Horne family was among the early settlers of Greene County, and it has played an important and conspicious part in the development of the best interest of the county. This family settled near Gainesville, and it has remainedprincipally in that section of the county, from it's first location there until the present time. The Horne's have always been contended to serve their day and generation in the ranks of the producing class, and they have contributed as much to the material and industrail growth of the county as any people who have been in the county the same length of time. They have lived or a branch of the family in the Beech Grove neighborhood, and are still an excellent people. Jim Horne it will be remembered made the race for Circuit Clerk the past spring, and came very close to being the winner of the race, even against a number of the most popular and experienced men in the county. The people of Greene County will hear something more from this young man.
Judge Jonas Askers came to the county from Missouri and had been a county and probate judge in his native state. He was from the same county in Missouri that the Jackson's were natives of, our Izar, James R. Richard, and Frank Jackson. Judge Askers was a justice of the peace in Union Township for many years,and also probate judge of the county,and filled all these positions acceptibly. He was a widower when he came to the county, but married a daughter of Arnold Thomas, who was a widow. The judge died near Camp Ground some years ago.
J.R. Jackson the senior member of the Jackson Merchantile establishment business for years the strongest in Gainesville, came to this county just after the war, from Missouri. Jim had been a officer in the Confederate army but Richard Jackson, the other member of the concern was a mere boy when they came to the county. Jim was the outside man and did all the buying and became a first rate stock man. Dick attended to the store and they made a strong firm. Jas. R. Jackson was a whole souled fellow and numbered his friends by the legion. He was married when he came here, having married in Missouri. His family consisted of three children: Jennie, who married John H. Penny and now lives in Paragould, Albert D. Jackson, who is now ans has been for years the Road Commissioner of Clark township, and lives in the western section of the city with an interesting family, Lela married Oscar Hough, of Hot Springs, and is now dead. Their mother, Mrs. Nan Jackson, the widow of the late J.R. Jackson, died recently after having been an invalid for the past twenty years.
Richard Jackson married after coming to the county, his wife was a Miss Stedman, a sister of Lon and Jim Stedman, and of Mrs. Dr. R. A. Markham, now deceased, she having died in Texas some years ago. Dr. Markham now lives in Paragould and is one of the main pillars in the local Baptist church.
Dick Jackson now lives in this city, he having quit the merchantile business, and turned his time and attention to speculation in the land and timber business. He is always the general tie contractor for the Iron Mountain railroad company, and local land agents for that company in the county. Since the death of Henry Glasscock and the removal from the county, and death of R.H. Gardner, he is the best informed man in the county on the value of lands. He is good in circumstances, having a magnificent residence in this city, and has a very fine family. His oldest daughter was recently married to Dr. Wip Robinson and is now living in New Mexico. His next daughter, Miss Fannie, is probably one of the best scholars in this part of the state, being a graduate of Vanderbilt university, and having just completed a tour of Europe, after teaching in Galaway college. His only son, Arthur is a very bright and promising young business man of the city, and is at home, being still unmarried. All of the Jackson's are of the old Andrew Jackson school of politics, and Richard could have great success in a political way if he had preferres politics to a business career. He was once elected treasurer of the county without being a candidate and made a most acceptable one. He is well shaped financially and lives on easy street. His brother, Frank lives here in the city and it is thought, has an interesting family, all his children being bright and popular citizens of Paragould except one son John, who is in business in Tiptonville, Tennessee.
Robert Henry Halley was born in Virginia, but was reared in Tennessee, near Memphis. He came to this state in the early forties and settled in Greene County. He married after coming to this state and his entire active life was spent in the county. He organized the first Sunday school ever taught on Crowley's Ridge. It was established in a log cabin near a big spring on the old Crowley farm where Louis Markham now lives. It was said that he had eight scholars and their literature was the oldblue back spelling book and the testament. William and Wiley Pevehouse were two of the eight pupils, and the books mentioned above were the best that could be had at the time.
Halley lived here where Paragould now stands when he founded the Sunday school, but afterwards sold out and moved over into the Cache bottoms, on what is now known as the Ray Farm. He was the second man who ever owned tjis farm, the first man being Allen Johnson, who cleared and settled the place. When he sold out to Halley he went to Texas. Cattle and stock of all kinds run on the range and faired well the year round. William Pevehouse owned a large lot of stock and kept them on the range, and stayed at the home of the Halley's. He was mostly reared by Mrs. Halley who was before her marriage to Halley, was the widow of Samuel Crowley, and Uncle to Pevehouse.
