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 62

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 62

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commissioner, and it was under his management that the present court house was built. For this attractive and useful public structure he de- serves great praise. Mr. Smith is a member of the A. F. & A. M. His connection with the affairs of Cross County has caused him to become widely known, and the faithful manner in which he has deported himself in the discharge of public duties has redounded greatly to his own credit and the benefit of the community.

R. M. Spain enjoys extensive acquaintance as one of the oldest settlers of the county. He is also a farmer of Wynne Township. A native of Virginia he is the son of N. G. and Martha (Hall) Spain, originally from Virginia and South Carolina, respectively, the former of whom, in 1840, moved to Maury County, Tenn., where he engaged in farming, and where his wife died in 1847. After that event Mr. Spain married Mrs. L. D. Bender- man (nee Matthews). By his first marriage he was the father of eight children, two of whom are living: Addison H. and R. M. By his second union there were three daughters: Lenora (wife of John Thomas), Samuella and Lieusha (twins, the latter the wife of Thomas English). R. M. Spain was born in 1834, and was reared to agri- cultural pursuits in Maury County, Tenn., from the ages of eighteen to twenty-three being em- ployed as a farm laborer. In 1856 he was married to Miss Margaret E. Benderman, and for two years after lived with his father-in-law. He then rented for a short time, and in 1859 came to this county, buying his present farm, consisting of 297 acres, to which he has added some eighty-six acres, and has now 125 acres under cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Spain are the parents of ten children, four of whom survive: Emma E. (wife of J. W. Moore), Ozni, Lenora E. and John A. In 1862 Mr. Spain joined the Confederate army in McNeil's regiment and served until July 4, 1863, when he was wounded at the battle of Helena, and was taken prisoner, being removed to the Memphis hospital, where he was kept until October of that year; then he was confined at Alton, Ill., and in Au- gust, 1864, he was removed to Camp Douglas, from which he was paroled in 1865. When

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he returned home his family were in much better circumstances than he expected to find them. His negroes were still on the farm, and had it in good order and crops growing. In 1874 Mr. Spain was elected assessor, acceptably discharging the duties of that position for two years. Mrs. Spain is a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He belongs to the A. F. & A. M., and is a public- spirited and enterprising man, enjoying the respect of all who know him.

G. N. Sparks, of the firm of Daltroff, Sparks & Oliver, merchants at Wynne, is one of the most enterprising business men of the place. He owes his nativity to McMinnville, Tenn., where his birth occurred in 1853, and is the youngest of ten chil- dren born to the union of Thomas and Mary L. (Boothe) Sparks, both natives of the Old Dominion. The father was a tiller of the soil and followed this occupation in Tennessee until 1859, when he moved to Arkansas, and settled at Jonesboro, Craighead County, where he purchased 320 acres of land, only slightly improved. Mr. Sparks im- mediately began erecting good buildings, clear- ing land, and soon bought other tracts in the vicinity. He gave all of his children homes at the time of their majority and was a man whose shrewd business tact is remembered by old settlers. He became one of the best-known men in several counties, and died in 1878. The mother's death occurred two years later, and both were seventy- four years of age. G. N. Sparks early in life became familiar with the duties of the farm and attended the schools of Craighead County until fifteen years of age. Later he took a commercial course at Leddin's College at Memphis, and when seventeen years of age he left the parental roof, went to Forrest City, where he engaged as clerk in the dry goods store of N. O. Rhodes & Co., and remained with this firm for two years. Subse- quently he began work for his brother, who was a member of the firm of Sparks & Rolloage, and continued with this firm until 1874, when he was united in marriage to Miss Jennie Cobbs, a native of Arkansas, and the daughter of C. H. Cobbs, a pioneer of St. Francis County. After his marriage Mr. Sparks removed to the old homestead, where

his father had settled on his arrival in Arkansas, and which was given to G. N. Sparks at that time. Here he was engaged in farming and teaching school for four years, and in 1880 he engaged as book-keeper for Killough & Erwin at Wittsburg. After five years he changed to a similar position with Block & Co., who had opened a branch store at Wynne. In January, 1886, that firm was bought out by Daltroff, Sparks & Oliver, who opened a fine large store in Wynne. Mr. Sparks owns a fine residence in that city, is also the owner of real estate in Forrest City and 160 acres of good land in Craighead County. He is a member of the K. of P., Levesque Lodge No. 52, at Wynne, and is also a member of the K. & L. of H., Pearl Lodge. Mrs. Sparks is a member of the Method- ist Episcopal Church. To the union of Mr. and Mrs. Sparks were born two children: Lena May and Annie Blanche. Mr. Sparks is a young man of cordial and generous disposition, is a member of a large firm and is well thought of by all. He re- members distinctly that at their first settlement in Craighead County, there was but one shanty where the city of Jonesboro now stands, and this was used as a saloon and kept by a man by the name of Pollard.

