THE HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY,
MISSOURI.
AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF USEFUL INFORMATION, AND A COMPENDIUM
OF ACTUAL FACTS.
IT CONTAINS
A CONDENSED HISTORY OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI AND ITS CHIEF CITIES-
ST. LOUIS, KANSAS CITY AND ST. JOSEPH ; A RELIABLE HISTORY OF LINN"
COUNTY — ITS PIONEER RECORD, WAR HISTORY, RESOURCES, BIO-
GRAPHICAL SKETCHES AND PORTRAITS OF PROMINENT CITI-
ZENS ; GENERAL AND LOCAL STATISTICS OF GREAT
VALUE, AND A LARGE AMOUNT OF MISCELLA-
NEOUS MATTER, INCIDENTS, ETC., ETC.
ILLUSTRATED.
KANSAS CITY, MO.:
BIRDSALL & DEAN
1882.
www.archive.org FULL TEXT
JOHN FAIN,
son of Mercer and Martha (nee England) Fain, was born in Wilson county,
Tennessee, May 19, 1812. Soon afterward his parents removed to Buncome
county. North Carolina. In 1817, they located in Habersham county,
Georgia; in 1825 removed to east Tennessee; and in 1831 to Howard county,
Missouri, where he lived until 18.">0 on a farm, and attended subscription
school, receiving a limited education. When the California gold-fever was
raging, Mr. Fain with five of hiy neighbors went to that State, crossing the
plains with ox-teams. There they engaged in mining, meeting with fair
success. In 1852, while building a flume, a heavy piece of timber fell and
crushed Mr. Fain's leg at the ankle-joint. This crippled him for life. He
suffered terribly for years, hundreds of pieces of bone coming out of the
wounded limb. Being so disabled, he returned home, coming by
water across the Isthmus, via New Orleans. He liad accumulated about
60S HISTORY OF LINN COUNTY.
$3,000 in California, but owing to expenses cansed by bis misfortune,,
readied home with only $1,200. Mr. Fain was married in December, 1835,
to Mrs. Catharine Davis, formerly a Miss Hail, daughter of Mason and
Ruth Hall of Howard county, Missouri, but previous residents of Kentucky.
Mrs. Fain died in 1876. The farm u})on which Mr, Fain now lives was
bought by him upon his return from California. It comprises three hun-
dred and twenty acres finely improved and well stocked. Mr. Fain com-
menced -life without a dolhar, and has been a continuous resident of Linn
county since 1852. He volunteered in the Black Hawk and Mexican wars,
but the quota being full, he did not have an opportunity to serve in either.
When he came to Linn county his nearest neighbor was about fifteen miles
distant, and game was abundant until the invasion of the county by the
railroad. He does not owe a dollar. He has been extensively engaged
in farming and stock-raising. By his first marriage Mr. Fain w^a&
the father of nine children, six living: Emily, Benjamin, Thomas, Sa-
rah, John R., and David. Mr. Fain was married the second time to Mrs.
Rebecca Stephens, formerly a Miss Peacher, daughter of William and Lucy
{nee Mitley) Peacher, of Howard county, Missouri. Her first husband, Mr.
Peacher, was killed during the war. She had by him eight children, six of
them living: Hiram, William H,, Nancy E., Margaret R., Stephen A.
Douglas, and Sarah.
