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Below is a family biography included in The History of Washington 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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Dr. Evans Atwood, a practicing physician of Springdale, Ark., was born in Vermilion County, Ill., in 1836, and is a son of Simeon and Eliza (McGary) Atwood, and grandson of James Atwood, who was a Virginian and one of the pioneer settlers of Kentucky. He immigrated to Kentucky, and afterward moved to Ohio, thence to Vermilion County, Ill., where he died in 18538 or 1854. He was one of the pioneers of early times, the most of his life having been spent on the extreme borders of civilization. His son Simeon was born in Adair County, Ky., in 1807, and July 31, 1835, was married to Miss Eliza McGary, born in Posey County, Ind., in 1820, by whom he became the father of eight children, Dr. Evans Atwood being their eldest child. They immigrated to Texas in l840, where they resided ten years, and then came to Washington County, Ark. Here they spent the remainder of their days, the father dying June 10, 1888, and the mother May 18, 1883. Dr. Atwood was taken to Arkansas at the age of thirteen years, and has made that State his home up to the present time. He studied medicine under a preceptor for about two years, and during the winters of 1873 and 1874 took a course of lectures in the Louisville (Ky.) Medical College, after which he returned home and began practicing, meeting with good and well-deserved success. He is one of the oldest practitioners in this portion of the county and is well to the front in his profession. November 6, 1859 he was married to Miss Lucy Jane Roberts, who was born in East Tennessee June 29, 1841, and by her became the father of two children: Martha J. and James C. They were divorced in 1867, and the Doctor married Miss Susan Wilson February 17, 1867, who was born in Washington County, Ark., on the 31st of July, 1839. The following children were born to them: Robert L., John W., Lettie E., William A., Herman E., Rettie M., Rilla B., Simeon D., Hugh and Thomas J. Dr. Atwood is a member of Springdale Lodge No. 316, A. F. & A. M., belongs to the Primitive Baptist Church, and votes the Democratic ticket. During the late war he served as lieutenant in the North West Fifteenth Arkansas Infantry, Confederate States Army, and in his four years service was wounded but once, slightly; was taken prisoner at the battle of Bayou Pierre, near Port Gibson, Miss., May 1, 1863, and was held a prisoner at Alton, Ill., Johnson’s Island, Ohio, Point Lookout, Md., and Fort Delaware, Del., until the war closed. His maternal grandfather, Hugh McGary, served in the Indian Wars of Florida and the “Black Hawk” War as an officer.

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This family biography is one of 300 biographies included in The History of Washington County, Arkansas published in 1889.  For the complete description, click here: Washington County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

To view additional Washington County, Arkansas family biographies, click here

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