My Genealogy Hound

John W. Tweedy, farmer, Lima, Ark. To the person who closely applies himself to any occupation which he has chosen as his calling in life, there can only come one result — that of success, and a high place in the esteem of those among whom he has made his home. And Mr. Tweedy is no exception to the rule, for it has only been by industry and strict attention to agricultural pursuits that he has attained to the position which he now enjoys. He was born in Virginia February 6, 1838, and passed his youthful days on the farm in Randolph County, whither his parents had moved in 1839. He received a limited education in the public schools of this county, also in the subscription schools, and at the age of twenty one commenced life for himself by engaging in agricultural pursuits on his own land in this county. He has since continued in the same business, which has been his life occupation. On the 1st of August, 1858, his marriage with Miss Cynthia H. Stubblefield, of this county, was consummated. She is the daughter of Coleman Stubblefield, one of the oldest settlers of Randolph County, who came here as early as 1802, and was the third man to settle on Eleven Points; the other two being Phelan Stubblefield (a brother) and William Looney (a cousin), who were there but a short time before him, as all came in the same year from Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Stubblefield reared a family of children, one of whom died young: Abraham, deceased, whose family lives in this county; Nettie, deceased wife of Thomas Johnson, who is a farmer, and lives in Lawrence County, Ark.; Absalom, deceased, was a farmer, and resided in this county; Nancy, deceased wife of Thomas Rice, a farmer, who lives in this county; Elizabeth, widow of W. Spikes, another resident of this county; Lettie, deceased wife of William White, who is also a resident of this county; Robin, deceased at the age of twenty-seven years; Martha, deceased at the age of twenty-two years, and Redmond, deceased at the age of twelve years. Before the war Mr. Stubblefield was a colonel in the State militia; he was a member of the Masonic fraternity, and he and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Stubblefield died in 1849, at about the age of fifty-six years, and Mrs. Stubblefield died in 1862, at the age of sixty-one years. Mr. and Mrs. John W. Tweedy were the parents of three children, all deceased: Martha, died at the age of three months; Nettie L., wife of Thomas H. Wells, died at the age of twenty-five years, leaving two children (John D. and Maud G.), and Laura D., who died at the age of three years and three months. Mr. Tweedy served three years in the Confederate army under Gen. Price, and participated in several raids made by that general. He was slightly wounded once by a spent ball, but was only disabled for a few days. In 1865, June 5th, he surrendered at Jacksonport, Ark., and then came home and went immediately to farming. He owned, at the close of the war, 240 acres of land, with about forty acres under cultivation. He is now the owner of 235 acres, with eighty acres under cultivation, but he gave his daughter (Mrs. Wells, now deceased), 600 acres at the time of her marriage. Mr. and Mrs. Tweedy are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and have been so for a number of years. She was born in 1828. Mr. Tweedy is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and in politics affiliates with the Democratic party. His parents, Watson D. and Martha E. (Spikes) Tweedy, were natives, respectively, of Virginia and Tennessee. The father was reared to farm life in his native State, and remained there until about twenty-two years old, when he moved to Tennessee. Here he was married, and afterward he returned to Virginia, where he remained until 1839, when he moved to Randolph County, Ark. There he died in 1873. He had been twice married, first to Miss Martha E. Spikes, and by her became the father of three children, viz.: John W., Joseph (deceased) and R. A., who lives in this county. Mrs. Tweedy was born in 1817, and died in 1843. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. For his second wife Mr. Tweedy took Miss Nancy Rasberry, of Mississippi, in 1847, and she bore him following children: James (deceased) whose widow lives in Jackson County, Ark.; Watson died at the age of twenty-one; Jane died at the age of twenty years; Marion died at the age of nineteen years; Lee died at the age of eighteen years; Amanda is the wife of John Coffman, and Mary is the wife of G. W. Morgan, and has one child. Mrs. Tweedy died in 1877. She was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Watson D. Tweedy had but a limited education, and followed agricultural pursuits all his life. He became comfortably fixed, and his honesty and liberality in all things won him a host of friends. He was never very active in politics; he was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.