Bios &Migrations

William E. Leslie - was born in Lawrence County, Kentucky, November 13, 1837. He is a son of William and Nancy (Hall) Leslie, who were born in 1795 and 1803, and died in 1844 and 1857, respectively. William had three brothers in the late war, named John R., Robert P., and James E. Robert and James served three years in the 5th Virginia Volunteer Infantry, and John in the 49th Kentucky Mounted Infantry. They were all honorably discharged. James is superintendent of infirmary in Boyd county, Kentucky; Robert is at Haela Furnace, Lawrence county, Ohio; John is in Minnesota. Mr. Leslie has held the office of supervisor in this township for one year. The first wife of Mr. Leslie was Elizabeth Rose. She was born April 3, 1845, died January 11, 1871. She was mother of the following children: Margaret G., born August 30, 1863; John E., August 5, 1865; Charles R., April 4, 1867; Andrew T., November 1, 1868; Francis M., December 9, 1870, died July 22, 1871. The present wife of Mr. Leslie is Henriette Wigner Simmons, who was born in Perry township, March 17, 1844. They were married in Greenfield township January 14, 1872. The following are her children: Ada A., born April 17, 18 ; Florence E., May 18, 18 ; Emeret H., March 1, 1875; Eugene H., May 17, 1877; William R., January 18, 1879; Nellie J., June 4, 1881. The parents of Mrs. Leslie are John and Margaret (Wigner) Simmons. Her father is deceased. Mr. Leslie came to this county in 1862, and engaged in farming. His post office address is Gallia Furnace, Gallia county, Ohio.

THE HISTORY OF JACKSON COUNTY, MISSOURI,                                                                                       UNION HISTORICAL COMPANY,
BIRDSALL, WILLIAMS 4 CO.
1881

John Cox, Farmer, section 5, post-office Raytown, was born March 21, 1825, in Scott County, Virginia, and was brought, to this county by his parents in the fall of 1834. They settled on the place he now occupies in the spring of 1835, and he has grown up with the country and taken an active part in the up-building of it. He owns a fine farm of 244 acres, all of which is under fence. He met with a severe loss in the winter of 1879, by having his house and household goods burned. He married Miss Charlotte Price February 12, 1856. She is a native of Lawrence County, Kentucky, and was born January 18, 1836. They have seven children living: Moses, John E. E., Henry J., General Longstreet, Sarah J., Benjamin and Sidney C.; they lost three. They are members of the Baptist Church.

Transcribed from:  A history of the state of Oklahoma, Volume 2

 By Luther B. Hill

Dr. Campbell R. Holbrook occupies a leading place among the residents of Payne County, widely known as a citizen, farmer and physician. Born in Lawrence County, Kentucky, in 1830, he is a son of Ambrose and Nancy (Elam) Holbrook, who were born respectively in North Carolina and in Virginia. They were married in the latter commonwealth, and moving to Kentucky about 1818 they were among the first settlers of what is now Lawrence County, and at that time Kentucky formed a portion of Virginia and was inhabited principally by Indians and wild game. Entering land at his new home Ambrose Holbrook opened one of the first farms in what afterward became known as Lawrence county, and he was also one of the first men in the state to plant an orchard. Although in constant danger from the Indians he never participated in any of their wars, and he was personally acquainted with Daniel Boone and others of the early Indian fighters and pioneers. The farm which he entered from the government in the early year of 1818 served as his home until his death, which occurred in 1858, and his wife died in the same year. They reared a family of six children, and the first born, Captain Ralph W. Holbrook, served as captain of Company A of the Fourth Kentucky Infantry under General Grant, and took part in the battle of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and many other important engagements of that war. He is deceased, and his family reside in Lawrence county, Kentucky. William R., also deceased, served with his brother in the Fourteenth Kentucky Infantry, and his family live in North Dakota, whither he had moved some time before his death. Ambrose M. has passed away, and his family reside on the old homestead in Kentucky. Louisa and Unice, the two daughters of the family, are deceased.

