Missouri GenealogyThe Cooper County wills index is an index to Cooper County, Missouri wills for volume A covering the years of 1818-1841, as found on MO 1 027 roll #53 of the Missouri State Archives. In indexing these records, we noticed there were very few in number and the ink was smeared and faded throughout the volume.
Capt. E. Addison McCaleb was a farmer and stock-raiser born in Putnam County, Illinois in 1833. He was the sixth child of Samuel and Catherine McCaleb, who had ten children. After attending rustic log schoolhouses and one year at Judson College, he taught for two winters. He served in the United States Army for seven months and later settled on a wild piece of prairie land in Dade County, Missouri, where he became an extensive farmer and owner of 1,003 acres of land, dealing largely in short-horned cattle. He was a Democrat, a Mason, and a member of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Christian Church.
John Cyrus Lindley was born in 1852 in Dade County, Missouri, where he lived his entire life. His parents, John and Mary Lindley, settled in the county in 1833, and John Lindley became the largest tax-payer in the county before his death during the Civil War. J.C. Lindley received only a basic education, as he had to care for his aged mother and take over the family business after his father’s death. He married D.F. Hailey in 1877, and they had six children. Lindley is a successful farmer, owning 1,600 acres of land and handling stock, and he is a deacon in the Church of Christ. Although he was once a political candidate, his true ambition was to be a minister.
Mt. Pisgah was organized not far from the present town of Dadeville, Dade County, Missouri, on the 14th day of February, 1836, and is therefore the oldest (Baptist) church of which we have any record in the bounds of the early association of Southwest Missouri. The members in the constitution … Read more
Joseph B. Lindsey, born in 1847 in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, was a prominent stock dealer and feeder in Lockwood, Missouri. The son of Keyes and Almira (Button) Lindsey, Joseph moved to Dade County, Missouri, in 1869. He initially farmed on the prairie and later engaged in the real estate business with Judge William M. Taggart, playing a key role in settling Southwest Dade County. He briefly co-owned the Bank of Lockwood and spent time in Los Angeles in real estate before returning to Missouri. A dedicated Republican and advocate for education, Lindsey owned 240 acres and had three daughters with his wife, Mary Miller.
Born in Tennessee in 1830, Arthur M. Morrison was the son of Thomas and Nancy (Chastain) Morrison. The family relocated to Missouri in 1868. Arthur established his business in 1869 and maintained it, with brief interruptions, until present. He was a member of Garrett Lodge, the Masonic fraternity in Arcola. Both Morrison and Lawrence, known for their integrity and customer service, earned the trust and confidence of their community. Arthur M. Morrison and Thomas J. Lawrence, prominent merchants in Cedarville, Dade County, Missouri, operated a successful general merchandise store valued at $2,000.
Thomas J. Lawrence and Arthur M. Morrison were prominent merchants in Cedarville, Dade County, Missouri, dealing in general merchandise with a stock valued at $2,000. Born in Alabama in 1859, Thomas J. Lawrence was the son of Edward and Martha E. (Morrison) Lawrence. He moved to Dade County in 1882 and married Julia Ducket in 1883. A Democrat and member of the Masonic order, Lawrence served as the postmaster of Cedarville. Both Lawrence and Morrison were known for their integrity and dedication to their business, earning the trust and confidence of their community.
Frederick Kirby, born September 16, 1848, in Dade County, Missouri, was a prominent agriculturist in Morgan Township. The son of Tully C. and Nancy (Hernington) Kirby, early settlers from Kentucky, Frederick was the youngest of eleven children. Educated in local schools, he enlisted in the Sixteenth Missouri Cavalry in 1864, serving ten months and sustaining partial eyesight loss. On March 7, 1882, he married Lauraetta Walker from Ohio. The couple resided on the family homestead before moving to Dadeville. They had four children. A Republican, Frederick was active in the Baptist Church and maintained the family’s agricultural legacy.
James M. Kirby, born December 1, 1830, in Kentucky, was a notable farmer and stock-raiser in Morgan Township, Dade County, Missouri. He was the son of Tully C. and Nancy (Hernington) Kirby and the fourth of eleven children. At nineteen, Kirby enlisted in the Mexican War, serving in the Third Regiment Mounted Infantry of Missouri. During the Civil War, he joined the Home Guards and later the Enrolled Militia, eventually becoming captain of Company E, Seventy-sixth Regiment. In 1850, he married Mary J. Grisham, with whom he had twelve children. A Republican, Kirby owned 370 acres of land and was active in local politics and the Masonic Lodge. He and his wife were members of the Baptist Church.
R. N. Killingsworth, born January 12, 1840, in Greene County, Missouri, was a prominent agriculturist and stock-raiser in North Township, Dade County. He was the son of Joseph and Melinda (Barnett) Killingsworth, early settlers of Greene County. Joseph, of Scotch descent, was born in 1813 in Tennessee and died in 1888 in Dade County. R. N. Killingsworth enlisted in the Federal Army in 1861, serving in the Sixth Missouri Cavalry. He married Martha P. Martin in 1863, and they had nine children. A lifelong Democrat, he owned 240 acres of farmland and was an active member of the Missionary Baptist Church.