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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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James K. Taafe. No name is more closely associated with the agricultural interests of this county than the one that heads this sketch, for it is borne by a man who is progressive in his ideas, and has always been numbered among its most substantial and prominent citizens. He first opened his eyes to the light of this world in Sevier County, Ark., in 1830, being the eldest of nine children, six of whom are still living, born to Joseph English and wife. The former was born in Ireland, and there spent his life until he had attained his eighteenth year, when he came to the United States and chose a location in Sevier County, Ark. He was one of the first settlers of this county, and was one of its most prominent and influential citizens, having served as Representative, and also as Senator for a number of years. He was a farmer by occupation, and in his political views affiliated with the Democratic party. His wife, formerly Miss Sarah J. English, was born in Indiana, and was a daughter of Joseph English, and both she and her husband departed this life where our subject now lives. The father took great pains to educate his children, and James K. received a very fair education in the common schools of this county. His marriage with Jane (Lemons) Smith was consummated in 1858, and by her he became the father of the following children: George (deceased), James (deceased), Joseph, John and Fanny. She died in 1878, and the following year Miss Mary B. Bell, daughter of John Z. and Martha J. (Scott) Bell, the former of whom died in Virginia, while serving in the Confederate cause, under Gen. Lee, and the latter in Indian Territory, about 1876, became his wife. This latter marriage resulted in the birth of six children, only four of whom are now living: Jesse E., Mary B., Sarah and Eva. Mr. Taafe has always been a resident of this county, and during his life has amassed considerable property. He owns 480 acres of valuable pine land, forty acres lying in the town site of Rocky Comfort, besides 160 acres of choice land lying in the Red River bottom, about seventy-five acres of which are under cultivation. In politics he is a strong Democrat, and his first presidential vote was cast for Franklin Pierce. During the war he served as constable of this township for a number of years. He also belongs to the Masonic fraternity. The Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of Rocky Comfort, numbers his wife among its most esteemed members, and although he is a firm believer also in the doctrines expounded by that denomination, he does not belong to any religious body.

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This family biography is one of 38 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Little River County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Little River County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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