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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

 

BOONE CANSLER COFFEY MOSS ORR PETTY

 

FAMILIES

It is usually idle to speculate as to the results if another chain of events had occurred instead of a chain that actu­ally did occur, but in the case of the Boone family an in­vestigator will soon begin to wonder 'What if - - -.'

 

We can pass by this 'What if---' in the case of George Boone, the ancestor who came to this country from Eng­land in the early seventeen hundreds. He settled above Philadelphia on the Delaware River naming the new set­tlement Exeter after his old home in England. As his family grew up and began to head families of their own they settled around him until there was quite a colony of the Boones and their relations. This included his son Squire who married Sarah Morgan in 1720, settled near his father, and in due time began to raise a family of his own. Sarah was the first child of Squire Boone, but Israel born in 1724 was the first son.

 

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There followed some ten years later another son whom he named Daniel, and of whom the world was to hear a great deal some forty or fifty years later. Just at this time Old Man 'What If--' began to hang around the place.

 

All the members of the Boone family were Quakers. George Boone was a member of a Quaker congregation before he came to America, and his family were raised in the faith as were those of his children. To all outward appearances everything was harmonious, everyone was a good Quaker, and peace and harmony prevailed through­out the settlement--that is, until Israel came of age. Then things began to happen, and Old Man 'What If---' came right into the house and sat down in Squire Boone's lap.

 

The Boones were Quakers, as has been said. Among other articles of faith the congregations retained the right to oversee the daily lives of members and were to be consulted as to any action that might affect their body as a whole. They not only retained that right, but exer­cised it. Their object, of course, was to keep their body united, to allow no chance for dissension to creep into their councils, and to prevent any outside moves affect­ing their unity of purpose. One of the highest prized rights of the Elders was that of being consulted in regard to marriages, especially marriages outside of the church membership.

All these rules and regulations may or may not have occurred to young Mister Israel Boone about the time he came of age. If they did, he evidently was not much im­pressed because he married a girl who was not a Quaker and he did not ask the congregation anything about it. He may have talked his plans over with his father, or what was more likely, with his mother. Nor is it likely the young couple could keep their plans entirely secret in such a small settlement. The fact remains, however, that

 

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he did not say a word to the congregation about it, either before or after the ceremony which was performed by his father who held an office roughly corresponding with our Justice of the Peace. In fact, Israel treated the mat­ter as if it were the private affair of himself and his wife.

 

The congregation had plenty to say, however, and they said it. We do not know all the details of the saying, and perhaps it is just as well that we do not. But it is safe to say that the Elders reasoned with Israel and pointed out the effect his action might have. After giving the young man a dressing down in keeping with his offense, he was undoubtedly directed to get his wife into the church, and to do it quickly. We know, however, that Israel did not do anything of the kind, but again we do not know why. Per­haps he didn't care much about it; it could have been his lady didn't want to join; maybe, as is more likely, the Elders had rubbed Israel's fur the wrong way until his stubborn streak had been exposed. Anyway, the net result of the whole thing was a first class neighborhood row in which everyone concerned kept getting madder and mad­der--and more hellbent on having his own way. Finally, the congregation 'withdrew fellowship' from Israel; in modern words, they canned him. To show them how much he thought of their old church, Israel promptly took his wife and moved away, first to the colony of Maryland, and later on down to North Carolina.

 

By this time the whole colony had taken sides, and it appears that most of them took the anti-Boone side, for not long after they disciplined Israel they 'withdrew fel­lowship' from his father, Squire Boone, the charge being that he had not prevented Israel from marrying outside the church. It was plain to be seen that someone hadn't prevented it, and they were all mad at Squire anyway, so out he went. He and his family promptly followed Israel, and by 1750 the whole family was settled in North Caro­lina. Old Man 'What If----' didn't go with them; his work was done.

 

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Now, then: What if Israel Boone HAD married a Quak­er? Or what if she HAD joined that church after her mar­riage?

