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 82
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of corn or oats, Irish or sweet potatoes from 200 to 300 bushels, and turnips 300 bushels per acre. Wheat may occasionally yield from twelve to fif- teen bushels per acre, but it is not a certain crop, and would not pay at these figures. Carrots and rutabagas, the best of feed for live stock through the winter months, would "surprise the natives," if sown, with their abundant yield in the rich allu- vial soil. Improved farms can be purchased at from $10 to $50 per acre, and unimproved lands at from $1 to $15 per acre, according to location and . quality.
In 1880 the county had the following live animals: Horses, 1,459; mules and asses, 1,024; cattle, 8,470; sheep, 405; hogs, 13,318. The num- ber of these animals in the county as assessed for taxation in 1888 were as follows: Horses, 2,222; mules and asses, 1,464; cattle, 8,345; sheep, 708; hogs, 6,749. This shows a large in- crease in horses, mules and sheep, and a decrease in the number of the other animals, the latter be- ing more apparent than real. To get a more truth- ful comparison, compare the figures given here for 1880, with those of the forthcoming census of 1890. The raising of live stock for profit has not been developed in Monroe County, but certainly for this industry its advantages are equal to those of any other county in Eastern Arkansas.
Monroe County can produce all the fruits com- mon to its latitude, but not with as good success as locations of higher altitudes. The small fruits and berries, especially strawberries, do exceedingly well. Not much attention is given, however, to horticulture. Cotton is the king which demands and receives the principal attention of the farmers and business men.
Monroe County, in East Central Arkansas, is bounded on the north by Woodruff and St. Francis Counties, east by Lee and Phillips Counties, south- west and west by Arkansas and Prairie Counties. The base line of the public survey of lands runs east and west through, or near the center of the county, and the fifth principal meridian passes through the southeastern portion thereof. The greatest distance across the county from east to west is twenty-two miles, and from its extreme
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MONROE COUNTY.
northern to southern boundary is forty-seven miles. It lies partly in the 91stº, but mostly in the 92d° of west longitude. The area of the county is 642 square miles or 410,880 acres, of which about one-eighth is improved and cultivated. Nearly 30,000 acres belong to the State, all of which is subject to donation to actual settlers. The Little Rock & Memphis Railroad Company also owns a large amount. White River touches the county at or near the point where the line between Ranges 3 and 4 west, crosses the base line, and flows thence southeasterly to the southern extremity thereof, forming for many miles the southwestern boundary. Cache River flows through a portion of the northwestern part of the county and empties into the White just above Clarendon. White River is navigable the year round, and the Cache is navigable to points north when the water is high. Big Creek flows southeasterly across the northeast corner and returns into the county in Township 3 south, flowing thence in a south- westerly direction to its junction with White River in Township 5 south. These streams and their tributaries furnish all the drainage for the county. The natural surface is generally level, but sufficiently undulating to furnish good drainage. At no point is it elevated more than forty feet above the water level of White River. Good well water, mostly soft, is obtained at an average depth of twenty-five feet.
Nearly all the land of the county is of alluvial formation, and, with the exception of about fifteen square miles of prairie in the southeastern part, they are covered with timber. The soil is gener- ally a dark loam composed of sand, vegetable mold, etc., and has a substratum of clay, at a depth of from two to three feet. It is very rich and productive, and is especially well adapted to the raising of cotton, corn, oats, clover, timothy, other tame grasses and all kinds of root crops. Clover has been introduced and raised to a limited extent, but the tame grasses, so essential to suc- cessful farming, by way of keeping the soil in good condition, have as yet, received but little attention.
In the eastern part of the county there are about 100 square miles covered with excellent pine
timber; the bottoms along the streams abound with cypress, sweet gum, sycamore, elm, etc., the cypress being very abundant, and the more ele- vated lands are covered with nearly all kinds of oak, the white oak being large, thrifty and valuable for lumber. A few factories and several saw-mills have been established, which are cutting the tim- ber, but as yet they have scarcely made an im- pression upon the native forests.
