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Below is a family biography included in The History of Wilson 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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J. W. HAMILTON, Jr., was born August 10, 1853, in Wilson County, Tenn., and is the eldest son born to Col. James and Jane (McFarland) Hamilton. Our subject was reared on the farm, and received a rudimentary education in the county schools. At the age of fifteen he entered the Central College at Fayette, Mo., which institution he attended for two and a half years, graduating from the mathematical department. After leaving school he secured the position of passenger conductor on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, his line of travel being from Nashville to Lebanon. This position he held for eight years. During the time he was on the railroad he was in partnership with J. R. Shorter in the livery and feed stable business in Lebanon for a period of two years. September 14, 1883, he wedded Ruth Lee Powell, who was born in 1865, and who is the daughter of William and Sarah Powell. To our subject and wife was born one child, James W. In 1884 Mr. Hamilton abandoned the railroad business and turned his attention to agricultural pursuits. He owns 780 acres on the Nashville Pike, five miles west of Lebanon. The first county court ever held in the county assembled on his farm. Mr. Hamilton is a young man of push and energy, which are essential to success. He is a practical business man, and understands the modern idea of cultivating and enriching the soil. He is very conservative in regard to politics, voting for principle rather than for party. His wife is 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 Wilson County, Tennessee published in 1887 by Goodspeed.  The History of Wilson 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

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