Lawrence and Gasconade County Missouri Vandergrift Families
FIRST GENERATION
1. George Vandergriff was born on 20 Jul 1812 in Grainger Co., Tennessee. 1850 census of Gasconade County Missouri, 3rd Crk Twp; Roll 399, pg 174.
He was married to Elizabeth Nicely on 15 Mar 1833 in Grainger Co., Tennessee. George Vandergriff and Elizabeth Nicely had the following children:
+2 i. Lucinda Vandergriff.
He was married to Catherine (Branson?) McGown on 3 Oct 1847 in
Gasconade County, Missouri. The complete listing in Hazle Tyler's book of
the 1870 Dallas County Census is:
Jasper Township
Dwelling #148, Family
#156
Vandergriff, George
63 TN
Catherine
51 TN
Alvis
14 m MO
Rulia
8 m MO Catherine (Branson?) McGown was born about
1823 in Grainger Co., Tennessee. Although Catherine's surname is spelled
"McGown" on her marriage record, it could possibly have been "McCown", as there
is a David McCown found on the 1880 census of Lawrence County. George
Vandergriff and Catherine (Branson?) McGown had the following children:
3 i. Louisa Vandergriff was born about 1848 in
Missouri.
+4 ii. Martha
Vandergriff.
+5 iii. Alvis
Vandergriff.
6 iv. George Gilbert (Gib) Vandergriff was born
about 1859.
+7 v. Roll (Rawl) Vandergrift.
SECOND
GENERATION
2. Lucinda Vandergriff was born on 27 Dec 1833 in Knoxville, Tennessee. She died on 12 Jul 1926 in Owensville, Gasconade Co, Missouri. Obituary Lucinda is buried in Leach Cemetery located just NE of Owensville off Highway 19. There is a road just across from the Owensville Industrial Park, which at the moment, leads to the Childcare Center and the Nursing Home. Approximately 1/4 to 1/2 mile further up the road is a farm where the cemetery is located. It sits in the west pasture and is currently fenced off. There is presently one old Cedar tree in the NE portion of the cemetery, and in the far NE corner is the stone for Mary Jane and her husband, William Seymore. Lucinda does not have a stone.
She was married to William C. Holt (son of Christopher "Kit" Holt and Elizabeth "Aunt Betty" Holt) on 27 Apr 1848 in Gasconade County, Missouri. William C. Holt was born on 13 Jun 1829 in St. Clair Co., Il. He died on 6 Jan 1875 in Gasconade County, Missouri. Lucinda Vandergriff and William C. Holt had the following children:
+8 i. George Riley
Holt.
+9 ii. James Alonzo
Holt.
10 iii. Melcena Elizabeth Holt was born on 7 Feb
1854.
+11 iv. Malissa Caroline
Holt.
12 v. Sophroney Jane Holt was born on 9 Oct
1858.
+13 vi. Sarah Lora Ann
Holt.
14 vii. Presley Wayman Holt was born on 12 Jan
1865.
+15 viii. Medora Lucinda
Holt.
16 ix. William Jackson
Holt was born on 13 Jan 1872. William Jackson Holt dropped the name Holt,
using his middle name "Jackson", as a surname.
+17 x. Emma Charlote Holt.
William Jackson Holt
4. Martha
Vandergriff was born about 1853 in Missouri.
Martha Vandergriff and William 'Bill' Bishop had the following children:
18 i. Charles Bishop.
+19 ii. Catherine 'Chat' Bishop.
5. Alvis Vandergriff was born on 13 May 1857 in Maries Co., Mo. He died on 28 Mar 1904 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. He was buried in Miesmer Cem., Lawrence Co., Mo.
He was married to Rachel McKee (daughter of Joseph McKee and
Nancy Stow) on 13 Feb 1873 in Dallas County, Mo.
Marriage License of Alvis & Rachel
Rachel McKee was
born in 1858 in Missouri. Alvis Vandergriff and Rachel McKee had the
following children:
+20 i. Lucy
Vandergrift.
21 ii. Nancy B Vandergrift was born about 1879
in Missouri. She died in 1880 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. Nancy must
have died shortly after the census was taken for 1880, as she is listed there
with the rest of the family.
+22 iii. Florence
Vandergriff.
