Biographical
and Historical Memoirs of Western Arkansas
Goodspeed
Publishers, 1891
Fulton County -
Biographical
James M.
Archer, senior member of the general merchandise firm of Archer, Daniels & Co.
Fulton County has within her borders many men to whom she may point with pride;
men, who, forgetting their own interests, have labored assiduously, bending all
their efforts to one great end–their country's advancement and welfare. These
men, in braving the dangers and privations incident to a pioneer's life, have
pressed rapidly forward, paving and preparing the way for the advantages now
reaped by a younger generation. Such a man is James M. Archer, who was born in
Lawrence County, Ark., June 10, 1832, and when but five years of age removed
with his parents to Fulton County. He suffered the loss of his mother when
still a mere lad, and a few years later his father was stricken down with
paralysis, lingering a helpless cripple for sixteen years. This was a terrible
blow for young Archer, as it robbed him of his support and reduced him to a
state of destitution. It was in this trying ordeal that the boy showed the
metal of which he was made. Born of a sturdy line of ancestry, he inherited a
vim which refused to bow under adverse circumstances, and here were developed
that determination of purpose and untiring energy which has characterized his
after life. He is first found occupying the humble position of knife rubber on
a steamboat, which he followed for three years, never once complaining of his
hard lot. Later he was engaged in labor upon a farm, receiving for his work the
mere pittance of four dollars per month, which he saved for the purpose of
attending school. His small amount of funds was soon exhausted, and he was
compelled to resume his labors, and for five years more was engaged in various
occupations. When the war broke out he was not long in making his decision,
and, espousing the cause of the Confederacy, he organized the first company of
Confederate troops in Marion County, Ark., where he was then located. He
assumed the captaincy of this company, which was mustered into service in the
Seventh Regiment Arkansas Infantry, and for a short time
was stationed at Pocahontas, Ark. He next joined the Regulars and was
commissioned regimental adjutant of the Fourth Cavalry, participating in many
engagements, among which were the battles of Fitz Hugh's Woods. Ironton, Boonville, Independence and others. After the close
of the war be embarked in agricultural pursuits near Salem, Ark., and in 1869
he engaged in business at that town, where he remained until 1882. In 1887 he
obtained control of Mammoth Spring, and at once devoted his attention to the
general improvement of the place. He is now general manager and secretary of
the Mammoth Spring Improvement & Water Power Company, and director of the
Calamity Cotton Mills. In 1879 Mr. Archer was elected representative of Fulton
County, and reelected in 1881. His wife was Miss Laura Tunstall,
of Arkansas, a daughter of Thomas T. and Elizabeth Turnstall,
early settlers of this State. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, and are held in the highest esteem. In political faith Mr.
Archer is an ardent adherent of Democratic principles. He is also a member of
the K. of P.
page 267
A. F.
Bassham is the present efficient sheriff and ex-officio collector of Fulton
County, Ark., and is well-known throughout the county as a man of ability and
honor. He was born in Lawrence County, Tenn., January 25, 1859, and is a son of
S. H. and Elizabeth (Ray) Bassham, who were born in Tennessee and Alabama,
September 9, 1829, and January 1, 1830, respectively. The former grew to
maturity and was married in his native State, being there engaged in the
pursuit of farming, but after the late war, in which he served on the
Confederate side, he emigrated to Arkansas, in 1874, where he followed the same
occupation, but is now residing in Salem. He is a Democrat, and he and wife are
members of the Free-Will Baptist Church. His father, Richard Bassham, was a
native and a farmer of Tennessee, and was married to a Miss Pennekuff,
who died in Lawrence County, Tenn. In all probability the maternal [p.267]
grandfather, Benjamin Ray, was a native of Alabama. A. F. Bassham was reared to
the age of fourteen years in Tennessee, since which time he has been a resident
of Fulton County, Ark. Being desirous of supplementing the primary education
which he received, in the vicinity of his home, with a more thorough knowledge
he entered the graded school at Mountain Home, Ark., where his career was
marked with rapid advancement. Now thoroughly qualified to enter upon a
professional career, he engaged in teaching school, and was one of the popular
educators of Fulton County for several years. He gave up this work, however, to
assume the responsible duties of his present office, to which he was elected
September 3, 1888, by the Democratic party, of which
he has always been an active member. He is a Master Mason, and is secretary of
Viola Lodge No. 399; also belonging to Salem Lodge No. 28, I. O. O. F. October
15, 1881, he was married to Miss Allie Brown, who was born in 1862, and by her
has an interesting little family of three children: Frederick, Maude and
William. Mr. Bassham owns a good farm of 120 acres.
W. W.
Brooks, now in the employ of the Mammoth Spring Fish Farm, was originally from
Troup County, Ga., where he was born in 1851. His father, Capt. Henry Brooks,
was born in Jackson County, Ga., in 1816, and was married in Troup County, of
the same State, to Miss Eliza Wideman, a native of
Troup County, born in 1824. The mother died in 1856, and two years later Mr.
Brooks removed to Tallapoosa County, Ala., from there to Pontotoc County,
Miss., in 1868, and in 1870 to Independence County, Ark., where he died in
1874. He had been married twice. During his entire life he followed the
occupation of a farmer, and was very successful in this pursuit. During the
late war he was captain of Company G. Fourteenth Alabama Infantry, Confederate
Army, and was with the Army of Virginia until 1862, when he resigned on account
of poor health. He then joined Young's company of Alabama State troops and
served until the close of the war. He was captured at the surrender of Selma,
Ala., and paroled. He was major of the militia in an early day, and held the
position of justice of the peace for a number of years. He was a member of the
Masonic fraternity for years, and also belonged to the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South. His father, John Brooks, was born in Jackson County, Ga., and
died in Troup County, of the same State. He was of English descent, was a
member of the Baptist Church, and was a soldier in the early wars. The maternal
grandfather of the subject of this sketch was a native of South Carolina, and
died in Troup County, Ga. W. W. Brooks was the third of four sons born to his
parents. Like most of the youths of his vicinity, as he grew up he devoted his
time and attention to labors on the farm, and in the meantime received a fair
education in the common schools. He began for himself at the age of twenty-one
and went to the Lone Star State, where he went at braking on the railroad.
Later he clerked in a store at Batesville for two years, and was then made
deputy sheriff of Independence County. After this he engaged in the milling
business, railroading, and was also in the railway mail service for a number of
years, or until in March, 1889, when he was employed by his present company.
His marriage to Miss Mollie Jeffery occurred in 1882, and two sons were the result.
Mrs. Brooks was born in Izard County, and is the daughter of Daniel M. Jeffery,
who was also a native of Izard County, where he died in 1888. He was a farmer,
also being a Cumberland Presbyterian minister. Mr. Brooks came to Fulton
County, Ark., in 1880, lived at Salem three years, and while there was engaged
in the milling business. Since then he has resided at Mammoth Spring. He was
appointed by President Arthur postmaster at Mammoth Spring, and filled this
position in a satisfactory manner for two years. He was justice of the peace
from 1884 to 1886, and was postmaster at the same time. In 1885 he was a member
of the equalization board of Fulton County, appointed by Gov. Hughes. He was
formerly a member of the I. O. O. F. He is an active worker in the Democratic party, and voted for Horace Greeley in 1872.
page 268
Hon. S.
A. Brown, ex-member of the Twenty-fifth General Assembly, and one of the
largest land owners and farmers of Bennett Bayou, was born in [p.268] the
Buckeye State, and is the son of Matthew and Hannah (O'Key)
Brown, natives of Ohio. They were married in their native State, and remained
there until 1866, he engaged in farming and stock raising.
In 1861 the elder Brown joined the United States troops as first lieutenant of
Company D, Twenty-seventh Ohio Infantry, and served about one year,
participating in the following battles: New Madrid, Island No. 10 and Corinth.
When the call for 600,000 troops was made, Lieut. Brown came home, raised a
company, was made captain, and joined the One Hundred and Sixteenth Ohio
Infantry, Company F, and remained with that company for three years. He took
part in several noted engagements: Winchester, Cedar Creek, Piedmont,
Petersburg and Richmond. He was wounded at Winchester while on picket duty, being
shot in the arm. He was discharged at Harper's Ferry in 1864, and came home. In
1866 he went to Southwest Missouri, and in 1869 came to Fulton County, Ark.,
and bought the place on which his son, Hon. S. A., now resides, for $2,000.
Three years later be sold this farm to his son, and bought one on Big North
Fork of White River, in Baxter County, Ark., where he died in 1876. He was
public administrator of this county for three or four years, and was also
county judge of the same county. He was not an office seeker, and was appointed
to the positions he held by the Governor. Previous to the war, he had been a
strong Democrat, but after that his ideas coincided with those of the
Republican party. He was a member of the Masonic
fraternity. Nine children were born to his marriage, eight of whom lived to be
grown, and seven are now living: Edward, S. A., born December 28, 1839;
Catherine, A. R., Nancy (deceased), Mary A., Jennie D. and Josephine. S. A.
Brown was a soldier in the late war, having joined Company F, One Hundred and
Sixteenth Ohio, in his twenty-first year, and served three years. He was
discharged on account of a wound, and was afterward captured at Staunton, Va.,
and kept in prison three months. He was in Libby prison a short period, but the
principal part of the time was spent in the hospital. He was paroled at
Richmond, Va., on the 12th of August, 1865. While in service he participated in
the following battles: Winchester, Gettysburg, and at Piedmont, Va., where he
was wounded by a musket ball in the arm. He held the rank of orderly sergeant
of his company during the war. After his return home in 1865, he remained there
for about a year, and then, in company with his father, moved to Polk County,
Mo., where he continued for three years. After this he taught school, and in
1869 came to Fulton County. Ark., where he taught the first
free school in this section after the war. Subsequently he engaged in
agricultural pursuits, and has continued the same up to the present. On the 8th of December, 1870. Miss Lou Baker became his
wife, and to them have been born three children;
Claud, born on the 19th of September, 1871; Bettie, born on the 2d of November,
1873, and Bertha, born on the 4th of February, 1881. Mrs. Brown died on the
28th of April, 1882, and Mr. Brown married Mrs. Josie Simpson. nee Tnttle, August 4, 1884, and
they have two children, Roscoe C., born on the 16th of August, 1885, and
Archie, born on the 16th of April, 1887. Mrs. Brown is the daughter of Capt. T.
C. Fluty, of Tennessee, a captain in the Confederate army, and one of the
prominent farmers of Baxter County, Ark. Mr. Brown has represented his county
in the legislature, and has held several minor offices, filling the position of
commissioner of public accounts for two terms. He is a member of the Masonic
fraternity. Queen Elizabeth Lodge No. 360, and is also a member of the I. O. O.
F., Vidette Lodge No. 94. He belongs to Simp. Mason Post No. 228. G. A. R., Department of Missouri,
and was appointed on the staff of John E. Phelps, commander of the State of
Missouri. He is a Republican in politics, and he and Mrs. Brown are members of
the Methodist Episcopal Church.
page 269
Thomas J.
Brown. No name is more properly placed in the history of the county than that
of Mr. Brown, who is not only one of the most enterprising farmers of the
county, but is of such a social, genial nature, that he has made many friends.
He owes his nativity to the State of Tennessee, where his birth occurred
January 5, 1854. [p.269] His parents, John and Caroline (Harber)
Brown, are natives of Tennessee. The elder Brown was a sturdy son of toil and
followed this occupation in his native State until his subsequent removal to
Dunklin County, Mo. His death occurred April 30, 1858. He had been constable in
Tennessee and filled the position in a highly satisfactory manner. His marriage
took place in 1844, and six children were the result: Henry N., born September
27, 1846, died October 23, 1846; Martin W., born September 30, 1847, died
October 14, 1848; Martha J., born December 22, 1849, died May 4, 1886, Joseph
M., born January 26, 1852; Amanda C., born July 30, 1858, died February 22,
1876. John Brown, the father of these children, was born on the 19th of July,
1824, and his wife was born on the 20th day of October, 1825. She died August
23, 1888, and was a worthy and consistent member of the Christian Church.
Thomas J. Brown commenced life for himself at the age of nineteen years, and
his marriage to Miss Eliza J. Pumphrey was
consummated on the 24th of August, 1873. She was born in Ozark County, Mo.,
October 10, 1852. With his parents he left Dunklin County, Mo.; came to Fulton
County, Ark., in 1858, and
has been a resident of
this county ever since. In 1874 he purchased his present property, and is now
the owner of 320 acres of land, 150 under a tine state of cultivation. Over his
broad acres roam cattle, sheep and horses and mules, which he makes a specialty
of raising. To his marriage were born six children: John W., born on the 13th
of June, 1874; Richard W., born on the 12th of February, 1877; Elizabeth C.,
born on the 20th of August, 1879; Ollie M., born on the 7th of May, 1885;
Thomas M., born on the 21st of March, 1887; James E., born on the 6th day of
August, 1889. Mr. Brown has made the principal part of his property by his own
labor. His wife is the daughter of William G. Pumphrey
and Elizabeth (Hawkins) Pumphrey, both natives of
Tennessee. They came to Missouri at an early day, settling on The Big North
Fork of White River, in Ozark County, Mo., and were married there in 1848.
After remaining in that county until 1887, he moved to Boone County, Ark. His
first marriage was to Miss Fannie Holt, of Tennessee, who bore him two
children, one living at present: Mary. By his marriage to Miss Hawkins he
became the father of six children, four of whom survive: Benjamin J.
(deceased), Eliza J., George W., Sarah A., M. T., and William (deceased). Mr.
Brown is a Democrat and has filled the office of deputy sheriff of his county
for two years. His wife is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church.
page 270
Charles
J. Brunson's life from his earliest recollections has been passed on a farm,
his early days being spent in assisting his father on the old homestead in
Georgia, in Twiggs County of which State he was born January 7, 1827. His
parents, Jarrett N. and Mary M. (Stephens) Brunson, were born in South
Carolina, the former's birth occurring about 1797. He was a farmer by
occupation, of Scotch descent, and died in Georgia near 1842, being one of
thirteen children (eleven sons and two daughters) born to Peter Brunson, who
lived and died in South Carolina. Mrs. Mary M. Brunson died in the State of
Georgia about 1829, having borne a family of four children, of whom our subject
is the third. After his father's death Charles J. began making his home with
his elder brother, and while living with him attended school one year, making
good use of his opportunities. He then went to his uncle's, Marion Brunson, in
Alabama, and again entered school, attending about three months, after which he
took charge of his uncle's plantation, and overseered
his slaves, who numbered about sixty, for two years. Being offered better
wages, he became an overseer for a neighboring planter, remaining with him one
year. In 1848 he was married, in the State of Alabama, to Miss Mary Hickman,
who was born in Twiggs County, Ga., October 23, 1833, and died in Fulton
County, Ark., January 1, 1872. She left, besides her husband, a family of three
children to mourn her loss: Charles J., James L. and Anna E. (wife of J. H. Nichols.)
Three children are deceased. In the latter part of 1872 Mr. Brunson took for
his second wife Mrs. Margaret (Huffman) Willcox, who
was born in Davidson County, N. C., November 19, 1837.
They have one son, Joseph A. In 1854 Mr. Brunson moved with his family [p.270]
to Ashley County, Ark., and there resided until 1865, when he settled in
Jefferson County, where he spent two years. Since that time he has been a
resident of Fulton County. By his own unaided efforts he has become the owner
of a fine farm comprising 280 acres, with about 130 under cultivation, and has
made all the improvements, such as building fences and houses, and clearing the
land, himself. He served two years in the Confederate army during the
Rebellion, and has since been a Democrat in politics. He has held the position
of constable both in Alabama and Arkansas, and has been solicited to accept
other local offices, but has declined. He and family belong to the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, of which he has been a member since twenty one years
of age. His first wife was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church.
George C.
Buford, dealer in general merchandise, farm implements, etc., Mammoth Spring.
Of the many names that make up the strength of the business portion of Mammoth
Spring that of Mr. Buford is foremost. His business was established in 1885,
and the value of the stock is estimated at about $12,000. Mr. Buford was born
in Fredericktown, Mo., October 20, 1849, and is the son of Christopher Y. and
Mary (Nifong) Buford, natives of South Carolina and
Pennsylvania, respectively. The parents were married in Missouri, and there
spent the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Buford died in 1855 and Mr. Buford in
1879. Her father, George W. Nifong, was a native of
Pennsylvania, and moved to Southeast Missouri at a very early day, where he
died at the age of ninety-eight years. Mr. Buford was married twice. He was a
well to-do farmer, stock raiser and general trader, and was also a member of
the Masonic fraternity. His father died in Louisiana at the age of eighty
years. George C. Buford was one of six children born to his parents, and
received a thorough education at Fredericktown, and at Washington University,
St. Louis. He also graduated from Reed's Commercial College, of St. Louis, in 1869.
Subsequently he taught school for several years in Frederick town, Mo., until
1871, when he removed to Newport, Ark., and there engaged in merchandising and
general trading with marked success until 1884. He then came to Mammoth Spring,
where he purchased the first business and residence lots sold by the town
syndicate. He immediately erected buildings, and built the first brick business
house in that town, besides investing largely in real estate there. He is also
the owner of considerable real estate in and around Newport, and is one of the
most thoroughgoing and active business men in Fulton County. He enjoys an
immense trade. He was the assessor of Jackson County, Ark., for four years, and
filled that position to the satisfaction of all. He has been married three
times; first, in 1874, to Miss Lena Claridge, the
daughter of Dr. H. B. Claridge, who came from
Tennessee to Jackson County, where he was one of the leading physicians. Mrs.
Buford died in 1879, and in 1883 Mr. Buford married Miss Della Harrison, who
died in 1884. In 1886 he married Miss Nettie Anderson, daughter of J. L.
Anderson, who came from Iowa to Arkansas, where he is living at the present
time, engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mr. Buford is a Democrat in politics,
and his first presidential vote was for Horace Greeley in 1872. He has been a
member of Mammoth Spring Lodge of the I. O. O. F. for twelve years. He and wife
are much esteemed members of the Christian Church.
page 271
G. A. Bundren, farmer and stock raiser of Washington Township,
was born in Tennessee, January 30, 1847, and passed his youth and early manhood
in that State and in Illinois. His parents, G. C. and Lucinda (Keyton) Bundren, were natives of
Virginia, the father born in 1807, and the mother in 1823. In their family were
five children, four of whom lived to be grown. They were named as follows:
James C., who died in the Union army in 1863, and whose family
now reside in Johnson County. Ill.: Surena,
wife of George Everett, a resident of Williamson County, Ill.; Melissa, wife of
David Sollis, living in Duquoin,
Ill., and G. A. The father of these children was a successful agriculturist,
and followed this occupation in Tennessee until 1851, when he moved to
Illinois. He entered land in that State and continued tilling the soil until
his death, which occurred in 1882. He was a Democrat in politics, [p.271] but
was not an aspirant for office, nor was he active in politics. He was a member
of the United Baptist Church, as was also his wife. G. A. Bundren,
like so many of the substantial citizens of this county at the present time,
was initiated into the mysteries of farming from the very first, and this has
since continued to be the calling to which his attention has been directed. He
received a fair education in his native State, and in the State of Illinois,
and at the age of seventeen began for himself, attending to farm duties in
Illinois until 1866, when he moved to Kentucky. Two years later he went to Cape
Girardeau, Mo., resided there two years, going thence to Dunklin County, thence
in 1876 to Scott County, Mo., and from there, in 1878, to Peach Orchard, Clay
County, Ark., where he engaged in the practice of medicine, and also started a
drug store. At the same time he filled the position of postmaster. In 1882 he
left Peach Orchard, and moved to Knobel the same
county, where he embarked in merchandising, and this continued for two years.
From there he moved to Woodruff County, Ark., and in connection with farming,
practiced medicine, conducting also a mercantile store at Howell Station, on
the Batesville & Brinkley Railroad. He remained there but a short time, and
in 1885 came to Fulton County, and here attends to his practice in connection
with farming. By his marriage to Mrs. Elizabeth Holmes nee Thompson, January 1,
1863, he became the father of six children, three now living: James A., born
February 26, 1865, and now living at home; C. W., born February 3, 1869, and
also at home, and M. B., whose birth occurred on the 3d of February, 1869, and
is at home. The other children died in infancy. Mrs. Bundren
died at Knobel, Ark., in 1883; she was a consistent
member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Bundren was married
the second time in May, 1885, to Mrs. Sarah J. Wilson. nee
Young, a native of Kentucky, and the mother of four children, the fruit of her
former union. They are named as follows: Hannibal Wilson, living at Alicia,
Ark., W. V., also at Alicia, Ark., Mary, wife of H. Hensley, residing at
Alicia, Ark., and Celia, wife of T. B. Caple, a resident of Fulton County, Ark.
Mr. Bundren is not active in politics, but votes the
Democratic ticket. He and wife are members of the Christian Church.
J. M.
Burrow, a prominent attorney-at-law at Mammoth Spring, is among those who
contribute to the strength of the Arkansas bar. He is a native of Tennessee,
born in Bedford County in 1854. His parents, Freeman and Louisa (Nichols)
Burrow, were born also in Bedford County, Tenn., in 1834 and 1833,
respectively. They resided in that county until 1857, when they came to Sharp
County, Ark., where Mrs. Burrow died in 1874. Mr. Burrow is still living, and
has followed tilling the soil for many years. He filled the position of justice
of the peace for four years, and served four years in the Confederate army with
Gens. Price and Freeman. He has been a member of the
A. F. & A. M. since 1857, and belongs to the Methodist Church, of which his
wife was also a member. Of the six children born to their union J. M. was the
eldest. He was educated in the log school-houses, and like the majority of
farmers' boys, assisted on the farm. When about twenty-one years of age he
taught school, and followed this occupation for two years. When twenty-two
years of age he began the study of law, and diligently continued this in
connection with farming for several years. In 1885 he was admitted to the bar,
and since 1883 has lived at Mammoth Spring. He is one of the most substantial
attorneys of Fulton County, and also practices in Sharp and Izard Counties. He
was married in September, 1878, to Miss Josie Whiteside, daughter of Allen and
Sarah Whiteside, who came to Fulton County from Illinois at an early day, and
there the father died. The mother is still living. In politics Mr. Burrow is a
Democrat, his first presidential vote being for S. J. Tilden, in 1876. He is a
member of the A. F. & A. M., Myatt Lodge No. 401, and also belongs to
Spring River Lodge No. 49, K. of P., at Mammoth Spring. He has a very pleasant
home on Eminence Hill, Archer Avenue.
page 272
James
Marion Butler. Ever since his location in this county in 1870, Mr. Butler has
enjoyed the reputation of being not only a substantial and progressive farmer,
but an intelligent and thoroughly posted man in all public affairs; and a short
sketch of his life will be of more than passing interest to the citizens of this
locality. He was born in Chambers County, Ala., October 15, 1838, and is a son
of Nathan H. and Francis R. (Hogue) Butler, who were born in Elbert and Waltham
Counties, Ga., respectively, the former's birth occurring in 1818; and like his
father, Daniel Butler (who was born in South Carolina, and died in Georgia), he
was a worker in wood and a skillful wagon-maker. He and wife were married in
Paulding County, Ga., and resided in that State and in various counties in
Alabama, until 1855, when they came to Arkansas, locating in White County, but
only remained a short time and then moved back to Alabama. In 1863 or 1864,
they went to Mississippi and Tennessee, and in 1875 located in Fulton County,
Ark., where the father died the same fall. His widow is now residing in Viola,
of that county, and is enjoying good health. She is a member of the Missionary
Baptist Church, as was her husband, and to them were born eight children, of
whom James Marion was the eldest. Of these only four are now living: M. L., a
blacksmith of Viola; Louisa M., wife of William Smith; William P. H., residing
in the State of Colorado, and our subject. Those deceased are Napoleon B.,
Martha A. E., George W. and Mary J. James Marion Butler received his schooling
in the State of Alabama, and while growing to manhood learned the blacksmith
and wagon-maker's trade of his father. At the age of twenty-one years he began
depending on his own resources for obtaining a livelihood, and from that time
until the opening of the Rebellion worked in Alabama. Although his father
served in the Union army for some time, he espoused the cause of the
Confederacy and first joined the Alabama Legion, which was consolidated and
thrown into other regiments, the Twenty-third Alabama Battalion of
Sharp-shooters being a part left over. He served two years as sergeant,
participating in many battles, among which wore Chickamauga, Petersburg, being intrenched in the ditches of that city for nine months;
Hatch's Run, and the Virginia campaign. He received a flesh wound in the leg at
Chickamauga, and at Appomattox Court House, about two hours before the surrender, he received a very severe wound in the right arm.
