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 74
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DALLAS, POLK COUNTY, ARK., October 2, 1888. HON. W. E. THOMPSON,
My Dear Sir-My report for the year ending June 30, 1888, shows that very few directors reported statistics as fully as the law requires, hence it is not possible to answer your letter of the 7th ult. with any degree of ac- curacy. My report will show :
Amount paid teachers. $2,744 66
Average monthly wages to first grade male teach-
ers . $33 41
Second grade male teachers $31 69
Third grade male teachers. $24 38
Lady teachers, first grade. $29 44
Whole number of teachers reported. 42
Whole number of school-houses reported 19
Value of school-houses. $980 00
Number of school districts. 61
Many profitable changes in the school law might be suggested, but it appears to be very necessary to have something like a county superintendent in place of the present county examiner. At any rate the pay of the of- fice should not depend on the fees for examinations. Plainly the law intends that teachers licensed shall first convince the examiner that they are " competent to teach successfully " the branches required. And to become thus convinced, will, in many cases, require a patient examina- tion. There should be no temptation before the examiner to hasten and slight his work, nor to issue a certificate to an incompetent teacher. But it is to be feared that very many incompetent teachers have been licensed. An ex- aminer said to me that he gave up the office because he became "tired of swearing lies."
Let the office of examiner be abolished, or so modified that the examiner will be a man of unquestionable integ. rity and scholarly attainments. who shall be paid a lib- eral salary, and hold his office at least six years.
Very respectfully, E. L. COMPERE, County Examiner.
Since the above was written 2 school districts have been added, making 63 in all, and about 55 schools were taught in the year ending June 30, 1890. For this year the scholastic population was white males 1,965, females 1,829, total 3,794; colored males 8, females 7, total 15; and a larger percentage attended the public schools. The pres- ent county examiner is Rev. A. P. Alexander. For the last two years the colored scholastic population has had no increase, while the increase of the white scholastic population has been 254.
The religious denominations having organiza- tions in Pope County are the Methodist Episcopal South, Missionary and Primitive Baptist, United
-
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Baptist, Cumberland Presbyterian, Methodist Prot- estant and Christian. The Methodist organiza- tions belong to the Washington District of the Little Rock Conference, comprising the counties of Polk, Howard, Sevier, Hempstead and Little River. There are three circuits of this church in Polk County, viz .: Dallas with nine, Potter with ten and Cove with eight appointments or preaching places. At this writing Rev. D. D. Warrick has charge of the Dallas Circuit, Rev. H. C. Ridings of the Cove Cirenit and Rev. A. P. Alexander of the Potter Circuit. The organizations of this church within the county will average about thirty-five members each. The Missionary Baptists have about the same number of organizations in the county as the Methodists, and about the same numerical strength. The other denominations mentioned above have several organizations each within the county, and all have Sunday-schools or unite with others in union Sunday-schools. There are probably more of the latter than of strictly denominational Sun- day-schools. The churches are generally prosper- ous and united in doing good service in the " vine- yard of the Lord."
The people of the county, having always lived so far in the " backwoods," so far from city mar- kets, and the busy hum of civilization, are yet primitive in their habits, self-reliant, and to a great extent card their cotton and wool with hand cards, spin their own yarn, weave their own cloth, and manufacture their own clothing as in the "days o'lang syne." Nothing is too good for their friends, the latch string hangs upon the outside, and a stranger is never turned away. They practice the economy of earlier times, and consequently have fewer wants, and live a retired, honest and com- paratively easy life.
George H. Barnes, merchant, Cove, Ark. This substantial and very successful business man was born in Calhoun County, Miss., March 15, 1852, and is the son of Robert J. and Laura Ann (Lind- sey) Barnes, natives of Mississippi, in which State their nuptials were celebrated. They remained in
their native State until 1859, and then moved to Ouachita County, and later removed to Nevada County, Ark., residing near Prescott until 1878. They then came to Polk County, and located in the neighborhood of Cove. The father has followed various occupations. When a young man he started out as a farmer, later he was engaged in merchandising, and during late years he has been engaged exclusively in agricultural pursuits. At this occupation he has been unusually successful. During the Civil War he was in the Twelfth Ar- kansas Infantry, and participated in several im- portant battles, serving in all four years. He was captured at Fort Hudson, and was slightly wounded. Mrs. Barnes died in August, 1878. Mr. Barnes is now sixty-two years of age, and is a member of the Methodist Church. In politics he adheres strictly to the Democratic party. George H. Barnes was the second child in order of birth of eight children. His father was married, the second time, to a Miss Frances Gaines, and five children are the fruits of this union. George H. spent his school- boy days in Nevada County, Ark., and continued on the farm until 1873. He then entered his future store as a salesman, and merchandising has been his occupation since. He commenced business at Cove in 1879, and since that time" he has been in business by himself. He has gained for himself a reputation as a solid and reliable tradesman, and one whose energy and enterprise must of necessity materially develop this enterprise. He was mar. ried in 1882, to Miss S. C. Wilson, of Polk County, and four children are the fruits of this union: El- bert L., Laura L., Aragora and Josephine. Mr. Barnes is a steward in the Methodist Episcopal Church South, and is a Democrat in politics.
