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 64

Author: Hempstead, Fay, 1847-1934
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: St. Louis and New York : N. D. Thompson Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1268


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 64


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90


T. S. Haynes


W. H. Robertson ... Geo. Fletcher.


D. Harrison


1838 to 1840


J. W. Comstock.


J. I. Simmons.


T. S. Haynes


D. D. Mason.


Jas. Darling.


S. D. Harrison


1840 to 1842


J. W. Comstock.


J. I. Simmons.


T. S. Haynes


B. H. Thompson.


W. H. Robertson ...


C. M. Robert


1842 to 1844


W. G. Gamble.


H. H. Higgins.


John Murray.


J. G. Musser


W. H. Robertson ...


D. Harrison


1846 to 1848


R. R. Gordon ..


E. Morrell ..


John Quindley


L. Stockston


Thos. Weston.


D. Harrison


1848 to 1850


H. H. Higgins.


E. Morrell.


John Quindley.


Peter Clingman ..


J. C. Webster.


D. Harrison


1850 to 1852


James Campbell.


E. Morrell.


John Quindley ..


H. C. Watson.


H. Gregory ..


D. Harrison


1852 to 1854


James Campbell


Joshua Moses.


W. G. Harrison ..


H. C. Watson


John Buwie


D. Harrison


1854 to 1856


Robert Stell.


Joshua Moses.


R. S. Cargill


H. C. Watson.


John Wells.


S. Rankin.


1856 to 1858


J. T. Hamilton


J. R. Bell


R. S. Cargill


H. C. Watson ..


John Wells


IS. Rankin


1×58 to 1860


J. M. Venable.


Joshua Moses.


R. S. Cargill


H. C. Watson ..


Wm. Hibbin ..


Wm. Dungan ..


1:60 to 1862


U. A. Nixon ..


Joshua Moses.


A. A. Livingston


J. W. Willbanks.


J. A. Westerfield ..


W. H. Dungan.


1862 to 1864


Joshua Moses.


A. A. Livingston


J. W. Willbanks


M. Porter ...


W. L. Harwood


1864 to 1866.


W. R. Hinkle


Joshua Moses.


R. T. Markham ..


J. W. Scroggins.


Uriah Dickens


A. B. Henry ..


1868 to 1872


A. B. Gaylor


W. R. Hinkle 3


N. W. Moore


Jesse Schumake .. J. Lyan.


A. B. Henry.


P. B. Norwood.


1872 to 1874


Wm. Kearney.


T. B. Stout


J. M. Scroggins ..


R. T. Harrison


W. C. Watkins


W. G. Gray.


1874 to 1876


H. A. Nations.


W. E. Dickinson


J. M. Scroggins.


John Houston.


J. Maratta.


J. R. K. Hobbs.


1876 to 1878


M. W. Steele


W. F. Conlee 4


D. B. Russell.


John Wells ...


C. E. Francis ....


J. G. Bennett.


G. W. Griffin.


1880 to 1882


M. W. Steele


Frank J. Willis ..


G. W. Griffin


John Wells ..


F. W. Morrow.


N. Dickson


A. B. Simmons.


1882 to 1884


John W. Todd ..


M. L. Ashbury ..


L. Sleeper ..


W. T. Gordon ...


J. N D. Hale ... ..


N. Dickson.


A. B. Simmons.


1884 to 1886


Wm. B ankenship ..


r ailed to qualify


R. H. Speer


Failed to qualify ... | Failed to qualify ... M. Brown


Wm. Taylor.


1886 to 1888


G. H. Taylor


C. E. Hawkins


J. H. Coblentz. --


Z. T. Kindred .


E. K. Turner


T. J. Holbrook -


H. L. Kennamere.


1888 to 1890


J. B. Hanna.


Jeff Wright ..


M. D. Shelby ...


...


R. N. Veil


Alvis Hugg .. ..


John Beck


J. H. Littlejohn.


.


L. C. Griffin


18.36 to 1838


W. T. Gamble


J. I. Simmons.


T. S. Haynes.


D. D. Mason.


H. H. Berry ..


W. H. Robertson ...


D. Harrison.


1844 to 1846


John Quindley ..


