My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Polk 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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Hugh Brittain is the son of Robert and Margaret (Cain) Brittain, the father a native of Guilford County, N. C, born in 1802, though his father, William Brittain came from Wales. The mother was born in Hawkins County, Tenn., in 1803, but came of Irish ancestry. When a lad Robert Brittain moved with his parents to Tennessee and was there, later in life, married to Margaret Cain. After marriage they settled in Roane County, and here he died in 1837. The father was a successful tiller of the soil; was a Whig in politics, and was a soldier in the Creek War. Both parents were members of the Methodist Church. In their family were six children, four sons and two daughters. After the death of the father, the mother married Ezekiel Alexander, and with him came to Missouri. She died in Webster County, in 1861. Hugh Brittain was born in Roane County, Tenn., April 18, 1832, was reared on a farm, and educated in the old subscription schools. At the age of seventeen he began for himself by working on a farm for wages. In 1850 he and a brother came to this county, and in December, 1861, he went into Government service as teamster in the commissary department, being with Gen. Curtis most of the time. He operated in Missouri, Arkansas, Minnesota and Dakota, being out about three years. He then remained at Springfield, Ill., until 1867, when he returned to this county, and for some time traded in wagons, mules, etc., in Kansas and Texas. In 1869 he married Miss Tinie Lane, a native of Polk County, Mo., and the daughter of John W. Lane. Four children were the result of this union, two now living : Thomas W. and Mary E. In 1871 they moved to Grayson County, Texas, remained there for about ten years, and then, after a visit with his family to California, settled in Polk County, Mo., buying the farm where he now lives. He owns 278 acres of land, with 180 under cultivation. Politically, he is a Republican. He and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Brittain has made all his property by his own exertions and is in very comfortable circumstances. He has traveled in twenty-three States and six Territories.

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This family biography is one of 132 biographies included in The History of Polk County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Polk County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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