After the war he remained in Alabama until 1866, when he went to the State of
Mississippi, and from there came to Fulton County, Ark., in 1870, and here has
since made his home. In 1879 he moved to his present location, which is a farm
consisting of 360 acres of as good land as there is anywhere, and in addition
to looking after this property still continues to work at his trade. He is a
Democrat in his political views, and in 1885-86 served as justice of the peace.
He is also a member of the Masonic fraternity, and as a citizen of Fulton
County has been identified with its advancement and growth ever since locating here.
He was married in 1860 to Miss Rhoda Ann Bryaot, a
daughter of Alexander Bryant, and her death occurred in Izard County, Ark., in
1875, when thirty-seven years of age. Of the eight children born to her union
only four are now living: Charles D., of Texas; Elizabeth E., wife of James A.
Talley, a farmer of the county; Nancy E., wife of Abraham L. Reed, a farmer
residing near Mansfield, and Nathan D., at home. Mrs. Butler was a member of
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
page 273
Thomas B.
Caldwell is possessed of those advanced ideas and progressive principles
regarding agricultural life which seem to be among the chief characteristics of
the average native Missourian. He was born in Franklin County of that State on
the 16th of October, 1840, and is a son of James Patten and Ann (Caldwell)
Caldwell, the former of Irish descent, born in the State of Missouri, in the
year 1816. He was a well known agriculturist of his region, and died in Fulton
County, Ark., in 1863. His wife was also born in Missouri, and died when her
son, Thomas B., was about seven years of age, her demise occurring in Franklin
County. The paternal grandparents were Andrew and Nancy (Farrow) Caldwell, the
former being a native Kentuckian. He moved to Franklin County, Mo., during the
early history of that country, and died there at his son's home in 1847. His
wife, Nancy, died there also. The [p.273] paternal great-grandfather, Kincaid
Caldwell, was born in the "Emerald Isle." The maternal grandfather
also bore the name of Andrew Caldwell, but the two families were not related.
Thomas B. Caldwell is one of two surviving members of a family of five
children, the other being a sister residing on the Iron Mountain Railroad in
Missouri. He was reared in his native State, but never received any educational
advantages in youth, being compelled to assist his father in tilling the home
farm; but by contact with the world and by self-application he has become a
well posted man. He was twenty years of age when he enlisted in the army, and
was a member of Capt. B. B. Bray's Seventh Division of Missouri Volunteers. He
participated in the engagements at Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and in numerous
skirmishes. He was second sergeant of artillery for about twelve months prior
to the close of the war. On the 9th of March, 1862, he was captured at Mountain
Grove, Mo., and was sent to St. Louis, thence to Alton, Ill., and from there to
Vicksburg, Miss., where he was exchanged on the 22d of September, of the same
year. Nearly ever since the close of the war he has been a resident of Fulton
County, Ark., and has been actively engaged in tilling the soil. On the 5th of
March, 1865, he was married to Miss Lucintha M.
Smith, who was born in South Carolina in 1842, a daughter of Inman and Mary A.
Smith. The father died in the "Palmetto State," but the mother is
still living and resides in Fulton County, Ark., the wife of a Mr. Hutchesson. To Mr. Caldwell and his wife the following
children have been born: James Henry, Benjamin H., Thomas J. (deceased), John
H., Mary A. (deceased), Ruthie J. and Joannah. The
greater part of Mr. Caldwell's time has been occupied in farming, and he is now
the owner of 310 acres of land, with about eighty acres under cultivation. He
is a Democrat, his first presidential vote being cast for Douglas, and he was
elected on that ticket to the office of deputy sheriff and constable. He and
wife are connected with the Christian Church, and he is a Mason and a member of
the I. O. O. F. Mr. Caldwell is a man universally respected, and to know him is
to have a high admiration for him, for he is possessed of those sterling
principles which make a true man and a valuable citizen.
page 274
Capt.
John G. Carroll, a farmer of Fulton Township, is now successfully following the
occupation to which he was reared and which has been his life work, a calling
that for ages has received undivided efforts from many worthy individuals, and
one that always furnishes sustenance to the ready worker. He was born in North
Carolina in 1834, and is the son of Green and Priscilla (Earles)
Carroll, natives of South Carolina and North Carolina, and born in 1802 and
1808, respectively. The parents removed to White County, Tenn., and in 1859
came to Fulton County, Ark., where Mr. Carroll died in 1870. He was the son of
Jesse Carroll and the grandson of William Carroll, who was of English descent,
went through the Revolutionary War, and died in North Carolina at the age of
nearly one hundred years. Jesse Carroll was born in North Carolina, and died in
Georgia at the age of ninety-eight years. He was a millwright by occupation.
This family is of the same as that Carroll who was one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence. The paternal grandfather, William Earles, was born in North Carolina and died in Tennessee at
about the age of one hundred and two years; he was of Welsh descent. His father
was a Revolutionary soldier. Capt. John G. Carroll, the second of eight
children born to his parents, received very meager educational advantages. He
came with his parents to Fulton County, Ark., in 1859 and in 1861 Miss Auerilla Copeland, a native of Tennessee, became his wife.
She died in 1879, leaving six children, three sons and three daughters. Capt.
Carroll then married Miss Eliza Baize, a native of Missouri and the daughter of
George Baize. To this union were born four children, a son and three daughters.
Capt. Carroll is one of the prominent agriculturists of Fulton County, is the
owner of 520 acres of land, with 300 under cultivation, and also possesses
considerable property in Viola, all the result of his own industry. When the
war cloud hovered over the United States he enlisted in Company F, Fourteenth
Arkansas Infantry, [p.274] Confederate Army, and served three years and eleven
months. After the first nine months he was promoted to the rank of captain in
his regiment and operated in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. He took a
prominent part in the battles of Elkhorn, Augusta, Farmington, Corinth, Iuka,
Port Hudson, etc. He was captured at Saltillo, Miss., but after sixteen days
escaped and rejoined his regiment at Tupelo. At the close of the war he
returned to farm life. Politically a Democrat, his first presidential vote was
for Buchanan in 1856. He filled the office of deputy sheriff two years, justice
of the peace for four years and constable two years. He has been a member of
the A. F. & A. M. for twenty-eight years, now belonging to Viola Lodge No.
399, and was master and senior warden for sixteen years of that time. He is
also a member of the Eastern Star lodge at Viola. He and wife belong to the
Missionary Baptist Church, he having experienced religion at the age of
sixteen, and he is a deacon in the same.
B. H.
Castleberry is another excellent example of what can be accomplished through
energy and perseverance, for he has won his way up to his present enviable
position through his own unaided efforts. He was born in the State of Georgia,
on the 1st of July, 1854, and is a son of S. G. and Jane E. (Bell) Castleberry,
both of whom were Georgians, the former born in 1821. He was a farmer and a
miner, but made milling his principal occupation through life, and is still the
owner of some gold mines in Georgia, near Cleveland. His father, who was a
native of the State, owned some mines there and was also an extensive slave owner
at the time of his death. The great-grandfather was a Georgian, but the great
great-grandfather and six brothers emigrated from the Old World, and settled in
the Southern States. B. H. Castleberry was one of seven children, and his youth
and early manhood were spent in his native State. He received his literary
education in the North Georgia Agricultural College, and principally through
his own efforts secured means with which to prosecute his studies. In December,
1876, he emigrated to the State of Arkansas, settling
in Fulton County, where he began the study of law, and the same characteristics
which marked his progress at school, were prominent in his legal studies. After
a thorough preparation he was admitted to the bar and entered upon his practice
at Salem, and his patronage steadily and substantially increased during his two
years of practice. At the end of that time he engaged in merchandising with his
brother, their stock of goods amounting to about $8,000, and besides this they
each own a half interest in 500 acres of land. Our immediate subject also owns
1,500 acres in his own right. He was married on the 10th of April, 1881, to
Miss Laura P. Wainwright, by whom he has two interesting children: William Lessie and Rex. Mr. Castleberry is a Democrat, and a member
of the I. O. O. F. William Castleberry, his brother, a member of the general
mercantile firm of Castleberry & Co., was born in White County, Ga., in
1856, and during his youth and early manhood worked with his father. He
received an excellent education in Dahlonega College, Ga., and also at Nacoochee Valley, and after leaving school engaged in
mercantile pursuits as clerk in a general merchandise store in the latter
place, but eighteen months later went to Rabun County, where he began merchandising
in partnership with C. W. Oakes. Two years later they dissolved partnership,
and Mr. Castleberry came to Salem, and in 1881 embarked in business with his
brother and William Wainwright, keeping a grocery. At the end of one year this
association was terminated, and the two brothers started a general mercantile
establishment of their own. They thoroughly understand the enterprise in which
they are engaged, and have done much in their line to increase the trade and
influence of the town. They are thoroughly reliable and honest in all their
transactions, and as a result enjoy a large and lucrative custom. William
Castleberry is also a Democrat politically, and a member of the I. O. O. F. He
is unmarried.
page 275
William
D. Chase, one of the prominent millers and farmers of Elizabeth, was born in
Maury (now Gordon) County, Ga., in 1839, and is the son of Hon. Dean W. and
Alley (Johnson) Chase. The father was born in Pawtucket, R. I., and received
[p.275] an unusually good education. At the age of nineteen he was sent to
Georgia to erect a spinning factory, which he operated for a number of years.
He was married and spent the remainder of his days there and in Tennessee,
where he manufactured cotton goods all his life. He died in Gilmore County,
Ga., in 1881. He was justice of the peace many years and once represented
Gordon County in the legislature. He was also for thirty-five or forty years a
traveling minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and besides was an
officer in the Mexican War. His wife was a native of North Carolina, and died
in Gilmore County, Ga., July 8, 1886. She, too, was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Her father, James Johnson, was a native of North Carolina,
who died in Walker County, Ga. He was a soldier in the Mexican War. William D.
Chase, the second of ten children, born to his parents, received his education
in the common schools. He was reared to the arduous duties on the farm, and in
1861 Miss Adeline Sprouell became his wife. She was
born in Fulton County, Ga., and was the daughter of Wilson E. and Eliza J. Spronell, natives of Abbeville District, S. C., but who
moved to Georgia, where Mrs. Sprouell died. To Mr.
and Mrs. Chase were born eleven children, seven sons and three daughters now living. Mr. Chase served over four years in the Confederate
Army, Company E, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, was at Cumberland Gap, Richmond,
Siege of Vicksburg. Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge,
Resaca, Kingston, Calboun, New Hope Church. Kenesaw
Mountain, etc. He was captured several times, the last time at Peach
Tree Creek, and imprisoned at Nashville. He was afterward taken to
Indianapolis, where he was at the time of the surrender. He never received a
wound during his time of service. After the war he returned to the farm and in 1872
came to Fulton County, Ark. He followed agricultural pursuits for five years
and then engaged in merchandising at Newburg, Izard County, for three years.
This not suiting him he entered into the milling business there for six years,
after which he returned to Fulton County, and continued merchandising at
Elizabeth for four years. Since then he has been occupied in milling and
farming and has two flour and saw, shingle and planing
mills. He is also the owner of about 900 acres of land in Missouri, Fulton,
Izard and Lawrence Counties. All his property is the result of hard labor since
the war. He has been a Democrat in his political views all his life, and his
first presidential vote was for Gen. McClellan. He is a member of the Masonic
fraternity, Elizabeth Lodge, and is also a member of Newburg Lodge of the I. O.
O. F. in Izard County. Mrs. Chase has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church for many years.
page 269
Thomas J.
Brown. No name is more properly placed in the history of the county than that
of Mr. Brown, who is not only one of the most enterprising farmers of the
county, but is of such a social, genial nature, that he has made many friends.
He owes his nativity to the State of Tennessee, where his birth occurred
January 5, 1854. [p.269] His parents, John and Caroline (Harber)
Brown, are natives of Tennessee. The elder Brown was a sturdy son of toil and
followed this occupation in his native State until his subsequent removal to
Dunklin County, Mo. His death occurred April 30, 1858. He had been constable in
Tennessee and filled the position in a highly satisfactory manner. His marriage
took place in 1844, and six children were the result: Henry N., born September
27, 1846, died October 23, 1846; Martin W., born September 30, 1847, died
October 14, 1848; Martha J., born December 22, 1849, died May 4, 1886, Joseph
M., born January 26, 1852; Amanda C., born July 30, 1858, died February 22,
1876. John Brown, the father of these children, was born on the 19th of July,
1824, and his wife was born on the 20th day of October, 1825. She died August
23, 1888, and was a worthy and consistent member of the Christian Church.
Thomas J. Brown commenced life for himself at the age of nineteen years, and
his marriage to Miss Eliza J. Pumphrey was
consummated on the 24th of August, 1873. She was born in Ozark County, Mo.,
October 10, 1852. With his parents he left Dunklin County, Mo.; came to Fulton
County, Ark., in 1858, and has been a resident of this county
ever since. In 1874 he purchased his present property, and is now the owner of
320 acres of land, 150 under a tine state of cultivation. Over his broad acres
roam cattle, sheep and horses and mules, which he makes a specialty of raising.
To his marriage were born six children: John W., born on the 13th of June,
1874; Richard W., born on the 12th of February, 1877; Elizabeth C., born on the
20th of August, 1879; Ollie M., born on the 7th of May, 1885; Thomas M., born
on the 21st of March, 1887; James E., born on the 6th day of August, 1889. Mr.
Brown has made the principal part of his property by his own labor. His wife is
the daughter of William G. Pumphrey and Elizabeth
(Hawkins) Pumphrey, both natives of Tennessee. They
came to Missouri at an early day, settling on The Big North Fork of White
River, in Ozark County, Mo., and were married there in 1848. After remaining in
that county until 1887, he moved to Boone County, Ark. His first marriage was
to Miss Fannie Holt, of Tennessee, who bore him two children, one living at
present: Mary. By his marriage to Miss Hawkins he became the father of six
children, four of whom survive: Benjamin J. (deceased), Eliza J., George W.,
Sarah A., M. T., and William (deceased). Mr. Brown is a Democrat and has filled
the office of deputy sheriff of his county for two years. His wife is a member
of the Missionary Baptist Church.
page 270
Charles
J. Brunson's life from his earliest recollections has been passed on a farm,
his early days being spent in assisting his father on the old homestead in
Georgia, in Twiggs County of which State he was born January 7, 1827. His
parents, Jarrett N. and Mary M. (Stephens) Brunson, were born in South
Carolina, the former's birth occurring about 1797. He was a farmer by occupation,
of Scotch descent, and died in Georgia near 1842, being one of thirteen
children (eleven sons and two daughters) born to Peter Brunson, who lived and
died in South Carolina. Mrs. Mary M. Brunson died in the State of Georgia about
1829, having borne a family of four children, of whom our subject is the third.
After his father's death Charles J. began making his home with his elder
brother, and while living with him attended school one year, making good use of
his opportunities. He then went to his uncle's, Marion Brunson, in Alabama, and
again entered school, attending about three months, after which he took charge
of his uncle's plantation, and overseered his slaves,
who numbered about sixty, for two years. Being offered better wages, he became
an overseer for a neighboring planter, remaining with him one year. In 1848 he
was married, in the State of Alabama, to Miss Mary Hickman, who was born in
Twiggs County, Ga., October 23, 1833, and died in Fulton County, Ark., January
1, 1872. She left, besides her husband, a family of three children to mourn her
loss: Charles J., James L. and Anna E. (wife of J. H. Nichols.) Three children
are deceased. In the latter part of 1872 Mr. Brunson took for his second wife
Mrs. Margaret (Huffman) Willcox, who was born in
Davidson County, N. C., November 19, 1837. They have
one son, Joseph A. In 1854 Mr. Brunson moved with his family [p.270] to Ashley
County, Ark., and there resided until 1865, when he settled in Jefferson
County, where he spent two years. Since that time he has been a resident of
Fulton County. By his own unaided efforts he has become the owner of a fine
farm comprising 280 acres, with about 130 under cultivation, and has made all
the improvements, such as building fences and houses, and clearing the land,
himself. He served two years in the Confederate army during the Rebellion, and
has since been a Democrat in politics. He has held the position of constable
both in Alabama and Arkansas, and has been solicited to accept other local
offices, but has declined. He and family belong to the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, of which he has been a member since twenty one years of age. His
first wife was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church.
George C.
Buford, dealer in general merchandise, farm implements, etc., Mammoth Spring.
Of the many names that make up the strength of the business portion of Mammoth
Spring that of Mr. Buford is foremost. His business was established in 1885,
and the value of the stock is estimated at about $12,000. Mr. Buford was born
in Fredericktown, Mo., October 20, 1849, and is the son of Christopher Y. and
Mary (Nifong) Buford, natives of South Carolina and
Pennsylvania, respectively. The parents were married in Missouri, and there
spent the remainder of their lives. Mrs. Buford died in 1855 and Mr. Buford in
1879. Her father, George W. Nifong, was a native of
Pennsylvania, and moved to Southeast Missouri at a very early day, where he
died at the age of ninety-eight years. Mr. Buford was married twice. He was a
well to-do farmer, stock raiser and general trader, and was also a member of
the Masonic fraternity. His father died in Louisiana at the age of eighty
years. George C. Buford was one of six children born to his parents, and
received a thorough education at Fredericktown, and at Washington University,
St. Louis. He also graduated from Reed's Commercial College, of St. Louis, in
1869. Subsequently he taught school for several years in Frederick town, Mo.,
until 1871, when he removed to Newport, Ark., and there engaged in merchandising
and general trading with marked success until 1884. He then came to Mammoth
Spring, where he purchased the first business and residence lots sold by the
town syndicate. He immediately erected buildings, and built the first brick
business house in that town, besides investing largely in real estate there. He
is also the owner of considerable real estate in and around Newport, and is one
of the most thoroughgoing and active business men in Fulton County. He enjoys
an immense trade. He was the assessor of Jackson County, Ark., for four years,
and filled that position to the satisfaction of all. He has been married three
times; first, in 1874, to Miss Lena Claridge, the
daughter of Dr. H. B. Claridge, who came from
Tennessee to Jackson County, where he was one of the leading physicians. Mrs.
Buford died in 1879, and in 1883 Mr. Buford married Miss Della Harrison, who
died in 1884. In 1886 he married Miss Nettie Anderson, daughter of J. L.
Anderson, who came from Iowa to Arkansas, where he is living at the present
time, engaged in agricultural pursuits. Mr. Buford is a Democrat in politics,
and his first presidential vote was for Horace Greeley in 1872. He has been a
member of Mammoth Spring Lodge of the I. O. O. F. for twelve years. He and wife
are much esteemed members of the Christian Church.
page 271
G. A. Bundren, farmer and stock raiser of Washington Township,
was born in Tennessee, January 30, 1847, and passed his youth and early manhood
in that State and in Illinois. His parents, G. C. and Lucinda (Keyton) Bundren, were natives of
Virginia, the father born in 1807, and the mother in 1823. In their family were
five children, four of whom lived to be grown. They were named as follows:
James C., who died in the Union army in 1863, and whose family
now reside in Johnson County. Ill.: Surena,
wife of George Everett, a resident of Williamson County, Ill.; Melissa, wife of
David Sollis, living in Duquoin,
Ill., and G. A. The father of these children was a successful agriculturist,
and followed this occupation in Tennessee until 1851, when he moved to
Illinois. He entered land in that State and continued tilling the soil until
his death, which occurred in 1882. He was a Democrat in politics, [p.271] but
was not an aspirant for office, nor was he active in politics. He was a member
of the United Baptist Church, as was also his wife. G. A. Bundren,
like so many of the substantial citizens of this county at the present time,
was initiated into the mysteries of farming from the very first, and this has
since continued to be the calling to which his attention has been directed. He
received a fair education in his native State, and in the State of Illinois,
and at the age of seventeen began for himself, attending to farm duties in
Illinois until 1866, when he moved to Kentucky. Two years later he went to Cape
Girardeau, Mo., resided there two years, going thence to Dunklin County, thence
in 1876 to Scott County, Mo., and from there, in 1878, to Peach Orchard, Clay
County, Ark., where he engaged in the practice of medicine, and also started a
drug store. At the same time he filled the position of postmaster. In 1882 he
left Peach Orchard, and moved to Knobel the same
county, where he embarked in merchandising, and this continued for two years.
From there he moved to Woodruff County, Ark., and in connection with farming,
practiced medicine, conducting also a mercantile store at Howell Station, on
the Batesville & Brinkley Railroad. He remained there but a short time, and
in 1885 came to Fulton County, and here attends to his practice in connection
with farming. By his marriage to Mrs. Elizabeth Holmes nee Thompson, January 1,
1863, he became the father of six children, three now living: James A., born
February 26, 1865, and now living at home; C. W., born February 3, 1869, and
also at home, and M. B., whose birth occurred on the 3d of February, 1869, and
is at home. The other children died in infancy. Mrs. Bundren
died at Knobel, Ark., in 1883; she was a consistent
member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Bundren was married
the second time in May, 1885, to Mrs. Sarah J. Wilson. nee
Young, a native of Kentucky, and the mother of four children, the fruit of her
former union. They are named as follows: Hannibal Wilson, living at Alicia,
Ark., W. V., also at Alicia, Ark., Mary, wife of H. Hensley, residing at
Alicia, Ark., and Celia, wife of T. B. Caple, a resident of Fulton County, Ark.
Mr. Bundren is not active in politics, but votes the
Democratic ticket. He and wife are members of the Christian Church.
