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 23

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 23

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).

Arthur Smith Claiborn, eminently fitted and well worthy to be numbered among the successful farmers and stockmen of White County, Ark., is a son of John B. and Perlina E. (Thomason) Clai- born, the former a Tennesseean of Irish descent and the latter a native of North Carolina. They were married in Tennessee, and in 1859 moved to Kansas, purchasing a partly improved farm, con- sisting of 160 acres, in Prairie County, After con- siderably improving this land they moved to White

145

WHITE COUNTY.

County, settling on a tract of railroad land, where the father died seven years later, September 17, 1874, his wife having died October 16, 1870. Their children are as follows: Mary Jane (who be- came the consort of L. D. Hendrickson, deceased, and is living in Kentucky with her five children), Millie C. (married Jasper Scott, and in 1856 moved to Illinois; her husband was killed at the battle of Nashville, in 1865, leaving her with six children), W. B. (was killed at Franklin, Ky., while a member of the Eighth Tennessee Regi- ment), Mary F. (was married to R. H. Ferguson, but died after having borne two children), John H. (residing in Texas, and by his wife, who was Miss Mary Ware, is the father of six children), Perlila C. (was wedded to John Hodges, and upon her death left two children), Pleasant T. (died at Jack- son, Miss., while serving in the Confederate army), Arthur Smith (our subject), Thomas J. and Samuel B. Arthur Smith Claiborn was born in De Kalb County, Tenn., February 3, 1847, and was edu- cated in the subscription schools of his native county, but it must be acknowledged that his ad- vantages were very meager, and at the time he had attained his twenty-first birthday he had only re- ceived three months' schooling. He immediately began business for himself upon attaining his ma- jority, and for two years raised crops of cotton and corn on shares, and at the end of this time was married to Miss Martha J. Hale, a native of Mis- sissippi and daughter of Francis J. and Louisa (White) Hale, who were among the old settlers of Arkansas, having come to the State in 1859. Their marriage took place December 2, 1869, and of eight children born to their union seven are liv- ing: Elnora (born October 7, 1870), William B. (born August 20, 1872), James (born July 25, 1874), Mattie J. (born in September, 1876, and died in August, 1877), Annie (born October 16, 1878), Alcora (born March 28, 1882), Arthur S. (born February 27, 1885) and Aver A. (born Feb- ruary 26, 1886). After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Claiborn settled on eighty acres of land be- longing to the latter, and in 1876 Mr. Claiborn became able to purchase 116 acres of wild land, which he has improved and to which he has added

eighty acres. He now has seventy five acres under cultivation, a good frame house, good barns and one tenant house. He rented his land on shares. until this year (1889) but now rents for cash. Mr. and Mrs. Claiborn and two of their children, El- nora and William, hold memberships in the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, South, and Mr. Claiborn is a Democrat in his political views. He has always been a liberal contributor to the advance- ment of religious, social and educational institu- tions, and has also given generously to all enter- prises which he deemed worthy of support.

Green B. Clay is a well-to-do farmer and stock raiser of Cadron Township, and was the youngest in a family of ten children of John and Diallia (Morris) Clay. Mr. Clay was a native of North Carolina. His family consisted of the following children: Nancy, Harriet, Louisa, Jackson M., Emily, Sarah, Susan, William H., Martha and Green B. (our subject. ) He was reared on a farm in Tennessee, where he was born in 1827, and started out in life when he was sixteen years of age. In 1851 he was married to Mary W. Mizzells, a daughter of Miles and Elizabeth (Rooks) Mizzells. In 1868 Mr. Clay bought a farm in Tennessee. He subsequently sold it and moved to Arkansas, settling in White County, where he bought a farm of 560 acres, clearing about seventy-three acres. Mrs. Clay was the mother of eighteen children, eight of whom are still living: John M., Joseph H., Zacariah M., Francis M., James N., George A., Charles C. and Albert A. He was married the second time to Nancy E. Burton (nee Neal), a widow. To them have been given five children: Walter L., Nathan B., Stephen M., Neoma Parlee and an infant which is not named. Mr. and Mrs. Clay are mem- bers of the Missionary Baptist Church. He is a strong Democrat and a member of the County Wheel. He is deeply interested in all work for the good of the church, school or any public en- terprise.

