Ouachita County

Henry P. Morgan, a leading merchant of Stephens, is a native of Georgia, born in Harris County, on March 10, 1849, and is one of the prominent business men of the county. His father, John H. Morgan, was born in Alabama in 1810, and died in Poinsett County, Arkansas, in 1810, and died in Poinsett County, Arkansas in 1857. He emigrated to the last-named county in 1848, and was one of the very earliest settlers, carrying the first slaves to that county. He located on a farm in the woods, and here passed his last days, filling many local positions of trust. He was married in Georgia to Miss Elizabeth Walker, a native of that State, and of Irish descent, her grandparents being natives of the Emerald Isle. She died in 1873. To Mr. and Mrs. Morgan were born ten children. Henry P. being the youngest in order of birth. The latter was reared in Ouachita County, Arkansas and received but a limited education. He resided with his mother until twenty two years of age, and was then married to Miss Georgia Hodnett, a native of Georgia, born in 1852. To them were born three children: Kate M. (wife of Harvey Edwards), Emmett and Marcus. Mrs. Morgan died in 1878, and about 1880 Mr. Morgan took for his second wife Miss Josephine Hodnett, a sister of his first wife and also a native of Georgia. Four children were born to this union: Harvey, Alva, Elma and John H. Mr. Morgan embarked in the merchandising business at Stephens in 1883, and carries a stock of goods valued at about $4,000. He also buys cotton in connection with his general trade. He is the owner of 1,000 acres of land and also several town lots with buildings which he rents. Mr. Morgan is a member of the K. of P. lodge at Stephens, and is also a K. of H. He is a Democrat in politics, and his first presidential vote was for Seymour. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of which his first wife was also a member.[INDEX]

Sharon B. Myatt, a prominent farmer of Bridge Creek Township, was born April 5, 1847, in this county, a son of Alfred B. and Jane F. (Elliott) Myatt, natives of North and South Carolina, respectively. Alfred B. Myatt was born in 1811, in Wake County, North Carolina of English descent. He was a farmer by occupation and was reared principally in Alabama, to which State he had removed when he was eleven years of age. At the age of twenty he went to Columbus, Miss., where he went into business, in 1841 he came to this State and located in this county, settling on Government land. He died in 1889, being on e of the oldest settlers in this county at the time of his death. The mother was born in 1823, a daughter of Robert Elliott, also an old settler of this county. Mrs. Myatt is still living and resides with her son, the subject of this sketch. She is a member of the Protestant Methodist Church. She was the mother of six children: five of whom are still living, viz: Rufus (deceased), Melissa (now Mrs. Kennedy, who was born in 1844), Sharon R., Florence Isabella (now Mrs. Hughes, of Washington Township), Ophelia F. (unmarried and living at home), and Vernon D. (a farmer of this township). Mr. Myatt commenced working for himself at the age of nineteen years, being employed in a saw mill. In 1877 he purchased his present farm, and in 1889 was married to Miss Minne Smith, born in Union County in 1872, a daughter of William Smith of the same county. This union has been blessed with one child - a boy - named Alfred B. In 1864, Mr. Myatt enlisted in the Home Guards, in which he served until the close of the war. He owns 300 acres of land, with nearly 200 acres under cultivation. Both he and wife are members of the Protestant Methodist Church, and he is also a member of the County Wheel. In his political view he affiliates with the Democratic party, and is actively interested in all laudable public enterprises[INDEX]

Capt. D. Newton is the present efficient sheriff and collector of Ouachita County, Arkansas, and is one of the most popular officials the county has ever had. His birth occurred in Autauga County, Alabama, October 1, 1835, he being a son of David and Martha (Broadnox) Newton, natives of South Carolina and Alabama, respectively, both of whom died in the latter State when the subject of this sketch was a mere youth. He was then thrown upon the world to make his living as best he could and in 1848, when in his twelfth year, he came to Arkansas, and for some time attended the common schools of Ouachita County. From the time of his arrival here up to the present date he has been associated with the different interests of the State, and up to 1856 was engaged in farm work. He then opened a mercantile establishment at Camden, but in 1862 abandoned this work to enlist in Company B, Thirty-third Arkansas Infantry, going out as lieutenant, but afterward became commander of his company, which position he held until the final surrender. He was a brave officer, and had the confidence and love of his men. He returned to Camden to find himself perfectly destitute of means, but he borrowed a team from the Federal quartermaster, and went to draying,and so anxious was he to accumulate some property that he worked almost day and night, and had soon saved enough money to again open a mercantile establishment, which occupation received his attention until 1874. He then was a tiller of the soil for some time,and has since been engaged in operating a shingle-mill, which is known by the name of the Camden Shingle Mill Company. He manufactures cypress shingles exclusively, the capacity of the mill being 100,000 shingles per day. Several hands are employed throughout the year, and an extensive and paying business is done, their product being shipped to Texas and Western markets. Mr. Newton also farms, and gives considerable attention to fruit- growing, making grape-raising a specialty, from which he manufactures considerable wine. He deserves great credit for the enterprise and energy which has ever characterized his efforts and has always been found to be liberal to his contributions to worthy enterprises, and interested in the general advancement of his county. In the fall of 1858 he was married to Miss Ora E. Stone, a native of Alabama, and by her he is the father of seven living children: Robert D., Martha R., Ora, Virginia B., J. Eustace, John B., and Eva. The Captain is a Mason, a member of the Royal Arcanum, the K. and H., and the A. L. of H. He and wife belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and in 1886 he was elected to the office of county sheriff and collector, and was re-elected in 1888.[INDEX]

