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 24

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 24

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(who also died in infancy) and John C. On April 2, 1874, Mr. Davie led to the altar Caroline M. Bowling, a sister of his first wife, but on December 26, 1881, she died of that dread disease, consump- tion. His third union, on December 9, 1885, was to a Mrs. Hinson, a daughter of Major Thomas, one of the early settlers of Prairie County, Ark.

J. C. R. Davis is a prosperous general merchant of Rosebud, where he has been engaged in busi- ness since 1875. His store building, which he erected in 1885, is a substantial frame building, 22x60 feet, and in addition to handling merchan- dise, he buys and ships cotton. He has been a resident of White County, Ark., since 1874, com- ing from his native county of Barbour, Ala., be- ing born in 1852. He was the youngest of nine children given to John and Mary (Mooney) Davis, the former of whom was born in North Carolina, and the latter in Georgia. Their wedding took place in the latter state in 1827, and later on they moved to Alabama (1846), and the father opened up a plantation. He died in 1871 and his wife in 1878. He and his father-in-law, Jacob Mooney, were participants in the Indian War of 1836, the latter being killed in battle. J. C. R., our subject, was reared to farm life and was educated in the schools of Alabama, being married there January 6, 1875, to Eugenie Stevens, whom he brought with him to Arkansas. By exercising judgment and in- genuity and prudence he has become the owner of 800 acres of land, lying in White, Cleburne and Faulkner Counties, and has about 200 under culti- vation. Although he affiliates with the Democratic party he is not an active politician, but being the people's choice for the office of constable, he filled that position during 1877 and 1878. He is a Mason. In religion he and wife are members of the Mis- sionary Baptist Church. Their union has been blessed with six children, five of whom are living: John Green (who died in 1877 aged eleven months), Tay B., Ora O., Hattie C., Grover C. and M. E. Mrs. Davis is a daughter of Green and Margarette (McRae) Stevens. The father was a planter and in 1871 came to White County, Ark. Here he spent the remainder of his life, dying in 1885. His wife died in Alabama.

James D. Davis is a well-known farmer and stock raiser of Bald Knob, and came to Arkansas, locating in the woods of White County in 1871, when but nineteen years of age. The first four years he lived with J. H. Ford, while he was clear- ing up his farm, after which his marriage to Miss Delanie Watters was solemnized. She was born in Perry County, Ala., May 23, 1854, and is the mother of three children, two of whom are still living: William D. and Susie H. Mr. Davis first saw the light of day in Perry County, Ala., on November 26, 1852, and is the son of Huriah and Tobitha (Morris) Davis, who were also natives of Alabama, and married in that State, residing there until after the war. He enlisted in the Con- federate army in 1861, in the Eighth Alabama In- fantry, and died on the battlefield. Mrs. Davis then removed in 1873 with her children to Missis- sippi, where they remained several years, subse- quently coming to Arkansas and locating in White County, where they made their home with James D., who had preceded them several years. In 1888 she went to live with a daughter at Spring- field, Mo., where she now resides. She was the mother of nine children, six of whom are still liv- ing: Frances (now Mrs. Goodnight, of Mississippi), William C. (of Logan County), Caroline (wife of William Green, of Logan County), James D. (our subject), Nancy (wife of James Finney, of Spring- field, Mo.) and Thomas H. (a farmer of Pope County.) Mr. and Mrs. James Davis are mem- bers of the Missionary Baptist Church, as were also his parents. In politics he is a Democrat, and also belongs to the Agricultural Wheel. He has been a very successful farmer and stock raiser, and deals in all kinds of live stock.

John D. DeBois is a distinguished attorney at law and real-estate dealer of Judsonia, Ark., of which place he has been a resident since 1871, com- ing from Henry County, Tenn., where he was born in 1848. He was the elder of two children born to John and Mary C. (Guinn) DeBois, the former a native of West Virginia and the latter of North Carolina. The father was reared in the "Buck- eye State " and was married in Tennessee, the lat- ter State continuing to be his home until his death