23 iv. Bell Vandergriff died Age 18 in Lawrence
Co., Missouri.
24 v. Girl Vandergriff.
25 vi. Girl 2
Vandergriff.
He was married to Mary (Mollie) Jones on 26 Nov 1884. Alvis Vandergriff and Mary (Mollie) Jones had the following children:
26 i. John Gilbert (Gib) Vandergriff was born on
30 Jul 1886 in Paris Springs, Lawrence Co., Missouri. He died on 13 Sep
1957. He was a Miner Life in Carterville, Jasper Co., Missouri, Pitcher,
OK.. He was buried in Park Cemetery, Carthage, Jasper Co.,
MO.
27 ii. George Vandergriff was born on 7 Aug 1887 in
Lawrence Co., Missouri.
28 iii. Boy Vandergriff was born on
10 Feb 1888 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. He died on 10 Feb 1888 in Lawrence
Co., Missouri.
+29 iv. James Albert (Jim)
Vandergriff.
30 v. Jess Vandergriff.
31 vi. Bart Vandergriff was born on 9 Jan
1893.
32 vii. Henderson Vandergriff.
7. Roll (Rawl) Vandergrift was born on 22 Mar 1862 in Missouri. He died on 14 Sep 1921 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. He was buried in Meismer Cemetery, Lawrence Co MO. Roll Vandergrift 1862-1921
Roll was born in either Dade or Dallas
County, Missouri, the youngest son of George and Catherine McGown
Vandergrift.
The following material has been submitted by two of his
granddaughters, Martha Vandergrift Neill, and Lena Mae Graham Byfield.As a young man, he homesteaded or bought a 160 acre farm
near Miller, at the Onward community, of Lawrence County Missouri. There was no
house or barn, but there was a large cave, which he used to live in and shelter
for the cattle. (The cave itself has a history, as each year, as an outing, the
children at Onward School explored it.) He and his family lived in it until the barn and house were built - barn first in those
days. The house was built in early 1900, for I have
a picture of my mother, Mellie, then in her teens,
which was taken in front of the cave. The house, I think,
still stands today.
Grandpa Vandergrift carried the mail between Lawrenceburg and Ash Grove by horseback, and farmed and raised cattle. He and his family attended the Onward Methodist Church, which is still active. The Onward Church was built over 100 years ago.
On September 21st, 1921, he drove his buggy with his white horse, which was also his riding horse, hitched to it, to his sons, about three miles away. As he got to the gate, he became ill and called out to his son. They had to bring him home, and sent for Dr. Burney, who was eight miles away.
When the doctor arrived, he decided Grandpa needed surgery, due to his appendix being bad. He had to go to Springfield, 30 or 35 miles away, for a nurse to assist him. They performed the surgery on the kitchen table in Grandpa's home. Later in the day, about 4 o'clock, he died. His appendix had ruptured while he was waiting for the surgery. I remember the day clearly. I was seven years old at the time. From May 1918 until 1923, I lived at my grandparent's with my mother and brother because my father had died in World War I.
This is why I remember my grandfather, he always had a jug of corn whiskey under the staircase, and he would make us drink an eggnog made with whiskey, eggs, and milk. I hated it, but, no breakfast if we didn't drink it.
When he died, he left 2 teenagers, Uncle Claude and Aunt Marie.
Uncle Walter Vandergrift was appointed their guardian, plus he was to take care
of Grandpa's wife.
Submitted by Lena Mae Graham Byfield
Roll Vandergrift's last day as remembered by his granddaughter,
Martha (Vandergrift) Neill. Grandpa Roll rode to our house that morning of
September 14, 1921 on his big white horse. He became ill, went back home, and
the doctors came & operated on him on the dining room table, his appendix
had burst & he died on the table. Grandpa Roll always rode tall &
straight in the saddle, he was a big man with white hair and a white
mustache.
Martha (Vandergrift) Neill
He was married to Sarah Hankins on 14 Feb 1886. Sarah Hankins was born on 22 Mar 1867. She died on 10 Mar 1893. Roll (Rawl) Vandergrift and Sarah Hankins had the following children:
+33 i. Mellie
Vandergrift.
+34 ii. Walter
Vandergrift.