 

First and foremost, there would have been no church row, or at least not about that. Israel would not have had fellowship withdrawn from him; neither would his father. It is likely that they would not have moved, but would have continued to live quietly in Exeter, as they had been do­ing. Daniel would have grown to manhood there and likely never have heard of Sarah Bryan, who became his wife in North Carolina in 1757. Nor is it likely he would have heard of Colonel Henderson and his Transylvania Com­pany. Nor would he have been hired to explore the coun­try between the Kentucky, Cumberland, and Ohio rivers, which the company had purchased from the Indians for $50,000.00 at the Great Pow-Pow (which seems to have been Indian for Big Drunk) at the Sycamore Shoals on the Watauga River in east Tennessee, in March, 1775. The area might not have been explored at all. Daniel might not--it is almost certain he would not--have been in Kentucky in the early days of the Revolution and stemmed the tide of Indian invasion from north of the Ohio. Nor would he have been there later when the southern Indians rose to the wheedling of Cameron. Nor would he have been there to guard the Western Gate when the patriots bayed Cornwallis at Yorktown. No one might have been there, and this country might still be British IF Israel Boone had married a Quaker.

 

Whatever else the move did to the Boone family, it did not improve their financial condition. They were probably in fair circumstances when they left Pennsylvania, but by 1775 executions were being issued in Virginia against Daniel Boone and William Cowan, which were returned with the notation 'gone to Kentucky.' Census returns for 1782 in Richmond record that Squire Boone had 'left' five Negroes to secure a debt. They were listed as living there that year, but from the fact that the Negroes were

 

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'left' there, Squire Boone must have actually lived else­where. This Squire Boone could have been either the fath­er, brother, or nephew of Israel.

 

After we are done with conjectures and 'What Ifs; the fact remains that prior to 1750 the whole Boone family had emigrated from their first settling place in Pennsyl­vania, and were now residents of northwestern North Carolina. History records the doings of Daniel Boone, and tells that after a life filled with adventure he and most of his family removed to Missouri, where he died, and where many of his descendants now live.

 

But history does not faithfully record the rest of the family. We know that among his other children, Israel Boone, Daniel's brother, had three whose names were Jesse, Israel, and Anna; Jesse married a McMahan. We do not know whom Israel married. Anna married William Coffey, whose name was sometimes spelled Coffee. Han­nah Boone, daughter of Jesse and granddaughter of the first Israel, married Smith Coffey, who may have very well been her first cousin and the son of her Aunt Anna. One of her children, the only one we know about, was named Squire Coffey. The Coffeys lived in the immediate neighborhood of the Boones in North Carolina in 1790.

 

From the coming of George Boone to our shores down to Hannah Boone and Smith Coffey the Boone descent is sure, but the next generation is only conjecture. We do not certainly know that the Boones, Canslers, and Coffeys who came to Maries County were the descendants of Is­rael Boone. We believe that further investigation will es­tablish this fact, but as far as actual known facts are con­cerned the chain is broken at Smith Coffey, but after the lapse of not to exceed one generation the following other facts are known and definitely established: William Daniel Boone was born at Lenoir, North Caro­lina, in 1809. He was one of the thirteen children of Israel

 

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Boone, and was not the oldest. Israel Boone, his father, had been born and raised at or near Lenoir. This carries the Israel Boone residence at Lenoir back a good ways--at least thirty years; far enough back that he could easily have been a grandson of the first Israel. A Jesse Boone--the only Jesse listed--lived in the general neighborhood of Lenoir in 1790, which strengthens the belief that Israel who was the father of William Daniel was his son and the grandson of the first Israel.

 

In addition to William Daniel Boone, Israel had another son, Johnathan, and a daughter who married a man named Cansler. Both of them are disposed of with the notation 'moved to Missouri.'

 

The date of Johnathan Boone's leaving for Missouri is not known. He reached the forks of the Maries in this county in 1834, but after the casual manner of that day he may have been ten years on the road, living a season or two at various places along the way--or he may have come straight through. In addition to his own descendants, the Edmondson and Grigsby families came at the same time, and were likely related. They all entered land in the im­mediate vicinity of old Stony Point. Johnathan Boone's family consisted of his wife and at least five children, all of whom were married and some of whom had grown chil­dren at the time. They were: Jesse, Israel, John, Rachel, wife of Marvel Coffey, and another son whose name is not handed down. This son went to California in an early day and prospered in the gold rush. He was robbed and se­verely injured and never returned to this county. The others will be treated below.

 

William Daniel Boone never came to this county, but settled in Bradley County, Tennessee, about 1838, and lived the remainder of his life there. His descendants are represented here, however, and will be listed. The sister of Johnathan and William Daniel Boone who married a Cansler has not been further identified, but as the Canslers

 

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came here about the same time it is likely they all came together.

