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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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W. D. Anthony, merchant at Humphrey, Ark., has been long and favorably identified with the social and business life of Jefferson County, and is one of its most enterprising citizens. Aside from his mercantile pursuits, at which he has been very successful, he is the owner of about 1,000 acres of land, with twenty acres under cultivation. He was born in St. Charles County, Mo., on January 6, 1835, and is the son of P. L Anthony, whose birth occurred in Richmond, Va., in 1810. His father was educated in his native State, and in 1832 moved to Missouri, where he met and married Miss Olive Boone the same year. She was a Kentuckian by birth, and her marriage resulted in the birth of three children, two sons and one daughter, W. D. Anthony being the only one now living. The father followed farming, and in connection kept hotel, running the Anthony Hotel (from whom it took its name) at Little Rock for some years. He died at Lonoke, Ark., in 1879. W. D. Anthony was educated near Brownsville, Tenn., and was there wedded to Miss Elizabeth Crist, a native of North Carolina, and the daughter of Rudolph and Miranda Crist. To Mr. and Mrs. Anthony were born three children, one son and two daughters, all living; two residing in this county and one in North Carolina. The mother of these children died March 15, 1874, and Mr. Anthony took for his second wife Miss Bettie Montgomery, whom he wedded on May 28, 1885. Her death occurred on March 8, 1888, and Mr. Anthony then married Mrs. Maggie Graham, June 20, 1888. She was the daughter of David and Mary Wood. Mr. Anthony keeps a good stock of general merchandise and has a thriving trade. He is the postmaster at Humphrey, having filled that position for about five years, and also held the position of county surveyor for about two years of Lonoke County, Ark., where he formerly lived. In 1861 he enlisted under Gen. Ben McCullough, and his first hard fight was at Wilson’s Creek. He was wounded in the right breast and was discharged at Jacksonport, Ark., in 1865. After returning home he worked on a railroad for some time, as bridge carpenter. Mrs. Anthony is a Methodist.

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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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