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During the years 1829-30 emigration came
in rapidly. The inconvenience of being so remote from the county
seat, New London, and the hope of more rapid settlement, induced
the pioneers during, the latter part of the year 1830 to take
steps to secure the organization of a new county. The
subject was laid before the General Assembly of the State, was
favorably considered, and on January 6, 1831, the following act
was passed creating a new county: "All that portion of
the territory within the county of Ralls lying, within the
following boundaries, to wit: Beginning, on the township line
between townships 52 and 53 at the first sectional line east of
the range line between ranges 7 and 8, thence with said sectional
line on a parallel -with said range north, to the southern
boundary of the county of Marion thence west along, the Marion
County line with the township line between townships 56 and 57, to
the range line between 12 and 13, it being, the eastern boundary
line of Randolph county, thence south with said range line to the
township line between townships 52 and 53, thence east with said
township line to the place of beginning, be and the same is hereby
declared to be a separate and. distinct county, to be known and
called by the name of "Monroe county " (Laws of
Missouri). These boundaries have not been materially
changed.
The same act appointed Hancock S. Jackson, of
Randolph - Stephen Glascock, of Ralls, and Joseph Holliday of
Pike, commissioners to select the seat of justice for the county.
These were men possessing integrity and purity of character.
Joseph Holliday afterwards removed to the county, where he lived
and died, respected by all who knew him. Hancock S. Jackson
was afterward elected Lieutenant Governor of the State, and was
one of the most highly respected men in the State.
The first entries of land
were made by the following persons: Township 53, range 8, George
Markham, in 1819 ; township 54, range 8, Bennet Goldsberry in
1818; township 54, range 8, John Hicklin, in 1819; township 54,
range 8, Joseph Holliday, in 1818 township 54, range 8, Benton R.
Gillett, in 1819; township 54, range 8, Andrew Rogers, in 1819 ;
township 55, range 8, Daniel McCoy, in 1819 ; township 54, range
9, Joseph R. Pool, in 1819 ; township 55, range 9, James Adams, in
1819.
THE
NAME
A great dramatist intimates that there is nothing in
a name; but a name sometimes means a great deal. In many
instances, it indicates, in a measure, the character of the people
who settle the country and have given to it its distinctive
characteristics. Names are sometimes given to towns and
countries by accident; sometimes they originate in the childish
caprice of some individual, whose dictate by reason of some real
or imaginary superiority is law. Whether the policy of
naming counties after statesmen and generals be good or bad, the
Missouri Legislature has followed the practice to such all extent,
that fully three-fourths of the counties composing the State bear
the names of men who are more or less distinguished in the history
of the country.
THE
NAMES OF PIONEERS
When we consider that more - than half a century has
passed since the men whose names we append below, pitched their
tents within the present limits of the county, it will be readily
understood how difficult has been the task of collecting them.
ID placing, these names
upon record we have doubtless made mistakes arid omissions, but
feel confident that the errors will be overlooked, when it is
remembered that we have spared no little effort to be accurate and
perfect.
They who in the early dawn
of Western civilization first 11 bearded the lion in his den,
"opened a path through the wilderness, drove out the wild
beasts and tamed the savage Indian, are entitled to one of the
brightest pages in all the record of the past.
The old pioneers of Monroe
county-the advance guard of civilization - have nearly all passed
away; those remaining may be counted on the fingers of one hand.
A few more years of waiting and watching-, and they, too, will
have joined- - -
"The
innumerable caravan, that moves
To the pale realms of
shade, where each shall take
His chamber in the
silent halls of death."
Fresh hillocks in the cemetery will soon be all the
marks that will be left of a race of giants who grappled nature in
her fastness and made a triumphant conquest in the face of the
greatest privations, disease and difficulty. The shadows
that fall upon their tombs as time recedes are like the smoky haze
that enveloped the prairies in the early days, saddening the
memory arid giving to dim distance only a faint and phantom
outline, to which the future will often look back arid wonder at
the hearts that lie hidden under the peaceful canopy.
These are the names of the
old settlers:
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ASHCRAFT
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Henry
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ABBOTT
|
George
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ABERNATHY
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J. R.
