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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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Thomas P. Blackwell, assessor of the county, and one of its successful farmers and planters, is a native of Georgia, having been born in Elhert County, November 17, 1825. His father, Hon. Joseph Blackwell, was a farmer by occupation, and served several terms in the State legislature, both in the lower house and senate. He participated in the Indian War in 1815, as lieutenant, and died in 1851 in his native county. His wife was Elizabeth McGhee, of the same county as himself; her death occurred in 1868 or 1869. They were both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In their family were seventeen children, only six of whom are now living. Thomas P., the sixth of this number, lived at home with his parents till his father’s death, and, in 1852, he married Miss Zabiah Pruitt, of Franklin, Ga. There he located, following his marriage, and remained till January 18, 1858, when with his family he moved to Arkansas. Mrs. Blackwell having died in 1855, leaving one child, Robert, he subsequently married Miss Kesiah Bond, of Franklin County, Ga. She died in Arkansas in 1868, there having been by this marriage three children: Adelizza (wife of B. A. Dockery, of Dallas, Texas), Anna (wife of B. P. Julian, of Pine Bluff), and Nicholas T. (in the newspaper business in Dallas, Texas). In 1870 Mr. Blackwell married his present wife, Mrs. Ada Logan, nee Griffin, of Tennessee, who has borne him three children: Mary, George and Lucy, all at home. On coming to Arkansas, Mr. Blackwell located in what is now Cleveland County, on a farm which was partly cultivated. After remaining till 1873 he removed to his present home, a place well under cultivation, and devoted to the raising of cattle, corn and cotton, for which it seems peculiarly adapted. In January, 1862, he enlisted in the Confederate army in Company C, Ninth Arkansas Regiment, and served for eight months, when he was discharged, later entering the Trans-Mississippi army, which surrendered at Marshall, Texas. Mr. Blackwell’s admirable fitness for the position and the universal favor with which he has ever been regarded by the people of this section, led to his election as county assessor in 1884,and he was made his own successor in 1888, also assisting Capt. Benton when he held the office. He has been school director, in which position he was very active, and has served as justice of the peace of his township. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, of which he is elder. His wife also belongs to that church. Mr. Blackwell is a faithful public officer, and has demonstrated his ability to discharge official duties in a manner above reproach.

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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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