ic
has remained with him to this day. The accepted date of his birth and
the house in which he was born are still matters of mild dispute among
the good people of the little village of Laclede. A friend of his
boyhood days says, "He was born in a section house about 3,000 yards
from the site of the old depot. The foundation is still there." But the
people of Laclede and Meadville, a nearby hamlet, are not a unit in this
detail, though all are heartily agreed and proud in their recollection
of the lad who since has made the little hamlet famous.

"Grandma" Warren (Mrs. Louisa D.) through her daughter sends the
following contribution to this mooted question:

"My mother states that in the spring of 1859, the
General's father and mother, then recently
married, came to board with her father, Meredith
Brown, who resided about two and one-half miles
east of Meadville, Mo. My mother, then a widow,
was living at the home of her father and was
associated with the Pershings that summer.

"In the fall of the year the Pershings moved to a
house of their own about a half mile west of the
Brown home and this is the place where the General
was born. The tract of land on which the house
stood is now owned by John Templeman and is the
north 1/2 of Sec. 5, T'wp 57, range 21, Linn Co.,
Mo. The house in which the General was born was
destroyed by fire during the Civil War. Mother
was present at the General's birth and dressed him
in his first suit.

"From the house where the General was born they
moved to what was known as the 'Section House,'--a
house built for the section foreman of the
railroad. This house was located about two miles
west of Meadville on the Hannibal and St. Joseph
R. R., now the Burlington.

"During the time from 1859 and a few years later,
the senior Pershing was section foreman on this
road. At the last mentioned place of residence the
second child was born.

"After a few years' residence at the section
house, the family moved to Laclede, Mo., seven
miles east of Meadville. At this place the father
engaged in mercantile business, continuing in the
business for a number of years. My mother vis