page 892 Paisley & Blake, well known residents of the community, are closely identified with the affairs of Auvergne Academy, a graded school for both sexes, which is located on a beautiful eminence in the southern part of the village, facing the east. June 20, 1888, this property was bought by Prof. D. L. Paisley and A. L. Blake, of Mrs. G. W. Bristol. They have conducted it during the term of 1888-89, with signal success. The faculty are D. L. Paisley, A. L. Blake and Mrs. A. L. Blake (instructor in instrumental music). The building is a large two-story frame edifice, with boarding department below, and school rooms above, with a seating capacity of sixty. Prof. Paisley is a native of North Carolina, born in Guilford County April 10, 1860. His parents, James and Minerva (Whorton) Paisley, were also natives of North Carolina, of Scotch descent. His father was a farmer and magistrate. He enlisted in the army of Northern Virginia, under Gen. Lee, in the Guilford Grays, was dismissed on account of ill health, and died in 1866, his wife surviving until 1888. They were members of the Presbyterian Church, and the father was an old-line Whig, and afterward a Democrat. Prof. Paisley was reared on a farm; his schooling was obtained first in the public schools of his county, then in Lych's select school, at High Point, N. C.; in Horner's school, Oxford, N. C., and in 1880 entered the State University, in 1881-82 taking an eclectic course. After completing this term, he taught in Maysville, S. C., three years. After his marriage, in 1885, he taught at Bennettsville, S. C., one year, when he came to Gurdon, Ark.,and afterward to Auvergne Academy. His wife was Miss Louis Rankin, daughter of Thomas and Nancy Rankin, of Guilford County, N. C. They have one child, Lacy, a bright babe of eleven months. Our subject is the sixth child of a family of seven, and has one brother and one sister living. He is a Democrat, and conservative, and himself and wife are members of the Mothodist Episcopal Church at Auvergne. Prof. Andrew L. Blake is a native of Abbeville County, S. C., son of William K. and Hattie (Law) Blake, also natives of South Carolina, and of Irish and Scotch descent, respectively. His father, a lawyer and member of the Masonic order, served one term as the Democratic representative of his county in the State legislature, and has, for years, held the office of magistrate. The parents were members of the Presbyterian Church, the mother dying February 2, 1887. Our subject, the third of a family of six children, was reared on the farm, spent his school days at Greenwood, and from 1880 to 1884 was in Davidson College, Mecklenburg County, N. C. He began teaching at White Hall, S. C., where he remained one year. He taught one year near Greenwood, S. C.; taught at McLeansville, N. C., eighteen months, and in July, 1887, came to Clark County, Ark., and engaged as book-keeper for William Paisley, of Gurdon. He remained in this position till February, 1888, when he taught an unexpired term at Gurdon. Closing this school April 20, he came to Auvergne, and taught the [p.892] last nine weeks of the term at Auvergne Academy, and in June, with Prof. Paisley, bought that institution. Prof. Blake is a member of the Presbyterian Church, a Democrat, and takes an active interest in all public enterprises for the general welfare of the country. He was married to Miss Josie B. Lindsay, of Athens, Ala., July 16, 1889.

George H. Palmer, planter and stock raiser, of Bird Township, was born in Memphis, Tenn., in 1848, son of Samuel and Louisa (Means) Palmer, of Virginia and Kentucky, respectively. The father was a pioneer of Kentucky, married there, and in 1849 came to Jackson County, Ark., in Jefferson, and the winter of the same year came to Bird Township, locating on the farm where our subject now resides, taking a claim of 520 acres of timber land, which he cleared and improved, erecting a house and planting an orchard. He died in Jackson County, in 1866, his wife surviving till 1884. George H. was the fifth of the family, the others being Margaret (wife of Joel Bandy), George H., Fannie (wife of William Haynes), and Joseph H., all residing in Bird Township, George H. was reared to farm life, educated in the subscription schools of Bird Township, and aided at home in clearing and developing the homestead. He commenced farming for himself at the age of twentytwo, and in 1870 was married in Jackson County, to Laura Steen, a native of Jackson County, daughter of John and Nancy (Stancell) Steen, who were among the early settlers of Jackson County. The father died about 1858; the mother is still living. Mr. Palmer owns a good farm of 120 acres, with about sixty-five acres under cultivation, having cleared the most of it himself. He raises principally cotton and corn, and considerable stock. He is a Democrat, though not active in politics, and served as magistrate for two years. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Kirkpatrick Lodge No. 192. Mrs. Palmer is a member of the Methedist Episcopal Church, South. Mr. Palmer remembers this country as a dense timber tract, and has always been interested in everything for the good of the county. There are three children in his family: Oda L., Samuel Tilden and Maggie Cordelia.

