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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Hot Spring 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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John W. Keith is a son of John F. Keith (deceased), who was one of the early settlers of this county, and whose death occurred in 1862, while in the Confederate service in the late war. John F. Keith was the father of three children: John W. Keith (the principal in this sketch), Elizabeth (deceased, wife of George Floyd) and Laura B. (now Mrs. McCammor, of Malvern). Their mother died on December 25, 1873. John W. Keith was born in Hot Spring County, in 1850, and was reared on the farm and educated in the subscription school of that county. He was married June 3, 1871, to Saphire J. Nichols, a native of Missouri, by which marriage he had eight children: Mary B. (now a student at Jackson, Tenn.), Sophia (also a student at Jackson), Amanda E., John H., Ollive, Willie, Dick and an infant. Mr. Keith is a local minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife is also a member. He owns a fine farm of 500 acres, 300 of which are under cultivation, and is considered one of the best farmers in the county. He held the office of county clerk from 1874 to 1882, which position he filled with credit to himself, and to the entire satisfaction of the community. His life, while perhaps not an especially eventful one, has been of commendable influence, and the respect and esteem accorded him but fitly illustrates his character. He enjoys a large acquaintance.

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This family biography is one of 52 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Hot Spring County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Hot Spring County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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