Campbell R. Holbrook, the third born son in the above family, attained to manhood's estate on his father's farm and received his educational training in the old-time subscription schools of Lawrence County, which were held in primitive log cabin schools of the time and place. Assisting his father on the old homestead until attaining his twenty-eight years, he then began the study of medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. W. A. Tutt, and at the age of thirty engaged in active practice in Lawrence County. In the passing years he built up a large following in his chosen calling, and in those early days horseback riding was his principal mode of conveyance, he on many occasions having rode fifty miles and more, night or day in all kinds of weather, to visit a patient, and in exchange for his service he would often receive stock or any saleable article. Often these visits required some two or three days, and on one of these visits he rode thirty miles in the night to attend an obstetrical case, and on returning found a similar call awaiting him, and retracing his steps he traveled sixty miles in one night with the ground covered with ice and sleet. Dr. Campbell continued in this laborious practice until he finally left Kentucky in 1890. The period of (he Civil war was his most trying time of all his professional career, for he was called upon to serve adherents of both political parties, but his generous treatment of his neighbors met with equal courtesy in return. Although the doctor never took sides with either of the opposing parties, his Whig sentiments were widely known and he was opposed to secession, as were also his brothers.

In 1889 Dr. Holbrook went to Minnesota, and in 1890 came to Oklahoma and located twelve miles south of Stillwater, where he owns a splendid farm of one hundred and sixty acres. This property, for which he paid one thousand dollars, was unimproved at the time of purchase, but he has since placed the land under a splendid state of cultivation, and has otherwise improved it, has a good residence and out-buildings, and the estate is now worth many thousands of dollars. Dr. Holbrook is a pioneer in the raising and breeding of Poland China hogs, being at one time the largest raiser of this breed in the county. He continued the practice of medicine after coming to Oklahoma until 1900, when he retired from the practice to give his attention to his manifold farming interests, which by this time required his undivided attention. He moved to Stillwater in 1909, where he has a handsome cottage and where he and his wife will pass their declining years in quiet and rest.

Dr. Holbrook has been twice married, wedding for his first wife Mary A. Wilson, from Kentucky, a daughter of Jesse and Elizabeth (Strong) Wilson, and the six children of their union are: Cusbingberry, the widow of Elbert Manious, of Kentucky, and she resides in Payne county, Oklahoma; Belle, deceased; Grant; Jesse, a farmer in Owsley county, Kentucky; Finley, deceased; and Dr. R. W., a practicing physician of Perkins. Mrs. Holbrook died some years ago and the Doctor in 1872 married Fannie Holbrook, from North Carolina, a daughter of Ralph and Nancy (Spicer) Holbrook. This family was among the early settlers of North Carolina, and they are descended from three brothers who came from England, all teachers, and one located in Boston, another in Philadelphia and the third at Raleigh, North Carolina, and from the latter both the Doctor and Mrs. Holbrook are descended. Governor Holbrook, of Vermont, is also of this family, an uncle of the Doctor, and its representatives have included a number of notable teachers, especially the eastern branch of the family. Dr. R. W. Holbrook was a graduate of Holbrook College of Lebanon, Ohio. Ralph and Nancy (Spicer) Holbrook became the parents of ten children, all of whom lived to rear families of their own, and they are: Harding who resides at Trap Hill, North Carolina; James, deceased, whose family live at the old homestead in North Carolina; Jane, wife of Joshua Spicer, of that state; James, also of that state, a former member of its legislature and now holding a government position; Ralph and John, both of North Carolina; Joshua, deceased, whose family reside in North Carolina; Fannie, who became the wife of Dr. Holbrook; Betsy, wife of James M. Pruitt, of North Carolina; and Alice, wife of Millard Brown, of Virginia. The seven children born to Dr. and Mrs. Holbrook are: Mint, whose home is in Payne county; Mary J., the deceased wife of David Cundiff, of Oklahoma; Arthur, Walker and John, all Payne county farmers; and Nannie and Lilla. Mrs. Holbrook and her daughters are members of the Christian church. Dr. Holbrook has voted the Republican ticket since the formation of the party, and he stands at the head of the successful men of Payne County, honored for his sterling worth of character.

Transcribed from:  A History Of Kentucky And Kentuckians

By
E. POLK JOHNSON

VOLUME III,  1912

Zotto Gushing Vinson—When entering upon his business career in early manhood Mr. Vinson became associated with the lumber trade, and throughout his entire life has been associated with this industrial line. Although he has been interested in many other business concerns, still he has always held the lumber trade as first in his estimation and it has been his favorite business.

