Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas

CRITTENDEN COUNTY–ACT OF ORGANIZATION–THE NAME–EARLY SETTLEMENTS AND LAND ENTRIES–TRIBUNAL

CENTERS–PUBLIC EDIFICES–MATERIAL ADVANCEMENT AND PROGRESS–THE CRITTENDEN OF TO-DAY–ITS DESIRABILITY AS

A PLACE OF RESIDENCE–RESOURCES, LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY–MILITARY AFFAIRS–OFFICIAL DIRECTORY – MILITARY

ROAD–RAILROADS–SCHOOL MATTEES–RELIGIOUS CONDITION–NEWSPAPER PRESS–TOWNS AND VILLAGES–BIOGRAPHY.

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J. G. Wright, M. D., one of the prominent physicians and surgeons of Cross County, is a native of Illinois and was born in 1830, as the son of T. J. and Mary (Griffin) Wright, originally from Virginia, and of English descent. The father moved to Illinois in 1829, and settled in Edgar County, where he farmed until 1855, then going to Worth County, Mo. Buying a farm he resided until his death which occurred in 1866, at the age of fifty-four years. Mr. Wright served as justice of the peace four years in Missouri. Mrs. Wright still survives him and lives in Worth County, and though eighty years of age, she enjoys the best of health. They had in their family five children (two of whom are living): J. G., Martha (the widow of Samuel Adams, late of Missouri), C. C., Ester (deceased) and Elizabeth (deceased). Mrs. Wright is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Dr. J. G. Wright joined the United States army at [p.389] the age of sixteen, and served in the war with Mexico, participating in the siege of Vera Cruz, and a number of other prominent battles. After the engagement at Vera Cruz he received his discharge and returned home. During his time of service in that war he marched 500 miles on foot, and was disabled and laid up for eight weeks at the hospital at Matamoras. After coming home he entered upon the study of medicine st the age of eighteen in the office of Dr. Lenbrook, of Paris, Ill., a graduate of the Jefferson College of Medicine at Philadelphia. In 1849-50 Mr. Wright attended the Rush Medical College at Chicago, and in 1850 began his career as practitioner under his former instructor, where he remained for six years, then going to Worth County, Mo. Locating at Oxford, he continued the practice of his profession until 1886 and also served as county justice for two years, and was postmaster of Oxford for eight years. He then moved to Ottawa, Kan., but after six months came to this county. Dr. Wright was married in 1851 to Miss Julia Daugherty, of Ohio. They are the parents of five children: Florence E. (wife of W. D. Sharp, of Ottawa, Kas.), Alice D. (wife of J. W. Cubine, of Coffeeville, Kas.), C. J. C. and T. J. (both at home) and Mary M. (now Mrs. J. M. Tinson, of Kansas City, Mo.). Mrs. Wright is a member of the Baptist Church. Dr. Wright is a very decided Democrat, but does not take an active part in politics. He has a large and extensive practice as the constant demands made upon his time amply indicate, and his kindly manner makes him welcome in the sick room.

On the overwork'd soil

Of this planet enjoyment is sharpen'd by toil:

And one seems, by the pain of ascending the height,

To have conquered a claim of that wonderful sight.–Meredith.

PROPERLY speaking, the history of any definite locality commences with its formation. The county of Crittenden was formed by an act of the Territorial legislature of the territory of Arkansas, in 1825. It embraced a large part of what is now Cross, St. Francis and Lee Counties and portions have been out off from time to time as those various counties were formed. It now comprises less than half of its original area. This county was named in honor of Robert Crittenden, who was appointed first secretary of Arkansas Territory, and served in that office from 1819 to 1829.

The earliest record of land entries in Crittenden County are forty Spanish claim grants. Some of these grants are now located in other counties, as they were formed from parts of this. The first entry is dated 1828, and is by John J. Bowie, the patentee of the Bowie knife. In 1829 land was entered by Charles Kelley, Francis Duvall, W. D. Ferguson, Antoine Bearvis and Richard Searcy. The first entries of United States lands were in 1829; eighty acres by Joseph Hudson; eighty acres by Weldon Vanwinkle in 1881; eighty acres by Robert Larkin in 1832. In 1833 land was entered by Michael Elsberry, William Hagins and Preston Yeatman; in 1834 by James Erwin, James Shelby and Isaac Bledsoe; in 1835 by James Erwin, Isaac Bledsoe, Jonathan Hand, Robert Larkin, Daniel Harkelwood, Preston Yestman, Robert Larkins, Jonathan Hann and John J. Walton. In 1836, the year in which Arkansas was admitted as a State, there are too many to enumerate. In 1826 John Grace deeded a tract of 220 arpents to Nancy Procter. On the record book of this county there is on record a freedman's certificate given by William Williams, a notary public of New York, to John Brown, a negro, dated May 13, 1812.

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Benjamin Flooy was perhaps the earliest settler in Crittenden County. He was military commandant at the Spanish post or fort of Camp of Hope, [p.391] on the Mississippi River, opposite Memphis, now known as Hopefield. When this country was sold to France, by Spain, and his office was abolished, he remained at the old post and began farming. Here was made the first clearing, and here he lived and died and left children who lived here for many years after him. The old house which he built was standing till 1858, when the land on which it stood caved into the river, and this old landmark was destroyed.

Augustine Grandee came to what is now Crittenden County, as a Spanish officer, about 1801. Upon the sale of this country to France, he, like Commandant Flooy, concluded to remain and make this fertile land his home. He settled about four miles west of the Mississippi River, on a lake that has since borne his name, and near where the town of Marion is now built. He died on his plantation and left six children, of whom many descendants are still living in Eastern Arkansas.

Gen. Bradley settled on the Mississippi River, eighteen miles above Memphis, at an early day. He opened up a large plantation and became one of the prosperous planters in the pioneer period of Crittenden county.

A member of the State Confederate Convention, which met at Little Rock in 1861, he opposed the secession of the State with all power, and when he died it was with the same sentiment, though he was highly esteemed by all who knew him; he was the soul of honor, and while his course aroused the animosity of most Confederates, they soon promoted him to a command of a regiment, but on account of old age and feeble health he afterward resigned.

Some of the oldest settlers in this county were the Harklerodes, Burgetta, Foglemans, P. G. Pollock, E. Garrett, B. F. Allen and Maj. J. B. Lyles, who settled at Marion in 1841; at that time he bought and ran the old hotel which still stands in the village.

The Territorial legislature placed the seat of justice of Crittenden County, temporarily, at Greenock. This place was soon selected as the permanent county seat, and the first court was held here, in the house of William Lloyd in June, 1826.

The old record of deeds of this county shows that on June 13, 1827, H. N. Ferguson transferred to the county of Crittenden, a tract of land for county purposes. This place remained as the seat of justice for ten years, when it was permanently removed to Marion. The site of old Greenock has long since been washed away by the Mississippi River.

In 1837 the county court appointed J. R. James and John Owens commissioners to select a site for the county seat, as the people of the county had petitioned for a change. They chose a point fourteen miles northeast of Memphis, and four miles west of Oldham. On the records is found that on June 25, 1837, a deed was given to these commissioners in trust for the county of Crittenden for county purposes, by Marion Tolbert and wife, Temperance, for one-half of the lots in twenty acres. A town was here laid out, and, in honor of Mr. Tolbert, was named Marion.

The first court of Crittenden County was held in the house of William Lloyd, and it is not positively known whether a court house was ever erected at Greenock or not. Mr. A. H. Ferguson remembers seeing the old jail at that place, but the site of this old town disappeared beneath the waves of the Mississippi River so long ago, that no one now remembers whether there was a court house there or not; it is probable, however, that one was erected there.

Soon after the seat of justice was removed to Marion, the county erected a frame court house; this was destroyed by a cyclone, and thus for many years court was held in various buildings, in old churches or vacant store-houses, till 1873, when the new brick building was constructed. The contract for this building and the jail was let at $60,000, and county bonds were issued for that sum to pay the bill. For two years no work of any kind was done, but the county was required to pay the interest on the bonds. The building was completed in 1873-74, but before the indebtedness was canceled it cost the county over $100,000. It is, however, a neat, two-story brick building, commodious and thoroughly satisfactory for all purposes.

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From the first settlement of Crittenden, early in the nineteenth century, the productiveness of its lands have been phenomenal. With a climate mild and genial, admitting of outdoor labor almost every day of the year, and a soil that will yield abundantly every variety of plant or vine, and in addition that king of vegetable products–cotton, Crittenden soon began to secure a class of active, enterprising and wealth-acquiring citizens. During the latter part of the decade of 1840, and all through 1850, this county enjoyed unparalleled prosperity. By this time immense areas had been reduced to cultivation, and wild land was selling at from $10 to $35 per acre. The change in the current of affairs at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, settled like a blight upon the fair fields of Crittenden, compelling a cessation of all farming operations, and this in an agricultural district, meant poverty and ruin. Most of the able-bodied men also enlisting in their country's service, left the land without protection or support. As a great part of the planters' wealth consisted in slaves, the close of the war found many ruined, while the homes of nearly all were despoiled, fences destroyed, and the land run to brush and bramble. Notwithstanding all these drawbacks the people began life after the war, under the changed condition of things, with hope and promise. Then followed the days of reconstruction, which proved for Crittenden County a far worse evil than the war. The people look back upon those times with horror, and speak about them with indignation. Nearly all the county offices were held by negroes, who, in the main, were both ignorant and incompetent. The State militia, mostly negroes, were quartered in the county for the better part of two years, during which time constant strife, many murders, and other crimes were constantly being committed. Taxation rose till it reached the limit of legal interest, while the county scrip depreciated to a value of 5 per cent on the dollar.

In 1874, under the adoption of the new State constitution, the county passed out of this crucifying period, and the prosperity of the people since has only been interrupted by the general overflows from the Mississippi in 1882-83.

Land is being rapidly cleared and improved in every township in the county, and the general condition of the people now is better than at any period of its past history. Under the wise administration of county and local affairs, taxation has been reduced to thirteen mills on the dollar, while the annual assessments are being constantly reduced.

The lands, both cultivated and in the timber, are rapidly rising in value, and, with the construction of a levee to protect the country from overflow, will in all cases advance at least 100 per cent more. The completion of this levee, which will unquestionably be an accomplished fact in a few years, will make hundreds and thousands of acres accessible to the farmer, and increase the county's wealth almost beyond belief; for these overflowed lands are the richest and most productive in the Mississippi basin, and will annually yield from one to one and a half bales of cotton per acre; practically inexhaustible, it may safely be said that for a hundred years their fertility would scarcely be impaired.

The erection of the Memphis bridge will bring new lines of railroads through Crittenden County, adding to her already favorable market facilities, while at its western terminus in this county, West Memphis, a large town will be apt some day to rise.

The county is well supplied with schools and churches and a condition of peace and tranquility, indicating continued prosperity for all, in apparent. Some of the grandest plantations to be found in the South, are situated in Wappanocca, Jasper, Jackson and Proctor Townships of this county, whose individual excellencies it would require too much space to record. Suffice it to say, that the owners of many of these places came here poor, and are actually self-made men, the wonderful fertility of the soil making it possible to accumulate a fortune here by farming operations in a few years. It is safe to assert that few localities in the United States can offer to the husbandman advantages like this.

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Wild lands in Crittenden County are still to be bought at from $1 to $10 per acre, on which [p.393] in many cases, the timber can be sold for an ample sum to pay the cost of clearing and preparing for the plow. This land may now be valued at from $40 to $100 per acre, and, with the most ordinary improvements in the way of buildings, will rent for cash at a price per acre which will yield a profitable investment for the latter sum, or even at $6 per acre, yielding an annual return of 6 per cent on $100. This is no exceptional instance, but is the general rule throughout the entire county. That this state of things should exist so near the thickly populated districts of the North and East, without more people from those sections taking advantage of the wonderful opportunities, can only be accounted for by the fact that Eastern Arkansas has long rested under the odium of prejudicial and falsifying reports.

It is true that for ten years following the war the condition of the State was most critical. During that period the eyes of the rest of the Union were intently gazing upon its various phases of life and action while passing through a most trying social and political ordeal. Hearsay evidence was often employed and political capital manufactured by the press out of the most ordinary occurrences of civil life. Anarchists in Pennsylvania and Illinois might murder citizens by the dozen in defiance of State authorities; railroad employes in Ohio might band together and obstruct general travel, to the danger of the lives of thousands of people; mobs might gather in New York and Massachusetts, demanding bread or work in menacing terms; anything else of a like nature and worse character might transpire in any Northern city without attracting special attention from the news agents, but the moment any trivial offense of law happened in Arkansas the whole country must be aroused to gaze upon the evil times in this unlucky State. But whatever hopes or fears may have been the secret of this unfortunate condition of affairs, they no longer exist, and no community in the land enjoys more absolute obedience and respect for the civil law, than the people of Crittenden County. There also exists abroad a very wrong opinion as to the healthfulness of Eastern Arkansas. Reports were circulated in the pioneer period of the county's history, based, perhaps, on reports from hunters, trappers, wood-choppers, etc., people whose exposed occupations would tell upon the strongest constitutions. At the present time, however, one may find, by six months' constant travel through Eastern Arkansas, as favorable a condition of health among its people, as could be expected in any new country; many of the citizens here report cases of continual good health among all the members of their families for many years. The leading physicians state that, as the land is being cleared, cultivated and drained, the proportion of sickness is materially decreasing. To all who contemplate removing to Crittenden County, or to Eastern Arkansas, it is not improper to state that no fear need be anticipated of serious ill health; the only requisite being to conduct one's self and live as people in a somewhat colder climate are compelled to do, and this will be found as healthy a locality as any section of the Mississippi Valley.

