Came to St. Charles County at age 2 with his parents. Grew up at the family homestead on Big Creek. Was a farmer all his life, working the old family homestead on Big Creek. He left his family a comfortable estate.
Possibly killed in the Civil War.
Grew up on the Cannon homestead and never married. After her parents died, she lived with her brother George Moore Cannon on the old homestead. George died January 1, 1906 and Sarah continued to live with her sister-in-law, Sarah Catherine Lewis Cannon, wife of her brother George until Sarah Catherine died February 2, 1921. Sarah Ann died August 27, 1924 and was the last to be buried in the Old Cannon Cemetery at Big Creek.
Sarah is noted, in Jesse A. Cannon's unpublished "The Cannon Book: Descendants of Joesph Cannon and Nancy Sitton," as being a step-daughter. Jesse's handwritten book says Sarah was born prior to 1809, so, if this is so, it must be the case that Nancy Sitton had a previous marriage. Since Jesse states that Sarah's real maiden name was Sarah Gibson, obviously, Nancy Sitton was married to a man named Gibson who died at some point around or after 1809. Who this Gibson was is unknown at this time.
Sarah and her husband, Jeremiah Beck, whom she married in Tennessee in 1814, migrated to Missouri, where they settled in what is now Lincoln County in 1815.
Johann (John) Friedrich Christian Grotjan
Came to America in 1840, settling first in Maryland, then in Franklin County,
Missouri in 1841. In 1845, he moved his family to Chariton County, Missouri,
and in 1848, settled on Bowling Green Prairie. John was very wealthy in
Prussia, but left his fortune behind in order to spare his sons from military
service during the Franco-Prussian War.
Karl Friedrich Christian August Grotjan
He was one of the first in the Dalton area to raise tobacco.
Johann Heinrich Ludwig (Louis) Grotjan
Came to America with his parents in 1840, settling first in Maryland. In 1841,
the family moved to Franklin County, Missouri. In 1845 They moved to Chariton
County, Missouri, near Brunswick. In 1848, they moved to Bowling Green Prairie.
In 1856, Louis started in the tobacco growing business. In 1874, he started a
store, L. & A. Grotjan, with his brother, August. In 1875, his son William
joined him in the operation of the store, and in 1877, when August died, Louis
became sole proprietor. William later became a partner and the business was
renamed Grotjan & Son General Merchants & Tobacco Dealers & Shippers. The store
was in Dalton, Missouri and handled about 300,000 pounds of tobacco per year.
Louis owned three farms in Chariton County, including the Harper Farm, on which
he lived. The three farms comprised and area of over 600 acres.
Came to America with his parents from Dusseldorf and lived in Illinois, then
later in Missouri, where he bought 400 acres near Keytesville, Chariton County,
Missouri.
Lived in Arkansas.