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 69

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 69

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Christmas day, 1867, Mr. Koser landed in this county from Shelby County, Tenn., and purchased forty acres of land, where he now lives, of which there. were thirty acres in cultivation. Having every characteristic of a German he commenced to increase his possessions till he now owns 530 acres of unimproved land, and 350 acres of land under cultivation in Crittenden County; also a farm and, a house and lot in Randolph County, Ark. Politically Mr. Koser is a Democrat, and cast his first presidential vote for Buchanan. He is a member of the Knights of Honor, and his wife and some of his children belong to the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. He is the framer of his own fortune, and by his strict attention to business has made himself a comfortable income for life. He is a public-spirited man and an honest and hon- ored citizen.

J. T. Lambeth is a respected resident of Fogle- man Township, and a man whose superior educa- tion and display of public enterprise have linked his name to the affairs of Crittenden County in such a way that he is admired and honored by all who know him. His birth occurred in Wilson County, Tenn., in 1847, and he is the son of J. T. and Susan (Wall) Lambeth, also natives of Ten- nessee. J. T. Lambeth, Sr., was a school-teacher by profession and was principal and one-half owner of the Clinton College. He sold his interest in the college before the war and moved to his plantation, on which he lived till his death, which occurred in Smith County, Tenn., November 6, 1857, when he was thirty-nine years of age. He was a man of con- siderable literary talent and wrote a book on bibli- cal subjects, entitled "Number Seven;" also a work on temperance, called "Happiness and Wealth," beside a number of poems which were published in the different periodicals of the day. Mr. Lambeth was the father of three sons: J. T. and Warner (twins), being the first born. W. E. resides in Golddust, Tenn. Warner died on the 23d of August, 1889, at Golddust, Tenn., where he was engaged extensively in the mercantile business, now owned and operated by his brothers. Mrs. Lambeth has lived with her son, J. T., most of the time since her husband's death. J. T. Lam-

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beth was educated principally in Illinois, where his mother moved in 1858 and lived for twelve years. During his stay in Illinois he and his brothers pur- chased some town property in Weston, Crittenden County, Ky., also buying a saw-mill and carrying on the mercantile and saw-mill business under the firm name of Lambeth Brothers. In 1875 these enterprising men built a saw-mill and tow- boat which they called the Tidal Wave, and placed on the trade between Evansville and Memphis. In 1880 they bought the tract of land where J. T. now lives, consisting of 400 acres of timbered land for their saw-mills and seventy-five acres of improved land on which they have a cotton-gin and all other modern improvements. At this writing they have moved their saw-mills to replace them with a larger and more improved concern. In 1885 the Lambeth Brothers embarked in the mercantile and saw-mill business on a large scale at Golddust, Tenn., and in 1887 bought a farm of 1,200 acres, of which about 450 are improved, raising annually upon this tract about 400 bales of cotton. In addition to the amount ginned for themselves, they gin for others some 600 bales, making their capacity 1,000 bales of cotton. W. E. Lambeth was married, in 1883, to Miss Mattie Graham, of Illinois. Like his brother, he is noted for his business ability. J. T. Lambeth takes considerable interest in the political issues of the day, although he has no desire for public office. He is still unmarried and lives with and cares for his mother. Our subject and brother have spent considerable time on board of steam- boats, and have filled the positions of captain and pilot of the same. J. T. Lambeth is practically a self-made man and can point with pardonable pride to the property he has amassed by his care- ful and intelligent business management.

Capt. John G. Lewis, a planter, merchant and deputy postmaster of Marion, was born in Hardin County, Ky., in 1827, and is the son of Coleman and Winneford (Nall) Lewis, of Virginia and Ken- tucky origin, respectively. William Lewis, the grandfather of our subject, was a native Virginian, being an extensive and prosperous planter in Cul- peper County. He was a soldier in the Revolu-