B. H. Barton, a member of the firm of Gip- son & Barton, and one of the leading business men of Polk County, was born in Polk County, Ark .. on June 13, 1852, and is the son of Hardaman and Martha C. (McDamie ) Barton, natives of Kentucky. The parents were married in that State, and moved from there to Polk County, Ark., in March, 1847. locating in a wilderness. They are now residents of Cove Township, and their home is two and one. half miles northwest of Cove. The father has al-
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
ways followed agricultural pursuits, and was a soldier in the late war during the latter part of the conflict. He was county supervisor in 1874, and then represented the county in the Legislature in the Brooks and Baxter War. He was, and is, a prominent citizen. He is a stanch Democrat in politics, and both he and wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in which he has been elder. He is a Mason, a member of Mount Meadow Lodge No. 218. He is now sixty-seven and she sixty-five years of age. Of the eight chil- dren born to their union B. H. Barton is second in order of birth. He spent his school days in this county and finished at Dallas. After this he taught school for a short time, and then com- menced to farm in White Township, where he now has 163 acres of well-improved land. In January, 1880, he and D. Barton formed a partnership and commenced to sell goods at Cove, and they were among the first to sell goods at that place. About one year later he abandoned merchandising and em -. barked in farming and stock-raising. Two years ago he and Mr. Gipson and R. W. Johnson engaged in business again, and Mr. Johnson recently with- drew from the firm. The present firm, Gipson & Barton, are doing an extensive business and sell goods over a vast extent of territory-Sevier Coun- ty, Polk County and Choctaw Nation. In 1878 Mr. Barton was elected justice of the peace, and has held that position since without solicitation on his part. Mr. Barton was married in November, 1871, to Miss Mary F. Jones, of this county. They had eight children, but only six are now living: Hardaman A., William B., Dewitt, Wyatt C., B. H., Jr., and Ovie. Mrs. Barton is a member of the Methodist Church, and Mr. Barton is a Ma- son, a member of Mount Meadow Lodge No. 218, is junior warden and secretary of the lodge. He has represented his lodge at the Grand Lodge three times. In politics he is a Democrat. He held the position of postmaster at this place for a short time, and when the office was in the store.
Dr. John Wesley Bates is a man of influence throughout Polk County, Ark., and as a farmer, no less than as a physician, he has obtained a rep- utation placing him in the front rank of the men of
this section. He was born in Pendleton District, S. C., in 1828, to W. M. F. and Mary (Whisnand) Bates, they being born, reared and married in South Carolina, moving, when the subject of this sketch was about four years of age, to Cherokee County, Ga., and in 1852 to Polk County, Ark., where they spent the rest of their days, the father passing from life about 1882 and the mother two years later, both members of the Primitive Baptist Church, in which the former was a minister for perhaps forty years. He was a well-posted, self- made man, and helped to organize some of the pioneer churches of Polk County, doing a noble work in that cause. His father, Stephen Bates, was born on the Potomac River in Virginia, but lived a great many years in South Carolina, mov- ing, during the latter part of his life, to Georgia, where he died about 1848, a farmer and distiller by occupation. He was a soldier in the Revolu- tionary War for a short time, and was of English descent. Dr. John Wesley Bates was the second of nine children, and in his youth was reared on a farm receiving but little schooling. In 1852 he was married to Mary, daughter of James and Mary Baker, who died in Mississippi. Mrs. Bates was born in Georgia, and of the nine children she has borne her husband, one son and five daughters are living. Soon after his marriage Dr. Bates came to Polk County, and has since been a resident of his present farm of 420 acres, of which about 150 acres are cleared, near the head of Big Fork, all of which property has been obtained by his own efforts. When a young man he studied medicine with an uncle, Dr. John R. Bates, of Georgia, for some time, and for forty years has practiced more or less, with success. During the seventies he served four years as coroner of Polk County.
