Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 109

Author: Herndon, Dallas T. (Dallas Tabor), b. 1878
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Chicago, Little Rock, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1172

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cratic party and he belonged to the Masonic fraternity and to the Methodist Episcopal church-associations that indicated much of the nature of his interests and the rules that governed his conduct. He died on the 26th of August, 1883, and was long survived by his widow, who departed this life April 18, 1916. To them were born eight children, of whom five are living: A. T .; Mrs. Ida Stanfield, a resident of Booneville; Mrs. Luna Foster of Paris, Arkansas; Mrs. Caldora Bangs of Booneville; A. O., who is engaged in the bakery and restaurant business at Charleston, Arkansas.

A. T. Barlow pursued his education in the Fort Smith district high school at Booneville and when his textbooks were put aside concentrated his efforts and attention upon farming, to which pursuit he had been reared and to which he gave his attention continuously until 1894, when at the age of thirty years he removed to Paris. For four years he filled the office of county clerk and in 1898 he returned to Booneville, where he took up the practice of law, devoting his attention to the profession con- tinuously until 1909. He studied law privately and was admitted to the bar in 1904 and to the supreme court in February, 1906.

In August, 1883, Mr. Barlow was married to Miss Comfort Anice, who was horn in Tennessee and whose father was a Union soldier and was killed by bushwhackers during the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Barlow have a family of seven children, of whom six survive: James W., an engineer on the Rock Island Railroad, living at Shawnee, Oklahoma; J. O., who is assistant cashier of the Bank of Booneville; E. O., chief engin- eer with the Booneville Ice Company; J. A., a rural mail carrier living at Booneville; H. L., assistant postmaster of Booneville; and V. L., who is employed at the ice plant in Booneville. The last named was a member of the navy during the World war, being at the Great Lakes station at Chicago and at Charleston, South Carolina.

At one time Mr. Barlow was a populist in his political views and on the party ticket was elected to the office of county clerk. He now gives his political allegiance to the democratic party and on the 29th of April, 1914, was appointed postmaster. The capability which he displayed in the discharge of his duties during his first term led to his reappointment in September, 1918. While he gives much of his attention to the duties of the position, he also has farming interests in Logan county and im- portant business connections, figuring in banking circles as the vice president of the Bank of Booneville, while he is president of the Booneville Ice & Fuel Company. He likewise owns some good residence and business property in the town and is truly a self-made man who deserves great credit for what he has accomplished in a business way. He belongs to the Masonic fraternity, has served as junior warden in the blue lodge and has taken the degrees of capitular and cryptic Masonry, becoming thereby a Royal Arch Mason and one of the Royal and Select Masters of the council. His re- ligious views are in accord with the teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he is loyal in his support of all those forces which make for the moral prog- ress as well as the material development of the community in which he resides.

JOSEPH ASHER.

Joseph Asher of Little Rock, came to Arkansas in 1880, a young man of twenty- two years. The following year he entered actively upon work for the benefit of com- munity and state and since that time has been continuously engaged in some effort to promote the public welfare. Obstacles and difficulties in his path have seemed to serve but as an impetus for renewed effort on his part and his zeal and courage have brought about results far-reaching and beneficial. The improvement of the schools, the good roads, the juvenile courts and other public interests owe their existence in large measure to his efforts.

Joseph Asher came to the new world to become an American citizen. There has never been any divided allegiance with him and there are few native born who have shown the cooperative interest in vital public questions that he has done. Born in Bohemia on the 24th of February, 1858, he accompanied his father to America in 1868 and came to Arkansas in 1880, then a young man of twenty-two years. In 1881 he took lively interest in the public schools and assisted Dr. E. B. Dover and J. O. Dorsey In promoting the first five mill district school tax that was ever endorsed in a rural district of this section of the state, the tax being adopted in the district in the north- eastern part of Pulaski county. During the first seven years of his residence in Ar- kansas Mr. Asher taught in both public and private schools and for a portion of this time was principal of the schools of North Little Rock. In 1888 he was appointed to the position of deputy county clerk of Pulaski county, under H. O. Williams, and was placed in charge of the tax books, the county ledger and the probate court record. He held this position under various county clerks for a period of sixteen years and

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was then elected to the office of county clerk in 1904. Few men have come to the position so splendidly qualified for the duties devolving upon them and endorsement of his first term's service was accorded Mr. Asher in his reelection. He retired from that position to take up the duties of county judge, to which office he was elected in 1908 and the fairness and impartiality of his rulings upon the bench are indicated in the fact that he served for four successive terms in the office.

