My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography from the book,  The History of Crawford 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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Dr. L. J. Wilson, practicing physician and surgeon of Alma, was born in Lincoln County, Tenn., in 1836, and is a son of James and Elizabeth J. (Bourdon) Wilson, natives of Dinwiddie County, Va., born in 1791 and 1794, respectively. They were married in the same county, and then went to Maury County, Tenn., later settling in Lincoln County. When our subject was five years old they went to Marshall County, Miss., where the father died in 1871, and the mother in 1862. Mr. Wilson was a farmer, and served a short time in the War of 1812. His father, Robert, came to America from England at an early day. Dr. Wilson is the ninth of a family of ten children, and although his youth was passed upon a farm he received a good academic education. At the age of eighteen he began to read medicine, and graduated from the Jefferson Medical College, at Philadelphia, in 1859, which was then the foremost medical institute in the United States. Having practiced to some extent in the meantime, he immediately began to practice in De Soto County, Miss., but upon the breaking out of the war raised Company G, First Mississippi Regiment, and served as first lieutenant until captured at Fort Donelson; a week later he made his escape, and returning home organized Company D, Second Mississippi Volunteer Infantry, and thereupon went to Virginia, serving as first assistant surgeon until the close of the war in the Army of Northern Virginia. After the surrender at Appomattox he resumed his practice in Tate County, Miss., and in 1883 removed to Alma, Ark., where he now enjoys a liberal patronage. In 1860 he married Elizabeth C. Skipwith, of Memphis, Tenn., great-granddaughter of Gen. Nathaniel Green. Her father, Gray Skipwith, was for many years a prominent physician of Jackson, Miss., and there died of yellow fever. He was for many years a lieutenant in the United States Navy. Dr. Wilson has had seven children, three of whom are living. In politics he is a Democrat, and he cast his first presidential vote for Bell in 1860. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and himself and wife belong to the Presbyterian Church.

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This family biography is one of 222 biographies included in The History of Crawford County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Crawford County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Crawford County, Arkansas family biographies here: Crawford County, Arkansas

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