Surnames Beginning With 'F'
CHARLES EMERSON FANCHER
Charles Emerson Fancher was born near Iberia, Miller County, MO on January 20, 1870. He was a son of Thomas Hampton Fancher (1823-1901) and his second wife, Sarah G. Rothwell (1845-1916). Thomas Hampton Fancher was the father of 20 children by two wives (10 by each).
His children by his first wife, Malinda (Smith) were: Thomas Hampton Fancher Jr. 1852-1898 m. Lurana V. Bond 1877; Franklin Greene Fancher 1855-1891 m. (1) Louisa Shelton (2) Mary A. Piles; Sarah Alice Fancher b. 1859 m. Richard Belk 1885; William Bynum Fancher b. 1860 m. Minnie Brumley 1883; Leander P. Fancher b. 1866 m. (no record found); James Polk Fancher b. 1867 m. Mary E. Jones 1904......Four children died in infancy during this time period.
The children born to Thomas Hampton and his second wife, Sarah E. Rothwell, were Charles Emerson Fancher 1870-1931 m. Belle Williams 1900; LeRoy W. Fancher 1873-1875; John Monrose Fancher b. 1876 m. Hattie Setser 1894; Frederick T. Fancher 1879-1880; Olive Emeline Fancher 1880-1881; Everett Bird Fancher 1881-1940 m. Anna Laura Wilson; Mary C. Fancher 1883-1883; Elmer E. Fancher 1884-1884; an infant daughter 1885-1885; Myrtle S. Fancher 1887-1966 m. (1) Felix Setser (2) Rolla Stout.
The grandparents of Charles Emerson Fancher were Grey Bynum Fancher, born in Stokes County, NC and Celia Matlock, born in Overton Co., TN. The Fancher familes left Tennessee and lived for awhile in Coles Co, IL before moving on westward to central Missouri. Thomas Hampton and his first wife, Malinda (Smith) came to Miller County circa 1865-66 and settled north of Iberia, near the families of Burks, Aust, Bilyeu, Jarrett, Waite, Vaughan, Sipe, Livingston, Bass, Casey and others.
Shortly after arriving in Miller County, Malinda died and was buried at Livingston Cemetery (then called Castleman). In November 1868, Thomas married Sarah G. Rothwell, the marriage performed by James Brown, minister. Thomas was almost 23 years older than Sarah. Thomas Hampton Fancher and his two wives are buried at Livingston/Castleman Cemetery in northern Richwoods Township.
Charles Emerson Fancher, the first child born to Thomas and his second wife, Sarah (Rothwell), married Belle Williams 22 March 1900. Their marriage was performed by David C. Bear, justice of the peace. Belle was born December 5, 1880 in Missouri (per census records). I have not been able to determine the identity of Belle's parents. After their marriage, Charles and Belle lived in Osage Township near the families of Abbett, Wyrick, Burnett Flaugher and Edwards.
In 1920, Charles E. Fancher and his brother, Everett B. Fancher, were members of the Miller County Democratic Central Committee. Charles represented Osage Township and Everett represented Richwoods Township. They were strong supporters of the Democrat Party of Miller County which had been in the minority for many years.
Charles and Belle were parents of three children, but tow of those children died young. They reared one daughter to maturity. Their children were: Lucy G. Fancher 1900-1901; and infant son 1904-1904 who lived for only one day; C. Eleanor Fancher 1911-1980 m. James A. Hendley.
Charles E. Fancher died on November 9, 1931 at the age of 61 years. His funeral service was held at Mt. Zion Church, south of Tuscumbia. The service was conducted by Rev. Charles M. Sooter. Charles was buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery which was near the church. Charles was survived by his wife, Belle (Williams); one daughter, Eleanor; one sister, Mrs. Rolla Stout; and five brothers, Everett, Roe/Monroe, William, Polk/James, and Lannie/Leander Fancher. Belle lived for another 14 years and died at age 64 on 17 Feb 1945. She was laid to rest beside Charles at Mt. Zion Cemetery where their two infant children were also buried.
DAVID C. FANCHER
David C. Fancher, son of Elias Fancher, was born in Windham, New York on December 14, 1816. Windham is located in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of east central New York state. By 1839, he had migrated to Jefferson County, KY where he married Catherine Hurley on 28 Sept 1839. Catherine was born in Ireland on May 1, 1819. Evidently David and Catherine couldn't decide where they wanted to live....they married in Kentucky...had 2 children in Ohio....8 children in New York...and then moved to Miller County in July, 1858. His profession was a cabinet maker and a merchant.
Catherine Hurley Fancher died in Miller County 26 Sept 1865 at the age of 46 years. She is buried at Jesse Hawkins cemetery, near Tuscumbia. The Fanchers lived at Old St. Elizabeth, Tuscumbia, and Iberia at different times. David married his second wife, Sarah Jane Brightwell-Dickson, on February 8, 1867. Sarah Jane was the widow of William P. Dickson of Gibson Co., Tennessee. They had a son, Thomas Dickson, who was an heir of his grandparent's estate in the 1870s. They were Bailey and Martha Dickson who had lived in Gibson County, Tennessee.
David's second wife, Sarah Brightwell-Dickson-Fancher, died at the age of 35 years in 1872 leaving him with 3 small children and a son by her former marriage, Thomas Dickson/Dixon. In 1873, he married Mrs. Camille Thompson, his third wife. A short while later David died on May 7, 1874. There is no record of his burial place. His first wife was buried near Tuscumbia (Jesse Hawkins cemetery) in 1865 and his second wife is buried in Iberia cemetery where two of his children are also buried (Rosalee 1854-1878 and Franklin 1856-1884).
In 1880, most of his children were living in the Iberia area, having married their spouses from that area. The three youngest Fancher children and their half-brother, Thomas Dickson, lived with Thomas and Elizabeth Marchant in Iberia. Thomas Marchant had been appointed the guardian and curator for the minor children after Sarah and David had died. I suspect Sarah Dickson Fancher and Elizabeth Marchant were sisters whose maiden name was Brightwell.
