GOODSPEED BIOGRAPHIES
Contributed by Charlene Holland
Dr. JOSEPH A.J. ROTH
Dr. Joseph A. J. Roth is deserving of a special mention as a successful practitioner of the " healing art," and although he has lived in Scott County, Ark., a comparatively short time, he is well and favorably known and has a large practice. He was born in St. Louis, Mo., on February 28, 1828, a son of Jacob and Charlotte (Barclay) Roth, the birth of the former being in Switzerland, and that of the latter occurring in 1805. They were married in St. Louis, and the subject of this sketch is their only child. The father, who was of Swiss descent, was murdered in Santa Fe, N. M., but his widow survives him, and makes her home with her son, the Doctor being now sixty-two years of age. Dr. Roth was married in St. Louis September 27, 1852, at St. Exavia Church, to Mrs. Catherine E. Chappie, a widow with one child, Alexis, who is now deceased. The wife's maiden name was Brawner. To her union with Dr. Roth one child was born, Archibald. Mrs. Roth died August 8, 1889, having been a member of the Catholic Church throughout the greater portion of her life. In 1865 Dr. Roth commenced the study of medicine, and in 1868 took his first course of lectures in the St. Louis Medical College, and the same year he commenced practicing. He bas been actively engaged in practicing ever since, but since 1875 has been a resident of Scott County, Ark., having moved hither from Bates County, Mo. He is the owner of 125 acres of good land, 65 of which are in an excellent state of cultivation. He was a soldier in the Mexican War, and has always been a strong advocate of the free-school system. Socially he belongs to Duval Lodge No. 249, of the A.F. & A.M.