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 20
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garet C. (Childers) Cullum, natives of Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Adkins are the parents of eight chil- dren: Dora A., Martha A. (deceased), William O. (deceased), Henry B., James S., Cynthia L. (de- ceased), Robert C. and Ella A. Himself and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mr. Adkins is an A. F. & A. M., belong- ing to the Mount Pisgah lodge No. 242. He takes a prominent part and is deeply interested in all work beneficial to the community.
Hon. John M. Allen, well and favorably known in this vicinity as a prosperous farmer, and, in- deed, throughout this portion of the State, was born in Tennessee, in 1839, being one of two chil- dren born to the marriage of Thomas J. and Anna E. (Black) Allen, the father a native of Tennessee, born about 1812, and a son of Daniel Allen, who was a descendant of the famous Ethan Allen. Thomas J. was reared and married in his native State, the latter event taking place about 1834, and there he reared the following family of chil- dren: William, John, Neal S., Richard J., Allie, Mary and Hall B., who is deceased. Mr. Allen was a farmer throughout life, and is now living in Arkansas with his son John, and is about eighty years of age. He is a member of the Agricultural Wheel, and he and his wife, who died in 1872, were members of the Baptist Church. John M. Allen received excellent educational advantages in Ten- nessee, and completed his education in Pulaski College, after which he (in 1856) started out to fight the battle of life for himself and engaged in farming, and this occupation has received his at- tention up to the present time. In 1859 he mar- ried Emma Sparkman, a daughter of William Sparkman, of Tennessee, but in 1877 he was called upon to mourn the death of his wife, she having borne him a family of five children: Will- iam (who is married and resides in Beebe). Lizzie (Mrs. Hubbard, residing in Dogwood Township), Arch, Claude and Eugene. Later Mr. Allen wed- ded Mrs. Hannah (Walker) Seawell, and by her has three children: Adella, Eula and Lonnie. In 1860 Mr. Allen moved with his family to Butler, Mo., and from there, in 1861, enlisted in Company B, Col. Lowe's regiment, as captain, and was
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shortly promoted to the rank of major. After the battle of Belmont his company was disorganized and his regiment transferred to the Army of the Tennessee and was in nearly all the principal bat- tles of the war from that time until the close. He returned to Missouri after peace was declared and engaged in farming and the mercantile business, but becoming dissatisfied with his location he came to White County, Ark., in 1880, and a year later purchased the farm of 320 acres now belonging to him in Dogwood Township. He has 150 acres un- der cultivation, but, as his home is in Beebe, he only goes to his farm to attend to the gathering of his crops. He has always been found ready to assist worthy enterprises, and for years past has given much of his attention to politics, and is a member of the Farmers' and Laborers' Union of America, and is the present representative of that party in the State legislature from White County, Ark. He belongs to the State executive committee and is a Mason, holding a demit from Faithful Lodge No. 304. He and wife are members of the Baptist Church. Through his grandmother he is a distant relative of Chief Justice Hale.
Thomas Smith Anderson, a prosperous mer- chant and cotton dealer, of El Paso, Ark., was born in Madison County, Tenn., August 2, 1832, and is a son of Samuel Lindsay Anderson, who is of Scotch-Irish descent and was born in the "Pal- metto State." His ancestors, as well as his wife's (Eliza Braden), came to this country while it was still subject to the British crown and fought in the Revolutionary War. The paternal grandparents were married in Newberry District, S. C., and re- moved to Tennessee between 1800 and 1812, their son, Samuel L., being born in 1800, and died May 22, 1884, his wife dying in Tennessee in 1847. A great uncle, Joshua Anderson, was under the juris- diction of Gen. Jackson during the War of 1812, and took part in the battle of New Orleans. In 1858 our subject came to Arkansas and located in Pulaski County (now Faulkner), where, in com- pany with his brother, James A. Anderson, he pur- chased 420 acres of land, and at the time of his brother's death, in June, 1885, had cleared about 100 acres. In July, 1861, Thomas S. Anderson
enlisted in Company B, Tenth Arkansas Infantry, Confederate States army, and served as sec- ond sergeant until the fall of 1862, when he was promoted to brevet second lieutenant, remaining such until the summer of 1865. He was at the battle of Shiloh in charge of the commissary de- partment of his regiment. He was captured at Port Hudson, La., and was a prisoner of war for twenty-one months, being confined at Johnson's Island, Lake Erie, Point Lookout (Md.), and then transferred to Fort Delaware, about forty miles from Philadelphia. He was exchanged at Rich- mond, Va., and started to rejoin his command at Marshall, Tex., but in his attempt to regain his regiment he was compelled to endure many hard- ships, and, owing to exposure, he contracted rheu- matism, but finally managed to reach Shreveport, that garrison being under command of Gen. Kirby Smith, and with him surrendered. He arrived at home the middle of June, and again, in company with his brother, who had also been in the Confed- erate army, took up farming. On May 12, 1868, he was united in marriage to Miss Margaret Ann Laws, of Haywood County, Tenn., origin, and a daughter of J. P. and Minerva (Leathers) Laws, who were born in North Carolina. In 1878 Mr. Anderson purchased a stock of general merchan- dise and opened a store at El Paso, where he has successfully conducted business ever since, and, in connection with this, keeps a line of such furniture as is demanded in his community. He is also an extensive dealer in cotton, and his annual sales for this commodity amount to $10,000 to $12,000. Mr. Anderson votes with the Democratic party, and while a resident of Faulkner County, and since the war, he has served as justice of the peace. He is a Mason, having been initiated into that society in 1859; was secretary of El Paso Lodge for several years, but has been demitted to Velonia Lodge, being its Master one year. He and wife are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.