John Calvin Bates is a farmer, stock-raiser general merchant and postmaster at Big Bend, Ark. In the space allotted in this volume it would be impossible to give a detailed account of the career of this gentleman, but it is only just to say that in his walk through life his course has been marked by honesty, industry, and a manly, inde- pendent spirit. He was born in Cherokee County, Ga., in 1845, to Judge George V. and Hortensia
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M. (Walker) Bates, both of whom were born in South Carolina, the former in Pickens District, in 1820, and the latter in Spartanburg District, in 1822, respectively. They removed with their par- ents to Georgia, when young, and were there af- terward married in 1842, making their home in that State until 1852, when they came to Polk County, Ark., settling on a woodland farm on Big Fork, where they have since lived, both members of the Primitive Baptist Church. In 1865 Mr. Bates was elected county and probate judge, serv- ing a short time, and was again elected to the same position in 1884, serving two years. He was justice of the peace a good many years, and was postmaster at Big Fork for some years. His fa- ther, Stephen Bates, was a Virginian, but was mar- ried in South Carolina, and from there moved to Cherokee County, Ga., in 1834, where he followed the occupation of farming, was justice of the peace, and died in July, 1851. His father, William Bates, was probably a Virginian, who died in South Caro- lina. The maternal grandfather of the subject of this sketch, Allan Walker, was born in North Carolina, and died in Cherokee County, Ga., about 1848, a farmer. John Calvin Bates is one of eight surviving members of a family of ten children born to his parents, the other members being: Abraham R., Thomas J., Stephen, George W., Nancy E. (wife of Jacob Masters), Sarah J. (wife of W. H. Smith, and Margaret (wife of W. L. Huddleston of Bell County, Tex.). John Calvin Bates was reared on a farm with very poor educational .ad- vantages, and since 1852 has been a resident of Arkansas. He served for about fifteen months during the latter part of the war as third sergeant of Company B, Tenth Arkansas Cavalry, the greater part of the time being on detached service in Arkansas. He was married in 1864, to Miss Malinda E., daughter of Elijah B. and Lucretia Goss, who were South Carolinians, removing first to Georgia and in 1852 to Polk County, Ark., where Mr. Goss died in 1882, the death of his wife occurring six or seven years before, both members of the Primitive Baptist Church. Mrs. Bates was born in Lumpkin County, Ga., and of the eleven children she has borne her husband, nine are liv-
ing: Mr. Bates lived on Big Fork until 1871, then came to his present farm of ninety-two acres. Be- sides this he owns 120 acres, all of which he has earned by his own efforts. He raises considerable stock, and for several years has run a general store, doing a business of about $4,000 annually. He is one of the leading farmers of his township and holds progressive views on all topics of general in- terest, and is a member of the Primitive Baptist Church.
Joseph G. Bell, one of Polk County's promi- nent citizens, was born in Burlington, Boone County, Ky., on July 30, 1830, and is the son of Samuel and Lydia (Glenn) Bell, natives of Penn- sylvania and Ohio respectively. The parents were married in Cincinnati, Ohio, resided there for some time and then moved to Burlington, Ky. The father was born in 1808, and died in Evansville, Ind., in 1852. The mother was born in 1810, and is now residing in Evansville, Ind., with some of her children. The father was a carriage and wagon maker by trade and worked at this business in Burlington, Ky. He moved to Ohio County, Ind., remained there a short time and then moved to Cape Girardeau County, Mo. A short time after- ward he started back to Ohio County, Ind., and died on the way, at Evansville. He was a Whig in politics and was an elder in the New School Presbyterian Church. The Bell family is of Scotch-Irish descent. The mother has been a member of the Presbyterian Church since 1836. Nine children were born to their union of whom our subject is the second child. He spent his school-boy days in Cary's Academy and Rising Sun, Ind., and received a thorough education. When sixteen years of age he left home, worked on a farm two years, and when eighteen years of age commenced to work on a steamboat on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. This he followed for five years and then went to California, where he was en- gaged in mining for two years. His trip west was a success, and in 1854 he returned to Evansville, Ind. He clerked for the Sherwood House for nearly a year, and then traveled as salesman in Southern Indiana and Illinois. He then went to Cincinnati. and was in a manufacturing house and made mule
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
collars for the Government. He was also engaged in the nursery business. Later he went back to Evansville and made collars there, later yet he was with Charles Babcock & Co., in the hardware and carriage trade, in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Ten- nessee, Alabama, Mississippi and other southern States. He then came to Western Arkansas, first locating near Cincinnati, Washington County, Ark., where he remained over one year. He then came to Polk County, located on 160 acres of land, and here he has since resided. He commenced to bid heavily on mail contracts in 1878, and since then he has had mail routes in eleven States, seventeen routes in Arkansas. Mr. Bell is building commis- sioner of Polk County, and through his good judg- ment this county has recently built one of the cheapest and best jails in the State. Mr. Bell has always taken a deep interest in polities, voting and working for the success of the Democratic party and was chairman of Polk County, Third Con- gressional District in 1886-87. He was married in February, 1873, to Miss Louisa Smith, daughter of Thomas Smith of this county. To this union five sons and two daughters have been born: R. E. Lee, Sarah Addie, John G., Ruff. L., Marquis Lafayette, Thomas C. and Lydia M. Mr. Bell joined the Methodist Protestant Church in 1887, and is now steward of the same. He is located four miles southwest of Cove, in White Township. He learned his trade of saddler and harness-maker in Cincinnati and Rising Sun.
