My Genealogy Hound

WILLIAM F. BUSBY is one of the very early settlers of Sheridan township. He was born in Adair county, Ky., July 15, 1835, and is the son of William and Sarah Busby, natives of South Carolina. Mr. W. F. Busby’s father, William, served in the War of 1812, under General Jackson. He had fifteen children, young William being the tenth child. Our subject never received any education, as he had to work in the tobacco fields from the time he was big enough. At that time there was not one man in twenty possessed of a wagon, and few had any plows, and those were single shovel plows. They put their tobacco in hogsheads and rolled them to the river or shipping point. In l850 he moved with his parents to Lawrence county, Mo., and engaged in farming. In 1861 he joined the home guards. After that he returned to Illinois, and in March, 1862, he joined the state troops for three months, but did not receive any pay for the time he served. He then went to Kansas and staid until 1864. He settled in Jasper county, Mo., in March, 1867, and lived in Preston township eight years, when he bought his present farm of 87 acres. He was married in 1868 to Rebecca Crow, daughter of Levi and Jane Crow, natives of Virginia and Kentucky. Mr. and Mrs. Busby have seven children, named Thomas L., Olive J., Eva L., Anna E., Sarah E., Maggie, and Minnie Y. They also have a boy living with them named James Crow. Mr. Busby’s farm is located in section 6, connected with which are all the modern improvements for making farming profitable. In politics he is a Republican, and takes an active interest in local affairs and in the progress of this county, and is an honest, straight forward, upright man.