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Below is a family biography included in The History of Franklin 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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Mathew Bay, farmer and stock raiser, was born in the locality where he now resides in 1839; he was reared on the farm, which occupation he has since followed, and received his education in the common schools of the county. He was the eldest in the family of twelve children born to James M. and Ann (Cole) Bay, natives, respectively, of St. Louis and Franklin Counties, Mo. James M. Bay served eight years as justice of the peace in Franklin County, and when Calvey postoffice, which was established in 1850, was moved to its present location in 1861, he was appointed postmaster, in which capacity he has since served; he was a son of Samuel and Sallie (Musick) Bay, who settled in St. Louis County, Mo., about 1808, where the former purchased 900 arpents of land for an Indian pony. Samuel Bay was a son of Huey Bay, possibly a native of Ireland, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war. Mrs. Ann Bay, mother of our subject, was a daughter of Mathew and Sarah (Johns) Cole, natives of Kentucky, the latter a daughter of John and Lydia Johns. Mathew Cole was a son of Eleven and Sarah Cole, natives of Kentucky. Eleven Cole and John Johns served in the British army during the Revolution. Mathew Bay owns sixty acres of well-improved land where he now resides. He was married in 1865 to Miss Lizzie Wilson, a native of Beaver County, Penn., who came with her parents to Missouri when thirteen years old. They have six children, viz.: Luella, Cora, Nora, James W., Stanley S. and Edith. July 15, 1861, Mr. Bay enlisted in Company K, Eleventh Missouri Infantry, and was mustered out of service at Memphis, Tenn., August 5, 1864, having received a wound at the battle of Marksville Prairie. He served three terms as justice of the peace, is a Master Mason, a member of the G. A. R., and a Republican in politics. Mrs. Bay is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

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This family biography is one of 305 biographies included in The History of Franklin County, Missouri published in 1888.  For the complete description, click here: Franklin County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

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

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