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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Union 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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W. L. Risinger, miller and ginner, Blanchard Springs, Ark. The entire life of Mr. Risinger has been one unmarked by any unusual occurrence outside the chosen channels to which he has so diligently given his time and attention. He was born in Alabama in 1846, and was the second of nine children born to Larkin and Martha (Brown) Risinger, both natives of Georgia. The father was reared in Alabama, but moved to Louisiana, and is now living in the last-named State. The paternal grandfather was a pioneer of Georgia from South Carolina, and later came to Louisiana, where his body reposes. The maternal grandfather was a Revolutionary soldier, and also died in Louisiana. W. L. Risinger was taken to Louisiana by his parents when a child, spent his youth on a farm, and attended the common schools until the opening of the war. In 1865 he enlisted in the Confederate army, served until the close, and then returned to Louisiana, where he purchased a farm and carried on agricultural pursuits there until 1877, where he began the timber, steam gin and milling business in Jackson Township, Union County, Ark. In 1881 he went to the prospective town of Blanchard Springs, his being among the first families to move here, and camped in a thicket where his house now stands until he could erect a shelter of some kind. He at once put up his steam machinery here and started it on August 3, 1881, and sawed most of the lumber with which the town was built. His gin has a capacity of about nine bales daily, and he also saws a great deal of timber. He also has a planing-mill and shingle mill which ranks among the best in the county. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Risinger were born nine children, all living but one. They are named as follows: Joseph L., Luvisa E., George L. (died at the age of one year), William J., John, Marlin, Carroll, Gracie and Jessie. These children have always enjoyed the best of health, except John, and are bright and interesting. The family belong to the Christian Church.

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This family biography is one of 84 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Union County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Union County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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