John C. Farrar, a prominent farmer and stock raiser of Perry County, Mo. was born in St. Clair County, Ill., in 1828. He is the son of Robert B. and Susan (Abernathy) Farrar, who were married in Kentucky, and immigrated to Illinois, settling in St. Clair County in 1810.

Robert B. Farrar was born in Lincoln County, N. C., on February 4, 1786, and was a son of John Farrar, a native of Virginia, who was a captain in the Revolutionary War. The former was a farmer, and remained on his farm in St. Clair County, Ill. until 1837, when he removed his family to Perry County, Mo., where he entered 900 acres of land. He and his wife, after having lived very happily together for forty-eight years, died within ten days of each other, both in April, 1857. They were the parents of five sons and seven daughters, only three of whom are living.

John C. was married in Perry County in 1857 to Martha E. Venable, a native of Missouri who was born in 18??, by whom he is the father is six living children: Jasper N., Marvin N., Sarah E., Herschel D., Edgar G. and James H. Mr. Farrar has a fine farm of 135 acres of well improved land on which have been found indications of rich land deposits, and he also has 165 acres of timber.

Mr. Farrar is an earnest student and is well informed on almost every topic of the day. He has a fine library, containing books on philosophy, history, politics, and various other subjects.

The Goodspeed Publishing Company compiled a series of histories of various counties in the U.S. in the late 19th century. The information in the History of Southeast Missouri, published in 1888, was provided by the contemporary residents of Perry County and her neighboring counties. The biographies are a valuable source of genealogical information, despite a few minor inaccuracies. We are glad to present the transcribed biographies here for anyone researching Perry County's history.