USA > Arkansas > Biographical and historical memoirs of western 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 mentioned, and numerous biographical sketches of the citizens of such counties > Part 68
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Judge Daniel Hon. In these days of money- making, when life is a constant struggle between right and wrong, it is a pleasure to lay before an intelligent reader the unsullied record of an hon- orable man. To the youthful it will be an incent- ive to honest industry, and will teach them a use- ful lesson. Mr. Hon was born in this county, in 1860, being the eldest of three children born to Jackson and Lucy (Huie) Hon. Prior to marry- ing Miss Huie, Mr. Hon had been married twice, and became the father of thirteen children, four of whom are now living. He was born in Illinois, as was his third wife, Miss Huie, but was one of the first settlers of Scott County, Ark., coming here about 1836, and being one of the founders of Wal- dron. He was a farmer and stock-raiser, and was the owner of 1,500 acres of fine farming land on the Poteau, but the war left him sadly impover- ished, and before he could fully retrieve his losses, he died, his death occurring in 1872. His wife died in 1868. Peter Hon, a half-brother of the subject of this sketch, died while serving in the Confederate Army. Daniel Hon was reared in Scott County, and until he was sixteen years of age he worked on the farm and attended the schools in the neighborhood. He then entered the State University at Fayetteville, and being a faithful and earnest student, he graduated from this insti-
tution in 1882. In 1883 he began the study of law, and after teaching school until January, 1885. in order to obtain means with which to defray his expenses, he entered the well known law school at Lebanon, Tenn., from which he graduated the same year. After being admitted to practice be- fore the Supreme Court of Arkansas, he came to Waldron, and opened a law office, where it was not long before his ability and knowledge of his pro- fession began to be seen and recognized. In 1886 he was elected to the position of county and pro- bate judge being re-elected in 1888. In Septem- ber of the following year he formed a partnership with A. G. Leming, and together they have prac- ticed in all the courts of this judicial district. Judge Hon owns a fine tract of farming land, com- prising 500 acres, it being situated on Poteau Creek, 100 acres of which are under cultivation. On this finely improved place 1,000 pounds of seed cotton are raised to the acre, corn and the small grains being also raised in abundance. The land is about five miles from Waldron, and is very val- uable. Mr. Hon was married in October, 1888, to Miss Maggie Gaines, a native of this county, daughter of F. C. Gaines, who was born in Scott County also, he being a son of James F. Gaines, a pioneer of this region from Virginia. Mrs. Hon, who is an earnest member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church South, has borne her husband one child, Lucy. F. C. Gaines, Mrs. Hon's father, was sheriff of Scott County for a number of years, and also represented the county in the State Leg- islature. His father, James F., was a pioneer merchant and farmer, represented this county in the State Legislature also, became the owner of a large body of land on the Fourche River, and dur- ing his day and time, was the most prominent man of the county. Mrs. Hon's maternal grandfather, Judge J. H. Torbett, was county and probate judge of Scott County in an early day, and died while a member of the State Legislature, a widely known and highly honored citizen.
C. L. Hough, one of the earlest settlers and prominent farmers of this county, was born in the Palmetto State on March 26, ISIS, and his par- ents, Greenberry and Hettie Hough, were also
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natives of that State. His early educational ad- vantages were very poor, and when seven years of age, he moved with his parents to Alabama, where he made his home for thirty three years. At the age of sixteen years his parents gave him his time, providing that he should use the money thus earned during the year to attend school. This he did, and when seventeen years of age, he entered a good school in Lauderdale County, Ala., where he remained ten months, and where he had such good opportunities, that at the age of eighteen years he began teaching. This profession he followed until twenty-seven years of age, attending school during the vacations, and while thus employed, he studied surveying. When twenty six he was em- ployed by a contractor in the Government employ, to survey the Government lands of the State. The Government land office having been burned, with the surveyor's records, this resurvey was rendered necessary. This occurred in 1844, and this business Mr. Hough continued at intervals for fifty years. He was appointed county surveyor for his county in Alabama, and held this position in a satisfactory and creditable manner for seven years. At the age of thirty-five years (in 1852), he was married to Miss Emily Thresher of Lauderdale County, Ala., but she died at the end of one year. Two years later he was again married to Miss Martha P. A. Bourland, daughter of Prof. Joseph P. Bourland of Lauderdale County. Mr. Hough also held the office of justice of the peace, in that county, for forty years. In the years of his surveying, Mr. Hough had entered different tracts of land until he had over 1,000 acres. He settled upon and im- proved a portion of this land and made it his home for about five years. He then started for Texas, with his family, by wagons, and while passing through Tennessee, Mrs. Hough was taken sick. This caused them to stop in Hardin County, of that State, where they remained about three years, Mr. Hough teaching school during that time. They again started for Texas, but while passing through this part of Arkansas, and having chanced upon the La Fourche Valley, and seeing the richness of the soil, its natural advantages, etc., Mr. Hough de- cided to make this his future home. He bought the 1
