This obit proved the father of my John Sutton was Thomas Sutton of Allen Co. KY (many thanks to Janice Weiss for finding it for me). Anyone who is interested in this line, please contact me. From The Torch of Liberty, Mound City, Kansas, 20 Dec 1906 JOHN SIMPSON SUTTON Died at the home of his daughter. Mrs. J.F. Whitson, after a short illness, the result of a severe cold, JS, Sutton aged 87 years, 3 months and 18 days. John Simpson Sutton in whose memory these words are penned, was born in Allen county, Kentucky August 24, 1819. He was the fifth child in a family of ten children born to Capt. Thomas Sutton and wife, Thomas Sutton served in the war of 1812 with the rank of Captain. J.S. Sutton lived with his parents in Kentucky until about twenty years of age when he moved to Osage County Missouri. On October 25, 1844, he was united in marriage with Nancy Groves. To them were born twelve children, four of whom died in childhood, a daughter, Mrs. Wm. Murray died in 1885 and a son, Willis Sutton died in 1892. Six children survive him. Mr. John S. Sutton, Mrs. WH Boots, Mrs. Geo Pagington, Mrs. Jos. Whitson were with him during his last hours, ministering to his needs. Mrs. D.A. Yost lives at Portland Oregon and Mr. D.T. Sutton at Lathrop California, too far away to reach the bedside of their father before he passed away. He is also survived by twenty-four grand-children and four great grand-children. He with his family moved to Linn County in 1865 He had been to the state before and purchased one hundred acres of land near, what was then known as Paris, at that time the county seat of Linn County, after he had been in the county a short time he purchased 400 acres of land south of Farlin and Baston's Mill later known as Farlinville. He moved to and improved this tract of land, making a home there. 0nJuly 26, 1894 his wife died most of the time since one of his daughters lived with him but for a few months, he has been with his daughter Mrs. Whitson, one mile south from Farlinville. Among his first acts after reaching Linn was to donate roads convenient to those pieces where people need travel and to donate Burr oaks and money to the building of the pioneer bridge across Big Sugar, which was deeded to the county. For four score years and seven he lived a straight forward, honest, industrious, quiet life. Only a few short of 100 years. Within his memory the steam engine was invented and the first railroad built, he lived to see a net work of railroads all over the country, within his memory the cooking stove was invented, and has reached the home of the poorest citizen, the sewing machine, the steel plow, the reaper and a multitude of implements that the farmer of today would almost be helpless without. The telegraph, telephone and electric car are inventions of man within his memory. Although raised in a slave state, he recognized the black man as a human being, justly entitled to his freedom. During the war of '61 to '65 for the Union he served as Captain of a company of Militia or Missouri Home Guards, who wore Uncle Sam's blue and were subject to his command. Within his memory the Dred Scott decisions were made and he lived to see the 4 000 000 slaved made free. While never aspiring to office, he served for several terms as Justice of the Peace both in Osage county MO. and in Linn county. For a number of years he has been a member of the Cadmus Grange also a stockholder in the Grange store. He was among the first to join the Farmer's Alliance and took comfort in knowing that many of its tenets had been recognized by all and had been enacted into law. He was a thoughtful, careful reader and always measuring actions by a keen sense of justice. It is the quiet straightforward, resolute citizen that gives character to a neighbourhood. Mr. Sutton was the quiet, resolute man, that donned the blue in Missouri for the Union and made the black man free and in Kansas joined the ranks of those battling against oppression and for "equal rights to all". The funeral services were held at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. J.F. Whitson, where a very large concourse of people gathered to pay the last sad tribute to an honored friend neighbor and citizen After the services at the home the remains were tenderly borne to the Fletcher cemetery where they were interred beside those of his wife. Again Linn county was called to mourn the loss of another of her early settlers, a worthy man. John Sutton of Saint Louis arrived in the city Friday, enroute for the J.S. Whitsons near Farlinville. He was called there on account of the serious illness and death of his father, J.S. Sutton. -- Carol Ramey cramey@shaw.ca