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 65

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 65

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intendent of the Memphis Cotton Seed Oil Com- pany. He never raised a bale of cotton in his life, but was mostly engaged in buying and selling real estate, and before the war owned quite a number of slaves; he also owned the ferry-boats that ran between Memphis and Arkansas from 1857 to 1860 and after the war for several years. He was al-

ways foremost in any movement to develop the county, was liberal and charitable to a fault, and was an active member of the church, having joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at Louis- ville, and upon his arrival at Memphis united with the First Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at that place, and was later made steward of the same. Maj. Barton had a family of eight chil- dren, seven of whom lived to be grown, and five are still living, as follows: William Edmunds, James T., Charles F., Richard (deceased), H. F. (deceased in his twenty-fourth year), Dr. Robert W., John F. (who died at the age of twenty-two years) and Lee. After the death of the Major, his wife was married to Col. A. M. Hardin, of Marshall County, Miss. She visited, in 1888, her child- hood's home in Barren County, Ky., hoping to be restored to health. While there surrounded by relatives, including three of her sons, she died expressing complete faith in Christ. She was for forty-four years a devout Christian and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. She was an estimable lady and loving wife, and co- operated with Maj. Barton during the adverse as well as the favorable circumstances of his life,

Frank H. Barton (deceased), remembered as among the leading influential residents of this community, was born in Henry County, Tenn., February 22, 1832, and died August 30, 1884. He was reared in Tipton County, Tenn., and came to Crittenden County from Memphis in 1852, locating on an island near Marion, where he had only four- teen acres of land under cultivation. In the fall of 1859 he built the handsome residence in which his family still lives. From the small place of fourteen acres, under his energetic and careful management, grew the large farm that consisted of over 1,000 acres, with 500 acres in an excellent state of cultivation at the time of his death. He

JAMES F. BARTON. (DECEASED ) CRITTENDEN COUNTY , ARKANSAS.

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was elected treasurer of Crittenden County before the war, when he took an active part in political, school and church matters, and joined the Chris- tian Church of Memphis in 1872. He joined the Confederate army near the close of the late war, and did active service till the close of the war. Mr. Barton was first married to Alice E. Fogle- man, who was born November 22, 1842, in this county, where she was reared and where she died December 26, 1865. She was the daughter of John and Elizabeth A. (Trice) Fogleman, and was the mother of one child, Frank G., who is unmar- ried and living on the home place. Mr. Barton was a second time married January 8, 1867, his wife being Lizzie Edmunds, a native of Barren County, Ky., and the daughter of Charles P. and Elizabeth (Eubank) Edmunds, who came from Vir- ginia to Barren County. The father was born in 1811, and died in his seventy-second year; his wife was also born in 1811, and died November 24, 1881. They were both members of the Christian Church, of which he was also an elder. They reared a family of ten children to be grown, of whom Mrs. Barton is the sixth. She attained womanhood in Kentucky, where she was married to the subject of this sketch. This couple were the parents of eight children, of whom five are still living, viz .: Mamie B. (now the wife of G. A. Fogleman), Louis W., Charles G., Perry A. and Richard B .; those deceased are Charles E., James C. and Robert E. Most people are familiar with the history of the great disaster that occurred op- posite Mound City, March 27, 1885, by the explo- sion of a boiler on the steamer Mark Twain. There were five white ladies on the boat, among whom was Mrs. Barton; there were two white men killed, both of whom were from Kentucky; seven colored men were also killed in the wreck. The names of the officers were as follows: Captain, G. A. Fogleman; pilot, J. E. Pennell; engineer, Henry Gayham, and the bar-keeper was Frank Huxtable. Capt. McLone, who had charge of the boat only a short time before, had his leg broken, and Capt. Fogleman had his leg broken in two places, and the pilot escaped without injury. Mrs. Barton's daughter and niece were also on board, but none

of the ladies were injured. When the Sultana sank just below this place, in 1865, Mrs. Barton's people were the instruments in saving many of the doomed soldiers. The Barton family stands among the most prominent and best-liked people of Crit- tenden County. They are noted for their public- spirited and liberal-minded disposition, and have done much to advance the development of their county.