Porter Oglesby, an old settler of Lafayette Township, was born April 14, 1834, in Bedford County, Tennessee, a son of William and Margaret (Gammill) Oglesby, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee respectively. William Oglesby, a farmer by occupation, was born about 1786, and died in 1851, leaving a widow, who followed him in 1876, at the age of sixty-eight years. They were members of the Presbyterian Church. In 1836 they moved to Hardin County, Tennessee, and in 1849 came to Arkansas, locating in Ouachita County. They were the parents of eighteen children, five of whom are living, of whom our subject is the eldest. The remaining four are Loveniney (now Mrs. Flint, of Texas), Arch (a farmer of this county), Elizabeth ( now Mrs. Alma Rhodes of Texas), and Sallie (now Mrs. Wood of Texas). At the death of his father, Mr. Oglesby took charge of the old homestead, where e remained until 1860, when he was married and commenced farming for himself. The following year he enlisted in the Confederate service, in the Thirty-third Arkansas Infantry, in which he served as orderly sergeant until the close of the war. He engaged in many skirmishes and battles, the principal battles being Mansfield, Louisiana, and Jenkins' Ferry, Arkansas in the latter battle receiving a slight wound in the arm. He returned home in May, 1865, and resumed his farming operations, at which he has engaged ever since. Mr. Oglesby purchased his present farm in 1800, and now owns 200 acres of land with about 100 under cultivation, which he devotes chiefly to the raising of cotton and corn. He has been twice married: First, in 1860, to Miss Laura T. Fling, a native of Mississippi, who died the following year leaving one daughter, Nancy (now the wife of Edward P. Reynolds of this township and whose farm adjoins this). He was married to his second and present wife in 1865. She was Miss Rebecca Woodward, a native of Tennessee, born in 1828, a daughter of Wiley Woodward of that State. By this latter marriage he had two children: Ida Luella (deceased), and Jewell, who lives at home. Mr. and Mrs. Oglesby are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which they are zealous workers. Mr. Oglesby is also a member of the County Wheel. He is one of the oldest and best known men in Ouachita County, and is a man of large influence throughout Lafayette township.[INDEX]

