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Below is a family biography included in The History of Gibson 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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Richard A. Coleman is a Virginian, born in 1827, son of Robert S. and Sallie (Dunavant) Coleman, who were also Virginians, and came to Tennessee about 1828, settling first in Middle Tennessee, then in Gibson County. Robert S. Coleman was a farmer, and fought under Jackson in the war of 1812. He supported a family of thirteen children, and accumulated considerable property. Both parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The father died in Gibson County, in 1858, and the mother in 1883. Richard A. resided with his parents until twenty-eight years of age. He began teaching at the age of eighteen, and in 1853 married Martha F. Trice, daughter of Zachariah and Martha (Strayhorn) Trice. Mrs. Coleman was born in North Carolina, in 1838, and came with her widowed mother to Tennessee in 1851. She became the mother of five sons and five daughters, two sons and two daughters of whom are dead. After his marriage Mr. Coleman engaged in farming and school-teaching, continuing both until 1882, when he discontinued the latter occupation. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South for thirteen years, but became a member of the Baptist Church in 1861, and obtained a license to preach. He was ordained in May, 1862. In 1870 he moved to Rutherford, and has a small farm of twelve acres attached to his residence, and fifty acres about one mile from town. He belongs to the I. O. O. F., and is a strong supporter of prohibition. In politics he is a Democrat.

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This family biography is one of 242 biographies included in The History of Gibson County, Tennessee published in 1887.  The History of Gibson 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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