Biographies of Sebastian Co.
Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2
By Fay Hempstead

Herbert M. Beck 1870-1949 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead Among the prominent and decidedly public-spirited citizens of Fort Smith, Sebastian county, Arkansas, is Herbert M. Beck, who formerly held distinctive prestige as an able and well fortified attorney in this city and who is now devoting his entire time and attention to his work as a Christian Science practitioner and teacher. Mr. Beck is a man of broad mind and unusual executive ability and his co-operation in the great work begun by the late Mrs. Mary Baker Eddy has been prolific of considerable good to his fellow citizens at Fort Smith and to the cause of Christian Science. A native son of the state of Illinois, Mr. Beck was born on a farm in Putnam county, that state, the date of his nativity being June 27, 1870. He is a son of Harrison W. and Emma (Merritt) Beck, both of whom were likewise born in Illinois, whence they removed to Butler county, Kansas, in the year 1871, becoming pioneer settlers in the central part of the fine old Sunflower state. The father entered a quarter section of fine government land in Kansas and in time became a prosperous and substantial citizen of Butler county, where he figured prominently in public affairs. At one time he served with honor and distinction as a member of the Kansas state legislature and he was ever on the qui vive to do all in his power to advance the general welfare of the community in which he resided. He was summoned to the life eternal at his home in Butler county, in the year 1886, and his cherished and devoted wife passed away at Fort Smith, in 1906. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison W. Beck were the parents of four children, two of whom are living at the present time, in 1911. Herbert M. Beck was a child less than two years of age at the time of his parents' removal from Illinois to Kansas and he completed his preliminary educational training by a course in the high school of El Dorado, the judicial center of Butler county, Kansas. Subsequently he attended the law department of Northwestern University, at Evanston, Illinois, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1896, but he was admitted to practice at the Arkansas bar in 1892. He had established his home in the city of Fort Smith, Sebastian county, Arkansas, in 1890, and after returning from college he opened offices and began the practice of his profession in this place. He rapidly built up a large and representative clientage and controlled the same until 1908, in which year he gave up the practice of law in order to direct all his energies to Christian Science healing and teaching. In 1905 he was honored by his fellow citizens with election to membership in the Arkansas legislature to represent Sebastian county in the sessions of 1905-7. During his incumbency of the latter position he devoted considerable time to the measures permitting old-line life insurance companies to do business in the state. His most efficient and beneficent work, however, was that connected with measures promoting the building of good roads, a pioneer movement at that time, but one which has since resulted in a wave of good-road building throughout the entire state. In his home county of Sebastian he was especially influential in the building of good roads; he organized the road committee in the Trusty School district, which built its part of the Van Buren road, one of the best in the state, this work having been done under the administration of County Judge W. A. Falconer. For a number of years prior to his retiring from the legal profession Mr. Beck had been a prominent figure in local Christian Science circles, having been instrumental in the organization of the Fort Smith Church of Christ Scientist, in 1898, in which he served with efficiency for some years as a reader. With the passage of time he became more and more impressed with the doctrines and teachings promulgated by Christian Science and eventually he decided to devote all his attention to its study and practice. He completed his preparation as a Christian Science practitioner and teacher in Boston, where he received the degree of C. S. B. from the board of education established by The First Church of Christ Scientist, the Mother Church. He has been eminently successful in his work as a Christian Science practitioner, having driven out disease in many persistent cases, and in connection with his vocation he is on the Christian Science committee on publication for the state of Arkansas. In the year 1900 was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Beck to Miss Sarah F. Woodrow, who was born in Tazewell county, Illinois, a niece of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Robison, of that county, who were likewise pioneer settlers in Butler county, Kansas, where Mr. and Mrs. Beck's marriage ceremony was performed. To this union has been born two children - Dorothy Woodrow and Virginia Merritt, both of whom will be sent to school at Fort Smith. In his political convictions Mr. Beck is aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Democratic party and he has ever done all in his power to advance the general welfare of his home county and of the state at large. Besides two years as justice of the peace, the only public office of which he was ever incumbent was that of representative in the state legislature, and that he acquitted himself most creditably in that connection has already been seen in a preceding paragraph. He is a man of unusual intelligence and in all the walks of life his conduct is characterized by that broad human sympathy, which begets friendship and which is prolific of so much good in this world. He is held in high esteem by his fellow citizens and he and his wife are prominent and popular factors in connection with the best social activities in Fort Smith. Benjamin Louis Eulalie Bonneville 1796-1878 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead General Benjamin L. E. Bonneville distinguished himself in the military service of the United States and also in the exploration and initial movements for the development of the great western section of our vast national domain. His name merits special honor in this history of Arkansas, for in this state he passed the closing years of his life, which came to an end at Fort Smith, Sebastian county, on the 2d of June, 1878, his remains being interred with military honors, in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. General Bonneville was born in Paris, France, on the 14th of April, 1796, and was a member of a distinguished family, whose members were intimate friends of that of the Marquis de la Fayette. General Bonneville came with his parents to New York early in the nineteenth century, and as a youth he became a cadet in the United States Military Academy, at West Point, in which institution he was graduated, in 1815. He then entered active service in the United States army, and for several years he was stationed at various points in the far west, into which region the march of civilization had not perceptibly penetrated. Besides achieving fame as a gallant army officer General Bonneville attained to celebrity as an explorer of the great west. His journal, edited and amplified by Washington Irving, was published by that distinguished author in 1837, under the title of "Adventures of Captain Bonneville (United States Army) in the Rocky Mountains and Far West." The most pretentious enterprise of General Bonneville was the expedition led by him in exploration of the mountain regions of Colorado. For this purpose he secured leave of absence from the army and in the year 1832, with one hundred and ten men, he started forth as leader of this historic expedition into unknown fastnesses. He and his adventurous followers were so long away from all human communication that he was considered lost, and his name was dropped from the army rolls. Upon his return, in 1836, after an absence of more than three years, he was fully restored to the army, in which he served as an officer in the Indian Territory, in the Seminole war in Florida, and in the war with Mexico. He was made a major in 1845 and in 1847 was given the brevet rank of lieutenant colonel. In 1855 he was promoted to a full colonelcy and was assigned to the department of New Mexico, in which connection he headed the famous Gila expedition. In 1861 he was retired from active service, on account of physical disability, but during the Civil war he was given charge of recruiting service and acted as disbursing officer, in Missouri. In 1865, in recognition of his long and distinguished service, he was made brevet brigadier general. At Fort Smith, Arkansas, on the 30th of November, 1871, this gallant