My Genealogy Hound

Cicero A. Ansley has devoted the greater part of his life to the occupation of agriculture, and the estate which he is at present engaged in tilling comprises 160 acres of land, about sixty of which are in an excellent state of cultivation. He is one of the old settlers of Buena Vista Township, his birth having occurred in Upson County, Ga., October 3, 1842. His parents, Josiah and Nancy (Trammel) Ansley, were also Georgians by birth, the former of whom was born in 1818, and inherited Irish blood of his father, whose name was Samuel. He was reared in his native State and received a good education in the Botanical Medical College of Forsyth, Ga., from which institution he was graduated with high honors in 1842. He immediately after returned to his family in Upson County, and there practiced his profession until his death, which occurred two years later He was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was his wife at first, but she afterward joined the Baptist Church, of which she was a member at the time of her death, which occurred in 1865. She was a daughter of D. L. and Mary (Hicksie) Trammel, both of whom were of Irish descent, and her union with Mr. Ansley resulted in the birth of two children: Josiah C, a mechanic of Magnolia, Ark., and Cicero A. After the death of her husband she married a man by the name of William Cooper, a Georgian, and with him she moved to Cleveland County, Ark., where the rest of her days were spent, her second family, which consisted of seven children, being also reared here. The only ones of this family now living are Isaac (who is a farmer of this county), Alonzo (also a farmer here), James (a merchant of Texas), William (superintendent of the mills at Waldo), Samuel (a merchant of Texas), Mary (Mrs. Rudd, of this county), and Louisa (Mrs. Frazier, also residing here). Cicero A. Ansley has been a resident of Columbia County, Ark., from his earliest youth, and has always been deeply interested in her welfare and progress. When the war became an assured fact he enlisted with zeal and enthusiasm in the Confederate army, becoming a member of the Sixth Arkansas Infantry, with which he served until 1863, when he was discharged on account of poor health. Shortly after recovering he again entered the service, this time becoming a member of the First Tennessee Heavy Artillery Regiment, composed of three companies from Arkansas. He served in this regiment until May, 1864, when his term of enlistment having expired he returned home. He was at Shiloh and the siege of Vicksburg, but as he was on detailed service the most of the time these were the only engagements in which he took part. He resumed farming upon his return home, and in 1870 moved to his present place, previous to this having been a resident of Woodruff County for some time. He was married January 6, 1864, to Miss Charlotte McDonald, who was born January 14, 1844, in Rockford, Ala., to Edmund and Mary (Pollard) McDonald, the former a native of Kentucky and the latter of South Carolina. To Mr. and Mrs. Ansley a family of five children have been born: Edwin P. (a merchant of this county), Minnie L. (Mrs. I. P. Knight). George (deceased), Allen M. and Ellen L. Mr. Ansley is one of the worthy citizens of the county, is a stanch Democrat in his political views, is an earnest member of the Methodist Church, and socially belongs to the County Wheel.