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 21

Author: Goodspeed Publishing Company
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; St. Louis [etc.] : The Goodspeed Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 836

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 21

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Robert I. Boggs, a leading planter and stock raiser of White County owes his nativity to the State of Mississippi, and was born in June, 1843, being the son of John W. Boggs, of South Caro- lina. The former was born in 1815 and received his education in Yorktown, S. C., immigrating to Mississippi in 1840, where he married Catherine J. Smith in 1841. Mrs. Boggs was a daughter of John and Martha Smith, and a devout member of the Methodist Church. Her death occurred in 1889. Mr. and Mrs. Boggs were the parents of fifteen children: Mandy, Joseph W. (deceased), Robert I., James P., Newton J. (deceased), John (deceased), Martha (deceased), Lucy and Sarah (died at the ages of twenty-five and twenty-three, respectively), Franklin L. George P., Charley W., Margaret M., Addie E. and Harrison B. Mr. Boggs was a Democrat, and a man who man- ifested a great interest in all church and educa- tional matters. He helped to organize the first church at Mount Pisgah, Mount Pleasant and Oak Grove, and has acted as class-leader in the Metho- dist Episcopal Church for fifty years. He is a member of the Wheel and also the Grange, and is enjoying good health, though passed his seventy- fourth year. Robert I. received his education in the county schools of White County near Searcy, and there married November 12, 1867, Miss Eliza J. Whisenant, of Mississippi, and a daughter of Nicholson and Nancy Whisenant, natives of South

Carolina. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Boggs six children have been born: Ida MI., James M., Edward, Robert C., Annie J. and John W. Ida and Edward are deceased; the rest reside at home. Mr. Boggs owns about 150 acres of good land, sixty in cultivation, and well stocked with all that is requisite to successfully operate a farm of that size. He is a member of the Wheel, in which he has held the office of president and vice-president, discharging in a highly commendable manner the duties of that office. He served in the late war on the Confederate side and entered in October, 1862, returning home in 1863, but again enlisted, re- maining only a short time. In 1864 he enlisted again under Gen. Dobbins, his first hard fight being at DeVall's Bluff. He was wounded in the Big Blue Fight by a ball which struck him in the left cheek, but did not prove serious. Mr. Boggs received an honorable discharge and at once re- turned home, engaging in farming, which has been his occupation ever since, and proving very successful. He is a member of twenty years' standing in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and his wife has held a membership in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for twenty-three years.

M. Love Booth, retired farmer and merchant, was born in Middle Tennessee, Bedford County, in 1819, but owing to his father's early removal to Haywood County, he was reared there. The par- ents, James and Mary (Lofton) Booth, were both Virginians, and after residing in Tennessee for many years they removed to White County, Ark., and died at the home of their son in 1861. He was a member of the Baptist Church, a Mason, a life- long Democrat, and was for years sheriff of Bed- ford County. After his wife's death, which oc- curred in 1851, he married again and came to Arkansas. M. Love Booth is the third of their six children, four now living: John (deceased, who was a farmer in Tennessee), William (a farmer of West Tennessee), Samira (deceased), M. Love, Susan (the wife of Henry Bacon, of Mississippi) and Louisa (who is the wife of a Tennessee farmer). Our subject has been familiar with farm work from his earliest boyhood. but his early advantages for acquiring an education were not so good. At the

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age of twenty he was a farm hand, later a trader and stock breeder, and after his marriage to Miss Elizabeth Budrell he became an overseer, and suc- cessfully followed that occupation for forty years. He then gave up that work and built a livery stable in Brownsville, his establishment there being the largest of the kind in the State. In 1858 he came to Arkansas and purchased 320 acres of land near El Paso, seventy acres of which he cleared the first year. He was signally successful until the war broke out, when all his personal property was lost. He did not espouse either cause, and was not mo- lested during those turbulent times. When he came to El Paso there were only two farms open here, but now the greater part of the land is in a high state of cultivation. After the war he, with Thomas Warren, built a large mill, which was de- stroyed by fire, when he returned to his farm, which he again began to till. He became the possessor of 1,000 acres, and has cleared over 300 acres, and since giving each of his children a farm he still holds 310 acres. His wife died Oc- tober 1, 1887, and since that time he has made his home with his children, and is at present living with J. T. Phelps, his son-in-law, in El Paso, where he has an interest in the store of M. L. Phelps & Co. Mr. Booth was the first man to build a store in El Paso after the war, and is now managing a livery stable in that place, and, al- though he has attained the age of seventy years, he is an excellent business manager and is very active. Although quiet in his habits of life, he has always been interested in the public affairs of the county, and has done his full share in making the county what it is. He joined the Masons while in Tennessee, and he as well as his children are members of the Baptist Church. His children's names are here given: Nancy (is the wife of Mon- roe Oakley, a prosperous farmer of White County), Rebecca (is the wife of John C. Harkness, a farmer of El Paso), Elizabeth L. (is the wife of Thomas K. Noland, a farmer of the county), Narcissus (is the wife of John Russ, a farmer and president of the State Wheel), Martha A. (is the wife of J. T. Phelps, a merchant of El Paso), Mosella B. (de- ceased) and three infants, deceased.

