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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Craighead 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. Roderick Joyner, a successful medical practitioner of Jonesboro, was born in Limestone County, Ala., July 22, 1833, and is a son of Roderick and Emily (Williams) Joyner, both natives of the “Old Dominion.” The father was a soldier in the War of 1812, and in 1818 moved to Alabama, where he was a successful farmer in early life, and later engaged in mercantile business. In 1859 he immigrated to Poinsett County, Ark., locating five miles south of Harrisburg. He died in Harrisburg in 1866, his wife having previously died in 1860. They were the parents of eight children, four now living: Elizabeth (wife of G. B. Parker, residing in Florida), Emily V. (wife of Judge John A. Tinnon, of Nashville, Tenn.), Mary P. (wife of S. O. Nelson, of Montgomery, Ala.), and Roderick, who is the youngest living member of the family. Dr. Joyner was reared and educated in Limestone County, Ala., and when fourteen years of age engaged in the drug business, and when twenty years old began the study of medicine. He practiced some in Memphis, where he was a druggist a number of years, and in 1859 came to Poinsett County, Ark., where he continued the practice of his profession. He also dealt in general merchandise for several years, and in 1872 was elected to the State legislature; in 1874 was elected a member of the State constitutional convention, and in 1878 was re-elected to the State legislature. In 1884 he came to Jonesboro, and the following year went into the drug business and during the five years he has been in Jonesboro he has built up a splendid custom and a wide practice, and has won the esteem and confidence of the people. Being a physician of extraordinary ability, and possessing the rare gift of bringing social sunshine as well as medical skill into the sick room, he stands high among medical practitioners of his section of the State. In the late war he served in the Twenty-third Arkansas Regiment until after the surrender. In 1860 he was married to Mary E. Bradshaw, who bore him ten children, four now living: Thomas W., Augustus G., Elisha B. and Mary E. Mrs. Joyner died in 1883, and the following year Dr. Joyner was again married, to Mrs. Martha A. (Knight) Moberly. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and she of the Methodist. Dr. Joyner is a Democrat in politics, and is a Royal Arch Mason.

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This family biography is one of 98 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Craighead County, Arkansas published in 1889.  View the complete description here: Craighead County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Craighead County, Arkansas family biographies here: Craighead County, Arkansas Biographies

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