G. W. Stacy, known throughout the county . as an upright and thorough-going citizen, was thrown upon his own resources when very young. At the age of sixteen he took charge of his mother's farm and bought out the other heirs interested in this farm. The old homestead consisted of 200 acres, located in this county, with forty-five culti- vated. He sold this place a few years since, and bought the eighty acres of land on which he now lives, this lying near to the corporation of what is now Cherry Valley, yet was not surveyed at the time he purchased this tract. He has since sold thirty acres of this land for building purposes. Mr. Stacy engaged in the mercantile business in 1877, at this place, carrying a stock of general mer- chandise worth between $4,000 and $5,000 and built up a large trade, doing a business which aver- ages about $20,000 per year. Mr. Stacy was born in this county in 1853, and was the son of Miles and Rebecca (Duke) Stacy, natives of Arkansas and

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Tennessee, respectively. The senior Stacy was a farmer and machinist by trade, living in this State until his thirteenth year, when he went to New Orleans, remaining there until twenty-seven years of age, when he returned to this State. He was married in Mississippi in 1834. In 1844 he came to Cross County, where he purchased some 400 acres of land. He held the office of county judge for five years, holding this up to the time of his death, which occurred April 18, 1853. He was the father of fourteen children, five of whom are living: Amelia, Louisa, C. M., R. M. and G. W. (our subject). Mrs. Stacy is still living in her seventy-third year, and resides with G. W. The latter was married in June, 1875, to Miss Eva (McCall) Beadle, a daughter of B. G. and Evaline (Wilson) Beadle, originally of Indiana and North Carolina, respectively. Mr. Beadle was a first- cousin of Abraham Lincoln, and served during the late conflict in the United States frigate, "Annie." Mr. Beadle was engaged in the manufacture of cotton-gins, and died in 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Stacy are the parents of six children: C. M., Lena and Ester (who are away at school) and Miles, Henry and Glenn (at home). Mr. Stacy is a Democrat in politics, and has officiated as the postmaster of Cherry Valley for a number of years.

John Stoner, M. D., a retired physician of Tyronza, has been closely identified with profes- sional affairs during an active and busy life. He graduated from the Jefferson Medical College, of Philadelphia, in 1851, after which he commenced the practice of his adopted calling in Pennsylvania, remaining there for three years. While in that State he was married, in 1842, to Louisa Bixler, who died in 1866, leaving five children, two still living: Robley D. and Mary (the wife of Mr. Simcox). Dr. Stoner married, in 1867, his second wife, formerly Miss Kate Huxtable, of New York State. They are the parents of two children: Frank and Ida. Dr. Stoner was born in York County, Penn., October 17, 1822, and was a son of Samuel S. Stoner, originally from Germany, and Mary Bru- baker, of Pennsylvania nativity. About 1871 Dr. Stoner moved to Arkansas, and settled in Cross County, where he now lives, having been engaged

in farming and stock raising since that time. He has a fine place of 320 acres on the St. Francis River. Dr. Stoner served in the Union army for three years, as assistant surgeon in the Seventy- seventh Illinois Infantry. Himself and wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He also belongs to the I. O. O. F., and is recog- nized as a citizen of influence and worth.

Joseph Taylor is one of the oldest settlers in Cross County, and was born in Kentucky in Janu- ary, 1809, being the son of Peter and Elizabeth (Dawson) Taylor, natives of Kentucky and Georgia, respectively. Peter Taylor, whose parents were Chapman Taylor and Rachel Taylor, was mar- ried in 1806, and became the father of twelve children, five still living: Joseph (the second one of the family), Daniel (in Colorado), Peter (in Texas) Elizabeth (now Mrs. Hodges, of Illinois), and Rachel (now Mrs. Williams, of Texas). Mr. Taylor died in 1825. Joseph Taylor has been twice married: first, to Susan' Levesque, in 1830, who died in 1866, leaving seven children, five of whom survive: William, James (who resides in Augusta, Ark.), Ellen (the widow of J. J. Fields, an old settler of this county), Elizabeth (now Mrs. McKey, of Texas) and Mary. Mr. Taylor was married to his second wife in February, 1872, she being Miss Louisa Stafford. They are the parents of one child, now deceased. Joseph Taylor came to what was then a part of Poinsett (now Cross) County, in 1857, where he purchased 200 acres of land, with about sixty acres under cultivation, to this he has since added some forty acres; in 1886 moved to Cherry Valley, where he bought a house and lot, and now has one of the finest homes in the village. Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was also his first wife. He belongs to the A. F. & A. M. Mr. Taylor is a Democrat, politically, but never took an active part in politics, and never favored slavery.

