To give a little history, Frances Neal was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 9, 1792.  She married John William Catts in 1810.  John Catts was born July 8, 1787.  They had four children; George Neal Catts (b. 2-13-1812, + 10-9-1861), Jane Ann Catts (b. 10-17-1813, + 9-6-1889), John Neal Catts (b. 5-23-1815, + young), and Thomas Love Catts (b. 12-6-1817, + 4-23-1880).  John Catts died in Baltimore, Maryland, February 28, 1818.  Frances (Neal) Catts later married Thomas Crawford, who was born in Maryland. 

Thomas Crawford also had children by his first marriage to Helen Hammond.  Thomas and Frances Crawford were in Brooke County, Virginia (now West Virginia), in 1830.  The 1830 census of Brooke County, Virginia, shows the members of the household were a male born 1770-1780 (That would have been Thomas Crawford), a female born 1790-1800 (That would have been Frances Crawford), 2 females born 1810-1815 (One would have been Jane Ann Catts), 2 males born 1810-1815 (Those would have been George Neal Catts and Robert Wells Crawford), 4 males born 1815-1820 (One would have been Thomas Love Catts), and 2 males born 1825-1830 (one may have been Charles Crawford). 

Thomas and Frances Crawford came to Missouri in the early 1830s and camped by a spring in a field in Greene County with the Campbells.  That is now Springfield.  Thomas and Frances Crawford were among those who turned back at Turnback Creek.  Three years later, they came into Barry County (now Lawrence County south of Mt. Vernon).  In 1837, Thomas and Francis Crawford settled on the farm that now belongs to John Fulton.  The Catts/Crawford Cemetery is on that land.  Thomas Crawford died 9-16-1838.  His tombstone is at the Neely Cemetery north of Hoberg.  Frances Crawford remained on the farm until into her 90s. 

The Crawfords were pioneer land buyers.  On September 1 or 23, 1839, depending on the source, Township 27, Range 26, was opened for entry.  Frances, John, P.M., and Robert W. Crawford were recorded obtaining Section 6 in 1839-1841.  Apparently, Frances Crawford also financed land purchases.  On July 7th, 1845, R. H. Landrum paid Frances Crawford $400 plus $40 dollars in interest.  On August 4, 1845, R. H. Landrum paid Frances Crawford $400 plus $60 in interest.  That doesn't sound like much, but, in 1857, Charles H. Crawford bought 640 acres for $900.  Frances Crawford was a member of the Church of Christ in Springfield possibly as early as 1834 and became a member of the First Christian Church of Mt. Vernon in 1882.  Frances Crawford died April 24, 1890, at the age of 98.

   There is a double tie in the Catts/Crawford families, as Robert Wells Crawford, the son of Thomas Crawford, married Jane Ann Catts, the daughter of Francis Crawford.  There was no blood relationship between Robert Crawford and Jane Ann Catts, as they had different biological parents, but they were step sister and step brother, as a result of the marriage of Thomas Crawford and Francis (Neal) Catts.  Robert Wells Crawford and Jane Ann Catts were married in Jefferson County, Ohio.

   Robert Wells Crawford was born March 3, 1812, in Virginia.  His parents were Thomas and Helen Crawford.  He married Jane Ann Catts in Jefferson County, Ohio.  Two of their children were born in Illinois.  They moved to the Mt. Vernon area between 1836 and 1839.  Robert Crawford is listed in the 1840 census of Mount Pleasant Township of Barry County (now Lawrence County). The 1850 Lawrence County Census lists their children as Helen, John, Josh, Charles, and an infant not yet named.  The 1860 Lawrence County census also lists Mary (the infant not yet named in 1850), Jane Ann, and Robert.  Robert Crawford was a prominent lawyer.  During the Civil War, he was a colonel with the Confederacy.  Robert Crawford died in Neosho October 19, 1873, while he was at court.

   Jane Ann Catts was born in Maryland on October 17, 1813.  Her parents were John William Catts and Frances (Neal) Catts.  She married Robert Wells Crawford in Jefferson County, Ohio.  She and Robert had at least seven children, Helen, John, Josh, Charles, Mary, Jane Ann, and Robert.  The two older children were born in Illinois.  She came to the Mt. Vernon area with her husband between 1836 and 1839.  Her mother and Robert's father were already in southwest Missouri, as they arrived sometime before 1834.  Jane Ann Crawford died September 6, 1889.

