Elizabeth Linville (~1842->1871)

Elizabeth A. Linville was born about 1842 in Callaway County, Missouri, as the first child of Archilles James Linville and Martha Jane Wren. She had two siblings, namely: Martha Jane, and Lewis Harrison. We don’t know her exact birth date. Callaway County didn’t record births back then. When she was really little, she, her sister, and her parents lived with her aunt Elizabeth. Elizabeth was likely named after this aunt, a sister to her father. Later, her dad had his own small farm for a while, and she grew up there.

When she was 18, she married Samual Christopher McCall, son of Peter Holland McCall and Zilpha Hodges, on 13 Dec 1860 in Callaway, Missouri.

Samual Christopher McCall and Elizabeth A. Linville had the following children:

1. Anna C. McCall was born in Dec 1861 in Missouri.
2. Zelpha Lou McCall was born in Jul 1866 in Missouri. She died in 1900 in Auxvasse, Callaway, Missouri. She married John Thomas Estes on 27 Dec 1883 in Portland, Callaway, Missouri.
3. Mary Mildred McCall was born on 04 Mar 1868 in Missouri. She died on 06 Apr 1911 in Fulton, Callaway, Missouri.
4. James M. McCall was born in 1871 in Missouri.

Shortly after Elizabeth and Samual married and started their family, the Civil War broke out. They lived in Callaway County which was much more supportive of the Confederacy than the Union. Elizabeth’s husband, Samual, went off to fight in the war for a while. By the time of the 1870 Federal Census, the war was over and her husband was back at home. The family did not own any land. Samual worked as a tenant farmer and Elizabeth occupation was keeping house.

The 1870 Federal Census is the last record we have of Elizabeth. She gave birth to a son in about 1871 and was deceased by the time of the 1876 Missouri Census. Did she die in childbirth delivering her son? Did she die of a then common illness such as scarlet fever or diphtheria? Did the Missouri River bottom lands, where they lived, overflow causing an outbreak of cerebro spinal meningitis? We don’t know.  But for whatever reason,  Elizabeth Linville McCall died between 1871–1876 in Callaway, Missouri. She was, at most, 29-years old.

Where is she in the tree?

Selected Sources:

History of Callaway County, Missouri (St. Louis, Mo.: National Historical Company, 1884), Chapter XXV, pages 483 and 484 (http://cdm16795.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16795coll5/id/1418/rec/10 : accessed 18 Mar 2018).

Where do I learn more?

The McCall Family – An American Family Since 1776: From Southern Roots to Modern Branches

• Publication Date: March 2026
• Pages: 800
• Formats:
  • Hard cover
  • Paperback
  • Digital (PDF)
  • Hard cover for Global Distribution (this version is intended for Book Sellers and Libraries and includes an ISBN number) – COMING SOON

The McCall Family – – An American Family Since 1776: From Southern Roots to Modern Branches traces the history of the McCall family from their arrival in America during the Revolutionary era through generations who lived, worked, and raised families across the American South and beyond.

Drawing on census records, land and probate documents, military service files, local histories, and other primary sources, this volume brings together biographical sketches, family connections, and historical context to present a fuller picture of their lives. From Franklin County, Virginia, to Burke County, North Carolina, and Callaway County, Missouri, the story follows the family’s migration, settlement, and growth across changing landscapes and generations.

As descendants moved westward and outward, the McCall family became part of the broader American story — shaped by southern roots, frontier expansion, war, hardship, and opportunity. Thousands of descendants are identified, documented, and connected within these pages, creating both a narrative family history and a carefully organized genealogical reference.

Designed for descendants, genealogists, local historians, and libraries, this work preserves names, relationships, and historical context for present and future generations. It stands as both a readable family narrative and a substantial reference volume — a lasting record of the McCall family story.