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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.

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Russel Jordan, justice of the peace, a prosperous farmer and stock raiser, is the youngest of three sons and six daughters. He was born in St. Clair County, Ala., December 22, 1827, and is the son of Stephen and Sarah (Deerman) Jordan, of South Carolina, where they were reared and married. The parents removed to St. Clair County, Ala., soon after their marriage, where the father died when Russel was but two or three years old. The mother married a second time, her next husband being Peter Roadland, who died shortly before Russel left St. Clair County, and the mother’s death occurring after the war. The elder Jordan was a farmer, and a soldier in the War of 1812, fighting under Gen. Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. He was of Irish descent, as was also the father of Mrs. Jordan, William Deerman. Upon looking over the thousands of schools and colleges now in every part of our country, it is hard to conceive the difficulty that early settlers had to contend with in order to procure an education for their children. But the facilities then were not near what they are now, and where there is no excuse for any civilized being to be uneducated at the present day, at that period it was entirely different, and the children who were eager for an education, in the unsettled portions, were unable to attend school. This was the case of Russel Jordan, but, though seriously handicapped as he was, he managed to obtain a few years’ study at the common schools, and when unable to attend, applied himself to his books and mastered what he desired to learn. On January 2, 1847, he was married to Martha, daughter of Levi and Jane Watson, of North Carolina, who moved to Sharp County, in 1852, where they have since died. Mrs. Jordan was born in St. Clair County, Ala., where her parents resided some time, and died in 1861. Six children were born to this marriage, of whom three are yet living. His second marriage was in 1862 to Nancy J., daughter of Harvey D. and Josephine Worthington, of North Carolina and Kentucky, respectively. The parents moved to Arkansas, about the year 1856, and settled in Prairie County, where the father died. Mrs. Worthington is now residing in Kentucky, her daughter’s birth place. Seven sons and four daughters were born to Mr. Jordan’s second marriage, all of them still living, and, remembering his early experience in attending school, he has spared no pains in giving them the best education obtainable. In 1852 he moved to Mississippi, and from there to what is now Sharp County, Ark., the following year, where he settled on a farm. His land at that time had but seven or eight acres cleared, but now he has over 100 acres cleared and under cultivation, and owns about 210 acres altogether, all the result of his own industry and good management. Mr. Jordan is a well-known and popular man in his vicinity, and mingles in public life considerably, having for the past thirty years held several public offices, such as deputy sheriff, justice of the peace (his present official capacity) and others. In politics he is a Democrat and a stanch adherent to that party. He enlisted in the Confederate army during the war, becoming a member of Col. Freeman’s regiment of cavalry, and performed some excellent work in a number of battles. Mr. Jordan is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and has been master a great many years of Curia Lodge No. 144. He also belongs to “Rural” Royal Arch Chapter No. 50, at Evening Shade, and has held several of the offices, and is a member of Eastern Star, having been for some time past worthy patron. At one time he was commissioned to organize chapters of his fraternity throughout North Arkansas, and succeeded in establishing quite a number.

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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

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