J. M.
Burrow, a prominent attorney-at-law at Mammoth Spring, is among those who
contribute to the strength of the Arkansas bar. He is a native of Tennessee,
born in Bedford County in 1854. His parents, Freeman and Louisa (Nichols)
Burrow, were born also in Bedford County, Tenn., in 1834 and 1833,
respectively. They resided in that county until 1857, when they came to Sharp
County, Ark., where Mrs. Burrow died in 1874. Mr. Burrow is still living, and
has followed tilling the soil for many years. He filled the position of justice
of the peace for four years, and served four years in the Confederate army with
Gens. Price and Freeman. He has been a member of the
A. F. & A. M. since 1857, and belongs to the Methodist Church, of which his
wife was also a member. Of the six children born to their union J. M. was the
eldest. He was educated in the log school-houses, and like the majority of
farmers' boys, assisted on the farm. When about twenty-one years of age he
taught school, and followed this occupation for two years. When twenty-two
years of age he began the study of law, and diligently continued this in
connection with farming for several years. In 1885 he was admitted to the bar,
and since 1883 has lived at Mammoth Spring. He is one of the most substantial
attorneys of Fulton County, and also practices in Sharp and Izard Counties. He
was married in September, 1878, to Miss Josie Whiteside, daughter of Allen and
Sarah Whiteside, who came to Fulton County from Illinois at an early day, and
there the father died. The mother is still living. In politics Mr. Burrow is a
Democrat, his first presidential vote being for S. J. Tilden, in 1876. He is a
member of the A. F. & A. M., Myatt Lodge No. 401, and also belongs to
Spring River Lodge No. 49, K. of P., at Mammoth Spring. He has a very pleasant
home on Eminence Hill, Archer Avenue.
page 272
James
Marion Butler. Ever since his location in this county in 1870, Mr. Butler has
enjoyed the reputation of being not only a substantial and progressive farmer,
but an intelligent and thoroughly [p.272] posted man in all public affairs; and
a short sketch of his life will be of more than passing interest to the
citizens of this locality. He was born in Chambers County, Ala., October 15,
1838, and is a son of Nathan H. and Francis R. (Hogue) Butler, who were born in
Elbert and WalthamCounties, Ga., respectively, the
former's birth occurring in 1818; and like his father, Daniel Butler (who was
born in South Carolina, and died in Georgia), he was a worker in wood and a
skillful wagon-maker. He and wife were married in Paulding County, Ga., and
resided in that State and in various counties in Alabama, until 1855, when they
came to Arkansas, locating in White County, but only remained a short time and
then moved back to Alabama. In 1863 or 1864, they went to Mississippi and
Tennessee, and in 1875 located in Fulton County, Ark., where the father died
the same fall. His widow is now residing in Viola, of that county, and is
enjoying good health. She is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, as was
her husband, and to them were born eight children, of whom James Marion was the
eldest. Of these only four are now living: M. L., a blacksmith of Viola; Louisa
M., wife of William Smith; William P. H., residing in the State of Colorado,
and our subject. Those deceased are Napoleon B., Martha A. E., George W. and
Mary J. James Marion Butler received his schooling in the State of Alabama, and
while growing to manhood learned the blacksmith and wagon-maker's trade of his
father. At the age of twenty-one years he began depending on his own resources
for obtaining a livelihood, and from that time until the opening of the
Rebellion worked in Alabama. Although his father served in the Union army for
some time, he espoused the cause of the Confederacy and first joined the
Alabama Legion, which was consolidated and thrown into other regiments, the
Twenty-third Alabama Battalion of Sharp-shooters being a part left over. He
served two years as sergeant, participating in many battles, among which wore
Chickamauga, Petersburg, being intrenched in the
ditches of that city for nine months; Hatch's Run, and the Virginia campaign.
He received a flesh wound in the leg at Chickamauga, and at Appomattox Court
House, about two hours before the surrender, he
received a very severe wound in the right arm. After the war he remained in
Alabama until 1866, when he went to the State of Mississippi, and from there
came to Fulton County, Ark., in 1870, and here has since made his home. In 1879
he moved to his present location, which is a farm consisting of 360 acres of as
good land as there is anywhere, and in addition to looking after this property
still continues to work at his trade. He is a Democrat in his political views,
and in 1885-86 served as justice of the peace. He is also a member of the
Masonic fraternity, and as a citizen of Fulton County has been identified with
its advancement and growth ever since locating here. He was married in 1860 to
Miss Rhoda Ann Bryaot, a daughter of Alexander
Bryant, and her death occurred in Izard County, Ark., in 1875, when
thirty-seven years of age. Of the eight children born to her union only four
are now living: Charles D., of Texas; Elizabeth E., wife of James A. Talley, a
farmer of the county; Nancy E., wife of Abraham L. Reed, a farmer residing near
Mansfield, and Nathan D., at home. Mrs. Butler was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South.
page 273
Thomas B.
Caldwell is possessed of those advanced ideas and progressive principles
regarding agricultural life which seem to be among the chief characteristics of
the average native Missourian. He was born in Franklin County of that State on
the 16th of October, 1840, and is a son of James Patten and Ann (Caldwell)
Caldwell, the former of Irish descent, born in the State of Missouri, in the
year 1816. He was a well known agriculturist of his region, and died in Fulton
County, Ark., in 1863. His wife was also born in Missouri, and died when her
son, Thomas B., was about seven years of age, her demise occurring in Franklin
County. The paternal grandparents were Andrew and Nancy (Farrow) Caldwell, the
former being a native Kentuckian. He moved to Franklin County, Mo., during the
early history of that country, and died there at his son's home in 1847. His
wife, Nancy, died there also. The [p.273] paternal great-grandfather, Kincaid
Caldwell, was born in the "Emerald Isle." The maternal grandfather
also bore the name of Andrew Caldwell, but the two families were not related.
Thomas B. Caldwell is one of two surviving members of a family of five
children, the other being a sister residing on the Iron Mountain Railroad in
Missouri. He was reared in his native State, but never received any educational
advantages in youth, being compelled to assist his father in tilling the home
farm; but by contact with the world and by self-application he has become a
well posted man. He was twenty years of age when he enlisted in the army, and
was a member of Capt. B. B. Bray's Seventh Division of Missouri Volunteers. He
participated in the engagements at Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and in numerous
skirmishes. He was second sergeant of artillery for about twelve months prior
to the close of the war. On the 9th of March, 1862, he was captured at Mountain
Grove, Mo., and was sent to St. Louis, thence to Alton, Ill., and from there to
Vicksburg, Miss., where he was exchanged on the 22d of September, of the same
year. Nearly ever since the close of the war he has been a resident of Fulton
County, Ark., and has been actively engaged in tilling the soil. On the 5th of
March, 1865, he was married to Miss Lucintha M.
Smith, who was born in South Carolina in 1842, a daughter of Inman and Mary A.
Smith. The father died in the "Palmetto State," but the mother is
still living and resides in Fulton County, Ark., the wife of a Mr. Hutchesson. To Mr. Caldwell and his wife the following
children have been born: James Henry, Benjamin H., Thomas J. (deceased), John
H., Mary A. (deceased), Ruthie J. and Joannah. The
greater part of Mr. Caldwell's time has been occupied in farming, and he is now
the owner of 310 acres of land, with about eighty acres under cultivation. He
is a Democrat, his first presidential vote being cast for Douglas, and he was
elected on that ticket to the office of deputy sheriff and constable. He and
wife are connected with the Christian Church, and he is a Mason and a member of
the I. O. O. F. Mr. Caldwell is a man universally respected, and to know him is
to have a high admiration for him, for he is possessed of those sterling
principles which make a true man and a valuable citizen.
page 274
Capt.
John G. Carroll, a farmer of Fulton Township, is now successfully following the
occupation to which he was reared and which has been his life work, a calling
that for ages has received undivided efforts from many worthy individuals, and
one that always furnishes sustenance to the ready worker. He was born in North
Carolina in 1834, and is the son of Green and Priscilla (Earles)
Carroll, natives of South Carolina and North Carolina, and born in 1802 and
1808, respectively. The parents removed to White County, Tenn., and in 1859
came to Fulton County, Ark., where Mr. Carroll died in 1870. He was the son of
Jesse Carroll and the grandson of William Carroll, who was of English descent,
went through the Revolutionary War, and died in North Carolina at the age of
nearly one hundred years. Jesse Carroll was born in North Carolina, and died in
Georgia at the age of ninety-eight years. He was a millwright by occupation.
This family is of the same as that Carroll who was one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence. The paternal grandfather, William Earles, was born in North Carolina and died in Tennessee at
about the age of one hundred and two years; he was of Welsh descent. His father
was a Revolutionary soldier. Capt. John G. Carroll, the second of eight
children born to his parents, received very meager educational advantages. He
came with his parents to Fulton County, Ark., in 1859 and in 1861 Miss Auerilla Copeland, a native of Tennessee, became his wife.
She died in 1879, leaving six children, three sons and three daughters. Capt.
Carroll then married Miss Eliza Baize, a native of Missouri and the daughter of
George Baize. To this union were born four children, a son and three daughters.
Capt. Carroll is one of the prominent agriculturists of Fulton County, is the
owner of 520 acres of land, with 300 under cultivation, and also possesses
considerable property in Viola, all the result of his own industry. When the
war cloud hovered over the United States he enlisted in Company F, Fourteenth
Arkansas Infantry, [p.274] Confederate Army, and served three years and eleven
months. After the first nine months he was promoted to the rank of captain in
his regiment and operated in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana. He took a
prominent part in the battles of Elkhorn, Augusta, Farmington, Corinth, Iuka,
Port Hudson, etc. He was captured at Saltillo, Miss., but after sixteen days
escaped and rejoined his regiment at Tupelo. At the close of the war he
returned to farm life. Politically a Democrat, his first presidential vote was
for Buchanan in 1856. He filled the office of deputy sheriff two years, justice
of the peace for four years and constable two years. He has been a member of
the A. F. & A. M. for twenty-eight years, now belonging to Viola Lodge No.
399, and was master and senior warden for sixteen years of that time. He is
also a member of the Eastern Star lodge at Viola. He and wife belong to the
Missionary Baptist Church, he having experienced religion at the age of
sixteen, and he is a deacon in the same.
B. H.
Castleberry is another excellent example of what can be accomplished through
energy and perseverance, for he has won his way up to his present enviable
position through his own unaided efforts. He was born in the State of Georgia,
on the 1st of July, 1854, and is a son of S. G. and Jane E. (Bell) Castleberry,
both of whom were Georgians, the former born in 1821. He was a farmer and a
miner, but made milling his principal occupation through life, and is still the
owner of some gold mines in Georgia, near Cleveland. His father, who was a
native of the State, owned some mines there and was also an extensive slave
owner at the time of his death. The great-grandfather was a Georgian, but the
great great-grandfather and six brothers emigrated from the Old World, and
settled in the Southern States. B. H. Castleberry was one of seven children,
and his youth and early manhood were spent in his native State. He received his
literary education in the North Georgia Agricultural College, and principally
through his own efforts secured means with which to prosecute his studies. In
December, 1876, he emigrated to the State of Arkansas,
settling in Fulton County, where he began the study of law, and the same
characteristics which marked his progress at school, were prominent in his
legal studies. After a thorough preparation he was admitted to the bar and
entered upon his practice at Salem, and his patronage steadily and
substantially increased during his two years of practice. At the end of that
time he engaged in merchandising with his brother, their stock of goods
amounting to about $8,000, and besides this they each own a half interest in
500 acres of land. Our immediate subject also owns 1,500 acres in his own
right. He was married on the 10th of April, 1881, to Miss Laura P. Wainwright,
by whom he has two interesting children: William Lessie
and Rex. Mr. Castleberry is a Democrat, and a member of the I. O. O. F. William
Castleberry, his brother, a member of the general mercantile firm of
Castleberry & Co., was born in White County, Ga., in 1856, and during his
youth and early manhood worked with his father. He received an excellent
education in Dahlonega College, Ga., and also at Nacoochee
Valley, and after leaving school engaged in mercantile pursuits as clerk in a
general merchandise store in the latter place, but eighteen months later went
to Rabun County, where he began merchandising in partnership with C. W. Oakes.
Two years later they dissolved partnership, and Mr. Castleberry came to Salem,
and in 1881 embarked in business with his brother and William Wainwright,
keeping a grocery. At the end of one year this association was terminated, and
the two brothers started a general mercantile establishment of their own. They
thoroughly understand the enterprise in which they are engaged, and have done
much in their line to increase the trade and influence of the town. They are
thoroughly reliable and honest in all their transactions, and as a result enjoy
a large and lucrative custom. William Castleberry is also a Democrat
politically, and a member of the I. O. O. F. He is unmarried.
page 275
William
D. Chase, one of the prominent millers and farmers of Elizabeth, was born in
Maury (now Gordon) County, Ga., in 1839, and is the son of Hon. Dean W. and
Alley (Johnson) Chase. The father was born in Pawtucket, R. I., and received
[p.275] an unusually good education. At the age of nineteen he was sent to
Georgia to erect a spinning factory, which he operated for a number of years.
He was married and spent the remainder of his days there and in Tennessee,
where he manufactured cotton goods all his life. He died in Gilmore County,
Ga., in 1881. He was justice of the peace many years and once represented
Gordon County in the legislature. He was also for thirty-five or forty years a
traveling minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and besides was an
officer in the Mexican War. His wife was a native of North Carolina, and died
in Gilmore County, Ga., July 8, 1886. She, too, was a member of the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Her father, James Johnson, was a native of North Carolina,
who died in Walker County, Ga. He was a soldier in the Mexican War. William D.
Chase, the second of ten children, born to his parents, received his education
in the common schools. He was reared to the arduous duties on the farm, and in
1861 Miss Adeline Sprouell became his wife. She was
born in Fulton County, Ga., and was the daughter of Wilson E. and Eliza J. Spronell, natives of Abbeville District, S. C., but who
moved to Georgia, where Mrs. Sprouell died. To Mr.
and Mrs. Chase were born eleven children, seven sons and three daughters now living. Mr. Chase served over four years in the Confederate
Army, Company E, Georgia Volunteer Infantry, was at Cumberland Gap, Richmond,
Siege of Vicksburg. Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge,
Resaca, Kingston, Calboun, New Hope Church. Kenesaw
Mountain, etc. He was captured several times, the last time at Peach
Tree Creek, and imprisoned at Nashville. He was afterward taken to
Indianapolis, where he was at the time of the surrender. He never received a
wound during his time of service. After the war he returned to the farm and in
1872 came to Fulton County, Ark. He followed agricultural pursuits for five
years and then engaged in merchandising at Newburg, Izard County, for three
years. This not suiting him he entered into the milling business there for six
years, after which he returned to Fulton County, and continued merchandising at
Elizabeth for four years. Since then he has been occupied in milling and
farming and has two flour and saw, shingle and planing
mills. He is also the owner of about 900 acres of land in Missouri, Fulton,
Izard and Lawrence Counties. All his property is the result of hard labor since
the war. He has been a Democrat in his political views all his life, and his
first presidential vote was for Gen. McClellan. He is a member of the Masonic
fraternity, Elizabeth Lodge, and is also a member of Newburg Lodge of the I. O.
O. F. in Izard County. Mrs. Chase has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal
Church for many years.
page 276
Hon.
Samuel W. Cochran. For a period upwards of thirty-three years, he whose name
heads this sketch has been a resident of Fulton County, and during this time he
has enjoyed the reputation of being an honest, upright man in every respect,
fully deserving the good opinion with which he is regarded by all who know him.
His life up to the time of his location in Arkansas was rather unsettled, but
notwithstanding the old saying that "a rolling stone gathers no moss,"
Mr. Cochran has been quite successful in accumulating worldly goods, and is one
of the leading merchants of this county. His birth occurred in Abbeville
District, S. C., May 20, 1820, and he was left an orphan when an infant. Until
ten years of age he was cared for by an uncle, J. C. Wharton, and from that
period until sixteen years of age was taken care of by his guardian, Samuel
Jordan. At this time he went with his uncle, Mr. Wharton, to Tennessee, and
located at Raleigh near Memphis, but shortly after went to Tipton, and still
later to Columbia, of the same State, where he remained two years. He then
returned to his old home in South Carolina, where he attended school for one
year, after which he came back to Columbia, and was a salesman two years for
the mercantile firm of G. Frierson & Co. At the end of this time he again
returned to South Carolina, where he remained with his guardian for some time,
and was married there to Miss Julia A. Chiles, moving with her at a later
period to Case County, Ga., where he gave his attention to farming until 1856.
In that year he came to Fulton County, Ark., and located in the neighborhood of
where he now lives, continuing [p.276] his farming operations up to 1881, when
he opened a store at his present stand, and has met with the best of success in
this enterprise. In 1861 he was a member of the State convention, and voted for
secession, and in 1863 was elected to represent Fulton County in the State
legislature. His wife was a daughter of William Chiles, of Abbeville District,
S. C., and was born October 7, 1827, being killed at Rolla, Mo., November 6,
1864. To them were born four children, three of whom are living: William C., a
farmer of Fulton County; J. C., also a farmer of the county, and J. D., farming
near his father. Samuel W. died in 1863, when twelve years of age. In 1865 Mr.
Cochran wedded Miss Martha E. Livingston, a daughter of James Livingston, who
was also born in Abbsville District, S. C., her birth
occurring in 1831. In 1848 Mr. Cochran was licensed to preach the gospel,
having joined the Missionary Baptist Church three years previous,
and his wife and children are also members of this church. He is a Democrat
politically, and previous to the war held the position of postmaster at Union,
and received his last appointment in 1887. When a young man he taught school in
Georgia, and also in Fulton County, Ark. Mr. Cochran's parents, Clark and Sarah
(Wharton) Cochran, ware born in Abbeville District, S. C., where the father was
engaged in merchandising and farming until his death. He was of Scotch-Irish
descent, and was a son of John Cochran, a native of Virginia, and a soldier in
the Revolutionary War. He died in South Carolina. The maternal grandfather,
Pleasant Wharton, was born in the "Palmetto State." A large extent of
land in South Carolina was given his ancestors by George III, and has been in
possession of the family ever since that time.
page 277
Alvah L.
Cooper, farmer and stock raiser, and the recently appointed postmaster of the
thriving little city of Mammoth Spring, was born in Tompkins County, New York,
April 1, 1842, and was the fourth of ten children, eight now living, born to
Laban D. and Sarah M. (Woodin) Cooper, both of whom
were born in Dutchess County, N. Y., the former in
1780, and the latter in 1812. In the primitive days of the Republic, the
Coopers were among its most valiant defenders. In the gloomy days of 1778, when
the notorious Tory refugee, John Butler, defeated his cousin, Col. Zeb Butler,
and so unmercifully massacred the inhabitants of Wyoming, Penn., the paternal
grandfather became one of the victims. Laban Cooper was of English descent, and
a soldier in Gen. Scott's brigade, receiving four different gun-shot wounds. At
the memorable battle of Lundy's Lane or Bridgewater, he was wounded twice, one
of which was received while assisting Col. Miller in his historical charge on
the British batteries on the heights, the key to the British position. In the
no less eventful battle of Chippeway he was wounded.
He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant for services rendered during the war,
and as his wife is still living, she now receives a pension. She resides at
Mountain Lake, Penn., at the age of seventy-seven years. Alvah Cooper's youth
was spent in Bradford County, Penn., and his education was there received in
the public schools. He and two of his brothers served nearly four years each in
the late Rebellion. Alvah enlisted May, 1861, in Company F, Sixth Pennsylvania
Reserve Corps, was elected captain and transferred to Company D. One Hundred and Thirty-Second Pennsylvania Volunteers of the Second
Army Corps. From the battle of Bull Run to the closing scene at
Appomattox, he was in all the principal battles in Virginia, Maryland and
Pennsylvania, never receiving a wound. Mr. Cooper has been in the employ of the
Government as special pension examiner and other positions almost continually
since the war, and has ever been a consistent, hard working Republican. It was
in recognition of his services and abilities as a political organizer that he
was recently appointed postmaster at Mammoth Spring. He is thoroughly imbued
with the principles of the Republican party, and is an
indefatigable political worker, and has probably done more than any other
single man toward organizing the Republican party of this part of the State. He
was one of the first to join the G. A. R., and has held many offices of trust
in that order. Before coming to this State he was elected commander of the
Soldiers' and Sailors' encampment of Bradford [p.277] County, also chairman of
the Bradford County Soldiers' and Sailors' Monumental Association, for three
years. On leaving his native State he resigned both positions, but was held in
such high esteem by his comrades that his resignation was not accepted, and he
continued to hold his office until the expiration of his term although out of
the State. For a number of years he was a director of the Agricultural Society
of Bradford County. In 1866 he was married to Miss Sarah Ann Larcom, a native of Bradford County, Penn., born in 1843,
and dying in 1883; to them were born these children: Mintie
M., wife of F. L. Sayles; Elmer C., Woodard C., killed when fourteen years of
age; Gracie, Fred. C., Nellie, Warner and Grant. In
1886, like many of the hardy sons of the East, desiring a more congenial clime
and soil in which to care for his family, he started toward the "Sunny
South" to try his fortunes. The wood land of Arkansas pleased him. He and
his son each homesteaded 160 acres, and have purchased 240 acres in addition,
making in all a ranch of 560 acres of land. In every day life Mr. Cooper is
looked upon as an energetic, honest citizen.
He spends his time closely in building up his farms and superintending
the postoffice, and if fortune continues to smile on
him, in a few years he will be one of the most prosperous as well as one of
most prominent citizens of North Arkansas.
Charles
W. Culp, M. D., is one of the rising young members of the medical fraternity of
Fulton County, Ark. He was born in Izard County, of the same State, May 14,
1858. His parents, Thomas and Elizabeth (Benbrook) Culp, were born, reared and
married in Izard County, the former's birth occurring in 1831, and his death
March 8, 1880. The paternal grandfather, Thomas B. Culp, was a Tennesseean, who removed to Izard County. Ark., at an early
day and took a prominent part in aiding in the growth and development of this
region. and both he and his son Thomas were
physicians. They were of German descent, and all the male members of the family
have been Democrats in their political views. Of the family of eight children
born to Thomas and Elizabeth Culp, four are now living, two sons and two
daughters, all of whom reside in Fulton County, with the exception of a
daughter, who is a resident of Izard County, Dr. Charles W. Culp received his
literary education in the common schools of Izard County, after which he
entered the Memphis Hospital Medical College, from which institution he was
graduated as an M. D., February 25, 1885. Previous to graduating he had
practiced the profession (since 1879), and has won an enviable position among
the medical fraternity of Fulton and surrounding counties. December 22, 1880,
he was married to Miss Joannah C. Sharp, who was born
in Sharp County, Ark., December 4, 1861, and is a daughter of Ephraim Sharp,
whose sketch appears in this work. Dr. Culp is a Royal Arch Mason, belonging to
Rural Chapter No. 50, Evening Shade, Sharp County. He
is also a member of Ash Flat Lodge No. 159, F. & A. M., Ash Flat, Ark. He is a Democrat. his first
presidential vote being cast for Hancock, and he and wife are members of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. His mother is a resident of Fulton County,
and is the worthy wife of J. M. Cook.
page 278
W. H.
Culp, editor and proprietor of the Mammoth Spring Monitor, at Mammoth Spring.