page 893 Hon. John W. Parish, an enterprising farmer of Union Township, Jackson County, resides two miles east of Newport. He is a native of Tennessee, and is a son of William B. and Elizabeth (Cheatham) Parish, both of whom were born in North Carolina. The parents were married in Tennessee, and to them were born seven children, all of whom are dead except two: Sarah N. (who married Richard Cole, and died, leaving three children, named William, Anna and Jennie), and our subject. John W. Parish married Miss Sarah E. Lacy, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of Hugh R. and Eliza (Smith) Lacey. Their union has been blessed with six children, viz.: Lydia, born December 19, 1873; Frederick, born October 24, 1876; Cora, born June 4, 1884; Hugh, born January 6, 1886. Mr. Parish removed to Union Township, Jackson County, Ark., in 1873, locating on land which is now a part of his farm, and which he rented for about six years, subsequently buying the same. He purchased 326 acres, of which 150 acres were under cultivation. He now has 225 acres well improved, and has built four tenant houses, renting his houses and lands to responsible parties. He has at present about 160 acres of cotton, and the balance in corn and clover. At the outbreak of the war Mr. Parish was attending college at Jackson, Tenn., now known as the West Tennessee College, where he was a student two years. He entered the Confederate army, Company I, Fifty-first Tennessee, in which he served six months, and the company then being consolidated with other Tennessee regiments, served until the close of the war, his regiment constituting a part of the reserve of Gen. A. S. Johnston at the battle of Shiloh. Mr. Parish takes an active interest in enterprises tending toward the advancement of all social as well as religious and educational interests of his community, and is highly esteemed by the people of the county, which is evidenced by the fact that in 1881 he was elected to represent the county in the XXIIId session of the General Assembly of the State, where his honest endeavors to promote the best interests of his constituents earned for him their hearty approval. He was elected on the Democratic [p.893] ticket. Mr. Parish is a member of Newport Lodge, A. F. & A. M., and is a prominent and honored man of Jackson County.

Alexander S. Parish, M. D., of Jackson County, student of the Allopathic School of Medicine, was born in Tennessee. He is a brother of the Hon. J. W. Parish. In 1871 he came to Arkansas, and began the study of medicine with Dr. P. S. Woodward, and in 1879 took his first course of lectures at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. He continued in Dr. Woodward's office until the fall of 1880, when he returned to the University, graduating in 1881, after which he returned to Jackson County, and actively engaged in the practice of his profession. March 26, 1884, our subject married Miss Annie Phillips, of Arkansas, daughter of Col. T. H. and Amanda (Robinson) Phillips, the father a native of Georgia, and the mother of Arkansas. They have one child, William Theodore, born March 31, 1885. Dr. Parish is one of the deservedly successful physicians of this portion of the community. Earnest, careful and searching in the investigation of the science to which he has given his best attention, he has become wellinformed, keeping thoroughly apace with the advancement made in this profession. His practice is a happy illustration of his worth.

