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Below is a family biography included in The History of Washington County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  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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Alexander W. Reed, a prominent farmer of Richland Township, was born in Sevier County, Tenn., May 13, 1825, the son of Robert and Elizabeth (Fagala) Reed, natives of Pennsylvania. The father was born August 6, 1788, and died in Washington County, Ark., September 16, 1861. The mother was born May 9, 1806, and is still living in this county. They were married In Sevier County, Tenn., in 1824, and in1836 moved from there to McMinn County, of the same State, where they lived for seven years. From there they moved to Whitefield County, Ga., where they remained until 1852, and then moved to Northwestern Arkansas, and here the father died. He enlisted in the War of 1812, but was not mustered in. He was a blacksmith by trade, having served an apprenticeship of seven years. His father, Alexander Reed, died in Rockbridge County, Va., at the age of sixty-four, and the maternal grandfather of our subject served in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Elizabeth (Fagala) Reed became a member of the Presbyterian Church when young; has been a faithful member since, and is a kind and loving mother. Her husband was an old-line Whig, but later a stanch Republican. Their family consisted of thirteen children, eight now living, and all but one in Washington County, Ark. They are named as follows: Adam, Catherine (Still), Martha (Stockberger), Elizabeth (Putnam), Maria (Brown), Eliza (Webb), Robert A., and Alexander, who was named for his grandfather Reed. Alexander remained with his father until thirty-five years of age, and worked in the blacksmith shop for nine years, but not with the intention of following it in after life. He took charge of his father’s business from the time he was fifteen years old, and at the death of his father it was all willed to him. He was married January 15, 1861, to Miss Elizabeth McGarrah, daughter of William McGarrah, a prominent business man of Fayetteville, and very wealthy. She was born in Fayetteville, March 9, 1843, and by her marriage became the mother of ten children, seven now living: Mary, Robert W., John A., William M., Emma, Augustine and Jorden C. Three infants, Eliza J., Julia and James, died in infancy. Mr. Reed and wife are members of the Christian Church, and Mr. Reed is a Republican in politics. He has 147 acres of good valley land, with ninety under cultivation, and is an excellent citizen.

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This family biography is one of 300 biographies included in The History of Washington County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Washington County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Washington County, Arkansas family biographies, click here

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