35 iii. Oliver Vandergrift was born on 28 Dec
1890 in Miller, Lawrence Co., Missouri. He was buried in Meismer Cemetery,
Lawrence Co MO. Oliver Vandergrift attended Springfield Business College,
beginning his schooling on January 1st, 1911. He received his diploma in
Secretarial and Bookkeeping duties. The course he took cost him $80.00, which
was a great deal of money at that time. he later became ill with tuberculosis,
which was a contagious disease, easily spread from one individual to another and
feared by all. Oliver was deprived of his family and forced to live in a tent
behind the family barn. At the age of 26 he committed
suicide.
+36 iv. Clint
Vandergrift.
37 v. Rose Ann Vandergrift was born on 3 May
1892. She died at a young age.. She was buried in Misemer Cemetery,
Lawrence County, Mo.
Roll (Rawl) Vandergrift and Rosa Ann Hankins had the following children:
+38 i. Hillary
(Hankins)Vandergrift.
+39 ii. Enos S.
(Hankins)Vandergrift.
+40 iii. Pearlie
Vandergrift.
41 iv. Buzz Vandergrift was born in Apr
1895. He died Died as an infant..
+42 v. Robert Jake
Vandergrift.
+43 vi. Flora Ellen
Vandergrift.
+44 vii. Claude
Vandergrift.
+45 viii. Archer Marie Vandergrift.
THIRD
GENERATION
8. George Riley Holt was born on 14 Jul 1849.
George Riley Holt and Mary Gerken had the following children:
46 i. George Holt was born on 31 Jul 1873. He died on 16 Apr 1956 in Owensville, Gasconade Co, Missouri.
9. James Alonzo Holt was born on 14 Nov 1851 in Gasconade County, Missouri. He died on 25 Feb 1917 in Gasconade County, Missouri.
He was married to Eliza Jane Warden on 8 Oct 1868. James Alonzo Holt and Eliza Jane Warden had the following children:
47 i. Prailzis Holt was born in 1869 in
Missouri.
48 ii. Frank M. Holt.
49 iii. William Holt.
+50 iv. Mary
L. Holt.
51 v. James Holt.
+52 vi. Charles Holt.
53 vii. Maggie M.
Holt.
54 viii. Alonzo Wily "Dock" Holt.
55 ix. George Holt.
56 x. John
Holt died in 1905.
57 xi. Ruth Holt.
11. Malissa Caroline Holt was born on 14 May 1856 in Owensville, Gasconade Co, Missouri. She died on 8 Jun 1929 in Gasconade County, Missouri.
She was married to James Marion "Coon" Melton on 10 Oct 1875. Malissa Caroline Holt and James Marion "Coon" Melton had the following children:
+58 i. Louis N.
Melton.
+59 ii. Nancy Luella (Ella)
Melton.
+60 iii. Walter Adolphus
Melton.
+61 iv. William Jesse
Melton.
+62 v. Martha Elizabeth (Mattie)
Melton.
+63 vi. Andrew David
Melton.
+64 vii. James A.
Melton.
65 viii. Ida Arminta Melton was born on 19 Nov 1891
in Rosebud, Missouri.
66 ix. Mary Anna Melton was born on 20
Nov 1893 in Rosebud, Missouri.
13. Sarah Lora Ann Holt was born on 22 Feb 1862 in Owensville, Gasconade Co, Missouri. She died on 1 Sep 1934.
She was married to Frederick Zinn on 8 Feb 1884 in Owensville, Gasconade Co, Missouri. Sarah Lora Ann Holt and Frederick Zinn had the following children:
+67 i. John Frederick
Zinn.
+68 ii. Emmet Bismark
Zinn.
69 iii. Lula Emma Estelle Zinn was born on 27 Mar 1897
in Owensville, Gasconade Co, Missouri.
15. Medora Lucinda Holt was born on 5 Jan 1869 in Gasconade County, Missouri. She died on 30 Dec 1945 in Quincy, Adams Co., Il.
She was married to James Thomas Leach on 17 May 1888. Medora Lucinda Holt and James Thomas Leach had the following children:
70 i. Lola E. Leach was born on 15 Sep 1890 in
Owensville, Gasconade Co, Missouri. She died on 29 Feb 1896 in Owensville,
Gasconade Co, Missouri.
+71 ii. William R.