 

William Daniel Boone, son of Israel (who is believed to have been a grandson of the first Israel), was born near Lenoir, North Carolina, in 1809. He was first married to Millie Triplett by whom he was the father of fourteen children.

 

He later married Susan McAndrew to whom two chil­dren were born. All of his descendants in any way con­nected with Maries County affairs were by his first wife, to whom he was married before leaving North Carolina. He settled in Bradley County, Tennessee, in 1838, and lived there the rest of his life, dying in 1878.

 

Marion Boone, the oldest son of William Daniel, came to Missouri and is believed to have lived in this county, but no actual record of his living here has been found. He was living in Camden County about the beginning of the Civil War, and was killed in that county in 1862 or 1863. Nothing is known of any family he may have left.

 

Nancy Elizabeth Boone, oldest daughter of William Daniel, married William McGriff of Bradley County, and very soon after their marriage settled in this county, where he died in early manhood. The two children born of this marriage are still living: William D. McGriff of near St. Elizabeth, and Mrs. Martha Lewis, a widow, at Iberia, both in Miller County. Some years after the death of her first husband, Mrs. McGriff married Herod Vaughan; her other descendants will be found under that name, but in order to keep the Boone record together, it is repeated here: The five children born of her second marriage were: Mariona Vaughan in Ray County; Wilson Vaughan in Kan­sas City; Alice, widow of W. T. Bodendick in St. Louis; Amanda, wife of Ben Dodds, in Dixon; and Nancy E., wife of William P. Graham in Washington, Missouri.

 

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The Grigsbys seem to have dropped out of the Johnathan Boone picture entirely, and no record of them has been found after that first entry. The Edmondsons appear here and there, but so separated that no connected chain of their descent is possible. Lucinda Edmondson was married to Alexander Hill August 26, 1839, by Roydon Rober­son, Justice of the Peace of the then Gasconade County. Abraham Edmondson and his wife, Sallie, join in a deed to John Taff in 1846, made by the heirs of Drusilla Rober­son to part of the old Moss place on Fly Creek. A Harlan Edmondson also figures in transactions concerning the Drusilla Roberson estate, so it is more than likely that some blood connection existed between the families. But owing to the lapse of time and the absence of written rec­ords, the exact nature of this connection will likely never be known. Probably the best guess as to the relationship of Edmondson and Grigsby to Johnathan Boone is that they were his sons-in-law.

 

John Boone, son of Johnathan, was a widower with two children, William and Daniel, when he came here with his father. He was married some time after coming here to Minerva, daughter of Peter Taff, and some years after the marriage, certainly before 1853, he and his wife moved to near Dallas, Texas, and never returned. It is known that no children were born of the second marriage. John Boone is thought to have been Johnathan's oldest child.

 

Israel Boone, son of Johnathan, married Julia Ann Gelette of Alabama, settled on the Maries near his father, and died here. His five children were: Sarah, wife of George G. Ellis; Eliza J., wife of F. M. Copeland; Mary, wife of Nathan Henderson Cansler Junior; all of whom will be further mentioned under their married names. His two sons, William (Babe) and Albert, went to the western part of the state after their father's death, and their descendants have not been traced. Mrs. Ellis, then eighty-three years old, was still living at Crowley, Colorado,

 

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in 1935. Mrs. Nettie Johnson of Osceola, Missouri, is the only descendant of Albert Boone whose children are known.

 

Jesse Boone, son of Johnathan, was first married to Anna, sister of Nathan Henderson Cansler Junior before coming here. After her death he married Julia Ann, widow of his brother, Israel. They made their home in Polk County the remainder of their lives, Jesse Boone being killed by a runaway team there about 1875. No children were born of the last marriage. Of the three born to the first union Martha died while a child. The other two were Elizabeth (Bettie) who became the wife of 'Brud' Vaughan under which name her descendants will be found, and Hen­derson Boone.

 

The last named, who was born April 28, 1848, is now or lately was still living, together with his second wife, in the Masonic Home in St. Louis. He was born here but left before reaching his majority, and spent most of his adult life in Hickory and Polk counties. Always a lover of horses, he visited here regularly every fall when the Clover Field Track was in its heyday, but has not been in the county for many years. His first wife was Luvicey, daughter of Nathan Harris, to whom he was married near Conway, Missouri, in 1867, and who died March 30, 1881. She was the mother of six children, of whom Eva, now Mrs. Hight, lives at Marionville, Missouri, and Anna, now Mrs. Charles Ramsey, at 3352 Olive Street, Huntington Park, California. The other four, Mattie, Andrew, Jesse, and Daniel, are dead. None of them ever lived in Maries County.