Ark., is of German descent, the name originally being
Kolb, but it was changed to Culp when the family became Americanized. He was
born in Izard County, Ark., November 5, 1863, and after acquiring a fair
education in the common schools he entered the office of the Clipper. at Melbourne, Ark., and learned the printer's trade. In 1882
he bought a half interest in the Izard County Register, at Melbourne, and in
August, 1884. purchased the remaining interest and
conducted the paper with highly satisfactory results until November, 1886. when he leased the press and moved to Lee County, Ark.,
where he spent a part of the following year in an unsuccessful attempt to raise
a cotton crop. Moving to Mammoth Spring. Ark., he
established the Mammoth Spring Monitor, the first number being issued February
2, 1888. This paper has proved a decided success financially, and is one of the
spiciest, best and most ably edited business papers in Northwest Arkansas, and
Mr. Culp has become well known throughout the State [p.278] as one of its most
successful editors. He established the Thayer Tribune at Thayer, Mo., in 1888,
but has since sold it and is now devoting his time and energies to the
publication of the Monitor. He was married in 1884 to Miss Amy D. Owen, of Forrest
City, Ark., she being a daughter of Dexter Owen, who was born in Providence, R.
I. They have two children: Homer and Madge. Mr. Culp is a son of Dr. T. B. and
Elizabeth (Benbrook) Culp, the former's birth occurring in Izard County, Ark.,
in 1835, and his death in Melbourne of the same county in 1880. His widow still
survives him and is a resident of this county, being forty-five years of age.
Judge
Thomas J. Cunningham, a prosperous Fulton County farmer, came originally from
Randolph County, Mo., his birth occurring December 31, 1837. His father, Robert
H. Cunningham, was born in Lincoln County, Tenn., in 1808, and in 1834 emigrated to Randolph County, Mo., where he was one of the
earliest settlers. He was an active tiller of the soil there until about 1867,
and from that time until his death, in 1868, he resided in Fulton County, Ark.
His parents, James and Jane Cunningham, removed from Tennessee to Randolph
County several years prior to their son, and both died in Adair County of that
State. The wife of Robert H. Cunningham was born in Tennessee in 1810, and died
in Fulton County, Ark., in August, 1886, having borne a family of ten children,
nine of whom grew to mature years, and eight of whom are yet living. Four sons
and one daughter reside in Fulton County, one son lives in the State of Texas,
a daughter in Randolph County, Mo., and one son in Macon County, Mo. Thomas J.
Cunningham is the fourth of the family, and from his earliest recollections has
been familiar with the details of farm life; while growing up he learned
lessons of industry, frugal habits and economy, which he has never forgotten.
His rudimentary education was acquired in the common schools, and was
supplemented by a collegiate course in Macon County, Mo. He remained with his
father and mother until 1861, when, full of zeal and enthusiam
for the land of chivalry and the cause of the South, he joined Gen. Price's
command, whose division was commanded by Gen. John B. Clark, Sr., and served
two years, participating in the battle of Lexington and numerous other
engagements. In 1863 he went by mule train to California, in which State he
remained until 1870, being engaged in farming, and in that year he left
California and came to Fulton County, Ark., and located near where he now
lives. In 1866, while in California, he was married to Miss Mary E. Proctor,
who was born in Randolph County, Mo., in 1841. She died in 1873, in Fulton
County, Ark, having borne a family of four children: Julia, wife of William T.
Cunningham, of Texas; Jennie D., wife of John D. Isenhour,
of Fulton County; Rollen P., now in Texas, and Robert
H. (deceased). In 1875 Mr. Cunningham united his fortunes with those of Miss
Sarah E. Jeffery, a native of Izard County, Ark., born October 26, 1853. Her
parents are Rev. Daniel and Nancy Jeffery. To Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham were born
the following children: Robert C. (deceased), James C., Edgar, Margaret Ann,
Ida, Thomas J. and Henry K. Mr. Cunningham has resided in Fulton County
sufficiently long to enable his many sterling qualities to become well known.
About forty-five acres of his 180 acre farm are under cultivation. He is a
Democrat, and in 1874 was elected judge of the county court, and served six
successive years, making an able and efficient officer. His first presidential vote
was cast for John C. Breckenridge. His wife is a member of the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church.
page 279
Charles
C. Davis, surveyor of Fulton County, and one of the enterprising agriculturists
of Mammoth Spring Township, was born in Webster County, Mo., January 22, 1854,
receiving a very meager education in the common schools. He followed the plow
for his father until nineteen years of age, and was then united in marriage to
Miss Nancy C. Young, a native of Oregon County, Mo., August 11, 1872, the daughter
of J. L. Young. Mrs. Davis died April 17, 1885, and September 18 of the same
year Mr. Davis married Martha, sister of his first wife. Her parents were
natives of St. Francois County, Mo., now of Oregon County, Mo., and Mr. Young
served in the Confederate army as [p.279] a private. By his first marriage Mr.
Davis became the father of five children. three sons
and two daughters, and to his second union were born two children, both sons.
Since his first marriage he has lived on his present farm, one mile east of
Mammoth Spring, where he has 900 acres of good land, with 130 under
cultivation. He followed farming and also dealt in stock until the railroad was
built, after which for some years he was local agent, locating settlers, etc.
He has been a practical surveyor for some time, surveying for the county, and
in 1888 was elected county surveyor for two years. In politics he affiliates
with the Democratic party, and his first presidential
vote was for S. J. Tilden in 1876. He is a member of the Masonie
fraternity, Myatt Lodge No. 401, and was Junior Warden one year. Mr. Davis is
pleasant and agreeable in his demeanor to all with whom he comes in contact,
and is a man who attracts the regard of all who approach him. He is universally
respected by his fellow citizens. He is the son of Eliphaz
and Permealey Davis, and the grandson of Charles C.
Davis, who was born in Jackson County, Ill, in 1800, and died in Oregon County,
Mo., in 1878. He was a soldier in the Black Hawk War, was justice of the peace
and also county judge for some years. He was of Welsh descent. Eliphaz Davis was born in Randolph County, Ark., January 1,
1822, and was married in that county to Miss Edwards, a native of Indiana. From
there they moved to Webster County, Mo., and in 1858 to Oregon County, where
Mrs. Davis died in 1863. Mrs. Davis is still living there. He is a member of
the Christian Church (as was also his wife). and is a
successful farmer.
Lee
Davis. Under the efficient management of Mr. Davis the Fulton County Banner has
come to be regarded as one of the representative journals of the county. and although he has only been its editor since 1887, he has
proven himself to be a man of good judgment in directing the editorial policy
of his paper. He is a native of the county in which he is now residing, his
birth occurring in 1865, but received his education in La Crosse, Izard County,
Ark., and as the school was good, he acquired an excellent education. After
training the "young idea" for some time, he first entered the journalistic
field in 1884, in Elizabeth, Ark. In 1887 he purchased the Banner, at Salem,
Ark., a paper which he has since edited in a very efficient manner, and through
the columns of this journal he has wielded no slight influence in directing the
proper steps to be takenfor worthy movements. As the worth of his paper becomes known the circulation increases
accordingly, and he has won the patronage of all the better class of citizens
in the county. He was first married, at the age of nineteen years, to
Miss Josie Lytle, a native of Tennessee, who died ten months after her
marriage, and after remaining a widower until 1889, he wedded Miss Mary
Jeffery, whose birth occurred in Izard County, Ark. Mr. Davis is one of eight
children born to Solomon M. and Eliza (Pipkin) Davis,
who were born, reared and married in the State of Tennessee, and who lived
there until a number of their children were born, after which they moved to
Missouri, being among the pioneers of that State. After residing there a number
of years they came to Arkansas, being among the first settlers of Fulton
County. The father was an officer in the Confederate army, and died in 1880, at
the age of forty-nine years. He was a farmer by occupation, and is still
survived by his widow. Our subject's paternal and maternal grandfathers, G. A.
Davis and G. F. Pipkin, were also Tennesseeans
by birth.
Dr. D. S.
Deaderick, real estate agent, Mammoth Spring. In that
proud series of names which have aided materially in developing the business
interests of Fulton County, that of Mr. Deaderick holds a leading place. He was born in Saline
County, Mo., in 1842 and is the son of John S. and Ellen (Cotter) Deaderick, and grandson of David Deaderick,
who was a native of Tennessee. John S. Deaderick was
born in Georgia in 1819, and in 1840 was united in marriage to Miss Cotter, at
Potosi, Mo. She was born in Pittsburg, Penn., in 1820. After marriage the
parents removed to St. Louis, where the father was interested in the shot
tower. In 1848 they moved to Saline County of the same State, and there he was
engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1857, when they [p.280] moved to Plattin Rock, in Jefferson County. During the year 1861
they were in different parts of the South, and in 1865 returned to St. Louis,
where Mr. Deaderick was occupied in wool manufacture
for several years. In 1874 they came to Mammoth Spring and were the first
settlers here. He erected a flour-mill and cotton-gin, which he operated until
June, 1887, when he sold out. He was a thorough-going business man and was at one
time quite wealthy. His death occurred in 1887. Florence Cotter, the
grandfather of Dr. Deaderick, was a native of Ireland
and came to the United States about 1796. He settled in Pennsylvania, where he
died early in the present century. Dr. D. S. Deaderick,
the eldest of two sons and one daughter, received his education in the St.
Louis University. During the late up-pleasantness between the North and South
he served four years in the Confederate Army, Company E, Second
Missouri Cavalry. He enlisted as a private and came out as adjutant of the regiiment. He operated in Missouri, Tennessee and
Mississippi with Gen. Forrest, and was wounded several times. After the war he
engaged in the lumber business in Iron and St. Francois Counties, Mo., and in
1870 took up the study of mediicine and graduated at
the St. Louis Medical College in 1872. He then practiced in that city until
1874, when he came to Mammoth Spring, and in company with his father embarked
in milling and merchandising, and was also for a number of years interested in
the real estate business. He has continued the real estate business in town and
besides is the owner of several farms in Missouri and Arkansas. In his
political views he affiliates with the Democratic party,
and his first presidential vote was cast for Gen. Hancock in 1880. He is a
member of the Masonic fraternity, Myatt Lodge No. 401, and Evening Shade
Chapter No. 50. He is also a member of Mammoth Spring Lodge No. 48, I. O. O. F.
His only sister is the wife of J. D. Lucas, of St. Louis, and his brother, Dr.
James S., is a practicing physician of De Soto, Mo. His mother is still living
and resides at Mammoth Spring. The family are members
of the Catholic Church.
page 281
William Deatherage, one of the foremost farmers of Mount Calm Township,
on Bennett River, owes his nativity to Tennessee, where he was born in 1842.
His father, A. J. Deatherage, was born in Tennessee,
about 1811, and died in Roane County, of that State, in 1847. The latter was
married in his native State to Miss Sarah Jackson, also a native of Tennessee,
born about 1822. Three children were the result of this union, William being
the eldest. One was drowned in the Tennessee River, by the overturning of a
skiff, when only seven years of age, and Martha, became the wife of O. B.
Fuller, and is now living in Tennessee. Mrs. Deatherage
was married the second time, in 1850, to W. F. Ellis, and by this union became
the mother of eight children, six daughters and two sons: Sarah (deceased),
Margaret (deceased), Minerva, wife of George Jones, and now living in
Tennessee; Nancy and Becky (twins), were married to twin brothers, Samuel and
Elijah Kelon, and live in Tennessee; Caleb, Franklin,
and Mary, at home with her mother. A. J. Deatherage
was a major in the United States army when the Indians were moved to Indian
Territory. William Deatherage commenced for himself
in life by joining the Confederate army, Company A,
Twenty-sixth Tennessee Infantry Regiment, on the 15th of June, 1861, and served
about four years. He participated in sixteen hard-fought battles, the principal
ones being Fort Donelson, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga,
Missionary Ridge, Taylor Ridge Gap, Swamp Creek, Resaca, New Hope, Marietta,
Jonesboro, Columbia, Franklin, Nashville; was with Forrest at Murfreesboro the
second time, Columbia. Bentonville, Chickasaw Mountain, etc. He surrendered on the 5th of April, 1865, at
Greensboro, N. C., after which Mr. Deatherage
returned to Greeneville, Tenn., and from thence home, where he commenced
farming. He started out after the war with nothing but a Confederate suit of
clothes, with forty-eight bullet holes in it. He was married, May 28, 1868. to
Miss Rebecca Hall, of Tennessee, and in the fall of the following year he came
to Fulton County, and settled on Bennett's Bayou, and there remained three
years. In 1873 he moved to his present fine property. consisting
[p.281] of 267 acres, with 100 acres improved. He has good buildings, and a
comfortable home. As he has had but little help since commencing for himself,
he is the architect of his own fortune. To his marriage were born eleven
children, eight living at present: Susan, born October 12, 1870; E. J., born
February 9, 1872; G. W., born on the 3d of September, 1874; Lydia M., born on
the 8th of September, 1876; Sarah A., born on the 5th of December, 1878; W. S.,
born on the 5th of March, 1880; James K. P., born on the 12th of October, 1885,
and Nancy, born on the 11th of June, 1888. Mr. Deatherage
has been justice of the peace of his township for one term. He is a member of
the Masonic fraternity, County Line Lodge No. 373, and in his political
opinions is with the Democrats. Mrs. Deatherage is
the daughter of Elijah and Lydia Hall, who were the parents of eleven children,
the following living: Samuel, Elisha, Mollie, Elijah, Lydia, Thomas, Rebecca D.
and J. K. P.
James
Dinwiddie is a man whom nature seems to have especially fitted to be a farmer,
for he has met with good success in his farming operations. He was born in
Greene County, East Tenn., on the 14th of August, 1856, and is a son of Calvin
and Mary (Carr) Dinwiddie, the former being also a native of East Tennessee,
his birth occurring February 23, 1828. He was a school teacher in his youth,
and by trade was a tailor, and these occupations he
followed in his native State until 1859, when he moved to Arkansas. While at
Greenfield, Mo., in 1864, he was captured by the Federal troops and taken to
Indianapolis, Ind., where he died the same year from the effects of a wound
received from a sabre at the time of his capture. He was a son of James H.
Dinwiddie, who died in East Tennessee, Mary (Carr)
Dinwiddie was born in Knoxville, Tenn., April 5, 1836, and died in Arkansas on
the 13th day of December, 1885. Of her two children, James, the subject of this
sketch, was the elder. His youth was spent in Arkansas, and in this State his
early scholastic advantages were enjoyed, though only such as the common
schools of that period afforded. He has resided in Fulton County since February
11, 1862, and has thoroughly identified himself with the interests of this
section, owning an excellent farm comprising 160 acres of land. He is
industrious and enterprising, and his present farm denotes him to be possessed
of thrift and energy. He is a Democrat in his political views. Miss Elizabeth
Taylor became his wife on the 16th of February, 1888. She was born in Fulton
County, Ark., in 1871, and is a daughter of C. C. and Mary Taylor, both of whom
are now deceased.
page 282
John L.
Golden. Among the prominent farmers of Washington Township appears the name of
the above mentioned gentleman, whose success as a tiller of the soil is second
to none in the township. He was born in Weakley County, Tenn., on the 27th day
of July, 1849, and since early youth has applied himself steadfastly to
agricultural pursuits, and with what success may be inferred when the fact is
mentioned that he is the owner of one of the finest tracts of land in this
section of the county. He is the son of J. C. and Mary (Winn) Golden, both
natives of Mississippi, and of English parentage. The father was born in 1824,
was a tiller of the soil, and moved to Tennessee at a very early day. They were
the parents of ten children, seven living to be grown: S. D. (deceased), W. W.,
lives in Lawrence County, Ark.; James H. (deceased), J. L., Martha, wife of
Alexander Cannon; Jesse F., Lydia J., wife of George Dunivan.
Mr. Golden was a Democrat during his life, and had accumulated considerable
property which he lost during the war. John L. Golden commenced work for
himself at the age of twenty-one, and has tilled the soil assiduously ever
since. When first starting out for himself he was possessor of $85, one horse,
a few hogs, and a little corn. He is now the owner of 249 acres of land, with
about 140 acres under cultivation, besides having his farm well stocked with
horses, cattle, hogs, and all else to be seen on a well conducted farm. He left
Tennessee in 1872, settling in Independence County, Ark., and there remained
for three years. In 1875 he came to Fulton County and followed farming on rented
land. He then bought a farm of eighty acres, improved the same, and in 1884
sold out and bought his present property. He was married on the 6th [p.282] of
January, 1879, to Miss Rachel M. Anderson, and two children have been born to
this marriage: Lula A., born August 2, 1883, and Luther F., born May 20, 1889.
Mrs. Golden is the daughter of J. M. and Martha J. (Kelton) Anderson, natives
of Tennessee, and the parents of five children, four now living: J. C.
(deceased), Rachel M., Lucy A. M., wife of Jasper Rives, of Fulton County;
Martha C., wife of Alexander Sanders, and Harriet L., wife of James Lingle, of Fulton County. Mr. Anderson came to this State
in 1874, settling first in Stone County, and in 1875 moved to this county,
where he has since resided. He has been postmaster at Ten Mile postoffice for thirteen years, and is a much esteemed
citizen. John L. Golden votes with the Democratic party,
and Mrs. Golden is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Amos E.
Golder has passed the uneventful life of the farmer, continuing steadily to
pursue the even tenor of his way, and is now ranked among the prosperous
farmers of Fulton County, being the owner of 312 acres of land in the home
place, of which forty-eight are under cultivation, and seventy-five acres in
Myatt Township. He was born in Phillips County, Ark., October 27, 1842, and is
the second of eight children born to Dr. James B. and Mary (Bond) Golder, whose
births occurred in Richmond, Va., October 3, 1816, and Knox County, Tenn., May
27, 1813, and died in Randolph and Fulton Counties, Ark., December 26, 1861,
and January 9, 1888, respectively. Dr. James Golder removed to Phillips County,
Ark., at an early day, and was there married, moving in 1852 to Fulton County,
of which he was one of the early settlers. Politically he was a Democrat, and
held the office of justice of the peace, and was also postmaster in Fulton
County. He served in the Confederate army, and just prior to his death was to
have been appointed regimental surgeon. Amos E. Golden and his brother, J. M.,
are the only ones of their parents' family who are now living, and both reside
in Fulton County. The former has lived here since ten years of age, but before
reaching his twenty-first birthday he received only few educational advantages.
In July, 1861, he enlisted in Company I, Seventh Arkansas Regiment of the
Confederate States Army, and served until he was captured at the battle of
Franklin, Tenn., in 1864. He was taken to Chicago, Ill., and after being kept
in captivity five months, was liberated and soon after joined the United States
army, and served from 1865 to November, 1866. After receiving his discharge he
returned to Arkansas and resumed farming in Fulton County. On the 5th of
September, 1867, he was married to Miss Mary R. Partie,
who was born in Izard County, Ark., on the 6th of April, 1843, and by her has
had a family of eight children; James (deceased), Elizabeth R. (deceased),
George A., Laura (deceased), Martha, Emma (deceased), Peter E., and Amos G.
(deceased). Mr. Golder is a Democrat, his first presidential vote being cast
for Greeley. He is a Master Mason, belonging to Myatt Lodge No. 407. He and
wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mrs. Golder's parents, George and Mary Partie,
were born in Kentucky and Tennessee, November 25, 1811, and March 4, 1814,
respectively. They were married in Arkansas. The maternal grandfather, Louis Partie, was born in Kentucky in 1763, and in 1814 emigrated to Arkansas. locating
near Mount Olive, being one of the first settlers of that part of the State.
His wife, whose maiden name was Mary Ramsey, was born in Maryland, in 1768, and
was of English descent. Mr. Partie
was a French Canadian. They were married in 1787. Soon after the former joined
the United States army, and served three years in the defense of the Union. The
great-grandfather, Charles Ramsey, spent seven years of his life in fighting
for the liberty we now enjoy. This has been handed down to the present
generation by Mrs. Golder's grandmother, who now
rests under the sod on the bank of White River.
page 283
J.
R. Green, farmer, Bennett's Bayou, Fulton County, Ark. The father of Mr. Green.
William Green, was a native of Alabama, and after
reaching manhood was united in marriage to Miss Rosanna Deshazo,
a native of Tennessee, in 1857 or 1858. To this marriage were born four
children, two now living: J. R. Green, born on the 24th [p.283] of May, 1859,
and Susan, wife of L. C. Woods. The parents moved to Arkansas in 1861, settling
in Izard County until after the war, and then, in 1866, moved to Fulton County.
They purchased a farm on Bennett's River, and this he improved in every
respect. During the late Civil War the father served in the Confederate army
nearly the whole time of the conflict, and was with Gen. Price on his raid
through Missouri. He was a Democrat in politics, and although a man who had
received but limited educational advantages, had improved his time to such an
extent that he was considered well-informed on all subjects. Mrs. Green was married
the second time, about 1870, to Mr. W. Harber, by
whom she had two children: Rebecca Jane, born in 1872, and Mary E., born in
1874. Mr. Harber was born in Crockett County, Tenn.,
and was married to Mrs. Green in Greene County, Ark. He died in 1874. He was a
man who had taken a prominent part in the politics of the county, and voted the
Democratic ticket. He was a member of the Christian Church. Mrs. Harber was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. J. R.
Green's chances for an education were very limited and the principal part of his youthful days were spent on the farm. On the
10th of July, 1884, his marriage to Miss F. A. Wilson, of Alabama, took place.
She, also, had received rather limited advantages for an education, but, like
her husband, she has improved her time by study and observation. They are the
parents of three children: M. C., born on the 6th of July, 1885; W. H., born on
the 17th of March, 1887, and Rebecca, born on the 29th of April, 1889, Mr.
Green commenced farming in 1884, and has continued
this pursuit up to the present. He is the owner of a fine farm of 280 acres,
which he paid for by the honest sweat of his brow. Although of limited
education himself Mr. Green is always in favor of public schools, and is a
liberal contributor to that and all other laudable enterprises. He is a member
of the Masonic fraternity, Waterville Lodge No. 50. He is also a member of Vidette Lodge No. 94, I. O. O. F. In politics his political
preference is with the Democratic party. His wife is
the daughter of W. H. and M. J. (Driscol) Wilson,
natives of Alabama, and the parents of only one child, Mrs. Green. Mrs. Wilson
died on the 4th of January, 1870, in full communion with the Methodist
Episcopal Church. Mr. Wilson married the second time, Miss Martha Graves, of
Alabama, on the 25th of December, 1870, and they became the parents of four
children, three deceased. The one living is William H., whose birth occurred on
the 25th of December, 1874. Mr. Wilson resides in Baxter County and is in very
comfortable circumstances. He takes quite an active part in politics and is a
Republican. He was in the Confederate army during the war, was a commissioned
officer and was taken prisoner, remaining in prison for some time. He is a
member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to County Line Lodge No. 373, and
also the Chapter at Mountain Home.
