​Caroline (Boone) Berry was likely born into slavery in 1850 to Maria Boone. Berry family oral tradition tells that her father was a white man, either Nathan Boone or one of his sons. Caroline’s son stated that she was born in Polk County, Missouri, which suggests that she and her mother could have been slaves of Nathan Boone’s son James—the only slaveholder with that surname in the county. James Boone’s slaveholdings for 1860 included a 10 year-old "mulatto" female - perhaps this individual was Caroline. The first known written record of Caroline is the 1870 census, which records Caroline as 19 years old and living in St. Louis in the household of Ruben Boone, a man formerly enslaved by Nathan Boone. By 1872, Caroline had returned to southwest Missouri and was living in Cedar County. On November 24, 1872, she married William H. Berry of Greene County. In 1880, Caroline and William were living in Ash Grove with her mother and their young children. A year later, the couple bought their farm west of Ash Grove, although they may have been living on the property before that time. Caroline and William had seven children together before her death on September 8, 1914 at age 64 (Russell 2012).

Caroline Boone Berry ca. 1870s
​(Photo courtesy of thge Berrry Family)

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Grave Marker: The grave marker for Caroline Berry is a pulpit style marble monument with a two-part base. The upper base is made of marble and the lower base of limestone. Excluding the two-part base, the monument is 39 x 18 x 8 inches in size. The two-part base is 19 x 26 x 16 inches in size. By 2005, the upper portion of the monument had detached from the lower portion (right). In 2017, through a grant from the Phenix Marble Company, the upper part was re-set. The repaired marker (below) is now in relatively good condition.