With all these advantages to attract immigration the citizens of Crittenden cordially invite and warmly welcome all worthy and enterprising settlers. This county is capable of supporting ten times its present population. Farm hands here, at the present time, are scarce, and a thousand laborers might secure employment the year round, such help being earnestly sought for and gladly employed.

To the actual settler who comes here with his family and buys his farm, need only be shown the many cases of the county's

self-made men as convincing proof that success is sure and fortune certain.

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Crittenden is purely an agricultural county, and as such ranks among the very first in Eastern Arkansas. While the staple product is cotton, almost any plant, vegetable or grain that thrives in a similar latitude can be produced here. Until recent years it was scarcely thought to be possible to raise domestic grasses, but it has now been demonstrated that no soil can raise better clover, timothy, orchard grass and red top. Vegetables of nearly every known kind grow here, planted as early as February. Fertilization is practically unknown, yet Irish potatoes yield on an average seventy-five [p.394] bushels to the acre, sweet potatoes from 150 to 200 bushels, turnips 250 bushels. Watermelons, muskmelons and pumpkins are of famous growth. Cabbage, peas, beans, lettuce and spinach do well.

A good variety of domestic and wild fruits is found: Apples, peaches, pears, cherries, plums and the several berries. Of apples, early varieties do best; of peaches, the medium and late; of plums, wild goose and other native plums; of the berries, strawberries and blackberries are the best, and requiring but little cultivation grow abundantly. At the New Orleans International Exposition, held in 1885, and at the California Exposition held in 1887, at San Francisco, Arkansas apples and other fruits took the first prizes. It must be remembered that though Crittenden County possesses great natural adaptability to produce all the above they are in almost every case made subsidiary to the one great crop–cotton; the majority of the people scarcely raising enough for their own use, and none producing any for market. It will thus be seen that as the field is wholly unoccupied in the production of these articles their cultivation would be attended with profitable results from the beginning; even corn, a greet and never-failing crop, is seldom raised in sufficient abundance to supply the home demand.

Of cotton, that grand agricultural product, immense quantities are annually procured. It is the only money-making crop which the people of this county handle at the present time, while the peculiar adaptability of the soil (a rich alluvial deposit of sand and sandy loam) makes it highly profitable. As scarcely one twentieth of the available land is under cultivation the capacity of the county is susceptible of a vast increase.

The luxuriant vegetation of natural grasses affords excellent grazing for horses, cattle and sheep. Corn, which thrives throughout the county, affords a nutritious food for stock. So far there are not many regularly established stock farms, but the business is beginning to develop. The mildness of the climate saves the great expense of costly stables, which falls so heavily on farmers of the North and East. At the same time stables sufficient to protect against the rain and spells of comparatively cold weather are not to be dispensed with by wise farmers. Raising hogs is also profitable, but there are not nearly enough raised to supply the home demands.

The value of the lumber-producing trees of Crittenden County is extensive and almost incalculable. This source of wealth remains to-day almost untouched, and only awaits the introduction of saw-mills and means of transportation to place hundreds of millions of feet of valuable lumber on the markets of the world. There are, throughout all sections of this locality, large areas of forests of cypress, oak of many kinds, ash, pecan, hickory, cottonwood, sycamore and many others that may be profitably employed in various articles of manufacture and commerce. There are yet but few saw-mills in this county, and still fewer stave and bucket factories, while there is an abundance of the best timber in the world for use for those purposes.

The rich and fertile county of Crittenden is situated in the eastern part of the State of Arkansas, and is bounded on the north by Poinsett and Mississippi Counties, on the east by the Mississippi River, which separates it from Tennessee and Mississippi, on the south by the Mississippi River and on the west by Lee, St. Francis and Cross Counties. It extends for seventy miles north and south along the river, and has an area of 660 square miles. The country is of an alluvial deposit and stretches a solid expanse of rich bottom land. There are many ridges that are above overflow, but by far the greater part of the county is subject to inundation from the annual river floods. Tyronza Bayou, in the northwestern part, is a navigable stream, and Lake Grandee, which communicates with the Mississippi at Mound City, is plied by small steamboats during periods of high water.

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Reference has already been made, in a general way, to the county's share in the results following the war of 1861-65. During that conflict, in proportion to its population, Crittenden sent more men to the field, perhaps, than any other county in Arkansas, while among these soldiers were many who won distinction for their valor on the battlefield, and shed glory on their name at home; also [p.395] giving an enviable distinction to their county in the annals of the Confederate cause.

Maj. J. F. Earle, early in 1861, raised a cavalry company of State troops. After a short time this company was turned over to the Confederate Government and attached to the army of Gen. Hardee, at Pocahontas. This company was in the Hardee division all through the war, and was in many severe battles.

O. P. Lyles enlisted in this company, but was detached after three months; he then returned to Crittenden County, and raised a company, known as Lyles company. This company joined the Twenty-third Arkansas Regiment, Infantry. This company was in the battles of Corinth, Inks, Davis' Bridge, Plaines Store (La.), siege of Port Hudson, and many minor engagements and important campaigns.

At Tupelo, the company was reorganized, and attached to Maury's division. Here its captain, O. P. Lyles, was made colonel, serving as such for two months, and was then put in command of a brigade, and sent to Louisiana to aid Gen. Villipig. The General died soon after Lyle's arrival, and Gen. Bealle was put in command of all the troops. The boys were then called the Fourth Arkansas Brigade. Bealle was succeeded by Gen. Gordon, and soon after that began the siege of Port Hudson, which continued fifty-one days and nights.

Capt. John B. Baxter, who commanded a company from Monroe County, was also in this fort during the siege. On one occasion he was directed by Col. O. P. Lyles to hold a point called the citadel, and informed by the Colonel that the enemy had already tunneled under him for eighty feet, and might at any time explode the mine beneath him. Having warned him of the danger, he elected to go himself, saying he "might as well brook danger as any of his men." He held the position that night, and the next night the surrender occurred. Col. Lyles was informed by the Federals that they were to have exploded the mine at 12 o'clock the next night, but he (Lyles) had planted a barrel of powder to have blown them up at 10 o'clock.

After the surrender the officers were sent to New Orleans and Johnson's Island, in Lake Erie, while the privates were allowed to return home on parole.

Capt. Crump, of Crittenden County, did good work at Belmont, where he was wounded, and deserves special mention. [A fuller account will be found in his biography.] Various other companies secured troops from this county, operating mostly on police duty and home defense. Of the men who so nobly and promptly responded to the call for troops from Crittenden County, about one-half fell in battle, or died in the hospital, or upon the march. The county officers of Crittenden County, at the present time, (1889), are: Judge, S. A. Martin; county clerk, Samuel Keel; sheriff, W. F. Werner; treasurer, A. H. Ferguson; coroner, C. E. Rasberry; surveyor, Ed. Cheatham; assessor, W. J. Harden; representative in the State legislature, Asa Hodges. Some of the former county officers are also here appended.

County judges: D. H. Harrig, Charles Blackmore, A. B. Hubbins, H. O. Oders, W. C. Trice, T. M. Collins (4), W. B. Hay, A. Mensinger, John Thorn, B. C. Crump, J. A. Alexander, W. P. Farnum, William Rives, G. W. Duke, J. F. Barton, Asa Hodges, A. B. Gatlin, T. L. Daugherty, R. B. Barton, J. H. Williams, Daniel W. Lewis and S. A. Martin.

Clerks: J. Livingston, S. R. Cherry, J. H. Wathen, J. Broadenax, W. Armistead, W. P. Cherry (5), S. T. Gilbert, J. J. Lyles, O. P. Lyles, J. F. Earl. J. Swepston, D. W. Lewis, T. W. Gibbs, A. H. Ferguson, David Ferguson and Sam Keel.

Sheriffs: W. D. Ferguson (served for twelve years), J. S. Neely, F. B. Read, C. Stubble, G. W. Underhill, C. J. Bernard, B. C. Crump (served for ten years), J. G. Berry, J. S. Halloway, J. T. Grooms, W. D. Hardin, E. B. Lewis, W. F. Beattie, J. Swepston (14) and W. F. Werner.

Treasurers: A. B. Hubbard (1), F. B. Read, G. S. Fogleman (served for twenty years), R. C. Wallace, B. Westmoreland, W. D. Hardin, Samuel Floyd, W. F. Werner and A. H. Ferguson.

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Surveyors: S. A. Cherry, F. B. Read, R. [p.396] Wallace, R. R. Williams, J. Bayless, J. Earle, A. Jones, J. C. Duncan, W. Fullwood, Q. M. Bellows, E. T. Wimpey, L. B. Hardin, R. Mosely, J. Brown, R. Henderson (12), A. Martin, S. A. Martin, Russ Davis and Edward Cheatham.

Coroners: W. Goshen, William Cherry, O. Wallace, John Tory, J. Withworth, H. Bacon, G. McMullen, J. B. Lewis (2), Joshua Hicks, T. M. Peak, John Peak, J. Markham, Wm. Maggerson, P. H. Berry, R. Hood, J. A. Lyles, J. W. Jones, P. Houston, M. L. Johnson, Jeff Rives, S. N. W. Whitting (6), B. Westmoreland, John Terry, S. R. Rushing (11), Shipp Cobb, J. Smith, D. Sumrell (15), C. E. Rasberry and Eli Jackson.

Assessors: B. C. Crump, A. J. Haynes (7), W. L. Copeland, Jubilee Adams, G. W. Oglesby, L. P. Berry, J. Wofford, H. Waterford, R. Y. Logan, J. R. Rooks and W. J. Harden.

In the Territorial legislature Crittenden County was represented by the following named: In 1827, John Johnson; 1829, W. D. Ferguson; 1831, James Livingston. In the council during these years, G. C. Barfield, E. H. Bridges and W. W. Elliot served.

In 1886 the Territory of Arkansas was admitted to the Union of States, and Crittenden, since that time has sent the following members to the General Assembly:

Senate: In 1836-40, W. D. Ferguson; 1842-44, A. G. Greer; 1844-45, P. G. Rives; 1846-53, G. W. Underhill; 1854-61, Thomas B. Craighead; 1865, T. Lamberson; 1866-67, O. P. Lyles; 1873, Asa Hodges; 1874-75, J. M. Pollard and C. L. Sullivan; 1879-81, R. G. Williams; 1883-85, R. F. Crittenden; 1887-89, Riddick Pope.

House: In 1837-38, C. N. Blackmore and J. N. Calvert; 1838, W. C. Trice and L. H. Bedford; 1840, T. M. Collins and A. J. Greer; 1842-43, Thomas M. Collins and P. G. Rives; 1844-49, Thomas M. Collins; 1852-53, J. A. Lovejoy; 1854-55, James F. Barton; 1856-57, Henry B. Edmonson; 1858-59, O. P. Lyles; 1860-61, B. L. Armstrong; 1864-65, F. Thrusby; 1866-67, R. C. Jones; 1868-69, Asa Hodges; 1871-73, Adam Johnson; 1874, S. P. Swepston and J. F. Smith; 1875, W. L. Copeland; 1877, James Wofford; 1879, A. C. Brewer; 1881, R. F. Crittenden; 1883, Daniel Lewis; 1885, Asa Hodges; 1887, S. S. Odom; 1889, Asa Hodges.

Many of the men who have served Crittenden County in these various official capacities, whether in State or in county positions, have been men of rare personal attainments and ability, highly educated and intelligent, some absolutely self-made, as Asa Hodges, who, from youth has been the architect of his own fortune. He served in the house of the General Assembly in 1868-69, was elected to the State senate in 1873 and while still a member of that body, was elected to the National Congress. Few men with brighter minds than Mr. Hodges are found in any land, none with a more patriotic devotion to his country. Conservative in his views, he is never blinded by trifles which float in the atmosphere of party strife, but always seeks with the mildest measures harmonious adjustment for the good of all. In his declining years his powerful mind still retains the activity of younger days, and Crittenden County had no better man than he to return to the General Assembly in 1888, at which election he received a large majority of votes, and the earnest support of the county's best citizens.

In 1832 the United States Government constructed a road west from Memphis to Little Rock, over which they moved the Indians from the States east of the Mississippi River. It passes west through Crittenden County a lengthof twenty-six miles, and immediately after its construction became the grand highway for emigration to all western points. This was the only passage through the Wilderness, as the Mississippi bottoms were called at that time, and Texas received its flood of pioneers from over this highway, as did Kansas, Nebraska and Western Missouri; so from the time of its completion till 1860 there was hardly a day of any month in all those years, but what, from any point along its path, long trains of wagons could be seen slowly wending their way beneath the overhanging trees, and through the swamps that often lay for many miles along their track.

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Crittenden County is well supplied with railroads, having in the aggregate about seventy-one [p.397] miles of track belonging to three different lines of roads, all passing through its territory and terminating at the river opposite Memphis.

The first road constructed through the county was the Memphis & Little Rock. It is nineteen miles long, passing southwest from Hopefield through Mound City and Proctor Township.

The Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis Railroad, completed in 1883, passes from West Memphis northwest through Mound City, Jasper, Wappanocca and Fogleman Townships, and has a length in this county of twenty-six miles.

The Memphis or Bald Knob branch of the Iron Mountain Railroad was completed through Crittenden County in 1888; it also has a length here of twenty-six miles, and traverses west from West Memphis, through Mound City, Jasper and Jackson Townships.

These various lines of railroads represent in value about one-half of the taxable property of the county.

In Crittenden County there are twenty-one school districts, in all of which school is held during several months of the year.

The county examiner's report of 1888 shows a total enrollment of 3,570 children of school age.

To employ teachers for the education of this large school population the county has abundant funds, for while the amount expended for teachers' salaries in 1888 was $9,874 the income from various sources was $16,934, leaving a balance in the hands of the county treasurer of over $7,000. With this large sum, and with the interest that the people of the county are taking in educational matters, it will be plainly seen that Crittenden County will soon have as good chools as any county in the State.

The Methodist Church of Marion was organized many years ago by some of the old pioneers of this section. In 1879 a fire in the town destroyed this church, soon after which the ladies of Marion, taking the matter in hand, were instrumental in raising funds for the erection of another edifice. The new building was completed a year or so later; it is a tasty and ornamental structure, costing about $800. Mr. Smith and Dr. Whitsitt, superintended the work, and lent such assistance as was needed from time to time.

In May, 1889, Col. J. F. Smith, and others started the Marion Reform, a weekly newspaper, whose purpose was to improve and elevate the morals of the citizens, and improve the intellectual condition of the people generally. A paper published by the colored people at Marion, called the Marion Headlight, had been in circulation for about two years, and was outspoken, and strenuous in inciting the colored people to discontent and discord. The promoters of the reform advocated a practice of fair and just dealing, showing the colored people, that as peace was their everlasting hope, its preservation was equally essential to all, both white and black. Mr. W. M. Holmes, the present publisher, has had it in charge but a short time, yet he is building his publication into a creditable county newspaper, and one that is destined to wield decided influence.

There are no towns in Crittenden County that can be properly so called except Marion, the county seat. This village is situated fourteen miles northeast of Memphis, and five miles directly west from the Mississippi River. The settlement near here was made early in the nineteenth century by Augustine Grandee, who settled on a lake that still bears his name. Around this old Spaniard's settlement soon clustered others, seeking favorable situations for a home, till, in 1826, when the commissioners appointed by the county court to select a site for the seat of justice for the county, chose this point; so on the banks of Lake Grandee, which is navigable in high water, the town of the future seat of justice was laid out. The alternate lots of twenty acres were deeded to Crittenden County by Marion Tolbert and wife, Temperance, and the name Marion given to the town was likely bestowed in honor of Mr. Tolbert. A postoffice was soon established, and the first postmaster was (upon the authority of Mr. William Vance) Sam Gilbert. Among the early merchants was Capt. McAlister.

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The principal industries now in the place are represented by the following: General stores, James Bassett, William M. Bingham, Lewis & Newman, Raymond Henderson, A. F. Ferguson, Samuel D. [p.398] Bassett, J. R. Chase, T. Ankrun and J. F. Smith; lawyers, L. P. Berry, R. F. Crittenden; physicians, W. M. Bingham, T. O. Bridgforh, W. R. Barton; blacksmith, G. W. Hunter; cotton-gins, Asa Hodges, J. F. Smith, S. C. Cox. R. H. Weaver, Sam Keel and John Burns. There is one white and one colored Methodist Episcopal Church, and three Baptist colored Churches in the place. C. L. Lewis is postmaster. The city officers elected in April, 1889, were: L. D. Blann, mayor; C. L. Lewis, recorder; L. P. Berry, James Bassett, James Brooks, A. W. Mathews, J. S. Smith, aldermen; John Painter, marshal, Frank Forrest, deputy marshal.

Marion is surrounded by a magnificent stretch of cultivated land, thousands of acres surrounding it on every side, while along the military road the plantations extend unbroken to the river, or for more than five miles. In the immediate vicinity are some of the largest and finest cotton plantations to be found in the South.

Marion Lodge No. 3114, K. of H., was organized by the Rev. Mr. Futrell, about 1885. Some of the original members were: C. L. Lewis, A. S. Grigsby, Sam Bassett, James Bassett, A. H. Ferguson, J. R. Chase and J. H. Smith.

In 1883 the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Galveston Railroad was completed to the bank of the Mississippi River opposite Memphis. The company at once built a station and made railroad yards, to which Gen. Nettleton gave the name of West Memphis.

In 1870 Robert and Hope Vance settled on about 600 acres that had been bought by their father, William Vance, for his children. This was all wild land, and the Vance boys built a log-cabin in which they "bached."

In 1875 Robert built a neat frame residence, which now stands opposite the railroad station. Up to the completion of the railroad these were the only houses at this point.

In 1884 Robert, Frank and Arthur Yance conceived the idea of laying out a town here. All the buildings erected there have been built on this site or on the land of Hope Vance, which has been laid out as an addition to the town.

In 1888 the Memphis branch of the Iron Mountain Railroad was completed to West Memphis, and the trains cross on the Kansas City transfer boats.

There are three stores there now, conducted by Winchester Bros., Richard Bros. and C. B. Gwin.

The St. Louis Wood & Willow Factory have just completed their large manufacturing establishment here, and in the near future will give employment to a large force of hands.

In 1885 a postoffice was established and Robert Vance was appointed first postmaster; he has since held the commission and had charge of the office.

The present population is about 200, but on the completion of the Memphis bridge, now in the course of erection, it will offer great opportunities for business investment.

In the early history of this county Mound City was one of its important points. It was located on the Mississippi, a few miles above Memphis, and was made the terminus of the military road. Early in 1850 and 1860 there were several stores here, and immediately after the war they did an extensive trade, it being the distributing point for all the interior country. There were several large hotels, only one of which is standing now, and that is a ruin. In 1865 the steamboat Sultana, crowded with discharged Federal soldiers returning home, blew up in the channel in front of Mound City. It was a horrible accident, in which it is estimated that 2,000 people lost their lives. The boat sank in the channel, and around the old hull a bar soon began to form. It enlarged from year to year, and soon changed the channel of the river. The bar thus formed about the sunken hull is now an island of considerable size, and completely shuts off Mound City from the river. So, as it has no river trade, and the railroads taking the freight to the interior, it is now nothing more than the barest remembrance of what it used to be. There is one store here, kept by John Malone, who is also postmaster. Several large and fertile plantations are around this old place.

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The village of Crawfordsville is situated in the eastern part of Jackson Township, in the western part of Crittenden County. It is in the center of [p.399] a farming district that was settled many years ago, and surrounded by some of the choicest and most productive lands in the State. It is a great cotton-producing section, and since the completion of the Memphis branch of the Iron Mountain Railway it is rapidly growing into an active business center.

There is a larger area of arable land about Crawfordsville than in any other part of the county.

The business interests consist of four general stores, conducted by A. R. Strong, J. H. Williams & Bro., Arthur Blann and R. G. Logan; one saloon by A. M. Gibson; two steam cotton-gins by Mrs. Jenkins and Mr. Swepston.

A white Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and several churches for the colored people are found, besides two schools for the colored children and one for the white. B. M. Williams is the postmaster, and the village has a population of about 200 souls.

Edmond M. Apperson, Jr., an enterprising citizen of Proctor Township, owes his nativity to the State of Kentucky, where he was born, in Shelby County, August 25, 1858, being the son of J. W. and Margaret A. (Thomas) Apperson, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively. J. W. Apperson was connected with the business house of E. M. Apperson, Sr., at Memphis, Tenn., prominent wholesale grocers, cotton factors and commission merchants, and met his death at the battle of Shiloh. Mrs. Apperson continued to reside in Memphis after her husband's demise, and gave her children liberal advantages for obtaining an education. By her union with Mr. Apperson she became the mother of three children: Edmond M., Jr., Bertha (wife of C. H. Bond, of Cuero, Tex.) and John W. (traveling salesman). Edmond M., Jr., passed his boyhood days in the schools of Memphis, and at the age of fifteen entered the college at Lexington, Va., a well-known and popular military institution. At the expiration of three years he accepted a position as shipping clerk in the firm of E. M. Apperson & Co. In 1886 he was united in matrimony with Miss E. D. Jeffies, and to their union two children have been born: William J. and Edmond M. (who died in 1888). Mr. Apperson and Mr. Jeffies are the owners of 240 acres of valuable land, as mentioned in the sketch of Mr. Jeffies. Politically the former is a Democrat and exerts considerable influence in the county during election. He comes from one of the oldest families to settle in Memphis, and is a man whom it is a pleasure to meet. Popular in business and social circles, he is well worthy the confidence and esteem reposed in him by the entire community.

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Maj. James F. Barton (deceased), whose portrait appears in this volume, was one of the most prominent citizens of this county as well as of the State. The Barton family is one that is well known in connection with the history of Arkansas, and is of English-Irish lineage. The first history that we have of them is a Barton, whose given name is unknown, that came to this country and settled in Charlotte County, Va., long before the Revolutionary War, where his son, James Barton, is supposed to have been born, and he is known to have immigrated to Abbeville District, S. C. He also had a son, James, who was born February 22, 1772, in Charlotte County, Va. He left his native State in 1784, going to South Carolina with his father, where he remained for ten years, when he married and went to Mercer County in 1794; in 1796 to Barren County, where he died September 24, 1846. He was a self-made man, having started with little but his hands, and a determined mind to make his fortune, which he did, for he was very wealthy when he died. He was an earnest worker in the Christian Baptist Church, very charitable, of a pushing and energetic turn of mind. James Barton, son of the above, was born July 5, 1794, in Mercer County, Ky., and in 1823 he moved to Henry County, Tenn., where he remained till 1835, when he moved to

Tipton County, Tenn., where he died March 5, 1852. James Forbes Barton, son of the above and subject of our sketch, was born in Henry County Tenn., December 7, 1824. He went to Barren County, Ky., where he reached his majority, and received the last years of his educational training. While in this county he was married [p.400] December 7, 1847, to Frances B. Edmunds, who was born December 7, 1831. In 1850 they moved to Texas, but at the request of his father returned in 1852, and settled in Crittenden County, where he purchased large tracts of land, on which he made many valuable improvements. He also engaged in steamboating, and having become very prominent in politics was elected to the legislature and was afterward county and probate judge. At the outbreak of the Civil War he was a sympathizer of the Union, but when the South seceded, he took sides with his State and joined the Confederate army, and after casting his lot with the South, he took active part and served with great credit. He organized a company in Crittenden County, of which he was made captain of the rank of major. He was assistant quartermaster under the then chief quartermaster of the Trans-Mississippi Department, Maj. John D. Adams, of Little Rock, Ark. He held the position of collector of cotton-tax till 1863, when he was recommissioned to organize a battalion in the Confederate States. Going into the service as a captain in

Col. Dobbin's regiment, he was commissioned by the department to go into Georgia to secure arms for the soldiers. After making four trips, he secured enough arms to equip nearly all of Gen. Price's army, previous to the last raid through Missouri, Kansas and Indian Territory. Near the close of the war he was made major, which office he filled till the close, when he surrendered at Mound City, this county, in 1865. During the war the Federal troops burned his home, leaving his family in very destitute circumstances, having neither food nor clothing. The war ended, he returned to his family and took active part in righting the wrongs brought on by the long contest. He held the office of county judge till the reconstruction, when he was disqualified. He then moved to Memphis, Tenn., where he owned considerable property, and lived there till his death, which occurred October 11, 1873, of yellow fever. While in Memphis he became very prominently engaged in the manufacture of cotton-seed oil, and was the cause of the establishing of the second cotton-seed-oil mill in the city of Memphis, and at the time of his death was superintendent of the Memphis Cotton Seed Oil Company. He never raised a bale of cotton in his life, but was mostly engaged in buying and selling real estate, and before the war owned quite a number of slaves; he also owned the ferry-boats that ran between Memphis and Arkansas from 1857 to 1860 and after the war for several years. He was always foremost in any movement to develop the county, was liberal and charitable to a fault, and was an active member of the church, having joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at Louisville, and upon his arrival at Memphis united with the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at that place, and was later made steward of the same. Maj. Barton had a family of eight children, seven of whom lived to be grown, and five are still living, as follows: William Edmunds, James T., Charles F., Richard (deceased), H. F. (deceased in his twenty-fourth year), Dr. Robert W., John F. (who died at the age of twenty-two years) and Lee. After the death of the Major, his wife was married to Col. A. M. Hardin, of Marshall County, Miss. She visited, in 1888, her childhood's home in Barren County, Ky., hoping to be restored to health. While there surrounded by relatives, including three of her sons, she died expressing complete faith in Christ. She was for forty-four years a devout Christian and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. She was an estimable lady and loving wife, and cooperated with Maj. Barton during the adverse as well as the favorable circumstances of his life.

