My Genealogy Hound

JOHN MORROW RICE, M. D., of Columbus, Johnson County, is associated in practice with Dr. Baxter E. Morrow, to whom we will refer at greater length later in this article. Dr. Rice was born in Columbus Township, this county, August 30, 1871. As a basis for his medical education, he was well grounded in general knowledge in the schools of his home neighborhood and in the State Normal. He then went to Little Rock, Ark., where for years he was employed in a drug store, after which he read medicine under the tutelage of Dr. H. B. Coleman, of this place. In 1893, after pursuing a course of study and lectures at Beaumont Medical College of St. Louis, Mo., he was graduated with the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and at once entered into partnership with Dr. Morrow. The young men possess good ability, are steadily building up their already enviable reputation, and are on the high road to prosperity.

The parents of Dr. Rice are John Morrow, Sr., and Virginia (Tackett) Rice. The former is a native of this county, having been one of the first white children born within its boundaries, his birth occurring about 1833. His father. Pleasant Rice, emigrated from Tennessee to this locality, settling in the timber two miles north of where Columbus now stands, but later moved to a farm southeast of here, dying there at the age of eighty-nine years, in 1891. For nearly his entire life he was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. John M. Rice, Sr., was reared on his father’s farm and received a good education for those days. On reaching maturity he commenced farming on land that had been entered by some member of the family, it being a tract of one hundred acres lying southeast of Columbus. After becoming the owner of the same he continued actively engaged in its cultivation until 1881, at which time he was elected Clerk of Johnson County, and for eight years made a most efficient officer. He is now serving as Deputy-Clerk. He was reared in the faith of the Democracy, and still adheres to its teachings.

The first wife of J. M. Rice, Sr., was Mary, a sister of the lady who now bears his name. She was born in Virginia, and died before the war, leaving four children: Sallie, Mrs. Robert Ewing, of Lafayette County, Mo.; Linnie, wife of John A. Black, a farmer of Columbus Township; Mary, who is living with her father; and Mattie, deceased, formerly the wife of William Shouse, of Lexington, Mo. To the union of J. M. Rice and Virginia H. Tackett three children were born, namely: Cora, John M., Jr., and Marvin M., who is studying medicine with his elder brother. The senior Mr. Rice is a Knight Templar and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Dr. Baxter E. Morrow was born May 3, 1870, in this county, being a son of Baxter E. and Mary (O’Neill) Morrow. He is next to the youngest of five children, all of whom survive. The father was born in Lafayette County, Mo., in 1825, and was reared to farm life; but as he approached manhood his preference for a mercantile career became manifest. He secured a position as salesman in a general store and assiduously devoted himself to learning all the details of the business. A few years later he opened a store in Columbus, and conducted the same for several years successfully. About 1868 he disposed of his interests and bought land some two miles west of the village. Here in a quiet and unassuming way he passed his remaining years, his death occurring in 1890.

Dr. Morrow grew to manhood under the parental roof and received a thorough training in the common-school branches. On arriving at an age where the problem of his future field of employment presented itself, he chose the medical profession, and after studying with Dr. Coleman, of this place, for a year, entered Beaumont Hospital Medical College at St. Louis, graduating therefrom with honors in 1892. Returning to his old home in Columbus, he practiced for a year under the direction of his former preceptor, and in March, 1892, joined his interests with those of Dr. J. M. Rice, a graduate of his Alma Mater. During the three years of his practice here, Dr. Morrow has made many friends, and his uniform success in the treatment of his patients has gained for him the confidence of the people of this community. Politically he is a Democrat, and in his religious views he is a Cumberland Presbyterian. He is a valued member of the Columbus Church, and is always foremost in everything relating to its welfare.