James Branaman, Postmaster and owner of the Branaman Hardware Store at Stahl, was born in Augusta County, VA and came to Adair County with his parents at about age 17.  He served two enlistments during the Civil War and was discharged as a Sergeant at the end of the war.  He married Nancy Ann Heriford, with whom he had ten children, ca 1870 and was Postmaster at Stahl from Nov 1896 to Sept 1901. [GAR; Postmasters]

Bio research continues ...

JW Burns was a farmer near Shibley’s Point who came to the area about 1841.  He is listed by his initials in the Atlas and we’ve not yet made a positive ID, but a John W & Elizabeth (Woods) Burns were living in Morrow Township in 1900, as were two of their three living children. [1900 Census]

Research continues ...

Henry Capps came to northeast Missouri from Grainger County, TN around 1844 and lived in Schuyler County for a time before settling finally in Adair.  He was one of the founding members of the Adair County Agricultural and Mechanical Association in 1861.  Henry’s wife, Charlotte Thorpe, was a native of England, having emigrated with her parents from Lincolnshire as a very young child. The couple had ten children, three of whom died in infancy. [Journal obit; Gordon Green Genealogy website] 

Peter Darr was a partner in the Shibley & Darr General Merchandise store of Shibley’s Point, MO.  A native of Ashland County, OH, he came to Adair County with his parents in 1858.  He served in Co A, 39^th Missouri Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War and was present at the “Centralia Massacre” when many of his Company were executed by Bloody Bill Anderson.   Pete married Nancy Jane Novinger in 1872 but was widowed a year later, shortly after the birth of their daughter Susie.  In his later years, he lived with Susie and her family and moved with them to Gorin, MO in 1901.   [Novinger; GAR app; MO Death Certf]

Asa Gates was born and raised in Adair County and remained here his entire life.  He lived near the western edge of the county and while primarily a farmer, operated the flour mill at Stahl for a time.   He and Mary Jane Sholley married in 1873 and had a family of ten.  According to stories told to his grandchildren, he turned prematurely and completely gray at age 19.  [First 100 Years; MO Death Certf]

William Morelock was born in Sullivan County, TN, moved to Sullivan County, MO in 1841, and to Adair County in 1851.  He married Martha Overstreet 20 Nov 1851 and the young couple raised a large family on their farm in the western part of the county.  His extensive land holdings included complete ownership or interest in farm property in Adair, Sullivan and Putnam Counties. [Goodspeed]

John Shibley, a native of Shibley’s Point, farmed in partnership with his father, and was the proprietor of a mercantile store in his home town. In 1901 he moved to Gorin, MO and went into partnership with his brother Lemuel as Shibley Brothers Mercantile.  The partnership also operated several other business enterprises around the region.  John married Lydia C Pierce in 1882 and the couple had 10 children, 9 of whom were raised to adulthood in Shibley’s Point and Gorin. [Northeast MO; MO Death Certf]

Lemuel Shibley was a native of Shibley’s Point who, for a time, was a clerk in his brother’s mercantile business there. Lem married Susie Darr in 1895 and the couple had three children, Fern, Esther & John, when they moved to Gorin, MO in 1901. He went into partnership with brother John and was later cashier of the Gorin National Bank till it closed in 1929. He and Susie then moved to Quincy, IL where he ran owned a grocery store in the 1930s and worked for the Halbach-Schroeder Dept Store in the 1940s.  [Novinger; Northeast MO; KDE obit]  

Stahl merchant Ben Virden, a native of Adair County, was born on farm near Shibley’s Point and grew up in the vicinity of Ninevah.  After taking a course at Kirksville Business College, he taught for a time then, in 1887, took a position as salesman and bookkeeper for Moore Bros General Merchants at Stahl.  He later worked for Pennsylvania Cole Company as store manager & bookkeeper before opening his own railroad tie & lumber business at Stahl. [Violette; Journal obit]