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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pope County, Arkansas published by Southern Publishing Company in 1891.  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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George W. Johnstone. Nowhere in Pope County, Ark., is there to be found a man of more energy, determined will or force of character than Mr. Johnstone possesses, and no agriculturist is deserving of greater success in the conduct and management of a farm than he. He was born in the State of New York, April 12, 1844, to Samuel D. and Mary J. (Merchant) Johnstone, both of whom were born in England, the former’s birth occurring in 1801, and the latter’s in 1807. They were married in North Carolina, in 1830, and to them two sons and two daughters were born: Ruth A. (wife of Thomas Keiten), James H., Martha (deceased), and George W. The father emigrated with his family to Louisiana at an early day, and from there to Arkansas in entering 160 acres of land in Pulaski County, greatly increasing this amount in later years. He died on June 10, 1873, and his wife in 1846, a member of the Episcopal Church. On March 31, 1869, George W. Johnstone was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Mary V. Gargiss, by whom he became the father of one child, a daughter, Mary J., wife of Robert Laster, of the Cherokee Nation. The mother died March 27, 1870, an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Mr. Johnstone’s wife, to whom he was married October 6, 1878, was Mrs. Mary J. Clark, a native of Perry County, Ark., born March 1, 1849, a daughter of Reuben and Mary (Hancock) Neele. She was the widow of James Clark, whom she married in 1864, and by whom she became the mother of six children, two now living: Abie M. and William H. James, Anna, Sarah and Charles E. are deceased. Mr. Clark died on September 11, 1877. Mrs. Johnstone’s parents were born in Pennsylvania, and she is the only child born to their union. Her father died in 1849 and her mother in 1852. To her union with Mr. Johnstone, four children have been born: Maggie L., George A. (deceased), Nannie L. O. and Albert A. On March 14, 1864, Mr. Johnstone enlisted in the Federal Army, in the Third Regiment United States regular service, and was on duty for two years, at the end of which time he was discharged and returned home and engaged in farming. He afterward became surveyor for the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad Company for eleven years. He is the owner of 266 acres of land, 100 acres being under cultivation and excellently improved, the principal crops of which are corn, cotton and wheat. He is a member of Russellville Lodge No. 272, of the A. F. & A. M., also belongs to the relief association of that order and is a member of the G. A. R. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Josiah Clark and wife, parents of James Clark, Mrs. Johnstone’s first husband, moved from Pennsylvania to Pope County, Ark., at an early day, and in that county James Clark was born and died. By occupation he was a steamboat captain and pilot on the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers.

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This family biography is one of 96 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pope County, Arkansas published in 1891.  For the complete description, click here: Pope County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Pope County, Arkansas family biographies here: Pope County, Arkansas

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