Matthew Talbott, of England, had a son named Hale, who was born in December, 1754. He married Elizabeth Irvine, who was born in September, 1778. Their children were Christopher, Thomas, William, David, Elizabeth, Polly, Nancy, Sophia and Jane. Mr. Talbott emigrated to the Territory of Missouri in 1809, with his eldest son, Christopher, and two Negro slaves. They cleared a small farm on Loutre Island, and raised a crop of corn and vegetables. The following year (1810) the rest of the family came out and settled at their new home. Mr. Talbott brought to Missouri seventy-six fine mares, from which he raised horses for the Western and Southern trade. During the Indian war he kept the greater portion of his stock on the opposite side of the river, where they could not be molested by the savages. Christopher Talbott married Susan Parrish, by whom he had Hale, Jr., Thomas, John, James, William, Matthew, Susannah, Martha, and Mary A. Major Thomas Talbott, the second son, was a roving, fun-loving youth. On one occasion his father sent him for some apple barrels, and gave hint the money to pay for them. He was gone about a month, and came back without the barrels or the money. In 1828 he made his first trip to Santa Fe. He was afterward employed by the government as Indian agent, and while acting in that capacity the Indians stole a lot of mules from him that were his individual property. The government promptly paid him $5,000 for his mules. On one of his expeditious to Santa Fe there was a Mr. Bradus, of Kentucky, in his company, who one day accidentally shot himself in the arm The pain of his wound soon became so great that he could not endure it and it was decided that his arm must he amputated to save his life. There were neither surgeon nor surgical tools in the company, but they made such preparations as they could, and successfully performed the operation. The flesh was cut with a butcher’s knife, the hone separated with a hand saw, and the veins seared with the king bolt of a wagon, which had been heated for the purpose. The man got well and lived to a ripe old age. A number or years after this event Maj. Talbott took a number or horses and mules to South Carolina, but finding no sale for them, he loaded them on board a couple of schooners, and sailed for Cuba. During the voyage a violent storm carne up, and the rolling of the vessels excited the animals so that they began to fight one another, and several of them had their ears bitten off. But these sold as well as the others, and the Major had a very successful trip. That was the first importation of American horses to Cuba; but since then the business has been extensively carried on. The Major was married twice, and became a consistent member of the Methodist Church before his death. Colonel William Talbott, the third son, was a ranger in Nathan Boone’s company, and was afterward chosen Colonel of militia. He was married twice; first to Jane Ferguson, and after her death to a widow lady named Bascom, a sister-in-law of Bishop Bascom, by whom he had one daughter, Emma, who married a Mr. Linberger, of Boonville. At the time of his death, which occurred June 14, 1874, the Colonel was living with his daughter in Boonville. David Talbott married Susan Clark, and they had Isaac H., William H., Mary E., Sarah A., David R., Susan J., Adda A., and Ellen. Mr. Talbott died in November, 1852, and his wife in June of the same year. Elizabeth married Judge Matthew McGirk. Polly married James Pitzer. Nancy married Col. Irvine S. Pitman. Sophia married Fletcher Wright. Jane married Dr. James Talbott, who was in the first State Constitutional Convention, which met in St. Louis in 1820. He also represented Montgomery County in the State Legislature.