tionary War, enlisting when he was seventeen or eighteen years of age, and for his faithful service he was promoted to the rank of major, retaining and carrying this title with him to the close of the great struggle for liberty. He raised a fam- ily of fourteen sons, and one or two daughters, all of whom lived to be grown. Some of the sons of this family went to Kentucky, settling close to- gether, and others went to Indiana, and the rest to Alabama. Coleman Lewis attained his majority in Virginia, then moved to Kentucky, where he was married and lived for several years; coming to a place called West Point, he opened a hotel and in connection with this did a commission business. He and several of his brothers fought in the War of 1812. He died in this county in 1845, at the age of fifty years. After the death of her husband, Mrs. Lewis moved to Mississippi where she died. Six children were born to these parents, of whom three are still living, two older sisters and Capt. Lewis. After the death of his father, in 1850, Capt. John commenced life for himself by taking an overland route to California, his means of con- veyance being a mule which he rode. He remained in this State four years, and by pluck made clear of expense $3,000, then returning to his Ken- tucky home by way of the Isthmus of Panama and New Orleans. After spending about three years in Kentucky he went to Arkansas in 1857, locating in Crittenden County, on the little river Tyronza, where he has since lived and reared his family. He joined the Confederate army just be- fore the fall of Vicksburg, enlisting in Company E, First Arkansas Cavalry, Dobbins' regiment. In the fall of the year of his enlistment he was promoted from the rank of sergeant to that of captain. He was in the battles of Helena, Ark., Big Creek, Phillips County, Nealy's Ferry on St. Francis River, Cross County, one in Prairie County, also at Little Rock, and was with Price on his last raid through Missouri, Kansas and Indian Territory. After his eventful career in the army he returned home and resumed his former occupation. He was first mar- ried to Camilla Lansdale, she being born in Ken- tucky in 1831, and died in Arkansas in 1874. She was the mother of six children, three sons and three

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daughters, of whom three are still living: Charles L. (who is a merchant and postmaster at Marion), Louisiana (now the widow of C. J. Powell and lives with her father), Lena C. (who is unmarried and at home. Mr. Lewis was a second time married, his second wife being Mrs. Jennie (Young) Gatlin; she dying in 1887. Mr. Lewis and family are living in Marion, and his business is that of general mer- chandising. In religion Mr. Lewis is a firm Meth- odist, he belonging to the Methodist Episcopal Church of his town. His son Charles is a worthy constituent of the K. of H., and is also secretary of that society. As a family they are held in high esteem by all who know them, and they are all im- bued with that spirit of enterprise that makes them popular.

Mrs. Mary Lloyd, who lives three miles north of Marion, on a farm of 160 acres, of which she cultivates over 100, was born in Mississippi to the union of Mr. and Mrs. John Coble, natives of that State. When she was an infant her father died, and the mother was married, after five years of widowhood, to Henry Butler, who was also a na- tive of Mississippi. Soon after his marriage he moved to Marion, Ark., and followed blacksmith- ing for a livelihood, and afterward moved to Poin- sett County, where he resided till his death. The subject of this sketch was married August 9, 1867, to James Lloyd, who came originally from Missis- sippi County, Ark. He served as a soldier in the Confederate army, and after the war returned to Marion, Ark., where he engaged in farming, trad- ing and trapping. He was an excellent farmer and business man. Mr. Lloyd died on April 3, 1881, leaving a wife and five children: Sophia, Willie, Belle, Le Roy and Robert Lee (deceased). Sophia is the wife of P. A. Bobbitt, who lives in this county. The other three are at home. Mrs. Lloyd owns two tracts of land besides the one on which she resides. She is industrious and enter- prising, and keeps her property in good condition. She is a good true Christian lady and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

D. C. Louder is the son of Louis and Mary (Lawrence) Louder, and was born in 1854. Louis Louder, a farmer by occupation, was in moderate 27

circumstances. He served in the War of 1812, and participated in the battle of New Orleans. He was twice married, by his first union becoming the father of seven children, only one now living, Minerva, wife of E. J. Lawrence, of Gibson County, Tenn. His last wife was the mother of D. C. Louder (the subject of this memoir), and the following family resulted from this marriage: Mrs. S. A. Harris (wife of Rev. Mr. Harris), Corretta (wife of Jones Evans, residing in Gibson County, Tenn.), Willie (now Mrs. James Evans, also of Gibson County), and E. J. (a well-known resident of the same locality). Mr. Louder died in 1865, his wife having been called to her final home just previous to the war. D. C. Louder was reared in Gibson County, Tenn., and at the age of eighteen began for himself as a farmer in that county, con- ' tinuing until 1869, at which time he came to Ar- kansas, locating in Crittenden County and in this township. He has since followed the occupation of an agriculturist, mostly on rented land, and usu- ally rents from 200 to 400 acres, proving beyond a doubt that he is the right man in the right place, for the number of small details of farming which many are wont to overlook, are to him as import- ant in their way as the larger ones. Mr. Louder was married in 1875 to Miss Allicia Lowrance, of Memphis, Tenn., and by her is the father of four children, two of them now living: Fannie A. and Mamie B., both at Memphis, attending school. The home, which was so happy, was robbed of the devoted wife and mother in 1884, after a short ill- ness. Mr. Louder is a successful farmer, and is rapidly accumulating a competence. He is exten- sively engaged in raising cotton, and is recognized as one of the principal cotton growers of the county. He is a member of Fountain Lodge No. 296, K. of H., at Memphis, Tenn., and is held in high esteem by all.

