Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas

LEE COUNTY–RECENT ORGANIZATION–CHEATIVE ACT–SEAT OF JUSTICE–OFFICERS OF TRUST–DURING WAR TIMES–POLITICAL COMPLEXION–VALUATION–DEVELOPMENT–CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS–PEHIOD OF SETTLEMENT–LOCATION, AREA AND POPULATION–STREAMS, SOILS, ETC.–NATURAL YIELDS–STOOK RAISING INTERESTS–SKETCH OF MARIANNA AND HAYNES–NUMEROUS SELECTED SKETCHES.

Woodfin & Henderson. Among the leading general mercantile establishments of Brinkley, Ark., none are deserving of more favorable mention and consideration than the above mentioned firm, of whom E. L. Woodfin and R. M. Henderson are the proprietors. Their house was established in 1887 and with their stock which amounts to $;4,000 they do an annual business of $15,000. Mr. Woodfin was born in Marshall County, Miss., in 1851, and is a son of John and Mary (Scott) Woodfin, the former a native of Alabama and the latter of North Carolina. After spending most of their youth in Tennessee they were married there, but afterward moved to Mississippi, which State continued to be their home until 1859, at which time they came to Arkansas and settled in Cotton Plant. Mr. Woodruff was a farmer by occupation, a member of the Masonic fraternity, and died at Des Arc in 1861. His wife survives him and is a member of the Presbyterian Church. E. L. Woodfin is one of three surviving members of a family of seven children and spent his youthful days in laboring on the farm, Two years were spent in cattle dealing, which occupation proved fairly remunerative, but in 1885 he engaged in his present occupation in Brinkley. In 1875 he was married to Miss Mollie, a daughter of Benjamin and Matilda Glover, who were born, reared and married, in Limestone County, Ala., but removed to De Soto County, Miss., and in 1859 to Arkansas, locating near Wheetley, where the mother's death occurred in 1871. Mr. Glover married again and is now living at Cotton Plant occupied in farming. Mrs. Woodfin is one of five children and was born in Mississippi and for a number of years has been a member of the Old School Presbyterian Church. Mr. Woodfin is a Democrat. When starting out in life for himself in 1869 he had only $18 but now owns the old homestead of 480 acres, besides a good house and business block in Brinkley. He lost heavily during 1874, his large crop of cotton being consumed by fire, but he has retrieved his losses and is now in affluent circumstances.

Culture's hand

Has scatter'd verdure o'er the land;

And smiles and fragrance rule serene,

Where barren wild usurp'd the scene,–Anon.

LEE, one of the more recent acquisitions to the sisterhood of counties in Arkansas, is yet comparatively new, having been created by the legislature of 1873. The territory now embraced within its limits was a portion formerly of four counties, viz.; Phillips, Monroe, St. Francis and Crittenden.

The act of organization was entitled "an act to create the county of Lee and for other purposes." The first section defining the boundaries of the new county was as follows:

"That all that portion of territory, now being in the counties of Phillips, Monroe, St. Francis and Crittenden, included within, the following boundaries, viz.: Beginning at the southwest corner of Section 31 on the base line, in Township 1 north, Range 1 east, running east with base line to the Mississippi River; thence with the meanderings of said river to the east township line of Township 3 north, Range 6 east; thence north to the northeast corner of Section 1, Township 3 north, Range 6 east; thence west with the northern line of Township 3 north, Range 6 east, 3 north, Range 5 east, 3 north, Range 3 east, 3 north, Range 2 east, 3 north, Range 1 east and 3 north, Range 1 west, of the fifth principal meridian, to the northwest corner of Section 3, in Township 3 north, Range 1 west; thence south with the section lines, to the southwest corner of Section 34, Township 2 north, Range 1 west; thence east to the southeast corner of Section 36, Township 2 north, Range 1 west; thence south to the southwest corner of Section 31, Township 1, north of Range 1 east, to the place of beginning, be and the same is hereby formed into a separate and distinct county, to be known and designated as the county of Lee, to have and to exercise, as a body politic and corporate, all the rights, privileges and immunities of a separate county." It was further provided by this act that the temporary seat of justice for the new county should be located at Marianna.

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It was also provided that an election should be held to elect commissioners, whose duty it should be to locate the court house, as nearly as possible in conformity with the will of the majority of the people.

A lot of ground near the center of the town was purchased and a frame building erected thereon, which was used for court purposes by the county until the erection of the present handsome and commodious public edifice.

The following are the officers who have served the county since its organization. County judges: H. N. Hutton, E. L. Black and H. N. Word. Clerks: M. H. Wing, F. H. Govan, T. C. Merwin and W. T. Derrick. Sheriffs: W. N. Furbush, C. H. Banks, E. H. B. Dupuy and V. M. Harrington. Treasurers: B. B. Nunnally, D. S. Drake, B. M. Govan and Julius Lesser. Owing to its brief existence as a separate county, the list of Lee's public servants is smaller than that of adjacent localities.

At the breaking out of the war the territory included in the present county of Lee, having as stated been embraced in Phillips, Monroe, St. Francis and Crittenden Counties, the part taken in that struggle by the people of this section appears elsewhere in the present volume. It is only necessary to say that about 300 men went from here for the Confederate army, and but a small porportion ever returned. D. C. Govan, T. C. Anderson and B. C. Brasher commanded troops from the region hereabouts, and were attached first to Hindman's legion, and afterward to the Second Arkansas Regiment of Cavalry.

The political complexion of the county may be judged from the vote for President cast in 1888, in which Cleveland received 962, Harrison 1,537 and Streeter 13 votes.

The taxable property of the county in 1880 was, in round numbers, $1,800,000, which has increased until it is now, 1889, $2,410,730, of which $1,723,525 is real and $687,205 is personal property. This is hardly a fair criterion by which to judge its true wealth, the general rule of assessment being only 40 per cent of the actual value of the property. The county is practically out of debt, with its scrip at par. During the year just passed a magnificent court house has been erected, costing $15,500, for which cash was paid. There is also in course of construction a substantial jail, with all the modern appliances and conveniences, which will cost about $7,000, and the money is in the treasury to meet this demand also. In 1880 the county shipped about 25,000 bales of cotton, increased in 1889 to upward of 40,000 bales. In 1880 there were 50,000 acres of improved land here, but now something over 87,000.

This county is not a whit behind its sister connties in educational facilities. It is divided into forty-three school districts, in which are erected eighty-one good substantial school-houses, thirty-eight for the white children, and forty-three for colored. The school population by the last census was 5,838, the amount expended in the conduct of the schools reaching nearly $17,000.

In the country the principal religious denominations represented are the Methodists and Baptists. Many of the neighborhoods have, in addition to their school edifices, neat and roomy churches, though in the absence of church buildings proper school-houses are used for worship. A commendable and generous rivalry is apparent among the different denominations toward the promotion of good, and the services are well attended.

The people of this section have indeed made rapid and noticeable strides in the advancement of education since the war, the adoption of the free school system having proven an important factor in the general progress and development of the community.

The early settlers of Lee County were of that class who represented true worth and unpretentious greatness. Penetrating the wilderness to carve out for themselves and their progeny homes, they brought with them the same spirit of tolerance that actuated and inspired their ancestry in founding this great Republic, many of them being the veterans of "Jackson's War."

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This county was at one time the home of that lawless desperado and freebooter, John A. Murrell. Here he rendezvoused and sallied forth to prey upon the flat-boat navigators of the Mississippi. About one and a half miles northeast of Marianna stands the Lone Pine. Beneath its somber, dismally [p.568] rattling boughs frequently met this outlaw chief and his clan of unworthy followers; here in council were planned numerous forays, and here they divided their illgottan spoils. Not far distant burst forth several pure and never-failing springs; and the ruins of the old blacksmith shop, where the band had their horses shod, with the corks in front, the anvil dust and iron, still remain to mark with certainty the spot.

Among the early settlers of the territory now embraced in this county, was John Patterson, who died quite recently at the advanced age of eighty-six, in a little enclosure, about one and a half miles from Marianna. He rests beside six of his wives and twenty of his children, who preceded him to the spirit land, and since his death his seventh wife has followed him. Among other pioneers were David Wills, a native of Rhode Island; James Wilson, of Missouri; Ridley Myrich, Owen Myrich, Charles Ewen, John Dillard and E. K. James, all of Tennessee; David Davis, of Kentucky, who came in 1829; A. G. McDaniel, of Kentucky, who came in 1824; Green E. Story, of Missouri; Middleton Hensley and Washington Hensley, of Indiana; also Larkin Meeks, of the same State; Thomas Adams, of Kentucky; J. Lee and Hiram Dunn, of Virginia; Andrew Dunnski, Obadiah Roberts, John Griffin and Absalom Lowrey came prior to 1829; John Lynch, Matthew Smith, William Smith and Cyrus Lyttle. In 1829 there were not to exceed forty families in the county. The most densely settled portion was on Cow Bayou. In 1835 seven families entered from the States of Illinois and Indiana, locating west of L'Anguille. In 1852 there was a large influx of immigration from the Carolinas, and a steady increase in new-comers existed until the breaking out of the war. That circumstance, here as elsewhere, for a time greatly retarded the settlement of the county. Among those who once owned large estates and numerous slaves ware Col. Walter L. Otey and his brother Robert. As the more prominent of the later settlers might be mentioned: Frank Smith, Bryant Lynch, R. D. Griffith and Judge H. N. Hutton, now an influential attorney; John Hudson, one of the first blacksmiths to locate in ths section; Eli T. Diamond, Berry Parker, of Alabama; Alex. Granger, of Kentucky; Bascom Bunch, David Weatherly and R. R. Foreman, of North Carolina.

The first negroes within the present limits of the county were brought here by Samuel Bryant and Rufin Brown, the former bringing nine and the latter six. Among the most noted hunters of this section was Larkin Weeks, a recital of whose wonderful hairbreadth escapes in his numerous encounters with the denizens of the woods would furnish material for a thrilling volume.

The larger proportion of the present population of Lee are Tennesseeans. Each of the other Southern States has a fair representation, while among the thrifty and prosperous are found many from the Northern States.

Lee County is situated in the eastern portion of the State, bounded on the north by St. Francis County. On the east is the Mississippi River, on the south the counties of Phillips and Monroe, and on the west the counties of St. Francis and Monroe. It has a length of about twenty-eight miles from east to west, and a width of eighteen miles from north to south, and contains some 612 square miles of as fertile and beautiful land as any in the great Mississippi Valley–a section whose productions are only limited by its extent.

The population of the county by the census of 1880 was 13,288, which has since materially increased, at present having an estimated population of 18,000. It is divided into fifteen political divisions known as townships, named as follows: Hampton, Union, Independence, Big Creek, Bear Creek, Texas, Spring Creek, Liberty, Walnut, St. Francis, Richland, Oak Forest, Fleener, Council and Hardy. These townships contain over 700 farms, averaging 115 acres of improved land per farm, and there yet remains in the county 313,000 acres susceptible of cultivation. The principal town and county seat is Marianna, besides which are several smaller but thriving commercial centers of local import, among which may be mentioned Haynes, LaGrange, Moro, Spring Creek and Oak Forest.

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The principal streams of the county are the St. Francis and the L' Anguille Rivers, the former [p.569] flowing through in a southeasterly direction, and the latter entering near the center of the northern portion of the county and flowing in and emptying into St. Francis River, about two miles beyond the limits of the county.

The Mississippi River forms the entire eastern front, giving the county direct water communication with all points in the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys.

The land hereabouts lies in a level plain with the exception of Crowley's Ridge which passes through the county, entering on the northern boundary near its center and passing out in the southeast portion. The general width of this ridge is from one and one-half to three and one-half miles, with an altitude of from 250 to 325 feet above see level.

In the southwestern and eastern portions of the county are numerous beautiful lakes of pure water abounding in the choicest fish. Perhaps no other county in the State of equal area has a soil which in general productive properties ranks above that of this county. The whole area is susceptible of cultivation and with the exception of the land on Crowley's Ridge is alluvial, adapted to all the crops of this latitude which it produces in lavish profusion; indeed the husbandman has only to put forth but little effort when the soil laughs with its burdensome abundance.

The county is especially adapted to the great Southern staple, cotton. Here originated the celebrated world renowned variety known as the "Taylor Cotton" which has taken the premium for length of staple and firmness of texture at every fair and exposition where it has been exhibited, notably at the World's Fair at Amsterdam, in Holland. The average yield per acre for cotton is from 350 to 700 pounds. Corn produces from thirty to seventy-five bushels per acre; small grains have never been cultivated to any great extent, but do well here, more especially cats and millet. Vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage and onions grow in the greatest abundance with but little care and cultivation. Fruits of all varieties are raised and with few exceptions do well. That berries are a sure crop is evidenced by the profusion in which they grow in an uncultivated state. This county is the home of the grape and nowhere else does it thrive better nor produce more abundantly, the forests bordering on the rivers being festooned with the luxurious growth of vines.

Though game in the estimation of the old settler may be somewhat scarce, plenty still remains throughout the forests and cane brakes of the county, and it is no uncommon sight to see the carcass of a bear or a saddle of venison brought in for shipment to the markets of the East. Squirrels and rabbits everywhere abound; there is but one drawback to the shooting of small game in this country–its great abundance destroys the zest of the sport.

A question frequently asked, and to Northern people perhaps the hardest to satisfactorily solve, is this: If your county can produce all you claim, in such abundance and so cheaply, why has it been so backward in its development? Why have its resources lain dormant and comparatively unknown during this long lapse of years? A reply naturally is given that in the first place the system of labor here has been different from that of the North, and while the brain and inventive genius of the latter have for centuries taxed themselves in the endeavor to save human muscle, the contingency based on labor here did not demand this. The average capacity of the negroes of the South to manage and comprehend extended only to the most primitive agricultural implements, and with these they could produce a sufficient amount of cotton and corn to supply the wants and even luxuries of the planter. To minerals, fruits, stocks, timber and grass, they did not care to give attention, save in quantities for domestic purposes. The war destroying this system of labor, and impoverishing the planter, his power of recuperation has been slow; yet it would seam marvelous were one not to take into consideration the wonderful conditions of soil and climate that exist in this southland.

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The average temperature of this section is about 62º, rarely reaching 100º in the summer months or falling below 42º in the winter. The average rain fall is not far from forty-five inches, the rains being [p.570] generally seasonable and propitious. There has never been known an entire failure of crops in the county since its first settlement. Here the soil responds kindly and liberally to the husbandman's labors, and will yield abundant returns for his labor. A single fountain in the desert is more highly appreciated than a thousand limpid streams, bursting from every hillside in a land more favored. So in other countries a single avenue to wealth is crowded and pressed with more tenacity than are the hundred open pathways of a land which affords so much. Lee County needs further and higher development, every department of business and life demanding reinforcement. Its people are generous and hospitable, and welcome all from the North, South, East and West. The material advancement of their county is their ambition. Political affiliations are not a primary consideration, neither does denominational prejudice prove a hindrance to progress.

The invitation is to all, come and look at the fertile lands of the county, and mingle with its people.

Stock raising is rapidly coming to the front, and the general adaptation of the soil to the growth of all forage grasses will in the near future advance this industry to an important rank. That portion of the county known as "Bear Creek Bot. tom," in the southeast part, is a veritable paradise for stock. A large growth of clover and other fine grasses grow spontaneously and cover the entire valley. With a skirt of cane on either side, cattle, running at large in this bottom, keep fat enough for beef. The valley has the protection of the high lands of Crowley's Ridge which is covered with an immense growth of oak, hickory, beech and walnut trees, furnishing ample and never-failing mast on which hogs thrive and keep in good condition the year round.

The timber of this country is of the finest kind, and embraces the different varieties of oak, poplar, walnut, gum and ash. There are several fine sawmill plants here, the products of which add materially to the wealth of the county. The timber, however, has scarcely been touched, three-fourths of the county still being virgin forest.

Marianna, the principal town and trade center, of Lee County, and its seat of justice, is beautifully situated on the L'Anguille River, at the head of steamboat navigation. It is on a level plain with sufficient fall for good drainage. The Knobel branch of the Iron Mountain Railroad gives the town connection north and south with all the great railroad systems of the country, and makes it easily accessible to the principal markets outside. The elevation of the place is twenty-five feet above the highest water ever known in the Mississippi Valley.

Marianna was first settled about forty years ago, and perhaps a brief sketch of the origin of its location and name may not be out of place in this connection. Col. Walter H. Otey, nearly a half century ago, purchased of Mr. Harvey Harland, familiarly known as "Uncle Harvey," a tract of land situated on L'Anguille River, about three miles above the site of the present town. When the transfer was to be made it was discovered that "Uncle Harvey," from some cause, had forgotten or neglected to apprise his better half, "Aunt Mary Ann," of the proposed sale. She became quite indignant and flatly refused to sign the necessary papers to complete the transfer. After every argument and persuasion had been exhansted in the fruitless endeavor to induce the old lady to add her signature, Col. Otey struck upon the expedient of having Rev. Matt Cox, a gentleman in whom Mrs. Harland had the greatest confidence, to prevail upon her if possible to do the necessary "signing." After his persuasive eloquence had proven unsuccessful he was forced to adopt subterfuge, and suggested that Col. Otey, in consideration of her signature, should name the city, which he proposed founding, for her. This last bait was effective, and "Mary Ann" was easily changed to Marianna. Marianna No. 1 was abandoned in 1857. In 1858 the firm of Worsham & Green of the old town settled and built on the present site of the place, the legislature having declared the L'Anguille River navigable to this point. The land covering the site of the present town was owned by Dr. Green.

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The growth of Marianna has kept pace with the development of the State, and it is now in a flourishing condition, doing as large, if not a larger, business in proportion to population than any other town in Arkansas. Its present population exceeds 1,500.

The new town was first incorporated August 7, 1877, and re-incorporated July 5, 1888. Being comparatively so young its rapid increase in population and wealth speaks volumes for the enterprise and pluck of the citizens and the natural productiveness of the country surrounding. In 1869 there were only five families located here, numbering twenty-two souls, and only three business houses, with an aggregate trade of $8,000. What a change in twenty years! It would seem as though the magician's wand had touched the place. The town is well and substantially built, having three large brick blocks–two-story buildings, and the trade is represented by twenty-five or thirty representative establishments, carrying stocks of from $3,000 to $40,000, with an annual patronage of $500,000. The leading firms are Lesser & Bro., Johnson & Grove, Jarratt & Co., P. E. Northern, Becker & Co., L. Shane & Co., Breckey Bros., general merchants; Fleming & Co., J. E. Stevenson, druggists; L. Benham, Hayes & Benthal, T. C. Merwin, family grocers. There are also two millinery and dress-making establishments and numerous restaurants and eating houses; a large brick livery stable furnishes as fine turnouts as any in the State. Although the hotel accommodations would seem ample for a place of this size, the Phœnix and the Jones House, both of good size, fail to meet the requirements of the traveling public, and there is no better opening anywhere for a large first-class hotel.

Among other industries are three blacksmith and machine shops, one wagon and plow shop with steam power, two good steam gins with grist-mill attachments, one large saw and planing-mill plant with a capital of $40,000, cutting 40,000 feet of lumber per day, employing seventy-five men and adding greatly to the wealth and prosperity of the place.

The legal and medical professions number in their ranks some of the most prominent in these callings in the State.

The Index, published weekly, is a newsy, well-conducted sheet, and its editor, Mr. W. P. Weld, is a live citizen in the advocacy of all that materially helps to develop his town and county.

The secret orders are represented by the Masonic, I. O. O. F., K. of P., K. of H., K. & L. of H. and I. O. G. T., all in a flourishing condition, with good memberships.

This favored town is fully alive to the importance of religions advancement, and though its church buildings are not of the finest, they are neat and comfortable, an evidence of the existence of that spirit which stamps the moral character and excellence of the people. As a church going and church loving community it stands to-day on a plane far above a proportionate population in many older localities. The Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians each have houses of worship, and the Christian Church has an organization and contemplates building in the near future, having the funds in hand for that purpose.

The colored people have three church edifices, two Baptist and one Methodist. They also have a hall and an organized lodge of A. F. & A. M.

The Lee County Bank is owned and operated by Mr. J. Lesser, who is also county treasurer. He enjoys to a high degree the confidence and support of the citizens of the county.

There was shipped from this point in 1888, 12,000 bales of cotton and several million feet of lumber. The new court house previously referred to and just completed at a cost of $15,500, is a magnificent pressed brick structure, and being situated on a commanding eminence, makes a creditable appearance. A new jail costing, when finished, $6,500 is nearing completion.

From an educational point of view, literary advantages are superior. There is located here a college and normal institute, conducted by Prof. Thomas A. Futrall, who ranks among the beet educators of the South.

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Haynes, the second town in population and importance in the county, is situated in the north central portion, on the Knobel branch of the Iron Mountain Railroad, one mile from the St. Francis County line and two miles from the L'Anguille River, midway between Forrest City and Marianna, and about six miles from Crowley's Ridge.

The town has a population of 850, and is one of the most thrifty and progressive of places. Its commercial interests are represented by five general merchandise, two drug and several mixed stores. A hotel is creditably conducted and two blacksmith and wagon shops, one undertaker and a millinery establishment supply needed demands. There are several fine brick stores, and others in course of construction, one of which, now being put up by Hughes & Curtis, will cost $10,000.

There were shipped from this point in 1888, 5,000 bales of cotton. The aggregate business of the town for the last year is placed at $300,000. Also at this point are two steam saw-mills, and three steam cotton-gins.

A. fine Baptist church finished, and a Methodist church nearing completion, are well sustained. A public hall is in connection with the school-house.

The colored people also have churches and school-houses.

P. H. Adams, a farmer and stock-dealer, was born in Lee County, Ark., in 1844, being the son of Henry and Nancy (Rolledge) Adams. Henry Adams was a native of Kentucky, but of English descent, and to his marriage fifteen children were born, only three of them now living: P. H., Thomas J. and Nancy (the wife of Thomas Kemp, a prosperous farmer of this county). Mr. Adams died in St. Francis County, in 1862, where he had resided for many years. His wife received her final summons some years previous. P. H. Adams was married to Miss Mary Upton, of Lee County, in 1866, and by her became the father of two children (both deceased). Mrs. Adams having died, for his second and present wife Mr. Adams chose Mrs. Mary J. Glidley, who bore him flve children: Martha C. (the wife of J. Bowman of this county), Allie S., Mary C., Belle E. and Francis R. Mr. Adams owns 240 acres of land, with 100 improved, giving evidence of a careful and thorough cultivation. He is a Mason, and belongs to Baxton Lodge, No. 242. In his religious faith he clings to the Baptist doctrine, being a member of that denomination. Mrs. Adams is a member of the Methodist Church, South. She is a native of Illinois, and was born in 1844, the daughter of Ames and Martha A. Smith. Her parents died in 1886 and 1887, respectively.

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DeWitt Anderson has been prominently identified with the farming interests of Lee County, Ark., since 1881, and is now the owner of a fine farm comprising 400 acres. He was born in Wilson County, Tenn., in 1848, and is a son of Gen. Paulding Anderson and Martha T. (Horde) Anderson, the former of Tennessee and the latter of Virginia. She was a relative of the Morehead family, of North Carolina, and came with her parents to Tennessee when a small girl. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and at the time of her death, in 1861, was fifty-six years old. Her brother, Jesse Horde, was a leading minister of the Methodist Church, in Texas. Frank Anderson, the paternal grandfather, was a Virginian, and his father and mother were from Scotland, and settled in this country at a very early day. Paulding Anderson, the father of our subject, was one of a large family, and was reared in Tennessee, where he became well-known and arose to prominence in political matters. He held the various offices of his county, with the exception of county clerk, and was a member of both houses of the legislature several terms. He served in the Confederate army, and, after the Federals took possession of the State, he went to the South with Gov. Harris, and was an active participant in the Rebellion until 1863, at which time he was captured, and, after being kept a prisoner at Nashville for months, was released on parole. In his early life he commanded the Central State militia, and during a big rally he commanded 10,000 men, being made general at that time. He was very active in church and school matters in his youth, and for many years was one of the chief props of his church. He was finely educated, was a great reader, and up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1882, at the age of seventy-nine years, he kept thoroughly posted with the current literature [p.573] of the day. He and his wife were blessed in the birth of eleven children, nine of whom lived to be grown. DeWitt Anderson is the ninth in order of birth, and is one of the three who are now living. Six of the seven sons served in the Confederate army, also two nephews and eight first cousins, and only one of the entire lot was killed, Capt. Dick Anderson, who lost his life at the battle of Murfreesboro. None of the rest were even wounded. DeWitt Anderson commanded a company the first three years of the war, being first lieutenant of Company K, Fourth Tennessee Cavalry, and participated in the battles of Shiloh, the first and second battles of Murfreesboro, Chickamanga and Perryville; was in the Georgia campaign, and was taken prisoner near Rome, Ga., being kept in captivity at Johnson's Island for nine months. After the surrender he was released and came home, again taking up his farming implements. He is now one of the prosperous farmers of Arkansas, and, as shove stated, his home farm consists of 400 acres, although he owns 6,000 acres in the State, a considerable portion of which is rich bottom land. This property has all been acquired since coming to this State, as he then had no capital whatever, but his native energy and pluck. He was married in 1868 to Miss Chloe Davis, daughter of James Davis, a leading resident of Wilson County, Tenn., but he was called upon to mourn her death in 1870, her infant daughter dying soon after, at the age of six weeks. She was a consistent Christian, being a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was a faithful, loving and helpful wife–so much so, that Mr. Anderson has since remained faithful to her memory, and is a widower.

Robert J. Bickerstaff is a native of Georgia, in which State he remained until thirteen years of age, going thence to Chambers County, Ala. After a twenty-three years' residence there he came to Arkansas, and settled in this county (then a part of Monroe), arriving February 26, 1859. Here he first engaged in farming, but later carried on the mercantile business in Moro, from 1871 to 1874, since which time he has resumed tilling the soil. Mr. Bickerstaff was born in Jasper County November 28, 1823, and was a son of Robert and Nancy (Roberson) Bickerstaff. Robert Bickerstaff was born in the State of Pennsylvania in 1774, but removed to Georgia about 1790, where he was married in 1797 or 1798. He was a son of a colonel in the Revolutionary War, and he himself was a soldier in the Indian War under Gen. Jackson, and was killed by the Indians at Fort Henderson in May, 1836. Mrs. Bickerstaff was born in Ireland in 1778, came to this country at the age of fourteen, and died in Georgia in 1834. They were the parents of fifteen children, six sons and nine daughters; two of the sons only are living, the subject of this sketch, and Pollard B., a farmer of Montgomery County, Ala. Robert J. Bickerstaff was married in Alabama, on January 31, 1848, to Miss Mary Dazier, of the same county as himself, she having been born June 28, 1828, as a daughter of Woody and Eliza (Compton) Dazier. They became the parents of eight children, seven sons and one daughter, four of whom are still living: Herschel, Robert, Mary L. (wife of John H. Sims) and Andrew, all farmers of this county, though the latter is also employed in Government work. Mr. Bickerstaff enlisted in 1862 in Company C. of the Twenty-third Arkansas Infantry, and after the reorganization was in the Trans-Mississippi Department, serving until the close of the war, having been thrice captured but each time made his escape. Mr. Bickerstaff owns a 240-acre farm, covered with valuable timber, with the exception of ninety acres under cultivation, and he also owns land in Van Zandt County, Tex. Although not taking an active part in politics, Mr. Bickerstaff has held the office of justice of the peace for the past two years. He has been a member of the Masonic order for forty years, and has also belonged to the Missionary Baptist Church the same length of time. Mrs. Bickerstaff is connected with the same church.

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Virgil C. Bigham owes his nativity to Tennessee, though he commenced farming at the age of nineteen years in Monroe County, Ark., and has been engaged in this occupation to the present. He has also carried on the mercantile business since November, 1888. Mr. Bigham now owns 380 acres of land, with eighty acres under cultivation. [p.574] He was born December 17, 1835, a son of Martin Bigham and Sallie (Breeding) Bigham, natives of the State of Tennessee. They were the parents of seven children, Virgil C. being the only one living. The father died in 1854, ten years after the death of his wife. Virgil C. Bigham was married in December, 1857, in Monroe County, to Miss Rachel Breeding, who died in 1858, leaving two children, both deceased. He married his second wife, formerly Miss Eli****beth Caplinn, of this State, in 1863. She became the mother of one daughter, also deceased. Mr. Bigham enlisted in the Confederate army, in 1862, in Company B, of the First Arkansas Battalion (Infantry), and took part in several hard fought battles, but was mostly on scout duty. He has been postmaster of Moro since October, 1889. He is well-known throughout the township as an honest and upright man.

