USA > Arkansas > A pictorial history of Arkansas, from earliest times to the year 1890. A full and complete account, embracing the Indian tribes occupying the country; the early French and Spanish explorers and governors; the colonial period; the Louisiana purchase; the periods of the territory, the state, the civil war, and the subsequent period. Also, an extended history of each county in the order of formation, and of the principal cities and towns; together with biographical notices of distinguished and prominent citizens > Part 23
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By the resignation of Governor Drew, Richard C. Byrd be- came acting Governor.
On assuming the duties of the office, Governor Byrd, as re- quired by law, issued a proclamation, ordering an election for Governor, to be held April 19th. John Selden Roane, being elected Governor, went into office April, 1849. He appointed M. L. Bell his Private Secretary.
John Selden Roane was born in Wilson county, Tennessee, January 8th, 1817. He was educated at Princeton, Kentucky, and removed to Arkansas in 1837, settling at Pine Bluff. In 1842 he moved to Van Buren. At the breaking out of the
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JOIIN SELDEN ROANE. Fourth Governor of the State.
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
Mexican War he volunteered, and in the formation of Yell's regiment was elected Lieutenant-Colonel, and served as such during the regiment's enlistment. After the conclusion of the Mexican War, he returned to Pine Bluff to live. On the break- ing out of the Civil War of 1861, he was active in raising troops for the Confederate service, and was appointed a Brigadier- General. He rendered much efficient service in the organi- zation of the Trans-Mississippi Department, and commanded a brigade therein up to the close of the war. He died at Pine Bluff, April 7th, 1867, aged 50 years, and is buried in Oak- land Cemetery, Little Rock, where a neat monument, erected by friends, marks his grave.
On the 5th of July, 1855, he married Miss Mary K. Smith, daughter of General Nat. G. Smith, of Tulip, Dallas county, Arkansas, who survives him, and is living at Tulip. Of his family there are three daughters and a son living. The daughters are Mrs. James Lea, of Dallas county, Mrs. W. H. Roane, and Miss Mattie Roane, of Pine Bluff. The son, Hugh Roane, is a resident of Tulip, Arkansas.
On the IIth of June, 1849, a Grand Lodge for Arkansas, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, was established at Little Rock by the following Lodges : Far West Lodge, No. I, Little Rock; Telula Lodge, No. 2, Helena; Frontier Lodge, No. 3, Fort Smith ; Independence Lodge, No. 4, Batesville, with an aggregate membership of 144.
The Order, in 1888, numbered 100 Lodges, and in Octo- ber,· 1888, had a membership of 2,019, with R. P. Holt, of Dewitt, Grand Master, and Dr. P. E. Brugman, of Little Rock, Grand Secretary.
On the 2d of October, 1849, Judge Benjamin Johnson, District Judge of the United States Court, died at his resi- dence in Little Rock, in the 65th year of his age. He had been District Judge since 1836, and Federal Judge since early in 1820, a period of nearly 30 years. He was universally be-
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FROM 1848 TO 1852.
loved for his estimable qualities, and admired for his ability. The Reporter of his Court said of him in his reports :
"He died full of judicial honors; beloved by all; admired for the purity of his public and private character, and for his devotion as a Christian ; respected for his unbending in- tegrity, and for a heart full of kindness to all. He was a safe, patient and able Judge, and the judicial distinction which he won, extended far beyond the boundaries of his State."
In November, 1849, Hon. Daniel Ringo was appointed his successor.
The eighth session of our General Assembly convened on Monday, the 4th of November, 1850, and remained in ses- sion until Monday, the 13th day of January, 1851.
