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Judge R. P. COLLEY, one of the representative men of Lawrence County, Mo., is a native of Virginia, who was born on December 17, 1829. His parents, Thomas and Mary (PRICE) COLLEY, were both natives of Virginia, and of English-German extraction. Family tradition assures us that the ancestral founder of the this family of Colleys in America came over with the "MayFlower." R. P. Colley was reared to farm life, and early chose agriculture as his vocation. He has been very successful, and is now the owner of a farm of 360 acres of well-improved land in Vineyard Township. In 1882 he was elected judge of the Lawrence County Court, and served until 1886, in a
manner creditable to himself and satisfactory to his constituents. He was elected to the position by the Democratic party, of which he has long been a faithful member. For two years he served as justice of the peace in this township. His marriage with Mildred Frances CAMDEN was celebrated in Lawrence County, Mo., in December, 1849, and to them have been born nine children, of whom eight are living, viz.: John W., Virginia (wife of Jasper FORSYTH), Susan (widow of Dr. R. A. DELONG), Benjamin F., Lee, Adelia, Nora and Thomas. Judge Colley is a Mason, and a member of Lodge No. 99 of Mount Vernon, Mo. He is also a member of the Farmers' Alliance. Judge Colley and family are highly respected by all who know them, and he is recognized as one who has done much for the prosperity of Lawrence County.
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