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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lee 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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Robert E. Hale is a direct descendant of the celebrated Chief Justice Matthew Hale of England. His parents, Richard C. and Driscilla (Mathews) Hale, were natives of Bedford County, Va. The former was born in 1798 and when a young man moved to Alabama, and afterward to Hardin County, Tenn., where he remained about ten years, then going to Pulaski County, Ill. This was the home of himself and wife until their death, Mr. Hale dying in 1848 and Mrs. Hale in 1884, at the age of ninety years. He started in life as a brick mason, but during the latter years of his career became a prominent contractor and builder, and was an influential man in Pulaski County, Ill., taking an active part in local politics. During the last four years of his life he held the office of probate judge. He was a son of Richard Hale, whose birth occurred in Virginia shortly before the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Hale was a daughter of Joseph Cromwell Mathews, formerly from South Carolina, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War when a young man. He was married in South Carolina to Miss Penina Crisp, afterward removing to Alabama, then to the States of Tennessee, Kentucky and finally back to Texas in 1835, where they remained until their deaths, which occurred in the year 1858 at the ages of ninety-two and ninety-four years, respectively. Both were members of the Christian Church, in which they took an active part. The Mathews family trace their lineage back to Oliver Cromwell, who was one of the early ancestors of the family. The principal of this sketch was born in Lauderdale County, Ala., in 1824, being the third of three sons and three daughters. He was married in Pulaski County, Ill., in 1848, to Miss Susan J. Hawpe, a daughter of Judge George Hawpe. She was born in Hall County, Ga., in 1830. Mr. and Mrs. Hale became the parents of twelve children, four of whom are still living: James G., Lillian C., Joseph O. and William M. Mr. Hale made Illinois his home until 1855, when he came to Arkansas and located in that portion of Phillips County, which is now included in Lee County. For some years after his advent he carried on the mercantile and lumber business at Jeffersonville. The Mexican War breaking out a few years before his marriage, he enlisted in Company B of the Second Illinois Infantry, in which he served as sergeant, having command of his company at the battle of Buena Vista. Upon the commencement of the Civil War he was commissioned captain, but did not enter the service. At the time of his removal from Pulaski County, Mr. Hale held the position of county treasurer, collector and assessor, and had been postmaster of Haleside for a number of years. Since locating here he has served as justice of the peace for a number of years. He is now the owner of over 1,000 acres of land, and has about 250 acres under cultivation, all made since his arrival in this county, when he had but $2.50. Mr. Hale is a member of the A. F. & A. M., but has not affiliated with the order for a number of years. He also belongs to the I. O. O. F., and he and wife are connected with the Christian Church, taking an active part in religious movements

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This family biography is one of 104 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lee County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Lee County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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