S. A. Bishop, the subject of this sketch, was born in New Berne, N. C., April 11, 1835, his parents being Samuel and Phœbe (Hilbert) Bishop, both of New Berne, N. C., the latter dying in New Berne, N. C., at the advanced age of sighty-three years. S. A. Bishop received a high school education, and at the age of nineteen accepted a position as chief salesman in his brother's furniture store at New Berne, where he remained until December, 1857, after which he removed to Haywood County, Tenn. There on April 13, 1858, he was married to Miss Sarah W. Jones, of New Berne, N. C., she being the daughter of Dr. William M. and Rouncy Jones, nee Miss Rouncy Cooper, the two last named of Haywood County, Tenn. The result of this union was one daughter who, in 1878, married Mr. T. E. Bond, of Brownsville, Tenn., where they now reside. Mrs. Sarah W. Bishop died December 24, 1872. On October 15, 1873, Mr. Bishop was married to Miss Ida Peebles, at Brownsville, Tenn., she being the daughter of Mr. Bobert and Mrs. Ann Peebles. The result of this union was four children, viz.: Samuel A. (born July 21, 1874), Luey C. (born March 7, 1877), Robert P. (born July 14, 1879), and Ann Hilbert (born October 20, 1881). Mrs. Ida Bishop died at Marianna, Ark., October 6, 1888, and was buried at Brownsville, Tenn. Robert P. Bishop died August 3, 1885; the other children are living, Samuel' being a student of the Christian Brothers' College, St. Louis, Mo., and Lucy C. and Ann H. are with their aunt, Mrs. Lelia A. Blackwell, of Dallas, Tex. Mr. Bishop was engaged in the mercantile business first in 1865, at Dancyville, Tenn., remaining there until the spring of 1872, when he removed to Brownsville, Tenn., and continued merchandising. In the spring of 1883 he removed to Marianna, Ark., where he did a profitable and prosperous business until 1889, when he retired from business and is now engaged in collecting up his claims and winding up his business affairs. He is an example of a successful business man, of high social qualities, and is an honorable and affable gentleman.

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George W. Bonner, who is one of the most successful farmers in Spring Creek Township, has been a resident of this county since 1869. He is a native of Tennessee, and the son of Williamson and Maria (Reddith) Bonner, originally from Virginia and North Carolina, respectively. Mr. Bonner was a man of considerable education, and for a number of years followed the occupation of school-teaching, during his latter days being recognized as a public man of considerable importance. For many years he was an elder in the Presbyterian Church. He was a soldier in the War of 1812. John Bouner, his father, a Virginian by birth, and a farmer and mechanic by occupation, lived to the age of eighty years. He participated in the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Bonner was the daughter of Aquilla Reddith, a native of North Carolina, who lived in that State until his death, at the age of ninety years. The subject of this sketch was born in Wilson County, Tenn., in 1828, but his early boyhood was spent in Shelby County, where his father had moved in 1882. He learned the carpenter's trade in youth, and followed that occupation for thirty years, but since that time has been engaged in farming. During the Mexican War he served seven months in Taylor's division. In 1869, moving to Arkansas, Mr. Bonner settled in what was then a part of Phillips (now Lee) County, and three years later located on the farm [p.575] which he has since occupied. He was married, in 1854, to Miss Oliva A. F. Mason, who died nine years after their marriage, leaving four children, one of whom, Williamson E., only is living. Mr. Bonner was later married to Miss Mary E. Newsom, in 1865, a daughter of David Newsom, of Virginia. She was the mother of seven children at the time of her death, in 1881, six of whom are living: David T., George W., Charles Henry J., Carra A., Claudius H. and Fredonia L. He married his third and present wife, Mrs. Elizabeth J. Robertson (nee Tiller), daughter of Benjamin and Ann Tiller, natives of Alabama, in 1882. Mr. Bonner owns a farm of eighty acres, and has about fifty acres under cultivation, giving his attention to stock raising to a large extent. Himself and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which he has belonged for over forty years, and of which he has been a local minister for fifteen years. He has also been a member of the Masonic fraternity for thirty-nine years. A Democrat in polities, he takes an active interest in enterprises for the good of the community, to all of which he contributes largely, and is considered one of the leading farmers of Lee County.

Francis M. Bowdon is a native of Tennessee, and a son of Thomas and Parmelia (Jenkins) Bowdon, natives of South Carolina. The father was engaged in farming in Western Tennessee for a number of years, and move from there to Landerdale County, Ala., when our subject was a small boy, there acting as deputy sheriff. In 1841 he went to De Soto County, Miss., and remained eight years, then coming to Arkansas and locating in Lee County, where he bought timbered land and cleared up a good farm. He was a prominent politician of his community, holding the office of justice of the peace in Mississippi and also in this county. He died in Evanston, Ind., while on a trip to Lexington, Ky. He and wife were members of the Baptist Church, and were the parents of eleven children, three of whom are still living: Benjamin F. (a farmer of Randolph County, Ark.), Columbia (wife of John J. Felton, a farmer of this county) and Francis M. The latter, the principal of this sketch, and the eldest of those now living, was born in Bedford County, Tenn., on May 23, 1827. He was married in 1855 to Miss Caroline Elders, a native of Mississippi, who died in 1862, leaving four children, one son, H. J., being the only one living, and who now has charge of his father's farm. Marish Gilbert became his next wife, but died three years after without issue. Mr. Bowdon was married again to Miss Mollie Arnold, in 1867, who was the mother of three children: Ethel B., Francis M. and James L. He married Melvina. Bertran, a native of this county, in 1869. Mr. Bowdon owns 580 acres in the county, 300 acres in the farm on which he lives, 150 acres in a good state of cultivation and well improved. All this he has made himself, by hard work and close economy.

David W. Boykin, son of Edwin and Elizabeth J. Boykin, was born in Smithfield, N. C., in August, 1839. He was educated at Trinity College, of that State, and enlisted in the Confederate army in 1862, receiving his discharge in 1865, at Appomattox Court-House, Va. In September, 1866, he removed to Arkansas and settled in Marianna, Lee County, then Phillips County, where he was for several years employed as book-keeper and salesman in a general dry-goods and grocery business. Mr. Boykin has now been living upon a fine and productive farm in Lee County, owned by his brother, Edwin A. Boykin, and himself, and is engaged in general farming and stock-raising. He has been twice married; first, to Miss Agnes Snead, of Smithfield, N. C.; next, to Mrs. Joanna M. Saunders, of Brownsville, Tenn. Mr. Boykin is of Irish descent.

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William S. Bradford, M. D., prominently identified with the professional affairs of this section, owes his nativity to Tennessee, being a son of John W. and Emily (Nuckols) Bradford, also originally from that State. The Bradfords are an old family, and can trace their ancestors back to the time of their arrival in the Mayflower. William S. Bradord, the only son in a family of three children, was born in Hardeman County, Tenn., February 11, 1859. He spent his early life on the farm, and at the age of sixteen commenced clerking in a store in that county, becoming, when eighteen, proprietor of a grocery, in which business he was engaged [p.576] for two years. During that time he studied medicine, and the next year attended a course of lectures at Vanderbilt College. He subsequently turned his attention to traveling, and was employed by a publishing company for eighteen months in selling their publications through Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee. In the spring of 1882 he went to Parker County, Tex., where he was engaged in the practice of medicine for a short time. Returning to Tennessee, he followed his profession in Hardeman County one year, and in the winter of 1883-84 attended a course of lectures at Vanderbilt College, from which he graduated in March, 1884. He then came to Arkansas and located in Lee County, where he has since been successfully occupied in the duties of his adopted calling. Dr. Bradford was married on December 2, 1885, to Miss Ida F. Halton, of Nevada County, Ark. They have one son, Wiley E. Dr. Bradford has a large and lucrative practice, and is highly thought of by the citizens of Lee County. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, and also of the Lee County Medical Association, and of the State Medical Society, having represented his county in the spring of 1888 at Fort Smith.

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Dr. T. J. Brasher. An undeniable truth is that the life of any man, temperately lived, is of great benefit to the community in which he resides, when all his efforts are directed to advancing its interests, and whose career is according to the higher principles of what he conceives to be right, helping others and caring for those who are unable to do for themselves. Such a man is Dr. Brasher. Born in Christian County, Ky., on November 1, 1835, he is a son of Alexander and Margaret (Brown) Brasher, natives of Kentucky and North Carolina, respectively. The father's birth occurred in the year 1811, and during life he was engaged in that most important occupation to Kentuckians, the breeding and rearing of fine blooded horses. Being a wide-awake and prominent man, he took an active part in politics, and for many years filled the offices of probate judge and justice of the peace. He belonged to the Christian Church, and was a Mason of high degree. To him and wife were born a family of seven children, as follows: Alonzo W. (a prominent practicing physician of Hopkins County, Ky.), Rachel (the widow of Dr. T. A. Yarrell, of Kentucky), the immediate subject of this sketch, Melissa (wife of Dr. James M. Long, of Crofton, Ky.), William A., M. D. (killed at the battle of Franklin, Tenn.), Elbridge Gerry (a colonel in the Confederate army, who was killed at the battle of Shelbyville, Ky.) and Altazera (wife of David Wooldridge, a wealthy ranchman of Oregon). T. J. Brasher grew to manhood in Hopkins County, of the Blue Grass State, and after receiving a thorough practical education in the subordinate schools, took a classical course at Georgetown College, and later a medical course in the Eclectic Medical Institute of Cincinnati, Ohio, which graduated him with honors at the age of twenty-one years. After practicing his profession in the neighborhood of his nativity for about five years, he removed to Arkansas, in 1860, and located in Lee County, a portion of which at that time belonged to Monroe County. He was not long permitted to follow his peaceful pursuits, but in 1861 enrolled his services for the Confederate cause, and was made a first lieutenant in Company D. of Hindman's Legion. He participated in the engagements of Shiloh, Perryville, Franklin, Clarksville, Uniontown, and many other hotly contested battles, and in the first and two last mentioned actions received severe wounds. Because of these injuries he was rendered unfit for further active military duty, but on account of his recognized ability and worth, was appointed under Jefferson Davis, to a position in the secret service of the treasury department of the Confederate States. This important position he filled with credit to himself and honor to the cause, displaying great adaptability to the important duties devolved upon him. The year following the end of the great conflict, Dr. Brasher wedded Miss Nannie L. Edwards, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of Charles A. Edwards. One daughter, Kate A. (the wife of James M. Maclin, of the firm of P. E. Northern & Co., of Marianna), is the result of this union. Since being a resident of Arkansas, the Doctor has practiced his profession, farmed and merchandised, and in a financial way, as well as otherwise, has made his life a success. His portrait appropriately graces this volume. In addition to his other interests he has found time to enter quite actively into literary pursuits, contributing frequently to all local newspapers. He has also attained to considerable reputation as a writer upon romance, the woodpecker, squirrel, dog, highland terrapin, opossum, etc., these articles being widely copied throughout the Southern States.

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[p.579] Jesse Briley came to Arkansas in the fall of 1851, first locating in St. Francis County, and later in Lee County, being employed as a farm hand for seven or eight years. In 1859 he bought a quarter section of land, on which he lived until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in the Thirteenth Arkansas Infantry, but was soon after transferred to the Second Arkansas Cavalry, serving in Price's raid through Missouri. After the war he returned to his farm, which he found badly dilapidated, and was obliged to start from the bottom of the ladder, but has been very successful, now owning 700 acres of land, with 400 acres under cultivation. Besides this he owns a house and lot at Haynes, and is a stockholder in the Haynes Mercantile Company. Mr. Briley was born in North Carolina, in 1834, and was married in 1859, to Miss Emma Daniel. They are the parents of four children: Sallie, Laniar, Katie and Ida. He is a member of the Masonic order, and also of the Knights of Honor. He is a Democrat in politics, and is well known and highly respected as a citizen.

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John A. Brittain is a progressive agriculturist and stockman of Union Township, Lee County, Ark., but was born in Franklin County, Tenn, in 1828, being the eldest of four children born to James and Frances (Stoveall) Brittain, who were also Tennesseeans. The family first came to St. Francis County, Ark., in 1845, and here Mr. Brittain purchased a farm on which a few improvements had been made, it being situated about one-half mile from Forrest City, which was then called Mt. Vernon. He lived in this settlement until his death April 9, 1849. He had been married twice, his first wife being the mother of our subject, but she died in 18*6, and of her four children three are yet living: John A., Susan (wife of Abram Noah, resides in Texas) and Frances (the widow of Rufus Williams, lives in Tennessee). Benjamin died in 1881, and his family still reside in Lee County. After the death of his first wife Mr. Brittain was married, in 1838, to Miss Annie Staples, of Tennessee, and the three children which were born to them are now deceased: Martha A. was the wife of Aaron G. McDaniels, and died in 1867, and the other two died in infancy. Mrs. Brittain died in September, 1844. John A. Brittain remained in the county of his birth, acquiring there a fair education, until 1845, when he came to this State with his father, and, after assisting him on the farm until he was twenty-one years of age, he followed clerking for a short while. Since that time he has followed the life of a farmer, and in 1851 purchased a portion of the farm on which he now resides, then consisting of forty acres. Very few improvements had at that time been made upon it, but he has since erected buildings, fences, etc., and now has his farm in a splendid condition for agricultural purposes. He has added 120 acres and has eighty acres under the plow. Cotton and corn are among his main products, but he also gives much of his attention to the propagation of stock. He was married in 1849 to Miss Mary McDaniel, a native of Arkansas, born in 1835. She has lived in three counties in this State, without having moved. She was born in Phillips County, which afterward became St. Francis County, and is now Lee County. She is a daughter of Archibald G. and Mary (Davis) McDaniel, who were born in Kentucky and moved to Arkansas in 1828, being among the first settlers of Phillips County, Mr. McDaniel being also one of the first postmasters in this portion of the State, a position he held until 1857. He and wife became the parents of thirteen children, eleven of whom lived to be over fourteen years of age, only two of whom are now living: Mary (Mrs. Brittain) and Harriett (the widow of Robert Shell). Mrs. McDaniel died in 1869. An uncle of Mrs. Brittain's, John Calvert, was one of the first settlers of this region, and was a soldier in the War of 1812. Her mother came from Kentucky to Arkansas via Memphis, Tenn., [p.580] which at that time was only a camp, said to be one of the camps of the noted bandit Murrell. Mr. and Mrs. Brittain are the parents of ten children, G. B., Robert McD., Mary W., M. L., and Eliza A. being the only ones living. A. T. died at the age of twenty years, and J. B. when twenty-four years of age. In 1864 Mr. Brittain joined the Confederate army, becoming a member of Company C, Dobbins' Regiment, and was with Gen. Price through Missouri, and was in the battles of Pilot Knob, Lexington, and in numerous skirmishes. He was paroled in June, 1865, at Wittsburg,

Ark. He and wife are worthy members of society and his wife is a member of the Methodist Church.

William J. Broadley is a son of Samuel W. Broadley, a native of Liverpool, England, whose father, Ferrell Broadley, also came originally from England, being proprietor of the "Fax Hall Spinning Company;" of the interests of that concern, still extensive and profitable, our subject is one of the heirs. Samuel Broadley came to America in 1849, a few years after his marriage, and was occupied in the mercantile business in the State of New York the following year. He then took the "gold fever" and went to California, leaving his family in New York, and engaged in the mining of the precious metal until 1853, when he was killed by an accident in a mine in which he was working. He was married in Liverpool to Miss Phœbe Covington, a native of that country and a daughter of Frederick Covington, a merchant, and, at the time of his death, at an advanced age, a man of considerable means. Mrs. Broadley is still living and a resident of New Orleans. She also has a brother in this country, a member of the firm of Covington & Co., of Salt Lake City. Of the children of Mr. and Mrs. Broadley, five are still living: Ida (wife of Frank S. Snell, a prominent real estate agent and broker of Denver, Colo.), Alice M. (wife of a Mr. Patton, a merchant of Memphis, Tenn.), William T. (an attorney of New Orleans), Henry J. (who is in the employ of the Government as a chemist) and William J. (the principal of this sketch). The latter was born in Steuben County, N. Y., in 1852. After his father's death his mother moved from New York, going to several places, and finally, in 1862, to Memphis, Tenn., where they lived one year; later she became located at New Orleans and still lives there. Mr. Broadley learned the trade of a machinist when a young man, at which he worked in different States, but finally settled in Lee County, where he was employed at his chosen occupation until 1887. Then he purchased his present farm, and has since turned his attention to farming. He was married, in 1879, to Miss Lorena O'Kelley, a daughter of Overton and Mary O'Kelley, natives of Alabama and Georgia, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Broadley have four children: Frederick C., Charles O., Ida L. and William S. (now deceased). Mr. Broadley owns a fine farm of 440 acres, with nearly 300 acres under cultivation, and is engaged in raising stock. He and wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. He is a Democrat in politics, and is a prominent man of Spring Creek Township. He belongs to no secret societies, but before entering the agricultural list of Lee County, belonged to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers.

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George W. Bullard ranks among the leading agriculturists of Lee County, and although he was born in Tennessee in 1853, he has been a resident of Arkansas since he was three years old, at which time his father and mother, George T. and Elizabeth (Curts) Bullard, came here from their native State of Tennessee. They settled in St. Francis County and bought some unimproved land at $5 and $7 per acre, but rented land the first year of his stay. On this farm he resided until his death in 1875, and witnessed many changes in the growth and prosperity of the county as it was a very wild and unsettled region at the time of his locating. During the Civil War he suffered much at the hands of bushrangers who claimed to belong to the Union and Confederate armies, but did not himself serve in either army. Seven of his ten children lived to be grown and five are living at the present time: George W., Mattie J. (wife of John Lindsey), Octavia A. (wife of W. T. Inge), Margaret H. (wife of F. C. Danerhougher) and Alice L. The mother of these children still resides on the old homestead and manages her farm successfully. She is, as was her husband, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he was a member of Bethel Lodge No. 254, A. F. & A. M. George W. Bullard attended the common schools near his home in his youth and in 1870 entered Abernathy's School in Montgomery County, Tenn., where he acquired a sufficiently good education to fit him for the toils and cares of business life. At the age of twenty-one years he commenced the battle of life for himself but did not leave home until he was married, in 1882, to Miss Ella Davis, she being a daughter of J. P. and Mollie (Jackson) Davis, of Alabama, who came to Arkansas about 1870. She was born in 1865 and is one of two surviving members of their family of three children: Ella, Willie and James, the latter being deceased. Mr. Davis died in 1879 and Mrs. Davis in 1877, both being worthy members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, the former also a member of

the I. O. O. F. Mr. and Mrs. Bullard have a family of three children: George W. (who was born February 11, 1884, and died Angust 23, 1886), Daisy Lee (born February 1, 1886) and Renben E. (born October 21, 1889). Mr.Bullard owns a fine farm of 240 acres, of which 175 acres are nicely improved with good buildings of all descriptions. He raises annually from sixty to seventy-five bales of cotton, besides plenty of corn and hay, stock-raising also receiving a considerable portion of his attention. He is a rising young farmer and in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the county he is deeply interested. He is a member of Bethel Lodge No. 254, of the A. F. and A. M., and Lodge No. 1861, of the K. of H., at Haynes. His wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

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Capt. William H. Clark, of Marianna, Ark., was born in North Carolina in 1841, and in 1846 moved with his parents (James and Virginia L. (Pinnell) Clark), to Memphis, Tenn., and from there, in 1857, to Walnut Bend, Ark., where the father purchased land. The latter was born in Guilford County, N. C., in 1816, and was a painter by trade. This he followed until after he moved to Walnut Bend, where he resided up to 1867, when he died of yellow fever. He followed merchandising, and owned some land in Walnut Bend. Clark's Landing was named in honor of him, and he owned the same. The mother was born in Virginia, in 1824, and died in Memphis, Tenn., in 1854. They were the parents of three children, Capt. William H. Clark being the eldest; and the second, James Preston, was captured in Walnut Bend during the war, and died from a fever contracted in prison. He was a member of Capt. Cowley's company, C. S. A. The youngest child died when young. Capt. William H. Clark was reared and educated in Memphis. He commenced steamboating in 1856, as clerk on the steamer Katie Frishee, and followed this in different capacities until 1861, when he joined the Confederate army at Memphis. Previous to this, in 1859, he was appointed route agent for the United States mail, between Memphis, Tenn., and Vicksburg, Miss., and was serving in that capacity when the war broke out. He joined the One Hundred Fifty-fourth Senior Tennessee Regiment as private, in Company B (Bluff City Greys), was a clerk in Adj.-Gen. Bragg's office, of the Army of Tennessee, under command of Gens. Bragg, J. E. Johnston and Hood, at department headquarters, and served from May, 1863, until the close of the war. He participated in the battles of Belmont, Shiloh, Corinth, Richmond (Ky.) and Perryville, with his company, the Bluff City Greys. During the fight at Richmond there were seventy-five in the company, and they captured from 125 to 150 of the enemy, and were in front all day. After the battle nearly all had their clothes torn by bullets, but no man of the company was wounded. They were sharp-shooters of Gen. Preston Smith's brigade. Capt. Clark was with the Army of Tennessee while under the commands of Gens. Braxton Bragg, J. E. Johnston, John B. Hood, G. T. Beauregard and Dick Taylor, from Murfreesboro, Tenn., to the surrender at Greensboro, N. C., serving continually in the adjutant-general's office under the different commanders. After the surrender he returned to Memphis and followed steamboating until 1876, part of the time being engaged in the cottn seed business. He was married in 1866, to Miss Maggie Harrison, who was born in Paducah, Ky. Her grandfather moved to Christian County, [p.582] Ky., in 1809 from Virginia, and was one of the owners and founders of Paducah. Her grandfather and William H. Harrison were first cousins, and the subject of this sketch was named for that president. Capt. Clark came here in 1876, and engaged in the receiving and forwarding business. By his marriage he became the father of seven children: William H., Jr., Dudley S., Emma, Maggie, Benigna, Ruth and Charles Preston. Capt. Clark is a member of the Masonic fraternity–Chapter, Council and Commandery–K. of H., and K. & L. of H. and K. of P. He and wife and all the family are members of the Episcopal Church. G. F. Clark was born in Guilford County, N. C., and was a first cousin of Abraham Clark, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and was of Scotch descent. The grandmother on his father's side was a Lilly, and a relative of the Lillys of Halifax County, Va. The Carringtons, of Cumberland County, were relatives to the wife's father.

J. P. Curtis belongs to the firm of Hughes & Curtis, of Haynes, Ark., general merchants, the former being also engaged in farming. He was the fifth of eight children born to William and Mary (Porchman) Curtis, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively, the former of whom came to Arkansas in 1856, and settled in what was then St. Francis County, but is now Lee, where he improved an excellent farm, on which he died in 1878. Of his eight children only two are living: Elisabeth (Mrs. Bullard of Lee County) and J. P. Curtis. Two children died in infancy, and three died between the ages of thirteen and twenty-one. A sister, Mary, was the wife of Buck Dawson at the time of her death. The mother of these children died in 1875, she and her husband having been earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at the time of their death. J. P. Curtis was sixteen years of age upon his removal to this State, but the most of his education was received in Lee County. He was in his twenty-first year at the breaking out of the late war, and he immediately donned a suit of gray clothes, and became a member of Company D, Fortieth Tennessee, and was on active duty with the Army of Tennessee, until 1862, when he was transferred to the Fifteenth Arkansas In. fantry, and served on the east side of the Mississippi River, until the fall of Port Hudson. He was captured at Island No. 10, and was sent to Camp Butler, Ill., but at the end of six months was exchanged at Vicksburg, and rejoined his command near that place. He surrendered, and was paroled at Port Hudson, July 8, 1863, and reached home on the 23d day of the same month. After remaining at home for eight months, he, in 1864, joined Col. Dobbins' command, and was with Gen. Price on his raid through Missouri, participating in a number of engagements in that State. He surrendered at Wittsburg, in January, 1865, and returned to his home, where he commenced to cultivate his father's farm, and continued so to do until the latter's death. In February, 1889, he became a member of the above named firm, doing an annual business of about $35,000, and in addition to this they also deal in cotton, and in the year 1888 ginned 1,300 bales, but only ginned about 800 bales last year, on account of poor crops. Mr. Curtis was married in 1867, to Miss M. C. Castell, of St. Fraucis County, a daughter of Calloway and Isabel (Simpson) Castell, who were among the early settlers of the county, and by her has reared a family of five children, three dying when small. Those living are: Mary (wife of Charles Higginbotham, of this county), Walter B. (who is attending school in Madisonville, Ky.), William, A. E. and B. E. Mr. Curtis belongs to Bethel Lodge No. 2168, of the K. of H.

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D. W. Davis, one of the old settlers of this county, and son of David W. Davis, who came to this State in 1829, was born in the Old Dominion in 1816, and accompanied his father to Arkansas in the above mentioned year, settling where the younger Davis is now living. This was at that time a wilderness, and there were, in what is now Lee County, about forty families on the east side of the L'Anguille, and none on the west. In about 1835 Hardy Williams and brother, Jefferson Ezell, and two brothers, and one Mr. Burris, settled west of Haynes, in what is now Texas Township. The remaining portion of the county was an unbroken [p.583] wilderness, filled with deer, bear, buffalo and many other wild animals. Where Marianna now stands there lived at that time two old Poles, Duskinuski and Coluski by name, and just south of them lived John Patterson, who was born in Helena in 1800. He lived to be eighty years of age. His sister, who was born previous to 1800, was the first white child born in Helena. Of all the early settlers of the county, Mr. Davis is the only one of the original families who is still living. He was one of eleven children born to his parents, five sons and six daughters, and is the only one surviving, although all lived to be grown and reared large families, except one sister and D. W. These children were named as follows: Mary (deceased, was the wife of A. G. McDaniel, family now resides in this and Monroe County), Solomon (deceased, family resides in Illinois), Nancy (deceased, wife of John W. Calvert, family deceased), Cornelius (deceased, family resides in this county and Arizona), Benjamin (deceased, family resides in St. Francis County), Rebecca (deceased), Rachel (deceased, wife of William West, family resides in Kansas), D. W., W. H. (deceased, family resides with D. W. Davis, except one daughter, Elizabeth, who married G. L. Rodgers), Harriet (deceased, wife of T. R. Harris) and Eliza (deceased, wife of Bryant Lynch, family resides in Lee County, Ark.). David W. Davis, Sr., died in 1837. He was born in

1761, and participated in the Revolutionary War. He was on a war ship with Capt. Peterson during the principal part of the war, and was with Gen. Wayne in the war with the Indians, being wounded in the shoulder in the last engagements. His wife was born in 1777, and died in 1861. Our subject, D. W. Davis, was educated in the subscription schools of Kentucky, and after coming to Arkansas received instruction from his father, who was an unusually good scholar for his day, and a fine mathematician. After the death of his father D. W. remained at home and took care of his mother. He was not in the war himself, but his family supplied quite a number of soldiers for the Sonth. His father held the right of pre-emption on the and which he entered in 1836, there being about 160 acres in the original homestead, but to this our subject has added 300 acres more, which belongs to him and the heirs of W. H. Davis. The Davis family, while being among the prominent ones of the county, never aspired to office, though one, J. C. Davis, is sheriff of St. Francis County. He is a nephew of D. W. Davis (subject). While Mr. Davis does not seek for official prominence he still manifests considerable interest in the local elections, and is a thorough Democrat. He is a liberal contributor to all matters relating to the good of the county, and is a man

universally respected. Amanda Davis, widow of W. H. Davis, and daughter of Noah and Mary (Hearty) Reed, natives, respectively, of Massachusetts and Kentucky, was one of two children born to her parents. The other child, Elizabeth, married J. L. Rowland. Previous to her marriage to Mr. Reed, Mrs. Reed had married a man by the name of Ramage, and by him became the mother of two children: Lucinda (deceased, wife of Beujamin Travis), and James (who resides in Paducah, Ky.). Mr. Reed died in 1845, and Mrs. Reed in 1842. Mrs. Amanda Davis was born in 1833, and came with her father to Arkansas when quite small. She had very limited educational advantages, and at the age of twenty-two years was united in marriage to George Halbert. The result of this union was one child, W. H., who resides in Haynes. Mr. Halbert died December 17, 1856, and in July, 1858, his widow married W. H. Davis, who died November 23, 1888. Mr. and Mrs. Davis were the parents of seven children, five now living; Richard (died at the age of twenty-five years), T. Jefferson (died at the age of fifteen months), Mary E., Annie, George B., William H. and Harriet A. Mr. Davis and his brother, D. W., had always remained together, and the business interests still continue as before his death. W. H. Davis had been married previous to his union with Mrs. Halbert, to Miss Sarah J. Boon, and by her became the father of five children, only two now living: Mrs. Rodgers, of Texas, and David R., who resides in Lee County, Ark. Mrs. Davis is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

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Robert C. Davis has been a resident of Arkansas since a short time after the close of the Civil War, in which conflict he took part on the Confederate [p.584] side, enlisting in Company A, of the Twenty seventh Mississippi Infantry, in 1861, when only seventeen years of age. After the close of hostilities he returned to Mississippi, his native State, where he remained until 1869, then coming to this State and locating in Phillips County, and in 1880 he came to Lee County and settled upon his present farm. Mr. Davis was born in Attala County, Miss., in 1843, being a son of J. G. A. and Elizabeth J. Davis, natives of Illinois and Tennessee, respectively. His educational advantages were limited to a few months' attendance at the common schools in each year. Mr. Davis has been twice married; first, in 1866, to Miss Sarah J. Cornish, daughter of William and Elizabeth Cornish, natives of North Carolina and Georgia, respectively. Mrs. Davis died in 1871, leaving three children, two of whom are still living: Cornish R. and Rightor C. He was married to his present wife, Miss Luivia J. Alexander, in 1872. He owns 560 acres of land, 130 acres cleared and in a good state of cultivation, with good improvements upon his place. Mr. Davis is a Democrat in politics, and was appointed postmaster of Lee in 1884, having held the office since that time. He and wife are members of the Primitive Baptist Church, in which they take an active part.