officer, then venerable in years, was united in marriage to Miss Sue Neis, of that city, a daughter of Anton and Catherine (Sengel) Neis, concerning whom more specific mention is made in the sketch of the career of her brother, Albert Neis, of Fort Smith, on other pages of this work. Mrs. Bonneville was born at Fort Washita, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory, on the 24th of May, 1846, and she long survived her honored husband, as her death occurred at her home in Fort Smith, July 9, 1910. Soon after his marriage General Bonneville established his permanent home in Fort Smith, and here he died on the 2d of June, 1878, as has already been stated in this context. James Brizzolara 1848-1913 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead For nearly half a century has James Brizzolara been a prominent and influential resident of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and during that period his participation in public affairs has been marked by intrinsic loyalty to duty and a contribution of time and energy to all matters tending to advance the general welfare. He has had an exciting and adventurous military career and in the business world holds preeminence as a financier of remarkable executive ability, his rapid rise to a place of distinction as a lawyer and business man being ample evidence of his success. A native son of the fine old Virginia commonwealth, James Brizzolara was born at Richmond on the 9th of January, 1848, and he is a son of James and Rose Brizzolara. The father was a merchant by occupation during his lifetime and he was summoned to eternal rest about the year 1851, his cherished and devoted wife passing away in 1857. To them were born three children and of the number the subject was the second in order of birth. When a child of six months Mr. Brizzolara's parents removed from the Old Dominion state to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, they being residents of that city during the cholera epidemic. After availing himself of the advantages afforded in the public schools of Pittsburg, Mr. Brizzolara, as a youth of twelve years of age, went to Memphis, Tennessee, where he began to read law in the offices of Heiskel, Scott & Heiskel and later in those of Chalmers & Turley. He also studied law under the able preceptorship of General Albert H. Pike and he was admitted to the bar at Memphis in 1867. He initiated the active practice of his profession in that city and rapidly built up a large and representative clientage, gaining prestige as one of the most brilliant young lawyers in Shelby county, Tennessee. Now a stalwart Republican in his political adherency, he became an active factor in local politics and in due time was elected prosecuting attorney of the city of Fort Smith, in which office he acquitted himself with all honor and distinction. In 1869 he came to Fort Smith, which city has since represented his home. He immediately entered upon the practice of law and is widely renowned as an able and versatile trial lawyer and as a well fortified counselor. In the Brooks-Baxter gubernatorial war of the early '70s he was precipitated into military life and during that strenuous period he was made inspector general of state troops, under General Fagan. As previously noted, Mr. Brizzolara is aligned as a loyal supporter of the cause of the Republican party in his political proclivities and he has been honored by his fellow citizens with many offices of distinct trust and responsibility. He served with efficiency for four terms as mayor of Fort Smith and for three terms he was postmaster of the city, under appointment by President McKinley and President Roosevelt. At one time he was assistant United States district attorney for the Western district of Arkansas, under Judge Isaac H. Parker, and he has also been United States circuit court commissioner under Judge Parker. One of his early law partners was W. H. H. Clayton, a former United States district attorney, and he is now a member of the well known law firm of Hill, Brizzolara & Fitzhugh. Aside from his extensive legal practice he is deeply interested in various important financial concerns. He is secretary and attorney of the Fort Smith Light & Traction Company, which operates the street-car system and electric-lighting of Fort Smith, and in all his legal and business affairs he is known and honored for his fair and straightforward methods. He is affiliated with several professional and fraternal organizations of representative character. Mr. Brizzolara is a man of high principles, fine character and in all the relations of life he has so conducted himself as to command the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. He is decidedly popular in his home city and state, where the circle of his friends is coincident with that of his acquaintances. Arthur J. Koenigstein 1876-1959 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead Numbered among the representative members of the bar of the city of Fort Smith, Mr. Koenigstein has here secured an excellent practice and he is known as a lawyer of fine professional ability, as well as one who subordinates all other matter to the work of his chosen vocation, which he considers worthy of his undivided allegiance. He has shown himself admirably equipped as an advocate and counselor, and his success has been a direct result of his well directed efforts in his exacting profession. He is a native son of the west and exemplifies its progressive spirit in his attitude as a citizen, the while his genial manners and sterling characteristics have given him secure place in the confidence and esteem of the community in which he has elected to make his home. He is a veteran of the Spanish-American war, in which he made a splendid record, as will be more clearly indicated in a later paragraph. Arthur J. Koenigstein was born in Norfolk, Madison county, Nebraska, on the 14th of August, 1876, and is a son of Dr. John and Magdelene (Behrens) Koenigstein, who still maintain their home at Norfolk and who are numbered among the honored pioneers of Madison county. Dr. John Koenigstein was a member of a colony of about thirty German families that removed from Wisconsin and numbered themselves among the pioneer settlers of the Elkhorn valley, in northeastern Nebraska. This section has been developed into one of the richest agricultural regions of the west, and Dr. Koenigstein continued to devote his attention to his profession for many years, becoming one of the prosperous and influential citizens of Madison county, where he has ever commanded a secure place in popular confidence and esteem, having been elected mayor of Norfolk for three terms. He is now living retired in that thriving city, surrounded by friends who are tried and true and enjoying the generous rewards of former years of earnest toil and endeavor. He has given his support to the generic enterprises and enterprises that have compassed the development of his section of the state of Nebraska and in politics he gives his allegiance to the Democratic party, being a staunch friend and advocate of the principles and policies advanced by Hon. William J. Bryan, the distinguished citizen of his home state. Dr. Koenigstein is a veteran of the Civil war, during part of which he "enjoyed the hospitality of the people of Arkansas as a prisoner of war," to quote him. His children, four sons, are all living. Like many another who has gained success in professional life, Arthur J. Koenigstein found his boyhood and youth compassed by the benignant influences of the farm. He gained his early education in the public schools of his native county, where he lived until the outbreak of the war with Spain, when he enlisted as a private in Company G, Third Nebraska Volunteer Infantry, of which Colonel William J. Bryan assumed command. Mr. Koenigstein had previously gained experience through his active identification with a company of the Nebraska National Guard in Norfolk, and his tactical knowledge led to his being assigned to duty in drilling recruits for the Nebraska regiment, at Fort Omaha, being promoted rapidly, until he was commissioned lieutenant by the United States war department. He proceeded with his command to Jacksonville, Florida, and going to Savannah, Georgia, he was made assistant quartermaster of the Seventh Army Corps, in which capacity he had charge of loading the transports with supplies, etc. This corps was in command of General Fitzhugh Lee, and with this corps Mr. Koenigstein served in the city of Havana, Cuba, and its vicinity. He became aide-de-camp on the staff of General Wifauain, after the close of hostilities, upon the occasion of the reception given by the state of Nebraska to the First Nebraska troops upon their return from the Philippine Islands. He continued in active service until May 