Moses E. Andrews has been actively and suc- cessfully engaged in farming in White County since twenty-one years of age. He was born in Lincoln County, Tenn., in 1844, to the union of Samuel and Marion (Adking) Andrews, natives of
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Virginia and Tennessee, respectively. They were married in Lincoln County, Tenn., and there re- mained until 1851, when they removed to Arkan- sas, and located in White County, near the place upon which the village of Judsonia is now located. This was then in the woods, but Mr. Andrews cleared up a good farm and made a home. He was a prominent Democrat, and served as justice of the peace for several years, and died May 20, 1867, at the age of fifty-six. Mrs. Andrews died in 1864, leaving a family of seven children, two of whom only are living: Moses E. (our subject) and Joseph D. (who is a farmer of White County.) Moses E. Andrews was married in 1873 to Eliza- beth Eaton, a daughter of E. S. Eaton, an old set- tler of White County. She was born in 1851. They are the parents of two children: Benjamin W. and Rosella. Mrs. Andrews is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. Mr. Andrews is a prominent Democrat and a leading citizen.
Moses Morgan Aunsspaugh, farmer and stock raiser of Little Red, Ark., is one of the much respected and esteemed residents of Denmark Township, where he has made his home for many years. He is the son of Benjamin and Ruhama (Hartley) Aunsspaugh, the former of German de- scent and a native of Pennsylvania. George Aunsspaugh, the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came from Germany at an early day, located in Pennsylvania, and served in the Colonial army from that State in the capacity of drum-major in Gen. Washington's immediate com- mand. The great-grandfather Hartley was a na- tive born Englishman, came to America before the Revolution, settled in Pennsylvania, and served as a private soldier. Grandfather Aunsspaugh was a soldier in the War of 1812, and arrived in New Orleans the day after the battle, having served with the Ohio State troops. Benjamin Aunsspaugh came to Arkansas in 1833, in company with John Hartley and his family, and located in Jefferson County, of that State, all having trav- eled from Zanesville, Ohio, on a keel-boat, leaving that point in the early part of the fall of 1833, and arriving in the above county in December of the same year. Benjamin married Miss Ruhama
Hartley in Jefferson County, Ark., and the follow- ing children were born to this union: Jobe (born 1834), Moses Morgan (born 1835), John (born 1837), George (born 1839) and Amoa (born 1840). The mother of these children died in the last of June, 1845, in White County, Ark., whither Ben- jamin Aunsspaugh had moved with his family in October of the previous year, and here the father also died in 1876. In this county Jobe, Moses and John grew to manhood. Moses Morgan Auns- spaugh was born on the keel-boat, upon which his father and the Hartley family journeyed from Ohio, on April 12, 1835. He attended school about three weeks and had got as far as " baker " in his spelling book when his school days suddenly terminated. He learned the blacksmith trade with his father and followed this occupation for a num- ber of years. On January 17, 1858, he was wed- ded to Miss Sarah Winford, a native of Tennessee, and the daughter of Samuel and Martha (Morris) Winford, who came to Arkansas in 1844, settled in Poinsett County, where the father died the same year. The Winford family consisted of these children: Margaret (married Thomas Anderson and became the mother of eight children; she died in 1859), Jane (married Dave Ellster, and has one child) and Sarah. To Mr. and Mrs. Aunsspaugh were born three children: Martha Ann Ruhama (born November 4, 1858), Samuel Benjamin Frank- lin (born August 31, 1862) and George Washing- ton (born April 25, 1872). Martha Ann Ruhama married Albert M. Bryant on August 4, 1874, and became the mother of four children: John Thomas, Lindsay E., Oliver and Mary Ella. Samuel B. F. married Miss Martha Porter on March 4, 1879, and became the father of three children. He, his wife and all his children are deceased. Benjamin Aunsspaugh bought eighty acres of land in White County, improved it, and in 1846 moved to Searcy, where he carried on his trade as blacksmith. He and his son Moses ironed the first wagon sent out of White County to California in 1849. In 1851 he returned to the neighborhood of his old home, and there bought 160 acres of land, subsequently adding to this until he at one time owned 320 acres. At the time of his death he owned 240