place where he now lives, and is now satisfied that he could not have done better, in any part of the United States. He still owns his land in Ala- bama. His land here consists of 260 acres, with 90 acres improved, and he has a good house and other necessary farm buildings. He has a good apple and peach orchard and a small vineyard which yields well. Since he arrived in this county, he has devoted most of his time to farming, but has held the position of county surveyor for a number of years. He also, for some years, taught occasional terms of school. At the breaking out of the war, he being about forty-five years of age and not subject to conscript, was taken into a company called the Home Reserve, whose duties were to obtain sup- plies for the army, and assist generally in the care of the portion of the people left at home. During this time his family was in Texas. Returning to his home in the Fourche Valley, after the war, he was elected justice of the peace, in which capacity he served for about two years, when he was dis- franchised by the Government and not allowed to hold office for the following seven years. He was then elected county surveyor and held that posi- tion until a few years ago. At the time of his ar- rival in this county, schools and churches were scarce, but he has lived to see the county develop, and become one of the finest and most productive in the State. By his marriage to his present wife, which occurred on July 24, 1856, there were born four children- three sons and one daughter: Will- iam P. (married Miss Ida Tate of this county and they have two children, named Myrtle and Lena). John Morgan (married Miss Eva Kelly of this county), Hettie (married Thomas W. Stone and resides in Waldron, and they have three children, all daughters, named Estell, Ula and Mattie) and Calvin T. (is at home with his parents and attend- ing the public schools). The second son is a teacher of the county and very successful in his work. The family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Hough has been a mem- ber of the Masonic fraternity for forty-six years, and is now an honorary member. He is liberal in his support of churches, schools and all public en- terprises and is active in the church work, having
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been Sunday-school superintendent for many years.
Dr. A. C. James, physician and farmer, Crow, Ark. In any worthy history of Arkansas mention should be made of the prominent citizens, among whom is to be found the name of Dr. A. C. James. This gentleman was born in Arkansas in 1842, and is a son of John and Sabrina (Hayes) James, both natives of the Palmetto State. The parents moved to Tennessee at an early day, and from there to Yell County, Ark., in 1838. The father was a carpenter by trade and built the first houses in Dardanelle and Danville. Both parents died in Yell County, Ark., in 1853. Dr. A. C. James was reared principally in his native State, and as his educational facilities were not of the best he has gained the most of his schooling by self study. At the early age of eleven years he was thrown on his own resources, and as he had been early trained to the duties of the farm it was but natural that he should adopt this as his chosen calling. How- ever he did not care to be wholly dependent upon this, and as a consequence began the study of medicine. About this time the war broke out, and he enlisted in 1862, remaining in service until the spring of 1865. In 1870 Dr. James resumed his medical studies, and in 1872 went to North Caro- lina, came back two years after to Arkansas, where in 1875 he began the practice of medicine under Dr. John R. Blake, of Tennessee, and has had a good practice ever since. One year later he commenced the practice of his profession and is a popular and very successful practitioner. In 1867 he was wedded to Miss Jane Wicker, a native of North Carolina, and the daughter of Charles and Sarah (McKiver) Wicker, natives also of the old Tar State. Of the four children born to this union only one, John E., is now living. Those deceased were named Charles D., Arthur C. and George C. The mother of these children died in 1880, and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. In 1881 Dr. James was married to Miss Mattie P. Carroll, a native of Arkansas, who bore him two children: Catherine and T. B., the last named dying in 1884. She was also a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. Mrs. James died two years later, and the Doctor took
for his third wife Miss Ella A. Gilliam, their mar- riage occurring in 1887. She was born in Indiana in 1856. One child, Rosie A., is the result of this union. Dr. James is a Democrat in polities, and has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church South for the past twenty years. His wife is a member of the Christian Church. He is a self-made man and a very popular one.
