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Below is a family biography from the book,  The History of Franklin 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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Rufus K. Milam, farmer and mechanic, is a native of Jackson, Ala., and is a son of Thomas F. and Amanda (Bell) Milam. Coleman Milam, grandfather of Rufus K., was born in Laurens County, S. C. He served in the War of 1812 and also in the Indian War, and after the latter he located in Hardin County, Tenn., and engaged in farming until his death in 1869, at the age of ninety-eight years. Thomas F. Milam was born in Grundy County, Tenn., in 1810, where he was reared and educated. In 1831 he married Amanda Bell, of Coffee County, Tenn., a daughter of James Bell, and a descendant on the maternal side of Gen. John Montgomery, who fell at the battle of Quebec, in the French and Indian War. James Bell, one of the earliest settlers of Tennessee, was a distiller and extensive farmer, and was also engaged in merchandising; politically he was a Whig. After his marriage Thomas F. Milam settled on a farm in Coffee County, Tenn., whence he removed to Hardin County, and following farming. He was a carpenter by trade, and owned a fine farm on the Tennessee River. He was an early settler, and was a prominent man in politics as well as church work. In 1859 he removed to Arkansas, and located on a farm near what is now Sub Rosa. At the outbreak of the late Civil War he entered the Confederate army as orderly-sergeant, and died at Van Buren, Ark., in March, 1862. Mrs. Amanda Milam died in 1880, the mother of ten children, of whom nine are living, viz.: Margaret (wife of C. M. Gammill), Rufus K., Lucas C., Calaway J., James F., Malinda (now Mrs. Ambrose Williams), Thomas F., Frances C. (who married Thomas Nolan), William H. O. and Lorenzo M. Mrs. Amanda Milam was a Christian woman, and an active worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Rufus K. Milam was born July 27, 1834, and grew to manhood on the farm in Hardin County, Tenn. He learned the trades of wheel-wright and blacksmith, and first went to Arkansas in 1857, returning to Tennessee the same year, and the following year he went to Eastern Florida, where he worked at his trade until 1860, when he again went to Franklin County, Ark., and located on the farm where he now resides. In 1862 he was conscripted in the Confederate army, and held contrary to his wishes. He made his escape, and subsequently assisted in recruiting the Second Arkansas Cavalry; he was made lieutenant of Company G, and was in active service until the close of the war. He took part in Gen. Price’s raid through Missouri, served as railroad guard in Tennessee, was in several skirmishes, and was discharged at La Grange, Tenn., August 20, 1865. He then married Martha A. Poindexter, and their five children are James H., Belle R. (wife of John Priest), Joseph P. and George and Hannah (twins). Mr. Milam is an active member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He owns a fine farm of ninety acres, all under cultivation, and continues to work at his trade.

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This family biography is one of 163 biographies included in The History of Franklin County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Franklin County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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

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