Mr. Vinson was born in Wayne County, West Virginia, February 10, 1847, the son of William and Jane (Chambers) Vinson, also natives of Wayne County. The Vinson family is an old one in West Virginia, the original settlement and homestead being in the valley of Big Sandy river, overlooking the banks of what is now Lawrence county, Kentucky. James Vinson, the grandfather of our subject, was a pioneer, a native of North Carolina, where his father died when he was a boy. When he was twelve years old, in about 1800, he joined a party of Kentuckians who were driving a large number of hogs from Kentucky to North Carolina and on to Jamestown, Virginia, where they were sold. After the sale of the hogs the boy was paid for his services and requested to return home, but his intense interest in traveling and desire to see the world influenced him to follow with the party through Virginia and Pennsylvania to Kentucky. He stopped in the mountains of Big Sandy to hunt and continued so doing for several years and worked at whatever he could find to do, alone among strangers and an orphan. There he remained and grew up in the wilds. After his marriage to Rhoda Sperry, a native of Wayne county, West Virginia, he located on a farm in Big Sandy valley and in that county lived the remainder of his life. One of his sons, Lafayette, owns and resides on the old homestead and is the only one of eight children living. James Vinson was a member of the Virginia regiment and served in the war of 1812.

William Vinson, the third of the eight children and the father of our subject, was reared at the old homestead. He became a merchant and operated a general merchandise store at Fort Gay with great success for several years and in 1856 he located in Kentucky, at the Forks of Big Sandy, where he bought a large tract of land and engaged in the timber industry successfully, rafting logs down the Big Sandy and Ohio rivers to the Cincinnati and Louisville markets. He became well fixed financially and influential and died on the farm in Lawrence County, Kentucky, in 1881, at the age of sixty-eight years. He was of a military turn of mind and prior to the Civil war served as colonel of a regiment of state militia for several years and in 1861 he was colonel of the Fourteenth Kentucky Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He was in active service about two years, taking part in all engagements of the regiment during that time and being recognized as a successful commander. At the end of that time, owing to sickness contracted in service, he was compelled to resign and return home and was an invalid the rest of his life. He had three brothers who served in the Confederate army, Lafayette, Frank and Samuel S. Lafayette and Samuel were captured and made prisoners at Lexington about the close of the war but through the influence of their brother, Colonel Vinson, were soon released and returned home. Samuel was very aggressive in war, being twice wounded and having many narrow escapes, going into places where very few would follow. During his service he rose to the rank of captain of his company, which was not the only recognition of his active usefulness, as he was appointed United States marshal of West Virginia by President Cleveland.

Colonel William Vinson was a staunch Democrat and active in politics during his life, serving one term in the state legislature of West Virginia, and also serving as sheriff in his native county of Wayne. He was a successful farmer, stockman and lumberman in Kentucky, owning a number of slaves before the war, bought and sold large numbers of horses, was an extensive cattle raiser and dealer, and acquired a large estate. His wife, Jane Chambers, survived him for years, dying in 1889, at the age of seventy years. She was the daughter of Richard Chambers, a native of Virginia and from an old family, he being a well known farmer and citizen, serving as county judge. Colonel Vinson and wife were the parents of ten children, of whom four are living, our subject being the fourth in order of birth.

Z. C. Vinson was about nine years old when his parents located in Lawrence County, Kentucky, and owing to the disturbed times which the Civil war occasioned was only able to acquire a limited education. He assisted his father at home until his marriage, during which time he became familiar with the handling of stock, logging, etc. He was a natural river-man and became interested in steamboating, buying a boat and operating freight and passenger service between Louisa and Catlettsburg on the Big Sandy. During low water on the Ohio he also operated as far as Cincinnati. He built the "Wildboy" in addition to his original "Piketon" and later bought and rebuilt the "Fashion," and continued in this line for a number of years, when he sold out and returned to logging and rafting to the Cincinnati and Louisville markets. He has had a very successful career in this line, in which he is still engaged.

In 1874 Mr. Vinson took up his residence in Catlettsburg, which he made his permanent home and also the base of his operations in business. In politics he is a Democrat and formerly took an active part, having in the fall of 1883 been elected to the lower house in the state legislature from Boyd and Lawrence counties, in which he served one term, which was during the memorable race between Joseph Blackburn and John S. Williams for United States senator.

Mr. Vinson is a member of the Masonic Order at Louisa, Kentucky. He was married to Josephine Bromley, a native of Fort Gay, West Virginia, the daughter of John Bromley, also a native of Virginia, a stockman, merchant and timberman, farming extensively and owning many slaves before the war. Mr. and Mrs. Vinson had two children: John B., an attorney of Catlettsburg, and Jane, the wife of Warren I. Allen, a lawyer and banker of Harrodsburg. Kentucky. The wife and mother died April 5, 1908. She was a member of the Baptist church and had a beautiful Christian character and for many years was very active in the church work, of which church Mr. Vinson was also a member. Their son, John B. Vinson, an attorney of Catlettsburg, was born in Wayne County, West Virginia, June 7, 1866, and was reared in Lawrence and Boyd counties, Kentucky. He was educated in the public schools, also in the Eastern Kentucky Normal and later attended Emory and Henry College in Washington County, Virginia. He then took a course at Central University at Richmond, Kentucky, and then came to Catlettsburg and studied law in Judge Thomas R. Brown's office. He was admitted to practice in June, 1887, on his twenty-first birthday, and began the practice of his profession at once and has continued it ever since. He takes an active interest in politics, is a Democrat and soon after he began to practice was elected county attorney and served four and a half years. Later he served one term of two years as city attorney- He is a bachelor and is a member of the Elks, Catlettsburg Lodge No. 942.

