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Below is a family biography included in The History of Dent 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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James Douthart Dilworth, farmer of Spring Creek Township, who resides one mile west of Salem, was born in Anderson District, S. C., June 30, 1827, and is a son of Billy Green and Rebecca (Adkinson) Dilworth, natives of the same district of South Carolina, born in 1790 and 1805, and died in 1840 and 1865, respectively. Billy Green Dilworth was of Irish descent, and a farmer by occupation. His wife was of English descent. Nine children were born to their union, James D. Dilworth being the fifth in order of birth. He was reared and grew to manhood on a farm, and when thirteen years old his father died. He remained with his mother and sisters, looking after their comfort, until he was thirty years of age. In 1852 he, his mother and sisters came to Dent County, Mo., and located five miles north of Salem, where he entered 200 acres of land for 25 cents per acre. In September, 1857, he married Miss Martha E. Dill, who was born in Wayne County, Tenn., in 1837, and who bore him one child, Mary McCullock, wife of James W. Reddick. In August, 1861, Mr. Dilworth enlisted under Capt. McSpadden in the Missouri State Militia, and in 1864 enlisted in the general service of the Confederate States army. He was in quite a number of severe skirmishes, and was in service until the surrender, being in Texas at that time. He was neither captured nor wounded. Mrs. Dilworth died May 23, 1865, and in August, 1867, he married Mrs. Sarah Jane Walker, nee Ray, daughter of James H. Ray. Five children were the result of this union: Rebecca E., teacher in the public schools of Salem; Julia Ann, Emma Lake, Abbie and Billie Green. In 1874 Mr. Dilworth located where he now lives, and is the owner of 920 acres of land, and is one of Spring Creek’s best farmers. He is a Democrat in politics, is a Mason, and he and wife and three children are members of the Baptist Church.

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This family biography is one of 82 biographies included in The History of Dent County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Dent County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Dent County, Missouri family biographies, click here

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