Throughout the period of his residence in Arkansas Mr. Asher has been extremely active in organizing and supporting public improvements and as early as 1890 he maintained that the only way to improve the public highways in Arkansas, because of the present limits of the constitution, was to establish special road improvement districts. He has labored unfalteringly in support of the public highways and has been a member of the Arkansas Good Roads Association since its organization. He has served on its legislative committee and was also its president for one term. He has ever believed thoroughly in cooperation, feeling that the individual should benefit by the knowledge and experiences of others in the same line of work and to this end he became a member of the Clerks Association of Arkansas and was elected its secre- tary and treasurer, serving for four terms. He also became a member of the County Judges Association and filled the position of president for five terms.

Continuing his work in behalf of good roads Mr. Asher took an active part in the passage of the constitutional amendment for the three mill road tax in 1900 and was instrumental in securing the levy of the three mill road tax in Pulaski county that year, taking the position that a constitutional amendment is carried by the vote of the people before the vote is declared by the legislature. In 1907 the first improve- ment district legislation was passed and owing to the question of its constitutionality a new law was enacted in 1909 which did away with the defects of the old. These laws were largely promoted by Judge James Gould of Pine Bluff and Mr. Asher. All of the counties of the state were exempt from the first law, save four, but under the present law and similar statutes since passed, all road improvement districts have been formed. In 1909 Mr. Asher was instrumental in securing the passage of a law authorizing the county courts to form road and convict districts in their respective counties. He organized Pulaski county into such districts and the county's quota of state prisoners was put upon the road. The road work under that plan was a success from the beginning and no scandal whatever attached thereto as the result of the working of the state convicts and county prisoners on the roads.

Shortly after Mr. Asher's induction into the office of county judge he purchased and leased a large tract of land for a prison farm, on which were established suitable stockades. No shackles were ever used by him on the prisoners and the merit system was largely employed, while the discipline of the camps was always rigidly main- tained. It was Judge Asher who established the first juvenile court in Arkansas and provided a detention home for the young delinquents. He built the new courthouse and although strongly opposed by reactionaries in construction of public improve- ments he always won out in the courts. No plan for the advancement of public welfare in city, county or state fails to receive his endorsement and support if it is of practic- able character. His own plans for public improvement are always carefully formu- lated and have proved most resultant and beneficial.

PAUL W. SHERIDAN.

Paul W. Sheridan, numbered among the enterprising and representative business men of Fort Smith, has had the agency for the Ford motor cars during the past twelve years and in this connection has met with notable success. He was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on the 30th of April, 1883, and was there reared and educated. On attaining his majority he hecame identified with the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company of St. Louis, with which he remained until 1906, when he made his way to California, while the year 1907 witnessed his arrival in Fort Smith, Arkansas. In October, 1909, he secured the agency for the Studebaker cars and the following year took on the Buick and Ford agencies. In 1914, however, he became sole agent for the Ford motor cars and has since devoted his attention exclusively to their sale, his territory cover- ing Sebastian county, Crawford county, the lower half of Franklin county and a part of Scott county in Arkansas, as well as part of Sequoyah county and Le Flore county in Oklahoma. Through his activities in this connection he has won an enviable and well merited reputation as one of the best business getters and most successful men of Fort Smith. His sales offices here are in a two-story building, seventy-five by one hundred and forty-two feet, of distinctive and attractive appearance. Thirty-three people are employed in the conduct of the agency. Mr. Sheridan also manages branch

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offices at Van Buren, Mulberry, Charleston and Mansfield, Arkansas. During his first year as Ford agent, in 1914, he did a business of about thirty-six thousand dollars and this has since increased annually until the sales now amount to one million dollars yearly.

