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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Faulkner 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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Adam F. Kuykendall, farmer and stock raiser of Tupelo Township, Faulkner County, Ark. This gentleman, a typical Arkansan, was born in Conway County September 22, 1856, about two miles from the iron bridge on Cadron Creek. His parents were Amos R. and Hester (Stone) Kuykendall, natives of Cherokee Nation and Pennsylvania, respectively. Amos R. Kuykendall, born about 1821, was brought here in infancy and lived in this community until his death, July 8, 1859. When twenty-five years of age he became one of the officials of his county, his duties being those of commissioner of internal improvement. This office he held the remainder of his life. His father, Adam, occupied official positions the last twenty-five years of his life, being a member of Congress and of the State Assembly of Arkansas. For the official records of this illustrious family, the reader is referred to the pages devoted to State history. Mr. K. was a prominent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, being an elder of that denomination for a great many years. Hester Stone Kuykendall was a daughter of Elias and Rebecca Stone, who were natives of Pennsylvania and Maryland, respectively. Removing to Arkansas in 1839, they were among the very early settlers of Conway (now Faulkner) County. Adam F. Kuykendall’s early life was full of romance and adventure. Growing up at a time when there were but few settlers in that part of the country he necessarily became familiar with the haunts of the bear, panther, deer and wolf, and as hunting was a pleasure he had every opportunity to try his skill in that direction. His school life was very limited, owing to the fact that he had to tramp through five miles of wilderness to reach the school-house. On the whole, his boyhood was one continual school of pioneer hardship, but it seemed that he was well adapted to lead such a life, and was needed in Arkansas to help develop the country. He aided his step-father, John P. King, in assisting to clear the first farm near Conway, and states that he remembers killing deer and wolves, where the depot stands at Conway, as late as 1868. Upon reaching the age of thirteen years he commenced making his living as a farmer and stockman, renting land and driving his own cattle. During the period of 1875 and 1881 Mr. Kuykendall traveled over Arkansas, Texas, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Indian Territory, following the occupation of herding cattle. In 1881 he determined to settle in his native county, and accordingly bought a piece of land three and one-half miles northwest of Conway. October 2, 1881, he married Mrs. Alice Stone, widow of James Stone; her father was Richard Bradshaw, of Maysville, Ala. Two children were born to them: Elias S. and Balus L., both of whom died in infancy, the former in this county, and the latter in Texas, where Mrs. Kuykendall also died April 15, 1887, surviving her infant, Balus, one month. She was buried at Devine, Medina County, Texas. Her early demise was indeed a severe shock to her husband. She was an exemplary member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Little Hester A. still lives and makes her home with her paternal grandmother. After the death of Mrs. Kuykendall the subject of this sketch returned to Faulkner County and engaged as foreman on the farm of J. W. Farmers, in whose employ he remained about six months, then removing to his own farm; after staying long enough to secure a crop, he exchanged this farm for one of fifty acres, which he has cleared, and has it under a high state of cultivation. His principal crop is cotton. Mr. Kuykendall is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He takes an active part in local politics, votes with the Democratic party, and is a member of the Agricultural Wheel and Farmers’ Alliance. He is very much interested in public enterprises, and gives them his liberal support.

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This family biography is one of 40 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Faulkner County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Faulkner County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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