WILLIAM C. DARROW. A noble class of men have built up the agricultural interests of Douglas County, and among those who have been active and efficient in the work is he whose name stands at the head of this sketch. Mr. Darrow now resides about three miles from Arno and five miles from Ava, and is classed among the successful and prominent farmers of the county. He came originally from Nashville, Tennessee, his birth occurring September 7, 1849.
His parents, Joseph and Lavina (Morris) Darrow, were natives of Tennessee, as was also the grandfather, Christopher Darrow, who was a soldier in the War of 1812. The Darrow family is of German-Irish origin. Joseph Darrow was born in the year 1828 and grew to manhood in his native State. He was a mechanic by trade, and was a man well informed on political and general topics. He held many county offices and discharged the duties of all in a very satisfactory manner. Socially he was a Mason and an Odd Fellow. His death occurred in the year 1882. Mrs. Darrow died in the year 1867. Her father, Lemuel Morris, was a native of the old country, and lived to be a very aged man. Our subject was one of eight children, who are named as follows: William C.; Mary E.; Nancy, wife of E. N. Clinkingbeard, resides on a farm in this county; G. W. resides in Tennessee, where he has been in a mill for twenty-one years; Christopher C., a carpenter, resides near Nashville, Tennessee; Henry T., a mechanic, resides near Nashville, Tennessee; Josephine A., married; and Huldah L. is the wife of Mr. Feltz, of Illinois. Mr. and Mrs. Darrow were members of the Christian Church, and the former was prominent in all county affairs and very popular.
Our subject passed his early life near the city of his birth and attended the schools of the same. When twenty years of age he came to Missouri and located on the farm with Charles Binkley up to 1874. There he met and married Miss D. A. Gentry, a native of Douglas County, Missouri, born September 9, 1856, and the daughter of Oliver and Elizabeth (McKinzie) Gentry, early pioneers of Webster County, Missouri The grandfather, Bartlet Gentry, was one of the early pioneers of Webster County, and at one time owned the land on which Seymour is now located. He died in Texas County when ninety-one years of age. This family came to this section as early as 1839. Oliver Gentry is residing in this county, and is one of the first farmers of the same. He lost his wife in 1882. They reared a family of twelve children, eleven of whom are now living: Mary J., D. A., J. B., O. H , William J., Sarah P., R. F., P. G., J. L., Martha, Charles, and Bell.
To our subject and wife were born five children, who were named as follows: Mary E., Sarah L., Josephine A., William C., and Anna D. After marriage our subject engaged in farming, and this has since continued to be his principal occupation, although he is also engaged quite extensively in stockraising. When he first came to this county he taught school from 1878 to 1885, and in connection carried on farming and stockraising. In 1880 he located on the farm where he now lives, and has 212 acres of well-improved land. At one time he owned about 500 acres, but sold a portion of it. Public spirited and progressive, Mr. Darrow is one of the leading men of the county, and is universally respected. In politics he is a Republican and an active worker for his party. Mr. Darrow is a self-made man, for he started with nothing but a pair of willing hands and a stout heart, and is now very comfortably fixed indeed.