For his wife Mr. Sheridan chose Miss Stella Whittaker of Fort Smith, a daughter of J. W. Whittaker. He aided in the successful prosecution of the war with Germany through financial assistance, and his aid and influence have ever been given on the side of right, progress and improvement. Mr. Sheridan has won a large circle of warm friends during the period of his residence in Fort Smith, which now covers fourteen years, his many excellent traits of character having commended him to the high regard and esteem of all with whom he has been associated.

LOUIS MILTON CROW, M. D.

Dr. Louis Milton Crow, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery at Des Arc, was born on a farm near Hamburg, Arkansas, in 1880. His father, J. L. Crow, was a native of Morehouse parish, Louisiana, and in young manhood wedded Laura Thacker, who was born near Norfolk, Virginia, that interesting old city around which so many historic events have clustered. To Mr. and Mrs. Crow were born eight children: Thomas; Marvin, who is a physician; Mamie Lee; Howard; Jordan; Rob- ert; Paul and Louis Milton. Of this family Jordan and Paul have served with the American forces in the World war and Paul was wounded in the battle of Chateau Thierry on the 2d of May, 1918, and in the Argonne on the 1st of November of the same year. He was on active duty with the marines, who with some of the infantry forces were first thrown into the firing line when there was a break in the front ranks and it seemed that only a few hours would elapse before the German troops would enter Paris. The story of the advance of the marines and the valor displayed on this occasion has been most interestingly told in a volume by General Catlin entitled, With the Help of God and a Few Marines. Paul Crow was among those who were cited and decorated for bravery.

Dr. Crow, spending his youthful days under the parental roof, pursued his educa- tion in the schools of Hamburg, Arkansas, and later, having determined upon the practice of medicine and surgery as his life work, began study in the University of Nashville and when he had completed his course in that Tennessee institution he re- turned to Arkansas and began practice at Crossett in the year 1907. There he re- mained for ahout seven years, or until 1914, when he came to Des Arc, where he has continued. In the intervening period his practice has steadily grown and is now extensive and of an important character. He has comprehensive knowledge of the principles of medicine and surgery and is keenly interested in everything that tends to bring to man the key to the complex mystery which we call life.

Dr. Crow was united in marriage to Miss Annabell Brown, a daughter of S. A. and Annis (Cobb) Brown and a sister of Ernest Brown, who was also one of the veterans of the World war, being on active duty in France. Mrs. Crow was a graduate of Ouachita College. She died on the 10th of January, 1922, leaving an interesting little daughter, Louise, thirteen years of age.

Iu his political views Dr. Crow has always been a democrat and while not a poli- tician in the sense of office seeking he has served as city health officer and as a member of the school board. Fraternally he is a Mason, loyal to the teachings and purposes of the craft and he belongs also to the Woodmen of the World, the Modern Woodmen of America and the Ancient Order of United Workmen. His religious faith is that of the Methodist Episcopal church and throughout his life high and manly principles have guided him in every relation, gaining for him the respect and confidence of his fellowmen, while his capability as a medical practitioner has placed him in the front rank of the physicians and surgeons of Prairie county.

ROBERT QUINCY PATTERSON, M. D.

Dr. Robert Quincy Patterson, engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Little Rock since 1900, was born January 1, 1871, in Greenfield, Weakley county, Ten- nessee, his parents being John Wesley and Mattie P. (Heath) Patterson. The father was born on a farm in the same county, June 6, 1844, and has devoted his life to agricultural pursuits, now making his home on a farm at Sharon, Tennessee. At the time of the Civil war he served as a private with Forrest's command, enlisting in the

Vol. 11-44

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spring of 1863 and continuing with the army until the close of hostilities. During this period he was severely wounded. He belonged in the old Forrest Regiment known as the McDonald Battalion, under General Bedford Forrest's command. Following his return he concentrated his attention upon agricultural pursuits. He was but nineteen years of age at the time of his enlistment and had scarcely passed his majority when the war ended. His entire life has been given to farming interests in Tennessee and he is now a highly esteemed resident of Sharon. His political support is given to the democratic party. His wife, who was born in Gleason, Tennessee, in 1846, died September 6, 1886, at Sharon. They were married at Gleason in 1867 and became the parents of eight sons and two daughters who reached adult age, while one son and one daughter died in early life.