W. T. Derrick, well known as the popular clerk of the circuit court of Lee County, is a native of Alabama, and a son of H. B. and Evaline (Beal) Derrick. H. B. Derrick is still living, a resident of this county, seventy-one years of age. His wife died in 1885, at the age of fifty-eight. W. T. Derrick was born in 1842, and came to Lee County with his father when a boy. He served four years in the Confederate army during the war, holding the position of lieutenant in the Army of Tennessee, and participated in seventeen different engagements. After the war be returned to this county and carried on farming until 1884, when he was elected county and circuit clerk, and was re-elected in 1886, and again in 1888, filling the offices with great credit to himself and satisfaction to his fellow-citizens. Mr. Derrick's wife was formerly Miss Mary S. Jones, also of Alabama origin. They are the parents of two children: Maria and Robert L. He is a member of the K. of P. and of the K. of H. It is unnecessary to add that Mr. Derrick is one of the leading Democrats of the county, having held prominent offices for the past six years. He is also highly esteemed not only by those of the same political party, but by all good citizens throughout this locality.

H. B. Derrick, Jr., liveryman, Mariauna, Ark. Among the active enterprises of a town like Marianna, the business of a livery stable occupies necessarily an important place, contributing as they do to the pleasure, convenience and actual necessities of the community. Among the most notable of this class in Marianna is that conducted by Mr. Derrick, which was established at this place in 1873. Mr. Derrick was born September 30, 1852, in Alabama and emigrated with his father from that State to Arkansas in 1859. Here he grew to manhood and received his education in the common schools, and at Florence and Huntsville, Ala. He first engaged in tilling the soil but later entered a store as clerk. As above stated, he opened the livery business at Marianna in December, 1873, and was very successful at this until a snow storm came and crushed in his stable. He then rebuilt and in 1876, as misfortune seemed to cling to him, he had his stable destroyed by fire, sustaining a loss of about $1,500, and in 1883 the stable was again destroyed by fire with a loss much heavier than before. Neither disheartened nor discouraged he again engaged in the business, built a brick barn and now has the best livery business in Eastern Arkansas. He also had a farm of 300 acres, after having sold some, and is one of the most practical business men of the county. He was married first in 1876 to Mrs. Ella Campbell, who is deceased. The children by this marriage are also deceased. Mr. Derrick afterward married Miss Emma Longley. Mr. Derrick is the son of H. B., Sr., and Evalyn Beal, the father a native of Alabama, born April 10, 1819. He is a farmer by occupation but is now living with his son. The latter is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

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Eli T. Diamond. Of all the old settlers in Arkansas there is no one more deserving of a place in the history of his State than Eli T. Diamond, [p.585] who is also a descendant of Revolutionary heroes. His grandfather, John Diamond, was a native of Ireland and came to America in his boyhood days, being one of the first to respond to the call of his adopted country, and serving in the war for freedom until its close. He was a member of Gen. Marion's famous band in all of its brilliant achievements. After the close of the war he returned to his home in South Carolina, but, being surrounded by Tories, and unpleasantly and dangerously situated, he removed to Georgia and settled on the site of the present city of Milledgeville, once the capital, and where Robert Diamond, the father of our subject, was reared, he having been born in South Carolina during the stormy times of the Revolution. After his marriage Robert Diamond removed to Robertson County, Tenn., and then to Illinois, in 1816, under the Territorial Government, and settled in Bond County, where he died in 1852. He was one of the early settlers of that State. Nancy (Rice) Diamond, the mother of the principal of this sketch, was a daughter of James Rice, an Englishman. She was born in Virginia, on the banks of the Potomac River, and was there reared and educated, but later removed to Georgia, where she met, captured and married the father of Eli T. She died in Illinois in 1857, having borne eleven children, of whom the subject of this sketch is the only survivor. He was born in Robertson County, Tenn., April 22, 1807, and accompanied his parents to Illinois at the age of eight years, where he was brought up and educated. At the age of twenty years he went to Natchez, Miss., and lived with an uncle. Two years later he became employed as an overseer on a Mississippi plantation, being engaged in that occupation for eight years, when he bought an interest in a plantation in Washington County, Miss., but, putting too much confidence in his partner, he was bankrupted. He then moved to Chicot County, Ark., in 1840, where he was employed as overseer of a plantation until 1842, at which ime he went to Desha County, again becoming interested in a large plantation. For awhile he succeeded very well, but, another financial crash overtaking him, he again lost the greater part of the earnings of years of labor. He then (in 1844) removed to Walnut Bend, on the Mississippi River, in Phillips County. Here he lived for twenty-four years, clearing up one of the best-improved farms in that section of country, owning 700 acres of land, and while here he secured a large tract of land in the western part of Phillips (now Lee) County. A large negro debt swallowed up his Walnut Bend property, and for the third time he was sent adrift in the financial world. He then set out for his wild and untenanted home in the wilderness of Phillips County. In 1860 he bought a family of negroes, expecting to pay for them when he could sell cotton, as he had two crops unsold. When the war came on the cotton was burned by the Confederates, and the debt accumulated during the war. That struggle found him with a good home surrounded by every convenience and comfort. In 1862 Mr. Diamond brought hands to this section, which was then a wilderness, and improved some of his wild land, where he now lives, but still retained his home on the river. But the ravages of the war and the accumulation of debt compelled him to a compromise in giving up his river place, when he came west. Older in years, and with burdens and misfortunes sufficient to have paralyzed many a younger man, he began anew the work of making a home for his family, and soon the wilderness blossomed under his skill and husbandry. But the guns of Sumter were the death-knell of his high ambitions. The war gave freedom to his most valuable property, the negro, and the close of the war found him destitute of everything but the shattered remains of what had once been a magnificent property, and of which there only remains one-quarter section of land, on which he now lives with his son and his tenants, calmly awaiting the end of a well-spent life. Mr. Diamond has been twice married; first, in 1846, to Elizabeth Hall, a native of North Carolina, who died in 1857, leaving six children, three of whom survive: William H., Eli T. and Alford S. His second marriage was in February, 1868, to Miss Anna Owen, of Phillips County, who died in 1870. Mr. Diamond is a Democrat in politics, is a member of the Masonic order and of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to [p.586] which he has belonged since twelve years of age. He is esteemed by all who know him for his goodness of heart, and for his Christian character in every day life. He has kept a diary of public events since 1844, noting down all public events. There are several large volumes of the work, and many are the facts and statements therein contained, which, in time to come, and even now, are very valuable.

James J. Dozier came originally from Georgia, being a son of Woody and Eliza (Compton) Dozier, also natives of that State. The senior Dozier was born in Warren County in 1804, and his wife four years later in Jasper County. They were married in 1828, and became the parents of ten children, seven of whom are still living: Mary C. (wife of R. J. Bickerstaff, whose biography appears in this work), Sallie F. (Mrs. Sutton, of Forrest City), Emily V. (wife of R. P. Danart, a resident of Texas), Anna C. (wife of Rev. W. H. Pasley, also a resident of Forrest City), James J., the principal of this sketch), Elizabeth (the wife of Andrew C. Wood, a farmer of St. Francis County) and Annette E. (widow of William Henderson). James J. Dozier was born in Jasper County, Ga., on July 1, 1843, but passed his boyhood days in what is now Lee County, Ala. He enlisted in the Confederate army in July, 1861, in the Thirteenth Regiment Alabama Volunteers, in which he served until the close of the war, serving as a non-commissioned officer. He participated in the battles of Seven Pines, the seven days' fight before Richmond, South Mountain, Antietam, Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancelloraville and Gettysburg, at which battle he was wounded by the explosion of a shell; he was also slightly wounded at the battle of the Wilderness. He took part in the engagements of Spottsylvania Court-House, Petersburg, Turkey Ridge, and a number of others, and was captured at High Bridge, three days before Lee's surrender, being held for three months. He came to Arkansas in January, 1867, and settled near Moro, where he now resides, on a farm of 220 acres, with bout forty acres under cultivation. Mr. Dozier returned to Alabama in 1869, and was there married to Miss Olive I. Crabbe, of that State, and a daughter of Richard and Matilda (Love) Crabbe. Mr. and Mrs. Dozier are the parents of nine children, seven living: Nina, Charles E., Emma, Grover C., James R., Nora and Mattie. Mr. Dozier held the office of deputy sheriff during the years from 1880 to 1885. He is a member of the County Wheel.

J. P. Dunham was born in Effingham County, Ill., in 1845, but was reared in Shelby County, and up to the breaking out of the late war his time was occupied in attending the common schools. He dropped his books to join the Federal army and protect the grand old stars and stripes, and was a member of the First Illinois Cavalry, but at the end of one year was transferred to the Trans-Mississippi Department, and was on detached service under Steele, and was with him at the fall of Little Rock. He went from there to Pilot Knob, and shortly after the close of the war he went to Kansas and embarked in the lumber business, and also owned and operated a saw-mill on Marie des Cygnes River. In 1875 he came to Arkansas and settled in Phillips County, where he operated a saw-mill for two and a half years, which enterprise did not prove a financial success. From that time until 1888 he owned and operated a mill in Lee County, his business partner being R. D. Griffis, who was connected with him for eleven years, or until 1888, after which they sold out to a lumber company, and Mr. Dunham has since remained its manager. He owns a good house and lot, and 13,000 acres of land on Spring Creek, and is also in the lumber business. He is a Republican, a member of the Episcopal Church, and belongs to the A. F. & A. M., being a Knight Templar, and is also a member of the Royal Arcanum and the Knights of Honor and the Knights and Ladies of Honor. He was married while a resident of Kansas, to Miss Kate Rouse, by whom he has one child, Capitola. He is a son of Hy. and Mary (Ramsey) Dunham, the former of whom was born in Tennessee and is now a resident of

Shelby County, Ill., a farmer by occupation.

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William P. Fleming, M. D. Among the names which give standing to Marianna and conduce to the welfare of society, is that of Dr. Fleming, [p.587] for he not only dispenses drugs, but also deals in hardware and furniture. He was born in Haywood County, Tenn., in 1856, but was reared in Crockett County, and received his literary education in Dyersburg Institute, of Tennessee, and the University of Louisville, Ky., graduating from the latter institution in March, 1877. He practiced medicine at Bell's Depot, Tenn., for three years, being also engaged in the drug business, but sold out in 1883 and came to Marianna, Ark., where he has since confined himself solely to the sale of drugs, his partner, Mr. Plummer, having charge of the hardware and furniture department. His store-room is 120x25 feet, and his stock of drugs is valued at about $10,000, and nets him a fair annual income. His stock of goods is quite complete, and it is safe to say that a call for any article will be promptly and accurately filled, for Dr. Fleming has few equals as a pharmacist. He was married in Memphis, Tenn., to Miss May Townsend, a daughter of D. H. Townsend, a farmer of that State, and by her has the following little family: Patrick, Guy and Walter. The Doctor is a son of Jacob and Mariah (Turpin) Fleming, the former a native of Illinois, reared in Tennessee. He is now a retired merchant and land owner near Bell's Depot, Tenn., and is sixty-five years of age. His wife was born in Tennessee, and died in 1888, aged fifty years. Anderson Turpin, the maternal grandfather, was a Tennesseean by birth.

M. H. Ford, planter and land-holder of Independence Township, is one of four children, reared by Charles F. and Betty (Hewett) Ford, his birth occurring in 1859. Charles Ford, a native of Virginia, was born in 1824, of parents who were among the F. F. V's. He passed his younger days in Virginia, where he became engaged in the mercantile business and was recognized as a man of unusual business aptitude. He was married in 1854 to Betty, daughter of John M. Hewett, of Kentucky, and to their union the following children were born: Minnie (now Mrs. Frank Govan of Marianna, and the mother of four children), Charlie (married to Miss Jessie Jackson, and resides at Marianna and they have three children), M. H. (the subject of this sketch) and William (unmarried, the deputy clerk of Lee County). Mr. Ford immigrated to Arkansas and later on came to Lee County, where he purchased a large amount of property and became very popular, being considered as a public-spirited and progressive man, always ready to lend his substantial support to anything for the growth and eventual good of the county. He died in 1867 in Lee County, and his wife followed him about five years later. They were members of the Christian Church and highly respected by all who knew them. M. H. Ford passed his boyhood days in Arkansas, Kentucky and Quincy, Ill., his education being completed at the Gem City Business College of the latter place. Soon after he came to Arkansas and in 1881 was appointed marshal of Marianna, which position he held with creditable distinction for seven years. After retiring from office he engaged in farming and now has about 320 acres of good land on which his residence is situated, and in addition to that has over 1,000 acres, with a total of 600 acres well improved and under cultivation. Mr. Ford was married in 1885 to Miss Carrie Foreman, of Independence Township, Lee County, Ark., and to their union three children have been born: Twins (deceased) and Carrie Louise. Mr. Ford is a Democrat in his political views, and in secret societies is a member of the Knights of Pythias (charter member) and the Knights of Honor. He is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and his wife a communicant of the Episcopal Church.

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Col. John I. Foreman, who was born in North Carolina, in 1829, was one of two children resulting from the union of William S. and Elizabeth E. (Williams) Foreman. The father's birth occurred in 1806, in North Carolina, where he became identified with the most prominent and wealthy planters of Pitt County, also belonging to one of the first families of that State. He was married in 1828, to Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Williams, an eminent physician of North Carolina, who served as surgeon in the Revolutionary War. Mr. Foreman died in 1836, leaving to a young widow the management of his large fortune, which was willed without condition to her. She again married, her [p.588] second husband being E. B. Freeman, clerk of the supreme court of North Carolina for many years. Mrs. Freeman having received a large fortune from her former husband, turned her attention to the education of her two sons, both of them being sent to Princeton, N. ., and graduating from the prominent college of that place. She closed her eyes to the scenes of this world in 1848. In 1851 John I. was elected to the legislature, from Pitt County, N. C., in which he served two years, and had he chose to remain, could have occupied a most enviable position in the political field. This, however, he did not care to do. Having previonsly paid a visit to Eastern Arkansas, he concluded that that was the place for his future home, and in 1853 he came to what is now Lee (then Phillips) County, to join his brother, who had immigrated to the State a year previous, bringing with him into the primeval forest a vast number of slaves and other property. He had purchased a large tract of land, and by the help of the slaves soon brought it from its embryo state, to that of cultivation. This property was equally enjoyed and shared by the two brothers, where they lived in great contentment until the breaking out of the war between the States. During that time they added much to their wealth, and became widely recognized as the most prosperous and popular planters in the State. They were known far and near for their generosity and support to all educational enterprises, and in fact to all movements that betokened the good and growth of the county. When the war was declared, John Foreman believing the South to be right, as a leader of the people with whom he lived, raised a company of soldiers for the Confederate army, and was attached to the Second Arkansas, Govan's regiment. Being transferred east of the Mississippi, he fought in the battle of Perryville (Ky.), and then returned to the Trans-Mississippi Department, where he was attached to Gen. Marsh Walker's staff. He was with this command at the date of Gen. Walker's death, in a duel with a wellknown general. After this Mr. Foreman was not in active service, and at the closing of hostilities he returned home to find that his plantation and all his valuable property had been destroyed by the ravages of war. Let it not for a moment be supposed that his great loss overpowered him, for he set to work with redoubled courage and a determination to succeed, and a few years witnessed the recovery of his fortunes, and an addition to his property lost. Here in this vicinity he lived for many years, occupying a warm place in the hearts of the entire community, by whom he was honored and revered, as a leading and popular citizen of this county. A mean action or an unkind word was something perfectly foreign to his loyal and generous nature. His death, which occurred in 1879, was sincerely mourned by all who knew him, and his work, which was of a lifetime in doing good to man, well deserved its reward in the commendation, "Well done thou good and faithful servant." Col. Foreman was married in 1855 to Miss Arabella Armstrong, of New York City, a daughter of William and Martha Armstrong, early settlers of that city, where her father died in 1834. Her mother then immigrated to Tennessee, and then to Arkansas. Mr. and Mrs. Foreman had eight children: William H., Robert L. (M. D.), J. I., Jr., E. W., Jane, Arabells, M. K. and Bessie.

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R. R. Foreman, residing in Independence Township, was born in North Carolina in 1831, being the son of William S. and Elizabeth E. (Williams) Foreman. The father was also a native of North Carolina, his birth occurring in 1806. He followed farming and merchandising with success, and was married in 1828 to Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Robert Williams, of North Carolina, a very prominent man and surgeon in the Revolutionary War, who was residing in the old North State at the date of his death. There were only two children born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Foreman: R. R. (the subject of this sketch) and John. Mr. Foreman died in Pitt County, North Carolina, in 1836, respected and esteemed by all who knew him. Mrs. Foreman was again married, her second choice being E. B. Freeman, who was for many years previous to his death, and at that data, a clerk of the supreme court of North Carolina. Mrs. Freeman died in 1848 in her native State. R. R. Foreman received his [p.589] education in the schools of North Carolina, afterward attending school at Princeton, N. J. In 1852 he came to Lee (then Phillips) County, and located on a farm about three miles from Marianna, this farm consisting of 360 acres, besides a large amount of property in another portion. He was married in 1853 to Frances C. Williams, a daughter of Dr. R. F. Williams, of North Carolina, a prominent physician who died in that State in 1852. To Mr. and Mrs. Foreman two children have been born: Elizabeth L. (born in 1861) and Mary C. (born in 1866, now the wife of M. H. Ford, of Lee County). Mr. Foreman is a member of Lodge No. 171 of the Masonic order at Marianna, of Chapter No. 54, and also a K. of H. For some years he was Worshipful Master and a charter member of the Blue Lodge, and also High Priest of the order. Mr. Foreman and family are members of the Episcopal Church. He is a man who takes a great interest in the growth of the county, and is lending his substantial support toward gaining this end, and especially is he interested in educational and religious matters, to which he contributes liberally.

G. F. Foster, M. D. Noah Foster, a native of Tennessee, was born in 1809 and passed his younger days in the schools of that State. In 1833 he moved to Panola County, Miss., where he met and married Miss Lodiska Spaulding, daughter of a prominent planter, Gideon Spaulding. Mr. Foster settled in Mississippi, where he and his wife are now residing. He has been very successful as a farmer, and is now enjoying the fruits of his industry, from which he accumulated a large property. He is a Democrat and has always taken an active interest in public enterprises. To himself and wife a family of ten children were born: Delila (now Mrs. Parker, residing in Lonoke County), Nancy (Mrs. Ruby, of Lonoke County), Elizabeth (deceased), John (dead), Thomas (living in Panola County, Mississippi, married and has a family of six children), Davis (unmarried and lives in Lee County, engaged in the mercantile business with his brother G. F., the subject of this sketch), and two children unnamed. G. F. Foster was born in Mississippi in 1847, and received a good common-school education in the schools of his native State, afterward entering the Eclectic Medical College of Mississippi, from which he graduated in 1884. He then moved to St. Francis County, Ark., where he practiced his profession with manifest success. In 1887 he embarked in the mercantile business, and by his courteous and obliging manners has won a liberal patronage from the surrounding community. His practice is among the best and wealthy class of people, by whom he is recognized as an efficient physician, and a credit to the profession. He also owns 200 acres of valuable land under a thrifty state of cultivation. Dr. Foster was married in 1884 to Miss Bradford Watson, a daughter of John and Betty Watson. Her parents were natives of Mississippi, but moved to Arkansas at an early date, about the year 1847 or 1850. To Dr. and Mrs. Foster two children have been born. The Doctor is a Democrat, and in secret societies is identified with the Masonic order, being a member of La Grange Lodge No. 108. He is a member of and an earnest worker in the Methodist Episcopal Church and lends valuable aid to all enterprises for the good of the county.

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Thomas Foster was born within one mile of La Grange, the place where he now lives, on August 19, 1849, and was a son of Golden and Elizabeth Foster, natives of Mississippi. Mr. Golden Foster moved to Arkansas from Mississippi, and from there to Texas, but came back to Arkansas in 1841, where he died twenty years later. He was a large planter and acquired some property. He and his wife were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and were the parents of twelve children, two of whom are still living: Malissa (wife of Rev. Thomas Craig, now stationed at Desha, Independence County), and Thomas (the principal of this sketch, and the youngest in the family). There is living also a half-sister to these children, Miss Mattie Foster, the issue of their father's second marriage. Thomas Foster had three brothers in the Confederate army, one of whom was killed at Shiloh, one died from the wounds received at Gettysburg, and one while serving in the Indian Territory. Soon after the war he commenced working to support his mother and sisters, and was employed [p.590] by a Mr. Lownsbery at a small salary. In 1873 he began farming for himself, and with the push and energy, which are his principal characteristics, has been very successful as a cotton planter. In 1876 he was married to Miss Vionna Hickey, a daughter of C. W. and Elizabeth Hickey, of La Grange. They are the parents of these children: Frank U., Bettie Lou, Cleols, Thomas, Mattie May, Gustavus W., and one deceased. Mr. Foster, while not a member of any church, is the son of Methodist parents, and his leaning is toward that denomination. He is a member of the following secret orders: Masons, K. of H. and A. O. U. W. Mrs. Foster is a member of the Baptist Church.

J. T. Friar is a member of the Haynes' Mercantile Association, and was born within three miles of where he now lives, in 1844, being the fifth of six children born to J. T. and Perlyxie (Burk) Friar, natives of Tennessee, from near Knoxville. The father removed to Arkansas at an early day (about 1830), and in addition to farming also dealt in land. After his wife's death, in 1848, he married Miss Lucretia Seaborn, by her becoming the father of two children. His death occurred in 1856. His children by his first wife now only number two: Narcissus (wife of J. W. Byers) and our subject. The two half-brothers are also deceased. J. T. Friar was reared and educated in what is now Lee County, and at the early age of seventeen years entered the Confederate army, being in Capt. Dunn's company, known as the "Dead-shot" Company from St. Francis County. He served east of the Mississippi River for four years, and was in the following engagements: Shiloh, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and from Dalton to Atlants, Ga. He was also at Jonesboro, Springfield, Franklin, Nashville, and in numerous skirmishes. He surrendered at Greenville, N. C., and returned home. He was wounded by a minie ball in the thigh at the battle of Shiloh, and is still troubled by his wound. He first began working as a farm hand at $20 per month, continuing until 1867, when he was married to Mrs. Frances (McDaniel) Hughes, a daughter of Arch. McDaniel, but Mr. Friar was called upon to mourn her death about one year later, she having borne him a child, who is also deceased. In 1868 Mr. Friar purchased eighty acres of slightly improved land, and has since added 200 acres, making him one of the best farms in the county, and in addition to this he owns some valuable town property, all of which he has made by industry and good management since the war. In 1888 he became associated with the Haynes' Mercantile Association, which is composed of farmers, and does a business of some $30,000. Mr. Friar has been careful and painstaking in the management of his farm and, indeed, is thorough in regard to everything connected with its advancement, as he is in every business to which he gives his attention. In 1869 he was married to Miss Martha Tipton, of Tennessee, a daughter of Benjamin and Mary Tipton, of that State, and by her has had eight children, four of whom are now living: Aggie, Nannie, Custer and J. T. Mr. and Mrs. Friar are members of the Baptist Church, and Mr. Friar belongs to Bethel Lodge No. 2168, K. of H.

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E. F. Friend, miller and ginner, Marianna, Ark. This wide-awake and enterprising resident was originally from Alabama, where his birth occurred in 1838, and in that State hereached years of maturity, and received his education. He learned the carriage-maker's trade, but when the war broke out he cast aside his implements of peace and took up the weapons of warfare, enlisting in the Confederate service. He participated in the following prominent battles: Corinth, Shiloh, all the battles of Gens. Bragg and Johnston, and during his service never received a wound. After the war he returned to his home, and in 1871 moved to Arkansas. Previous to this he was married in Alabama to Miss Mary E. Gilbert, a native of that State, and after this union he moved to Marianna, where he worked at his trade for fifteen years, being the owner of a regular carriage and wagon shop for that length of time. He had a full plant of steam machinery for his business, and after the fire had but four left. The loss was at least $8,000. After this he embarked in the ginning and milling business, and will introduce a full line of rollers for grinding by the first of the year 1890. He still owns his farm of 320 acres, and is a prosperous [p.591] and progressive citizen. To his marriage were born six children: Anns, Ola, Brent, Julia, Matie and Samuel. Mr. Friend is a member of the K. of H. and K. & L. of H., and Royal Arcanum. He is the son of David H. and Amanda (Hendricks) Friend, natives of Virginia and Alabama, respectively, the father born in 1800 and he mother in 1812. The father was one of the pioneers of Alabama, and lived to be about eighty years of age. He was a jeweler, a silversmith and a farmer by occupation. The mother died at the age of forty-five years.

Thomas A. Futrall, A. M., principal of the Marianna Male and Female Institute, located at Marianna, Ark., is one of the most prominent educators in the South. He was born in the "Old North State," in 1842, and was educated in the best schools of the East, having been at one time a pupil of the famous William J. Bingham. About the time he finished his academic course, in 1860, a war cloud appeared above the horizon, and very soon thereafter he joined the Southern army as a volunteer, and served with distinction as an officer of Gen. John R. Cooke's North Carolina Brigade of the Army of Northern Virginia during the late war between the States. He took part in all the great battles in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania, and was paroled with the remnant of Gen. Lee's army at Appomattox Court House. At the close of the war he immigrated to West Tennessee, and established a classical and scientific school, which soon took rank with the best institutions of learning in the country, and gained for him a widespread reputation as a scholar and an educator, so much so, that in 1884 he was tendered his present position in the flourishing town of Marianna, Prof. Futrall has made this institution one of the most thorough and practical schools in the State, from which young men and women go out well prepared for the active duties of life. Beginning the work when comparatively young, Prof, Futrall has made teaching the business of his life, and has taught successfully for twenty-five consecutive years. In 1887, at the Chicago meeting of the National Educational Association of the United States, he was elected vice-president of the association, and was re-elected to the same position in Nashville, Tenn., in 1889, and is now, 1890, manager for the association in the State of Arkansas. He is a quiet, courteous, thoroughly posted gentleman, a ripe scholar, and is familiar with the best methods of instruction. In 1867 he was married to Miss Emma R. Headen, of Chatham County, N. C. A young family of seven interesting children, four girls and three boys, gather around the hearthstone.

