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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Jefferson 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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John D. Crockett, book-keeper and manager of Col. John M. Gracie’s cotton plantation in Bogy Township, Jefferson County, was born in Arkansas County, near Crockett’s Bluffs, on the White River, on August 1, 1858 and is a son of David and Nancy Crockett. The father was a very successful farmer during his life, but a considerable loser by the Civil War. At the time of his death, he had not succeeded in recovering much of his fortune, and was in only comparatively easy circumstances. He was prominent in Masonic circles and a noted Democratic politician, his favor being sought for by hundreds of men during his life time. Two years of his life he gave to the South in serving through the war, and his deeds on the field of battle were brave and many. He was a son of William Crockett, whose father was the celebrated Davy Crockett, of historical fame. The mother of John D. was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and by her marriage became the mother of five children, of whom John is the only one now living. After his father’s death, John D. went to reside with an uncle, with whom he remained for two years, but at the end of that time he started out in the world for himself, and has acted as salesman in the towns of Swan Lake, Dardanelle, Pendleton, Sarassa and his present location. He entered the employ of Col. John M. Gracie in 1882 as salesman and book-keeper, and so well has he repaid the confidence and trust reposed in him, that now he has charge not only of the Colonel’s mercantile affairs, but also of his plantation, which consists of 2,400 acres under cultivation. He is an expert book-keeper, a shrewd business man and a competent manager, and bids fair to become one of the most prominent men in Central Arkansas in the near future. On February 27, 1883, he was married to Miss Mary D. Field, a daughter of Silas Field, of Little Rock, by whom he has had one child, James D. Mrs. Crockett is a member of the Episcopal Church. Mr. Crockett is one of the two Crocketts who went to the 103d anniversary of the birth, of Davy Crockett, at Limestone, East Tenn., on August 17, 1889. The other Crockett was Robert H., a prominent attorney of Stuttgart, Ark., and a grandson of Davy Crockett. The latter gentleman was a colonel in the Confederate army during the Civil War, and won an illustrious name for courage and daring.

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This family biography is one of 136 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Jefferson County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Jefferson County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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