J. W. Toliver, a prominent merchant, farmer, and stock-raiser in Dadeville, Missouri, was born in Lawrence County, Missouri, in 1855. He is the son of John H. Toliver, a Tennessee-born Confederate Army captain and mule trader, and Ann Laster. In 1877, J. W. married Amanda A. Watkins, with whom he had two children before her death in 1883. He remarried in 1885 to Marrillena Clopton White, with whom he had three stepchildren. Toliver has served as Dadeville’s postmaster since 1886 and owns a general store. An active Democrat, he also owns significant land in Missouri and Kansas.
J. W. Toliver, merchant, farmer, and stock-raiser, also dealer in stock at Dadeville, Mo., is a native of Lawrence County, Mo., born in 1855, and the son of John H. and Ann (Laster) Toliver. John H. Toliver was born in Tennessee in 1813, and came with his parents, John H., Sr., and Polly Toliver, to Lawrence County, Mo. He was a farmer and was also a mule trader by occupation. He held the rank of captain in the Confederate Army and died in 1862. His mother, Polly Toliver, died at the age of ninety-two years in Lawrence County, Mo. Ann (Laster) Toliver was born in Tennessee in 1817, is now living, and is the mother of ten children, eight now living, J. W. Toliver being the ninth child in order of birth. He remained with his mother until twenty-one years of age, and in 1877 married Miss Amanda A. Watkins, a native of Dade County, Mo., born in 1861, and the daughter of George and Lydia Watkins, who were among the earliest settlers of the last-mentioned county. To Mr. and Mrs. Toliver were born two children: George and Effie. Mrs. Toliver died in October 1883, and on January 15, 1885, Mr. Toliver married Miss Marrillena (Clopton) White, daughter of R. G. and Elizabeth Clopton. Mrs. Toliver was born in Dade County, Mo., December 27, 1850, and was the mother of three children by her first husband: Elmer R., born June 28, 1871; Clyde C., born July 2, 1873; and T. H. White, born September 4, 1875. January 6, 1886, Mr. Toliver was appointed postmaster of Dadeville, and is still acting in that capacity. He has a general store in connection with the post office and carries a stock of goods valued at $5,000. He is a Democrat in his politics, and is an enterprising, industrious businessman. He has 160 acres of land in Kansas, and 400 acres in Missouri, which he keeps well stocked. Mrs. Toliver is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Mr. Toliver’s maternal grandfather, Canon Laster, died in Dade County, at the age of ninety-two years.