My Genealogy Hound

John McNulty, house-builder and contractor of De Soto, was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1827, and is a son of Michael and Ann (Ball) McNulty. Michael McNulty, a carpenter by trade, was born in 1790, and died in 1838. His wife, who was born in 1800, came to America in 1850, and died in De Soto, Mo., in 1874. Of the four children born to them John was the youngest. He attended school only three or four years in his native country, but after coming to America supplemented his education by attending night school for nearly two years. When but eleven years of age he began an apprenticeship of seven years to the carpenter’s trade, becoming a skillful workman. He came to this country in 1848 followed his trade two years in New Orleans, and in 1850 located in Jefferson County, Mo., where he bought 140 acres, which he devoted to farming and stock-raising one year, then rented and removed to De Soto, where he resumed work at his trade. During the war he superintended the building of the Hillsboro courthouse, and afterward erected several buildings in that place. He also superintended the construction of the first fair grounds of De Soto, and many buildings in the town. Mr. McNulty is an industrious man and a good citizen, and one highly esteemed. He has speculated some in real estate, buying and selling farms and property in De Soto, and has usually met with success. In 1854 he married Miss Catherine Power, who was born in Waterford, Ireland, in 1829. To them were born four children: Bridget (wife of Lyman Parks), John, Frank and Mary Ann. Mrs. McNulty died in 1863, and in 1866 Mr. McNulty married Miss Bridget Burk, also a native of Ireland, who is the mother of two children: Joseph and Katie. The family are members of the Catholic Church.