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ACUFF
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Chris C.
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ADAMS
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Ovid
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ADAMS
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Otho
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ALFRED
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James
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ATTERBURY
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William
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AUSTIN
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R. D.
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BELCHER
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Isam
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BELL
|
Thomas
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BELL
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James
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BILLINGTON
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Ezekial
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BLUBAUGH
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Benjamin
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BOGGS
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Lawrence
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BOZARTH
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Elijah
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BRADLEY
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Benjamin
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BRASHEARS
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Thomas
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BRINK
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Ephraim
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BURNES
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Shadrack
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BURTON
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Jerry
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BURTON
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Reuben
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BURTON
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Elijah
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BURTON
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John
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BUSH
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Abraham
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BYBEE
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Dr. John
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CALDWELL
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Green V.
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CAVE
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Richard
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CLAY
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Charles
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CLAY
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Triposa
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COLLISON
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John G.
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COLVIN
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John R.
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COMBS
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A. B.
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COPPEDGE
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Isaac
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COX
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James
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CREED
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Elijah
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CREED
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Augustin
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CREED
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Samuel
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CRIGLER
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Jeremiah
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CROW
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Samuel
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CURRY
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John
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CURTRIGHT
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Samuel
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DALE
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John
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DALE
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James
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DAMRELL
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Edward
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DAVIS
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Thomas
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DAVIS
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Van
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DAVIS
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Reese
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DELANEY
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William
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DELANEY
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John
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DICKSON
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James
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DONALDSON
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William
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DONALDSON
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Robert
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DONALDSON
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Joseph
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DRY
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George
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DUCKWORTH
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Simon
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DYE
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Ramey
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DYE
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Phanty
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DYE
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Fauntleroy
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EALES
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Charles
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EAST
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Urban
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EAST
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Daniel
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EDWARDS
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Cornelius
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FIKE
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Hasting
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FORD
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Pleasant
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FORD
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Jacob
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FORD
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Daniel
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FOREMAN
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John
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FOREMAN
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Joseph
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FOX
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Ezra
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FOX
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J. C.
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FRUIT
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Enoch
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GAY
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Martin B.
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GEE
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John
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GEORGE
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Robert
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GILLESPIE
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Angyle
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GILLETT
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F.
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GILMORE
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James
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GLASCOCK
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Stephen
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GLENN
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Thomas M.
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GLENN
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George
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GOFORTH
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Wililam
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GOODNIGHT
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Edward
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GORE
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Jonathan
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GOUGH
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David
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GRANT
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William B.
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GREEN
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Leonard
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GREEN
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Clem
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GREENING
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Robert
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GROGIN
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Spencer
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GROGIN
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Bartholomew
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GUNDY
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Thomas
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GWYN
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Robert
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HAGAN
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Dr. Sylvester
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HAGAN
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Joseph
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HANNA
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Robert
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HANNON
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Esom
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HARPER
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Samuel
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HARRIS
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Robert
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HATTON
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John B.
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HEREFORD
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Paul
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HERNDON
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James
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HICKMAN
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Hugh A.
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HICKS
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Amos
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HIGHTOWER
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Hackney T.
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HOCKER
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John
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HOLDEN
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Edward M.
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HOLLIDAY
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Joseph
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HORN
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William
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HOWARD
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Henry
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HOWE
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John
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HUBBARD
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Asaph E.
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HUMPHREY
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Salmon
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HUNT
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Ezra
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IVIE
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John
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JACKSON
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James
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JACKSON
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Jeremiah
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JETT
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William
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JOHNSON
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Daniel H.
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JOHNSON
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John
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JONES
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Col. Gabriel
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KEENAN
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Dr.
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KELLEY
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Thomas
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KELLEY
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Marshall
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KILGORE
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Thomas
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KINCAID
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Lewis
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KINOTE
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Henry
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KIPPER
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George
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KIPPER
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William
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KIPPER
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John
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KIPPER
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Samuel
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KIRBY
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David
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KIRKLAND
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Abraham
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MAGHAN
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Payton
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MANAMA
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Hiram
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MANSFIELD
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R. C.
