Branch 8 - Samuel Shirley

Samuel Shirley born May 10, 1837 Brown, Hendricks Co. IN d. Sept 22, 1876 Harrison, Mercer Co. MO, m. Mahala Jane Williams Sept 22, 1856 who was born July 24, 1840 d. April 6, 1911 Mercer Co. MO. She m. 2nd Raleigh Slover.

Samuel served in the Union forces of the Civil War and was discharged from the Army on May 15,1865. While fighting, he contracted measles and other afflictions. Samuel had respiratory problems as a result of his Civil War experiences and his difficulty in breathing at night forced him to sleep outside year-around while his family slept in a rented house during the winters. The need for the rented house is what kept them in one place during the winter. It's been said they wandered far an wide during the summer going north to Iowa. The wagon was always Samuel's bedroom. While living in Mercer County, Samuel wintered in Warsaw MO. It was here his eldest son, William Riley, clerked in a store for several years during their periodic stays in order to earn money to keep the family in food. William also won several purses in local boxing and wrestling matches. A grandchild of William's, Truman Swingle, who lives in Kirksville MO was a Golden Gloves competitor before he entered WWII.

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