My Genealogy Hound

John W. Lemon. Samuel Lemon, the grandfather of the principal of this sketch, was one of the early settlers of Arkansas County. His son, Alexander M., was born in this county in 1820, and lived here all of his life, engaged in farming. He served through the Civil War, in the Confederate service, and was in the infantry under Capt. Jones, from Arkansas County, though during the last two years of the struggle he belonged to an independent scouting company of cavalry, in which he remained until the cessation of hostilities. He returned to this county after the war, but died the following year. His wife was Miss Clayton, a daughter of John S. Clayton, a wheelwright and carpenter, who was drowned in the Mississippi some time before the war. Mrs. Lemon is still living, and is about seventy-one years of age, having reared a family of six children. John W. Lemon was born in Arkansas Township, in 1846, and received very little education in youth, not having an opportunity of attending school. He joined the Confederate service during the last year of the civil strife, and served in Gen. Price’s raid. Being at home on a sixty-days’ furlough, shortly before peace was declared, he was captured by the Federals, and held at St. Charles about one month, until the close of the war. In 1866 he married Mary J. Rounsavill, a daughter of William Rounsavill. They are the parents of six children, three sons and three daughters. In 1875 he bought a farm in Bayou Meto Township, where he still owns a stock ranch, in 1886 removing to DeWitt, for the purpose of giving his children better educational facilities. He started out a poor man, but now owns 700 acres of land in different farms, a good house, and ten acres in DeWitt, and is an extensive stock raiser, buying and shipping from ten to twelve carloads of cattle to market annually. He has seen the complete development of this county, having lived here for forty-three years, and has helped liberally in its development.