John H. Johnson's life, from his earliest recol- lection, has-been passed on a farm, his early days being spent in assisting his father, who, in addition to being a successful tiller of the soil, was a well- known educator. The subject of this sketch was born in Johnson County of this State in 1849, his parents, Jobn H., Sr., and Mary (Sweeden) John- son, being born in the State of Tennessee. About 1833 or 1834 they came to Arkansas, where for some time Mr. Johnson followed the occupation of school teaching. In 1853 he moved to Scott County, and settled on a large woodland farm in the Fourche Valley, in which section he taught school in addition to clearing up his farm, also serving for several years, before the Rebellion, as county sur- veyor. He was a strong Union man in sentiment during the war, but did not serve on either side. He died in 1866, a member of the Methodist Epis- copal Church; his widow dying in 1884, a member of that church also. The subject of this sketch spent the greater part of his youth in this county, near Waldron, and on a farm near his present place of abode. Although his early advantages were lim- ited, he is a well-informed man, and has proven himself a good financier. He was married in 1867 to Miss Mary E. Tate, a native of Alabama, and a daughter of William Tate, after which family Tate Township, in this county, was named. Mr. John- son settled on his present farm in 1868, and now has a good farm of fifty acres under cultivation. on which he erected an excellent and substantial resi- dence in 1883. He began working at blacksmith- ing and woodwork in 1872, and, although he is perfectly capable of putting up a good wagon, he mostly does repairing. From 1882 until 1889 he was postmaster at Green Ridge, at the end of which time he resigned. His family consists of the following children: Francis Joseph, John Will-
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iam, Sarah Ann (wife of William Londus), Floy, Benjamin, Thomas Scott and Mahala (who died at the age of eighteen months). Mr. Johnson and wife are members of the Baptist Church, and so- cially he is a Mason. His sons assist him in the shop, and John William is about to start a shop of his own, eighteen miles east of Waldron.
Miles Keener is the efficient postmaster of Wal- dron, Ark., and is recognized as one of the best citizens of Scott County, Ark. He first saw the light of day in Lincoln County, N. C., in 1832, being the second of seven children born to Moses and Elizabeth (Drum) Keener, both of whom were also born in the Old North State. The great- grandparents were citizens of that State and coun- ty, and both great-grandfathers were soldiers in the Revolutionary War. The paternal grandfather, John Keener, lived near Rancour's Mills, where Gen. Cornwallis destroyed his supplies during Morgan's retreat from the battle of Cowpens. Moses Keener was a tiller of the soil, and first moved from his native State to Texas, in 1851, where he bought 320 acres of land, and there made his home until 1871, when he came to Scott Coun- ty, Ark., and here passed from life in 1887 at the age of eighty years. He was a strong adherent to the Union cause during the Rebellion. His wife was called to her long home in 1886, a member of the Baptist Church. Miles Keener acquired a good education in a high school of his native State, which institution he attended two years, at the end of which time he removed to Texas with his par- ents. He entered the Federal Army in 1863 at Fort Smith, Ark., becoming a member of Company I, Second Arkansas Cavalry, and was clerk in the provost's office at Berryville, Mo., for some six months. He was then promoted to sergeant-major of his regiment, and did service in Western Ten- nessee and Northern Mississippi, but was disabled so that he could not do duty in the field. He was discharged at Memphis, Tenn., on April 20, 1865, after which he returned to his home in Texas and there continued to reside, where he was engaged in merchandising and stock-dealing until 1868, when he moved to Kansas, where he made his home for one year. In February, 1870, he came
to Scott County, Ark., purchased a farm of eighty acres and entered 160 acres more, ten miles south- east of Waldron. Besides his residence and town property in Waldron, he is the owner of 200 acres of land. For a number of years he was engaged in running a cotton-gin, saw and grist-mill in part- nership with his father, but in 1882 bought prop- erty in Waldron, and soon after made this place his permanent residence. In August, 1889, he took charge of the Waldron post-office, and has had the management of this office up to the present time. His union with his first wife resulted in the birth of six children: Thomas J., Ulysses Grant, Lizzie L., Fannie (wife of A. Hawkins), Sarah and Donia. Mr. Keener's second marriage took place in 1885, and was to Miss Sallie Frazier, a native of Arkan- sas. They have a family of three children: Moses Marmaduke, Chester Arthur and Susie. The fam- ily are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and are quite active in church work, Mr. Keener being deeply interested in the progress of the pub- lic schools. He had the first saw-mill in Park Township, and sawed much of the lumber that is in the buildings of that section.
