Biographical and historical memoirs of northeast Arkansas : comprising a condensed history of the state biographies of distinguished citizens a brief descriptive history of the counties, and numerous biographical sketches of the prominent citizens of such counties. V. 1, Part 84

Author:
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis : The Goodspeed Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1026

USA > Arkansas > Biographical and historical memoirs of northeast Arkansas : comprising a condensed history of the state biographies of distinguished citizens a brief descriptive history of the counties, and numerous biographical sketches of the prominent citizens of such counties. V. 1 > Part 84

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

misfortune and financial ruin, but out of the chaos of their deplorable condition they rose equal to the occasion, and paved the way to their present for- tune. Shortly after commencing their business, a fire consumed the store, and the fruit of their patient industry was engulfed in flames; but again they put their shoulders to the wheel, and to-day they stand living examples of those two virtues, pluck and perseverance. Through all the vicissi- tudes of their earlier life in Arkansas, they still preserve and enjoy good health.

William Biship. A lifetime of hard, earnest endeavor in pursuing the occupation to which he now gives his attention, coupled with strict integ- rity, honesty of purpose, and liberality in the right directions, have had the result to place Mr. Biship among the truly respected and honored agricult- urists of the county. He was born in Missouri. in 1818, and as his father was a successful tiller of the soil, Mr. Biship was reared to farm labor until about the age of seventeen years. In 1836. he made a visit to Arkansas, having relatives living at Osceola, which was then a small collection of log huts; but soon moved back to Missouri, where he continued to reside until 1844, when he returned to Arkansas. In this State he has since resided. and has lived in Mississippi County the principal part of that time. He first visited the county on a hunting trip, but being favorably impressed with it he located here, and has since made it his home. In 1850 he entered land, but soon sold it, and afterward settled several tracts, which he sold after making a few improvements. In 1844 there were but four families in what is now Chickasawba Township, and the township had also an Indian population of about 100. After a few years Mr. Biship made a permanent settlement on forty acres, where he has since made his home. His marriage with Miss Bryant occurred at an early date, and to them were born two children: Andrew Jackson, a blacksmith at Blythesville, and Vir- ginia, wife of Mr. Carney, and residing in Little River County, Ark. Mrs. Biship died, and Mr. Biship took for his second wife the Widow Golden, by whom he has one living child: William Oliver, who is married and lives at home. When first

doinw ,088 in

$ 225.2

Bemsikil us

esti an tilsiedil pas

[ at most ed. |

poisd sud fiat goifind o can ban eva Tu tool od li 1502 500 juzel besoin ed wheel ml

ads bed gidenwo adi bas grdnowor jods to soitslugog

eurod did faut esmia and vil stoffw estos & quotblido ows mod view all od ban caleb

both gidaill will afrå .7in80). vevi? winig of mubi / add new boopet aid rol cal quera mailliW/ blide poivil eno asa od modn .d 5mod th kovil bac Trisysit at odw

pels aball aida bosforoni ylegisl od ! ydavo inimben ai elsomdat biol ogyat

In cooler oul bus mode domand & aubreed

tobla edl . A. T siedy

mysl adla po sjgoing pid iftiwr Bodiomot A am

Bill of Asusanne, ne , beiriner usw ed

ABec

molla abf switch toall'W/ wnethfile się to es Roidw u lo 2 od lo redidioma # 8f 3011

Arroz i nyod au ,amit add the restzag wint used to blido sloot gds anw ban To8I oi raito Ima ,yłagod isentoT nt dert beyond pla

Freto begustaron mih odd sont waniend ui at . 1881 sudmessa di .beirizor Baw 98 pre vodi bas jonoo Bidt Jo asietle vs M essanonet bomen Iig & blido swo to slags

noq'T .00 % word gohad to ind will Jo

467

MISSISSIPPI COUNTY.

settling in the county, Mr. Biship experienced many hardships and trials. He was compelled to go to Hornersville, Mo., a distance of about forty miles by water, for their meal, and the people de- pended but little on tame meat, and subsisted chiefly on game. About the end of 1850, there was a store started in the settlement that is now called Cooktown. Mr. Biship still resides on the original forty acres that he settled years ago, and has this wholly under cultivation. Though now quite advanced in years, Mr. Biship is remarkably well preserved, as the "ravages of time " have had but little effect on him. He has been a wit- ness to the complete development of this section. He was never very active in politics, but has held the office of constable of this section, and was deputy sheriff under Sheriff Bowen.

