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 92
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It was also provided that an election should be held to elect commissioners, whose duty it should
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LEE COUNTY.
be to locate the court house, as nearly as possible in conformity with the will of the majority of the people.
A lot of ground near the center of the town was purchased and a frame building erected thereon, which was used for court purposes by the county until the erection of the present handsome and commodious public edifice.
The following are the officers who have served the county since its organization. County judges: H. N. Hutton, E. L. Black and H. N. Word. Clerks: M. H. Wing, F. H. Govan, T. C. Mer- win and W. T. Derrick. Sheriffs: W. N. Fur- bush, C. H. Banks, E. H. B. Dupuy and V. M. Harrington. Treasurers: B. B. Nunnally, D. S. Drake, B. M. Govan and Julius Lesser. Owing to its brief existence as a separate county, the list of Lee's public servants is smaller than that of adjacent localities.
At the breaking out of the war the territory included in the present county of Lee, having as stated been embraced in Phillips, Monroe, St. Francis and Crittenden Counties, the part taken in that struggle by the people of this section ap- pears elsewhere in the present volume. It is only necessary to say that about 300 men went from here for the Confederate army, and but a small porportion ever returned. D. C. Govan, T. C. An- derson and B. C. Brasher commanded troops from the region hereabouts, and were attached first to Hindman's legion, and afterward to the Second Arkansas Regiment of Cavalry.
The political complexion of the county may be judged from the vote for President cast in 1888, in which Cleveland received 962, Harrison 1,537 and Streeter 13 votes.
The taxable property of the county in 1880 was, in round numbers, $1,800,000, which has increased until it is now, 1889, $2,410,730, of which $1,723, - 525 is real and $687,205 is personal property. This is hardly a fair criterion by which to judge its true wealth, the general rule of assessment being only 40 per cent of the actual value of the property. The county is practically out of debt, with its scrip at par. During the year just passed a magnificent court house has been erected, costing
$15,500, for which cash was paid. There is also in course of construction a substantial jail, with all the modern appliances and conveniences, which will cost about $7,000, and the money is in the treasury to meet this demand also. In 1880 the county shipped about 25,000 bales of cotton, in- creased in 1889 to upward of 40,000 bales. In 1880 there were 50,000 acres of improved land here, but now something over 87,000.
This county is not a whit behind its sister coun- ties in educational facilities. It is divided into forty-three school districts, in which are erected eighty-one good substantial school-houses, thirty- eight for the white children, and forty-three for colored. The school population by the last cen- sus was 5,838, the amount expended in the con- duct of the schools reaching nearly $17,000.
In the country the principal religious denomi- nations represented are the Methodists and Bap- tists. Many of the neighborhoods have, in addi- tion to their school edifices, neat and roomy churches, though in the absence of church build- ings proper school-houses are used for worship. A commendable and generous rivalry is apparent among the different denominations toward the pro- motion of good, and the services are well attended.
The people of this section have indeed made rapid and noticeable strides in the advancement of education since the war, the adoption of the free school system having proven an important factor in the general progress and development of the com- munity.
The early settlers of Lee County were of that class who represented true worth and unpretentious greatness. Penetrating the wilderness to carve out for themselves and their progeny homes, they brought with them the same spirit of tolerance that actuated and inspired their ancestry in found- ing this great Republic, many of them being the veterans of "Jackson's War."
This county was at one time the home of that lawless desperado and freebooter, John A. Murrell. Here he rendezvoused and sallied forth to prey upon the flat-boat navigators of the Mississippi. About one and a half miles northeast of Marianna stands the Lone Pine. Beneath its somber, dis-
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
mally rattling boughs frequently met this outlaw chief and his clan of unworthy followers; here in council were planned numerous forays, and here they divided their illgotten spoils. Not far distant burst forth several pure and never-failing springs; and the ruins of the old blacksmith shop, where the band had their horses shod, with the corks in front, the anvil dust and iron, still remain to mark with certainty the spot.
Among the early settlers of the territory now embraced in this county, was John Patterson, who died quite recently at the advanced age of eighty- six, in a little enclosure, about one and a half miles from Marianna. He rests beside six of his wives and twenty of his children, who preceded him to the spirit land, and since his death his seventh wife has followed him. Among other pioneers were Da- vid Wills, a native of Rhode Island; James Wilson, of Missouri; Ridley Myrich, Owen Myrich, Charles Ewen, John Dillard and E. K. James, all of Ten- nessee; David Davis, of Kentucky, who came in 1829; A. G. McDaniel, of Kentucky, who came in 1824; Green E. Story, of Missouri; Middleton Hensley and Washington Hensley, of Indiana; also Larkin Meeks, of the same State; Thomas Adams, of Kentucky; J. Lee and Hiram Dunn, of Virginia; Andrew Dunnski, Obadiah Roberts, John Griffin and Absalom Lowrey came prior to 1829; John Lynch, Matthew Smith, William Smith and Cyrus Lyttle. In 1829 there were not to exceed forty families in the county. The most densely settled portion was on Cow Bayou. In 1835 seven fam- ilies entered from the States of Illinois and In- diana, locating west of L'Anguille, In 1852 there was a large influx of immigration from the Caro- linas, and a steady increase in new-comers existed until the breaking out of the war. That circum- stance, here as elsewhere, for a time greatly re- tarded the settlement of the county. Among those who once owned large estates and numerous slaves were Col. Walter L. Otey and his brother Robert. As the more prominent of the later settlers might be mentioned: Frank Smith, Bryant Lynch, R. D. Griffith and Judge H. N. Hutton, now an influential attorney; John Hudson, one of the first blacksmiths to locate in this section; Eli T. Diamond, Berry
Parker, of Alabama; Alex. Granger, of Kentucky; Bascom Bunch, David Weatherly and R. R. Fore- man, of North Carolina.
The first negroes within the present limits of the county were brought here by Samuel Bryant and Rufin Brown, the former bringing nine and the latter six. Among the most noted hunters of this section was Larkin Weeks, a recital of whose wonderful hairbreadth escapes in his numerous encounters with the denizens of the woods would furnish material for a thrilling volume.
The larger proportion of the present population of Lee are Tennesseeans. Each of the other Southern States has a fair representation, while among the thrifty and prosperous are found many from the Northern States.
Lee County is situated in the eastern portion of the State, bounded on the north by St. Francis County. On the east is the Mississippi River, on the south the counties of Phillips and Monroe, and on the west the counties of St. Francis and Monroe. It has a length of about twenty-eight miles from east to west, and a width of eighteen miles from north to south, and contains some 612 square miles of as fertile and beautiful land as any in the great Mississippi Valley-a section whose productions are only limited by its extent.
The population of the county by the census of 1880 was 13,288, which has since materially in- creased, at present having an estimated population of 18,000. It is divided into fifteen political di- visions known as townships, named as follows: Hampton, Union, Independence, Big Creek, Bear Creek, Texas, Spring Creek, Liberty, Walnut, St. Francis, Richland, Oak Forest, Fleener, Council and Hardy. These townships contain over 700 farms, averaging 115 acres of improved land per farm, and there yet remains in the county 313,000 acres susceptible of cultivation. The principal town and county seat is Marianna, besides which are several smaller but thriving commercial centers of local import, among which may be mentioned Haynes, LaGrange, Moro, Spring Creek and Oak Forest.
The principal streams of the county are the St. Francis and the L' Anguille Rivers, the former
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LEE COUNTY,
flowing through in a southeasterly direction, and the latter entering near the center of the northern portion of the county and flowing in and emptying into St. Francis River, about two miles beyond the limits of the county.
The Mississippi River forms the entire eastern front, giving the county direct water communica- tion with all points in the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys.
The land hereabouts lies in a level plain with the exception of Crowley's Ridge which passes through the county, entering on the northern boundary near its center and passing out in the southeast portion. The general width of this ridge is from one and one-half to three and one- half miles, with an altitude of from 250 to 325 feet above sea level.
In the southwestern and eastern portions of the county are numerous beautiful lakes of pure water abounding in the choicest fish.
Perhaps no other county in the State of equal area has a soil which in general productive proper- ties ranks above that of this county. The whole area is susceptible of cultivation and with the ex- ception of the land on Crowley's Ridge is alluvial, adapted to all the crops of this latitude which it produces in lavish profusion; indeed the husband- man has only to put forth but little effort when the soil laughs with its burdensome abundance.
The county is especially adapted to the great Southern staple, cotton. Here originated the cele- brated world-renowned variety known as the " Tay- lor Cotton " which has taken the premium for length of staple and firmness of texture at every fair and exposition where it has been exhibited, notably at the World's Fair at Amsterdam, in Holland. The average yield per acre for cotton is from 350 to 700 pounds. Corn produces from thirty to seven- ty-five bushels per acre; small grains have never been cultivated to any great extent, but do well here, more especially oats and millet. Vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage and onions grow in the great- est abundance with but little care and cultivation. Fruits of all varieties are raised and with few ex- ceptions do well. That berries are a sure crop is evidenced by the profusion in which they grow in
an uncultivated state. This county is the home of the grape and nowhere else does it thrive better nor produce more abundantly, the forests border- ing on the rivers being festooned with the luxur- ious growth of vines.
Though game in the estimation of the old set- tler may be somewhat scarce, plenty still remains throughout the forests and cane brakes of the county, and it is no uncommon sight to see the carcass of a bear or a saddle of venison brought in for ship- ment to the markets of the East. Squirrels and rabbits everywhere abound; there is but one draw- back to the shooting of small game in this coun- try-its great abundance destroys the zest of the sport.
A question frequently asked, and to Northern people perhaps the hardest to satisfactorily solve, is this: If your county can produce all you claim, in such abundance and so cheaply, why has it been so backward in its development? Why have its resources lain dormant and comparatively un- known during this long lapse of years? A reply naturally is given that in the first place the system of labor here has been different from that of the North, and while the brain and inventive genius of the latter have for centuries taxed themselves in the endeavor to save human muscle, the contin- gency based on labor here did not demand this. The average capacity of the negroes of the South to manage and comprehend extended only to the most primitive agricultural implements, and with these they could produce a sufficient amount of cotton and corn to supply the wants and even luxuries of the planter. To minerals, fruits, stocks, timber and grass, they did not care to give atten- tion, save in quantities for domestic purposes. The war destroying this system of labor, and im- poverishing the planter, his power of recupera- tion has been slow; yet it would seem marvelous were one not to take into consideration the wonder- ful conditions of soil and climate that exist in this southland.
The average temperature of this section is about 62°, rarely reaching 100° in the summer months or falling below 42° in the winter. The average rain fall is not far from forty-five inches, the rains be-
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
ing generally seasonable and propitious. There has never been known an entire failure of crops in the county since its first settlement. Here the soil responds kindly and liberally to the husbandman's labors, and will yield abundant returns for his labor. A single fountain in the desert is more highly ap- preciated than a thousand limpid streams, bursting from every hillside in a land more favored. So in other countries a single avenue to wealth is crowded and pressed with more tenacity than are the hun- dred open pathways of a land which affords so much. Lee County needs further and higher de- velopment, every department of business and life demanding reinforcement. Its people are gener- ous and hospitable, and welcome all from the North, South, East and West. The material advancement of their county is their ambition. Political affil- iations are not a primary consideration, neither does denominational prejudice prove a hindrance to progress.
The invitation is to all, come and look at the fertile lands of the county, and mingle with its people.
Stock raising is rapidly coming to the front, and the general adaptation of the soil to the growth of all forage grasses will in the near future advance this industry to an important rank. That portion of the county known as "Bear Creek Bot- tom," in the southeast part, is a veritable par- adise for stock. A large growth of clover and other fine grasses grow spontaneously and cover the entire valley. With a skirt of cane on either side, cattle, running at large in this bottom, keep fat enough for beef. The valley has the protec- tion of the high lands of Crowley's Ridge which is covered with an immense growth of oak, hick- ory, beech and walnut trees, furnishing ample and never-failing mast on which hogs thrive and keep in good condition the year round.
The timber of this country is of the finest kind, and embraces the different varieties of oak, poplar, walnut, gum and ash. There are several fine saw- mill plants here, the products of which add mate- rially to the wealth of the county. The timber, however, has scarcely been touched, three-fourths of the county still being virgin forest.
Marianna, the principal town and trade center, of Lee County, and its seat of justice, is beautifully situated on the L'Anguille River, at the head of steamboat navigation. It is on a level plain with sufficient fall for good drainage. The Knobel branch of the Iron Mountain Railroad gives the town connection north and south with all the great railroad systems of the country, and makes it easily accessible to the principal markets outside. The elevation of the place is twenty-five feet above the highest water ever known in the Mississippi Valley.
Marianna was first settled about forty years ago, and perhaps a brief sketch of the origin of its location and name may not be out of place in this connection. Col. Walter H. Otey, nearly a half century ago, purchased of Mr. Harvey Harland, familiarly known as "Uncle Harvey," a tract of land situated on L' Anguille River, about three miles above the site of the present town. When the transfer was to be made it was discovered that "Uncle Harvey," from some cause, had forgotten or neglected to apprise his better half, "Aunt Mary Ann," of the proposed sale. She became quite indignant and flatly refused to sign the nec- essary papers to complete the transfer. After every argument and persuasion had been exhansted in the fruitless endeavor to induce the old lady to add her signature, Col. Otey struck upon the ex- pedient of having Rev. Matt Cox, a gentleman in whom Mrs. Harland had the greatest confidence, to prevail upon her if possible to do the necessary "signing." After his persuasive eloquence had proven unsuccessful he was forced to adopt sub- terfuge, and suggested that Col. Otey, in consid- eration of her signature, should name the city, which he proposed founding, for her. This last bait was effective, and "Mary Ann" was easily changed to Marianna. Marianna No. 1 was aban- doned in 1857. In 1858 the firm of Worsham & Green of the old town settled and built on the present site of the place, the legislature having declared the L'Anguille River navigable to this point. The land covering the site of the present town was owned by Dr. Green.
The growth of Marianna has kept pace with the development of the State, and it is now in a flour-
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LEE COUNTY.
ishing condition, doing as large, if not a larger, bus- iness in proportion to population than any other town in Arkansas. Its present population exceeds 1,500.
The new town was first incorporated August 7, 1877, and re-incorporated July 5, 1888. Being comparatively so young its rapid increase in pop- ulation and wealth speaks volumes for the enter- prise and pluck of the citizens and the natural productiveness of the country surrounding. In 1869 there were only five families located here, numbering twenty-two souls, and only three busi- ness houses, with an aggregate trade of $8,000. What a change in twenty years! It would seem as though the magician's wand had touched the place. The town is well and substantially built, having three large brick blocks-two-story build- ings, and the trade is represented by twenty-five or thirty representative establishments, carrying stocks of from $3,000 to $40,000, with an annual patronage of $500,000. The leading firms are Lesser & Bro., Johnson & Grove, Jarratt & Co., P. E. Northern, Becker & Co., L. Shane & Co., Breckey Bros., general merchants; Fleming & Co., J. E. Stevenson, druggists; L. Benham, Hayes & Benthal, T. C. Merwin, family grocers. There are also two millinery and dress-making establish- ments and numerous restaurants and eating houses; a large brick livery stable furnishes as fine turn- outs as any in the State. Although the hotel ac- commodations would seem ample for a place of this size, the Phoenix and the Jones House, both of good size, fail to meet the requirements of the traveling public, and there is no better opening anywhere for a large first-class hotel.
Among other industries are three blacksmith and machine shops, one wagon and plow shop with steam power, two good steam gins with grist-mill attachments, one large saw and planing-mill plant with a capital of $40,000, cutting 40,000 feet of lumber per day, employing seventy five men and adding greatly to the wealth and prosperity of the place.
The legal and medical professions number in their ranks some of the most prominent in these callings in the State.
The Index, published weekly, is a newsy, well- conducted sheet, and its editor, Mr. W. P. Weld, is a live citizen in the advocacy of all that materi- ally helps to develop his town and county.
The secret orders are represented by the Ma- sonic, I. O. O. F., K. of P., K. of H., K. & L. of H. and I. O. G. T., all in a flourishing condition, with good memberships.
This favored town is fully alive to the import- ance of religious advancement, and though its church buildings are not of the finest, they are neat and comfortable, an evidence of the existence of that spirit which stamps the moral character and excel- lence of the people. As a church going and church loving community it stands to-day on a plane far above a proportionate population in many older localities. The Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and Episcopalians each have houses of worship, and the Christian Church has an organization and con- templates building in the near future, having the funds in hand for that purpose.
The colored people have three church edifices, two Baptist and one Methodist. They also have a hall and an organized lodge of A. F. & A. M.
The Lee County Bank is owned and operated by Mr. J. Lesser, who is also county treasurer. He enjoys to a high degree the confidence and sup- port of the citizens of the county.
There was shipped from this point in 1888, 12,- 000 bales of cotton and several million feet of lum- ber. The new court house previously referred to and just completed at a cost of $15,500, is a mag- nificent pressed brick structure, and being situated on a commanding eminence, makes a creditable ap- pearance. A new jail costing, when finished, $6, 500 is nearing completion.
From an educational point of view, literary ad- vantages are superior. There is located here a college and normal institute, conducted by Prof. Thomas A. Futrall, who ranks among the best edu- cators of the South.
Haynes, the second town in population and im- portance in the county, is situated in the north cen- tral portion, on the Knobel branch of the Iron Mountain Railroad, one mile from the St. Francis County line and two miles from the L'Anguille
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
River, midway between Forrest City and Marianna, and about six miles from Crowley's Ridge.
The town has a population of 350, and is one of the most thrifty and progressive of places. Its commercial interests are represented by five gener- al merchandise, two drug and several mixed stores. A hotel is creditably conducted and two blacksmith and wagon shops, one undertaker and a millinery establishment supply needed demands. There are several fine brick stores, and others in course of construction, one of which, now being put up by Hughes & Curtis, will cost $10,000.
There were shipped from this point in 1888, 5,000 bales of cotton. The aggregate business of the town for the last year is placed at $300,000. Also at this point are two steam saw-mills, and three steam cotton-gins.
A fine Baptist church finished, and a Method- ist church nearing completion, are well sustained. A public hall is in connection with the school- house.
The colored people also have churches and school-houses.
P. H. Adams, a farmer and stock-dealer, was born in Lee County, Ark., in 1844, being the son of Henry and Nancy (Rolledge) Adams. Henry Adams was a native of Kentucky, but of English descent, and to his marriage fifteen children were born, only three of them now living: P. H., Thomas J. and Nancy (the wife of Thomas Kemp, a prosperous farmer of this county). Mr. Adams died in St. Francis County, in 1862, where he had resided for many years. His wife received her final summons some years previous. P. H. Adams was married to Miss Mary Upton, of Lee County, in 1866, and by her became the father of two chil- dren (both deceased). Mrs. Adams having died, for his second and present wife Mr. Adams chose Mrs. Mary J. Glidley, who bore him five children: Martha C. (the wife of J. Bowman of this county), Allie S., Mary C., Belle E. and Francis R. Mr. Adams owns 240 acres of land, with 100 improved, giving evidence of a careful and thorough cultiva- tion. He is a Mason, and belongs to Baxton
Lodge, No. 242. In his religious faith he clings to the Baptist doctrine, being a member of that denomination. Mrs. Adams is a member of the Methodist Church, South. She is a native of Illinois, and was born in 1844, the daughter of Ames and Martha A. Smith. Her parents died in 1886 and 1887, respectively.
De Witt Anderson has been prominently identi- fied with the farming interests of Lee County, Ark., since 1881, and is now the owner of a fine farm comprising 400 acres. He was born in Wil- son County, Tenn., in 1848, and is a son of Gen. Paulding Anderson and Martha T. (Horde) Ander- son, the former of Tennessee and the latter of Vir- ginia. She was a relative of the Morehead family, of North Carolina, and came with her parents to Tennessee when a small girl. She was a member of the Baptist Church, and at the time of her death, in 1861, was fifty-six years old. Her brother, Jesse Horde, was a leading minister of the Methodist Church, in Texas. Frank Ander- son, the paternal grandfather, was a Virginian, and his father and mother were from Scotland, and settled in this country at a very early day. Paulding Anderson, the father of our subject, was one of a large family, and was reared in Tennessee, where he became well-known and arose to promi- nence in political matters. He held the various offices of his county, with the exception of county clerk, and was a member of both houses of the legislature several terms. He served in the Con- federate army, and, after the Federals took posses- sion of the State, he went to the South with Gov. Harris, and was an active participant in the Rebell- ion until 1863, at which time he was captured, and, after being kept a prisoner at Nashville for months, was released on parole. In his early life he commanded the Central State militia, and dur- ing a big rally he commanded 10,000 men, being made general at that time. He was very active in church and school matters in his youth, and for many years was one of the chief props of his church. He was finely educated, was a great reader, and up to the time of his death, which oc- curred in 1882, at the age of seventy-nine years, he kept thoroughly posted with the current literature
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