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MAPPIN
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James
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MAPPIN
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Matthew
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MARTIN
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Robert
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MAXEY
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Boaz
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MCBRIDE
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E. W.
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MCGEE
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John
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MCGEE
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James
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MCGEE
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John S.
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MCGEE
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William
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MCGREW
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Charles
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MCKAMEY
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John
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MCKAMEY
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D. E.
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MCKAMEY
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Joseph H.
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MCSWAIN
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William
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MILLER
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Henry
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MILLIGAN
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John C.
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MOORE
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Travis S.
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MOTHERSHEAD
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Benjamin
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NESBIT
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Samuel
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NEWLAND
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M.
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NOEL
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James
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NOEL
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Joel
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NOEL
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Garnet
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OWENS
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Elijah
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OWNBY
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Mrs.
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PAVEY
|
Jesse
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PENN
|
William N.
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PERRY
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Minor
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PHELPS
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Ezekiel
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POAGE
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Maj. James
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POAGE
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Thomas G.
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POOL
|
Samuel
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PORTER
|
John
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POWERS
|
James
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POWERS
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Richard D.
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PROCTOR
|
William H.
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REAVIS
|
Jones
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RHODES
|
Daniel
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RICE
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Archibald
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RICE
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Nathaniel
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RICE
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Nathaniel
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RIGSBY
|
Joseph
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RIGSBY
|
John
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ROGERS
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Aniel
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ROGERS
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Achilles
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ROGERS
|
Andrew
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ROUSE
|
George
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RUNKLE
|
William
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SALING
|
George
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SALING
|
Rumsey
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SALING
|
Richmond
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SCOBEE
|
Stephen
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SCOBEE
|
Robert
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SCOTT
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Davis
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SHEARER
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Cavil
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SHOOTS
|
John
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SHROPSHIRE
|
Edward
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SIMPSON
|
Robert
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SIMPSON
|
John
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SLOAN
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David F.
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SMITH
|
William
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SMITH
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Joseph Sr.
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SMITH
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Alex W.
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SMITH
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Joseph Jr.
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SMITH
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Samuel H.
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SMITH
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John B.
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SMITH
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Ephraim
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SMITHEY
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Robert
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SMIZER
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George
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SMIZER
|
Milton
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SNIDER
|
Robert
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SPARKS
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Harrison
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SPOTSWODD
|
Wilson S.
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SPROUL
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Joseph
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STAMPER
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Larken
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STEPHENS
|
Joseph
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STEPHENSON
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William P.
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STEWART
|
James
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STICE
|
Peter
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STUBBLEFIELD
|
George
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SUMNER
|
Joseph J.
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SUTTON
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Samuel G.
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SWINNEY
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Harvey
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SWINNEY
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Robert
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SWINNEY
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Austin
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TALLIAFERRO
|
Bostick
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THOMAS
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Jacob
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THOMAS
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Peter B.
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THOMPSON
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Thomas
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THOMPSON
|
Alexander
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THOMPSON
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Hiram
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THRELDKELD
|
Thomas
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TROMBO
|
Michael
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VAN ARSDELL
|
William K.
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VAUGHN
|
James
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WARREN
|
M. C.
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WEATHERFORD
|
David
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WELCH
|
Giles H.
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WELDON
|
Joseph
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WELDON
|
James
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WHITE
|
Joseph
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WHITE
|
George W.
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WHITTENBURG
|
Andrew
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WHITTENBURG
|
Daniel
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WILCOXSON
|
William
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WILKERSON
|
Milton
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WILKERSON
|
William
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WILLIAMS
|
Hiram
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WILLIAMS
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S. J.
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WILLIAMS
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Huron
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WILLINGHAM
|
John
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WITT
|
John
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WOOD
|
Caleb
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WOOD
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Thomas
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WOOD
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Fielder
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WOODS
|
James
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WRIGHT
|
John
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YATES
|
John
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YATES
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Vincent
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YOUNG
|
Jacob
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YOUNG
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Benjamin
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