James Henderson Berry (15 May 1841 - 30 January 1913), attorney, was born in Jackson County, Alabama. In 1848 his family moved to Carrollton in Carroll County, Arkansas. Berry enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861 and was elected second lieutenant of Company E of the Sixteenth Arkansas Infantry. Wounds he suffered in the Battle of Corinth, Mississippi resulted in his parole from the army.
Returning to Arkansas, Berry became the youngest member of the state legislature when elected representative for Carroll County in 1866. He then served as State Representative for Benton and Washington Counties, 1872-1874; Judge for the Fourth Judicial District, 1878-1882; Governor of Arkansas, 1882-1884; and United States Senator, 1885-1907.
In 1906, Berry was defeated for re-election to the Senate by Governor Jeff Davis. Retiring to Bentonville, Berry served on the Arkansas History Commission and was active in the United Confederate Veterans. In 1910 the Secretary of War appointed him commissioner to mark the graves of Confederate soldiers who had died in Union prisons. Berry died in 1913 and was buried in City Cemetery, Bentonville.
James H. Berry - Autobiography
Hon. James H. Berry Essay - by granddaughter Mary C. Berry, Univ. of Arkansas Archives
Obituary, Washington Post - USGW Archives
James Henderson Berry Papers, - University of Arkansas Archives