Welcome to the Givens and Splawn Families of Northern and Central Missouri! Many of these families were early Missouri Pioneers coming to the state when it was still the Territory of Missouri. The Givens family arrived between 1815-1820 coming from the states of Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, and the Splawn family arrived in 1816 from Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. They spread out into many counties in Missouri but landed first in the central part of the state and then moved into Northwest Missouri and beyond. Some members of the Missouri Splawn family headed west into Oregon and Washington and were early pioneers there as well. All Splawn families in Missouri in the early days of its history are closely related to each other either as siblings or cousins. The Givens family comes from two main branches. The first is the Alexander Givens family of Cooper Co., Mo.; the other is the Benjamin Givens family of Howard Co., Mo. Most, although not all, Givens families in Missouri before 1850 came from these two family branches. You will find many public records and genealogical and historical records here for these two families and related ones from the earliest of times in the state. You will also find personal family letters and Bible records passed down to me on these families that has good genealogical info in them. I also have done personal interviews over the years of the elder family members that I have taken notes on that will be shared. My goal has been to go as far back as possible in Mo. history to document information about these families, their activities, and their stories. I have traveled onsite to courthouses in several counties looking through many old and long-forgotten records over a 30 year span of time to document these families. I have traveled to many cemeteries across the state verifying published records. My goal is to share with you what I have found in order to help you trace your Givens or Splawn Missouri family--especially before 1850. I have tried to copy each document as accurately as possible--even those that were hard to read. If any editing was done, I have noted it for you. If you are tracing your family in Missouri before 1840, it is essential that you know what the parent counties are of the county in Missouri your family originally came from. For example, you will find a large number of Splawn families in Daviess Co., Mo. before 1840. But Daviess Co. was formed from Ray Co., Mo., and you will find many early records in that county for them as well before Daviess Co. was established. I always welcome any corrections from direct descendents of any of these families as you look over the information. Another goal of mine is to be as accurate as possible. So email me with any questions or comments or corrections. I hope this site proves helpful to you in your research. I am a direct descendent of both the Givens and Splawn families in Missouri.
ALLIED FAMILIES INCLUDED IN THIS WEBSITE:
Allen, Wooderson, McCrary, Creekmore, Doll, Roseberry, Calhoon, Calhoun, Graves, Helm or Helms, McFee or McAfee, Curtis, Castor, Lynch, Linville, Brassfield, McHaney, Cornelius, Goodwin, McMurtrey, Riggs, Culver, Orr
See my Splawn Family Tree and My Givens Family Tree on worldconnect.
Here are some of my favorite websites:
www.daviesscountyhistoricalsociety.com
www.sos.mo.gov/ (click on records and archives for digital death certificates, birth/death records, military records, naturalization records)