Dr. J. H. Gibson, physician and surgeon. The subject of this sketch was born in Iredell County, N. C., in the year 1830. He attended the common schools of the neighborhood, and was graduated from Davidson College, a literary institution in Mecklenburg County, N. C., in the year 1853, after which he spent several years in teaching in the State of Florida. He then commenced reading medicine, and was graduated from the Medical University of Georgia, receiving the degree of M. D. in the year 1858. Subsequently entering upon the practice of his profession in his native State, he remained there until shortly before the breaking out of the late Civil War, when he came to the State of Arkansas, and located in Independence County, but the following year he enlisted in the Twenty-second Arkansas as surgeon. At the close of the war he came to Lee County, and resumed the practice of his adopted calling at La Grange, where he has since resided, and built up a large practice. In 1868 the Doctor was married to Miss Eliza Burke, a daughter of Elisha and Eliza Burke, natives of North Carolina, and who came to Arkansas in 1840. Her father represented Phillips County for a number of years in the State legislature. Dr. Gibson and wife are the parents of five children: Belo, Estelle, Burke, Minnie and Willie. Dr. Gibson is a member of the Presbyterian Church. He also belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and is Worshipful Master of the lodge at La Grange. His wife is a member of the Baptist Church. He is also justice of the peace of Richland Township, and one of the leading men of the township.

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William Franklin Gill is a son of Nathaniel Y. Gill, a native of Tennessee, who made that State [p.592] his home until 1849, when he removed to Mississippi, locating near Holly Springs. He was married in Tennessee to Miss Susan Bowles, also of that State. In 1854 they came to Arkansas, and engaged in farming on the plantation now owned by Mr. N. L. Graves, near Lexa. He was a hard working man, and a good manager, and in 1861 raised the largest crop of cotton per acre of any ever grown in Eastern Arkansas. Mr. Gill died in December, 1873, at the age of nearly fifty years. His wife was called to her long home in the same month, when forty-five years old. The paternal grandfather of the principal of this sketch, was a native of North Carolina, and of Irish descent, and moved to Tennessee when a young man, where he lived the remainder of his life, following the occupation of a farmer. William Franklin Gill was born near Columbia, Tenn., on January 8, 1846, being the eldest in a family of seven children, six of whom are living: William F., R. O. (also a farmer of this county), Morris (a farmer of Phillips County), John Y. (a merchant of Texas), Isaac S. (a teacher, also in Texas) and Mary P. (the wife of L. G. Howard [see sketch of William T. Howard in this work], the partner of our subject in the mercantile business in La Grange). In 1862 William F. Gill enlisted in Dobbins' regiment of Confederate Cavalry, in which he served until the close of the war, participating in all of the principal battles in Price's raid through Missouri, Kansas and the Indian Territory. After the close of the war, he went on the farm with his father, remaining with him until his marriage, on November 18, 1869. Mr. Gill labored for himself on the farm for one year, and then moved to La Grange, entering into the mercantile business with his father and brother, R. O. Gill. This was continued until his father died, when he and his brother conducted the trade until 1881, and then dissolved. Mr. Gill then went into business with Mr. L. G. Howard, his brother-in-law. They started with a very small capital, but their present large business demonstrates what can be done by true energy, combined with a large stock of common sense, good business management and honest dealings. He was married, on November 18, 1869, to Miss Bettie Underwood, a native of Tennessee, who died in March, 1874, leaving three children, two still living: Mollie and William Y. Mr. Gill married his second and present wife, Rebecca Holland, February 4, 1875. She was born in the State of South Carolina, in 1857, and is the mother of one daughter, Beulah. In addition to his store at La Grange, Mr. Gill owns

800 acres of fine land, of which 450 acres are under cultivation. All this he has made since the war. He is a member of the Royal Arcanum, of the Knights of Honor and is a prominent Democrat of Richland Township.

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Robert O. Gill is one of the prominent residents of Haynes, Ark., is a money lender and a large real estate owner, having become by his own industry the owner of 960 acres of land, with about 260 acres under cultivation. His property is improved with good buildings and fences, and besides his own comfortable and pleasant home in Haynes, he owns another house and lot. He was born in Tennessee, in 1847, and is the second of seven children born to Nathaniel Y. and Susan A. (Bowles) Gill, also native-born citizens of Tennessee. They removed to Phillips County, Ark., in 1851, and settled twelve miles west of Helena, near what is known as Lexa, and there the father was manager of a plantation belonging to his uncle, Isaac Smith, and afterward worked in the same capacity for William Pillow. In 1856 he bought a farm west of Helena, known as Hude Park plantation, but sold out at the end of one year and became general manager of the plantation belonging to Mr. Pillow, remaining with him until the opening of the war, during which time he farmed on what is known as the Grant place. After the war was over he bought what is now known as the H. P. Rogers' place, and here made his home until 1867, when he became the owner of a farm three miles west of Haynes for one year, selling it then to Dr. Wood, moving in the spring of 1869 to La Grange, where he was engaged in the mercantile business until his death, December 16, 1873; his death was caused by pneumonia. His wife died December 3, 1873, and both had been members of the Baptist Church for a number of years. Six of their seven children are now living: W. F. (who is a merchant [p.593] at La Grange), Robert O., Maria M., John Y. (of Texas), I. S. (of Texas), and Mary P. (wife of W. L. Howard, of La Grange). Robert O. Gill was reared and educated in Phillips and Lee Counties. He received only the advantages of a common-school education in his early youth, the turmoils of war placing it beyond the power of his parents to send him to higher institutions of learning, but by self-application and much reading he is one of the best posted and most intelligent men of the county. At the age of twenty-one years, or in 1868, he began life for himself as a farmer, but after farming on rented land for one year he began merchandising in La Grange, his capital stock amounting to $600, which he had earned the previous year. Since 1883 he has been a resident of Haynes, and until the spring of 1889 followed merchandising, but then sold out and has been following his present occupation. He is a man who favors all laudable public enterprises and in his political views is a Democrat. Socially he is a member of the K. of H., La Grange Lodge No. 2166, and has held nearly all the chairs in the local lodge. In the spring of 1875 he was married to Miss Cornelia L. Smith, a daughter of G. B. and Susan S. Smith, natives of Northern Alabama, who removed to Arkansas a few years prior to the late Civil War. Mrs. Smith died in 1888. Of the seven children born to Mr. and Mrs. Gill, two are now living: Alma L. and Robbie.

Joseph O. Gray. Payton R. Gray, a prominent and wealthy planter of Bear Creek Township, was born in Livingston County, Ky., in 1818, being a son of Presley Gray, also a Kentuckian by birth and a tiller of the soil, as was his father, originally from Virginia. Presley Gray was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and lived until his seventy-second year. His wife, Maria (Hodge) Gray, was connected with the Baptist Church. She was the mother of seven children, all of whom are yet living, five residents of Kentucky, one of Iowa and our immediate subject, who has been a citizen of this State since 1847. He took charge of the old homestead at the age of twenty years, and two years later was married to Mrs. Eliza (Dunn) Thrailkill, who died a year after, leaving one child, which only lived nine months. He then married Miss Maria Woods. She died shortly after his removal to Mississippi, in 1844, leaving three children, all deceased. He was next married to Mrs. Margaret S. Bohanan (nee Dickson), a native of Paris, Ky., who died in 1883. They were the parents of two children: Blanche (widow of John E. Burke, living with her father) and Joseph O. (who was born in Coahoma County, Miss., in 1848.) His father having been drafted for the Confederate service in 1863, our subject went as a substitute, and served in Dobbin's regiment of Confederate cavalry until the close of the war, operating in Eastern Arkansas and Missouri, and receiving his discharge in January, 1865. He was then employed in farming and clerking until 1872, when he entered into the mercantile business at Philips Bayou, in which he has since been engaged, with the exception of the years 1877-78. At that time farming occupied his attention. Mr. Gray married in March, 1875, Miss Mary C. Wilkins, a native of Lee County, Ark., and a daughter of Maj. Wilkins, an officer in the Confederate army, now deceased. They have had one son who is now deceased. Mr. Gray carries a stock of about $5,000, and his annual sales amount to over $40,000. He is also extensively occupied in farming, owning a half interest in 320 acres of fine land, besides some city property, and has the control of over 1,500 acres of land. Mr. Gray is also the postmaster of Philips Bayou, which position he has filled for the past eight years. In connection with his other interests he is engaged in cotton-ginning, operating two steam gins and one horse-power cottongin. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M. His wife is a member of the Baptist Church.

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J. W. Greer's farm, comprising 160 acres, is one of the best for successful agricultural purposes to be found in this part of the county, and the manner in which it is conducted is in full keeping with the personal characteristics of its owner, a man of great energy and determination and of much perseverance. He was born in Union County, S. C., in 1836, and is a son of J. M. and Sarah A. (Sanders) Greer, the former a native of South Carolina and of English-Irish descent. The paternal [p.594] grandfather, Robert Greer, and his brother, Orpha, served in the American Revolution, and the former was exiled from Ireland on account of his religious views, and after coming to the United States he settled in South Carolina, and there left a large number of descendants, several of whom served in the War of 1812. J. W. Greer spent his youth in his native State, but in 1858 came west and settled near Helena, Ark., on a farm where he remained industriously at work until the Rebellion came up. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate army, Company B, Twenty-third Arkansas, of which he was captain, and participated in the following battles: Corinth and the siege of Port Hudson, in which engagement he lost his left arm, it being shot off by a cannon ball. He was captured on July 9, 1868, and was retained a prisoner until the close of the war at ew

Orleans, Fort La Fayette, Bedloe's Island, Fort McHenry, Fort Delaware, then to Morris Island. After remaining at his old home for a number of years he came to Lee County, Ark., in 1878, and here has become well known and highly esteemed by all. He has been justice of the peace for eight years; is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and has always tried to follow the teachings of the Golden Rule. He was married in 1885 to Mrs. Fannie R. Allen Harris, and by her has one child, Sarah F. He was first married to Elizabeth H. Patterson, who died leaving one child, Jason H.

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Gen. D. C. Govan was born in Northampton County, N. C., July 4, 1829, and is a son of A. R. and M. P. (Jones) Govan, the former of whom was born in Orangeburg, N. C., and was educated in South Carolina College at Columbia, some of his schoolmates being William C. Preston, George McDuff, Langdon C. Chevies, Hugh S. Lagree and other men of the South, who afterward became noted. After graduating from the above-named college he began his career as a planter in Orangeburg District, and was elected to Congress from there about the year 1825. About 1830 he emigrated with his family westward to Tennessee, and there made his home until the removal of the Chickasaw Indians from the State of Mississippi, when he made that State his permanent abode, his death occurring there in 1841, at the age of forty-seven years. His wife was born in North Carolina in 1801, and by Mr. Govan became the mother of a large family of children, her death occurring at the age of eighty-seven years. Gen. D. C. Govan grew to manhood in Northern Mississippi, and was prepared for college by Rev. Francis L. Hawks, and graduated from the Columbia (S. C.) College, in 1848. There was a military company kept in drill at this institution, then the best in the State, and of this company Mr. Govan was a member. Immediately upon graduating he joined his fellow-kinsman, Gen. Ben McCullough, on an expedition to California, their company consisting of twenty-one men, all of whom, with the exception of two or three, were experienced Texan and old Indian fighters. They left Mississippi on October 1 and traveled through Texas and Mexico north to Monterey, thence to the seacoast, where they took passage on board a vessel bound for the Golden Gate, and reached San Francisco late in December. They engaged in hunting and trapping until the next spring, and then found that they had accumulated sufficient money to engage in mining, which they did (with the understanding between our subject and Mr. McCullough that they were to share equally in the results of their western expedition) and fitted out a party to go to the mountains and commence operations. Just at this juncture the Territurial legislature of California passed a law imposing a tax on all foreigners mining in the Territory. California was then divided into two districts and Mr. McCullough received the appointment of collector for the Southern District, a position which he and Mr. Govan supposed would prove fabulously remunerative, and Mr. Govan took charge of the mining expedition and went up the San Joaquin River. He met with fair success in mining, and said that had they not been trying to make a competence in a few days, might have amassed a fortune. He mined on various rivers until he reached the North Fork of the American River, when he received a letter from Gen. McCullough saying that the foreign tax could not be collected, and the law was a failure, and requested him to meet him in Sacramento, where they would [p.595] prepare for another mining expedition. When they reached that place the sheriff of the county had been killed and a special election was being held, whereupon Mr. McCullough became a candidate and was elected. Mr. Govan then sold out his mining outfit and became deputy sheriff, the former gentleman officiating in that capacity from October, 1850, to July, 1855, and did the first legal execution in the State of California after it had been admitted into the Union, hanging three men for highway robbery. He returned to his home in Mississippi immediately after retiring from the sheriff's office, Mr. Govan returning at the same time. The latter was married in Mississippi, in December, 1853, to Miss Mary F. Otey, a daughter of the Rt. Rev. James Otey, of Mississippi, and the following December he came to Arkansas, locating in that part of Phillips County, which subsequently became Lee County. He was a successful planter until the opening of the war, then began raising a company for the Confederate army, which afterward became a part of the Second Arkansas Regiment, under Gen. Hindman. They operated first in Southeastern Missouri, but were soon transferred to the Army of Tennesses, of which they formed the advance under Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston. Mr. Govan was appointed lieutenant-colonel in October, 1861, and at their request acted as colonel in the battles of Shiloh, Perryville and Murfreesboro, after which he was given command of a brigade, and acted as brigadier-general at Chattanooga, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold and other places, receiving his commission after these battles. He was all through the Georgia campaign, and was in some of the bloodiest fights around Atlants, but showed through all great intrepidity and courage. In the memorable fight on July 22d, he captured the Sixteenth Iowa Regiment with its colors, and fractions of other companies. Gen. McPherson was killed in front of his command. After almost twenty years had passed away he still had the colors of the Sixteenth Iowa Regiment, and about this time entered into a correspondence with Gen. Belknap, and upon being invited to attend a Federal soldiers' reunion held at Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he did so and returned the colors to the Sixteenth Iowa which he had captured, and received in return a gold-headed cane. In the battle of Chickamauga, the great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson was killed in front of Geo. Govan's command, he being Maj. Sidney Collidge, and his sword fell into the hands of Gen. Govan. It was afterward recaptured, and this led to an inquiry from Collidge's friends as to his whereabouts, and the facts of his death was related to them by Gen. Govan. The name of this intrepid general will live in the hearts of the Southern people as long as they revere the heroes who fought in their service, for he was among the bravest of the brave, and stood shoulder to shoulder with Gen. P. R. Cleburne, Chestham and others, as far as bravery and ability as a commander is concerned. At the close of the war he returned to his plantation and here has lived a quiet and retired life ever since. Although he is very popular and much beloved by all, and could easily obtain any office he might desire and which the people of Arkansas could confer upon him, yet he has never been an aspirant for any civil office, and is of a rather retiring disposition, although he possesses the true courtesy and polished manners for which the people of the South are famous.

Francis H. Govan, intimately associated with the affairs of Lee County, as deputy clerk of the circuit court, was a member of Morgan's terrible band in his raid through Ohio. He was in the Confederate army from the beginning of the war until its close, first in the Northern Virginia division, in which he served until the seven-days' fight around Richmond, when he was transferred to the Western division, remaining in Morgan's cavalry until after his Ohio raid. He was subsequently appointed aid-de-camp on the staff of his uncle, Gen. D. C. Govan, holding that position until the cessation of hostilities, but spending the latter days of the war in the hospital on account of a would received at the battle of Franklin. After his return from the army Mr. Govan attended the University of Mississippi, and in 1867 came to Arkansas, and located in this county, where he engaged in merchandising when not holding office. He was elected county clerk in 1874, and again in [p.596] 1876, and in 1885 was appointed deputy clerk of the circuit court, which office he still occupies. He was married in this county in 1875 to Miss Minnie Ford, who was born in Kentucky in 1855. They are the parents of four children: Bettie H., Laura P., Francis H. and Eaton P. Mr. Govan's birth occurred in Mississippi in 1846, and he was reared at Holly Springs, that State,

there receiving a common-school education. He is a son of E. P. Govan, a native of North Carolina, and of Scotch descent, his great-grandfather having been born in that country, though he emigrated to the United States. His grandfather, of South Carolina origin, was a member of Congress from that State. The father of our subject died in 1882, at the age of fifty-five years. His wife was a native of Connecticut, and a daughter of Rev. Francis L. Hawks, a distinguished Episcopal minister. Mr. Govan is a member of the A. F. & A. M., in which order he has risen to the rank of Knight Templar. He also belongs to the Knights of Honor and the Royal Arcanum. He is a man who enjoys the continued esteem of his acquaintances, and as a county official has discharged the duties connected-with his office with entire satisfaction to all concerned, and the credit of himself. The records in his charge are a model of neatness and accuracy.

Ferdinand Louis Gustavus is one of the men who escorted Jefferson Davis and his cabinet south on their flight from Richmond. He enlisted in 1862, in a company of cavalry, which was made up and mustered in service at Memphis, Tenn., although composed mostly of men from Phillips and St. Francis County. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Iuks, Atlanta, and most of the battles of his division, and was in the command of Gen. J. E. Johnston, at the time of his surrender in May, 1865. Mr. Gustavus was born in Winnebago County, Wis., April 29, 1832, and was the oldest son of John G. and Charlotte A. (Koepner) Gustavus, natives of Prussia. Mr. Gustavus was born in 1806, and was reared within fifteen miles of Berlin, being married in 1830. In 1831 they emigrated to this country, and settled in Wisconsin, where they lived until their respective deaths, in 1862 and 1864. Both were members of the Lutheran Church, and were the parents of seven children, six of whom are living: Ferdinand L., Robert, Bertie, Theodore, Maria and Henry. The paternal grandfather of our subject was a soldier under Napoleon, and held the position of lieutenant in the Prussian army. Mr. Gustavus commenced farming at the age of twenty-two in the State of Wisconsin, but moved to Arkansas in 1856, where he was engaged as an overseer in Phillips County, until his enlistment in the army. After his return from the battlefield, he purchased the farm on which he still resides. The land is well adapted to the growing of cotton, corn, clover, and small grain. He was married April 14, 1867, to Luey A. Rives, of Phillips County, where she was born January 28, 1848, being a daughter of John H. and Jane C. (Bonner) Rives, both deceased. They had a family of eight children, seven of whom survive: Mary F. (wife of C. J. McQuien, a farmer of Lee County), Jane A. (wife of Guss Roesher, also of Lee County), John H., Augusta E., Carrie L., Hattie C. and Frederick L. Mr. Gustavus is a leading Democrat, and has served his party and the people of his township as justice of the peace for the past eight years. He has been a member of the school board of this district since 1868. He and wife and four children are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. He also belongs to the Masonic fraternity, and of the Knights of Honor. Mr. Gustavus, having farmed in the Northern States as well as the Southern States, is capable of forming a correct opinion of both localities in regard to climate, soil, and general advantages and disadvantages for those who follow farming for an occupation, and in his judgment Arkansas can not be excelled.

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Robert E. Hale is a direct descendant of the celebrated Chief Justice Matthew Hale of England. His parents, Richard C. and Driscilla (Mathews) Hale, were natives of Bedford County, Va. The former was born in 1798 and when a young man moved to Alabama, and afterward to Hardin County, Tenn., where he remained about ten years, then going to Pulaski County, Ill. This was the home [p.597] of himself and wife until their death, Mr. Hale dying in 1848 and Mrs. Hale in 1884, at the age of ninety years. He started in life as a brick mason, but during the latter years of his career became a prominent contractor and builder, and was an influential man in Pulaski County, Ill., taking an active part in local politics. During the last four years of his life he held the office of probate judge. He was a son of Richard Hale, whose birth occurred in Virginia shortly before the Revolutionary War. Mrs. Hale was a daughter of Joseph Cromwell Mathews, formerly from South Carolina, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary War when a young man. He was married in South Carolina to Miss Penina Crisp, afterward removing to Alabama, then to the States of Tennessee, Kentucky and finally back to Texas in 1835, where they remained until their deaths, which occurred in the year 1858 at the ages of ninety-two and ninety-four

years, respectively. Both were members of the Christian Church, in which they took an active part. The Mathews family trace their lineage back to Oliver Cromwell, who was one of the early ancestors of the family. The principal of this sketch was born in Lauderdale County, Ala., in 1824, being the third of three sons and three daughters. He was married in Pulaski County, Ill., in 1848, to Miss Susan J. Hawpe, a daughter of Judge George Hawpe. She was born in Hall County, Ga., in 1830. Mr. and Mrs. Hale became the parents of twelve children, four of whom are still living: James G., Lillian C., Joseph O. and William M. Mr. Hale made Illinois his home until 1855, when he came to Arkansas and located in that portion of

Phillips County, which is now included in Lee County. For some years after his advent he carried on the mercantile and lumber business at Jeffersonville. The Mexican War breaking out a few years before his marriage, he enlisted in Company B of the Second Illinois Infantry, in which he served as sergeant, having command of his company at the battle of Buena Vista. Upon the commencement of the Civil War he was commissioned captain, but did not enter the service. At the time of his removal from Pulaski County, Mr. Hale held the position of county trassurer, collector and assessor, and had been postmaster of Haleside for a number of years. Since locating here he has served as justice of the peace for a number of years. He is now the owner of over 1,000 acres of land, and has about 250 acres under cultivation, all made since his arrival in this county, when he had but $2.50, Mr. Hale is a member of the A. F. & A. M., but has not affiliated with the order for a number of years. He also belongs to the L O. Q. F., and he and wife are connected with the Christian Church, taking an active part in religious movements.

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D. Hammond, proprietor of the Phœnix Hotel of Marianna, Ark., was born in Rochester, N. Y., November 3, 1840, and, like the majority of the natives of the "Empire State," he is enterprising in his views, is industrious and the soul of honor. After remaining in his native State and attending the common schools until he attained his twentieth year, he went to Missouri and worked as an engineer on the North Missouri Railroad for four years. When the war broke out he was running a Government train, and was captured by Price just west of Mexico, Mo., and was taken to Northeastern Arkansas, where he was paroled upon taking the oath not to aid the North during the remainder of the war. From Arkansas Mr. Hammond went to Nashville, Tenn., thence to Jackson, Mich., where he began working on the Michigan Central Railroad as an engineer between Detroit and Jackson, continuing two years. He was married to Miss Lucretia Blodgett, in Eaton Rapids, Mich., she being a native of that place, and afterward went on the road selling steam fire-engines for Clapp & Jones, of Hudson, N. Y. He followed this business some five years, and in October, 1871, during the great Chicago fire, he was on his way to St. Paul, Minn., to exhibit an engine, and was at Michigan City when the news of the fire reached him. He immediately went with his engine to the scene of the fire, and for four nights and three days never left his post, but did all in his power to assist in subduing the flames. He afterward took his engine to St. Paul, where he sold it, also two others, notwithstanding the fact that he had to encounter much competition. He [p.598] finally left the road and began working with an engine in the fire department of Greenville, Mich., the city paying him $150 per month and furnishing him with a house, fuel and gas. At the end of one year he went to Fort Scott, Kan., and made his home for five years at that point. Here he put up a 100-battery steam-boiler, and ran it until it was moved to Marianna, Ark., on February 17, 1889. He put up the present engine in Marianna and managed it until a short time since, when he turned it over to his son, and became the proprietor of the Phœnix Hotel, in which he has made many needed changes and improvements. He and wife have two children: Luther and Mand. He is a Democrat, and belongs to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. His parents, S. and Clarinda (Howe) Hammond, were born in Clarendon, Vt., in 1799 and New York, in 1811, respectively. The father was a farmer, and immigrated to Missouri, locating at St. Charles, where he died in 1881, his wife dying one year later. Of their family of two sons and three daughters, all are living.

William L. Harper, physician and surgeon, Clifton, Ark. Dr. Harper is recognized throughout the county as a friend and laborer in the cause and advancement of the medical fraternity. He is a native of Georgia, his birth occurring in Gilmer County in 1864, and received his primary education in that State. At the age of nineteen years he entered the Medical College at Atlanta, graduating from that institution in his twenty-first year. He first commenced his practice in his native county, removing from there to Arkansas in 1886, and settled where he now lives. He enjoys a large and lucrative practice, which is gradually increasing, and a bright future is opening before him. He is a genial and generous gentleman, liberal in his ideas, a proteotor of the rights of, a strong promoter of the welfare of, and in deep sympathy with, humanity. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias at Marianna, Ark. The Doctor is the third of ten children, the result of the union of Lindsey and Margaret (Osborn) Harper, natives of Georgia. Lindsey Harper was a prominent farmer of his county and was a soldier in the late war. Returning home after his service he found himself financially ruined, but since then, by close attention to business, and by economy, he has succeeded in accumulating a comfortable competency. He and wife still reside in Georgia, and both are members of the Baptist Church. Of the ten children born to their union, eight are yet living and all reside in Georgia with the exception of Dr. William L. The maternal grandparents are both yet living, the grandfather at the age of eighty-four years and the grandmother at the age of eighty years. The former has been a minister in the Baptist Church for a number of years and has followed agricultural pursuits all his life. The paternal grandparents died during the war. The grandfather was taken from his house and shot by bushrangers, as were several other old and venerable men in the neighborhood, for the simple reason that they did not wish to part with all their property.

page 599

V. M. Harrington enjoys enviable prominence as the faithful sheriff of Lee County. A native of Delaware, he lived there until eighteen years of age, attending the common schools of the county of his birth, but having from his childhood imbibed a love of the South and Southern people, at an early age he moved to Mississippi, locating at Jackson, where he was employed as a clerk in a store until the breaking out of the war. Then he was given a position in the Confederate service at Brookhaven, Miss., and afterward was made quartermaster-sergeant in a Confederate camp. Though devoted to the South, he was at heart a Union man, and was unwilling to fight voluntarily against his country, so, after a long tramp and when nearly exhausted by hunger and fatigue, he reached the Federal lines. The Union officers tried to induce him to give them information in regard to their enemy's forces, location, etc., but having been employed by the Southern people and having lived among them, he refused to act the part of a spy. After the war he was again engaged as clerk. A Mr. Miller becoming intimately acquainted with him and interested in his welfare, furnished him with the necessary capital to enter into the mercantile business for himself. A wholesale house also offered to supply him with goods for carrying [p.599] on a business of many thousand dollars, both of which offers he accepted, devoting his attention to commercial pursuits in Tennessee until 1871, at which time he sold out and removed Arkansas, locating at Palestine, St. Francis County. There he resumed the mercantile business, but soon moved to Marianna, where he went into the same occupation, carrying it on until 1886, the time of his election as sheriff of the county. He was re-elected in 1888. Mr. Harrington's wife was formerly Miss Georgia A. Wood, and she is now the mother of three children: Samuel, V. M. and James W. Mr. Harrington wasborn in Kent County, Del., in 1842, and was a son of Samuel and Sallie A. (Moore) Harrington. The collections of the county revenues made by Mr. Harrington as sheriff and collector of the county of the current year will aggregate 99 per cent. The lowest he has ever reached is 97½ per cent.

John W. Hayes, M. D., was born in Pittsboro, N. C., June 4, 1848, at which place he received his early education. He was afterward a student of the Hillsboro Military Academy, and then attended Davidson College, North Carolina, being in the Classical Department. In the third year of the Civil War he enlisted in the Confederate army, where he remained until the close, serving in the cavalry department, Company F, Thirteenth North Carolina Battalion. After peace had been declared Mr. Hayes went to Jackson, Tenn., and studied medicine under his uncle, Dr. J. G. Womack, one year, following which he attended a course of lectures at the University of Louisville, Ky., and the following year at the Washington University, graduating the next spring. Subsequently he commenced practicing medicine at Denmark, Tenn., was located there seven years, and in 1877 came to Arkansas, settling at Marianna, where he has been since engaged in attending to the calls of his adopted profession. Dr. Hayes is a son of Dr. W. A. Hayes and Jennette Womack Hayes. He was married to Miss Lou Moore, of Brownsville, Tenn., October 9, 1872. Dr. Hayes was one of the organizers of the Lee County Medical Association, which is one of the best in the State. He was elected State Medical Examiner of the K. of H., in October, 1884, and re-elected to fill the same consecutively for several years. He took a full course at the New York Polyolinic, in 1886; is a member of the Arkansas State Society and the American Medical Association. He has a brother also a physician, W. G. Hayes, M. D., of Bowie, Texas. Dr. Hayes and wife are the parents of two children living: Jeannette (a student at Batesville, Ark., College), and John W., Jr.

page 600

Ennes M. Henley first saw the light of day in Massac County, Ill., on January 28, 1832, and is the son of William and Malinda (Smith) Henley, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively. They were married in Illinois in 1828, and were the parents of twelve children, seven now living: Ennes M., Matilda (widow of Kennard Steward, of Lee County), John (a farmer of Illinois), Elijah (a lawyer, of Marianna and also postmaster of that city), Rebecca (the widow of Nieholas Phelps), Isaac (a farmer residing in Missouri), Mary (widow of Henry Lynn), Louisa (the wife of Simon Pierce). Mr. Henley died in Illinois, in the seventy-fifth year of his life, his wife having died one year previous. Ennes M. was reared in Illinois and received such advantages for an education as the primitive schools of the period would admit, accepting, when twenty years of age, the position of watchman on the steamer St. Francis, running on the St. Francis River. Later he worked on the Mississippi River on various boats. He settled in Monroe County, Ark., in 1859, and engaged in farming, and this has been his occupation ever since. He now owns an excellent farm in the western portion of Lee County, consisting of 240 acres, 100 of it being in a high state of cultivation. The principal products are corn and cotton, and clover and the grasses to some

extent, and he is quite successful also in raising all kinds of stock. He owns a steam cotton-gin and grist-mill, valued at $1,000, a comfortable residence with modern improvements and conveniences being among his late additions. Mr. Henley was married in Monroe County December 23, 1858, to Miss Louisa F. Settles, of Giles County, Tenn. She was born in 1831, being the daughter of S. P. and Mary J. (Cunningham) Settles. Mr. Settles, a native of [p.600] Virginia, and of Irish descent, died in Arkansas in 1854, Mrs. Settles closed her eyes to the scenes of this world in 1872. To Mr. and Mrs. Henley's marriage eight children have been born: William F., James L., Andy S., Charley W. (residing in Brinkley), Mary M., Josephus B., Jason L. and Ennes W. William F. died in 1880. Mr. Henley served in the Civil War, enlisting in 1862 in Company C, Capt. John Foreman's Second Arkansas Infantry Volunteers, which was afterward Gen. Govan's command. He participated in the battles of Perryville, Missionary Ridge, Franklin, Nashville and many others of minor importance. He was mustered out of service at the surrender in 1865.

