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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Union 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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Edwin L. Dews, planter, Mount Holly, Ark. It fell to the lot of Mr. Dews to grow up with a farm experience, and from the very first he has closely and energetically applied himself to the obtaining of a thorough knowledge of agriculture, which, it is almost needless to say, he has successfully acquired, as the surroundings of his place plainly indicate. He was born in Arkansas, July 28, 1843, and his parents, Hesekiah and Ann A. (Smith) Dews, natives of Virginia and Arkansas, and born in 1806 and 1826, respectively. To the marriage of the parents, which occurred in 1838, were born eight children. The father had always followed agricultural pursuits, and this he carried on successfully in Alabama until 1836, when he emigrated to Arkansas, settling on a farm in Ouachita County. He was public spirited and served for several years as sheriff of Ouachita County. His death occurred in July, 1874. The mother is still living, and resides on the old home place with the two youngest children. She is a member of Presbyterian Church, as was also her husband. Edwin L. Dews received a good practical education at Mount Holly, Union County, and carried on farming until the late unpleasantness between the North and South, when he enlisted in the Confederate army, Company A, First Arkansas, and was in the following engagements: Corinth, Iuka Springs, Vicksburg, and was captured at the last-named battle. He was taken to Washington and later to Marshall, Tex., where he surrendered. In 1865 he returned home, began farming, and on April 21, 1868, was married to Miss Mary McRae, a native of Arkansas, and the daughter of C. L. and Lydia A. McRae. Three children are the result of this union. The family is of Scotch-Irish descent.

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This family biography is one of 84 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Union County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Union County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

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