R. B. Barton, a prominent citizen of Critten- den County, was born in Tipton County, Tenn., in 1839, and is the youngest of eleven children, born to James and Elizabeth W. (Hardin) Barton, who were natives of Kentucky. The father was a farm- er by occupation, and died in Tennessee in 1851. The maternal grandfather was a major in the Rev- olutionary War, and fought in the battle of Cow- pens. After the father's death, the family moved to Crittenden County, Ark., and settled on Rose- brough Island, in 1852. R. B. Barton lived with his brothers, J. F. and F. H., till 1865, when they moved to Mound City, where they bought 200 acres of unimproved land, of which R. B. cleared sixty acres up to the outbreak of the war. In 1861 he enlisted in a cavalry company, known as the Critten- den Rangers, which went to Kentucky, and was in Hardin's division, which took part in the battle of Shiloh. Then the regiment was reorganized, and Mr. Barton returned to Crittenden County, where, in company with Col. McGee, he raised a company of which he was elected first lieutenant. This company was engaged in scouting and police duty, and during the war captured three steamboats. Lieut. Barton was captured in 1863, and was placed in prison at Memphis for two months, when he was removed to Johnson's Island for eleven months. He returned home in 1864, and commenced the planting and timber business. In 1868 he went on a farm of thirty-five acres, at Mound City, and in 1885, when he had improved it till it was worth $14,000, he sold it. In 1888 he bought eight acres on the Bald Knob Railroad, where he built a station, and has put about $10,000 worth of improvements, consisting of a cotton-gin, with all modern improvements, at a cost of $3,000, a store, livery stable, hotel, and, in fact, he owns

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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.

everything at the station. Mr. Barton was mar- ried in 1865, to Miss Fannie K. Fogleman, a daughter of John Fogleman, one of the pioneers of this county. Mr. and Mrs. Barton are the parents of three children, of whom two are dead, Lizzie (died at the age of fifteen years, while attending school at Fayetteville), Mary Alice (who is now at- tending school at Memphis) and Gussie (who died at the age of twelve years). Mr. Barton moved to Memphis in 1885, and has since resided there. He is a progressive and energetic business man, and has done very much toward the improvement of Crittenden County.

James T. Barton is justly numbered in the list of Crittenden County's most prominent farmers. A native of Tipton County, Tenn., he is the second child in order of birth born to the union of James F. and Frances (Edmonds) Barton, natives of Ken- tucky. [See sketch of J. F. Barton. ] James T. received his education in Memphis, Tenn., and at Louisville, Ky., where he attended the graded schools, obtaining thorough and practical instruc- tion. At the age of eighteen he went in company with his father to Memphis, and engaged with him in the Cotton Seed Oil Company., in which he held the position of foreman for some time. When twenty-six years old he came to this county, and embarked in farming ånd merchandising. During the war Mr. Barton was three times a prisoner before he had reached his thirteenth year, once in the Union Block, at Memphis. He has been twice married: first, in 1877, to Miss Lizzie B. Hardin, a daughter of Col. A. M. Hardin, of Mississippi, and by her became the father of four children, one now living, James A. (at home). Mrs. Barton died in 1882, and in 1888 he was united in mar- riage with Miss Vara M. Hoblitzell, of Baltimore, Md., whose parents, William and Henrietta (Gep- hardt) Hoblitzell, were natives of Maryland. They had a family of ten children, five of whom survive: Oliver, Fetter S., Lottie V. (wife of G. M. Wolf), Sue G. (now Mrs. J. C. Zimmerman) and Vara M. (Mrs. Barton). In 1877 Mr. Barton settled on lands purchased by himself, but at the present time is leasing some 2,000 acres, 1,300 of which he controls individually, and in addition 900, in

which he has a partner. He raises about 1,000 bales of cotton on the two places, and is one of, if not the largest, land leasers in the county. It would be difficult to find a man more popular, or one who enjoys the undivided esteem and respect of all to a greater extent than Mr. Barton; always courteous, a perfect gentleman, jolly, quick at repartee, he never wounds a friend, and his mirth harbors no sting nor bitterness. He was appointed sheriff of this county, pending an election, to fill the unexpired term of Henry Ward, in 1873, and in the same year was elected to the office, which he filled with entire satisfaction. He also acted as county collector, and during that time the act- ing sheriff died, and Mr. Barton was again ap- pointed to fill the latter position. He has served as justice of the peace of his township, and has been one of the associate justices of this county. He is a Knight of Honor, belonging to Crawford- ville Lodge No. 3110, and is a member of the A. F. & A. M. Politically he is a Democrat. Both Mr. and Mrs. Barton are members of high stand- ing, in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and are very popular in society.