11th, 1899, when he was mustered out, at Augusta, Georgia. After the close of his military service Mr. Koenigstein began reading law and he finally entered the Northwestern University, in Chicago, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1902. After his graduation he remained in his native state until June, 1904, when he came to Arkansas and secured admission to practice in the local and state courts, at Pine Bluff. He engaged in practice in South Arkansas, and in July, 1906, he established his permanent home in Fort Smith, the judicial center of Sebastian county, where he has built up a substantial general practice, which extends into both the state and federal courts in Arkansas. He is an uncompromising supporter of the cause of the Democratic party, of whose principles he is an effective advocate. He is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and also the local lodge of the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. In the year 1903 Mr. Koenigstein was united in marriage to Miss Ethel M. Baker, daughter of Mrs. R. M. Baker, of Springfield, Illinois, in which city she was born and reared. Mrs. Koenigstein is a popular factor in connection with social affairs in Fort Smith and is a member of the Presbyterian church. George M. Neale 1857-1917 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead One of the most important of the educational institutions, not alone of Fort Smith, but of the state of Arkansas as well, is the Fort Smith Commercial College, of which George M. Neale is proprietor. It has been established for twenty-three years and enjoys highest prestige, its ideals being fine, its methods modern and its results gratifying in the extreme. Now that the "man of affairs" has come to be in large measure the man upon whom the country leans, his preparation for life must be regarded as an important matter, particularly when competition is as keen as it is today. If in the past young men often have been deterred from devoting themselves to a business life because of the wide-spread impression that such a life yields no opportunity for the display of genius, the time has gone by when, other things being equal, the business man must take a secondary place to the lawyer, the doctor, the minister or the editor. George M. Neale, who constitutes in himself one of the most valued factors in the many-sided life of the state, was born in Fayette county, Missouri, on the thirtieth day of August, 1857. His parents were Isaac Neale and Ellen Groves Neale, natives of Virginia. Mr. Neale was reared and educated in the district of his nativity, and by both theoretical and practical training he has been admirably fitted for his life work. After his preliminary education Mr. Neale entered Central College at Fayette and after finishing at that institution he took a thorough and extended course in the Eastman Business College, at Poughkeepsie, New York, from which latter institution he was graduated in 1880. After completing his education he returned to his home state and his first position was as a director in a bank, at Lexington, Missouri. In 1882 he made a radical change by removing to Kansas City, where for six years he was engaged in the mercantile business and in this connection met with abundant success and gained that experience in business which makes his efforts in the line of the commercial training of young men and women far more convincing than those of the mere theorist would be. Mr. Neale's identification with Fort Smith dates from the year 1888 and in that same year the Fort Smith Commercial College was established, and in the twenty-three years intervening it has met with abundant success, the confidence with which it is regarded constantly increasing. One of his sons, Garner S. Neale, is associated with his father as a teacher in the college, and his services, as his father's, are of the most enlightened character. Few institutions of the kind in the United States are as ideally located as the Fort Smith Commercial College, which stands on North Sixth street, three blocks from Garrison avenue, and is surrounded by a bevy of beautiful homes. It occupies the entire second floor of the Masonic Temple and as no building adjoins this substantial structure, it is particularly airy and delightful. Each department is furnished and equipped with respect to the comfort and thorough progress of the pupils. The different departments and recitation rooms, commodious and with high ceilings, receive light and ventilation from all directions. The different departments are of ample size to accommodate all pupils without crowding and are in charge of capable, experienced instructors who use modern approved methods. It goes without saying that the institution offers to students superior facilities for acquiring a business education. It everywhere gains recognition as the leading business and office training school of the Southwest. The purposes of the Fort Smith Commercial College have been succinctly set forth by the proprietor himself. Its aim, to use his own words, is "to educate young men and women for business, giving them a practical knowledge that will be of inestimable value to them whatever avocation their taste may lead them to follow. We are confident that whether they intend to become farmers or bankers, lawyers or physicians, tradesmen or merchants, school teachers or preachers, they can acquire information that will help them a step higher in their calling. We believe that there is many a bright young man who, with the knowledge he receives, can become a prominent business man, and there are those who would otherwise have to rely on their parents, but with the knowledge here acquired could work their way in the business world and become a source of pride to their parents in their younger days and a comfort to them when they grow old. It is better for young men to learn business at a first-class commercial college than to learn it experimenting with the hard-earned dollars of their fathers." The young men are not the only ones who have benefited by attendance at the Fort Smith Commercial College, but it has frequently been the case that middle-aged men whose circumstances when younger have prevented them from obtaining the education now necessary to assure a man's success, have enrolled and have been among the most highly satisfied of the students. Mr. Neale is prominent and greatly esteemed in other fields than the commercial and the educational. He is one of the well-known Masons of this part of the state, being a Knight Templar and eminent commander of the local commandery. He and his family are affiliated with the Central Methodist church and are generous and zealous factors in the advancement of its good causes. He is a public spirited citizen and gives heart and hand to all measures likely to result in benefit to society as a whole. On the seventeenth day of December, 1885, Mr. Neale established an independent household by marriage, his chosen lady being Mary Virginia Garner, who was born and reared at Richmond, Ray county, Missouri, daughter of C. T. Garner, attorney for the Wabash Railroad at that point. Their union has been blessed by the birth of a quartet of fine young citizens, namely: Garner S., Irving Christopher, George M., Jr., and Ellen Neale. The second son, Irving Christopher, has evinced remarkable ability as an orator. He graduated with highest honors from the Fort Smith high school in 1910, and at that time was awarded the Dr. E. H. Stevenson medal for oratory and debating and subsequently was awarded the prize in the inter-high school contest of the state at Little Rock in the spring of 1910. The following account of Mr. Neale's triumph appeared in a local publication: "One of the most pleasing events of the evening was the presentation by Judge J. H. Rogers, of the United States district court, of a handsome gold medal donated by Dr. E. H. Stevenson of Fort Smith, to Irving C. Neale, one of the graduates, for excellency in debate. He is a son of President G. M. Neale, founder of the Fort Smith Commercial College, and has won distinguished honors in debate while a pupil of the Fort Smith high school. He has been in three Thanksgiving day debates against the Little Rock high school for the gold cup, and while the capital city retained the cup in 1909, the judges unanimously decided that Irving Neale had won the honors of the highest grades in the debates. Judge Will Steele, of Texarkana, and Judge Joseph Fink, of Helena, in letters to Professor Neale stated that his son in their opinion evinced wonderful powers as a debater and eloquent speaker." In the summer of 1910 Irving Neale supplemented his education by attendance at the summer school of the University of Michigan and it is in eloquent commentary upon his ability that he was six times chosen to represent