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Below is a family biography included in The History of Washington 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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Prof. J. W. Coltrane, of the Northwestern Normal, situated at Springdale, Ark., was born in Randolph County, N. C., June 27, 1852. The Coltrane family are of Scotch-Irish descent, and first came to America in 1665, locating in North Carolina. Here Branson Coltrane, the father of Prof. J. W., was born June 7, 1823, and is still living. His wife, whose maiden name was Martha L. Pool, was born in 1827, and died in 1879, after becoming the mother of nine children. Prof. Coltrane was reared on the old homestead in North Carolina, and after attaining a suitable age entered Trinity College, from which institution he was graduated in June, 1876, with the degree of A. B. Previous to his entering college he had been engaged in teaching, and after graduating he determined to seek his fortune in the West, and accordingly came to Boone County, Ark., where he taught some time in Bellefonte, afterward locating in Valley Springs, where he followed the same occupation for over two years. He next located in Salem, Iowa, where he had charge of the Whittier College for three years, and then came to Bentonville, Ark., where he was engaged in teaching for about three years more. Since December, 1886 he has been a resident of Springdale, and has had charge of the Northwestern Normal, which is one of the first institutions of the kind in the State. Prof. Coltrane has arisen to prominence in his profession, and his efforts as an educator have been attended with universal success. In November, 1878, he was married to Miss Sallie Griggs, and by her is the father of three little daughters: May, Tot and Katie. He is a member of the Quaker Church and in his political views is a Democrat.

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This family biography is one of 300 biographies included in The History of Washington County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Washington County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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

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