These photos are of my father, Donald S. Patterson, who served in the Pacific theater during World War II as a 2nd Lieutenant, 164th Field Artillery, 40th Army Division. Don was born in a log cabin on a farm on the Current River in Shannon County, Missouri. The location was near Rector, north of Eminence, the county seat. Some years back - maybe 20! - Dad tried unsuccessfully to find a road back to that farm. With the links given here, I was able to obtain maps of where my father was born - the location was about in the middle of the map on the left. By the age of the first picture, though, Don was living in Salem, Dent Co MO - and had spent some time in Cape Girardeau as well; but went to high school and spent all his working life in St. Louis.
Hear Don sing on YouTube! I uploaded a recording of his singing the church anthem, "The Holy City". And that was when he was about 80 ... sure wish you could all hear how he sang in his 50s.
Pat's Map Links
Genealogy requires maps to follow ancestral migrations and locate properties.
These are the links I've found most useful.
USA:
UK:
Other resources:
| Shannon County, Missouri |
Current River |
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OK, so you have to know the river to make much sense of this. That's not bad: it's a beautiful river, with 3 of the world's 4 largest springs found in this Ozarks region. Wouldn't you like a better look?