When Elbert Best was born on 27 March 1836, in Macoupin, Illinois, United States, his father, Joseph Best, was 42 and his mother, Laury Sinclair, was 31. He married Angelica Walker on 9 October 1856, in Carlinville, Macoupin, Illinois, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 sons. He lived in Huggins Township, Gentry, Missouri, United States in 1880. He died on 25 January 1909, in Bogle Township, Gentry, Missouri, United States, at the age of 72, and was buried in Albany, Gentry, Missouri, United States.
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Historical Boundaries: 1845: Gentry, Missouri, United States
U.S. acquires vast tracts of Mexican territory in wake of Mexican War including California and New Mexico.
William Rand opened a small printing shop in Chicago. Doing most of the work himself for the first two years he decided to hire some help. Rand Hired Andrew McNally, an Irish Immigrant, to work in his shop. After doing business with the Chicago Tribune, Rand and McNally were hired to run the Tribune's entire printing operation. Years later, Rand and McNally established Rand McNally & Co after purchasing the Tribune's printing business. They focused mainly on printing tickets, complete railroad guides and timetables for the booming railroad industry around the city. What made the company successful was the detailed maps of roadways, along with directions to certain places. Rand McNally was the first major map publisher to embrace a system of numbered highways and erected many of the roadside highway signs that have been adopted by state and federal highway authorities. The company is still making and updating the world maps that are looked at every day.
English and northern Irish: nickname from Middle English best(e) (Old English betst) ‘best, finest (person)’.
English, northern Irish, and French: nickname from Middle English best(e), Old French beste ‘beast, animal’ (especially those used for food or work), applied either as a metonymic occupational name for someone who looked after beasts, such as a herdsman, or as a nickname for someone thought to resemble an animal. Compare English Bester 1.
English: from a Middle English adverbial expression of the Best, but the meaning is unknown.
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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