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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Prairie 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 W. Highfill, farmer and stock raiser, Hickory Plains, Ark. Mr. Highfill, like many of the prominent settlers of Prairie County, is a native of North Carolina, his birth occurring in Guilford County, November 27, 1848, and is the son of D. H. Highfill, a native of North Carolina, and Sarah H. (McMichael) Highfill, also a native of the same State. The family moved to Tennessee in 1851, settled in Henry County, and there resided until 1856, when in the fall of that year, they moved to Missouri. One year later they returned to Tennessee, and the parents now reside in Weakley County, where they own a good farm. J. W. Highfill’s youthful days were divided between assisting on the home place and in attending school. He remained with his father until twenty-one years of age and was married December 24, 1870, to Miss Tennessee L. Ashby, a native of Wilson County, Tenn., and the daughter of James W. Ashby. The fruits of this union have been eight sons: William H., Jesse B., Charles L., Henry H., Edwin James, Walter T., John A. and Robert D. They lost one daughter in October, 1888, at the age of eighteen months. After his marriage he followed farming in Henry County, for two years, and in January, 1872, moved to Arkansas, locating on land adjoining his present property. He has a farm of 160 acres, with ninety acres under cultivation, and has six acres in orchard. Mr. Highfill is serving his second term as president of Agricultural Wheel No. 2, and he is given a recognized position among the leading agriculturists of the township. He and Mrs. Highfill are members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and he is a deacon in the same. As a citizen, Mr. Highfill is respected and esteemed by all acquainted with him.

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This family biography is one of 94 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Prairie County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Prairie County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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