Biographical Sketch of L. D. Stirling, Johnson County, Missouri, Jefferson Township. >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** L. D. Stirling, a prosperous and industrious, young farmer and stockman of Jefferson township, is a member of one of the prominent pioneer fam- ilies of Johnson county. He was born April 23, 1874 at the Stirling homestead in Johnson county, a son of William T. and Margaret (Dennis) Stirling. William T. Stirling was born in December, 1838 on the farm belonging to his father, a place located a few miles south of Center- view. On this farm, William T. Stirling was reared to maturity. In his boyhood days, the prairie was practically unfenced and the forests were filled with deer and other wild game. In early manhood, he went to Lexington, Missouri, where he remained two years, and then returned to Warrensburg. His father was county surveyor at that time and the Stir- ling family resided in Warrensburg for five or six years, during which period of time the father and son operated the Stirling Mill in that city. The elder Stirling owned 200 acres of land near Centerview, which place he traded for the mill, which was located at Lexington and moved by the Stirlings to Warrensburg. Mr. Stirling, Sr., thought the farm worthless, a place now worth at least one hundred dollars an acre. Later, Mr. Stirling, Sr. and his son, William T., moved to the farm, now owned by L. D., the engine of the Sterling Mill and put in opera- tion a sawmill, which they operated for many years. William T. Stir- ling purchased the farm which now belongs to his son and on this place was for several years engaged in farming and stock raising. He cleared and improved the farm and fifteen years ago retired from the active pursuits of agriculture and twelve years ago moved to his city property in Leeton. Margaret (Dennis) Stirling is a native of Indiana. She was united in marriage with Mr. Stirling in Johnson county in 1873 and to them were born five children: L. D., of this review; Mrs. Roy Bartholo- mew, Johnson county, Missouri; Ewell, deceased; Alice, deceased; and Eula, deceased. W. T. Stirling was first married to Elizabeth A. Dudley in 1867. To this union one child, a girl, was born, who is now deceased. William T. Stirling is a veteran of the Confederate army. He was a member of General Shelby's brigade. He joined with many other recruits at Warrensburg and they were on the way to join the main army when young Stirling was captured and sent to Rock Island, Illinois, where he was kept a prisoner until the close of the war. Mr. Stirling is active and influential in public affairs, in which he takes a keen interest. At the present time he is one of the road supervisors of Johnson county. For years, he has been a school director. Both he and Mrs. Stirling are valued members of the Leeton Baptist church and they are greatly esteemed and respected in this community. In Johnson county, in 1900, L. D. Stirling and Anna Hawthorne were united in marr- iage. Mrs. Stirling was born in Boone county, Missouri, but reared and educated in Johnson county. To L. D. and Anna (Hawthorne) Stirling have been born two children: Forest, who was born in December, 1901; and Ethel, who was born in February, 1903. Mr. and Mrs. Stirling are worthy, consistent members of the Baptist church and they are numbered among the good, Christian people of Johnson county, excellent citizens of whom all are proud. Mr. Stirling has been a church member for nearly twenty-six years. For many years, he has been the school direc- tor of his district. The L. D. Stirling farm comprises 120 acres of land and at the time of this writing, in 1917, all the place is under cultivation. Mr. Stirling is engaged in raising cattle and hogs, giv- ing especial attention to the latter. To a certain extent, he is also in the dairy business. Butter and cream have been taken to the market from the Stirling farm every week for the past six years. Mr. and Mrs. Stirling are hardworking, enterprising citizens, worthy of the highest success in life. ==================================================================== 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 (Eisenbarger) Harrell ====================================================================