My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of East Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887.  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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Alexander R. Meek, farmer and stock raiser, was born in Jefferson County, May 17, 1829, the son of Alexander Wallace and Nancy (Douglas) Meek, the former a native of Jefferson County, Tenn., and the latter of Mecklenburg County, N. C. The ancestors are mentioned in the sketch of John M. Meek. The father was a successful farmer and died in February, 1849, at the age of sixty-one. Our subject is the youngest but one of eight children, and was reared on his present homestead. When his father died he was compelled to leave school at Strawberry Plains, and take charge of the farm at the age of twenty years, and receiving the farm by his father’s will, he has controlled it ever since, as a practical and successful farmer. He has always preferred the retirement of rural life and is now an aged and respected citizen, and member of the Presbyterian Church.

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This family biography is one of 938 biographies included in The History of East Tennessee published in 1887.  For the complete description, click here: History of East Tennessee

To view additional Jefferson County, Tennessee family biographies, click here

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