 

Henderson Boone's second marriage was to Mrs. Ella Morris, the widowed daughter of Dr. Barnes of Polk County. They were the parents of four children, of whom Frank died in 1923. The others are: Mrs. Claude Brooks of Kansas City, Kansas; Willard Boone of Branson, Mis­souri; and Mrs. Roy Paddock of Oklahoma.

 

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Mattie, the oldest child of Henderson Boone's first marriage, married a man named Blackmore, and died in western Missouri in 1899. She was the mother of four children, Grace, Lois, Earl, and William. The boys' present addresses are not known. Lela, wife of Frank Williams, lives at Mt. Vernon, Missouri. The descend­ants of Andrew, Jesse, and Daniel Boone, the remaining deceased children of Henderson Boone's first marriage, and of Frank, by his second marriage, have not been traced.

Marvel Coffey, who married Rachel, daughter of Johnathan Boone, in either North Carolina or Tennessee, may also have been a Boone descendant. He certainly was if, as we believe, he was a son of Smith Coffey, grandson of Israel Boone Senior. Marvel Coffey and his wife were the parents of seven living children when they came here with the Boone colony in 1834. In addition, one daughter, whose name we do not know, had married William Moss in Tennessee and died, leaving two children; one died be­fore they came here; the other grandchild, Selina Moss, came here with them. The seven living children were: Lavina, Elizabeth, Temperance, Irvin, William B., Squire, and Campbell Coffey. Campbell Coffey was the youngest and Squire next; we do not know the age-order of the rest.

 

Marvel Coffey and his wife lived in the Stony Point set­tlement something like four years and until August, 1838, when they moved farther up the creek and bought land just south of Highway 42 on the west side of the Big Ma­ries, now owned by members of the Stratman family, from George Hill. Here the family lived until the deaths of the parents which occurred less than ten years thereafter.

 

Their son, William Brazeal Coffey, was married and the father of one son named Marion before the Civil War. He was killed near the former Birmingham place about 1863, and if his murderers were known they were never punished. His widow later married James Martin and with him and her son moved to near Salisaw, Oklahoma,

 

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where Marion lived at last accounts. He married Barbara Asher of that state after leaving Missouri, and lives at Salisaw.

Lavinia Coffey, daughter of Marvel, was the first wife of Isaac W. Odom, and has been dead more than seventy years. She was the mother of two children, William and Brazeal, who were last heard of around Denison, Texas, more than forty years ago. Isaac Odom was a son of Ja­cob Odom who was born in Scotland, and who came to this country in 1812, settling in Mississippi, where Isaac was born in 1824. After the death of his first wife, Isaac W. Odom married a sister of William Petty, and both fami­lies, with the Orrs and others, moved to Hutton Valley in Howell County. He died there of typhoid fever before 1875.

 

Salina Moss, granddaughter of Marvel Coffey, grew to womanhood in present Maries County, and was here mar­ried to James Wilson. Both are long since dead. They were the parents of four children, as follows: Eliza J. who married Asa Crismon February 7, 1875, both she and her husband are dead, childless; Tina, died single; the two boys, both living, are George M. at Vancleve and 'Buddy' in St. Louis. (William Moss, father of Salina, also came here, either with the Coffeys or soon after, and additional information will be found under his name).

 

Irvin Coffey, one of the older of Marvel Coffey's chil­dren, died here about the beginning of the Civil War, His wife was Nancy Hughes, and her twin sister was the wife of 'Cat' Vaughan. Irvin and Nancy were the parents of nine children, all dead, one son and one daughter dying in in­fancy. The ones who died leaving families are; John, Al­exander, William, Squire, Martha, Samuel, and James. This is believed to be the order of their ages.

John Coffey, son of Irvin, who was a bugler in the Civil War, was born here December 15, 1844, and died here

 

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September 6, 1881. He was married here October 11, 1866, to Susan Vanderpool (who later married Fritz Sudheimer). They were the parents of four children, of whom Irvin, born February 14, 1871, died single February 8, 1896. The living are: Elizabeth, widow of William Sudheimer, Big Piney, Missouri; Oliver at Vista, Missouri; and Squire at Wichita, Kansas.

