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Below is a family biography included in The History of Cedar 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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Solomon O. Grimes, one of Jefferson Township’s well known farmers, is a native of the “Old North State,” born May 30, 1845, and since 1857 —at which time his parents, Stephen and Susan (Elrod) Grimes, came to Missouri—he has been identified with the interests of Cedar County, being now the owner of a good farm of 236 acres, with about 130 acres under cultivation. In 1873 he was married to Miss Orlena Irwin, who was born in Missouri, in 1849, and died in December, 1879. She was the daughter of Cass and Rebecca Irwin, who were among the early settlers of Cedar County, and was the mother of five children: Orlena, wife of M. Austin; Amanda, wife of H. White; Mary, wife of Wesley Hammons; Henry and Ida (deceased). Mr. Grimes took for his second wife Mrs. Narsee (Simmons) Baker, a daughter of Absalom and Loretta Jones. She was born in Cedar County, in 1849, and has borne Mr. Grimes four children: Arthur (deceased), Johnnie, Jimmie (deceased), and Joseph. In 1862 Mr. Grimes enlisted in Company A, Fifteenth Missouri Volunteer Cavalry, and after serving in the Missouri State Militia, served twenty months in the regular army, until the close of the war. He supports the measures of the Republican party, and cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln. He has shown his brotherly spirit by joining the I. O. O. F., being a member of Humansville Lodge No. 310. Mrs. Grimes is a member of the Campbellite Church. His father and mother were born in North Carolina, in 1820 and in 1830, respectively, and the former was of Dutch descent, a farmer by occupation, and died in Dade County, Mo., in 1860. His wife is of Irish-German descent, and is now living in Cedar County. Her father, David Elrod, was born in the “Emerald Isle.”

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This family biography is one of 92 biographies included in The History of Cedar County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Cedar County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Cedar County, Missouri family biographies: Cedar County, Missouri Biographies

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