William Pace, if for no other reason, is deserving of prominent mention was one of the oldest settlers of Bridge Creek Township. He was born in Kentucky in 1807, a son of John and Elizabeth (Jones) Pace. The father was born in Wales about 176-, a son of Frederick Pace, who came to this country before the Revolutionary War, when his son (father of our subject) was but seven years of age. He was a farmer by occupation, and moved to Tennessee in 1805, and in the following year to Kentucky, residing in this state until 1809, when he removed to Alabama and died in Clark County, that State in 1821. He and wife were members of the Baptist Church. The mother of the subject o this sketch was a daughter of a Mr. Jones, who was of English descent. She died about 1854, at a ripe old age. They were the parents of fourteen children, three of whom only are living, viz: the subject of this sketch, the eldest, Richmond, a farmer of Mississippi, and Jesu, a farmer of Mississippi. Mr. Pace, the subject of this sketch, remained at home until he had reached his twenty-fifth year, when he commenced farming in Alabama, continuing there until 1842, when he came to Arkansas, and located in this county on the farm on which he still lives, most of which he entered himself. Mr. pace has been married three times: First, April 7, 1830, to Miss Sarah Yarbrough, a native of Tennessee, who died November 27, 1857, at the age of forty-six years, leaving ten children, three of whom are still living, viz: Jesse M. ( a graduate of the Medical College of New Orleans, and now practicing his profession in Dallas, Texas), William W., (a bookkeeper of Camden) and Lawrence J. (a graduate of New Orleans School of Pharmacy, and engaged in merchandising in Alabama). Mr. Pace was next married, in 1858, to Mrs. Pernicia Reed, nee Compton, widow of Christopher Reed, of this county, and daughter of Aaron Compton, a Baptist minister. She died in 1870 leaving no children by her marriage with Mr. Pace. Mr. Pace was married to his third and present wife in 1871, wedding Mrs. Nancy Smith, widow of William O. Smith, of this county, and daughter of Nelson and Elizabeth (Thomas Harris), natives of North Carolina and Virginia, respectively. In 1861 Mr. pace enlisted in the Confederate service, but did not serve, being discharged on account of his age. He was the third volunteer from this county, and he thinks the third from the State, and was very anxious to take part in the war, and to get a shot at a live Yankee, but his wife persuaded him to remain at home. He had four sons in the war. At the breaking out of the war he owned 3,560 acres of land and forty-seven slaves, and was the largest planter in Ouachita County, his property (real and persona) being valued at $72,000 (tax valuation), but after the war property was greatly depreciated in value, and , having lost all his slaves, he was obliged to sell a large part of his land to pay taxes. His property was then valued at $4,000. He now owns 920 acres of land, and cultivates about 150 acres of it. Both Mr. and Mrs. Pace are members of the Primitive Baptist Church, as were also his two former wives. In his political view, Mr. Pace is a staunch Democrat and is a man of considerable influence.[INDEX]

John N. Parker, farmer, Camden, Arkansas. This worthy representative agriculturist of Ecore a Fabre Township owes his nativity to Tennessee, his birth occurring near Nashville in 1841, and is the elder of two children born in the union of H. S. and Eliza (Nunn) Parker. The other child was a daughter, and she is now the wife of J. A. Reaves. H. S. Parker came to this State about 1838 or 1839, followed the carpenter's trade here until his death, which occurred in this county on the old Pierce place in 1843. The first gin-house ever in this county he erected on Red River above Shreveport, Louisiana, and was among the first contractors in Camden. Mrs. Parker was married again in 1845 to Portion Goodlett of this county, and by him became the mother of three children: Harvey S. Mary (widow of Thomas Lockett), and Albert. The mother died in November ,1884. J. N. Parker was educated in the common schools of this county, and at the age of twenty-one he joined the Confederate forces, Company I, Eighteenth Arkansas Infantry, and served on the east side of the Mississippi River until the surrender of Port Hudson. He was engaged in the battles of Corinth and Iuka and at Port Hudson was captured. Later he was paroled and came home, where he remained for a short time, after which he again joined the army. He was captured in March, 1864, was sent to Little Rock, thence to Rock Island and remained in the latter place for some time. In March 1865, he was exchanged at the mouth of Red River in this State, and was in the Confederate service until the close of the war. He surrendered at Camden though his command was at Marshall, Texas. Upon the termination of hostilities, Mr. Parker found himself a financial wreck, and first engaged in farming on rented land in this county. In 1867 he moved on the farm owned by his mother, and which has been entered by his father, in 1840, and which consisted of 120 acres. This Mr. Parker has since purchased and has added to the same about 1,500 and has under cultivation 500 acres. He ahs good farm buildings, outhouses, etc., besides a fine new steam gin and grist-mill. He had the misfortune to lose his mill and gin in October, 1889, but he has since built the one mentioned, which turns out 275 bales annually, and he raises on his own farm from sixty -five to seventy-five bales every year. He also raises cattle, horses and corn enough for his own use and some to spare. He is the architect of his own fortune, never having received any aid, and is one of the wide-awake farmers of the county. He has been a member of the K. of P. for five or six years, Dougal Lodge No. 18, Camden. He is also a member of the R. A. and the K. of H. He was married in 1867 to Miss Ann Hawkins of this county, and to them have been born eleven children, ten of whom are still living: Henry, John, James, Mary, Frank, Della, Thomas, William, Charley, Samuel, and Eliza (deceased). Mrs. Parker and her two daughters are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.[INDEX]