J. C. Cleveland, M. D., was born in Independ- ence County, November 19, 1852, and is the son of Joseph and Elizabeth (Butcher) Cleveland, na- tives of Georgia and Alabama, respectively. Mr.

146

HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.

Joseph Cleveland moved to Alabama when a young man, where he was married and in 1852, he re- moved to Independence County, Ark. He served his county a number of times in an official capac- ity, and in 1873 he represented his county in the legislature. He served eighteen months in the Confederate army, during which time he was taken prisoner and held at Fortress Monroe eight months before he was exchanged. He was with Gen. Price in his raid through Missouri and Kan- sas. He was a Republican and belonged to the Masonic fraternity. in which he had taken the Roy- al Arch degree. He died in the early part of the year 1887, at Newport, Ark., at the age of sixty- one. Mrs. Cleveland is still living and a resident of Newport, Ark., and is the mother of eleven children, nine of whom still survive: Martha E. (wife of J. W. Kennedy), J. C. (our subject), Henry P. (a lawyer by profession), Mary A. (wife of J. D. Cantrell), Susan A. T. (wife of L. D. Bownds), James F., Charles E., Samuel and Ed- ward. Dr. J. C. Cleveland began his career as a school-teacher in his nineteenth year, following that profession till 1883, when he began the study of medicine. He graduated from the Missouri Medical College in 1888, first having taken lect- ures at the Kentucky School of Medicine, Louis- ville. Dr. Cleveland was married, November 7, 1875, to Miss Nancy E. Vick, a daughter of Dr. T. A. Vick. She died in 1885, having had three children, only one of whom survives, Lavina E., who is still living with her father. Dr. Cleve- land was again married, in 1886, to Miss Nannie F. Goad, who is the mother of one daughter: Susan Estella. Mrs. Cleveland is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The Doctor is a member of the Masonic fraternity and a strong Republican. He is now a resident of Bald Knob, where he has built up a large and success- ful practice, and is an enterprising and highly re- spected citizen.

John D. Coffey is a well-known citizen of White County and was born in Macon, Fayette County, Tenn., June 19, 1838. His father, David P. Cof- fey, was a Presbyterian clergyman, and first saw the light of this world in Tennessee in November,

1805. He was given all the advantages for an education to be had at that time, and applied him- self so assiduously to his studies, that he became an accomplished and finely educated gentleman. He was married in his native State November 12, 1835, to Miss Mary C. Cogville, a daughter of Charlie and Pollie Cogville, and to their union fourteen children were born, of which John D. is the second child and the oldest son. Of that family seven are now living, six residing in this State. The Rev. Coffey immigrated from Tennes- see, in 1854, and located near Searcy, where he died in 1883, his good wife surviving him but two years. He was a member of the Masonic lodge, and also a Royal Arch Mason, and was the origin- ator of the first church that was ever organized in Stony Point, the denomination being the Cumber- land Presbyterian. This township, where John D. Coffey now resides, derived its title from his father, in whose honor it was named. John D. served in the late war on the Confederate side, and enlisted in 1861, in Douglas County, in Brown's Tennessee Regiment. His first hard fight was at the battle of Shiloh, and he also engaged in numerous other engagements. He was captured at Port Edson, but was soon after paroled, and at once returned home to claim his promised bride, Miss Malicia G. Harris. After his marriage Mr. Coffey returned to the war and accompanied Price on his raid through Missouri, and received his final discharge from service in 1865. To Mr. and Mrs. Coffey have been born a family of eight children: John H., Mary, Josephus, Lucy E., David P., Hugh, James S., Minnie C. Mr. Coffey has a good farm of forty acres, finely stocked, and with all the con- veniences and modern improvements to make the home comfortable. Himself and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and highly respected by every one.

