My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Dallas 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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Silas Dillion, an enterprising farmer of Lincoln Township, Dallas County, was born in Virginia in 1819, and is a son of William and Mary (Plyburn) Dillion, both natives of Virginia, who were born respectively in 1793 and 1787, and spent their lives in their native State. They had a family of ten children, seven of whom still survive, viz.: Louis Dillion, Jacob Dillion, Lydia Sink, Silas Dillion, Jesse Dillion, Reed Dillion, Tyra Dillion. Those deceased are Becky Bonson, Polly Dillion and Moses Dillion. William Dillion, who was a farmer, died in 1846; his widow lived until 1876. The paternal grandparents of our subject were Jesse and Elizabeth (Blankenship) Dillion, of Virginia, where the former was a large planter and slave holder. Silas Dillion was reared in his native State, where he spent his early manhood. In 1840 he went to Kentucky, and engaged in teaming until 1843, when he returned to Virginia, but the following year again went to Kentucky. In 1847 he married Elizabeth J. Vaughan, who was born in Kentucky in 1830, and was a daughter of Jeremiah and Frances (Barker) Vaughan, also natives of Kentucky, the former a farmer and merchant. Mrs. Dillion died in 1869, leaving seven children, viz.: Mary Frances Brown, Jeremiah, Anna E. Wattenboyer, William, Robert, Jennie E. Bonner and Crawford. In 1871 Mr. Dillion married Sarah E. Sample, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of John and Elizabeth Sample, of that State. By his second marriage Mr. Dillion has five children, viz.: Dona Belle Crudginton, Jacob, John L., Mella S. and Rebecca J. In 1862 Mr. Dillion enlisted in Company E, Missouri State Militia, under command of Col. McClurg and Capt. Allen, and served until the close of the war, participating in the battles of Sentinel Prairie and Vaughn Station. He removed from Kentucky to Missouri in 1856, and first settled in Polk County, where he remained one year, and then went to Hickory County, removing to Dallas County in 1865, which has since been his home. He owns 278 acres of land, 100 acres of which are under cultivation, and devotes his attention entirely to farming. In religion he is a Free Will Baptist, and politically he is non-partisan.

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This family biography is one of 74 biographies included in The History of Dallas County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Dallas County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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