1880 Goodspeeds History of S.E. Missouri, page 861
Hiram
Berry, clerk of the circuit court and recorder of
Madison County, Mo., of which he is a native, ws born in 1847, and is the son of John and Elizabeth (
Bess)
Berry, and grandson of
Hiram Berry, who was born in
North Carolina in 1784, and is still living. He (
Hiram Berry, grandfather), moved to
Missouri in 1816, and to
Madison County in 1821. He has been residing with his children since 1865, and notwithstanding his extreme old age is still in good health. During the summer of 1887, he walked one-half mile to church each Sabbath. His eldest son is seventy years of age, and he calls him "his boy,
CALEB."
John
Berry (father of
Hiram #2) grew to manhood on the farm, and is the present owner of 200 acres of good land. He was born in 1821, and durng the late war served faithfuly in the Union army.
His wife (John's wife) was born the same year as himself, and became the mother of ten children, seven of whom are living: Matilda (wife of J. Q. D. Whitener),
Hiram,
Cordelia (wife of James
Higdon), Elizabeth (wife of Benjamin
Baldwin), Jennie (wife of
Newton Williams), Margaret (wife of Benjamin
Wammack), and John P.
Hiram (the subject of this sketch) was educated in the common schools, and in 1872 went to Bessville and began merchandising; but in 1879 he removed to marquand, where he follwed the same line of business, and also farmed and dealt in stock.
In 1884 he settled two miles south of Fredericktown, where he owns 131 acres of land. In November, 1886, he was elected to his present position for four years. In 1866, he married Ellen C. Whitener, who was born in
Bollinger County, Mo., in 1847. They have two children: Charles E. and Effie T. Mr. Berry is a Democrat, and a member of the A.O.U.W. His wife belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South. He served for two years, 1864 and 1865, in the Union army during the war.