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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Jefferson 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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Dr. J. L. Goree, justly considered one of the most eminent of the medical profession in Jefferson County, was born in Smith County, Tenn., on the 8th of October, 1853, and is a son of Dr. James L. and Mary E. (Dixon) Goree, of Marion, Ala., and Smith County, Tenn., respectively. The father was a prominent physician during his life, and a graduate of Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia. About the year 1850 he moved to what is now Lincoln County, Ark., and remained there practicing his profession until 1860. During the Civil War he resided in Texas, but after the surrender he returned to Arkansas and resumed his practice, continuing with great success until his death in December, 1866. The mother is still living, and resides with her son, the principal of this sketch. Dr. J. L. Goree was principally reared in Arkansas, and received his education at St. Louis University, and King’s College of Bristol, Tenn. At the age of twenty-two he began the study of medicine, and in February, 1876, graduated from the Louisville Medical College, afterward taking an ad eundem degree added by the Kentucky School of Medicine. He then stood a competitive examination against the picked men of four medical colleges for a hospital position, and was the successful competitor for one of the four positions. The Doctor remained in the hospital for one year, afterward coming to Lincoln County, Ark., where he hoped to settle up his father’s entangled estate, but owing to the slowness of the courts, failed to accomplish anything. In the spring of 1881 he located at New Gascony, Jefferson County, Ark., where his reputation as a successful physician attained such proportions that one of the leading physicians of Pine Bluff offered him a partnership. This he accepted, and remained at Pine Bluff for one year, but at the repeated and urgent solicitations of his old patrons, he was induced to return to New Gascony, and did so, remaining there until the spring of 1889. He then again came to Pine Bluff (where he has continued to reside), and rapidly rose to the front ranks of his profession in spite of the competition from older men in that line. The Doctor has attained a prominence among the medical fraternity that is well deserved, as he has made his profession the study of his life. His services are sought for continuously, and his fine practice fully attest to his skill. He is a member of the Jefferson Medical Society, and also of the State Medical Society. In 1877 he was married to Miss Victoria T. Evans, by whom he has had two children: Victoria and James L. In secret societies the Doctor is a member of the Knights of Honor.

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This family biography is one of 136 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Jefferson County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Jefferson County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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