My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in the Woodruff County portion of Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern 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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D. R. Compton. There is no sketch within the Biographical Department of this work which presents a better example of the rise of young men from a lowly place to a position of honor and respect, than appears in these few lines, for, at the age of nineteen years, Mr. Compton started out in life for himself, and is now the owner of 370 acres of land, of which 150 acres are under cultivation. He was born in Pittsylvania County, Va., October 16, 1830, and is the oldest child born to Reuben and Nancy (Farmer) Compton, who were also Virginians. He was reared and educated in his native county, and upon first leaving home, went to West Tennessee, where he was engaged in farming for about nine years. In 1860 he took up his permanent abode in Woodruff County, Ark., and was for a short time located near Augusta. From 1862 until the close of the war, he has served in Company E, Twenty-second Arkansas Infantry, and since the war he has been engaged in conducting his farm, his efforts in this direction being attended with the best results. In 1853 his marriage with Miss Tabitha Lax was celebrated, and of six children born to them, only two are living: David and Edward. His marriage to his present wife, whose maiden name was Berna Neill, took place in 1882, and their union has been blessed in the birth of three children: Reuben H., Virginia B. and Columbus N.

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This family biography is one of 69 biographies included in the Woodruff County portion of Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Woodruff County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Woodruff County, Arkansas family biographies here: Woodruff County, Arkansas

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