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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Randolph County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  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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William Carrens, M. D. The profession of the physician is one which operates effectively in time of need in arresting and alleviating the most acute pains and ailments to which the human body is heir, and therefore deserves the most appreciative consideration on the part of the public. In this profession the gratitude of hundreds are due to the talent and skill of Dr. Carrens, who has been an active practicing physician of the county since 1884. He was born in the State of Illinois, September 7, 1849, and received his early education in the graded school at Clinton. He attended one course of lectures in the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, his tuition being paid with means obtained by teaching school after he had reached the age of nineteen years. For fourteen years he wielded the ferule successively in Illinois, Missouri and Arkansas, and since 1884 has been one of the active practicing physicians of Randolph County. He was married November 18, 1868, to Miss Martha E. Brothers, and by her he became the father of three children: Harriett A., born August 7, 1869, the wife of Thomas Phillips; Ida J., born February 25, 1872, and is the wife of Frank Steward, and J. W., born July 2, 1874, residing at home. The Doctor’s wife died February 14, 1876, an earnest member of the Baptist Church; she was a daughter of John and Nancy Brothers, whose family consisted of six children: William, George, Harriett, Sarah, Robert and Martha E. Miss Lucy Spinks became the second wife of Dr. Carrens, December 14, 1876, and of their seven children four died in infancy and three are now living: James S., born May 30, 1879; Eva M., born July 20, 1881, and Bertha, born August 25, 1888. Presley and Elizabeth (Ozment) Spinks were native Tennesseans, who moved to Illinois at a very early day, and there reared a family of seven children: James J., Sarah (Harris), Eliza (Biskins), Tennessee (Odam), John A., Lucy (Canens) and Martha. Mrs. Spinks was a member of the Baptist Church and died April 7, 1874, her husband afterward marrying Harriet Doughty, of Illinois, in 1874. Dr. Carrens was first a member of the Free Will Baptist Church, but he and wife are now attendants and members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, which church they joined in 1877. The Doctor is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and is a Republican politically. His parents, Elisha and Mary E. (Hester) Carrens, were Tennesseans, and were born, reared and married there, the latter event taking place in 1848. They died in their native State in 1855, and both were members of the Baptist Church. They were the parents of three children: William, J. A., who is a farmer of Claiborne County, Ark., and Elizabeth (deceased).

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This family biography is one of 110 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Randolph County, Arkansas published in 1889.  View the complete description here: Randolph County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Randolph County, Arkansas family biographies here: Randolph County, Arkansas Biographies

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