Thomas
Hall has been a resident of Fulton County, Ark., for the past nineteen years,
and his example of industry, and his earnest and sincere efforts to make life a
success, are well worthy the imitation of all. The condition of his farm, which
consists of 280 acres, shows the thrift and energy which are among his chief
characteristics, and all necessary buildings and fences form a prominent
feature of the improvements. Thomas Hall was born in Morgan County, Tenn.,
February 25, 1849, and is one of eight surviving members of a family of eleven
children, born to Elijah and Lydia (Scott) Hall, who were born in Morgan
County, Tenn., and Kentucky, in 1797 and 1812, respectively. Elijah Hall was a
farmer by occupation, and about 1870 moved to Fulton County, Ark., where he
passed the rest of his days, dying in 1881. His widow still survives him, and
resides in Barter County, Ark. The paternal grandparents were North
Carolinians, who removed to Tennessee at an early day, and there died. The
youthful days of Thomas Hall were divided between farm work
and attending the common schools, where he received a fair education only. He
remained with his parents until he attained his majority, and was then married
August 14, 1870, to Miss Dorcas E. Kerr, who was born in Tennessee October 30,
1850, and is a daughter of William and Jane Kerr, [p.284] both natives of
Ireland, who died in Fulton County, Ark. To Thomas Hall and his wife eight
children have been born, six of whom are living: Katie, born August 3, 1872; Clory Ann, born January 26, 1875; Mary Alice, born May 20,
1877; John L., born May 13, 1879, died January 13, 1880; Ada Gordan, born April 21, 1881; Myrtle Eva, born October 30,
1883; Sabra Dorcas, born October 9, 1886, and Victor Thomas, born August 13,
1889. Mr. Hall has always voted the Democratic ticket, and his first vote was
cast for Horace Greeley for the Presidency. He is a member of the Missionary
Baptist Church, and his wife is connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South. They are intelligent and enterprising citizens, and would give life to
any community in which they might settle.
W. S.
Hamilton. A history of any community, large or small, is made up, to a greater
or less degree, of the lives of its citizens, and it is apparent to any
intelligent observer that the history of this county is only such as has been
made by those who have been identified with its development for some time. Mr.
Hamilton can safely be classed among the pioneers of the State of Arkansas. His
father, Thomas Hamilton, was a native of Ohio, born in 1822, and came to
Kentucky at an early day. He was a miller by trade, and followed this pursuit
during the principal part of his life. He was married in Kentucky, in 1846, to
Miss Sarah Bunton, a native of Virginia, born about
1828. Eight children were given them, five of whom are now living: W. S., John
W., David, farmer in the Indian Nation; William,
resides in Independence County, Ark., and is a farmer; and Melissa, wife of
John M. McCandlass, a farmer of Fulton County. Thomas
Hamilton left Kentucky in 1856, and moved to Illinois, where he resided until
1869, but subsequently be located in Greene County, Ark. After remaining there
two years he moved to Fulton County, Ark., and engaged in the milling business
at Elizabeth, where he remained thus occupied until his death, which occurred
on the 20th of October, 1887. He had been justice of the peace of his township
in this county for some time, and was a man universally respected. He and wife
were both members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. The mother died March
3, 1861. W. S. Hamilton came to this county with his father, and settled on
Spring River, in the east portion for some six years. He then moved to his
present property of 160 acres, eighty acres under cultivation, and there he has
since remained. He has made all the improvements, and has a fine farm. His
marriage occurred in 1868, in Illinois, to Miss Mary A. Green, a native of
Tennessee, and to them have been born ten children, nine now living: Sarah E.
(deceased), Philip T., born April 7, 1871; N. J., born on the 22d of July,
1873; Melissa, born January 22, 1876; Emily F., born on the 7th of November,
1878; George W., born on the 17th of March, 1880; Nancy E., born on the 22d of
June, 1882; H. W. and Letha A. (twins), born on the 6th of November, 1885; and
Susan M., born on the 23d of April, 1888. Mrs. Hamilton is the daughter of
Thomas and Mary A. Green, natives of Tennessee, who were the parents of two
children: Mary A., born on the 12th of January, 1852, and Philip, who resides
in Illinois. Mr. Green died in 1852, and in 1855 his widow married Thomas
Nipper, by whom she had these children: Sarah J. (deceased), Emily C.
(deceased), J. H., and Thomas (deceased). Mr. Nipper died in 1865, of smallpox,
and all the children, but the two mentioned above, died of the same dread
disease. Mr. Nipper was in the Union army, but was so disabled from exposure
that he was discharged about 1863. Mr. Hamilton has filled the office of
constable, has also been justice of the peace, and, like his father, is a
Democrat in politics. He is a member of Lodge No. 94, of the I. O. O. F., at Vidette, Ark., and has served as secretary and treasurer,
and also vice grand of his lodge.
page 285
Sidney K.
Harkleroad. The subject of this sketch is a Tennesseean by birth and bringing up, and has inculcated in
him the sterling principles of his German ancestors. He was born in Sullivan
County, Tenn., March 13, 1848, and is a son of Henry and Margaret Adaline
(Berry) Harkleroad, who were born in East Tennessee
and Virginia, respectively, and both died in Fulton County, Ark., the former on
the 18th of December, 1869, [p.285] at the age of eighty-one years, and the
latter on the 18th of November, 1888, aged seventy-one years. They were married
in the mother's native State, but resided in Sullivan County, Tenn., until
coming to Arkansas in 1850. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South, and he was a soldier in the War of 1812, and by occupation was a
blacksmith, carpenter, and farmer, as such being very successful until coming
to Arkansas. At his death he left a competency for his family. He was a son of
Henry Harkleroad, a native German, who was one of the
first settlers of the State of Tennessee, and died there. Five sons and one
daughter were born to the latter, five of the family now living: W. H. C., a
farmer of Union Township, James H., Joseph T. and S. K., being also millers of
that township, and Margaret E., wife of R. C. Byrum
of Union Township. W. H. C. was in the Confederate army three years during the
Rebellion, and participated in many battles, and James H. was also in the
service a short time. The latter, with our subject and his brother, J. T., were
extensively engaged in the saw-mill business in Izard County for about eighteen
years. In 1888 Sidney K. Harkleroad built a grist
mill and cotton-gin on his farm, which he has since been successfully
operating, the work which he turns out proving unusually satisfactory, and the
patronage that has been attracted to this place for milling purposes is
steadily increasing. If close application and study of the wants of his
customers will serve to make a permanent success of this mill, then Mr. Harkleroad need have no fear as to the outcome of his
venture. He endeavors to please and keep apace with other institutions of like
nature, and the results are proving very favorable. In connection with his mill
and farming, he and his brother, James H., are engaged in operating a tan yard
which is the only business of the kind in Fulton County. Sarah R. Berry, a
native of East Tennessee, and a daughter of Thomas Berry, became his wife in
1870, and their union has resulted in the birth of five children: Margaret A.,
Thomas H., James M., Julia E. and Elmer C. Mr. Harkleroad
and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which he
is trustee and class leader. Both he and his brother, James H., are members of
the Masonic fraternity, and are Democrats in their political views.
Dr. James
Monroe Hazlewood was born in Williamson County,
Tenn., October 15, 1837, and is the only surviving one of two children of
Thomas and Sarah (Sutton) Hazlewood, the former born
in Virginia March 15, 1807, and the latter in the same State February 14, 1814.
Thomas Hazlewood was taken to Tennessee at an early
day by his father, who also bore the name of Thomas, and there spent his life,
engaged in farming, his death occurring October 7, 1838, followed by his wife
November 3, 1887, she being an earnest member of the Christian Church. Our
subject, Dr. Hazlewood, inherits English and Irish
blood from his father. In 1842 he was taken by his parents to Mississippi, and
until 1847 they resided near the city of Jackson, then moving to Hardin County,
Tenn., and in 1852 to Perry County. In 1860 Dr. Hazlewood
emigrated to Dunklin County, Mo., and in 1870 to
Oregon County, of the same State, and in 1871 he again made a change of
residence, this time coming to Sharp County, Ark., and three years later to where
he now lives. His lands amount to 215 acres, and he has about sixty acres under
cultivation. His marriage to Miss Martha J. Lindsey took place August 16, 1855.
She was born in Tennessee May 4, 1837, and is a daughter of John and Sarah
Lindsey, who removed to Arkansas during the early history of that State, and
there died. Dr. and Mrs. Hazlewood became the parents
of eleven children, of whom the following are living: Mary J. (wife of John A.
Michael), Margaret M. (wife of C. C. Allen), Martha T. C., Julia I. V., Samuel
J. S. and John S. D. The Doctor has been an ordained minister of the Christian
Church since 1884, and has been a practicing physician since 1874. During the
war he served six months as lieutenant of Company B, Richardson's artillery. His
first presidential vote was cast for John Bell, of Tennessee. He is a Master
Mason.
page 286
Joseph Highfill has given his attention strictly to farming
throughout life, and his earnest endeavors in pursuing this calling, coupled
with strict integrity and honesty of purpose, have placed him among the honored
and respected agriculturists of the county. He was born in Tennessee in 1839,
and is a son of Dr. James and Martha (Jackson) Highfill,
who were born in Tennessee in 1812 and 1825, and died in Oregon County, Mo.,
and Jackson County, Ark., in 1878 and 1874, respectively. The father was of
English lineage, and was a well-known and skillful physician. He also followed
the occupation of farming, and in this connection as well as in the capacity of
a physician, he attained prominence. Bennett and Margaret Highfill
emigrated from Tennessee to Dallas County, Mo., in 1854, and five years later
moved to Oregon County. The grandfather Bennett died in Tennessee, and his wife
in Dallas County, Mo. Joseph Highfill was the fourth
of fourteen children, and made his home with his parents until twenty-two years
of age, receiving during his youth a very limited education. In 1880 he removed
from Oregon County, Mo., to where he now lives, and is the owner of a good
farm, comprising 120 acres, with about forty acres under cultivation. During
the Rebellion he spent some eight months in the Confederate army, but has since
been a Republican in politics. Miss Mary Kirby, who was born in Tennessee, in
1843, became his wife in 1863, and by her he has had a family of five children:
Jennie, Rosa, Ellen, Alice and Hattie. They are also rearing an orphan child
named Maud Koontz. Mrs. Highfill is a daughter of
Henry and Temperance Kirby, the former born in the State of Tennessee, and the
latter in North Carolina. They moved from Tennessee to Illinois in 1851, and in
1859 located in Oregon County, Mo., where they both died. Mrs. Highfill belongs to the Christian Church.
Sell W.
Hinkle, farmer, is now following the occupation to which he was reared, and
which has been his life work, a calling that for ages has received undivided
efforts from many worthy individuals, and one that furnishes sustenance to the
ready worker. His parents, Jesse and Annie (Hopkins) Hinkle, were both natives
of North Carolina, and at an early day came to
Arkansas. They purchased a farm in Oil Trough Bottom, and made a great many
improvements on it. Mr. Hinkle's first marriage occurred in 1825 or 1826 in
North Carolina, and this union was blessed by the birth of these children: Wes
(deceased), Jesse (deceased), Narcissus, Artemus and
Louisa. Mrs. Hinkle died about 1852, and Mr. Hinkle took for his second wife,
two years later, Miss Fannie Hopkins, who bore him two children: Sell and Sarah
J. (deceased). Mr. Hinkle died near 1858, and his widow followed him to the
grave the next year. Sell Hinkle began working for himself at the age of
nineteen as a farm hand, and this continued until twenty years of age. He then
chose Miss Lucy Lee, of Leon County, Texas, as his companion through life, and
they were married in 1878. Mr. Hinkle continued to farm in Oil Trough Bottom
until 1884, when he moved to Fulton County and bought 160 acres of land. He
erected good buildings and made many other improvements, and still owns eighty
acres in Oil Trough Bottom, all well-improved and worth $50 per acre. Mrs.
Hinkle is the daughter of Thomas and Jane (Merriman) Lee, and one of two
children: Lucy, born November 10, 1861, and Sarah, wife of Mr. James, living in
Fulton County. Mr. Lee died in 1865 from the effect of injuries received in a
collision on the train. He served in the Confederate army as a private. Mrs.
Lee was married the second time in 1870 to Wesley Thompson, and by him became
the mother of five children: George and Mollie (twins), Elijah, Carroll and
Alice. Mrs. Thompson died in 1880, and Mr. Thompson five years later. He was a
farmer in Jackson County, Ark., and was one of the well-to-do farmers. Mr.
Hinkle received a very meager education, but is a liberal supporter of public
schools, etc. He is a Democrat in politics. Mrs. Hinkle is a member of the
Christian Church. He belongs to the I. O. O. F.
page 287
William
Howard is one of the sturdy and progressive tillers of the soil of Fulton
County, Ark., and a man who has won a host of warm friends by his many
admirable traits of character. He was born in Lauderdale County, Ala., August
15, 1823, and is a son of Robert and Susan (Smith) Howard. The father died in
Wayne County, Mo., [p.287] when our subject was about thirteen years of age,
and the date of his birth is unknown. He removed from Alabama to Missouri in
1826, and was of Irish descent, his grandfather having been born in the
"Emerald Isle." His wife was supposed to have been born in Alabama in
1805, and died in Jackson County, Ark., in 1862. Two of her nine children are
now living, of whom our subject is the eldest. He attended the common schools
of Wayne County, Mo., and until twenty-two years of age remained faithfully by
his mother, assisting her in making a living. In March, 1844, he moved to
Jackson County, Ark., and was married there in May two years later to Miss
Caroline Kinder, who was born in Cape Girardeau County, Mo., in 1828. She died
in her native county in 1851, having become the mother of two children, both of
whom are deceased. On February 22, 1858, he married Mrs. Elizabeth
(Breckenridge) Dennis, who was born in Alabama in 1826. Of the seven children
born to them only one is now living: William, who was born June 14, 1854, is
living with his parents and is married to Susan Mullens.
They have two children: Robert L. and Walter C. Mr. and Mrs. Howard are members
of the Baptist Church. In 1863 Mr. Howard enlisted in Company E, Clark's
regiment. and served until the final surrender, the
latter part of his service being under Marmaduke. He
was also with Price on his-raid and served as second lieutenant. Since about
1844 he has been a resident of Arkansas and in his political views has always
been a Democrat, having cast his first presidential vote for James K. Polk.
page 288
Dr.
D. T. Hudgens, of Elizabeth. Ark., has been
successful as both druggist and practicing physician, and is one of the
prominent business men of the place. He was born in Pulaski County, Mo., March
27, 1850, and received his rudimentary education in the common schools,
supplementing the same by a two years' course in the high school at Rolls. When
about twenty years of age he engaged in farming, and two years later entered
the ministry, being licensed in August, 1872. He was a traveling preacher for five
years and held all the offices in the Free Will Baptist Church. He has been an
ordained elder since 1872 and occasionally occupies the pulpit now, thus
administering to the spiritual wants of his fellow man as well as to their
physical needs. He is popular with all, kind and courteous in his intercourse
with his acquaintances, and is always to the front in aiding any enterprise
which tends to the advancement of the county. In December, 1869, he selected a
wife in the person of Miss Martha Ousley, a native of
Osage County, Mo., and the daughter of William and Martha Ousley,
the father one of the wealthiest farmers of Pulaski County, Mo. This union
resulted in the birth of five children, one son and three daughters living.
While practicing he was studying medicine in Pulaski County, and in 1878 he
came to Fulton County and was the first settler at Elizabeth, becoming one of
the most successful and prominent physicians of the county. When first entering
upon the practice of his profession he was in poor circumstances, but his true
worth soon became apparent and a large patronage was the result. He never
attended medical college, but in 1882 he passed the best examination before the
medical examiners of any physician in Fulton County. For three years he has been
in the drug business in connection with his practice. He was the first
postmaster at Elizabeth and held the position for several years. A Democrat in
his political preferences, his first presidential vote was cast for Tilden in
1876. He was a charter member of Wild Cherry Lodge No. 443, A. F. & A. M.,
and has held nearly all the offices. He is also a member of Eastern Star
Chapter, at Wild Cherry. His wife has been a member of the church for many
years, and he has been a member since 1869. His parents, Robert and Mahala C. (Dodd) Hudgens, were
born in Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively. They were married in Missouri,
where they were early settlers, and there the father was a successful attorney
for twenty years. He died in Rolla in October, 1864, and at the time of his
death was one of the leading lawyers of Southern Missouri, then holding, also,
the position of provost marshal. He was also treasurer of Pulaski County at one
time. After his death his widow married again and moved to Elizabeth, where she
died in [p.288] 1885. She was a member of the Baptist Church for seventeen
years.
Jacob T.
Hudson is a man whose natural characteristics have especially favored as a
tiller of the soil. The pursuit of agriculture has afforded him high
gratification, and in the conduct of a farm the principles which he has held
have been peculiarly adapted to the successful development and improvement of
the varied elements of farm life. Of unquestioned honesty and integrity, his
course through life has been unimpaired by criticism. Mr. Hudson was born in
Itawamba County, Miss., in 1850, and is the son of William P. and Celia
(Thomas) Hudson, the former a native of Anson County, N. C., born July 8, 1808,
and the latter of Darlington District, S. C. They were wedded in the last named
place, and from there removed to Pickens County, Ala., in 1845 or 1846, and
from there soon after to Itawamba County, Miss. In 1870 they moved to Fulton
County, Ark., and there Mr. Hudson died in 1871. He was a well-to-do farmer,
and was of Dutch extraction. His wife died in Tennessee about 1884, and both
were members of the Missionary Baptist Church. Like most of the youths of that
vicinity, as he grew up, he devoted his time and attention to farming,
receiving in the meantime a rather limited amount of schooling. In 1869 he came
with his brother-in-law to Fulton County, and was engaged in farm labor until
1873, when he was united in marriage to Miss Martha E., daughter of Josiah and
Matilda Ross, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively. Mr. Ross died in
Fulton County, but his wife is still living. Mrs. Hudson was born in Izard
County, and by her union to Mr. Hudson became the mother of six children, one
son and three daughters living. Since 1878 Mr. Hudson has lived on his present
farm of 175 acres, with sixty-five or seventy under cultivation. All this is
his own work, as there were but twelve acres cleared when he first settled
there. He is a Republican in his political views, and his first presidential
vote was for Gen. Grant in 1872. He has been a member of Lodge No. 443, A. F.
& A. M., at Wild Cherry, and has held nearly all the offices except Master.
He is also a member of Ladies Chapter of Eastern Star (White Lily) No. 61. at
Wild Cherry, and is a charter member of both lodges, He and wife belong to the
Missionary Baptist Church, and he is clerk in the Mount Vernon and Pleasant
Ridge Church. One brother. E. D., and two sisters,
Mrs. Elizabeth Wallace and Mrs. Argen D. Harris, are
residing in Fulton County, while one brother. John A.,
is in Alabama, and two sisters, Mrs. Mary P. Mayhall
and Mrs. Betsey A. Mayhall, are both natives of
Mississippi.
page 289
Dr. John
S. Hutchenson, physician and surgeon, Wild Cherry.
Among the people of Fulton as well as surrounding counties the name that heads
this sketch is by no means an unfamiliar one, for for
many years he has been active and successfully occupied in the prosecution of
his chosen profession, and during that time his career as a practitioner and
thorough student of medicine has won for him no less a reputation than did his
personal characteristics as a citizen and neighbor. He owes his nativity to
Carroll County, Ark., where he was born in 1854. His parents.
John W. and Mary (Sudduth) Hutchenson,
the former a native of Alabama, and the latter of South Carolina, were married
in Mississippi, about 1850, later removing to Carroll County, Ark., and four
years after to Fulton County, of the same State. They settled on the farm where
the Doctor is now living, and in 1855 the father went to Kansas and was absent
about four months in search for gold. He was a farmer, but also followed
merchandising at Wild Cherry. There he died in 1858 in full communion with the
Christian Church. Mrs. Hutchenson was married twice. Mr. Hutchenson being her last husband.
She has been living on the old home place since 1854, and is one of the old
settlers in Big Creek Township. She has been a member of the Christian Church
for many years. Dr. John S. Hutchenson was the third
of four sons; and his education was acquired in the common schools. When
sixteen years of age he began the study of medicine and in 1878 and 1879
attended Keokuk Medical College, at Keokuk, Iowa, and has since practiced his
profession in the locality in which he was reared. January 2, 1874, Miss Mary Trap,
originally from Tennessee, became his [p.289] wife. She was an orphan, was
reared in Missouri, and died on September 20, 1876, leaving one son. She was a
member in good standing in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Dr,
Hutchenson owns the home farm of 520 acres, with 225
under cultivation. He is the only child living of his father's family. In
politics he affiliates with the Democratic party, and
cast his first presidential vote for S. J. Tilden in 1876.
P. P. B.
Hynson of the general mercantile firm of Archer, Daniel & Co. of Mammoth
Spring, Ark., was born in Batesville, Independence County, in 1851, his parents
being William and Rosalie (Burton) Hynson, the former of Maryland by birth and
rearing. In 1838 he came to Arkansas, and located at Batesville, where he
married in 1842, and resided until his death in 1858, at the age of forty-three
years. His family came from England and settled upon the eastern shore of
Maryland. His wife was born in Virginia, and now resides in Batesville, having
become the mother of four children. The maternal grandfather, P. P. Burton, was
a native of Virginia, and was a successful physician; he graduated from a
medical college at Philadelphia, and first practiced his profession at
Lexington, Va., then at Holly Springs, Miss., and finally located in Little
Rock, Ark., in 1840. He was a practicing physician for sixty years, and was
United States surgeon at Little Rock for many years. His death occurred in 1872
at the age of eighty-five years. The great grandfather was a Scotchman, who
moved from his native land to the colonies at an early day, and during the
progress of the Revolutionary War served in the Continental army in the rank of
major. He was donated 4,000 acres of land by the Government for valuable
services. P. P. B. Hynson was educated in Batesville, Ark., and began life for
himself as a clerk in a general mercantile store in that town at the age of
sixteen years, continuing until 1871 when he became a member of the firm,
remaining as such until 1873. Since 1876 he has been a resident of Fulton
County, Ark., and has been associated with his present partners. They carry a
stock of goods valued at about $22,000. Mr. Hynson is president and a
stockholder of the Mammoth Spring Fish Farm, is a director in the Motor Light &
Water Company and is a director of the Building & Loan Association, all of
these companies being incorporated. He was married in 1879 to Miss Mollie
McKee, of Owensboro, Ky., and their union has resulted in the birth of four
children: Robert T., Rosalie B., Lawrence M. and
Selden L. Mr. Hynson is a Democrat. His grandmother was a Scott, a relative of
Gen. Scott.
page 290
William
M. Lafevers, farmer, Viola. No worthy reference to
the affairs of this county would be complete without mention of Mr. Lafevers, who, among others, is engaged in tilling the
soil. Besides enjoying to an unlimited extent the confidence and respect of all
who know him he came of a family of children that have not only done credit to
themselves but have brought honor upon the name they bear. Mr. Lafevers' parents, Alexander and Rebecca (Bradley) Lafevers, were both natives of North Carolina, the father
born in Burke County and the mother in Cherokee County. They moved to Hardin
County, Tenn., in 1871, to Izard County, Ark., about 1876, and to Fulton County
in 1878, where Mrs. Lafevers died in 1883. The father
is still living, and is sixty-four years of age. He is a member of the
Presbyterian Church, as was also his wife. He is a farmer by occupation and
served in both the Mexican and Civil Wars. Of the ten children born to his
marriage seven are still living, and all but one in Fulton County. William M. Lafevers is the eldest child of this family. He was born in
Cherokee County, N. C., in 1852, and though his educational advantages in youth
were very meager, and though perhaps deficient in general learning, his
vigorous mind has so grasped and embraced the opportunities which have
presented themselves that he is accounted among the intelligent men of this
vicinity. He was from the first taught everything connected with farming, later
moving with his parents to Izard County. In 1875 he wedded Miss Tennessee Cole,
daughter of Henry and Mary Cole, early settlers of Arkansas, and the same year
of his marriage he moved to Fulton County. He is the owner of 207 acres of
land, with 100 under cultivation, and also has other interests. He is a
Democrat in [p.290] politics, casting his first vote for Tilden; is a member of
the Agricultural Wheel, and he and wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South.
