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 42

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 42

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Caleb Parker Warren. The connection of Mr. Warren with the interests of White County has proven to be a fortunate thing for its residents and especially for the citizens in and near El Paso, as a perusal of the sketch will testify. He is a son of Thomas and Rebecca (Wright) Warren, who were born in North Carolina, and immigrated to West Tennessee about 1820, and were there married in 1833. They came to Arkansas in the fall of 1856, and located in the country then known as Royal Colony, purchasing 160 acres of wild land, on which they erected a double log-house, this being the first of the sort in the colony. In 1861 Mr. Warren enlisted as a private soldier in Dr. F. M. Christian's company, known as the Border Ran- gers, remaining in that capacity and with that com- mand for four years and ten days. He took part in a number of battles and skirmishes, one in par- ticular being the battle of Chickamauga, in which his company dismounted and fought as infantry. He was also at Shiloh and Corinth, and was under the famous Confederate cavalry commanders: For- rest, Wheeler, Hampton and Armstrong, but a greater portion of the time was with Forrest and Wheeler. His first experience in warfare was at Lost Creek, Mo., in 1861, and he surrendered with his command at Charlotte, N. C., at which time there was a request made by the commanding

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officers of both armies for volunteers to go to Ches- terville, S. C., to guard and serve the rations to the Confederate soldiers as they were paroled, the Government allowing the cavalry to retain their arms and horses. Mr. Warren finally arrived at home, June 15, 1865, having ridden his horse all the way. His first venture in business after his re- turn was to invest in some cotton, making his pur- chase with money loaned him by a Mr. Hadley, who at that time had charge of the penitentiary at Little Rock, and his enterprise met with fair suc- cess. The next year he put in a crop on land deeded him by his father (160 acres), and to the thirty acres which were already under cultivation he improved and added ten more. These he de- voted to cotton and corn in equal parts, but the second year he left his crop to be gathered by others and embarked in merchandising at El Paso, under the firm name of Warren & Son, his father furnishing the capital and receiving half the profits. At the end of eight years our subject became the sole proprietor, paying over to his father all the money he had furnished, and took into his employ O. P. Poole, and at the end of one year gave him an interest in the business. Mr. Poole's wife and three children were killed in the terrible cyclone of 1880; he and his little daughter, Martha J., being the only ones of the family to escape with their lives, but Mr. Poole was so badly injured that ex- istence became unendurable, and in July of the following year he ended his weary life. Mr. War- ren has since acted as guardian of his daughter, and has placed her in Ouachita Baptist College, Arkadelphia, Ark. Mr. Warren's wife, who was formerly a Miss Mary A. Harkrider, was born in Tennessee, and is a daughter of John and Eunice Harkrider, native Dutch. Their family are as fol- lows: Mattie M., John Thomas, Rebecca Eunice, Mary P. and Cora V. These children have received excellent educational advantages, and the eldest has graduated from Searcy College, Arkansas, and is at present principal of the public school at El Paso, Ark. Thomas, after having spent several terms at the State University, Fayettville, Ark., took a course at Goodman & Eastman's Business College, Nashville, Tenn., and is filling the posi-

tion of book-keeper for Warren & Phelps, the pres- ent style of the firm. The three youngest daughters are at Ouachita Baptist College. The family wor- ship in the Missionary Baptist Church, and Mr. Warren is a member of the A. F. & A. M., El Paso Lodge, No. 65. He was born in Tennessee, January 21, 1840.

Thomas Warren. He whose name heads this brief sketch, is one of White County's pioneers, and is an active and enterprising agriculturist, alive to all current issues, public spirited and pro- gressive in all matters tending to benefit the com- munity. His life has been an active one, and by his own industry and intelligent management, has secured a substantial footing among the citizens of White County. He was born in Edgecombe, Coun- ty, N. C., September 22, 1814, and about the year 1820 he removed with his father, Caleb Warren, to the State of Tennessee, and was there reared to farm life. The schools of Tennessee were not of the best at this time, and were only conspicuous for their scarcity, therefore the educational advan- tages which Thomas received were of the most meager description. He learned to read a little, but never did an example in arithmetic in his life. In the year 1834 he was wedded to Miss Rebecca Wright, a daughter of John Harrison and Nancy (Whitiss) Wright, and a native of North Carolina, born on June 16, 1815. Their marriage resulted in the birth of ten children, whose names are as follows: Martha Ann (born November 22, 1834; was married December 31, 1853, to William J. Canada, who was killed while serving in the army. His wife died in 1869, leaving three children: Martha J., born in November, 1855, Thomas, born in December, 1857, and Joseph, born in 1859), Sarah E. (was born September 25, 1837, married Isaac Dougan, and bore him two children, both deceased), Caleb P. (born January 22, 1840), Matilda N. (born on March 22, 1842, and mar- ried Dr. M. Costen, of El Paso), Clarissa E. (birth occurred on the 31st of August, 1844, and her mar- riage took place in 1861; she and her husband had two children, William P. and Barbara), Nancy C. (was born March 31, 1847, and in 1862 she was married to Joseph Grissard; she died in Septem-