Gilliam Harper Booth, known to the citizens of White County as one of its wide-awake, energetic, ever-pushing men, is of Tennessee nativity, and a son of William A. and Delia Jane (Leathers) Booth, who claim Virginia and North Carolina, respect- ively, as the land of their birth. William A., the father of our subject, was born in 1811, and when a young man came with his parents to Mississippi, and later on removed to Fayette County, Tenn., and thence to Haywood County. He was mar- ried in Fayette County. In 1856, after the elec- tion of James Buchanan to the presidency of the United States, they removed to Arkansas. He was an emphatic Democrat, casting his vote with that party, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. William A. Booth was a son of Harper Booth, a Revolutionary War veteran, who served in that memorable conflict, and who died in 1859 at an extreme old age. The grand- father was a Virginian by birth, and a descend- ant of the Harper family from whom Harper's Ferry derives its name. Delia Jane Leathers was born in 1817, and was taken to Tennessee by her mother when a child of seven years. Mr. and Mrs. Booth were the parents of twelve children, four of whom are still living: Isabella J. (the wife of Dr. W. P. Lawton), Martha Ann (the wife of Capt. Rayburn, deceased), Gilliam H. (our subject) and Charles L. Gilliam H. Booth received his educa- tion at the public schools of West Point and at Judsonia University. His birth occurred August 26, 1850, in Haywood County, Tenn. He has been actively engaged in teaching school, clerking and farming, and owns a fine farm of 356 acres, with 150 under cultivation. In religion he is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and a Prohibitionist, but, being a radical free trader, in- clines toward the Democratic party, voting that ticket. In the community in which he lives he is regarded as a highly respected citizen.

William F. Bradley is a traveling salesman for a Lynchburg (Va.) tobacco firm, and is a gen- tleman who enjoys the respect and esteem of the people of White County. He was born in Cald- well County, N. C., June 6, 1847, and is a son of Jackson and Martha (Ferguson) Bradley, who were

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born, reared and married in that State, the latter event taking place in 1841. Mrs. Bradley was born in 1825, was of Scotch descent, her grand- father having emigrated from Scotland to North Carolina before it became a State, and took part in the Revolutionary War, being in sympathy with the cause of the Americans. Jackson Bradley was born in 1818, and was of Welsh descent, his an- cestors having come to America long before the Revolution. After his marriage he was engaged in farming in his native state until 1855, and after residing successively in Mississippi, Georgia, and Missouri, he came to Arkansas in 1861, and to White County in 1875. He resided on a farm two miles east of Beebe till his death in March, 1887, his wife preceding him to the grave by ten years. Both worshiped in the Missionary Baptist Church. William F. Bradley was the third in a family of seventeen children, the following of whom are living: Madelia (Mrs. Thomas), Amelia (Mrs. Mosier), Susan (Mrs. Bailey), Burton and William F. The latter received his education in the various States in which his father lived, and after attaining his twenty-first year, he worked as a farm hand for two years, then attended school at Butlerville, Lonoke County, for ten months. After teaching one term of school he engaged as a clerk at Beebe, at the end of six years engaging in the same business in partnership with J. T. Coradine, under the firm name of Bradley & Cor- adine. At the end of two years they took a Mr. Burton into the business, the firm then becoming Bradley, Coradine & Co., continuing such one year. Mr. Bradley then sold his interest, and be- came associated with Richard S. Bradley under the firm name of W. F. & R. S. Bradley, general merchants; but a few months later they made an assignment, losing all their goods. After this mis- fortune Mr. Bradley began working as a salesman, then secured a position as traveling salesman for Charles G. Peper & Co. of St. Louis, but at the end of a few months was compelled to give up this position on account of poor health. After recover- ing he worked for some time as a railroad clerk, then resumed clerking, continuing until May 1, 1889, when he accepted his present position with