By 1881, the estate of David C. Fancher had not yet been settled. In the September 1881 term of the Miller County Circuit Court, his property was ordered sold. Charles P. Myers, former sheriff of Miller County, sold the Fancher land holdings on the steps of the courthouse. John Bernard Hake bought about 220 acres lying in Jim Henry Township about 3 miles east of present-day Marys Home. Hake owned some land adjoining the Fancher land and acquired the additional land through a sheriff's sale. Daivd had owned a lot in the town of Old St. Elizabeth (Lot 8 in Block 2) and it was also sold on the courthouse steps.
There are few, if any, descendants of the David C. Fancher family left in Miller County today. By 1900 some of the Fancher family (the daughters who had married into the Brown, Moore and Lombar families), were still living at Iberia while some had moved away to Oklahoma and Kentucky. Several of the children were deceased by then---Franklin, Emma Rosalee, David Hurley, and Lewis Henry. There are Fancher families still living in the Iberia area but are from a different branch of the family. They are all descendants of the Fancher/Faucher/Falchier family, who were French Hugenots, and immigrated to America in the early 1700s. The late William Fancher of Danbury, Conn., wrote a wonderfully documented and informative book in 1947 called THE FANCHER FAMILY.
THOMAS HAMPTON FANCHER
Thomas Hampton Fancher was born in Tennessee on August 15, 1823. He was a son of Grey Bynum Fancher (b. 1791 NC d.1876 TX) and his wife, Celia Matlock. They married in Overton Co., TN in 1817 and became parents of 14 children including: THOMAS HAMPTON 1824-1901 m. (1) Malinda Smith (2) Sarah Rothwell; JAMES 1828-1902 m. Mary E. Webb; WILLIAM 1828-1902 m. Sarah Daniel; ALEXANDER RICHARD 1830-1915 m. Mary Morrison; HENRY CLAY 1832-1914 m. (1) Amanda Harvick (2) Isabella Johnson; ELIZABETH b. 1834 m. John Albert Rutherford; ERWIN S. 1839-1913 m. Elizabeth West; NANCY b. 1834 m. Joseph Stevens; CATHERINE FANCHER b. 1840 m. Green Richard Williams; JOHN T. 1842-1832 m. Mary Lollar; ANDREW JACKSON 1844-1881 m. Amanda Turk; EMALINE b. 1840 m. ? ; PARALEE 1836-1895 m. Jon Milton Moss; & ARTLISIA 1848-1894 m. W. Hazleton Jarrett.................Grey Bynum left Overton Co., TN; moved to Coles Co., Illinois for awhile; moved south to Carroll Co., Arkansas; and finally settled in Hill Co., TX.
Grey's oldest child, Thomas Hampton Fancher, was the only one of the 14 children to come to Miller Co., Missouri and he reared his family in Richwoods Township, north of Iberia. Thomas first married Malinda Smith (1828-1867) in Illinois. They had several children: THOMAS HAMPTON, JR b. 1853 m. Luraney Bond, d/o Felix Bond; FRANKLIN GREENE b. 1855 m. Louisa C. Shelton; SARAH A. b. 1859 m. (no record); WILLIAM B. b. 1860 m. Minnie A. Brumley; LEANDER P. b. 1866 m. (no record); and JAMES P. b. 1867 m. Mary Elsie Jones.
After Malinda Smith Fancher died in 1867, Thomas was left with 6 young children to rear. On 1 Nov 1868, he married Sarah Elizabeth Rothwell in Miller County. She was a daughter of William and Margaret Rothwell of Virginia and Ohio, respectively. Sarah was 23 years younger than Thomas when they married. Her parents had been in Miller County for many years. They first appeared in the 1840 census as a young couple with no children and living in northeast Richwoods Township near the families of Lawson, Shelton, Rowden, Green, Brandon, and Kellison. All these families came to Miller County from East Tennessee.
Thomas Hampton and his second wife, Sarah, were parents of 12 children including CHARLES EMERSON b. 1870 m. Belle Williams; LEROY W. 1873-1875; JOHN M. b. 1876 m. Hattie Setser; FREDERICK T. 1879-1880; OLIVE EMALINE 1880-1881; EVERETT BIRD 1881-1940 m. Anna Laura Wilson; MARY C. 1883-1883; ELMER E. 1884-1884; Infant daughter born & died 1885; MYRTLE 1887-1966 m. (1) Felix Setser (2) Rolla Stout; JAMES MONROE b.____; LANNIE b._____;.
Thomas Hampton Fancher died on April 28, 1901 at the age of 77 years. He was buried at Livingston Cemetery (once known as Castleman Cemetery) beside his first wife, Malinda (Smith) who had died in 1867. His second wife, Sarah (Rothwell) remained his widow for 15 years and died at the age of 71 on November 27, 1916. She was buried beside Thomas and Malinda at Livingston.
SAMUEL FARLEY
Samuel Farley died in Miller County in October 1852 and his probate estate can be found in Miller County Probate Records. The probate was filed on 16 Oct 1852 with William P. Dixon, Clerk of the Circuit Court and Recorder of Deeds. Information for the estate records were given by his son, Evi B. Farley and his widow, Permelia (Clark) Farley. Permelia was appointed the administrator of the estate.
The heirs listed in 1852 included: Emily Farley Keith of Clark Co., MO; Rachel Farley of St. Louis, MO; Editha A. Farley Robertson of St. Louis, MO; E. B. (Evi) Farley, Chloe Farley, Sarah Jane Farley, Eliza Farley, Lucy V. Farley, Emarine Farley, Susan Farley, Virginia Farley, Francis C.C. Farley and his widow, Permelia Farley, all of Miller County, MO.
Samuel Farley was born c/1795 in Monroe County, VA, which today is part of West Virginia. He was a son of Francis Farley and Rachel (McMullen), both natives of Virginia. They were parents of 4 children including Samuel and Martin. The names of the other two children are not known at this time. Francis Farley, Samuel's father, died in 1802 and his mother then married Henry Ballengee in Monroe County, VA. The Ballengee family and their children came to Missouri in the early 1830s and settled in what was then Cole County. Later, after the formation of Miller County in 1837, they were residents of Miller County. Samuel Farley came with his mother and stepfather to Missouri and they all settled near one another.