John Reed Coffey is a prominent farmer and miller of White County, Ark., and owes his na- tivity to the State of Tennessee, the date of his birth being December 19, 1856. His father, Wiley D. Coffey, was born in Bedford County, Tenn., October 6, 1827, where he received his education, and there married Narcissa A. Muse, August 5, 1850.

147

WHITE COUNTY.

Mrs. Coffey is a daughter of Richard and Margaret Muse, and a very estimable lady. To their union eight children were born, five of them now living: Mary C., John R., Richard H., Sarah H., Joseph H. The other three died in infancy. Mr. Coffey is a teacher and minister, and owns 286 acres of good land with 100 in cultivation. He immigrated from Texas to Arkansas in 1871, locating in White County, which has been his home ever since. When he came to this county his worldly possessions con- sisted of a team of horses and a wagon, but he is now worth $5,000, and a farm well supplied with all the necessary stock for its successful operation. Mr. Coffey has educated three of his children for teachers. He has held a membership in the I. O. O. F. and in the Wheel, but has severed his connection with the latter order. He served in the Confederate War, enlisting in 1862, in Company A, Forty-fourth Regiment, and received his dis- charge in the same year. J. Reed Coffey ac- quired his education at home by the aid of the fire light, and when twenty-one years old began life for himself, working for two years, then returned home and worked with his father to pay a debt that hung like the sword of Damocles over the old homestead. At the age of twenty-eight years he was married to Sarah A. Harriss, their marriage occurring in October, 1885. She was a native of Illinois, and a daughter of Johnson and Keziah Harriss. They are the parents of two children: Clifton B. and Robert L. He owns 400 acres of good land, which lies southeast of Bald Knob and is well stocked with all the necessary appurte- nances required to operate a farm. He is a Demo- crat politically, and as might be supposed by his home surroundings of English descent. Mrs. Coffey is a member of the Baptist Church, and a favorite in her wide circle of acquaintances. Mr. Coffey richly merits the reward which has attended his efforts during life. Active, industrious and pru- dent, he enjoys wide respect.

William R. Cook, a man of no little prominence throughout White County, Ark., is a wealthy far- mer, stockman and fruit grower, residing near Jud- sonia, and, although born in Tennessee in 1836, he has been a resident of Arkansas since 1848, al-

though he first resided in Independence County. He was the eldest of six children, born to John and Ann (Anderson) Cook, the former of whom was born in that state in 1814, and was educated as a Methodist minister, being a son of William and Margaret Cook. He was married in Tennessee in 1835 and followed farming there until his removal to Arkansas, his wife bearing him in the meantime these children: William R., Mary, Eliza, Lavinia, Arkansas and Andrew. They took up land in Ar- kansas and here the father died in 1879, and the mother in 1872. The maternal grandparents were Anderson and Dorcas Clark, Kentuckians, who came to Tennessee at an early day. William R. spent his youth in Tennessee but received the most of his education in Arkansas, and in the year 1860 started out in life for himself. A year later he joined Company B, Seventh Arkansas Infantry, First Arkansas Brigade, and took part in the bat- tles of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Big Creek, and was with Price on his raid through Missouri, and with Bragg in Kentucky. He received his discharge in 1865 and after coming home was mar- ried (in 1866) to Albina, a daughter of Thomas and Margaret (Price) Bownds, and by her became the father of four children: Ida, Ella, Maggie and John (the latter dying in 1881). Mr. Cook was the owner of 240 acres of land in Independence County, but sold this and removed to White County, purchas- ing 460 acres near Judsonia, of which he now has 225 acres under cultivation. He is a steward in the Methodist Episcopal Church, of which his wife is also a member. He belongs to Anchor 'Lodge No. 384, of the A. F. & A. M., and is Deputy Grand Lecturer of his district. In his political views he is a Democrat. In 1879 he was called upon to mourn the death of his wife, and he afterward es- poused Isabel Sisco, a daughter of Zedichire and Thurza Sisco, the father a native of Alabama and the mother of Middle Tennessee. They came to Arkansas about 1838, and here Mrs. Cook was born. The father died in 1858 and the mother in 1862. Mr. Cook and his present wife have had two chil- dren, both of whom are now deceased: Reuben P. and Sterling, the former's death occurring in 1881 and the latter's in 1883.

