My Genealogy Hound

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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Mrs. Marie Archer, of Little Rock, an estimable and much respected lady owes her nativity to Berlin, Prussia, where her birth occurred on November 18, 1853, she being the daughter of Theodore and Emily (Eckert) Strauss. The father was born in Berlin, in 1820, but attained his growth elsewhere in the Kingdom. He was an expert book- keeper, and was in the lumber business from early manhood in Berlin. He was married in that city, by a famous Lutheran minister named Strauss, and to his union were born four children, three sons and one daughter, of whom our subject is the youngest. The children were all born in Berlin and are named as follows: Waldemar, Albert, Paul (who died when a child) and Marie. The family moved to England when Mrs. Archer was a child, and her father embarked in the commission business in London for about two years, after which he emigrated to America, leaving his family in London in order to educate the sons at Cambridge and Oxford Colleges, from which they have diplomas. Theodore Strauss had to leave Prussia during the Revolution, as he was a Republican and opposed to the Crown. He came direct from London to St. Louis, Mo., and there engaged in his old business, first as lumber dealer and afterward as lumber inspector for the city. His wife followed to America at the close of the war, and there lived many years. Leaving St. Louis, Theodore Strauss went to Malvern, Ark., where he joined his sons in the lumber business, and there died in 1883. The mother, Emily Eckert, was born in Berlin about 1824, is still living and resides at Little Rock with her daughter, Mrs. Archer. Mrs. Marie Archer was married in St. Louis, Mo., in 1873, to William B. Archer, and three children were the fruits of this union: Wallie B., Cora E. and Elsie M. Mrs. Archer came to Little Rock in July, 1889, and engaged in keeping a private boarding house, in which business she has continued with successful and popular results. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church. The maternal grandfather was a Prussian veteran, fought in the battle of Waterloo as a lieutenant, and received the Iron Cross. On the Eckert side the family belong to the nobility, and have in their possession a coat of arms.

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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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