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ber, 1869), William T. (the next in order of birth, . was born August 17, 1849, and died in infancy), Josiah W. (was born June 21, 1851, and died five' years later), Mary K. (was born December 31, 1853, and died in December, 1856), Rebecca T. (was born April 18, 1856, was married to Rufus Blake in 1872, and became the mother of eight children, four of whom are living). Prior to leav- ing Tennessee, Mr. Warren purchased three slaves, paying $600 and $800 apiece for two women, and $1,000 for a man, but on coming to Arkansas in 1856, his slaves had increased to six. He loca- ted on a quarter section of land which had been deeded to him by his father, and subsequently added, by purchase, three other quarter sections of land, and at the opening of the Rebellion was the owner of large landed estates, and had fourteen slaves. At the time of his location in Arkansas the country was in a very wild and unsettled condition, but, with the energy which has ever characterized the early pioneers, he set to work and soon had a good double log-cabin erected on his land, also negro cabins and a horse cotton-gin, the latter being the first erected within a radius of twenty miles. After a few years he put up a steam cotton- gin and grist-mill, at a cost of about $3,500, and hauled his machinery from Des Arc, a distance of thirty-five miles. In 1867, he, in partnership with his son Caleb P., engaged in the mercantile business in El Paso, and the latter is now one of the wealthiest merchants of the State. Mr. and Mrs. Warren are now seventy-five and seventy- four years old, respectively, and the latter has been a member of the Missionary Baptist Church for nearly seventy years. Mr. Warren has belonged to the same church for about forty years, all their children being members of the same, and those who are deceased died in full communion with the church, and with the hope and belief of immortal- ity. Mrs. Warren is an active member of the Ladies' Aid Society, and she and her husband are ever ready with open purse to aid the needy and afflicted, and when their Master calls will be found ready and waiting to pass "over the river." The paternal ancestors of Mr. Warren came to the United States prior to the Revolutionary War,

and took sides with the Colonists in that struggle. Of his maternal ancestors he has no knowledge.

Col. Thomas Watkins, known as a prominent early settler of White County, is a Virginian by birth, and a son of Joel and Fannie (White) Wat- kins, whose birthplace is found in the Old Domin- ion. Mr. Joel Watkins was born March 4, 1784, and was married in Virginia, removing in 1830 to Tennessee. He served in the War of 1812, was a justice of the peace in Tennessee for several years, and a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, as was also his wife. He died in 1863. He was a son of Thomas Watkins, of English descent, and an old time Virginian, who was an officer in the Revolutionary War; the latter was with Gen. Washington at the surrender at Yorktown, and represented his county in the State legislature a number of times. Fannie White, the mother of our subject, was a daughter of Thomas White, also originally from Virginia, and a captain of a company in the American troops during the Revo- lutionary War. To Mr. and Mrs. Watkins nine children were born, three of whom are still living: Thomas, Catharine (wife of William H. Watts) and Fannie (now Mrs. Crossett). Thomas Watkins first saw the light of day in Halifax County, Va., in January, 1820. When fourteen years of age he went to Lebanon, Tenn., where he was employed as clerk in a store, remaining there until twenty-two years old, at which time he bought a farm in De- Soto County, Miss. In 1853, coming to Arkansas, he located in White County, on the farm which he still occupies, consisting of 218 acres, with 150 acres under cultivation. In 1838 he was married to Miss Moore, of Tennessee, who died in 1843, leaving three daughters, all deceased. In 1848 Miss Amanda Dowdle, a native of South Carolina became his wife, surviving until her death, in 1854; she bore two children: William M. (a merchant of Searcy) and Allen D. (a farmer of White County). Mr. Watkins' third wife was formerly Mary Walker, to whom he was united in 1856. A native of White County, she was a daughter of James Walker, and departed this life in 1857, leaving one daughter, who died when an infant. In 1863 Mr. Watkins married his fourth and present com-

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panion, Mrs. Margaret E. Stone (nee Core), a widow, whose birth occurred in Haywood County, Tenn., July 25, 1834. They are the parents of two children, living, and two now deceased. Those surviving are: Mary Kate and Maggie C., both at home. Mr. Watkins is a member of the Masonic order, in which he has taken the Royal Arch degree, and belongs to the Methodist Epis- copal Church, South, as does his wife. He is an enterprising and highly respected man, enjoying universal esteem.