the English class of the University in debates with the medical, law and other University classes. The result was a somewhat remarkable one for Mr. Neale's team, composed of himself and two others, won five out of the six debates. He is versatile and in addition to his fine eloquence and argumentative powers he is a promising athlete. Thanksgiving, 1910, at Little Rock, he played right tackle in the game between Fort Smith High School and Little Rock High School. He was the only debater who played football, and the capital city captain sent three men against Irving so that he would have a fresh man to tackle throughout the game. The Neale home in Fort Smith is one of the attractive and hospitable abodes of the city and the members of the household are active in the best social life of the place. Albert Neis b. 1857 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead The family of which Albert Neis is a well known and highly esteemed representative was founded in Fort Smith, Arkansas, when this now thriving city was but little more than a frontier military post, and the name which he bears has been identified with the history of this place for nearly seventy years, during all of which period it has stood exponent of loyal citizenship and productive effort along normal lines of enterprise. Mr. Neis has been a resident of Fort Smith from the time of his nativity to the present and as a representative of one of the city's sterling pioneer families and as a progressive and public spirited citizen he is well entitled to consideration in this history of his native commonwealth. Albert Neis was born in Fort Smith, on the 19th of March, 1854, and was here reared and educated. Here he has been identified with various lines of enterprise and for the past several years he has given his attention principally to the real estate business, including the handling of timber lands in this and other states. His operations have been of no inconsiderable scope and he is one of the leading factors in this field of enterprise in his native city at the present time. Mr. Neis is a son of Anton and Catherine (Sengel) Neis, both of whom were born in the province of Alsace-Loraine, France, now a part of the German empire, and both of whom were of staunch French ancestry. The paternal grandfather of Anton Neis was a French soldier who came to America with Marquis de la Fayette, in the command of which gallant officer he assisted the colonists in throwing off the yoke of oppression and gaining the boon of national liberty. He returned to his native land after the war of the American Revolution and there passed the residue of his life. Anton Neis was born in the year 1818 and was reared to maturity in his native land, where he learned the trade of butcher. In 1839, shortly after attaining to his legal majority, he came to America, and he worked at his trade in New York City, Frankfort, Kentucky, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Lexington, Missouri. From the last mentioned place he came to Arkansas in 1844 and established his home in Fort Smith, whose chief claim for attention at that time was in its being a government military post on the frontier of civilization. In 1845 he enlisted in the United States army, in the command of General Zachary Taylor, who was then in command of Fort Smith, and he served with loyalty and valor throughout the course of the Mexican war, after which he continued in the army for some time, within which he was stationed at various frontier posts and in which connection he participated in many conflicts with the Indians. In 1845, before his enlistment in the army, he had married Miss Catherine Sengel, and she was with him at several of the military posts in which he was stationed on the frontier, in the Indian service. After retiring from the army he engaged in business at Fort Smith, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred on the 1st of August, 1890, at which time he was seventy-two years of age. He was a man of strong character and inflexible integrity and he ever held the unqualified esteem of the community that so long represented his home and of which he was a pioneer. The mother died in June, 1871. In politics Albert Neis has ever accorded a staunch allegiance to the cause of the Democratic party, though he has had no desire for public office. He has been essentially progressive and public-spirited as a citizen and at all times has shown his loyalty to and affection for his native city and state. In the year 1903 Mr. Neis was united in marriage to Miss Pauline Fleming, who was born and reared in Fort Smith. Styles T. Rowe 1850-1920 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead Prominent among the loyal and public-spirited of Fort Smith, Sebastian county, Arkansas, is Judge Styles T. Rowe, who holds distinctive prestige as one of the most versatile trial lawyers and well fortified counselors in this section of the state. Judge Rowe was born at Troy, Alabama, the date of his nativity being the 28th of May, 1861. His father, Rev. Daniel Rowe, was a native of the state of Georgia and during the latter years of his life he became well known as a missionary Baptist preacher in the states of Georgia and Alabama. Rev. Rowe removed to Arkansas about the year 1872, location having been made in Sebastian county, where he passed the residue of his life, his demise having occurred in 1876. Rev. Rowe was united in marriage to Miss Margaret A. Taylor, a native of Georgia and a descendant of General Zachary Taylor. She is a relative of the renowned Alexander H. Stephens and she is now living at Greenwood, Arkansas, having recently celebrated her eighty-second birthday. Judge Styles T. Rowe, of this review, was the youngest in a family of four children, and he was a child of eleven years of age at the time of his parents' immigration to Arkansas. He received his preliminary educational discipline in the schools of his native place in Alabama and subsequently he completed his academic education in the public schools of Arkansas and under the tutelage of his father and mother, both of whom were particularly well educated. After attaining to years of discretion he decided upon the legal profession as his life work and accordingly began to read law with Judge C. B. Neal, of Greenwood, Sebastian county, under whose able preceptorship he made such rapid strides in the absorption and assimilation of the science of jurisprudence that he was admitted to the bar on the 22nd of October, 1882. About the same time, his elder brother, Robert A. Rowe, was admitted to practice and they formed a partnership, under the firm name of Rowe & Rowe. This mutually agreeable alliance continued with marked success to both members of the firm until the election of the junior member, Styles T. Rowe, to the office of circuit judge of the Twelfth judicial circuit of Arkansas, on the 31st of October, 1898. He served with all of honor and distinction in this capacity for the ensuing four years, at the expiration of which he was further honored by his fellow citizens with re-election to the same office. This is one of the largest and most important courts in the entire state and Judge Rowe presided over it with signal ability, dignity and justice. In connection with the work of his profession Judge Rowe is affiliated with the Fort Smith Bar Association and with the Arkansas State Bar Association and it may be stated here that as the result of his close adherence to the unwritten code of professional ethics he holds a high place in the confidence and esteem of his fellow practitioners. He served with efficiency as deputy circuit clerk of the Twelfth circuit for a short time subsequent to his admission to the bar and it was in this connection that he became so well posted on all matters relating to the office of circuit judge, to which he was later elected. In 1906, at the expiration of his term as circuit judge, Judge Rowe removed from Greenwood to Fort Smith, where he has since been engaged in a general practice of law. In 1906 he admitted his son, Prentiss E. Rowe, as a member of the law firm of Rowe & Rowe. The latter was graduated in the law department of the University of Arkansas as a member of the class of 1905, with the degree of Bachelor of Laws, and he is proving himself a particularly capable young lawyer, one most admirably fitted by innate talent and training as a partner of his illustrious father. They control a large and lucrative clientage and have figured prominently in many of the most important litigations in the state and federal courts. Prentiss E. Rowe served in the state legislature in 1909, from Sebastian county, being the youngest member of that body. In Sebastian county, Arkansas, on the 23d of April, 1884, Judge Rowe was united in marriage to Miss Emma C. Patton, who was born and reared