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Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Greene County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1889.  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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T. R. Willcockson, sheriff of Greene County, Ark., was born in Giles County, Tenn., August 10, 1848, and is the son of Samuel and Frances (Gibson) Willcockson, the father a native of Virginia, and the mother of Kentucky. They were married in Tennessee, and there remained until October, 1851, when they immigrated to what is now Greene County, Ark., coming through in wagons, and locating near the old Crowley farm, in Cache Township. Here the father bought a forty-acre tract, which was about the first deeded land in this section of Arkansas. He also put up the first steam, saw and grist-mill in Greene County, and ran this for several years. He also carried on farming, and being one of the earliest settlers, experienced all the hardships and privations incident to pioneer life. In 1868 he removed to Boone County, Ark., where he died in June, 1886. The mother is still living. They were the parents of fifteen children, only six now living: John W., Isaac (deceased), William and Mary Annie (twins and both deceased), David C. (deceased), James (deceased), Joseph, Thomas R., Sina, Sarah, Samuel (deceased), Marion and Frances (twins and deceased), Polk and Virginia. T. R. Willcockson, the subject of this sketch, was but an infant when he was brought to Greene County by his parents, and here he grew to manhood and received his education in the common schools. He was reared on the farm, and tilling the soil has been his chief pursuit ever since. He owns 241 acres of land, with about sixty acres under cultivation. He was elected sheriff and collector in 1880, served four years, and in 1886 was re-elected to the same office, which position he is now filling. He was married in 1868 to Miss Mary Bowlin, who bore him six children: Callie, Lucy, Deany, Mack, Sudie and Nannie. Mrs. Willcockson is a member of the Baptist Church, and Mr. Willcockson is a member of the K. of P.

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This family biography is one of 120 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Greene County, Arkansas published in 1889.  View the complete description here: Greene County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Greene County, Arkansas family biographies here: Greene County, Arkansas Biographies

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