Hon. T. W. Wells, Searcy, Ark. Every com- munity is bound to have among her citizens a few men of recognized influence and ability, who, by their systematic and careful, thorough manner of work, attain to success which is justly deserved. Among this class is Mr. Wells, a man esteemed as a prominent and substantial, as well as one of the pioneer citizens of the county. He was born in Haywood County, Tenn., May 18, 1834, and was the second of eight children, the result of the union of William Stokes and Penelope (Standley) Wells, natives of Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively, who were married February 15, 1832. When a boy William S. Wells occupied the claim where Brownsville is now located, and later traded it for a suit of clothes. He was married in Tennessee, and followed farming all his life near the city of Brownsville, Tenn. His death occurred July 20, 1867 (he was born August 2, 1807), and his wife previous to this, on April 9, 1866. Her birth was February 28, 1811. The grandfather, John Wells, was a native of Kentucky, and a pioneer of that State in the time of Daniel Boone. Grandfather William Standley was a native of Tennessee, and anong the pioneers of that State. T. W. Wells was reared to farm life, and educated in the dis- trict schools of Tennessee, although the main part of his education was obtained by personal applica- tion. He left home at eighteen years of age with- out money, attended school at Cageville, Tenn., worked his way through by labor, but was under the tutelage of Prof. William A. Allen. After leav- ing college Mr. Wells engaged in teaching, and followed this profession from 1852 to 1854. On October 25 of the last-mentioned year he was 17

united in marriage to Miss Jeannette Edwards, a native of Tennessee, and the daughter of Will- iam and Lavinia Edwards, natives of Edgecombe County, N. C. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards settled in Tennessee in an early day, or in 1835, and here both died the same year. After marriage Mr. Wells settled in Tennessee, and was engaged in teaching and farming on the shares. During 1857 and 1858 he was engaged in the book business, but in the last-named year he moved to Avoyelles Parish, La., where he was occupied in overseeing. In May of 1859, he moved back to Tennessee, fol- lowed teaching for three months, and in the fall of that year came to Arkansas, landing at Des Arc with 15 cents and a sick wife. From there he went to El Paso, White County, Ark., and taught school for about ten months, when he and wife regained their health. After this Mr. Wells engaged in the mill business at El Paso, and in partnership with James M. Wright erected the first steam mill in that place, being connected with it until 1861, when Mr. Wells was left to conduct it alone. In 1862 he engaged in milling in Van Buren County, and in July of the following year he purchased the McCauley mill, at Prospect Bluff, and had the only fine flouring mill in White County. This he continued until 1867, when he moved to Clay Town- ship, White County, and bought a timber tract of eighty acres. This he opened up, and has now 360 acres, with 165 under cultivation. He owns a good steam-mill and gin. He moved to Searcy in 1868, but still continued the milling and farm- ing business. He lost his wife in 1875, and his second marriage was in 1877, December 5, in Woodruff County, to Mrs. Delilah J. Bosley, a na- tive of Tennessee. Three children were the fruits of this union, only one now living, Thomas W., who was born on January 1, 1886. The other two were named Thomas Clarence and Felix Grundy (both of whom died with measles, April 25, 1885, at the age of two and five years, respectively). Mr. Wells takes a prominent part in politics, and is a stanch Democrat. He represented White County in the legislature in 1874, and was re-elected two years later, serving until 1878. In 1882 he repre- sented the Twenty-seventh senatorial district, com-

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posed of White and Faulkner Counties, and served until 1884. He is in very comfortable circum- stances, and this is all the fruits of his own exer- tion. He is one of the honored pioneers of White County, and during the many years he has resided here, he has not only become well known, but the respect and esteem shown him is as wide as his acquaintance.

