketch has resided in Douglas County since he was ten years old, and here the most of his education was acquired in the public schools. When seventeen years old he enlisted in a company of State Militia, but had only served a few months when the war closed. He saw some hard service while the war was in progress, and for some time thereafter also, but he applied himself with energy to his work and in time found himself in comfortable circumstances. In 1865 he was married to Elizabeth Kelton, a daughter of William H. and Nancy (Kidd) Kelton, who came to Missouri from Kentucky, although Mrs. Singleton was born in Tennessee. Mr. Singleton followed farming up to 1884, when he moved to Ava and built the hotel and livery stable of which he is now the proprietor, and he has since conducted a prosperous business, and has proven that he is the right man in the right place. He is one of the leading business men of Ava, and is a decidedly public-spirited citizen, anxious to promote the welfare of his section and the good of mankind in general. He is a member of the I. 0. O. F., is a strong Republican politically, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have children as follows: J. W., who is a Republican like his father, is county collector, is a farmer near Ava, and is a man of family; Mary A. is the wife of William A. Miller; Martha A. is the wife of Henry Miller; Mandalia is the wife of George Campbell, of Mansfield; William I. and Nancy R.