Col. O. P. Lyles, the extent of whose reputa- tion is by no means confined to the immediate limits of Memphis, his present place of residence, has been so closely and worthily identified with the affairs of Crittenden County, both in an official capacity and as a private citizen, in the more hum- ble but not less important walks of life, that an

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omission of a brief sketch of his life from the pres- ent volume would be greatly to be regretted. A Tennesseean by birth and bringing up, he first saw the light of day in the month of November, 1829. From an early age he found it very necessary to exercise a firm determination to fit himself for the responsibilities of after-life. His first remunera- tive efforts were as clerk on a river trading-boat, an occupation to which he devoted himself until about 1844, when he located at Marion, Ark. Self- educated and taught by hard experience the value of self-reliance, he rapidly demonstrated his worth and ability in his new home, and in 1850 was elected clerk of the circuit court, a position that he ably filled some eight years. During this time he began the study of law, and applied himself closely to an insight into the legal profession, being ad- mitted to the bar in 1857. In 1858-59 he was representative from this county in the State legis- lature, and in 1861, when the threatening war cloud burst in all its fury, he became identified with that section to which his interests were so closely allied. Enlisting as a private, upon the reorganization of the army, he was unanimously elected colonel of the Twenty-third Arkansas In- fantry Regiment, and participated in the hard- fought battles of Corinth, Davis' Bridge, siege of Port Hudson, and various skirmishes, his career as a soldier being more severe and fraught with harder service than characterized the experiences of many noble "boys in gray." On July 9, 1863, he was taken prisoner after the siege of fifty-one days, and suffered the tortures of prison life for some time. During his military service he was in com- mand of one or another of the wings of the army, and it is a matter of record that a recommendation was made to Jeff. Davis to bestow upon Col. Lyles a commission as major-general; a brigadier's com- mission was offered him, but this well-deserved honor he declined. At the expiration of the war the Colonel was sent to the senate, and while a member of that body was elected to the United States Congress, but was not allowed to take his seat. During the troublous period of reconstruc- tion his life was often threatened; his personal bravery and firmness of position seeming to aggra-

vate, especially, the bitter hostility of unscrupulous citizens. In 1868 he received a positive warning that the members of the Loyal League intended taking his life upon a certain night. Immediately removing to Memphis with his family, he awaited on the night of the intended attack the assault to be made, when at a certain hour a knock was heard, to which Mrs. Lyles responded by opening the door; immediately two ruffians brushed roughly by her, but being confronted by a gun in the hands of Col. Lyles quickly withdrew. From the time of residence in Memphis he has followed closely the practice of his profession, the result of which has placed him in a most desirable pecuniary posi- tion, He still claims Crittenden County as his home, where he has considerable property inter- ests. His record as a public servant redounds greatly to his credit, and for the assistance which he has rendered this community, all refer to him in terms of the highest praise. Col. Lyles was married, August 13, 1848, to his present wife, Miss Jane McClung, daughter of James and Margaret McClung. Five children have blessed this union, three sons and two daughters: William L. (mar- ried and a resident of Texas). Charles L. (died in 1884), George W., Mary Bell (wife of Seth Cox) and Olive Blanche. The family are num- bered among the active, influential members of the Methodist Church. As a man, Col. Lyles is possessed of sterling and irreproachable traits of character, enjoying in a high degree, the esteem and respect which those qualities create.' Generous to a fault, kind and affectionate as a husband and father, he is alike admired in social and profes- sional circles.

Benjamin Franklin McConnell (deceased) was born in Lexington, Ky., October 10, 1841, and died in this county December 16, 1887. He was a son of Francis McConnell, of Irish descent, who was the father of three sons and one daughter. The latter died in infancy and the two sons now re- side in Lexington, Ky. The father departed this life in 1880, in his sixty-fourth year, at the home of his son James, in Arkansas. Benjamin F. was first married after reaching manhood to Mrs. Mary A. (Montgomery) Jones, who died in 1875, leaving