Samuel married back in Virginia but the identity of his first wife has not been found. They were parents of seven children including: Emily, Rachel, Evi, Editha, Chloe, Sarah Jane and Eliza. After coming to Missouri, Samuel married his second wife, Permelia A. Clark in Cole County, MO on August 17, 1841. She was 25 years younger than Samuel. Permelia became the mother of five more children before Samuel's death in 1852. Their children were Lucy V., Emarine, Susan, Virginia, and Francis. Since most of Samuel's children were daughters, the name Farley was passed on through his son, Evi B. Farley who married Amanda M. Allen in 1850.
Samuel Farley was appointed a road commissioner by the Missouri General Assembly in 1850 to overlook the building of a road from Spanish Prairie, Crawford County, to Tuscumbia, Miller County. He also once lived near Fair Play, on the Osage River, north of present day St. Elizabeth, and while there he owned a steamboat named "Big Red Indian" which ran down the Osage river to the Missouri; onward to the Mississippi; and eventually carried materials and goods all the way to New Orleans.
Samuel's brother, Martin Farley, also came to Miller County and settled in Jim Henry Township near present-day Marys Home. Martin and his wife, Elizabeth, married in Virginia before coming to Miller County. I believe they did not come to Missouri as early as Samuel because their children, enumerated in the Miller County 1850 census, appear to have all been born in Virginia and Kentucky. Their children were Nancy, Catherine, Mahala, Owen R., Peter, and Agnes. Some of these Farleys married into the families of Jenkins, Golden, Winters, Morgan, Burtchett, Edgeman, Berry, Staton and Hamacher....Most of the descendants of the Farley family in central Missouri today are from the family of Martin and Elizabeth Farley. Getting back to the family of Samuel Farley, there are some interesting things recorded about his son, Evi B. Farley in Miller County's history. He married Amanda M. Allen in 1850 and they were parents of at least three children: John T. Farley b. 1856; Frank W. Farley b. 1858 and Lucy A. Farley b. 1860. There were probably more children born after 1860 but I have no record of others.
Evi B. Farley was prominent in Miller County's politics before and during the Civil War. He was County Clerk and Clerk of the Circuit Court/Recorder from 1857-1863. He was one of the first Trustees of the Village of Tuscumbia and was appointed as the Superintendent of construction when the new courthouse was built in 1858. He was a school commissioner and a commissioner of the Miller county seat of justice. Before he became involved in politics, he was an early school teacher in some of the Miller County schools.
Evi supported "Secession" from the Union for Miller County at the beginning of the Civil War. He was among several men who sympathized with the South and as these troops came into the county, he helped them secretly store gunpowder in the courthouse. When discovered by the Union troops, they overtook the courthouse and seized the cache of gunpowder and in the raid, found a small iron cannon! They took the cannon to Camp Union, near Brumley, and put it into use there. In 1862, Evi was one of several men who were levied a fine for supporting the Confederacy. His fine was quite substantial for that day....$160.00.
This way of life lasted for two more years for Evi B. Farley. In 1864, he fled from Miller County to avoid arrest and probable imprisonment. I do not know what happened to him and his family because they do not appear in Miller County census records after 1864..... I wonder if he went back to one of the Confederate states to live and rear his young family or did they venture westward to find a new life?
DAVID PORTER FARNHAM
David Porter Farnham was born near Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania on July 10, 1865. He was one of 6 children born to David Farnham and Henrietta Goebel. His father was born 6 June 1826 in Canaan, Maine of English ancestry and his mother was a native of Lycoming County, PA born of German ancestry 23 February 1831.
When David Porter Farnham was less than a year old (1866), his parents moved west to Miller County, MO where other Pennsylvania families had located before the Civil War. They came by rail to Pittsburgh; down the Ohio and up the Mississippi rivers by boat: and finally inland from Jefferson City to Iberia by oxen team. They arrived in Iberia, in the Big Richwoods, on March 28, 1866. In 1880 their nearest neighbors were Phillip Ponder, John P. Wilson, Kinsey Stone, Jacob Gardner, John Aust, James Forrester, James Anderson and Rufus Bailey.
David P. Farnham married Lillie May Mace on December 8, 1895. She was born in southern Illinois near the town of Galatia (Saline County) on 25 May 1876.
William T. Mace
By 1900, David and Lillie May were living north of Iberia near the families of Henry & Clementine (Aust) Gardner, Jacob & Martha (Smith) Gardner, Frank & Elsie Ponder, Columbus & Stella Setser, Murrell & Mary (Forrester) Shackleford. In the same year, David's parents, his brothers and their families were all living in the village of Iberia. David and Lillie May were parents of four children who all attended and graduated from Iberia Academy.
During his lifetime, David Porter Farnham was a deacon in the Missionary Baptist Church and was active in Republican politics. He died 2 July 1948, just eight days before his 83rd birthday and was buried at Iberia Cemetery. His wife of 53 years, Lillie May Mace-Farnham, lived until May 20, 1954 and was buried at David's side.
NOTE: On August 26, 1999, David Ray Farnham, son of David Porter & grandson David and Henrietta (Goebel) Farnham, passed away just a month short of reaching his 98th birthday. David lived to an advanced age and remained active and alert until the last couple of years of his life. Over the years I was able to pick up my phone and call David and ask for his assistance in helping me remember people who had lived in and around Iberia and events that had occurred over the many years of the 20th century. His memory was remarkable and he could recall so many families in the Big Richwoods where he was born and lived most of his 98 years. His generation has almost all gone from our midst and an important source of information has gone with them. Now we have to rely on written records to come up with historical and genealogical information. It just is not the same. First-hand knowledge has always been the backbone of my research whenever possible. I will miss the wisdom, understanding, and honesty of folks like Davy Farnham.
OBITUARY OF SARAH HELTZELL FARNHAM
Sarah Elizabeth Heltzell, daughter of George and Priscilla Heltzell, was born August 25, 1862 in Bedford, Pennsylvania. She moved from Bedford with her parents to Glencoe, MO at an early age and there she attended school completing her education in the St. Louis and Kirkwood schools. On Jan. 22, 1886 she married William L. Farnham of Iberia and they moved to the family farm near Iberia. Later in life, the Farnhams moved into Iberia and remained for the rest of their lives. She and William were parents of two children: William, Jr. and Grace (Clark). She was survived by her husband, 2 children, 3 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren. Her brother, Selby J. Heltzell and a sister, Annie (Farnham) also survived her. A brother, Samuel Heltzell, and a sister, Blanch Heltzell, preceded her in death. Sarah and William are both buried at the Iberia Cemetery.
