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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lee 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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J. W. Greer’s farm, comprising 160 acres, is one of the best for successful agricultural purposes to be found in this part of the county, and the manner in which it is conducted is in full keeping with the personal characteristics of its owner, a man of great energy and determination and of much perseverance. He was born in Union County, S. C, in 1836, and is a son of J. M. and Sarah A. (Sanders) Greer, the former a native of South Carolina and of English-Irish descent. The paternal grandfather, Robert Greer, and his brother, Orpha, served in the American Revolution, and the former was exiled from Ireland on account of his religious views, and after coming to the United States he settled in South Carolina, and there left a large number of descendants, several of whom served in the War of 1812. J. W. Greer spent his youth in his native State, but in 1858 came west and settled near Helena, Ark., on a farm where he remained industriously at work until the Rebellion came up. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate army, Company B, Twenty-third Arkansas, of which he was captain, and participated in the following battles: Corinth and the siege of Port Hudson, in which engagement he lost his left arm, it being shot off by a cannon ball. He was captured on July 9, 1863, and was retained a prisoner until the close of the war at New Orleans, Fort La Fayette, Bedloe’s Island, Fort McHenry, Fort Delaware, then to Morris Island. After remaining at his old home for a number of years he came to Lee County, Ark., in 1878, and here has become well known and highly esteemed by all. He has been justice of the peace for eight years; is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and has always tried to follow the teachings of the Golden Rule. He was married in 1885 to Mrs. Fannie R. Allen Harris, and by her has one child, Sarah F. He was first married to Elizabeth H. Patterson, who died leaving one child, Jason H.

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This family biography is one of 104 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lee County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Lee County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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