Halley and Pevehouse spent most of their time bear hunting, they kept ten or twelve trained dogs, their main trail-dog being a large black hound with yellow mouth and nose which they called "Watch." He was valuable dog, but would run nothing except bear. Deer and other game might run over him, but he would not notice it, but trail a bear to his den everytime. When the hunters would pack up for a chase, and take their guns, these dogs would set up such a unearthly din of yelping that you could hear nothing but their racket. The men had their dogs so well trained that all of them would remain in the rear of the hunters and let old Watch locate the bear, which he did by making circles getting a little larger and farther from the center where the men and dogs were.
Watch could follow a trail that was twenty four hours old, and the men could tell when he scented the trail of a bear, or got on the warm track as they called it. He would give a peculiar yelp that meant business, and everyone was electrified to hear the old dog sound the bear signal. Of course when a bear was treed all the dogs were turned loose, as a fierce fight was sure to follow. The rest of the pack were expected to do the scrapping, and old Watch's job was at the end when he brought the bear to bay.
The other dogs would treat him like Gen. Lee's men did their leader at a battery charge during the war; led him to the rear, and told him to remain there and they would take fort or every man would die in the attempt. Often the hunters would have to join in the fight with the bear, and more than once Halley would put put the breach of his gun in the animals mouth, while Pevehouse would slay the bear with his long hunting knife. The butt of Halley's gun was badly crushed and chewed up from these conflicts with the jaws of the Cache bottom bear. Often the dogs were so terribly worsted by the conflicts with bruin that they would be two or three days getting home after a fight. The home of the writer's parents was a veritable dog hospital during the hunting season, there always being several crippled dogs there for treatment. The owner of old Watch was offered a fine horse for the dog once, but declined the offer, and declared the hound was not for sale as long as they were in the hunting business.
On one occassion Wiliam Hutchins, a cousin of the writer, came to stay over night with the Halley's and Jeff Halley was making his home with his brother at the time. the boys asked the owner of the dogs to take them around the field for a coon hunt after supper. Consent was given, and they had not been gone long when the peculiar bark of old Watch reminded the men at the house that the boys had jumped a bear. Fearing that the boys would get killed, and desiring to assist the boys and dogs in dispatching the bear. Young Hutchins was permitted to shoot the animal, and never tired of telling of his first bear hunt, and the big bear he killed. During all the years we lived at that place we were never out of bear or deer meat. We would dry and smoke the meat as farmers now cure their hog meat, and it could be kept all year round. Venison and turkey were abundant and not hard to obtain, and such a thing as a meat trust would not have affected the settlers if there had been a dozen cambines in the country. The meat of a large fat bear is several inches thick at places, and is much milder and sweeter than hog meat.
This Jeff Halley had just arrived in the county from Collierville, Tennessee, and he had never seen such game, but he soon became a crack shot and often killed as many as four fine deer in one day. One time he shot and killed one of the Pevehouse fine calves mistaking it for a deer, and immediately went in and proposed to pay for the yearling. Pevehouse declined to accept any pay for the calf, saying that he had done the same thing himself when a young man, having shot one of his grandfather's yearlings for a deer, and he knew just how such a mistake could occur.
Dennis Cole came to this county in an early day, and lived for a long time on Sugar creek near where Owen's Chapel stands.He settled at the same place that B.M. Grambling owned and died on. He left this place and bought out M.T.C. Lumpkins on Locust Creek, near Gainesville. He had the largest family the writer ever knew anything about, in Greene county, having twenty seven children. Among his sons are R.H. Cole, county road and bridge commissioner, for Greene county, who lives in the western suburbs of the city, and is a good officer, and a strong member of the Baptist church. He lost an arm in the Confederate service. Cary T. Cole,another son, is running a hotel here in the city, called the Cole Hotel, he is a popular hotel man, and is well fixed financially, owning two or three good farms around Gainesville. He was also a Confederate soldier and served with General Price during his famous Misouri raid. The entire Cole family are an industrious and worthy body of citizens and have contributed very substantially to the growth and material progress of the county. Cary T. Cole is a Royal Arch Mason, belonging to the Paragould Chapter, and to the Blue Lodge at Gainesville. Denis Cole has been dead for a number of years.
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