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Hon. John Marshall Hewitt (deceased), of Marianna, Ark., was born in Frankfort, Ky., July 22, 1841, and was a son of John Marshall Hewitt, of that city, an eminent lawyer and for many years judge of the circuit court at Frankfort. Our subject received a classical education in the schools of his native city in his youth, but before he had attained his majority the Civil War broke out, and the following lines in regard to it are given in his own words: "The war was a bitter experience for me, for my father had two sons in the Union army and two sons in the Confederate, also one son-in-law on each side. All my old schoolmates and associates, as well as relatives in Kentucky, were about equally divided in sympathy, and one of my brothers was killed at Fort Donelson, on the Confederate side." Mr. Hewitt was a member of the Kentucky State militia when the war broke out, and in 1861 he joined the Federal army as adjutant of the Second Kentucky Cavalry, and was attached to the staff of Gen. Rousseau as assistant acting adjutant-general. He participated in the battle of Shiloh, and was captured by Gen. John Morgan, while the latter was on his first raid in Kentucky, but in the night he succeeded in effecting his escape, and returned to his command. After the war he returned to his home in Kentucky, and was admitted to the bar by the court of appeals, in 1865, and the following year he immigrated to St. Francis County, Ark., and engaged in cotton. planting. In 1873, when Lee County was formed, he moved to Marianna and resumed the practice of his profession, continuing this in connection with planting until his death. Although a Federal soldier, he was all his life an active Democrat, and although he came to Arkansas at a time when he could have had any office, or could have grown rich by affiliating with the Republican party, he would not do so, but stuck to his principles and party, unscathed by the political cyclone that swept Arkansas. He labored zealously for the advancement of the material interests of the State, and his fellow-citizens honored him for his efforts. He has been an active leader of his party, and was elected by the Democratic State Convention to the National Dermocratic Convention, which met at St. Louis, Mo., in 1876. In 1880 he was chosen to represent Lee County in the State legislature, and was elected speaker pro tem. In 1882 he was re-elected, and was chairman of the judiciary committee. In 1884 he was again sent to the legislature, and during the session of 1885 he was chairman of the committee of circuit and justice courts. In 1886 he was elected to his fourth term in the legislature, and was elected speaker of the house, and the Democratic State Convention, which met at the State capital in 1886, elected him president of the same. In January, 1886, he became president of the State Bar Association, but just as he had surmounted all primary obstacles, and could have grasped the highest honors of the State, his career was cut short by the hand of death February 29, 1887, his demise resulting from cancer of the tongue. Being a prominent member of the Masonic fraternity, his brother Masons kept his body in their hall for three days, that all might have an opportunity of paying due honor to his remains. His remains were taken to Memphis, Tenn., by the Commandery of Marianna, and at that city were met by the Commandery of Little Rock, and he was buried with the highest honors of his order, in Elmwood Cemetery. Determination was a marked trait of his character, and so was Christian fortitude and charity. Cut down in the meridian of manhood, at a time when it seemed possible for him to accomplish so much, his death was deeply lamented by all. Kentucky has given to Lee County many estimable citizens, but she has contributed [p.601] none more highly respected or more worthy of respect, love and veneration than was Mr. Hewitt. He was married to Miss Sallie Howard, of Memphis, Tenn., and leaves her with one son to care for: John M., Jr. Mrs. Hewitt is a daughter of Wardlaw and Mary (Polk) Howard, the father a Virginian, who immigrated to Tennessee, and was an opulent commission merchant prior to the war, and was the owner of vast property in Memphis. He was an arch secessionist, and had such unbounded faith in the Confederacy that he sold the whole of Howard row in Memphis for Confederate money, which, of course, resulted in total loss. After the war he languished with broken spirits around the cotton exchange, but did not again enter active business life, and death claimed him in 1871. Mr. Hewitt's mother was born in Bolivar, Tenn., and was a daughter of William Polk, an uncle of President Polk. The Howards were an old English family, five brothers having come to America and participated in the Revolutionary War. All but one died or were killed, and he is the origin of the family in this country. One of these brothers donated the square on which Washington Monument now stands in Baltimore, Md. The grandmother of Mr. Hewitt was a sister of Uncle Ned Blackburn, of Kentucky, the father of Dr. Luke Blackburn, and Hon. J. O. Blackburn.

J. A. Holbert is one of the leading farmers and stock raisers of Lee County, Ark., and here his birth occurred in 1843, he being the second child born to James M. and Antoinette (McDaniel) Holbert, who were born in Kentucky and Arkansas, respectively, the former's birth occurring in 1809, and the latter's in 1825. The father removed to this State in 1815, and after making his home here until 1849, he went to Mississippi and died opposite to where Helena, Ark. is. Our subject and his brother, A. J., who lives in Arizona, and is the sheriff of Maricopa County, are the only children born to their parents, and the mother died on November 29, 1843. James M. Holbert was married a second time in 1845, his wife being Mary McDaniel, a daughter of Archibald McDaniel, and one child, Antoinette, blessed this union, she being now the wife of N. B. Purnell, and resides in Pike County, Ark. After the death of Mr. Holbert his widow married a Mr. Hughes, and died during the war. J. A. Holbert received his education and rearing in St. Francis County, Ark., but at the age of seventeen years he dropped farm work and books to enter the Confederate army, enlisting in Company G, Thirteenth Arkansas Infantry, under Col. Tappin, and served east of the Mississippi River for four years, being a participant in the following engagements: Belmont, Shiloh, Corinth, Knoxville, Richmond (Ky.), Bardstown, Perryville, Atlanta and Jonesboro, where he was

wounded and captured. He succeeded in effecting his escape after being retained only about twenty-four hours, and he afterward came west and joined Capt. Coats' company, under Gen. Marmaduke, and operated in Arkansas. After surrendering he was given his freedom, and returned home and began farming on his grandfather's plantation. Prior to the war he had owned quite a large area of land, and a number of slaves, and his father owned nearly 100 slaves. The former carried the mail from Wittsburg to Helena, a distance of over seventy miles (there being only four postoffices on the route), through a heavy cane brake all the way. Although the country was very wild and unsettled at that time, Mr. Holbert says he never carried a pistol or a gun, and was never molested, either by the wild animals or Indians. He now has one of the finest farms in the county, comprising 200 acres of land, and has about 100 ares under cultivation, on which is a splendid frame residence and outbuildings. He was married in 1869 to Miss O. L. Hannah, of this county, a daughter of John and Penelpia (Lynch) Hannah, natives of Ireland and Arkansas, respectively, and by her became the father of eight children, four of whom are living: Lee, J. J., Bell and Blanche. One child died at the age of five years and three in infancy.

page 602

Joseph K. Hopkins is a native of Lee County, whither his parents had come two years before his birth. He attended the common schools of this locality until the death of his father (when he was sixteen years of age), when he commenced farming for himself. Mr. Hopkins was born in 1851, being [p.602] the son of Archibald and Martha (O'Neal) Hopkins, natives of North Carolina and Alabama, respectively. Archibald Hopkins removed from the State of his birth to Greens County, Ala., when twenty years of age, and in 1849 to Arkansas, locating in this county, where he was engaged in farming until called from earth, in 1867, at the age of fifty-one. His wife died when the principal of this sketch was a child. Both were members of the Baptist Church. After her death Mr. Hopkins married Miss Lou Purcell, of Woodruff County, who is now deceased. He was a successful farmer during life, but lost heavily by the war. He was the father of three children by his first marriage, two of whom are still living: William A. (also a farmer of this county) and Joseph K. (our subject). The latter was married, in 1869, to Mrs. Emma (Burrows) Poole, a daughter of Peter Burrows and widow of William Pools. They have one son, Joseph B., who is at present helping his father in the store. Mr. Hopkins engaged in the mercantile business in 1876, and although starting with a small capital he has, by close economy and good business management, built up a satisfactory trade, and has the largest patronage of any store in this section of the township. He also owns one of the most extensive farms hereabouts, and in addition the control of a number of other fine farms. Although not an active politician, Mr. Hopkins is one of the leading Democrats in all campaign work. Mrs. Hopkins is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church.

J. P. Houston is a farmer and stock raiser of Richland Township, Lee County, Ark., and was born in what is now Lee County (then Phillips) in 1851, being the second child born to James M. and Mary J. (Simpson) Houston. The parents settled in Arkansas in 1846, and in Richland Township the same year, and here he purchased land to the extent of 160 acres, all of which was heavily timbered. He was a public-spirited citizen, a Democrat in his political views, and at the time of his death, in 1857, he was in full communion with the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a son of Ross Houston, a Virginian, and was a second cousin of Gen. Sam Houston, of Texas. He and wife, who was born in the "Blue Grass State," were married in Alabama in 1845, and became the parents of three children: Mary A. (now Mrs. Coffey, of St. Francis County, Ark.), J. P. and Thomas R. (who died in the State of Arkansas in 1884). Mrs. Houston is still living, and makes her home with her son, J. P. She is a member of the Methodist Church, and is a true Christian in every respect. J. P. Houston's early life was spent at farm labor and while thus engaged he learned lessons of industry and economy, which have stood him in good stead in later years. A portion of his early education was acquired in the schools of Middle Tennessee, and after attaining his twentieth year he started out in life for himself, and has since given his attention to farming, and is now residing on the old homestead, which comprises 320 acres, of which 230 are under cultivation. In 1886 he was united in marriage to Miss Tennie Hickman, a daughter of Nelson and Alabama (Moore) Hickman, who were Kentuckians, both of whom died in Alabama, the former's death occurring in 1862, and the latter's in 1867. Mr. Houston has always been a Democrat in his political views, and is interested in all matters relating to the welfare of the county in which he has so long made his home. He is a liberal patron of schools and churches, and is always found ready to assist the poor and afflicted. He and his wife have two children: Thomas Ross (born in 1886), and Anna May (born in 1888).

page 603

Hon. William L. Howard is a native of Lee County, and has always made this locality his home. Consequently he is well known and the respect accorded him is as wide as his acquaintance. His father, desiring to give his children a thorough education, William was sent to neighborhood common schools until the war, after which a private tutor was employed, who prepared him for college. He then entered Burrett College in Van Buren County, Tenn., where he took a full course. In 1874, the year of his father's death, he took charge of the old homestead, near La Grange, on which he was born on December 23, 1849, as a son of Robert W. and Malinda (Harris) Howard, natives of Virginia and Kentucky, respectively. Robert W. Howard was born in 1814, being a son [p.603] of Christopher Howard, also a Virginian by birth, who died in Kentucky. He was a small boy when his father moved to the Blue Grass State, in which he was reared on afarm, remaining there until 1840, when he came to Arkansas and located in what was then Phillips County, on the St. Francis River. After giving his attention to rafting timber to New Orleans for the following two years, he purchased the plantation on which he spent the remainder of his life, dying on March 11, 1874. Mrs. Howard was born in 1824, and is still living on the old homestead. Both were members of the Baptist Church, and the parents of nine children, six of whom survive, all residents of Richland Township, this county: Virginia F. (at home with her mother), William L. (the principal of this sketch), L. G. (a merchant of La Grange, and a partner of William F. Gill, whose biography appears in this work), Addie (wife of N. D. Ramey), E. J. (now justice of the peace of this township) and Robert W. (at home). William L. Howard was married on January 16, 1875, to Miss Emma L. Crook, who was born in White County, Tenn., in 1850, and died in February, 1884, leaving four children, three now living: Ida B., Robert E. and Sallie H. He married his second and present wife, Miss Maggie Broyles, a relative of his first wife, and a native of the same county, January 14, 1886. They have a family of two children, Ethel Lee and William C. Mr. Howard has always taken a leading part in the politics of this county, and is one of its prominent Democrats. He was elected coroner in 1878, and served two years; was afterward elected justice of the peace, and filled that office the same length of time. He was then a candidate before the Democratic Nominating Convention in 1886 for sheriff, but was defeated. In 1888 he was elected to represent Lee County in the State legislature, which office he still acceptably holds. Mr. Howard, while not in public life, has followed agricultural pursuits for a livelihood, and owns a farm of 320 acres of as fine land as can be found in Lee County, besides an interest in the old homestead, consisting of 480 acres. He is a member of the Baptist Church, and Mrs. Howard belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, as did his first wife. Mr. Howard is also a member of the Royal Arcanum.

page 604

Hon. H. N. Hutton, representative from Lee County, and who has been engaged in the practice of law in Arkansas for over twenty-nine years, is a graduate of the Lebanon Law School, and a very able attorney. Born in Franklin County, Tenn., in 1835, he is a son of John and Margaret (Davidson) Hutton, of Virginia and North Carolina origin, respectively. He received his literary education at Union University, Murfreesboro, Tenn., in which he took a full classical course, being a thorough scholar in Latin, Greek, and French, and from this institution was graduated on June 18, 1853. He then entered the Lebanon Law School, graduating in June, 1855, with the highest honors of his class. Mr. Hutton commenced practice at Shelbyville, Tenn., and in 1860 came to Arkansas, locating in this county, and practicing at Helena. In 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate army, serving one year as adjutant-general on Gen. D. C. Govan's staff. He then resigned his commission on account of poor health, and returned home. When the first court was organized at Helens, after the war, he was made prosecuting attorney, and at the expiration of his term of office, resumed regular law practice, in which he was engaged until 1874, when he was appointed to fill the vacancy of judge of the circuit court, caused by the death of the former incumbent, Judge Fox. The office not being in his own district, he declined to accept the position until having first communicated with the members of that circuit to see if his service would prove acceptable. Having received a favorable reply, he was installed in the office, and served until the expiration of the unexpired term. Judge Hutton removed to Arkansas before Lee County was formed, and when the question of the organization of a new county was sufficiently agitated, he was elected to draft the bill for the formation of the same to be presented to the legislature. He first drew up a bill for that purpose, calling the proposed county Coolidge, but it was defeated. He next drew up another, taking for a name Woodford, which was also defeated by the senate. He then revised the bill, substituting the name Lee, which [p.604] was presented during the latter part of the session, and it passed the lower house in a few moments with great enthusiasm, and being sent to the senate also passed that body. On January 8, 1857, Mr. Hutton was married to Miss Cillie M. Mottley, a native of Tennessee, and a graduate of the Abbie Institute. They are the parents of four children: H. N., Jr., Walter S., J. T. and Herbert. Mr. Hutton, or Judge Hutton, as he is familiarly called, has devoted his time to hard study during life, and has developed a wonderful memory. In his extensive practice he never takes notes of the evidence, relying wholly on that faculty,, which never fails him. He is justly considered one of Lee's substantial and worthy citizens.

A. Jastrawer, dealer in dry goods, groceries and drugs at White Hall, is a native of Prussia, being a son of Mark and Rose (Cohn) Jastrawer, also natives of that country. The former died when the principal of this sketch was a small boy, and his wife in 1875. Our subject was born in 1832 and was married in Prussia about 1863, to Miss Ester Cohn, also of that country, and who became the mother of two children, both now deceased. Mr. Jastrawer learned the shoemaker's trade while in his native country, at which he worked for a number of years. Emigrating to America about 1869 he landed at New York City, where he remained, working at his chosen calling for about one year. He then went to Memphis, Tenn., and three years later came to Forrest City, where he was engaged in the same business for several years, ubsequently removing to Lee County. He first started in the mercantile business in different parts of this county, and in 1883 located at White Hall, where he has since been occupied in general merchandising, with excellent success, having acquired considerable properly. He is the owner of 1,000 acres of land, of which half is under cultivation, and is enjoying a patronage of about $25,000 annually. Mr. Jastrawer is a member of the K. of H. and of two Jewish and German Lodges.

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J. L. Jenkins, farmer, Haynes, Ark. On September 15, 1851, in Johnson County, Tenn., there was born to William and Sarah M. (Russel) Jenkins a son, who is taken as the subject of this sketch. William Jenkins was born in South Carolina in 1805, thence removing, in 1833, to Johnson County, Tenn. Leaving that State in 1857 he went to Dent County, Mo., where he remained the balance of his life, his death occurring July 27, 1871. He was too old to participate in the late war, but this did not prevent him from being barrassed by bushrangers. By his marriage to Miss Russel he became the father of ten children, only two now living: Sophronia J. (wife of J. D. Crabtree, resides in Golden City, Mo.,) and J. L. (who was the youngest of the family. The mother was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and died February 28, 1860. The paternal grandfather was an early settler of Tennessee, and was in one of the early wars. J. L. Jenkins passed his boyhood days in Dent County. Mo., received the benefit of a common-school education, and at the age of eighteen years commenced for himself in Dent County, where he farmed for some time on rented land. In 1872 he moved to St. Francis County, Ark., and worked for wages on a farm for two years, after which (in 1878) he purchased a portion of his present place, forty acres. To this he has since added 160 acres, and has fifty-five acres under improvement. Besides this his wife has sixty acres of an undivided farm of 120 acres, on which Mr. Jenkins now resides. He was married in 1878 to Miss Annie E. Stanfield, a native of Lee County and the daughter of Clark and Jane (Myrick) Stanfield, natives, respectively, of Alabama and Arkansas. The Myrick family were among the early settlers of Arkansas, having made their appearance here as early as 1820 or 1825, and were prominently identified with the early settlement of the country. Mr. and Mrs. Stanfield were the parents of four children, two now living: Mrs. Jenkins (the eldest) and J. M. (who resides with Mr. Jenkins). Mr. Stanfield died in 1883 and Mrs. Stanfield in 1876, the former a member of the A. F. & A. M. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins were born five children; P. J. (deceased), Willie A., Nora L., Hattie M. (deceased) and Joseph B. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and are liberal contributors and supporters of all laudable [p.605] enterprises, particularly those pertaining to religious and educational matters. Mr. Jenkins is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Cannon Lodge No. 254, and is also a member of the Knights of Honor, Lodge No. 2168.

Samuel L. Johnson has worked at farm labor since a young boy, his father having died when he was but two years of age, and the mother when the son was eighteen years old. At the age of fifteen he was employed as a farm hand in Monroe County, but shortly after started to learn the trade of blacksmithing, soon returning to farm labor, at which he was employed until he bought a farm of his own. He now owns 280 acres of fine farming land in Lee County, with half of it under cultivation. Mr. Johnson was born in Monroe County January 4, 1850, his parents, Hardin and Elizabeth (Davis) Johnson, being natives of Mississippi and South Carolina, respectively. They removed from Mississippi to Arkansas in 1842, and located in Monroe County on a farm, on which Mr. Johnson lived until his death in 1852. Two years later Mrs. Johnson married James Ganberry, and survived until 1868. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson had a family of four children, three of whom are still living: Julia (wife of William Moy, a farmer of Monroe County), Thomas B. (a resident of Illinois), and Samuel L. (the principal of this sketch). The latter was married March 20, 1880, to Miss Nannie Ruscoe, of Alabama birth, who lived only two years after her marriage, leaving two children, one of whom, Laura E., still survives. He was married to his second and present wife, Mary A. Jeffcoat, a native of this State, April 4, 1883. She was a daughter of William K. and Nancy J. (Fisher) Jeffcoat, both now deceased. By this marriage there was born one child, Bessie V. Mr. Johnson is a Democrat, and takes an active interest in the success of his party, He and wife are leading members of the Presbyterian Church, and live upright Christian lives.

John M. Johnson. The estate which Mr. Johnson now cultivates and owns, comprises 500 acres, of which 300 are under cultivation, and it is well adapted to the purposes of general farming. In his operation he displays those sterling principles so characteristic of those of Virginian nativity, of which industry and wise and judicious management are among the chief. He was born in Russell County, October 23, 1857, and is a son of Jacob Johnson, who was born in Carroll County, Va., in 1830, his wife, Malinda Foster, being also a native of that State, born in 1832. Their marriage took place in 1847, and to their union a family of seven children were born, of whom John M. is the fourth. Only three of this family are now living, and all reside in Lee County: Benjamin F. (who married Ida L. Riner), Nannie (who married H. E. Sapp) and Jacob. The father was a man of public spirit and took an interest in all worthy public enterprises wherever he lived. He served in the Confederate army during 1861-62, but in the latter year returned home and died of small-pox. He was a farmer by occupation, and at the time of his death owned a good farm of 200 acres. His widow survives him, and resides in Lee County, Ark., with her daughter. John M. Johnson received his education in the schools of Sulphur Springs, Va., but in 1877 concluded to seek his fortune in the West, and immigrated with his mother to Arkansas, locating in Lee County, where, in 1881, he began business for himself. He has a well-improved and well-stocked farm, and his management shows a thorough knowledge of the business.

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S. D. Johnston is a member of that well-known general mercantile firm of Johnston & Grove, of Marianna, Ark., which has existed under the present title since 1881, having previously been Jarratt, Rodgers & Co., and Johnston, Foreman & Co. These two firms were really one and the business of both houses was kept in one set of books and as one firm. Later, the firm name was changed to Johnston, Rodgers & Co., and Johnston, Foreman & Co., and finally to Johnston & Grove. Their establishment is among the leading ones in Eastern Arkansas, and they occupy one of the main business houses in Marianna, having regularly in their employ seven men, besides assisting in the work themselves. The main room is 27x125 feet, the large stock of goods occupying parte of two other floors, and ranging from $15,000 to $20,000. Their highest annual sale, made in 1879, amounted [p.606] to $140,000, but of late years have aggregated from $75,000 to $85,000. They also own two farms. Mr. Johnston is a Kentuckian by birth, born in 1849. He was reared to manhood in his native State and after acquiring a fair education in the common schools supplemented this by a course in college at Columbia, Ky., and in 1872 took a complete course in Leddin's Business College, Memphis, Tenn., graduating therefrom in October, 1872. Immediately after he came to Marianna and for some time acted as book-keeper for the mercantile firm of Jarratt & Rodgers, serving them in this capacity until 1877. Also during this time from 1884 he had a half interest in the mercantile firm of Johnston & Foreman, in Marianna, keeping the books and attending to the financial part of the business. When the two firms consolidated, the styles being then changed to Jarratt, Rodgers & Co. and Johnston, Foreman & Co., he was an equal partner in both houses. Unlike the majority of the young men of the present day he judiciously saved his money and in the investment of the same he has shown excellent judgment, and in every respect deserves the reputation he has acquired as a successful business man. He not only owns a one-half interest in the mercantile firm, but also some of the most valuable property in the city, consisting of a two-story brick store building, a valuable residence and other real estate in the business portion. He is an active worker for the upbuilding of the town and county, and has done much to assist in eliminating the whisky traffic from Marianna. He is the fire insurance agent of Marianna, representing eight of the best fire insurance companies; is an active member and official of the Methodist Church and the Royal Arcanum, a K. of H., a K. & L. of H., a commissioner of accounts for Lee County, and also belongs to the I. O. G. T. He was married in 1875 at Austin, Miss., to Miss Mollie F. Grove, and by her has two children living: Mary E. and Sarah A. He was married the econd time at Brownsville, Tenn., to Miss Nita Mann, his present wife, and by her has one child; Willie Webster. J. B. Grove, the junior member of the above-named firm, was born in West Tennessee in 1849, and made his home in that State several years as salesman in a dry-goods store until about twenty years ago, when he came to Marianna, Ark., and acted as book-keeper and salesman for J. E. Wood in a general mercantile business until 1876. Wood failing in business he accepted a position as salesman for Jarratt & Rodgers, and in 1877 became a partner in the firms of Jarratt, Rodgers & Co. and Johnston, Foreman & Co., now Johnston & Grove. He is an excellent man of business, shrewd, honest and capable, and, like Mr. Johnston, has made all his money in Lee County. He is unmarried.

H. M. Jones, recognized as one of the well-to-do and enterprising farmers and stock raisers of Independence Township, was born in Limestone County, Ala. His father, Kimbrough Jones, was also a native of Alabama, and was married in 1846, to Evaline Weatherford, who bore him eight children: Sally (Mrs. J. P. Farrel, of Marianna), Betty (Mrs. Beauchamp, now dead), Margaret (the wife of J. D. Brown, of Marianna), Fannie (now the wife of Mr. Beauchamp, of Marianna), Emma (deceased), S. W., Dixie (Mrs. Harden) and H. M. (the subject of this sketch). Mr. Jones was a successful farmer, and in 1868 moved to Arkansas, settling in Lee County, where his death occurred two years later. Mrs. Jones is now living with her children in Marianna, and is a member of many years' standing of the Methodist Church. Mr. Jones settled the land owned by his father and which is now operated by him. After the father's death he assumed charge of his mother's family and the management of her estate, where his intuitive sense and excellent business qualifications were given a wide scope. His farm consists of 100 acres of valuable land, with eighty acres under cultivation, and bears evidence of careful and unceasing attention. In his political belief he is a Democrat.

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Hiram C. Kellam, not unknown throughout this region, commenced life for himself at the age of thirteen, being employed as a farm hand, but on the death of his father, two years later, he served an apprenticeship with a leading blacksmith of his native county (Davis County, Ky.), and became [p.607] a finished workman. After working at his trade in Illinois, he came to Arkansas and located at Moro, Lee County (then Monroe County), where he followed his adopted calling for some time. Afterward he purchased a farm, and has since followed that occupation. He was born September 4, 1851, being a son of Elisha J. and Lucinda (Kelley) Kellam, also Kentuckians by birth. E. J. Kellam was a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and also carried on farming. During the war he was taken by the Federals and carried to Indiana, on account of his Southern principles and sympathy with the Confederate cause and died in that State in March, 1866. His wife died in 1862 at the age of fifty-two years. They were the parents of eight children, two of whom only are now living, the principal of this sketch, and Albert J., a farmer residing in the State of Texas. Mr. Kellam was married on February 27, 1876, to Miss Julia I. Boykin, of Johnson, County, N. C., and a daughter of Elmore and Jane E. (Jones) Boykin, originally from Virginia and North Carolina, respectively, both of whom are deceased, the former dying in 1867 and the latter in 1882. Mr. and Mrs. Kellam have a family of five children; Albert B., Hiram C., Lucinda, David H., and William L. and one deceased. Mr. Kellam owns a farm of 120 acres, with about sixty acres under cultivation, which he devotes principally to the raising of stock, having a large number of cattle, horses and hogs. He also owns and operates a large steam grist-mill and cotton-gin, erected at a cost of about $1,500. He is a strong Democrat and takes an active interest in polities, and has held the office of deputy sheriff of the county for the past twelve years. He is a member of the K. of P. and of the Masonic order, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of which his wife is also a member.

