My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in the book, The History of Lauderdale County, Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1886.  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.

* * * *

John D. Baxter, register of Lauderdale County, is the son of David and Cynthia (Dixon) Baxter. The father was a native of North Carolina, and, when a young man, came to Middle Tennessee, where he married Miss Dixon and by her had two sons and a daughter; they settled in Middle Tennessee, where the mother died in 1831, a devout member of the Presbyterian Church. The following year he married Frances Elder, by whom he had six children; he was not a member of any church; she belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church South; he was a farmer, a quiet, upright man, in politics a Democrat; he died in 1857, about sixty-seven years old. John D. Baxter, our subject, inherits Irish blood through his father; he was born September 14, 1823, in Rutherford County; received a common school education, and remained on the farm until he was twenty-one years old; then served a three years’ apprenticeship learning the carpenter’s trade, which he followed for seventeen years. In 1848, Mr. Baxter married Ann A. Lackey, who was born May 26, 1829, in Rutherford County; two of the six children born to them are living now. In 1861 they moved to Lauderdale County, which has since been their home, the entire family belongs to the Presbyterian Church. In 1865 Mr. Baxter was appointed by Gov. Brownlow to fill the office of register of Lauderdale County, and in 1866 he was elected by the people to fill the office, and has been so popular and efficient as an officer that he has been re-elected every four years since then and is still holding it for the sixth term. For twelve years he was postmaster at Ripley, Tenn. Politically he is a Democrat. In 1871, Mrs. Baxter died, and he has never remarried. He has been a resident of Lauderdale County for twenty-five years, and is a worthy citizen.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 116 biographies included in the book,  The History of Lauderdale County, Tennessee published in 1886 by Goodspeed.  The History of Lauderdale County was included within The History of Lauderdale, Tipton, Haywood, and Crockett Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Lauderdale, Tipton, Haywood, and Crockett Counties, Tennessee

View additional Lauderdale County, Tennessee family biographies here: Lauderdale County, Tennessee

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