H. H. Higgins.


John Murray


1866 to 1868


W. J. Vance.


A. F. Woodward . .. Joshua Moses.


H. A. Nations ..


W. M. Clitton


J. M. Scroggins


Lafayette Moize .. ...


G. W. Howard


J. W. Harrison.


1878 to 1880


...


1-Vice Kinkead, resigned July, 1827. 3-D. H. Thomas, vice Kinkle, suspended on impeachment by State Senate. 4-Died, February, 1880, and F. J. Willis elected to fill vacancy.


00


1


CONWAY COUNTY.


Henry McFearson ..


920


HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.


Frederick Fletcher, a resident of the county of the years 1829 and 1830, established a toll bridge at Point Remove. In the latter year Thomas Mathers, Joseph Simmons and Kirkbride Potts were residents of Lewisburg.


The county is centrally located, about fifty miles northwest of the capital, its southern border lying along the Arkansas river. It has some mountainous regions, but possesses alluvial soils lying along the river and its tributaries, the Point Remove, Cypress, Cadron and Petit Jean creeks. There are indications of coal and iron in the county, but they are undeveloped.


At Morrillton and Springfield there are excellent high schools. At Marienthal, a Roman Catholic settlement in the county, a convent school is also maintained. There are a number of saw mills in operation in the county and one glass factory.


Fruits, grains and grasses are largely produced, special attention being given to the growth of grapes, which succeed well. The Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad runs through the southern portion of the county, and a steady emigration is coming into it, particularly along the line of the road.


Morrillton, the county seat, dates from 1875. When the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad was being built a depot was established at its site and was called Morrillton, after E. J. and George H. Morrill, who owned the land. It was just three miles from Lewisburg, and by reason of its railroad facilities grew rapidly. It has six churches, bank, opera house, three weekly newspapers, has telegraph, telephone and express offices, several hotels and a number of stores. Many of the buildings are of brick and are neat and tasty in appearance. It has in all respects the appearance of a thriv- ing, active place.


CRITTENDEN COUNTY.


Crittenden County, the twelfth county in number, to be formed, was created October 22d, 1825, and was named for Robert Crittenden. It was formed out of territory taken from Phillips county. An election was directed to be held at the houses of Samuel Deloach, John H. Fooy, Benjamin Barney, William Lamb and George C. Barfield, for Commissioners, to locate the county seat. Barfield, Arthur C. Welch and Isaac Burgett were chosen. They located it at a place called Greenock, where it remained until January 25, 1837, when it was established at Marion, where it now is.


The county is an extreme eastern county, and lies along the Mississippi river, immediately opposite the city of Memphis. The Mississippi river is its eastern boundary and skirts the whole of its eastern extent. It is penetrated by the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad, which has there its terminus at Hope- field. The Memphis & Kansas City Railroad terminates at the same point. The means of communication between these two railroads and the city of Memphis is at present by means of a ferry or transfer boat. In 1888 a Bill passed Congress whereby national aid was extended to the building of a bridge across the Mississippi at this point.


About the year 1832 two towns were laid out in Crittenden county, opposite Memphis, called Pedraza, after the then President of the Mexican Republic, and Popeville, after Gov- ernor John Pope, which immediately entered upon a sharp rivalry with each other, but neither of them have survived to come down to our day.


The surface of the county is level, there are no mountains. A large portion of the county is swampy and is often over- flowed by the Mississippi river, which, in freshets, gets to be


92I


922


THE FOLLOWING HAVE BEEN THE COUNTY OFFICERS.


DATE.


JUDGE.


CLERK.


SHERIFF.


TREASURER


CORONER.


SURVEYOR.


ASSESSOR.


1825 to 1827


J. Livingston


W. D. Ferguson.


W. Goshen


1827 to 1829


J. Livingston


W. D. Ferguson.


Wm. Cherry.


1829 to 1832


D. H. Harrig


J. Livingston ..


W. D. Ferguson.


O. Wallace


S. A. Cherry


1832 to 1833


Chas. Blackmore ..


S. R. Cherry ....


W. D. Ferguson.


John Tory.