A. J. Biship has been a resident of Mississippi County, Ark., all his life, his birth having oc- curred here in 1846, he being the eldest of two children born to William and Diadema (Bryant) Biship, who were natives of Scott County, Mo., and came to Mississippi County, Ark., at an early- day. [For further history of their lives see sketch of William Biship. ] A. J. Biship received a fair knowledge of the English branches in the schools of his native county, and was reared to a knowledge of agricultural life on his father's farm in Chicka- sawba Township. After his mother's death, which occurred when he was about eight years of age, his father married again, and he remained with him until he attained his seventeenth year, when he began learning the art of photography, at which he worked for eight years, traveling through the country and on the river. At the age of twenty- five years he engaged in teaching school, and wielded the ferule for four terms in Mississippi County, after which he commenced rafting lum- ber from Big Lake down the St. Francis River to Helena, continuing this occupation two years. He was married about this time to Miss Maggie Brown, a native of the county, and a daughter of Jack Brown, an old pioneer of this region. In 1869 he began keeping a store on Big Lake, but returned to Chickasawba Township and opened a wagon and blacksmith shop at Cooktown, locating at the end

of one year in Jonesboro, where he was engaged in blacksmithing. Sickness in his family made this a disastrous move, and at the end of one year he returned to Chickasawba Township with only $1 with which to start anew. In 1884 he opened a shop in Blythesville, which he is still successfully conducting, and is doing a constantly increasing trade In 1888 he purchased 120 acres of land one mile from Blythesville. on which property he has erected some good buildings, and has five acres under cultivation. He expects to rapidly continue his improvements until he has reduced it all to a state of cultivation, which day will not be far dis- tant if Mr. Biship evinces his usual energy and perseverance. He, like many of his neighbors, is a member of Chickasawba Lodge No. 134, of the F. & A. M. He is an intelligent and enter- prising man, and in all his operations is meeting with substantial evidence of success, results which all concede he fully merits. His union with Miss Brew has resulted in the birth of four children: William Andrew, Major Green, Aurora Lurena and Robert Thaddeus. Mrs. Biship is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Hon. Henry T. Blythe, a prominent citizen of Blythesville, was born in Virginia in 1816, being the fourth in the family of ten children of John and Elizabeth (Cobb) Blythe, natives of South- ampton County. Va., where the father followed farming. In 1826 the family moved to Henry County, Tenn., bought a farm and were among the pioneers to that county. The father put many improvements on his place, and made it his home mostly till his death in 1839. The mother sur- vived him several years and died about 1845. Henry T.'s paternal grandfather, also John Blythe, was a native of Scotland, and emigrated to Vir- ginia from that country before the independence of the United States. He served a portion of the time in the Revolutionary War. The maternal grandmother was a native of Virginia. This man was one of four brothers, one of whom. David, was the grandfather of Thomas H. Blythe. who died in California in 1883. Our subject was reared on the farm in Virginia till ten years of age, when the family moved to Tennessee, and there be at-

ni inist gid gi amomfoil poidsinadosid ni

urodin 20 ben ,soll ,ofliver

40.0003

Sund A .8 WOR e ent ni botnets 4 .

ben ogm

won dywon't

-Jiwin deed end oll .NoNowe eids jo dassagolyvab ddelqmoo bleil And aoBiloq ui uvilon vrev ROW

