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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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John Thomas Benton, of Salem, wholesale agent for Anheuser-Busch, of St. Louis, Mo., is a native of Crawford County, Mo., where he was born in 1847, being the son of Henry W. and Nancy T. (King) Benton. Henry W. Benton was born in Jefferson County, Mo., in 1804, and is a farmer by occupation. He was left fatherless at the age of three years, and was reared by his sister in his native county. Previous to his marriage he moved to Crawford County, Mo., where he now resides and where he has since lived. He is the oldest resident of Crawford County now living. He is the father of seven children: Rhoda Ann, wife of Calvin Brand, in Crawford County, Mo.; James S., on the old home place; Catherine E., wife of James M. Avery; John T., Henry E., Julia Ann, wife of Val Blanton, and Elijah P. Mrs. Nancy Benton, mother of these children, was born in the State of Kentucky in 1813, and came to Crawford County, Mo., with her parents, Joseph and Rhoda King, when thirteen years of age. Her parents are both deceased. Mrs. Benton is living, and she and her husband have lived together over fifty years. John Thomas Benton remained with his parents on the farm until twenty-two years of age, and June 7, 1867, he married Miss Nancy Evaline Jones, daughter of James and Evaline (Province) Jones, and a native of Izard County, Ark., born in 1845. To this union were born two children: James E., barber in Salem, and Julia Ellen. In 1869 Mr. Benton moved to Scotia, Crawford Co., Mo., and worked at the furnace. In 1873 he removed to Midland Furnace, where he remained until 1882, when he became a resident of Salem, Mo., where he now resides. For the past year he has been agent for Anheuser-Busch’s Brewery of St. Louis. Mr. Benton lost his first wife in 1872, and in the year 1885 he married Miss Maggie E. Garner, who was born in Dent County, Mo. They have one child, Birdie. Mr. Benton is one of the finest men, physically, in the State of Missouri, standing six feet, four and a half inches in his stockings, and weighs 320 pounds, there not being a pound of surplus flesh on him. He is a Democrat in politics, and cast his first presidential vote for Greeley in 1872.

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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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