My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Lawrence 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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John F. Spilman was born in Lawrence County, Mo., December 25, 1855. He is a son of Nathan C. and Emily P. Spilman, and a nephew of John J. Spilman, whose sketch appears in this work. The father was born in Allen County, Ky., February 3, 1823, and came to Lawrence County, Mo., in 1847. He was elected county judge in 1866, and held that office for three successive terms and died July 25,1871, just before the expiration of his third term. The mother was a daughter of Moses Pruitt, and was born in Allen County, Ky., in 1830. Her ancestors were of English, Irish and Scotch descent, and were early settlers of Culpeper County, Va. She and her husband were married in 1844, and were the parents of fifteen children. The following is a list of those now living: Arvazena A. (wife of D. J. Cooper) and Melzena P. (wife of J. C. Cooper), both living in Oregon; Lewis A. (a farmer in Lawrence County, Mo.), Julia F. (wife of W. H. Mize, of Sarcoxie, Mo.), John F. (who still lives on the old homestead where he was born), Mary E. (wife of Eli Davis, of Newton County, Mo.), William J. (who is at present principal of the State Normal School, at Cape Girardeau Mo.), Nathan B. (at present in Oregon) and Luther S., of Trinidad, Colo.

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This family biography is one of 272 biographies included in The History of Lawrence County, Missouri published in 1888.  For the complete description, click here: Lawrence County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Lawrence County, Missouri family biographies, click here

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