Two subjects, which caused considerable discussion, were the condition of the two banks, and the state of our Federal relations. The latter was a matter of considerable debate, and a number of resolutions were introduced and considered in both Houses, drawn out by the congressional action taken in the compromise measures pending before it, none of which finally passed, but the general tenor of which were reflected in those presented in the Senate by Mr. Byers, to the effect that, although the gist of the action of Congress was against their interests, and was an alarming invasion of their con- ceded rights, yet, inasmuch as they had been enacted by the properly constituted authority, the State of Arkansas would willingly abide by it, in the hope that the States of the North would do likewise. This resolution failed in the last moments of the session, for the want of time to procure the concurrence of the House, but the discussion showed that the temper and disposition of the body was to endorse its sentiments.
The Secretary of State reported the census of the year, showing the population of the State to be : of white persons, 162, 189 ; colored, 47,708 ; total population, 209,897.
21
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
An important Act of Congress, of the year 1851, affecting the State of Arkansas, was an Act creating a Western Dis- trict for the United States Court, the local seat of the court being Van Buren. It was clothed with jurisdiction over the Indian Territory, and counties in the western part of the State of Arkansas. President Fillmore appointed Hon. Jesse Turner, of Van Buren, District Attorney for the new district. Judge Daniel Ringo, as District Judge of the East- ern District, served as Judge from the creation of the court to 1861 ; Judge H. C. Caldwell served in the same way to 1871, when Hon. William Storey was appointed at the April term. In 1872 the place of holding the court was moved to Fort Smith, where it now is. On the 19th of March, 1875, Judge Isaac C. Parker, the present incumbent, was appointed, and has, since that date, discharged the duties of the office.
A full list of the officers of the court will be found at Ap- pendix "D."
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CHAPTER XV. FROM 1852 TO 1860.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR ELIAS N. CONWAY-TWO TERMS .- IN- TERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.
In August, 1852, an election for Governor was held. The candidates were Elias Nelson Conway, Democrat, and Bryan H. Smithson, of Washington county, Whig. Mr. Conway was elected. He was born in Greenville, Tennessee, May 17th, 1812, and came to Arkansas in 1833, settling at Little Rock, where he ever afterwards lived. He was Auditor from 1835 to 1849. He was one of the most laborious and faithful public servants whom the State ever had in its service. The electoral vote of Arkansas in this year was cast for Pierce and King.
The ninth Legislature convened November Ist, 1852, and remained in session until January 12th, 1853. The Senate or- ganized by the election of Thomas B. Hanley, of Phillips county, President, and John M. Ross, of Pulaski county, Secretary ; W. L. D. Williams, of Prairie county, Assistant Secretary; Rev. A. R. Winfield, Chaplain. In the House, Benjamin P. Jett, of Hempstead county, was elected Speaker, and James H. Hobbs, of Benton county, Clerk, and Miller Quail, of Little Rock, Assistant Clerk ; Rev. Andrew Hunter, Chaplain.
On the 10th of November, Hon. William K. Sebastian was elected United States Senator for the term of six years,
323
ELIAS NELSON CONWAY, FIFTH GOVERNOR OF THE STATE.
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FROM 1852 TO 1860.
from the 4th of March, 1853, being his second election to that position.
On the same day Judge George C. Watkins was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, to succeed Judge Thomas Johnson.
The Committee on Penitentiary reported that from the 13th of December, 1838, to that date, December 23d, 1852, the State had paid out $127,588.00 on account of the Peni- tentiary, and expenses connected therewith.
On the 6th of January, 1853, D. B. Greer was re-elected Secretary of State ; C. C. Danley, Auditor ; John H. Crease, Treasurer, and John T. Trigg, Land Attorney and State Collector.
The Treasurer's report showed that the total amount of the Internal Improvement fund distributed to the counties, since December 30th, 1848, to the 30th of September, 1852, was $82,654.00, with $12,728.00 remaining in the treasury from the fund undrawn by the counties to whom due; and that the total amount of the Seminary fund distributed to the coun- ties since January 5th, 1834, to the 30th of September, 1852, was $24,697.00, with $9,071.00 remaining in the treasury undrawn.
