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Benjamin Boone Chism

American soldier, farmer, lawyer and politician

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 22, 2026
Entity authorityQ128784643
Source-derived summary

Benjamin Boone Chism (March 12, 1845 - January 15, 1924) was a soldier, farmer, lawyer and politician in Arkansas. He served as a state legislator in the Arkansas State Senate from 1877 and as Secretary of State of Arkansas 1889-1893.

Early life

Chism was born March 12, 1845 in Booneville to state senator Stephen H. Chism and Jennatta Logan. She was the daughter of James Logan for whom Logan County, Arkansas is named. His education was in the local common school and then the Academy and Wallace Institute in Van Buren, Arkansas.

Civil War

He enlisted into the Confederate States Army joining the 5th Arkansas Infantry Regiment at the age of sixteen and later moved to the 17th Arkansas Infantry. He served in the American Civil War from 1861 until 1865 and was involved in many battles including the Battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri and Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas. By the age of 18 he was commanding a company that fought in the battle at Corinth, Mississippi and rose to the rank of Captain. He was taken prisoner and later badly wounded during his service.

Post-war

After the war he started as a farmer, rebuilding the family farm then was involved with general trading all the while studying law.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Benjamin Boone Chism” as american soldier, farmer, lawyer and politician. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1845, 1924, 1877, 1889—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1845-03-12. The account is most persuasive where Benjamin, Boone and Chism can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american soldier, farmer, lawyer and politician. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q128784643. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1845, 1924, 1877 and 1889.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Benjamin Boone Chism”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Benjamin Boone Chism primary sources, Benjamin Boone Chism archive and Benjamin research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Benjamin Boone Chism” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.