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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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Judge William H. Crum, of Linn Township, Moniteau County, was born near where he now lives, in what was then Cole County, in 1835. His parents were Anderson and Letitia (Akers) Crum, natives of Patrick County, Va. Anderson Crum was born in l806, and his father, John Crum, a native of Switzerland, was a son of Henry Crum. The latter, who was the great-grandfather of our subject, came to America when John was young, and located on a farm in Virginia. Henry died at an advanced age in Tennessee, after having reared a family of six or seven children, of whom John was the youngest of three sons; late in life he (George) removed to Georgia, where he died, leaving a family of seven boys and one daughter. Of this family Anderson Crum was the sixth child; he grew to manhood in Virginia, where he married, and in the spring of 1835 removed to Missouri, locating in what is now Moniteau County, but was then almost a wilderness. He entered land, established a saw and grist mill, and extensively engaged in farming, and also commenced the manufacture of tobacco at an early date, which he continued until the war broke out. Besides he traded in horses and mules in the South. He was an active politician, and was foremost in organizing school districts in the county, and gave liberally to all worthy enterprises. His death occurred in 1879. The mother of our subject was born in 1814 and died in 1844; she had eight children, six of whom grew to maturity, viz.: William, Nathaniel, James, George, who died in Nebraska while on his way to California in 1863; Amanda, wife of James Akers, and Mary, wife of J. A. J. Howard. William H. Crum was reared on the farm, and obtained his education in the common schools and the California Seminary, California, Mo. In 1860 he commenced doing for himself by teaching school in his native county, and was engaged in various occupations until 1865, when he returned to his birthplace and purchased the old homestead, where he has since lived. In 1864 he married Cynthia Welch, who was born in Cedar County, Mo., in 1841, and is a daughter of William and Mary (English) Welch, natives, respectively, of Tennessee and Cole (now Moniteau) County, Mo., both now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Crum are the parents of six children, viz.: Letitia, Missouri, Charles, Samuel, Clay, Gertrude, all at home. Mr. Crum was elected judge of Moniteau County in 1876, in which capacity he served two years; he has also held various minor offices in the township and county. He has taken an active interest in school work, and assisted in organizing his own school district, of which he served as director sixteen years. He is a well-informed man and an energetic farmer.

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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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