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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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Orvill Bearden, a leading farmer and well-known citizen of Lonoke County, was born in Alabama on June 16, 1823, and is a son of James and Mary (Jones) Bearden, the father a native of Georgia, and born in 1759. He was one of the first settlers of St. Clair County, Ala, and died in that State at the age of one hundred and fifteen years. The mother was born in Virginia about the year 1793, and died in 1873. They were the parents of nine children, of whom eight lived to maturity. Orvill was the youngest of this family and was reared in Alabama and educated in the public schools of that State. He was married in August, 1845, to Miss Elizabeth Washburn, of the same State, who died in 1865, leaving him five children: One daughter is now a widow; Jane, Sabine (wife of J. M. Morgan), Joseph C. and Amanda (wife of J. M. Hall). He was again married on September 23, 1865, his second wife being Mrs. Michette, an attractive widow lady, who bore him one child, Thomas M. Mr. Bearden moved from Alabama to Prairie County, Ark., in 1849, and in 1858 he came to where he now resides. He here owns 320 acres of valuable land, and has placed about 150 acres under cultivation. The land is well adapted for stock-raising, and is watered by several natural springs. It is, in fact, some of the finest soil in that section, and has been greatly improved since Mr. Bearden came upon it. In 1862 he enlisted in Company C of the Second Arkansas Mounted Rifles, and served almost through the entire war. In 1864 he was captured at Cassville, Ga., and taken to Rock Island, Ill., where he was confined for about ten months before being paroled. He took part in a great many of the important engagements and minor skirmishes, and bore himself bravely throughout his entire army career. In politics he is a Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for James K. Polk. Mr. Bearden is a representative citizen, and a popular man with the entire community. His sterling worth and fine character have won for him a host of friends, and his influence is very great, both politically and otherwise.

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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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