The principal matters of importance in the doings of this session were laws granting a homestead exemption, increas- ing the salary of Judges of the Supreme Court to eighteen hundred dollars a year, and districting the State into two Congressional Districts.
Among the companies incorporated was the Cairo & Ful- ton Railroad Company, now the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railroad, the chief artery of travel and com- merce through the State. The incorporators were Edward Cross, Henry K. Hardy, John R. Hampton, H. P. Poin- dexter, William E. Davidson, W. C. Bevens, B. C. Totten, John N. Mitchell, A. S. Huey, James M. Curran, William E. Ashley, D. J. Chapman, and Thomas J. Blackmore.
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
Roswell Beebe became its first President. The date of the incorporation of the Company was February 9th, 1853, and . it was organized on April 13th, 1853.
An exhibit of the amount of traffic on the Arkansas and White rivers, from December, 1852, to December, 1853, is given in a statement furnished by Joseph Stillwell, which is as follows :
"On the Arkansas river it consisted of 40 boats, averaging 100 tons of freight each ; and 119 boats, averaging 100 tons of freight each ; total, 159 boats, with 27,900 tons of freight. The passenger arrivals at Little Rock by boats were 2,380, and the arrivals by other conveyances during low water being rather more than those by steamboat. The gross passenger business concentrating at that point is set down as from 4,800 to 5,000. The number of bales of cotton shipped from and above Little Rock was 17,000.
"The business on White river employed 13 regular boats and 12 transient ones, to the extent of 19 trips. The 13 reg- ular boats averaged, in the year, 20 trips ; total of trips, 279 ; averaging 150 tons of freight, and 20 passengers to the trip; total freight carried, 41,850 tons ; total passengers, 5,580."
In June, 1853, Senator Solon Borland having been ap- pointed Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States to Cen- tral America, resigned the office of Senator, and on the 6th day of July, Governor Conway appointed Hon. Robert W. John- son, Member of Congres, to fill the vacancy.
On the Ist day of January, 1854, the census returns from 52 out of the 54 counties in the State showed a population of 248,117; 187,224 white, and 60,893 colored. The total value of taxable property in the State was given at $58,636,- 188, an increase of $15,736, 108 in value in two years.
In the year 1854 the survey of the Cairo & Fulton Rail- road, from the Missouri line to Texas, was made under the superintendency of James S. Williams, Chief Engineer. The route was divided into two districts, one from Little
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FROM 1852 TO 1860.
Rock northward to Missouri, assigned to a surveying party, consisting of Charles O. Davis, Chief of party; Spencer C. McCorkle and William P. Bowen, Assistants; Samuel H. Neiman and John T. A. Adams, Rodmen. The other from Little Rock southward, assigned to William D. Pickett, Chief of party; J. Morris Wampler and Edward F. Campbell, As- sistants ; George W. Hughes, Rodman, was promoted to be Assistant. The entire length of route was three hundred and one miles, the estimated cost of the whole road was $6,373,- 802. The officers of this Company, elected May 15th, 1854, were Roswell Beebe, President; Daniel Ringo, Vice-Presi- dent ; William B. Wait, Treasurer ; B. C. Harley, Secretary, and James S. Williams, Chief Engineer. The Executive Committee of the Company, chosen at the same date, was composed of Daniel Ringo, Chairman; Green B. Hughes and Roswell Beebe.
In the same year (1854) a survey of the line of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad was made by William N. Bradley as Principal, and Dennis Callahan, of Baltimore, as Assistant, under Joshua Barney, Chief Engineer. The length of route was reported at one hundred and fifty-three and three fourths miles, the total cost to be $2,820,778.
A preliminary survey of the Memphis & Little Rock Rail- road was made, ending December, 1854, by Captain Bacchus Ford, Chief Engineer. Length of route, 128 miles.