Hon. Thad M. Carder. Among the much es- teemed and respected citizens of Dallas, Ark., stands the name of Mr. Carder, who, by calling, is a general mechanic and machinist, being now also engaged in horticulture and viticulture. He was born in Culpepper County, Va., in 1832. The pa- ternal grandfather, Ivison Carder, and his brother, George, who came to this country, were born in France, but under the noble Marquis de Lafayette came to America, and fought for the independence of the colonists, afterward settling in Virginia. He died at the age of one hundred and six years. Hon. Thad M. Carder was the only child born to his par- ents, and was reared to a farm life until thirteen years of age, receiving but little schooling. At
this age he left home and served an apprentice- ship at watch and clock making, and spent some : years as a journeyman. He was married in 1856 in East Tennessee, to Miss Matilda, daughter of Jacob and Nancy Kinser, who were natives of Ger- 1 many. She was born in Greene County, Tenn., and has borne her husband ten children, four sons --- and four daughters living. After the war Mr. Carder removed to Magnolia, Ark., and ten years later to Hope, and in 1876 to Dallas, where he has since lived, engaged in putting up machinery, also following the calling of a horticulturist on 135 acres of fine land which he owns. From 1881 to 1885 he held the office of county and probate judge, and : was also notary public for some years. In 1890 . he was elected to represent Polk County in the State Legislature against great odds, and is now discharging his duties. He is an active worker for schools, and for the general advancement of his section, and is liberal in his contributions to what he considers worthy enterprises. He is a member of Dallas Lodge No. 128, of the A. F. & A. M., and in this organization is a member of Hot Springs Chapter and White Council No. 8, at Mag- nolia. He also belongs to Anchor Lodge of the I. O. O. F., at Hope. He is one of the most progres- sive men in his views in this section, and besides be- ing one prominent in establishing the first printing office in Polk County, he, in 1888, erected a tele. phone line from Potter to Waldron, a distance of forty-six miles, which he has since controlled, and which was the first line in the county. He is now signal officer of the Polk County volunteer signal station. His worthy wife is a member of the Cum- berland Presbyterian Church, but Mr. Carder is not a member of any church, but believes in the ex- istence of a Supreme Architect, and thinks duty to please God is to treat his fellow-man right.
Dr. R. T. Connally, a prominent physician and minister of Freedom Township, Polk County, Ark., who ministers to the spiritual as well as the physical wants of his fellow-men, was originally from Cass County, Ga., his birth occurring November 30, 1844. His parents, Thomas and Clementine (Ven- able) Connally, were natives of Georgia, the father born in Gwinnett County in 1813, and the mother
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THE OLD CABIN BY THE STREAM.
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POLK COUNTY.
in Jackson County in 1807. They were married in their native State and moved from there to Arkan- sas in the winter of 1846, locating in Polk County in what is now Freedom Township, where they cleared a farm. The old homestead is now in the hands of our subject. Here the mother died in
September, 1886. She was a member of the Methodist Protestant Church. The father was or- dained a minister in this State several years ago, and has had charge of the church in the neighbor- hood ever since. He had held the office of justice of the peace in Georgia and served in the Florida War. He is a Mason, Mountain Fork Lodge No. 409, and in politics is a stanch Democrat. He is strong and hearty, and bids fair to live many years longer. The family is of Irish-Dutch extraction. The grandfather of our subject, Thomas Connally, was a native of the Old Dominion, and was a farmer and cooper by occupation. He died in Georgia many years ago. Dr. R. T. Connally received his education in the schools of this county and by self study. In June, 1863, he joined Col. Dawson's regiment of infantry, in which he remained until cessation of hostilities. He served in Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana, and was in the Lone Star State at the time of the surrender. He was in the battles of Pleasant Hill and Mansfield, La., and in numerous skirmishes around Camden. His regi- ment was disbanded at Marshall, Tex., in May, 1865. After the war Dr. Connally began farming on land where he now lives, and this occupation he has since continued. He is now the owner of 300 acres of some of Polk County's best land, and has 100 acres under cultivation. During the war he joined the society at the Camp Church near Little Rock, and afterward joined the Methodist Episco- pal Church South, was licensed an exhorter in 1867 and a preacher in 1870. Six years later he com- menced the study of medicine, and in 1880 com- menced the practice of his profession, his preceptor being Dr. S. T. McDaniel of this county. His practice is extensive and covers a wide scope of territory, in fact, more than one man can attend to. He was married November 9, 1865, to Miss Sarah Castleberry, and to them have been born five living children: John W. (with his father), David W.
(reading medicine), Cullan B., Sarah F. and Clem- entine E. One child, Thomas W. T., died when three years of age. Dr. Connally is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Mountain Fork Lodge No. 409. In politics he is a stanch Democrat.
William J. Davis is the clerk of the circuit court of Polk County, Ark., but by birth is a Georgian, born in Dade County, in 1838, to Will- iam and Margaret (Cox) Davis, who were born in North Carolina, in 1787 and 1804, respectively, their marriage being consummated in Alabama, from which State they afterward moved to Georgia, where Mr. Davis died in 1852. His widow sur- vived him until 1873, when she, too, passed away, her death occurring in Dallas, Ark., she as well as her husband, being a member of the Missionary Baptist Church. The maternal grandfather, Rich- ard Cox, was a North Carolinian, who moved to Georgia, and died at his grandson's home, a brother of the subject of this sketch, in 1848, hav- ing been a farmer throughout life, a Revolutionary soldier, and a member of the A. F. & A. M. He was of Scotch descent, was well to do, and reared a large family of children. William Davis, the fa- ther of William J., was married twice, and had ten children by his first wife and four by his last, his son, William J., being the next to the youngest by his last wife. He was reared on a farm with the advantages of a good schooling, but upon the death of his father he left school and began to farm for himself. In 1857 he came to Polk County, Ark., where he was married in 1861, to Miss Belle, daughter of John B. and Sarah Vaught, both of whom were born in Northern Alabama, and in 1847 came to Arkansas, the death of the father occurring in Montgomery County, in 1881, and that of the mother in 1885. Mrs. Davis was born in Alabama, and died in 1868 leaving three children, two of whom are living. His second marriage took place in 1874, and was to Miss Alice, daughter of Thomas and Mary Pate, the former born in Alabama and the latter in Connecticut, their marriage being celebrated in Texas, from which State they came to what is now Howard County, Ark., where Mrs. Pate still lives, her hus- band having passed from life at Pine Bluff, while
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HISTORY OF ARKANSAS.
serving in the Confederate Army during the Re- bellion. Mrs. Davis was born in Texas and has borne Mr. Davis five children, all of whom are living. In July, 1861, Mr. Davis joined Company K, Twenty-fourth Arkansas Infantry, in Arkansas, : and was in all the engagements in which that army participated, being in the Georgia campaign and in the battles of Franklin, Nashville and down to Mobile, Ala. He was wounded several times, but not severely until the last fight at Bentonville, N. C., when he lost his left arm and right hand. He was captured four times, but made his escape each time with the exception of the time he was captured at Arkansas Post, on December 31, 1862, when he was imprisoned at Camp Chase, Ohio and at Fort Delaware. At the end of about six months he was exchanged at City Point, Va. Although he was commissioned first lieutenant, he com- manded his company the most of the time, and was a brave, faithful and intrepid soldier. After the war he taught school in Dallas a short time, then gave some years to merchandising in that place. In 1871 he served as deputy clerk and the following year was elected to that position, serving faithfully until 1874. He was re-elected in 1880, and has held that office with credit to himself and to the general satisfaction of all concerned up to the present time. He owns 240 acres of good land, and is otherwise well fixed financially. His wife is a member of the Methodist Church.
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