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Frank H. Barton (deceased), remembered as among the leading influential residents of this community, was born in Henry County, Tenn., February 22, 1832, and died August 30, 1884. He was reared in Tipton County, Tenn., and came to Crittenden County from Memphis in 1852, locating on an island near Marion, where he had only fourteen acres of land under cultivation. In the fall of 1859 he built the handsome residence in which his family still lives. From the small place of fourteen acres, under his energetic and careful management, grew the large farm that consisted of over 1,000 acres, with 500 acres in an excellent state of cultivation at the time of his death. He was elected treasurer of Crittenden County before the war, when he took an active part in political, school and church matters, and joined the Christian Church of Memphis in 1872. He joined the Confederate army near the close of the late war, and did active service till the close of the war. Mr. Barton was first married to Alice E. Fogleman, who was born November 22, 1842, in this county, where she was reared and where she died December 26, 1865. She was the daughter of John and Elizabeth A. (Trice) Fogleman, and was the mother of one child, Frank G., who is unmarried and living on the home place. Mr. Barton was a second time married January 8, 1867, his wife being Lizzie Edmunds, a native of Barren County, Ky., and the daughter of Charles P. and

Elizabeth (Eubank) Edmunds, who came from Virginia to Barren County. The father was born in 1811, and died in his seventy-second year; his wife was also born in 1811, and died November 24, 1881. They were both members of the Christian Church, of which he was also an elder. They reared a family of ten children to be grown, of whom Mrs. Barton is the sixth. She attained womanhood in Kentucky, where she was married to the subject of this sketch. This couple were the parents of eight children, of whom five are still living, viz.: Mamie B. (now the wife of G. A. Fogleman), Louis W., Charles G., Perry A. and Richard B.; those deceased are Charles E., James C. and Robert E. Most people are familiar with the history of the great disaster that occurred opposite Mound City, March 27, 1885, by the explosion of a boiler on the steamer Mark Twain. There were five white ladies on the boat, among whom was Mrs. Barton; there were two white men killed, both of whom were from Kentucky; seven colored men were also killed in the wreck. The names of the officers were as follows: Captain, G. A. Fogleman; pilot, J. E. Pennell; engineer, Henry Gayham, and the bar-keeper was Frank Huxtable. Capt. McLone, who had charge of the boat only a short time before, had his leg broken, and Capt. Fogleman had his leg broken in two places, and the pilot escaped without injury. Mrs. Barton's daughter and niece were also on board, but none of the ladies were injured. When the Sultana sank just below this place, in 1865, Mrs. Barton's people were the instruments in saving many of the doomed soldiers. The Barton family stands among the most prominent and best-liked people of Crittenden County. They are noted for their public-spirited and liberal-minded disposition, and have done much to advance the development of their county. [p.401]

JAMES F. BARTON. (DECEASED) CRITTENDEN COUNTY, ARKANSAS.

[p.403] R. B. Barton, a prominent citizen of Crittenden County, was born in Tipton County, Tenn., in 1839, and is the youngest of eleven children, born to James and Elizabeth W. (Hardin) Barton, who were natives of Kentucky. The father was a farmer by occupation, and died in Tennessee in 1851. The maternal grandfather was a major in the Revolutionary War, and fought in the battle of Cowpens. After the father's death, the family moved to Crittenden County, Ark., and settled on Rosebrough Island, in 1852. R. B. Barton lived with his brothers, J. F. and F. H., till 1865, when they moved to Mound City, where they bought 200 acres of unimproved land, of which R. B. cleared sixty acres up to the outbreak of the war. In 1861 he enlisted in a cavalry company, known as the Crittenden Rangers, which went to Kentucky, and was in Hardin's division, which took part in the battle of Shiloh. Then the regiment was reorganized, and Mr. Barton returned to Crittenden County, where, in company with Col. McGee, he raised a company of which he was elected first lieutenant. This company was engaged in scouting and police duty, and during the war captured three steamboats. Lieut. Barton was captured in 1863, and was placed in prison at Memphis for two months, when he was removed to Johnson's Island for eleven months. He returned home in 1864, and commenced the planting and timber business. In 1868 he went on a farm of thirty-five acres, at Mound City, and in 1885, when he had improved it till it was worth $14,000, he sold it. In 1888 he bought eight acres on the Bald Knob Railroad, where he built a station, and has put about $10,000 worth of improvements, consisting of a cotton-gin, with all modern improvements, at a cost of $3,000, a store, livery stable, hotel, and, in fact, he owns [p.404] everything at the station. Mr. Barton was married in 1865, to Miss Fannie K. Fogleman, a daughter of John Fogleman, one of the pioneers of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Barton are the parents of three children, of whom two are dead, Lizzie (died at the age of fifteen years, while attending school at Fayetteville), Mary Alice (who is now attending school at Memphis) and Gussie (who died at the age of twelve years). Mr. Barton moved to Memphis in 1885, and has since resided there. He is a progressive and energetic business man, and has done very much toward the iprovement of Crittenden County.

James T. Barton is justly numbered in the list of Crittenden County's most prominent farmers. A native of Tipton County, Tenn., he is the second child in order of birth born to the union of James F. and Frances (Edmonds) Barton, natives of Kentucky. [See sketch of J. F. Barton.] James T. received his education in Memphis, Tenn., and at Louisville, Ky-, where he attended the graded schools, obtaining thorough and practical instruction. At the age of eighteen he went in company with his father to Memphis, and engaged with him in the Cotton Seed Oil Company., in which he held the position of foreman for some time. When twenty-six years old he came to this county, and embarked in farming and merchandising. During the war Mr. Barton was three times a prisoner before he had reached his thirteenth year, once in the Union Block, at Memphis. He has been twice married: first, in 1877, to Miss Lizzie B. Hardin, a daughter of Col. A. M. Hardin, of Mississippi, and by her became the father of four children, one now living, James A. (at home). Mrs. Barton died in 1882, and in 1888 he was united in marriage with Miss Vara M. Hoblitzell, of Baltimore, Md., whose parents, William and Henrietta (Gephardt) Hoblitzell, were natives of Maryland. They had a family of ten children, five of whom survive: Oliver, Fetter S., Lottie V. (wife of G. M. Wolf), Sue G. (now Mrs. J. C. Zimmerman) and Vara M. (Mrs. Barton). In 1877 Mr. Barton settled on lands purchased by himself, but at the present time is leasing some 2,000 acres, 1,300 of which he controls individually, and in addition 900, in which he has a partner. He raises about 1,000 bales of cotton on the two places, and is one of, if not the largest, land leasers in the county. It would be difficult to find a man more popular, or one who enjoys the undivided esteem and respect of all to a greater extent than Mr. Barton; always courteous, a perfect gentleman, jolly, quick at repartee, he never wounds a friend, and his mirth harbors no sting nor bitterness. He was appointed sheriff of this county, pending an election, to fill the unexpired term of Henry Ward, in 1878, and in the same year was elected to the office, which he filled with entire satisfaction. He also acted as county collector, and during that time the acting sheriff died, and Mr. Barton was again appointed to fill the latter position. He has served as justice of the peace of his township, and has been one of the associate justices of this county. He is a Knight of Honor, belonging to Crawfordville Lodge No. 3110, and is a member of the A. F. & A. M. Politically he is a Democrat. Both Mr. and Mrs. Barton are members of high standing, in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and are very popular in society.

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Robert W. Barton, M.D., considered among the profession as one of the leading physicans, and an upright and honest citizen of Crittenden County, was born in this county, March 17, 1860, to the union of James F. and Frances (Edmonds) Barton. [See sketch.] Robert W. Barton spent most of his youth in Memphis, Tenn., and was educated in the common schools of Louisville, Ky., and the Lincoln public school of St. Louis, Mo. In 1876, during the big strike in St. Louis, he volunteered as a soldier and served throughout that affray in that city, the youngest of 3,000 volunteers, and did active and honorable service for eleven days while quelling the riot. He was requested and urged by his officers to become a West Point cadet at large from Missouri, but owing to the fact that he was a son of a Confederate soldier he could not be appointed, although endorsed by Capt. Elerby, Lieut. Barlow and other officers, and quite a number of prominent men of both Nashville and Memphis, Tenn. In 1879 he entered the State University of Tennessee, and owing to his ill health remained for [p.405] only two years, and commenced the study of medicine in Memphis with Dr. Rogers as his preceptor, in 1882, and later he assisted R. D. Murray, United States army surgeon for four months. In 1883, he was appointed interne in the city hospital of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, Md., from which school he graduated in 1884, and returned to Memphis, Tenn., where he commenced the practice of his profession. In July of that year he came to this county, where he has since practiced. While in Memphis he was a member of the State Medical Association of Tennessee, and is now of the Tri-State Medical Society of Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee, and president of the board of medical examiners of this county. Dr. Barton was married to Miss Mamie G. Grasty, who was born in Danville, Va., and was reared in Baltimore, Md., where she graduated from the Western Female High School, taking the Peabody medal. She then graduated from the Maryland Musical Institute, under Prof. May. Mrs. Barton is a very highly educated lady and is in every

way an estimable woman. She is the mother of two children: Phebe Housen and Francis Edmunds. She is an active and prominent member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Memphis, Tenn.

James Bassett, merchant and farmer of Marion, was born in Vicksburg, Miss., in 1845, and is the son of Samuel and Lydia (French) Bassett, who are natives of England. They came to the United States before their marriage and were united at Vicksburg, making their home there, whence he went into the Mexican War. Soon after his return from the war he died of yellow fever, and after his death the mother and family remained at Vicksburg where Mrs. Bassett was married to David McClure, a native of Mississippi. In 1856 Mr. and Mrs. McClure moved to Memphis, and in the following year to Crittenden County, Ark., where the aged mother still lives, her husband having died in 1871. To her first marriage were born two sons, James and Samuel D., and by the second marriage was born one child (now deceased). Before the war James Bassett made his home in Memphis most of the time and at the commencement of the war joined the Confederate army as a private in the Twenty-first Tennessee Regiment, under Col. Pickett. He served three years and was not in any battles of note; was in Memphis when that city was besieged. After the war he returned to Crittenden County, where he has since lived and has been engaged in farming, and in 1883 embarked in the merchandising business at Marion, and to-day is one of the most prominent citizens of that place. He was married to Mary A. Fox, who was born in Memphis and reared in Arkansas, and a daughter of John H. and Eva (Echeiner) Fox, natives of Germany. The mother died in 1889 at a very old age. To Mr. and Mrs. Bassett have been born four children: Lydia E., Mary E. (who is the wife of Dr. T. O. Bridge-forth), Samuel C. and Virginia M. Politically, Mr. Bassett is a Democrat and is a member of the Knights of Honor, Lodge No. 3114 of Marion. This family is composed of fine-looking people and has been noted for some time for its remarkable health. Mr. Bassett in many ways is a typical western man, imbued with that vim, enterprise and push so characteristic of the free sons of the West, and has done much for the advancement of his county.

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Samuel D. Bassett, a merchant and farmer of Marion, was born in Vicksburg, Miss., in 1846, and is the son of Samuel and Lydia (French) Bassett. [See sketch preceding.] When a small boy Samuel Bassett moved to Memphis with his mother, and from here they soon came to Crittenden County, Ark. During the war the mother and her two children went to Cincinnati, and after staying there a few months, Samuel returned to this county, and in 1864 attended the Christian Brothers' College, at St. Louis. After leaving college in 1865, he returned to this county, where he has lived ever since, except two years (1870 and 1871) that he spent in Texas and Kansas. He commenced business for himself at the age of twenty-one years, and has since been engaged in farming and merchandising. He first put in a stock of general merchandise, which he sold in 1878, and has since been doing a general business. He now has a stock of goods at Marion, and one at Gavin Station, where he had an establishment several years before the station was founded. This station is on the old [p.406] place that was first settled by his people, and on which his mother still lives. Mr. Bassett was married in 1875 to Miss Love Swepston, who was born in Ohio, and is a daughter of John Swepston. This union was blessed by one child (Musetta) in 1876. Mr. Bassett has always taken an active part in educational matters, and his prominence in these affairs has given him a position as director on the school board; he is also postmaster at Gavin Station. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of Lodge No. 3114, K. of H, of Marion. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are good Christian people, well liked by all.

William Matthews Bigham, M. D., a merchant and druggist, of Marion, Ark., is one of its most prominent business men. He is of Irish descent and was born in Shelby County, Tenn., in 1859, being the only survivor of a family of three children born to William M. and Mary F. (Winston) Bigham. The paternal grandparents were born in Ireland and came to America about the time of their son's (William M.) birth, which occurred in 1816. William M. Bigham was reared in North Carolina and moved to Mississippi and from there to Tennessee in 1850. In Mississippi he was engaged in farming and milling, and while here he met and married a Mrs. Matthews in Tennessee. The wife accompanied her parents to that State in 1832, when she was nine years of age. Here she attained her womanhood and was married to M. S. Matthews, a native of North Carolina, who died in Shelby County, Tenn., nine years after his marriage, leaving a wife and four children, two of whom are still living: Adolphus and Virginia. After Mr. Bigham was married to this lady he sold out his business in Mississippi and moved to Shelby County, Tenn., where he remained for one year, and in January of 1860 moved across the river into Crittenden County, Ark., living here until his death which occurred two years later. Mr. Bigham was a member of the Presbyterian Church and his wife of the Baptist Church. Mrs. Bigham is now sixty-six years of age and resides with her son William M. In 1865 the family returned to Tennessee, where William M. Bigham reached his majority. He had but poor advantage for an early education, and with the desire for a complete literary knowledge he commenced the study of medicine with his half brother, B. A. Matthews, who was a physician and graduate of the Old University of Nashville. Dr. Bigham remained here till he was nineteen years old, when he entered the Vanderbilt University of Nashville, and one year later went to St. Louis,

where he graduated in March, 1881. After his graduation he returned to Shelby County, Tenn., where he practiced his profession for two years, then moving to Arkansas; he has since lived here and practiced medicine, being engaged also in merchandising and the drug business. The Doctor married Mary E. Brown, who was born in this county, a daughter of James and Katie Brown, also among the native residents of Crittenden. Mrs. Bigham is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and is an estimable lady in every respect. Dr. Bigham is a Democrat politically and a member of the Baptist Church. He is an honest, upright and worthy citizen, having by his short time in business placed himself in a worthy position in the hearts of his fellow-citizens.

