My Genealogy Hound

William Rayburn was born in Clark County, Mo., February 27, 1841, and is the son of James and Rebecca O. (Wells) Rayburn, natives of Virginia and Kentucky, respectively. The parents were married in Clark County, Mo., in 1840, where they have remained ever since, the father engaged in tilling the soil. He was a Democrat after the death of the Whig party; was a member of the Baptist Church, and a well-respected citizen. He died in the year 1862, as did also his wife. Our subject is the eldest son of a family of nine children, seven of whom are living, and all are married. Our subject was hardly out of his teens when he wedded Miss Sarah L. Dockum, a daughter of Thomas and Lucinda Dockum, now deceased. In 1861 our subject began working on rented land, and is now one of the enterprising and successful farmers of Clark County. He now owns 225 acres of valuable land, and his success can be attributed to his honest efforts, energy and economy. Nineteen years after marriage he lost his wife. She was a Christian woman, and for a number of years was a member of the Baptist Church. Two years later our subject married Miss Mary Ellen Wells, a daughter of Thomas J. Wells, whose sketch appears elsewhere. By this union three children were born: William E., Lucy J. and James T. Mr. Rayburn is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Baptist Church. Mrs. Rayburn is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.