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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Arkansas 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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James Word is a native of Alabama, and a son of William and Elizabeth (Bransford) Word, whose birthplace was in South Carolina. After William Word had moved to Alabama, his wife died, in 1849, and seven years later he came to Arkansas, settling near Crockett’s Bluff, where he was killed in 1868, during the reconstruction. He was of English and Scotch descent, and had been a member of the I. O. O. F. for a number of years. James Word was born in Limestone County, Ala., in 1838. During the war he served over four years in the Confederate army, and participated in the battles of Bull Run, Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and a number of others. He served in the Army of Tennessee, then in Price’s raid through Missouri, and after the battle of Murfreesboro was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Division. He was wounded at the battle of Shiloh, and was captured in December, 1864, and imprisoned at Pine Bluff three months, following which he was taken to Little Rock, where he was held until the close of the war. Mr. Word was married in 1867, to Miss Kate Inman, who died in 1868. Two years later he married Miss Elizabeth Jelks, of Tennessee birth, who came to Arkansas with her parents in 1855. Mr. Word owns a fine farm of 700 acres, with 165 under cultivation, which he has made by his own efforts. He is one of the leading Democrats of his township, and a highly respected citizen.

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This family biography is one of 50 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Arkansas County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Arkansas County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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