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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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Dr. William W. Johnston is of Scotch-Irish extraction, and was born in Jefferson County, Ind., on November 10, 1838. His parents Nathaniel D. and Sarah J. (Arbuckle) Johnston, now reside on a farm in Knox County, Ind. Douglas Johnston, the great-grandfather of our subject, came to the United States from Scotland, and was among the early settlers of Pennsylvania. He located in Westmoreland County, and there reared his family. Thence the grandfather of our subject, when a young man, removed to Knox County, Ohio. He served as captain in the War of 1812, and was for over thirty years engaged in merchandising at Martinsburg, Ohio. Here Nathaniel D. Johnston was born and reared. In early life the latter learned the tanner’s trade, but for the last twenty years he has been engaged in farming. The maternal ancestry is traced back to the great-grandfather, who came from County of Antrim, Ireland, and settled in Westmoreland County, Penn. From there the maternal grandfather removed to Knox County, Ohio, where he afterward lived and died. Dr. William W. Johnston is the eldest of a family of seven children. He was reared in Coshocton County, Ohio, and secured a good education. His literary education was obtained at West Bedford Academy, in Ohio, and his professional in the Eclectic Medical Institute, of Cincinnati, Ohio. During the war he served as assistant surgeon in the Eighty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and was one of the youngest medical officers in the army. Prior to the war he had practiced two years at Centreville, Ind., and upon returning home was appointed assistant surgeon on the board of enrollment for the Seventh Congressional District of Indiana. After the war he located in Macon County, Ill., and practiced his profession for five years, when, on account of ill health, he abandoned his profession for one year, but resided in Illinois, engaged in his professional duties, until January, 1880, when he came to Eureka Springs. Since then he has practiced his profession continuously, and is one of the leading physicians of the city. On December 12, 1861, he was united in marriage with Marcia R. Conant, a daughter of Rev. Cyrus W. Conant, of Worthington, Ind., and to them have been born six children: Edith (Mrs. H. M. Gray), of Carthage, Mo.; Nannie J., a stenographer of St. Louis; William W., Jr., Marcia C., Gertrude and Paul. Both the Doctor and wife are consistent Christians, and are members of the Presbyterian Church, in which the former has been an elder for the last twenty-one years. He was instrumental in organizing the Presbyterian Church at Eureka Springs. In politics he is a Republican, and was a delegate to the Chicago Convention in 1888. As he is widely and favorably known, he is one of the leading members of his party in Northwest Arkansas. He is also interested in educational work, and is at present secretary of the board of education at Eureka Springs.

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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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