HENRY C. FENDORF
Henry C. Fendorf was born in Germany circa 1807. In the early 1840s, Henry and his wife, Caroline Sophia (Brammer), came to America and settled in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania near the small city of Allentown. They had two and perhaps three children born there: Thomas Fendorf b. c/1844; Minnie Caroline Fendorf b. 1846; and Francis/Frank William Fendorf b. 1849. They continued to live in Lehigh County until about 1862/63 when they moved west to Miller County, Missouri. They were here before the Civil War came to a close in 1865.
When Henry and Caroline moved to Miller County they settled in the Tuscumbia area. Evidently they were here only a short time when Caroline died at the age of 62 years. She was buried at Jesse Hawken Cemetery down river about a mile from Tuscumbia. She was born in Germany Jan 10, 1801 and died in Miller County Feb. 25, 1863.
Thomas Fendorf married Catherine Jewell in Miller County on Oct. 28, 1866. I cannot find conclusive evidence he was a son of Henry and Caroline, but one would have to presume he was their son since they were the only family in the area with the name Fendorf.
Francis William Fendorf (1849-1917) was the youngest son of Henry and Caroline, born in Allentown, Penn. Frank, as he was called, married Mary Isabelle Martin in Miller County on March 11, 1880. They had several children including: William A. Frederic Fendorf 1881-1917; Lydia C. Fendorf b. 1882; Charles Ernest Fendorf 1886-1953; Bertha M. Fendorf 1889-1898; Frank E. Fendorf b. 1892; Nellie Fendorf b. 1895; Robert M. Fendorf 1897-1960. They had a daughter born in January 1900, but in the 1900 census, she was only listed as a six-month old infant.
Minnie Caroline Fendorf 1846-1929, daughter of Henry and Caroline, was born in Allentown, Penn. After coming to the Tuscumbia area, she married James Pinkney Wright on Nov. 11, 1880. Carrie and James were parents of several children: Elizabeth/Lizzie Belle Wright 1882-1882; Grace May Wright 1884-1906; Lawrence Alfred Wright 1886-1947; Chester Rowland Wright 1887-1888; and Tennyson Clay Wright 1889-1949.
Henry C. Fendorf married his second wife, Jane Dyer-Colvin, on Aug 2, 1880. Jane was the widow of Alexander Colvin Jr. who was killed in March 1877 as he exited a ferry boat on the south side of the Osage River. His brutal murder may have been a final scene from an old Civil War feud. Jane was left a young widow with three daughters to rear. Three years later she married Henry Fendorf, almost 40 years her senior.
Henry and Jane Fendorf had a daughter of their own, Margaret Frances Johanna Fendorf, born Oct. 12, 1881, when Henry was almost 76 years old. Margaret, called Maggie, married James Carlee Colvin on Jan. 2, 1898, at the age of 16 years.
Henry C. Fendorf died on Sunday night, May 13, 18i94, at the age of 87 years. After a brief funeral service at the gravesite by Elder Fulton Wilson of the Christian Church, he was buried beside his first wife at Jesse Hawken Cemetery.
GEORGE FRANCIS FERGUSON
George Francis Ferguson was born near Iberia on 23 October 1871. He was one of fourteen children born to Squire John Ferguson and his wife, Dorcas Canzada Shelton. His father was born in Dumfries, Scotland on Christmas Day 1838 and his mother was a native of McMinn County, Tennessee, born in 1844.
George's paternal grandparents were from Scotland and came to America about 1847. His grandfather died on board ship during the ocean voyage and was buried at sea. His grandmother, Isabella Ferguson, came to Miller County with Squire John and settled near him and Canzada after they were married. George's maternal grandparents were Thomas and Elizabeth (Wright) Shelton of McMinn County, Tennessee who came to Miller County and settled in southern Richwoods Township in the late 1840s.
George Francis Ferguson was born in 1871, the 6th child of Squire John and Dorcas. He grew to manhood on the family's farm located in the old Madden community. In later years, the elder Fergusons moved to the village of Iberia where they spent the remainder of their lives.
Four Generations
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Left Side Julia Ann Robinette Barlow Mary Barlow Arnold Sarah Arnold Ferguson Irene Ferguson |
Right Side Elizabeth Cansada Wright Shelton Dorcas Cansada Shelton Ferguson Isabelle Cansada Ferguson Arnold Virgil Arnold |
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On June 21, 1899, George Ferguson married Sarah C. Arnold, a daughter of George W. and Mary Arnold who lived in Iberia during those years. Her parents were natives of Tennessee and Illinois, respectively, and spent a few years in Arkansas before they settled in the Big Richwoods of southern Miller County.
 George Francis Ferguson |
Elizabeth Arnold Ferguson |
In 1900, George Ferguson and his new bride were living in the town of Iberia near his parents. Their neighbors included John & Lucinda Barlow, Manessah & Margaret Jones, Hiram & Harriett Messersmith, Seldon & Ida Hoover, and Charles & Rachel Shelton. In their home was Elizabeth/Lizzie Barlow, age 22, who was listed as their house servant.
Over the years, George and Sarah Ferguson became parents of three children: Nean Ferguson, Irene Ferguson, and Georgia Ferguson Metcalf. George served as Miller County Collector of Revenue from 1903-1906 and they lived in Tuscumbia during those years. Sarah died in 1911 and was buried at the Iberia Cemetery. George lived on for 24 years and died in Panama, Oklahoma on 29 Sept 1935. He was brought back to Iberia and buried beside his wife in Iberia's cemetery.
NOTE: from Nancy (Arnold) Thompson......After Sarah C. (Arnold) Ferguson died in 1911, it was her death-bed wish that her unmarried older sister, Mary Elizabeth Arnold, marry George and rear her children. George and Mary Elizabeth were married in Maries County, MO on 3 Dec 1915. They moved to Panama, OK where she died in 1933 and was buried at Fairview Cemetery near Panama, OK On her tombstone are the words, "mother to her sister's children".....George died in 1935 and was brought back to Miller County and buried beside his first wife, Sarah C. (Arnold) Ferguson at Iberia Cemetery.