J. A. Kennon was born in Tennessee June 12, 1855, to James H. and Martha A. (Standefer) Ken- non, both of whom were also born in that State, the former September 13, 1835, and the latter Jan- uary 12, 1835, their marriage being celebrated there on August 31, 1854. To them four children have been born: John A., Nancy E. (born Febru- ary 3, 1857, wife of L. L. Standefer), Sarah J. (born December 20, 1858, wife of A. P. Ewton), and James H. (born October 2, 1862). James H. Kennon was a farmer during the greater part of his life, but at the opening of the Rebellion was engaged in blacksmithing, a calling he continued for about one year, after which he entered the Confederate service as a private in the Sixteenth Alabama Regiment in Bragg's army, and was killed at the battle of Chickamauga, a member of the Baptist Church. His widow resides with her daughter, Mrs. A. P. Ewton. At the age of eight- een years J. A. Kennon started out to make his own way in the world, and has made farming his chief occupation. In 1876 he removed from Ten-
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nessee to Alabama, where he remained four years, then came to Scott County, Ark., in 1880, and homesteaded 160 acres of land, afterward pur- chasing 40 acres adjoining on the east, and of this farm he has cleared about 50 acres, and put the same in a good agricultural condition. On this land corn averages thirty bushels to the acre, cot- ton one-half bale, and wheat and oats are also raised. His buildings and fences are all good, and he has an excellent young orchard of four acres. He was married on August 5, 1875, to Miss Sarah J. Smith, who was born in Tennessee November 9, 1858, a daughter of John and Ann E. (Williams) Smith, but he was called upon to mourn her death March 3, 1884, she leaving him with three sons and one daughter to care for: Alpha S. (born April 25, 1876), Oliver A. (born October 25, 1877, died two days after birth), Cora Ann (born October 18, 1879), Delta Lee (born October 2, 1881), and James M. (born January 28, 1884). On December 25, 1884, Mr. Kennon married Miss Mary V. Ritter, who was born in Mississippi on August 30, 1855, a daughter of Benjamin F. and Nancy C. (Joiner) Ritter, to which union four children have been born: Beta E. (born November 14, 1885), Hattie L. (born January 17, 1887), Martha G. (born De- cember 24, 1888), and Ninnie M. (born January 28, 1890). From 1886 to 1888 Mr. Kennon served as constable of his township, and is a member of Big Coon Lodge No. 75, of the I. O. O. F., hav- ing joined this order in 1878. He and his wife are members of the Missionary Baptist Church. Mr. Kennon's grandfather, Standefer, was a son of James and Martha (Standefer) Standefer, and a member of Congress from East Tennessee for about sixteen years. He was on his way to Con- gress when he died suddenly at the table, supposed to have been poisoned by a negro woman. His grandfather, Kennon, was a native of Virginia.
William J. King is a surveyor and farmer of Scott County, Ark., and needs no introduction to the citizens of this section, for he has always identi- ' fied himself with every movement and is cor- respondingly well known. He was born in Barto County, Ga., in 1844, to William H. and Caroline C. (Holland) King, they being born in Georgia,
where Mr. King spent his entire life, dying in September, 1888, his widow surviving him; both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. King was a successful farmer, and showed his ap- proval of secret organizations by joining the A. F. & A. M. James King, his father, was born in Virginia, and died in Georgia before the war, he being also a farmer. James Holland, the mother's father, was a farmer of Georgia, and there spent the last of his days. William J. King spent his early days on a farm, but his school days were very few. In 1862 he espoused the Confederate cause, joining Company H, Eighteenth Georgia Infantry in Virginia, under Gen. Longstreet, and fought at Gettysburg, Wilderness, Antietam, Fredericks- burg, and numerous others. He was wounded at the battle of Wilderness, and just before the close of the war was furloughed and went home. In 1869 he came to Scott County, Ark., with the ex- pectation of bettering his fortunes, and in this has not been disappointed, for he now has a valuable farm of 397 acres. He was married in this county, in 1871, to Miss Malinda W., daughter of Calvin R. and Nancy Taff, both of whom were born in Tennessee, moving, about 1858, to Scott County, where they received their final summons. Mrs. King is a Tennesseean by birth, and she and Mr. King have become the' parents of nine children, eight of whom are living. In 1886 Mr. King was elected county surveyor, and has since served by re-election. He and his wife have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for many years.
