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Below is a family biography included in The History of Newton County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1888.  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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A. W. Benton, M. D. Permanent success in any calling in life is always regulated by well known laws dependent on natural causes, and no one can hope to secure a lasting reputation with a solid foundation without merit. That Dr. Benton has made himself eminently successful in his profession, his six years of active practice abundantly testify. He was born in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, May 26, 1855, and is a son of Wellington and Nancy A. (Hankins) Benton, natives of Ohio and New Albany, Ind., respectively. The family moved to Newton County, Mo. in 1869, and here the father was engaged in fruit growing. He died in 1887, his wife in 1886. They left four children: John A., Frances M. (Mrs. Frank McClintock), Fluvia M. (since deceased, wife of Leonard G. Parker, who occupies the old homestead in Iowa), and A. W., whose name heads this sketch. Our subject’s early life was spent in farming and working at the carpenter’s trade. After choosing medicine as a profession, he read with Dr. J. P. McFarland, now of Nashville, Tenn., and attended lectures at the Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York, and was graduated from that institution as M. D. in 1882. Since that time he has practiced in Neosho, and has an extensive and paying practice which testifies to his ability and popularity as a physician and surgeon. The Doctor was married April 5, 1883, to Lizzie A. Lacock, a native of Lowell, Mass., and they have one son, Wellesley Ainsworth.

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This family biography is one of 220 biographies included in The History of Newton County, Missouri published in 1888.  For the complete description, click here: Newton County, Missouri History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Newton County, Missouri family biographies, click here

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