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Below is a family biography included in The History of Jasper County, Missouri published by Mills & Company in 1883. 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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JOSEPH M. SMITH (deceased) was born in Putnam county, Ind., Dec. 17, 1825, and immigrated with his parents to southwest Missouri in 1836, and settled on Jenkins Creek, in Jasper county, where his family still reside. He was married in Jasper county in 1849, to Miss Melissa Woodrun, also a native of Indiana, daughter of William Woodrun, one of the pioneers of Jasper county. Of this union there are eleven children, three sons and eight daughters. Mr. Smith was a farmer all his life, and died at the family homestead, Dec. 17, 1877. During his life he was a public-spirited citizen, and for many years was a member of the Church of Christ, assisting at the organization of the first congregation of that denomination in the county. Two of his sons, John F. and Samuel, are residents of Jasper county. The homestead consists of 135 ½ acres of well improved land.
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This family biography is one of more than 1,000 biographies included in The History of Jasper County, Missouri published in 1883. For the complete description, click here: Jasper County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps
View additional Jasper County, Missouri family biographies here: Jasper County, Missouri Biographies
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