L. D. Blann is a young farmer and broker at Marion, Crittenden County. Born in De Soto County, Miss., in 1860, he is the oldest of a family of five boys of J. C. and Mary Jane Blann. The father was a farmer by occupation and came to this county in 1876, living here till his death, which occurred in 1885. His wife died while L. D. was a child. The latter spent his youth on his father's farm in Mississippi where he attended the free schools, and after his father came to Arkansas he was a student at the college at La Grange, Tenn., until 1881. Upon leaving college, Mr. Blann returned to Crawfordsville and engaged in buying cotton seed until 1884, when he moved to Marion, since giving his attention to buying cotton, cotton seed, cattle, etc. He has also been extensively interested in farming, and the past year, 1889, had in a crop f 100 acres of cotton. Mr. Blann was married to Miss Julia B. Johnson, January 9, 1885. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Lodge No. 375, at Crawfordsville, and is an industrious, energetic citizen.

[p.407] A. D. Blann is recognized as an energetic and enterprising young merchant at Crawfordsville. He was born in 1865, being the son of J. C. Blann, a native of Tennessee. [See sketch.] Mr. Blann reached his majority in Arkansas, having come to this county in 1875, and has since lived here. He was educated in the high schools of Memphis, Tenn. and commenced for himself in 1883 as a stock dealer, soon afterward entering into general merchandising at the above place. In a short time he closed out this business and entered the employ of E. Buck & Co., remaining from 1883 to 1887, when he resumed his former business at a place called Needmore. One year later he opened up the business at Crawfordsville. Mr. Blann is one of the most promising young men of this county, and is now enjoying a trade of about $60,000 per year. He conducts a general supply business, dealing also in cotton and cotton seed. He was married March 1, 1889, to Winnie Spicer, a native of Shelby County, Tenn., and the daughter of R. S. Spicer, one of the leading farmers of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Blann have an elegant home built in 1889. They are both social young people and are much respected by their host of acquaintances.

Levi Barton Boon, the present efficient and popular postmaster and a dealer in general merchandise at Gilmore, was born in Yates County, N. Y., June 24, 1841, and is the son of Eli Alonzo Hogaboom, a native of Germany, who came to New York when a young man, and lived there till his death. He was married to Miss Margaret Wells, who was born in New York, and is now living in Tioga County, Penn. To Mr. and Mrs. Hogaboom were born eight children, of whom the subject of our sketch is the fourth child. The mother was afterward married to a Mr. Boon, from whom L. B. Boon takes his name. L. B. was reared in New York, and never received a day's schooling in his life. In 1861 he enlisted in the Fourth Regiment of Ohio Cavalry, and did active service throughout the war, being discharged at Nashville, Tenn., July 20, 1865. During the civil strife he fought in the severe battles of Chickamauga, Murfreesboro, Lookout Mountain, Stone River, Atlanta, Ringgold, and was in Wilson's raid from Eastport, Miss., to Macon, Ga. He was wounded four different times, once by a spent-ball hitting him between the eyes, a scar of which he will carry to his grave; and once by being shot below the knee, besides two other slight wounds. After his discharge he remained in Nashville until 1868, when he went to Burning Springs,

Va., in the oil regions, and went from there to Kentucky the following year. He went from Kentucky to Jackson, Tenn., where he was married January 12, 1873, to Miss Charlotte Emaline Stock, who was born in Union County, N. C., in June, 1861. She is the mother of seven children: Amos Alonzo, Emma (deceased), Levi Barton (deceased), Margaret (deceased), John T., Nellie G. and Edwin. Mr. Boon commenced railroading at Jackson, Tenn., and followed this occupation till 1883, when he came to Gilmore in the fall of the same year. He opened the first street in the village of Gilmore, where he carries a stock of goods worth $1,500. He also has a livery stable and a farm of about 200 acres in cultivation. In 1883 he built the first cotton-gin in this part of the county at a cost of about $1,500. He has been a Democrat since casting his first vote, which was for McClellan. He is a Master Mason, and a member of Frenchman Bayou Lodge No. 251, in which he is Steward. He also belongs to the K. of H. Lodge at Marion. Mr. Boon is one of the most energetic business men in the county, and it is from his efforts that the village of Gilmore now exists. He was justice of the peace in the township for two years, and is at present serving his second term as notary public, having also been the same four years in Tennessee,

appointed by the Governor.

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William D. Brooks, a leading farmer and stock raiser of Crittenden County, was born in Shelby County, Tenn., October 5, 1856, and is the first of four children born to Hugh M. and Mattie J. (Scott) Brooks. The father was born in Nashville, Tenn., September 20, 1835. He was the son of Isaac Winston Brooks, who was born in Virginia and died in Tennessee. Mrs. Brooks was a daughter of Eli Scott, and was born in Shelby County, Tenn., October 17, 1840. She was the mother of four [p.408] children now living and four deceased; those living are William D., Hugh L., John M. and Frank S. Hugh M. Brooks, the father, was a prominent man who immigrated to this county from Shelby County, Tenn., January 7, 1861, and

located on 320 acres of land, which he purchased near where William D. now lives. He served three years in the Confederate army, and was appointed judge of this county by the Governor at one time. He was filling the office of justice of the peace at the time of his death, which occurred March 9, 1889. William D. Brooks was reared in Shelby County, Tenn., and received his education at the La Grange College of Tennessee, and was married October 20, 1880, to Birdie E. Shepard, who was born in Yazoo City, Miss., March 8, 1864, and is the daughter of C. D. and Bettie (Hottiman) Shepard. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks are the parents of two children, both living. Mr. Brooks now resides on the old homestead that his father purchased when he came to this county. He is a member of the Masonic order and is Master of the lodge to which he belongs; is also a member of the K. of H. He is a Democrat in politics, and cast his first presidential vote for Tilden. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, as his parents were, are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. They are prominent in their county, and enjoy the respect of their acquaintances.

William H. Brown, an enterprising farmer of Wappanocca Township, was born in Hardeman County, Tenn., May 10, 1834, and is the son of John Brown, whose birth occurred in Williamson County, Tenn., in 1806. He always resided in that State, following the calling of a farmer and merchant. He was married to Rachel Hamor, also of Tennessee nativity, and to them were born nine children, of whom William H. was the sixth. The father was a son of William Brown, of Irish descent; he died in 1875, and his wife followed four years later. William H. was reared in his native State, where he received a limited education, and was married to Mary N. Craig in 1859. She was also born there in 1840 and is the daughter of David and Nancy Craig, of Tennessee. Mr. and Brown are the parents of twelve children, of whom the following eight are now living: James W., Robert H., Charles F., Samuel F., M. Ellen, Alice, Minnie P. and Lester, all at home. In 1874 Mr. Brown emigrated from Lauderdale County, Tenn., to where he now lives, and in the following year purchased a farm of 160 acres, with sixty acres under cultivation. He now has one of the finest places in Crittenden County, there being about 125 acres under cultivation. In 1881 he erected a cotton-gin, which he has run very successfully ever since, and in 1889 attached a shingle-machine. The entire plant runs by steam, and cost about $2,000. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and are good, honest citizens, being held in the highest esteem by all that know them. The former is a Democrat in politics, and cast his first vote for Buchanan.

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Albert H. Campbell, one of the oldest settlers of Tyronza Township, was born on the farm on which he lives, in 1852, being the only child resulting from the union of Hiram and Julia Marriman (nee Richards) Campbell. Mr. Campbell had been previously married, and was the father of four children by his first wife, of whom Steve and John are the survivors. He came to this State in 1834, and was one of the earliest settlers in this county, having come here before there was any thing in the way of a farm in this section. He only took up 220 acres of land, where he farmed and run a store and also had a ferry on the Tyronza. He raised a great deal of stock and was one of the leading merchants of this county at the time of his eath, which occurred in 1852. Hiram Campbell was born and reared in New York, going from there to Illinois in 1821, and thence to Arkansas by way of the Mississippi River to Wappanocca Lake. Proceeding down that body of water to Big Creek, he floated down the Tyronza River and settled on the bank of the stream in the present Crittenden County. Mrs. Campbell died June 18, 1883, at the age of sixty-three years. Although coming to this State when there was much game, such as bear, elk, deer, turkey, etc., he did not spend much time hunting, but devoted most of his attention to his farms and in rafting logs. A. H. Campbell was reared to farm life and educated in this county, and at the age of sixteen years took charge of his mother's affairs, which he continued until 1885, when the farm was divided. Young Albert got 110 acres of land with seventy-five acres in cultivation, on the home place, and since that time he has added forty acres of wild and twenty acres of cultivated land. Like most farmers in this county he raises considerable cotton, though plenty of corn, hay, etc., is also grown, and he devotes a great portion of his time to cattle and horses in the bottoms, making a specialty of the former. In 1887 Mr. Campbell was united in wedlock to Miss Bettie, daughter of R. C. and Mary E. (May) Hampton, natives of Virginia and Arkansas. Mr. and Mrs. Hampton are the parents of five children, with four still living: Richard, Bettie, Thomas D., J. F. and L. L. (deceased). Mr. Hampton died in 1867 and his wife survived him eight years. Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are the parents of two children: Nancy S. and Charles A. Being quite an enterprising young man and a native of this State, Mr. Campbell appreciates the advantages derived from education and emigration, therefore he favors these as an opportunity to develop the excellent qualities of his life-long home.

Thomas Cashion (deceased) was born in Bullitt County, Ky., in May, 1858, and died December 3, 1888, in Crittenden County, Ark. When a boy he went from his birthplace to the State of Texas, where he was married to Miss Nannie E. Rives, January 11, 1880. She was born April 27, 1860, in this county, and is the daughter of Samuel D. Rives, who was born in Kentucky and died here on April 16, 1865. He came from the Blue Grass State, with his parents, when he was a boy. Mrs. Cashion's father was a well-to-do farmer; her mother was born and raised in this county, where she died December 31, 1879, having had four children of whom two are still living: Nannie E. and Edna (who resides in Galveston, Tex.). Mrs. Cashion, the second child, moved from Crittenden County to Texas with her mother, and received her education in the district schools of Collin County, afterward attending the high school in McKinney. She has borne three children: John P. (born October 12, 1880), Mary J. (born April 3, 1882), and Thomas E. (born October 4, 1884). Thomas Cashion, Sr., was an employe of the Houston & Texas Railroad, while in Texas, and remained in that position for nine years. Discontinuing railroading in 1884 he farmed in Texas one year, when he came to this county and located on the farm now owned by his widow, formerly the property of Mr, Rives. This contains 800 acres, with 375 acres in cultivation, and is located on the Mississippi River bottoms. The farm now belongs to Nannie and her sister and never has been divided. Mr. Cashion was a member of the Masonic and Knights of Honor fraternities, and was a good citizen and highly respected. His widow rents all her land, but lives on her farm. Her grandfather, Peter G. Rives, was one of the first settlers of this county, having come here before Pierce was president. He was a large land owner, and cleared most of the land south of West Memphis, and was a prominent and useful citizen.