The tenth session of the State Legislature was held from November 6th, 1854, to January, 1855. The Senate organ- ized by the election of B. C. Harley, of Dallas county, Pres- ident, and William L. D. Williams, of Prairie county, Secre- tary; and F. P. Yell, of Jefferson county, Assistant Secre- tary. In the House, Samuel Mitchell, of Arkansas county, was elected Speaker; James Hobbs, Clerk, and James F. Fagan, Assistant Clerk.
The Governor's message stated, that the whole amount of the Internal Improvement fund distributed to the counties by
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
October Ist, 1854, was $246,934-$18,886 in specie being in the vaults undrawn. The whole amount of the Seminary fund distributed to the same date was $38,276, with $7,567 undrawn. The sum of $1,068, arising from the Saline fund, remained in the treasury at that date.
Ascertaining that no return of the Militia had been made since 1843, when the number was 17,137, the Governor caused one to be made for the year 1854. It showed the Militia to number 36,054, but the sum total of arms and ac- coutrements was stated to be "one 12-pounder bronze howitzer, with implements complete, and fifty muskets, with imple- ments incomplete."
To the Ist of October, 1854, the Secretary of the Interior had confirmed to the State, and certified to the Governor, 5,567,051 acres of swamp and overflowed land, of which the Boards of Swamp Land Commissioners had sold 1, 504,225 acres. On these confirmations $1,283,951.00 of swamp land scrip had been issued, of which $607,244.00 had been re- deemed, and $676,707.00 was then outstanding.
During two years the Swamp Land Commissioners had 3,940,327 cubic yards of levee work done, and 123,013 cubic yards of ditching and draining, for which certificates, to the amount of $944,588.00, or nearly $1,000,000.00, had been issued. The Commissioners' report stated, that they had "caused to be leveed and secured from overflow almost the entire portion of the State fronting on the Mississippi, and a large portion of the Arkansas river, and considerable portions elsewhere in the State."
On the Ioth of November the two Houses, in joint session, elected Hon. Robert W. Johnson, United States Senator, to fill the unexpired term of Hon. Solon Borland, resigned, which was until March 4th, 1855, and also farther elected him for the term of six years from that date, March 4th. There was no opposition.
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FROM 1852 TO 1860.
On the 10th of December, 1854, at a joint session, A. S. Huey was elected Auditor, and on the 26th of the same month he was elected to fill the unexpired term of William R. Miller, who had resigned, to take effect at that date.
On the 21st of December, 1854, Elbert H. English was elected Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, to fill the va- cancy created by the resignation of Chief Justice George C. Watkins. His election causing a vacancy in the office of Re -- porter of the Supreme Court, which he had held since 1845 or 1846, Luke E. Barber, Clerk of the Court, was appointed Reporter to fill the vacancy. Mr. Barber discharged the du- ties of Reporter until 1868.
One of the incidents of the session of the Legislature of 1854, was the presentation of petitions for the passage of a "Maine liquor law, or prohibitory law." The subject was considered by a special committee, a part of whom reported, in an elaborate report, that in their opinion the petition should be refused, saying that "the most sensible men agree that whatever is to be done must be by moral suasion and volun- tary action."
This was the beginning of the movement for prohibition in this State, a movement which has now grown to be wide- spread and of increasing power.
In October, 1854, occurred an election for Congressman. By the increase of her population, the State had now become entitled to two Representatives in the House, and in pursu- ance of the Act of 1852, having been divided into two dis- tricts, was now for the first time to hold an election for two Delegates. In the first district A. B. Greenwood was elect- ed; in the second, E. A. Warren.
During the recess of the Legislature, Judge David Walker resigned the office of Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and Governor Conway appointed Thomas B. Hanley, of Phillips county, to fill the vacancy.
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
In August, 1856, Governor Conway was re-elected, and A. B. Greenwood and Albert Rust were elected to Congress.
At the assembling of the Legislature, in November of the year, Governor Conway was in such ill health as to delay his inauguration until the last day of the session, January 15th, 1857. He was careful to state in his inaugural address, de- livered at that time, that the delay in his inauguration could not, by any possibility, be considered as prolonging his term of office (as had been wrongly charged against him), but that as his second term had begun November 15th, 1856, it should be considered as ending at a similar date in 1860, and not later.