Robert W. Barton, M. D., considered among the profession as one of the leading physicans, and an upright and honest citizen of Crittenden County, was born in this county, March 17, 1860, to the union of James F. and Frances (Edmonds) Barton. [See sketch. ] Robert W. Barton spent most of his youth in Memphis, Tenn., and was educated in the common schools of Louisville, Ky., and the Lincoln public school of St. Louis, Mo. In 1876, during the big strike in St. Louis, he volunteered as a soldier and served throughout that affray in that city, the youngest of 3,000 volunteers, and did active and honorable service for eleven days while quelling the riot. He was requested and urged by his officers to become a West Point cadet at large from Missouri, but owing to the fact that he was a son of a Confederate soldier he could not be appoint- ed, although endorsed by Capt. Elerby, Lieut. Barlow and other officers, and quite a number of prominent men of both Nashville and Memphis, Tenn. In 1879 he entered the State University of Tennessee, and owing to his ill health remained for

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only two years, and commenced the study of medi- cine in Memphis with Dr. Rogers as his preceptor, in 1882, and later he assisted R. D. Murray, United States army surgeon for four months. In 1883, he was appointed interne in the city hospital of Physicians and Surgeons of Baltimore, Md., from which school he graduated in 1884, and returned to Memphis, Tenn., where he commenced the practice of his profession. In July of that year he came to this county, where he has since practiced. While in Memphis he was a member of the State Medical Association of Tennessee, and is now of the Tri-State Medical Society of Mississippi, Ar- kansas and Tennessee, and president of the board of medical examiners of this county. Dr. Barton was married to Miss Mamie G. Grasty, who was born in Danville, Va., and was reared in Baltimore, Md., where she graduated from the Western Fe- male High School, taking the Peabody medal. She then graduated from the Maryland Musical Institute, under Prof. May. Mrs. Barton is a very highly educated lady and is in every way an estimable woman. She is the mother of two chil- dren: Phebe Housen and Francis Edmunds. She is an active and prominent member of the Second Presbyterian Church of Memphis, Tenn.

James Bassett, merchant and farmer of Marion, was born in Vicksburg, Miss., in 1845, and is the son of Samuel and Lydia (French) Bassett, who are natives of England. They came to the United States before their marriage and were united at Vicksburg, making their home there, whence he went into the Mexican War. Soon after his return from the war he died of yellow fever, and after his death the mother and family remained at Vicksburg where Mrs. Bassett was married to David McClure, a native of Mississippi. In 1856 Mr. and Mrs. McClure moved to Memphis, and in the following year to Crittenden County, Ark., where the aged mother still lives, her husband having died in 1871. To her first marriage were born two sons, James and Samuel D., and by the second marriage was born one child (now de- ceased). Before the war James Bassett made his home in Memphis most of the time and at the com- mencement of the war joined the Confederate

army as a private in the Twenty-first Tennessee Regiment, under Col. Pickett. He served three years and was not in any battles of note; was in Memphis when that city was besieged. After the war he returned to Crittenden County, where he has since lived and has been engaged in farming, and in 1883 embarked in the merchandising business at Marion, and to-day is one of the most prominent citizens of that place. He was married to Mary A. Fox, who was born in Memphis and reared in Arkansas, and a daughter of John H. and Eva (Echeiner) Fox, natives of Germany. The mother died in 1889 at a very old age. To Mr. and Mrs. Bassett have been born four children: Lydia E., Mary E. (who is the wife of Dr. T. O. Bridge- forth), Samuel C. and Virginia M. Politically, Mr. Bassett is a Democrat and is a member of the Knights of Honor, Lodge No. 3114 of Marion. This family is composed of fine-looking people and has been noted for some time for its remarkable health. Mr. Bassett in many ways is a typical western man, imbued with that vim, enterprise and push so characteristic of the free sons of the West, and has done much for the advancement of his county.

Samuel D. Bassett, a merchant and farmer of Marion, was born in Vicksburg, Miss., in 1846, and is the son of Samuel and Lydia (French) Bassett. [See sketch preceding. ] When a small boy Samuel Bassett moved to Memphis with his mother, and from here they soon came to Crittenden County, Ark. During the war the mother and her two children went to Cincinnati, and after staying there a few months, Samuel returned to this county, and in 1864 attended the Christian Brothers' Col- lege, at St. Louis. After leaving college in 1865, he returned to this county, where he has lived ever since, except two years (1870 and 1871) that he spent in Texas and Kansas. He commenced business for himself at the age of twenty-one years, and has since been engaged in farming and merchandising. He first put in a stock of general merchandise, which he sold in 1878, and has since been doing a general business. He now has a stock of goods at Marion, and one at Gavin Station, where he had an establishment several years before the station was founded. This station is on the old

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place that was first settled by his people, and on which his mother still lives. Mr. Bassett was married in 1875 to Miss Love Swepston, who was born in Ohio, and is a daughter of John Swepston. This union was blessed by one child (Musetta) in 1876. Mr. Bassett has always taken an active part in educational matters, and his prominence in these affairs has given him a position as director on the school board; he is also postmaster at Gavin Station. He is a Democrat in politics, and a member of Lodge No. 3114, K. of H., of Marion. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are good Chris- tian people, well liked by all.

