USA > Arkansas > Biographical and historical memoirs of eastern Arkansas, comprising a condensed history of the state, a number of biographies of distinguished citizens of the same, a brief descriptive history of each of the counties named herein, and numerous biographical sketches of the prominent citizens of such counties. > Part 111
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
he and his wife are members of the Mennonite Church, and are the parents of the following fam- ily: Daniel (deceased), Benjamin J. and John (de- ceased), Peter, Mary (Mrs. L. J. Anderson, of Arkansas County, Ark.), Anna (Mrs. C. B. Zim- merman, of Prairie County), Jacob, Katie. Frances and Cordelia, the last two being twins. Mr. Bech- ler is one of a family of three sons born to Chris- tian and Elizabeth (Bechler) Bechler, both of whom were born in Switzerland, and emigrated to France, where the father died in 1830, the moth- er's death occurring in New Orleans, La., in 1843. Their children are: Joseph (now deceased), Peter (a resident of Iowa) and Christian.
Capt. Jacob G. Becton is one of the experi- enced farmers and cotton-ginners of the county, and the property which he now owns has been ac- cumulated by attending strictly to his chosen call- ing. He was born in New Berne, N. C., October 23, 1833, being a son of F. I. and Eliza (Rhodes) Becton, who were born, reared and married in North Carolina, the father being a farmer of that State. They reared their family in Jones County, and there the father died in 1843, his wife surviv- ing him until 1845, she being married a second time, and with her last husband moved to Wayne County. Here Capt. Jacob G. Becton grew to manhood and was married here, moving some time afterward to Cumberland County, where he en- gaged in farming and merchandising until 1861, and in March of that year moved to Arkansas and made his home in Prairie County. In February, 1862, he enlisted in Capt. Bull's company, La- non's regiment, but afterward became a member of Col. Craven's regiment, and was promoted from a private to the rank of captain, and participated in the battles of Baker's Creek, Corinth and a great many skirmishes. He was captured five times, and three times managed to make his escape, but the first time while held a prisoner he was kept on Johnson's Island for nine months, and the second time at Point Lookout, Md., for three weeks. The year following his return from the war he engaged in farming near Des Arc, and that he has been successful is clearly shown when we state the fact that he owns 960 acres of land, nearly all of which
is in one body, 800 acres being in the home place, of which 500 acres are under cultivation. He has a good frame residence, and his outbuildings are all commodious and in excellent repair. He has been the owner of a cotton-gin at Des Arc since 1886, and has been extensively engaged in cotton- ginning since that time. In 1855 he was married to Lizzie E., a daughter of John E. Becton, of Wayne County, N. C. Captain and Mrs. Becton have lost one daughter, Emma, who was the wife of W. L. Willeford, also three infants while they were residing in North Carolina. The Captain is a Master Mason, and his wife is an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
G. W. Belcher is a farmer, stockman and mil- ler of Belcher Township and was born in Perry County, Ala., in 1840, the eldest of eleven chil- dren born to the marriage of Thomas M. Belcher and Rachel Mayberry. The former was a Vir -. ginian, born in 1810, and was one of six children of Bevley Belcher. He was reared in Alabama and was married there in 1837 and for fourteen years was engaged in overseeing. He then engaged in farming and has made that his chief calling up to the present time. In 1851 he came to Prairie County, Ark., and entered 240 acres of land which he has since increased to 400 acres. He has been justice of the peace for about twenty years, and has held the position of postmaster four or five years. He is a Democrat and during the turbulent times preceding the Rebellion and during the war he was a strong Union man, and was greatly opposed to se- cession. His wife is a native of Alabama and both are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. Their children are: G. W., Martha (who died in Texas), Jane (deceased), Louisa (wife of William M. Shuford of Austin, Texas), James (deceased), Permalie J. (wife of M. C. Mayberry of Prairie County) and several children who died in infancy. G. W. Belcher attended school in Cotton Gin, Miss., until eleven years of age, but after hisremoval with his parents to Arkansas his school days were cut short and July 7, 1861, he enlisted in Company C, Second Arkansas, McIntosh regiment, and for gallant and faithful service was raised to the rank of captain, in 1864, in the commissary department.
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PRAIRIE COUNTY.
