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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Hempstead 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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Benjamin P. Sandefur, planter, Noland Township. Although Mr. Sandefur is a comparatively young man, he is one of the foremost agriculturists of the county, and as a farmer he has a reputation that might well be envied by many an older man. He was born in Little River County, Ark., on October 4, 1852, being a son of Patrick and Mary (Mallow) Sandefur, the former a native of Alabama, born in 1830, and the latter also of Alabama, born in 1827. They were wedded in Little River County, Ark., and there reared the children that were given to them. Of their twelve children— seven sons and five daughters—but ten are now living, and they are Benjamin P. (our subject), Patrick W., Henry M., Leon E., William, Sarah E. (wife of Samuel McNeeley, a well-to-do farmer of Little River County), Mariah F. (wife of Richard Chayter, a prominent merchant of Richmond, Ark.), Dady (wife of Hinemon Head, a leading lawyer of Richmond, Ark.), and Lilly B. The father was born and reared on a farm, and has followed that occupation all his life. Both he and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and have been identified with that body for a number of years. During the late war, the father enlisted in the Confederate cause in 1862, and served until the close of the contest. On February 2, 1875, Benjamin P. Sandefur, the immediate subject of this sketch, was joined in matrimony to Miss Mary E. Peyton, a daughter of James and Clarinda (Beaty) Peyton, a native of Hempstead County, Ark., born in 1855, and six children—four sons and two daughters—have been given to them, namely: Ida O., James P., William B., Benjamin L., Leroy P. and May B. Mrs. Sandefur is a member of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. Sandefur owns a farm of 126 acres of valuable land, which he cultivates, his principal crop being corn and cotton. In his political views he affiliates with the Democratic party.

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This family biography is one of 131 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Hempstead County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Hempstead County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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