Alexander Coffey, son of Irvin, died September 7, 1912; his birth date is not known. He married Martha Ann Doyle in a, double wedding with his brother, John, on Oc­tober 11, 1866; Martha Ann died September 25, 1918. Of the nine children born of this marriage Irvin E. Coffey died in infancy, and the record of Martha R. Coffey has not been found. The other seven are: William M. of McClave, Colorado; Nancy C. who married a Mahaney and died in Texas November 21, 1921, childless; James H. of Osceola, Missouri; Mary E. who married a Sharp and now lives in Selma, California; Lillie E. who married a Knight and lives at Kansas City, Missouri; Arthur B. at Portland, Oregon; and Estelle P. whose married name is not known at Vista, Missouri.

 

William Coffey, son of Irvin, married Belle Whitton, and lived most of his later life at Rich Hill, Missouri, where he died about 1880. Of the several children born to them, the addresses of only two are certainly known: John in Attica, Kansas, and Cosy in Salt Lake City, Utah. The others may have died in infancy.

 

Squire Coffey, son of Irvin, was married to Jane Gibson in this county October 2, 1876, by Reverend J. T. Powers and died in Oklahoma City about 1920. Their three chil­dren, all living, are: Arthur of Oklahoma City, Ernest of Tucson, Arizona, and Carney of St. Louis.

Martha Coffey, daughter of Irvin, was married here July 29, 1875, to E. P. Mahaney of Gasconade County. The young couple soon moved to Texas and both are now dead.

 

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Their four children are: Anna, Ophie, Edna, and Earl Mahaney, all of whom are thought to be still living around Alvarado, Texas.

 

Samuel Coffey, son of Irvin, married Sarah Vaughan. He died in Texas about 1888, and his widow has since passed away. One child, Bertie, died in infancy; another child, Altha, is married and likely living, but her mar­ried name and present address are not known. If there were other children their names have not been obtained.

 

James Coffey, the remaining child of Irvin, married Maggie Crafton probbly in the western part of the state, and died at Vista, Missouri, in 1890. Of their three chil­dren, Lawrence died in infancy. The other two are: Flor­ence who lives in Kansas City, Kansas, and Belvia who lives in Wichita; their married names are not known.

 

Squire Coffey, son of Marvel, was born in 1825, and married Drusilla, daughter of Henry Parker, in 1850. They owned and lived on the Marvel Coffey place for many years, later moving to Hickory County, where he died at Weaubleau City in 1912. They were the parents of seven children, of whom three are yet living. They are: Martha who married John Swicegood and lives at Weaubleau City; Isabelle who married John Fields and lives at Clinton, Missouri; and Dove who married John Davis and lives at Bolivar, Missouri. Those who are dead are: Matilda, Boone, Nellie, and John Richard Coffey. Matilda who was born in 1857 and died in 1929 married James, son of Edward Moss, and her descendants will be found in this chapter under that name. William Daniel Boone Coffey, son of Squire, was born December 14, 1856, and mar­ried Lavina, daughter of David Cox. They lived most of their married life in western Missouri where he died Au­gust 8, 1933; his wife is also dead. The seven living chil­dren born to them and living to maturity are: Mrs. Levi Leach, Minco, Oklahoma; Arlie Coffey, Duncan, Okla­homa; Jesse Coffey, Carrollton, Missouri; Mrs. Everett

 

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Durnell, Wheatland, Missouri; Mrs. Homer Selvidge, Kan­sas City, Missouri; and Roy and Cecil Coffey, both of Weaubleau City, Missouri. Nellie Coffey, daughter of Squire, was born January 22, 1862, and died at Minden Mines, Missouri, November 12, 1930. She was the wife of Jerry Wells. Of the children born of this marriage, Adolphus is dead; Carl lives at Minden Mines and Claude at Amory, both in Missouri. John Richard Coffey, the re­maining deceased child of Squire Coffey, was born August 11, 1859, but the date of his death has not been received. He married Hodge Wells, and is survived by one son, George Coffey, who lives in the western part of the state, not far from the Kansas line.