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John Lee, farmer and blacksmith, of Hardy Township, is a native of Indiana, and a son of Jonathan and Deborah (Britian) Lee. Jonathan Lee was born in Mercer County, Ky., in 1793, in which State he lived until after his marriage, learning the trade of blacksmithing. Soon after his marriage he removed to Washington County, Ind., and when the principal of this sketch was about one year old, went to Jackson County, where he died on July 16, 1862. He was a son of William Lee, of Irish descent, and a cooper and farmer by occupation. He was a native of Mercer County, Ky., and died in Washington County, Ind. Mrs. Lee came originally from West Virginia and died in Jackson County, Ind., in 1867, at the age of seventy-four. She was a member of the Baptist Church, as was also her husband, being a daughter of Samuel Britain, a native of Virginia, who died in Washington County, Ind., at the age of ninety-seven. John Lee was the youngest son in a family of eight children, four of whom are still living, the eldest son, Samuel, two daughters, and our subject. The latter was born in Washington County, Ind., in 1832. He was married in 1851, to Ludia Chilcott, who was born in Jackson County, Ind., in 1825. Her parents were John and Rachel (Robertson) Chilcott, the former a native of Virginia, removed to Jackson County, Ind., where he was married and made his home the rest of his life, dying in 1848. He was a son of Eli Chilcott, of Pennsylvania, who removed to Virginia after his marriage, and died in Hardy County, that State. Mrs. Chilcott was also of Virginia birth, and died in 1835. She was a daughter of Blaze and Hannah (Hutchinson) Robertson. Mr. Robertson wasborn in England, the son of an English nobleman. He left home at the age of seventeen and came to America against his parents' wishes, and, having no money, though possessed of a good education, he contracted the wages which he would receive for his duties as a teacher, his chosen calling, for seven years, to pay his passage to the United States; after four years' service he was released from his contract. He then settled in Virginia, where he made his home the balance of his life. His wife, after the death of her husband, moved to Indiana, where she died. They were the parents of a large family of children, who were among the pioneer families of Jackson County, Ind. One of the daughters married a Mr. Hamilton, the first representative from that county, in the State legislature. Mr. and Mrs. Lee had five children, two sons and three daughters, all of whom survive: [p.608] Jonathan R. (a resident of Phillips County), Hannah E. (wife of S. B. Eaks), Lydia A. (wife of W. B. Jones), Sarah M. (wife of C. T. Payne) and William Samuel. Mr. Lee enlisted in January, 1865, in Company C of the One Hundred and Forty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry, in which he served until the close of the war. He lived in Jackson County, Ind., until 1870, when he came to Arkansas and settled in what is now Lee County. Two years later he settled on his present farm, consisting of half a section of land, of which sixty-five acres are under a high state of cultivation, and all made since coming to this State. He is a prominent Democrat and takes an interest in the political affairs of the day. He and his wife are members of the Christian Church.

Julius Lesser, treasurer of Lee County, was born in Prussia in 1853, and emigrated to America in 1867, locating first inMemphis, Tenn., where he was employed as a clerk. In 1870 he came to Arkansas, and was employed in that occupation at Forrest City until 1875, then entering into business for himself at Marianna. In 1884 he sold out his store, and became engaged in the banking business, which he still continues. Shortly after disposing of his mercantile interest he bought it back, and associated with his brother as partner, the latter now having the management of the store. Mr. Lesser gives his attention to his banking business and official duties. He has held, with great satisfaction, the office of county treasurer for five consecutive years, having served first by appointment to fill an unexpired term, and afterward being elected. He and his brother enjoy a large patronage in their store, handling sixty per cent of all the cotton grown in the neighborhood, which they ship direct to the spinners, and not to commission men, as is the general custom. Mr. Lesser is a stockholder and director in the First National Bank of Helena, also a stockholder in another bank of that city, and one in Memphis, Tenn., and, in addition, is a stockholder in a large lumber company. He was married to Miss Lenora Raphaels, by which marriage two children were born: Harry and Blanche. Mr. Lesser is also largely interested in real estate in the city, owning several business blocks, including the one in which his bank is situated, and pays taxes on $35,000 to $40,000 worth of real estate. He participates actively in promoting all public enterprises; is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has taken the degree of Royal Arch Mason, and is also a member of the Knights of Honor.

John Carrol Lynch was born on a farm which was then in St. Francis County, now a part of Lee County, in 1848, being a son Byant Lynch, who was born in this State in 1818, and Eliza (Davis) Lynch, of Kentucky origin, born in 1825. The principal of this sketch has spent his whole life in this county, but as his help was needed on his father's farm, his educational advantages in youth were very limited. He was married, in 1873, to Miss Lou A. Rogers, who was the mother of two daughters, one, Annie L., still living. Mr. Lynch owns 1,400 acres of land, 700 acres of which are cleared and a large part of it under cultivation. He raises very little cotton, but devotes most of his time and labor to the raising of stock, which he finds more profitable. He is a life-long Democrat and uses all means in his power to advance the interests of his party. He is a member of the Masonic order. His wife belongs to the Baptist Church. Mr. Lynch is one of the prominent and well-known men of Lee County. He has never had a sick day in ten years, nor taken a dose of medicine in that time, and during the last ten years he has increased in weight from 156 to 254 pounds. Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas

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Capt. George Marchbanks, planter, Marianna, Ark. Of that sturdy and independent class, the farmers of Arkansas, none are possessed of more genuine merit and a stronger character than he whose name stands at the head of this sketch. He has risen to a more than ordinary degree of success in his calling, and wherever known, he is conceded to be an energetic and progressive tiller of the soil, imbued with all those qualities of go-ahead-ativeness which have characterized his ancestors. He owes his nativity to Middle Tennessee, where his birth occurred on May 25, 1839, and is the son of Judge A. J. Marchbanks, of Warren County, Tenn. The father was a well-educated gentleman, had read law and was a legal practitioner all his life. [p.609] His father educated him and then disinherited him, and sent him forth to fight his own way in life. He was circuit judge of his district for more than thirty years, and was occupying that position at the breaking out of the war. He was kept a prisoner at Camp Chase, Ohio, during this eventful period, and when peace was declared he was offered the position of judge again. He died in the fall or winter of 1866. The mother was born in McMinnville, Tenn., and was a daughter of George and Elizabeth (Kenion) Savage. She died at the age of twenty-nine years, leaving five children. Capt. George Marchbanks attained his growth in Tennessee, and was sent as a cadet to West Point, to the Federal Military School. He was appointed by old Col. Savage, while the latter was in Congress, and remained at the school until the breaking out of the war. On April 1, 1861, he went South, and entered the Sixteenth Tennessee Regiment as adjutant. He was in the regular Confederate service, commanded a company, and served with the Sixteenth one year as first lieutenant. He was on Gen. Bragg's staff until late in 1862, and commanded Company K, in the Twenty-fifth Tennessee. After the campaign he was on Gen. Johnston's staff for some time, and was also on Gen. Bragg's staff for a year. He was with Maj.-Gen. B. Johnston in Virginia, was at Drury's Bluff and at the siege of Petersburg. After that campaign he was sent with his command up around Richmond, and subsequently to Wheeler's command. Later he came to Tennessee on a furlough, and was captured there, and remained in prison until the close of the war. After this he engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1870, when he came to what was then Phillips (now Lee) County, and there has tilled the soil ever since. He was a member of the legislature in 1881 and 1882. In 1883 he married Mrs. Freeman, whose maiden name was Julia Sterdivant. Mr. Marchbanks is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is the owner of 1,500 acres of land, and is also the owner of considerable town property.

George J. Mathews. Among the enterprising and prospering farmers and stock raisers of Lee County, none are more worthy of mention than George J. Mathews. He is a son of Burel and Piney (Whittaker) Mathews, and was born in Pitt County, N .C., December 24, 1820. Burel Mathews was a native of North Carolina, and followed the occupation of farming all his life. He was married in that State in 1818, to Miss Whittaker, and to their union sir children were born, two now living: George J. and Roderick. Those deceased are: Richard F., William Miza A., Henry and one unnamed. Both Mr. Mathews and wife are dead. George J. Mathews first began to "paddle his own canoe" at the age of eighteen, accepting a position as overseer on a large plantation. He was married in 1841 to Miss Mary Crawford, of Martin County, N. C., who bore him four children, one living: George R. Mary A., P. A., and Elisha are deceased. Mrs. Mathews died in 1858, a member of many years standing in the Methodist Church. Mr. Mathews was married in 1862 to Mrs. Lydia Brooks, the widow of Amsley Brooks. She is a daughter of Franklin and Lydia Maye, of Tennessee, and was born in 1827. To the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Mathews four children have been given: Marietta (the wife of Allen Wall), Kelson O., Epson J. and William F. (deceased). Mr. Mathews immigrated to Arkansas from North Carolina in 1852, settling in St. Francis County. He now owns 160 acres of good land, with 115 improved, the principal crop being corn and cotton. He has acted

as marshal of St. Francis County for the past twelve years and has served as justice of the peace for six years. He is a member of the Methodist Church, having joined that denomination over twenty years ago. Politically he is a Democrat. Mrs. Mathews is a Baptist in her religious belief, and belongs to that church.

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T. C. Merwin is a successful general merchant of Marianna, Ark., and is an example of the success attending hard work and honest dealing. He was born in Louisville, Ky., December 25, 1845, and is a son of A. W. and Anna L. (Chartres) Merwin, the former of whom died when our subject was small. He was a carriage dealer in Louisville, and died there in 1852, followed by his wife in 1864, her death occurring in the State of Mississippi. Of six children born to them, four lived to be [p.610] grown, but T. C. Merwin is the only one now living. He and his mother moved to Mississippi in 1860, and were residing near Austin at the time of the latter's death. Mr. Merwin was educated at South Hanover College, Kentucky, and when the war broke out he joined the Confederate forces and was a member of Maj. Corley's cavalry. Shortly after he was discharged on account of physical disability, but about six weeks later he joined another command, the company being raised by Capt. Nall, of Missouri, and with this he remained until the close of the war, serving in the capacity of lieutenant, and operating in Missouri and Arkansas. On October 19, 1864, he and his men were captured by a force of Federals under McNeal, and the following morning one of his men was hanged by McNeal, at Lexington, Mo. They remained captives of war until June 18, 1865. After the war he began farming in Arkansas, and for eleven years continued to till the soil along the Mississippi River. After moving to Marianna he served as collector of taxes for two years, and was then elected circuit court clerk, and ex officio clerk of all other courts, serving by re-election until 1884. In the fall of 1885 he was appointed clerk of the State land office at Little Rock, and was installed in January, 1886, and held the position until November 1, 1889. He then resigned, and returned to Marianna, and opened his present establishment, which is proving a paying investment. He is a Democrat, a Royal Arch Mason, a K. of L., a member of the K. & L. of H., and also belongs to the R. A. He was married December 20, 1874, to Miss Laura Campbell, who was born in Woodford County, Ky., in 1852, and died June 18, 1877, leaving one child, Olie. His second wife was a Miss Emmie Govan, a niece of Gen. D. C. Govan, and a daughter of E. P. Govan, the latter a prominent planter before the war. Mr. Merwin and his present wife have had three children: Mary, Govan (who died in 1844, aged two years) and Willie. The family worship in the Episcopal Church.

Jonas Miller owns a fine farm of 240 acres in Hampton County, also a steam grist-mill and cotton-gin at Moro, Lee County. He is a native of North Carolina and a son of Moses and Rolly (Cross) Miller, also originally of that State. Mr. and Mrs. Miller made North Carolina their home until 1853, when they removed to Mississippi, and two years later came to Arkansas, locating in Monroe County. The father was a very successful farmer, always having something to sell, and not owing any man, and was well known and highly respected throughout the community until his death, in 1880, twenty-three years after the death of his wife. They were members of the Missionary Baptist Church and had a family of eight children, three still living: Carrie (wife of I. W. Burrows, of Woodruff County), Polly (wife of John Boyer, also of Woodruff County) and Jonas. The subject of this sketch was born in Cape Barrow County on July 15, 1845, and began life for himself as a farmer and miller at the age of twenty. He was married in March, 1873, to Miss Martha E. Breeding, daughter of Wesley and Mary (Brooks) Breeding. They are the parents of eight children, five still living: William, John, Elizabeth, Kate and Cricket. Mr. Miller has about 100 acres under cultivation, in cotton and corn principally, but is now turning his attention to stock raising, and consequently raising more grasses and grain. He has held the office of deputy sheriff and constable, both of which he filled with credit to himself and with per. fect satisfaction to the citizens of the community.

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William T. Moore, who is well known among the citizens of Richland Township, came originally from Alabama and is a son of Lewis and Willie (Riel) Moore, natives of Georgia and Alabama, respectively. Mr. Moore was of English descent, and moved to Alabama when a young man, where he was married, making that his home until 1838, Removing to Mississippi, he purchased a large plantation in Chickasaw County, and at the time of his death, in 1866, at the age of sixty-two years, was the wealthiest man, but one, in the county. His wife died in 1862, at the age of fifty-two years. She was the mother of eleven children, the following of whom now survive: Elizabeth (wife of B. F. Fitzpatrick, of Mobile, Ala.), John P. (a prominent merchant and real estate dealer, of Helena), Mary Ann (deceased, wife of Dr. J. P. Rockatt, of Mississippi), S. C. (a farmer of Chickasaw [p.611] County, Miss.), C. C. (a farmer and merchant of Houston, Miss.), James B. (a farmer of Pickens County, Ala.), Cora F. (wife of S. C. Pippen, of Helena), Dora (now Mrs. Bass, also of Helena), J. H. (who was killed at the battle of Gettysburg and was captain of Company H of the Eleventh Mississippi Infantry), and William T. (our subject). The latter, the third child of this family, was born in Greene County, Ala., on September 23, 1835; and remained home with his father until a short time before the war, when he commenced farming for himself. In 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate army, in the Forty-first Mississippi Infantry, in which he served until the close of the war, being present at the surrender at Appomattox Court House. After the war he returned to his home in Mississippi and engaged in farming, and in 1878 came to Arkansas, locating in Phillips County, where he was occupied in agricultural pursuits for a short time; subsequently he moved to La Grange. He was married in 1855 to Miss Lucy J. Buckingham, who was born near Okolona, Miss., in 1841. They were the parents of six children, four still living: John T. (who is in the mercantile business with his father), Mary (wife of J. B. Foster, agent and operator at Harper, Mo., for the Iron Mountain Railroad), Lulu B. (wife of Thomas M. Jack, surveyor and civil engineer at Helena), and George C. (at home). Mr. and Mrs. Moore are members of the Missionary Baptist Church, in which they take an active part.

James H. New traces his ancestry back to Revolutionary times, his grandfather, William New, having been a soldier in that war, in which he served as a member of Marion's famous legion. The great-grandsire, William New, came to this country in 1763, settling on the Chickasaw River, in Virginia. He had two sons, John and William. William and his two sons were also in the Revolutionary War, the former being colonel of Lee's dragoons. He was wounded on Roanoke River, while pursuing Lord Cornwallis, and died from the effects of that injury. William, pare, was in the War of 1812, and his two sons, John and William, were in the battle near Baltimore, Md. James H is also a descendant, on his mother's side, of Jesse Lee. His parents were James and Mary M. (Blankenship) New, Virginians by birth. James New, Sr., was born in Halifax County, on July 4, 1805, and was of English and Irish extraction, He was married in November, 1833, shortly after which he removed to Georgia, and remained one year, then going to Lauderdale County, Miss., where he lived until his death, on September 7, 1864. They were the parents of four children: Saleta A. (wife of John H. Anderson, of Illinois), Mary M. (widow of Irvin McRovy), John R. (a farmer of Lee County) and James H. (our subject). The latter, the next to the eldest, was born in Landerdale County, Miss., on August 14, 1839. He commenced farming for himself at the age of twenty-two, and in 1869 came to Arkansas, and located on his present farm, which was then in Phillips County (now in Lee), composed of 160 acres of land, seventy acres being under a good state of cultivation. Mr. New was married in August, 1865, to Emily Clayton, also a native of Mississippi, who died in December, 1884, after having borne tan children, air still living: William U., Pattie L. (wife of J. A. Smith, a farmer of this county), James J., John R., Rebecca C. and Walter T. Mr. New enlisted

in the secret service of the United States, in November, 1862, and was a member and non-commissioned officer of the First Mississippi Mounted Riflemen. He served until the close of the war, participating in the battles of Chickasaw Bluff, Harrisburg, and a number of others. He is a conservative Democrat, and a member of the Agricultural Wheel and Farmer's Secret Alliance. He is also ruling elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, of which he has been a member eighteen years.

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Rev. L. K. Obenchain, pastor of the Baptist Church of Haynes, was born in Botetourt County, Va., on January 23, 1841, being a son of Peter M. Obenchain, also of that county, and of German descent. He was reared on a farm in his native county, and received a good education in the common schools, later attending Roanoke College, and also Alleghany College, in Greenbrier County, Va. He was first located, after entering the ministry, in [p.612] the mountains of Rock Bridge County, having been ordained at Mill Creek Church, where he remained three years. Coming to Arkansas in 1869, he was occupied in preaching at Phillips Bayou, and also taught school for three years, the following three years serving at Forrest Chapel. He next had charge of the Salem Church, of Phillips County, and of the churches at Marvel, Barton and Trenton for seven years. Mr. Obenchain later moved to La Grange, and had charge of that church, and also of the one at Phillips Bayou, where he had before been located. He came to Haynes, in January, 1888, and has since resided here, being the pastor of the Baptist Church at this place, and also at Oak Grove. He was married on the second Sunday of June, 1862, to Miss Sarah A. Baker, a daughter of Henry Baker, of Botetourt County, Va. They became the parents of five children, three of whom are still living: Bettie (wife of W. H. Ward, of Marvel), Edward B. and Ella D. Mr. Obenchain is a Democrat in politics, and is a member of the Masonic order, and of the Knights of Honor. His life has been devoted to the service of his Master, and no man in the county is more highly respected or honored, and by the purity of his life, and the example he sets, he is well worthy the confidence and respect which are placed in him.

R. B. Owen, a prosperous farmer of Richland Township, Lee County, is a native of Alabama, and was born in 1833, being the fifth in a family of nine children given to Richardson and Tobitha (Allin) Owen. Their names are as follows: Tobitha, Henry R., Edward T., Sarah H., R. B., Mary F., Susan E., Anna E. and Thomas Grant. Richardson Owen was born in North Carolina in 1790, and in 1820 was married to Tobitha, a daughter of Grant Alien, of Tennessee. Mr. Owen afterward settled in Alabama, where he engaged in farming, and was also a minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church and a doctor, having practiced medicine for some years previous to his death. Coming to Arkansas in 1851, he settled in Lee County, Richland Township, where he purchased 500 acres of valuable land. He was a public-spirited and progressive man, lending his support and influence to all public enterprises. In polities he was an old line Whig. R. B. Owen moved to Arkansas with his parents, and in 1862 enlisted in Capt, Anderson's company of Johnson regiment. He was soon after exchanged to Company C, Sixth Mississippi Infantry, and was a non-commissioned officer, serving as an ordnance-sergeant. He participated in the battles of Prairie Grove, Helena, Jenkins' Ferry and many others of minor importance. After the war Mr. Owen returned to Arkansas, settling in Lee County and resuming his occupation of farming, where he has since remained. He owns 310 acres of land, with 200 under cultivation. He was married in 1860 to Martha E. Sellers, a daughter of William B. and Mahala J. (Estes) Sellers, natives of Tennessee, but who immigrated to Mississippi, and then to Arkansas in 1847, settling in Lee County. Mr. Sellers died in 1858, and his wife in 1868. They were the parents of five children: William, Martha, Mary, Vianna and one deceased in infancy. To Mr. Owen's marriage five children have been born: Virginia D. (died in 1861), Helena (now Mrs. Walter Rainey, residing in Mississippi), Leila A., Mattie M. and an infant. In secret organizations Mr. Owen is identified with the Knights of Honor. He takes a great interest in all public improvements, and is especially interested in schools, in which he can see vast advancement and progress.

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C. A. Otey, attorney-at-law of Marianna, is a native of Madison County, Ala., and spent his early boyhood days in the southern part of the State, but the death of his father necessitated his return to his native county, where he remained for some time, while preparing himself for entering the military school at La Grange. He attended that institution only a short time, as the Civil War broke out shortly after his entering college, when he immediately joined the Confederate army, enlisting in the Fourth Alabama Infantry, which was attached to Johnston's division of Confederate States troops and Bee's brigade. The Fourth Alabama distinguished themselves at the first general engagement, but it is to be regretted that they lost their gallant commander, Col. Jones, who sacraficed his own life as well as many of his command to save the day. Gen. Bee, after Jones had fallen, [p.613] came up, and saying, "Fourth Alabama! I have seen your gallant fighting from yonder hill, and your ranks mowed thin while you held your position against fourfold odds! Follow me; Jackson has arrived, and he stands like. a ‘stone wall.’ Let us go to his relief." So Jackson received the immortal soubriquet of Stonewall, while Bee was leading the Fourth Alabama in that charge, and he who knighted him, the immortal Bee, fell shot through the heart a few moments afterward. The Fourth Alabama erected a monument on the spot. The false accusation that Gen. Bee was intoxicated, which was the cause of his reckless bravery, is explained by our subject by the fact that he was seen to drink repeatedly from a flask during the engagement, but which he knows contained water, as he himself filled it for him at a spring. Mr. Otey was wounded at the battle of Gaines' Mill by a bullet, breaking his arm, which laid him up for about three months; rejoining his regiment at the battle of Antietam, he was captured at the battle of Lookout Mountain, and was a prisoner for one year, before being exchanged. At the close of the war he came to Arkansas and located at Helena, where

he commenced the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1871, and later admitted to practice law efore the Supreme Court. He then commenced the practice of law at Helena, and was shortly after elected prosecuting attorney, having filled the office of city attorney two terms. He was editor of a daily and weekly newspaper during two campaigns, from 1874 to 1879, and was in the legislature in 1887. Having become largely interested in real estate in this county, he moved to Marianna in 1883, where he has since lived. He now owns 4,000 acres of land, including a large plantation, on which is situated a general, supply store, a saw-mill and steam cotton-gin, all under his general supervision. Mr. Otey was a son of Christopher and Emily (Smith) Otey, natives of Virginia and North Carolina, respectively. He was arried in the State of Arkansas to Miss Kate McAnulty, a native of this county. Mr. Otey is well known and highly spoken of by all who are acquainted with him.

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J. H. Parnell, of Marianna, Ark., was born in Southern Alabama, July 4, 1837, and is a son of John and Temperance Jane (Avery) Parnell, the former having been born in Putnam County, Ga., in 1806, and died in February, 1889, a farmer by occupation. He was a Whig in politics, was strongly opposed to secession, and served for some time in the capacity of magistrate. At the time of his death he weighed 225 pounds. His wife was born in South Carolina, and when young was taken to Alabama, where she grew to womanhood and met and married Mr. Parnell. She died about 1850, having borne a family of sixteen children, only the four oldest and the four youngest being now alive. Five sons were in the Confederate army, M. W. Parnell being a lieutenant under Gen. Price; Thomas J. was in the cavalry under Hood, Elijah being under Hood in the infantry, and was killed at Chickamauga; Daniel was in Jeff Davis's artillery and fired the last cannon at the battle of Bull Run, was taken prisoner to Elmira, N. Y., and after being paroled, died on his way home, his death being caused by exposure. Henry was in Forrest's army, and after procuring a furlough, came home, where he died of measles. All the brothers-in-law returned safe from the war. J. H. Parnell grew to manhood near Selma, Ala., and in his youth acquired a good English education. He farmed until the close of the war, then engaged in merchandising at Jacksonville, where he remained until 1869, when he immigrated to Osceola, Miss., and followed the same occupation there until 1882, at which time he came to Marianna, and until recently was a merchant there also. For the last six months he has been occupied in the hotel business, which is proving fairly remunerative. He owns some good property in thecity and sixty acres of farming land, which is said to be quite valuable. Mr. Parnell is a Democrat, a Mason and a member of the A. O. U. W. His wife, who was Miss Mollie Rigney, was born in Marianna, Ark., in 1868, and is a daughter of Hy. and Cynthia (Webb) Rigney, who were former residents of Huntsville, Ala., the father a Confederate soldier during the Civil War. The paternal great-grandfather of Mr. Parnell was born in England, and came to America many years prior to the American Revolution, his son, the [p.614] grandfather of our subject participating in that struggle.

Thomas G. Phillips, mayor of Haynes, came to Arkansas in 1855, and located in Lee County, where he was engaged in farming until the war. He enlisted in August, 1861, in the Thirteenth Arkansas Infantry, being appointed orderly sergeant of Company G, and participated in the battles of Belmont, Shiloh (where he was slightly wounded), Murfreesboro, Liberty Gap, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, and all of the principal battles of the Georgia campaign. He was severely wounded at Atlanta, was afterward elected second lieutenant, and rejoined his regiment just before the surrender. After the war Mr. Phillips returned to his farm, which he had purchased previous to entering the army, consisting of 327 acres of land. In 1879 he entered into the mercantile business. He carries a stock of goods invoicing about $2,500, and his annual sales will amount to $8,000 per year. He also owns the farm purchased before the war and, too, other property, in all 767 acres, with nearly 100 acres under cultivation. He has been twice married; first, to Miss Antonette Hustus, who died in 1879, leaving two children: Mollie (deceased) and Emma M. (still living). His second marriage was in 1885 to Mrs. Thompson, who died in 1887. Mr. Phillips was born in Indiana, May 21, 1832, as a son of Joseph and Sallie Phillips, natives of North Carolina and Ohio, respectively. They were the parents of eight children, all of whom survive and five of them are residents of Arkansas. Mr. Thomas Phillips is a strong Democrat. He has held the office of justice of the peace of his township, and on the incorporation of Haynes, was elected mayor, which office he still holds. He is a member of the Masonic order, and of the Knights of Honor, and belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

George W. Pittman. Of that sturdy and independent class, the farmers of Arkansas, none are possessed of more sterling principles than he whose name heads this sketch, and as a merchant he has not his superior in the county as far as intelligent management, honesty of purpose and energy are concerned. He is a Georgian, born February 16, 1849, and is a son of James R. Pittman, also of that State, who was born, reared and married there, the last event being to Miss Bettie A. Nash. Of a family of ten children given to them, five are now living: John C., James G., Jesse W., Mary J. (wife of Thomas J. Pinkston and the mother of seven children) and Mattie B. (who is the wife of A. S. Sears and is the mother of four children). Mr. Pittman was a farmer by occupation, and in this calling became quite wealthy, being the owner of 1,700 acres of valuable and productive land at the time of his death, which occurred in 1868. He was always interested in the local politics of the community in which he resided, and also furthered the building of churches and schools with his purse as well as by his influence, and was ever considered one of the leading and public-spirited men of the county. His wife's death followed his, January 12, 1887, she having been an earnest Christian lady and a member of the Baptist Church. George W. Pittman, our immediate biographical subject, inherits English blood from his mother, and his early education was received in the schools near Georgetown, Ga. In 1874 he immigrated to Mississippi, and at the end of two years went to Louisiana, a year later returning to Mississippi. Since May, 1882, he has been a resident of Arkansas, and has successfully followed the occupations of farming and merchandising, and where he was then worth $800, he is now worth ten times as much.

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Maj. E. D. Ragland is the son of Dr. Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Love) Ragland, his birth occurring in Shelby County, Tenn., in 1834. Dr. Ragland, a native of Virginia, was born in 1793, and served in the War of 1812. He attended the Philadelphia Medical College, and upon commencing the practice of his chosen profession, in 1818, selected Louisville, Ky., as the field of his labors. He was married in 1816 to Elizabeth, daughter of Mathew Love. To their union seven children were born, E. D., the subject of this sketch, being the sixth in order of birth. Their names were: James B., Louisa M. (now Mrs. Dr. B. D. Anderson of Texas), Dr. Nathaniel (who died in 1870 in De Vall's Bluff, [p.615] and was a sergeant in Price's regiment), Mary E. (now Mrs. Rembert, residing in Memphis, Tenn.), Sarah V. (Mrs. Dunlap of Memphis, Tenn.), and Samuel W. (died in 1861 leaving a family.) His wife is the daughter of Avan Huntsman, a former Congressman of Tennessee. Dr. Nathaniel Ragland (father of our subject) died in 1859, and his wife in 1873. They were members of the Presbyterian Church, to which the former lent his hearty support and valuable influence. He was a man of great public spirit, and many improvements of early days in his city stand as monuments to his memory and liberality. He had the name of being the proprietor of the first drug store ever established in Memphis, and died very wealthy, his estate alone being valued at $294,000. Maj. E. D. Ragland passed his boyhood days in Shelby County and graduated from the University at Lebanon, Tenn. He was married in 1857 to Cornelia Mottley, daughter of B. F. and Martha (Doak) Mottley. Mr. Mottley was State representative of Tennessee for years, and died in 1847, his wife only surviving him three years. Mr. Ragland entered the army in 1862 as major in the Memphis Light Dragoons, attached to the Seventh Tennessee Cavalry and served three years. In 1864 he was taken prisoner of war and held eleven months, making his escape April 19, 1865. He participated in most of the principal engagements, and by his kindness and thoughtfulness to his men won from them their life-long respect and esteem. Maj. Ragland is indeed a generous man, never being behind in contributing to any worthy purpose, but his liberality does not end there, for many benevolent acts never reach the ears of the outside world, though his generous deeds are recognized by the happy recipient of his bounteous gifts. Major Ragland settled in Phillips County, Ark., in 1865 being occupied in the independent profession of farming in that locality until 1869, at which time he moved to his present home in Richland Township. He owns 160 acres of land, all cultivated and stocked with the various superior grades necessary to successfully operate a farm of that size. He is a Mason, being a member of La Grange Lodge, No. 108, and also belongs to the Chapter at Marianna. The city council recognize in him an efficient and influential member. The Major and Mrs. Ragland are members of the Methodist Church at Marianna, Ark. He is interested in all enterprises for the development or promotion of the county, and has witnessed the growth of Marianna from a place that could only boast of one store to its present prosperous proportions.

