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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Drew 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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William C. Dickson, farmer, Nelson, Ark. There are a number of men prominently identified with the growth and prosperity of the county, but none among them is more deserving of praise for the interest they take in all laudable enterprises for the good of the same than the above-mentioned gentleman. He was born in Tipton County, Tenn., on August 30, 1851, and is the son of Samuel D. and Sarah I. (McQuiston) Dickson, natives of Tennessee and South Carolina, respectively. Samuel D. Dickson was born in 1813, and of Scotch-Irish descent. He came to this county in 1853, engaged in the saw-mill business, and during the late war was in the home guards. He was killed at his home in April, 1865, by Federal soldiers. [See sketch of Molton Dickson for further particulars of parents.] William C. Dickson was but two years of age when he came to this county, and he received his education in the common schools of the same. He began teaching at the age of twenty years, and then tilled the soil until 1882, when he engaged in contracting on the railroad in Arkansas and Louisiana for two years. In 1884 he engaged in the carpenter work, and has since continued the same in connection with farming and, blacksmithing, which he commenced in 1888. He bought his present farm of 120 acres in 1876, and now has about fifty acres under cultivation, his principal crop being cotton. He was married on January 27, 1876, to Miss Mattie M. Davis, a native of Fayette County, Miss., born September 1, 1856, and the daughter of Robert G. and Margaret (Nelson) Davis, natives of South Carolina and North Carolina, respectively. To Mr. and Mrs. Dickson were born five children— three now living: Christopher S. (deceased), Maggie Bell, Mabel, Mary G. (deceased) and Wilbur Davis. Mr. and Mrs. Dickson are members of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, and Mr. Dickson is a member of the Wheel. In politics he affiliates with the Democratic party.

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This family biography is one of 83 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Drew County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Drew County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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