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Anthony M. Clement (deceased) was a son of William and Mary E. (Brassfield) Clement, natives of North Carolina. He was born January 9, 1826, and was the twelfth child and seventh son of seventeen children, of whom Mary (widow of James Leach, residing near Beebe, Ark.) is the only surviving child. A. M. Clement was born in Tennessee, reared and educated in Gibson County, and at the age of twenty-one engaged in business for himself, principally merchandising, near Humboldt. In 1852 he was married to Mary Catherine, daughter of R. N. and Margaret (Froenabager) Patrick, natives of South Carolina and North Carolina, respectively, but at that time living in Gibson County. They were the parents of eleven children, of whom Mary Catherine was the eldest. During the war of the Rebellion Mr. Clement resided near Humboldt, but took no part in the contest. In the spring of 1867 he moved with his family to Crittenden County, Ark., locating on the Mississippi River, near Bradley's Landing, and in 1869 purchased the tract of land on which his widow now resides. He was of English descent, his grandfather (father of William Clement) having [p.410] come from England many years before the revolt of the colonies, settling in North Carolina. From the beginning of the Revolution he and his sons took an active part, he being surgeon and his sons soldiers in the American army. They were in the battle of King's Mountain, one son being killed. At the age of ninety he married a second wife, who was quite young (mother of William Clement) and lived to see a young family growing up around him. Mr. Clement and wife (parents of the subject of our sketch), were active members in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Clement died in 1867, aged eighty-nine, leaving a second wife, his first wife having died many years before. Anthony M. Clement and wife became the parents of eight children, five of whom are now living. They are: Matilda (who is the second time a widow), Josie M., Robert E. Lee and Benjamin C. (the youngest), all at home with their mother. Lillian, the sixth child and fourth daughter, was married September 13, 1888, to S. S. James, of Jericho, this county. Mr. Clement was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in Gibson County, Tenn., and a member of the A. F. & A. M., and at the time of his death was justice of the peace in his township. He was kind-hearted, genial, generous to a fault; though quick to resent an insult, ready to forgive an injury–a typical Southern gentleman. He died November 24, 1888, being sixty-two years of age. Mrs. Clement is a good, Christain lady, and a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Seth C. Cocks has attained a prominence and merited reputation as one of the leading farmers of this county. Born at the Gayosa Hotel of Memphis, in 1860, while his parents were on their way from Mississippi to Crittenden County, Ark., he was a son of Philip A. Cocks, of Kentucky nativity, who moved from there to Mississippi, where he was married (in Washington County) to Miss Anna C. Egg, a native of that State. Mr. Cocks moved to Arkansas in 1860 and located on the farm he had purchased the previous year. He was an energetic and prosperous farmer and died February 5, 1869, on the place he settled, and on which his family still lives. Mrs. Cocks, his widow, survived him till 1878. They were the parents of three children, of whom Minnie was burned to death at the age of three years, in Crittenden County, Ark.; Seth C., our subject, and Blanche D., an artist of talent, is the widow of Charles L. Lyles, son of Col. Lyles, now of Memphis. [See sketch.] Mr. and Mrs. Lyles gave birth to one son, Philip Lyles. Seth C. Cocks attained his majority in this State, having continued to live on the place settled by his parents in 1860. He is a man of great energy and business ability and one of the successes of his career is seen in the position he now occupies, as the owner of a large farm. His parents having died while he was very young, he has, by his own vim and push, kept up the old place. He attended school in Memphis for two years, and then after spending four years at the Frankfort Military Academy of Kentucky, returned to the home farm and was married to a very estimable lady, Miss Mary Belle Lyles, daughter of Col. Lyles, one of the old and prominent settlers, and for many years clerk of this county, now numbered among the leading lawyers of Memphis. Mrs. Cocks is a very highly educated lady and an excellent conversationalist, and is in every way a woman to be admired. She and her husband are the parents of three children: Amy, Blanche and an infant girl. Mrs. Cocks is a prominent member of the Episcopal Church. Politically, Mr. Cocks is a Democrat. He owns a large farm under cultivation bearing all the latest improvements.

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Robert F. Collins, a prosperous planter of Proctor Township, is a native of this county, born December 16, 1843, and the son of Thomas M. Collins, who was born in Virginia, in 1813, and died in Memphis, in 1853. His parents moved from Virginia to Tennessee in an early day, and Thomas came to this State while yet single, marrying, in this county, Miss Virginia W. Hulbert, a native of Pennsylvania. After Mr. Collins' death she was married, in 1857, to W. E. Scanlan, and died in 1878. She was a sister of Henry T. Hulbert, who was a great literary man and a prominent lawyer of Memphis. Thomas M. Collins was one of the early settlers of this county, and a prominent [p.411] man, being popular as a politician; he was a member of the State legislature from an early day until nearly the time of his death, and could have been Governor had he been a Democrat instead of a Whig. He was a large owner of real estate, and was a prominent Mason; was very charitable, and educated many children with his own means. Noted for his integrity, he was mail contractor from Memphis to Little Rock for a number of years. Mr. and Mrs. Collins were the parents of eight children, of whom three sons are the only survivors. Robert F. Collins was reared in this county, and was educated in St. Joseph's College, of Kentucky, his brothers attending St. Mary's College of Kentucky. He lived with his mother and step-father till twenty-one years of age, when he commenced life for himself as a farmer, which he has followed up to the present time. He and his two brothers jointly own 205 acres of land, with 150 acres under cultivation. Mr. Collins was married January 5, 1870, to Miss Julia Wood, who was born in Brownsville, Tenn., September 4, 1847, and is a daughter of William P. and Ara A. (Leanard) Wood, natives of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively; both died in Brownsville. To Mr. and Mrs. Collins have been given two children: Robert A. and Sadie W. Mr. Collins is a Democrat in polities, and cast his first vote for Hancock. He is a member of the K. of H., and he and his wife are members of the Catholic Church, and are good citizens, and highly respected.

Richard Stephen Combs (deceased), who was an enterprising farmer of Tyronza Township, was born in Carroll County, Va., October 25, 1853, and died October 15, 1889. His parents were both Virginians by birth and came t this county in 1876, locating where the widow of the subject of this sketch now lives. R. S. Combs was married October 23, 1883, to Mrs. Julia F. Cloar, who was born in this county October 11, 1856, the widow of Y. Y. Cloar and daughter of Joseph A. and Julia (Richards) Lyles. Mr. Lyles was born in Obion County, Tenn., and immigrated to Crittenden County, Ark., at an early day. He and his wife both died in this county, the former in 1862 and Mrs. Lyles in 1883. Mrs. Combs lives on the farm that she inherited from her father. It consists of 225 acres, with 125 in cultivation, upon which is a fine young orchard and good buildings. A part of her land is located on the Tryonza River. Mrs. Combs is the mother of one child, Mary Lyles Combs. She is an estimable lady, and is respected by all who know her. She is a sister of Albert H. Campbell, a sketch of whom appears on a previous page.

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Baxter C. Crump (deceased), one of the old and much-esteemed citizens of this county and who for many years was sheriff before and after the late war, was a native of Virginia, born in 1822, and died in 1874. He came to Arkansas some time previous to 1840, and when a young man held the office of county judge, also representing this county in the legislature, being a very prominent politician. He was a Union man at the outbreak of the Civil War, but deeming it his duty to stand by his people he raised three companies, of the second of which he was captain. He was slightly wounded in the ankle at the battle of Belmont, where all of his company but three men deserted him, whereupon he returned home and organized another company being made its captain. He was again wounded at the battle of Helena, Ark., and was afterward quartermaster, doing active service till the close of the war, when he surrendered with his regiment in Arkansas. At the cessation of hostilities he returned home to his family of small children, his wife, formerly Miss Lucy McPeak, having died in 1861, leaving five small children, two of whom are still living, namely: Mrs. Alice Geaurant, at Barton, Ark., and Mrs. Dellan Swepston, in Nashville, Tenn. Mr. Crump was subsequently married to Mrs. Mary E. (Butler) Higgs, a native of North Carolina and daughter of William C. and Courtney R. (Green) Butler, who were also of North Carolina origin, moving to Georgia in 1844. In Floyd County, Ga., Mrs. Crump attained her womanhood and was married to Marcus A. Higgs, formerly from North Carolina. Mr. and Mrs. Higgs moved to Memphis, Tenn., in 1856, where he practiced law, having studied and been admitted to the bar in Georgia. He remained in Memphis [p.412] until the fall of 1859, when he came to Crittenden County, Ark., and followed his profession, until the war broke out, when he joined the Confederate army and was killed in September, 1863. He and his wife were active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Of five children given them three lived to be grown, and of these Mrs. M. Aurelia Morgan, of Tennessee, is the only survivor. Paul C. and Randolph E. who attained their manhood and were promising young men are now deceased. Mrs. Crump's mother, Mrs. Butler, is still living and is making her home with her daughter; she is seventy-three years of age and is active and healthy. Her husband was a Master Mason, and was buried by that order with the highest honors. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and reared a family of six children to be grown, of whom the following three still survive: Mrs. Kate Ritche (who lives in Florida), Mr. L. W. Butler and Mrs. Crump.

Carlile Daniels is a substantial farmer of Wappanocca Township, and the son of Bevley and Charlotta (Measles) Daniels, having been born in this county, January 4, 1846. Bevley Daniels was a Virginian by birth, and came from North Carolina to this county, where he remained till his death, which occurred when our subject was a child. He and his wife were the parents of seven children, one daughter and six sons, three of whom are living, two in this county and one in Baxter County. After the death of Bevley Daniels, his wife was married twice; she died August 20, 1887. Carlile Daniels received his limited education in this county, and October 8, 1877, married Mrs. Alice A. Daniels, of Greenville, Miss., a daughter of Samuel Truley. Four children blessed this union, two of whom are now living, via.; Walter C. and Horace W. Mrs. Daniels-died May 28, 1887. Mr. Daniels and his brother, William B., own 300 acres of valuable land on the Mississippi River, about twenty miles above Memphis. About 100 acres of this are in cultivation, and under the skillful management of these gentlemen it produces a bountiful crop each year. Carlile Daniels served six months in the Confederate army near the close of the war. He is and has been a perfect Democrat since he cast his first vote, which was for Seymour. He is a member of the County Wheel, and has served very efficiently as school director for six successive years in School Districts No. 9 and 10. He, along with his mother and wife, has for a long time been a working member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

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Peter G. Daugherty, a well-to-do and enterprising farmer of Jackson Township, was born in Northern Alabama, in 1849, to the union of Noble and Judith (Gassett) Daugherty, natives of Virginia and Kentucky. The father moved to the Blue Grass State when a young man and remained there several years, then moving back to Alabama, where he was married. When Peter G. was but a child, both he and his wife died, leaving a family of seven children, of whom our subject is the fourth child; of that number three are still living. Peter G. Daugherty grew to maturity in Alabama, where, having been left upon his own resources, he commenced to earn his livelihood at the age of fifteen years, as an overseer on his uncle's plantation. There he remained for three years and then came to Arkansas, settling in Crittenden County, where he rented land for several years. Later purchasing a tract of wild land four miles from Crawfordsville, he settled upon and commenced to clear it, In 1876 he moved on another place and remained there till 1884, when he moved to the estate on which he now lives, where he has over 200 acres of land under cultivation, all the result of his own labor. He started in the world with nothing, and when be came to this State had only about $800 with him, which he took as a foundation; and today it has grown to be 320 acres of this county's best land. Mr. Daugherty served in Johnson's regiment from Alabama, during the latter part of the war, and was captured at Selma, Ala., being held prisoner for eleven days, when he made his escape and returned to his regiment; soon afterward he surrendered, with his regiment, at Mount Hope, Ala., in May, 1865. He takes but little part in political matters, but at all times votes the Democratic ticket. He has held some of the minor offices of the township, and is a hearty advocate of [p.413] schools and a liberal contributor to any movement that he deems worthy of support.

Samuel K. Davis has for some time been occupied as a planter and merchant of Bartonville. A native of Maryland, he was born in Hartford County in 1842, being the son of Philip and Louisa B. (King) Davis, both also of Maryland nativity. They moved to Vermilion County, Ill., in 1854, and remained till 1867, when they went to Missouri, locating in Barry County. Four years later Kingman, Kas., became their home, where the mother still lives. The father was born in 1811 and died in 1888; the mother was born in 1821. She is a good Christian lady and takes an active part in church and Sunday-school matters; she is a member of the Baptist Church and is superintendent of a Sunday-school. Mr. Davis was a member of the I. O. O. F. for many years before his death; was a Democrat in polities, and manifested a great interest in school matters and anything that would promote the welfare of the public. Himself and wife were the parents of ten children, of whom two died before leaving Maryland; one from a fall and one by drowning. The others lived to be grown and six are still living. Samuel K. Davis, the second born, attained his majority in Illinois, and moved to Memphis in 1862, entering the service of the Adams Express Company and remaining with them four years. He then commenced farming in Phillips County, Ark. (now Lee County), and in company with his brother Reece he tilled about 1,000 acres till 1874, and in 1875 he commenced merchandising. He was married in February, 1874, to Miss Augusta Holt, a native of Tennessee. Mr. Davis was engaged in merchandising at Phillips Bayou for several years, when he moved to Hot Springs, Ark., the year of the big fire at that place, and bought out Mr. King's interest in the firm of Gordon & King. The trade was made on Thursday and on Monday the establishment was in ashes. The morning after the fire his possessions consisted of but $6.15 upon which to again commence. His wife owned a house and lot, however, so he worked and sold goods for about six years, when he came to Crittenden County and started a store at Needmore, where he remained in business till he moved to Bartonville. He is now running a store with good success and a farm of 400 acres. Upon moving to this county from Hot Springs he had $800 and now owns a fine farm well equipped. Mr. and Mrs. Davis are the parents of two daughters and three sons: Fannie K., Florence Lee, Samuel K., and Claudie W. and Clarence W. (twins); one child is deceased, Effie May. Mrs. Davis is an active member of the Baptist Church, and her husband is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of which he has held several offices. He is a Democrat in polities, but takes little part in any party movement, giving his whole attention to his store and farm. Mr. Davis has been very successful in business and is a man of enterprise and decided business ability.

