My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Barton 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.

* * * *

Lee Chiswell, of the firm of Chiswell & Brandon, editors and owners of the Lamar Democrat, was born in Frederick County, Md.; October 11, 1848, and is the son of Capt. Joseph N., and Eleanor (White) Chiswell, natives of Montgomery County, Md., where they spent the principal part of their lives, the mother dying in 1862, and the father in 1883. She was a member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Chiswell was of Scotch-Irish descent; was a farmer by occupation, and was one of the prominent men of the county. He was captain of the militia before the war, and held various official positions in the county, being treasurer of the Grange for the States of Maryland and Delaware at the time of his death. The maternal grandfather, Benjamin White, was of Irish descent, and died in Montgomery County, Md. Lee Chiswell, the fourth of six sons and five daughters, grew to manhood on the farm, and attended the common schools until thirteen years of age, when he attended two years at Frederick Academy, one year at St. James College, and graduated at Columbia College, at Washington, D. C., soon after the war. He then studied law with Judges John A. Richie and John Lynch, two of Maryland’s brightest and ablest jurists. Mr. Chiswell was admitted to the bar in 1869, and the next year he came West, locating at Lamar, and was soon thereafter elected prosecuting attorney, which position he held with marked ability until 1882, when he refused further honors. He then purchased the Progress, which he changed to the Lamar Democrat and this he has owned partly ever since. Mr. Brandon has been his partner since 1888. Since his connection with journalistic work Mr. Chiswell has spared neither energy nor means to make his paper the equal of any in Southwest Missouri, and much of the improvement, intellectually, morally, and financially, of Lamar and vicinity, is due to the energetic measures taken by him. Although quite young at the breaking out of the war, he saw something of the hardships of war, both in the field and in prison. Two elder brothers, Benjamin and William, were in the Confederate Army; the former died at home during the war from exposure in service, and the latter served all through the war. Mr. Chiswell has been a Democrat all his life, and an active politician from youth. He is Past Master of Lamar Lodge No. 292, A. F. & A. M., and is also a member of Lamar Chapter and Commandery, and the A. O. U. W. He was married in 1873 to Miss Ann B. Hall, a native of Ohio, and the daughter of A. and Martha Hall, natives of Ohio, who came to Lamar in 1871, and are still living there. To Mr. and Mrs. Chiswell have been born four children, a son and three daughters.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 166 biographies included in The History of Barton County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Barton County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Barton County, Missouri family biographies, click here

Use the links at the top right of this page to search or browse thousands of other family biographies.