My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in The History of Williamson County, 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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PLEASANT D. SCALES, son of Samuel and Melissa A. A. (Wilson) Scales, was born in Tennessee, October 1, 1839. His father died in 1841, and his mother then married Matthew Wilson, by whom she had three children. Our subject lived on a farm in Rutherford County until eleven years of age, when he came to this county and farmed until 1857. He then clerked in a store two years, after which he attended school at College Grove, where he remained until 1861. He then enlisted in Company D, Twenty-fourth Tennessee Regiment, and remained in service until the close of the war. In 1865 be came home and began merchandising at Bethesda, which he has continued ever since. He is also postmaster at the same place. May 24, 1876, our subject led to the hymeneal altar Miss Mary O. Ratcliffe, a native of this State, born March 11, 1852, and the daughter of Francis G. and Martha (Reams) Ratcliffe. To Mr. and Mrs. Scales were born four children: Ella, born June 23, 1877; Eva M., born February 14, 1879; Annie C. (deceased), born May 16, 1881, and Frank E., born April 23, 1884. In 1883 Mr. Scales was elected magistrate in this district and holds the office at the present time. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a Democrat in politics, he is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and his wife a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South.

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This family biography is one of the numerous biographies included in The History of Williamson County, Tennessee published in 1887 by Goodspeed.  The History of Williamson County was included within The History of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford & Marshall Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Maury, Williamson, Rutherford, Wilson, Beford and Marshall Counties of Tennessee

View additional Williamson County, Tennessee family biographies here

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