Dr. M. C. Wells, has been for years success- fully engaged in the practice of medicine, but also pursues the occupation of farming. He was born in Haywood County, Tenn., in 1848, and was the youngest in a family of eight children born to W. S. and Penelope (Standley) Wells, natives, respect- ively, of Kentucky and Tennessee. The father was a farmer by occupation, and after settling in Ten- nessee, which was at an early day, he opened up a farm on which he died in 1868, his wife having died a year earlier. Dr. M. C. Wells was reared to a farm life and was educated in the schools of Haywood County, in that county also receiving his first medical knowledge. In 1869-70, and the winter of 1870-71, he attended lectures in the Washington University of Baltimore, Md. (now known as the College of Physicians and Surgeons), and later took an intermediate course at Louis- ville, Ky. He first settled in White County, in the year 1871, and began his practice in Des Arc Township, but since November of the same year he has been a resident of Marion Township. Dur- ing his medical career of nineteen years he has won the reputation, and deservedly, of being a skillful physician, and his practice lies among the best people of the county. He keeps his own medi- cines and is ready to answer calls at any time. He is giving his attention to farming also, and owns a good farm of 150 acres on Big Creek Township, of which seventy are under cultivation, and all is well adapted to the raising of stock. Dr. Wells owns a handsome home in Searcy, his residence being situated near Galloway College, in a very pleasant part of the town. He has always been public spirited, and in his political preferences is a Democrat, and as he has always taken a deep interest in school matters he has served a number of years as a member of the school board. He

was married in 1872 to Miss Mary Cheney Knowl- ton, a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of Hon. H. C. and Mary Agnes (Stone) Knowlton, the former born in Vermont and the latter in Ten- nessee. In 1870 they settled in White County, Ark., and here are now residing. The Doctor and his wife are the parents of four children: Beulah S., William H., Grace Garland and Lois Lina.

George G. Wells is in every respect worthy of being classed among the successful farmers of White County, for by his own industry and good management he has become the owner of 160 acres of land, sixty of which he now has under cultiva- tion. He assisted in tilling his father's farm in Haywood County, Tenn., there also receiving his education, and when Civil War broke out, he joined Company G, Fifteenth Tennessee Cavalry (being regimental flag bearer for that regiment for two years), under Gen. Forrest, and was at the battles of Fort Pillow, Harrisburg, Yazoo City, Corinth, Pulaski, Columbus, Mount Pleasant, Spring Hill, Franklin, Nashville and others. He was taken prisoner at Columbus and Nashville, but both times was soon retaken. He surrendered at Jonesboro, N. C., in June, 1865, and returned to his home in Tennessee, where he resumed farming. He was married in his native State in November, 1867, to Callie B. Hooks, of Kentucky, a daughter of Henry Clinton and Rebecca (Somersault) Hooks, also Kentuckians, who moved to Tennessee at an early day. The father died in April, 1865, and the mother in 1885. Mr. Wells and his wife con- tinued to reside in Tennessee until 1872, when they sold their farm and came to White County, purchasing, in 1880, their present farm. They now have sixty-five acres under cultivation. They first bought an improved farm of 100 acres near El Paso, paying $12 per acre, but owing to defect- ive title, they afterward lost it, and were compelled to commence anew, but owing to their frugal hab- its and shrewd management, they are now in good circumstances. Mr. Wells is a believer in tem- perance, is a Democrat, and he and wife are be- lievers in the Christian religion. He has three children by his first wife, who died in April, 1883. Mr. Wells subsequently married M. V. Choat,

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widow of Stephen Choat. By her first husband she has two children: Lee and Willie. Mr. Wells is a brother of Dr. M. C. Wells, whose biography appears elsewhere in this work.

William C. West is justly conceded to be among White County's most extensive merchants, and his career as such is one which redounds to his own personal credit. A native of Alabama, he is a son of William and Mary (Howard) West, natives of North Carolina, who moved to Alabama shortly after their marriage, and in 1837 to Marshall County, Miss. After the death of his wife, in 1844, Mr. West went to Arkansas and located in White County, where his death occurred, in 1859, at the age of eighty-four years. He was a Baptist min- ister, in which work he had been engaged for forty years. He was the father of eleven children, two of whom only are living: R. R. West (who is a chancery clerk in De Soto County) and William C. (our subject). The latter was born in Perry County, Ala., March 14, 1828. At the age of nineteen he was employed as a clerk in a store; but, on coming to White County, started into the mercantile business for himself on a small scale, a short time after, however, entering the employ of a firm in West Point. In 1858 he resumed gen- eral merchandising, with a capital of $400 or $500. Just before the Missouri campaign he enlisted in the Confederate army and served as adjutant for Gen. Mitchell, remaining in service throughout the Missouri raid. During the war he lost all of his prop- erty, and had to start from the beginning after re- turning home; but by hard work, energy and perse- verance he has built up an extensive patronage, and his yearly sales will now average $25,000. He also owns 1,200 acres of land, with 300 acres cleared, and a good portion under cultivation. May 27, 1856, Mr. West was married to Miss Frances Adams, a daughter of Hardin S. Adams, of Mississippi. She died in 1886, leaving four children: Charles E. (who is in business with his father), Lavenia H., Fannie H. and Mary E. Mr. West is a member of the Missionary Baptist Church, as was also his wife. He is a Democrat in politics and a member of the Masonic order. He was postmaster of this place in 1877-78.

