My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Johnson County, Arkansas published by Southern Publishing Company in 1891.  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.

* * * *

E. T. McConnell is a merchant and druggist of Clarksville, Ark., and in this county was born on November 20, 1845, being a son of E. E. and Susan (Shelton) McConnell, the former a native of North Carolina, and the latter of Kentucky. The father was a physician, and came to Arkansas in 1838, settling in this county, and here he practiced until his death, in 1858. He, with T. J. Howel, began merchandising at a place called Pittsburg, on the Arkansas River, of which place they were the first merchants, and there they continued to do business until 1847, when he removed to Clarksville, and here started a drug store, the first in the town. His wife, the mother of the subject of this sketch, died on July 4, 1865, a worthy member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. E. T. McConnell was reared in Clarksville, educated in the schools of this county and in Little Rock, and on September 13, 1863, enlisted in the Confederate Army in a company raised by his brother, W. H. McConnell, which was attached to Col. John F. Hill’s regiment, and was in numerous engagements in this State. At the time of the Missouri campaign he was detailed as a courier, and served as such wholly in this State under Gen. Kirby Smith. He was in Calhoun County at the close of the war, and after the war came back to Clarksville, where he followed farming near the town for one year, and then began mail contracting, his route being from Little Rock to Fort Smith, continuing one and one-half years. After clerking for one year he opened a store on Little Piney Creek, and there also farmed for two years. He then bought the drug establishment of Paine & Adkins, in Clarksville, his place of business being the same as where his father opened a drug store in 1847, although the building, which was erected by him, was burned to the ground in 1869. In 1871 E. T. McConnell erected the building in which he is now doing business, to which he has made additions. He erected a hotel in 1888, and the K. of P. Hall at a later period. He carries a full line of drugs, patent medicines, toilet articles, etc., his stock being valued at from $3,000 to $4,000. He is also the owner of three saw-mills, and does a wholesale lumber trade, and is land agent for the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad. He has some 3,000 acres of land, with 1,500 under cultivation, on which is a fine residence, and in addition to this he owns twenty other houses in town. In 1878 he was elected sheriff of the county, serving six years, and has also been mayor and councilman of the town. He was married on December 18, 1873, to Miss Alice A. Porter, of this county, a daughter of William C. Porter, an old pioneer from Kentucky. To them four children have been born: Susie, Hall C., Maud A. and Imogene. Mrs. McConnell is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and socially Mr. McConnell belongs to Calantha Lodge No. 38, of the K. of P., Ezel Lodge of the I. O. O. F., and the K. of H. He has always been an active worker for the Democrat party, and has been chairman for the County Central Committee for the past two years. On one of his farms he has an apple orchard of 2,000 trees, and intends to plant many more. He is a thrifty, industrious citizen in every respect, and would be a decided acquisition to any community in which he might locate.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 65 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Johnson County, Arkansas published in 1891.  For the complete description, click here: Johnson County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Johnson County, Arkansas family biographies here: Johnson County, Arkansas

Use the links at the top right of this page to search or browse thousands of other family biographies.