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Below is a family biography included in The History of Greene County, Illinois published by Donnelley, Gassette & Loyd in 1879. 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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ATKINS, JOSEPH J. blacksmith, Sec. 31. P. O. White Hall. Mr. A. was born in Virginia, November 25, 1823, the second son of Nathaniel and Nancy Atkins, who passed the remainder of life in Pike County, Missouri, Joseph J. became a skillful blacksmith, and in Ashley, Pike County, Missouri, he followed his vocation some four years. Here he married Martha J. Gourley. Locating at Carrollton in Greene County, about 1835, he remained some two years, working at his trade, when he moved to Wilmington, opened a shop and conducted a successful business for five years. He then went to Carrollton, working for John C. Kelley six years and a half; was also employed by Winn Bros., who now do business at White Hall. Mr. A. is one of the most skillful mechanics in Greene County, and it is said repaired the first agricultural machinery in this county. Mr. A. owns 160 acres of land, has one child, Montgomery. Mr. A. is now blacksmith for Stewart Seeley.
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This family biography is one of 744 biographies included in The History of Greene County, Illinois published in 1879. View the complete description here: The History of Greene County, Illinois
View additional Greene County, Illinois family biographies here: Greene County, Illinois Biographies
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