Judge N. H. West, Searcy, Ark. This much- esteemed and representative man of the county was elected to his present responsible position in September, 1888, and has effectively conducted the affairs of the same since. He was originally from Madison County, Tenn., where his birth occurred in 1836, and was the oldest in a family of five children born to the union of Philip T. and Hurelia (Harris) West, natives of Tennessee. The father was a farmer, a local minister, and in November, 1851, he moved to White County, locating in Marion Township, where he entered land. He died there in 1853, and his excellent wife survived him until 1886. Their family consisted of these children: N. H., H. T. (married and resides in White County), Thomas N. (died in 1870), Mary A. (was the wife of R. G. Thomas, died in the county in 1888) and Martha J. (was born in White County; married . W. A. Patterson and resides in Marion Township). Judge N. H. West came to White County when fifteen years of age, was early taught the duties on the farm, and received his education by his own exertions and by the aid of the pine knot, by the light of which he spent many hours poring over the pages of his books. He stood between the handles of the plow at the age of seven years, and has continued agricultural pursuits ever since. He learned the blacksmith trade and followed that pursuit for some years, but later purchased a timber tract of eighty acres, which he has since added to until he now has 191 acres, with 125 acres under cultivation. He is pleasantly situated two miles from Searcy. During the Civil War he enlisted under Capt. Critz's Com- pany, Eighth Arkansas Infantry, Tennessee Army, and was in the battles of Corinth, Chattanooga, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and participated also in Bragg's invasion of Kentucky. He was paroled at Atlanta, Ga., on May 6, 1865, and returned to White County where he engaged in farming. He is active in politics, was justice of the peace for some time, and votes with the Union Labor party. He is a member of the Agricultural Wheel No. 145, and was president of the County Wheel at the time he was elected to his present office. He is a mem- ber of the Mount Pisgah Lodge No. 242, A. F. &

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A. M., and was secretary of the same for about eight years. Mr. West was married in White County in 1856 to Miss Martha J. Stayton, a native of Georgia, and the fruits of this union were two children: William F. (married and resides in Clay Township, White County) and Nancy Jane (now Mrs. Mayo, resides in Marion Township). The mother of these children died in 1868. Judge West selected his second wife in the person of Miss Ellen Robinson, a native of Pope County, Ill., and was married to her in 1870. She was left an orphan at the age of two years, and she came to Arkansas with an uncle in 1853, where she grew to womanhood. By that union nine children were born, six now living: Harriet E., James T., David N., Henry Clay (died in 1887), Sarah Malvina, Lillie (died in 1888, at the age of six years), Viola, Martha Ellen (died at the age of two years) and Anna Elizabeth. Judge West has seen a great many changes in the country since his residence here. Searcy was then a small hamlet, there were no railroad facilities, and game was plentiful. He has been active in everything pertaining to the good of the county, and is one of the foremost men of the same.

A. J. West is one of the most successful of White County's farmers and stockmen, and de- serves much credit for the way in which he has battled with fate and conquered, for he not only possesses large landed estates, but is extensively engaged in stock raising. He is now the owner of 2,462 acres of some of the best land in the county, 600 acres in cultivation, and his residence in West Point is surpassed by none, He was born in Mis- sissippi in 1850, being the youngest of seven chil- dren of Adam and Mary (Jarvis) West, both Tennes- seeans. The former was a son of John West. He was educated in Cannon County, Tenn., and when a young man moved to Alabama, near Tuscaloosa, where he followed farming. After his marriage, in 1833, he moved to Mississippi and settled on a farm, being the owner of a one-half section of land. His wife was one of a large family of children born to Levi Jarvis. Adam West served with distinc- tion in the Mexican War. He and his wife were both members of the Missionary 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