George Glenn 1802 - 1875
(Paris). For nearly half a century, from early manhood until the shadows of old age settled around him
which were broken only by the light of a day eternal in the heavens, he whose name heads this sketch gave to Monroe
county the best energies of his life, as one of its most worthy and highly respected citizens; and to the community and
all among whom he lived the beneficent influence of a character without stain, the example of a life well and usefully
spent, which was always devoted to the best interest of those around him, his own loved ones, his friends and his
neighbors, and all who came to know him well and to appreciate him at his true value for his blameless, upright and
useful life. George Glenn was a plain, frank, honest and unpretending man, a man who was esteemed for his personal worth
and for the many excellencies that were blended in his character. He was a man who, while he was appreciated for his
sturdy integrity and his kindness and generosity of heart, commanded not less respect for his strength of mind and his
high standing among the more intelligent and better informed people of the community in which he lived. He was a man of
more than ordinary strength and force of character, of strong convictions, great moral courage, and as immovable from
the path of rectitude as the eternal adamants beneath the Pyrenees. He lived a life that, when he was gone, left only
sad regrets that so good a man had passed away, that so worthy a citizen of the county could no longer be spared to
mingle with those who had learned to know him so well and esteem him at his true worth. He died at his home in this
county on the 7th of March, 1875, in his seventy-third year. He had been a member of the Presbyterian Church
for many years, and was an earnest Christian in every better sense of the word. He was superintendent of the
Sabbath-school of his church at the time of his death, as he had been for a long time before. Let us then give at least
a brief sketch of the life of this good man, whose death was so widely and sincerely mourned. George Glenn came of a
worthy Virginia family, and was a son of Hugh Glenn by the latter’s first wife. Both his father and mother were
Virginians, and George, the subject of this sketch, was the eldest of their family of children. His father left a
numerous progeny, having been married three times, each wife leaving him a large family of children at her death. In the
first family of children, of which George was a member, there were two sons and six daughters. The other brother, John,
died in this county some years ago, leaving a family of children. A half sister, Mrs. Thomas Crutcher, is a resident of
Paris. George Glenn was born in Augusta county, Va., in 1802. Reared in that county, he was brought up to habits of
industry, and from his parents inherited a sterling character, which made him respected and esteemed from the morning of
his earthly career until his sun was forever set. In 1823, then just arrived at majority, he was married to Miss Grace
Anderson, of Augusta county, and he continued to make his home in his native county after his marriage for some eight or
nine years. He then, as early as 1831, removed to Missouri and located for a time in Pike county, but in the spring of
the following year he came to Monroe county. Here he made his home until his death, until the sands of his life had run
out. His regular occupation was that of farming and raising stock, but being a man of great personal popularity, good
education and fine business qualifications, he was frequently called to serve the people of the county in an official
capacity. He was county surveyor for a number of years, and then served two terms as clerk of the circuit court. He was
a man who made the pursuit of wealth no controlling object in life, but such were his industry and his intelligent, good
management, that he accumulated a comfortable property. His first wife died in 1845, some 22 years after their marriage.
Of their family of children was the well-known Hugh Glenn, the great wheat
grower of California, a physician by profession, and at one time the Democratic candidate for Governor of that State,
one of the wealthiest men on the Pacific slope, and who was killed a few years ago, as is well known, by a murderous
employee of his. In 1847 Mr. Glenn, the subject of this sketch, was married to Mrs. E. C. Riley, widow of the late John
Riley, of Jefferson county, Va. By his last marriage there are two sons - Benjamin F., of California, and George M., of
Monroe county. The memory of no citizen of Monroe county is more kindly and reverently cherished than that of the worthy
good man whose memoir is here briefly given.
From the Book: History of Monroe and Shelby Counties, Missouri
Published by: National Historical
Company, 1884.
Author: Elizabeth Prather Ellsberry
* Index to biographies from Monroe County
* As a means of funding its publication, the 1884 History of Monroe
County contained numerous biographies paid for by local residents and business owners who wished their lives to be
captured in print. The information contained within is both informative and entertaining but, as with any telling of
history, may or may not be entirely accurate.