Lewis W. Penix resides on Section 13, Union Township, Jackson County. He is a son of Henry H. and Caroline (Roberts) Penix, both natives of Tennessee, who died in Jackson County, Ark. They were the parents of ten children, one of whom died in infancy: Minerva, died at the age of eighteen; Mary A., married R. V. Hunter, a farmer of Jefferson Township, and has four children; Susan F. (married R. T. Armstrong, deceased, and has six children); Lewis W., Elizabeth (had two children by her first husband, Mr. R. P. Jackson, and afterward married Mr. T. D. Lawrence, a farmer and merchant of Tuckerman), Martha J. (single), Columbus C. (married Dora Jowers, and resides in Jefferson Township engaged in farming), they have three children: Lydia W. (died at the age of eighteen), and James Henry (married Miss Jennie Anderson, by whom he has one child, is also a farmer of Jefferson Township). Lewis W. Penix was born May 1, 1850, and received his education in the public schools of Jackson County, where he has lived all his life, commencing business for himself at the age of twenty-one years. In 1880, in partnership with R. V. Hunter, he purchased 240 acres of land in Jefferson Township, which they still own, and Mr. Penix afterward purchased forty acres in Union Township. Since 1882 he has lived on the homestead of his wife's parents, in Union Township. Mr. and Mrs. Penix were married December 27, 1877. Her maiden name was Miss Willie J. Carville, she was born in Memphis, Tenn., December 27, 1857, and is a daughter of W. K. and Mary A. (Estes) Carville. Of their four children, but two are living, viz.: Nora E., born December 1, 1878, and Clarence E., born August 28, 1882. The parents are members of the Missionary Baptist Church of Jefferson Township, while Mr. Penix also belongs to Jacksonport Lodge No. 191, A. F. & A. M., Jacksonport Chapter No. 40, R. A. M., and American Legion of Honor.

page 894 Dr. W. H. Pickett, retired physician, Weldon, Ark. Originally from Limestone, Ala., Dr. Pickett's birth occurred on the 22d of December, 1826, and his early life was passed in attending the common schools and in assisting on the farm. Later he supplemented his primary education by attending Exeter College, in Exeter, N. H., and in 1846 and 1847 he attended the Medical College of the University of New York. From there he went to New Orleans and attended the University of Louisiana, where he graduated in medicine and surgery in the class of 1848. He began the practice of his profession the same year at Whitesburg, Ala., and, after remaining there two years, came to Jackson County, where he settled upon his present property. He entered and bought about 2,300 acres of land, 1,200 under cultivation and 1,100 acres of which he has cleared himself. Dr. Pickett was married, in 1850, to Miss A. R. Coltier, a native of Alabama, and two children were the result of this union: Ida G., wife of John W. Ferrill, a farmer residing at Batesville; and Elizabeth B., wife of William H. Hardy, also residing at Batesville. Mrs. Pickett died July 1, 1885, in [p.894] full communion with the Episcopal Church. Dr. Pickett was exempt from any army service by Gen. Kirby Smith, in 1863, and practiced his profession at home. In the year 1868 he moved to Batesville, and since that time he has remained a resident of that city, and is engaged in agricultural pursuits in Jackson County. He gave up his practice in 1868, and, in addition to general farming, he has also a large cotton-gin, grist and saw-mill, with which he does all his own work and general settlement business. He has on his farm about forty tenant families, aggregating 200 people, all in fair circumstances and furnished with good houses. The Doctor has seen many important changes during his residence of thirty-eight years in this county. When he first came here Elizabeth was the county seat, but was afterward changed to Augusta, and subsequently to Jacksonport. Wild game was plentiful and easily obtained. His parents, Steptoe and Sarah O. (Chilton) Pickett, were natives of the Old Dominion, the father born in Fauquier and the mother in Westmoreland County. The parents settled in Alabama, in 1820, and were among the earliest pioneers of Northern Alabama. They both bought and entered land (1,000 acres in all), and Steptoe Pickett was an extensive slave-holder. He was a schoolmate of James Buchanan, and was a cousin to both Chief Justice John Marshall and "Light Horse" Harry Lee. He was also a cousin of Gen. Pickett. He was a graduate of William and Mary College, and was an old-line Whig in his political views. His death occurred in 1848, at the age of fifty-four years. He was a member of the Episcopal Church, and the mother a member of the Christian Church. The latter died in 1864, at the age of seventy-four years. They were the parents of nine children: Martin, married, and a commission merchant at Mobile, Ala.; Richard is an attorney and judge at Florence, Ala.; Steptoe, Jr., was a farmer and died in 1884, at Madison, Ala., leaving a wife and two children; A. C. is a lawyer at Augusta, Ark.; John S. was a physician, at Danville, Ala., and died in 1887, leaving a wife and two children, who reside in Des Are, Ark; Felicia, the wife of Gov. Reuben Chapmore, of Huntsville, Ala. (she died in 1874, leaving four children); Virginia, wife of Samuel Blackwell, a farmer of Alabama; Anna S. Edwards, wife of a farmer, and resides in King William County, Va.