The settlement of the county, or of the terri- tory composing it, began soon after the beginning of the nineteenth century, and the central and southern portion was settled first. Dedrick Pike settled in the vicinity where Clarendon now stands, about the year 1816, and subsequent pioneer set- tlers in that neighborhood were: William, John A. and N. T. Harvick, brothers, Alfred Mullens, Henry C. Toms, Samuel Martin and Col. James Harris. Isaiah Walker from Illinois settled about the year 1831 'on the Walker Cypress, on the Helena road, and in October, 1855, John W. Kerr, father of B. F. Kerr, now of Clarendon, came from Missouri and settled in Jackson Township, on the Helena road, being the first settler in that vicinity. William J. Edwards, who was one of the first settlers in the Indian Bay country in the southern part of the county, is still living, and over eighty years of age, hale and active, and still hunts and traps. Dr. Duncan was the first settler of the Duncan Prairie settlement, a few miles south, bearing a little east from Clarendon. Other pioneer settlers of this neighborhood were Will- iam Pride, from Alabama, John Smith, from South Carolina, William McBride, also Oliver H. Oates, a subsequent secretary of State. Thomas and John Pledger, James F. Mclaughlin and Henry F. Overton, from Alabama, were the first settlers of the Pledger settlement, about ten miles south of the present town of Brinkley.
In what is now Montgomery Township, Indian Bay country, James R. and Robert Jackson, Robert Smalley, Thomas Jackson, Major Johnson, G. W. Baldwin, John Carnagee and George Washington were the pioneer settlers. The first settlers in the vicinity of old Lawrenceville, on Maddox Bay, were Thomas Maddox, F. P. Redmond, a large
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planter who worked from 300 to 400 slaves, Law- rence Mayo, Elijah Kinzie, Simon P. Hughes (since Governor), John Simmons, H. W. Hays, James G. Gay and Clement C. Clark. The latter recently drew $15,000 from the Louisiana Lottery, but now is deceased.
The Daniels' settlement, northeast of Clarendon, was settled by William Daniels, S. P. Jolly and William H. H. Fellows. Capt. Andrew Park and his family, consisting of himself and wife and sons James, William, M. B., Reuben and Andrew, Jr., with three daughters, and H. A. Carter, the latter now of Brinkley, came from Mississippi in 1856, and settled what it known as the Park settlement, about six miles east of Clarendon. Three of the sons and all the daughters of this family are living now (fall of 1889). David Fancher and Thomas J. Brown, from Alabama, were early settlers in this neighborhood. Moses Guthrie was the pioneer settler in the vicinity of Brinkley. William Munn, Alexander White and a Mr. Buchanan were the pioneers of the Munn settlement north of Brinkley. The large planters began to settle in the county early in the fifties. Prior, thereto, the settlement was very slow, but little land was cleared and wild game had continued almost as plentiful as it had ever been. There is still plenty of game, though the deer have become scarce. A few bear linger in the cane brakes along White River.
The county of Monroe was organized under an act of the legislature of Arkansas Territory, ap- proved November 2, 1829. The first section of the act provided: "That all that portion of the coun- try bounded and described as follows: Begin- ning where the eastern boundary line of Range 1 east, strikes the boundary line between Phillips and Arkansas Counties; thence west on said county line to White River; thence up said river to the mouth of Rock Roe; thence west to the western boundary line of Range 4 west; thence north on said range line to the northern boundary line of Township 3 north; thence with the St. Francis County line to its intersection with the eastern boundary line of Range 1 east; thence south with said range line to the beginning, be laid off and erected into a new county, to be known and called
by the name of Monroe." The act also provided that the temporary seat of justice for the county should be at the house of the widow of the late Thomas Maddox, until otherwise provided by law.
By reference to the original boundary lines it will be seen that when created, the county con- tained territory that has since been cut off and at- tached to surrounding counties, thus reducing it considerably below its original size.