Some of the engagements in which he participated are Oak Hill, Wilson's Creek, Elkhorn, Farming- ton, Cumberland Gap, Richmond and others. In 1862 he was wounded in the left hand by a pistol shot and was in the hospital at Knoxville, Tenn., for some time. After the war he returned to Ark- ansas and was married in Claiborne Parish, La., 1866, to Miss Susan S. Hood, a daughter of Bryant and Polly Hood, of Georgia, and by her has four children: Ida, William M., John G. and Martha. Mrs. Belcher was born July 5, 1840, and died in Sep- tember, 1889. She was a member of the Mission- ary Baptist Church, as is Mr. Belcher, and was an earnest and consistent Christian lady. Mr. Belcher is a Democrat and has served in the capacity of school director for about fifteen years and he also belongs to the Masons, being a demitted member of Aberdeen Lodge. He is a descendant of some of the oldest settlers of the State of Arkansas and his grandfather Belcher was in the American Rev- olution. He is a wealthy farmer and of his 800 acres of land, 300 are under cultivation.
Andrew Jackson Bowman, De Vall's Bluff, Ark. Mr. Bowman, one of the pioneers of Roc Roe Township, purchased his farm in that township, in 1874, and settled where he now resides the fol- lowing year. He was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, in 1828, was the second in a family of ten children born to Peter and Susan (La Motte) Bow- man, and received his education in the subscrip- tion school of Putnam County, Ohio. He assisted on his father's farm until twenty years of age, when he was married in the last-named county, in 1848, to Miss Rue Ann Burrel, a native of Putnam County, Ohio. After that he was engaged in farm- ing, and tlius continued in that county until 1856, when he settled in McLean County, near Lexing- ton, and was quite extensively engaged in his for- mer pursuit. In 1858 he moved to Piatt County, Ill., remained there until 1866, and then moved to Champaign County, of the same State, where he remained until March, 1875. He then came to Prairie County, Ark., bought 1,500 acres of raw land, which he cultivated and added to until at one time he owned 2,000 acres. He now has 680 acres with 320 acres under fence, and sixty under culti-
vation. He has paid considerable attention to fruit culture, has about forty acres in orchard, 2,000 apple trees and 1,000 peach trees, and all varieties of small fruit. He is a successful horticulturist, and has one of the finest orchards in Eastern Ar- kansas. He has over 100 varieties of apple trees, and a number of transcendent crab trees. On his farm he raises cotton, corn, rye, wheat and oats, and his farm is well adapted to the raising of stock. Mr. Bowman lost his excellent wife in Piatt County, Ill., in April, 1859. To their union were born three living children: Elias (residing in Ohio), Wes- ley (married and resides near his father) and Elmer (resides in Cloud County, Kas., married and en - gaged in farming). Mr. Bowman was married the second time in Piatt County, Ill., in 1859, to Mrs. Mary Ann Plotner (nee Foust), a native of Picka- way County, Ohio, and the fruits of this union were two living children: Letitia Ranceline and Arthur (at home). Mr. Bowman was married in Putnam County, Ohio, in 1874, to Mrs. Harriet J. (Zeller) Long (widow of Mr. Long), a native of Putnam County, Ohio, and the daughter of Andrew and Catherine (Henderson) Zeller. Mr. Zeller was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, and his wife in Pittsburgh, Penn. The father came to this coun- try when single, and was married in Tuscarawas County, Ohio. He was a wagon and carriage manufacturer. His death occurred in Ohio, in 1852, and the mother died in Putnam County, in 1872, surviving him about twenty years. Mr. Bowman is active in politics, and his vote is cast with the Democratic party. He was magistrate while living in Champaign County, Ill., takes an active interest in educational affairs, and is a mem- ber of the school board. He and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. His grandparents were natives of Germany, and his father was a miller by trade. The latter went to Ohio when a young man, was married there, and there made his home for many years. Later in life he engaged in farming in Putnam County, Ohio, and there passed the closing scenes of his life, his death occurring in 1872. His wife sur- vived him two years. Of their family the follow- ing are now living: Andrew Jackson (the subject
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
of this sketch), Pauline (now Mrs. Cartwright, of Putnam County, Ohio), Martin (married, and is a a farmer in Putnam County), Mary (now Mrs. Todd, of Putnam County), Peter (married, and resides also in Putnam County) and John (who is married and resides in the above-mentioned county.