ELIZABETH FERGUSON-HAUS
Elizabeth Ferguson was born in Dumfries, Scotland in 1843. She was one of three children born to William and Isabelle (Hunter) Ferguson, natives of Scotland. When Elizabeth (called Lizzie) was 11 years old her parents left their native Scotland, went overland to Liverpool, England where they boarded a ship called "Colonel Cutts". The old sailing vessel brought them to America, landing at New Orleans in October 1852. The voyage was not without some tragedy...there were three deaths aboard ship. One of those who did not live to see the shores of America was Elizabeth's father, William Ferguson. He was buried at sea somewhere in the vast regions of the Atlantic Ocean.
Isabelle Hunter Ferguson and her three children, John, Elizabeth and Martha, sailed from New Orleans on the Mississippi river to St. Louis where they remained for a few years with relatives named Dunlap. About 1860, Isabelle left St. Louis and ventured into Maries County, MO where her father, John Hunter, was living. I do not know where or why he migrated from Scotland to Dry Creek Township in Maries County. Isabelle's son, John Ferguson, moved on to Miller County and in 1862, married Dorcas Canzada Shelton. John became a well-known and respected citizen of Miller County, living to the age of 102 years. Everyone knew him as "Squire Ferguson".
Elizabeth Ferguson Haus
Elizabeth/Lizzie Ferguson remained in the St. Louis area where she married Fred P. Haus in 1863. Fred was born in Mobile, Alabama on January 3, 1842 and at an early age, came with his parents to St. Louis. Fred was active in the Gideon organization where for a time he served as State Chaplin for Missouri.
Elizabeth and Fred were parents of several children including: WILLIAM HAUS, FRED P. HAUS, JR; RICHARD M. HAUS, HARRY MCCOOK HAUS (1882-1957) m. Ellen Wall; CHARLES D. HAUS (1878-1964) m. Flora Keeth; ISABELLE HAUS GOODRICH and MAGGIE HAUS LONG (Mrs. James H Long).
Fred and Elizabeth/Lizzie (Ferguson) Haus moved to the Iberia area from St. Louis and remained until their deaths. Fred died in 1920 and was taken back to St. Louis for burial in the Haus family plot at Bellefontaine Cemetery. Eight years later, in April 1928, Elizabeth died at the age of 85 years. She was also buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery beside her husband. Three of their sons had been buried there prior to her death. She was survived by five children: William, Charles, Harry, Belle, and Maggie. Two of their sons, Harry and Charles, are buried at Iberia Cemetery.
THE FERGUSON-SKAGGS FAMILY
Harry Hunter Ferguson, son of Squire John and Dorcas (Shelton) Ferguson married Ella Margaret Skaggs of Lane's Prairie, Jefferson Township, Maries Co., MO. Ella Margaret was the daughter of Lewis Jefferson & Carrie Myrtilla (Pinnell) Skaggs who married in Maries County on Jan. 7, 1886 at High Gate, Maries Co., MO. Their children were: (1) Ella Margaret Skaggs b. 1887 m. Harry Hunter Ferguson; Grace Lillian Skags b. 1892; Beryl Lane Skaggs (maybe called "Tom") b. 1896 m. Devonia______; Irene Skaggs b. 1898 m. Harry Powers; Tildon Frazier Skaggs b. 1903 m. Mary Francis Seter; Claude Skaggs b. 1904 (never married); Louis F. Skaggs (called Paul) b. 1912 died young; Christine Skaggs b. 1920 m._____Yarger/Yeager? and she died young from childbirth complications.
Harry Hunter and Ella Skaggs Ferguson
Ella Margaret was born June 11, 1887 in Maries County.
In August 2001, 3 of the 11 children are still living including Mary, Elma, and Ellis.
SQUIRE JOHN FERGUSON-IBERIA'S GRAND OLD GENTLEMAN
Squire John Ferguson was one of most colorful figures in Iberia's past history. He lived to the advanced age of 101 years and was a noted and respected citizen of the Iberia community.
John Ferguson was born on Christmas Day in 1838 in the small village of Dumfries, Scotland. As a small boy, age eight, he started working as an apprentice to a local village shoemaker. He did not enjoy this type of work at all, so he quit and became an apprentice painter. He worked as a painter's apprentice for the next few years until he reached the age of 14 years learning this skillful trade. When he was six years old he began his schooling. These Scottish children were taught from the Bible and hardly anything else. At that time in history, the churches and the school of Scotland were under the control of the government.
When John was 14 years old, his father decided to bring his family to America. They left Dumfries in 1852, going overland to Liverpool, England, and departing Liverpool in September 1852. William Ferguson & his wife, Isabella Hunter Ferguson, their son John, and daughters Martha & Elizabeth began their long sea journey across the Atlantic. Unfortunately John's father did not live to see the shores of his new homeland in America. He died on board ship and was buried with the usual procedure at sea. He was sewn in a canvas bag with a large piece of lead at his feet, lowered over the side of the ship and after a brief funeral service, was lowered into his watery grave. Two other immigrants also died on the same ocean voyage before the ship harbored in New Orleans in October of 1852. The name of the ship in which the family made their journey across the Atlantic was "Colonel Cutts."
Isabella Hunter Ferguson
Isabella Hunter Ferguson and her three children did not stay in New Orleans very long. They boarded a boat called "The Sovereign of Pittsburg" and went up the Mississippi River, arriving in St. Louis the latter part of October 1852. Isabella had a sister and brother-in-law, the William Dunlaps, living in St. Louis so they went to the home of the Dunlaps and lived with them for awhile. William Dunlap was Mississippi River boatman and he hired John to work for him on the river. He worked there for about nine years, until the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.
John Ferguson experienced some exciting times on the Mississippi and was a great story teller. Several incidents happened in his young life that would make a great plot for an adventure story. During the war he was a witness to most of the Camp Jackson skirmish which took place near St. Louis. He said One time in an interview that "If had not been for the loyal German regiments, I believe St. Louis would have been captured by General Jackson and his Confederate forces.
John Ferguson drifted into Miller County in September 1861, but first stopped in Maries County where he had relatives living. I believe they were some of his mother's Hunter kinfolks. He moved westward to Miller County and began working on a farm about six miles west of Iberia. In June 1862, John married Dorcas Canzada Shelton, daughter of Thomas & Elizabeth Shelton, who had come to the Big Richwoods from McMinn County, Tennessee. John & Dorcas were married by Rev. Abraham Castleman, who was captain of a Confederate troop during the war. In order to get Rev. Castleman to come and marry them, John had to ride 15 or 20 miles to get him and then accompany him back home because Rev. Castleman was afraid of the "bushwackers" roaming the area who might be seeking him out.
