Fannie Jane (Prichard) Moss was one of 9 known children born to Joseph Prichard, Sr. (1783-1865) a native of Virginia; and Mary Polly (Tye) Prichard (1787-1872) a native of Tennessee. Fannie's parents were married in Knox County Kentucky in 1810, and all of their children were born in Kentucky. The family moved to Mercer County, Missouri, sometime before 1850. Fannie had the following known siblings:

Louisa Jane (Prichard) Girdner 1811-1877
Jesse L. Prichard 1814-1864
George Tye Prichard 1817-1864
Jackson Prichard 1819-1897
Sarah Sally (Prichard) Griffith 1821-
Mary (Prichard) Parsons 1824-1884
Joseph Prichard, Jr. 1826-
Luann/Lucy Ann (Prichard) Rhea 1829-1874

Fannie married Joseph Moss (1212-1902) in Kentucky in 1833 when she was 18. He was born in South Carolina. They had the following known children:

Mary Jane Moss 1834-1915
Henry Harrison Moss 1837-1920
William P. Moss 1839-1921
Sarah Frances Moss 1840-1873
Calvin Moss 1843-1929
Anna Saphrona Moss 1845-1903
Joseph L. Moss 1848-1929
Joshua Moss 1850-1908
Thomas J. Moss 1853-1862

The Moss family reportedly moved from Kentucky to Roan County, Tennessee and stayed for a time. Then, they moved to Livingston/Mercer County, Missouri, in about 1838. They were some of the first settlers in the area. In the 1840 census, Joseph Moss was listed a head of household in Lafayette Township of Livingston County, Missouri. This area was later formed into Mercer County, Missouri. Joseph owned 520 acres in 1840, and later acquired up to 900 acres of land in this area.

Joseph Moss was active in county politics and assisted in the organization of Mercer County in 1845. He was a justice of the peace in 1846, and a member of the county court from 1852 to 1858 and from 1873 to 1875. He was sheriff of Mercer County for 2 years, and a county judge for 4 years. In 1870, he was listed in the census as a farmer with real estate valued at $11,500, which was a considerable sum for those days.

1860 census of Morgan Township, Mercer County, Missouri:

Joseph Moss 46
Fanny Moss 44
Henry Moss 23
William Moss 21
S. F. Moss 19
Calvin Moss 16
A. S. Moss 15
Joseph Moss 12
Joshua Moss 9
T. J. Moss 7

Fannie died in June 1867 and was buried at Goshen Cemetery in Mercer County, Missouri. In the fall of the same year, her husband remarried to a much younger woman, Emily Jane Johnson (1845- )

1870 census of Morgan Township of Mercer County, Missouri:

Joseph Moss 57
Jane Moss 24
Joshua Moss 19
Jenny Lind Moss 1
Ettie Moss 7 months
Eliza Hickman 20