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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Ashley County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

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William T. Harris, merchant and planter, Poplar Bluff, Ark. Like the majority of the citizens of Ashley county, Mr. Harris was born in Alabama, his birth occurring March 12,1843, and is a son of S. L. and Mary J. (Hines) Harris, the father a native of South Carolina and the mother from Alabama. Of the family of five children born to this union two sons and a daughter are now living: S. L. (residing in this county) and Mrs. M. H. Brayg (residing in Hamburg and the widow of J. D. Brayg). The father died in 1848, and the mother at Poplar Bluff in 1883. The family came to Ashley County, Ark., in 1862, settled in Bastrop Township, and when seventeen years of age William T. enlisted in the first company of the Tappan regiment, and was in the battle at Belmont. On account of ill health he was discharged and again enlisted in the First Regiment Arkansas Volunteer Infantry under Capt. J. D. Bragg. He was in the battle of Prairie Grove, Helena, Jenkins’ Ferry, and was disbanded at Marshall, Tex. He made his way home, and was on the farm until the last year or so, when the present firm was organized. He is doing well in merchandising, and aside from this is the owner of 240 acres of land, and has 150 acres under cultivation. He raises cotton principally. Mr. Harris has been twice married, first, in 1862, to Miss J. L. Johnston, who bore him a son, Louis. Mrs. Harris died in 1879, and Mr. Harris took for his second wife, in 1882, Miss H. A. King. One child, Ellen, has been born. Mr. and Mrs. Harris are members of the Methodist Church, and he is a member of the K. of H. In politics he affiliates with the Democratic party.

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This family biography is one of 97 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Ashley County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Ashley County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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