T. J. Robinson, M. D., received a good common-school education in Tennessee, his native State, and spent two years in the study of medicine at home, after which he took a course of lectures at Nashville. He was attending Medical College at the breaking out of the war, but, with the true spirit of patriotism, enlisted in the Confederate army, serving part of the time in the hospital, though mostly engaged in active duty as a private. After the close of the war he gave his attention to farming for four years. He then entered the medical college at Louisville, Ky., and was graduated from that institution in the winter of

1868-69, after which, returning to Hardeman County, he practiced for fifteen years. Dr. Robinson later went to Texas, but within three months following he came to Arkansas and located at Marianna, Lee County, in 1883. Since that time he has built up a large practice. Dr. Robinson was born in Hardeman County, Tenn., in 1841, as a son of Jonas and Elizabeth (Chisum) Robinson, natives of the same State. Jonas Robinson was born in 1800, and died at the age of fifty-three. His wife is still living in Hardeman County, at the age of seventy-six years. The subject of this sketch was married in Tennessee to Miss Nannie Chisum, by which union were born three children: John C. (a student of the University of Louisville, Medical Department), Mary Wood and Pearl (his only daughters, aged, respectively, fifteen and fouryears, are his pets). The Doctor is a member of the Lee County Medical Society, of the Knights of Honor, and belongs to the Christian Church.

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Capt. James W. Rodgers received a high school education in his native State of South Carolina, preparatory to entering the military academy at [p.616] West Point, to which his father wished to send him, but having chosen a mercantile life rather than that of a military nature he engaged in merchandising at Byhalia, Miss., where he opened a stock of general merchandise, and was also proprietor of a blacksmith and wagon shop. At the breaking out of the war he joined the first troops organized in his county, Company D, of the Ninth Mississippi Infantry, and the first year served at Warrington, near Pensacola, Fla He received his discharge within the year on account of sickness, and returned home, but as soon as able organized Company E, Thirty-fourth Mississippi Infantry, which he commanded until the close of the war. He participated in the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro, Dalton, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and on to Atlanta, and then went back with Hood, but was taken sick and sent to the hospital at Columbus, Miss. After his recovery he was placed in command of 600 men, and started to join Gen. Johnston's army in North Carolina, but receiving word of the surrender he paroled his men at Meridian, returned home, and again resumed his business. Upon remaining two years he came to Arkansas, and located in what is now Walnut Bend Township, Lee County, where he has since lived. Capt. Rodgers was born in Lawrence District, S. C., in 1834, being a son of Hon. James S. and Emily N. (Ware) Rodgers, also natives of that State. James S. Rodgers was a well-to-do farmer and a prominent citizen of his locality, and held the office of sheriff of Lawrence District for several years, and later for several terms was representative from that district to the State legislature. He served under Gen. Jackson in one of the early wars, and was a son of John Rodgers, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and of Scotch-Irish descent. Mr. Rodgers was a member of the A. F. & A. M., and his death, which occurred in 1866, was much regretted by all who knew him. He was at that time a resident of Marshall County, Miss., to which he had removed in 1849. Mrs. Rodgers was a daughter of Gen. Edwin Ware, a merchant of Abbeville District, S. C., and a soldier in the Revolutionary War. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and died in 1862, leaving twelve children, five sons and seven daughters, four of whom are still living: James W. (the principal of this sketch), Amanda (now Mrs. Du Puy), Albert S. and Flora (now Mrs. Myers). Mr. Rodgers was married in 1872 to Miss Ella Newman, daughter of Augustus and Sallie Newman, who removed from Bolivar County, Miss., to this county in 1868, and both of whom are now deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers are the parents of eight children, five surviving, all sons. Mr. Rodgers has lived on his present farm since 1886, and has it well improved. It consisted of 640 acres, with over 400 acres under cultivation. Mrs. Rodgers is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which her husband is a liberal contributor, strongly advocating Sunday-school work.

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Henry Preston Rodgers. In chronicling the names of the prominent citizens of Lee County, that of Henry Preston Rodgers is accorded an enviable position. He is the son of Ebenezer and Parmelia (Jackson) Rodgers, his birth occurring in Madison County, Ill., in March, 1844. Ebenezer Rodgers was a native of Wales, born in 1790, and in 1820 he came to America, locating in Howard County, Mo., where two years later he was united in marriage with Miss Jackson. During their residence in that State three children were given them, but in 1839 they moved to Illinois, where seven children were reared, making a family of ten born to their union. Mrs. Parmelia Rodgers, of English descent, first saw the light of day in Kentucky, in 1805, and after a long and consistent Christian life as a devoted wife and mother, she passed to her eternal rest, on Wednesday, March 28, 1882, at the age of seventy-seven years. Mr. Rodgers, Sr., though of Welsh parentage, was of English birth, and in 1818, being prompted by missionary zeal, came to America, locating in Kentucky, which presented a wide field for his labors. His was a grand and noble work, and his efforts for the advancement of Christianity and education have left imprints for good that will remain through time and eternity. In 1823, five years after his arrival in the United States, he organized a Baptist Church, in Capt. John Jackson's neighborhood, and subsequently became its pastor. Capt. Jackson, [p.617] the father of Mrs. Rodgers, was by occupation a farmer, but entered the War of 1812, commanding a company of volunteers (Kentucky). In 1834 Rev. Mr. Rodgers moved with his family to Madison County, Ill., where he presided for a period of two years as pastor of the Baptist Church. At the expiration of that time he left the pastorate and devoted his time to missionary and association efforts throughout the State. After a long and well-spent life, he passed away, at his home in Upper Alton, Ill., at the age of sixty-four years. Henry Preston Rodgers, the subject of this sketch, received the rudiments of his education in the subscription schools of Madison County, Ill., and matriculated in the Shurtliff College in 1861, completing the junior year in 1863. In September, 1863, he entered the cientific department of the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), and completed his education one year later. After leaving Ann Arbor Mr. Rodgers went to Memphis, but soon located in Bolivar, Tenn., where he engaged in merchandising. Finding that venture to be unsuccessful, however, he closed out his business, and accepted a position as salesman with a large and prominent firm, which he filled with credit and satisfaction. In 1870 he came to Arkansas, selecting Marianna as his place of abode, and again embarked in the mercantile business, his efforts being liberally rewarded. For ten years he was recognized as one of the most enterprising and progressive of Marianna's citizens, only retiring from business at that time to devote his attention to planting. He now owns 6,000 acres of as fine farm land as can be found in Arkansas, and 1,200 of this are in a high state of cultivation, the principal crops being corn and cotton. The soil in favorable seasons yields about one bale of cotton to the acre. The year 1877 witnessed Mr. Rodgers' marriage to Miss Mary Virginia Upshaw, a native of Arkansas, and a daughter of James R. and Bettie W. (Epps) Upshaw. To their union two children were born: Henry Preston, Jr. (born June 10, 1878), and Mary Lucile (born December 24, 1879). Mrs. Rodgers died in 1887, a lady of great culture and refinement, and a favorite among her wide circle of friends and acquaintances. In politics Mr. Rodgers is a Damocrat, and in 1883 he received the election to the State legislature, being re-elected in 1884. He holds a membership in the Episcopal Church, as did also his estimable wife. That he is popular is proven beyond a doubt, by the respect and confidence reposed in him by the entire people.

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Albert S. Rodgers took part in many of the important and hard fought battles of the Civil War, prominent among which were the engagements at Perryville, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Murfreesboro, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Dalton, Chickamauga, Franklin and a number of others. He was wounded in the former and last three battles, and was taken prisoner at the last named, being confined in a Federal hospital for three months. Upon his recovery he was taken to Camp Chase, Ohio, where he was held until shortly after the surrender of Lee, when he was released on parole and returned home. There he engaged in farming until 1868. Coming to Arkansas he located in Lee County, and opened up a farm at Walnut Bend. Mr. Rodgers was born in Lawrence County, S. C., in 1844, and is a son of James S. and Emily B. Rodgers, both natives of that State. He was reared in Marshall County, Miss., where his father moved when he was three years of age, and which he made his home until his enlistment, when only seventeen years of age, in Company E, of the Thirty-fourth Mississippi Infantry. He was married in 1880 to Miss Scott M. Davidson, a daughter of A. W. and Susan E. (Camthes) Davidson. They are the parents of two children: Alma M. and Emma S. In connection with farming and stock raising Mr. Rodgers is engaged in the general mercantile business, and carries a stock of some $2,000, enjoying a large patronage. He is a prominent Democrat, and has held the position of deputy clerk of Lee County, and was justice of the peace for six years, but at the present time is not occupied in an official capacity. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the Knights of Honor, and is a liberal patron to all public enterprises. Mrs. Rodgers is a member of the Presbyterian Church. James S. Rodgers, the father of our subject, was born in South Carolina in 1791, and lived to the ripe old age of seventy-five years. He was a soldier [p.618] in the War of 1812, and was a prominent man of his county, holding the office of sheriff for several years. He owned a large plantation and at the breaking out of the war was the possessor of sixty slaves. In his family were twelve children, five sons and seven daughters. Saxon Rodgers, his father, was of South Carolina nativity, and a farmer of considerable means and influence. Mrs. Rodgers, the mother of Albert S., was a daughter of Edmund Ware, a Virginian by birth, and a general in the Revolutionary War.

John L. Rowland, who stands high in the agricultural ranks of Lee County, came originally from Tennessee, being a son of John B. and Elizabeth (Thomas) Rowland. The father was a son of Birch and Mary Rowland, natives of North Carolina, both of whom lived to be over sixty years of age. They were the parents of four sons: William (a mechanic and a master of his trade), George, David (both successful farmers and well-to-do) and John B. The latter moved to St. Francis County in 1834, where he was engaged in farming, but a few years later came to Lee County. He was married before entering this State (then a Territory), to Miss Elizabeth Thomas, daughter of Lewis and Margaret Thomas, of South Carolina and Tennessee origin, respectively. Lewis Thomas was a soldier in the War of 1812, and gained distinction by his bravery, living to the age of sixty-five. John L. Rowland was born in Montgomery County, Tenn., in 1829, and was therefore five years of age when his parents moved to Arkansas. He was reared on his father's farm, and as the territory was at that time very thinly settled, and schoolhouses were few and far between, his educational advantages were very limited. He commenced farming for himself when twenty years old in this county, and in 1857 was married to Susan E. Reed, daughter of Noah and Mary (Hurley) Reed, natives of Massachusetts and Kentucky, respectively. Noah Reed was born in 1797; his wife died at the age of forty. Mr. and Mrs. Rowland have four children: Josephine (deceased), Ardella (deceased), Jessie L. and Mary. Mr. Rowland enlisted in the Confederate army in 1862, in Company B, of Holmes' regiment, in which he served throughout the war, participating in the battles of Cotton Plant, Helena and some others, but was principally engaged in skirmishing. After the war he returned home and resumed farming, and although be lost nearly all he had during that unhappy period, by hard work and close economy, together with good business management, he has accumulated considerable property, and now owns a fine farm of 540 acres, with 250 acres under cultivation. He has also a large amount of stock, to which industry he turns his attention, in preference to the more general occupation of cotton raising. Mr. Rowland is a Democrat in politics, is a member of the Masonic order, and of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to which his wife also belongs, they taking an active part in religious enterprises. He is a liberal contributor to all enterprises for the good of the community.

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John W. Russell, who stands foremost among the farmers of Lee County, Ark., is a native of Alabama and a son of Alexander Russell, also of that State, and who was born about 1809. He was of Scotch descent, and was a farmer, tanner and shoemaker. In 1828 Miss Rebecca Ann Cart-wright became his wife, a daughter of John and Polly Cartwright, both originally from Alabama, and of Irish descent. She was born in Madison County, that State, in 1815, and died in 1882, three years after the death of her husband. They were the parents of nine children, five sons and four daughters; three of these are known to be living: Joseph, Eveline (now Mrs. Holly of Alsbama), and John W. The subject of this sketch was born in Limestone County, Ala., December 10, 1831, and remained in that county until his marriage, having charge of his father's farm. He has been married four times; first, in 1855, to Miss Louisa Breeding, a native of Morgan County, who died in 1877, leaving seven children, three still surviving: Samuel R., Otis P. and William W., all engaged in farming in this county. Mr. Russell was next married May 10, 1879, to Miss Susan Bickerstaff, also of Alabama, who died in 1883. His third marriage was in 1884 to Miss Dora Smith, also of the same State. She lived a year after her marriage, leaving one child, which died [p.619] a short time after its mother. His fourth and present wife was Mrs. Mary A. Archy, widow of Rufus Archy, of Tennessee, to whom he was married in October, 1886. Mr. Russell enlisted in the Confederate service, in 1864, in Malone's battalion, in Johnston's army, and served until the close of the war. Comng to Arkansas in 1873, he located in this county and purchased the farm on which he still resides, now one of the finest in Lee County, consisting of 216 acres, with 150 acres under cultivation. He is also engaged in the milling business and cotton ginning. Mr. Russell is a Democrat in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His wife belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Hartwell Scruggs, holding a prominent place among the enterprising and wealthy farmers of Richland Township, is a native of Tennessee, and was born in 1824, being the second in a family of three children, resulting from the union of Hartwell and Lucy (Howell) Scruggs. Hartwell Scruggs was born in 1800, in the Old Dominion. He moved to Tennessee, and there married about the year 1820, making it his home for many years, and giving his children such advantages for an education as could be obtained at that time. His son, Louis H., died in 1859, leaving a wife and two children; John, died in 1860, a wife and one child surviving to mourn his loss. Mr. Hartwell, Sr., moved from Tennessee to Lee County, Ark., in 1844, and settled on the St. Francis River, where he resided at the date of his death in 1845. Mrs. Scruggs died in the same year. Mr. Scruggs was a Democrat in his political views, and in religious faith, a Baptist. Hart. well, the subject of this sketch, passed his younger days in Tennessee, and came with his father to Arkansas in 1844. Two years later he embarked in rafting on the Mississippi River, following this occupation for eight years, after which he went to farming on the St. Francis River. In 1863 he enlisted in Dobbins' Regiment of Arkansas Cavalry, soon being taken prisoner of war, and was not released until 1865. In 1868 he settled in Richland Township, purchasing a farm of 200 acres, 100 acres now under cultivation. With the improvements that he made this farm is second to none in the county, and the impression to the casual observer, or passer-by, is that thrift and prosperity predominate. Mr. Scruggs was united in marriage with Miss Amanda Morgan in the year 1847, and by her became the father of sir children: Martha A., Hartwell, Cortez, Howell, Helen and Louis. Mrs. Scruggs died in 1861, and for his second wife Mr. Scruggs chose Rebecca Moore, of Virginia, who died in 1870, leaving two children: Clara and Anna. Mr. Scruggs was married in 1871 to Miss Harriet E. Haydon, a daughter of Waller and Sarah F. (Nelson) Haydon, originally from Virginia and Kentucky. respectively. By this marriage they have had eight children: Libourn R., Lucian (deceased), Horace B. (deceased), Carrie L. and Cora L. (twins–Cora is dead), Blackstone F., Edna E. and Rhuney R. Mr. Scruggs is a man who has traveled a great deal, and who has seen life in all its different phases. He is a member of Lodge No. 108, of the Masonic order at La Grange, Lee County, and has been school director in his district for years. He takes an active interest in those movements tending to the good of the county, lending by his valuable support and influence especially to the advancement of education. He comments with pardonable pride on the development and growth of the county since he has resided here, and many of its enterprises will stand as monuments of his generous support, and interest manifested therein.

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Richard D. Shackelford. One among the many prosperous and prominent farmers of Lee County is Richard D. Shackelford, who was born of honorable parentage at Murfreesboro, Tenn., on February 10, 1826. He is a son of John L. and Sarah A. (Chisenhall) Shackelford. John L. Shackelford came upon the scene of action in Virginia, on August 12, 1796; he was a mechanic by occupation, an old-time Whig in politics, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and as a pious and devout man, was much loved and respected by those who knew him. He was a Scotchman by birth, and came to this country when young, during the War of 1812, taking an active part, and doing valiant duty as a soldier. He was successful in life, and at the time of his death, which occurred [p.620] on August 20, 1863, had onsiderable property. His wife, to whom he was married May 26, 1816, was also born in the Old Dominion, and was the mother of ten children, two sons and eight daughters, four of whom are still living: Katharine (widow of Rev. John Roberts), Tabitha (widow of William Williford), Rebecca (widow of John Walthall), and Richard D., the principal of this sketch. The latter was reared in Marengo County, Ala., where his father had removed when the son was two years of age. As that portion of the State at that time was comparatively an unsettled country, his education was of a very limited character. He began farming for himself at the age of twenty-one, and in 1847 removed to Arkansas, settling in Phillips County, about thirty miles northwest of Helens, which was at that time an uninhabited wilderness. After remaining there seven years, he removed to Woodruff County, continuing until 1862, at which time he joined the Confederate army, in Company G, of Dobbins' regiment, and served up to the close of the war. He then returned to his family in Woodruff County, but soon removed to his present location, where he has since been engaged as a farmer and mechanic. Mr. Shackelford has been twice married; first, to

Miss Belvida Tully, in 1850, who died fifteen years later, having been the mother of seven children, six still living: Alice (now Mrs. Brown, of this county), Thomas E. (a farmer of Pulaski County), Mary (now Mrs. Marshall, of Ft. Smith), William R. (also a farmer of Pulaski County), Lucy (now Mrs. Ferguson, of Lee County) and Louis L. (a farmer of Pulaski County). He was then married in December of that year to Mrs. Mary E. Wilks (nee Brown), a daughter of John and Mary Brown, and a native of Mississippi. They had seven children, two of whom survive: Zula (now Mrs. McAlexander, a mechanic of Brinkley, Ark.), and Nannie, at home. Mr. Shackelford is a Democrat in polities, and a member of the Christian Church, as is also his wife, in which they take an active part, always being ready to give their time and means to worthy church and religious enterprises.

James A. Sims is a native of Mississippi, and a son of John and Isabella (Johnson) Sims, natives of Virginia and North Carolina, respectively. John Sims was a blacksmith by trade, and was also engaged in farming. He died in 1831, preceded by his wife (who was a daughter of Gilbert Johnson, a native of South Carolina) some five years. They were the parents of nine children, eight sons and one daughter: Samuel A., John P., William B., James A. (the principal of this sketch), Gilbert G., Benjamin M., Ernest W., David D. and Mary A. (wife of John W. Walker, of Warren County, Miss.). The places of residence of the brothers are not known. James A. Sims was born in Warren County, Miss., near Vicksburg, on February 5, 1817. On account of the country being then but thinly settled, his early advantages for an education were very limited. He commenced farming for himself at the age of seventeen, and in 1849 came to Arkansas, purchasing a farm in Lee County, which was at that time a part of Monroe County. Two years later he sold his farm, and removed to Clark County, where he remained thirteen years, soon returning and purchasing his present farm, then within the lines of St. Francis County. Mr. Sims was married, in 1851, to Miss Augusta C. Davis, a native of Phillips County, and a daughter of Thomas J. and Elvira (Mullen) Davis, both of whom are deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Sims are the parents of ten children, five sons and five daughters; seven of these are still living: John H., Louisa J., Florence I., William A., Robert E. Lee, Edward M. and Donnie D. Mr. Sims enlisted in the Confederate service in the summer of 1864, in the Arkansas Home Guards, in which he served until the close of the war. He and his wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church, to which they have belonged for over thirty years. Mr. Sims is a strong, uncompromising Democrat.

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Mrs. Louisa F. (Noles) Slaughter, the widow of Dr. Stanton Slaughter, was born in Maury County, Tenn., November 27, 1837. Dr. Stanton Slaughter, a native of South Carolina, was born in 1820, being a son of Arthur and Jane Slaughter, of Virginia. He received a liberal education, graduating from the New Orleans (La.) Medical College in 1846, and afterward settled in Mississippi, choosing this as the field of his labors, but [p.621] subsequently immigrated to Arkansas, and located in Phillips County in 1851. He was immediately recognized as an efficient and conscientious physician, and rapidly gained an enviable position, both as a son of Æsculapius and a citizen. He was married in 1851 to Miss Mary Pollard, of Mississippi, who only lived one year. He was again married, his second wife being Miss Louisa F. Noles, a daughter of Allen J. and Eliza Noles. Mr. Noles was a native of Maury County, Tenn., and was born in 1807. He was a farmer and contractor and served as sheriff of Lewis County, Tenn., for many years. In 1829 he was married to Elizabeth Batmon, of Maury County, her birth occurring in 1809. They were the parents of eleven children, six sons and five daughters, four now living: Louisa F., Sarah E. (widow of B. M. Marbeau), James B. and Rosena (wife of Bruce Kirk, now residing in Texas). Mr. Noles died in 1887, and his wife in 1863. To Dr. and Mrs. Slaughter a family of ten children were given, seven sons and three daughters, five now living. Dr. Slaughter died in Brinkley, this State, January 26, 1885. He was a courteous and highly-cultured gentleman, well worthy the respect and esteem shown him by his wide circle of friends and acquaintances. Mrs. Slaughter owns 160 acres of excellent farm land, with over 100 acres under a successful state of oultivation. She is a bright, intelligent lady, and though by no means a masculine woman, manages her estate and business in a highly commendable manner, that might well be copied by many of the sterner sex.

G. F. Smith has been a resident of Arkansas since 1860, when he located in what was then a part of St. Francis County, but which now forms a portion of Lee County, and was one of the first men to advocate this county's formation. Born in Rutherford County, Tenn., on December 15, 1819, he was a son of William and Rebecca. (Webb) Smith, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively. William Smith moved to Tennessee when a young man, where he worked at his trade, as a gunsmith, and also engaged in farming. He was a soldier in the War of 1813, and was present at the battle of New Orleans. To himself and wife ten children were born, five sons and five daughters, two of whom only are living: G. F. and Jasper N. (a farmer of Hardeman County, Tenn.). G. F. Smith commenced farming for himself at the age of nineteen, and four years later removed to Hardeman County, where he was engaged in the same occupation until his removal to Arkansas. He first purchased 1,000 acres of land for $4,800; now he owns 3,600 acres in the western part of Lee County, and has some 700 acres under cultivation, which he devotes principally to cotton and corn. He also owns a steam grist-mill, saw-mill and cotton-gin, with a capacity of eight bales per day, which were erected at a cost of $3,000. Mr. Smith was married in Tennessee, in 1838, to Miss Elizabeth Bell, a daughter of Samuel Bell, of that county; she died in about 1840, leaving two children, both of whom are now deceased. Mr. Smith was married on January 17, 1843, to Miss A. J.

Smith, also of Tennessee origin, who passed away in 1878, having been the mother of one son; the latter died in 1853. His third and present wife, Miss V. M. Granger, was a daughter of A. H. and Mary Granger, and a native of Phillips County, Ark. They are the parents of four children: George F., Melvine, Philip J. and Stephen C. They are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Mr. Smith belongs to the Masonic order.

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John H. Spivey first saw the light of day in Alabama, and after spending nine or ten years of his life in that State, he moved to Tennessee, remaining there about four years; the balance of his boyhood days were passed in Mississippi. He was reared on his father's farm, but received a good education in the common schools of the community in which he lived, and when grown served an apprenticeship as a mechanic, but has followed farming nearly all of his life. He was born on April 8, 1821, to the union of Tample and Charity (Hicks) Spivey. The former's birth occurred in Moore County, N. C., on September 22, 1794. He emigrated to Alabama in 1818 and was married in June, 1820, remaining in that State some ten years, when he went to Hardeman County, Tenn. Four years later he removed to the Chickasaw Nation in Mississippi, which was then occupied by [p.622] the Indians, and now forms a part of Tippah County. In 1849 he went with his wife to Texas, in which State they spent the balance of their lives. Mr. Spivey was a millwright and farmer by occupation, and at the time of his death, in 1877, was possessed of considerable property. Mrs. Spivey was born on October 17, 1802, in North Carolina, and died in 1873. They were members of the Baptist Church, and had a family of sixteen children, nine sons and seven daughters, eight of whom are still living. John H., the principal of this sketch, removed to Monroe (now Lee) County, Ark., in November, 1863, and was engaged in farming until 1872, when he entered the ranks of the merchants of this county, though he still carries on farming. In 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate army as a member of Blythe's battalion, and participated in a number of battles and skirmishes, being wounded at the battle of Beaver Dam Bayou, by a shot through the right arm. This disabled him so that he was disqualified from active duty. He was at that time a lieutenant of his company. Mr. Spivey was married in November, 1845, in Hardeman County, Tenn., to Miss Martha A. Howard, of Madison County, Ala., and daughter of George and Penelope (Moore) Howard, of North Carolina nativity. She was born on November 17, 1824, and is the mother of nine children, six sons and three daughters, five of whom survive: Mary E. (wife of John Ward, of Lee County), William A. (also a farmer of Lee County), Andrew T. (a farmer of Lincoln County, Tenn.), Luada (now Mrs. Bickeroff) and Thaddeus F. (also of this county. Mr. Spivey is a stanch Democrat, and was elected justice of the peace in 1874, which position he held six years; he has also been a notary public for eight years. He was appointed postmaster of Moro in 1882, and discharged the duties of that position until November of the past year. He is an unaffiliated member of the Masonic order, in which he has taken the Royal Arch degree, and is a member of the County Grange; he also belongs to the Missionary Baptist Church, as does his wife.

Jacob A. Sullivan's boyhood was spent on his father's farm in Tennessee, and the war breaking out during his school days his education was interrupted, and he was obliged to work at farm labor, when he should have been receiving instructions in the common English branches. He began farming at the age of twenty-two, and has followed that occupation all his life. Born in Tipton County, Tenn., in 1847, Mr. Sullivan moved to Lee County in 1876, where he engaged in farming, in 1881 opening up a store. He carries a stock of general merchandise invoicing about $5,000, and enjoys a good trade. He was married in 1869 to Miss Mary F. Wooten, daughter of Cannon S. and Helen Wooten. They are the parents of nine children, six still living: James R., Isaac R., Charles C., Jacob S., Hugh, Mary A. and Fred. Isaac Sullivan, the father of the principal of this sketch, was born in Sumner County, Tenn., in 1814, and yet survives. His twin brother, Jacob Sullivan, so closely resembles him that it is nearly impossible to distinguish them. They are both farmers by occupation. They have an older brother, Nathan, who was a prominent Methodist minister. Jacob A. Sullivan owns a farm of 160 acres of land, with 100 acres under cultivation.