The eleventh session of the Legislature convened Novem- ber 3d, 1856, and remained in session until January 15th, 1857. John R. Hampton, of Bradley county, was elected President of the Senate; John D. Kimbell, of Hempstead county, was chosen Clerk, and William Byrne, of Carroll county, Assistant Clerk. In the House, Samuel Mitchell, of Arkansas county, was elected Speaker ; Samuel M. Scott, of Clark county, Clerk, and James R. Berry, of Madison coun- ty, Assistant Clerk.
On the 13th of November, 1856, Judge T. B. Hanley, of Helena, was elected Associate Justice of the Supreme Court ; David B. Greer was re-elected Secretary of State ; William R. Miller, of Batesville, was elected Auditor; John H. Crease was re-elected Treasurer; James W. McCon- aughey, of White county, was elected Land Attorney and State Collector. The electoral vote was for Buchanan.
From the message of Governor Conway, presented at the opening of the session, it appeared that there was in the treasury, on the first day of October, 1856, subject to be used for the ordinary expenses of the State, the sum of $142,- 154.00 in gold and silver, and that all the Arkansas Treas- ury Warrants ever issued had been redeemed, except $198.00, which were not presented for payment.
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FROM 1852 TO 1860.
The whole amount of the Internal Improvement fund, dis- tributed to the several counties, to October Ist, 1856, was $300,- 615.00, and on that day a balance of $24,043,00 of this fund, in specie, remained in the treasury. The Seminary fund, dis- tributed to the same date, was $48,224.00, with a balance, in specie, of $6,411.00 remaining in the treasury. The amount of the Saline fund, distributed to the same date, was $1,727.00 with a balance, in specie, in the treasury of $3,520.00. The- amount of Arkansas Treasury Warrants redeemed to October Ist, 1856, was $297,643.00, and of Swamp Land Scrip, $1,579,708.00.
The official returns from fifty counties, for 1856, and infor- mation from the remaining four, for 1855, showed the tax- able property of the State to be $70,758,045.00, an increase of $27,857,965.00 in four years.
From the 2d of April, 1855, to the 24th of September, 1856, the Swamp Land Commissioners received 1,243,068 cubic yards of levee work, granted certificates for payment, amounting to $300,358.00, and received 49,812 cubic yards of ditching, at the rate of 20 cents per cubic yard.
The report of the Swamp Land Commissioners showed that the whole amount of Swamp Land Scrip issued by them was $370,760.00; the whole amount issued by the State Treasurer, to October, 1856, was $1,426,266.00, making the total amount issued $1,797,026.00, of which $1,579,708:00 had been redeemed, and $217,318.00 was then outstanding, being $3,560.00 issued by the Commissioners, and $213,- 758.00 issued by the Treasurer.
With relation to State Arms, since the last report of the Adjutant-General, the State had received from the general government its quota of public arms and accoutrements, which the Governor had caused to be deposited in the United States Arsenal, at Little Rock, for safe keeping, and had also caused such as were previously in possession of the State, at
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
Tulip, Dallas county, to be transported to the same deposi- tory.
The principal Acts of this session were those reducing the amount of State taxes to one-sixth of one per cent. ; creating the office of Solicitor-General ; providing for the revision and digesting of the Statute Laws ; and providing for a geological survey of the State. Samuel H. Hempstead was appointed Solicitor-General.
The preparation of the Revision and Digest of the Laws was confided to Hon. Josiah Gould, of Drew county, with Judge George C. Watkins as Examiner. During the year Judge Gould prepared a Digest, which was published in May, 1858.
