Biographical Sketch of Thomas H. Condray, Dent County, Missouri >From "History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps & Dent Counties, Missouri, Published 1889, Goodspeed Publishing Company. Transcribed by: Penny Harrell (Incog3678@aol.com) ********************************************************************** Thomas H. Condray, superintendent of Hawkins Iron Bank for Midland Blast Furnace Company since the bank opened in 1880, and who had pre- viously been the company's blacksmith at Salem, was born in Claiborne County, Tenn., four miles from Cumberland Gap, in 1833. William H. and Elizabeth (Welch) Condray, his parents, were natives of Tenn., where they still live, the father eighty-three and the mother eighty- one years of age. William H. Condray is of French descent and his wife of Irish. He was a farmer by occupation. The grandfather of our subject, William Condray, was a native of North Carolina, a Revolution- ary soldier, and died in Claiborne County, Tenn., at the age of one hundred and two. The maternal grandfather, Joseph Welch, was a native of Virginia, of Irish descent, and served in the War of 1812, with Jackson. He was a wheelwright by trade, and died in Claiborne County, Tenn. Thomas H. Condray was the second of three children, one son and two daughters, born to his parents. He received little schooling and his education was received mainly at home by the light of the pine knot fire. When young he learned the blacksmith trade, which he followed for many years in connection with farming. He was married in 1856 to Miss Sarah A., daughter of Lewis Chumbley, of Claiborne County, Tenn., and eleven children, ten now living, were born to this union. Two sons are engineers at the Hawkins Iron Bank, and one son is foreman in one department of the bank. Mr. Condray lived in Claiborne County, Tenn., until 1870, when he came to Crawford County, MO., and lived there three years engaged in farming and blacksmithing. He then went to Benton Creek Iron Bank, and in 1876 to Salem, where he was black- smith for the company by whom he is now employed. He has a farm of eighty-five acres in Norman Township, and the Condray post-office at Hawkins Bank was established in 1885, and named for Mr. Condray. He is a Republican in politics, his first presidential vote being for Fillmore in 1856, and he and wife have been members of the Baptist Church for thirty years. He has served the company by whom he is employed faithfully and industriously since he has been under their employ. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: Penny Harrell ====================================================================