My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Benton County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  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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David Adams. Prominent among the progressive and successful farmers of Benton County, Ark., maybe mentioned Mr. Adams, who was born and reared in Coles County, Ill., and came to Arkansas in 1886, purchasing the farm of 550 acres on which he now lives. Three hundred acres of the land are situated in the Osage Valley, and his residence is pleasantly situated on a high hill. He was born June 26, 1849, and his first presidential vote was cast for Gen. Grant, who was then running for his second term. He is a member of the I.O.O.F., and May, 1878, was married to Miss Hannah Harris, who was born and reared in Illinois. Their union has been blessed in the birth of three children: Grace, Jefferson and Fannie, Mr. Adams is a son of John J, and Nancy C. (Dryden) Adams, who were of English descent, and came from Tennessee to Illinois in 1880, assisting in the early settlement of that State. The father was a soldier in the Black Hawk and Mexican wars and the Civil War, and died in 1878. He was first married to Martha Gammil, by whom he had seven children: William E. (deceased), Elizabeth, wife of Rufus Brown; Eliza, wife of Dr. Reel, of Oakland, Ill.; Martha, wife of Thomas West; Margaret, wife of John Grimes, and John, who died during the late war, at Pocahontas, Ark. After the mother’s death the father married Nancy C. Dryden, who became the mother of one child, David.

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This family biography is one of 240 biographies included in The History of Benton County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Benton County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Benton County, Arkansas family biographies, click here

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