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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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George W. B. Meadors was born in Whitley County, Ky., in 1830, and is a son of Jacob M. and Jane W. (Harman) Meadors, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, and born in 1799 and 1803, respectively. They accompanied their parents to Whitley County, Ky., where they afterward married and lived until 1851. They then came to Crawford County, where their respective deaths occurred in 1871 and 1872. For many years they were Missionary Baptists. The grandfather, John Meadors, was born in North Carolina, was a Revolutionary soldier, and in 1811 went to Whitley County, where he died. The great-grandfather came to America from Scotland when a young man, and lived in North Carolina until his death. The maternal grandfather, Valentine Harman, was born in North Carolina, served in the Indian wars and died in Whitley County, Ky. He was of Dutch origin. Mr. Meadors’ great-grandfather, Capt. Thomas Baken, came to America from England, served in the Revolution, and afterward settled in South Carolina, and became a wealthy citizen. He was a member of the State Legislature, and met his death while fighting a duel with John Brown, a fellow colleague, friend and neighbor. George W. B. Meadors is the fifth of a family of thirteen children, and passed his boyhood near the Cumberland River among the Kentucky hills. His education was limited, as he attended school but a few months. From 1847 until discharged at Louisville in July, 1848, he served under Gen. Scott, in Company K, Third Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, going from Vera Cruz to the City of Mexico. He was run over by wagon at the last place and severely hurt. In 1848 he married Lucy C., daughter of Nathan Moore, a native of Whitley County, Ky. Her parents came from South Carolina, and were early settlers of Kentucky. To Mr. and Mrs. Meadors seven children have been born, of whom two sons and two daughters are now living. In 1851 Mr. Meadors came to this county and homesteaded forty acres, to which he has added until he now has 120 acres of well improved land, upon which, since 1875, he has operated a good gin and corn-mill, all his property being the result of his own personal effort. He was formerly a Democrat, but since the war has been a Republican, and after 1868 served as deputy sheriff of the county for ten years. For five years after the war he held a captain’s commission in the militia. Mr. and Mrs. Meadors are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. There are in this county eighty-three voters directly members of the Meadors family, and of these eighty-one are Republicans.

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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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