The original county seat was located at Law- renceville, on Maddox Bay, a point on White River several miles below the town of Clarendon, and there a small frame court house and a log jail were erected. The seat of justice remained at this place until 1857, when it was removed to Claren- don, where it has ever since remained. Here the walls of a brick court house were erected on the same foundation on which the present one stands, and the building was covered, when the Civil War began and stopped its completion. After the Fed- eral army took possession of this part of the State, the soldiers took the building down and shipped the brick up the river to De Vall's Bluff and there used them in erecting fire-places and chimneys, etc., for their own comfort. Immediately after the close of the war a one-story frame court house, 18x36 feet in size and divided into two rooms, was erected on a corner of the public square at Claren- don, to be used until a more commodious house could be built. It was built by contractors Moses D. Cheek and Henry D. Green.
In February, 1870, the county court appro- priated $12,000 for the purpose of building a new court house, and appointed W. S. Whitley com- missioner to let the contract and superintend its construction. In July following another thousand dollars was appropriated. The house was finished in 1872 at a cost to the county of a little over $13,000. It is a plain two-story brick structure, with a hall and offices on the first floor and court room on the second, and stands in the center of the public square at Clarendon. On the southeast corner of this square stands the county jail, a com- mon two-story wooden building.
Following is a list of the names of the officers of Monroe County, with dates of service annexed:
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MONROE COUNTY.
Judges: William Ingram, 1829-32; James Carlton, 1832-36; R. S. Bell, 1836-40; J. B. Lambert, 1840-44; D. D. Ewing, 1844-46; Will- iam Harvick, 1846-48; J. R. Dye, 1848-50; Will- iam Harvick, 1850-52; E. Black, 1852-54; J. G. Gray, 1854-56; H. D. Green, 1856-58; W. W. Wilkins, 1858-62; P. O. Thweatt, 1862-64; E. Black, 1864-65; W. D. Kerr, 1865-68; Peter Jolly, 1868-72; B. F. Lightle, 1874-76; S. P. Jolly, 1876-80; T. W. Hooper, 1880-84; H. B. Bateman, present incumbent, first elected in 1884.
Clerks: J. C. Montgomery, 1829-32; M. Mitch- ell, 1832-33; R. S. Bell, 1833-36; W. B. Ezell, 1836-38; Philip Costar, 1838-40; R. S. Bell, 1840-48; H. H. Hays, 1848-50; E. W. Vann, 1850-54; N. T. Harvick, 1854-56; J. P. Vann, 1856-58; J. A. Harvick, 1858-65; D. D. Smell- grove, 1865 -- 66; P. C. Ewan, 1866-68; A. A. Bryan, 1868-72; F. P. Wilson, 1872-74; W. S. Dunlop, 1874-86; C. B. Mills, present clerk elected in 1886 and re-elected in 1888.
Sheriffs: James Eagan, 1829-30; James Carl- ton, 1830-32; J. R. Dye, 1832-36; W. Walker, 1836-38; J. Dye, 1838-40; Philip Costar, 1840- 46; D. L. Jackson, 1846-48; J. A. Harvick, 1848-54; S. P. Hughes (now ex-Governor), 1854- 56; George Washington, 1856-60; W. B. Meeks, 1860-62; H. P. Richardson, 1862-66; R. C. Carl- ton, 1866-68; E. P. Wilson, 1868-72; A. Galli- gher, 1872-73; Frank Galligher, 1873-74; C. J. Harris, 1874-76; B. N. D. Tannehill, 1876-78; A. McMurtry, 1878-84; J. W. Walker, 1884-86; J. W. B. Robinson, present incumbent, first elected in 1886.
Treasurers: J. Jacobs, 1836-38; S. B. Goodwin, 1838 -- 48; H. D. Green, 1848-52; T. D. Johnson, 1852-56; I. Walker, 1856-60; D. Pike, 1860-72; A. W. Harris, 1872-76; J. A. Garrett, 1876-78; A. W. Harris, 1878-86; R. N. Counts, 1886-88; H. D. Green, present incumbent, elected in 1888.