148

HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.

Joshua J. Crow was attending school in this county at the time of the outbreak of the war, when he laid down his books, left family and friends to join the Confederate Army. He enlisted in Tay- lor's regiment of Texas troops, and later in the Sec- ond Trans-Mississippi Department, in the Second Arkansas Cavalry; also took part in the battles of Jenkins' Ferry, Helena, Poison Springs, Little Rock, and a number of other battles and skirmishes. After peace was once more declared he went to West Point and engaged in the mercantile business, remaining there until 1870, when he removed to Searcy and subsequently filled the position of trav- eling salesman for a wholesale grocery house at St. Louis, Mo., for the next six years. In 1876 he started in the saw-mill business which he still follows. In 1877 he was married to Miss Emma J. Jones, a daughter of B. F. and J. C. Jones, and is the mother of three children: Frank F., Norman and Norton B. Mr. Crow owes his nativity to Mississippi (being born in Marshall County, June, 1844) and is the son of Joshua B. and Lavinia (West) Crow, natives of Alabama. Mr. Crow, Sr., was born in 1810, and when a young man removed with his parents to Northern Alabama, where he re- sided until his marriage when he immigrated to Marshall County, Miss., and lived there until 1847, then came to De Soto County, same State, and in February, 1849, came to Arkansas, locating in White County. He was a passenger on the second steam- boat which came up Red River. He was a Democrat in politics, a member of the Masonic order, and in religious faith belonged to the Missionary Baptist Church, as did also his wife, and was one of the best-posted men in regard to real estate in his county. His death occurred in 1866 and his wife's in the same year, at the age of fifty-three. They were the parents of eleven children, seven of whom are still living: Mrs. J. N. Cypert, Mrs. T. D. Hardy (of this county), Mrs. T. P. Boon (of Los Angeles, Cal.), Joshua J. (our subject), M. C. (of West Point), Mrs. J. R. Hardy (of Mississippi) and Miss Ella Crow (of West Point). The mother of our subject was a descendant of Gen. Israel Put- nam, of Revolutionary fame. Himself and wife are connected with the Missionary Baptist Church, in

which they take an active part. He owns 1,400 acres of fine farming land, and is a prominent Democrat in his county.

Jesse N. Cypert, is an attorney, at Searcy, Ark. Among the leading firms of attorneys in this city is the well-known one of Messrs. Cypert & Cypert, of which Jesse N. Cypert is the senior member. This gentleman is one of the pioneer settlers of Searcy, Ark., and was born in Wayne County, Tenn., in December, 1823, being one of eleven children, the result of the union of Jesse and Jemimah (Warthen) Cypert, the father a native of North Carolina, born 1781, and the mother of Pennsylvania, born 1783. The grandparents on the mother's side were of Welsh descent, and at an early day moved to North Carolina. Jesse Cypert, Sr., was married in 1802, then moved to Knox County, Tenn., where he farmed and resided until 1819, after which he moved to Wayne County, of the same State, and there his death occurred in 1858. He was a private in the War of 1812, Ten- nessee Volunteer, Carroll's brigade, and was in the battle of New Orleans under Gen. Jackson. He was sheriff and collector one term, and justice of the peace and member of the county court for a number of years. The mother died in 1857. Jesse N. Cypert's time in early life was divided between working on the farm, clearing and devel- oping the home place, and in attending the sub- scription schools of Wayne County, Tenn., in a log-cabin with dirt floor, etc. Later he attended the district schools of that State. He then studied law in the office of Judge L. L. Mack, of Wayne County, and was admitted to the bar at Waynes- boro, Tenn., in 1849. Subsequently he went to Walker County, Ga., engaged as clerk, and in May, 1858, came to Crittenden County, Ark., and began practicing at Marion. Here he remained for eight months, and in February, 1851, came to Searcy, Ark., where he began the practice of law and this has continued successfully ever since. In connection with this he also carries on farming. During the war, or in October, 1861, he served as captain of the Confederate army, Fifth Arkansas Battalion, and on the organization of the battalion at Pocahontas, Randolph County, Ark., in Octo-

