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Below is a family biography included in The History of McDonald County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1888.  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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Thomas A. Marshall, a prominent citizen of McDonald County, Mo., was born in Stanley County, N. C., on March 18, 1838. He is a son of Henry Marshall, also a native of Stanley County, N. C. Thomas A. was reared and educated in Albemarle, N. C., and until he was nineteen years of age clerked in his father’s store. He then began clerking for others. In 1858 he came to Granby, Mo., and was engaged in mining until the war. Joining Gen. Price’s army, he served through the Civil War, surrendering at Shreveport, La., in 1865. Thence he went to Texas and remained two years following farming. In February, 1867, he returned to Missouri, and until the following fall worked on a farm in Jasper County. He then purchased a little farm of seventy-two acres in McDonald County, on Elk River, five miles below his present home at Noel. There he settled the next spring and began in the woods to clear out a farm. By untiring industry and patient economy he soon became prosperous, and was able to purchase 346 acres more. On the last tract he soon cleared 180 acres of heavy timbered bottom land, which is now free of stumps and is under a fine state of cultivation. In 1881 he purchased the tract where he now resides, consisting of 136 acres. He is now the owner of 612 acres, and besides his extensive farming and stock raising interests has been engaged in merchandising since 1885. His store is located at Noel, and he carries a stock of $5,000, doing an annual business of $15,000. On his land is one of the finest water powers in Southwest Missouri, and if properly utilized would turn a score of mills and manufactories. It is formed by Elk River running a half mile over rock bottom with continuous grand rapids. Mr. Marshall’s marriage with Mary J. Kirk, a daughter of Alexander Kirk, of Jasper County, Mo., was celebrated on October 7, 1867. They are the parents of six children, four of whom, Anna, Henry, Sallie and Fannie, are living. Mr. Marshall served as justice of the peace for about five years.

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This family biography is one of 82 biographies included in The History of McDonald County, Missouri published in 1888.  For the complete description, click here: McDonald County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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