   George Neal Catts was born in Maryland February 13, 1812.  He was the son of John William Catts and Francis (Neal) Catts.  After his father's death in 1818 and his mother's marriage to Thomas Crawford, George Neal Catts moved to Brooke County, Virginia (now West Virginia), with his mother.  We don't know whether he came to Missouri in the 1830s with his mother or not, but he and his family were listed in the City of Wellsburg, Brooke County, Virginia (now West Virginia) in the 1840 census.  He was recorded as being employed in manufactures and trades.  The 1850 census shows him in Brooke County, Virginia (now West Virginia) in the 3rd District, and lists him as a clerk.  George Neal Catts brought his family to Missouri sometime between 1850 and 1852. 

My Grandfather William Tarr Catts said he was 2 or 3 years of age when they came to Missouri.  He was born in Virginia (West Virginia) in 1849.  His sister Lucy Virginia Catts was born in Missouri in 1853.  George Neal Catts bought half a block at the southwest corner of Hazel and Cherry Streets.  He also bought 80 acres from Napolion and Lucinda Mullins on September 14, 1857.  He is recorded in the Mount Vernon Township in the 1860 census as a merchant.  He was married to Mary Ann Tarr and had 8 children, Mary Frances, Alitia Josephine, Jane Ann, John Campbell, William Tarr, Lucy Virginia, Thomas Neal, and Cora Bell.  Clarence, born in 1851, died in 1854.  Mary Frances, Alitia, Jane, Campbell, and William were born in Virginia (West Virginia). 

Lucy, Thomas, and Cora were born in Missouri.  I don't know where Clarence was born, but I was told he was buried at the Catts/Crawford cemetery.  I never saw a marker for him, although at one time there were some small markers without names in the cemetery.  Prior to the Civil War, George and Mary Catts sent their sons to the academy (today's equivalent to college) and their daughters to finishing school.  John Campbell Catts was in Virginia at the academy when he became ill.  He was sent home.  The family had to go to Rolla by wagon to get him.  In 1864, Rolla was the end of the rail line.  John Campbell died in 1864.  I don't know where he was buried.  If he was buried in the Catts/Crawford cemetery, the stone was lost. 

George Neal Catts was Treasurer of Lawrence County from 1856 until his death October 9, 1861.  George Neal Catts joined in a Civil War battle fighting on the side of the Union.  Before getting on his horse to ride away, he was reported to have said, "No man should own another man."  He was wounded and wrote a letter to the family stating he was wounded, but was okay and would be home in a couple of weeks.  Yellow fever swept the hospital camp and he died of yellow fever.  Before leaving to join the battle, George Neal Catts buried the county's money in an effort to protect it from theft by renegades.  Banks were not secure form roaming gangs.  He didn't tell family members where it was for fear they would be tortured by thieves to reveal its location.  He obviously intended to return.  The county had great difficulty in finding the money, as the burial sites were well disguised.  Someone said he was a great believer in camouflage before the word came into use.

   Mary Ann Tarr was born in Virginia February 1, 1821.  Her parents were William Tarr and Mary (Perry) Tarr.  She married George Neal Catts sometime around 1839.  Their children were Mary Francis (b. 5-10-1840, + 12-07-1910), Alitia (b. 3-?-1842, + late 1940s), Jane (b. 12-?-1843, + 9-?-1919), Campbell (b. 1848?, + 1864) , William (b. 4-?-1849, + 1933), Clarence (b. 1851, + 1854), Lucy (b. 8-1853, + 1950), Thomas (b. 12-6-1856, + ?), and Cora (b. 1858, + late 1940s).  Mary Ann Catts died July 19, 1910.

   Mary Frances Catts, also know as Fannie M. Catts, was born in Virginia on May 10, 1840.  Her parents were George Neal Catts and Mary Ann (Tarr) Catts.  She was a school teacher and never married.  Miss Fannie Catts was involved in collecting promised money for the construction of a Christian church.  The building was completed in 1878.  She died December 7, 1910.

   Thomas Love Catts was born in Maryland on December 6, 1817.  His parents were John William Catts and Frances (Neal) Catts.  Thomas Catts accompanied Thomas and Frances Crawford when they came to Missouri.  In both the 1850 and 1860 Lawrence County censuses, Thomas Catts is listed in the same household as Frances Crawford.  Thomas was recorded as a cabinet maker in the 1850 census and as a farmer in the 1860 census.  According to family stories, he sometimes traveled with wagon trains and served as a wheelwright.  One family story attributes his death to Indians.  Thomas Catts died a bachelor April 23, 1880.
 
