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. 2, Part 65

Author:
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis : The Goodspeed Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1044

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. 2 > Part 65

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).

During this union they had a son born unto them, named William Alexander (after his grandfather). This son (without consent of his father), at the age of sixteen, joined the Southern army in the fall of 1861, and was killed at Atlanta, Ga. After the death of his wife, Mr. Taylor remained a widower about three years, leading a very reckless life, but, under the influence of his brothers, he was per- suaded to marry a second wife, Martha A. Findley, November 7, 1850. This lady was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and a de- voted Christian. Through the influence of his wife, Mr. Taylor made a profession of religion in September, 1853. The next morning he joined the church to which his wife belonged. Shortly after he was elected and ordained to the office of ruling elder of the Strawberry congregation, which office he has held to the present time. Mr. Tay -. lor lived with his second wife about fourteen years, and she died, after having given birth to five chil- dren-John W., Margret A., Sarah W., Melissa A., Matilda E. Mr. Taylor again married, a third time, the lady being a sister of his second wife, and the widow of J. M. Barnett. They had three sons, all of whom are living: Joseph G., Benjamin D. and George W. He lived with this wife about eighteen years, when she died, on the 31st of De- cember, 1883. In 1887 he was married to the widow McHenry, who had one little daughter- Allis McHenry, who is now living with them. Mr. Taylor's present wife's maiden name was Crits. Her native State is Virginia. Mr. Taylor is the only one of this branch of the family now living. He is in his sixty-sixth year, and lives at the Jack- sonport Crossing, on Strawberry, a place within two miles of where he was born.

Thomas J. Thorn, farmer and stock raiser, was born in Bedford County, Tenn., December 25, 1837. His father, W. Thorn, was a native of North Carolina, who moved to the State of Ten- nessee, and was there married to Miss Penelope Crumple, of that State. After his marriage the elder Thorn settled on a farm in Bedford County, where he resided until his death, in 1856. His wife still survives him, and is a resident of Law- rence County. He served through the Seminole

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War in Florida, and had never fully recovered from the exposure and hardships brought on while en- deavoring to subdue this savage tribe. Thomas J. Thorn remained with his father until he had reached his maturity, and then started out to find his own fortune. In 1859 he settled in Oregon County, Mo., and one year later moved to Law- rence County, Ark. In 1861 he enlisted in the Confederate army, and after six months' active service was badly wounded and discharged. He received his wound in the thigh, from a rifle ball, while engaged in a battle at Springfield, Mo., in 1861, and at that time was a member of Col. MeBryant's division. Finding it impossible to fight any longer, he returned to Lawrence County, and, as time passed, and he was able to resume his farm work, he did so, and has been at that oc- cupation ever since, with the exception of a short period, in which he did carpenter work. He sold out his farm and moved to Florida, in 1886, spend- ing twelve months in that State, and, at the end of that time, returned to Lawrence County and bought the place upon which he now resides. He owns forty acres of fine land, and has about twenty- five acres under cultivation, with a comfortable house, barns and all necessary adjuncts. Mr. Thorn was first married, in Tennessee, to Miss Mary Bennett, who died in Arkansas. Two chil- dren are yet living by this wife and two deceased. His second marriage was in Randolph County, to Miss Rebecca Holt, who left five children at her death. He was married a third time to Mrs. Sarah Hatfield, a widow of Lawrence County. who is still living. Both Mr. and Mrs. Thorn are mem- bers of the Missionary Baptist Church, of which the former is a deacon, and are people who are held in the highest respect in their community.

George Thornburg, born in Havana, Mason County, Ill., January 25, 1847, moved to Smith- ville, Ark., in December, 1855. His educational facilities were meager, but used industriously, such as they were. He assisted J. N. Hillhouse for two sessions, and taught one session at New Hope. He began the study of law in 1867, with Col. Baber, and then in the law department of the Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn., in 1868.