Leach.
+72 iii. Flora Medora Leach.
Medora Lucinda Holt and George Webb Whitlock had the following children:
+73 i. George Webb Whitlock
Jr..
74 ii. George Victor Whitlock.
+75 iii. Olah Metta
Whitlock.
+76 iv. Nora Viola
Whitlock.
+77 v. Otis Hill
Whitlock.
+78 vi. Hazel Mildred Whitlock.
17. Emma Charlote Holt was born on 15 Oct 1874 in Gasconade County, Missouri. She died on 7 Feb 1947.
She was married to Dillard Green Pope on 13 Jan 1892 in Hermann, Gasconade Co., Mo. Emma Charlote Holt and Dillard Green Pope had the following children:
+79 i. Nora Edna
Pope.
+80 ii. Ezra Jackson
Pope.
+81 iii. Estella Ann
Pope.
+82 iv. George Andrew
Pope.
+83 v. Frank Dillard
Pope.
+84 vi. Clarence Pope.
+85 vii. Oma
A. Pope.
19. Catherine 'Chat' Bishop.
Catherine 'Chat' Bishop and Unknown Hayes had the following children:
86 i. Otis Hayes.
87 ii. Hanford Hayes.
20. Lucy Vandergrift was born in 1875 in Lawrence Co.,
Missouri. She died in 1906 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. She was buried
in Summit Cemetery, Lawrence Co., MO. With this generation, there was a
variation in the spelling of the
surname.
She was married to Frederick Elsworth Brown (son of William Brown and Evaline "Avie Aeria" Airy) on 4 Oct 1891 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. The marriage certificate is available at the Lawrence County Courthouse, for anyone who wants it. Marriage records, deeds, wills, etc., are PUBLIC RECORDS. Frederick Elsworth Brown was born on 12 Jan 1869 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. He died on 21 Aug 1930 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. Cause of death was poisoning. He was buried in Summit Cemetery, Lawrence Co., MO. Lucy Vandergrift and Frederick Elsworth Brown had the following children:
+88 i. Elmer Elwood
Brown.
89 ii. Avie Brown was born on 29 Mar 1893 in Lawrence
Co., Missouri. She died on 29 Sep 1904 in Lawrence Co., Missouri.
She was buried in Summit Cemetery, Lawrence Co.,
MO.
+90 iii. Toney Brown.
+91 iv. B
Brown.
+92 v. Tolley Brown.
+93 vi. Daila
Brown.
+94 vii. 0rven Elsworth
Brown.
95 viii. Baby Brown was born in 1906. He (or
she) died 1906 w/mother.
22. Florence Vandergriff.
She was married to William Loren Fair on 22 Mar 1897 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. Florence Vandergriff and William Loren Fair had the following children:
96 i. Ira Fair.
+97 ii. Dora Fair.
29. James Albert (Jim) Vandergriff was born on 10 Feb 1889. He died on 7 Aug 1966 in Los Angeles, California. He was buried on 11 Aug 1966 in Rose Hills Memorial Park, Los Angeles, Ca. James Vandergrift took his family to California in the early 1930s. It is thought that he had 22 children, with 8 of them being stillborn.
He was married to Pearl Josephine Kelton on 10 Sep 1910 in Mt.
Vernon, Lawrence Co., Mo. Pearl Josephine Kelton was born on 30 Dec
1892. She died on 14 Feb 1981 in Bellflower, Los Angeles Co.,
California. She was buried on 18 Feb 1981 in White-Emerson Chapel,
Whittier, Ca. d/o Thomas Henry Kelton and Lucinda Jackson of Verona,
Lawrence Co., MO. James Albert (Jim) Vandergriff and Pearl Josephine
Kelton had the following children:
98 i. Lucinda Vandergriff.
+99 ii. Lois\Lucille
Vandergriff.
100 iii. Scout Vandergriff.
101 iv. Willis Lincoln Vandergrift.
102 v. Warren Vandergriff was born on 18 Apr 1921. He
died on 1 Jun 1976 in Imperial, Ca.
103 vi. Hanford
Vandergriff.
104 vii. Floyd Vandergriff.
+105 viii. Alma Katherine
Vandergriff.
106 ix. Juanita Vandergriff.
