J. K. P. Morelock, a farmer and stock raiser of Morrow Township, was born in Sullivan County, Mo., in 1844, and is the youngest of the eight children of Maj. E. M. C. and Elizabeth (Pickens) Morelock, natives of East Tennessee, born in 1809, and in 1810, respectively. The father is of Irish and Dutch origin, and a son of Gen. Morelock, who lost his life while in the service of his country, in the War of 1812. E. M. C. was married in his native State, about 1842, and removed to what is now Sullivan County, and in 1851 came to Adair County, and located on Spring Creek, Morrow Township, about twenty-two miles northwest of Kirksville in the northwest part of Adair County, where he has since made his home. Soon after locating here he built a saw-mill which he ran for several years. Mr. Morelock has been a man of considerable prominence, and for several years led a public life, and as early as 1844 was elected a member of the State Legislature. It was through his efforts that Sullivan County was formed, and he was its first representative, and two years after he was re-elected, thus serving two terms. He was also a clerk of Adair County for six years, filled various township offices, and was major of the militia during times of general muster. After the expiration of his clerkship he founded the Kirksville Democrat, which he edited and published for several years, since which time he has remained on his farm, and is one of the prosperous farmers of the county. During his public life he was always an active politician, affiliating with the Democratic party, and was also a prominent member of the Masonic Order. His wife died in 1848, and both she and her husband were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Our subject was reared at home, and his entire school education did not exceed three months’ attendance. During his father’s residence at Kirksville he remained on the farm. In August, 1864, he enlisted in Company B, Thirty-ninth Missouri Infantry, serving in Missouri and Tennessee, reaching Nashville just too late to participate in the second Nashville engagement. He remained in service until the close of the war, being discharged in July, 1865. He was married in 1868, to Miss Harriet E., daughter of Preston Gilmore, a native of Adair County. They have three children: Josephine, Edward and Belle. He has been living on his farm since his marriage, and owns 240 acres of land, forty acres being in another tract. He is a Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for McClellan, He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and Mrs. Morelock is united with the United Brethren Church. (The History of Adair, Sullivan, Putnam, and Schuyler Counties, Missouri published in 1888 by Goodspeed Publishing Co.)