A man named John Isbell was the owner of the whiskey distillery at Jollification MO (Newton County)before the Civil War. He lost the mill in a foreclosure just after the war, but was still running it in the 1870 census. He moved to California in late 1880 or early 1881.

The roster for Company B of the 6th MO Cavalry CSA reads like a census list for the Jolly area. Also the Robert Cowan listed as an assistant surgeon under field & staff officers was probably from there. I've often wondered if the John Isbell listed in Company D was the man from Jolly.

See the link for more on the John Isbell at Jolly.