F. B. Read


1833 to 1834


A. B. Hubbins ..


S. R. Cherry


W. D. Ferguson.


J. Withworth


F. B. Read


1834 to 1835


--


H O. Oders


J. H. Wathen


W. D. Ferguson .. J. S. Neely


G. McMullen


F. B. Read


1835 to 1836


Chas. Blackmore ..


J. H. Wathen


F. B. Read.


A. B. Hubbard, 1 ...... F. B. Read


J. B. Lewis, 2.


R. Wallace.


1836 to 1838


W. C. Trice ..


W. Armistead ..


C. Stubble ..


F. B. Read


T. McMullen ..


R. R. Williams


1840 to 1842


W. B. Hay.


S. T. Gilbert.


G. W. Underhill.


G. S. Fogleman ..


John Peak


R. R. Williams


1844 to 1846


John Thorn ..


J. J. Lyles ...


C. J. Bernard.


G. S. Fogleman ..


J. Markham ..


J. Earle ..


1846 to 1848


B. C. Crump


S. T. Gilbert.


B. C. Crump.


G. S. Fogleman.


Wm. Maggerson .. P. H. Berry


J. C. Duncan ..


1850 to 1852


W. P. Farnum


O. P. Lyles


B. C. Crump.


G. S. Fogleman ..


R. Hood.


W. Fullwood.


1854 to 1856


Wm. Rives ...


O. P. Lyles


B. C. Crump.


G. S. Fogleman .. J. A. Lyles


Wm. Fullwood


1856 to 1858


G. W. Duke.


O. P. Lyles


B. C. Crump.


G. S. Fogleman ..


J. W. Jones.


Wm. Fullwood


1858 to 1860


J. F. Barton.


J. F. Earle


J. G. Berry ....


G. S. Fogleman ..


P. Houston ...


W. Fullwood ...


1860 to 1862


J. F. Barton.


.J. F. Earle


J. S. Holloway.


G. S. Fogleman ..


M. L. Johnson ....


Q. M. Bellows ..


1862 to 1864


1864 to 1866


Asa Hodges ..


J. Swepston.


B. C. Crump.


R. C. Wallace.


M. L. Johnson


W. Fullwood


1866 to 1868


A. B. Gatlin.


J. F. Earle


J. T. Grooms


R. C. Wallace


Jeff Rives ...


E. T. Wimpey .. ...


B. C. Crump. A. J. Haynes, 7


1868 to 1872


T. L. Daugherty


J. Swepston.


W. D. Hardin ..


R. C. Wallace.


S.N. W. Whitting 6 L. B. Hardin


W. L. Copeland. Jubilee Adams.


1874 to 1876


R. B. Barton.


D. W. Lewis .


E. B. Lewis ..


B. Westmoreland.


John Terry ..


J. Brown ..


R. Henderson, 12 .. G. W .. Oglesby.


1878 to 1880


R B. Barton ..


T. W. Gibbs .. ..


W. F. Beattie ..


Samuel Floyd .. Samuel Floyd ..


J. Smith.


¡S. A. Martin.


J. Wofford.


1882 to 1884


J. H. Williams ..


A. H. Ferguson ..


J. Swepston, 14 ..


W. F. Werner ..


D. Sumrell, 15 ..


S. A. Martin.


H. Waterford.


1884 to 1886


Daniel W. Lewis


David Ferguson


W. F. Werner


A. H. Ferguson.


C. E. Rasberry ..


S. A. Martin.


R. Y. Logan.


1886 to 1888


D. W. Lewis.


David Ferguson


W. F. Werner


A. H. Ferguson.


Eli Jackson


Russ Davis


J. R. Rooks.


1888 to 1890.


