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Below is a family biography included in The History of Benton County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  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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W. J. Fristoe is a native of Missouri, born at Lexington, Lafayette County, February 24, 1835, and is one of the first white children born in that part of the State. He came with his father’s family to Benton County, Mo., when but a child, and settled across the river from Warsaw. His father began tilling the soil on an island opposite the town, and was the first man to establish a ferry. In this manner he used to accommodate emigrants on their way to settle upon the fertile regions in the West, and the ferry also served as a means of crossing to their neighbors. His father helped to construct the first court-house in Warsaw, a cabin made of rude logs. W. J. Fristoe went to Illinois during the war, and while there met and married Miss Sallie E. Smith, daughter of Dr. R. D. Smith, of Henderson, Ky. Mr. Fristoe returned to Benton County in the spring of 1866, and settled on his present property, where he has since resided. His fine residence is in one of the most elevated positions in the county, and an exhaustive view of from ten to twenty miles can be obtained from that point. Mrs. Fristoe died in 1881, leaving six children—Mark, Robert, Willie, Birdie, Georgie and Bessie. Mark married Miss Bettie Peak, of Benton County. She was living with her uncle, William McDaniel, at the time of marriage. Mr. Fristoe is engaged in farming and stock-raising, at which he has been unusually successful. He is a member of the Masonic Lodge, No. 418; is a Democrat politically, and in his religious views is liberal, although a Baptist by education.

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This family biography is one of 86 biographies included in The History of Benton County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Benton County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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

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