+107 x. Wanda Lou
Vandergriff.
+108 xi. Nina Mae
Vandergriff.
+109 xii. Ralph Eugene Vandergrift.
33. Mellie Vandergrift was born on 11 Apr 1887. She died on 2 May 1976.
She was married to Elijah Fremont Graham on 14 Feb 1914. Mellie Vandergrift and Elijah Fremont Graham had the following children:
+110 i. Lena Mae
Graham.
+111 ii. Ray Elijah Graham.
William Lou Casteel was born on 7 Mar 1888. He died on 10 Jun 1970. Mellie Vandergrift and William Lou Casteel had the following children:
+112 i. William Leon
Casteel.
+113 ii. Frances Fay
Casteel.
+114 iii. Erma Elizabeth Casteel.
34. Walter Vandergrift was born on 18 Sep 1889.
He was married to Lulu Miranda on 18 Oct 1915 in Springfield, Greene Co., MO. Lulu Miranda was born on 25 Jul 1897. She died on 19 Jun 1981. Walter Vandergrift and Lulu Miranda had the following children:
+115 i. Ira Lee
Vandergriff.
+116 ii. Maude Ellen
Vandergriff.
117 iii. Dorothy Arlene Vandergriff was born on
23 Nov 1919. This date of birth does not coincide with funeral home
information. She died on 25 Apr 1930. Records from Morris-Lyman
Funeral Home in Miller, Missouri give the following information regarding
Dorothy Arlene Vandergrift.
Vandergrift, Dorothy Arlene
(single)
Place of death - Home
Date of
Birth 4-25-1930, Lawrence County, Missouri
Died
04-25-1930
Father-Walter
Vandergrift
Mother-Lula Miranda, Born in Enid,
Oklahoma
Dorothy buried in Misemer Cemetery- 04-26-1930
+118 iv. Mildred Marie Vandergriff.
36. Clint Vandergrift was born on 14 May 1891. He died on 20 Mar 1972 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. A short history of Clint L. Vandergrift as remembered by his daughter, Martha Ellen (Vandergrift) Neill.
Clint was born in the Onward Community on his father's farm. He
was only a couple of years old when his mother Sarah died and her sister Rosa
Anne became his stepmother. He only went as far as the 4th grade but could spell
and do arithmetic perfect. One of his teachers was Marie Armfield, who later
became his sister in law. He had always said "they had corn pickin and rocks,
and farm duties, and not much time for school". He married mary Jane Hankins and
there were born 2 children, Martha Ellen and Wesley Ray.
Dad borrowed money
from his dad (Roll) to buy a wagon, mules, and a 40 acre farm. I still have the
note and the deed to the farm. During the depression of the 20s Dad bought and
sold cattle and hogs. One day he bought several head of stock to take to market
and wrote checks to pay for them. The bank closed the next day, he was unable to
make his checks good and lost the stock and all his money.
Because of the banks closing he lost the farm he had bought and wher we lived. He went to work at the Devil's Wash Pan, a fish hatchery, and worked there for several years. Dad and Mom divorced and he went to work in Nebraska for a couple of years. He then returned to the Onward Community where he and Wesley lived and farmed for while.
Dad built a log cabin at what was then called Elm Grove, on old Highway 66, the spot where Betty's Country Kitchen now stands. Some of the original logs can still be seen in that cafe. Dad then went to San Bernardino, California where he worked in a factory that made wooden boxes. He worked there until he retired and came back to Mt. Vernon, Missouri to live. In later years Dad went blind but was always able to take care of himself. He was a slim, handsome, proud gentleman and a sharp dresser.
Clint Vandergrift and Mary Hankins had the following children:
+119 i. Martha Ellen
Vandergrift.
+120 ii. Wesley Ray Vandergrift.
38. Hillary (Hankins)Vandergrift was born on 10 Mar 1889. He died on 12 Oct 1971 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. Hilary owned 60 acres of farmland in the Onward community where he grew up. After he met Marie Armfield, they bought a farm together, which was located just west of Mt. Vernon, on the Baptist Hill road. They were married and moved to the farm, where they lived all their married lives.
Hilary was a farmer, raising grain crops, beef cattle and chickens, gathering their eggs and selling them. he also worked with thrashing crews and sometimes worked with his brother Walter with the steam engine they owned.