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acres, with thirty acres under cultivation, and in connection with tilling the soil he also carried on the blacksmith trade up to that time. Benjamin Aunsspaugh was married the second time in 1853 to Mrs. Jane McDonald, a native of Alabama, and these children were the result: William (born 1854), twins (born 1855), James and an infant who died unnamed and another infant died un- named. . James W. married Mrs. Jennie Cope- land, who bore him three children, two living. He resides on a farm in White County. Moses M. Aunsspaugh made his first purchase of land in 1858, paying 50 cents an acre for eighty acres. In 1862, much against his will, he was conscripted by the Confederates, and served three years in that army, participating in the battle of Helena, but did not fire a gun. He served his company in the capacity of cook, and returned home in 1864. He sold his first purchase of land in 1860, and in 1861 purchased 160 acres near Searcy, which was partly improved. He then cleared twelve acres, erected a log-house 16x16 feet and lived there for eight years, two and a half years of which time he rendered Union service in the Confederate army. In 1869 he sold his farm and moved to his present property, where he has since made his home. He first purchased 170 acres, but afterward added to this eighty acres, and soon had fifteen acres under cultivation, and resided in a log-house for six years. In 1875 he erected his present comfortable house, and there he has since resided. The same year he noticed a peculiar looking stone on his place, picked it up, called the attention of an experienced geologist to it, and it was pronounced gold quartz. Mr. and Mrs. Auns- spaugh are members of the Cumberland Presby- terian Church, and their daughter Martha D. and her husband are members of the United Baptist Church. Mr. Aunsspaugh is a member of the Agricultural Wheel No. 176.
William C. Barclay, postmaster and merchant of Russell, Ark., of Jackson County, Ala., nativ- ity, and whose birth occurred January 28, 1858, is the son of James C. and Melinda (Wright) Bar- clay, natives of Alabama. James C. Barclay is still a citizen of Alabama, and follows farming for
a livelihood. The wife of James C. died in No- vember, 1864, having borne him eight children: Anna, Penelope, Tommie, John P., James P., William L., Jane and Sarah, all living. Mr. Bar- clay again married, choosing for his second wife Miss Ransom of Jackson County, Ala., and the result of this marriage is one child, Wiley F. Bar- clay, born in 1868. In February, 1875, Mr. Bar- clay was married the third time to Miss Galbreath of De Kalb County, Ala., and to them has been given one child. The grandparents of William C. came direct from Ireland to Alabama. Our sub- ject was reared in Jackson County. His advan- tages for learning were limited in his youth by reason of the Civil War and its attendant and sub- sequent hardships. But by constant study and close observation, he is well informed on the im- portant events of the day. Mr. Barclay began for himself in July, 1870, as a farm hand, then as a salesman in a general merchant mill in Alabama. In 1877 he moved to Arkansas, settling in White County, and engaging in farming followed it for two years. At the expiration of the two years he accepted a position as salesman in Russell, but soon after accepting this he was appointed railroad and express agent of that city, which office he filled for one year. Mr. Barclay then started a general merchandise business, in this meeting with flattering success. He carries a good stock, which is valued at $2,500 to $3,000, and by his court- eous manner and upright dealing has obtained a liberal patronage from the surrounding commu- nity. Mr. Barclay was united in matrimony, Decem- ber 23, 1880, to Miss Fannie N. Watson, a daugh- ter of Hiram B. and Henrietta (Bankston) Watson, of Columbus County, Ga. By this marriage two children have been born: Fred B. (born August, 1881, now deceased), and Frank Carlton (born November 28, 1884). Mr. Barclay received the appointment of postmaster at Russell in 1881, holding that position until 1885, when he was re- elected, and is still filling the office, discharging the duties that devolve upon him in a manner that is entirely satisfactory to all and commendatory to one in that responsible position. He is presi- dent of the school board, and takes an active part
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in all educational interests; contributes liberally to the relief of the poor, and is a thorough worker in all public enterprises. He is a Democrat in his political views and a Methodist in religious belief, though not a member of the church. Mr. Barclay is a Master Mason in good standing, also belongs to the Triple Alliance, a mutual benefit associa- tion.
