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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lafayette 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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Thomas W. Butler, farmer and stock-raiser, Mars Hill. The subject of this sketch needs no introduction to the people of Lafayette County, Ark., for he is one of the most esteemed and successful agriculturists of the same, and is one whose honesty and uprightness have never been questioned. He is a native of Alabama, born in 1845. His father, John C. Butler, was born in Orangeburg District, S. C, May 6, 1818, and there grew to maturity, but when about grown he moved to Alabama, and there, November 22, 1844, he was married to Miss Eliza M. Cato, a native of Florida, born January 9, 1829. Shortly after his marriage he came to Arkansas, first locating in Ouachita County, but after one year spent there he came to Lafayette County, which continued to be his home until his death. At the time of his settlement here, his farm was entirely in the woods, and there were very few inhabitants, there being but one neighbor within twelve miles, but he cleared his farm and tilled it very successfully for a number of years. He departed this life January 4, 1873, leaving a widow who survived until April 16, 1876. He was of English descent, his father being Thomas Butler, a native of South Carolina, and his father came from England. Thomas W. Butler is the eldest of four children, but two of whom are now living, born to his parents. He was brought to this county in his sixth year, and in its common schools he obtained a very fair education. He remained on the farm with his parents until 1863, and then enlisted in Company K, Fifteenth Arkansas Regiment of Infantry, in which he served until the close of the war. After the surrender he returned to his home, and remained with his parents until his marriage, clerking in a dry goods store. In 1873 he was married to Miss Almedia B. Hall, a native of Mississippi, and they became the parents of five children: Rupert (born October 25, 1877), Fordyce (born May 15, 1880), Arthur (born February 22, 1882), Blanche (born September 11, 1884) and Perry (born May 26, 1888). From March, 1881, until 1886 he was engaged in the mercantile business at Forrest Grove, but since that time he has been occupied in farming. He owns a splendid farm lying about ten miles south of Lewisville, comprising some 160 acres, and eighty acres of this are under a high state of cultivation. Besides this he owns other land, all told about 600 acres. He is a very public spirited gentleman, and aids with his support and encouragement all worthy public enterprises.

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This family biography is one of 44 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lafayette County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Lafayette County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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