Joel Sherrill of Texas County, Missouri

Joel Sherrill. Prominent among the early settlers of Missouri, and among those deserving special recognition for their long residence in Texas County, stands the name of the above mentioned gentleman, who is the son of John and Mary (Holbert) Sherrill. The father was born May 10, 1784, in South Carolina, and the mother was born in the same State April 10, 1791. They lived in their native State until 1819, then moved to St. Francois County, Mo., and from there, in 1831, to “The Lick,” from which Licking took its name, purchasing land where the town is now situated, and here followed farming. During the latter part of the War of 1812 Mr. Sherrill volunteered, but served only a short time. He was a Democrat in his political views, and for six years served as justice of the peace. He died March 15, 1855. She died April 17, 1872, and was a member of the Baptist Church. In their family were four children, three of whom lived to be grown, and Joel Sherrill is the only one now living. He was born January 23, 1815; was reared on a farm, and received a limited education in the subscription schools. At the age of twenty-one he began for himself by farming, and October 2, 1836, he married Miss Jane Thornton, a native of Union County, Ill., born December 15, 1820. She came to what is now Dent County when about thirteen years of age. Her father, William Thornton, was a soldier in the War of 1812. In 1839 Mr. Sherrill moved to the place where he now lives, his nearest neighbor being six miles distant, and here he and his chosen companion began making their fortune. He now owns 1,000 acres of land. For two years he held the office of county judge, and has always affiliated with the Democratic party. To Mr. and Mrs. Sherrill were born seven children, of whom two lived to be grown, Mary E. and Joel S. Mr. Sherrill’s chief business during life has been farming, although he has also been engaged in merchandising for a number of years. He has been a resident of this county for fifty-eight years, and is classed among its most respected citizens. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and he and wife are members of the Christian Church. The Sherrill family sprang from a young Englishman, who came to America in an early day, married, and settled in Virginia. Afterward the family went to South Carolina.