John's mother, Isabella Hunter Ferguson, came to Miller County to live prior to 1880. She was living near the Madden community in southern Miller County during the census taken in 1880 and was listed as a "seamstress". A descendant of this family believes Isabella is buried at Madden Cemetery, although no tombstone marks her grave.
During the war, John joined Colonel McClurg's Osage Regiment at Linn Creek, Camden County, and later he enlisted in regular service in Company M 3rd Missouri Cavalry Volunteers where he served with the Union Army until the close of the war. It is interesting to note that his wife's relatives were from the South and her uncle, William Rankin Wright, was a lieutenant in the Confederate Army in Miller County. This was typical of many families that were torn apart during this terrible time in American history.
John and Dorcas Shelton Ferguson
Squire John and Dorcas (Shelton) Ferguson were parents of 14 children, two of them dying in infancy. Those who survived to adulthood were: William, Charles, Fred, George, Edward, Jack, Harry, Frank, Laura, Belle, Elizabeth and Martha.
After his discharge in New Orleans in 1864, Squire John and his family made Miller County their permanent home. Over the next 74 years, John was a prominent man in the Iberia area. For many years he was post commander of Miles Carroll Post 111 of the Grand Army of the Republic in Iberia and was instrumental in keeping the Post in active service. He very seldom missed one of the encampments, both state & national, and over the years he filled most all stations in the highly honored organization...On May 16, 1928 he was elected Department Commander of the G.A.R. for the state of Missouri at its 47th annual encampment held in Springfield.
John was active in the religious, political and public affairs of Miller County and was justice of the peace at Iberia for more than 50 years.
In 1939, Iberia lost one of her most remarkable and unforgettable citizens...Captain John Ferguson, also called "Squire". He had reached his 101st year. There are many folks today who remember him so vividly and are still reminiscence of those long-ago days when he could be seen on the streets of Iberia with his snow-white hair and long, white beard, much like a patriarch of old. There are many descendants of Squire John Ferguson who still live in central Missouri in the counties of Miller, Pulaski and Camden as well as those who have moved all over America. NOTE: See also Fred P. Haus
Seated: George Martin (Laura), Squire John Ferguson, Willie Mace (Mattie),
Fred Ferguson, George Arnold (Isabelle), John/Jack Ferguson, Frank Ferguson,
Harry Ferguson, William T. Ferguson, George Ferguson
WILLIAM THOMAS FERGUSON
William Thomas Ferguson was born near Iberia, Miller County, MO on May 20, 1863. He was the oldest son of Squire John Ferguson and Dorcas Canzada Shelton. His father was a native of Dumfries, Scotland and his mother was born in East Tennessee.
William Thomas Ferguson married Jennie Tyres but they had no children. Evidently she died young because he then married Mary Frances Smith on 14 Oct 1888. Mary Frances was a daughter of James Monroe Smith and Mary/Polly Carroll who lived in the Madden community, south of Iberia. She was born 18 Dec 1869 in Miller County. Her grandparents were John Wesley Smith Sr. and Nancy Stinnett who lived in northwest Pulaski County where their children were born. (James Monroe Smith was a brother to my great grandfather, William Harrison Smith---psh)
T and Mary Frances Smith Ferguson and family
Mary Frances Smith-Ferguson died on 31 Aug 1925 in Springfield, Greene Co., MO. and on 28 Nov 1928, William T. Ferguson married his third wife, Mrs. Mary Mae Melinda Hooten. (His obituary stated her name was Mrs. Mary M. Butrick of Springfield, MO)
T and Mae Hooten Buttrick Ferguson
For many years William 'T' Ferguson owned and operated a farm on the Big Tavern creek about 3 miles south of Iberia. In later life he moved to Iberia and operated a furniture business with his son, John, until his death at the age of 68 years in 1932.
He died at his home in Iberia on 14 Jan 1932 of pneumonia fever and was survived by his 3rd wife and 10 of his 13 children. His funeral services were held at the Iberia Methodist Church with burial in the Madden Cemetery beside his wife and mother of his children, Mary Frances (Smith). He had united with the Methodist Episcopal Church at Madden about 1890 and lived "a consistent Christian life until his death" (per his obituary). His services were conducted by his pastor, Max Barnes, and he was taken to Madden Cemetery which adjoined the old Ferguson homestead, under the direction of Clarence L. Casey, local undertaker of Iberia.
NOTE: Thank you, Nancy Arnold Thompson, who gave me the information about the children of Wm. T. and Mary Frances (Smith) Ferguson. I did not have the complete list and she supplied me with the important data I needed to make this family complete.
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN FIKE
Benjamin Franklin Fike was born 7 April 1834 in Pennsylvania of German ancestry. During the 1790 census, there were members of the Fike family living in southeast Pennsylvania in the counties of Philadelphia, Bucks, and York. Per census records, the Fike family were natives of Prussia. Benjamin came to Miller County about 1854, before the Civil War, and lived in eastern Richwoods Township near the families of Jones, Sloan, Dake, Bennett, Harlan, Wilson and Atwell. The years he lived east of Iberia he planted and maintained a profitable fruit farm. In later years, he moved h is family into Iberia where he opened a general store and restaurant in a large, two-story house which sat on the present site of Iberia's Nazarene Church.
Sometime about 1865, Benjamin married a widow, Louisa Sherley Humphrey. I can find no record of their marraige in county files, so I am not sure when or where they married. Louisa was the widow of Stephen Humphrey who was killed in the Civil War, perhaps at the battle of Wilson's Creek near Springfield.
Louisa Sherley-Humphrey-Fike was born in Tennessee 8 June 1833. There were Sherley families living in Grainger, Bledsoe, and Hamilton counties during the East Tennessee census of 1830. She was probably from one of these pioneer families.