William Taylor, in his association with the affairs of this county, has come to be recognized as one of the prominent farmers. Born in Alabama, in 1830, he is a son of Joseph and Susan (Levesque) Taylor, and growing up was reared principally in

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Alabama, receiving a good education, for the times, in the common schools. At the age of twenty he commenced farming for himself on rented land, and in 1852, removed with his father to Western Tennessee, where he remained only one year, then going to Panola County, Miss. He worked at the carpenter trade for a few years in that county, and in 1859, came to Cross County (then Poinsett County), Ark., locating in what is now Mitchell Township. At first renting land until 1866, he then bought eighty acres on Crowley's Ridge, but in 1871, he sold this place, and bought his present estate, consisting of 160 acres, with twenty-five acres under cultivation. He has also cleared up some seventy-five acres of fine bottom land, and has a splendid frame house close to the village of Cherry Valley. Besides his farming interests he is in the carpentering trade. In 1861 Mr. Taylor enlisted on the side of the Confederacy, in the Thirteenth Arkansas Infantry, serving in the Ten- nessee Division. He acted as wagon-master for some time, and took part in the battles of Mur- freesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and Dalton, Ga. After this last battle he came west and joined Gen. Price's command as first lieu- tenant in a cavalry regiment, remaining with him on his raid through Missouri, in 1864 and 1865. Mr. Taylor has been married twice; first, in 1851, to Mary C. Murphy, a native of Alabama, who died in 1871, leaving five children (three now liv- ing): Julia O. (wife of P. C. Crumpton), Freder- ick P. (deceased), W. C. (deceased), John M. (clerk in the Commercial Hotel of St. Louis) and James P. (deceased, who was killed in a storm while rid- ing through the woods, by a tree falling on and killing him). Mr. Taylor was married the second time in 1872, to Mrs. Emma C. Brinkley (nee Stevens), daughter of James and Rachel (Stovall) Stevens, of Tennessee nativity. By this union there are five children, (four living): Robert N., Charles (deceased), Rachel, Maud and Lillie (twins). Mr. and Mrs. Taylor are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was also the first wife. He is a Royal Arch Mason, and belongs to Arcada Lodge No. 183, in which he holds the office of Senior Warden. Mr. Taylor is also connected

with the I. O. O. F., and the K. of H. A strong Democrat, he is a liberal donator to all church, educational and charitable objects.

J. H. Taylor commenced life as a farmer at the age of twenty, on a farm in this county, which he rented for about five years, when he purchased forty acres some three miles east of Wynne. In 1878 he traded this for the land on which he now lives, consisting of 160 acres with ten acres under cultivation. At this time he has forty acres under cultivation, with a good residence and orchard containing about fifty or sixty fine apple trees, all in good order. In 1862, Mr. Taylor embraced the principles which he believed right, enlisting in the Twenty-third Arkansas Infantry in which he served only eighteen months, being captured at Port Hudson, then he was paroled and never exchanged. He has been married twice: first in October, 1864, to Miss L. C. Pulley, who died in May, 1887, having been the mother of nine children, four of whom are still living: Mary I. (wife of A. May, a resident of St. Francis County), A.S., A. M. and George (who are at home.) Mr. Taylor was married the second time in 1888, to Mrs. Ellen Ramsey (nee Griffin). She is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as was also Mr. Taylor's first wife. Mr. Taylor belongs to the A. F. & A. M. and is a popular citizen of Wynne Township. His parents, Adolford and Martha A. (Brown) Taylor, were natives of Tennessee, the former of whom moved to this State in 1842 and first settled in Jackson County, where he remained two years, then finding a home in St. Francis County. After two or three years there he came to Cross County and settled at the foot of Crowley's Ridge, where he rented a farm. In 1847 Mr. Taylor entered a quarter section of land, one mile from where the town of Wynne is now located. Afterward selling out, in 1854 he bought the farm on which he resided until his death, in March, 1881, having survived his wife twenty-two years. They were members of the Methodist Church, and were the parents of nine children, two of whom are living.