J. W. West & Co., tobacco manufacturers of Lynch- burg, Va. He is nicely situated in the town of Beebe, and has a pleasant and comfortable home, and socially is a member of Beebe Lodge No. 145, of the A. F. & A. M. He has belonged to the city board of aldermen, and he and wife, who was a Miss Emma S. Dement, and whom he mar- ried November 4, 1874, are members of the Mis- sionary Baptist Church. They have a charming young daughter, Maud E., who was born October 26, 1876, and is attending the schools of Beebe. Mrs. Bradley is a native of De Soto County, Miss., and is a daughter of James T. and Ellen (Binge) Dement, the former of Alabama, and the latter of Tennessee. Mr. Dement was a farmer, and in 1872 came with his family to White County, dying there a year later, at the age of forty-five years. His wife survives him, and lives with Mrs. McIntosh in Beebe. The following are her children: Betty J. (born in 1857, the wife of Dr. McIntosh, the leading physician of Beebe), Emma S. (Mrs. Brad- ley, born June 24, 1859), Ella (born 1861, wife of A. M. Burton, a prosperous merchant of Beebe), Jennie (wife of Maxwell Welty, a railroad agent at Beebe), and James T. (who was born in Febru- ary, 1874, and is attending the high school at Beebe).

William Sackville Brewer. Ever since his connection with the agricultural affairs of White County, Ark., Mr. Brewer has displayed those sterling characteristics-industry, perseverance and integrity, that have resulted in awarding him a representative place in matters pertaining to this community. The paternal ancestors came to America prior to the Revolutionary War and set- tled in Virginia, the grandfather, Barrett Brewer, an Englishman, participating in that struggle. He married Malinda Pollard, and by her became the father of four children: Martha (Mrs. Sanders), Sarah (who first married a Mr. Harder, and after- ward a Mr. Scott), Benjamin and John Pollard (the father of our biographical subject). The ma- ternal ancestors were also English, and came to America while it was still subject to the crown. The maternal grandmother was a Sackville, belong- ing to the distinguished English family of that

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name. John Pollard Brewer was married to Susan Jefferson Townsend September 1, 1833, and to them the following children were born: William Sackville (born June 10, 1834), Martha M. (born July 18, 1836), James M. (born July 3, 1838), Pollard J. (born October 24, 1840), Sarah W. (born March 5, 1843), Andrew T. (born November 19, 1845), Benjamin A. (born May 19, 1848), John B. (born January 22, 1851), Mary E. (born Sep- tember 19, 1853) and Karilla W. (born July 2, 1855). The father and mother of these children were born October 15, 1812, and March 14, 1817, respectively, the latter being of German descent, and a daughter of Andrew Criswell and Elizabeth (Barnett) Townsend. The father was one of the early settlers of Alabama, and represented Pike County in the State legislature. William Sackville Brewer was born in Pike County, Ala., and was educated in the subscription schools and reared on a farm. At the age of nineteen years he left home and united his fortunes with those of Miss Eliza H. Clayton, their union taking place October 10, 1852. She was born in Fayette County, Ga., June 6, 1834, and is a daughter of Richard and Jane (Carter) Clayton, the paternal ancestors be- ing emigrants from Ireland to America prior to the Revolution. Mr. and Mrs. Brewer have a family of ten children: Susan E. (born September 6, 1853, became the wife of W. J. Turner in 1872, and died in 1883, leaving two children), Howell C. (born December 8, 1855, and died September 3, 1863), John William (born January 8, 1858), Ara Anna (born March 30, 1860, and died September 12, 1864). James R. (born September 18, 1862), Lela Lewis (born January 8, 1865, married D. A. King in 1882 and became the mother of two chil- dren), Henry W. (born September 1, 1867, and died June 8, 1871), Minnie Lee (born August 4, 1870), Robert B. (born March 23, 1872) and Rich- ard J. (born December 24, 1874). Mr. Brewer has been a resident of Arkansas since 1873, and for two years farmed on rented land near Searcy. He continued to farm rented land until 1878, when he bought the farm of 129 acres where he now lives, of which about thirty-five acres are under cultivation. The buildings on the place were badly

dilapidated, but Mr. Brewer now has all the build- ings in excellent repair and his farm otherwise well improved. Mr. Brewer and his wife are pro- fessors of religion, and he at one time belonged to the Masonic fraternity, and is now a member of the Agricultural Wheel.