C. L. Bowman is a successful real-estate dealer of Hazen, Ark., and since 1879 has been a resident of and interested in the welfare of Prairie County. He was born in Knox County, Ind., in 1859, and was the eldest of four children reared by John and Martha A. (Roach) Bowman, the former of whom is a native of the Buckeye State, born in 1832. He was one of a large family of children, and in his youth he was taken by his parents, Daniel and Elizabeth Bowman, to the State of Illinois, and there his early manhood was spent. In 1852 he settled in Knox County, Ind., on a farm, but also engaged in carriage making, and in 1856 he es- poused Miss Roach, whose people were Virginians and early residents of Indiana. To Mr. Bowman were born the following family of children: Calvin L., Samuel E. (who is married and living in Stutt- gart, Ark.), Lydia M. and Mary G. Mr. Bowman removed with his family to Arkansas, in 1879, and after farming until 1883 he settled in Hazen and is there now living. He is a Democrat politically, and he and Mrs. Bowman are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Calvin L. Bowman, our subject, spent his early days on his father's farm in Indiana and there received his early schooling, being an attendant of the common schools. He came to Arkansas with his parents, and was married here, in 1881, to Miss Sallie E. Back, a daughter of Jackson and Mary Back, the former of whom was killed in the Civil War, being a member of the Union army. His wife afterward married Mr. Denton, and is at present living in Hazen. Mr. Bowman and his wife have two boys: Walter P. and Clyde E. Up to 1886 Mr. Bowman farmed in White River Township, but since that time has been engaged in the real-estate business in Hazen. Besides having in his control large tracts of land belonging to others, he owns 160 acres of land and town property. He has always been interested in the upbuilding of schools and
churches, and it is his earnest desire to see the country advance in every way, and he is doing all in his power to aid in its improvement. He and Mrs. Bowman are members of the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South.
James W. Brians, county sheriff. Among the men who cast their fortunes in Prairie County, Ark., in January, 1867, and whose memory is treasured by the people of this region, is William J. Brians, the father of our subject. He was born in North Carolina, and was married there to Eli- zabeth Smith, a native of the same State, and moved with her to Mississippi in October, 1858, set- tling on a farm, where he remained eight years, after which he moved to Prairie County, Ark. He made his home on a farm near Butlerville, and here his death occurred in 1876, he having served for a short time in the Confederate army during the late war. His wife survives him at this writ- ing. James W. Brians was born in Cabarrus County, N. C., September 5, 1852, and remained with his parents until he was twenty-three years of age. He was married in Prairie County, Octo- ber 17, 1877, to Miss Emma Moore, a daughter of Dr. W. L. Moore, she being a native of Arkansas, born and reared in Prairie County. After their marriage they settled on a farm in the western part of the county, their home place consisting of eighty acres, sixty-one acres being in an excellent state of cultivation, on which is a good residence and other necessary farm buildings. Besides this land he also owns 160 acres in another tract, a considerable portion of which is also improved, and good residence property in the town of Des Arc. He has always supported the principles and men of the Democrat party, and in the fall of 1888 was nominated and elected by a handsome major- ity on that ticket to the office of county sheriff. He has held other local positions, and he and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. They have one child three years of age named Bertha Emma, and have lost three children, William Moore (a son, dying on Septem- ber 12, 1889, at the age of eleven years), Mary Buelah (died at the age of ten months) and Augus- tus Edwin (at the age of two years). Mr. Brians
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PRAIRIE COUNTY.
displays great system and neatness in the manage- ment of his farm, and everything about his place shows the progressive and intelligent citizen that he is.
Luther Brink, real-estate and tax- paying agent, Hazen, Ark. In a young and rapidly developing town like Hazen, situated as it is in the best grain and stock raising section of Arkansas, the busi- ness of dealing in real estate is necessarily a very important one, and especially so because, in addi- tion to city property, there is a large amount of farm property constantly changing hands. A greater part of this is handled by the Shock & Brink, real-estate and tax-paying agents at Hazen, Prairie County, Ark. Mr. Brink was born in Boone County, Mo., in 1856, and was the third in a family of five children, the result of the union of C. W. and Mariam (Kelley) Brink. The father was born in Kentucky about 1828, and was one of a large family reared by H. L. Brink, a native of Kentucky, who moved to Missouri at an early day, and there followed the trade of millwright. The grandfather is still living, was in the War of 1812, is ninety-eight years of age and enjoys compara- tively good health. C. W. Brink passed his boy- hood days in Boone County, Mo., and was there married to Miss Kelley, daughter of James Kel- ley, after which he followed the trade of black- smith. He now resides in Hinton, Boone County, Mo. His children are named as follows: W. H. (resides in Hallsville, Mo., is married and has two children), Joella D. (now Mrs. J. D. Barrett, re- sides in Hazen, Ark., and has four children), Luther, Lucy D. (was married and died in Boone County), and J. S. (died at the age of eighteen months. Mr. and Mrs. Brink are members of the Chirstian Church. The mother is deceased, her death occurring in 1865. The school days of
' Luther Brink were passed in Missouri, and later he engaged in mercantile pursuits and contracting in that State. He emigrated to Hazen in 1888, engaged in contracting and building, and perhaps the best compliment that could be paid him would be to point out those monuments of his handiwork which now grace so many of the homesteads in this county. Later he embarked in the real-estate
business with Mr. Shock, and this firm has-con- trol of a large amount of farming land, besides a number of thousand acres of timber and prairie land. Mr. Brink is a member of the Odd Fellow Lodge No. 158, Grand Pass, Saline County, where he first located, and where his membership re- mains. He is a notary public.
