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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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Lewis B. Rupard, ex-county judge, and a successful agriculturist of Smith Township, Laclede Co., Mo., was born in Williamson County, Tenn., September 23, 1822, being the son of Erasmus and Nancy (Noll) Rupard, and grandson of Peter Rupard, who was a native of the Carolinas, and of Dutch descent. He was an extensive farmer, and was the father of three sons and five daughters, all of whom grew to maturity, married and reared families of their own. They are all now deceased with the exception of two. Erasmus Rupard was the eldest of the family. When about sixteen years of age he came to Williamson County, Tenn., with his parents, and there he finished his growth, married in 1819, and remained in this county until 1828, when he immigrated to St. Charles County, Mo., and rented land. In 1844 he moved to Polk County, Mo., and two years later to Hickory County, where he remained until his death, which occurred in May, 1883. He was married the second time in 1846, and became the father of four children, all deceased but one, Benjamin F. The mother of this child died in 1883. The mother of Lewis R. Rupard died in 1830, leaving a family of eight children, seven of whom grew to maturity. Those now living are Parlee, wife of A. J. Coshow; Lewis B.; Elizabeth, wife of H. J. Zumwalt, in Curry County, Oreg., and William, in Dallas County, Tex. Those deceased were named John D., who died in Texas and left a family; Erasmus, died in Texas and left a family; Peter, who died at the age of six months, and Nancy, who died in June, 1845, in Polk County, Mo. The father, after the death of his first wife, became a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and later a member of the Baptist Church, in which he took an active part, and held several minor offices while in Hickory County. Lewis B. Rupard was reared in St. Charles County, Mo., and went to Polk County in August, 1844. Later he went from there to Texas County, Mo., where he was one year engaged in logging and the lumber business, and was then hired as a foreman for a time. He was clerk in a mercantile establishment, and superintendent of lumber yards belonging to Truesdell & Burnett, for nearly five years. April 6, 1848, he married Miss Elizabeth J. Craddock, a native of Virginia, born November 10, 1825, and the daughter of Asa L. and Nancy Craddock, both natives of Virginia. Her parents came west about 1835 or 1836, and finally located in Laclede County, Mo., where the father died in 1853. The mother died in 1857 in Texas County. They had eleven children, these now living: Asa, James, Elizabeth and Nancy. Those deceased were named Eliza, Lucinda, John, Matilda, Clayborne, Mary and Stark. In 1850 L. B. Rupard moved to Laclede County, and since then has engaged very extensively in stock raising and farming. He is the owner of 750 acres of land in the Gasconade River Valley, 300 under a good state of cultivation. By his marriage to Miss Craddock he became the father of ten children, eight of whom lived to be grown, and six are now living: Erasmus and Nancy Ann (twins), William, John, James and Joseph. Those deceased were named Mary, Matilda, Lucinda and Grant. The last two were twins. Nancy Ann is the wife of William Monday, in Camden County. Mr. and Mrs. Rupard have a grandson, Robert Elmer Beck, living with them. He was born in 1882, and his mother, Mary (Rupard) Beck, died nineteen days after he was born, leaving two other children, William S. and Edina. Erasmus married a Miss Craddock, and they have five children, three now living: Ella, May and Elijah. Nancy Ann married William Monday, and had five children, two living, Mary and Robert. William married Miss Dyca Harrell, and has two children, Pearl and Beulah. John R. married Miss Harrell; he is residing in Texas. Joseph married Miss Mollie Kinchloe, and to them were born five children: Bettie, Nancy A., Robert, Ethel and Joseph. Matilda died at the age of eighteen years. James Rupard married Miss Clara Paine, who bore him three children: Elsie, Edward and Wallace. Mr. Rupard, subject of this sketch, is a member of the I. O. O. F., Agricultural Wheel, and in 1866 he was elected county judge, serving two years, and was re-elected in 1876. In 1882 he was elected to the same position for four years. In 1888 he was nominated by the Democrats to represent that county in the Lower House. He has been justice of the peace for a number of years, and has always taken great interest in educational matters, having served in the capacity of president and superintendent of public schools since 1852. He took an active interest in the support of the Federal Government in the late War of the Rebellion, and has always been consistent politically, casting his first presidential vote in 1844 for James K. Polk. He has affiliated with the Democratic party up to the present time; was one of that number of fifty who had the courage to vote for the Democratic nominee (George B. McClellan) in 1864, when radicalism was rampant in Southwest Missouri, and the country overrun by what was then known as Kansas Jayhawkers.

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This family biography is one of 104 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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