Charles Brown, M. D., was a native of Vir- ginia. and was born May 3, 1783. He was the son of Bernard and Elizabeth (Dancy) Brown. He re- ceived his early education in Virginia, and later attended the Jefferson Medical College at Phila- delphia, from which he graduated about 1807, subsequently settling in Charlotteville, Albemarle County, Va., and commenced the practice of med- icine. Mr. Brown was married April 1, 1813, to Mary Brown, a daughter of Bezakel and Mary (Thompson) Brown, originally of Virginia, who was born April 24, 1790. They were the parents of the following children: Bernard O. (deceased), Elvira (deceased). Elizabeth D. (now Mrs. Jones, of Virginia), Bezaleel T. (deceased). Charles T., Alger- ion R. and Ezra M. Mr. Brown held the office of high sheriff of his county for two terms. His death occurred in 1879, at the age of ninety-six years; at the time of his death he was still a strong man with a wonderful memory. Algerion R. Brown was born in Albemarle County, Va., March 5, 1831. He attended the University of Virginia and in 1850 left it and studied medicine with his father a short time, and in 1852 went to Marshall County, Mis- sissippi, where he engaged in the mercantile busi- ness until the war broke out. Mr. Brown was mar- ried January 26, 1855, to Mary F. Williams, a daughter of Alexander and Martha (Delote) Will- iams, of North Carolina nativity. Mrs. Brown was a native of Tennessee. Mr. Brown enlisted in 1861 for three years or during the war, in Com- pany F, of the Thirty-fourth Mississippi Infantry in the Army of Tennessee. During the first twelve months he was first lieutenant, afterward was on staff of "general inspector," and after the battle of Lookout Mountain he went back to his regi- ment and was placed in command of three com- panies for some time and was then promoted to captain of the engineer department of staff duty, filling this position till the time of surrender. He

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participated in the battles of Shiloh, Murfrees- boro, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, and nearly all of the principal battles dur- ing the terrible conflict. Mr. Brown removed from Mississippi to Tennessee in 1881, remaining there four years, then moved to White County, Ark., settling in Cane Township on eighty acres of land, where he now has about thirty acres under cultiva- tion. Mr. and Mrs. Brown have a family of five children and one deceased: Martha E. (deceased), Mary W., Susan W., Charles E., Samuel H., Wal- ter L. Himself and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mr. Brown has served as delegate to the district and annual conferences, and is one of the stewards of the church. He is an energetic and well-educated man, and a fine talker, and takes an interest in all school and religious work. He was one of the committee from Mississippi to the New Orleans fair in 1883.

Dr. R. L. Browning, physician and surgeon, Judsonia, Ark. Prominent among the compara- tively young men of White County, whose career thus far has been both honorable and successful, is the subject of the present sketch. His father, R. C. Browning was a native of Kentucky, and while attending school in Indiana, met and married the mother of the Doctor, her maiden name being Miss Eliza Frady. She was born in North Caro- lina, but was reared in Indiana. After their mar. riage the parents settled in Kentucky, and here the father followed teaching until 1849, when he moved to Sac County, Iowa, where he followed agricultural pursuits for a means of livelihood. He took an active part in politics, was county treasurer of Sac County one term, and in the fall of 1870 moved to Judsonia, where he continued tilling the soil. In 1877 he engaged in merchan- dising and still continues in that business. He and wife reside in Judsonia. Their family con- sisted of the following children: J. H. (married and living in Judsonia), W. C. (married and re- siding in Kirksville, Mo., engaged in merchandis- ing), R. L., Maggie (now Mrs. Marsh, of Jud- sonia), Viola (now Mrs. Drake, of Judsonia). Dr. R. L. Browning was born in Sac County, Iowa, in 1859, assisted his father on the farm, and received

his education in the Judsonia University, one of the best schools of the county. He commenced reading medicine in Judsonia in 1877, and in 1878-79 took a course of lectures at the Cincin- nati Eclectic Medical Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio, graduating in the class of 1882. He then came back and commenced the practice of medicine, where he was reared, and continued the same until the summer of 1882, having met with success and built up a big practice. He was married in Judsonia, Ark., on November 27, 1882, to Miss Emily B. Ellis, a native of New York, and the daughter of John Ellis, of English origin. Mr Ellis came to this country, settled in New York, was civil engineer, and also engaged in horticult- ure. He came to Judsonia, Ark., in 1882, and died the same year in San Francisco, Cal .. the mother dying in New York in 1872. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Browning were born two children (only one now living): Harry R. (who was born in 1887), and Carroll Ellis (who died in 1884, at the age of eight months and twelve days). Dr. Brown- ing is not very enthusiastic in regard to politics, but his vote is cast with the Republican party. Socially he is a member of Judsonia Lodge No. 45, I. O. O. F., at Judsonia, and has been Noble Grand of the order. He belongs to the Missionary Baptist Church and Mrs. Browning to the Episcopal Church. The Doctor is secretary of the Building Association, also of the board of Judsonia University, and is one of the first men of the county. He has been unusually successful in his practice and has won the confidence and esteem of all.