Samuel J. Debord.—The subject of this sketch is a true and good citizen, has served his country in times of war more than once and deserves that his country should serve him in times of peace. Samuel J. DeBord was born in Lawrence County, Kentucky, September 2, 1874, the son of Stephen and Augusta (Hatfield) DeBord, the former a native of Lawrence County and the latter of Floyd County, Kentucky. The DeBord family are of French descent, emigrating from France to the American colonies at an early period and settling in what later became North Carolina and became principally farmers. In the early thirties Joseph DeBord, the great-grandfather of our subject, moved his family from North Carolina to Kentucky, traveling overland through the wilderness and across mountains. There were no roads to follow and they stopped for some time at various places and in that way three years passed while they were looking for a place to locate permanently and make a home.

Joseph DeBord was a surveyor in North Carolina and followed that same business in Kentucky in early days. He finally located on a line which is now Lawrence and Johnson counties, on Laurel park, Big Elaine creek, where he took up a large tract of land of about two thousand acres in forest, the nearest habitation being twenty miles away. This proved to be some of the finest timber and soil in that part of Kentucky. Of his children, Jacob DeBord, the grandfather of our subject, the youngest of seven children and the only son, was a small boy, about ten years old, when he came with his parents from North Carolina. He was reared in Kentucky and in later years bought a farm in Lawrence County, where he made his home and became prosperous. He was a local preacher of the Baptist church and well known among the early settlers, taking a great interest in that work and becoming a well known missionary. His wife was Clara Wheeler, a native of Virginia, whose parents were early settlers. Jacob DeBord and his wife were the parents of seven children, the youngest of which. Stephen, was the father of our subject, and was reared on the homestead in Lawrence County. Two of his brothers, John and William, served in a Kentucky regiment during the Civil war from the beginning to the end, and were in many engagements and on the march from Atlanta to the sea. Both were prisoners for a time. The father of our subject, Stephen, lived for many years on the farm in Lawrence County, where he acquired a good estate, which he sold and retired in 1903 to Ashland, dying near that place in 1909, at the age of fifty-six years. His widow, Augusta Hatfield DeBord, survives. She is the daughter of Owen Hatfield, a native of Virginia and an early settler and farmer of Floyd County, Kentucky. He served in a Kentucky regiment in the Union army during the entire period of the Civil war and was made prisoner, being confined for nearly a year in Andersonville. Stephen DeBord and his wife were the parents of seven children, our subject being the eldest.

Samuel J. DeBord was reared on the farm in Lawrence County, receiving his education at the public school. When he was eighteen years of age he went to West Virginia and was employed by the Freeport Coal Company as a laborer at a dollar and a half a day, later becoming weighman and from that to mine boss at one hundred dollars a month. When the Spanish-American war broke out he secured work at fifteen dollars and sixty cents a month with "Uncle Sam," enlisting at Lexington, Kentucky, with his brother, Dr. W. M. DeBord, of Ashland, in Company C, Third Kentucky Infantry, and was discharged in May, 1899, the service in Cuba being principally on garrison duty in various places, part of the time in the interior of the island. After the war he and his brother established a grocery in Ashland, which partnership continued for several years successfully. Mr. DeBord sold his interest to his brother when he was elected county jailer, on the Republican ticket, which party has been supported by several generations of DeBords. He was elected in the fall of 1909, having one of the largest majorities on the ticket, for a term of four years. He has always been interested in politics and taken an active part, for several years acting as chairman of his ward at Ashland. He is also interested in social bodies, being a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and other fraternal societies. In the Odd Fellows he is a past grand.

Mr. DeBord on July 5, 1904, married Mollie Carroll, a native of Grayson, Carter County, Kentucky, the daughter of John Carroll, a farmer and timberman of Michigan. To Mr. and Mrs. DeBord have been born two children, Walter and Lucille. Mr. DeBord and family are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he takes a great interest in the Sunday-school.

 WVU Alumni Association, Waitman Barbe – 1903

Taylor Bascom McClure, Wayne, W. Va.

