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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lawrence 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 A. Cathey, one of the oldest merchants in Lawrence County, was born in Shelby County, Tenn., in the year 1840. He is the son of John A. Cathey, of Maury County, Tenn., who was reared on a farm, and finally adopted the tailoring trade, which he followed until his death occurred, in 1851, at Jacksonport, Ark, in which place he had settled in 1848, for the purpose of working. He was married to Miss Narcissa Turnage, of Tennessee, who died shortly after the decease of her husband at Jacksonport. Five sons were born to them, two of them yet living: James H. and John A., both living in Arkansas. The children who have died are William T., David L. and an infant. David was killed by accidentally shooting himself during the war. John A. Cathey, for whom this sketch is intended, is the youngest member of the family living. He came to Arkansas with his parents, and remained with them, until he grew to manhood, in Jackson County. He enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861, and was enrolled in Company G, First Arkansas, and served until the close of the war, when he surrendered at Jacksonport. He participated in the battle of Bull Run, at Shiloh, and was so severely wounded in that engagement that he lay disabled for some two months. He also took part in the battles of Perryville (Ky.), Murfreesboro (Tenn.), Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and then a three months’ campaign from Dalton to Atlanta. He was at Franklin, Tenn., during the terrible slaughter (Hood’s) at that place, and afterward in another hot campaign at Nashville. He has been wounded at different times, and bears a war record that few men can equal at the present day. When the war was over, it would naturally seem that after witnessing and taking part in the terrible carnage of his numerous battles, he would prefer a peaceful life, but, strange to say, his occupation was butchering while in Jacksonport, as though he had not yet been satiated by the sight and smell of blood. From Jacksonport he moved to Newport, and lived there for eight years, then settled down in Lawrence County, where he is now considered the oldest established merchant in that section. He carries a large stock of general merchandise, and is noted for his square dealing throughout the county. In fact, he is the founder of the town that bears his name. He was appointed postmaster from 1881 to 1885, and has held several local offices. His wife was Miss Sarah W. Roberts, of Alabama, who died in 1869. Mr. Cathey afterward married a sister of his first wife, Miss Eliza Roberts, and they have had two children by this union, Eliza I. and Bertha Lee. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and Mr. Cathey is a member of Dry Creek Lodge No. 453, F. & A. M.

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This family biography is one of 111 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lawrence County, Arkansas published in 1889.  View the complete description here: Lawrence County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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

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