The Rayfield
Family History

The narrative history,
chapter by chapter

This is the full narrative history of the family — not just names and dates, but context: what was happening in Missouri, what drove people to move, why decisions were made.

A note on the sources: family history rarely runs in a straight line. Where the records disagree — as they do, for example, on whether young Samuel Rayfield was born in Missouri or in Texas — each source is weighed by who was reporting and how close they stood to the event, and the evidence is noted where it lands. Everything here rests on primary records, cited throughout.

• IJohn Carter Rayfield Sr., 1816–1903
• IIThe Farmer’s Son — John Carter Rayfield Jr. & Nancy Ann Farris
• IIIBefore the County Had a Name — Lucian Nester Farris, 1820–1876
• IVFranklin & Myrtle Rayfield — A Partnership
• VUncle Billy — William John Lewis, 1834–1900
• VIThe Salesman from Des Arc — Absalom Robinson
• VIIThe Wagon Maker of Des Arc — John Wesley & Katie
• VIIIVernon and Opal Rayfield, 1909–1977 / 1911–2002