William B. Sappington, second son of Dr. John Sappington, was born in Franklin, Tennessee, January the 4th, 1811. When William was about six years of age, his father moved to a farm, near the present site of Glasgow, in Howard county, Missouri. Thence, in 1819, to Saline county, where he remained with his father on the farm, attending the common schools of the neighborhood. At the age of seventeen, he was sent to Cumberland College, a manual labor institution, near Princeton, Kentucky, where he remained four years. Returning home, he commenced the study of law, but his eyes failing him, he relinquished the undertaking, and turned his attention to farming, at the same time, assisting his father in the manufacture and sale of “Sappington’s Anti-Fever Pills.” In the enterprise, he was associated with his father, as partner, about ten years. On the 3d day of September, 1844. Mr. Sappington was married to Miss Mary Mildred, a daughter of Gov. John Breathitt, of Kentucky. Their union resulted in the following children: William Breathitt, (deceased), John Cardwell, Mildred J., Erasmus D. and Stella. In politics, Mr. Sappington has always been a democrat, and during the war was in sympathy with the South. From his early manhood, he had been prominent in the politics of the country, not as an office-seeker, nor an office-holder, but as a representative of public sentiment in various political assemblies, during a period of more than forty years. In 1844, he was a delegate to the national convention, which met at Baltimoreand nominated James K. Polk, for president. He has also been a member of several state conventions, and other public bodies – yet he has persistently declined to hold office, preferring to pursue his private vocation, which demands his whole attention. He is ever ready, however, at the call of his friends, to assist, by both personal exertion and pecuniary contribution, in any measure deemed conducive to the public good, or necessary in the economy of government. A man of notable public spirit, he contributes liberally to any enterprise that looks to the advancement of his state, county or community. Of great heart and large charity, the suffering poor find in him a friend and benefactor. But the most beautiful trait of his character is his plain, unselfish, unassuming disposition, which invites the esteem of even a stranger, and makes one, temporarily beneath his roof, feel himself the participant of a genuine, old-fashioned hospitality. He has been more than twenty years, trustee and treasurer of the “Sappington School Fund.” In 1866, he was elected president of the bank of Missouri, at Arrow Rock, in which capacity he continues to serve. His wife, who was many years a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and an earnest Christian, died August 13, 1880. No man in Saline county is more closely identified with her interests; and in all the elements of true manhood, William B. Sappington is excelled by no living man. This is not the language of a fulsome panegyrist, but a faithful epitome of a life that challenges the admiration of every lover of truth, purity and benevolence.
