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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lonoke 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 H. Eagle. A large proportion of the people of Central Arkansas are either natives of Tennessee or descendants of those who, attracted by the great resources of this State, left their Eastern homes, surrounded by all the comforts of advanced civilization, and coming westward settled in what was then an unbroken wilderness. Among the early settlers of Arkansas were James and Charity (Swaim) Eagle, the parents of the subject of this sketch. They were natives of North Carolina, but had moved to Tennessee with their parents in 1829. Here among the dangers and privations of that time they spent their childhood, here, too, at a later date being married. In 1839 they came westward, and after a long and tedious journey overland through an unbroken and trackless territory finally located in Lonoke County, Ark., which at that time had not attained to Statehood. Thus they were pioneers in two States. Mr. Eagle began business here on the very limited cash capital of $7, but subsequently became one of the leading citizens, and his death, which occurred in 1863, was mourned by the entire community. The Eagle family are of German and Scotch descent, and both the paternal and maternal grandfathers of William H. served as soldiers in the War of the Revolution; indeed they have been represented in every war in which the United States has been engaged. The sterling integrity and sturdy purpose of character for which the family have been noted, have never suffered distortion in their transmission from generation to generation, the prominent traits of illustrious ancestors remaining unchanged in recent descendants. They, as a family, are among the most prominent citizens in Central Arkansas. The maternal grandmother had thirteen children, and the paternal grandmother bore twelve children. In a family of ten, William H. is the oldest child in order of birth. He remained with his father until grown to manhood, and received such advantages for an education as were obtainable in that unsettled period. He began as a farmer on a small scale, but by close application to business has reached a position as one of the wealthiest men of the county, having cleared and improved over 2,000 acres in Lonoke County alone. At the close of the war his taxes were but $3, and now he pays $1,000, and besides personal property, he owns 11,000 acres of land in this county, ample evidence of his great prosperity. Mr. Eagle embarked in merchandising in Lonoke in 1871, and has since continued the business. On February 18, 1857, he was married to Miss Malinda Robinson, a native of Mississippi, who came with her parents from Tennessee about 1848. Her death occurred in 1882, she leaving a family of nine children to mourn her loss. Mr. Eagle was married to his present wife in 1884, and to them have been born a family of two children. Mrs. Eagle’s maiden name was Miss Ada Monroe, a native of Lonoke County, Ark. The family worship at the Baptist Church, of which Mr. Eagle is one of the originators. He is a member of Lonoke Lodge No. 51, A. F. & A. M., and is in every sense of the word a popular and much respected man.

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This family biography is one of 143 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Lonoke County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Lonoke County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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