Death of John M. Lawson

John Miller Lawson died at the home of his son-in-law B. D. Wilson several miles northwest of California Sunday last. The funeral services were held at the Baptist church in this city Monday afternoon, Rev. T. R. White, assisted by Rev. L. B. Arvin officiating and the interment was by the side of his wife at the Masonic cemetery.

Mr. Lawson was within a few days of 81 years of age, born in Stokes Co., North Carolina, August 14, 1832. When about 7 years of age his father John Lawson, wife and two children came over-land to Missouri with a long train of emigrants from Stokes Co., including the Redfords, Dearings, Wilsons, and others who located in what is now Linn township in this Co., then Cole Co. Stokes Co. is in western North Carolina and the emigrants came through east Tennessee, thence north through Kentucky to the Ohio river, crossing into Indiana through Indiana and Illinois to Missouri, crossing the Mississippi river at St. Louis. Mr. Lawson said he walked about the entire distance. When gold was discovered in California in '49, John Lawson in '53 drove an ox team across the plains and the great American desert to the land of gold, where he remained two or three years and often remarked to his friends that he had virtually walked from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. In December 1850 he married Hester Ann Jobe, daughter of John Logan Jobe, the Jobe family were from Tennessee and settled here as early as 1818, he was but 18 years old when he married, and in '53 when but 21 he bid his wife and baby good-bye and started on the perilous trip west. After his return he continued to live here, and was always an active energetic citizen.

He was rather a remarkable man, having much energy and industry and always thrifty-he was of a genial, social nature and very generous, especially with his friends, to whom he was true and lasting, in fact he would go the full length to accommodate or protect a friend and had an abundance of shrewd native talent.

He spent most of his life near this city, owning a first class farm a few miles north. He had a family of ten children, most of whom lived to be grown and married- his wife died some 4 years ago land his survived by five children.

He sold his farm some years ago and located in Springfield, Mo., where he owned a good home at death. He had a stroke of paralysis two or three years ago and never recovered from the stroke. His surviving children are-Mrs. B. D. Wilson, Cooper County; Mrs. Thos. Langely, California; Mrs. Joe Herfurth, Boise, Idaho; Mrs. Jesse Hornbeck, California; H. Lawson, Clarksburg. The pallbearers were-H. L. Wood, A. L. Howard, T. J. Buchanan, C.C. Trieber, Roy L. Kay and T. M. Hirst.

The children desire to return sincere thanks to the friends and neighbors who so kindly ministered during the illness and at the death of their father.


John M. Lawson's Brothers

In our sketch of John M. Lawson's death last week we failed to mention in connection with his children that he is also survived by four brothers - Alex and G ? Lawson of this Co., Edward Lawson of the state of California and William D. (Bud) Lawson of Miller Co. Bud Lawson, who is the father of the late Mrs. Wm. Barnhill of this city, is 77 years of age, was in attendance at the funeral and is still a remarkably active man.