Born in Lawrence County, Kentucky, 1847; taught in Wayne county, West Virginia, 1874-5; principal schools in Louisa, Ky., 1875-8; principal schools in Catlettsburg, Ky., 1878-80; assistant teacher in Marshall College, 1880-1; established Oakview Academy at Wayne, W. Va., 1882; principalship of which continuously held to present date, 1903; married in Catlettsburg, Ky., Oct. 3, 1876, Martha Alice Burgess; candidate for office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction in West Virginia on Republican ticket in 1888; 1900 delegate to Republican National Convention at Philadelphia, Pa.; district elector for Fourth district of West Virginia on McKinley and Roosevelt ticket, 1900.

Rev. M. L. Stewart.

     Marcus L. Stewart, son of Thomas H. and Julia M. Stewart, was born in Lawrence County, Kentucky, September 19, 1862. Two years afterwards his parents moved to Davis County, Missouri, and five years later they moved to Montgomery County, Kansas. Mr. Stewart attended the district schools during boyhood, where he obtained a common school education and then took a short term at the Scarrett College, Neosho. September 21, 1882, he and Miss Segornia Eppard, of this county, were united in marriage, which union has been blessed with seven children, all of whom are living.  For several years he was engaged in farming, teaching school thru the winter months.

     Mr. Stewart early identified himself with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was ordained a minister of that denomination some five years ago. He has gained a host of friends wherever he has taught or preached, and many of our people, specially the children, will remember him with pleasure. In 1896 he went to Idaho, where he had charge of a circuit for some months, and then returned to this county to finish up his business. He was quite favorably impressed with the people and located there and expects to make his home there. He established and carried to a successful termination the Chautauqua at Southwest City this fall, for which commendable enterprise he will have the lasting praise and esteem of her people.

(History of McDonald County, Missouri, by Judge J. A. Sturges, 1897)

Contributed by Linda Rodriguez

Transcribed from:  Portrait and Biographical Record of Buchanon and Clinton counties, Missouri, 1893

Ralph M. Stafford, our subject's father, was born in Giles County, Va., in 1808, and was the son of John Stafford, who was a native of the Emerald Isle. Ralph Stafford came to Platte County, Mo., in 1842 from Lawrence County, Ky., with his family. He entered one hundred arid sixty acres of land, which he brought under good cultivation. Three of his ten children were born in the Blue Grass State, the others having their birthplace in Platte County. The mother was before her marriage Cynthia A., daughter of John Burgess, who moved to the county about 1840 from Lawrence County, Ky. He entered land near the line dividing Buchanan and Platte Counties, where he resided until his death. Our subject's father and mother were both active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and lived to see the church edifice erected in Dearborn.

Transcribed from:  Portrait and Biographical Record of Buchanon and Clinton counties, Missouri, 1893

JAMES B. STAFFORD is one of the leading men of south Buchanan County has also been identified with the history of Platte County, where he was reared to manhood. Great credit is due to the many self-made men of our country, who, beginning life entirely without capital and confronted by the many difficulties which fall to the lot of all, yet courageously and undaunted pursue with firmness the course they have marked out, thus winning in the end the crown of victory. Among the citizens of Jackson Township who have thus risen is Mr. Stafford, who has accumulated by his own efforts a valuable estate comprising nearly one section of land, located in Buchanan and Platte Counties. He has been actively engaged in stock and grain raising, and all the numerous improvements now to be seen on his farm have been made by himself. He owns a small part of the old homestead and desirable property in the village of Dearborn.

James B. Stafford, who was the second son, was born in Lawrence County, Ky., in 1839, and grew to manhood in Platte County, being educated in the common schools. In 1866 he led to the marriage altar, Melissa, daughter of Anthony Grable. To the worthy couple have been born nine children: Cynthia M., Laura A., James A., John R., Charles W., Jennie P. (deceased), George C., Ora L. and Fred R.

Socially Mr. Stafford is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and politically he is a stalwart supporter of the Democratic Party. It is now half a century since our subject cast in his lot with the favored inhabitants of this region, and he has never regretted his removal to the west, as on these broad prairies he has reaped golden harvests, giving him and his family a comfortable livelihood, a pleasant home and abundance of means for his remaining years. It has been truly said that the farmer is the most independent of men, for though he is in a certain sense at the mercy of the wind and flood, which may prove destructive to his crops, be is free from the cares and harassing anxieties which beset the man of business in cities and towns. Moreover he has the advantage of being able to study Nature in her varying moods, and needs not to be shut up in a close office or store, but may always breathe country air, and be "near to Nature's heart."