The family of Samuel Kelso was one of the group of five families
that first settled in Lincoln Township, Grundy County, Missouri arriving in
the fall of 1837. Samuel, b. 10 July1794; d. 8 Sept.1863, and Dorcas, b.
20 Nov.1797, d. 18 June 1863, were both natives of Spartanburg County,
South Carolina. They moved with their respective families to Indiana
between 1815 and 1819 where they were married on 16 Oct. 1819 in Dubois
County. They remained in Dubois County, Indiana until after the birth of
10 of their twelve children. They left Indiana between 1833 and 1836. The
census records state that Betsy their eleventh child was born in Illinois
so either she was born on the way to Missouri or they stayed in Illinois
for a while. Dorcas was the daughter of Henry and Sarah FARRIS FOSTER.
Henry and some of his family migrated with them. Apparently his wife died
in Indiana because a deed signed in Indiana had only his signature. I only
have some guesses as to the siblings of Dorcas nor do I know the family of
Samuel...
The following children were born to Samuel and Dorcas:
Hiram, the youngest child of Samuel and Dorcas Foster
Kelso, was the only one of their children born in Grundy County, Missouri.
Hiram spent his entire life on the land patented to his father by the
government. On 8 Mar. 1865 he married Marietta Proctor, daughter of Joseph
Lemon and Mary Jane Sutton Proctor. Hiram was a prominent member of the
Tindall community and active in the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Hiram
and Marietta were the parents of four children.
William Harvey Paramore grew up in the Starlight community north of Dunlap
where he attended the Starlight School. He married Lula Ann Kelso on 18
Dec.1899. They farmed in the Starlight community living on the same farm
until their retirement. They were the parents of two daughters:
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