in the state of Arkansas and who is a daughter of James G. Patton, of Greenwood, Arkansas. have four children, namely, Prentiss E., who is associated in the practice of law with his father, as previously noted; Emma, who is now Mrs. Alcuin Eason and who maintains her home at Fayetteville; and Styles P. and Rupert H., both of whom are attending school. Mrs. Rowe is a woman of rare charm and most gracious personality and her beautiful home is widely renowned as a center of generous hospitality. In his political proclivities Judge Rowe is aligned as a stalwart supporter of the principles and policies promulgated by the Democratic party, in the local councils of which he has ever been an active and interested worker. In a fraternal way he is one of the most prominent secret order men of the state. In the time-honored Masonic order he has passed through the circle of the Scottish Rite branch, having attained to the thirty-second degree, and in the York Rite branch he is a master and Royal Arch Mason. He is also affiliated with the adjunct Masonic organization, the Order of the Eastern Star, and he is past grand master for Arkansas in the Masonic grand lodge of the state. He is also a valued and appreciative member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Honor, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, and the Benevolent & Protective Order of Elks. In their religious faith the Rowe family are zealous and consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, in the various departments of whose work they are active factors. Judge Rowe is a man of tremendous vitality, broad mind and admirable executive ability, and in all the relations of life he has so conducted himself as to command the unalloyed confidence and esteem of his fellow men. David B. Sparks 1850-1932 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead David B. Sparks is a prominent factor in the business and financial life of Fort Smith, and he can look in retrospect over a most useful and honorable public service, for eighteen years having held the office of city clerk. He is a member of a prominent pioneer family and few citizens are known as widely and favorably as he. Mr. Sparks is one of that goodly company who were born here and although familiar with other scenes have elected to maintain their residence here permanently, here finding success and at the same time contributing to that of the whole community. He is very loyal to his native state and county and finds cause for deep satisfaction in the wave of progress and development which has swept over Arkansas within the past few years. Mr. Sparks was born at the old Sparks home on North Third street, at what is now the corner of C street, on the 8th day of June, 1850, his parents being Mitchell and Hannah (Bennett) Sparks. The father was born in County Roscommon, Ireland, and as a young man followed the beacon light of opportunity from the shores of the New World, crossing the Atlantic as a young man in 1843. In that same year he found his way to Arkansas and eventually to Fort Smith, this location being doubtless due to the fact that his ship landed at New Orleans and he came up the Mississippi and Arkansas rivers by boat. He was intelligent and enterprising, with all the Celtic characteristics which make for success, and in course of time he became a member of the firm of Miller & Sparks, general merchants, whose business was located on the river front of Fort Smith. This firm built up the largest and most prosperous commercial establishment of the early days of the city and in ante-bellum days the name of Mitchell Sparks was known far and wide, while it is indeed certain that in the intervening years the effect of his energy and progressiveness has by no means been lost. Mitchell Sparks died in 1864. His brother, Captain James H. Sparks, was a distinguished Confederate soldier in the war between the states, beginning his service as captain of the old Fort Smith Rifles, which were organized before the beginning of the war and which later became a part of the regular Confederate army. Mitchell Sparks' wife was a native of Massachusetts, and their children were six in number, of whom three survive. David B. Sparks received a good education, supplementing his public school training with attendance at schools in New England and Maryland. Upon his return from school in the year 1872, when a trifle over twenty, probably hearkening a little to the adventure-loving dictates of his youthful breast, he accepted a position with the El Paso Stage Company, which operated stage coaches from Pierce City, Missouri, and Fort Smith, to Muskogee, Indian Territory, Sherman, Texas, and thence to El Paso, Texas, and later became general agent at Fort Smith. With his next line of business Mr. Sparks made a radical change by entering the mercantile field, and establishing a retail shoe business on Garrison avenue, which he successfully prosecuted for several years. His life seems to be divided in epochs and the next of eighteen years was devoted to public life and service, as city clerk at Fort Smith. His election to this responsible office was an unmistakable evidence of his high standing in the confidence and regard of his fellow citizens and he amply justified all their hopes as his successive re-elections testify. He has ever stood a stalwart champion of the general interest and the record made by him was exceptionally fine, both in efficiency and faithfulness. His tenure of office ended with the year 1910. Mr. Sparks has since been engaged as a loan and financial agent and is in charge of various interests of his own. Politically he subscribes to the tenets of the Democratic party, to which he has given his faith since his earliest voting days. The marriage of Mr. Sparks was solemnized on the 13th day of June, 1877, the young woman to become his wife being Miss Lillie Pryor, who was born in the Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory, of a prominent family of pioneers. Their union occurred at Fort Smith. Beneath the pleasant roof-tree of Mr. and Mrs. Sparks have been reared seven sons and daughters, as follows: George; Jerry K.; Kate, wife of Charles F. Pittman; David B., Jr.; Neil; Hynes, and Martha. - One of Mr. Sparks' brothers, the late George T. Sparks, who died in July, 1908, was one of the most prominent and successful financiers in the Southwest. He was connected with the First National Bank of Fort Smith from the time of its founding in 1872; was its president for several years; and was a leading figure in building up that great institution. He was a most useful citizen and among his other deeds of beneficence was his gift, shortly before his death, of $25,000 for a hospital, which resulted in the building of the Sparks Memorial Hospital, named in his honor, the largest and most modern hospital in Fort Smith. Thomas A Trusty 1867-1946 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead Thomas A Trusty, who is now most successfully engaged in the real estate business at Fort Smith, Arkansas, has labored in the territory how embraced in Sebastian county for more than a score of years and he has won the unalloyed respect and esteem of all who know him, while his worldly possessions have increased in a commensurate degree to the wisdom and skill he has manifested in his investments and business affairs. He has ever been a potent influence for good in connection with public affairs in this section of the state and among the many fine things which he has done for Sebastian county is the founding of the Trusty school. He has also been an active factor in connection with the promotion of the Sebastian county good-roads system and in all his varied activities he has met with unqualified success. Born at Owensboro, Daviess county, Kentucky, on the 19th of July, 1867, Mr. Trusty is a son of William and Martha (Davis) Trusty, the latter being deceased. Thomas A. Trusty was reared to maturity in the place of his birth, and after completing the curriculum of the public schools of Owensboro he was matriculated in the Southwestern Male & Female College, at South Carrollton, Kentucky, in which excellent institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1888. Before leaving school he had given attention to teaching and also afterward. This was in Kentucky, and he removed to Arkansas, locating in Sebastian county, in 1889. For several years thereafter he was principal of the Washburn High School and in 1896 he established his home in the city of Fort Smith. For a time he was principal of the Trusty public school, the founding of which institution forms an interesting chapter in the educational annals of Sebastian county and a fine tribute to the public spirit and self sacrifice of Mr. Trusty and those who so loyally supported him in the movement to establish this