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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Cross 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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Rowland R. Hodges, though comparatively a newcomer in Cross County, is conceded to be one of its prominent farmers. He was born in Kentucky in 1845, and is a son of Edward and Lourena (Mullens) Hodges, also Kentuckians by birth, the family having come originally from Virginia. Edward Hodges owned a large plantation in Kentucky and one-third of twenty or more negroes. He was born in 1812 and was married in 1838. A strong Republican, he was a member of the Baptist Church, and died in November, 1888, in the same county in which he was born. Mrs. Hodges’ birth occurred in 1822; she died in 1886, having become the mother of eight children, seven of whom are now living: R. R. (our subject), Rebecca (wife of John Taylor), Joshua, Stephen, John, Caleph and Sarah A. (wife of John Sturgill). Rowland R. was reared and educated in the “Blue Grass” State, and at the age of twenty-one commenced farming for himself on rented land. The following year he purchased 130 acres of land, where he remained until 1876, then removing to within fifteen miles of Louisville and engaging in the saw-mill business, which he continued for two years. He then became associated with a man by the name of Vickers, as foreman, in the manufacture of wagons, but the business did not prove successful, and in 1881 he entered the employ of a firm in the manufacture of wagons at Owensboro, Ky., where he continued four years also as foreman. Previous to this he had come to Arkansas in 1880 and entered 160 acres of land in Craighead County, whither he moved his family. In 1885, resigning his position at Owensboro, he joined his family and then moved to Cross County, purchasing the grist-mill and cotton-gin which he still owns, and is also operating a saw-mill started about the same time. Mr. Hodges was married in 1867 to Mrs. Martha M. McHargue (nee Miller). They are the parents of five children: Hiram H., James S., E. R., David E. and Nannie B. In 1863 Mr. Hodges joined the Federal army and enlisted in the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry, serving to the close of the war in Gen. Burnside’s command. He participated in the battles of Strawberry Plains, Perryville (Ky.), and a number of skirmishes. Himself and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Hodges belongs to the I. O. O. F., is an enterprising citizen, and highly respected.

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This family biography is one of 103 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Cross County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Cross County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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

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