My Genealogy Hound
Below is a family biography included in The History of East Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887. 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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Milton P. Jarnagin was born June 8, 1826 on the Nollichucky River, three miles above its junction with French Broad River. His grandfather, Thomas Jarnagin, came from the region of Danville, Va., and spent the year 1781 in a block-house on Watauga River, where his son Jeremiah was born. The eldest son, Noah, entered the Revolutionary army at the age of sixteen. The youngest son, Preston B., was the father of the subject of this notice. His mother’s name was Hetty, daughter of John Shields, of Maryland. He was a captain in the Maryland line and was distinguished in the Revolution. Afterward he became a lawyer, moved to Tennessee in 1801, and lived on the Nollichucky River. In 1846 our subject received the first diploma issued by Maryville College. He then read law under his cousin, Spencer Jarnagin, at Athens, Tenn., where he lived and followed his profession until he was made captain and judge advocate of the Confederate military court for the department of East Tennessee. From 1866 to 1882 he was a lawyer in Memphis, when he became a farmer near Mossy Creek, Tenn. In 1886-87 he served as president of the East Tennessee Farmers’ Convention. Since 1856 he has been an elder in the Presbyterian Church, and has served twice in the General Assembly.
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This family biography is one of 938 biographies included in The History of East Tennessee published in 1887. For the complete description, click here: History of East Tennessee
To view additional Jefferson County, Tennessee family biographies, click here
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