My Genealogy Hound

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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William Stanley, one of the most progressive men and an old settler of Hot Spring County, was born in Muhlenburg County, Ky., in 1841, and is a son of Moses and Margaret (Laney) Stanley, natives of the same State. The father was a practical farmer, who came to Arkansas in 1855 and settled at Rockport, where he purchased a farm which he improved and made his permanent home. His death occurred in 1886, at the age of sixty-six years, while the mother still survives him. Both parents were devout members of the Baptist Church and earnest Christian people. The father served with distinction through the Civil War. They reared a family of ten children, of whom eight are yet living: William (the principal in this sketch), Margaret (wife of Thomas Catherine), Peter, John (residing in Craighead County), Caroline (wife of John Rice, residing at Camden), Ellen (wife of Ed Crow), Elizabeth (wife of Elihu E. Ray) and Russell. When twenty-one years old, William Stanley, the oldest son, enlisted in the Third Arkansas Volunteers, and served until the close of the war, taking part in the battles of Fredericksburg, Seven Pines, Malvern Hill, Suffolk, N. C., Chickamauga, in the Wilderness, Gettysburg, Petersburg, Richmond, Spottsylvania Court-House, and a number of skirmishes. He was twice wounded severely, but his indomitable courage still forced him to fight on until the close of the war. After that event he returned to his home and family, and turned his attention to farming, which he has carried on with great success, now owning about 1,027 acres of valuable land, with some 550 acres under cultivation. He also operates a cotton-gin and mill which are both paying industries. Mr. Stanley was married in 1865 to Miss Lucinda Williams, of Georgia, by whom he has had six children: Lucinda (wife of W. H. Catholic), Delia, Charles, Willie D., Gatta and Lester. Mr. Stanley is a member of the Baptist Church and takes an active part in the affairs of that faith. His life has been one of remarkable energy and enterprise, as he started after the war with almost nothing upon which to build the foundation of his present fortune. He is now perhaps the largest and most prosperous farmer in Hot Spring County, and owes it all to his individual efforts.

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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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