I have a friend related to a Cherry in Linn Co Missouri. Here is info she gave me. Maybe there is a connection.

William Spencer Cherry was born July 19, 1861 in Linn County; the son of James and Sarah (Woods) Cherry.
The 1870 Census does list a James Cherry age 50.
William had a sister Rachel and a brother Ahiza ('Hige')that are listed in obituaries but one of William's daughters also remember an "Uncle Jim", a drifter of sorts.

William married Jennie Newkirk in 1888,
children Cecil, b-1892, d-1974
and Gladys (Atteberry), b-1895, d-1981.
William married 1899, Maggie Abbott.
Children, Kenneth, 1903, Wayne, Abbott, Mary Ellen, Marjorie all born in Linn County.

William taught school and farmed.
Buried in Linneus. Died 1938 in Marshall, Mo.
Both Kenneth and Elizabeth were family names.