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Below is a family biography included in The History of Moniteau 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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J. W. Norfleet, who is intimately associated with the farming interests of Harrison Township, was born in Callaway County, Mo., October 31, 1833. His parents, Rev. Abraham and Margaret (Campbell) Norfleet, were natives of Kentucky, the former born in Pulaski County in 1801, and the latter in Green County in 1802. He died in 1870 and she in 1872. The father was a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was transferred from Kentucky to Missouri. He rode the Cape Girardeau Circuit in 1827, and the next year rode the circuit where Columbia now stands. He located in Callaway County, but moved to Cole County in 1848, where he spent the remainder of his life, serving his church as a local preacher. He was a stanch Union man during the war, but was too old to enter the army. Of the five children born to his marriage, all are living: Adam C., Eliza J. Hite, Ann Walser, David C. and John W. The maternal grandparents of our subject, David and Margaret Campbell, were natives of Kentucky, and each came from the Emerald Isle. David Campbell was one of the earliest settlers of Kentucky, and was in the Revolutionary War. He was a farmer. Four of his sons went to California in 1847, and were present at the first finding of gold. For some time at first they could pick up small pieces of gold, not stopping to wash off the dirt. J. W. Norfleet’s early life was spent in Cole County, Mo., and his education was rather limited on account of poor school advantages. He, however, attended the high-school at Lebanon, Mo., in 1856-57, and began for himself at the age of twenty-one years. He was married in August, 1864, to Miss Sarah C. Nichols, who was born in Boone County, Mo., April 2, 1847. Her parents, John F. and Julia (Lewis) Nichols, were both natives of Kentucky, and moved from that State to Boone County, Mo., thence to Jefferson City in 1861, and back to Callaway County at the close of the war. He was a hotel keeper and was also a mechanic. He was the father of ten children, seven now living. By his marriage Mr. Norfleet became the father of five children: Viola, Abraham L., Robert A., Rosa and Sallie. Mrs. Norfleet died April 24, 1882, and in March, 1883, Mr. Norfleet took for his second wife Mrs. Jane (Bills) Keep, who was born in Ohio in 1835. Mr. Norfleet purchased his present farm, which consists of 160 acres of well-improved land, in 1865, and moved on it the same year. He is not very active in politics, but is a Republican, and cast his first presidential vote for the Know-Nothing candidate in 1856. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

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This family biography is one of 187 biographies included in The History of Moniteau County, Missouri published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Moniteau County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Moniteau County, Missouri family biographies here: Moniteau County, Missouri Biographies

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