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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Clark 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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Capt. John B. Cloud from his earliest youth has applied himself with industry, perseverance and energy to the calling of a farmer, and is now one of the leading stock men and agriculturists of the county. He is a native of the "Blue Grass State," born in Logan County in November, 1836, his parents, John B. and Elizabeth (Rutherford) Cloud, being also born there, the former in 1807 and the latter in 1809. John B. Cloud was a tiller of the soil and filled the positions of sheriff and deputy sheriff for some years. He and his wife were members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and their respective deaths occurred in August, 1840, and May 10, 1889. Daniel Cloud, the grandfather, was a Scotchman, who came to the United States when a young man, married and spent the rest of his life in Logan County, Ky., and here followed the occupation of farming. He served in one of the early Indian wars. He was accompanied to this country by two brothers who settled in Virginia and North Carolina, respectively. Stephen Rutherford, the mother's father, was born, reared and married in Rutherford County, Tenn., and from there went to Logan County, Ky., where he spent the rest of his life, becoming a prominent and wealthy stock man. Mrs. Elizabeth (Rutherford) Cloud became the mother of five sons and three daughters by Mr. Cloud, of whom the subject of this sketch is the sixth, but after the death of her husband she married again, her second union resulting in the birth of two children. The early life of Capt. John B. Cloud was marked by hard labor upon a farm, but he was so fortunate as to acquire a good common-school education. In 1854 he came with a brother to Pike County, Ark., and here, on the 28th of August, two years later, his marriage to Amanda, a daughter of Rev. Elijah and Elizabeth Kelly, took place. The father was born in Alabama, and when a boy was taken by his parents to Illinois, and in 1815, when fifteen years of age, came with them to what is now Pike County, and in the southwest part of this State his marriage occurred. From that time until his death in 1884 he made his home in Pike County, becoming a prominent and well-known citizen. He was a member of the first constitutional convention of Arkansas, in 1856-58, represented Pike County in the General Assembly of Arkansas, and afterward filled the honorable and responsible position of county judge. He was a minister of the Christian Church for over sixty years, and throughout life endeavored to practice what he preached, and was an earnest follower of the Golden Rule. His wife's demise occurred in 1837. Their daughter, Mrs. Cloud, was born in Pike County, and her union with Mr. Cloud resulted in the birth of seven children, two sons and four daughters of whom are living. Mr. Cloud joined Company H, Sixteenth Arkansas Infantry, C. S. A., in 1861, and in the month of April, 1862, was made captain of his company, a position he held until the close of the war, and took part in the engagements at Pea Ridge, Corinth, Farmington, Iuka, and Port Hudson, besides numerous skirmishes. He was captured at Port Hudson and was imprisoned at Johnson's Island, Ohio, for nine months, but was exchanged in March, 1864, and returned home. He soon after joined the Trans Mississippi Department, after which his operations were confined to the State of Arkansas. In the fall of 1865 he came to Clark County, and has since been engaged in farming in the vicinity of Okolona. He has given much attention to raising fine stock, and is especially interested in the purchase and sale of mules. Mr. Cloud started in life a poor boy, but through his own exertions has placed himself in his present position. He is a Democrat in politics, his first Presidential vote being cast for Breckenridge in 1860, and socially he has been a member of the A. F. & A.. M. since 1859, but now belongs to Robert Morris Lodge No. 106, of Okolona. In this order he has attained to the Chapter and Council degrees at Gurdon. He and five of his children are members of the Christian Church, his wife having also been a member for a number of years prior to her death, which took place May 10, 1885.

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This family biography is one of 99 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Clark County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Clark County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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