For the making of the geological survey, the services of Dr. David Dale Owen, an eminent geologist, were obtained. He made surveys of the State during the years 1857 and 1858. His report contained much valuable information as to the ores, minerals, soils, waters and products of the State. 5,000 copies were printed in the State and distributed to the public officers. This desirable work has now become rare and out of print, and copies of it, in the hands of private individuals, command a high price. It was embellished with a number of well executed plates.
The election of James Buchanan and John C. Brecken- ridge, in 1856, was regarded as a triumph of constitutional principles, and in favor of the Union. In our own State, a joint resolution was adopted by the Legislature, January 15th, 1857, declaring that :
"Whereas, The contest of 1856, for President and Vice- President of the United States, was a struggle of the friends of the Constitution and the rights of the States, against fanat- icism and treason in the North and, whereas, by the defeat of the Black Republican party, and the success of the National Democracy, the Constitution has been vindicated and the
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FROM 1836 TO 1860.
rights of the States preserved, and the continued existence of the Union insured,
"Therefore, Be It Resolved, That the thanks of the people of Arkansas are thereby tendered to all those citizens of the North, and to the 'Old Line Whigs' of the South, who sup- ported the Democratic nominees, and,
"Further Resolved, That the people of Arkansas, in com- mon with the whole people of the South, ask nothing but what is right, and will submit to nothing that is wrong, and while pledging an adherance in good faith to the letter and spirit of the Constitution, they demand of the people of the North a patriotic and honest compliance with all the require- ments of the Federal compact, as the only means by which the Union can or ought to be perpetuated."
In September, 1857, an emigrant train, consisting of 120 men, women and children, from Arkansas, on their way to California, under command of Capt. Fancher, uncle of Hon. Polk Fancher, of Carroll county, were foully murdered by a band of Mormons and Indians, under command of John D. . Lee, at Mountain Meadows, in Southern Utah. Only 17 children were spared. They were afterwards taken charge of by Major James Henry Carleton, who delivered them to Hon. William D. Mitchell, Agent of the United States Govern- ment, at Fort Leavenworth, who brought the party from that place to Arkansas. In the year 1876, after a delay of nine- teen years, Lee was arrested, tried and convicted for the crime, and sentenced to death. As the laws of Utah allowed a criminal to select between hanging and shooting, for the manner of his execution, Lee chose the latter, and accord- ingly on the 23d day of March, 1877, he was led out to the scene of the murder, and there, seated on his coffin, was shot to death by a volley of musketry from a platoon of guards.
A survivor of the massacre at Mountain Meadows Miss Sarah Dunlap, is now a resident of Little Rock, and a teacher in the Arkansas School for the Blind. She is a native of Marion
A
៛
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
county, Arkansas, and was but eight months old when her parents, Jesse and Mary Dunlap, started on this ill-fated ex- pedition. After the cruel death of her parents, she was brought back to Arkansas by the Government, and resided in Boone county. Other survivors are Mrs. Elizabeth Terry, formerly Elizabeth Baker, who resides three miles southwest of Harrison, and Mrs. Sarah Gladden, formerly Sarah Baker, residing one mile west of Harrison ; also William T. Baker, now living in Southwest City, Mo., but who was raised in and around Harrison, and Mrs. George McWhirter, living at Omaha, in Boone county.
In accounts of this massacre, it was related that Dr. Mc- Lean, a man of high standing, of Memphis, Tennessee, had married, in New Orleans, a lady belonging to one of the leading families there, and had moved to the west. Subse- quently the wife embraced the Mormon faith, and by the aid of Parley Parker Pratt, a Mormon leader, second only to Brigham Young in authority, had disappeared, taking their two children. Crazed with grief, Dr. McLean pursued Pratt until he succeeded in overtaking him and rescuing the chil- dren. Subsequently he had Pratt arrested for their abduc- tion, and the trial was had in the Federal Court at Van Buren, where by some means, Pratt was acquitted. When Dr. McLean saw that the prisoner had escaped punishment, he followed Pratt and shot him through the body, killing him instantly. The killing of Pratt is thought to have been one of the main causes of the massacre.
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