Marie (Armfield) Vandergrift lived in the Mt. Vernon area before she and Hilary were married. She taught school all her life, teaching in Miller, Mt. Vernon, Onward, and at the little country school of Whitehall, just up the road from their farm. Hilary and Marie never had any children of their own, but her love for teaching gave more to her school children than most of us will ever be able to give.
39. Enos S. (Hankins)Vandergrift was born on 15 Nov 1890 in Lawrence Co., Missouri. He died on 22 Feb 1987. He was buried in Misemer Cemetery, Lawrence County, Mo.
Elsie M. Williams was born on 15 Oct 1896. She died on 16 Dec 1965. She was buried in Misemer Cemetery, Lawrence County, Mo. Enos S. (Hankins)Vandergrift and Elsie M. Williams had the following children:
121 i. Rosa Irene Vandergrift was born on 20 Feb
1914. She died on 15 Dec 1917.
+122 ii. Rolla LeRoy
Vandergrift.
123 iii. Freida Bell Vandergrift was born in
1918. She died in 1920.
+124 iv. Fern Odessa
Vandergrift.
+125 v. Ruth Pauline Vandergrift.
40. Pearlie Vandergrift was born in 1894. She died on 12 Jan 1968.
She was married to Edward Cecil "Eddie" Cameron on 25 Feb 1925. Edward Cecil "Eddie" Cameron was born in 1894. He died on 25 Feb 1925. Pearlie Vandergrift and Edward Cecil "Eddie" Cameron had the following children:
+126 i. Loy L.
Cameron.
+127 ii. Edward Cameron
Jr..
+128 iii. Bertha Mae
Cameron.
129 iv. Donald Victor Cameron was born on 10 Aug
1932. He died on 20 Jul 1983.
42. Robert Jake Vandergrift was born on 10 Apr 1899. He died on 13 Apr 1980.
He was married to Ella Cameron on 31 May 1918. Ella Cameron was born in 1898. She died in 1952. d/o Jim Cameron. Ella Cameron is buried at Misemer Cemetery, Lawrence Co., Mo. Robert Jake Vandergrift and Ella Cameron had the following children:
130 i. James Vandergrift was born on 8 Dec
1918. He died on 3 Feb 1919.
+131 ii. Arlie
Vandergrift.
132 iii. Mary Ann Vandergrift was born on 8 Sep
1931. She died on 8 Sep 1931.
43. Flora Ellen Vandergrift was born on 2 Oct 1901 in Onward, Lawrence County, Mo. She died on 13 Nov 1938.
Flora Ellen Vandergrift and Cleve Garner had the following children:
+133 i. Grace Ellen
Garner.
+134 ii. Otis Garner.
44. Claude Vandergrift was born on 6 Jun 1902. He died on 29 Oct 1978. Claude and Ruby are both buried at Misemer Cemetery, near the Onward community where Claude was born.
He was married to Ruby Parnell on 10 Apr 1928. Ruby Parnell was born on 4 May 1912. She died on 15 Mar 1973. Claude Vandergrift and Ruby Parnell had the following children:
+135 i. Dewey
Vandergrift.
+136 ii. Alice
Vandergrift.
+137 iii. Rosie Lee
Vandergrift.
+138 iv. Shirley Ann
Vandergrift.
+139 v. Charley Will
Vandergrift.
140 vi. Willis Vandergrift was born on 21 Dec
1944.
+141 vii. Daisy
Vandergrift.
+142 viii. Ralph Jacob Vandergrift.
45. Archer Marie Vandergrift was born on 25 May 1906 in Onward, Lawrence County, Mo.
Archer Marie Vandergrift and Vinson Harold (Wildman) Parnell had the following children:
143 i. Ralph Parnell was born in Mar 1926.
He died on 20 Apr 1926.
144 ii. Harold Parnell was born in
Mar 1926. He died on 20 Apr 1926.
145 iii. Glenn
Parnell was born on 29 May 1927.
146 iv. Dorothy Mae Parnell
was born on 19 Nov 1930. She died on 14 Jan
1931.
147 v. Jerry Parnell.
+148 vi. Frankie Edward
Parnell.
149 vii. Everett Parnell.
+150 viii. Jack Parnell.