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Andrew J. Thompson. Foremost among the leading farmers of Lee County, and well known throughout Phillips and Lee Counties, is Andrew J. Thompson, who has been a resident in this State since 1840, and a citizen of Lee County since 1881. Born in Garrard County, Ky., on December 12, 1828, he is a son of Davis and Gabraella (Dunn) Thompson, natives of West Virginia and Kentucky, respectively. Davis Thompson moved to the Blue Grass State with his parents when a child, and remained there until 1836, when he came to Arkansas, having been appointed land agent by President Jackson, for the State of Arkansas. Locating at Helena he moved his family four years later, and held the position referred to until elected to the State legislature in 1840. He was also one of the commissioners appointed to re-establish the line between Arkansas and Missouri. In 1846 he enlisted for the Mexican War, starting out as a private, but was soon promoted to the command of his company, and was commissary of his regiment. After the close of the war he was elected sheriff of [p.623] Phillips County, in which capacity he served four years. Mr. Thompson then retired from active life, and died in 1859. He was a son of Arthur Thompson, of Scotch and Irish descent, who died in Kentucky about 1820. Mrs. Thompson was a daughter of Benjamin Dunn, and was born in Baltimore, Md. Her father was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. Of their large family of children four are still living: Josephine (now Mrs. Hargravis, a resident of Helena), Helen (wife of Judge Hanks, of Helena), one daughter (now Mrs. C. L. Moore, also of that city) and Andrew J. (the subject of this sketch and the eldest of those living). The latter was reared and educated in Helena, remaining there until the war. After Gen. Curtis had taken Helena, Mr. Thompson passed the Federal lines and joined the Confederate army, enlisting in Dobbins' regiment, in which he was afterward promoted to second lieutenant. In December of that year (1862) he was captured by a party of the Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry and taken to Helena and then to Memphis, Tenn., where, through the influence of Senator Sebastin, he was given his freedom for a time, but was soon sent North and confined t Camp Chase, in Ohio, and then to Fort Delaware, and was held a prisoner until exchanged at Johnson's Island in December, 1864. After the war, returning to Helena, he was engaged in farming for twelve years, later ran a steam ferry, and for two years was occupied in operating a large steam cotton-gin at Helena. In 1881 he came to this county and purchased a farm on which he still lives, and has now 1,000 acres of land, with nearly 700 acres under cultivation, all made since the war by hard work and good business management. He at one time also owned a half interest in the Helena Oil Mills. Mr. Thompson was married in July, 1865, to Miss Eliza Jones, a native of Limestone County, Ala., and who died in 1868, leaving one son, Arthur Thompson, now book-keeper and general superintendent in D. H. Crebe's oil mills at Helena. His second wife, to whom he was married in 1870, was formerly Miss Sallie E. Crenshaw, also of Limestone County, Ala., and who died in 1886, leaving one daughter, Jessie F., at home. Mr. Thompson is a Democrat, and a leader in the political movements of his township. Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas

John J. Thompson was born in Bedford County, Tenn., January 25, 1823, and is the son of Samuel C. and Rebecca (Doty) Thompson. Samuel Thompson, a native of Virginia, was born in 1801, and married in Tennessee, about the year 1820, Miss Doty, who was born in Tennessee in 1803. They were the parents of ten children, of whom those living are: John J., Rebecca A. and Mary E.; those deceased are: William, Isaac D., Enoch G., Lucy, Henry, Nancy D. and Thomas. Mr. Thompson died in Hardeman County, Tenn., in 1862, and his wife in 1875. John J. received but limited advantages for schooling, the ducational facilities at the period of his boyhood being far from satisfactory. At the age of twenty-one he began life on his own responsibility, selecting farming as his occupation, which, together with the mechanic's trade, has principally occupied him. Coming to Arkansas in 1861, he settled in Phillips County, near where he now resides in Lee County. He owns eighty acres of land with fifty in cultivation, the principal products being corn and cotton; he is also engaged to some extent in the raising of cattle and hogs. Mr. Thompson was married in Hardeman County, Tenn., on March 24, 1846, to Miss Mary R. Clift, a native of that State and county, and a daughter of Barney B. and Helsie, Clift. Mrs. Thompson died in Lee County, October 23, 1886, having borne seven children: John H. (Baptist minister of Springfield, Mo.), William T. (a farmer of Lee County, Ark.) and Franklin P., Martha E., James R., Charles R. and one infant dead. Mr. Thompson served as justice of the peace for one year, and has been a member of the school board for

two years. In secret organizations he is connected with the Agricultural Wheel.

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Joseph S. Thompson came originally from Hardeman County, Tenn., being a son of Thomas Thompson, a native of Orange County, N. C., who died in 1830. The latter was a soldier in the War of 1812, and took part in some of the most important engagements of the war, including the battle of New Orleans. He was a farmer and blacksmith by occupation. Joseph S., the principal [p.624] of this sketch, was reared in his native county until after grown to manhood. He did not have the advantages for obtaining an education which his children now enjoy, as Hardeman County was at that time but thinly settled, and there was no school-house or church in his neighborhood. He began farming for himself at the age of twenty-one, and

in 1858 came to Arkansas and purchased a farm near Marianna, not moving his family here until the ollowing year. He was first married, in 1840, to Miss Nancy Allen, of North Carolina, who died in 1861, leaving three children, Ellen (the wife of John Lovejoy, a farmer of Lee County) being the only survivor; Thomas was killed by an accidental fall from a tree, and Sarah (now deceased) was the wife of Leander Johnson. Mr. Thompson was afterward married in Woodruff County, about 1863, to Mrs. Mary McLean (nee Crawford), widow of William J. McLean, and a daughter of William Crawford. She died in 1874, having borne two children: Minnie (wife of Edward Gillen Waters, a farmer of this county) and William J. His third and present wife, Mrs. Susan Green, a native of Mississippi, was the daughter of William and Betsey (Coley) Dougherty. They are the parents of one son, Joseph Ritter. Mr. Thompson now owns a farm of 160 acres, with 100 acres under cultivation. He and wife are members of the Christian Church, in which they take an active part.

Phillip H. Underwood has been a resident of Lee County since four years of age. He commenced farming for himself at the death of his father, on the old homestead, which occupation he has followed since that time. He was married, in 1873, to Miss Sallie Bennett, a daughter of Thomas B. and Betty (McCloudon) Bennett, natives of North Carolina and Georgia, respectively. Mr. and Mrs. Underwood are the parents of six children: Phillip O., Delia, Ola, Robert, Jettie and Honor. Mr. Underwood was born in Maury County, Tenn., in 1848, being a son of Edward and Mary Underwood, originally from North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively. The father of our subject was born in 1809, and was one of a family of six hildren; he died at the age of fifty-nine, having been a successful farmer in Tennessee, to which State he removed when a young man. There he made his home until 1852, when he came to Arkansas, and located in this county, dying here in 1868. Mr. Underwood owns a farm of 167 acres, of which he has forty-five acres under cultivation. His principal crop is cotton, but he is also engaged in stock raising on a small scale. He is a Democrat in politics, and is a prominent man of Lee County. His wife is of the Primitive Baptist faith.

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Dr. William Bennett Waldrip is a native of Mississippi, his birth occurring in De Soto County (near Belmont), March 9, 1846. His father, S. G. Waldrip, of North Carolina, was born in 1818, and at an early age was apprenticed to a brick-mason, in which trade he became very proficient, in connection with farming, the latter being his principal occupation through life. He was married to Miss Martha J. Smart, of Mississippi, and by her became the father of five children, four now living: James M. (a resident farmer and brick-layer of Tate County, Miss.), William B. (our subject), Henry L. (of Tate County, Miss.), Elizabeth J. (widow of Ned Casey, now Mrs. John Gray, residing in Wheetley), Mary F. (Mrs. Henderson Freeman, died in 1885), Mr. Waldrip removed to Arkansas in 1874 and settled in St. Francis County, where he passed away in 1885. He was a member of the Masonic order, and in political views was a Whig until the death of that party, after which he became a Democrat. In his religious belief he was a Baptist, being a member of the Primitive Baptist Church. Mrs. Waldrip died in Wheetley, Ark., in 1883, having passed her sixty-seventh birthday. William B. Waldrip was reared in Mississippi, where he obtained a liberal common school education, and in 1809 began the study of his chosen profession, that of medicine–first, under the able instruction of Dr. J. M. Richro, and afterward attending the Medical Institute at Cincinnati, where he was graduated with high honors in the class of 1870. He first began to alleviate the sufferings of humanity in Marshall County, Miss., but one year later moved to Arkansas, locating in Monroe (now Lee) County in the town of Wheetley. Here he rapidly gained the confidence and respect of his fellow [p.625] citizens; both as an efficient physician and friend. Some years later he moved to his present location, which is situated six miles southeast of Wheetley, and though here but a few years many improvements that owe their existence to his presence show him to be a man of enterprise and progress. In connection with his practice he is engaged in farming and stock raising, in which he has been unusually successful. He owns 1,600 acres of valuable land with 240 under cultivation, and the general appearance of his farm and its appointments is of thrift and prosperity. The Doctor was married in Monroe County, August 31, 1871, to Ada, daughter of Peter W. and Martha W.(Bladen) Hollaran, of Alabama. Mrs. Waldrip died in 1882, having become the mother of four children, one now living, Frederick E. Dr. Waldrip was again married on September 20, 1888, to Miss Katie Henley, of Illinois, and the daughter of Elijah and Emma (Crutchfield) Henley (residents of Marianna). Dr. Waldrip is a Master Mason and in politics a Democrat. He is liberal and charitable, contributing to all worthy enterprises, as far as his limited time and means will permit.

Enoch W. Wall is a native of Alabama, and a son of Enoch G. and Elizabeth J. (Chapman) Wall, originally from Georgia and Alabama, respectively. They were married in the latter State in 1853, and in 1865 removed to Arkanas, settling in Phillips County, where his wife died the following year, leaving three children, two still living: Enoch W. (the principal of this sketch) and William A. (a prominent farmer of this county). Mr. Wall was married a second time, by this union there being six children, three of whom survive: Judge J., Ada G. and Eula G. Mr. Wall was a decided Democrat, a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in which he took an active part, and also belonged to the Masonic order. He was a farmer by occupation, and was comfortably well off at the time of his death, which occurred in 1880, at the age of forty-seven years. Enoch W. Wall was born in Russell County, Ala., May 29, 1854, and was reared from the age of twelve, in Phillips County, Ark. He began life for himself at the age of twenty two years as a farmer in Lee County, which was a part of Phillips County, where he now owns a fine farm of 340 acres, with over half under cultivation, lying in the heart of the "Arkansas Cotton Belt;" this yields him a large income from year to year. In 1880 and 1881 he was engaged in the mercantile business at Oak Forest, in connection with farming, but preferring agricultural life to that of a merchant, he sold out his store in 1881, and has since that time devoted himself exclusively to tilling the soil, in which, although having his share of losses and disappointments, he has been very successful. His pleasant home in this rich country is a full reward for the labor and care spent in its acquirement. Mr. Wall was married December 19, 1877, to Miss Lizzie D. Coleman, a native of the same State as himself, and a daughter of David and Viola F. Coleman, also of Alabama. They are the parents of three children: Enoch D., Orby G. and Laura V. Mr. Wall is a leading Democrat of the county, and holds the office of justice of the peace of his township, having served in this capacity for a number of years. His official duties he discharges with satisfaction to the citizens and with credit to himself. He is also president of the school board, and here also has won the respect and regard of his fellow men.

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William A. Wall is a son of Enoch G. Wall, one of the pioneers of Lee County, who is now departed from this world, and who will be long remembered by the older citizens of the community. Enoch G. Wall was born in Georgia in 1833, and was married at the age of twenty to Miss Elizabeth J. Chapman, a native of Alabama, to which State he had removed a few years previous. There he made his home until 1865, when he removed to Arkansas, and settled in Phillips County, where his wife died the next year. She was the mother of three children, two of whom still live: Enoch W. (a well-known farmer of this county, whose biography precedes this) and William A. By a subsequent marriage six children were born, and three of these are living: Judge J., Ada G. and Eula G. Mr. Wall was actively interested in the political affairs of this county, being an outspoken Democrat. He was a member of the Cumberland [p.626] Presbyterian Church, and a Master Mason; was well-known throughout the community, and was highly respected, and owned a good farm, which was well improved. He was in comfortable circumstances at the time of his death, in 1880. The subject of this article was born in Barbour County, Ala., on April 9, 1856, but has been a resident of this State since nine years of age, devoting himself to the occupation of farming since old enough to handle a plow. He commenced farming for himself at the age of twenty-one, and has been very successful, now owning 200 acres of land, with half of it under cultivation, and which is well improved and stocked, and devoted principally to the raising of cotton. Mr. Wall was married on November 26, 1882, to Miss Mary Etta Mathews, of St. Francis County, and a daughter of George J. and Lydia (May) Mathews, who now reside in Lee County. Mrs. Wall was born on July 4, 1863. They have had a family of three children, two of whom are still living: Fannie P. and Lydia J. The second child, Green, died in 1886. Mr. Wall is a leading Democrat in Texas Township, and is recognized throughout this part of the county as a hard-working, industrious man.

William A. Walton. William H. Walton, a native of North Carolina, was born in 1808. He was married in 1836 to Mary A. Wynn, also of North Carolina origin, and by her became the father of nine children: William A. (the subject of this sketch), Susan H. (widow of John H. Moore, residing in Oak Forest, Lee County), Lucy M, (wife of J. Carr), T. (a farmer and residing in Texas), John R., Annie (deceased wife of R. R. Badders), Nancy Z. (Mrs. John B. Grove, deceased), Nicholas J. and Catherine. Mr. Walton died in Lee County, Ark., in 1876, his wife passing away in Phillips County in 1863. William A. Walton was reared in North Carolina until reaching the age of fifteen, at which time he came with his parents to Arkansas. He received as good an education as could be obtained in the common schools and academies about his home, and when twenty-six years old he began life on his own responsibility, choosing farming as his occupation. He now owns one of the best and most picturesque farms in the western part of Lee County, consisting of 200 acres of land, with 115 under cultivation and well adapted to the growing of corn and cotton, which are the principal crops. He raises grasses and clover to some extent, and is quite extensively engaged in the development of stock. He has a steam gin and grist-mill valued at $1,500, and the general impression formed of the many improvements about the farm is that thrift and industry are characteristics predominating with the owner. He enlisted in May, 1861, in Company F, Capt. D. C. Govan's Second Arkansas Infantry Volunteer Cavalry, participating in the battles of Mumfordsville, Shiloh, Perryville, Stone River and Murfreesboro. He received a wound from a minie ball at the battle of Shiloh, and was also wounded at Murfreesboro by grape-shot, this entering his shoulder, which disabled him permanently. He was captured while in the hospital at Murfreesboro and taken to Louisville and then to Camp Butler, afterward being exchanged at City Point, Miss., where he remained until the close of the war. After the close of hostilities Mr. Walton resumed his agricultural pursuits, and a fair degree of success has attended his efforts, and prosperity now rules supreme. He was married in Phillips County, November 2, 1868, to Miss Nancy C. Boykin, a native of North Carolina, born February 12, 1852, and a daughter of Edwin and Jane Boykin. Nine children have blessed their union: Florence B., Charles, Mary E., John R., Edwin, and Frank D., Kismick, Carl and Paul, dead. Mr. Walton is a member of the Methodist Church, and served as justice of the peace of Texas Township for two years. He has also been a member of the school district, and is a man that takes great interest in all enterprises to which he lends his able support and influence.

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John C. Ward, merchant and farmer, Haynes, Ark. This prominent business man and successful agriculturist is a native of Lee County, Ark., his birth occurring on October 2, 1866, and is the first child born to the union of Lafayette and Fannie (Adams) Ward, the father a native of Kentucky and the mother of Georgia. Lafayette Ward is one of the oldest physicians of this county now [p.627] living, coming here in 1857 and settling in Phillips County (now Lee County) where his practice extended over a vast territory. He accumulated quite a nice fortune, and this he is at present enjoying. He was a soldier in the Mexican War and was also in the late war, being army surgeon of his regiment for a year or so. He tered service in the Mexican War at the age of fifteen years, was under Gen. Taylor in the First Kentucky Infantry and served during the entire time. He has been twice married; first, in 1851 to Miss Roxana Robards, of Louisville, Ky., and by her became the father of three children, all deceased. The wife died in 1862 or 1863, and in 1864 Dr. Ward married Miss Adams, who bore him three children, all deceased except John C. Ward. The mother was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and died in 1872. Dr. Ward is a member of the Catholic Church and of Irish parentage. John C. Ward was educated in the free schools of Lee County, and at the age of thirteen years entered the Catholic School on Washington Street, where he remained for one term. He then entered Miss Hattie Eunice's select school on Poplar Street, remained there but one term and then, in 1882, he attended school at Newton for some time. After this he entered the Lexington Commercial School, graduating from the same in 1886, and then returned home, where he began working for R. O. Gill. He continued with him for one year and in 1888 bought an interest in the business, and in 1889 succeeded him. Mr. Ward has been unusually successful in all his enterprises and does an annual business of $25,000. He and his father own about 4,500 acres of land with 550 acres under cultivation, on which are produced about 350 bales of cotton yearly. J. C. Ward selected for his companion in life Miss Ida Neolies, of Collierville. Tenn., and was united in marriage to her on November 4, 1889. Mr. Ward is a member of the Catholic Church, is a member of the K. of H., and is one of the leading young business men of Haynes. He contributes liberally to all worthy enterprises and is one of the promising young men of the county.

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J. M. Weatherly, farmer, Marianna, Ark. The subject of this sketch needs no introduction to the people of Lee County, for a long residence here and above all a career of usefulness and prominence, have given him a wide spread acquaintance. He was originally from Maury County, Tenn., where he was born in 1838, and is the son of David and Sallie J. (Taylor) Weatherly, the father a native of North Carolina and the mother of Tennessee. David Weatherly came with his parents to Tennessee when an infant, and settled with them in Maury County. After growing up he followed the occupation of farming in Tennessee until 1852, when he came to Phillips County (now Lee County) and settled close to where La Grange now is. He came here in the employ of Gen. Pillow and continued in his employ until 1857, when he purchased a farm and commenced tilling the soil, remaining thus engaged until his death, which occurred in 1889, at Haynes, where he had been living for some time. He was over seventy-nine years of age at the time of his death. Mrs. Weatherly died in 1862. Mr. Weatherly was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was a member of the Masonic fraternity. After the death of his wife Mr. Weatherly married, in 1868, Mrs. Sellers, who departed this life in 1872. Mr. Weatherly was then married to Mrs. Turner and became the father of two children, both deceased. His last wife survives him and resides in Haynes. J. M. Weatherly's school days were spent in Maury County, Tenn., and he came to this State with his father in 1852, remaining with him until his twenty-first year. In 1857 he returned to Tennessee and attended school at Columbia for two years. He afterward returned to Arkansas, taught school and commenced the study of law at Helena, Ark., under Adams & Hanks, eminent attorneys of Helena at that period. About this time the war broke out and his legal expectations were doomed for the time being. He joined the Confederate army in 1861, was one of the men who formed the company known as Hindman's legion, but was afterward attached to the Second Arkansas. He was a member of Company F, and served on the east side of the Misssissippi River until after the evacuation of Corinth, when he was discharged on account of ill health. While on [p.628] that side of the river he was not engaged in any battles and after returning to Helena, Ark., he could not remain there but enlisted in Company F, of Dobbins' regiment, of which he was appointed sergeant. From that he was promoted to lieutenant, and surrendered the company as first lieutenant at Wittsburg in 1865. He was in Gen. Price's raid through Missouri. After the war Mr. Weatherly returned home and engaged in school teaching, which occupation he continued for a short time. In 1869 he embarked in the mercantile business at Spring Creek, but only remained there until 1877, when he sold out and went to Palestine, St. Francis County, where he carried on farming and merchandising. He remained there until about 1880, when he moved his mill and gin machinery to Marianna, known as Ringville, where he has since been occupied in ginning, farming, and has also followed merchandising until the last year, when he sold out. He owns 160 acres of land with eighty acres under cultivation, and his average ginning yearly yields about 600 bales. Mr. Weatherly has been twice married; first, to Miss Mattie Harvey in 1873, and the fruits of this union were two children: Edgar and John H. Mrs. Weatherly died in the winter of 1877. She was a much respected and esteemed member of the Baptist Church. In 1884 Mr. Weatherly married Miss Bettie Moye, who bore him two children: Emma B. and Bettie. Mrs. Weatherly died in March, 1888, at Hot Springs, whither Mr. Weatherly had gone for the benefit of his health, her health having always been unusually good. She lived but three weeks after arriving there. Mr. Weatherly is one of the public-spirited men of this section, and favors all public improvements.

Lee Webster, one of the most extensive merchants and farmers of Lee County, is a native of Mississippi, and a son of James and Jane (Bank-head) Webster, who came primarily from Tennessee and North Carolina, respectively. Mr. Webster was a mechanic by occupation, and was reared in Mississippi, to which State his father had removed when he was a small boy. He was a man of some education, and was highly thought of by all who knew him. He died near Mount Pleasant, Miss., at the age of sixty-five. He was a son of Walter Webster, a native of Tennessee, also a farmer by occupation, who, at the time of his death, at the age of ninety, was possessed of considerable property. Mrs. Webster was born in 1820 and died in 1871. She was the daughter of Thomas Bankhead, of Ireland originally, who came over to this country when seventeen years of age, and engaged in farming in South Carolina, where he died at the age of eighty years. The subject of this sketch was born in Marshall County, Miss., in 1849. He started in life as deputy sheriff of his native county, in 1868, which office he filled for several years. Then removing to De Soto County, he was occupied in trading on the Mississippi River until 1879, at which time he came to Lee County, and embarked in the mercantile business, and also in farming, both of which he still carries on. He is now the owner of four half sections of land, and has 800 acres under cultivation, devoted to the raising of cotton, of which he produces from 1,000 to 1,200 bales per annum. He opened up his store of general merchandise in 1879, with a capital of $1,400. The stock now averages over $6,000, and his annual sales have aggregated $35,000, though a more correct estimate would be $50,000 for the past year. He also owns and operates a steam grist-mill and cotton-gin, of fifteen bales capacity per day. Mr. Webster was married, in 1871, to Miss Alice Gruffe, who was born in Kentucky, in 1855. They had one son which died in infancy, and they have since taken several orphan children to rear, for whom he has made provisions in his will as though they were his own. The subject of this sketch being quite a young boy at the breaking out of the war never enlisted, but took part in several skirmishes near his home. He is a stanch Democrat in politics, and takes an active part in political work of his county. He has been a member of the board of supervisors for some time.

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W. P. Weld, editor of the Marianna Index, was born in Cape Girardeau County, Mo., April 8, 1862. At the death of his mother, in September, 1875, the family was broken up, and after a two years' stay with relatives in Ohio, he came to [p.629] this county and located. In 1882 he went to Indiana and attended the Valparaiso Normal School, from which he graduated in 1883. He then returned here and was employed as book-keeper until 1886, when he was appointed deputy sheriff, in charge of the office and collecting department, which position he held until he purchased the Index, started by John Thomas in 1874. It is a Democratic paper and the only newspaper published in this county. Mr, Weld was married in Batesville, Ark., to Miss Annie Granade, a native of this State, and only daughter of Rev. H. M. and Mrs. Anna Granade. They are the parents of one child, Jean Powell. Mr, Weld was a son of Ludovicus Weld, who was born in Vermont in January, 1802, and who came to Missouri late in the 50's, and who was a brother of Theodore D. Weld, the noted Abolitionist. He came to Arkansas, in 1879, to live with his children, and died in Woodruff County, in 1885, at the age of eighty-three years. His wife, the mother of our subject, was Miss Jane Porter, who was born in Ohio, in 1826, and was the mother of three children. Mr. Weld is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and belongs to the Royal Arcanum, Knights of Honor, Knights and Ladies of Honor and the I. O. G. T.

Jesse A. Wilkes, ex-assessor of Lee County, Ark., was born in Yalobusha County, Miss., in 1837, and in 1855 came to Arkansas, and located in Spring Creek Township, soon after entering the Arkansas Christian College, at Fayetteville, which institution he was attending at the breaking out of the late war. He immediately joined the Confederate army, and after participating in the battle of Oak Hill his company was disbanded and joined the Army of Tennessee, he being a member of Company I, Ballentine's regiment, and was at the battle of Atlanta. He was chosen as one of Capt. Harvey's scouts, and served in that capacity for about eighteen months. The close of the war found him at Atlanta, and from there he returned to Arkansas, making the journey on horseback, having gone there on horseback. He and his brother then formed a partnership, and for two years were engaged in the cotton traffic at Memphis, Tenn., and in Arkansas, but upon the death of his brother Mr. Wilkes returned to Arkansas to settle up their business here, but found things in such a bad condition that it took him some time to adjust matters satisfactorily. Since that time he has followed various callings, and acted in various business capacities, but is now giving his attention to farming, being the owner of some excellent land in Spring Creek Township, and in other places in the county. In 1885 he was elected county assessor, and held the position two years. In 1882 he married Mrs. Mary E. Pascal, who is a member of the Christian Church. Eight Wilkes brothers came from England to the United States at a very early day and settled in Virginia, and now have descendants in Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Texas and Missouri. The father of our subject was a farmer, and both he and wife died when Jesse A. was a child. The latter had one brother and one sister, both dead.

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James A. Williams, M. D., who enjoys the largest practice of any physician in Haynes, was reared on a farm in St. Clair County, Ala., where he received a common-school education, later passing his time on a farm in Lee County, Miss. At the age of nineteen he was appointed deputy sheriff of Lee County, which position he held one year. He then entered the agricultural schools of Pontotoc, Miss., where he remained eighteen months, and was subsequently employed by Clifton & Hoyle, druggists, of Tupelo, one year. During this time he studied medicine, and after leaving the drug store attended a course of lectures at Vanderbilt University, at Nashville. In 1881 he came to St. Francis County and practiced with Dr. Zuber two years, then returning to the Medical College at Nashville, from which he graduated in 1883. ollowing this, Dr. Williams returned to St. Francis County, and in 1888 came to Haynes, where he has since been actively and successfully engaged in the practice of his profession. He was born in St. Clair County, Ala., February 12, 1857, and is a son of R. M. and Cordelia (Dill) Williams, also natives of that State. R. M. Williams enlisted in the Confederate army in 1861, in the Tenth Alabama Infantry, in which he held the position of first [p.630] lieutenant, afterward being transferred to the cavalry service and serving as captain of his company. His wife died previous to his enlistment. Our subject was married in September, 1882, to Miss Julia Thompson, a daughter of James Thompson, treasurer of St. Francis County. They are the parents of three children: James Roger, Vivian and Alemeth. In polities the Doctor is a Democrat, and he is a member of the Baptist Church and of the Knights of Honor. He also belongs to the Lee and St. Francis Counties Medical Association. He is well known throughout this locality, notwithstanding the fact that he is comparatively a newcomer.

Rev. Nathaniel L. Willson is a native of North Carolina, and a son of John G. and Sophia (Norfleet) Willson, who also came from that State. J. G. Willson was born in Franklin County in 1782, and was married in September, 1818, his death occurring in Marshall County, Miss., in 1874, aged ninety-two years. His father was a native of North Carolina, and died at the age of fifty-eight, and his grandfather, of Ireland, came to this country in the early part of the eighteenth century, and took part in the Revolutionary War. The father of Mrs. Willson was of Scotland birth, a soldier in the Revolutionary War, being seventy-six years of age at the time of his decease. She was fifty-eight years old when called away from earth. Nathaniel L. Willson, the only one living of a family of eight children, was born in Person County, March 12, 182 , and remained there until fifteen years of age, at which time he removed to Marshall County, Miss., with his parents. He was engaged in managing his father's farm, and was employed in surveying a greater part of his time, after which he learned the tanner's and saddlery trade, following these occupations during the war and until his stock was destroyed by the Federal army. Since that period he has devoted his attention to agricultural pursuits, in connection with his ministerial duties. He was ordained as a minister of the Missionary Baptist Church in 1861, of which he has been a member since 1840. Removing to Arkansas in 1886, Mr. Willson purchased his present farm of 160 acres, situated within a short distance of Moro, Lee County, of which he has sixty acres under cultivation, devoted principally to the raising of horses and cattle. He was married in De Soto County, Miss., in 1857, to Miss Nannie E. Jones, a native of South Carolina, and daughter of William and Rachel Jones. She died April 10, 1884, leaving eight children, five sons and three daughters, six of whom are still living: Priscilla M. (wife of James H. Carmichael, a farmer of De Soto County), Lafayette A. (a farmer of this county), Ethelbert W. (also engaged in farming in this county), Nannie E. (widow of A. J. Biggerstaff, of this county), John Bunyan and Berea B. Mr. Willson married his second and present wife, Mrs. Sarah E. Robbins (nee Elmore), a native of Mississippi, and a daughter of Levi and Elizabeth (Bullin) Elmore, October 11, 1887. She is also a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, which she joined when thirteen years old. Mr. Willson was initisted into the Masonic order in 1855, and has taken the Royal Arch degree. Mrs. Willson married Lee A. Robbina, in July, 1861, a native of Tennessee, who died in Lee County, Ark., in December, 1883, leaving three children, two living: Thomas L. and Shem R. Robbins. Their grandfather, Thomas Robbins, was a native of South Caroliua.