Dr. Patterson was the third in order of birth in this family. He attended the public schools of his native town and also the Greenfield Normal, while later he was graduated from the Southern Normal School at Huntingdon, Tennessee, with the class of 1893, winning the degree of Bachelor of Accounts. At length, however, he de- termined to enter upon the practice of medicine as a life work and to this end be- came a student in the medical department of Vanderbilt University, from which he was graduated in 1900.

Dr. Patterson dates his residence in Little Rock from 1920 and has here success- fully practiced, early giving proof of his ability to cope with the intricate and com- plex problems concerning the laws of health. His practice has steadily grown in volume and importance as the years have passed and he is now accounted one of the capable physicians of the capital city.

On the 27th of December, 1904, at Augusta, Arkansas, Dr. Patterson was married to Miss Cleona Quiett, who was born in Augusta, in 1875, a daughter of William Quiett, who was a native of North Carolina and served with the Confederate army in the Civil war. He lived for many years at Augusta, Arkansas, but is now deceased.

Dr. Patterson and his wife are members of the First Methodist Episcopal church of Little Rock and fraternally he is a thirty-second degree Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine. Politically he is a democrat, having supported the party since age conferred upon him the right of franchise. He was chairman and examiner of the local board of Woodruff county during the late war, and chairman of the Red Cross relief of Woodruff county. He also served on the fuel board during the World war. Along professional lines he is connected with the Pulaski County Medical Society, the Arkansas State Medical Society, the Southern Medical Association and the Southwest- ern Medical Association, of which he was vice president in 1912. He is keenly inter- ested in everything that tends to bring to. man the key to the complex mystery which we call life and his reading and investigation have kept him in touch with the trend of modern professional thought and progress.

JAMES ARTHUR BOWMAN.

James Arthur Bowman, one of the most progressive citizens of Arkansas, has done his full share or more in the upbuilding of the state. He was born at Leroy, Ohio, July 15, 1862. He was educated in the grammar schools of his native town and later attended Buchtel College of Akron, Ohio. His parents were George and Eliza (Reynolds) Bowman, both natives of Ohio and representatives of pioneer families of that state. The grandfather, George Bowman, was descended from old Pennsylvania Dutch stock and crossed the plains by wagon to the new state of Ohio, becoming a factor in the early development of that region.

James Arthur Bowman came to Arkansas when a young man and obtained em- ployment in connection with the lumber business. Through industry and integrity he soon mastered the trade and in 1884 he established a lumberyard at Sixth and Main streets, conducting business at that point until 1889. Later he was made receiver for the Southern Building & Loan Association of Knoxville, Tennessee, and successfully managed the interests of the company for a time. Through the succeeding fifteen years he was engaged in the sawmill business and he built and operated some of the largest sawmills in the state. He constructed the Arkansas & Eastern Railroad, of which he was president, this road being built in connection with his timber interests. It is now a part of the Cotton Belt line. Mr. Bowman organized and was the president of the Arkansas Cypress Shingle Company, which built and operated a number of mills throughout the state. He has retired from active business and devotes his time to the care and supervision of his many invested interests, which are largely real estate holdings, including some of the most desirable business blocks ou Main street.

MRS. OCTAVIA JENNINGS BOWMAN

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He is also a director of the Hot Springs & Little Rock Railway Company and the Arkansas Interurban Company.

