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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Bradley 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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David W. Sutton, farmer and stock-raiser, Warren, Ark. Located in the midst of one of the finest agricultural centers of Bradley County, the farm which Mr. Sutton owns and occupies is conceded to be among the best in this vicinity, and this is saying not a little, for on every hand may be seen superior places, whose ownership indicate thrift and prosperity. This gentleman was born in Perry County, Ala., on November 22, 1825, and is of English descent. His father, John Sutton, was born in Wilkes County, Ga., in 1796, and there wielded considerable influence in agricultural affairs. He married Miss Mary Hay, also a native of Wilkes County, Ga., and later they emigrated to Alabama, thence to Mississippi, and finally returned to Georgia, where they passed the closing scenes of their lives. The father died at the age of eighty-six years, and the mother in 1844. The former was a soldier in the Indian war of 1818. Of the ten children born to this union, five only are now living: David W., James F., John (deceased), Jackson (deceased), Wiley, William (deceased), Penina (residence in Louisiana), Elizabeth (in Texas), Malinda (in Georgia), and Sarah (deceased). Four of the sons were in the late war. It fell to the lot of David W. Sutton to grow up with a farm experience, and from the very first he has closely and energetically applied himself to the obtaining of a thorough knowledge of agricultural matters, which, it is almost needless to say, he has successfully acquired, as the surroundings of his place plainly indicate. He received a fair education in his native State, and in 1847 he emigrated to Arkansas, coming via Mobile and New Orleans. In February he arrived in Dallas County, where he worked for wages for a year, and in 1848 he dropped down to Bradley County, where he worked on the farm of Judge Josiah Gould for four years. In 1856 he returned to Judge Gould’s plantation, and was overseer on the same for a year. He then purchased 320 acres of land in Cleveland County, which was then all in timber, and now owns 720 acres of land, with 150 under cultivation, in that county. He resided there until 1872, when he moved to his present residence. He has, as above stated, one of the best farms in Bradley County, and his residence, barns, outbuildings, and in fact all necessary conveniences, indicate the quality of a farmer that he is. He owns in this place 1,000 acres, with 350 acres under cultivation, and also owns 300 acres in another tract. He is also a dealer in stock, raising, buying and selling. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B, Monroe’s regiment, Cabbie’s brigade, and served until cessation of hostilities. He was slightly wounded by a bullet cutting through his upper lip, and was in some of the principal engagements west of the Mississippi. Mr. Sutton is the largest cotton grower in the county, and also raises considerable grain. The same systematic condition of affairs about his home is apparent in his course as a man. Thorough in all he does, he allows no worthy movement to drag for want of support, if in his power to help it. He was married in 1856 to Miss Lamira Allis, by whom he had three children, one living, William, now employed as clerk at Cairo for the Cotton Belt Railroad. Mrs. Sutton’s death occurred May 20, 1862, and Mr. Sutton took for his second wife Mrs. Elizabeth Shadwick, whom he married in 1865. She died in 1874, and Mr. Sutton was married in 1876 to Mrs. Elizabeth Hawley. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

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This family biography is one of 64 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Bradley County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Bradley County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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