William Gustopher Allison was born 3 July 1858 in Reynolds County, Missouri. He was the son of Jesse and Mahala (McMullin) Allison. He was a farmer.

On 25 September 1890 in Carter County, Missouri, he was married to Mary Eliza Rightnowar. She was born 5 December 1870 in Jefferson County, Illinois, the daughter of John and Delaney Rightnowar. She was married first to Robert L. Willis, an actor who belonged to a troupe that traveled in the area. They had a baby, Gracie May, but the baby and Robert both died of tuberculosis within a couple years.

William and Mary (Rightnowar) Allison lived most of their lives on Dickens Valley, near Ellington, Reynolds County, Missouri. Their farm is still in the hands of family; it is owned by their granddaughter, Irene (Allison) Warren.

William Allison died 24 January 1928 at Brandon Hospital in Poplar Bluff, Butler County, Missouri. He died from a gunshot wound he received the day before, during an altercation with a neighbor, Ephriam Baker. William Allison and his son Jesse were doing road work in exchange for their poll taxes. While getting gravel from a creek bed that ran between the Allison and Baker farms, Ephriam Baker appeared and accused them of trespassing.

Ephriam Baker shot William Allison in the stomach and his son Jesse in the shoulder. Jesse Allison beat Ephriam Baker with a shovel until his father stopped him, saying "He isn't worth your soul, son." They returned home, but William Allison walked to the barn to put his tools away before going to the house to lie down. The doctor arrived and had him taken to the hospital in Poplar Bluff, but the doctors there said he would not survive an operation. He died the next day.

Mary (Rightnowar) Allison died 17 October 1929 at Missouri Baptist Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, following an operation for cancer. She and William are both buried in the Ellington City Cemetery in Reynolds County, Missouri.

They were the parents of two children:

(1)Jesse James Allison   was born 17 December 1891 near Ellington, Reynolds County, Missouri. He was married to Pearl Raines and Ruth Catherine Smith.

(2) Mamie Irene Allison   was born 18 November 1900 near Ellington, Reynolds County, Missouri. She was married William Henry Ellis.

REFERENCES:

Obituary of Mary (Rightnowar) Allison.  THE ELLINGTON PRESS, Ellington, Reynolds Co. MO, October 24, 1929.

Obituary of William Gustopher Allison. THE ELLINGTON PRESS, Ellington, Reynolds Co. MO, February 2, 1928.

"One Man Killed, Two Seriously Injured In Fight,"   THE ELLINGTON PRESS, Ellington, Reynolds Co. MO, January 26, 1928.

William Allison Fatally Shot. THE BISMARCK GAZETTE, Bismarck, St. Francois Co. MO, Fri. Feb. 3, 1928.

Death Certificate of William Gustopher Allison. Missouri State Board of Health.

Death Certificate of Mary (Rightnowar) Allison. Missouri State Board of Health.

Gravestone of William and Mary (Rightnowar) Allison. Ellington City Cemetery, Ellington, Reynolds Co. MO.

1880 U.S. Census record of William Allison. Reynolds Co. MO, Webb. Twp., Page 21.

1900 U.S. Census record of William and Mary (Rightnowar) Allison. Reynolds Co. MO, South 1/2 Logan Twp., 5 June 1900.

1910 U.S. Census record of William and Mary (Rightnowar) Allison. Reynolds Co. MO, part of Logan Twp., Dwelling No. 109, Family No. 109.

Family Information.

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