John Parr, an old resident of Jefferson Township, owes his nativity to Maury County, Tennessee where his birth occurred on July 21, 1827, and is the son of William and Dolly (Johnson) Parr, the father born in North Carolina, February 11, 1794, and the mother in Tennessee, in 1795. The parents were married in the last-named State, but emigrated to Ouachita County, Arkansas in 1844, and were among the earliest settlers of the same. There they passed their last days, the father dying in 1877, and the mother in 1881. The paternal grandfather, John Parr, Sr., was a native of England, and was a soldier in the war of the Revolution. The maternal grandfather, George W. Johnson was a native of Wales. Brought up as an agriculturist, it was but natural that our subject should permanently adopt that calling as his life occupation, and he has always followed it. He was married in this county in 1852 to Miss Mary A. Mendenhall, a native of Alabama, who died in 1873. To them were born five children, four now living: Thomas M., Medora A. (wife of W. B. Randall), Joannah C. (wife of S. W. Anderson), and John T. On August 29, 1880, Mr. Parr took his second wife Miss Nannie R. Anderson, who was born in Tennessee, and one child, Jewel, was the result of this union. Mr. Parr has resided in this township since 1844, except about two years, and is the possessor of 160 acres of good land with about fifty acres under cultivation. He served in the Confederate army from 1861 until the close of the war, and was in a number of the principal engagements: Prairie Grove, Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Jenkins' Ferry, and many skirmishes. A few years after his first wife's death he went tot he Lone Star State, and was there engaged in teaching school and peddling tinware, in order to see the country, for over a year. In August , 1879, he joined a party of sixteen men and started to Leadville, Colorado, but only got as far as Dodge City, when he gave up the idea of going to that point. He then went from Dodge City to Mexico, a distance of over 400 miles, where he was occupied in viewing the surrounding country. Seeing, however, nothing to compare with the State of Arkansas, he returned to Dodge City, Kansas, where he had left his hack, bought two ponies and returned to this State through the Indian Territory. Here he ahs since resided, and is one of Ouachita County's best citizens and farmers. He and wife are members of the Christian Church.[INDEX]

Thomas I. Patton. In 1820 a son of the Emerald Isle came across the Atlantic to wrest fortune from the Americans, not by the mailed hand, but by the force of his own intellect, and in this he succeeded far beyond his most sanguine hopes. This native of Ireland was James Patton, the father of the subject of this sketch, who was born in 1802, in County Down, Ireland, a son of John Patton, a large land owner, known far and near as a man of integrity and worth. James Patton received a thorough education and was a graduate of one of the leading colleges of his native land. On arriving in the United States he remained in New York for about one year, then removed to Pennsylvania, where he engaged in teaching school, and from thence to South Carolina, where he was employed as a private tutor in the family of a wealthy planter for ten years, and in which State he was married in 1833 to Miss Mary M. Elliott, who was born March 15, 1815, in Fairfield District, South Carolina, a daughter of John and Catherine (Sites) Elliott, also natives of South Carolina. John Elliott came to Arkansas, locating in Ouachita County, in 1840, where he purchased a farm for his son-in-law, Mr. Patton, the father of the subject of the sketch, and one for himself, on which he lived until his death, which occurred in 1862, and which became on of the landmarks of the county, being the only stopping place for the stages and travelers from El Dorado to Camden. In 1841 Mr. and Mrs. Patton and family emigrated to Arkansas, and located on the farm purchased for them by Mr. Elliott, which then contained only forty acres of land, with a small log house and a garden patch as the only improvements. Here he made his home until his death, which occurred on the anniversary of Washington's birthday, in 1866. At the time of his death he owned 900 acres of land and at the beginning of the war owned twenty slaves. He and his wife are members of the Presbyterian Church. Mrs. Patton is still living on the old homestead. She was the mother of thirteen children, five of whom are still living, viz: Elizabeth (now Mrs. Parr, of Curtis, Arkansas), the subject o f this sketch, David (in the lumber business in Texas), May (at home), and Albert Harrison (known as Harry Patton throughout the township). Mrs. Patton now owns some 600 or 800 acres of land, and is highly respected lady. Thomas I. Patton, the subject of this sketch, was born February 4, 1849, in this (Lafayette) township. Being reared in the early pioneer days of this country, his school advantages were limited to a few months' attendance at the country schools during his early boyhood, but as his father was a highly educated man, he received a better education than his companions. He commenced farming for himself at the age of twenty-two, on part of the old homestead, on which he lived until 1881, when he purchased his present farm. He now owns 760 acres of land, which is largely under cultivation.. Mr. Patton was married in 1876 to Miss Rebecca L. Matthews, daughter of L. W. and Sarah M. (Goodwin) Matthews, and was born in Union County, Arkansas. Subject and wife have had no children of their own, but have raised two boys, one, a son of Mr. Patton's sister, who died at his birth, and the other, a brother of Mrs. Patton. Both, Mr. and Mrs. Patton are members of the Presbyterian Church, and the former is a member of the County Wheel.[INDEX]

