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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Ouachita County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  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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George H. Stinson is a dealer in books, stationery, etc., at Camden, Ark., and is also a well-known jeweler of that place. He was born in Bath, Me., in 1827, and is a son of Samuel G. and Catherine (Gannett) Stinson, who were also born in the Pine Tree State. They traced their ancestry back to old English, Scotch and Irish families. Samuel G. Stinson was a merchant in Boston for many years, a very prosperous man of business, and died in Bath, Me. George H. Stinson is the eldest of their nine children, and is the only son now living. He attended the public schools, which were very fine, of his native State, and at an early day was apprenticed to a watchmaker in Bath. At an early day he came to Camden, Ark., and established himself in business, purchasing a stock of jewelry of a man who wished to sell out, and although Camden was a very small place, and his stock of goods not as extensive as could be wished, he had come to stay, and as the country gradually improved his trade increased in proportion, and he is now doing an extensive and profitable business. He at first manufactured nearly all his own jewelry, but this is now unnecessary. He has a fine brick business building in Camden, 20x90 feet, two stories in height, and his stock of goods is now valued at $12,000. He has served as alderman several terms, also as school director, and since first locating here he has been regarded as a valuable citizen. He is a Knight Templar in the Masonic fraternity, is a member of the Royal Arcanum and the K. of H. He was married in 1857 to Miss Virginia McCollum, a native of South Carolina, by whom he has three children: Mrs. J. B. McCaughey, Mrs. Walter Watts, and John M., who is in business with his father. Mr. Stinson and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1861 he enlisted in Company C, First Arkansas Infantry, and was on active duty until he was wounded at the battle of Shiloh, in April, 1862, in the head by a bursting shell. He then entered the quartermaster’s department and clerked until the close.

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This family biography is one of 91 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Ouachita County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Ouachita County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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