   Lucy Virginia Catts married John Williamson Hopper.  It was his second marriage.  Aunt Lucy, as I knew her, lived on the half block on Crawford Street between West and Hazel Streets.  I remember a huge garden where the Milsap house is now, and a walk-in closet in her house full of canning jars, many of the full.  Even though she was past 90, she still kept the garden and canned the produce.  When some family member remarked, "Aunt Lucy, why do you can all that food.  You can't possibly eat that much.", Aunt Lucy responded, "Oh!  I'm not canning this for myself.  I'm canning it for the old folks in the old folks home."  She actively supported First Baptist Church of Mount Vernon.  She died at the age of 97, when I was 5.  She's buried at the IOOF cemetery in Mt. Vernon. 

   John Williamson Hopper was born in Marshall County, Tennessee, 24 September, 1842.  He came with his parents, James F. and Mary S. Hopper, to Missouri in 1853.  They made their home northeast of Miller.  John was raised on a farm and received his education in the common schools of Tennessee and Missouri.  He taught school for 6 years.  During the Civil War, he was Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant of the 15th Missouri U.S. Cavalry.  He married Abijah Brite of Pierce City on February 13, 1866.  They had 3 children; Virginia Ann (b. 1-3-1867), Mary M. (b. 8-17-1868), and Frank Lawrence (b. 9-13-1875).  In November 1874, he was elected Probate Judge of Lawrence County and held that job through 1894.  Abijah died July 31, 1886.  He married Lucy Virginia Catts on May 2, 1894.  They had no children.  John Hopper served Lawrence County as a representative in the 44th General Assembly from 1906-1908.  It was during this term that the Missouri State Sanatorium for treatment of tuberculosis was located in Mt. Vernon.  John Hopper practiced law and was a member of First Baptist Church of Mt. Vernon.  He was instrumental in convincing the church to construct their then new building of limestone, rather than wood or brick.  That church building was completed in 1902.  He died December 18, 1915, and is buried at the IOOF cemetery in Mt. Vernon.

   Cora Bell Catts married Tom Boothe.  I don't know whether it was the same guy or not, but, in 1874, a Tom Booth was a member of the Mount Vernon basebal team organized in 1868.  Tom Boothe was Post Master in Pierce City for three terms.  He was also an editor for the Pierce City paper and the Kansas City Star.  He sold insurance after retirement.  He and Cora lived in Pierce.  I remember the big two story house with a wrap around front porch, curved stairway in the foyer, and a large corner lot.

   Alitia (Lish) King married Dr. John King.  In her younger years, she had blue eyes, red hair, and a firy temper.  A finishing school graduate, she could chew someone out gracefully.  I remember my dad and I visiting with her in her yard at the corner of Blaze and McCanse where the school now is.  She would have been 103 when I was born, and I was old enough to walk, so she must have been 105 or older.  She was still living alone and had a garden.  Dr. King had been the post surgeon for the Federal army in Sprinfield during the civil war.

   Will Catts, who was born in April 1849, enlisted as a drummer boy with the 4th Regimental Missouri Volunteers on May 14, 1861.  He was quoted as saying, "A men are equal before the cross."  After being gone for many years, he returned to Mt. Vernon, married Elizabeth Anne Dowdy, and raised strawberries and kids on his 120 acres north of Mount Vernon.  At one time, he was the president of the strawberry association in the days when strawberries were shipped out of Lawrence County by the rail car load.  He was a charter member of the Mount Vernon brass band organized in 1880.  He also gave private music lessons.  In 1912, he sold the farm and moved into town on East South Street.  In retirement, he worked for a while as a janitor for the grade school and Baptist Church.  After he had ceased to play in the town band, at a local concert in which the band was playing John Philip Sousa marches, he once commented, "I played with Sousa before Sousa was somebody."  Mr. Hall, who live across the street from him told my dad Will Catts had been a Marine.  Perhaps he was in the Marine band at one time, or perhaps he had stayed with an uncle in Alexander, Virginia, and played in a band with John Philip Sousa.  Will Catts was a man of few words, but when he spoke, it had substance.  He died in 1933 and is buried at the IOOF cemetery in Mt. Vernon.