William B. Sappington House - Arrow Rock, Missouri - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

From   Missouri - A Guide to the "Show Me" State - Tour 1 - Arrow Rock section:

South of the cemetery is the WILLIAM B. SAPPINGTON HOUSE (open by arrangement), 3.7 m. (L), a red-brick mansion with a two-story portico. Built in 1844 by a son of Dr. John Sappington, it is an important example of Classic-Revival architecture in Missouri. Dr. John Sappington, who lived here with his son during the closing years of his life, came to Missouri from Tennessee about 1817. He early experimented with quinine, then little used, as a treatment for malaria, the most common of frontier diseases, and his "Sappington anti-fever pills" achieved a national sale. He wrote a vigorous book on The Theory and Treatment of Fevers, published at Arrow Rock in 1844, and considered by medical authorities an important contribution to American medicine. The doctor s activities also included Western trading ventures, large-scale farming, and politics. He was the father-in-law of Meredith Miles Marmaduke, governor of Missouri in 1844, and of Claiborne Fox Jackson, governor 1860-62, and the grandfather of John S. Marmaduke, governor 1884-87. He was also the great-great-great grandfather of the Hollywood actress, Ginger Rogers.

According to legend, Dr. Sappington purchased his coffin several years before his death and kept it under his bed, with apples and nuts in it for his visiting grandchildren. It is also said that when Claiborne F. Jackson, twice married to Sappington girls, asked the doctor for the hand of his third daughter, the doctor replied: "You can take her, but don't come back after the old woman."

The house is a private house and is well maintained.  The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and can be visited by appointment only.

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