My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Wright 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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R. H. Hanson, M. D. (homeopathist), of Hartville, Mo., was born in New York in 1843, and is the son of Cyrus and Lucinda (Hill) Hanson, and the maternal grandson of Richard and Betsey (Hill) Hill who reared a family of twelve children. Cyrus Hanson was a native of New Hampshire, a farmer, and immigrated to New York, where he died. His wife, Mrs. Lucinda (Hill) Hanson, was born in Vermont, and became the mother of eight children, six now living. She is still living, and is residing in Minnesota. Of this family R. H. Hanson is the eldest. He remained and assisted his father on the farm until over twenty years of age, and his education was received principally by self-study at home. He commenced studying for the ministry early in life, and also studied medicine. He first practiced medicine in Southwest and Central Missouri, and commenced his ministerial work at Ash Grove Circuit, where he remained for twelve years, and during that time he was also engaged in the practice of medicine. To this he has devoted his time entirely for the last three years. He was married in Missouri to Miss Zellah F. Hott, who was born in Missouri and who by her union became the mother of three children: Viola M., Perry L., and Inez T., who died at the age of fifteen months. Mr. Hanson is a Republican in his political views, and is a licensed pharmacist. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Merrill in 1875, an elder in St. Louis, Mo., by Bishop Simpson, and has married forty-three couples in Hartville. Mrs. Hanson was born in Polk County Mo in 1853, and her father was a native of Springfield, Ill. He came to Missouri in 1826, and died December 31, 1887, and his wife the day previous, of the same year. The mother was born on Christmas Eve, married on Christmas Eve, and died very near that time. Her maiden name was Joannah Douglass; she was of Scotch descent; her grandfather, William Douglass, was born in Virginia, and his father was a native of Scotland, and was of the Lord Douglass family. Her grandmother Douglass was a Kelso, and was a native of France. The father of Mrs. Hanson was a surveyor and engineer; was all through the Mexican War, and applied for a pension, which he never received until the time of his death. He belonged to the Advance Guards, and was an interpreter, speaking Spanish. During the Civil War he was a member of the secret service. He attended the same Sunday-school with Abraham Lincoln, and knew Mrs. Lincoln before her marriage. His grandfather on his mother’s side was a Kelby, and was one of the first three white men that settled the site of Springfield, Ill.

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This family biography is one of 90 biographies included in The History of Wright County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Wright County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Wright County, Missouri family biographies, click here

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