Biographical Sketch of Adolphus Musser, Jr., Johnson County, Missouri,
Holden 

>From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell,
Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918.
**********************************************************************

Adolphus Musser, Jr., successful attorney-at-law and merchant of Holden,
Missouri, is a native of Platte county, Missouri.  Mr. Musser was born
near Parkville in 1874.  He is a son of Adolphus, Sr., and Adeline
(Wilkinson) Musser, the former of whom was a native of Harrison county,
Kentucky and the latter a native of Richmond, Ray county, Missouri. The
Musser family is an old and prominent family in the annals of American 
history, especially that part of history which relates to the settle-
ment and development of the Southland.  The grandmother of Adolphus
Musser was a member of the Jones family of Virginia, which family gave
to the country America's first great sea commander, John Paul Jones of
Revolutionary fame.  His paternal grandfather was a son of a Revolu-
tionary soldier.  The first settlement of the family was made in the
state of Pennsylvania.  A brother of Adolphus Musser, S. was Colonel 
Richard H. Musser, of Civil War farme, who served under Governor Jack-
son and General Price as colonel of the 9th Missouri Infantry.  He was
judge advocate of the Third Division of the Confederate army and after
the war practiced law in St. Louis with great success.  He prosecuted 
several important cases before the International Joint Commission at
Washington which had the settlement of the damage cases growing out of
depredations committed by Mexicans against American citizens. The Mexi-
can government was sued for the murder of General Parsons, Colonel
Standish, and Colonel Conrow by Mexican citizens.  Colonel Musser 
successfully prosecuted these cases and received as his fee the sum of
$143,000.  He died in St. Joseph, Missouri, at the age of 69 years, in
1898.  The parents of Adolphus Musser, Jr., located first near Platts-
burg, Clinton county, Missouri and the father engaged in the practice 
of law.  He was also a newspaper man of note and founded the Cynthiana
"Democrat" at Cynthiana, Kentucky; the Carrollton "Democrat", Carroll-
ton, Missouri; and the "Brunswicker" at Brunswick, Missouri.  He died
at Plattsburg, Mo., and there the widowed mother still resides.  Three
sons of Adolphus Musser, Sr., are now living: Adolphus Musser, Jr., 
subject of this review; Richard H., an attorney at Plattsburg, Mo.;
Joshua James, a merchant at Durango, California.  Adolphus Musser, Jr.,
subject of this review, was reared at Plattsburg and graduated from
Plattsburg College when but fourteen years of age.  He was the youngest
student to graduate from that institution in its entire history.  After
securing his classical education he entered the Kansas City School of
Law and graduated therefrom in 1903 with the degree of Bachelor of Laws.
He began the practice of the legal profession at Plattsburg and after
remaining in his home city for a time he came to Holden in 1911.  His
success as a legal practitioner has been marked since taking up his 
residence in Johnson county.  Mr. Musser has also been engaged in the
mercantile business and conducts one of the leading stores of Holden, 
in which dry goods, mens' and ladies' furnishings are retailed.  Mr.
Musser was married in 1903 to Virginia Smith, of Kansas City, Missouri,
and to this union has been born one child: Richard, who is ten years of
age.  Mr. Musser is a Democrat, politically, and is one of the leaders
of his party in Missouri.  He is serving his 2nd term as a member of 
the State Democratic Central Committee and during 1916 was a member of
the State Executive Committee.  He is religiously associated with the
Presbyterian church of Holden and is fraternally affiliated with the
Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Modern
Woodmen of America, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. 
Mr. Musser is one of the "live wires" of Johnson county, a man noted
for his profound knowledge of law, foresight, acumen, and decided busi-
ness ability.  His geniality and accomodating disposition have won him
many friends throughout this section of Missouri.

====================================================================
     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 <Incog3678@aol.com>

====================================================================