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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Faulkner County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  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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Jacob A. Phillips is among the leading farmers of Caney Township and was born August 8, 1840, in Fayette County, Tenn. His parents were Alexander and Catherine (Long) Phillips, the former of whom was born in North Carolina, in 1804, and died March 5, 1859, in Prairie County, Ark. In 1832 he removed to Tennessee, where he remained until 1858, then going to Prairie County, Ark. His parents were William S. Phillips and wife. William’s father was of English descent, and a general in the Revolutionary War. The mother of our subject was born in North Carolina in the year 1798, and died in 1860, in Prairie County, Ark., having borne a family of seven children, only two of whom are living: Andrew (who resides in Shelby County, Tenn.) and Jacob A. The latter, the subject of this sketch, received a very limited education in Tennessee, and when twenty years of age served in the navy under Gen. Farragut. In 1866 he married Miss Sarah J. Ferguson, who was born in Shelby County, in 1845, a daughter of Joseph and Elizabeth (Hale) Ferguson, natives of Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Ferguson were the parents of eleven children, five of whom survive: William, James, Robert, Lorenza and Sarah, who is the mother of eleven children, eight of whom are living: William A., John L., George L., Bettie A. C, Enos T., Mary L., Cala D. and Grover C. In 1871 Jacob A. Phillips came to Faulkner (formerly Conway) County, bought 120 acres of land, and by hard work and perseverance has acquired one of the best farms in this region. He is a prominent man, holding several offices of importance, and is upright in all his dealings, counting his friends by the score. He cast his first vote for president for Seymour, but is now in sympathy with the Union Labor party. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips are members of the Christian Church and are useful and influential in all church affairs, commanding the respect of all who know them.

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This family biography is one of 40 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Faulkner County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Faulkner County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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