In 1901 Mr. Bowman was united in marriage to Miss Octavia Jennings, daughter of the pioneer physician, Dr. Roscoe Green Jennings, mentioned elsewhere in this work. They have become parents of two sons: James Arthur, Jr., now a student in the University of Illinois; and Everett Runyan, a high school student. Mrs. Bowman is identified with the Daughters of the Revolution through Samuel Jennings, who was a soldier in the war for independence. Another of the line, Samuel Jennings, Jr., fought in the War of 1812, thus making Mrs. Bowman eligible to membership with the Daughters of 1812, while her father's service in the Civil war has led to her connection with the United Daughters of the Confederacy. While not a society woman in the usual sense of the term, Mrs. Bowman is active in patriotic organiza- tions and is a well known member of the city's leading ladies' clubs as well as in church circles. She is the owner of much valuable property, including the block bounded by Broadway, Arch, Sixth and Seventh streets, upon which stands the governor's mansion of the olden days, reference to which is made in the sketch of Mrs. Bowman's father, Dr. Roscoe Green Jennings, on another page of this work.

In politics Mr. Bowman is independent and believes strongly in clean and efficient government, voting the ticket that seems to him to promise the best results in that direction. He is a member of the Universalist church, was at one time president of its board and a teacher in its Sunday school. While he holds closely to the high ideals of the Christian religion, he is not critical in his opinions concernng others and is most pleasant and congenial in manner. Moreover, he enjoys the reputation of being a man who stands foursquare to every wind that blows. He has proven himself a most valuable citizen and an important factor in the growth of Little Rock and the state.

CHARLES W. JUHRE.

Charles W. Julire, who has been a resident of Rogers for more than a third of a century and has witnessed the growth and development of the town from the period of its early settlement, was here successfully engaged in business for three decades as proprietor of a meat market but during the past four years has lived retired in well earned ease, having turned his business interests over to his son. His birth occurred in Germany, on the 4th of January, 1858, his parents being Gottlieb and Wilhelmina (Klage) Juhre, who were likewise natives of that country. The father, who was a mason, followed that occupation in Germany until 1866, when he brought his family to the new world and established his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he continued to work at his trade to the time of his demise. Both he and his wife died in Milwaukee. Mr. Juhre was a republican in his political views, while his re- ligious faith was indicated by his membership in the Lutheran church. To him and his wife were born six children, five of whom survive, namely: Bertha, Louisa and Emma, all of whom are widows living in Milwaukee: Gustav, who is a mason by trade and is living in Milwaukee at the age of seventy years; and Charles W., the youngest of the family.

The last named was a lad of eight years when he accompanied his parents on their emigration to the United States and his education was obtained in the schools of Milwaukee. When a youth of fifteen he began learning the butcher's trade and after completing his apprenticeship in 1876 removed to Des Moines, Iowa. where he was employed in a meat market until 1880. In the latter year he embarked in business on his own account in Des Moines, there conducting a market until 1887, when he came to Arkansas and opened a small shop at Rogers. The town at that time con- tained but few inhabitants and consequently his patronage was not large in the beginning. It was necessary to have his ice shipped from Van Buren and on many oc- casions the cost of ice was higher than that of meat. However, as the years passed and the district became more thickly settled, his trade increased in volume until it had become one of extensive proportions and yielded him a gratifying income. Four years ago he turned the active management of the business over to his son and has since lived retired, enjoying a well merited rest. The prosperity which attended his efforts during the years of his active business career is indicated in the fact that he now owns three large business structures and one of the most beautiful homes in Rogers, together with a three-acre tract of land adjoining the residence.

In 1880 Mr. Juhre was united in marriage to Miss Maggie McManus, a native of Des Moines, Iowa, and they have become parents of four children, as follows: Erwin. who conducts his father's meat market; Mahel, the wife of Harry Woodward, who is

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employed in a creamery at Rogers; Oscar, who is engaged in the grocery business at Rogers, and Rudolph, who was drafted from Oklahoma for service in the World war and received his training at Jacksonville, Florida. He spent nine months in the quartermaster department at Jacksonville and a similar period in France. He is now with the Cosden Oil Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

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Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 109

Author: Herndon, Dallas T. (Dallas Tabor), b. 1878 Publication date: 1922 Publisher: Chicago, Little Rock, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 1172

Author: Herndon, Dallas T. (Dallas Tabor), b. 1878
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Chicago, Little Rock, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 1172