He was licensed to practice by Judge (afterward Governor) Baxter, and had charge of the circuit clerk's office from 1868 to 1870, during which time the county seat was moved to Clover Bend, and from there to Powhatan. He entered into mer- cantile business at Smithville, from 1870 to 1873, and in June, 1873, moved to Powhatan, where he began the practice of law in co-partnership with Col. Baber. This firm did a large and successful business until June, 1886, when Col. Thornburg withdrew to take charge of a newspaper at Walnut Ridge. He moved to Walnut Ridge, in July, 1886, and began the publication of the Telephone. The change from law to newspaper was not made from any pecuniary interest; but for the reason that journalism was more congenial to his taste. He was elected to the legislature as a Democrat, in 1870, but, after serving a month, his seat was con- tested, and the house being largely Republican, and politics being very bitter, he was ousted to give place to William B. Janes, who received less than one-fourth as many votes. He was re-elected to the legislature in 1872, and stood with the im- mortal minority in the house in 1873. In 1876 he was nominated by his county for the senate, but declined on account of business engagements. In 1880 he was forced by the demands of his party and friends to submit to an election to the legisla- ture again, and was elected speaker for the house during the session of 1881. It is said of him, as it can be said of no other speaker of the Arkansas legislature, that none of his decisions were ever ap- pealed. In 1884 he was again elected to the legis- lature, and was made chairman of the judiciary committee. In 1886 he was nominated by the State Wheel convention for secretary of State, but declined the nomination, because, as a Demo- crat, he could not accept any nomination that would antagonize the Democratic party. Since 1884 he has sought no political office, devoting his attention to his paper. He was appointed a col- onel in the Arkansas militia, by Gov. Baxter, and again appointed by Gov. Garland. Col. Thorn- burg was made a Mason, in Smithville Lodge No. 29, in 1868. He served as Secretary of his lodge and Worshipful Master. He was made a Royal

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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.

Arch Mason, in 1870, in Pythagoras Chapter No. 34, held at Powhatan. This Chapter is now defunct. He was made a Sir Knight Mason in Hugh De Payne Commandery, at Little Rock, in 1871. He has been a delegate to every Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter from 1871 to the present time. He was Secretary of the Masonic Convention of 1873, which made the present constitution of the Grand Lodge. Elected Grand Orator of the Grand Lodge in 1874, in 1875 he made and de- fended the famous minority report, which cut the Grand Lodge loose from supporting St. John's College. He was elected Grand Master of the Grand Lodge in 1878, and re-elected to the same position in 1879. In 1880 he was elected Deputy Grand Commander of Knights Templar, and elected Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter, and in 1883 was elected Illustrious Grand Master of the Grand Council. He has delivered over twenty public addresses on Masonry, and is a per- manent member of the committee on law of the Grand Lodge and Grand Chapter. He is now the special representative of the Grand Lodge of Geor- gia, the Grand Chapter of Illinois, and the Grand Orient of Spain. In July, 1886, he founded the Masonic Trowel, a paper devoted exclusively to Masonry. It has a large circulation throughout the State, and grows in favor with the craft. It has been adopted by the Grand Lodge as its official organ. Mr. Thornburg is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and has been steward continuously since 1876, also Sunday- school superintendent for sixteen years, He is the only layman in the Southern Methodist Church who is secretary of an annual conference, and he has the honor of being the author of the system of reports now used throughout the church. Prior to 1886 the church had no uniform plan or system of reporting. Mr. Thornburg arranged a system for the conference, of which he was secretary. This form was so complete and systematic that Bishop MeTyeire urged its adoption by the general conference, and it is now the only form allowed to be used in the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mr. Thornburg is a strong temperance advocate, a supporter of the free school system and a conserva-

tive but straight Democrat. In the newspaper fraternity he stands high, having been selected as orator the year before last, and vice-president last year. He has, perhaps, delivered more addresses on Masonic, Sunday-school and miscellaneous occasions than any man in North Arkansas. In September, 1868, Col. Thornburg was married to Miss M. C. Self, a daughter of J. M. Self, a physician and Methodist local preacher. He has a pleasant home, is surrounded by an interesting family, and enjoys a quiet life with his wife, chil- dren and flowers.

Judge William A. Townsend, one of Arkansas' most respected citizens, is a native of Alabama, where he was born in Franklin County in the year 1853. He is a son of John W. and Mary L. (Weatherford) Townsend, the former of Illinois and the latter from Alabama. The elder Town- send was reared and received his education in Ala- bama, where he also practiced medicine, and was, in his day, a prominent physician of that State. About the year 1855 he moved to Arkansas, and settled near Smithville, where he began the prac- tice of law. He lost his wife a year later, and re- turned to Alabama, where he remained until 1863. He again came back to Arkansas, and located in Lawrence County, where he resided and was or- dained a minister of the Baptist Church in 1870, serving until his death, in January, 1878. Judge W. A. Townsend is the second child in the family. He came to Arkansas when very young, and was reared in Lawrence County, where he was edu- cated. He was taught principally at the home schools, and was an apt and attentive scholar, though the higher branches of education were out of his reach, on account of the poor facilities offered at the time. He afterward taught school himself for three years, but in 1878, bought out an estab- lished business in Smithville, and has been actively engaged in mercantile affairs since then. He car- ries one of the largest and most complete stocks of merchandise in Lawrence County, and has built up a reputation for fair dealing and honest goods second to none in the State. This fact has brought him a trade of $15,000 a year, which is still growing. In 1876 Mr. Townsend was elected