Coroners: John Maddox, 1829-32; William Ingram, 1832-36; A. D. Nance, 1836-38; E. Fra- zier, 1838-40; W. B. Fail, 1840-42; W. Walker, 1842-44; D. L. Jackson, 1844-46; H. Watterman, 1846-48; J. S. Danby, 1848-50; V. Vanslyke, 1850-52; Peter Jolly, 1852-54; J. W. Garrett,
1854-56; John Dalvell, 1856-58; W. E. Moore, 1858-60; J. Brown, 1860-62; W. R. Elkins, 1862- 64; E. Hennigan, 1864-66; R. F. Kerr, 1866-68; T. Pledger, 1868-72; J. H. Hillman, 1872-74; W. T. Stafford, 1874-76; W. H. Odem, 1876-78; Ed Kelley, 1878-80; W. J. Capps, 1880-82; R. F. Tyler, 1882-84; M. B. Dyer, 1884-86; W. J. Hall, 1886-88; A. J. Smith, present officer, elected in 1888.
Surveyors: Lafayette Jones, 1829-30; J. Jacobs, 1832-38; D. D. Ewing, 1838-44; L. D. Maddox, 1844-46; J. B. McPherson, 1848-50; M. Kelly, 1850-52; D. E. Pointer, 1852-56; H. Garretson, 1856-58; H. P. Richardson, 1858-62; R. T. Shaw, 1862-64; P. W. Halloran, 1864-66; A. A. Bryan, 1866-68; Henry Bonner, 1868-69; A. A. Bryan, 1872-74; John C. Hill, 1874-76; A. J. Houser, 1876-78; W. M. Walker, 1878-80; H. N. Allen, 1880-84; John C. Hill, 1884-88; A. A. Bryan, present incumbent, elected in 1888.
Assessors: H. C. Edrington, 1868-72; P. Mitch- ell, 1872-73; John Rainey, 1873-74; L. Ward, 1874-76; D. D. Dickson, 1876-78; W. M. Speed, 1878-80; J. A. Lovewell, 1880-82; J. R. Riggins, 1882-86; B. L. Hill, present incumbent, first elected in 1886.
Delegates in State conventions: 1836, Thomas J. Lacy; 1861, William N. Hays; 1868, A. H. Evans; 1874, Simon P. Hughes.
Representatives in legislature: Isaac Taylor, 1836-38; L. D. Maddox, 1838-40; Isaac Taylor, 1840-42; John C. Johnson, 1842-44; J. B. Lam- bert, 1844-46; Lewis B. Tully, 1846-48; Philip Costar, 1848-50; R. Pyburn, 1850-52; Francis P. Redmond, 1854-56; Oliver H. Oates, 1856-60; Z. P. H. Farr, 1860-62; E. Wilds, 1864-66; S. P. Hughes, 1866-68; F. W. Robinson, 1874-76; J. K. Whitson, 1876-78; Lecil Bobo, 1878-80; J. K. Whitson, 1880-82; John B. Baxter, 1882-86; W. J. Blackwell, 1886-88.
The vote cast in Monroe County for the candi- dates for Governor at the September election, 1888, and for President at the succeeding November elec- tion was as follows: For Governor, James P. Eagle (Dem.), 965; C. M. Norwood (Com. Opp.), 1,732; for President, Cleveland (Dem.), 784; Harrison
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(Rep.), 1,167; Streeter (U. L.), 15; Fisk (Pro.), 6.
The population of Monroe County, in 1860, was 3,431 white and 2,226 colored, making a total of 5,657; in 1870, 5,135 white and 3,200 colored, making a total of 8,335; in 1880, 4, 365 white and 5,209 colored, making a total of 9,574. The pop- ulation in 1830 was, in the aggregate, 461; in 1840, 936; in 1850, 2,049.
