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Below is a family biography included in The History of Dyer County, Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887. 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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W. W. Sorrell, a prominent citizen and farmer of the Second District of Dyer County, was born in Gibson County, in 1834, and was one of nine children, his parents being L. W. and Sarah (Cooper) Sorrell. His father was born near Raleigh, N. C., in 1806, moved to Tennessee, locating in Gibson County, in 1826, and in 1836 moved to Dyer County, where he was well known all over the county; he died in 1885. His mother was born in North Carolina, in 1806, and is now living in Dyer County. Our subject married, in 1858, Miss Sarah, daughter of James and Mary King; she was born in North Carolina, in 1838, and died April 15, 1873. One son, William A., was the result of this union. After marriage he located on a farm within a half mile of his present home, which is four miles southeast of Dyersburg. He owns over 200 acres of valuable land. October 15, 1877, he married Mrs. Viola (Allen) Turnley, daughter of Alfred and Margaret (Matheny) Allen, and widow of Dr. J. T. Turnley, who died in 1873. Mrs. Sorrell was born in Jefferson County, Ky., in 1853, and during the war her family moved to Indiana, and in 1864 to Kentucky, where she was raised. Her father, Alfred Allen, was a captain on a steam boat on the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, and with his wife, who died in 1862, is buried at New Albany, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Sorrell have four children: Rubie, Harris, Mary A. and Viola. Mr. Sorrell is conservative in politics; he is held in great esteem by all who know him; he is a good business man and liberal and honest in all his transactions.
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This family biography is one of 128 biographies included in The History of Dyer County, Tennessee published in 1887 by Goodspeed. The History of Dyer County was included within The History of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley & Lake Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley, and Lake Counties of Tennessee
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