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LAWRENCE COUNTY.

assessor, and served one term, and in 1878 he was elected sheriff and collector, and served one term. In 1884 he was elected county judge, and in 1888 was again chosen to fill that office. He also had charge of the postoffice at Smithville in 1878-79. Judge Townsend was married in Independence County October 31, 1880, to Miss Belle Toler, a daughter of J. B. Toler, and this marriage has given them three children: Neva, Roy and Mary, whose bright faces and childish voices are a great source of happiness to the parents. Judge Town- send belongs to the Masonic order, and is a Master Mason. He is held in high regard by the entire community, and is a man of irreproachable honor. While performing his judicial functions, he gained a reputation for the fairness of his decisions, and the justness with which he wielded the law irrespective of party, creed or color.

Francis M. Wayland, of the firm of James & Wayland, dealers in general merchandise, is another name that will be remembered for years to come as belonging to a public-spirited and progres- sive man of this community. He was born in Lawrence County October 7, 1846, and is a son of Rev. Jonathan Wayland, of Virginia, a noted preacher of that period, who came to Arkansas in 1815, and settled in what is now Lawrence County, with his father, Nevil Wayland. Grandfather Wayland died soon after his arrival in Arkansas, and Jonathan was thrown on his own resources; but though the prospects ahead of him at the time were very dark, he was never daunted in the least, and through the troubles and privations of his early life he grew to manhood with the proud consciousness of having overcome all obstacles that had been thrown in his path. He was married in Lawrence County, to Miss Amy A. Eddy, of Indi- ana, whose parents were among the pioneers of Arkansas, and located with his wife on a farm near Powhatan, where he resided until his death. He was a noted minister of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, in that section, and his sermons were often the occasion for drawing hundreds of people from the surrounding country. His loving and faithful wife died about the year 1870, some

her husband, two sons and a daughter to mourn her. The eldest of these children was Francis M. Wayland, who remained with his father until he reached his majority. He received a good edu- cation at the common schools of Lawrence County, supplemented by a course of study at the Academy High School, of Iron County, Mo. When through with his schooling he commenced teaching in Law- rence County, and continued at it until induced by the offer of a lucrative position at Powhatan, to go to that city." In 1879 he entered into mercantile life on his own responsibility, and his enterprise, honesty in all transactions and untiring energy have built up for him a large and well-established busi- ness. This firm carry one of the largest and best selected stocks of general merchandise in Lawrence County, besides dealing in lumber, and operat- ing a cypress shingle-mill, having a capacity of 80,000 per day. They do a business of $60,000 annually, with the different branches combined, and are well and favorably known throughout the entire county. In the month of October, 1868, Mr. Wayland was united in marriage to Miss Sarah E. Matthews, of Georgia, and this happy union has given them three children: Charles M., assisting in his father's business, Katie and Nettie. They are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and Mr. Wayland is superintend- ent of the Sabbath-school, a position he has held for the past five years. He is also a Royal Arch Mason, and is Warden of his lodge. Mr. Way- land is one of those men who can look back from his assured and substantial position in the world to that time when, as a young man struggling through life with nothing but a stout heart and an honest character to sustain him, he fought his way upward, like the hero of Longfellow's Excelsior, never stopping until he had reached the summit of his ambition. His career has been one that can be pointed out as an example for the younger genera- tion to follow, in order to be placed upon as solid a foundation, and it is of such men the nation should be composed, in order to draw the admira - tion of the world upon us.

John P. Webb was born and raised on a farm fifteen years before his own death, leaving besides in Coffee County, Tenn. His parents, John B.

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and Mary (Pearson) Webb, were natives of the same State, who moved to Arkansas in the fall of 1858, and settled at a point seven miles west of Powhatan, where they continued to reside until the death of Mr. Webb's father in 1865, two years before the mother. Mr. Webb is the seventh of ten children, all of whom lived until their matur- ity, when four have since died. He remained on the farm with his parents until the disruption of the North and South, and gave up the plow and rake for the more deadly implements of war. In 1862 he enlisted with Newton's regiment of cav- alry, and thereafter fought on several battlefields before the surrender. He took part in the battles of Helena and Alexandria on the Red River, and also at Little Rock, and was one of the followers of Gen. Price on his raids through Missouri. Af- ter the war had ended, he once more sought the peace of his home, and remained with his mother on the farm until his marriage, in the fall of 1866. He then located near the home place, where he resided until 1882, when he removed to Black River Bottom, near their present home. Here he put his energies into saw-milling for three years, and after that venture engaged in cotton-ginning. He moved to his present home in 1887, and com- menced farming, and has also established a thriv- ing business in general merchandise. Mr. Webb was married to Miss Asenath Denton, of Tennes- see, who died in 1871 after a happy wedded life, leaving seven children to mourn a mother's loss. Since then three of them have died. He was married a second time to Miss Rebecca Johnson, a young lady also from the State of Tennessee, who is now the mother of three children. The names of those by his first wife are William F., Charles (deceased), Wiley J., John R., Chesley N., Mary (deceased) and Harvey (deceased). The children by his second marriage are Henry P., Matilda and Elisabeth. Mr. Webb and his wife are mem- bers of the Missionary Baptist Church, of which Mr. Webb is a deacon. He has also been a mem- ber of Dry Creek Lodge No. 453, A. F. & A. M., for the past sixteen years, but was a member of Rock Cave Lodge No. 347, this county, when Dry Creek Lodge was organized in 1886. Mr. Webb

