My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Saline 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.

* * * *

William Brents, at one time a leading farmer and well known hotel keeper in Saline County, but at present retired, was born in what is now Marshall County, Tenn., in the year 1811, and is a son of Thomas and Jane (McWhurter) Brents, natives of Kentucky, but who were very early settlers of Marshall (formerly Lincoln) County, Tenn., where they spent the remainder of their lives. The father was a successful farmer and a prominent citizen of that county, and in religious belief was a member of the Christian Church. He served with distinction in the Revolutionary War, and was with Gen. Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. His father was John Brents, one of the early settlers of Kentucky, where his death occurred at an advanced age. The maternal grandfather, James McWhurter, was of Irish origin, and also fought in the War of 1812. William Brents, the principal of this sketch, and the fourth of four sons and four daughters born to his parents, was reared on his father’s farm. He was educated in the public schools of his birthplace and acquired a good English training, being instructed in the duties of farm life by his father. When twenty-one years of age he was married to Mahala, a daughter of Robert and Lucy Ewing, by whom he had ten children, of whom one son and three daughters are yet living: Harriet (widow of Frank Shoemaker), Malvina (wife of Thomas Delamer, residing in Texas), Robert E., and Siff (wife of Alfred Trammell, residing near Eldorado). Mr. Brents lost his first wife, and in January, 1868, was married to Mrs. Xalisco Dickinson, an estimable widow, and daughter of Robert Stribling. This lady was born in Georgia, but came to Arkansas with her parents when three years old, and settled in Hot Spring County, where her father and mother both died. One child was born to her marriage with Mr. Brents, Lily. Mr. Brents was one of the first settlers of Saline County, having come here in 1844, and he has made it his home ever since. The year following his arrival he purchased a farm near Benton, which he still owns, and has accumulated altogether about 550 acres of fertile land, with some 200 acres under cultivation, all of it being the result of his individual effort and good management. He is noted above all things for his enterprise, as is illustrated by the fact that on the second day of his arrival he opened up a hotel, which was afterward one of the most noted in Central Arkansas, continuing in that business until the war. After that event he turned his attention to farming with equal success until his retirement from active life. His industry and energy have won the respect and admiration of the entire community, and he can now rest content with the knowledge that he has done his share toward the development and improvement of Saline County. In politics he is a stanch Democrat, having cast his first presidential vote for Jackson in 1832, and for every presidential candidate since that time except during the war. Before that period he followed the trade of harness and saddle-maker in connection with his other interests.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 100 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Saline County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Saline County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Saline County, Arkansas family biographies, click here

Use the links at the top right of this page to search or browse thousands of other family biographies.