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in 1851, he having been a harness-maker by trade, and after marriage directed his attention to farm- ing. His wife died in June, 1888, at Judsonia, Ark. John D. DeBois spent his early life on a farm and received his education in the academy of Henry, Tenn., and in the schools of Lebanon, Ohio. Upon his removal to White County, Ark., in 1871 he engaged in the mercantile business at West Point and in 1872 came to Judsonia and for some time was associated with Dr. J. S. Eastland in the drug business. During this time he began the study of law under the preceptorship of Coody & McRae, and in July, 1878, was admitted to the White County bar and has practiced continuously ever since. Since 1880 he has been in the real-es- tate business and now owns about 1,000 acres of land, comprising six farms, and has from 350 to 400 acres under cultivation. Mr. DeBois is a Democrat and has been a member of the State and County Conventions at different times. Socially he is a member of the Anchor Lodge No. 384, of the A. F. & A. M. In December, 1872, he was married to Miss Mollie V. Hicks, a daughter of John T. and Martha W. (Heigh) Hicks, originally from North Carolina, who came to White County, Ark., in 1854, settling in Judsonia. Mr. Hicks was a physician and surgeon of many years' stand- ing, and while serving in the Confederate army during the late conflict between the North and South, he received a gunshot wound in the knee (in 1863) from the effects of which he died. His wife survives him, making her home in Wylie, Tex. The children born to this marriage are James Tatum, Flora Blanche, Mary Martin, Iola Opal, Duke Howard (who died in January, 1887, at the age of twenty-two months), and Pattie. Mr. DeBois has taken an active interest in school matters and has served as a member of the school board. He belongs to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, while his wife worships with the Missionary Bap- tist Church, being a member of that church.

John J. Deener is a native of Virginia, and is a son of John Jacob and Tobitha (Hamolen) Deener, natives of Virginia. Mr. John Deener, Sr., was born February 25, 1790, and learned the millwright's trade when a boy, and lived in Vir-

ginia, where he married, until 1836, when they removed to Fayette County, Tenn. He then en- gaged in farming, in which he was very successful. Mr. Deener died in 1867, and his wife in 1849 at the age of forty-four. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and were the parents of seven children, three of whom are still living: Martha Ann (wife of William A. Old, de- ceased), John J. (our subject) and James B. The paternal grandfather of our subject was John Jacob Deener, and a native of England, and came to this country during the Revolutionary War in which he took an active part, on the side of the Americans, and served under Gen. Washington and under Gen. Francis Marion. After the war he settled in Virginia, where he died, leaving. three sons: George, John Jacob and William. The Deener family as a race are of small stature. John J. Deener, our subject, was born April 22, 1830, and received his education at the Macon Masonic College, and when nineteen years of age he left school and worked on a farm, and also en- gaged in clerking in a store. During the war he was occupied in teaching school. After the war he went into partnership with Samuel E. Garther, of Williston, Tenn., in the mercantile business, where he remained about six years, then removing to Arkansas and locating on the farm where he has since resided. In 1883 he was elected assessor of the county, and held the office four years, also of- ficiated as justice of the peace for twelve years while in Tennessee. Mr. Deener was married on November 13,-1851, to Miss Sarah A. Gober, who was born in Franklin County, Ga., in 1832. They were the parents of four children: Eliza Hamblin (wife of George W. Dobbins), Lula A. (wife of S. S. Putty), Richard S. (a Methodist Episcopal minister) and John J. Mr. and Mrs. Deener are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in which they take an active part. Mr. Deener also belongs to the Masonic order, and is a strong Democrat.

G. W. Dobbins, county assessor, Searcy, Ark. Every life has a history of its own; and although in appearance it may seem to possess very little to distinguish it from others, yet Mr. Dobbins' career

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as a farmer and stock raiser, as well as his experi- ence in the political affairs of the community have contributed to give him a wide and popular ac- quaintance with nearly every citizen of White County-if not personally, then by name-and serves to make his career a more than ordinary one. His birth occurred in Monroe County, Ark., in 1851, and was the second in a family of three children born to A. M. C. and Frances Ann (Carl- ton) Dobbins, natives of North Carolina. The father was a prominent physician and surgeon, and after his marriage, which occurred in his na- tive State, he immigrated to Tennessee, and there followed his practice until about 1850. He then moved to Monroe County, Ark., settled at Claren- don, followed his profession there until 1857, when he went to Izard County and settled at Evening Shade. He remained there until March, 1860, when he moved to North Carolina. His wife died in Izard County, Ark., on January 1, 1860, and in the fall of 1861 he enlisted in the Thirteenth North Carolina Regiment and participated in the battle of Seven Pines, where he received a gunshot wound. He was taken prisoner at the second bat- tle of Fredericksburg and confined at Rock Island, Ill., and was also confined at Johnstown Island, where he was paroled in June, 1865. He then returned to North Carolina, remained there until 1867, and then moved to Fayette County, Tenn., where he engaged in his practice. His death was caused by yellow fever in 1878. He was a strong temperance man. His children were named as fol- lows: Frances Ann (now Mrs. Baxter, of Gray Township), G. W. and John M. (married and re- sides in Marion Township, White County). G. W. Dobbins was educated in the schools of North Car- olina, and commenced for himself as a clerk in a store, where he remained two years with a salary of $8 per month. In 1869 he attended the Olin College, in Iredell County, N. C., and in 1870 went to Fayette County, Tenn., where he again engaged in clerking. This he followed until 1875 when, in that and the following year, he, in part- nership with J. J. Deener, engaged in the mer- cantile business, thus continuing for nearly two years. He then followed farming in 1877, and

