My Genealogy Hound

JOSIAH L. RALSTON, farmer and stock-raiser, Mr. Ralston lives in section thirty-six. His post-office address is Carthage. He was born in Jasper county, April 8, 1850. His father, Nathan Ralston, was a native of North Carolina; came to Jasper county, Mo., and settled on Center Creek, where he lived until the war drove them off, and he died July 27, 1864. During his life he was a man of extraordinary energy, coming to Jasper county with but a few hundred dollars and at the end of his life being the possessor of over 1,300 acres of good land. His horses, cattle, and sheep were mostly driven off by the bushwhackers during the early days of the war. His crops were destroyed and grain taken from his farm. At one time fifty-two wagon loads of grain, each drawn by six mules, were taken from his farm to aid and comfort the enemies of himself and country, and many other indignities were the family compelled to suffer during these trying times. The family returned to their home in Jasper county in October, 1865, where the subject of this sketch was married, Nov. 1, 1876, to Miss Mary F. Johnson, a native of Arkansas, daughter of W. B. Johnson, of Jasper county. Of this union there are three children: Eva D., Bertha P., and Prentice A. Mr. Ralston’s farm contains 137 1/2 acres, sixty of which are improved, well situated near Center Creek, six miles from Carthage. His mother still lives on the old homestead on Center Creek. His brothers, three in number, and three sisters, are residents of Jasper county. Mr. Ralston is a highly respected citizen of Jasper county, and a worthy farmer.