John Toole, roadmaster of the Helena branch of the Iron Mountain Railroad, from Knott to Helena, was born in Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1847, and is the

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son of John and Mary Toole. The parents moved to St. Louis in 1856, and here John Toole, Jr., re- ceived his education. He remained in school until about fifteen years of age, and then commenced railroading on the Iron Mountain road, beginning as brakesman, and after a time being promoted to conductor. He ran on the road in the latter ca- pacity for about eight years, and was then ap- pointed roadmaster on the main line between St. Louis and Little Rock. In May, 1888, he was put in charge of the Helena branch, and has since made his headquarters at Wynne. Mr. Toole selected his companion for life in the person of Miss Con- ley, a native of St. Louis, Mo., and the wedding took place in 1869. To this union were born three children, a son and two daughters: John, Kate and Alice. Mr. Toole is a member of Lodge No. 52 of the K. of P., and is one of the much respected citi- zens of the county. He has discharged every duty incumbent upon him in his positions of trust with accuracy and dispatch, and has the confidence of the public.

Samuel Tyer, Wynne, Ark. This venerable man has been a resident of Arkansas since 1817 and this of itself is sufficient to give him an extensive ac- quaintance, even if his personal characteristics were not such as to draw around him many friends. He was born in Tennessee in 1812, and in 1815 the family moved to Cape Girardeau County, Mo., where his father, Wright Tyer, made one crop and then, not liking the country very well, he went down to the present State of Arkansas and made one crop in what is now Smith Township, Cross County. The next year (1817) he brought his fam- ily to this section and there lived for two years on vacant land. In 1820 he bought eighty acres of land from William Russell, of St. Louis, who had been buying up most of the valuable land in this section. The father died in 1831. On this farm Samuel Tyer spent his youth, helping to cultivate the farm. In those early days they experienced many hardships and endured many privations. At the time of their settlement, in 1817, there were but six families between Ben Crowley's, in Green County, and the Jones place, then called Cherokee Village, on the southern border of the county.

Here they lived, and as an occasional settler joined them the population increased. In 1838 Mr. Tyer married Miss Nancy Newton, a native of Wayne County, Tenn., whose father came to Arkansas in 1836 and started a blacksmith shop, but subse- quently moved to Independence County, where he died at Sulphur Rock. After marriage Mr. Tyer bought a farm three miles north of the present vil- lage of Wynne, cleared about twenty-five acres and then sold out and moved to the Lone Star State, making the trip of 1,600 miles overland in six months. Not liking the country or the people he soon returned to Arkansas, satisfied that this coun- try was good enough for him. On his return in 1862 he bought the place on which he still resides, a farm of 160 acres, which was almost wild land. This he immediately began to improve and at the present time has about forty acres under cul- tivation. He and wife are living all alone in a lit- tle house which has been their home for many years, and during that time they have witnessed the gradual development of the country. Their family consisted of eleven children, all now deceased but three: Josephus and Monroe (who are living on the old place) and Melinda Jane (who resides in Poin- sett County). Mrs. Tyer spun and wove the goods from which their clothes were made and she had not bought any domestic until a few years ago. Mr. Tyer has lived in what is now Cross County, Ark., longer than any one now living, and in the vicinity of Copper's Creek, where his father first settled, there were over thirty panthers killed in two years. This old and much-respected couple have lived for fifty-one years a happy married life and have had their share of the hardships incident to the early pioneers. They raised all their pro- visions and made their own clothing. Mr. Tyer still farms and has a good crop of corn this year. This worthy couple have a set of knives and forks, still in a good state of preservation, which they have used through all their married life.

D. A. Tyer was born in St. Francis County, Ark., shortly after his parents came to this State. Curtis Tyer, the father, was a blacksmith by trade and a native of Tennessee, who removed here in 1840, settling in St. Francis County, where he was

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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.

married to Elizabeth Sparks, who was also of Ten- nessee origin. Mr. and Mrs. Tyer were the parents of eight children, four of whom are living: D. A., Mattie (wife of R. Harrell, of this township), T. C. (also of this township) and Sallie (wife of W. H. Newsom, a resident of Wynne). Mr. Tyer died in 1866, and his wife, who was a member of the Baptist Church, in 1873. D. A., the subject of this sketch, was born in 1846, and was reared on a farm, being educated in the subscription schools of the county. At the age of twenty-one he com- menced farming for himself, and also ran a black- smith shop, having learned that trade in his father's shop. In 1864 he joined the army, in defense of the Southern cause, and was in Price's raid through Missouri, in which he served until the close of the war. Mr. Tyer was married in 1866 to Miss Mary F. Lindley. Their union has been blessed by eight children: Ida (wife of T. N. Holt), Cora, Willie, Robert, Allen, Sallie, Stephen and Grove M. In 1868 Mr. Tyer bought forty acres of land, to which he has since added another eighty, now having about sixty acres under cultivation, with a good dwelling; he also raises some stock. A public- spirited man he is a liberal donator to all enter- prises for the good of the community in which he lives.