the same year came to White County, Ark., where he purchased and improved a farm of 180 acres, and now has sixty-five acres under cultivation. He is raising considerable stock. He is not very active in politics but votes with the Demo- cratic party, also with the Wheel or County Alli- ance, and is a member of the Agricultural Wheel. He was elected county assessor in September, 1888, and has been deputy tax collector twice, in 1885 and 1886. He has also been deputy tax as- sessor two terms, in 1885 and 1888. He has been a member of the school board four years, and takes an active interest in educational affairs. He was married in Fayette County, Tenn., on August 26, 1873, to Miss Eliza H. Deener, a native of Ten- nessee, and the daughter of J. J. and Sarah A. (Gober) Deener, natives of Virginia and Georgia, respectively. Both are living at the present time, and reside in White County, whither they moved in 1877. To Mr. and Mrs. Dobbins were born these children: Lula Alma, Jessie Eva, Samuel Harold, George Milas, Mary Sadie, Shelly Gober and an infant. Mr. and Mrs. Dobbins are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he has been church secretary since 1878. He takes a deep interest in church affairs.

Charles L. Douthat received his education at Buchanan, Botetourt County, Va., and when eighteen years old, was employed as salesman for nearly two years, and then worked at the tinners' trade for about three years. He then went to Memphis, Tenn., where he was employed as sales- man in a wholesale grocery house, until 1859, when he came to West Point and started in the mercantile business, with a capital of a few hun- dred dollars, which he had saved out of his salary. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate army, in the First Arkansas State Troops, but which soon after disbanded, when he then joined Ben McCul- lock's First Arkansas Mounted Rifles, and was with that command until the close of the war. He was elected to take an official position, but preferred remaining in the ranks as a private. On coming out of the army, Mr. Douthat was financially broken, and again returned to Memphis, and was employed by a wholesale grocery house as sales-

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man, where he remained about two years, then re- turned to West Point, and entered into business with W. C. West, and afterward with A. T. Jones, with whom he was engaged for three years, then running the business alone. He has built up a large trade, and carries a fine stock of goods. Mr. Douthat was born in Rockbridge County, Va., in 1831, and was the son of William H. and Susan (Lewis) Douthat, natives of Richmond, Va., and of Irish descent, the ancestors coming to this country before the Revolutionary War. Robert. Douthat, the paternal grandfather of our subject, was the owner of the Rock bridge, or Natural bridge, and was the proprietor and builder of a large woolen mill, and brought many workmen from Ireland. William H. Douthat was a promi- nent Mason of Virginia, and died in 1858, his wife surviving him till 1883, at the age of seventy - two years. They were the parents of twelve chil- dren, nine of whom are still living: Mary J., Rob- ert R., Charles L. (our subject), Henry C., Susan, Fielding (now a stock raiser in Montana), Warner L. (in California), Sarah and Annie (who still lives in Virginia). In 1866 C. L. Douthat was mar- ried to Mary C. Whitney, who was born in Fayette County, Tenn., in 1842. They are the parents of three children: Effie L., Alma and Charles W., all of whom are at home. Mr. Douthat and fam- ily are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He is a strong Democrat, and a prominent citizen of West Point.

William T. Dowdy, a sharpshooter in the late war, came to White County in 1855 with his father, who bought 320 acres of wild land and commenced improving it, and cleared up forty or fifty acres before the war. His father, Andrew J. Dowdy, was a native of North Carolina and came to Tennessee when he was a young man, where he was married, in 1835, to Sarah Suther- land, of Tennessee origin, and a daughter of Thomas Sutherland. After his marriage he was employed as overseer on a plantation for thirteen years. He was the father of three children: Anna E. (afterward Mrs. Barger), William T. (our subject) and James S. (deceased). William T. owes his nativity to Western Tennessee, being