John M. Bartlett is the son of George Bart- lett, who was born in Kentucky in 1811, being married in Illinois, about 1830, to Mahala Gow- ens. She was brought up among the Indians and had Indian blood in her veins, her mother be- ing a half Cherokee. Mr. Bartlett after his mar- riage settled in Illinois, where he remained three years. He then moved to Kentucky and remained there until his death, which occurred in May, 1864, his wife also dying within a few days. They were the parents of six children: Martha J., William, Thomas J., John M., Dudley and Elizabeth P. Thomas and Dudley are deceased. John M. Bartlett was born in Fulton County, Ky., in 1843. At the outbreak of the war, inspired by patriotism, he enlisted, May 1861, in the Fifth Tennessee Infantry and participated in the battle of Shiloh and in a number of skirmishes. After his term of service had expired he returned home before the close of the war and engaged in farm- ing, and married, in 1864, Miss Josephine Bal- dridge, a daughter of one of the early pioneers of Kentucky. Following his union Mr. Bartlett im- migrated to Arkansas, and settled in Van Buren County and three years later, came to White County, where he has since made his home. He has a fine farm of 120 acres, seventy-five of which are under cultivation. Mrs. Bartlett was a Free Will Baptist, and died in 1883, leaving four chil- dren: George (deceased), Jennie, Ida and Joseph- ine. Mr. Bartlett was married the second time to Mrs. Sutton, a widow. By his second marriage he has one boy: Edgar. Mr. Bartlett is a mem- ber of the Christian Church, and is a member and the vice-president of the County Wheel. His in- fluence in the affairs of this community has been of decided good.
Judge J. J. Bell, the present efficient clerk of
the circuit court and recorder of White County, is a native of Arkansas and a son of Robert S. and Louisa (Jacobs) Bell, natives of Kentucky and Ver- mont, respectively. Robert S. Bell was born in 1805, and when a young man moved to Arkansas and located in Monroe County, being one of the early settlers of that locality. In 1850 he became settled in White County, where he was engaged in his work as a Presbyterian minister, also serving as county clerk for four years. While in Monroe County he served as county clerk, and besides oc- cupied the office of county judge for several years. He remained in White County ten years, but sub- sequently removed to the Chickasaw Nation, going there as a missionary and a teacher to that tribe. In their midst he remained until his death, which occurred in 1880. He was a son of James Bell, of Irish descent, who was a missionary Baptist min- ister, and died in White County. Louisa Jacobs was a danghter of Joseph Jacobs, of Vermont, who came to Monroe County at an early day, being one of the early settlers, and where he died. Mrs. Bell died in 1848, after which Mr. Bell married Arvilla A. Waterman, who is still living. By his first marriage he was the father of six children, our subject being the only one living. By his second marriage there are two children: Robert S., Jr. (who is a resident of the Indian nation), and Albert G. J. J. Bell first saw the light of day in Monroe County December 11, 1841, but accompanied his parents to White County when nine years of age. When sixteen years old he commenced farming for himself, at which he was occupied until the break- ing out of the war, when he enlisted in the Eighth Arkansas Infantry, serving as second lieutenant of Company K, and participating in the battles of Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, At- lanta, and a number of others. He was captured at Jonesboro, Ga., September 1, 1864, and was held twenty-one days when he was exchanged and re- joined his regiment. At the battle of Murfreesboro he was wounded by a gunshot in the forehead, and at the battle of Nashville he was again slightly wounded in the head. After the war he went to Tyler, Tex., then to Ouachita County, Ark., and in 1870 returned to White County, when he again
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turned his attention to farming. In 1880 Mr. Bell was elected clerk of the circuit court, which office he held for four years. In 1887 he was elected to fill the unexpired term in the office of county judge, and in 1888 was again elected clerk of the circuit court. His official duties have been discharged in a manner above reproach, and to the satisfaction of all and his own credit. Mr. Bell was married May 22, 1865, to Miss Sarah A. Banks, who was born in Alabama August, 1846. She came to White County with her parents when a child. Mr. and Mrs. Bell became the parents of eleven children, eight of whom are still living; William H., George H., Franklin, Charles E., Joseph T., Richard L., Sarah A., and Katie. Mr. Bell is a member of the Agricultural Wheel and is a strong Democrat. He and his wife are also associated with the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church.
