____________________________________________________________________________
John D. Meeks, farmer, Murfreesboro, Ark. John D. Meeks, one of the most
highly respected and deservedly popular citizens in Thompson Township, was
born March 8, 1828, in Independence County, Ark., and is the second of five
children born to John and Elizabeth Meeks, natives, respectively, of
Missouri and Illinois. The parents moved to Independence County, Ark., after
their marriage, and there resided until the death of the mother. The father
then moved to Clark County, Ark., where he resided until his death, at the
age of seventy-eight years. He was an old line Whig in politics. John D.
Meeks was reared principally in Independence County, Ark., and on account of
the scarcity of schools he received but a limited education. At the age of
eighteen years he began for himself as a farmer, and this has since been his
occupation. He at present owns 140 acres, with forty acres under
cultivation. In 1852 he went to California, where he worked in the gold
mines for three years,and after his fourth year in this State returned to
Arkansas, and in 1861 enlisted in the Confederate army as a private in
Company D, Twelfth Arkansas Regiment. He participated in the following
engagements: Prairie Grove, Pine Bluff, Jenkins' Ferry (on Saline River),
and was also in numerous skirmishes, but was never wounded. After the war he
returned to Clark County and engaged in tilling the soil, which he has
continued up to the present day. He was married in 1869 to Miss Anna Mauney,
a native of (Arkansas), and the fruits of this union were four children,
two deceased. Those living are Tessora and Minnie M. The former was married
in 1889 to C.H. Willett, who is a farmer residing in this county. Mr. Meeks
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, having joined in 1863, is also a
member of the K. of H., the Farmers' Alliance, and the Agricultural Wheel.
He was elected treasurer of Pike County in 1870, and served in that capacity
for one term. He and wife and children are members of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, and Mr. Meeks is a liberal supporter of all
enterprises for the good of the county. He is a Democrat in his political
views, and a worthy man in every particular.
____________________________________________________________________________
Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas, 1890, Pike County,
page 334.
____________________________________________________________________________
HTML file and design by David Kelley, 1997. All rights reserved.