149

WHITE COUNTY.

ber, Mr. Cypert was elected major. He was east of the Mississippi River, and after the battle of Shiloh he resigned and came home on account of health. Later he entered the commissary depart- ment, purchasing supplies for the troops, and was thus engaged until after the surrender of Little Rock. He was taken prisoner in October, 1863, detained at Little Rock about three weeks, and paroled as citizen the same month. He was in the convention that passed the ordinance of seces- sion in 1861, and was a delegate to both conven- tions. He continued the practice of law after the war, and this has continued ever since. He has taken ·quite an active part in politics, votes with the Democratic party, and was a delegate to the convention that voted the State into the union in 1868. He was also in the convention in 1874 that furnished the constitution that the State is under now. Mr. Cypert was elected judge of the circuit court in September, 1874, and served eight years, two terms. Socially he is a member of Searcy Lodge No. 49, A. F. & A. M., Tillman Chapter No. 19, R. A. M. He was married in White County, in February, 1855, to Miss Sarah Harlan Crow, a native of Alabama, and the daughter of Joshua B. and Lavinia (West) Crow, natives of South Carolina. Her parents, moved to White County, Ark., in 1849, settled on a farm near the present town of Kensett, and here the mother died in April, 1866, and the father in August of the same year. To Mr. and Mrs. Cypert were born three children, two living: Florence (now Mrs. W. M. Watkins, of Searcy) and Eugene (a part- ner in the firm of Cypert & Cypert, he having read law in the office of his father, and was admitted to the bar in 1884). The other child, Mary Alice, married H. A. Smith, a merchant of West Point. She died in February, 1886, and left one child, Eugene Austin, and the subject of this sketch is rearing this child. Mr. Cypert takes an active interest in all that pertains to the good of the county, and is one of the pioneers of the temper- ance cause. He ran for the legislature in 1854, on the temperance question and received a good num- ber of votes. He was the first president of the Temperance Alliance, and served in that capacity

for two years. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and Mrs. Cypert is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church.

J. W. Darden, the efficient and popular lumber manufacturer and flour-mill operator of Rosebud, is engaged in manufacturing all grades of lumber of oak and pine. He commenced this enterprise in 1861 within one mile of where he is now doing business. In connection with this business he is engaged in operating a flouring-mill, his establish- ment being the second of the kind erected in White County and the first one in this vicinity. He has been a resident of Arkansas since 1860, and since that date has been a resident of Kentucky Town- ship, removing thither from his native State of Tennessee. He was born in Warren County in 1833 and was the fourth in a family of seven chil- dren born to Robert and Elizabeth (Woten) Dar- den, who were also of Warren County, and were there married. In 1855 they moved to Greene County, Mo., where Mr. Darden had a blacksmith shop for some years, and in 1864 they came to White County, Ark., where Mr. Darden followed the same calling and also that of farming, occupy- ing himself with these callings until his death, in 1886, his wife's death occurring some two years previous. The following are the names of the sur- viving children: J. W., Elizabeth (now Mrs. Cly- mer, of Taney County, Mo.), Mattie (unmarried and a resident of Faulkner County) and Sarah (now Mrs. Williams, a widow, residing in Faulkner County). J. W. was educated in the schools of his native county and commenced life for himself by trading in stock. He remained with his father for one year after the latter's removal to Missouri, then returned to Tennessee and was married there in 1856 to Miss Nancy Layne, who was a native resident of that State. Her father, George Layne, was a farmer, and died in Tennessee in 1848, his wife, who was a Miss Aramintie Dickerson, remov- ing with her daughter, Mrs. Darden, to Arkansas, and dying in White County in 1867. Upon the beginning of the Civil War J. W. Darden was de- tailed by the Confederate Government to operate his mill, and in this work he has continued for nearly thirty years. After purchasing land he be-