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Alexander H. Ferguson, the present efficient and popular treasurer of Crittenden County and also a merchant at Marion, was born at Greenock, on the Mississippi River, in this county, March 17, 1839, and is the son of Horatio N. and Jane G. (Proctor) Ferguson, natives of Tennessee and Arkansas. The Grandfather Ferguson went from Greenock, Scotland, to Virginia, while a young man, moving from there to Tennessee, where he lived until his death. He was the father of three children: William D., Allen McL. and Horatio N. (all now deceased). The boys came to Arkansas in 1820 and settled at Greenock, a Scottish town named after the town in which their father was born. William D. was the first sheriff of Crittenden County, holding the office from 1825 to 1835, and died at Memphis, Tenn., in 1866. He fought in the battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815; was a member of the L. O. O. F. fraternity and belonged to the Presbyterian Church. He took active part in the development of this county and filled the office of deputy surveyor for several years. Allen McL. served as postmaster of Oldman, now Greenock, and was justice of the peace for several years. He died in Sharp County, Ark., in 1872. Horatio N. the father of our subject, came to this State when a young man, married upon attaining his maturity, and settled at what was afterward called Greenock, remaining here until 1835. Then he moved to a [p.414] place lower down the river. He was an extensive farmer and owned large tracts of land which he acquired after coming to Arkansas. He died in 1841 at Frankfort, Ky., where he had gone for his health. Jane G. Proctor, his wife, was also an Arkansan by birth, her parents having emigrated here about the beginning of the nineteenth century, settling below Memphis on the river. Mrs. Ferguson was a member of the Presbyterian Church and remained a widow till her death, which occurred in 1871. She was the mother of six children, two sons and four daughters, of whom three are now living: Mrs. Kate A. Brown (who lives at Marion), Mrs. Nancy E. Lyon (in this county) and Alexander H. (the youngest). The latter was reared in this county where he has always lived. As school advantages were not very good hereabouts in his youth he attended school at Memphis until the death of his brother, when he had to return home and assume charge of affairs. In that position he remained up to the death of his mother, when he was married to Miss Kate Ritche, of Memphis. In 1884 he located at Marion and has since been engaged in merchandising. In 1880 Mr. Ferguson was elected county clerk, and discharged the duties of that office until elected treasurer in 1884, in which position he is now serving his third term. He has always taken a great interest in the advancement of education and is also a hard worker in the Democratic party. He was married January 19, 1882, and after the brief space of eight months was left a widower. His wife was a true Christian lady and devoted wife, and was a member of the Baptist Church. Alexander Ferguson entered the Confederate army in August, 1862, and had served but a short time when he was wounded at the battle of Corinth, being several times hit in the body by grape-shot from a cannon. He was taken from the battlefield to a hospital at Iuka, where he had his leg amputated between the knee and ankle. He started home as soon as able to travel, coming to Memphis in a buggy, his sister, Sarah J., and Thomas Baldwin, having gone after him to the field of action. Mr. Ferguson is a competent officer for the place which he fills and is in every way worthy of the trust reposed in him.

Capt. LeRoy Fogleman, deceased, is remembered as a prosperous planter of Crittenden County, whose association with its material affairs proves of decided benefit to the community. He was born in this county October 7, 1847, and lived here till his death, December 24, 1879. John Fogleman, his father, was also a native of Arkansas, having been born April 29, 1813, and he lived to be over seventy years of age. [See sketch of G. A. Fogleman.] LeRoy was reared and received his education in the common schools of Crittenden County, where he tilled a farm, and was for a number of years captain of the steamer John Overton. After arriving at maturity he was married to Miss Sallie F. Barton, who was born and reared near Russellville, Logan County, Ky. She came to Arkansas with her husband in February, 1868. They are the parents of three children living and two dead. Those living are: Alice E., Carrie Lee, and John LeRoy. Fannie B., one of the sweetest of little girls, was killed by a cotton-gin when she was twelve years old and Sallie Hall died at the age of two years. Mrs. Fogleman is the third daughter of eleven children, of whom seven survive, born to John and Carrie (Edmonds) Barton, numbered among the oldest and most respected families of Kentucky, and who are still living at Union City, Tenn. Mrs. Fogleman was reared and educated in the State of Kentucky, and is not only a woman well esteemed, but one who commands the respect of all her acquaintances. She had never known what hardship and misfortune meant till the death of her beautiful little daughter, and the subsequent loss of her husband left her with a family of small children to care for. She has done most nobly, however, having kept up a large farm and educated those of her children that are old enough, and one daughter is a teacher in the Memphis high school, she having graduated at the Clara Conway School with the highest honors. Mrs. Fogleman has an excellent family of whom she is justly proud, and to whom she is a devoted mother. They are all active members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Memphis.

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Capt. G. A. Fogleman has become thoroughly identified with Crittenden County's interests, and [p.415] is now conceded to be a well-to-do planter. Born October 21, 1852, in this county, he is the son of John Fogleman, whose birth also occurred here, April 13, 1813. His father, George Fogleman, was a native of Europe, where he lived till about middle age, then coming to the United States and locating in Arkansas, where the village of Hopefield now stands. ere he remained but a short time, when he moved to the place where the subject of this sketch lives. He improved a small farm, and, on account of the newness of the country, there being more red men than white in those days, built a huge log-house to protect himself and family from danger. He was a very brave man and knew no such thing as fear. A family of five children blessed his union, of whom George, the second child, was born at what is now Hopefield, being reared on the place where his son, G. A., now lives. His father having died when he was thirteen years of age, he had to work for the small sum of 25 cents per day to support his mother and two sisters, but by diligent perseverance and economy he laid the foundation upon which he afterward erected his fortune, consisting of 2,500 sores of land and many negro slaves. He dealt largely in timber, selling logs at the mills and rafting them to New Orleans. In 1865, when the steamer Sultana, loaded with about 1,700 Union soldiers, sunk opposite his place, he, with his family and friends, rescued and saved the lives of some seventy-five men. Although a stanch Confederate, he did all in his power to assist the perishing soldiers of the opposite faction. He did not himself serve in the late war, but took active part in contributing of his means and supplies to the Confederate forces. He delighted in telling the tale of having walked to Memphis on dry land from his place, which is five miles distant, and on the other side of the river. By the change in the channel of the river he did actually accomplish this feat, though it took him over twenty years to do it. Mr. Fogleman married Miss Elisabeth Trice, who was born of a most excellent family, February 28, 1821, in Kentucky, in which State she was reared. Her parents came to this State in 1842. When the late war broke out he moved to Mound City, where he died. Elisabeth was an earnest and true Christian lady, and was devoted to her family, which consisted of eight children, and of whom two are still living, viz.: Gustavus A. and Fannie K. (now wife of R. B. Barton, living in Memphis). The mother died February 26, 1858. Capt. G. A. Fogleman, the only son now surviving, has always lived in this county. About seventeen years of his life were spent on the river as captain of the John Overton and the Mark Twain, which, after it was rebuilt, was called the Alace; he was pilot on the same boats for a number of years, commencing when he was but a boy and continuing till February 1, 1889. He has a large farm, with 500 acres in a good state of cultivation, and this now receives his personal attention. Capt. Fogleman was first married to Anna Dickey, January 23, 1878; she died August 2, 1881, when twenty-one years of age, leaving one child, LeRoy, who was born December 1, 1878, and died September 25, 1887. Capt. Fogleman was married January 15, 1889, to Mamie T. Barton, an estimable lady. [See sketch of F. G. Barton.]

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John Gilmore (deceased) was, during life, the largest stock raiser in Crittenden County, having lived near Gilmore, which was named in his honor. He was born in Virginia, in 1831, and died while visiting in Texas, in 1888. His parents moved from Virginia to Missouri when he was a small boy, and he was mostly reared in the latter State, coming to this county when yet single. In 1860 he was married to Miss Sarah A. Mooring, who was born in Lexington, Tenn., in 1839, the daughter of Dr. John E. and Matilda (Johns) Mooring. They also immigrated to Crittenden County in pioneer days. Dr. Mooring was born in North Carolina, and his wife, Miss Matilda Johns, in Tennessee. The former died in Texas, the latter in Tennessee. John Gilmore was a pioneer settler in this county in early days. A successful raftsman, a famous bear hunter, a prosperous and prominent man, whom every body liked, he was the largest stock raiser in this county, a man of sterling integrity, who did all that he could to promote the interest of his country and the community in which he lived. He was a loving husband, an indulgent father, and a kind and considerate neighbor. His father, James Gilmore, spent the latter part of his life with his son at his Arkansas home. At the time of Mr. Gilmore's death he owned about 2,500 acres of land and 800 head of cattle, Mrs. Gilmore has now about the same amount of land and stock. She resides on the old homestead, at Gilmore, a station on the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Missouri Railway, with her two children: John Q. (a young man of sterling worth and Kimmie (a beautiful and accomplished daughter). Mrs. Gilmore is a true Christian woman, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

John P. Hackler. In giving the biographies of the prominent men of Crittenden County, that of J. P. Hackler should not be omitted. A native of Arkansas he was born in Phillips County, July 17, 1859, being the oldest child which blessed the union of John G. and Verturia (Harkelroad) Hackler, also of Arkansas origin. John G. Hackler's father came to Arkansas in 1836 and settled in Phillips County. He (John G.) served in the late war on the Confederate side, under Gen. Hindman, and while home on furlough was captured and taken to Memphis, then to Alton, Ill., and from there to Richmond, Va., where he was paroled in 1865. Returning home he resumed farming in Phillips County, but in 1874 moved to Crittenden County and was renting land until 1878. At that time John P. bought the farm where he now resides, and for one year Mr. Hackler made his home with his son, but at the date of his death, November 6, 1885, was living with his daughter, Mrs. Conlan. John P. and his sister, Mrs. Conlan, are the surviving members of their father's family. Mrs. Hackler had been married previous to her union with Mr. Hackler, her first husband being Mr. Thrailkill, and by him became the mother of five children, only one living: Emma (Mrs. Langston, residing in Tate County, Miss). Mrs. Hackler died in 1863, a member of many years' standing in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. John P. Hackler attended the schools of Phillips County in youth and received a practical education, being a careful student, and applied himself diligently to his studies. In February, 1881, he was united in marriage to Miss Annie Walker. Mr. Hackler owns 800 acres of fine bottom land with 175 under cultivation, and raises about eighty bales of cotton per annum. He also has engaged quite extensively in stock raising, in which he has met with fair success. He was elected justice of the peace, of Lucas Township in 1886; was re-elected in 1888, and is also postmaster, having held the latter office with creditable distinction for the past four years. In his political views he is a stanch Democrat, and a supporter of all worthy enterprises, that indicate the growth of the county, and especially favors immigration.

William J. Hardin is favorably known as the present assessor of Crittenden County, as well as one of its most energetic young men. Born in what is now Lonoke County, near Carlisle, Ark., in 1855, he is the son of John and Nascissa (Percefull) Hardin, natives of Mississippi and Arkansas, respectively. The Percefull family were among the first settlers in the section of country near Carlisle, and Uncle Johnie Percefull is now one of the oldest citizens living in Lonoke County. John Hardin died while his son, William J., was an infant in Lonoke (then Prairie) County. The mother died in the same county, in 1882, at the age of forty-two years. William J. Hardin lived with his mother until grown and came to Crittenden County in 1878, where he followed farming and clerking, until being appointed deputy sheriff in 1884, which office he held to the satisfaction of all for a term of four years. In 1888 he was put forward by the Democratic party for assessor and was elected, and now occupies that responsible position. He is a man of rare abilities, and has a bright future before him, being recognized as a leader in the Democratic party in Crittenden County.

Hon. Asa Hodges. The great men of our time are self-made. Born in the ordinary walks of life, with no especial advantage above their fellows, and forced in early youth to labor for their daily bread, they have risen above the common level by dint of personal effort, working their way up [p.417] the hill "difficulty," the true road to fame. The secret of their success is industry, perseverance and integrity. Firmness of purpose, rectitude of intention, and persistence in effort are their stock in trade, to which is very seldom added the jewel genius, the uncertain brilliancy of which too often dazzles, but to mislead. Its place is, however, supplied by a stock of that very uncommon article–common sense. A clear head, a quick eye, an accurate judgment, willing hands and self-reliance, are the true essentials to success. The great man is noted for his deeds of endurance; the man of power is known by his influence. While but a small proportion of the human family attain to positions of prominence, fewer still exhibit the ability to lead the masses. To achieve the greatness of power, one needs the ability to grasp, group and generalize the facts and ideas of the times in advance of the mass, to reason out the solution of the ever recurrent social problem, and make it patent to the popular mind, pointing out the path of improvement, mental, social, or