William H. Brock, farmer, was born in Harde- man County, Tenn., January 11, 1826, and is a son of Caleb Brock, a native of Virginia, but who was reared in North Carolina, being also married there to Mary Frances Jones, a Virginian, also reared in North Carolina. From the "Old North State" they moved to Tennessee, and still later went to Tippah County, Miss., and after making their home in this State for twenty-one years, being engaged in farming, they came to Arkansas (in 1855) and settled in what is now Prairie County, making a farm on the Cache River. After a short time they sold this and moved to Des Arc, where the father resided until his death, October 10, 1874, his wife surviving him until February 11, 1883, when she, too, passed away. Mr. Brock was a soldier in the War of 1812, and for his services received a pen- sion from the Government in the latter part of his life. He was an earnest member of the Methodist Episcopal Church for many years, and gave liber- ally of his means in support of the same. His wife was a member of the same church, and pos- sessed bright assurances of going to a happy home in the skies. William H. Brock (our subject) grew to manhood in Mississippi, and made his home with his father until the death of the latter, after which he took charge of his mother, caring for her until her demise. In 1862 Mr. Brock enlisted in the Confederate service as a private, but was on detached service the most of the time, conscripting and collecting Confederate money. After the war was over he returned to Des Arc, and has since fol- lowed various occupations, the most of his atten. tion, however, being given to farming. He has 400 acres of land in four different tracts, all good land, and more or less improved, lying near Des Arc. He also owns some fine town property, a hotel, some residence property, and a livery stable, the latter being under his management in connec-
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
tion with his farm for fifteen years. He has served as a member of the school board, as alderman, dep- uty sheriff, and has had charge of the county poor and insane ever since the war. When Mr. Brock first located in Des Arc the town was in the timber.
David Brockway, senior member of the firm of Brockway & Eaton, general merchants of Hazen, Ark., was born in the Nutmeg State in 1837 and was the second child born to Pierce and Pearl (Webb) Eaton, who were also born in that State, the former's birth occurring about 1810. Upon securing a good education in the common schools of his native State, he began learning the carpen- ter's trade, and followed this occupation through- out life. He was married about 1834 and made his home in Hartford, Conn., his children being born there. Their names are as follows: William (who died when young), David and Mary (who be- came the wife of Mr. Hurlburt, of Quincy, Ill., and died one year after her marriage). The father of these children emigrated to California in 1848 and was never heard from afterward, but was sup- posed to have died in that State about 1848 or 1849. His wife survived him until 1853 when she, too, passed to her long home, her death occurring in the State of Virginia whither she had gone for her health. She was a daughter of Harvey Webb, a native of Connecticut. David Brockway acquired his early education in New Haven, Conn., and at the age of twenty years he started for the West to seek a fortune, and landed in McDonough County, Ill., where he made his home until 1883, at which date he came to Arkansas and settled at Hazen. He was formerly a successful farmer, but since his arrival in this State he has devoted his attention to merchandising and the lumber business, and since 1887 has been associated in business with William E. Eaton. They are also large shippers of hay and cotton and do an annual business of about $75,000. Mr. Brockway is a Republican politically, and socially, belongs to Hazen Lodge No. 361, A. F. & A. M., and the United Work- men, Good Hope (Ill.) Lodge No. 129. He was married in Illinois to Miss Rebecca Ballance, a daughter of Joseph Ballance, a native of England. Mrs. Brockway was born in Illinois and has borne
her husband five children: Mollie (Mrs. Webb, re- siding in Illinois), Ella (Mrs. Eaton), Pearl, Bessie and Bruce. She is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