.Dowoll Bizede moban Di

iggizainal, In dasblant s nosd Rød gida woo yoivad wixid sid olif eid Its'; owd to Jaofile edJ poisd ed .0181 bileu

as tumill W od prod vận youguši iqqizareaild of

d lo vrolaid Torftrust non A Floodsa edf di

-shuido id Do alil Intod doidw 90 de anw off nedw ! 102

s siays heirtam toustuncel aid beaters duidw. de dis ouff guium eili dyn

bas loodos gnidoses of bogique od iqqiapianil/ mi ecriot wrot rol stirret odfi od tovidt nion 12 adł awof sdød y

ed 0081 gt

DSTENTARW Booldhe and Beff mu

#8 od gibilt ban somsendo'T of bevous vilosi

bae

11 mate of ibidw dliw 13

8881 01

el doitw att captive gi

H mona to sarchive Miesto Jo droid ydt ai

.donnaD) legobaigst saibodtold of $13.00

rot edJ

pi diseb all flis viasous

PEW iod lo notiyor u bovles eHl

ada soit ĐH nooo nidd yolnot:

468

HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.

tended the common schools till eighteen years of age, when he went to Mississippi, spending about six years in the early settlement of the northern part of that State, a part of the time being among the Indians. In 1841 he returned to Tennessee and settled in Lauderdale County, where he fol- lowed farm labor. About twelve years later he came to Arkansas and located on Crooked Lake, Mississippi County, settling on a farm in the woods, and cleared about sixty acres, erected buildings and made many improvements. This was his home till 1873, when he moved on a tract of land previously purchased in partnership with Mr. Moseley in 1864. This is the tract upon which he now lives, and where the town of Blythesville has since been built. Upon the small clearing then made he at once built a steam saw-mill and gin- the first steam mill in this section. He has since added about 300 acres to this place, and now has a fine tract of 500 acres of some of the best farm- ing land in the county. Of this 185 acres are under a high state of cultivation. In 1880 he laid off a tract for a village, which was named in his honor, Blythesville. He was soon appointed the first postmaster, and served in that capacity till the summer of 1889, a term of nearly nine years. Mr. Blythe's saw-mill and cotton-gin were the first business enterprises here, where now are several stores, and the pleasant homes of many families. In 1886 Mr. Blythe was elected by the people of Mississippi County to represent them in the State legislature, serving one term. During this time he introduced several bills of importance to the State at large. This family from remote times have been earnest workers in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and our subject was reared under Methodist influence. In 1841 he was given a license as an exhorter, and was a constant worker in the church till 1862, when he was granted a preacher's license; in due time after this he was made deacon and elder, which offices he still fills. In 1875 he was instrumental in building a church at Blythesville, which still retains the name of Blythe's Chapel, so christened in honor of the rec- ognized patronage of our subject. He has been married five times, and has had nine children,

seven of whom are yet living. His first marriage occurred in 1842, to Miss Mary Jane Fisher, a na- tive of Tennessee. She died in 1844, leaving one child, a boy named William W., who died soon after. His second marriage was, in 1851, to Miss Elizabeth Willis. She lived only about one year, and died without issue. In 1854 Mrs. Julia A. Young, a native of Tennessee, became his wife. She died in Arkansas in 1865 without children. In 1868 Mr. Blythe married Mrs. Amanda Drew, a native of Georgia, who only lived about one year and left one child, Margaret Ann; the latter also died in her fourteenth year. In 1871 Mrs. Millie E. Murry became Mr. Blythe's wife. This lady was a native of Alabama. To their union seven children were born, all of whom are living: Alice F., Henrietta J., Emma F., Eva Harris, Henry Thomas, Nola Ada and John Wesley. This inter- esting family is the pride of our subject's heart. Coming to him when the weight of years bore with a heavy hand upon his head, these children renewed his youth, for in their merriment he threw a bridge across the gulf of time, and lived again in fancy the freedom of a child. As years have come and gone these little ones have all passed through infancy and youth to maturer years, and are now developing in character and mind, with a purity in which a parent's heart can rejoice, proving sources of the greatest comfort. They are justly esteemed by all who know them for their pleasing manners and their winning ways. In the summer of 1889 Mr. Blythe spent three months in the State of California, but in his journey through other lo- calities he saw no place that pleased him so well as his home in Arkansas. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, was one of the charter mem- bers of Chickasawba Lodge No. 134, and was a member of the committee sent to secure the charter from the Grand Lodge of the State.

David Boney is a man who has risen to consid- erable prominence in the affairs of Mississippi County, not less in agricultural matters than in other circles of active business life. His birth oc- curred in the "Old North State," he being. the third of five children born to James and Martha (Henderson) Boney, who were also North Carolin-

NO cost vzal weil& m1 ,9181 n. heringto Omtrent $121 or both 9d8 .comsennaT lo evil odw .. W mnsilly benoga piff .39118" trods ghitu Bavil

ai poib edas

hestinol sed ut' loib

--- nivil ois wouw lo He mod winy

motoi vidt

rolesW/ ndot bas sh& Bloki

MONT

Spojdue to tu ohing and sisylisant guides

ptt dingosiriem rodt atget dlagy sid bowrantes Devil bag omit lo May add

blido & to wrobegal vas roust 'al

3700 meno . 5Mill Seeds

Jol

d bedoole 01.6 stria.c:

mool aid ai mes simatileO in

wayrado add to uno aow ,ysimweist pincesla "ghost adwareabidO to ered

.odadal adi lo mpbout baarO eds mori injisdo

niels, add ai snagu 2010 eldste

0. masl/ bas perogl od aved neiblido ova lo bridd

$3 946

Mafoodsa

ad 118 HIot ed

rodel

(Aste trods bessolo ! In Jonat a no bovou ell nødw 8981

od doidw woun last edit

Mind wang bus Hint wie massa 's Jlind eono si

esd wod bits ;dualq aidd of perog 008 at

081 eidf 10

firo lo ode

offiva Ania prison to dried

fries suo yasrien omminfrigo! sanalsogut to ellid larsvon besaboutat vd. Storaet moil vlimust aidT ogvel in fribostad odd ni arealrow tabmuss shading jebao berner asw tbojdne wo bas . doand devig

bris atiorizo podw ,SOBI Tis doz aww Ad eids wells emit omb at ;ea effa lisa 9if weofflo 'dbidw- oble bas

Hide nfoidw .oflive -901 Adi lo rogod ni bongdaindo oa logs Boed asd oll

НАвменстраны CRAIGHEAD COUNTY, ARKANSAS .

: BABMANRA :7400ปี แควนอเล็กซ์

469

MISSISSIPPI COUNTY.

ians, where the father died when his son David was six years old. His widow removed with her children to the State of Tennessee, where she after- ward married again, and in 1851, came to Arkansas. David Boney was principally reared in Lauderdale County, Tenn., his youth and early manhood be- ing spent in following the plow, but at the age of twenty-one years he began to trade on the river, coming at the end of two years to Mississippi County, Ark., and settling in the Clear Lake coun- try, his occupation being that of farming and raft- ing. In 1853, he was united in marriage with Miss Malinda Stuckey, who lived but a few months. Growing tired of tilling land belonging to other men, Mr. Boney, in 1858, purchased a tract of eighty acres on Clear Lake, and two years later he settled on this farm with his wife, whose maiden name was Miss Sallie Boone, her birth place being Tennessee. They resided here until 1866, then sold out, and the following year moved to Tennessee, where Mr. Boney purchased a 200-acre tract of woodland. He entered actively upon the work of improving, and the result of his industry is eighty five acres of land cleared and under culti- vation, the property fenced, two good houses and other buildings, and an excellent orchard. He returned to Mississippi County, Ark., in 1874, and purchased 160 acres of land, where he resided and made improvements for one year, then rented his place and returned to his farm in Tennessee. Here he continued to live until the winter of 1888, since which time he has resided in Arkan- sas. He has just purchased 160 acres of land in this vicinity, on which he expects to make immediate improvements, there being thirty acres already under the plow, and twenty acres ready for improvement. Good timber, abundance of water, convenient and necessary buildings and other desirable conveniences render this a model farm. In 1882 his second wife passed to her long home. His third marriage occurred in the fall of 1882, his wife being a Miss Susan Halfacre. The family worship in the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Boney's children, ten of whom were by his second wife and six by his third, were as fol- lows: John J. (deceased), Noah (deceased), David

D. (deceased), Martha J. (deceased), Mary F. (de- ceased), Mandy C., George R., William W., Em- ma J., Lou E., an infant son (deceased). Mary A. (deceased), twin sons (deceased), Susan L. and Lena L.

P. S. Borum, liveryman, of the firm of J. H. Borum & Bro., Osceola. This stable, from the large business it does, not only exemplifies the importance of this part of the town, but reflects credit on its management. Mr. Borum was orig- inally from Tennessee, where he was born in 1847, and was the eldest of nine children born to Rev. J. H. and Ann C. (Brooks) Borum [see sketch of J. H. Borum]. P. S. Borum was reared in the town of Durhamville, and at the age of seventeen years he began clerking in the store of J. H. Borum, where he continued for two years. He then, in partnership with his brother, James W., opened a general store in the same place, and there remained two years, during which time his brother died. Mr. Borum then sold out the store and engaged in tilling the soil, which industry he carried on for four years, with comparatively good success. He subsequently went to Brownsville and re-engaged in clerking, but after one year re- turned to farming. He followed this occupation until 1878, when he went to Dyersburg, engaged in clerking, and after remaining there for four years, in the fall of 1883. came to Osceola, where he joined his brother, J. H. Borum, in the livery business, and this business has since grown into a flourishing trade. Mr. Borum began practically with nothing, but now has one of the best equipped livery stables in the State. They have forty horses, twenty hacks, carriages, buggies, etc., and can turn out, day or night, as fine rigs as are to be found. At the age of fifteen years, Mr. Borum enlisted in Company M, Seventh Tennessee Cav. alry, under Col. William Jackson (afterward Gen. Jackson), and was in the battles of Cross Roads. Miss., Pulaski and Nashville, Tenn., Fort Pillow in 1862, Florence, Ala., and also in the compaign through Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi. He surrendered at Gainesville, Ala., in 1865. He was in many close quarters, and in many minor engagements, but escaped without a wound. or

d still doidw galob amnoy owd wrote udt too bb ,both varfford 1

MAH 0 2897 200 29/18 tud gebieds or beginy may 18

worth of snow od no

1 wruas 8821 ro Hat

gia ,. " edt so ws sand ron and quidion slitw

EG mond to walited ads ui dsw bas Anoadest 1

ABBL ti .BlA pfliveenint) Ja boubaarsise ut

Ingrow A doodit begases and jatem go gun

DivoCI moe till modwr Boil redid ort Trodsa orta dyodw

suit gjaowoflot af à

lo tads gołod tottam bevinu Row od ,888 auffrom wal & sud bøvil odw , verdant& ... ynigoled, bael gaillis to boti ad total array owa bine adsl 18910 no 86 shiner esodw elig aid diim mist eidd gaied enølq ilsid sod povol oilfe2 eaill of buvons way guiwollot sal bung .baalbod

Ens scenod gH . biadoto ban 3181 /s . bare beblaus ed eredw hnal 10 29nos Ont 6 eid bodnox godt

to sejaiw edi lisco evil oa bonnilooo, e asofrå ui bobisex sad ed amit noidw Soal lo woton COT boasdonoq dant end 4. salam, od wjoggza od. doldw uo Minioiv-

bas myntblind y yrebasven has Justdeveot .. lebour n gids

rod of. bogenq oliw bodosy aid SoBI al

galed oliw aid year qiderow .ylim Tot 89 09:4 blido a'youol .il6

£ soniattd egyat

1 £

3 Ar uff Jo bas cellivadand to wrwad

470

HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.

ever being taken prisoner. He has since lived in Osceola, and has taken an active interest in all local affairs that pertain to the good of the com- munity at large.

Joseph H. Borum, Jr., a member of the well- known firm of J. H. Borum & Bro., liverymen at Osceola, is a native of West Tennessee, born in 1858, and is the seventh in a family of nine chil- dren born to Rev. Joseph H. and Ann C. (Brooks) Borum, natives of Virginia and Tennessee, respect- ively. The elder Borum was a merchant in T'en- nessee prior to the war; in later years he was a Baptist preacher, and was the author of "Baptist Ministers of West Tennessee." He died July 13, 1888. This remarkable man baptized about 4,000 people; organized more churches than any other minister in West Tennessee; married about 3,000 couples, and has received five generations of one family into his church. He was well and widely known throughout the State. The mother is still living in Tennessee, and is now (1889) seventy-two years of age. She is the only one living of a family of nine children. Joseph H. Borum, Jr., entered the school at Covington, Tenn., at the age of ten years, remained there three years, after which he entered the Southwestern Baptist Uni- versity of Jackson, Tenn. He remained there two years, and then started out thoroughly fitted to enter upon any position in life. In 1877, he came to Osceola, Ark., and was principal of the Osceola High School for six years. In 1883 he engaged in the livery business with J. L. Driver, but in 1884 he continued the business under the firm name of J. H. Borum & Bro. In 1888 he was elected mayor of Osceola without opposition, and was complimented by being re-elected in 1889 without opposition. Under his administration and his predecessor's, Mr. Bacchus, the city has been relieved from debt, and its affairs are now con- ducted on able business principles. Quiet and or- der reign upon its streets, and it is said by all that Mr. Borum fills the office of Osceola's mayor with credit and respect.

Capt. Charles Bowen. There are many men in this county at the present day in whose lives there are but few thrilling incidents or remarkable events,

yet whose success has been a steady and constant growth, and who, possessed of excellent judgment, strong common sense and indomitable energy, have evinced in their lives and characters great symmetry, completeness and moral standing of a high order. Such traits may be found in the char- acter of Mr. Bowen, a native of Jackson County, Tenn., born on the 28th of February, 1814, and one of the most prominent planters of the county. His parents, John and Jennie (Crawford) Bowen, were originally from Virginia, but came to Tennes- see at an early. day. Shortly after the birth of their son, Charles, they removed to the western district of Tennessee, and there built the first cabin in what is now Dyer County. They subsisted for the first year exclusively on wild meat, and did not taste bread during that time. After living in Western Tennessee for seven years, where Charles Bowen clerked in a store in Trenton, the family moved (1828) to Mississippi County, Ark., and set- tled for a short time on the river, near what is now Barfield Point. . After two years Charles, with his father, fitted out a store and produce boat, and traded on the river for about three years. They then returned to Mississippi County, and there made a permanent settlement. After a few years the elder Bowen went back to Tennessee, and there passed his last days. The mother had died when Charles was about eight years of age. As a resi- dent of Mississippi County the latter sold wood to the steamboats, and was also engaged in farming on a small scale. His brother, John C. Bowen, was the second sheriff of Mississippi County, elect- ed in 1838, and Charles served as his deputy for about six years, after which the latter was himself elected sheriff of the county. He served in this capacity for sixteen years, to the entire satisfaction of all. When the war broke out Mr. Bowen raised a company in Mississippi County, and was elected captain of the same, which was called the * Osceola Hornets;" it operated on the east bank of the Mis- sissippi River during the principal part of the time. He was in the battle of Belmont, and also at Shiloh, where his company was badly cut up, leaving the battle field with only seven men. The Captain then returned to Mississippi County, and

. -

AMAIA MA YAOTESA

¿ i mental avlos ar comat zes binh , sloaneO gift & boog wild glas aring; houd erialls Iwant pyzal do ydig 10

HI .] to mail awond

9111 23 008 ,8381 veil od maod

10 17.

1350 P

Brandts

leviartist

1001

189-89/18 1 83438 100

doxiede

odask

İM

Não

ma boninames of vIdgnorod! bolsaje dodá

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Biographical and historical memoirs of northeast Arkansas : comprising a condensed history of the state biographies of distinguished citizens a brief descriptive history of the counties, and numerous biographical sketches of the prominent citizens of such counties. V. 1, Part 84

Author: Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis : The Goodspeed Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1026

Author:
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis : The Goodspeed Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1026