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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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Hon. J. Dunagin, a minister of the Missionary Baptist Church, of Benton County, Ark., was born in Georgia in 1825, and is a son of Hiram and Mary (Rush) Dunagin, both of whom were Georgians, born in 1800 and 1803, respectively. The father died in Missouri in 1844, while on the way to Arkansas, and his widow came on to this State with her family, and after living in Benton County for about six years she went to Texas, where she died in 1882. Hon. J. Dunagin is the third of her eleven children, and until nineteen years of age he was a resident of Georgia. At that time he came to Arkansas with his mother, and, as he was the oldest of the family, the duty of caring for his mother and brothers and sisters fell mainly on his shoulders. He was of a very studious turn of mind, and, although the educational advantages of that day were of the very poorest kind and his labors quite heavy, he succeeded in obtaining a practical education. On the 4th of July, 1847, he was united in marriage to Miss Susan Caveness, a native of Tennessee, whose parents came to Arkansas while it was still a territory. She was born in 1830, and became the mother of nine children: Sarah (wife of Thomas Stokes), Rebecca (wife of J. Tuck), John R., Amanda (wife of F. M. Seamster), Minerva (wife of Dr. J. W. Underwood), Mary T. (wife of Thomas Threet), W. D., Mattie and Robert. Mr. Dunagin became a member of the church the year before he was married, and soon after began preaching, being ordained in 1849. He has been actively engaged in ministerial work up to the present time, with the exception of two years, which were spent in trying to regain his failing health. He is now the regular pastor at Rogers and Pleasant Hill Churches. He is still a devoted student, and spends much of his time in his library. He was a member of the State Legislature for nine years, and was a member of that body when the question of secession came up, and strenuously opposed that measure, and is a Democrat. He owns a good farm on the watershed of the Ozark Mountains.

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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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