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Below is a family biography included in The History of Laclede 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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George H. Greenleaf was born in Salisbury, N. H., November 5, 1834, and died at his home in Lebanon, Laclede Co., Mo., December 9, 1886. He was a son of Thomas R. and Mary (Seaton) Greenleaf, who were natives of New Hampshire, and when a small boy moved with his parents to New Philadelphia, Ohio, where he received the greater part of his education. In 1857 or 1858 he came west with his parents to St. Louis, where they located. He then traveled for some time for a wholesale hardware firm of that city, and in 1869 came to Lebanon as a member of the banking firm of P. Vinton & Co., it being the first bank established in Laclede County. He continued a member of the firm until 1873, when they were succeeded by J. S. Sterling & Son. In 1874 Mr. Greenleaf succeeded Sterling & Son, and established the Laclede County Bank, which he continued to manage with great success and to the entire satisfaction of the patrons thereof until his death. He was essentially a self-educated and self-made man, a good and useful citizen, and took an active part in building up the city of Lebanon, and was one of its most honored, prosperous and progressive citizens. He was a member of the A. F. & A. M., the Knights Templar and the A. O. U. W., and was buried with the ceremonies of these societies, the ministers officiating at the funeral services being Revs. J. F. Martin and L. F. Bickford. On the 4th of October, 1870, he was united in marriage, in Old Lebanon, to Miss Lou Harrison, a daughter of John B. and Martha L. (Hyer) Harrison, who were born in South Carolina and Pennsylvania in 1804 and 1812, respectively. John B. Harrison was brought to Missouri when a small boy, and located in what is now Arlington, Phelps County, but in 1847 took up his abode in Laclede County, being among the first settlers of Old Lebanon. His marriage to Miss Hyer took place at Rolla, and for their wedding tour they took a trip to St. Louis on horseback. They became the parents of one daughter, Mrs. Greenleaf, who was born, reared and married in the same house in Old Lebanon. She was educated in the Columbia Christian College, and is the mother of three daughters: May, Anna and Georgia. Mr. Greenleaf was a member of the Congregational Church, of which she remains a consistent member.

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This family biography is one of 99 biographies included in The History of Laclede County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Laclede County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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