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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Columbia 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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Frank Amsted Key, the genial ticket agent and operator at Waldo, also the agent for the Southern Express Company, was born in Louisiana, in 1860, and is the son of William Key, and the grandson of Basil Key, who was a native of Alabama. The father was born in Mississippi, about 1837, and died in Louisiana, about 1866. He followed book-keeping for several years, also served as deputy sheriff for some time, and was a prominent citizen. He married Miss Julia McCarty, a native of Alabama, who was reared in Shreveport, La., and who now resides near Texarkana, Ark. Three children were born to this union—two sons and a daughter—all living. Frank Amsted Key remained in Louisiana until about twenty years of age, and his schooling up to that time was limited. He came to Miller County, Ark., in 1880, and one year later started to school at Fayetteville, where he remained eight months. He then returned to Louisiana, and worked on the construction of the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railroad. Soon after he was made assistant agent at Arcadia, and in September, 1884, he was put in charge of the ticket office at Calhoun, near Monroe, La. He was afterward transferred to Gibbs’ Station, and thence to what is now Sibley, all on the Vicksburg, Shreveport & Pacific Railroad. In 1886 he came back to Arkansas, and was employed by the St. Louis, Arkansas & Pacific Railroad Company being stationed at Cameron Mills. He was afterward transferred to Kedron, where he remained until 1887, when he was sent to Waldo, and here he has since resided. In 1888 he was married to Miss Lela Burnett, a native of Louisiana, and one child is the result of this marriage. He and wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. He affiliates with the Democratic party in his political views, and cast his first presidential vote for Grover Cleveland.

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This family biography is one of 106 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Columbia County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Columbia County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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