 

Campbell Coffey, son of Marvel, was born in 1831 and died May 8, 1892. He married Carolina, daughter of Ben­jamin Eads, who was born March 1, 1831, and died Sep­tember 11, 1900. Campbell Coffey served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and spent his entire life in this county, as did his wife. They were servived by six children of whom James S. and Isabelle, widow of Thom­as Ballance, live at Dixon, and Mary, widow of W. N. Copeland at Freeburg. John died single; Benjamin mar­ried Martha Murphy, nee Moss, and their only child died in infancy. Hiram Kimzey Coffey, the remaining son, was horn in 1862, and died November 13, 1925. He was mar­ried June 13, 1886, to Mary Ann, daughter of Jesse and Nancy Evans of Osage County, who was born June 26, 1861, and died February 9, 1931. They were the parents of seven children, of whom one is dead. The six living are: Earl, Sherman, Jesse, Thomas, and Lennie, wife of J. S. Snodgrass, all of Vienna, and Mrs. Lizzie Behm of Pacific. Sidney, the oldest son, died March 17, 1922. He was the father of two children, Cellus and Bernice, by his marriage with Kate Weidinger, both of whom, with their mother live in St. Louis.

 

It is regretted that very little information is at hand as to either the Orror Petty families. Elizabeth Coffey married

 

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William Petty, and they lived for a time on the farm on the upper part of Fly Creek, now owned by Joseph Volmert, and not far from the site of the former Flag Springs schoolhouse. They later moved to Boone Town­ship, where Petty is believed to have died during or soon after the Civil War. Some few years afterward his widow and her family removed to or near Hutton Valley in Howell County, where she spent the remainder of her life, and where it is thought some of her descendants still live. However, all efforts to get in touch with them have failed. Clemens Falter, brother of the late Fritz Falter of Freeburg, married one of the Petty girls and moved south with them, but relatives here have not been in touch with him for many years.

 

Very little more is known of the family of Temperance Coffey and James Orr. They moved to Howell County with the Orrs, and are supposed to have died there. There are thought to have been five children: Calvin, Lewis, George, William, and Marvel. The descendants of the first three have not been obtained. William married Catharine, daughter of John Martin, and Marvel married Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Barnhart Senior. If these two families went to Howell County with the rest, they did not stay long, for both died in this county. William's children were: Malinda, Martha, Sylvia, Mollie, Mary, Samuel, James, Clayton, and George. Marvel Orr was the father of eleven children, of whom Martha married Albert Roberds and died childless, and Mertie married Dr. S. J. Terrill, and after his death a man named Silberman, and now lives in St. Louis. The other children are: Matilda, wife of Arnold Russell, Cuba, Missouri; James in Henry County; John, Irvin, and Arnold in Colorado; Elmer in Chilhowee, Missouri; George at Dixon; Cora, now Mrs. Kusewit in St. Louis; and Henrietta, wife of Louis Bilyeu in this county.

 

Thus far, identifying the Boone strain in Maries Coun­ty has been accurate, if not easy, but when we pass on to

 

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their relationship to the Moss family we find that the kin­ship is definitely known, but its degree is not so sure, ex­cept in one family. The writer has in his files a letter from A. J. Boone, of McDonald, Tennessee, dated De­cember 13, 1935, in which Mr. Boone identifies himself as a son of John Boone and a nephew of Daniel (William Daniel) Boone of Bradley County, Tennessee. He had no knowledge of our Johnathan Boone, but letters from mem­bers of the William Daniel Boone family identify them as brothers. Taken together, this correspondence identifies Johnathan Boone in this county, and John and William Daniel Boone of Bradley County, Tennessee, as brothers. In another letter, dated December 17, 1935, Mr. A. J. Boone writes, 'My father had a sister that married a man named Moss, and they went to Missouri many years ago; her name was Rachel; they had two boys, whose names were John and Elijah.' We believe this definitely establishes Rachel Moss, nee Boone, ancestor of one branch of the Moss family, as a sister of Johnathan Boone.

 

We also know that the first wife of William Moss was a daughter of Marvel Coffey, and hence of Boone descent, but we do not know the prior name of his second wife whom he married in Tennessee. So far as we actually now know, the Boone strain in the William Moss family is confined to his daughter Selina, the only child of his first marriage to live to maturity.

 

Edward (Neddie) Moss married Mary Boone in Tennes­see. She is said by the older people to have also been a sister of Johnathan Boone, and hence of Rachel Moss, but we do not know this to be a fact, nor have we found any evidence to either prove or disprove it. As the record now stands, the matter must be left with the statement that she was a Boone, and related to the other Boones here, but we do not know exactly what that relationship was. The older ones may have been right. The three mem­bers of the Moss family named above, Rachel, William,

 

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and Edward, are the ancestors of all the Moss descend­ants in this county.

