William M. Tarrant, a distinguished farmer and stock-raiser in Dade County, Missouri, was born in Warren County, Kentucky, on August 20, 1842. He moved to Missouri as an infant and enlisted in the Sixth Regiment Missouri Cavalry during the Civil War, serving as an orderly sergeant. He married Josie King in 1866, and they had four children. Settling on a 160-acre farm in 1867, Tarrant expanded his holdings to 320 acres. Formerly a Republican, he became a Union Labor party supporter. He and his wife were active members of the Baptist Church. His lineage traces back to English and Scotch ancestry, with roots in early American military history.
William M. Tarrant. Prominent among the farming and stock-raising interests of Dade County, Mo., stands the name of William Tarrant, who was born in Warren County, Ky., August 20, 1842, and came with his parents to Dade County, Mo., when less than six months old, he being the eldest of nine children. He lived with his parents until April 10, 1862, when he enlisted in Company D, Sixth Regiment Missouri Cavalry of Volunteers as a private, and was afterward promoted to the rank of orderly sergeant. He served three years, was in the battle of Prairie Grove, and was in numerous skirmishes. In 1866, September 5, he married Miss Josie King, a native of Polk County, Mo., born in 1841, and the daughter of Henry and Eliza King, both deceased. The mother died at the home of William Tarrant May 19, 1888, and the father died in Polk County, Mo., October 19, 1878. To Mr. and Mrs. Tarrant were born four children: Albert, Flora, Fanny J., and Eva. In 1867 Mr. Tarrant settled on his present property of 160 acres of land, with about 120 acres under cultivation. Aside from this Mr. Tarrant has 120 acres in another tract, and forty acres more in still another. He is well-to-do, and one of the prominent farmers of the county. He was formerly a Republican in politics but is now a Union Labor man. Both he and his wife are members of the Baptist Church. He is the son of John M. and Nancy (Potter) Tarrant, the grandson of Minus and Nancy (McConnell) Tarrant, and the great-grandson of Samuel Tarrant, who was born in England. John M. Tarrant was born in Warren County, Ky., January 11, 1820, and is now one of the oldest settlers living in Dade County. He is a prominent farmer and stock-raiser. Minus Tarrant was born in South Carolina about 1785 and died in Kentucky in 1871 at the age of some eighty-six years. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. Nancy Tarrant, our subject’s grandmother, was born in Simpson County, Ky., about 1796, and was of Scotch descent, her grandfather being a native of Scotland. Her father, James McConnell, was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Nancy Tarrant died in Warren County, Ky., about 1852.