Louisa Sherley-Humphrey-Fike died at her home in Iberia on Thursday morning, 10 Feb 1910 after a long illness. She had almost reached the age of 77 years at her death. Funeral services were held in her home by Rev. George Robertson with burial in the Iberia City Cemetery. On December 8, 1910, Benjamin married a woman 35 years young than himself, Susan Lawson Bradford. She was born at Leitchfield, Kentucky on May 23, 1869.
Benjamin Franklin Fike died early on Christmas morning, December 25, 1914 in Iberia. He was survived by his second wife, and five children. His funeral services were also held in the Fike home by Rev. E. Sternberg, pastor of the Methodist Church. Benjamin was buried beside his first wife at Iberia Cemetery.
FRANCIS GAINES FLAUGHER
Francis Gaines Flaugher was an early settler in Osage Township, coming to Missouri in the 1830s. According to Miller Co. census records, Francis was born in Kentucky. I'm not sure which county he may have come from but do have record that Christopher Flaugher lived in Greenup Co., KY during the 1820 census. I don't know if they were from the same family or not.
Francis Gaines Flaugher's first wife was Jane (maiden name unknown). They were living in Osage township during Miller Co.'s first census in 1840. Their neighbors included William Wilson, John Wilson, George Reynolds, John Burns, Sarah West, Leander Musick and John Humphrey. In their home was their first child, Eliza, born about 1838. As the years went by they had at least 7 other children: James Monroe b.c/1841; Thomas b.c/1843; Charles b.c/1848; John b. c/1849; Madison b.c/1852; Francis b.c/1854; and Richard b.c/1857.
Sometime before 1857, Jane Flaugher died (perhaps in childbirth) and Francis married Matilda Weimmer Shephard on 15 Oct 1857. She was a daughter of Jacob and Jane Weimmer of Osage township and the widow of Jasper Shepherd whom she had married in 1839.Matilda had 5 children when she married Francis Flaugher including Joseph, Jesse, Jacob, Jane, and Isabella Shepherd. I believe Francis & Matilda had at least one child, Clementine Flaugher, born 1863, and married Henry Capps.
I have not found the death date for Francis Gaines Flaugher, but he must have died before 1880, Matilda, his 2nd wife, lived until after 1900. She was living in the home of her daughter and husband, Clementine & Henry Capps. According to 1900 census records, Matilda Weimer Shepherd Flaugher was born in November 1844.
James Monroe Flaugher, oldest son of Francis and first wife, was born c/1841. About the age of 20 he married Elizabeth Varner 24 Feb 1861. In 1860, Elizabeth and her brother, Edward Varner, were living in the home of Francis and Matilda Flaugher. Their parents may have been already deceased at that time. James was living with his step-grandmother, Jane Weimmer, during the same census.
By 1880, James Monroe Flaugher was probably deceased since Elizabeth was enumerated as head of the household in the census record.
Some of Elizabeth's neighbors included the families of Burks, Davidson, Jones, Bilyeu, Berry, Martin, Roark, and Capps.
By 1900, Henry Flaugher and his wife, Mariah Pearl (Robinson); Henry & Clementine (Flaugher) Capps; and James W. Flaugher and his wife, Mary L. Clark, were all living in the same vicinity of Osage township. Matilda, the mother of Clementine, was living with her son-in-law and daughter. She was listed as a widow, born in Sept. 1821 in Ohio and gave her parents birthplaces as Germany and Ireland, respectively.
James Monroe Flaugher son of Frances Flaugher
Flaugher Family photo
Left to Right: Charlie, Fannie (sister), Willie, Ollie, (Fannie and Ollie are twins), Rector Wilson (husband to Icie), Icie (Flaugher) Wilson, Elmer
In front: James FlaugherJr. and Mary (Clark) Flaugher
NOTE: Not much information has been found about Mary L. Clark, wife of James Flaugher. She was born in April 1866 in Miller County. Family legend states she was an orphan who was left sitting by her parent's tombstone at their funeral.....she was supposedly reared by the Daniel Kinworthy family who lived in the same community. I have not been able to confirm this report.
LOUIS G. AND JOHN T. FORBIS
I am writing this article about two brothers, Louis G. and John T. Forbis of Richwoods Township. I found old obituaries of each of the brothers so decided to combine their stories together.....
LOUIS G. FORBIS.....was a son of Jesse and Amy Forbis and was born in Kentucky on 26 March 1846. He died at the age of 90 years in Miller County, April 5, 1936. On October 13, 1871, Louis married Irene C. Atwell. Their marriage was performed by James Brown, a minister of the gospel.
Irene (Atwell) Forbis died in 1901 and Louis remained a widower for 35 years. He was a veteran of the Civil War, serving in Company L, First Regiment of the Light Artillery of Missouri. He was a member of the Iberia G.A.R. Post and at his death in 1936, there was only one Civil War veteran still living---Squire John Ferguson of Iberia who died in 1940. Louis Forbis was buried at the Atwell/Tyler Cemeteery southeast of Iberia, under the auspices of the Iberia America Legion who honored the old Civil War veteran.
JOHN T. FORBIS....died at his home near Hancock in Pulaski County on August 12, 1940 at the age of 91 years. He was born in Miller County on January 17, 1849, the son of Jesse and Amy Forbis, pioneers of east Miller County.
John Forbis married Martha E. Atwell-Forbis (1867-1955), widow of his brother, Alfred A. Forbis. Martha and Alfred were married in August 1885 and then she married John in October 1887.
John and Martha had five children but three survived their father when he died in 1940. Evidently two of the children had died in childhood
.John was also survived by a sister, Martha Forbis Cross, wife of Doc Franklin Cross.
Funeral services were held for John T. Forbis at Freedom Church in Maries County and were conducted by Ernest Kehr. He was buried in the church's cemetery nearby.
NOTE: Louis G. Forbis and John T. Forbis were sons of James Forbis (born c/1810 in Kentucky) and Amy___Forbis (born c/ 1819 in Tennessee). They were early pioneers of east Richwoods Township in Miller County.
THE FRAZIER/FREEMAN FAMILIES
Sometime between 1862 and 1867, Andrew Jackson Frazier moved to Miller County from Pettis County, MO. While in Pettis County, Andrew and his first wife, Jennie, became parents of a son, Francis Marion Frazier, born 2 August 1862. Five days later, on August 7, Jennie died from childbirth complications.
