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Below is a family biography included in The History of Gasconade County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1888.  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 August Meyer, clerk of the circuit court and ex-officio recorder of Gasconade County, is a leading citizen of Hermann, Mo., near which place he was born July 5, 1850. He is the youngest of the surviving children born to Ernst Henry and Christine (Grannemann) Meyer, who were married in 1835. Ernst Henry Meyer, a native of Holtzhausen, Prussia, was born March 3, 1809; he immigrated to America in 1836, without his family, and located in Richmond, Va., where he remained about two years working at his trade, that of a blacksmith. He then returned to his native country with the intention of remaining, but becoming dissatisfied he again set sail for America with his family, reaching Hermann, Gasconade Co., Mo., July 21, 1838, where he located for a while. Subsequently he became the owner of some 260 acres of land in Sections 6 and 7, Township 45, Range 4 west, 183 acres of which he entered from the Government, upon which land he resided up to the time of his death. On December 7, 1840, he declared his intention of becoming a citizen of the United States, and subsequently, April 8, 1845, he was admitted to full citizenship, under the name of Ernst Meyer, in the Gasconade Circuit Court. On April 29, 1870, he again sailed from New York for his native land in search of health, returning the 23d day of July following. After the death of his first wife, he was married on August 30, 1871, to Catherine Brock, a native of Germany, with whom he lived but a short time before his death, which occurred September 9, 1871; he was buried in the family graveyard on the homestead above mentioned, about three miles from Hermann. He was a citizen well known and respected by all in the community, and was a strong Republican in politics. Mrs. Christine Meyer was born at Nordhemmen, Prussia, March 15, 1811, and died in Gasconade County, February 7, 1863, and was buried on the homestead. Of the children born to the parents six survive, as follows: Henry August Meyer, of Hermann; Henry Meyer, of St. Louis; Louis Meyer, of Hermann; Christian Meyer, of Gasconade County; Edward Meyer, of Effingham County, Ill., and Louisa Meyer (now Mrs. Krug), of St. Louis. Those deceased are Caroline, William and Annie. Henry August Meyer, subject of this sketch, was reared on the homestead near Hermann, where he attended the public schools; he subsequently completed a normal course at the Central Wesleyan College, Warrenton, Mo., graduating in 1874. He then returned to Hermann and took charge of Frene Creek School, near that place, where he taught five years. At the August term of the county court, in 1877, he was appointed school commissioner of Gasconade County, which position he filled until the November term, 1878, when he tendered his resignation. In November, 1878, he was elected on the People’s ticket as clerk of the circuit court, by a majority of 154 votes, was re-elected on the same ticket in 1882, by a majority of 130 votes, and again elected in 1886 on the regular Republican ticket, by a majority of 387. From April, 1881, to April, 1887, he served as a member of the German school board of Hermann, during which time he was treasurer of the same. On August 11, 1875, Mr. Meyer married Henrietta Vedewald, who was born in Franklin County, Mo., December 1, 1854, and is a daughter of Frederick and Mary (Meyer) Vedewald, who came to America in 1843, and located on a farm in Franklin County, Mo., where the father died September 4, 1869; he is buried in the old graveyard of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Franklin County, of which church he was a member. Mr. and Mrs. Meyer are the parents of six children, born as follows: M. Lydia, born May 20, 1876; Benjamin F., June 6, 1878; Martha C., August 23, 1880; Luella J., December 31, 1882; Cora F. E., August 30, 1885, and Olinda W. C, May 15, 1887. The parents are consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Meyer is also a member of Hermann Lodge, No. 32, A. O. U. W.

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This family biography is one of 146 biographies included in The History of Gasconade County, Missouri published in 1888.  For the complete description, click here: Gasconade County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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