school. The Trusty school was originally known as the Nolan Springs school, which was located about a mile and a half north of Fort Smith, near the Arkansas river. About the latter part of the year 1900 a petition was presented to the Fort Smith school board to annex about one-half of the Nolan Springs school district to the Fort Smith public schools. This plan, had it been carried out, would have impoverished the remainder of the Nolan Springs district so that an adequate school could not have been maintained in that section. At this juncture Mr. Trusty inaugurated a determined movement to preserve the district for school purposes, calling the entire district to a mass meeting and illustrating to the citizens that if they allowed the district to be cut in two, the portion left out would be so impoverished that it could never hope to have adequate school facilities. He succeeded in stimulating the people to such an extent that a private subscription of thirty-five hundred dollars was raised among the residents of the district, many of them cheerfully subscribing to the limit of their financial ability. With this fund, a fourroom school building, known as the Trusty School, was built on that part of the district that was to have been annexed to the Fort Smith city schools under the plan previously mentioned. Subsequently when the case came up in the county court the county judge annulled the annexation petition and allowed the building of the Trusty School, as described. Some two years later a large section of country lying between Fort Smith and the river was annexed to the city proper with the result that the entire district was then enabled to take advantage of the city public school system, the Trusty School becoming a part of the city schools. At the time of its erection, four rooms were considered too much for the then school population of the district but since that time the school has been enlarged to ten rooms and it has continued in a growing and flourishing condition. Resigning the principalship of Trusty School, in 1905, Mr. Trusty became superintendent of agents for the Equitable Life Insurance Company in the states of Arkansas and Oklahoma. He remained incumbent of that important position for a period of five years, at the expiration of which he formed a partnership alliance with Harry M. Ramey, of Little Rock, taking the general agency of the National Life Insurance Company for Arkansas and Oklahoma. This business required a portion of his time in Little Rock although he continued to maintain his home at Fort Smith. Later resigning from that work, Mr. Trusty formed a partnership with Fred A. Reutzel, under the firm name of Reutzel & Trusty, the same engaging in the general real estate business, at Fort Smith. A large and enterprising business has been built up and Mr. Reutzel and Mr. Trusty have been eminently successful in their undertaking. Another worthy achievement of Mr. Trusty was the good he accomplished in promoting and carrying forward the building of the Van Buren road, the first piece of good-road construction work in Sebastian county. In this connection he was associated with Mr. Herbert M. Beck, a sketch of whose career appears on other pages of this work. Since the completion of the Van Buren road, a large number of miles of other good roads have been built in Sebastian county, making it the best equipped county in the state in that respect. Due to the inspiration offered by the pioneer good-road movement in Sebastian county, similar movements have been initiated and carried forward throughout the state of Arkansas. The Van Buren road has been the direct means of increasing land in value from one hundred dollars per acre to subdivision property worth two thousand dollars per acre. October 12, 1895, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Trusty to Miss Nannie Bell, of Washburn, this county. She was born and reared in Sebastian county and is a daughter of William Bell, of Washburn. To Mr. and Mrs. Trusty have been born three children, whose names are here entered in respective order of birth- Eugene, Lola and Nellie. In his political adherency Mr. Trusty endorses the cause of the Democratic party and he gives freely of his aid and influence in support of all measures projected for the good of the community. In a fraternal way he is affiliated with the time-honored Masonic organization, in which he has passed through the circle of the York Rite branch, being a Knight Templar, and he is also connected with the adjunct Masonic order, the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is likewise a valued and appreciative member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and his religious faith is in harmony with the tenets of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. It would be hard to find a more loyal and public-spirited citizen in Fort Smith than Mr. Trusty and it is most gratifying to the publishers of this review to here accord him recognition among the representative Arkansans, whose devotion to the public welfare has been prolific of so much good in connection with the progress and development of the state. Jonathan "John" McIntyre Vaile 1847-1918 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead For more than forty years has this honored and influential citizen maintained his home in Fort Smith and he is to be regarded as one of the pioneer business men of this city, to the development and upbuilding of which he has contributed in generous measure, the while his name has stood exemplar of utmost civic loyalty and the most inflexible personal integrity, so that he has naturally maintained secure place in the confidence and esteem of the community that has so long remained his home. He has been connected with the First National Bank of Fort Smith from the time of its organization, as successor to the National Bank of Western Arkansas, of which he was one of the organizers. He has thus been actively identified with banking interests in Fort Smith for nearly two score years and has been a potent factor in the upbuilding of one of the great financial institutions of the southwest. Mr. Vaile claims the staunch old Hoosier state as the place of his nativity and is a scion of one of its sterling pioneer families. He was born at Richmond, the judicial center of Wayne county, Indiana, on the 19th of September, 1847, and is a son of Dr. Joel and P. M. (Harrington) Waile, both of whom continued to reside in Indiana until their death, secure in the high regard of all who knew them. The father was long numbered among the representative physicians and surgeons of Wayne county and he and four of his sons rendered loyal service in behalf of the Union during the climacteric period of the Civil war. Dr. Vaile went into service as surgeon of the Second Indiana Volunteer Cavalry and later became surgeon in charge of all federal hospitals in and about Nashville, Tennessee. In this same regiment John Waile, of this review, enlisted as a private, and he continued in the ranks of the boys in blue until 1865, when he received his honorable discharge. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga and Franklin, as well as in various other engagements in Tennessee, and he proved a good soldier, though he was scarcely more than a boy at the time of his enlistment. John Vaile is indebted to the common schools of his native county for his early educational discipline and was afforded the further advantages of a home of refinement and other gracious influences. After the close of the war he remained at the parental home until 1866, when he made his way to Independence, Missouri, where he continued to reside until 1867, when he came to Arkansas and cast in his lot with the citizens of Fort Smith, which was then a small town. Here he has maintained his home during the long intervening years and here he has been actively and prominently identified with business enterprises of marked importance. In February, 1872, he became one of the organizers of the National Bank of Western Arkansas, and he has been an officer of the institution continuously from that time to the present, the reorganization, under the present title of the First National Bank of Fort Smith having been effected January 1, 1888. He is now the only officer that was connected with the original institution at the time of its incorporation, being at the present time a member of the board of directors. He was cashier of the bank for twenty-three consecutive years, having assumed this office in 1882 and having continued incumbent of the same until 1905, when he tendered his resignation. He has long held a high reputation as an able financier and it is in large measure due to his effective executive policy that the First National Bank of Fort Smith has become one of the most substantial and popular financial