Biographical Sketch of Reuben B. Fulkerson, Johnson County, Missouri,
Lonejack.

>From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell,
Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918.
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Honorable Reuben B. Fulkerson, a late prominent and public spirited
citizen of Johnson county, was a leading pioneer whose life story is
full of historic interest, a man of far more than local repute an 
honored and respected patriarch of the long ago.  Mr. Fulkerson was a
native of Virginia.  He was born October 22, 1812 near Albington,
Virginia and when he was still a little child his parents moved from
their plantation home to the hills of Tennessee and in that state
Reuben B. Fulkerson grew to manhood.  His early years were spent on 
his father's farm in Tennessee.  The advantages and opportunities of
his youth were limited but he made the most of all he had. His chances
for obtaining an education were restricted to a few months attendance
at the log schoolhouse of the pioneer settlement but by firmness of
purpose and energy of character, which were always strikingly his most
predominant characteristics, he succeeded in acquiring sufficient
knowledge of the common branches to serve as the basis for further 
education obtained in later life by wide reading and close observation
and practical experience.  In early manhood, Reuben B. Fulkerson came
to Johnson county, Missouri.  He entered the mercantile business and 
was the first merchant in Columbus township.  A few years afterward he
located at Lonejack, Missouri and for a long time was one of the lead-
ing merchants of that place.  He took the lead in many public enter-
prises and became widely and favorably known in Missouri.  He was
essentially a man of the people and the possessor of the happy faculty
of winning and retaining countless friends.  His honor and integrity
were never impeached and the best element in Johnson county rallied to
his support in the election of 1850 and he was elected representative
of Johnson county for the session of the state Legislature which met
in 1850 and 1851.  Mr. Fulkerson rode horseback to Jefferson City to
attend the meeting.  Honorable Reuben B. Fulkerson was united in marr-
iage in 1838 with Polly Cockrell a sister of General Francis M. Cock-
rell, and to this union were born four children: Helen B., deceased,
wife of Frank Bradley; Mary Anne; Nancy Margaret; and Elizabeth.  Mary
Anne Fulkerson and W. L. Robinson were united in marriage and to them
were born three children, all of whom are now deceased.  A daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Robinson, Carrie Ellen, married James Boswell and
they were the parents of five children, four of whom are now living:
Samuel and Walker L., both of Lonejack, Missouri; Mary D. and Shannon,
of Lonejack, Missouri.  Seven years after Mr. Robinson's death, Mrs.
Robinson returned to the old homestead and is now residing with her
two sisters, Nancy Margaret and Elizabeth.  Reuben B. Fulkerson died
August 22, 1902.  His wife died in 1897.  The three sisters, Mrs.
Robinson, Miss "Lizzie," and Miss Nancy, are delightful conversation-
alists and they enjoy recalling incidents and friends of other days.
They state that Basin Knob school house was the first to be erected in
this part of the country.  "Uncle Jube," an old colored man who was 
one of the slaves of the Fulkerson household, drove a team of oxen
hitched to a huge log which was thus dragged over the tall prairie
grass in order to make a trail so the Cockrell boys might find their
way to school.  The boys afterward became known throughout the country.
They were General and Colonel Cockrell.  James Cockrell was probably 
the first of the cockrells to settle in Johnson county.  Relative to 
the Basin Knob school house, there are rocks from the old chimney of
that building still to be seen near the home of the Fulkerson sisters.
The story is related that at the time General Francis M. Cockrell was
born one of the old "darky" slaves begged permission from his master 
and mistress to name the new arrival.  The privilege was granted and 
as the old negro wrote the name of his choice in the family Bible he
declared earnestly that the baby boy would some day be president of the
United States.  Time and history have proven that the African prophet
was not far amiss, in his prediction.  "Uncle Jube," carried Miss 
"Lizzie," then a tiny child, on horseback to witness the wedding of
General Cockrell.  Horseback riding was the customary mode of traveling
when the Fulkerson sisters were girls, and they have in their girlhood
been practically all over this part of the state, on horseback.  They
remember when the prairie was covered with many different kinds of
flowers, which the young people delighted in gathering.  They have 
witnessed the breaking of virgin sod and the burning of the tall 
prairie grass in order to prevent the ever feared prairie fires and 
they used to go in a wagon drawn by yokes of oxen to attend church. The
present solid prosperity enjoyed by the residents of Johnson county is
attributed almost wholly to the pioneer settlers.  In the early days of
settlement, when there was little to welcome the stranger and much to
discourage the sturdy, self-reliant men and women who came to make new
homes in the "western wilderness," there came the Fulkersons and Cock-
rells to cast their lot in with hardy, intrepid pioneers, whose fear-
less, independent spirit has caused cities, towns and villages to rise 
and fertile farms to be where once the wild beast and still wilder man
roamed in utter ignorance of that which was soon to supplant their
forest home.  Reuben B. Fulkerson was a typical pioneer, a man of 
strong personality and though deprived of educational advantages in his
youth, his keen observation, range of reading, contact with the world,
and intimate touch with nature, stored his mind with a fund of valuable
knowledge.  He did much to aid the growth and development of Johnson
county.

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