S. A. Martin ..


Sam Keel


W. F. Werner.


A. H. Ferguson.


C. E. Rasberry .....


Ed. Cheatham


W. J. Harden.


1-James Martin, vice Hubbard, resigned. 2-J. Hicks, vice Lewis, deceased. 3-R. R. Williams, vice Wallace, refused to accept. 4-A. Mensinger, vice Collins, resigned February, 1839. 5-P. G. Pollock, vice Cherry, resigned. . 6-T. Price, elected January, 1871. 7-W. W. Swepston, from January, 1870. 8-W. H. Hardin, from January, 1873. 9-Resigned, and A. H. Ferguson in office from September, 1878. 10-Resigned, and Jesse Grider elected. 11-Failed to qualify, and A. J. Ward elected. 12-Removed and R. Davis elected October, 1877. 13-H. J. Ward elected May, 1881, vice Beattie killed, and J. T. Harton elected December, 1881, vice Ward, died. 14-Contested by J. T. Barton, Collector, January 2, 1883, vice John Swepston, failed to give bond. James T. Barton, Sheriff, May 9, 1884, vice John Swepston, deceased. 15-G. W. Scott, Coroner April 11, 1883, vice Dorsey Sumrell, refused to qualify.


HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.


R. R. Williams


1838 to 1840


T. M. Collins, 4 ....


W. P. Cherry, 5.


G. W. Underhill


G. S. Fogleman ..


T. M. Peak


J. Bayless ..


1842 to 1844


A. Mensinger.


S. T. Gilbert ..


JA. Jones ..


1848 to 1850


J. A. Alexander


O. P. Lyles


B. C. Crump.


G. S. Fogleman ..


1852 to 1854


W. P. Farnum


J. Swepston, 8


E. B. Lewis.


R. C. Wallace ..


B. Westmoreland .. R. Mosely.


1876 to 1878


R. B. Barton


J. Swepston, 9.


E. B. Lewis, 10


W. D. Hardin


S. R. Rushing, 11 .. Shipp Cobb.


A. Martin


L. P. Berry.


1880 to 1882


R. B. Barton


A. H. Ferguson.


W. F. Beattie, 13


1872 to 1874


J. Broadenax


Joshua Hicks.


G. W. Underhill.


H. Bacon ...


F. B. Read


ふふふふふふ


923


CRITTENDEN COUNTY.


forty miles wide at this point. . The soil is altogether alluvial, and such of it as is reduced to cultivation is extremely fertile and produces abundant crops of cotton and corn.


The town of Marion was founded January 25, 1837, by .Marion Tolbert, and was made the county seat of the county at that date. It lies on the west bank of Lake Grande, and contains at present a population of about 500 persons. It has five churches, two school-houses, three abstract offices, one hotel, three boarding houses, two livery stables and two gro- ceries. There are four doctors, three lawyers, five ministers and seven merchants in the town. The newspaper published there is called "The Headlight."


One of the prominent men of Crittenden county is Hon. Asa Hodges. He was born in Lawrence county, Alabama, January 23, 1823, son of Hon. William Hodges, who repre- sented his county in the General Assembly of the State in 1828 and 1829. He was early thrown on his own resources, but went to work and soon completed his education at La Grange College, then an institution of high standing under the patronage of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Tennessee and Alabama.


He studied law in the office of Hon. Leroy Pope Walker, of Florence, one of the most able and successful lawyers in North Alabama. Mr. Hodges was admitted to the bar in 1848, and shortly afterwards formed a partnership with Thomas M. Peters, Esq., now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama. This partnership was continued down to the beginning of the late civil war, and was attended with a high degree of professional success.


Mr. Hodges was married April 17th, 1853, to Miss Caro- line Chick, of a highly cultivated, influential and wealthy family in South Carolina. Some time previous to the war he purchased and settled a large and valuable plantation in Crit- tenden county, Arkansas, which he still owns. After settling in Arkansas he was made Judge of Probate in the county of


924


HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.


Crittenden, an office which he filled with credit to himself and acceptability to his fellow-citizens, until he was transferred to a seat in the State Constitutional Convention, as a Delegate under the Reconstruction Acts of 1867. He was elected to the General Assembly in 1868, and in 1870 was elected to the State Senate for a term of four years ..


While holding the latter office Mr. Hodges was elected a Representative from Arkansas to the Forty-third Congress, as a Republican. At first an ardent Clay Whig, and always a thorough Union man, he more recently became an earnest and active Republican. He is a clear-headed financier, a good lawyer, and a successful planter. He was representa- tive of Crittenden county in the Legislature of 1885 to 1887, and again in that of 1889.