Prof. Augustine W. Bumpass, a prominent citi- zen and teacher of White County, is a native of Madison County, West Tenn., where he was born, near Jackson, on January 22, 1851. He is the eldest son of Dr. E. L. and Lucinda E. (Young) Bumpass. His father was a native of Giles Coun- ty, Tenn., where he was born April 15, 1816, being reared in Lauderdale County, Ala., and there edu- cated both in literature and medicine. Graduating at the Louisville Medical College, in the class of 1841-42, with the highest honors. he was for many years a prominent physician in Alabama, but re- moved to Madison County, Tenn .. in the latter part

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of 1850, where he resided until 1856, at which time he removed to Arkansas and settled in Prairie (now Lonoke) County. Here, in a wild and un- settled country, he purchased land and opened up a farm, which he conducted in connection with his practice until his death, December 3, 1883. He was a man of generous and humane impulses, a warm-hearted and devoted Christian, and a mem- ber of the Christian Church. He was a Master Mason and a member of the I. O. O. F., standing high in both of those societies. An old line Whig until the dissolution of that party, he then affiliated with the Democratic party until his death. The mother of our subject, Lucinda E. (Young) Bum- pass, was a native of Alabama, where she was reared, educated and married. She was the daugh- ter of Elder James Young, a prominent minister of the Christian Church in Alabama. He died in 1852. Mrs. Bumpass died on December 5, 1881, aged fifty-nine years, eight months and nine days. Dr. Gabriel Bumpass, grandfather of Augustine W., was a native of North Carolina and died in Lauderdale County, Ala., in 1875, aged one hun- dred and seventeen years. He was the oldest phy- sician in America, if not in the world, having prac- ticed medicine for more than eighty years. He was a remarkable man in many respects, and as physician, farmer or merchant, was very success- ful. Our subject's parents were married in Lau- derdale County, Ala., on May 18, 1845. To their marriage seven children were born, five sons and two daughters, five of whom are living, as follows: Mary E. (at Pine Bluff, Ark.), Augustine W. (near Searcy, in White County, Ark.), Samuel J. (at Lonoke, (Ark.), Edward K. and Ross H. (at Pine Bluff, Ark.). The two last named are mechanics and buggy and carriage manufacturers; Samuel J. is a farmer, stock-raiser and trader. Romelia C., the eldest, a daughter, and Robert W., the fourth child, are dead. A. W. Bumpass was reared in Tennessee to the age of five years, and from that time in Arkansas, where he was educated, obtain- ing a good academic instruction and preparing himself for the profession of law. However, he began teaching early in life and has paid but little attention to the law, except in the lower courts.

Commencing for himself at the age of eighteen as a teacher in the public schools of his State, he has been occupied in teaching more or less for twenty years, gaining an enviable reputation in many counties where he has been engaged in the public and private schools and academies. He is a poli- tician of some note, and represented his county (Lonoke) in the legislature, in 1879 and 1880, tak- ing always an active interest in the campaigns of his party, Democratic. He was married in Lonoke County, Ark., on April 25, 1875, to Miss Virginia C. Kirk, a native of Marshall County, Miss., born April 11, 1856, a daughter of Richard L. and Virginia (Hayes) Kirk. Her father is dead, but her mother is a resident of White County, at the home of her daughter. Prof. Bumpass and wife have · five children, four sons and one daughter: Edward W., Herbert R., Robert H., Prentice and Mary Moyner. The Professor is a member of the Christian Church and takes an active interest in church and Sunday-school matters. He has been Sunday-school superintendent for many years, was notary public from 1885 until 1889 in White Coun- ty, and is a highly educated, intelligent gentleman, having the respect and confidence of those with whom he comes in contact. Generous to a fault, he aids all worthy enterprises to the extent of his time and means.

Patrick Burns was the second settler in White County, and for this reason, if for no other, de- serves prominent mention in the present volume. Now the oldest resident of the county, he came here in 1844 and located some land, having to make the journey from Springfield on foot and passing about fifteen days en route. His arrival was in September and he remained in the wilder- ness country until the following February, when he returned on foot to Sangamon County, Ill., go- ing thence to Ohio in the same manner. After about one year's stay in the Buckeye State he again came to White County and was engaged in farming until 1863. Going to Missouri he worked there at farm labor also, and in 1865 settled per- manently on the farm where he now lives. His career since that time has been one of which he need not feel ashamed. Mr. Burns was born in

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Author: Goodspeed Publishing Company Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; St. Louis [etc.] : The Goodspeed Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 836

Author: Goodspeed Publishing Company
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. ; St. Louis [etc.] : The Goodspeed Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 836