Ring Notables and Anecdotes

This page contains information and stories related to all members of note of this Ring family line. If you find errors or omissions, or if you have related stories to share please send Email.

 Last Update: 30 May 2003

Dr. Thomas Jefferson  McCord (1843-1919) son of George William McCord and Charlotte Ring. Thomas was one of the most important factors in the industrial, commercial and financial growth of Stone County, as well as being a prominent physician of Galena, Stone County, Missouri for many years. When the Civil War began and he ran away from his home in Johnson County, Arkansas and went to Springfield, Missouri, where at the age of 17 he enlisted in the First Arkansas Union Infantry as a Hospital Steward. After the conflict was over he went to Ann Arbor, Michigan where he worked his way through college, continuing his studies until 1868 when he graduated. He went directly to Galena, Stone County, Missouri, where at one time he owned practically the entire town, having acquired the land on which the town is now located. He was a member of the Southwest Missouri Medical Association since its organization. At one time he owned 1,500 acres of valuable farm land in Stone County. On 8 Nov 1870 he was elected Clerk of the Circuit Court and County Court of Stone County. In 1889 he organized the Bank of Billings of which he was president for a number of years.

May A. Kennedy McCord (1880-1979) wife of Charles C. McCord. May developed her interest in preserving the heritage of the Ozarks and made quite a name for herself. In 1920 she sold a short story called "Buryin' in the Ozarks" to The Sample Case magazine, a national publication. That story led to a weekly newspaper column entitled "Hillbilly Heartbeats" which ran in the Springfield newspaper for eleven years. Her story "Partin' in Smoky Holler", published in the American Mercury, became required reading for literature classes at Columbia University. Her writing career led to radio. In the 1940s she began a popular radio show titled after her newspaper column, in St. Louis and eventually moved it to KWTO in Springfield. May told stories, read poetry, interviewed the occasional guest, and sang Ozarks folk songs for her listeners. She traveled the country telling stories and singing. May was dubbed First Lady of the Ozarks in a article published in the Midwest Motorist in August 1973. She recorded 100 ballads for the Library of Congress handed down from the Elizabethan era. May was a director of the National Folklore Federation and founded many folklore festivals. In 1950 she was named Missouri Mother of the Year, a unanimous selection from among the thirty nominees. May died February 1979 at the age of 98.