Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/138

 78 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI gence, great energy and enthusiasm, and no small amount of executive ability. She con- tinued to reside upon her plantation which was granted by the Spanish in 1797 until her death in 1840. This plantation is now called Elmwood, and is the home of Honorable Louis Houek. Mrs. Houek is a grand-daughter of Rebecca Gibo- ney. Alexander Giboney left seven children, four sons and three daughters. One of the sons, Robert, lived on an adjoining grant, which is still occupied by his descendants. Of his daughters, one married Judge W. C. Ram- say, and another Dr. Wilson Browne, who was prominent in ilissoui-i politics, having been at one time state auditor, and at the time of his death was Lieutenant Governor of the state. Another son, Alexander, was killed at the battle of the Sink Hole; a third son, whose name was Jolm, lived a mile west of the grant to his father. His descendants are very nu- merous and still live in Cape Girardeau and adjoining counties. One of the daughters of John Giboney married Doctor Henderson of Scott county and another married Colonel Solomon G. Kitchen of Stoddard county. The youngest son of Alexander Giboney was named Andrew, he lived to the age of 82, dy- ing in 1874. He was married in 1832 to Jlary Hunter ; Mrs. Louis Houek is a daugh- ter of these two. Of the daughters of Alexander Giboney, Arabella married John Jacobs; their descend- ants lived in Pemiscot county. Isabella be- came the wife of Doctor Ezekiel Fenwick and lived in the north part of Cape Girardeau county. Margaret Giboney married Lindsay De 'Lashmutt. Mrs. Louis Painter, who lived for many years in Jackson, was a niece of Andrew Ramsay. Her father, John Ramsay, came to Cape Girardeau accompanied by a large num- ber of relatives and friends, but later removed to Scott county. She was an intelligent and interesting woman. Another family that came in early times to the district was the Byrd family. Amos Byrd, the head of the family, was a native of North Carolina. He was born in 1737 and lived for a time in Virginia and iu Tennessee. In the latter state he located Byrd's Station on a fort on the frontier of Knox county. One of the neighboring families in Tennessee was that of the Gillespies. The acquaint- ance between these two families grew until no fewer than three sons of Amos Byrd had married into the Gillespie family. In 1799 Amos Byrd accompanied by his family came to Upper Louisiana and settled on Bryd's creek. He was, doubtless, attracted by the easy terms on which land could be secured from Spain. The spot chosen by him for the settlement was an exceedingly attractive one. The sons of the family were Abraham, Stephen, John, and Amos, Jr. With them came the daughters, Pollie, who had married William Russell, Clarissa who afterward married James Russell, and Sallie, who after- ward became the wife of George Hays. All of these settled on, or near, Byrd's creek. John Byrd conducted a mill, cotton gin, a still, and a blacksmith shop. Abraham and Stephen became prominent in political life after the transfer to the United States, both of them holding at various times important offices under the government. They both left large families and inter-married with the Birds of the New Madrid district and with the Horrels, Aliens, Martins and Mintons. William Russell, who became the husband of Pollie Byrd was a native of Scotland. Be- fore coming to Cape Girardeau he had lived