John M. Vann, merchant and postmaster, Vann- dale, Ark. Ever since his connection with the affairs of Cross County, Mr. Vann has displayed those sterling qualities, industry, perseverance and integrity, that have resulted in awarding him a representative place in matters pertaining to this community. He owes his nativity to Fayette County, Tenn., where his birth occurred in 1845, and is the eldest in a family of seven children born to Renselear and Emily M. (Maget) Vann, natives of North Carolina. The father was a farmer and came to Arkansas, in 1850, settling in St. Francis (now Cross) County, about three miles south of the present town of Vanndale. In the same year he erected a cotton-gin and grist-mill, which was the first mill and gin in this section. He bought 640 acres of land on which he made many improve- ments, clearing about 200 acres, erecting buildings, etc., and made a good home for his family. He

was well known as a thrifty and enterprising citi- zen, and was for a long time postmaster at Mill Ridge, the only postoffice in that section for a long time. He was also justice of the peace for a number of years. His death occurred on April 30, 1887, at the age of sixty-nine years. His estimable wife had died two years previous. John M. Vann remained at home until his twentieth year and at- tended the common schools of the section. He was preparing to go away to school when the breaking out of the war caused him to throw aside all thoughts of books. In 1867 he engaged as clerk for J. Q. Thomas & Co., at Wittsburg, with whom he continued for one year, and after which he began business for himself at Cleburne, at that time the county seat. He continued in this business until 1879, when he moved to his farm and there erected a store, where he continued business until 1882. In October of that year he came to a place on the Iron Mountain Railroad that had just been named in his honor, Vanndale, and here he erected a store and dwelling. He has since been increas -* ing his business and now carries a full line of gen- eral merchandise, and has a stock of goods valued at $5,000. In 1870 be was appointed postmaster at Cleburne and has continued as such at that place and Vanndale ever since, being the only one ever at the latter place. Mr. Vann owns 440 acres of good tillable land, 100 acres of which is under cultivation and the balance mostly covered with good timber. He was married in 1870 to Miss Ida Hare a native of Tennessee and the daughter of Rev. Thomas P. Hare, a pioneer preacher of this section. Three children were the result of this union: Claude (at present publishing the Reg- ister at Forrest City), Thomas and Bessie. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mr. Vann is a member of the Knights and Ladies of Honor. He has served as school director for ten years and takes a deep in- terest in educational matters.

Mrs. Ella Warren. Among the early and most prominent farmers of this county some twenty-five years ago, was James W. Warren, who came to this State in 1852. He was the son of Jesse and Rebecca (Boon) Warren, who were the parents of

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CROSS COUNTY.

seven children, all of whom are now dead. James Warren was married to Ella Futrell in Tennessee, in 1847, both natives of North Carolina. After his marriage Mr. Warren moved to this State, set- tling in what is now Cross County, but at the time of his settlement Poinsett County, where he pur- chased a section of land, part of which is now the village of Vanndale. He also owned a number of negroes, and carried on a large plantation previous to the war. At the time of the rebellious outbreak Mr. Warren was in poor health, and so did not take any part in the Confederate service, and died soon after the war closed, in 1868. He was very active in politics, and was one of the leading men of his community, besides being one of the largest land owners in the county. He left his widow in good circumstances at the time of his death, and she has proven herself thoroughly capable of taking care of the property left her. Mr. and Mrs. War- ren were the parents of seven children, two of whom are now living: Jefferson (who is married and carries on the farm for his mother) and James (also at home). Mrs. Warren's parents were very wealthy. They moved from North Carolina to Ten- nessee when she was but a child. To these par- ents were born eight children, five of whom still live: Ella (our subject), Sarah, Martha A. (now Mrs. Outland), Mary L. and James G. Mr. Fut- rell (our subject's father) died in 1883, and his wife in 1868. Mrs. Futrell was a member of the Baptist Church. Mrs. Warren is an enterprising and accomplished lady, and highly respected.

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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