My Genealogy Hound

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.

* * * *

W. B. Haxton. Among the prominent industries that have materially benefited Washington County, Ark., and are worthy of mention, are the woolen mills owned by W. B. Haxton. He was born in the “Buckeye State” in 1824, and is a son of James and Catherine (Cary) Haxton, who were born in Rhode Island and Pennsylvania, in 1799 and 1806, respectively. The father was a tanner and currier by trade, and died in Indiana in 1848. His wife died in 1886. W. B. Haxton is the eldest of their ten children, and was reared in Indiana. He entered the woolen mills when about fifteen years of age, and served a three years’ apprenticeship with Lowrey & McCuen, of Rockville, Indiana. He located in Illinois in 1836, and operated the first woolen mills ever run at Danville, and ten years later moved to Iroquois, where he was engaged in farming for some time. He then went to Williamsport, and in 1863 or 1864 engaged in the woolen business again. This enterprise was a complete failure owing to war troubles. The following three years he was engaged in peddling, and in this way secured enough money to come West. He located in Arkansas in 1871, and in 1877 erected the Springdale Woolen Mills, and is doing a thriving business. He furnishes all the woolen fabric for the public institutions of the Cherokee Nation, and besides this does a large wholesale local business. Four years ago there were four woolen mills in Arkansas, but at this date Mr. Haxton’s is the only one that has survived and prospered. At the Northwestern Agricultural Fair, held at Fort Smith, Mr. Haxton took the premium on the following fabrics: Jeans, blankets, stocking yarn, and a diploma on flannels. He was married April 30, 1846, to Margaret Foote, who was born in Indiana in 1826. Ten of their twelve children are living: Elizabeth C., S. N., Thomas J., Sarah F., Lillie D., Rose, Melissa, Nettie, William L. and James E. Three of this large family, S. N., Lillie and Rose, were married on the same day. The family are Universalists and Mr. Haxton is a Republican in politics.

* * * *

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

Use the links at the top right of this page to search or browse thousands of other family biographies.