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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Monroe 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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D. B. Renfro, conceded to be among the prosperous merchants of Holly Grove, is a Tennesseean by birth, which occurred in 1843, and is a son of T. A. and Tizzie (Harrison) Renfro, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee. The senior Renfro was a prominent farmer of his county, and died in 1860, his wife dying within two hours after him. They were the parents of thirteen children, four of whom are still living: John H., T. A., Mary T. (the widow of S. H. Baulch) and D. B. (our subject). D. B. Renfro enlisted in the Confederate army, in 1861, in the Thirty-second Tennessee Infantry, and while in service was captured at Fort Donelson, and carried to Indianapolis, Ind., in February, 1862, and held until the following October, when he was exchanged. After his exchange he was again captured at Atlanta, in July, 1864, and taken to Indianapolis, where he was kept until April, 1865. At the close of hostilities he returned to Maury County, Tenn., and in 1866 immigrated to Arkansas, locating in Phillips County, where he made farming a means of gaining a livelihood. In 1871 he was married to Susan E. Smith, who was born in Monroe County, in 1849. Five children were born to this union: John W., Leroy G., D. B., Laura V. and Lizzie S. In 1872 Mr. Renfro moved to Holly Grove, and engaged in the mercantile business, and is now doing a large and lucrative trade, and carries a stock of goods which invoices about $2,000. He is the owner of a fine farm of 200 acres, with over 100 under cultivation, and also owns some real estate in the town of Holly Grove. He is numbered as a member of the A. F. & A. M., while he and his wife worship in the Presbyterian Church, to which they belong.

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This family biography is one of 86 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Monroe County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Monroe County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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