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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Calhoun 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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Mrs. Sarah A. Hearnsberger. There are in every community some persons who, on account of their industry, and practical management of the affairs which fall to their lot, deserve special credit, and such is Mrs. Hearnsberger. She is the relict of Stephen Emmett Hearnsberger, and the daughter of John Hutchins and Jane M. (Thurman) Phillips, both of whom were born in Georgia, the former in 1792. The mother’s death occurred on September 29, 1865, and the father’s in 1856, and both departed life in this county, whither they had moved from Alabama at an early day. Of the seven children born to their marriage, four lived to maturity, and two are still living, Mrs. Hearnsberger being the fifth in order of birth. Her life up to the age of thirteen years was passed in Tennessee, but her parents then moved to Alabama, and for the next thirteen years this State continued to be her home. Later they came to Arkansas, and in 1850 she was married to Mr. Hearnsberger, who had come to this State with his parents in 1846, among the early settlers, and chose a home in Calhoun County. He was born in Georgia in 1826, and was a son of Stephen Zealous and Rebecca (Chaffen) Hearnsberger, both of whom were of German descent. Their marriage was blessed in the birth of eight children, seven of whom are still living: Aletha J. (now the widow of James Talbot), John H. (married and living on a farm near his mother; he holds membership in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South), Jesse P. (a resident of Fordyce), Elizabeth (wife of H. Burrow), William E. (also married and residing on a farm near his mother), Sarah W. and Cornelius, H. Mr. Hearnsberger engaged in agricultural pursuits, and was an excellent farmer, and, above all, thoroughly honest. At the time of his death, which occurred on November 12, 1889, he was the owner of a farm of 320 acres of valuable land, and left his widow and children well provided for. He was a member of the Missionary Baptist, as is also his widow and four of their children.

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This family biography is one of 67 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Calhoun County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Calhoun County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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