Biographical Sketch of William Fort, Phelps County, Missouri >From "History of Laclede, Camden, Dallas, Webster, Wright, Texas, Pulaski, Phelps and Dent Counties, Missouri" The Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1889. ********************************************************************** William Fort, collector of Phelps County, Mo., and now a resident of Rolla, is a native of Chillicothe, Ross County, Ohio, and was born in 1846, being the son of William Fort and Sarah Weast, and grandson of Thomas Fort, who with two brothers emigrated from England to America. They were shipwrecked, and Thomas was the only one who reached America. He located near Dover, New Jersey, and was the father of three sons: William, Charles and Thomas. William Fort, Sr., was born in Dover, N. J., in 1814, and was a mechanic by trade in early and middle life, but his last days were spent engaged in agricultural pursuits. He went to Staunton, Va., was married there, and in 1835 moved to Ross County, Ohio. In 1853 he moved to Crawford County, Mo., where he passed the remainder of his days. He died May 12, 1881. The mother was of Penn- sylvania Dutch descent, born in Harrisburg, Penn., in 1816, is yet living, and resides in Rolla, Mo., with her daughter, Nancy, wife of A. S. Long. She is the mother of four sons and seven daughters, ten of whom are now living: Henry, in Cuba, engaged in the manufacture of wagons, plows, etc.; Mary, wife of F. S. Atteberry, in Crawford County, on the old homestead of William Fort, Sr.; Nancy, wife of A. S. Long, a merchant in Rolla; Sarah, wife of Rev. I. J. K. Lumbeck, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Rolla; William; Libbie, wife of John Bannon, hardware merchant in St. Louis; James, mechanic in Los Angeles, Cal.; Charles, mechanic in 'Frisco Shops at Springfield, Mo.; Rhoda, wife of C. F. Patton, farmer in Franklin County, Mo., and Henrietta, wife of L. D. Viemann, merchant at Oak Hill, Crawford County, Mo. William Fort was but seven years of age when his parents moved to Miss- ouri. He was reared on a farm, and in connection followed blacksmith- ing until nineteen years of age, when he commenced clerking in a store in Rolla, and remained in this capacity for eighteen years. In 1884 he was elected collector of Phelps County, Mo., in a Democratic county of about 400 votes, and in 1886 he was re-elected to the same position. He was the only Republican in the county elected, thus forcibly illus- trating his popularity. In 1872 he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Niven, who was born in Logan County, Ohio, at Bellefontaine, in 1853. Three children are the fruits of this union: Nellie, Edward L. and Lillie. Mrs. Fort died July 3, 1883 and December 31, 1885, he married Miss Dell McDougal, who was born in New York State. One child, Albert, is the result of this union. Mr. Fort is a member of the I. O. O. F., and also a member of the K. of H. ==================================================================== 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: Joe Miller Penny (Eisenbarger) Harrell ====================================================================