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one son, Lewis F., now living with his step-mother. After her death Mr. McConnell was united in mat- rimony to Ella G. (Goff) Rives, who was born in Memphis in September, 1850, a daughter of James D. and Phoraty W. (McCoy) Goff. Mr. Goff was a Virginian by birth, and was killed in this county in 1866 by a man named Lake. Along in the fif- ties he was the largest merchant in the city of Memphis and at one time was worth about $500, - 000, besides having made and lost several other fortunes. He was an extensive planter in this county at the time of his death. Mrs. Goff died in Memphis in 1852. She was the mother of three sons and two daughters, of whom there are still liv- ing: George B. and Ella G. Ella G., the young- est child, was brought up and attended school in Memphis up to her sixteenth year, when she went to an educational institution at Nazareth, Ky., and remained for two years. She was first married May 18, 1870, to John G. Rives, whose birth oc- curred in Nashville, Tenn .; he died July 31, 1875. They were the parents of two children both now dead. He had two children by his first wife, and of these, one is still living, Florence H. (wife of James C. Hubert). Mrs. McConnell has four chil- dren by her second husband, viz .: Brodnax F., Ella G., John G. and Bennie. Mrs. McConnell resides on the farm left her by her husband which he purchased in 1882, containing 820 acres with about 200 under cultivation; this is located twelve miles south of Memphis on the Mississippi River. She rents her land for cash and it usually yields from 125 to 150 bales of cotton.

John C. Mann is practically a self-made man, having risen from a position without means to be a prosperous planter of Jasper Township. Born in North Carolina, in 1821, he is the son of John and Elizabeth (Cleves) Mann, who were also na- tives of North Carolina, and were planters in that State. John C. Mann attained his majority in North Carolina, and in 1844, in company with a body of immigrants, made his way into Mississippi, stopping in Marshall County, while en route, where he worked as a laborer and overseer for some time. In 1845, going to De Soto County, Miss., he re- mained for two years, and thence to Yazoo County,

where he spent four years. Settling in Bolivar County, at a town called Lake Bolivar, he contin- ued there and in adjoining neighborhood till he went to Arkansas, in 1879. Upon arriving in this State he located on a farm, about three and one- half miles northwest of Marion, where he still lives, having a place of 360 acres, most of which is under cultivation. Besides this farm he has tracts of land in other parts of the county, most of it also being under cultivation, from the effects of his own super- vision. Mr. Mann was first married January 24, 1850, to Indiana Hamberlin, a native of Missis- sippi; she died September 6, 1851, leaving one child, who also died, at the age of one year, five months and four days. On July 22, 1852, Mr. Mann was married to Miss Mary M. Yarborough, of Mississippi origin, having been born in Bolivar County, October 14, 1833. Mr. and Mrs. Mann are the parents of two children: Amelia Ann (mar- ried William F. Loring, and became the mother of two children; after his death she was married to Robert A. Rolland, and by him had four chil- dren) and Mary Emma (married to James H. Mann, and lives on the home place with her parents, and is the mother of two children; one died in infancy; Eddie still lives). John C. Mann and family are prominent members in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he has acted as steward in that church for a number of years. Politically a Democrat, he is one of the most prominent men in his township. He came here without a dollar, and by his own hard work, amassed a fortune of $15,000, which he lost during the late war; but by good management, so characteristic of him, he has made what he now has-one of the finest farms in Crittenden County, containing all the latest im- provements, among which is a large gin, placed there in 1881. He and his family are good Chris- tian people, and are ornaments to the society in which they move.

Archibald C. May deserves mention as a lead- ing farmer and stock raiser of Tyronza Township, Crittenden County. He was born in St. Francis County, Ark., March 1, 1843, as the son of Archi- bald May, whose birth occurred in North Carolina in 1808, he dying in St. Francis County in 1854.

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His parents immigrated from North Carolina to Arkansas when he was a boy, and were among the first settlers of St. Francis County. They came to this State on sleds when Memphis had but one store. The father of the subject of this sketch was married to Miss May Casbeer, of Tennessee, the daughter of Thomas Casbeer, who moved from Tennessee to St. Francis County, Ark., with all his worldly possessions on horseback; he was one of the earliest pioneers of that county. Archi- bald C. May, the sixth child of a family of nine children, of whom four are still living, was reared in St. Francis County, there receiving his educa- tion in the common schools. Moving to Cross County he was married in 1863, his wife being formerly Miss Mollie Pigram, who was born in Tennessee, January 2, 1844. She died December 1, 1884, being the mother of five children, of whom the following three are still living: Archibald B., Joseph M. and Berry P. Mr. May was married to Ida Pickett, July 10, 1886. By this union two children have been born, Jimanna and an infant unnamed. Mr. May has lived in Crittenden County since 1877, and has a farm of 200 acres, with twenty acres in cultivation, located in the Tyronza River bottoms. He enlisted in the Con- federate army June 16, 1862, in McGee's com- pany, and served very efficiently till December 19, 1862, when he was accidentally shot in the shoulder and discharged on account of his disability. He was constable in his township in St. Francis County for four years. Politically, he has been a Democrat since casting his first vote, which was for Seymour.