William Matthews Bigham, M. D., a merchant and druggist, of Marion, Ark., is one of its most prominent business men. He is of Irish descent and was born in Shelby County, Tenn., in 1859, being the only survivor of a family of three chil- dren born to William M. and Mary F. (Winston) Bigham. The paternal grandparents were born in Ireland and came to America about the time of their son's (William M.) birth, which occurred in 1816. William M. Bigham was reared in North Carolina and moved to Mississippi and from there to Ten- nessee in 1850. In Mississippi he was engaged in farming and milling, and while here he met and married a Mrs. Matthews in Tennessee. The wife accompanied her parents to that State in 1832, when she was nine years of age. Here she at- tained her womanhood and was married to M. S. Matthews, a native of North Carolina, who died in Shelby County, Tenn., nine years after his mar- riage, leaving a wife and four children, two of whom are still living: Adolphus and Virginia. After Mr. Bigham was married to this lady he sold out his business in Mississippi and moved to Shelby County, Tenn., where he remained for one year, and in January of 1860 moved across the river into Crittenden County, Ark., living here until his death which occurred two years later. Mr. Big- ham was a member of the Presbyterian Church and his wife of the Baptist Church. Mrs. Big- ham is now sixty-six years of age and resides with her son William M. In 1865 the family returned to Tennessee, where William M. Bigham reached

his majority. He had but poor advantage for an early education, and with the desire for a complete literary knowledge he commenced the study of medicine with his half brother, B. A. Matthews, who was a physician and graduate of the Old Uni- versity of Nashville. Dr. Bigham remained here till he was nineteen years old, when he entered the Vanderbilt University of Nashville, and one year later went to St. Louis, where he graduated in March, 1881. After his graduation he returned to Shelby County, Tenn., where he practiced his pro- fession for two years, then moving to Arkansas; he has since lived here and practiced medicine, being engaged also in merchandising and the drug busi- ness. The Doctor married Mary E. Brown, who was born in this county, a daughter of James and Katie Brown, also among the native residents of Critten- den. Mrs. Bigham is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and is an estimable lady in every respect. Dr. Bigham is a Democrat po- litically and a member of the Baptist Church. He is an honest, upright and worthy citizen, having by his short time in business placed himself in a worthy position in the hearts of his fellow-citizens.

L. D. Blann is a young farmer and broker at Marion, Crittenden County. Born in De Soto County, Miss., in 1860, he is the oldest of a fam- ily of five boys of J. C. and Mary Jane Blann. The father was a farmer by occupation and came to this county in 1876, living here till his death, which occurred in 1885. His wife died while L. D. was a child. The latter spent his youth on his father's farm in Mississippi where he attended the free schools, and after his father came to Arkan- sas he was a student at the college at La Grange, Tenn., until 1881. Upon leaving college, Mr. Blann returned to Crawfordsville and engaged in buying cotton seed until 1884, when he moved to Marion, since giving his attention to buying cotton, cotton seed, cattle, etc. He has also been exten- sively interested in farming, and the past year, 1889, had in a crop of 100 acres of cotton. Mr. Blann was married to Miss Julia B. Johnson, Jan- uary 9, 1885. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, belonging to Lodge No. 375, at Craw- fordsville, and is an industrious, energetic citizen.

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A. D. Blann is recognized as an energetic and enterprising young merchant at Crawfordsville. He was born in 1865, being the son of J. C. Blann, a native of Tennessee. [See sketch. ] Mr. Blann reached his majority in Arkansas, having come to this county in 1875, and has since lived here. He was educated in the high schools of Memphis, Tenn., and commenced for himself in 1883 as a stock dealer, soon afterward entering into general merchandising at the above place. In a short time he closed out this business and entered the employ of E. Buck & Co., remaining from 1883 to 1887, when he resumed his former business at a place called Needmore. One year later he opened up the business at Crawfordsville. Mr. Blann is one of the most promising young men of this county, and is now enjoying a trade of about $60,000 per year. He conducts a general supply business, dealing also in cotton and cotton seed. He was married March 1, 1889, to Winnie Spicer, a native of Shelby County, Tenn., and the daugh- ter of R. S. Spicer, one of the leading farmers of that county. Mr. and Mrs. Blann have an elegant home built in 1889. They are both social young people and are much respected by their host of ac- quaintances.