During a portion of the war period, from 1861 to 1865, the courts of Monroe County were sus- pended. No term of the county court was held after April, 1862, until July, 1865. All other courts were suspended about the same length of time. The several courts convene now in regular session on the following dates: County, first Mon- day of January, April, July and October of each year; probate, on the second, and common pleas on the fourth Monday of the same months; the circuit on the fourth Monday after the third Mon- day in February and August. The following named attorneys constitute the legal bar of the county : Grant Green, S. J. Price, J. P. Roberts, M. J. Manning, J. S. Thomas, P. C. Ewan, J. C. Palmer, H. A. Parker, C. W. Brickell, W. J. Mayo, R. E. Johnson, R. C. Lansford and W. T. Tucker.
Upon the approach of the Civil War many citi- zens of Monroe held out for the Union until the first gun was fired at Charleston, S. C .; then they became solidly united and cast their lot with the proposed Southern Confederacy. In the spring of 1861 the first company of soldiers was organized and commanded by Capt. James T. Harris, of Clarendon, a brother of Senator Isham G. Harris, of Tennessee. This company was called the " Har- ris Guards." The next company organized, the "Monroe County Blues," was under the charge of Capt. G. W. Baldwin; another company, the "Arkansas Toothpicks," was commanded by Capt. L. Featherstone. Another company was com- manded by Capt. Oliver H. Oates. These were all raised in 1861, and in 1862 two other com- panies were raised and commanded, respectively, by Capts. George Washington and W. J. F. Jones. In the battle of Shiloh the "Harris Guards" and the "Monroe County Blues " suffered very
great loss, and soon thereafter they were re- organized and consolidated into one company, of which Parker C. Ewan became the captain. Capt. Harris was killed at that battle. £ The soldiers furnished by Monroe County, like their comrades in general, fought with great desperation and de- termination, and many fell to rise no more on earth.
The Federal forces, under Gen. Steele, took possession of Clarendon, in August, 1863, and camped there for some time, and then moved on and took Little Rock on September 10, following. Prior to this the county had not suffered much from the ravishes of war, but now it became forag- ing ground for the United States army possessing it. On one occasion, in 1864, Gen. Joe Shelby, with a Confederate force, captured the crews of two gunboats in White River, at Clarendon, and sunk the vessels. The next day a detachment of the Federal army went down from De Vall's Bluff, . and drove Shelby's forces several miles out on the Helena road to a point from which they made their escape. The Union soldiers then returned to the Bluff. Aside from this fight there was only a few slight skirmishes in the county between guerrillas and scouting parties. However, the county suf- fered greatly from the ravishes of the war in gen- eral. 'Tis over, and one would gladly forget its painful incidents.
Lawrenceville, though for many years the site of the county seat, never gained much size nor importance. The town disappeared long ago, and the site thereof is now in farm lands.
Clarendon, the county seat of Monroe County, is situated on the eastern bank of White River, near the center of the county north and south. Prominent among the settlers of this place was Samuel Martin, who opened the first store and kept the ferry across the river, and erected the first steam saw-mill. The ferry was established about the year 1836. The next store was opened by Henry M. Couch, who came from Tennessee, and in 1856 it was the only one in the town. Martin died prior to the latter date, and his widow opened and kept the first hotel in the place. Col. James Har- ris, of Tennessee, brother of Senator Isham G.
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MONROE COUNTY.
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Harris, of that State, settled at Clarendon in 1856, married the widow Martin, finished the new hotel she was then building, and with her continued the business. Harris had the town surveyed and laid out in 1857, the same year it became the county seat. The next merchants were William Gran- berry and Jesse Brown. Prior to the removal of the county seat to Clarendon, the place was known only by the name of "Mouth of Cache." The next year, 1858, the town took on a more rapid growth, and when the Civil War began it did a large amount of business. During the war the town was entirely destroyed, not a building was left, and at the close of that struggle, the site was completely covered with weeds. Immediately after the war the town began to be rebuilt, and soon became a great cotton market, shipping from 4,000 to 5,000 bales yearly. It now ships from 8,000 to 9,000 bales per year. It contains four- teen general stores, three groceries, two drug stores, a meat market, an undertaking shop, two blacksmith and wagon shops, an extensive feed and farm implement store, where wagons are also kept for sale, two cotton-gins, a grist-mill and machine shop, a large stave factory, run by the White River Stave Company, which was erected in 1888, and where from seventy-five to 100 men are employed, a lumber yard, three hotels and a hotel kept by and for colored folks, several boarding houses, three churches (Methodist, Presbyterian and Cumberland Presbyterian) for the whites, and two churches (Methodist and Baptist) for the blacks, a very large frame school-house for the white people, and a comfortable one for the colored people. In addition to the foregoing, there are the county buildings, railroad depots, express and telegraph offices and several other important places of business.