G. F. Morris, a descendant of the well-known pioneer settlers of this county, whose name he bears, was born in 1857, and is the oldest of a family of three children born to the union of C. F. and Mississippi H. (Fogleman) Morris. His ma- ternal grandfather, G. S. Fogleman, came to this county in a keel-boat from Ohio, about 1824, when land that is now worth from $6 to $8 per acre could have been purchased for ten cents. After locating here he followed the occupation of a wood chopper, and, not being able to buy a team, he and his wife carried the wood on their backs to the boat landing.

After laboring in this manner for some time he bought a team, and from such an humble start was enabled before long to hire hands and contract on a larger scale, and he finally commenced buying negroes, at the time of his death owning sixty-five negro men besides a number of women and chil- dren. He was also the owner of twenty-one miles front on the Mississippi River, consisting of over 20,000 acres. He died in 1865 and his wife in 1857 or 1858. C. F. Morris and wife were mar- ried in 1856, at Fogleman's Landing, on board the steamer Kate Frisbey. Mr. Morris, at that time, was a steamboat man at Memphis, Tenn. His father, W. B. Morris, and grandfather were among the early settlers of Sumner County, Tenn., and were manufacturers of paper. W. B. Morris moved to Memphis when it was a village of only a few hundred inhabitants, and engaged in the mercan- tile business, remaining there till his death. His son, C. F. Morris, was the first steamboat agent at Memphis, and was clerk on the first boat built at that place, which was run in the Memphis and White River trade. Mr. Morris followed steam- boating for twenty years, discontinuing it just be- fore the commencement of the late civil strife. After the war he engaged in farming, his wife having inherited about 17,000 acres of land. He also followed the wood business till the boats began to burn coal. Mr. and Mrs. Morris were the par- ents of four children of whom two are still living; they are: G. F., Calvin M. (deceased), Cynthia (deceased), Lazinka E. (wife of A. M. Morrow). G. F. Morris was reared in this county and re- ceived his education in Memphis, being married, in 1880, to Miss Mary Speck, daughter of Law- rence Speck. Mr. and Mrs. Morris have a family of two children: Oliver W. and Frank K. When the former reached the age of fourteen years he embarked in life for himself in the wood business, which he followed till 1880, then starting as a farmer. This he continued for only a short time and soon secured a position on the Phil. Allen, serving many years as pilot on this boat and the G. W. Cheek. Since leaving the river he has been occupied in the mercantile and saloon business.

W. P. Phillips (deceased), whose name occu-

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pies a substantial place in the memory of his many former acquaintances, was born in Tennessee, though reared in Alabama, having gone there when a child. He was a grandson of Col. John Phillips who fought in the War of 1812, and a son of John Phillips, a Kentuckian by birth. The subject of this sketch reached his manhood in Alabama, and there followed merchandising and farming, being very successful before the war. He was married to Miss Ann H. Stewart, also of Alabama nativity, and the daughter of William and Mary (Hogins) Stewart, originally from North Carolina. They were reared in Tennessee, where they were mar- ried, and later moved back to Alabama, where they were well-to-do farmers. The father died when Mrs. Phillips was but a little girl. She was the only daughter and remained with her parents till her marriage, which occurred in 1846. Mr. Phillips was a prominent and influential farmer and merchant, and during the war served in the commissary department till the close of the strug- gle, spending most of his time in Georgia. He lost very heavily in that conflict, but at its close resumed his farming and merchandising pursuits. In 1869 he moved with his family to Hale County, Ala., where he manufactured the Avery cotton-gin. He went to Memphis, Tenn., in 1873, having pur- chased large tracts of land in Crittenden County, Ark., in 1871, with the intention of opening a farm there, but he died before his plans were con- summated. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips were the par- ents of four children, of whom three are yet living, namely: Mrs. Virginia Avery, Mrs. Alice Quinn and Mrs. Willie Cheatham. Minnie died of yellow fever in 1878. Mr. Phillips died Decem- ber 31, 1874. He was an excellent man, a Mas- ter Mason, a firm believer in Christianity and the Bible, and was admired by all who knew him. Mrs. Phillips lived in Memphis till 1884, when she moved to Crittenden County on the land that her husband had intended to open, and where she has a good farm of 160 acres. She is an estimable Christian lady, and enjoys the universal respect of her neighbors and acquaintances.

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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