After Andrew moved to Miller County he married Mary Freeman on April 23, 1867. Their marriage was performed by John Bear, a justice of the peace in Equality Township. In the Miller County census of 1870, Andrew and Mary were living in Equality Township near the families of Martin, Smith, Horton, Cooper, Umstead, Wyrick, Barton and Weitz. In their home were three children and 2 more were born before 1880.
There is no further record of the Frazier family in Miller County after the 1880 census. A descendant of this family says the family moved to Saline County, MO where Andrew Jackson Frazier died in 1921.
I suspect the second wife of Andrew Frazier, Mary Freeman, was a sister to Andrew Jackson Freeman and James M. Freeman, both of Glaize Township. I couldn't find definite proof but all clues seem to point in that direction.
Andrew Jackson Freeman, born in Tennessee, married Editha A. Tinsley in Miller County on Sept. 8, 1857. They lived in Glaize Township near the town of Brumley. His brother, James M. Freeman, also born in Tennessee, married Mary M. Golden on January 10, 1861 and they lived in the same area as Andrew and Editha. According to a biographical sketch of William P. Freeman (son of Andrew and Editha) in GOODSPEED'S 1889 HISTORY OF BENTON, COLE, MORGAN, OSAGE, MILLER, MONITEAU AND MARIES COUNTIES, the Freeman family moved from Tennessee in the 1840s and first settled in Hickory County, MO where the father died in 1872.
Andrew J. Freeman came to Miller County in 1857 and settled near Brumley. Shortly after arriving, he married Editha Tinsley. He served in the Union army during the Civil War in Company E, 33rd Regiment, Missouri Infantry Volunteers. Andrew died in 1874 from old war wounds that had caused him many complications.
ABRAHAM FULKERSON
Abram Fulkerson was born in Washington Co., Virginia in 1819, a son of Richard Fulkerson and Susannah Livingston. Richard was of Dutch descent and the family's name was first spelled "Vulker". His mother's family was of English descent and was early settlers of America. Abram's maternal great grandfather was Robert Livingston, one of the signers of America's Declaration of Independence.
The Fulkerson family came to Missouri in 1823 and first settled in Boone County where they lived for several years. Abram's mother, Susannah, died there in 1824 not long after the family had arrived. His father lived until 1852. About 1836, Abram went to Jefferson City, Cole County, and became a clerk and deputy postmaster. In 1843, he was appointed as postmaster of Jefferson City, which was then a young city. This began his career in politics which covered many decades in both Cole and Miller counties. His first political connection was with the "Free Soil" party which I believe was an arm of the old Whig party. He was county surveyor of Cole County for 8 years; was admitted to the legal bar in 1842 and practiced law most of his life; was a state legislator from 1850-1852 and was appointed state auditor for a short while in the early 1850s by the governor of Missouri. He also served as quartermaster general of the state of Missouri under Governor King and later was prosecuting attorney for Aurora Springs in Miller County.
During the Civil War, Abram took an active role in the war in Missouri. In 1861, he was enrolling clerk and member of the Missouri Home Guards. He also helped to organize and then lead several 'Colored' infantries including the 3rd Arkansas, the 1st Iowa, and the 1st Missouri. He led these former slaves in many battles and skirmishes during the years he served with them. In 1861-62, Abram also was provost marshall and pass-master under General Grant at Jefferson City and at one time even served under Jefferson C. Davis (who later became the President of the Southern States after secession).
After the war, Abram continued on with his law practice but found a new interest in journalism. At one time he was a correspondent for the St. Louis Union newspaper and in 1875, he moved his family to Tuscumbia, Miller County, and became owner and editor of the newspaper, THE MILLER COUNTY VIDETTE, which existed for 3 years. Later he began another county newspaper called THE OSAGE VALLEY BANNER which he owned until 1881. Abram was a 'man of many hats'....in 1881, he took his surveyor's compass in hand and surveyed the future site of Aurora Springs in Saline township...he named the place, the different streets, and then lived in the newly-founded town for several years! While in Aurora Springs he also published the town's first newspaper which was only a half-sheet.
Abram Fulkerson was married 4 times...his first wife was Flora Haines/Haynes whom he married in Cole County, MO on 12 Dec 1842. They were parents of 9 children: RICHARD H. FULKERSON (died in 1867 in Ft. Leonard, Kansas); CHARLES B. FULKERSON 1846-1891, a photographer in Tuscumbia; FRANK B. FULKERSON who lived in Jeff. City and was owner/publisher of "The Jefferson City Times"; ABRAM FULKERSON JR., JAMES L. FULKERSON who later lived in Denver, CO; JOHN F. FULKERSON of Jefferson City who helped in the newspaper business; ESTHER/HESTER FULKERSON (Mrs. A. J. Davis) of Jefferson City; EMMA FULKERSON; and an infant daughter died in infancy. Flora Haynes Fulkerson died 5 May 1859 after giving birth to 9 children.
Abram then married Frances Wilson in Cole County. I do not know when she died because after he moved to Tuscumbia he married wife #3, Maria Vannatta, on 2 Nov 1879, a native of Canada. She died in 1883 (buried in Tuscumbia cemetery) and then he married his 4th wife, Mrs. Hannah Jane Hagan of Jefferson City, on 10 March 1887. She died in May 1907. As far as can be determined, he only fathered children by his first wife, Flora.
While visiting his children in Jefferson City, Abram Fulkerson died on October 2, 1892. He still lived at his home in Aurora Springs, Miller County, but went to Jefferson City when he began to fail in health. He died at the home of his son, Frank G. Fulkerson. He was buried in the city cemetery in Jefferson City, probably beside his first wife and the mother of his children. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, Masonic Lodge #43 of Jefferson City, a Royal Arch Mason Chapter 11, and he was also a member of the Garfield G.A.R. Post whose members took part in his funeral services.
ADDENDUM:
There were other Fulkerson families in Cole and Miller counties during the same era that
Abram lived there. John L. Fulkerson and his wife, Beersheba/Barbara (Russell) married in Cole County on 10 May 1840 and then moved into Miller County where they reared their family in Jim Henry Township near present-day Marys Home. Their children married into the families of Jenkins, Edgeman and Poe. I suspect John was a cousin to Abram Fulkerson. John L. Fulkerson was a justice of the peace in Miller County and performed several marriages from 1851 thru 1857.