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Below is a family biography included in the book, The History of Lewis County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887. 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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Joseph W. Sharp, farmer and stock dealer, was born in Nicholas County, Ky., in 1844, the eldest of four children of William and Eliza A. (Shannon) Sharp. The father was born in Fayette County, Ky., about 1820, the son of James, also a Kentuckian, who was the son of William, a Virginian and a soldier of the Revolution. The grandfather died when William was quite young. The father was a shoemaker’s apprentice from his thirteenth to his twentieth year. He began for himself, and finally owned an establishment which employed eleven hands. In 1840 he married Eliza A. Shannon, who died in 1863. He then married Ann Wisner, and by her had three children. At the time of his first marriage he was worth but little, and thirteen years later, when he was worth about $15,000, he lost all by security debts. He then came to this county and began again, and acquired 240 acres of land where he now lives. Our subject received but little education, and that before his eleventh year. When seventeen he entered Capt. Kendrick’s company, and served about six months on the Confederate side. He was at Kirksville, Palmyra and other places. He entered the Iowa State Militia, and afterward joined the Federal regiment, Second Iowa Cavalry, fought at Tupelo, Nashville and other places, and was mustered out in 1865 at Selma, Ala. He returned home, and in October, 1867, was married to Anna, the daughter of John R. and Josephine B. Wilson, and a native of Lexington, Ky. Her parents were of Scotland and Kentucky, respectively. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Sharp are Joseph L., Thomas J., John W., Mary and Lula (twins), and an infant. Our subject has since been a resident of his present farm of eighty acres, which, with two other tracts, reaches 380 acres. He is a well-informed and traveled man. He is giving his children collegiate advantages. He is a Democrat and a Mason, while his wife is a member of the Baptist Church.
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This family biography is one of 293 biographies included in the Lewis County, Missouri portion of the book, The History of Lewis, Clark, Knox and Scotland Counties, Missouri published in 1887. For the complete description, click here: Lewis County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps
View additional Lewis County, Missouri family biographies here: Lewis County, Missouri Biographies
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