My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Benton 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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John Milton Norris, druggist, of Cherokee City, Ark., was born in Audrain County, Mo., in November, 1850, and there resided until sixteen years of age, when he went to Montgomery County, Mo., with his parents, and was there reared to manhood. He learned the plasterer’s trade, and was a successful contractor in that business for a number of years, but was obliged to give it up after a time owing to the failure of his health. From 1877 to 1878 he was engaged in the livery business in Wellsville, Mo., and from the latter date until 1879 he was a druggist of Edgerton, Kas. From that time until 1886 he was engaged in various occupations in Missouri, Indian Territory, Texas and Kansas, meeting with varying success, and at the latter date located in Cherokee City, Ark., where he has been engaged in selling drugs. He also has a farm near the town, and, although he is a comparatively young man, his business ventures have been in the main successful. He owns a good farm in Kansas, and also some town property in that State. May 6, 1874, he was married in Wellsville, Mo., to Miss Eliza A. Baxter, of Iowa, and their union has been blessed in the birth of the following children: Thomas Harvey, James Monroe, Dellie Callie and one deceased. Mr. Norris was educated in the common schools and the Warrenton College (Missouri), and is a young man well versed in the various topics of the day. He is a son of Thomas and Eliza Ann (Straub) Norris, who were born in Ohio and Kentucky, respectively. The father was a successful farmer, a member of the I. O. O. F., and belonged to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Owing to ill treatment during the war his health became very much broken, and he was taken by his son, John Milton, to Southern California, where he was kept three years. His health greatly improved, and he then returned home. He died in Denton County, Tex. at the age of sixty-five years. His wife died at the age of sixty-two years, a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. Their son, Maj. C. J. Norris, died of measles after his return from the army. He was in seventeen hotly contested battles, but was never wounded nor taken prisoner.

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This family biography is one of 240 biographies included in The History of Benton County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Benton County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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