IZARD COUNTY.


Izard County, the thirteenth county created, was formed October 27, 1825, out of territory taken from Independence county, and was named after Governor George Izard. The seat of justice was directed to be at the house of Jacob Wolf, until a county seat should be definitely fixed upon. An election for Commissioners, for the purpose, was held, at which John Dearmon and James Jeffrey were chosen. They selected the town of Liberty. The county seat remained here until 1835 or 1836, when it was established at Mt. Olive. It re- mained here until 1846, when it was established at Mt. Vernon, where it remained until May 10, 1875, when it was moved to Melbourne, where it now is.


When created, the county was very sparsely settled. Emi- gration began gradually to come to it, and in 1830 fifty fami- lies settled in it. Its population that year was 1,266. After steamboating began on White river, as high as Batesville, which was in 1831, it continued to receive accession by immi- gration, and the number of inhabitants steadily increased. In


925


THE FOLLOWING HAVE BEEN COUNTY OFFICERS.


-


DATE.


JUDGE.


CLERK.


SHERIFF.


TREASURER.


CORONER.


SURVEYOR.


ASSESSOR.


1825 to 1827.


J. P. Houston


John Adams


1827 to 1829.


J. P. Houston


John Adams


H. C. Roberts.


1829 to 1830


Mathew Adams ..


J. P. Houston


John Adams


1830 to 1832.


Mathew Adams.


Jesse Adams


John Hargrove.


J. Blyeth


William Clement ...


1832 to 1833.


Mathew Adams.


J. P. Houston.


John Hargrove ..


J. Blyeth


1833 to 1835.


J Jeffery.


J. P. Houston


John Hargrove


J. Blyeth


1835 to 1836.


J. Jeffery.


J. P. Houston.


Daniel Jeffery


Jesse Adams


A. Adams


1836 to 1838.


J. Jeffery


J. P. Houston


J. A. Harris


W. B. Carr


Jesse Adams


1838 to 1840.


1840 to 1842


B. Hawkins ..


B. H. Johnson


D. K. Loyd ..


S. H. Creswell.


H. W. Bandy.


William Seymour.


1842 to 1844.


J. A. Harris.


[B. H. Johnson.


D. K. Loyd


Jacob Wolf.


R. C. Moore.


1844 to 1846


James Wren


C. P. Lancaster


Miles Jeffery.


A. McFeltch


R. C. Moore


T. M. Copeland.


1846 to 1848


J. A. Harris


A. C. Jeffery


S. E. Rossen


H. J. Wren


R. C. Moore


R. Decker


1848 to 1850.


G. H. Morton .. Henry Cole.


R. M. Haggard.


S. J. Mason


William Gray ..


J. D. Churchill


Cyrus Crosby ...


1852 to 1854


J. J. Sams.


William Wood.


S. J. Mason


William Gray ...


D. Jeffery ..


J. Byler.


1854 to 1856.


B. J. Hallowell.


H. H. Harris


S. J. Mason.


William Gray ..


R. Harris


J. Byler.


1856 to 1858.


H. H. Harris


John Woods.


William Gray ...


S. T. Martin.


1858 to 1860


T. Black


W. C. Dixon


A. Adams


J. W. Cypert


R. Landers


1860 to 1862.


H. H. Harris.


W. C. Dixon


W. J. Cagle


J. W. Cypert.


R. Landers


A. C. Hardin


1862 to 1864


Thomas Black


W. C. Dixon


T. J. Cagle


J. W. Cypert


Jesse Hinkle


J. W. Rector.


1864 to 1866.


A. C. Jeffery.


W. C. Dixon


W. J. Cagle


H. H. Harris


J. A. Byler.


1866 to 1868


jA. C. Jeffery


H. H. Harris


W. J. Cagle


E. D. Hayes


R. Landers ..


J. A. Claiborne


1868 to 1872.


William Byler.


I. H. Talley ..


R. L. Landers ..


J. B. Hunt.


J. H. Roten ...


J. A. Claiborne


W. O. Dillard.


1874 to 1876.