I. D. Price is the efficient postmaster of Newport, Ark., and also deals in books and stationery. He is a native of the county, born December 10, 1856, and is a son of Dr. John F. and Kate (Brown) Price, the former from South Carolina, and the latter a native of the State of Arkansas. Dr. John F. Price has become well known as a physician wherever he has resided, and is now living at Fort Worth, Tex. I. D. Price resided in Jefferson County until seven years of age, and was principally educated in the schools of Cross County. In the spring of 1880 he came to Newport, Ark., and for four years followed the occupation of clerking, then opened a book and stationery establishment in the building he now occupies, and his stock is extensive and well selected. In February, 1888, he was appointed to the position of postmaster, and is now discharging his duties in a manner acceptable to all. He was married, in 1884, to Miss Mamie Wallace, and by her he has had two children: Katie and Rina. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church, and he belongs to the American Legion of Honor.

page 895 Lewis E. Purssell, a prominent merchant of Auvergne, Jackson County, is a native of Arkansas, born in Woodruff County, February 20, 1861. His parents were William O. and Lucy (Coyle) Purssell, natives, respectively, of South Carolina and Alabama, the former of whom came to Arkansas with his father, J. H. Purssell, who was one of the earliest settlers of Woodruff County, where he opened several large farms. William O. Purssell married Miss Lucy Coyle, in Prairie County, Ark., in 1854; they afterward moved to Woodruff County, where they lived until 1868, when they moved to Izard County, where Mr. Purssell died in 1872. He was a Master Mason and an Odd Fellow, and in the early part of the war enlisted, and served until its close as brevet-captain; at the time of his death he owned 900 acres of land in Woodruff and Izard Counties, about 160 acres being under cultivation; he had been very successful as a farmer and [p.895] stock raiser. His widow remained on the farm in Izard County until December, 1875, when she returned to the old homestead in Prairie County, which was her home with our subject until 1879. She died December 19, 1882, a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The maternal grandparents of Lewis E. came to Arkansas from Mississippi in 1853, living one year in Woodruff County, and then locating in Prairie County, where they entered land and built a home. Mr. Coyle was a natural and successful farmer, and during his life cleared about 500 acres of land, being able to do a good day's work at the age of seventy years. His death occurred in December, 1885, and his excellent wife, who survives him, still lives on the old homestead; she is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, to which her husband also belonged. Lewis E. Purssell was reared to the pursuit of farming, receiving a good education at the common schools of Woodruff and Jackson Counties, the Philadelphia Academy in Izard County, and the Male College at Searcy, White County. At the age of eighteen he left home, and was engaged as clerk for Gates Bros. & Co., at Des Arc, Prairio County, where he remained six months, when he entered the employment of Plunkett & Erwin of the same place, in which capacity he worked two years; in 1882 he opened a drug and grocery store at Hickory Plain, Prairie County, which he conducted until January, 1886, when, on account of his maternal grandfather's death, he sold out and assumed the management of his grand mother's farm. In the latter part of the same year he moved to Auvergne, Jackson County, purchased a stock of groceries of M. J. Malone, to which he added a general stock of dry-goods, clothing, etc., and now has one of the best general stores in the country. Mr. Purssell also owns a farm of 160 acres in Prairie County, sixty acres of which are under cultivation. Our subject was the fourth in a family of nine, and is one of the two surviving, the others dying in infancy, except Ada, who married J. W. Williamson, a farmer and stock trader of Izard County; she died in 1884, leaving one child, Ethel, aged five years. Alice Corrinne Purssell is the wife of James B. Gardner, a practicing physician and farmer near Hickory Plain, Prairie County; they have four children; Elmer, Earl, Oscar and Bessie. Mr. Purssell is unmarried; he is one of the leading men of the town of A uvergne, and is actively interested in its welfare, lending his hearty and liberal aid to the support of schools, churches and all worthy public enterprises. He takes no active part in polities, but his sympathies are with the Democratic party.