Dr. Elijah Leming is an old and respected physician of Waldron, Ark., and for many years has also been connected prominently with the farming interests of this region. He was born in Tennessee in 1819, being the second of five chil- dren born to John and Sarah (Mitchell) Leming, both of whom are descendants of people who set- tled in Tennessee when it was a part of North Carolina, this being about 1770. The paternal great-grandfather was a private soldier in the French Army, and was at Quebec when he was captured by Gen. Wolfe. He afterward went to New Jersey, where he was married to Elizabeth
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Fyan, and moved with her to the western county of North Carolina, now Tennessee. Vinet Fyan commanded a fort near Newport, Tenn., and was killed near there by the Indians, on a creek still known as Fyan's Creek, in Rathnard County, N. C. Dr. Leming's grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, and two uncles were in the War of 1812, and were with Jackson at New Or- leans. John Leming and his wife died when their son, Elijah, was a child, and he was brought up by his paternal uncle, Jesse Leming. At the age of sixteen years he left him and enlisted in the United States Army, taking part in the Cherokee War of 1836-37. He was married in 1840 to Miss Mary Ann Pierce, and seven years later moved to Texas, in the southeast part of which State he resided for twelve years. Here he began the practice of med- icine, having commenced the study of this science before leaving Tennessee, and after coming to Ar- kansas in June, 1858, he followed this occupation for many years. In 1863 he entered the Federal - Army, and until the close of the war served in the Fourth and Second Arkansas Infantry, Company I. During the war his home was burned, but at the close he returned, rebuilt, and, in connection with his practice, began farming. Soon after this he went to St. Louis, where he studied in the Eclectic School, graduating soon after. In 1866 he was elected to the State Legislature, and in that session was one of five to vote for the Howard Amendment, which was one of the clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. After this measure had been rejected, and during the reconstruction period, he refused to accept office, for the reason that he did not want to have his name associated with the disfranchise- ment of neighbors and friends, nor did he believe the Freedmen competent to vote intelligently. Since that time, in 1872, he made the race for State Senator, but was decided out of the State by contested election. For many years he has been president of the County Medical Society. He has always been an active advocate of free schools, and has been a school director for years. His wife died in July, 1870, at Galena, Kas., she having borne him five children: Julia Ann, Nancy (who is
deceased), A. G. (a lawyer of Waldron), Isaac K. (a physician of Waldron), and Elijah (a physician of Dardanelle). Dr. Leming was married in 1883 to Mrs. Gillie Winchester, widow of John Win- chester, of Tennessee, who died while serving in the Federal Army in Missouri, during the Rebell- ion. The Doctor owns 400 acres of fine farming land in this county, and has 150 acres under culti- vation, the balance being fair land covered with good timber. The Doctor is a quiet, kindly and charitable old gentleman, and, besides having the confidence and respect of his fellow-men, he also has their warmest regard.
Dr. Isaac K. Leming is an eminent medical practitioner who has practiced his profession in this county for a number of years, and during this time has won fame and fortune. He was born in Tyler, Tex., in 1851, being the fourth child born to Elijah and Mary A. (Pierce) Leming. [See sketch of Elijah Leming. ] He was reared in Scott County, Ark., and after obtaining a good practical education in the common schools near his home, he began the study of medicine, his studies being pursued under his father, who gave him thorough instruction. He afterward entered the St. Louis Electic Medical College in 1877, from which institution he was graduated in the spring of 1878, after which he practiced for some time in Sebastian County. He soon, however, came to Scott County, and has since been a resi- dent of Waldron where, by the thorough knowledge of his profession and his ability to put his knowl- edge to a practical use, he has built up a very large and lucrative practice. In 1889 he formed a partnership with Dr. A. A. Sanford, and to- gether they make one of the strongest firms in this section, and command respect from all their med- ical brethren. In 1872 he was married to Miss Abbie L. Basshal, of Sebastian County, daughter of Joseph P. Basshal, an old pioneer settler of that county. To them four children have been born: Maud (who died in infancy), Joseph E., Samuel A. and Minnie L. The family worship in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and the Doctor belongs to Greenwood Lodge No. - , of the A. F. & A. M.
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