institutions of the state and of the entire southwest. In September, 1872, the deposits of the original bank were but slightly in excess of $22,000, and the growth of the business needs no further voucher than that given in the statement that its deposits at the present time (1911) are in excess of $2,500,000, operations being based on a capital stock of $200,000. Since January, 1910, the bank has occupied offices on the ground floor of its own fine building, an eight-story office building of the most modern design, construction and appointments and one that is the finest in the city, a source of pride to all classes of citizens. Mr. Vaile is also treasurer of the Kelley Trust Company, of which Harry E. Kelley is president. These two gentlemen have been associated in business for a number of years, especially in connection with the development of the natural-gas resources of Sebastian county, of which Fort Smith is the judicial center and metropolis. Mr. Vaile has given his influence and co-operation in forwarding measures and enterprises projected for the general good of the community, and through his well directed energies he has not only gained for himself a substantial fortune but has also aided in the upbuilding of a thriving industrial and commercial city in the state of his adoption. He has completed the circle of York Rite Masonry and has taken much interest in the various bodies with which he is identified, including the Fort Smith commandery of Knights Templar. For many years also he was a valued representative in the Arkansas grand lodge of Free & Accepted Masons. Politically he is a Republican. At Fort Smith, in the year 1880, was solemnized the marriage of Mr. Vaile to Miss Margaret Walton, daughter of Joseph J. Walton, who was a member of the old Fort Smith Rifles at the inception of the Civil war and who, with the same, entered the Confederate service, in which he sacrificed his life, as he was killed in the battle of Oak Hill, also designated as the battle of Wilson's Creek. Mr. and Mrs. Vaile have four children - Walton, John W., Miss Sara, and Margaret, the last named being now the wife of Elsworth P. Scales, of Nashville, Tennessee. Charles E. Warner 1854-1916 Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead Charles E. Warner has been a resident of Arkansas since his childhood days and is now a representative member of the bar of the state, as is he also a citizen of distinctive progressiveness and public spirit. He has been established in the practice of his profession in the city of Fort Smith for a quarter of a century and in addition to controlling a large and important private practice he is also incumbent of the office of general solicitor for the Fort Smith & Western Railroad Company. Mr. Warner was born in the city of Memphis, Tennessee, on the 15th of May, 1854, and is a son of William M. and Julia A. (Blocker) Warner, both natives of the south and representatives of staunch old southern families. The father, during the major portion of his active career, was a merchant and farmer, and both he and his wife passed the closing years of their lives at Des Arc, Arkansas, where they established their home prior to the Civil war. Charles E. Warner was a lad of eight years at the time of the family removal to Arkansas and he was reared to adult age at Des Arc, Prairie county, this state, where he secured his early educational training and where he also studied law under effective preceptorship. In 1876 he was there admitted to practice in the lower courts, and his ambition and close study were such as to entail not only cumulative success in his chosen vocation but also a constantly expanding knowledge of the minutiae of the science of jurisprudence, with the result that he eventually was admitted to practice in all of the courts of the state, including the federal courts and the Arkansas supreme court, and finally he proved himself similarly eligible for practice before the supreme court of the United States, before which he has presented a number of important causes, with briefs of an order that show his broad and exact knowledge of the law as well as the versatility of his dialectic powers. Mr. Warner continued in practice at Des Arc until 1886, when, with a view to securing a wider field for professional work, he removed to Fort Smith, where he has built up a large and representative practice and gained professional prestige that is not circumscribed by local limitations. Soon after the completion of the Fort Smith & Western Railroad from Fort Smith to Guthrie, Oklahoma, in 1901, Mr. Warner became connected with its legal department, and his effective services soon led to his selection for the office of general solicitor, of which position he has been incumbent since 1903. In the private work of his profession he now has an effective coadjutor in the person of his son, Harry P., who read law under his direction and who later continued his studies in the law department of the historic old University of Virginia, at Charlottesville; he was admitted to the bar, at Fort Smith, in 1908, and has since been associated with his father in practice, under the firm name of Charles E. & Harry Warner. Mr. Warner, on December 24, 1879, at Des Arc, Arkansas, was united in marriage with Miss Harriet H. Walsh, a native of Des Arc and a daughter of Dr. William Walsh. Four children have been born to this union: Charles E., Harry P., Cecil R. and Eugene. Thomas Pendleton Winchester Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead This prominent citizen of Fort Smith is a son of Maj. George W. Winchester and a grandson of Gen. James Winchester. The latter was a Revolutionary soldier who participated later in several Indian wars, becoming a brigadier general in the United States army. He settled in Sumner county, Tennessee, early in the nineteenth century, and Cragfont, founded by him, was the home of the Winchester family for many years. General Winchester was a native of Baltimore, Maryland. The city of Winchester, Tennessee, was named in his honor. His son, Maj. George W. Winchester, was a planter and by profession a lawyer. Early in the war between the states, he joined the Confederate army and was chief of staff for General Donaldson until the latter's death, when he was appointed, with the rank of major, to serve in the same capacity on the staff of Gen. W. B. Bate. Major Winchester was made a prisoner of war at the battle of Missionary Ridge and from that time until the end of the Civil war was confined at Johnson’s Island, Lake Erie. In 1866 he located at Memphis and practiced law there successfully till his death, which occurred in that city December 31, 1879. Thomas Pendleton Winchester was born at Cragfont, Sumner county, Tennessee, September 13, 1850, a son of Maj. George W. and Malvina (Gaines) Winchester. He studied law under the preceptorship of his father and in the law department of the University of Virginia, and was admitted to the bar at Memphis in January, 1873. He came to Fort Smith in 1880 and at once took his place among the leaders of the bar of Western Arkansas. On the 12th of February 1874, he married Miss Nanna Thurman, who was born and reared in Albemarle county, Virginia. They have one child living, a daughter, who bears the maiden name of her maternal grandmother, Agnes Sampson. Albert J. Yoke 1858- Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead ALBERT J. Yoke, known as one of the most prominent and successful oil and gas operators in the United States, was born at Grantville, West Virginia, June 1, 1858. His father was killed during the last year of the Civil war. His widow and her children then moved to Lewis county, West Virginia. At an early age Albert found it necessary to do something toward the support of his mother and his brothers and sisters. He worked on his grandfather's farm in Lewis county in the farming seasons and in winter attended school, eventually educating himself to undertake the duties of a teacher. At twenty-one years of age he entered Adrian College, Adrian, Michigan, and in due time he worked his way through the regular educational course of that institution. For two years after his graduation Mr. Yoke worked as tutor and agent for his alma mater. Then, going to Detroit, he raised funds for the erection of a Young Men's Christian Association building. He later organized a Young Men's Christian Association at Louisville, Kentucky, and there founded and edited the Railroad Argosy, now known as the Southern Railway Age. He then became a minister of the Methodist Protestant church, and was assigned to the pastorate of a church of that denomination at Whitehouse, Lucas county, Ohio. In the fall of 1887 he joined the West Virginia conference of that denomination and accepted a call to the pastoral charge of the church at Grafton. He was so