William Moss was in Maries County at least as early as 1838, and he may have, and probably did, come with the Boones. He owned land on the Little Maries above Stony Point at that date, and likely lived there the rest of his life. Parts of his former home are now included in the Steinmann, Myer, and Deekin farms. His death oc­curred about January 1, 1851. In addition to Salina Wilson, he was survived by four children of his second marriage: Mary, wife of William H. Davis; Amanda, wife of F. M. Gilley; Elizabeth, wife of James Hawkins; and James H. Moss. The last named lived in Union County, Arkansas, in 1872. The girls were all still living in this county in 1869 and 1870, but all efforts to trace their descendants have been unsuccessful, and it is likely all moved away soon after that time.                        

 

Rachel Boone, whom we believe we have established as a sister of Johnathan Boone, married David Moss in Tennessee. He died there, and after his death the widow and her six children (including the John and Elijah men­tioned by Mr. A. J. Boone) came to Missouri with or soon after the Boones and settled in present Boone Township, where Mrs. Moss died many years before the Civil War. Her children were: James and Asbury Moss (both of whom died in Little Rock during the Civil War; if they had fam­ilies, no trace of them remain); Elijah Moss who moved to Arkansas after the Civil War, and whose descendants, if any, have not been located; Daniel, John, and Martha Moss were the remaining children.

 

Daniel Moss married Mary Holloway. Her mother was an Isbell, and was later the wife of Davis S. Woody. They spent their entire lives and died in Maries County. They were the parents of five children living to maturity. James David Moss who was born March 17, 1856, married Ra­chel Stevens in Crawford County November 22, 1883, and

 

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died April 27, 1924; like his father he spent his married life in this county. He is survived by his widow and five children, all yet living: Andy, Wilford, Bertie, and Ray (the last is now serving his second term as County Clerk), with the widow, all live in this county. The other child, Mrs. Arnold Orr, now lives in Lamar, Colorado. Sarah Moss, daughter of Daniel, was born October 11, 1854, and died September 20, 1917. She married Joseph Russell, who was born April 16, 1856, and died January 17, 1896, and was the mother of three children: Martha, wife of John Copeland; and Jessie, wife of Gus Barnhart, live at Union in Franklin County. William lives near The Dia­monds in the same county. Anna Moss, daughter of Dan­iel, married William Pendleton and is also dead. She was the mother of five children, of whom Ulysses lives at Meta; Andrew, single, in the west part of the county; Sarah Jane, wife of Oliver Helton; Lucy, wife of James Evans; and Irvin whose wife was Oille Evans, are all dead; their descendants have not been traced. The living children of Daniel Moss are: William who married a daughter of Samuel Strickland and lives in the western part of the county and John who married an Anderson in Arkansas and lives in that state.

 

John Moss, son of Rachel, was born in Tennessee in 1834, and came here with his mother as an infant. In 1855 he married Martha, daughter of Henry Barnhart. They were the parents of three children living to matur­ity, Thomas H., Joseph W., and Arvazene Moss. The family moved to the vicinity of Leasburg in Crawford County about 1869 at which place Mrs. Moss died in 1874. In 1875 John Moss was married to Barbara Barnhart, sister of his first wife, and both he and his second wife are long since dead. It is not known whether or not any children were born of the second marriage, and the descendants of the children of the first marriage have not been obtained. Most if not all of them live in Crawford County.

 

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Martha Moss, the remaining child of Rachel, married James Barnhart, but no details as to her descendants are at hand.

Edward (Neddie) Moss was born in McMinn County, Tennessee, April 18, 1800. He was married to Mary Boone in that state and came to Missouri about 1830, first settling just over the line in Osage County in the present Stony Point neighborhood. In December, 1837, he entered land near Vienna, now owned by the George Redel estate. The next year he owned land on the Little Maries in the Fitzpatrick settlement. It is not known whether or not he lived on these tracts, but the last thir­ty years of his life were spent on Fly Creek near Vienna, where at various times he owned parts of the Behm farm and all of the present Laubbert place. On the latter tract he died January 19, 1992. He was widely known as a Bap­tist minister, and performed a great part of the marriage ceremonies in the central part of the county in his active years. He was also a member of the first County Court of Maries County. His first wife, Mary Boone, was born in Tennessee in 1801, as elsewhere stated. We do not know her exact relationship to the other Boones in this county, but we do know a relationship existed. She could have been a daughter of