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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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Wesley H. Hughen, farmer and stockman, Holly Grove, Ark. Mr. Hughen was born May 19, 1824, in Abbeville District, S. C, and received a limited education in Coweta County, Ga., whither his parents had moved in 1831. Later they moved to Rome, and there Wesley attended the male academy for about two years. He was early initiated into the duties of farm life, and on December 21, 1845, he was married in Floyd County, Ga., to Miss Elizabeth Mann, who was born November 14, 1825, and who was the daughter of Young and Mary A. (Garrison) Mann, natives of North Carolina and Georgia, respectively. After marrying Mr. Hughen engaged with his brother and father in farming, and the following year immigrated to Alabama. To his marriage were born these children: Martha A. (born August 6, 1847), Mary L. B. (born July 21, 1849), Sarah A. (born December 17, 1850), Robert A. (born August 22, 1853) and William R. (born August 22, 1855). The mother of these children died September 4, 1866, and was buried in Floyd County, Ga. While living in Alabama Mr. Hughen followed agricultural pursuits, and in 1855, he moved to Gordon County, Ga., where he engaged in the milling business with Mr. Mann (his father-in-law), and erected a flouring and saw mill. By a freshet, the property was badly damaged, but they rebuilt and had gotten fairly started again, when the Rebellion broke forth, and put another stop to their operations. In May, 1863, Mr. Hughen enlisted as a soldier, and was assigned to duty in the First Georgia Regiment Infantry, serving from that time until December, 1865. He participated in two engagements: Stone River, and during the siege of Fort Sumter he frequently went into the fort to witness the manner of defense. On the 5th day of December, 1864, while on duty, he was captured by the Union soldiers and taken to New York, being confined for thirteen days. He then took the oath of allegiance to the United States, and afterward went to Edgewood, Ill., where he engaged in milling, following this until the close of the war. He then returned to his home in Georgia, where he was employed for some time in endeavoring to repair the damages done during the war, and working at various occupations, until the fall of 1869, when he came to Arkansas. He rented land for three or four years, and in 1873 bought the land upon which he now lives, and where he has since made his home. The tract contains sixty-six acres of wild, woody land, upon which not an improvement had been made. At the present time Mr. Hughen has forty-seven acres under cultivation, and has good buildings, orchards, etc. On October 3, 1867, he took for his second wife Mrs. Eliza Moore, who bore him one child, Ida Lee, whose birth occurred July 9, 1868. At the present time, five of Mr. Hughen’s children are living, and all are married: Martha A. (wife of Mr. Knowlis, who became the mother of four children. Her second marriage was to Mr. Bonner, of Texarkana), Mary L. B. (married Jasper Lampley. She died in 1883, and left children), Sarah (married twice, first to Zeke Meeks, by whom she had one child, and second to Mr. Fitzhugh, by whom she had four children, all deceased. She died in 1884), Robert A. (died at Little Rock, in 1885), William R. (died on December 9, 1887, and left four children, the result of his union with Miss Elizabeth Chrisp), Ida Lee (became the wife of Elihu Williams, and has one child). Mr. and Mrs. Hughen are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and Mr. Hughen has been a local preacher since 1883. He has been a member of that church for thirty-eight years. He is inclined to be Democratic in his political views. He is the son of James and Elizabeth (Anthony) Hughen, the father born and reared in South Carolina, and of Irish descent. His ancestors came to America, previous to the Revolutionary War, located in South Carolina, and the paternal grandfather, R. A. Hughen, was a commanding officer in the Revolutionary War. His uniform was seen by the subject of this sketch, in the clerk’s office at Coweta, Ga., thirty years ago, at which time it was in a good state of preservation. Others of this family participated in the Florida War. James Hughen and Miss Elizabeth Anthony were married August 31, 1822, in Anderson District, S. C, and became the parents of seven children, all of whom grew to mature years. Mrs. Elizabeth (Anthony) Hughen was the daughter of Joel and Mary (Bratton) Anthony.

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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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