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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Nevada 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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John W. Wilson, one of the leading planters of Boughton Township, was born in Newberry District, S. C, on October 4, 1839. His parents, George L. and Sarah (Davenport) Wilson, were natives of South Carolina and were married in that State, and have had twelve children, viz.: John W., Mary L. (Mrs. John Hartsfield, of Hill County, Tex.), Louisa A. (the widow of John B. Barber, now living in Clark County), Eliza E. (the widow of William Hoffman), and eight children who are now dead. The family moved from South Carolina to Mississippi in 1855, where they lived for four years, at which time they located in Arkansas in Pike County. The parents were members of the Baptist Church; the father died in 1881, the mother in 1887. John, the subject of this sketch, moved with his parents and married Miss Louisa Nolen, of Pike County, in 1865, to them have been born five children, of whom Sarah E., James M., John W. and William A. are living. June 13, 1878, Mrs. Wilson, nee Nolen, died. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and passed away peacefully and quietly as only faithful Christians die. Mr. Wilson married for his second wife, Mrs. Mattie Newton, widow of John Newton. Of their five children four are now living, viz.: John R., William J., Martha I. and Nora A. Mr. Wilson enlisted in 1861; was at the battle of Chickamauga, and all the principle battles; was captured at the battle of Arkansas Post, and carried to Camp Douglas, where he was kept a prisoner five months, but after his release returned to his old company, serving until the end of the war, after which he once more joined his family and devoted his attention to tilling the soil. His estate is in an excellent state of cultivation.

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This family biography is one of 96 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Nevada County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Nevada County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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