My Genealogy Hound

John J. Sharp, one of the principal farmers and stock raisers in Lawrence County, was born in this county, on the 6th of June, 1846. He is a son of John Sharp, who was born in the same county and State, in 1818, and a grandson of Solomon Sharp, one of the first settlers to till the soil of Arkansas. His grandfather began farming and stock-raising on his arrival in this section, and that particular business has been followed by father and son for three generations. Their first location was on the place now owned by Capt. Stewart, near Powhatan. John Sharp was a soldier in the Mexican War, and was the second child of a family of nine. His intrepidity led him to the front ranks of battle, where he sickened and died, without the privilege of bidding his family good-bye. He married Miss Luriza Turman, a Kentucky lady, in 1816, who died in 1888. There were three children born to them: Mrs. Jane Smith, Mrs. Mary Williams, a widow lady, and John J. Sharp, of whom we write. Mr. Sharp remained in this county until August, 1862, when he enlisted in the Confederate army, and was one of the raiders through Missouri, under Gen. Price. He returned home the same year, and in 1865 went to Jacksonport, where he was paroled. When twenty years of age he went on his uncle’s farm, at Black Rock, and remained two years. After leaving him he moved to his present place of residence, which he bought from his uncle in 1870. It is one of the oldest places of settlement in the county, and has 100 acres of land under cultivation. Mr. Sharp was married, September 20, 1868, to Miss Lucinda C. McGhehey, a daughter of Judge McGhehey, who has filled that office for fourteen years. They have five children: William Henry, Alice, Albert Redmond, Ernest W. and Lacie B., and are members of the Christian Church. Mr. Sharp has been a member of the school board for a number of years, and has always used his influence to the fullest extent in the cause of education. He is a firm believer in the maxim that “knowledge is power,” and is always one of the first to advance a cause for the enlightenment and instruction of childhood. He is the owner of a large sorghum-mill and a splendid farm. His mill has a capacity of forty-five gallons per day.