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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Sevier 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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Alex. Luther, farmer and present clerk of Sevier County, was originally from Georgia, his birth occurring November 29, 1839, and is the son of Frederick and Jane (Bell) Luther, both natives of North Carolina. Frederick was the son of Solomon, and the father of the latter was a Revolutionary soldier. The Luther family is of German descent, and there is a strong probability that the family are descendants of the famous Martin Luther. Frederick Luther was among the early settlers of Carroll County, Ga., but moved to Arkansas in 1856, and there he and wife are now residing. They reared a family of eight children, seven of whom are living and reside in Arkansas. Alex. Luther resided in Georgia until nearly seventeen years of age, and then came with his father’s family to Arkansas. While in Georgia he attended the subscription schools, received a good knowledge of the common branches, and remained with his father until in July, 1861, when he enlisted in Company G, Twelfth Arkansas Infantry, Confederate Volunteers. Early in the war he was at Columbus, Ky., during the battle of Belmont, and after that came to New Madrid. He was captured at Island No. 10, and for five months enjoyed a resting spell at the expense of Uncle Sam in Camp Douglas, Ill. About 10,000 others enjoyed this privilege with him. He was exchanged at Vicksburg, Miss., in July, 1862, reorganized at Jackson, Miss., where he was elected orderly sergeant, and was in the siege of Port Hudson, La. He was captured and paroled at Port Hudson, returned home, but soon after was put into active service and served for about five months in the mounted infantry. He was then in the Mark’s Mill engagement, and as he was at home, sick, at the close of the war he consequently never surrendered. After the war Mr. Luther taught school several terms and also served as dry goods clerk in Lockesburg for some time. For the last ten or twelve years he has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. In 1886 he was elected clerk of the county and re-elected in 1888, and at this writing he is before the people for re-election as clerk. He has been twice married; first, to Miss Melissa J. Carlock in 1866, and one son was born to this union. About six years after marriage the mother and son both died. In 1876 he was married to Miss Mary E. Harrison, whose ancestors were originally from Mississippi, and three children were born to this union, only one now living: Lydia Belle, who is four years of age. Politically Mr. Luther is a Democrat, but is conservative, and socially he is a member of the Masonic fraternity.

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

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