John W. Benton has been worthily identified with White County's affairs for a long period. His parents, William and Malinda E .. (Wilson), were natives of Virginia and Georgia, respectively. The former was born in 1803, and was a son of John Wilson, who moved from Virginia to Georgia when the father of our subject was a boy. Will- iam Wilson married in 1824, and was engaged in the milling business all of his life. He became the father of eight children: Willis R., James W., Catharine, William M., Lucinda, John W., Steven and Martha. Mr. Benton died in 1887, and his wife in 1843. John W. Benton's birth occurred in Georgia in 1839, he spending his early life in the mill of his father. In 1858 he was married to Rachel Burket, a daughter of William and Rachel (Hughs) Burket, in White County, Ark., whither he had moved some two years before. Mr. and Mrs. Benton are the parents of thirteen children: Linda E. (who married David Volenteer), Francis B. (who married Frances Nipper), John Steven (married to Katie Coffey), James W. (married to Emma Horton), William M. (who married Etta Scruggs), Willis R. (married Jennie Copper), Jes- sie A., David H., Fannie S., Elneo L., Charley W., Mamie L. and Henry V. Mr. Benton enlisted during the war (in 1863) in Capt. Thompson's com- pany, and took part in the Missouri raid, being
captured at Van Buren and taken to Little Rock. Mr. Benton has a fine farm of 160 acres, with over half of it cleared. Himself and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, Mr. Benton being one of the elders. He is a Democrat in politics, and an esteemed citizen.
T. B. Bobbitt, M. D., is one of the most worthy men engaged in the practice of medicine in White County, and is much esteemed and re- spected by all his medical brethren. He was born ; in Gibson County, Tenn., November 8, 1849, and while assisting his father on the farm, he attended school at every opportunity, and by applying him- self closely to his books he, at the age of twenty years, had a much better education than the aver- age farmer's boy. Not being satisfied with the education thus acquired, he entered the high school at Gibson, Tenn., and formed while there a desire to enter the medical profession. In 1872 he entered the Nashville Medical College, gradu- ated in the class of 1873 and the following year engaged in selling drugs. He next farmed one year and in 1876 began the practice of medicine in Madison County, Tenn., continuing there until 1879, when he settled in White County, at Anti- och Church, and in 1886 came to Beebe. Since his residence here he has practiced his profession, kept a drug store and has farmed, and in all these enterprises has been successful, being now the owner of 500 acres of good farming land, lying in several different farms, and has 200 acres under cultivation. In 1873 he was united in marriage to Miss Eddie James, a daughter of Edward James, a native of Tennessee. They have four children: Nora (born March 1, 1875), Pinkie (born in 1879), Lawson (born in 1881) and Edgar (born in 1886). The Doctor is a member of the A. F. & A. M. and was a member of the K. of L. He and his wife and eldest daughter are members of the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church. His parents, T. J. and Elizabeth (Wallace) Bobbitt, were born in South Carolina and Tennessee, respectively, and the former at the age of seven years was taken to Tennessee by his father, James Bobbitt, who had previously been an influential planter of South Carolina. They were married in Gibson County,
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Tenn., in 1835, and reared the following family: William H. (a lawyer of Humboldt, Tenn.), Caro- line (wife of W. F. Lawson, at present mayor of Eureka Springs, Ark.), James (a carriage and wagon maker of Joplin, Mo.), Mattie (who died at the age of twenty at Eureka Springs, Ark.), Ellen (wife of H. M. Brimm, a druggist at Eureka Springs), Mollie (wife of William Boyd, an editor of Seneca, Mo.) and Lena (who died in infancy). Both parents are living in retirement at Eureka Springs and are members of the Cumberland Pres- byterian Church, the former a Mason and a men- ber of the Union Labor party. J. N. Wallace, the maternal grandfather of our subject, was a soldier in the War of 1812, was a farmer and one of the pioneers of Tennessee.
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