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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pulaski 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 C. England, private secretary of Gov. J. P. Eagle, was born in Brownsville, the old county seat of Lonoke County, on January 18, 1850, and is a son of William Harrison England, of Georgia. The father was a prominent merchant in Kosciusko County, Miss., for a number of years before coming to Arkansas, and arrived in the latter State in the year 1849, locating at Brownsville, then in Prairie County. He established the first hotel ever opened in that town, and was afterward elected town treasurer, holding that office until his election as county clerk, which position he filled up to the time of his death, in April, 1860, at the age of forty-five years. In politics he was an old-line Whig, but was elected to his last office as an independent candidate, defeating one of the most popular men in that county, William Goodman. He was three times re-elected, and at the time of his death the office was filled by his former opponent. The elder England was married to Miss Laureva Boyette, a lady of French descent, who was born in Georgia. They were the parents of seven children, of whom four are yet living, and all residents of Arkansas. The mother is still living, and resides in Lonoke County with two of her children. John C. England was reared in Brownsville and educated at the schools of that place and at Hickory Plains, but his schooling was interrupted by the Civil War, which proved very disastrous to his family. During that event he obtained a position as clerk with the firm of Smart & Chamberlain, at Huntersville (now Argenta), but soon afterward went to Hicks Station and established himself in business, remaining there until the surrender. He then joined his brother in a business venture, but finding that his inclination toward the law was too strong to resist, he determined to make that his calling in life. For several years he studied law in the office of Messrs. Gantt & Bronaugh, the leading law firm in Prairie County, and in 1870 was admitted to the bar, and began to practice his profession at Devall’s Bluff, where he remained until 1873. He next came to Lonoke, and practiced with success until the year 1887, being attorney for the Little Rock branch of the Cotton Belt Railroad, and during that year moved to Little Rock, where he was shortly afterward appointed private secretary to Gov. Eagle. Mr. England became business manager of the Devall Liberal while at that place, which paper succumbed, after several months of publication, from lack of support, although one of the brightest newspapers in that section. In 1872 he actively assisted in establishing the Prairie County Democrat, and was local editor and business manager, and six months later bought out his partner’s interest and moved to Lonoke County, where the name was changed to the Lonoke Democrat, and in 1879 was sold to his brother, Mr. J. E. England. Mr. England has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since his twenty-first year, and has passed through several degrees. He also belongs to the Knights Templar, Knights of Pythias and Knights of Honor. In January, 1875, he was married to Miss Nellie Chapline, of Lonoke County, who was born in Greenville, S. C. Five children have been born to this marriage, of whom four are yet living: Wilhelmine, Nellie, Ralph and an infant daughter, Maud. In religious belief Mr. England is a member of the Baptist Church, and is a liberal contributor to all religious and educational enterprises.

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This family biography is one of 156 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Pulaski County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Pulaski County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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