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Below is a family biography included in The History of Polk 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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Harry D. Train, of the Ewert & Train Charcoal Company, Fair Play. Among the many business men of Fair Play deserving of mention is the subject of this sketch, who was born in Minnesota, April 5, i860, and moved with his father to Kansas City in 1870. There he attended the public schools for four years, and at the age of fourteen years entered the employ of one of the largest dry-goods firms in the city as cash boy; and at the end of six years was employed by that firm, receiving a salary of $3,000 per year. He subsequently left their employ, and engaged in the real estate business in Kansas City in 1880, where he remained until 1887, his real estate business proving a grand success, and he realized over $100,000 from it. In 1886 he was elected a member of the city council and served two years. In the fall of 1887 he came to Fair Play and purchased a half-interest in the charcoal plant for $15,000. He also opened a lumber yard, a general merchandise store, and a bank, of which he is cashier. In the spring of 1887 he purchased the entire stock of the charcoal company, and incorporated it with a capital stock of $50,000. Mr. Train is in every way a substantial citizen and a shrewd business man. He was married to a Kansas City lady, Miss Dora Freeland, in 1881, and one child, Harry, was the result of this union. Mr. Train is the son of H. C. and Maria E. Train; the father, now living, is seventy-five years of age, but the mother received her final summons September 8, 1871. H. C. Train is at present city inspector of Kansas City. He is a wagon-maker by trade and was in partnership with the proprietor of the Bain wagon. Of the seven children born to this union, there were five sons and two daughters. The paternal grandfather was born in Southern New York, but became a pioneer of the northern part of that State, and there died. The maternal grandfather, John Bullener was a soldier in the War of 1812, and the name can be traced back to Queen Ann Boleyn.

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This family biography is one of 132 biographies included in The History of Polk County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Polk County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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