John B. Pearce, Ouachita County, AR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889. Contributed by Carol Smith. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouachita County, Arkansas - from Goodspeed's History of Arkansas John B. Pearce, a progressive and enterprising planter of Ouachita County, Arkansas, was born in Hardeman County, Tennessee, August 28, 1836, being a son of Lorenzo D. and Nancy L. (Beevers) Pearce, who were born in Tennessee, March 28, 1809, and November 15, 1811, respectively, and became the parents of five children, four now living: John B., Betsey J. (wife of J. L. Meeks, a farmer of the county), Becky A. (wife of W. A. Gates, a farmer of the county), and Fredonia A. (wife of G. R. Craig, a farmer of Clark County, Arkansas). Lorenzo D. Pearce removed from Shelby County, Tennessee to Arkansas, in 1849, and from this county, he enlisted in the Confederate Infantry, in 1862, but died while in the service in 1863. He was a Mason, and he and wife were members of the Baptist Church, the latter's death occurring August 25, 1842. John B. Pearce, the immediate subject of this sketch, was married in 1857, to Miss Martha D. Meeks, by whom he became the father of seven children, four now living: James M., William C., Florence M. (wife of N. B. Key), and Amanda L. Mrs. Pearce was born in Alabama, April 6, 1837, and she, as well as Mr. Pearce, is an earnest member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Pearce is the owner of 120 acres of fertile farming land, with seventy acres under cultivation, and in his political views he has always been a Democrat. In 1861 he enlisted in Company C, Arkansas Infantry, under Capt. Joe White, and served until 1863, when he was taken prisoner at Camden, and was kept in captivity at Rock Island, Illinois for about eight months, obtaining his release in 1864. He then returned to his home, and has since devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits.