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 88

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 88

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William Montgomery Mayo, planter and stock- man, Indian Bay, Ark. There are many incidents of peculiar interest presented in the career of Mr. Mayo, which can not be given in the space allotted to this article. Known over a large region of coun- try tributary to Indian Bay, his reputation is that of a man honorable and reliable in every walk of life. He is the son of James and Sarah Eliza (Cokely) Mayo. [For family history see sketches of John W. and Laurence S. Mayo, elsewhere in this volume. ] Capt. William M. Mayo was born September 26, 1822, in Martin County, N. C. He was early initiated into the details of farm life, and received a liberal education in an academy estab- lished by his father, the latter being the prime mover in securing its establishment. William moved with his parents to Tennessee, in 1837, and finished his education in the public academy in Fayette County, taught by Hartwell Rollins, near La Grange, Tenn. Afterward this school was taught by him for one year, but his principal occu- pation during life has been tilling the soil. On Christmas eve of the year 1844 he was united in marriage to Miss Jane Elizabeth Anderson, daugh- ter of Major Joel and Sallie (Younger) Anderson, both natives of Virginia, and whose ancestors on both sides probably came to America about 1765. Jane E. Anderson was born April 27, 1829, and is one of three children born to her parents: John Anthony, Lucinda Thomas and Mrs. Mayo. The · latter was educated at the same school in Tennes-

see with her husband, was almost reared with him, their parents living on adjoining farms, and was a pupil of her husband during the year he taught school near La Grange. To Mr. and Mrs. Mayo have been born eleven children: Frederick An- thony (born March 31, 1846, now resides in Som- erville, and an attorney at law at Somerville, Tenn. He married Miss Laura Cocke and became the father of seven children), Leauna Melvina (was born June 10, 1848, and died August, 19, 1849), Richard Dale (was born November 5, 1850, mar- ried Miss Willie Pointer, and has one daughter and four sons), Laura Montgomery (was born Decem- ber 29, 1851, and became the wife of W. H. Boyce, a native of Tennessee, who is now residing near her parents; they had ten children, three now living), William Thomas (was born December 20, 1853, and died August 5, 1854), Nannie Jane (was born July 28, 1859, and married Sidney S. Bond, of Jackson, Tenn., January 14, 1879; has one child now living), William James (was born June 23, 1861, graduated in B. A. course and B. L., at the University of Mississippi in class of 1884, now an attorney at Clarendon, Ark.), Gaston Baldwin (was born September 26, 1863, and died Novem- ber 28, 1865), Fannie Lula (born June 4, 1866), Lillie Lina (born August 11, 1868) and Walter Lee (born June 28, 1871, and died April 30, 1877). Fannie Lula married Samuel W. Hargis, on Feb- ruary 11, 1885. Her husband died on September 10, 1886, and in 1888 she was married to Major S. L. Black, Indian Bay, Ark. William James mar- ried Miss Annie C. Lake, of Oxford, Miss .; she died at Clarendon, Ark., October 10, 1886. Lil- lian L. Mayo married John S. Black and resides at Indian Bay; they have one child. Capt. Mayo came to Arkansas in 1853, bought a tract of 2,400 acres, with a few acres cultivated, and he now has 1,200 acres under cultivation. In 1859 the Captain completed a story and a half log-house, 18x52 feet, and the same year added to that a two- story frame, 20x52, the two constituting the house in which he has since made his home, and in which his children received the principal part of their schooling. In 1862 ne enlisted in the Confederate army as a private in the company known as the

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Monroe Rebels of the Twenty-fifth Arkansas In- fantry. In August of the same year he received a commission as captain with orders to return and report to the command of the Trans-Mississippi De- partment. He then raised what is known as Par- tisan Company to operate in the Eastern portion of Arkansas. The company afterward became Com- pany C of the Forty-fifth Arkansas Cavalry, oper- ating under Gen. Shelby, at Clarendon, Ark. At or near the last-named place, in 1864, he com- manded two companies in a battle near Clarendon, Ark., with a detachment of the Eighth Missouri Cavalry, which he defeated; was then in a battle at Miller's Creek under Gen. Thomas McRae, was then at Brownsville under Gen. Shelby, Ironton Mountain under Gen. Price, and at the last-named place received a wound in the shoulder and was left on the field for dead. He was afterward assisted from the field by members of his company, and al- though his wound rendered him unfit for duty he remained with the command through the Missouri raid and until the end of the war, being in the re- cruiting service near his home at that time. In politics Capt. Mayo is a Democrat, and his first presidential vote was for Henry Clay. He was a member of the convention when Arkansas seceded from the Union. He holds membership in Indian Bay Lodge, No. 256, F. & A. M., and also holds membership in the Chapter and Council at Claren- don. He and wife and all their family are mem- bers of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Lawrence Sherod Mayo, planter and stockman, Lamberton, Ark. This much-esteemed citizen is the son of James and Sarah (Cokely) Mayo, of Irish and English descent, respectively. The par- ents were married in Edgecomb County, N. C., and the father was a successful agriculturist. His ancestors came to America previous to the Revolutionary War. To Mr. and Mrs. James Mayo were born a family of twelve children as fol- lows, the years representing their births: Cather- ine, 1816; John W., 1818; Mary Eliza, 1820; Will- iam Montgomery, 1822; Harriet Ann, 1824; Ben- jamin Cokely, 1826; Sarah Louisa, 1828; Lawrence Sherod, March 13, 1830; Nancy Jane, 1832; Na- than, 1834; Olivia, who died in childhood, and

James M., who was born in 1838. The children were all natives of Martin County, with the excep- tion of James, whose birth occurred in Fayette County, Tenn. Lawrence Sherod Mayo, with his brothers and sisters (excepting the two youngest), received his education at home under an instructor employed by the father, and never attended any other school. He commenced life as a farmer at the age of twenty-one years, and on December 18, 1850, he was united in marriage to Miss Mary Elizabeth Terrell, a native of Edgecomb County, N. C. The same year he bought a farm in Fay- ette County, Tenn., and tilled the soil for three years. In 1852 he sold his farm and came to Ark- ansas, locating in Jackson Township, then Law- rence County, and there he bought land. There he remained until 1857, when he sold out and moved to his present property. He at one time owned 1,000 acres of land, but now has about 600 acres, with about 200 acres under cultivation. He owned at one time about thirty slaves. His wife, Mrs. Mayo, was the daughter of Nathan and Alice (Redmond) Terrill, both natives of North Carolina, and of English descent. The father was a farmer and carriage dealer by occupation. To Mr. and Mrs. Mayo were born these children: Daniel Red- mond (born September 28, 1854), Sherod Dale (born May 28, 1856, and died February 16, 1875), Lawrence Montgomery (born September 20, 1859, and died February 16, 1875), James (born July 26, 1861), Nannie (born April 11, 1865), Alice (born January 10, 1867, and died September 10, 1870), Patrick C. (born June 7, 1879), Henry Jackson (born March 24, 1871, and died April 24, 1881), and Mary Lawrence (born October 24, 1877). Dan- iel Redmond was married to Miss Annie Swift, and became the father of two children. He is now merchandising at Knoxville, Tenn. Nannie be- came the wife of Martin C. Bond, a farmer of Phillips County, Ark. They have three children. Mr. and Mrs. Mayo are members in the Cumber- land Presbyterian Church, as are also their children, Daniel R., Nannie and Mary L. Mr. Mayo is a Democrat, and his first presidential vote was cast for James K. Polk.

John William Mayo, a farmer and stockman of.

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Monroe County, now residing with Wiley T. Wash- ington, his son-in-law, on Section 24 of Jackson Township, is a son of James and Sarah Eliza (Cokely) Mayo. The founder of this branch of the Mayo family came o America in 1730, as far as is known, and the Cokely family also emigrated from England, probably before the Revolutionary War. Benjamin Cokely, John W.'s maternal grandfather, married a sister of Com. Dale, Sarah E. (Cokely) Mayo had two brothers: Benjamin and William. The subject of this sketch was married to Miss Emma Ann Winston, on February 8, 1842, at the home of the bride's parents near La Grange, Fayette County, Tenn. She was a daughter of Thomas J. and Elvira (Jones) Winston, of Fayette County. In 1850 Mr. Mayo removed to Arkansas, and located in Monroe County, where he bought a farm of 160 acres, engaging in the occupation to which he had been reared. He located on Section 30, Jackson Township, in 1859, and now owns 355 acres, with 140 acres under cultivation, upon which are five tenant houses, and his land is in a high state of improvement. Mrs. Mayo died December 2, 1888, having borne a family of children as fol- lows: Laura C. (born February 22, 1843, married Wiley F. Washington, October 16, 1860, and died January 18, 1887, leaving eight children, three liv- ing), Winston (born March 5, 1846), Sarah Olivia (born March 27, 1848, married Oran Washington February 18, 1874, who died January 2, 1875; their only child, Oran, Jr., was born January 3, 1875, She became the wife of W. F. Washington, December 25, 1887, and has one child by this un- ion, Lawrence, born August 4, 1889), John J. (born December 19, 1849, married Miss Lou Walker, who bore one child, John W., January 1, 1876; after her death Miss Elam became his wife in 1878, and they have four children : Alice Vivian, Sarah Olivia, Emily and Bettie), William Jones (born January 24, 1852), Mary Louisa (born October 13, 1854, died October 10, 1859), Henry (died in infancy), Harriett Ann (born October 20, 1856, died Septem- ber 27, 1871), Nathan (born February 12, 1862 (deceased), and Lucy. Mr. Mayo is a prominent Democrat, though he cast his first presidential vote for William H. Harrison. He is a member of the

Cumberland Presbyterian Church, as are also all of the grown children, and some of his grandchil- dren, he having belonged since 1865. He had a fairly good education in youth, and is a popular man and a good citizen.

James M. Miles is a native of this county, and a son of Charles J. and Mary A. (Montgomery) Miles, originally from Tennessee, who were born in 1811 and 1816, and of Irish and English descent, respectively. They were the parents of nine children, two of whom are now living: James M. (our subject) and Richard. Mr. Miles removed to Arkansas in 1830, and settled in what is now Monroe County, where he entered three quarter sections of land, and engaged in farming and in rafting on the Mississippi. His land lay in the woods, where he erected a log- house, living in it for a number of years. He died in 1863, preceded by his wife some nine years. He was a soldier in the Indian Wars of 1836. James M. was born April 6, 1843, and lived on his father's farm, helping clear it up, until his death. He was married August 4, 1864, to Sal- linda A. Spardlin, who died in 1874, leaving four children, one of whom, Richard, is now living. He was married to his second wife, Miss Louisa Crisp, June 5, 1876, who died in 1884, having been the mother of four children, one of whom, Emma, is now living. He was married February 18, 1886, to his present wife, Annie I. Olison, of this county. They have a family of two sons: Bart and Grover M. Mr. Miles enlisted in the late war in 1861, and served until he was captured in 1864, and taken to Louisville (Ky.), where he was held for over a month, when he escaped and returned home. He owns a fine farm of 280 acres, over half of which is under cultivation. He is a strong Democrat and a prominent citizen of Monroe County. Mrs. Miles is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Charles B. Mills is the efficient circuit court clerk of Monroe County, Ark., and was born in Ralls County, Mo., in 1839, being the eldest of five children born to James M. and Mary (Kelly) Mills, who were born in the State of Tennessee about 1816. They were married in Missouri and

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made that State their home until 1866, when they came to Monroe County, Ark., where Mr. Mills died in 1878 and Mrs. Mills in 1872, both being con- sistent members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Mr. Mills was a cabinet maker by trade, but at the time of his death he was engaged in farming and stock raising. He served a short time in the Confederate States army, and socially was a member of the A. F.& A. M. His father, James Lee Mills, was born in Maryland and died in Ralls Coun- ty, Mo., a farmer and of Welsh descent. Charles B. Mills, the immediate subject of this sketch, was educated in the schools of Hannibal, Mo. In 1861 he left the school-room to join Grimshaw's com- mand of Missouri State Troops, and operated with him until the winter of 1861-62, when he joined the First Missouri Regiment, Confederate States army, afterward designated as the Second Missouri Infantry, and served until he lost his left arm at the battle of Corinth. He was soon after placed in the commissary department under Maj. John S. Mellon, and remained thus employed until the close of the war, when he returned home. In 1866 he came to Monroe County, Ark., and was engaged in merchandising and stock dealing at Aberdeen, which place, having been cut off by change in coun- ty lines, is now in Prairie County. From 1874 to 1882 he served as circuit clerk of that county. In 1883 he was again cut off into Monroe County, of which he has since been a resident, and here he was engaged in farming and stock raising until 1886, when he was elected clerk of the county and re-elected in 1888, being chosen by the Democrat party, of which he has been a member since the death of the Whig party. He is Treasurer of Clar- endon Lodge of the K. of H. and was a charter member of Des Arc Lodge, of which he was Dicta- tor two terms. In 1870 he was united in marriage to Miss T. W. Gean, a daughter of John and Nancy Gean, who were born, reared and married in Chatham County, N. C., and in an early day re- moved to Hardeman County, Tenn., where their daughter, Mrs. Mills, was born. In 1859 they came to Arkansas, the father dying in Monroe County and the mother in Prairie County. Mrs. Mills belongs to the Methodist Church, and she and

Mr. Mills are the parents of one son and four daughters. Mr. Mills is a Cumberland Presby- terian in his religious preferences.

L. B. Mitchell, M. D., a practicing physician and druggist, of Brinkley, Ark., although born in Monroe County, Ky., in 1828, has been a resident of Arkansas since 1858, at which time his parents, James S. and Sarah (Scott) Mitchell, came to this State. They were born in Ohio and Tennessee, in 1793 and 1798, respectively, but were married in the Blue Grass State, and in 1836 removed to Tennessee, thence to Arkansas. They settled in what is now known as Lonoke County, and here the father died in 1862, followed to his long home by his wife in 1875, both being members of the Christian Church at the time of their deaths. Mr. Mitchell was an Irishman by descent, a farmer by occupation, and during the early history of Indiana he was a participant in a number of her Indian wars. The maternal grandfather, John Scott, was of Scotch lineage, and died in Macon County, Tenn. Dr. L. B. Mitchell is one of the three surviving members of a family of six children, and was reared on a farm, receiving his education in the common schools. Upon reaching manhood he clerked for four years, then during 1854-55 he attended col- lege at McLemoresville, Tenn., and after making up his mind to become a physician, he entered the University of Louisville, Ky., attending during the winter of 1855-56, but did not graduate from any college until 1858, at which time he left the Nash- ville University as an M. D. He came immediately to Arkansas, and has successfully practiced his profession ever since, but during the war served the Confederate cause as assistant-surgeon of the Fourth Arkansas Battalion for some two and a-half years, and the two following years was with the Second Arkansas Dismounted Riflemen. Owing to his personal popularity and the respect and esteem in which he is held, he was elected in 1870 to rep- resent Pulaski County in the State legislature, and was re-elected in 1872, being the candidate of the Democratic party, with which he has long affiliated. He was State treasurer of the Grange for about three years, and since 1855 has been a Mason, and was Master of Mount Pleasant Lodge

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a great many years. He resided in Austin for about thirty years, but has been a resident of Brinkley since 1888, where he has acquired a lu- crative practice and trade in the drug business, this calling having previously received his atten- tion in Austin also. He was married in 1865 to Sarah J., a daughter of Peter St. Clair, a Ten- nesseean, who died at Austin in 1860, a farmer and mechanic by trade. Mrs. Mitchell was born in West Tennessee, and by Dr. Mitchell became the mother of six sons and three daughters, all of whom are living. Lewis E., the eldest of the fam- ily, is now treasurer of the Famous Life Associa- tion of Little Rock. The Dr. has been a member of the Christian Church for a great many years, but his wife belongs to the Methodist Church.

Polk Montgomery is a prosperous planter of Duncan Township, and is well known to the people of Monroe County. A native of Tennessee, he was born to the union of A. H. and Hannah (Robinson) Montgomery, natives of South Caro- lina and Tennessee, respectively. A. H. Mont- gomery first saw the light of day in 1796, and was reared in his native State. In 1820 he came to Tennessee, where he was married in 1841, to Mrs. Hannah (Lady) Robinson. Mr. Montgomery was in the War of 1812, and died in 1865, and his wife in the same year. Both members of the Campbellite Church. Polk Montgomery, the only child born to their marriage, owes his nativity to Shelby County, Tenn., where his birth occurred in 1845. He was married in 1865 to Miss Anna Nicks, who was born in Cherokee County, Ga., in 1846, a daughter of Elijah and Charlotte Nicks. Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery removed from Tennes- see to Arkansas, in 1868, and settled in this coun- ty, where he purchased 240 acres of land, of which 175 acres are under cultivation, lying one-half mile south of Holly Grove. He is a member of the A. F. & A. M. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church. During the war between the States, he served in Company C, Fourth Ten- nessee Infantry, Confederate States army.

Harry H. Myers is the present secretary, treas- urer and director of the Brinkley Car Works & Manufacturing Co., which is one of the foremost

industries of the county, and was established in 1882, the present company being the successors of Gunn & Black, who were actively engaged in the manufacture of lumber at Brinkley for about six- teen years. The present company is one of the most enterprising and extensive in Eastern Arkan- sas, and they have a pay role of some 260 persons, 120 of whom are employed at the saw-mill in the woods, and cut down 68,000 feet of timber per day, the rest being employed in constructing rail- roads and in the general car repair shop. Every facility incident to this particular industry is em- braced within the works, the tools and machinery being of the most modern and improved kind, and only skillful and experienced workmen are em- ployed. This company ships about 220 carloads of lumber, consisting of flooring, shingles, mold- ings, lath, pickets, doors and window sashes, per month, to Memphis, Tenn., where they have one of the leading lumber establishments in the city, it having been established through the efforts of the late Maj. Black. Prior to Mr. Black's de- cease, which occurred in September, 1889, he was president and director of the company, with O. M. Norman, manager, and H. H. Myers, secretary and treasurer, but after his death Mr. Norman was made president, director and manager, and Mr. Myers became secretary, treasurer and director. This company also owns the Brinkley, Helena & Indian Bay Railroad, and about 36,000 acres of land in Monroe County. Mr. Myers, a member of this company, was born in Keokuk, Iowa, in 1865, and until he was thirteen years of age, at- tended the schools of his native town, after which he became an employe of the Wabash Railroad Company, and for five years was telegraph oper- ator and traveling auditor for that company. In 1883 he came to Brinkley, and was made cashier of the St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas Railroad Com- pany, but shortly after became agent for the com- pany at Brinkley, continuing until 1886, when he entered upon his present duties. He is also presi- dent of the Myers & Sapp Drug Company, and is prominently connected with other enterprises in Brinkley, among them as proprietor of a wholesale and retail grain produce and feed store, carrying

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about $5, 000 to $6,000 in the business continually. All in all he is one of the foremost business men of the county, although young in years. He is also post- master here. In April, 1887, he was married to Miss Katie R., a daughter of Maj. William Black. He is a member of the K. of P., and is Prelate of his lodge. His parents, Theodore H. and E. R. (Worster) Myers, resided in Keokuk, Iowa, before the war, but have recently moved to Kearney, Neb. The father was born in Anderson, Ind., and for many years has been a merchant. He belongs to the I. O. O. F., and the A. F. & A. M., and during the war he was captain of a company, in the Third Iowa Regiment, United States Army. His wife is a daughter of Col. Robert Worster (deceased), who was formerly one of the leading wholesale merchants of Keokuk, he being one of the founders of the Huskamp Boot & Shoe Com- pany. He was a prominent Mason, and at one time ranked third among the Masons of the West.

Alfred Owens, planter and ginner, Cypress Ridge, Ark. This representative citizen was born in Gwinnett County, Ga., in 1826, and was the son of William Owen, who was a native of South Carolina and a farmer by occupation. The latter moved from South Carolina to Georgia, at an early day, and there resided until his death, in 1816. He had married Miss Mary Fisher and by her be- came the father of ten children, five of whom are now living: Tempey (wife of John Westmoreland), John, Wiley, James and Alfred. Both parents were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the mother died in 1857. Alfred Owens was married to Miss Elizabeth J. Stone, in 1847, and to them were born nine children, three daughters and six sons, four only of whom are now living: W. F., Alfred L., Bryant T. and Joel M. Mr. Owens took an active part in the late war; enlisted in the infantry in 1861, under Capt. Joel Roper, and was captured in 1863, being kept a prisoner for two months. He was then paroled and after returning home was engaged in agricultural pur- suits. He immigrated from Georgia to Arkansas in 1870, located in Monroe County, and is now the owner of 250 acres of land, with 160 acres under improvement. In 1883 he embarked in mercantile

pursuits, and the year following erected a gin. In 1873 he lost his wife, who was a worthy and con- sistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. In 1874 he met and afterward married Miss Har- riet F. Breakefield. Both are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Owens raises an abundance of fine fruit: Apples, peaches, pears, etc., and is one of the wide-awake planters of the county. Mrs. Owens was born in Shelby County, Ala., in 1837, and her parents were both natives of South Carolina. The mother died in 1848, but the father is still living and is eighty-nine years of age. He has followed the occupation of a farmer all his life.

James C. Palmer, one of the leading planters of this county, was born in Phillips County, Ark., in 1860, and is a son of John C. Palmer, who came upon the stage of action in Lexington, Ky., in 1823. A lawyer by profession, he is now prac- ticing in Helena, Ark., with substantial success. He was married in 1852 to Miss Margaret Shell, of that city, and they became the parents of seven children, six of whom are living: James C. (the principal of this sketch), Maggie (the wife of A. J. Gannon), Mamie, Sallie (widow of Capt. T. C. Hicks, of Hicksville, Ark.), Hattie (the wife of Horace Myrick) and Robert E. Mr. Palmer took part in the War with Mexico, and also in the Civil War. James C. Palmer was married in 1885 to Miss Lenora Mitchell, who was born in Phillips County, in 1862, a daughter of John and Jane Mitchell, natives of South Carolina and Arkansas, respectively. To this union were born two chil- dren: John C. and Wellman T. Mr. Palmer now lives in the old homestead, near the town of Pal- mer, consisting of 350 acres, with 125 acres under cultivation. This is a well improved farm, having upon it a fine brick house that contains all of the modern improvements. He is a Democrat in poli- tics, and is a prominent citizen of this community.

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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