Levi Barton Boon, the present efficient and popular postmaster and a dealer in general mer- chandise at Gilmore, was born in Yates County, N. Y., June 24, 1841, and is the son of Eli Alonzo Hogaboom, a native of Germany, who came to New York when a young man, and lived there till his death. He was married to Miss Margaret Wells, who was born in New York, and is now living in Tioga County, Penn. To Mr. and Mrs. Hogaboom were born eight children, of whom the subject of our sketch is the fourth child. The mother was afterward married to a Mr. Boon, from whom L. B. Boon takes his name. L. B. was reared in New York, and never received a day's schooling in his life. In 1861 he enlisted in the Fourth Regiment of Ohio Cavalry, and did active service throughout the war, being discharged at Nashville, Tenn., July 20, 1865. During the civil strife he fought in the severe battles of Chicka- mauga, Murfreesboro, Lookout Mountain, Stone

River, Atlanta, Ringgold, and was in Wilson's raid from Eastport, Miss., to Macon, Ga. He was wounded four different times, once by a spent-ball hitting him between the eyes, a scar of which he will carry to his grave; and once by being shot below the knee, besides two other slight wounds. After his discharge he remained in Nashville until 1868, when he went to Burning Springs, Va., in the oil regions, and went from there to Kentucky the fol- lowing year. He went from Kentucky to Jackson, Tenn., where he was married January 12, 1873, to Miss Charlotte Emaline Stock, who was born in Union County, N. C., in June, 1861. She is the mother of seven children: Amos Alonzo, Emma (deceased), Levi Barton (deceased), Margaret (de- ceased), John T., Nellie G. and Edwin. Mr. Boon commenced railroading at Jackson, Tenn., and fol- lowed this occupation till 1883, when he came to Gil- more in the fall of the same year. He opened the first street in the village of Gilmore, where he carries a stock of goods worth $1,500. He also has a livery stable and a farm of about 200 acres in cultivation. In 1883 he built the first cotton-gin in this part of the county at a cost of about $1,500. He has been a Democrat since casting his first vote, which was for McClellan. He is a Master Mason, and a member of Frenchman Bayou Lodge No. 251, in which he is Steward. He also belongs to the K. of H. Lodge at Marion. Mr. Boon is one of the most energetic business men in the county, and it is from his efforts that the village of Gil- more now exists. He was justice of the peace in the township for two years, and is at present serv- ing his second term as notary public, having also been the same four years in Tennessee, appointed by the Governor.

William D. Brooks, a leading farmer and stock raiser of Crittenden County, was born in Shelby County, Tenn., October 5, 1856, and is the first of four children born to Hugh M. and Mattie J. (Scott) Brooks. The father was born in Nashville, Tenn., September 20, 1835. He was the son of Isaac Winston Brooks, who was born in Virginia and died in Tennessee. Mrs. Brooks was a daughter of Eli Scott, and was born in Shelby County, Tenn., October 17, 1840. She was the mother of four

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children now living and four deceased; those living are William D., Hugh L., John M. and Frank S. Hugh M. Brooks, the father, was a prominent man who immigrated to this county from Shelby Coun- ty, Tenn., January 7, 1861, and located on 320 acres of land, which he purchased near where William D. now lives. He served three years in the Confederate army, and was appointed judge of this county by the Governor at one time. He was filling the office of justice of the peace at the time of his death, which occurred March 9, 1889. Will- iam D. Brooks was reared in Shelby County, Tenn., and received his education at the La Grange Col- lege of Tennessee, and was married October 20, 1880, to Birdie E. Shepard, who was born in Yazoo City, Miss., March 8, 1864, and is the daughter of C. D. and Bettie (Hottiman) Shepard. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks are the parents of two children, both living. Mr. Brooks now resides on the old home- stead that his father purchased when he came to this county. He is a member of the Masonic order and is Master of the lodge to which he belongs; is also a member of the K. of H. He is a Democrat in politics, and cast his first presidential vote for Tilden. Mr. and Mrs. Brooks, as his parents were, are prominent members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. They are prominent in their county, and enjoy the respect of their acquaint- ances.

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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