150

HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.

gan improving it, and now owns in this and adjoin- ing counties 2,000 acres, with something over 100 acres under cultivation. He is rapidly converting his timber into lumber, and, although he lost about $10,000 by fire in 1875, he has retrieved this loss in a great measure and is now doing well. In poli- tics he casts his vote with the Democratic party, yet is not an active politician. Socially he is an A. F. & A. M., belonging to St. Mary's Lodge No. 170. He also belongs to Tillman Chapter and Searcy Council. His wife is a member of the Bap- tist Church. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Dar- den have been born four children: Allie (now Mrs. Dr. Moon, of Rosebud), William, Elzie and Lula.

Dr. James M. Davie, an able and learned phy- sician, but now retired from the active practice of his profession, is engaged in farming and stock raising on his farm, which comprises 1,000 acres, about one mile southeast of Beebe. He has some- thing like 400 acres under cultivation and a num- ber of acres that is yet in its wild state and very heavily covered with timber. The soil is good and is well adapted to raising all kinds of grain, and besides this property he has about 1,000 acres of equally as good land in Prairie County. He was born in Pearson County, N. C., December 13, 1830, but in 1836 came with his parents to Madison County, Tenn., and there made his home until 1856, at which time he took up his abode in Arkansas. His father, Dr. George N. Davie, was born in North Carolina of Scotch-Irish descent, his wife, Sarah Coldman, a native of North Carolina, being of Welsh lineage. The paternal grandparents, Edward and Margaret A. (Yarbrough) Davie, the former a native of Scotland and the latter of Eng- land, eloped from England to America, coming to North Carolina, and were married here. On the Davie side the family are lineal descendants of Sir Humphrey Davy. Dr. George N. Davie was born in 1800, his wife in 1805, their marriage tak- ing place in 1829 and their deaths in 1836 and 1883, respectively, Both were finely educated, and the father was a physician and surgeon of considerable prominence, and his early death left our subject an orphan at the age of six years. His early childhood was spent on a farm and in at-

tending the country schools, later entering higher schools, and at the age of twenty years was a pupil of the school at Huntsville, Tenn., having for a room-mate Dr. A. M. Westlake, of New York, who induced him to take up the study of medicine. They entered Jefferson Medical College, of Phila- delphia, Penn., and after an attendance of two years in that institution, graduated in the class of 1854. The two following years Dr. Davie spent in trav- eling over the States of Arkansas and Texas, and in 1856 located in Hickory Plains, Prairie County, Ark., and there practiced his profession one year. In 1857 he purchased his present farm in White County, but in 1861 gave up farm work to organ- ize a company of 125 men for the State service, and was chosen captain of the same. In 1862, seeing the need of the general army, he disbanded and reorganized his company, and became con- nected with the regular Confederate service. He was promoted several times, and when the war closed was colonel of the Thirty-sixth Arkansas Infantry. He was badly wounded in the battle of Helena, was slightly wounded at Prairie Grove, and for several months was on post duty at Cam- den, and with this exception participated in all the engagements of his command. Upon hearing of Lee's surrender he stacked arms, in Texas, and started for home, and in the latter part of July, 1865, was paroled at Little Rock. He resumed the practice of his profession, regained what he had lost during the war, and until 1874 was a suc- cessful practitioner of the county, since which time he has devoted his attention to farming with the above results. He is a Democrat on general prin- ciples, but is an independent voter, and although often solicited by his friends to run for office, has always refused to do so. He is a demitted member of Beebe Lodge No. 145, of the A. F. & A. M., and also belongs to the I. O. O. F., and was con- nected with the Agricultural Wheel. In October, 1859, he was married to Miss Emma Z. Bowling, a native of Tennessee, their union taking place in Obion County, but her death occurred in July, 1872, she having borne four children: George C. (an intelligent and well-educated young farmer of the county), Mattie (who died in infancy), Isom

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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