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Below is a family biography included in The History of Carroll 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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Benjamin E. Woodruff, of the firm of Benjamin E. Woodruff & Son, dealers in lumber at Eureka Springs, Ark., was born in 1824, in Lincoln County, Tenn. He is a son of William and Matilda (Ferguson) Woodruff. William R. Woodruff was a Georgian, who, when a young man went to Lincoln County, Tenn., where he was married. In 1835 he removed to Washington County, Ark., and located on a farm, on which he resided until his death, in 1853. Prior to his removal to Arkansas he was engaged in milling. His wife was a Virginian. She died in Washington County, Ark., in 1863. Benjamin E. Woodruff was reared on his father’s farm, and when a young man engaged in the saw-mill business. He built the first circular saw-mill and the second steam flour-mill in Northwest Arkansas. These mills were near Fayetteville. He continued in both the lumber and flour milling business until the Civil War broke out. Since the war he has been engaged exclusively in the lumber business. Besides his farm of 647 acres, near Fayetteville, he owns considerable property in Eureka Springs, also 2,580 acres in Carroll and Madison Counties. His marriage with Sarah J. Pearse, of Arkansas was celebrated on November 26, 1846, and to them have been born fourteen children, four of whom are dead. Those living are Mary M., Mrs. William Atwood, of Washington Territory, who has four sons and one daughter; John W.; Martha J.; Margaret, Mrs. Norman Van Winkle, who has three sons and three daughters, and lives at Eureka Springs, Ark.; Katie; William R., married, and has one daughter, now (1888) five years old-he lives at Granby, Mo., and is engaged in mining; Van, Minta, Lee and Alice. John W. is in partnership with his father in the lumber business, and has an interest in the large part of his landed estate. John W. was born in Washington County, Ark., on March 31, 1850, and was reared and educated in his native county. Since 1885 he has been connected with his father in business. On November 9, 1886, he was united in marriage with Rhoda E. Means, a daughter of James Means, formerly from Missouri. They have one son. The firm owns two large saw-mills, one at Eureka Springs and the other eight miles southwest. The former mill is a large three-story structure, and contains machinery for planing, grooving and moulding, and turning lathes. They ship largely to Kansas, and do the most extensive business in the county. Both father and son are stanch Democrats.

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This family biography is one of 82 biographies included in The History of Carroll County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Carroll County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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