Mrs. Mary M. Patton, widow of James Patton, deceased, one of the oldest settlers of Lafayette Township, and daughter of John Elliott, also one of the oldest settlers of Ouachita County, was born March 15, 1815, in Fairfield District, South Carolina, a daughter of John and Catherine (Sites) Elliott, natives of South Carolina. John Elliott was a son of James and Peggie Elliott, natives of Ireland. They emigrated to this country at an early date, shortly after their marriage and settled in Maryland. They afterward moved to South Carolina, where Mr. Elliott (father of Mrs. Patton) was born. They were the parents of four sons: John (the father of the subject of this sketch, being the eldest), James, Thomas and Robert. James Elliott died when a young man, and Thomas died in this county without leaving a family: Robert Elliott came to this county, where he died, leaving a family of seven children, and John Elliott came to this county in 1840, when there were but few settlers. He purchased a farm for his son-in-law (Mr. Patton) on which Mrs. Patton now lives, and also purchased a farm of his own on which he lived until his death, which occurred in 1862. This farm was for many years one of the old landmarks, being the stopping place for travelers from El Dorado to Camden. He was married , in South Carolina, to Catharine (called Katie) Sites, mother of our subject, daughter of Leonard Sites. The maternal grandparents of our subject were natives of Germany, and emigrated to this country after their marriage. The mother of our subject died in 1845. She and her husband are members of the Presbyterian Church. They were the parents of ten children, five of whom are still living: Subject of this sketch, Elizabeth (widow of Ezekiel Frazier, of this township), Harriet (unmarried and lives with Mrs. Patton), Robert, (a farmer of this county), and Fairfield (also a farmer of this township). Mrs. Patton was reared in South Carolina, and was then married, in 1833, to James Patton, who was born in 1802, in County Down, Ireland, and came to this country in 1820, landing in New York, remained there for one year , and then he came to Pennsylvania. [For his history see sketch of Thomas Patton, of this township.] In 1841 Mr. and Mrs. Patton came to this county with their family, and settled on the farm purchased for them by Mr. Elliott, which then contained only forty acres of land, with only two or three acres cleared, and on which was situated a log-house, which they occupied until they built a larger house, in which they lived until they moved on the present farm in 1850. Mr. Patton died February 22, 1866. Mr. and Mrs. Patton were the parents of thirteen children, five of whom are still living: Elizabeth (now Mrs. Parr of Curtis, Arkansas), Thomas (a farmer of this township, whose sketch appears elsewhere in this work), David (in lumber business in Texas), May (at home), and Albert Harrison (known as Harry Patton throughout the township). Mrs. Patton has lived on the old homestead since the death of her husband, the farm being run, first by Thomas Patton, her son, until he married and commenced for himself, and since that by her youngest son, Harry Patton. Mrs. Patton now owns some 600 or 800 acres of land. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and is a highly respected lady, well known throughout the township.[INDEX]

John B. Pearce, a progressive and enterprising planter of Ouachita County, Arkansas, was born in Hardeman County, Tennessee, August 28, 1836, being a son of Lorenzo D. and Nancy L. (Beevers) Pearce, who were born in Tennessee, March 28, 1809, and November 15, 1811, respectively, and became the parents of five children, four now living: John B., Betsey J. (wife of J. L. Meeks, a farmer of the county), Becky A. (wife of W. A. Gates, a farmer of the county), and Fredonia A. (wife of G. R. Craig, a farmer of Clark County, Arkansas). Lorenzo D. Pearce removed from Shelby County, Tennessee to Arkansas, in 1849, and from this county, he enlisted in the Confederate Infantry, in 1862, but died while in the service in 1863. He was a Mason, and he and wife were members of the Baptist Church, the latter's death occurring August 25, 1842. John B. Pearce, the immediate subject of this sketch, was married in 1857, to Miss Martha D. Meeks, by whom he became the father of seven children, four now living: James M., William C., Florence M. (wife of N. B. Key), and Amanda L. Mrs. Pearce was born in Alabama, April 6, 1837, and she, as well as Mr. Pearce, is an earnest member of the Baptist Church. Mr. Pearce is the owner of 120 acres of fertile farming land, with seventy acres under cultivation, and in his political views he has always been a Democrat. In 1861 he enlisted in Company C, Arkansas Infantry, under Capt. Joe White, and served until 1863, when he was taken prisoner at Camden, and was kept in captivity at Rock Island, Illinois for about eight months, obtaining his release in 1864. He then returned to his home, and has since devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits.[INDEX][PAGE 7]