successful there that he not only greatly increased the membership of the church and congregation, but raised $7,000 with which to pay off an indebtedness that was on the organization. From Grafton he was called to Mount Morris, Greene county, Pennsylvania, where he built for his congregation a fine church structure, contributing to the building fund $3,000 of his own money. He remained there three years and was then elected president of the Young People's Society Christian Endeavor for the state of West Virginia. A little later he was made secretary of the Laymen's Bureau of the World of the Methodist Protestant church. While ably filling those positions he bought and presented to the West Virginia conference of his church a home for aged ministers of that state which is still in use. In 1891 Mr. Yoke engaged in the real estate business at Grafton, West Virginia, and founded and became editor of the West Virginia Journal of Commerce, which he published there, and which he still owns. He later began operations in the oil and gas fields of West Virginia and has been active in a large way in that industry ever since. He put through several extensive gas and oil enterprises in that state and broadened his field of operations to include other industries, organizing the Parkersburg and Marietta Traction Company and the first independent telephone system in West Virginia. His restless energy impelled him to begin the development of the east extension of the Elk Fork Pool, near Sisterville, West Virginia. He drilled forty-five wells in that district and secured property back of St. Marys, where he drilled wells and obtained a large production. He then went into the Ohio field and was successful in producing oil at Scio, Uniontown and Reiner's Mills. In the spring of 1902, in association with Governor Odell of New York, he went to Detroit and secured control of Grosse Isle, which is three miles wide and nine miles long. There they failed to get either oil or gas, but struck a flow of excellent mineral water producing a hundred and forty-four thousand barrels a day. Down to this time Mr. Yoke had made and lost several fortunes, but he had schooled himself never to admit discouragement. On the first day of February, 1893, he arrived at Independence, Kansas, in the southeast Kansas oil and gas field, with only ten dollars left. On the following morning he leased a sixty-acre farm and by night had machinery on the ground, ready for drilling. On this farm he struck a heavy gas producer, and he soon got a lease on another farm, on which he developed two more producers and then sold out his holdings for twenty-five thousand dollars. In association with Frank Brown, he drilled forty-five wells between Coffeyville and Independence, forty-three of which were good producers. He organized, at Coffeyville, the Yoke Vitrified Brick Company, of which he was president, and which he later sold. This brick manufacturing plant is one of the largest and most successful in the west. Its product has been used for paving purposes in numerous cities and has been a means of bringing much fame to Coffeyville. Mr. Yoke retains large holdings in oil and gas and other important industries in West Virginia. Mr. Yokehad been one of the largest producers of gas on Mazzard Prairie, a short distance east of Fort Smith, and in April, 1909, he located his main office in that city. He organized and is the general manager of the Little Rock and Fort Smith Gas and Oil Company, which operates successfully in this field, and built the pipe line by which that company's gas is brought to Fort Smith. In August, 1910, he organized an additional company, known as the Western Arkansas Gas and Oil Company, which operates gas wells in the eastern edge of the Fort Smith field. Since he came to Fort Smith he has organized the Fort Smith Vitrified Brick Company and built its plant, which makes brick on a large scale. He organized also the railroad company which is constructing a line of road through a rich district between Fort Smith and Wilburton, Oklahoma, on which it is proposed to locate some extensive industries. In the summer of 1910 he organized the North Fort Smith Improvement Company, which owns land in the northern part of the city, on which are being located various large manufacturing industries, in all of which he is financially interested and in the promotion of which he is the leading spirit. He is a member of a company which owns a large body of rich land in Cuba and has property interests in North Carolina, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania; Wyoming and British Columbia. He organized the Van Buren Oil and Gas Company in 1910 and laid the pipe line to the Burk brick plant, which is situated near Fort Smith. Mr. Yoke is widely known as an expert in oil and gas, and as such he has been sent by the United States Government on secret missions to India and to British Columbia. He has never allowed obstacles to stand in his way. He is resourceful in times of stress and has a talent for grasping the details of large enterprises. He was married at Adrian Michigan, June 8, 1886, to Miss Nellie B. Carpenter of that city, and they have three children--Elmore A., Helen V. and Albert D. He maintains his residence in Adrian. In Scottish Rite Masonry Mr. Yoke has attained to the thirty-second degree. He is secretary for Arkansas of the National Conservation Congress. Frank A. Youmans 1860-1932 < Historical Review of Arkansas: Its Commerce, Industry and Modern ..., Volume 2 By Fay Hempstead Frank A. Youmans is one of the representative members of the bar of Sebastian county. Mr. Youmans is engaged in the successful practice of his profession in the city of Fort Smith, where he has a large and important clientage, as senior member of the firm of Youmans & Youmans, in which his associate and valued coadjutor is his brother, George F. Youmans. He served about eight years as assistant United States district attorney for the western district of Arkansas, and this preferment bears evidence of his fine professional ability and sterling attributes of character. Mr. Youmans was born near Jefferson City, the capital of the state of Missouri, on the 23d of May, 1860, and is a son of John P. and Mary E. (Faust) Youmans, the former of whom was born in the state of New York and the latter in Germany. In the winter of 1872-3 the family removed from Missouri to Arkansas and settled in the southern part of the state, whence they later removed to Lafayette county, where the parents still maintain their home and where the father is a successful physician. Frank A. Youmans is indebted to the schools of Union, Columbia and Lafayette counties, this state, for his earlier educational discipline, and he thereafter prosecuted his higher academic studies in the University of Missouri, in which he was graduated as a member of the class of 1884 and from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Letters. Soon afterward he went to the city of Little Rock, for the purpose of studying law under the preceptorship of Judge Burrill B. Battle. He also attended the old law school that later was transformed into the law department of the University of Arkansas, and in 1885, upon examination before the supreme court of the state, he was duly admitted to the bar, to which he came well equipped by natural predilection and excellent acquirements of a technical order. In January, 1886, Mr. Youmans located in the city of Fort Smith, where he has since been engaged in the active and successful practice of his profession, in connection with which he has appeared in much important litigation and gained high repute as a resourceful and versatile trial lawyer. His professional reputation has been further fortified through his specially efficient services in the office of assistant United States district attorney for the western district of Arkansas, a position to which he was appointed in 1887 and of which he continued the incumbent for a period of about eight years. For a time he was associated in practice with Colonel Clendenning and Judge James F. Read, under the firm name of Clendenning, Read & Youmans, and since 1902 he has maintained a professional alliance with his brother, as has already been noted in this context. In politics Mr. Youmans accords an unfaltering allegiance to the Republican party and as a citizen he is progressive and loyal, taking a lively interest in all that touches the material and civic advancement of his home city and state. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In the year 1888 Mr. Youmans was united in marriage to Miss Delia Enroughty, who was born in the state of Virginia, whence she came with her parents to Arkansas when she was a child. Mr. and Mrs. Youmans have six children, namely; Mary E., John P., Frank W., Gretchen, Catharine, and Paul.