Biographical Sketch of J. O. Sutherland, Johnson County, Missouri, Jefferson Township >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** J. O. Sutherland, representative from Johnson county in the Forty-ninth General Assembly of the State Legislature of Missouri, is one of the most prominent and influential stockmen of this section of the State. He was born in 1871 in Johnson county, son of Judge D. L. and Elizabeth Sutherland. D. L. Sutherland is a son of Uriah Sutherland, who was a prosperous farmer in St. Clair county, Mo. Judge Sutherland moved from St. Clair county to Johnson county in 1869 and settled in Jefferson township on a small farm of forty acres, where he engaged in farming and stock raising. He was a capable, industrious, enterprising young man and by practicing economy and good business judgment, after a few years of privations and hardships began to prosper. At one time Judge Sutherland was owner of twenty-eight hundred acres of the best farm land in Missouri, for which he paid by hard toil, as the Scriptures command "by the sweat of the brow," never making one cent in specula- tion. He is a man of genial disposition and kindly manners, whom to know means to respect and admire, and he has countless friends in John- son county. He served at one time as judge of the county court in this county. In 1909, he and his wife moved to Windsor, Missouri. Judge D. L. Sutherland and his sons, E. E. and R. G., are at present engaged in stock raising, having the largest herd of Black Aberdeen Angus cattle in this part of Missouri. To Judge D. L. and Elizabeth Suther- land have been born seven children: J. O., the subject of this review; L. B., Windsor, Mo.; Mrs. Margaret Botts, Mangum, Oklahoma; S. H., Windsor, Mo.; Mrs. Edna Ruffin, Windsor, Mo.; E. E., who is associated with his father in stock raising on the farm near Windsor, Missouri; and R. G., who is also associated with his father in stock raising. J. O. Sutherland is a graduate of the Warrensburg State Normal School. After leaving college, he engaged in the vocation of farming, giving particular attention to stock raising, in which pursuit he has been remarkably successful. He is now the owner of one thousand acres of splendid farm land, most of which is grass and pasture land. He buys and sells annually many hundred head of cattle, selling particularly all his cattle in the St. Louis market. The Sutherland stock farm is one of the best equipped for caring for large herds of stock in this section of the state. It is well improved with large, well constructed barns, two capacious silos, constructed of concrete, and a concrete water tower, from which water is pumped to supply both the residence and the stock barns. In 1894, J. O. Sutherland was united in marriage with Etta Elbert, the daughter of L. J. and Mary E. Elbert, pioneers of Henry county, Missouri. To J. O. and Etta (Elbert) Sutherland have been born three children, all of whom reside at home with their parents: Elbert L., who was a student for two years in the Missouri State Agri- cultural College; Annie E., and J. Logan. Mr. Sutherland possess a fine library of books dealing with agricultural subjects and he and his son, Elbert L., keep well abreast the times and are exceptionally well informed on all the latest knowledge pertaining to the particular phase of agriculture in which they are especially interested. In 1916, J. O. Sutherland was elected representative from Johnson county to the Forty ninth General Assembly of the state Legislature of Missouri. It was chiefly due to his influence and efforts that the Workmans Compensation Act passed the House of Representatives, however failing of passage in the Senate. He was a member of the committee on agriculture and assis- ted in the formation of the Johnson County Farm Bureau. He is politic- ally a member of the Democratic party and is one of the most popular citizens in this state. Mr. Sutherland resides near Windsor, Missouri. The Sutherland home is one of Johnson county's most beautiful country residences. It was built in 1912 and is an eight room structure, modern throughout and nicely furnished, one of the homes of which this county is proud. ==================================================================== 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 ====================================================================