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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Clark 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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James M. May, farmer and ginner, Hollywood, Ark. Mr. May was born in Chambers County, Ala., October 12, 1845, and is the son of Seaborn and Susan (Dorman) May [see sketch preceding]. He came to this State with his parents in 1855, and was married in Clark County, Ark., on the 20th of September, 1866, to Miss Jane C. Moore, a native of Tishomingo County, Miss., and the daughter of William and Nancy E. (Coffinan) Moore. She was born November 22, 1848. William Moore was born in Mississippi on the 25th of January, 1823, and was a farmer by occupation. He was married to Miss Coffinan about 1845, and to them were born eight children, seven now living: Jane C, James A., Daniel M., Joe C, Jefferson D., Martha A. (wife of Paul Davidson) and Samuel S. Mr. Moore emigrated from Mississippi to Arkansas in 1854 and settled in Clark County, where he bought and entered land. He was in the late war, enlisting in the cavalry under Capt. Smith in 1863, and was killed at the Kansas fight. He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mrs. Moore was a native of Tennessee, born on the 11th of September, 1827, and died in 1887. She was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. May were born nine children, six of whom are now living: Susie E. (wife of Dr. A. J. Widner, of this county), Wiley S., Cora E., Garland A., Claude E. and Grover C. Mr. May owns 310 acres of land and has 150 acres under cultivation. He is one of the enterprising, wide-awake tillers of the soil and is now very comfortably fixed. During the late war, 1862, he enlisted in Company H, Twenty-third Arkansas Regiment Infantry, under Capt. A. A. Penington, and was in the battles of Corinth, and Port Hudson and in several skirmishes. He was captured at Port Hudson, but was held a prisoner only three days when he was paroled. He served until 1865 and surrendered at Marshall, Tex. He afterward returned home, engaged in farming, and this he has followed ever since. He built a steam cotton-gin in 1880, and this, in connection with farming, he has since conducted. He and Mrs. May are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a steward in the same. Politically he is a Democrat, and is in favor of all movements for the good of the county.

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This family biography is one of 99 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Clark County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Clark County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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