Surname Saturday - Samuel Oscar McGuire

Samuel Oscar McGuire, often called S. O., is a 3rd great grandparent on my maternal side. I'm blessed to know quite a bit about Samuel, thanks in most part to my great aunt Bruna McGuire. She was Samuel's daughter, a family historian and a journalist who wrote a book about the McGuire clan.


Samuel was born January 22, 1843 in Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. He was the second son born to Samuel McGuire and Elizabeth Berry.

Elizabeth Berry was Samuel McGuire's second wife. He had two children with his first wife, Mary Ann Buckley: Francis Ann McGuire (1825-1897) and Mary Jane McGuire (1828-1910). Despite the twenty year difference in ages it appears that Samuel remained close to his two half sisters. I have found no death information about Mary Ann Buckley, but she died sometime prior to Samuel's marriage to Elizabeth in 1837. Samuel McGuire Sr. died in 1847 and Elizabeth remarried Edwin Hawkins a year later. And Edwin was dead by 1850. Elizabeth is not listed with an occupation on the 1850 census so I'm not sure how she was able to care for her boys. It's possible she took in boarders.

By 1860, Eliza and her boys moved to Ray County, Missouri. I have not been able to determine the cause for that migration. Samuel enlisted as a confederate in the Missouri 1st Cavalry on December 17, 1861. He was captured at the Big Black Bridge during the battle of Vicksburg on May 17, 1863 and sent as a prisoner of war to Fort Delaware and then Point Lookout, Maryland. He was released on March 14, 1864 after taking the oath to not return to the Confederate forces. Of course, he did. I was able to find record of him assigned to the 11th Missouri Infantry and it appears he was assigned here until the end of the war, paroled on June 7, 1865 in Alexandria, Louisiana.

The location where S. O. McGuire was captured during the Civil War. (1864) Big Black River, Miss. Battlefield of May 17, 1863. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division. Reproduction Number LC-B8171-1056 DLC (b&w film neg.)

According to a biography written in the History of Ray County, Missouri (1881) after the war Samuel traveled to Nebraska and the Dakotas and engaged in teaming for four years. He was also allegedly in a battle with some Native Americans while in the Dakota territory where several of his companions were killed. I have not been able to verify this.

After much adventure, Samuel returned to Missouri and married Frances Wall December 22, 1870 in Ray County, Missouri. The couple had four children, three surviving to adulthood. Garnett McGuire died in infancy.



Samuel and Frances were farmers and owned land to the east and northeast of Morton, Missouri. They lived in a home they called "Woodland Echo." They spent their entire married life in Ray County, Missouri, living in the country near Morton, Missouri and then moving to the city of Hardin when they got older.

Samuel died January 25, 1910 in Hardin, Missouri. Frances died in 1931 and both are buried in Lavelock Cemetery, just north of Hardin, Missouri in Ray County.

According to his headstone, S. O. McGuire was a mason, but I know nothing of his activities with the organization.
Based on the above, here are my due-outs for Samuel:

1. Try to determine why they moved from Kentucky to Ray County, Missouri.
2. Write a post about his military service.
3. Research his travels through Nebraska and Dakota territory.
4. Research his time as a Freemason.
5. Locate a print version of his obituary.

Sources:

• McGuire, Bruna. Pioneer Families: McGuire, Berry, Hughes. Hardin, Mo. 1954.
• Big Black River, Miss. Battlefield of May 17, 1863. Courtesy of the Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division. Reproduction Number LC-B8171-1056 DLC (b&w film neg.) 1864.
• History of Ray County, Missouri. Samuel McGuire biography, p. 785. Missouri Historical Company. St. Louis, Mo. 1881
• Ancestry.com. Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002 [database on-line]. Samuel McGuire and Frances Wall marriage, December 22, 1870, Ray County, Missouri. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007. Original data: Missouri Marriage Records. Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives. Microfilm.

This post is part of my on-going goal of 2013 to research each of my 32 3rd great-grandparents more in-depth. Samuel is #29 on my list.