William
Thomas Livingston. The many years passed in sincere and earnest endeavor in
thoroughly discharging every duty in the different branches of business to
which his attention has been directed, have contributed very materially to the
success that has fallen to the career of Mr. L. He was born in Chambers County,
Ala., May 14, 1835, and is a son of James T. and Emma W. (Childs) Livingston,
who were born in Abbeville District, S. C., in 1803 and 1810, and died in
Fulton County, Ark., July 7, 1859, and in 1864, respectively. Their marriage
took place in their native district in 1830, and about three years later they
moved to Chambers County, Ala., and in 1850 to Cass County, Ga. (now known as
Bartow County), where they made their home until the fall of 1856. Then they
came to Arkansas and located in Fulton County, the country at that time being
in a very wild and unsettled condition and the homes of the settlers few and
far between. Mr. Livingston engaged in farming and milling, and was successful
in the former occupation, but in the latter his efforts were not attended with
good results. He served in the Creek War for a short time, and while in Alabama
and Georgia held the office of justice of the peace at different times, and at
the time of his death in this State he was county surveyor of Fulton County. He
acquired an excellent education by experience as a salesman in a mercantile
establishment in Old Cambridge, S. C., and afterward became a partner in the
business. He was a son of Thomas Livingston, who was a soldier in the
Revolutionary War, being at the battle of Horse Shoe Bend. He died in Abbeville
District, S. C. William Thomas Livingston, our immediate subject, was the
second of eight children, six of whom survive, and acquired his education in
the common schools of Alabama and Georgia. He remained faithfully by his
parents until their deaths, and assisted his father in managing the home place.
In 1858 he was appointed deputy sheriff under Thomas E. Martin, serving two
years, then farmed until May, 1862, at which time he
enlisted in the Confederate army, in the Tenth Missouri Infantry, and served as
forage and wagon-master until starting for home the day before Lee surrendered.
April 8, 1865, with a discharge by reason of his election as
representative of his county. After his return home he again took up the
implements of farm life, was appointed deputy sheriff of Fulton County and in
1866 again appointed to the same position under M. V. Shaver, and again in 1867
under E. O. Wolf. In 1872, at the close of reconstruction, he was elected
sheriff, again in 1876 and 1878. then in 1882, and once more in 1886, in all
ten years –a longer term of office than has ever been held by any one man in
the county, with the exception of W. P. Rhea, who was circuit court clerk for
the same length of time. He was assessor of Fulton County in 1859, 1867 and
1868; and in 1864. while in the army was elected to
represent Fulton County in the General Assembly. In 1867 his union with Miss Louesa L. Jenkins took place, and by her he became the
father of eleven children, seven of whom are living: James T., William S., Mary
T., Emma J., Carrie M., Cora A. and Daisy B. Mr. Livingston is a member of the
Missionary Baptist Church, is a Democrat in his political views, and has shown
his brotherly spirit by becoming a member of the Masonic fraternity,
representing his lodge in the Grand Lodge in 1873.
page 291
Hon.
E. R. Lucas, farmer. Viola. No name is justly entitled
to a more enviable place in the history of Fulton County than the one which
heads this sketch, for it is borne by a man who has been usefully and honorably
identified with the interests of this county, and with its advancement, in
every worthy particular. He owes his nativity to Dallas County, Ala., where he
was born in 1835. His parents, Harvey B. and Amy (Wilson) Lucas, were born in
Kentucky, in 1808, and Georgia, in 1810, respectively. The father went to New
York City when twenty-one years of age, engaged in merchandising, but was
burned out in the fire of 1833. After this he went to Alabama, was married
there, and began the study of medicine. He practiced in that State for some
time, then graduated in his profession at Cincinnati, Ohio, after [p.291]
which, his health being very poor, he was advised to go to Europe, but died on
the ocean, in 1844 or 1845, leaving a wife and four children, in poor
circumstances. He was of Scotch descent, was a member of the Baptist Church,
also a Mason, and was a very promising man. His widow is still living, and has
been a member of the Baptist Church for over sixty years. She reared four
children, Hon. E. R. being the eldest. He received very little education until
grown, and then taught seven terms of school. His wife was formerly Miss Nancy
Radford, whom he married in 1859. Her parents, Reuben and Sarah Radford, were
natives, respectively, of Alabama and Kentucky, and passed their last days in
the former State, Mrs. Radford dying in 1853, and Mr. Radford some years
previous. To Mr. and Mrs. Lucas were born ten children, three sons and four
daughters living. Mr. Lucas served through the war, having enlisted in Company
K, Eleventh Alabama Volunteer Infanty, Confederate
Army; the first year he was a private, then third lieutenant, and afterward
first lieutenant, and finally captain. He operated in Northern Virginia with
Gen. Lee, and was in twenty-four general engagements, among them Seven Pines,
seven days' fight before Richmond, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg,
Wilderness, Spottsylvania, etc., and was never
captured nor wounded. He received a furlough, and was at home during the final
surrender. He then returned to tilling the soil, and in 1869 came to Fulton
County, Ark., where he has since lived, residing on his present farm for the
past six years. He has been a close student all his life, and is at present one
of the best informed men in Fulton County. In 1874 he was a member of the
constitutional convention that framed the present constitution of Arkansas, and
in 1882 was elected to represent the county mentioned in the State legislature,
holding the position for two years. He has been a life-long Democrat, and his
first presidential vote was for James Buchanan, in 1856. He has been a Mason
since 1861, now belonging to Viola Lodge No. 399, and has held nearly all the
offices, and was Master two years. He is also a member of the Agricultural
Wheel. He and wife belong to the Missionary Baptist Church, in which he has
been a deacon for a number of years. His maternal grandfather, William Wilson,
was a native Virginian, and died in Georgia. He was of English descent, and a
soldier in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Lucas has one brother, Rev. Oscar M.
Lucas, who has been a prominent Baptist minister for about twenty-five years.
He was educated principally at Mountain Home, in Baxter County. William P.,
another brother, served about fourteen months in the Confederate army, and was
wounded at the seven days' battle, in June, 1862, and died from the effects
July 9, of the same year. A sister, Sarah F., is the wife of William P.
Cameron, and is also a member of the Baptist Church.
page 292
Elder
Joseph B. McGlasson, minister of the Christian
Church, and farmer of Big Creek Township, was born in Cumberland County, Ky.,
in 1809, and is at present one of the oldest and most esteemed citizens of
Fulton County. His early life was one of hardship and trouble, and at that day
he received very limited educational advantages, the most of his education
being acquired after attaining his majority. Previous to that he had left home
under rather unpleasant circumstances, his father being quite dissipated, and
ragged and bare-foot, and with little or no schooling, he was compelled to make
his way in life. He worked for a man one day to get some leather, and for
another man a short time to get the leather made up into a pair of shoes. He
continued to labor at such occupation as he could find, until he had a good
suit of clothes, after which he attended school, etc. He was married September
16, 1830, to Miss Fannie Ross, who was originally from Cumberland County, Ky.,
and who died in Fulton County, Ark., in 1858. Eleven children were born to this
marriage, six sons and five daughters, only four of whom are now living viz.:
Isabelle S., Susan, wife of William L. Cavnett, of
Phelps County, Mo.; Jane and Fannie. Mr. McGlasson's
second marriage occurred, in 1859, to Mrs. Margaret J. Nibblett,
daughter of William and Lucy Fewell. She was born in
Alabama, and by her marriage became the mother of four children, two now
living: Francis M. and Tabitha, wife of James James,
of Randolph County, Ark. The second Mrs. McGlasson
died about 1877, and Mr. McGlasson then married Mrs.
Nancy Hewitt, who died in 1883. In August of the following year he married Mrs.
Elizabeth Watson, daughter of James Hammond, and a native of Graves County, Ky.
She was previously a member of the Baptist Church, but for the last seven years
has been a member of the Christian Church. In 1836 Mr. McGlasson
removed to Southwest Arkansas, where he remained until 1851, then locating in
Izard County, and from there, one year later, in Fulton County, Ark. He settled
in the neighborhood where he now lives, and was one of the first white settlers
of the county, he being only one of two now living in Big Creek Township who
were in that township at that time. He has long been recognized as an honest,
upright and much esteemed citizen, and one of the county's leading farmers. He
now has 148 acres of land, with some sixty acres under cultivation. For about
fifty-sight years he has been a Christian, first a member of the Methodist
Church, and in 1845 he was licensed to preach by that church. He has preached
more or less ever since, and is among the oldest ministers of Arkansas. He was
a Methodist until the separation in 1845, and was then a Protestant Methodist
until the war. He then remained out of the church until 1865, when he joined
the Christian Church. From 1844 to 1850 he was justice of the peace, and filled
this position for four years in Fulton County. He was drummer for four years in
the militia in Kentucky, and was lieutenant of a volunteer company in the year
1845. In politics he has been a Democrat all his life, and his first
presidential vote was cast for Andrew Jackson, in 1828. He is a member of Wild
Cherry Lodge No. 85, I. O. O. F. Mr. McGlasson is the son of James and Susannah (Harley) McGlasson, natives of Virginia, born in Franklin and
Bedford Counties, respectively. The parents were married in their native State,
in 1807, and removed to Cumberland County, Ky., locating in the woods, and were
among the very earliest settlers. There they spent their entire lives, the
mother dying since the war, at the age of ninety-seven years. She was a member
of the Baptist Church for many years. The father was a good farmer. They were
the parents of eleven children. Matt McGlasson, the
grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Scotland, and came
to America when quite young. He enlisted in the Revolutionary War when only
eighteen years of age, and was in service during the entire war. He located
first in Virginia, but later moved to Kentucky, where he passed his last days.
He was one of the first settlers. His wife, Elizabeth Cunningham, was born in
France. Mathew McGlasson, the great-grandfather of
the subject of this sketch, spent his entire life in Scotland. The maternal
grandfather, Francis Harley, was of Dutch descent, and died in Virginia.
page 293
Azriah W. McKenzie. The
career of Mr. McKenzie presents an example of industry. perseverance and good
management, rewarded by substantial results, well worthy the imitation of all
who start out in life as he did with no capital except a good constitution and
liberal supply of pluck and energy. He is numbered among those of Georgia nativity
now in Fulton County, having been born in that State on the 7th of November,
1831. John McKenzie, his father, was a Georgian, born about 1800, and first
settled in the wilds of Lawrence County, Ark., in 1848. He pursued the
occupation of farming until his death at the age of sixty-five years. After
residing in Lawrence County a few years he moved to Madison County, thence to
Missouri, and finally returned to his son's (Azriah)
home in 1862. He was a soldier in the Florida and Indian War. His father was
born in Scotland, and came to the United States at the time of the
Revolutionary War. Our subject's mother was a Miss Jane Canady, who was born in
Georgia, about 1801. and died in Lawrence County, Ark.
(now Sharp County), in 1851. She was the mother of seven sons and four
daughters, all of whom grew to mature years, and two of whom are now living: Azriah and a sister, both of whom live in Fulton County.
The former was the sixth of the family, and remained with his parents until
about eighteen years of age, when he started [p.293] for California, which
State he reached in the summer of 1852. He remained there engaged in mining
until December, 1857, then returned to Arkansas, where
he continued until the spring of 1859, when he again crossed the plains, and
for two years was occupied in cattle dealing in California. In the last named
year he again returned home, and in July of that year enlisted in the
Confederate army, being under Capt. Wyatt, and served until the close of the
war. He was taken prisoner at Big Blue while with Price on his raid, and was
retained at Alton, Ill., for four months, after which he was paroled. He then
rejoined his company in the south part of Arkansas, and at the close of
hostilities returned home and resumed his farming operations. He has a fine
farm of 400 acres, with 185 under cultivation, which he has acquired by hard
work and good management. His first vote for the presidency was cast for
Franklin Pierce, and he has always been a Democrat. He is unmarried.
Dr. Joel
McLemore, a physician of acknowledged merit in Fulton County, was born in
Halifax County, N. C., June 12, 1835, and there remained until ten years of
age, when he was taken by his mother to Tennessee, receiving his literary
education in Waynesboro, of that State. During this time he formed a strong
desire to study medicine and made the investigation of this science his chief
business for a number of years. He has been practicing since 1865, and has been
a successful practitioner of Fulton County ever since 1878. In October, 1855,
he was married in Tennessee to Miss Harriet G. McClearen,
who was born and reared in Hickman County, Middle Tenn. Her parents, John and Elzada (Adams) McClearen, were
born in Northern Alabama and Bedford County, Tenn., respectively. To Dr. and
Mrs. McLemore nine children have been given, seven of whom are living: John B.,
Joel H. (deceased), James F., William B., Albert A., Sterling P., Samuel G., an
infant deceased, and Allie. During the late war the Doctor served four years in
the Confederate army as major of a battalion. He is a Master Mason, a member of
the Democratic party, and he and wife belong to the
Methodist Protestant Church. He owns a farm of 240 acres on English Creek,
about seventy-five acres of which are under cultivation. His parents, Joel and
Mrs. Elizabeth (Pullen) McLemore, were born in Virginia and North Carolina in
May, 1773, and 1803, respectively. The father removed to North Carolina when a
young man and was married there. He was a tailor by trade, and also followed
the occupation of farming, and on his extensive plantation in Halifax County
employed 100 hands. He was twice married, Miss Pullen being his second wife,
and by her he became the father of two sons: Joel, and James H., who lives in
Wayne County., Tenn. After his demise his widow married John Whittaker, and
moved to Perry County, Tenn., where she died in April, 1859. The paternal
grandparents of our subject were born near London, England, and a short time
prior to the Revolutionary War they emigrated to the
United States and settled near Richmond, Va., where they afterward died. The
grandfather served as major in the Continental army during that war.
page 294
Jesse
Matthews is a newspaper man of long experience, his connection with his present
paper dating from January 8, 1879. Under his able management it has become
recognized as a journal of decided merit, its editorials being written with a
clearness and force which indicate a writer of ability, while it has become
very popular for its hold and fearless advocacy of measures which it deems will
prove of benefit to this section. His parents, Jesse and Mary (Houston)
Matthews, were born in Baltimore, Md., and Paris, Bourbon County, Ky.,
respectively, the former being reared to manhood in his native town; then he
came west and settled at Glasgow, Mo., in which place he engaged in merchant
tailoring, and followed this occupation for some time. In 1849 he went to
California, where he spent eight years in gold digging, accumulating
considerable money. After his return to Missouri he located at Huntsville,
where his worthy wife departed this life, after which he removed to the
northwest county in Missouri, where he is spending his declining years with a
son. The paternal grandfather was an early emigrant to [p.294] America, and was
of Scotch ancestry although born in the "Emerald Isle." Jesse
Matthews, the immediate subject of this sketch, was reared at Huntsville,
Randolph County, Mo., but was favored with only poor advantages for obtaining
an education, which he improved by entering a printing office when fourteen
years of age, only going to school two ten months' sessions. In 1874 he was
married to Miss Sarah E. Rider, who was born in Pulaski County, Mo., in 1856,
and six children blessed their union: Maggie A., Edgar M., Elmer H., Mattie,
Jessie P., Earnest L. and Emmett G. Mr. Matthews learned the printer's trade in
his youth at Huntsville, Mo., commencing his apprenticeship in July, 1864, and
serving five years. He then went to Kansas City, and worked on the "Kansas
City Times" as a compositor for one year, and the following year worked on
the "Oswego (Kansas) Register." He next made a short stay in
Arkansas, after which he went back to Missouri, and for four years worked at
Salem on "The Success," as foreman. He next went to Pulaski County
where he bought a printer's outfit, and moved to Gainesville, establishing the
"Gainesville Gazette," afterward removing to Licking, where he
established the "Ledger," which he conducted one year, then starting
the "Spirit," at Salem, Mo. Since January 8, 1879, he has been a
resident of Salem, Ark., establishing the "Salem Informer" at the
above date, which he has continuously published up to the present time. Mr.
Matthews is a conservative Democrat, and his paper is independent. He is a member
of the A. F. & A. M., and also a member of the Kansas City Typographical
Union.
R. B.
Maxey is an attorney of Salem, Ark., who has steadily and surely made his way
to the front in the practice of his chosen profession, and as a prominent and
useful citizen. He was born in Giles County, Tenn., October 11, 1846, and
received his education in Lebanon, Wilson County, Tenn., and while there formed
habits of application and industry so essential to any successful career
through life, and which stood him in good service when entering upon his legal
studies, which he did after wielding the ferule for three years. His legal
preceptor was W. F. Henderson, the present supreme judge of New Mexico, who was
then attorney-general of Arkansas. He was admitted to the bar of Randolph
County, Ark., in March, 1872, and the two following years were spent in
practicing his profession at Pocahontas. Mo. From that time until 1878 he
resided in Corning, Clay County, Ark., and then on account of ill health, came
to Salem, where he has since been engaged in regular practice and the real
estate business. He owns considerable land in the county, and some valuable
town property. Miss Minnie Jones, who was born in Pocahontas, Randolph County,
Mo., became his wife in 1874, and by her he has an interesting family of four
children: Ollie, Soula, Kittie
and Harry. Mr. Maxey holds a membership in the I. O. O. F. lodge at Pocahontas,
and he and his wife are worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Marey's parents, J. H. and Elizabeth (Black) Maxey, were
born in the State of Virginia, the former's birth occurring in 1812. He was
reared to a farm life in Tennessee, and there married and spent his life, his
death occurring in 1871. His wife, who died in 1850, bore him five children.
Grandfather Maxey was a Virginian, who emigrated to
Tennessee at an early day, and there spent the rest of his days.
page 295
Daniel W.
Mitchell, farmer, merchant, and postmaster of Mitchell postoffice,
which was established in 881, through his efforts, owes his birth to Marion
County, Tenn., where he was born in 1828. His father, Warren W. Mitchell, was a
native of North Carolina, born in 1782, and was married in Tennessee to Mrs. Elender Lewis, also a native of North Carolina, and born in
the year 1792. The father died in Tennessee in 1842. He was a successful tiller
of the soil. His father, John Mitchell, was born and reared in Ireland, but on
coming to the United States, settled in North Carolina, and there died. He
served all through the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Elender
(Lewis) Mitchell was married the first time in North Carolina. After the death
of Mr. Mitchell, she removed to North Mississippi, and there died in April,
1857. Her father, Harbored Lewis, was a Welshman, [p.295] and his wife was
Dutch. They came to America prior to the Revolutionary War, settling in Chatham
County, N. C., and there passed the remainder of their lives. Daniel W., the
second of three sons and four daughters born to his parents, received a very
limited education, and remained with his mother until grown, taking charge of
the family at the age of seventeen. His marriage occurred in 1856 to Miss P. A.
Walker, a native of Alabama, and the daughter of John and Mary Walker, who were
natives of Tennessee, but who passed the last of their days in Mississippi. Mr.
Mitchell lived in Mississippi until during the war, when he moved to Perry
County, Ill., after which he returned to Mississippi. In 1870 he came to Fulton
County, rented land until 1872, and then settled in the dense woods on his
present farm, now of about 600 acres, with 100 acres under cultivation, all the
result of his own energy, never having inherited anything. He is at present a
prominent farmer, and a successful business man. In 1883 he established a store
on his farm, and has carried this on nearly ever since. He was justice of the
peace for some years in Mississippi, and also filled that position for about
two years in Fulton County. In politics he was reared a Whig, but is now a
Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Mitchell are members in good standing in the Methodist
Episcopal Church, and he has been steward in the same for many years.
page 296
Edward S.
Nesbit is manager of the Nesbit Lumber Company, of Mammoth Spring, Ark.,
dealers in dressed and rough lumber, shingles, sash, doors, blinds, lime,
cement, laths, hair, etc. This business was established in March, 1889. Mr.
Nesbit was born in De Soto County, Miss., in 1838, and is the son of Thomas and
Margaret (Driver) Nesbit, natives of South Carolina and Alabama, respectively. When a boy, Thomas Nesbit went to Alabama, where he grew to
manhood, married, and soon after removed to Mississippi, being one of the
pioneers of that State. He was a wealthy farmer, and died in the last
mentioned State in 1885, at the age of seventy-three years. He was the founder
of the town of Nesbit, on the Illinois Central Railroad, and one of the most
prominent citizens of the locality in which he lived. He and wife were for many
years members in good standing in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Thomas
Nesbit, grandfather of Edward S. Nesbit, was of Irish parentage, and was a
soldier in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Nesbit died about 1881; she was the
daughter of Lewis Driver, who was a wealthy agriculturist, and who died in
Alabama. Of the nine children born to his parents, Edward S. Nesbit was the
third. He secured a fair education in the common schools until nearly grown,
and when nineteen years of age graduated from Wesleyan University at Florence,
Ala. He then on gaged in the lumber and saw-mill business on Tallahatchee River, where he remained until the breaking
out of the Civil War. He then joined Company K, Ninth Mississippi Volunteer
Infantry, and nine months later was appointed lieutenant of a battalion of
sharp shooters, serving in that capacity until the close of the war. He was
captured in West Mississippi in October, 1862, and was held a prisoner at Fort
Pickering for about three months. At the close of the strife he engaged in
farming and merchandising, which he carried on for some time. On the 1st of
March, 1861, he married Miss Maggie Bradford, a native of Arkansas, and who
died in 1866. Her father, Thomas Bradford, was one of the organizers of the
Mississippi and Tennessee, now Illinois Central Railroad Company. He was a
director and leading factor in that road until his death. To Mr. and Mrs.
Nesbit were born four children, two sons and two daughters, all living. Mr.
Nesbit's second marriage occurred about 1881, to Mrs. Nancy E. Nesbit, daughter
of J. R. Jefferys, a native of Virginia, who died
about 1884, in De Soto County, Miss. Mrs. Nesbit was also born in Virginia. Mr.
