My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Madison 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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M. B. Presley was born in Clay County, N. C., October 26, 1828, his parents being Sanders and Elizabeth (Crowell) Presley, both natives of North Carolina, where they married. They afterward made their home in Middle Tennessee, where they reared their family, and the father died in 1840. In 1857 the mother came to Madison County, Ark., with our subject, where she died in 1888. The father was a farmer, and a circuit rider in the Methodist Church. M. B. Presley passed his youth and married in Tennessee, there engaging in farming. He arrived in Madison County, Ark., November 7, 1857, and has lived here ever since. He is now the owner of 160 acres of land, and once owned about 400 acres, which he divided among his children. From 1874 he was engaged in the mercantile business, and has been postmaster of Alabama, for a number of years, the position now being filled by a son. May 9, 1847, he was wedded, in Tennessee, to Nancy (Terry) Walden, a native of that State, born December 22, 1828. This union has been blessed with eleven children, ten now living: Mary E., Allen W., William T. (deceased), Dicy J., James B., Sarah A., Henry M., Catherine T., Wiley B., Martha A. and Francis J. Politically Mr. Presley has always been a Democrat, and during the Mexican War was first lieutenant of a company which went to Nashville, but was not mustered in. Mr. Presley is a well-known and respected citizen, and has a pleasant home.

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This family biography is one of 99 biographies included in The History of Madison County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Madison County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Madison County, Arkansas family biographies here: Madison County, Arkansas

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