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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Columbia 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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Joseph S. McWilliams, a prominent farmer of Brown Township, also a shipper and dealer in horses and mules, is a native-born resident of this county, and now lives within two miles of the place where he first opened his eyes on September 9, 1852. His father, William M. McWilliams, was born in 1808, and was a son of John McWilliams and wife, of Irish descent. He was reared to farm life in his native State (Mississippi), and there he was married to a Miss Potter, also a native of that State, who died after having borne three children, all of whom are now dead. He was a farmer by occupation, and tilled the soil in Mississippi until after his wife’s death, when he moved to Arkansas, located in this county, and entered a tract of wild land which he improved and lived on until his death. He was married to Miss Catherine McGowan (born in 1812), in 1848, and their wedded life was blessed in the birth of two children: John (deceased) and Joseph S. She died in 1861, in full communion with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of which denomination she had been a devoted member all her life. Her husband belonged to the Baptist Church. He remained a widower until 1863, and then led to the altar Miss Martha Giles, by whom he became the father of six children, four of whom are still living: James (farms on the old homestead), Mollie (Mrs. Hare, of this township), and William and Anderson at home. Mr. McWilliams, Sr., departed this life in 1874, but his widow still survives, and makes her home on the old homestead. Joseph S. McWilliams obtained his growth in this county, and in 1875 commenced life’s battles, by engaging in agricultural pursuits on his own responsibility. He purchased his present farm in 1880, comprising 335 acres, with over 130 acres under cultivation, and this he devotes chiefly to the raising of cotton and corn. In October, 1887, he in company with Mr. Beau, of this township engaged in shipping and dealing in mules, horses and Texas ponies, and their venture proved so successful that they have continued in the business ever since. They make about three trips annually to Texas and Missouri, where they purchase their stock, and ship to Magnolia, and there dispose of them at private sale, and they have found this to be a very profitable business. He was married June 18, 1876, to Miss Laura A. Whiddon, a native of this county, born in 1857, the daughter of John and Melinda (Franklin) Whiddon, and their union has been blessed with six children, all of whom are living: Emma R., William, Jesse Herbert, Samuel, Martha and Wallace. The family worship in the Missionary Baptist Church. Mr. McWilliams belongs to the County Wheel, and in politics is a stanch Democrat. He is a very public-spirited gentleman, and takes a prominent part in all work for the good of the community.

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This family biography is one of 106 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Columbia County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Columbia County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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