My Genealogy Hound

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

* * * *

Capt. John M. Wasson, a prominent citizen of Sharp County, Ark., is the eldest of a family of six children, and was born in Lawrence County, Tenn., in 1835. He is a son of William Lee and Jane (Matthews) Wasson, born in 1810 and 1813, respectively, in the State of Tennessee, where they resided until 1841 and then moved to Searcy County, Ark., but soon afterward came to Lawrence County, Ark. The elder Wasson was one of the pioneers of that section, and settled on a large farm, which he made one of the most successful in Lawrence County, and in connection with which he ran a blacksmith shop until his death, in 1867. His father, John Wasson, of Scotch-Irish descent, died in Lawrence County, Tenn. Capt. Wasson’s grandfather, Thomas Matthews, was a successful farmer during his life, and is also buried in Lawrence County, Tenn. The Captain received a “log cabin” education in his youth, and studied one term in Smithville. Upon reaching his maturity he was offered a position in one of the firms at Smithville, and remained with them for several years, afterward going into partnership in the grocery business at Evening Shade with L. S. Bobo, under the firm name of Wasson & Bobo. In the fall of 1861 he enlisted in Company B, of the Twenty-first Arkansas Infantry, and commanded that company as captain until the fall of Vicksburg, where he was captured and paroled and then came home. He was again captured at home in 1863 and imprisoned for a short time at St. Louis, and from there taken to Camp Chase, Ohio, and then again transferred to Johnson’s Island, Ohio, where he was held until May, 1865, and then paroled and returned to his home. Altogether he was kept a prisoner for one year and a half, and soon after his release he surrendered in June, 1865, at Jacksonport. Capt. Wasson fought well for the cause he undertook, and received many words of praise for his gallant actions during the war. His operations extended through Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi, and he took part in the battles at Corinth, Baker’s Creek, Black River, siege of Vicksburg and many others. While at the first named battle he received a gun-shot wound in the right leg and left arm, and in his career through the war had many thrilling escapes from death. In 1866 he was married to Amanda, a daughter of William and Frances French, born in Bowling Green, Ky., in 1820 and 1824, respectively, who immediately after their marriage moved to Arkansas and settled in Lawrence County, where the father died when Mrs. Wasson was a little girl. The mother was afterward married to Col. James H. McCaleb, who died in May, 1885. Mrs. Wasson was born in that portion of Lawrence County which is now Sharp County, and is the mother of nine children, of whom seven are living. After the war Capt. Wasson entered into commercial life at Evening Shade, but finding that farm life was more congenial, he carried on that business, and at present has a fine farm, consisting of seventy-five acres under cultivation, about eight miles northwest of Evening Shade. In 1876 he was elected clerk of Sharp County and served two years, and was again elected in 1880, filling the office with credit. He has been a Democrat in politics all his life, and is a member of the Masonic order at Evening Shade, also belonging to the Knights of Honor at the same place. Mr. and Mrs. Wasson, both, have been members of the Christian Church in good standing for several years.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 43 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Sharp County, Arkansas published in 1889.  View the complete description here: Sharp County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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

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