My great-great-grandfather, William, the son of Henry (Hendrick) Cossairt and Mary (Nailor), was born on October 18, 1815, in Warren County, Ohio, where his father was a prosperous farmer. He was the eldest of six children and took on the responsibilities expected of a first-born son. Henry Cossairt had migrated from Kentucky, where he was part of the Low Dutch Colony, a community that included other settlers from Kentucky's Bluegrass region.
The family farm in Turtle Creek Township was located near the property of John Tharp and his family. William became acquainted with young Nancy Tharp, who was about ten years his junior. They married on November 18, 1843, with John Tharp giving his consent since Nancy was not yet of legal age. Tragically, William's mother, Mary, had passed away earlier that year, on July 15, 1843.
Just two months after their wedding, their first child, David, was born on January 23, 1844. The young couple went on to have two more sons: John, born on February 2, 1848, and George, born on May 6, 1849. By 1850, they owned a farm in Sycamore Township, Hamilton County, Ohio. According to the 1850 census, William was listed as a farmer, and the value of his real estate was $2,500. The couple had four more children: Francis (born around 1852), Jacob (born around 1859), Ann M. (born around 1851), and Laura J. (born on April 12, 1857).
William’s father, Henry, passed away on March 31, 1851, and it is possible that William took over the family farm. His sister Nancy and her husband, Frederick Smear, were living on one corner of the estate. By the 1860 census, William and his family had returned to Turtle Creek Township in Warren County, Ohio, where their real estate was valued at $7,000. It appears that Frederick Smear passed away between 1844 and 1850, as Nancy had no more children after 1844 and was listed in the 1850 census as living with her parents and her four children.
William’s wife, Nancy, passed away on November 14, 1864. A little over two years later, in 1867, William remarried, this time to Mary Hight, daughter of Thomas and Polly Hight. The Hight family had been living in Polk County, Iowa. Likely before his second marriage, William moved to Carroll County, Missouri, where he established a farm. William and Mary had two sons: William Peter Jr., born on November 11, 1869, and Thomas Littleberry, born in 1872. Mary, about 30 years old at the time of their marriage, was considerably younger than William, who was in his early 50s. Mary had probably not been married before.
According to the 1870 census, William was farming in Grand River Township, Carroll County, Missouri. His real estate was valued at $3,000. The household was blended, with two children from William’s first marriage and one child from his second marriage living with them. Additionally, James H. (age 21) and Ednis (age 10) were listed in the household without separate last names. It is unclear what their relationship to each other or to the Cossairt or Hight families was.
William died on February 4, 1874, at the age of 64. He was a successful farmer in Ohio and one of the post-Civil War migrants to Missouri. Several of his children from Ohio, including his eldest son, David, also moved westward, settling in Missouri and Kansas. David, for instance, made his home in Barton County, Missouri.
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