My Genealogy Hound

William Varden is one of the prosperous small farmers of Desha County, Ark., and the estate which he is now engaged in tilling comprises 160 acres, of which fifty are under the plow. Being a native born resident of the county he has ever had the interests of the same at heart, and so far as his means would allow has contributed liberally to all feasible enterprises, such as churches, schools, etc. He is regarded by all as an upright, honorable and useful citizen, and in his social relations is agreeable, accommodating and kind. The most of the land which he has under cultivation he devotes to cotton and corn, but considerable attention is also paid to the propagation of stock. He was born in 1831, and he is a son of Timothy and Elizabeth Varden, natives, respectively, of the Old North and the Blue-Grass State. The early educational advantages of the subject of this sketch were very limited, and the schools were very scarce in Arkansas at this time, but, nevertheless, he is a well-informed man, and one whose judgment and advice is often consulted. He grew to manhood on his father’s plantation, and upon reaching his majority, he began rafting on the Mississippi River, which occupation he continued until 1882, at which time he began giving agriculture his attention with the results above stated. In the year 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate service, becoming a member of Company E, Twenty-third Arkansas Regiment, under Col. Brooks, and took an active part in the battles of Prairie Grove and Backbone Mountain, after which he went with Col. Thompson to Mobile on detail duty, but at the end of three months returned to his command and remained faithfully at his post of duty until the close of the war. Since then he has been energetically to work to gain a competence for his family. In 1855 Adaline Kiger became his wife, but upon her death in 1860 she left him with two little children to care for: William H. and Elizabeth, both of whom are now dead. Mr. Varden’s second marriage took place in 1860, his wife being a Miss Jane Wilson. They have six children: Mary F., Joseph A., Timothy, James W., Sarah E. and a child unnamed, who died in infancy. Timothy and Sarah E. are also deceased. The mother of these children died in 1871, and the following year he wedded his third and present wife, whose maiden name was Eliza Jane Condven, by whom he has the following family: Eliza E. (deceased), Enla L., Henrietta, Melissa E., Carrie B. and Georgie W. Mr. Varden is a Democrat, and his wife is a member of the Methodist Church.