G. W. Shaw.


D. W. Billingsly.


J. M. Hinkle.


L. C. Holmes ..


J. F. Cornelius


J. A. Claiborne.


James Green


1876 to 1878


G. W. Shaw.


J. N. Craig


J. M. Hinkle.


A. J. Hutson


F. M. Hall


Joseph Hixon .. Joseph Hixon


James Green.


1880 to 1882.


J. A. Byler ..


H. H. Harris


R. L. Landers ..


John McElmurry ..


J. R Beaver.


Jacobs Franks.


W. H. Hammond ..


1882 to 1884.


W. Grimmett.


H. H. Harris


J. S. Roberts


H. H. Hinkle


J. R. Beaver.


J. A. Claiborne


W. H. Hammond.


1884 to 1886.


W. Grlimett.


W. K. Estes


John S. Roberts


John M Elmurry ...


Jesse R. Beaver.


J. A. Claiborne


Robert Gray


1886 to 1888.


.. H. H. Harris


W. K. Estes


R. L. Landers


J. B. Hunt


John Schell.


J. A. Claiborne


James Gray


1888 to 1890.


H. H. Harris


W. K. Estes


R. L. Landers ..


J. B. Hunt


S. F. Reaves.


E. L. Billingslea .... |P. J. Puckett ..


James Green.


1878 to 1880.


G. W. Shaw.


H. H. Harris


R. L. Landers


A. J. Hutson


Squire Wood


R. Sanders


P. F. Heasler


1872 to 1874.


F. W. Perrin.


J. M. Hinkle


H. Dillard


G. W. Neal.


Cyrus Crosby.


1850 to 1852.


B. H. Johnson.


D. K. Loyd ..


A. Creswell ..


James Davis


J. M. Pugh


R. M. Haggard.


S. E. Rossen


B. F. Brantley.


J. G. Richardson ..


J. W. Rector A. C. Hardin


IZARD COUNTY.


1-Record for this term of office incomplete.


926


HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.


1830 Liberty, the county seat, consisted of one store, a black- smith-shop and a tavern. Livingston and Wolf had a saw and grist mill in operation in this year, the only one in the county.


Izard county is situated in the northern part of the State, not far below the Missouri line. Its northern boundary is the county of Fulton, which extends north to the Missouri line. A portion of the county is mountainous, but along the river and tributary streams, has alluvial lands of great fertility. It is a well timbered county, with excellent growths of pine, oak and hickory. Cotton and corn are the principal products, but all kinds of farm and garden crops are capable of production and are likewise grown.


Melbourne, the county seat, dates its origin from the year 1875. In that year it was laid off as a town by James A. Claiborne, and the county seat was located there in the month of May. Its population is about 300. A newspaper is pub- lished there called "The Izard County Register." It contains three churches : a Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist church, all frame buildings. There are no brick buildings in the town at this date.


On the morning of Thursday, April 11th, 1889, the Court- house was destroyed by fire, and with it all the records and the public documents, from the formation of Izard county, were consumed.


Judge Richard H. Powell has been a resident of the county since 1861. He was born in Sussex county, Virginia, eighteen miles from Petersburg, April 18th, 1827, son of Captain Thomas Powell. His father moved to Bedford county, Tennessee. Here R. H. Powell grew up, working on a farm until twenty-one years of age, when he taught school and studied law. In 1855 he was a student of the Cumber- land Law School, and on graduating there was admitted to the Bar the same year. He settled at Lewisburg, Tennessee, and practiced there until 1860. In 1860 he moved to Batesville,


IZARD COUNTY. 927


and entered into a law partnership with Elisha Baxter. The next year, however, he moved to Izard county, and settled on a farm. In 1862 he was a Member of the Legislature, but afterwards entered the Confederate Army and served till the close of the war, being made a prisoner in 1863 in Freeman's Battalion. In 1866 he became Circuit Judge of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, but was ousted in 1868. In 1878 he was elected Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit, which position he now holds. His duties require him to hold court forty- two weeks of every year. He has been married three times. In Bedford county, Tennessee, June 19th, 1849, he married Miss Jane Taylor Temple, who died in July, 1870. By this marriage there were nine chidren, of whom three died in infancy. , In Izard county, May 15th, 1873, he married Mrs. Harriet T. Herbert, who died in 1876. On the 16th of May, 1878, he married Mrs. Susannah E. Davidson, nee Gardner, daughter of Joseph Gardner, of North Carolina.