William E. Eaton is the junior member of the firm of Brockway & Eaton, general merchants of Hazen, Ark., and was born near Viola, Mercer County, Ill., being a son of Rev. Cyrus H. and Margaret (Frazier) Eaton, the foriner of whom was born in the State of Virginia in 1821. He settled near Viola, Ill., about 1845, and was there mar- ried, his wife being a daughter of John and Eliza- beth Frazier, who removed to Illinois from their native State, Ohio, at an early day. The family born to Mr. and Mrs. Eaton are: Martin (who is married and is a practicing physician of Fairbury, Neb.), Hugh (who is married and resides in Chi- cago, Ill., being engaged in the manufacturing business), John and William E. Rev. Cyrus Eaton removed to Iowa, becoming a well-known minister of that State, but is now in Oklahoma, Ind. Ty., in the interests of the church. His wife died in Hazen, Ark., in 1884. William E. Eaton was united in the bonds of matrimony to Miss Ella Brockway, and is residing in Hazen, Ark., the father of two children: Hallie and Harry. Marga- ret died in infancy. Mr. Eaton received his edu- cation in the Iowa College at Grinnell, and his youth was spent in that State and in Illinois. He has resided in Arkansas since 1883, and is associ- ated with his father-in-law in the general mercan- tile business, and is meeting with financial success. Politically he is a Republican, and his wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church.
James T. Brown (deceased) was a man well known in Prairie County, and was respected for his straightforward course through life and for his many Christian virtues. He was born in Talla- dega County, Ala., April 13, 1842, and until he attained his eighteenth year he was a resident of his native State. At the opening of the Civil War he joined the Confederate forces and served until the close of the war, after which he went North to Indiana, and located in Hamilton County, where he met and afterward married Miss Elizabeth J. Fall, their union taking place September 9, 1866.
PRAIRIE COUNTY.
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Mrs. Brown was born in Hamilton County, a daughter of D. H. and Susan (Wells) Brown, and after her marriage she and Mr. Brown were en- gaged in farming for about three years, after which they moved to Illinois, and a year later came to Prairie County, Ark. A year later they went to Woodruff County, but a short time after returned to Prairie County and located at Des Arc, where Mr. Brown purchased a mill and engaged in the manufacture of lumber. This business he conducted very successfully for a number of years, but in 1887 he sold his mill and turned his atten- tion to farming once more, continuing this occu- pation until his death March 27, 1889. He was a man possessing fine business qualifications and was very successful in all his ventures, but gave liber- ally of his means to all worthy movements, and the needy were never turned empty from his door. He left a wife and two sons to mourn his death, the latter's names being: Daniel L. (who is mar- ried and resides on a farm in this county) and Ed- gar W. (a young man at home). Mrs. Brown has been engaged in the hotel business since the death of her husband, and her success in this undertaking does much to show what a woman can do when de- pendent upon her own resources. She keeps a first-class house called the Des Arc House.
Fred E. Brown is a prosperous general mer- chant of Des Arc, Ark., and by his superior busi- ness qualities has done much to advance the repu- tation which the county now enjoys as a commer- cial center. He was born in Choctaw County, Miss., Angust 27, 1858, and is a son of A. J. and Elizabeth (House) Brown, who were born, reared and married in Alabama, and removed to Arkansas in 1869, settling on a farm near Hickory Plains, where they are now residing. Fred E. Brown grew to manhood in Prairie County, and was educated in the schools of Des Arc and in a commercial col- lege at Little Rock. He began the battle of life for himself as a clerk in Des Arc in 1879, but at the end of a few years he became a traveling sales- man for a St. Louis and Memphis wholesale house and continued this occupation until 1888, when he purchased a stock of goods and engaged in busi- ness for himself. His store is now well established
and his stock of goods is large and well selected, and as he possesses good judgment, business abil- ity and efficiency, his efforts are meeting with well- deserved success, and his outlook for the future is bright and promising. He was married in Decem- ber, 1882, to Miss Ada Morrell, a daughter of J. C. Morrell, who was one of the early settlers of the State, and who established and edited the Des Arc Citizen for a number of years. Mrs. Brown was born, reared and educated in Prairie County, and is the mother of one child, Charles Frederick. She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
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