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Below is a family biography included in The History of Gibson 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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Jacob D. Bledsoe, M. D., of Milan, Tenn., was born in Carroll County May 22, 1838, son of Yancey and Henrietta (Wilkes) Bledsoe, natives, respectively, of North Carolina and Virginia. Jacob Bledsoe, grandfather of our subject, came to Tennessee in 1825, locating in Carroll County, where Yancey spent the remainder of his life in mercantile and agricultural pursuits. He died there in 1864. Jacob D. was reared on a farm in his native county, and secured a liberal education in his boyhood days. He began reading medicine at the age of twenty, and was attending lectures when the war broke out. He then joined the Confederate Army as first lieutenant of Capt. L. R. Clark’s company, Fifty-fifth Regiment Tennessee Infantry, and soon after was promoted to adjutant of the regiment and later to captain of the company. At Atlanta he was seriously wounded in the hand and retired from the service. He then farmed in Carroll County until 1867, when he removed to Gibson County, and followed saw-milling two years. He then took a course of lectures in the Louisville (Kentucky) University, and in 1870 began practicing his profession in Henderson County. Since 1879 he has practiced in Milan, but of late years has given considerable attention to farming. November 19, 1863, he married Mary W. Allen, a native of Carroll County, Tenn. The following are their children: Yancey B., Lelia Estelle (Mrs. A. M. Bigham), Newton O., William T. and Jacob D. The Doctor is a Democrat, and he and Mrs. Bledsoe are members of the Christian Church. Dr. William H. H. Bledsoe is a brother of Jacob D. Bledsoe, and was born in Carroll County April 6, 1840. He was given a liberal education, and in 1861 enlisted in Capt. Lewis Clark’s company, Fifty-fifth Regiment Tennessee Infantry, and served one year. He did not re-enlist on account of sickness. He was captured and kept a prisoner on Island No. 10, and also at Madison, Wis. Here he escaped and came through to the Southern lines. He taught school in Gibson and Carroll Counties until 1876, and during this time had taken up the study of medicine. He attended a part of two courses of medical lectures at Vanderbilt University, and in 1877 began practicing at Clarksburg. The following year he came to Milan, where he has since been successfully engaged in the practice of his profession. December 8, 1864, he married Myra E. Allen, who died September 4, 1872, leaving two children: Walter E. and Zelma C. The Doctor is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and is a Democrat in politics.

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This family biography is one of 242 biographies included in The History of Gibson County, Tennessee published in 1887.  The History of Gibson County was included within The History of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley & Lake Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley, and Lake Counties of Tennessee

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