Kirby;

Always interesting where historical trails lead! White was clearly the leading trader or dare I say "broker" for Howard county and the 2 references I tracked down really are referring to 5 or 7 counties both referring to "Little Dixie" which of course has had its own definitional discussion on this board. He enjoyed owning good horse flesh having owned several top mares and judged horses and mules throughout central Missouri fairs.

As to biggest slave trader by volume state wide that may go to Doy in St Louis or Burch in Kansas City but I didn't really mean to side track the conversation away from building an idea of J R White's role in the county and surrounding area. Further digging let me find out he was a director of the state bank in Glasgow and was playing some sort of role in a bank in Fayette, what, I don't know yet. Important because both these banks were part of the southern money handling schemes in 1861 to pull state funds from Jeff City control. I know you are familiar with the money side of the war in Missouri. Its worth 2 or 3 books on its own! But I digress.

I mentioned James White of Louisiana another well known slave trader in that state. Turns out James S White was another of John R Whites son's and ran a slave pen at New Orleans and shipped slaves to daddy in mid Missouri. James' reputation took a hit when he and others were sued over a white slavery case.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2567914
Gist is a white orphan showed up in his pen. I am working on tracking Patrick "Sandy" McCane down as there are several possibilities and I am certain James White sent employees/guards from Louisiana with the slaves when shipping north.

Name of Deceased: Mr. Jas. S. White
Newspaper: Glasgow Weekly Times (Glasgow, Mo.) Thursday,
Date: March 10, 1859

Obit: Citizens of Howard Dead.--Mr. Jas. S. White, son of John R. White, of this county, died in New Orleans, on the 19th utimo.

JR White's slave journals ended up at MO Historical Society and are housed at Columbia. Several hundred pages as I understand. If only time would allow I wonder if we might find our man McCane there.