Michael Shelby Kennard was a resident of LaCrosse from 1868 to 1871, and again became such in 1876. He was born in Sumter county, Alabama, February 12th, 1833, son of George W., native of Tennessee, and Eliza Kennard, native of Georgia. He graduated at the University of Alabama in 1852, and bears the degree of master of arts of that Institu- tion. In the winter of 1852, he began teaching school in West Feliciana Parish ; taught in public and private schools in Natchez, Mississippi, one year, and in the meantime studied law. He came to Arkansas in July, 1854, settling at Bates- ville. He lived at Batesville till 1868, when he moved to LaCrosse, where he established a school. In 1871 he moved to Warren, Bradley county, and lived there until 1876, but at that date returned to LaCrosse to live. He was admitted to the Bar in Batesville in 1856, but having been induced to take editorial charge of The Independent Balance, a news- paper started by Judge Byers, at Batesville in 1857, he bought the paper in 1858, and devoted himself earnestly to


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928


HISTORY OF ARKANSAS


the work of building up a first-class newspaper, giving up law, to which he has not since given any attention. The Balance was continued until January, 1862, and was one of the most prominent papers in the State. In 1859 he was Mayor of Batesville. In 1860, with Captain Christopher Columbus Danley, editor of the Gazette, and James B. Keats, of Little Rock, he was a Delegate to the Baltimore Conven- tion, which nominated John Bell, and Edward Everett for President and Vice-President. He was a member of the State Convention of 1861. In the civil war he joined Sweet's Texas Regiment, in 1862, being made Adjutant of the regiment, he was captured with that regiment at Arkansas Post in January, 1863, and was held a prisoner for some months. Afterwards he served as Adjutant in McCoy's Brigade, raised in 1864. At the close of the war, having spent several years in teaching, he decided to devote the rest of his life to the work of that profession. Accordingly, since August, 1865, he has been constantly engaged in teaching, having spent in the school-room, since that time, an average of eleven months out of every twelve. While in Bradley county he was County Superintendent of Schools in 1874. In September, 1852, at Saundersville, near Gallatin, Tennes- see, he married Miss Mary A. G. Saunders. By this mar- riage there are eight children. In 1889 he moved to Smithville, Lawrence county, becoming the head of an educational institution there.


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LOVELEY COUNTY.


Loveley County, the fourteenth county created, was formed October 13th, 1827, out of portions of Crawford county and a portion of lands lying beyond the southwest corner of Mis- souri, not previously assigned to any county. It was named after Peter Loveley, who had acted as agent in treating with


929


LOVELEY COUNTY.


some Osage Indians who lived on the land, by which he induced them to move. Hence the acqusition was called "The Loveley Purchase." These lands were embraced in the Act of Congress of 1824, by which an addition was made to the western boundary of the Territory, but were lost in the Cherokee treaty of 1828, and the most of the county being cut off by this treaty, it was abolished altogether on the for- mation of Washington county, October 17th, 1828.


ST. FRANCIS COUNTY.


St. Francis County, the fifteenth county formed, was created out of Phillips county, October 13th, 1827, by an Act to divide the county of Phillips, and was named from the St. Francis river running through its territory. By a subse- quent Act of October 22d, 1827, the seat of justice was di- rected to be at the house of William Strong, and an elec- tion was ordered to be held at the houses of John Lynch, in Union township; William Strong, in Johnson township, and Daniel Mitchell, in Mitchell township, to elect three Com- missioners to locate the permanent county seat. Edward Oliver, Samuel Fillingim and John Carothers were chosen such Commissioners, and Charles Shaver and Archibald Mc- Daniel were added in October, 1828.


The Commissioners selected the town of Franklin as the county seat, and it was laid out as a town, and a public sale of lots was made by the Commissioners on the first Monday in May, 1829. Franklin remained the county seat for some time, when it was located at Madison. It remained here until at an election held June 30th, 1874, it was voted to re- move the county seat to Forrest city, where it has since re- mained.




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