My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography from the book,  The History of Crawford 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 Dyer, farmer and stock raiser, was born in East Tennessee, near the Tennessee River, February 29, 1832, and when but a few weeks old was brought by his parents to Crawford County, which was then a vast wilderness inhabited by wild animals, game and Indians. He naturally had no education opportunities when young, and his literary knowledge has all been obtained since by personal effort. He was married December 16, 1851, to Mary Ann Etherly, a native of Tennessee, who had just come to this county. She died in 1858, leaving two sons and one daughter, all of whom are now living near home. In 1859 Mr. Dyer married Sirviller, daughter of Sudeth D. and Sarah Turner, natives of Kentucky, who came to Arkansas in 1842, when Mrs. Dyer was but a year old. They first located in Washington County, but afterward went to Franklin County, where the father died in 1855. The mother died in 1873 in Crawford County. Mr. Turner served for some time as justice of the peace, and surveyor of what is now Floyd County, Ky. To Mr. Dyer and his second wife ten children have been born, of whom four sons and five daughters are living. After his first marriage Mr. Dyer lived a year in Washington County. He then moved to Frog Bayou, but for twenty-nine years has lived on Little Mulberry, where he has a nice farm of 180 acres. For three years after his first marriage he engaged in blacksmithing, but since 1860 he has been engaged in fruit distilling. Before the war he was a Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for Buchanan, but since then has been a Republican. He is a public-spirited citizen, and from 1864 until 1866 served as justice of the peace. He has belonged to the Masonic fraternity for nineteen years, and was formerly a member of the Graphic Lodge, No. 454. Himself and wife have been identified with the Baptist Church since 1855, to which church his first wife also belonged. During the late war Mr. Dyer served in 1864 in the Thirteenth Kansas as quartermaster, being stationed at Van Buren and Fort Smith, under Sidney Smith, in the quartermaster’s department. Mr. Dyer’s parents, Benjamin and Martha (Pogue) Dyer, were born in North Carolina in 1798 and 1806, respectively. They were married in their native State, and soon after went to Tennessee. In 1832 they came to this county, where the father died in 1835. He was a farmer, blacksmith and distiller, and it is thought he served in one of the early wars. The mother was a Baptist, and a devoted Christian. Caleb Dyer, the grandfather was born in North Carolina, and died in the East. His wife, Rebecca, came to this county in 1833, where she died in 1836.

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This family biography is one of 222 biographies included in The History of Crawford County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Crawford County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Crawford County, Arkansas family biographies here: Crawford County, Arkansas

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