Nesbit lived in his native county until 1884, when he removed to Imboden, and
in 1889 to Mammoth Spring. He was in company with his father in the milling,
ginning and lumber business, and this continued extensively until he came to
Arkansas, and was then connected with the Imboden Milling Company, until 1889.
He was mayor of Nesbit, Miss., for a number of years. Politically, he was a
Whig until the war, since which time he has been a Democrat, casting his first
presidential vote for Bell in 1860. He is a Master Mason and Royal Arch Mason,
and also belongs to the K. of H. and K. of L. He is a member of the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church, and his wife of the Missionary Baptist. Their children are
named as follows: Mary E., wife of W. J. Johnson, farmer of De Soto County,
Miss.: Edward S., Jr., was educated at Nesbit, Miss., and is a telegraph
operator at Imboden; Milton W. received his education at the same place, and is
also a telegraph operator at Portia; Maggie E. was educated principally at
Pulaski, Tenn. The children received good school advantages.
H. F.
Northcutt, one of the most efficient circuit and county clerks Fulton County
has ever had, is a young man well known in the community, and has been an
incumbent of his present office since the fall of 1886, serving by re-election.
In the year 1863 he first saw the light of day in Warren County, Tenn., but was
roared in this county, and although he attended the free schools for some time,
he is mainly self-educated. After following the monotonous duties of farm life
for some time, he abandoned this work to enter the county clerk's office as
deputy, continuing as such until he was elected to the office of county assessor,
as soon as he was eligible for office, when twenty-one years of age. He
continued to discharge the duties of this office in a very satisfactory manner
until 1886, at which time he was elected to his present position. In social as
well as public life he is kind, courteous and affable in his demeanor to all
classes, and is a young man who attracts the regard of all who approach him. He
is Democratic in politics, and has shown his approval of secret societies by
becoming a member of the I. O. O. F. His wife was formerly Miss Mattie L.
Wainwright, whom he married in September, 1885, she
having been born in Fulton County, Ark. Mr. Northcutt is a son of J. M. and
Mary E. (Doughty) Northcutt, who were born in Warren and Wilson Counties,
Tenn., respectively. They were reared, educated and married in their native
State, and there made their home until 1868, when they came to Arkansas,
locating in Fulton County, at Salem. Mr. Northcutt established a general
mercantile store, and did a prosperous business for a number of years, being
also quite extensively engaged in stock dealing. At one time he left home to
dispose of some stock and was never afterward heard from, but all his baggage
was traced to Louisville, Ky., and the supposition is that he was murdered for
his money. His widow and two children survive him (two other children having
died), the former being a resident of Salem. The paternal
grandfather. J. M. Northcutt, was a native
German.
page 297
Dr.
William B. Phillips is a leading physician and surgeon of Fulton County, Ark.,
and possesses those sterling qualities which are characteristic of people of
Scotch descent, as well as of those who claim Ohio as the State of their birth.
He was born in Morgan County. July 24, 1836, and there received good
educational advantages, which he did not fail to improve. He removed with his
parents from Ohio to Missouri in 1859, and having formed the desire to pursue
the study of medicine with a view to making it a profession, he entered the St.
Louis Medical College (then called Pope's College), where he acquired an
excellent knowledge of that calling. When the matterings
of war resounded through the land he entered the service as hospital steward,
but afterward became hospital surgeon, and acted in this capacity until the
close of the war. After residing in Missouri until 1876 he came to Izard
County, Ark., and in 1882 to where he now lives, where his efforts to alleviate
the sufferings of the sick have been attended with most pleasing results. His
name has become well known throughout the length and breadth of the county as
an able practitioner, and his success fully justifies the large and lucrative
patronage he has always received. In 1858 he was married to Miss Louisa Valaivies, who was born in Belmont County. Ohio, in 1839, but
her death occurred the following year. Miss Elizabeth M. Hamilton became his
second wife in 1864. She was born in Pulaski County, Mo., in 1842, and she and
the Doctor have become the parents of the following children: William S., born
August 3, 1865; Livie L., born January 24, 1867; Hugh
H., born April 7, 1868; Viola M., born May 5, 1879; Ernest A., born [p.297]
December 23, 1871; Ansel B., born December 21, 1873;
Arthur L., born February 10, 1876; Alexander B., born July 17, 1878; Anna P.,
born May 16, 1880, and Myrtle L., born January 29, 1883. Dr. Phillips resides
on a good farm of 200 acres. He is a Republican in politics, and east his first
vote for Stephen A. Douglas, for the Presidency. He is a member of Vidette Lodge No. 94, of the I. O. O. F., at Vina postoffice, and is Deputy
Grand Master of his district, and secretary of his lodge. He is a consistent
member of the General Baptist Church. He was the eldest of five children, two
now living, of Zadock and Phœbe
(Brown) Phillips, who were born in Athens County, Ohio, in 1813 and 1818,
respectively. The father is yet living, and is engaged in farming in Douglas
County, Mo., to which county he moved in 1859. His wife died in this county in
March, 1889. The grandfather was born in North Carolina, and the great
grandfather was of Scotland nativity.
J. M. Pickren, one of the most extensive and prominent farmers of
Fulton County, Ark., is a native of the county, born November 15, 1848. His
father, John Pickren, was a native of Italy, born in
1798, and when only nine years of age took passage in a vessel and worked his
way to America. He landed in New York, remained there for a short time, and
then went to Pennsylvania, whence, after a stay of five or six years, he
journeyed to North Carolina, continuing there until about 1840, when he came to
Fulton County, Ark. Previous to his advent into North Carolina he had followed
various occupations, but while in that State he had charge and superintended
the hands working in the gold mines of that State After coming to Arkansas he
settled on the tract of land owned by his son J. M., and followed agricultural
pursuits successfully for a number of years. He was killed in 1863 by the
Jayhawkers, who claimed to be United States soldiers. He was married in 1841,
and was sixty-five years of age at the time of his death. He was married in
North Carolina to Miss Mary Stoop, a native of North Carolina, and of German
origin. Five children were the fruits of this union, two of whom died when
small and one was killed at the same time as the father, when sixteen years of
age. Those living are: Mary, wife of H. Tracey, and is now living in North
Carolina, and J. M., the subject of this sketch. The latter commenced work for
himself as a farmer in 1872, and cultivated the old
homestead, which consisted of 510 acres, 150 under improvement. He was married
November 7 of the same year to Miss Nancy Farril, a
native of Missouri, and seven children have been the result of this union:
Maud, born August 4, 1874; John, born January 4, 1876; Harry, born April 21,
1878; Minnie. born February 12, 1879; Luther, born
April 15, 1881; Myrtie, born June 7, 1885, and
Cuthbert, born May 20, 1887. Mrs. Pickren is the
daughter of Wilson and Mary (Grubb) Farril, and one
of ten children, six now living: George, John, Mary, Nancy and Hardie, besides one in Ozark County. Mr. Pickren is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and also of
the I. O. O F.; and in his political views he is with the Democrats.
page 298
Dr. G. W.
Ray, a prominent medical practitioner of Fulton County, Ark., was born in
Davidson County, Tenn., May 8, 1831, being a son of Henry D. and Lamora (Glasgow) Ray, who were born in Brunswick County,
Va., and Davidson County, Tenn., January 9, 1800, and 1808, and died in the
latter State in 1865 and 1873, respectively. The father removed with his
parents to Tennessee when fourteen years of age, his father being Patrick Henry
Ray, a native of either Scotland or Ireland–not definitely known which. He was
a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and died in Virginia. The maternal
grandparents, Jesse and Catherine Glasgow, were of Scotch descent, and were
born in North Carolina. Jesse was also a Revolutionary soldier and was an
officer in the Continental army. Dr. G. W. Ray is the eldest of seven children,
two sons and one daughter now living. After receiving his early education in
the academic schools of Tennessee he adopted medicine as his profession and
entered upon its practice in his native State in 1856. At the same time he was
in the wholesale liquor business, following other occupations at various times
until 1877, when he left Tennessee, and moved to Stoddard County, Mo. Seven
years later he came to Fulton County, Ark. In 1868 he wedded Miss Susan
Browning, who was born in Robertson County, Tenn., but she lived only two years
after her marriage. December 18, 1888, he took for his second wife Mrs. A. C.
Jeffrey, nee Cunningham. Mr. Jeffrey was a very intelligent and influential
citizen, and was the author of a descriptive history of Fulton and Izard
Counties, being the editor of a newspaper in the latter county. He and his wife
(now Mrs. Ray) became the parents of three sons and one daughter: Curren, Lulu, Robert and Mitchell. In 1862 Dr. Ray
recruited a company of soldiers in Robertson County, Tenn., and served as its
captain until near the close of the war. He was also assistant surgeon of his
regiment, and was in the battles of Fort Donelson and
others. He is now a Democrat in his political views, but was formerly a Whig,
and cast his first presidential vote for Gen. Scott. He is a member of the I.
O. O. F., and for many years has been one of the active and successful
practitioners of the county. His wife belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church.
page 299
W.
P. Rhea, of the mercantile firm of W. P. Rhea & Co., of Salem. Ark., was born in
East Tennessee in 1831, and while growing up attended Maryville College,
receiving educational advantages which he improved. He was married, in 1855, to
Miss Sarah Pile, who was born in East Tennessee September 30, 1836, and the
following are the children born to their union: Laura E. (wife of R. A.
Robins). David C., Joseph M., Margaret L. (wife of A. W. Ellis), Edmund G.,
Bettie E., Rob Preston, Kittie (who died in infancy),
Oscar Lee and Holmes G. In 1866 Mr. Rhea emigrated to Arkansas, thinking to
better his worldly condition, and after residing in this county for some time,
and his many admirable qualities becoming known, he was elected to the offices
of circuit clerk, ex-officio county clerk, clerk of
the probate court, and county recorder, holding these responsible positions for
ten consecutive years. Since 1883 he has also been engaged in mercantile
business, but is now retired, his establishment being managed by his two
partners, R. A. Robins and Arch. Northcutt. Mr. Rhea served in the late war for
three years, under Gen. Long street, and was in a
number of fiercely contested engagements. He has since been a Democrat in his
political views, and has always been deeply interested in the cause of
education. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church. He is the owner of 600
acres of fertile land. He was next to the youngest of eleven children, eight of
whom grew to maturity, born to Joseph M, and Kittie
(Myers) Rhea, who were born in East Tennessee and Berkeley County, Va., May 14,
1787, and July 28, 1788. respectively. The father was
a farmer and school teacher by occupation, was reared in his native State, but
was married in the "Old Dominion." He served in the War of 1812, and
was in Canada during that time as private secretary to one of the officers of
the army. He spent the remainder of his life in Tennessee, and died August 14,
1860, his wife having died February 25, preceding. Matthew Rhea, the
grandfather of our subject, was born in Scotland, and was an early emigrant to
America, and took an active part in the Revolutionary War, being a major in the
Continental army, After the close of that conflict he settled in Tennessee, and
was for many years clerk of Sullivan County, and held various other civil
positions in the county. He died at about the age of sixty years. The maternal
grandparents, Charles and Ann (Care) Myers, were Virginians, and were of German
and French descent, respectively. R. A. Robins, of the above mentioned firm,
and a prosperous young financier of the county, was born in Izard County, Ark.,
in 1852, and is a son of A. A. and Indiana (Pritchett) Robins, the former being
a Virginian, who grew to manhood in his native State, but removed to Tennessee
at an early day, and still later to Izard County, Ark., where he followed the
occupation of carpentering R. A. Robins was educated in Philadelphia, of his
native county, and upon reaching a suitable age, entered mercantile pursuits as
clerk in a general store in Batesville. Independence County.
Ark He remained here ten years, and then came to Salem, and in 1883 became a
member of the present firm. He owns some valuable town property, and was
[p.299] married, in 1882, to Miss Laura E. Rhea, who was born in Tennessee.
They have two children living: Maud E. and Bernice Preston, and one child
deceased, named Lillias. Mr. Robins is a Democrat, and a member of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The other member of the firm, Arch.
Northcutt, is a Warren County Tennesseean, his birth
occurring in 1858. He left his native State when eleven years of age, and came
with his people to Arkansas. He was educated in the common schools of Izard
County, and worked at the monotonous duties of farm life for his father until
he reached his majority, when he was married, and entered the employ of Archer
& Daniels, general merchants of Salem, with whom he remained eight years,
during which time he never lost a day from sickness or otherwise. In February,
1887, he became a member of the present firm, which carries a stock of about $5,000,
their annual sales amounting to $25,000. Mr. Northcutt is chairman of the
Democratic Central Committee of Fulton County, and is now discharging the
duties of this position. He is a charter member of the I. O. O. F., and is a
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife, whose maiden name was
Jennie Brown, was born in the State of Ohio in 1859, and is connected to Judge O'Key. To their union have been born
three children: Burton, Horace and Mamie O'Key.
Daniel P.
Rogers is one of three surviving members of a family of six children of
Jonathan and Martha (Knighton) Rogers, and was born
in Humphreys County, Tenn., on the 26th of January, 1830. His parents are
supposed to have been natives of North Carolina, the former's birth occurring
in 1787, and his death in Tennessee in 1839. He was a farmer and mechanic, and
served two years as a private in the War of 1812. He and his wife, who was born
about 1795, were married in the State of Tennessee, and after his death the
widow and her children came to Arkansas, locating in what is now Sharp County,
about 1844, where she died in 1859. Daniel P. Rogers received only one month's
schooling after coming to Arkansas, owing to his mother's straitened
circumstances, and the necessity of his assistance at home to aid in supporting
the family. He made his home with his mother until his marriage, and then she
continued to reside with him until her death. His marriage to Miss Rebecca
Copeland took place in 1850. She was born in Tennessee in 1832, and died six
years after her marriage, having become the mother of three children: Jesse,
who is married and is a farmer of the county; George, who is also married and
resides on a farm; and John A., married and residing on a farm near his father.
In 1858 Mr. Rogers wedded Miss Mary Dowell, who was born in Tennessee about
1845, and to them was given one son, James P., who resides in Boone County,
Ark. In 1872 he was so unfortunate as to lose his second wife, but on the 8th
of October, 1875, he found a true helpmate in the person of Mrs. Martha (Davis)
Brasier, whose birth occurred in Whitley County, Ky.,
in 1839. They have two children; Martha A. and Andrew J. During the Rebellion
he joined the Confederate army, and served until the final surrender, being a
member of Capt. Wyatt's Company. He was at Prairie Grove and Helena, and was
captured at the fall of Little Rock, being retained in that place for four
months. While being taken North by his captors, he jumped from the boat near
Cape Girardeau, Mo., and managed to elude his pursuers and rejoin his command.
He was then in the engagement at Poison Springs, Mark's Mill, and Jenkins'
Ferry, and was with Price on his raid, receiving a slight wound while with his
command. At the close of the war he returned to his farm and has since resided
in Fulton County, of which he was one of the pioneers. His farm embraces 200
acres, and is located between Myatt and South Fork Creeks. One hundred acres
are under cultivation. He is a member of Myatt Lodge No. 401, of the A. F.
& A. M., and in his political views is a Democrat, having cast his first
presidential vote for Pierce. He and wife are members of the Protestant
Methodist Church.
page 300
Thomas G.
Sears is another successful tiller of the soil of Fulton County who has secured
his possessions by energy, determination and judicious management. He is a
Georgian, born in October, 1824, and is a son of Wyatt and Frances [p.300] (Satterwhite) Sears, both natives of North Carolina, who
died in Georgia in 1863 and 1868, respectively. They were married in their
native State, and throughout his life the father was an industrious tiller of
the soil. Thomas G. Sears, the fourth of their ten children, was educated in
the common schools of his native State. Like the majority of sons he followed
the occupation in which his father had always been engaged, and to which he was
reared, and up to the present day has made that his calling. In the year 1875
he moved to Izard County, Ark., and in 1880 settled on the farm of 280 acres
where he now lives. He has ninety acres under cultivation. In 1846 he was
married in Georgia to Miss Sarah E. Payne, who was born in South Carolina in
1826, the daughter of Enoch and Sarah Payne, both natives of the "Palmetto
State," who died in Georgia. Eight children have been born to Mr. and Mrs.
Sears, but the following five are the only ones now living: Enoch G., Martha L.
(wife of William Hollingsworth), James, Frances (wife of William Cochran) and
Thomas. When the war had been going on for two years Mr. Sears enlisted as a
private in Beauregard's battery and served until June 20, 1865, proving himself
an efficient and trustworthy soldier. He was formerly a Whig and cast his vote
for Henry Clay for the Presidency, but since the war has been a Democrat. He
and family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, with the
exception of one son, who belongs to the Baptist Church, and all are
substantial and law-abiding citizens. The children who are deceased are William
T., who died at the age of three months; Sarah E., whose death occurred when
fourteen years of age, and an infant.
page 301
Ephraim
Sharp, an old resident, and a leading merchant and farmer of the county, and
proprietor of a cotton-gin and flour-mill at South Fork, in Myatt Township,
twelve miles east of Salem, was born in Decatur County, Ind., June 23, 1833,
and is a son of John E. and Susan (Armstrong) Sharp, who were born in
Pennsylvania in 1802, and in Ohio in 1800, respectively. The father now resides
in Decatur County, Ind., and, although he is eighty-seven years of age, takes a
number of newspapers, and is able to read them by lamplight without his
glasses. He has always followed farming as an occupation, and is of Dutch Irish
ancestry. His wife died in Decatur County, Ind., in 1842, as did his father. John Sharp, who was born in Pennsylvania, his death occurring in
1842. Ephraim Sharp is one of two surviving members of a family of seven
children, and was reared in Decatur County, Ind., to which place his
parent-moved about 1826. He attended the common schools, and at the age of
twenty-one years left home and came to Lawrence County, Ark., where he made his
home until 1867, when he moved to his present property. His first purchase of
land comprised 120 acres, but being a good business man he has increased this
to 400 acres, and has 150 acres under cultivation, and everything about his
place shows the energy and good management for which he has ever been noted. In
1868 he opened a general mercantile establishment under the firm name of
Wainwright & Sharp, but in 1873 he purchased Mr. Wainwright's interest, and
conducted affairs alone until 1884, when he sold out to Dr. J. S. Risher. He re-purchased the goods the following year, and
has remained proprietor of the same ever since. In 1875 South Fork postoffice was established at Mr. Sharp's store, and he was
appointed postmaster, which he has since remained, with the exception of one
year. He was married in Sharp County, Ark., November 22, 1858, to Miss Mary E.
Wainwright, who was born in Madison County. Ala., in June.
1833. Six of the seven children born to their union are now living: Martha M.,
wife of Hardy Croom: Joanna C., wife of C. W. Culp;
Sarah B., Johnnie (deceased), Thomas W., Hettie L.
and Ollie J. In 1862 Mr. Sharp enlisted in the Confederate army, and was first
lieutenant of Company L. Tappen's brigade. He served
in this capacity two years, participating in the battle of Prairie Grove, and
numerous skirmishes; then he was honorably discharged,
and returned to his home in Indiana, where he remained until 1866. He is a
member of Myatt Lodge No. 401, of the Masonie order,
and in his political views is a stanch Democrat, having cast his first
presidential vote for James Buchanan. [p.301] He and all his children, with the
exception of the youngest, are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
South.
Rev. J.
L. Short, Sr., a prominent agriculturist of Washington Township, Fulton County,
Ark., and the son of Joab and Sarah (York) Short, was born in Franklin County,
Tenn., in 1824. His parents were natives of Rockingham County, N. C., and were
of Irish descent. Joab Short was born on the 12th of August, 1788, and died on
the 1st of April, 1866. The mother was born in 1790, and died in September,
1870. They left their native State about 1810, and moved to Tennessee. They
were the parents of thirteen children, all of whom lived to be grown: Alpha,
wife of E. Thacker; Omega, wife of A. Muse; Mary, wife of Rev. John Byrum; Gracie and July (twins), the former the wife of P.
Holley, and the latter of F. M. Yell; Sarah, wife of Thomas Muse; Tabitha, wife
of John Antney; Delia, wife of William Walsh
(deceased); Caroline, wife of John Ross; J. L., Constant B. (deceased), Joab
B., killed at the battle of Shiloh, and C. C. (deceased). Mr. Short was a
Democrat in politics, and was a very prominent man in his section of the
country. He was quite wealthy, and was the owner of a number of slaves. His
son, Rev. J. L. Short, had all the advantages for a thorough education in his
youth, enjoying opportunities above the average. Since then, by close study and
observation, he has become a well informed man. He commenced work for himself
at the age of nineteen as a tiller of the soil, and this he has followed since
in connection with his pastoral work. His wife was formerly Miss Frances Hawkins,
a native of Tennessee, whom he married on the 22d of November, 1842. One child
was born to this union, named Sarah, who became the wife of J. W. Blanton, and
now resides in Cooke County, Tex. Mrs. Short died in April, 1844, and our
subject was married the second time to Mrs. Frances B. (Campbell) Short, widow
of Col. A. M. Short, who was in the Mexican War, and took part in some of the
prominent engagements of that war. He was county clerk of Coffee County. Tenn.,
at the time of his death, which occurred in 1852 or 1853. He left two children,
J. L., who lives in Fulton County, and is engaged in farming, and Nancy J.,
wife of John Pendergrass, who is a tiller of the soil and resides in Izard
County. J. L. Short's second marriage occurred in 1857, and to this union were
born eight children: Tabitha P., born on the 12th of December, 1860, is now at
home; C. B., born in March, 1863, is married and lives in Izard County; M. L.,
born June 24, 1865; J. B., born March 11, 1867; Julia F., born May 4, 1869, and
the wife of Mr. Lavell; Manrie,
lives in Fulton County; J. M., born April 5, 1872, and J. N., born June 24,
1875. Mrs. Short was born in 1831, and is the daughter of John and Helender (Neel) Campbell, natives of South Carolina and
Virginia, respectively. Mr. Campbell was justice of the peace of his section
for many years, was in very comfortable circumstances and a much respected
citizen. He was the father of eleven children: William (deceased), James, a
minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and ex-county treasurer of Coffee
County, Tenn. (he is now living in the Lone Star State); Sarah, widow of R.
Blanton, and Nancy, widow of Coleman Blanton, live in Tennessee; Caroline,
widow of M. Holland, and now residing in Bedford County, Tenn.; Armsted is a farmer and lives in Texas; Susan resides in
Texas; Civility, wife of James Angle, resides in Texas; Frances B., Duncan,
lives in Coffee County, Tenn., and John T. (deceased), Rev. J. L. Short has
been a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church thirty-three years, and his
wife is a member of that denomination. He also belongs to the A. F. & A.
M., and in his political views affiliates with the Democratic party. He is the owner of 270 acres of land. Previous to
coming to Fulton County he had lived in Izard, Independence, and other counties
of the State.
page 302
Hon. J.
L. Short, Jr. The public services of Mr. Short have been characterized by a
noticeable devotion to the welfare of Fulton County, and his ability and fidelity
in his present position have made a lasting impression upon his sphere of
public duty. Although a young man, his name has always been closely identified
with the interests of this section and he need have no fear as to his [p.302]
future prosperity. He was born in Coffee County, Tenn., in 1858, being the
seventh of a family of nine children, all of whom are living, born to Rev. J.
