My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in the book, The History of Adair County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1888.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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William Wilson, a farmer of Clay County, was born in what is now West Virginia, in 1828, and is the fifth of the seven surviving children of John and Ann (Keys) Wilson. The father, a native of Randolph County, Va., was born in 1792, and was of Irish origin, a son of William Wilson, who was born soon after his parents emigrated from Ireland to the United States. He lived to be over one hundred years old, and died in Ohio. John was reared in Randolph County, was married in Harrison County, W. Va., about 1817, and remained in that State until 1865, when he moved to Adair County, Mo., where he spent the remainder of his life, dying at the age of eighty-eight years. The mother was born in Hampshire County, Va., in 1793, and distinctly remembered seeing Gen. Washington when she was but five years old. She was a woman of brilliant intellect, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and died in 1874. Our subject was reared at home without any educational opportunities, but in mature years obtained considerable knowledge by study and observation. He was married in 1858 to Miss Mary J., daughter of Anthony and Anna Mustoe, a native of Bath County, Va. They have had six children, the five living being Robert J., John J., Anna, James and Helen (wife of Henry Sturgis). Mr. Wilson remained in his native county until 1865, when he removed to Adair County, Mo., and located in Clay Township, twelve miles northeast of Kirksville, where he has a fine farm of 220 acres, making one of the many fine farms of that county. He has been a farmer and stock raiser all his life, and his property is the result of his labors and management, he being a man of good business ability and information. He has never been engaged in a lawsuit, or served as a juror. He was reared a Whig, and cast his first presidential vote for Gen. Scott in 1852 but since the war has been a Democrat.

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This family biography is one of 150 biographies included in the Adair County, Missouri portion of the book,  The History of Adair, Sullivan, Putnam, and Schuyler Counties, Missouri published in 1888 by Goodspeed Publishing Co.  For the complete description, click here: Adair County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Adair County, Missouri family biographies here: Adair County, Missouri Biographies

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