My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Moniteau 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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Henry Adkins, a farmer of Linn Township, Moniteau County, was born in Tazewell County, Va., April 14, 1826, and is a son of Isaac and Elizabeth (Hager) Adkins, also natives of Virginia. Isaac Adkins, who was a farmer, miller, and soldier in the Revolutionary War, died in 1858, at the age of 107 years; his wife died a few months afterward, over eighty years old. The maternal grandmother of our subject lived to be 114 years old. Henry Adkins was the youngest of a family of fourteen children; he was reared on a farm, and received a common-school education, remaining at home until of age. In 1847 he went to Montgomery County, Mo., from there to Warren County, and later to Linn County, Kas., where he remained about three years. He was in Polk County, Mo., when the war broke out, and enlisted in Coffer’s regiment; he was wounded while scouting, and was taken prisoner in Vernon County, sent to Springfield, and thence to Rock Island, Ill., being held for nearly two years, when he was given the privilege of joining the Union army. He was taken to Fort Leavenworth, Kas., where his company was stationed, and did garrison duty for about thirteen months, at the expiration of which time he was discharged. He returned to Polk County, Mo., sold his property there, and settled in Moniteau County, where he now lives. While on his way to Missouri from Virginia he married, in Tennessee, Mary A. Foster, who was born in Virginia in 1827 and died in 1850, leaving three children, Lizzie, George and William H. Mr. Adkins next married Mary King, a native of Wisconsin, who lived only about three years after marriage, and left two children at her death, Marion W. and Liza J., the latter now deceased. In 1861 Mr. Adkins married Angeline Wilson, a native of Virginia, who became a resident of Polk County, Mo., when a child. The latter marriage has been blessed with five children, Flemming S., Laura (wife of J. Kimbel), Richard, Mary J. (deceased) and Ella (deceased). Mr. and Mrs. Adkins are active members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, toward the support of which they contribute liberally.

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This family biography is one of 187 biographies included in The History of Moniteau County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Moniteau County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Moniteau County, Missouri family biographies here: Moniteau County, Missouri Biographies

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