is a generous, public-spirited citizen, and one of the foremost to assist in pushing his county to the front. He takes an interest in all public and private enterprises, and is one of this section's most valued citizens.

John H. S. Weir, a well-known resident of Dent Township, was born in North Carolina in 1842. The parents of Mr. Weir moved west, and settled in Arkansas in 1845, locating at Old Jack- son, December 24. From there they moved to a point in Black River Township, where they have resided since 1846. James A. Weir, the father, has been one of the foremost citizens of this county, and a leading spirit in its affairs. He is one of the best-posted men in Northeastern Arkan- sas, and now, after a busy and useful life, is living quietly with his children. The mother died. May 23, 1885, a firm believer in the Seceder Church. Out of eight children six are living. The first four born were twins. Mr. Weir came to Arkansas with his parents when three years old, and has always remained in that State, excepting the time he spent in the late war. In 1862 be enlisted in Wells company, and soon afterward was dis- charged. He re-enlisted in R. C. Newton's Cavalry Regiment, of Little Rock, Ark., and served until 1865, when he was paroled in Drew County. He took part in the battles at Mark's Mill and Poison Springs, in this State, but was principally sent out on skirmish duty. After the war he returned home, and worked on the farm until 1867, when he ac- cepted a position with William Jones, of Pow- hatan, who owned a general merchandise store. which was then sold to the firm of Stuart, Cravens & Balfor. On leaving the above business Mr. Weir entered school, where he studied diligently for ten months. At the end of his student days he met and married Miss Thirsey J. Moore, a daughter of Robert W. Moore, of Tennessee, who came to Arkansas in 1832, with his mother and stepfather. Mr. Moore was a representative citi- zen of this county in his day, and one of its most popular men. He died at the age of sixty-six years. When Mr. Weir first purchased his pres- ent place it was heavily covered with timber, but since that time he has put upwards of seventy five

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LAWRENCE COUNTY.

acres under cultivation, all of which has been done by the labor of his own hands. His mother-in- law is still living, and is a member of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, South, which she has at- tended ever since her girlhood. She was born near Huntsville, Ala., in the year 1819, and her first marriage was with Hezekiah Darter, of Vir- ginia, by whom she had one child, Charlotte. Mr. Weir and his wife have had seven children, two of them deceased. Their names are: Margaret E. (wife of Henry H. Rainwater), Robert S., Mary L., Burett S., Moses N., Clay C. and Laura B. They are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and are zealous workers. Mr. Weir has been one of the school directors for a number of years, and is an active leader in public and private enterprises.

George F. Weir, of Imboden, Lawrence County, was born in this county, in 1846. He is the son of James A. and Elisabeth (Sloan) Weir, who were among the earlier settlers of this State, locating here in the year 1845. Mr. Weir was born and reared on a farm, and remained at home until his twenty- fifth year, when he enlisted in the Confederate army in 1863, under Capt. Butler, and served until peace was established. He was one of the foremost in the raids through Missouri, under Gen. Price, and was engaged in some of the hottest work of that time. After the war was over he returned to his home, and has since fol- lowed the occupation of a farmer. He was mar- ried, in 1871, to Miss Martha J. Smith, but lost his wife in December, 1884; she had been a mem- ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, for fifteen years. Six children were born to them- all of them living: Margaret R., James F., Wil- liam H., George R., Julia E. and Lenora L. Mr. Weir's second marriage was with Mrs. Charlotte Nation. They have one child, a step-daughter of Mr. Weir's, Ella V. Nation, and Mrs. Weir has one daughter married, Mrs. John Starr, resid- ing in Dent Township. Mrs. Weir is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Mr. Weir is a Democrat. He has upwards of 100 acres of land under cultivation, and can be counted as one of the successful men of this county.

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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. 2, Part 65

Author: Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis : The Goodspeed Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 1044

Author:
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis : The Goodspeed Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 1044