born in 1839, and spending his younger days in that State. He was married in White County, in 1860, to Emeline E. Barger, a native of Tennes- see, and who died on December 10, 1860. He was married the second time on April 17, 1866, to Elizabeth Sessums, also of Tennessee. They are the parents of four children, two of whom are still living: Richard A. (editor of the Economist at Searcy, Ark.) and James A. Mr. Dowdy en- listed in 1861 for twelve months, and afterward for four years or during the war, in Company D, of the Thirty-first Arkansas Infantry, and was one of the Confederate sharpshooters who did such valuable service for the Confederate cause. He took an active part in the battles of Corinth, Stone River, Chickamauga and a number of others, and was taken prisoner on July 22, 1864, near Atlanta, Ga., and then to Camp Chase, Ohio, when he was released on parole, February 12, 1865, and went to Richmond, where he received a furlough. He then went to Western Tennessee, where he re- mained until the close of the war. He then re- turned home and has since engaged in farming. He owns a farm of 200 acres, with sixty-five acres under cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Dowdy are mem- bers of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mr. Dowdy is also connected with the County Wheel, of which he has been chaplain since first entering the society. He is also a constituent of the Centre Hill Lodge No. 114, of the Masonic order. Mrs. Dowdy was a daughter of Richard J. and Rachel (Little) Sessums. Mr. Sessums was born in North Carolina in 1805 and died in 1863. He was married in 1833, and was the father of five children.

R. A. Dowdy is editor and publisher of The Arkansas Economist, the official journal of the Farmers' and Laborers' Union of Arkansas, Searcy, Ark. Mr. Dowdy has had charge of the paper since its name was so called, or during 1889. It was made the official organ July 26, 1889, at Hot Springs, and it has quite a circulation and is building up a good State circulation. Prior to the above-mentioned date it was a local paper. Mr. Dowdy took charge of the paper in May, 1888; was partner until April 1 of the following year,

WHITE COUNTY.

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when he purchased the full interest in it. The paper was organized in October, 1887, under the name of "White County Wheel," and remained thus until after the meeting at Hot Springs, when it was issued under the present name in August, 1889. Mr. Dowdy was born in Des Arc Town- ship, White County, Ark., in 1868 and is the eld- est in a family of four children born to the mar- riage of William T. and C. E. (Sessums) Dowdy, natives of Tennessee and Kentucky, respectively. The father came to White County, Ark., in 1859, settled in Des Arc Township, and here met and married Miss Sessums. Both are now living and reside in White County. R. A. Dowdy received his education in the district schools, and then took a course in Quitman College in 1885. After leav- ing college he engaged in teaching in Cleburne County for a few terms but later engaged in ed- itorial work on his present paper. Socially, Mr. Dowdy is a member of the Farmers' and Laborers' Union, and takes a deep interest in all things per- taining to the good of the county.

T. A. Duncan enjoys the reputation of being not only a substantial and progressive farmer, but an intelligent and thoroughly posted man on all matters of public interest. In his dealings with his fellow-men he has been upright and honorable, and his character will stand any investigation which may be given it. His native birthplace was Jack- son County, Ala., where he first saw the light of day in 1830, he being the eldest of eight children born to Jesse and Nancy E. (White) Duncan, who were Tennesseeans, the father reared at Nashville and the mother near Winchester. They were mar- ried in Tennessee and at an early day removed to Alabama, and here Jesse Duncan followed the oc- cupation of millwrighting and erected one of the first mills in the county, also opening a large plan- tation. He died in 1884 and his wife in 1883. Their children are: T. A. (living in White County, Ark.), W. R. (who is married and resides in Texas), James H. (married and living in Alabama), J. C. (married and living in Kansas), Mary (Mrs. Selby, living near Iuka, Miss.) and Elizabeth (who also resides at Iuka). T. A. Duncan's early life was like the majority of farmers' boys, and he assisted

his father in clearing up the home farm and began that work for himself at the age of nineteen in Alabama. He was married in Jackson County, of that State, in January, 1849, to S. B. Pace, and upon the opening of the war he enlisted from Jack- son County in the Confederate army, for three years, or during the war, becoming a member of Berry's artillery. He was in the battle of Peach Orchard Gap (Ga.), Jackson (Miss.), Resaca, and was taken prisoner at Spanish Fort and sent to Ship Island and afterward to Vicksburg. Upon being paroled in 1865 he returned to Jackson County, Ala., and in 1872 came to White County, Ark., and bought a timber tract of 180 acres which he began clearing and upon which he erected good buildings. He has 110 acres of his 400-acre farm under cultivation, all of which he has cleared since coming to the county. He is a Democrat, has been magistrate nine years, and taken an interest in the finance of the county, which was in bad shape at that time, and succeeded in settling affairs. He is also a member of the school board, and has always taken a deep interest in school matters. He and wife are the parents of the following chil- dren: William F. (who is married and resides in White County, Ark.), Cassie (who died in 1885 at the age of twenty-eight years, was married to Mr. Holleman), B. E. (who is married and lives in the county), J. J. (married and living in Cleburne County), Minta (who married A. J. Holleman after the death of Cassie, and lives in White County, Ark.), Nancy (Mrs. J. F. Lawrence), C. A. (who married F. W. Raney. and also lives in White County), Mila and Jo (still with their parents). Mrs. Duncan's parents, William and Elizabeth (Wininger) Pace, were both members of old Vir- ginia families, and moved to Alabama about the year 1827, being among the earliest to enter land in that State. The father died in 1870 and his wife one year later.