Of the benevolent orders there are a lodge, Chapter and Council of Masons, and a lodge each of the Knights of Honor, Knights of Pythias and American Legion of Honor. There are seven physicians, and the same number of lawyers, and a population of 800 to 1,000.
The Monroe County Sun, published at Claren- don, was established in 1876 by Capt. P. C. Ewan.
It is a seven-column folio, now published by the Sun Printing Company, and edited by W. E. Spencer. Politically it is Democratic.
The principal shipments from Clarendon con- sist of cotton, cotton-seed, lumber and staves. The town is not incorporated.
Brinkley is situated in the northern part of the county, at the crossing of the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas and the Little Rock & Memphis Railroads, and at the southern terminus of the Batesville & Brinkley Railroad, and the northern terminus of the Brinkley, Indian Bay & Helena Railroad. It was laid out in the winter of 1869-70, on lands be- longing to the Little Rock & Memphis Railroad Company, and the first general sale of lots took place in August of the latter year. M. B. Park and H. A. Carter, under the firm name of M. B. Park & Co., opened the first store (it being also in 1870). Baxter & Dillard established the second store (also in the same year). The town assumed a gradual and substantial growth, but has never had a boom. For the last two years, however, its growth has been more rapid than at any time be- fore. The first brick buildings in the place were erected in 1887, and now there are six brick blocks, containing altogether fourteen large store-rooms on the first floor.
It now consists of the Monroe County Bank, seven general, six grocery, three drug and two jewelry and notion stores, a boot and shoe shop, a furniture and undertaker's store, a millinery store, bakery, feed store, billiard hall, four hotels, a ho- tel and restaurant kept by colored people, a meat market, a meat market and restaurant, two black- smith and two barber shops, a pool hall and tem_ perance saloon, the machine and car shops of the Batesville & Brinkley Railroad, two livery stables, two brick-yards, a grist-mill, cotton-gin, Niffen's foundry, the Union Wood Turning Works, Brink- ley Oil Mill (employing from fifty to seventy-five men), the Brinkley Car and Manufacturing Works (employing about 200 men), three churches (Meth- odist, Baptist and Cumberland Presbyterian), also three Baptist churches and one Methodist for the colored people, a public school-house for the whites (the school for colored children being taught in one
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
of the church edifices). In addition to the forego- ing, there is a lodge, each, of Masons, Knights of Pythias, Knights of Honor, Knights and Ladies of Honor, and two Building & Loan Associations. The town is incorporated, and in August, 1889, the school board took an actual census of the in- habitants within the corporate limits, and found a population of 1,498, and there is said to be several hundred outside of these limits. Brinkley is a railroad center, a good cotton market, and its ship- ments are extensive.
The Brinkley Argus, a neat seven-column folio newspaper, is now in its seventh volume and is published every Thursday by W. H. Peterson.
Holly Grove, situated on the Arkansas Midland Railroad about ten miles southeast of Clarendon, was laid out and established in 1872, by John Smith and James Kerr. D. B. Renfro opened the first store, and Kerr, Robley & Co. opened the second one. The village now contains one drug and seven general stores, a grocery and restaurant, an undertaker's shop, livery stable, a steam cotton- gin and grist-mill, a mechanic's shop, two churches (Methodist and Presbyterian) for the whites and churches also for the colored people, a two-story frame school-house, a Masonic lodge, two phy- sicians, and a population of about 300. It is situated in the best cotton growing district in the county and ships a large quantity of that com- modity.
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