L. and Frances B. (Campbell) Short, both of whom were born in Tennessee, the
former's birth occurring in 1824. They were reared, married and remained in
their native State until 1870, at which time they settled in Izard County, Ark,
moving afterward to Sharp County, and finally to Fulton County, where the
father engaged in tilling the soil and also preached the gospel,- being a
minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He belonged to the White River
conference and was a circuit rider. He and wife now reside in Fulton County.
The paternal grandfather was a North Carolinian. J. L. Short, our subject, was
placed in school as soon as a suitable age was reached, where the opportunities
afforded were enjoyed and improved to the best advantage. He attended an
academy and evening high school, and the reputation he now enjoys as a bright
and able young lawyer was acquired through his own efforts and at the expense
of diligent study and hard practical experience. He graduated from the law
department of the University of Mississippi in 1881, and since 1886 has been
one of the leading members of the legal fraternity in Salem. In 1888 he was
elected to represent the county in the State legislature, and is discharging
his duties to the entire satisfaction of his constituents. He is a Democrat,
and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was married in October,
1886, to Miss Josephine Roberts, who was born in 1869.
page 303
Dr.
Benjamin S. Thomason, of Fulton County, Ark., first saw the light of day April
1, 1841, in Dickson County, Tenn., and is one of eleven children born to John
and Nancy (Swift) Thomason, natives of South Carolina and Tennessee,
respectively. John Thomason was born in 1807 and came to Tennessee when yet a
boy. In that State Mrs. Thomason was born in 1819. They were the parents of
these children: James W., who died in prison at Chicago in 1862; Elijah, who
died in 1877; B. S., Hannah, wife of James W. Swindle and died June 5, 1881;
John lives in Greene County, Ark.; Elizabeth, wife of Peter Woods, and resides
in Greene County; Nancy lives in Greene County: Richard lives in the same
county: Jemimah, wife of Bud Newsom, of Greene
County, Ark., and Victoria, wife of John McMillan, of Greene County. John
Thomason entered the service of the Confederate army in 1862 under Col. Knapper, and was in a number of battles. He was captured,
sent to prison in Chicago, and there died in 1863. He followed trading as his
occupation in life, and made a specialty of negroes
and land. His farm was cultivated by negroes and
whites. He always voted the Democratic ticket. Benjamin S. Thomason left the
parental roof in 1859 and journeyed to Kentucky, where he remained for some
time. He then returned to Tennessee, and made his home with his uncle for a
number of years, and in the meantime attended school. He also clerked in a
store until the breaking out of the late unpleasantness between the North and
South, when he enlisted in the Eleventh Tennessee Infantry, Company C, William
Green, captain, and commanded by James E. Rains. Mr. Thomason served from May
9, 1861, until the close of the war and participated in the most prominent
battles. He was in the following engagements besides numerous minor ones: Barbersville, London Wild Cat, Fishing Creek, Goose Creek. Richmond, Perryville,
Murfreesboro, Shelbyville, Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain, Kenesaw
Mountain and Atlanta. His brother, Elijah, was in forty-three pitched
battles, but was never seriously wounded. Benjamin S. Thomason was wounded at
Murfreesboro in the left wrist and this disabled him from service for some
time. He was taken prisoner at Thompson's Station, Tenn., and remained a
prisoner at Fort Delaware for some time. When exchanged he was in a very sorry
condition. He surrendered at Memphis, Tenn., April 26, 1865. He was first
married November 20, 1875, to Miss Ellen Canuoy, of
New Madrid County, Mo., and by her became the father of six children, only two
now living: Hettie M. T., born January 19, 1880, and
Benjamin W., born December 7, 1882, Mrs. Thomason died July 6, 1886, and Mr.
Thomason then married Miss Mary F. Roby, of Fulton County, Ark., November 4,
1886. One child was born to this union, [p.303] Josie M., whose birth occurred
July 21, 1887. Mr. Thomason is the owner of 210 acres of land, and is a very
enterprising farmer. He and wife are members of the Christian Church. Mr.
Thomason is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and in his political views
affiliates with the Democratic party.
Dr.
William A. Thompson, an eminent medical practitioner, who has recently located
in Mammoth Spring, is a native of Pope County, Ill., where he was born December
22, 1852, being a son of Jacob A. and Polly (Shuffelbarger)
Thompson, who were born in West Virginia in 1819 and Pennsylvania in 1824,
respectively. The former, with his parents, was among the very earliest
settlers of Pope County, and there the latter couple died. Jacob Thompson
inherits Scotch and Irish blood from his parents, and has inherited many of the
sterling qualities of his Scottish ancestors. He has been a farmer throughout
life, is still residing in Pope County, and in his political views has always
been a Democrat. He was a faithful soldier for the Union cause throughout the
Rebellion, and was a participant in the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and
numerous other important battles, and was promoted to the rank of orderly
sergeant. He was one of the men who went through on the Gerrison
raid. His wife died in Pope County the first year of the war, having borne a
family of eight children, only four of whom are now living: One a merchant in
Alton, Mo., another a stockman of Kansas, one a minister of the gospel, and the
Doctor. The latter was nine years of age when his mother died, and shortly
after his father went to the war, and he was left to make his home with a
neighbor. At the age of fourteen years he went to Northern Illinois, and
received excellent educational opportunities (which he did not fail to improve)
in McKendrie College, St. Clair County, Ill. In the
spring of 1883 he was graduated from the Medical University of Louisville, Ky.,
and after practicing a very short time in Stoddard County, Mo., he moved to
Oregon County, where he became a well known and successful-practitioner. Since
the first of the year 1889 he has resided in Mammoth Spring, where he is
winning the confidence and respect of all who know him. In March, 1876, he was
married to Miss Amanda Miller, who was born in Stoddard County, Mo., in 1856,
and was there reared to womanhood. She died in 1882, having borne two children:
Birdie and Hattie. She was a daughter of George F. and Sarah (Hardy) Miller,
both of whom spent their lives in Stoddard County. Mrs. Margaret George became
Dr. Thompson's second wife in December, 1883. Her birth occurred in Randolph
County, Ark., in 1846, she being a daughter of Rev. R. O. Tribble, a Missionary
Baptist minister, and the first minister of Oregon County. The Doctor and his
wife have one child, William A. He owns 700 acres of land in Oregon County,
Mo., and his home lot in Mammoth Spring comprises three acres. He is a member
of the Masonic lodge at Alton, Mo., and in his political views has always been
a stanch Republican, having cast his first presidential vote for R. B. Hayes.
He and wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. His first wife
belonged to the Methodist Episcopal Church.
page 304
Robert L.
Thompson, who is closely connected with the farming interests of the county, is
of Arkansas nativity, and dates his birth from December 30, 1856. His father,
G. W. Thompson, was a native of Tennessee, a farmer and stock trader, and
accumulated considerable property. He came to Fulton County at an early day,
and there met and married Miss Eliza Pumphrey about
1848. Eight children were born to this union, three now living: H. J., living
in Baxter County; Robert L., in Fulton, and G. W., who resides in Boone County.
The father of these children left Fulton County several years ago, and has not
been heard from since. He is supposed to be dead. In politics he affiliated
with the Republican party. Mrs. Thompson resides in
Boone County, Ark. Robert L. Thompson passed his youth
and early manhood in his native State, Arkausas. On
the 12th of December, 1880, he married Miss Emma E. Cook, daughter of Henry and
Elizabeth (Harris) Cook, and one of six children born to their union; Ephraim
(deceased), Sarah J., Mary, Pernecia, William W.,
Emma E. and Alice. Henry W. Cook was born in Kentucky, July 22, 1822, [p.304]
and married Miss Elizabeth Harris, of the same State about 1844. They moved to
Arkansas in 1860, where he died March 17, 1877. He was a member of the
Missionary Baptist Church, and also of the Masonic lodge at the time of his
death. His widow still remains on the old homestead at Viola. Alice, the
youngest child, who is now a widow with two children, resides with her brother,
William W., whose home is in Texas. He is a lawyer by profession, and
unmarried. The other five have homes in Arkansas, and are married. The fruits
of Mr. and Mrs. Thompson's union are three children: Huston B., born May 11,
1883; Nora A., born January 24, 1885, and James T., born August 5, 1887. At the
commencement of his farm life, Mr. Thompson had 120 acres, and has since added
eighty acres. He now owns considerable stock, consisting of hogs, cattle and
horses. He is considered one of the leading farmers in this section. He is a
man greatly in favor of public enterprises, and donates liberally to school,
churches and all laudable movements. Politically, he is a native-born
Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson are members of the Missionary Baptist Church.
Mr. Thompson professed religion in September, 1885, and joined the church in
August, 1888. Mrs. Thompson professed religion August 17, 1874, and joined on
the 20th of the same month. She has been a member of the church fifteen years,
becoming such while only fourteen years old.
page 305
David P. Tunstall, one of the leading citizens of Fulton County,
Ark., is a native of Independence County, of the same State, his birth
occurring on the 7th of July, 1841. His father, Thomas T. Tunstall,
was born in Pittsylvania County, Va., and when a boy removed with his parents
to Shelby County, Ky., where he grew to mature years and learned the cabinet
maker's trade, at which occupation he worked for a few years. He afterward
turned his attention to steamboating, and after
residing in Chicot County, Ark., for six years he moved to Independence County
in 1833, in which county he was residing at the time of his death, in November,
1863, at the age of seventy-six years. During his lifetime he farmed for some
time, and while steamboating brought the first boat
up the White River. He accumulated considerable wealth in the different
enterprises in which he was engaged, and at one time was worth over $100,000,
but lost heavily during the bank crash of 1841. He was in the cavalry service
during the War of 1812, and in one engagement had a horse shot from under him.
He took a great interest in the political affairs of his day and was one of the
best politicians of the State at that time, although not an office-seeker. He
was married three times, but the name of his first wife is unknown. His second
wife was a Miss Sarah World, who died after having borne eight children, only
one of whom is now living: James M., a farmer, of Independence County. His last
marriage was to Miss Elizabeth Magness, by whom he
became the father of eleven children, five of whom are living: Harrison M.,
David P., Laura (wife of J. M. Archer), Rose (wife of Richard A. McHenry), and
Kate J. (wife of C. A. Phillips, a prominent attorney of Fulton County). David
P. Tunstall received his education in Jackson County,
Ark., but in 1861 gave up all his work to enlist in Company E, of the Seventh
Arkansas Infantry, Confederate service, and served until April, 1864, the last
two years being orderly sergeant. He was at Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro,
Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, the Atlanta campaign and Jonesboro, Ga., where
he was taken prisoner. He managed to escape by jumping from a train at Decherd
Station, Tenn. He was recaptured five days later and was taken to Camp Chase,
Ohio, where he was kept until February 14, 1865. He was paroled at Richmond and
returned home. His clothes were many times riddled with bullets and at
Murfreesboro he had one of his pants-legs shot off. He then remained in
Independence County, Ark., until 1877, at which time he came to Fulton County,
where he has since made his home. He owns some of the best farming land in the
county, his property being located on South Fork. In 1880 he was elected to the
office of county sheriff and collector, and was re-elected in 1884. On the 25th
of May, 1865, he was married to Miss Martha Jernigan, a daughter of Rev. William
H. Jernigan. [p.305] She was born in Henry County, Tenn., in 1845 (August 16),
and to their union the following children have been born: Lemuel E. (farming
his father's farm), William T., James F., Harrison M., Dicy
E., Charles P., Daniel A. and Grover C. Mr. and Mrs. Tunstall
are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he is a stanch
Democrat in his politics. On coming home from the army he was without means,
and all his property has been acquired since then, and notwithstanding the fact
that he has had to pay a great many security-debts he has prospered. He is a
second cousin of Abraham Lincoln's wife, his grandmother being a Todd.
E. L. Tunstall, M. D., a widely known and most successful
physician of Mammoth Spring, Ark., was born in Independence County, of this
State, in September, 1864. He is a son of H. M. and Melissa (Baker) Tunstall, who were born respectively in Independence
County, Ark., and Middle Tennessee. The father was reared to a mercantile life
in his native county, was married there, and a few years since came to Fulton
County, Ark., and engaged in various pursuits at Mammoth Spring. He and wife,
who came to Arkansas at the age of five years, became the parents of three
children, of whom Dr. E. L. Tunstall is the second.
The paternal grandfather was a native of the "Old Dominion," and
removed to Kentucky during the early history of that State, afterward locating
in Arkansas, where he engaged in steamboating and
horse-dealing, accumulating a large amount of property thereby. The great-grandfather
came from Wales and located in Virginia. Dr. E. L. Tunstall
was educated in the graded schools of his native county, and during this time
acquired a taste for the study of medicine. He determined to make this his
profession, and for some time at first studied under a preceptor, and attended
his first course of lectures in the Missouri Medical College at St. Louis,
during the winter of 1884-85. He graduated from the Memphis Hospital Medical
College in the spring of 1887 (the regular school). After practicing in Ozark
County, Mo., for some time, he commenced practicing in Fulton County in the
fall of 1885. Miss Mary A. Tyree, who was born in Pulaski County, Mo., in
February, 1867, became his wife in October, 1882, and to their marriage have been given two bright little children: Katie S. D. and
A. G. Thurman. The Doctor is a member of the Tri-State Medical Society, which
meets once a year at Memphis. Tenn. Politically he is a Democrat.
William
Wainwright is recognized as a careful, energetic agriculturist of Fulton
County, and by his advanced ideas, progressive habits, and liberal
contributions to worthy enterprises, he has gained the respect and esteem of
his fellow men. His birth occurred in Madison County, Ala., in 1826, and he is
a son of William and Nancy (Turner) Wainwright, who were born in Virginia and
Tennessee. respectively. Upon first leaving his native
State, he went to Georgia, but before his marriage moved from Alabama, where he
had located, to Arkansas, in 1853, locating in Independence County, but
afterward died in Sharp County in 1855, at the age of seventy-three years. He
was a soldier in the War of 1812. William Wainwright is one of his nine
children, and was reared to manhood on a farm in Alabama, but when his father
came to the State of Arkansas, he came with him and here has since made his
home. He was married in Sharp County, on the 28th of February, 1860, to Miss
Margaret Elizabeth Huddleston, and by her has had a family of nine children:
John B., who died at the age of nine months; Louise, who died in 1884 at the
age of twenty-two years: Laura P., William E., Mary M., Martha M., Samuel P.,
Lucy M. and Gundoland. During the late Civil War Mr.
Wainwright served four years under Gen Price being in the commissary department
the most of the time. In 1862 he came to Fulton County, Ark., and is now the
owner of 1.346 acres of land in the country and considerable property in town.
He has the finest dwelling house in the county, it being a fine brick structure
containing eight large rooms. Politically he has always affiliated with the
Democratic party, and socially he is a member of the
A. F. & A. M., being a Master Mason. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal
Church.
page 306
Rev.
William E. Watson, a Methodist minister and farmer of Fulton Township, was born
in Ballard County, Ky., in 1846, and received very meager educational
advantages. He remained with his widowed mother until sixteen years of age and
then, in June, 1863, he enlisted in Company B, Wood's Battalion of Missouri Cavalry,
Confederate troops, and served until the close of the war, most of his
operations being in Arkansas. He was in the engagement at Pine Bluff, and all
through Price's raid in Missouri. At one time while a soldier there was some
talk of promoting him for bravery to the position of fourth corporal. He was
captured during that raid in Kansas, in October, 1864, and was a prisoner about
four months at St. Louis and Alton, Ill. He was paroled just before the general
surrender, rejoined his command and surrendered in May, 1865, at Shreveport,
La. He then came to Izard County, and was married in June, 1866, to Miss Martha
J. Williams, a native of Kentucky, and the daughter of Henry and Elizabeth
Williams, also of Kentucky nativity. Her parents died in Izard County, whither they had moved when Mrs. Watson was a little
girl. The fruits of Mr. Watson's union were seven children, four sons and one
daughter now living. He remained in Izard County until 1875, and then came to
his present farm, which was then in the woods, but now he has 160 acres, with
fifty under cultivation. He has a pleasant home, one and a half miles east of Viola, and aside from his farming interest he has been local
minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for about ten years,
administering to the spiritual wants of his fellow men in a very satisfactory
manner. He has been a member of that church for a period of about twenty-two
years. He is a Democrat in his political preferences and has held the office of
justice of the peace since September, 1888. He has one brother, James M., and a
sister, the widow of William Ferguson, who are living
in Fulton County. His parents. Miles and Mary S.
(Gillespie) Watson, were born in Kentucky, where the
father died when William E. was an infant. In about 1853 the family moved to
Lawrence County, Ark., where Mrs. Watson married William Hawkins. She afterward
moved to Fulton County, and died about 1862, in what is now Baxter County. She
had been a member of the Methodist Church for many years.
page 307
Z. L.
Watters, M. D., is of Scotch Irish birth and antecedents, and his ancestors for
four generations back have been prominently identified with the interests of
the State of Georgia, his father, Joseph Watters, having been a prominent
politician of that State in the days of his prime. The latter was born in 1792
and was reared to manhood in his native State. During the Florida War he served
as captain under Gen. Nelson. He was a member of the legislature from Floyd
County, and was also a United States Senator from his senatorial district,
comprising three counties. His death occurred in 1866. His wife was born in
Oglethorpe County in 1799, and became the mother of thirteen children, ten sons
and three daughters, all of whom grew to maturity. All the former served in the
Confederate army with the exception of two brothers. One brother was killed at
Sharpsburg while serving in Lee's army, and another at Atlanta. Dr. Z. L.
Watters, our subject, was captain of a company from Gordon County, Ga., and for
gallant service was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and served
until Lee's surrender. He received his literary education at Rome, Ga., and
being now prepared to carry out a long cherished desire he entered upon a
course of medical study, entering the medical college of his native State, from
which he graduated in 1852. He had practiced until the opening of the war at
Calhoun, Ga., and also at other places in that State,
and after the war he
again located in Calhoun, residing there until he came to Arkansas in December,
1869. From that time until quite recently he was engaged in practicing his
profession at Salem, and acquired a superior reputation as an able physician
and surgeon. A short time since he retired from practice and
is now conducting a drug store, for which he is thoroughly qualified. He
was for many years the only physician in the place, and owing to his remarkably
successful career as such he has become the owner of 820 acres of land in three
different farms. He was married in 1866 to Miss M. A. Humphreys, but he was
called upon to mourn her loss by death in 1874. She left two children: Frank
and Nora. He subsequently wedded his present wife, whose maiden name was
Samantha Jeffrey. The following are the children which have been given them: Zula Lee, Nettie Medora, Lamar, Lella
and Ethel. Dr. Watters is a Democrat, and has shown his brotherly spirit by
becoming a Mason.
S. P. Welden, treasurer of Fulton County, Ark., was born in
Jackson County, Tenn., June 15, 1832, but was reared in the State of Kentucky,
receiving fairly good advantages for acquiring an education in the old
subscription schools of early days. His boyhood days were spent in following
the plow, and learning the blacksmith's trade, the two occupations receiving
his attention for a number of years. He was married at the age of twenty-four
years, to Miss Elizabeth S. Duncan, in Bollinger County, Mo. She was born in
Livingston County, Ky., May 7, 1838, and to their union five children were
born, all of whom have passed to their long home: Mary A., born December 27,
1857, died March 14, 1858; an infant, born May 6, 1859, died the same day; Madoriah F., born July 20, 1860, died October 23, 1872;
Ewell B., born February 2, 1864, died December 19, 1882; and one other infant,
born November 2, 1867, died the same day. Mr. Welden
bought two quarter sections of land in Fulton County, Ark., in 1868, and moved
here in 1881. He resided on his property until elected to the office of county
treasurer in September. 1884, when he located at the county
seat of Fulton County. He was re-elected in September, 1886, and again
re-elected in September, 1888, his majority being each year increased; and
although he has only been a resident of the county a few years, he has become
one of its prominent citizens, and is respected by all for his sterling
integrity, sound judgment and liberal, progressive ideas. He now owns over 900
acres of land in the county, ten forty-acre pieces being in one body. He is an
old line Democrat, and is the master of Salem Lodge No. 418, of the A. F. &
A. M. Mr. Welden was the third in a family of twelve
children, seven boys and five girls, eight of whom are now living, born to
William Welden and wife, formerly a Miss Jones, the
former being probably a native of North Carolina, born June 12, 1809, and the
latter of Tennessee, born May 11, 1809. William Welden
moved to Tennessee with his father when young, and was there married to Mary R.
Jones, subsequently following the occupation of farming. He is still living,
and is residing at Pinkneyville, Livingston County,
Ky. His wife died on the 18th day of March, 1865. The paternal grandfather,
Daniel Welden, was born in North Carolina, and died
in Kentucky at the home of our subject, between ninety-five and one hundred
years of age. He was a veteran in the War of 1812, under Andrew Jackson. The
great grandfather, Pines Welden, was a Revolutionary
soldier, and was of Scotch-Irish descent.
page 308
Marion
Whiteside is a resident of Fulton County, Ark., who seems to be eminently
fitted for the occupation of farming, for he possesses industry and
good-business ability, and from earliest boyhood has been familiar with the
details of farm life. He was born in Oregon County, Mo., October 11, 1850, but
was reared in Fulton County, Ark., remaining with his parents until he attained
his majority, and, although he received no schooling he became familiar with
the details of farming and blacksmithing, which occupations his father
followed. He has continued the former occupation ever since starting out in
life for himself, and since 1873 has lived on his present farm of 120 acres,
fifty-five acres of which are under cultivation. He has always been a Democrat
politically, and his first vote for the Presidency was cast for Horace Greeley.
He is now deputy assessor of his township, has been constable of Mammoth Spring
Township two years, and has served seven years as school director, and is
elected for two more years. He is a member of Mammoth Spring Lodge No. 48, of
the I. O. O. F. July 7, 1872, he was united in marriage to Miss Annis Mooney,
who was born in Dent County, Mo., about 1852, and by her he became the father
of eight children, six of whom are living: Margaret E., Jackson F., Martha L.,
Josephine, Minnie A. and Monroe C. Mrs. Whiteside is a daughter of John and
Margaret [p.308] Mooney, who were native Tennesseeans,
and were early settlers of Dent County, Mo. The father died in that State, but
the mother's death occurred in Arkansas. Mr. Whiteside is one of eight
surviving members of a family of eleven children, nine of whom reside in Fulton
County, Ark., and one in Oregon County, Mo., born to Hayes and Sarah J. (Payne)
Whiteside, who were born in Indiana and Missouri, in 1833 and 1836,
respectively. The father was brought to Arkansas by his parents when nine years
of age, and became a noted hunter of Fulton County and lived in this county
until his death, August 27, 1879, still survived by his widow. The paternal
grandfather, Thomas Whiteside, was a Virginian, and with his wife moved from
that State to Indiana, at a very early day, and later to Fulton County, Ark.,
of which they were among the earliest settlers. He was also a noted hunter and
while on a hunting expedition was taken sick and died in Independence County,
Ark. His wife died in Fulton County, Ark.
Updated 16 Feb 2015