physical, and inducing the people to travel therein, not by the force of fire and steel, but through the high and loftier process of enlightenment. He who at once informs and impels is the true hero, the king among his fellow-men. Such a man is the subject of this sketch, such his sphere of action, such his influence, and it is indeed a pleasure to the historian of the present day to refer to a life so filled with usefulness, so encouraging to struggling youth, and so worthy of emulation by them. Asa Hodges was born in Lawrence County, Ala., January 22, 1822. His father was Hon. William Hodges, a brave son of North Carolina, who, smarting under the would-be tyranny of the mother country, bore with his father an active share in the colonies' struggle for independence. Great-grandfather Hodges was of sturdy Scottish birth, possessed of those sterling characteristics of honesty, uprightness and energy, that stamped him a man among men; and these noble traits have come down in a marked degree to his descendants. William Hodges, it almost goes without saying, was endowed with unusual vigor of character, and decided natural ability. A blacksmith in early life, he was held in universal esteem as a citizen, and in 1828 and 1829 was called upon to represent his native county in the General Assembly of the State, serving with a faithfulness and distinction that won for him permanent reputation. He was united in marriage with Miss Jeannette Daugherty, of Tennessee nativity, though her parents came originally from Nova Scotia. She attained to womanhood in the State of her birth, being married in Smith County, after which she accompanied her husband to Alabama, and there died in 1882. Firm in character and gentle in disposition, she was greatly beloved, the influence of her thorough training producing lasting impression upon the minds of her children. Of the original family of five sons and four daughters, two sons and two daughters survive. Of these Col. Fleming Hodges makes his home in Mississippi; Mrs. Townsend is a resident of Shelby County, Tenn., and Mrs. Phillips lives in Memphis. By the death of his father, in 1837, Asa Hodges was thrown upon his own personal resources at the age of seventeen. The family estate having been left in an embarrassed condition, he found himself face to face with the stern realities of life, never knowing much about the real pleasures of boyhood, but the very obstacles and struggles, which his self-dependent circumstances obliged him to undergo, served to develop those intellectual and moral characteristics which in after life made him a man of influence and mark among his associates. With praise worthy ambition he set about to acquire an education. To a young man possessing no means this was not an easy thing to do, but great determination and a "keeping-everlastingly-at-it" spirit overcame the serious difficulties which earlier surrounded him, and he passed the later years of his student life in attendance at La Grange College, an institution of wide repute at that day, conducted under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was, perhaps, not strange that young Hodges should have turned almost intuitively to the legal profession as a field offering the greatest inducements for his talents; at any rate he became a student of law in the office of Hon. L. P. Walker, of Florence, one of the most able and successful practitioners in Northern Alabama, [p.418] under whose instruction he pursued a thorough course of study until qualified for admission to the bar. Upon receiving his diploma in 1848, as a regularly licensed attorney, he entered into partnership with the eminent Thomas M. Peters, afterward chief justice of the supreme court of Alabama, which relation proved mutually beneficial, and more than ordinarily lucrative until dissolved by the loud mutterings of civil war. Some years before Mr. Hodges had met and formed a pleasant acquaintance with Mrs. Caroline Chick, an estimable lady, whom he married April 17, 1858, Mrs. Hodges bringing to this union the culture, influence and wealth of a prominent family of South Carolina. Subsequently, and previous to the breaking out of the Rebellion, he purchased and settled upon a large and valuable plantation in Crittenden County, Ark., which he still owns. After locating here he was made judge of probate, the duties of which position he discharged with peculiar care and fidelity, winning unbounded commendation from his fellow-citizens, who soon transferred him to a seat in the State constitutional convention as a delegate under the reconstruction act of 1867. Following the adoption of the constitution he was elected to the General Assembly in 1868, and in 1870 was the choice of the people of his district as State senator, in which body he served as a member for a term of four years. While holding the latter position, Mr. Hodges was sent as a Republican to represent Arkansas in the XLIII Congress. Here, also, a loyal, consistent adherence to the best interests of those whom he represented attended his career. While there may have been no occasion for especial brilliancy of oratorical powers, or momentary manifestation of personal aggrandizement, there was always about him that quiet, thoughtful, dignified demeanor which is never without its influence. Indeed, it is well known that Congressman Hodges was a man able to do his own thinking and act upon a judgment rarely, if ever, at fault. Public service, honorably discharged, stands as a lasting monument to any man, and no words that might here be added could carry with them more power, or a greater appreciation of Mr. Hodges' public efforts than the verdict accorded him, "Well done, good and faithful servant." In his private life he is all that his national reputation would indicate him to be. Considerate, thoughtful, and always courteous, is it any wonder that he is so generally beloved? The large means given him have not been misused, as the many recipients of his open-handed charity stand ready to testify. His pecuniary success is well known. His immense plantation in this county, 3,000 acres in extent, laid out into highly cultivated fields, is a present reminder of his industry and labor, for when he moved upon it only seventy acres were cleared. Several other tracts in various parts of Crittenden are included in his possessions, some 2,000 acres of which are also worked. A 350-acre plantation in Bolivar County, Miss. (yielding a bale of cotton to the acre annually), another 1,000 tract in Monroe County, Miss., and city property in Memphis also comprise a part of his wealth, a single block in the latter city being valued at $40,000. The opinion gathered by ninety-nine out of every 100 individuals, from a survey of his appearance, would be that he is a man of good, sound, sterling, practical common sense; not afraid of work, persistent in effort, quick in perception and temper, straightforward, sincere, a fast friend, a man with a large heart, clear head, quick eye, and honest intentions. His character is this and more. There is nothing of the hypocrite about him, and he detests hypocrisy in others. As a friend to progress he is especially liberal, and it is his great desire to see this favored section become rapidly appreciated by the outside world. The accompanying excellent portrait of Mr. Hodges is reproduced from a photograph taken while he was a Congressman, and though twenty years have spread the mantle of declining years and left their silvery imprint on his hair, they have not dimmed the honest candor of his eye, obliterated the intellectual cast of his facial features, dulled the activity of his mind, nor quenched the milk of human kindness that has forever flowed from his generous heart. Here, in the meridian of life, happy in his domestic relations, he resides, enjoying the sincere respect of all who are favored with his acquaintance. [p.419]

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[p.421] Ralph Hathaway, a prosperous planter and saw-mill man of Crittenden County, is a native of North Carolina, born in 1836, and is the fifth of six children born to John and Lucy (May) Hathaway, natives of North Carolina, who moved to Shelby County, Tenn., about 1845, where they lived till their death. They were both earnest Christian workers, and members of the Baptist Church. Ralph Hathaway reached his majority in Shelby County, Tenn., and in 1856 commenced business for himself on a farm in that county, where he remained for four years, corning to Crittenden County in the spring of 1860. Here he purchased a lot of wood land and made improvements on it for two years, when he sold it, and for four years tilled a rented farm on the river in the same county. In 1867 he purchased land and commenced to open it up, and in 1872 commenced merchandising at Mound City. He sold his farm in 1876, and when he went out of the merchandising business two years later, he purchased the farm upon which he how lives, consisting of a good body of land in an excellent state of cultivation; also a gin and saw-mill attachments. He makes his home on his farm, but his family lives near Barton, Tenn. He served in the Confederate army during 1863 and 1864, and when the war ended he returned to his farm work. He was married to Eveline Carlton, a native of Tennessee, in 1856, and by this union were born seven children, four of whom are still living: Viola, Laura, Lelia and Wellington. Viola is the wife of W. O. Christie, of Dyersburg, Tenn. Mrs. Hathaway is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Hathaway is a member of the A. F. & A. M., and is a Democrat in politics.

John D. Hodges was born in Lawrence County, Ala., in 1842, as the son of Milton and, Emiline E. (McCamsy) Hodges, who were natives of South Carolina and Alabama, respectively. When John D. was six years of age, his parents moved to Pontotoc County, Miss., and settled on a large plantation. Here he was reared, enjoying the advantages of good public school facilities, and when the Civil War-broke out, he was attending the Union University of Murfreesboro, Tenn. In August, 1861, he joined the Confederate army, in Company A, Forty-first Mississippi, and served four years and two months, under Col. W. F. Tucker, who was soon promoted to brigadier-general, LaFayette Hodges being captain. Mr. Hodges was wounded at the battle of Perryville, Ky., by a shot in the left ear. He was taken prisoner at Selma, Ala., in the Wilson raid, and was paroled at Montgomery, in 1865. Going thence to his home, he remained for two years, when he moved to Arkansas and purchased the farm upon which he now lives. In the following year, 1868, his parents came to Arkansas, and remained for two years, moving later to Memphis, where they lived till their death, which occurred in 1878, of yellow fever. Mr. Hodges' wife was formerly Miss Ella Kennedy, who was born in Cadiz, Ky., in 1845; she is the mother of seven children, of whom the following five still survive: Grace E., Dudley T., Jesse T., Nellie A. and Annie E.; those deceased are: Mary Ellen (who died an infant) and John M. (who died at the age of three years and nine months). Mr. Hodges is a member of the Baptist Church, and his wife of the Christian Church. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of Lodge No. 3114, K. of H. He owns a farm of 160 acres, most of which is under cultivation, and by his judicious management it yields an abundant crop anually.

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James F. Hodges in his association with the plantation interests of Lucas Township, has come to be very favorably known. He was born in North Carolina, September 29, 1846, being a son of Davis W. Hodges, a native of South Carolina, born April 10, 1825, whose father was John Hodges, a soldier in the War of 1812. Davis W. Hodges was married in South Carolina to Miss Susan J Davis, she having first seen the light of day in North Carolina in 1838. They are still living in South Carolina, where they follow farming for an occupation, and are the parents of six sons and one daughter, all living. James F. Hodges is the oldest son and he and his brother Milton are the only members of the family in Arkansas. He was reared and educated in the common schools of South Carolina and lived at home till he reached [p.422] his majority. In 1863, enlisting in Company I, of the Hampton Legion of the Confederate army, he served up to near the close of the war when he returned to his native State, remaining there till 1875, the time of his removal to this county. In 1879 he returned to his native State and was there married October 15, 1879, to Miss Lulu Archer, of South Carolina, born October 30, 1852. Mr. and Mrs. Hodges have a family of four children: Walter D., Eva S., Harry G. and Freddie. Mr. Hodges now controls 2,000 acres of land, acquired since 1876, and upon which he has lived since 1883. A Democrat in politics, himself and wife are earnest workers in the cause of Christianity, belonging to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mr. Hodges raises from 750 to 1,000 bales of cotton per year. He is an honest, upright and hard-working man whom everybody respects.

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J. L. Holloway is a prominent and wealthy planter of Lucas Township, who was born in Monroe County, Miss., September 14, 1843, being one of ten children that blessed the union of Samuel and Sophia (Mitchiel) Holloway, natives of Edgefield District, S. C. Samuel Holloway was reared and educated in South Carolina, and at the age of seventeen accepted the position of manager of his uncle's business, which he successfully conducted until his twentieth year. He then moved to Tuscaloosa, Ala., and there married, and immediately took the management of his mother-in-law's estate, He afterward bought a farm in Tuscaloosa County, and though quite a young man, received the election of sheriff of that county, which office he filled with entire satisfaction to all concerned, for many years. In 1848 he moved to Monroe County, Miss., from there to Aberdeen, Miss., and in 1854 took his family to the latter place, where he had purchased a large plantation, and there remained until the close of the war. In 1848 Mr. Holloway bought a farm in Monroe County, Ark., which consisted of 400 acres in cultivation; this was owned by the family until 1862; and in 1858 he purchased a large piece of land in De Soto County, Miss., on the Mississippi River, consisting of 1,212 acres, 400 acres improved and highly cultivated. This is the family homestead, and now contains some 1,100 acres of the best of improved land, with good residences, barns, etc. Mr. Holloway died at age of fifty-seven, his excellent wife surviving him thirty-one years; her death occurred in 1889. He was a leading member of the Baptist Church, in which he was a deacon many years. His wife was connected for sixty-five years with the same church. J. L. Holloway passed his youth in Monroe County, Miss., receiving his education in the schools in the village of Aberdeen, and at the breaking out of the war was about to enter college. Notwithstanding that he had made every preparation and studied diligently, and passed critical examinations, he gave up the idea, and in 1861 joined Company B, Twentieth Mississippi Infantry as a private. He was soon after promoted to the office of assistant of commissary of Stewart's corps, and held that position until the close of the war. He participated in seventeen pitched battles, the first being on Gauly River, W. Va., at Fort Donelson, where he was taken prisoner and sent to Camp Douglas, Chicago, there being retained for nine months; he was exchanged at Vicksburg in 1862. His regiment was reorganized at Clinton, Miss., and engaged in various skirmishes from Jackson to Vicksburg, the hardest fight being at Champion's Hill, and it captured over 300 prisoners from Raymond back to Vicksburg, and held them until the surrender of that place. The regiment was not engaged in the city, but on the outskirts, and after the surrender of that place was dismounted and sent to Jackson, and afterward to Canton, Miss., for winter quarters, where it remained until the following spring. Being ordered to Resaca it participated in that famous battle, and in all the engagements around Atlanta, Ga., up to the time Gen. Hood took command. After his (Hood's) defeat, Mr. Holloway returned to Tupelo, Miss., and there the troops were furloughed for ten days. At the expiration Joseph E. Johnston was reinstated to the command, and Mr. Holloway rejoined the regiment at Raleigh, N. C., remaining with Gen. Johnston until the final surrender in 1865, after which he received his parole and arrived home in May of the same year. Upon the close of the war he found to his dismay that his worldly possessions were almost nothing, but not discouraged he set out resolutely, determined to succeed, and he has, for the word "fail" was unknown to him. He commenced farming, and as he had never done any manual labor, of course he encountered many obstacles, and a man of less determined purpose might have failed utterly. After farming rented land for some time, he returned to the homestead which now belongs to himself and the other heirs, only three of whom are living out of the large family of ten children: Ira G. (residing in Oxford, Miss., and a member of the State senate), Samuella (wife of Dr. George A. Cairns, of Oxford, Miss.), and J. L. (the subject of this sketch). Mr. Holloway was married at Clinton, Miss., in 1863, to Miss Jerusha E. Mosby, daughter of John and Nancy (Smith) Mosby, natives of Tennessee. Mr. Mosby was a colonel in the War of 1812, and retained the title so gallantly won, during his entire life. Himself and wife were the parents of nine children, five surviving: Mrs. William Priestly (of Canton, Miss.), Matthew A., Jerusha E. (Mrs. Holloway), Mrs. Augusta Coleman and William J. (druggist of Canton, Miss.). Mr. Mosby died in 1841, and his