James Dupriest is a farmer and ginner of Mar- shall Township, and owns 850 acres of land, of which 300 acres are under fence, 200 in pasture, and 100 acres under cultivation. He is a native of Georgia, his birth occurring in 1821. His father, Martin Dupriest, was also of Georgia

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origin, where he was educated and subsequently married, and to this union was born a family of eight children. James D. was a twin, being sixth in order of birth and a prosperous boy. He lived in Georgia until 1840, when he moved to Alabama with his father, locating in Coosa County and there remained seventeen years. He was married to Sarah Malcolm and moved to Arkansas in 1856, and by her had two children who died in infancy. His wife died in 1864 and in 1865 was married to his second wife, Mrs. Louisa Henry, and to this union has been born a family of seven children: Ebbie, Burton, Thomas, Cathron, Cullen, McFer- rin, Joseph. His second wife had one son by her first marriage, Fenton Henry, he being a thor- oughly and highly educated man. James Dupriest honors the Democrats with his vote and takes quite an interest in politics though not an enthusiast; he is also a Mason, belonging to the Blue Lodge. Himself and wife worship with the Methodist Church to which they belong.

Dr. J. S. Eastland is one of the foremost physi- cians and surgeons of White County, Ark., and his practice lies among the wealthiest and most intelli- gent people of the county. He has been a resident of Judsonia since March, 1872, having, prior to this, been a resident of Richland County, Wis. He was born in Hinds County, Miss., December 18, 1844, and was the second of a family of ten chil- dren born to David J. and Mary E. (Cameron) Eastland, the father born in Genesee County, N. Y., and the mother in Hinds County, Miss. When a young man the father went to the vicinity of Schoolcraft, Mich., and at the age of twenty years removed to Mississippi, and was engaged in teaching school in an academy at Cayuga, and was married there about the year 1841. From 1852 until the present time he has been engaged in milling in Richmond County, and is making his home on a large farm which he purchased near Sex- tonville. Dr. J. S. Eastland was about eight years old when he was taken to Wisconsin, and he re- ceived his education in the schools of Richland County. In 1863 he enlisted at Madison, Wis., in Company H, Seventeenth Wisconsin Infantry, and was assigned to the Army of the Tennessee. He

was a participant in the engagements at Chatta- nooga, Resaca, Buzzard's Roost, Kenesaw Mount- ain, and was with Sherman in his memorable march to the sea, and in the Carolina campaign. He was at the grand review at Washington, D. C., but received his discharge at Madison, Wis., in June, 1865. After returning home he began read- ing medicine, and took. a course in the Eclectic Medical Institute during the winter of 1869-70. The following year he entered Blakely Hospital of Philadelphia, Penn., and after graduating the same year he came to Arkansas, taking up his abode in Randolph County, but only remained there until 1872, since which time he has been a resident of White County. In September, 1886, he opened a fine drug store at Judsonia, which is in a flourishing condition, and in addition to man- aging this establishment and practicing his pro- fession, he is employed as surveyor of the Iron Mountain Railroad. He is a Democrat, a member of the board of medical examiners of White Coun- ty, and socially is a member of Anchor Lodge No. 384, of the A. F. & A. M., and was Worshipful Master of the lodge for some years. He was mar- ried in White County, in 1873, to Miss Samantha W. Boatwright, a native of White County, and a daughter of Charles W. and Virginia (Subbaugh) Boatwright, who were natives of Virginia. In 1856 they settled at West Point, White County, Ark., but Mr. Boatwright is now residing at Jones- boro, Ark. The mother died in 1889. When Dr. Eastland first came to White County the country was, in a great measure, unsettled, and there was a great deal of sickness among the settlers, but it is now much healthier. Mrs. Eastland is a mem- ber of the Baptist Church.

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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