Souvenir Edition, The Williamstown Courier, Williamstown, Ky, May 30, 1901, reprinted September 19, 1981 by the Grant County KY Historical Society. JOHN A. McPHERSON was the oldest of a family of eight children, born of Colonel Samuel R. and Elizabeth (Kennedy) McPherson. These two individuals united two of the oldest families in Boone County, Kentucky. Our Postmaster was born in Boone County, Kentucky, September 4, 1828, and is now in his seventy-fourth year. Like many of the older generation, he grew up on a farm, obtaining such education as he could from the schools of the neighborhood. In 1850 he began life for himself as a school teacher in Gallatin County, and taught his first two schools at the same place. After teaching for four years he entered the store of Jonathan Howe at Sugar Creek as a clerk. In 1857 he opened a store on his own account at Verona in Boone County. At the beginning of the war he closed out his stock of merchandise and handled stock for the government. After the close of that long and sanguinary struggle he again went into the merchandise business, this time at Crittenden in Grant County, and later at Dry Ridge. He continued in business at Dry Ridge until he moved to Williamstown in the latter part of the eighties. Mr. McPherson was united in marriage to Miss Bettie Carter Downing, daughter of John H. and Lucy H. Downing (the founder of the Democratic precinct of Downingsville in Grant County). They have no children living; but a girl was born as the fruits of this union who died at the early age of 11 years. For nearly all of his life Mr. McPherson has been an ardent member of the Presbyterian Church, and is an elder in that church in Williamstown at the present time and very active in all of its affairs. In politics Mr. McPherson has been a Republican since the organization of the party, and has stood by it in all of its trials and triumphs. It has been said of him that he rode thirty miles on horse back through a pouring rain to vote for Abraham Lincoln for President. He was an ardent supporter of Bradley and Taylor and Yerkes for the Governors of Kentucky on the Republican ticket, and never ceased cheering for McKinley for President and Roosevelt for Vice-President. He has been Postmaster at Williamstown for the past four years, and has given such universal satisfaction that he is almost sure to continue as Postmaster during the second term of President McKinley. During his administration the Post Office has been conducted on strictly business lines, and there is not a the present time a better conducted office of the size in the state. During the present quarter the office will no doubt be advanced to a Presidential office, as it business justified. McPherson Kennedy Downing Howe = Gallatin-KY Verona-Boone-KY http://www.rootsweb.com/~kygenweb/kybiog/grant/mcpherson.ja.txt