My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Little River 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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A. M. Bishop, farmer and merchant, of Bishop, Ark., was born in Alabama in 1827. His parents were Elija and Arianna (Rose) Bishop. For many years the father tilled the soil in Alabama, being a farmer by occupation, but in 1850 he moved to Mississippi and passed from life in that State in 1852. The mother received her final summons in Frankfort, Ala., in 1850. Of the nine children born to their marriage, only three survive: Burgh (a resident of Scott County, Ark.), A. M., and Ann (now the wife of J. B. Boring, of Mississippi). Our subject obtained his education in Lawrence County, Ala., and at the age of twenty-seven, in 1856, he came to this State, locating in what was then Sevier County, but now Little River, and entering the place where he now lives, consisting of 160 acres of unimproved land, which he has since converted into a fine farm, with about seventy acres under cultivation. His marriage occurred in 1847, Miss Mary A. Parker, of Lawrence County, Ala., being the interested party, and they are the parents of two children, Edwin C. (wife of F. P. Freeman, of this county), and Ann E. (who was the wife of Joseph Henry, but is now deceased). In 1862 Mr. Bishop joined Company A, Nineteenth Regiment of Infantry, Col. Dawson commander, and served on the west side of the Mississippi River, participating in the battles of Pleasant Hill, La., and Jenkins' Ferry, besides a number of skirmishes. He surrendered at Marshall, Tex., and immediately afterward came home and engaged in farming and saw-milling. At present he is farming and conducting a merchandise business at Bishop, and is also the efficient postmaster of this place, being appointed to the office in 1888. He handles about 100 bales of cotton yearly, and does an annual business of some $5,000. Politically, Mr. Bishop is a strong Democrat, and socially is a member of Richmond Lodge No. 174, A. F. & A. M., and both he and wife are honored members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He takes a deep interest in schools, churches, etc., and is a progressive man and a good citizen.

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