Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 136

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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Mr. Brogdon deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, as his success has come to him as the direct reward of earnest and persistent labor. He purchased seventy-four acres of land when he came to Washington county and set out an orchard. From time to time as he has prospered in his undertaking he has bought more land and now has one hundred and twenty acres in orchard and an additional tract of one hundred and eighty acres. He built thereon a nice home in 1908 and devotes his entire attention to horticultural pursuits. He raises no grain and stock but concentrates upon fruit raising and while he arrived here with but four thousand dollars he is now the most prominent and prosperous fruit raiser of Washington county. His life should serve as a source of inspiration and encouragement to others, showing what can be accomplished through individual efforts, intelligently directed.

FRED H. PETERS.

A man of well balanced capacities and powers is always a strong character and one who inspires confidence in others; he may not have genius or any phenomenal characteristics, yet he is capable of mature judgment of his own capacities and of the people and circumstances that make up his life's contacts and experiences. That Fred H. Peters is such a man is a uniformly accepted fact. He is preeminently a man of business sense, and easily avoids mistakes and disasters that come to those who, though possessing remarkable faculties in some respects are liable to erratic move- ments that result in unwarranted risks and failures. Today he stands as one of the dynamic forces in the business life of Little Rock, being a partner in the firm of Ball & Peters, prominent railroad contractors. He came to the southwest from New England, his birth having occurred in Bath, New Hampshire, October 6, 1854. His father, Henry Nelson Peters, was likewise a native son of New England, his birth having occurred in Vermont, in 1829. He followed the occupation of farming as a life work and resided for some time at Ryegate, Vermont. In 1853 at Swift Water, New Hampshire, he married Charlotte Ellen Davis, who was born at that place in 1836. In 1856 they removed to Illinois, settling in Kankakee county and subsequently they took up their abode in Manteno, Illinois. The father enlisted at Kankakee in 1861 for service in the Civil war, becoming a member of the Fourth Illinois Volunteer Cavalry. He was a non-commissioned officer and in 1862 was discharged on account of disability occasioned by his service. He was in the hotly contested battles of Fort Donelson, Island No. 10 and Shiloh and also participated in a number of cavalry skirmishes in Mississippi. Following his return from the war he concentrated his efforts and attention upon farming in Illinois, remaining a resident of that state to the time of his death, which occurred in DuPage county, in 1892. His political allegiance was always given to the republican party. His wife survived for only about a year, her death occurring in Kankakee county, Illinois, in 1893. They were the parents of four sons, of whom Fred H. Peters is the eldest; Charles J., the second son, born in 1861 died in 1912; Frank Merrill, born in 1866, died in 1918, leaving a wife, one son and three daughters; Arthur Nelson Peters, the youngest of the family, born in 1873, was married on the 1st of April, 1907, in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Brooksie Seamans and they have become parents of three children, Henry Nelson, born in 1908; Charles Joseph, born in 1913; and Mary Ellen, born in 1915. Arthur Nelson Peters was commissioned a captain in the Engineering Corps of the United States army in August, 1917. In January, 1918, he was sent overseas, returning in March. 1919. He was a combatant engineer and was under fire from the third day after his arrival in France until the signing of the armistice. Upon his return to Little Rock he joined his brother in the firm of Ball & Peters. He is a member of B. P. O. E., No. 29, the blue lodge, Chapter and Commandery Masonic bodies, and also a charter member of Al-Amin Temple, A. A. O. N. M. Shrine.

Fred H. Peters was not yet two years of age when his parents removed from New England to Illinois and in the public schools of Manteno he pursued his prelimi- nary education, while later he attended the Northwestern University at Evanston. Illinois. On leaving that school in 1878 he took up the profession of teaching, which he followed in Illinois until 1880, when he became transit man on what was then

ARTHUR N. PETERS

FRED H. PETERS

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the Grand Trunk Railroad of Indiana, running into Chicago. He was thus engaged until April, 1881, and from that date until June, 1882, he was resident engineer with the Kankakee & Seneca Railroad, owned by the Rock Island and the Big Four Rail- roads. In June, 1882, he became principal assistant engineer of the Chicago & Indianapolis Air Line, now the Monon Route, and in 1884 he became chief engineer of the Chicago & Great Southern Railroad and served in that capacity for the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad, covering the period to 1886. He was then until 1887 division engineer with the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad and from 1888 until 1894 he was location engineer and assistant engineer for the Chicago, Kansas & Nebraska Railroad and was otherwise identified with the construction of the Rock Island Lines. In November, 1894, he became superintendent and chief engineer of the Galveston, Laporte & Houston Railway of the Southern Pacific Systems and acted in that capacity until September, 1895. In 1896 and 1897 he was in charge of miscellaneous engineering work for the Rock Island and other railway companies and in January and February, 1898, was engaged in reconnoissance work for the Rock Island Systems in Texas. In March, of the same year, he hecame chief engineer for the Kansas City, El Dorado & Southwestern Railroad of the Missouri, Kansas & Texas System and so continued until the 15th of August, 1898, when he was appointed chief engineer for the Fort Worth Union Depot Company, of which S. B. Hovey was the president. From the 18th of October, 1898, until the 1st of January, 1899, he was chief engineer of the Garner Cedar Rapids & North Western Railway Company, of which R. R. Cable was the president. From the latter date until the following July he was engaged in general engineering and valuation work and then became engineer with the Rock Island Lines from Chickasha westward, so serving until December. He was next assigned to duty on the Trenton cut-off of the Rock Island System, acting as locating engineer until the completion of that project, when he was made engineer for the Rock Island on the construction work from Liberal to Dalhart, this occupying his time until February 1, 1900. He was afterward resident engineer of the Rock Island Lines from Liberal to the Canadian river until the 25th of September, 1901, and then spent several weeks, or until the 12th of November, in making general surveys of the Rock Island Lines near Trenton, Missouri. At the latter date he was assigned to general survey work for the Rock Island Lines in Oklahoma and the Indian territory and his time was thus passed until the 4th of March, 1902. Through the succeeding two years he was chief engineer of the Rock Island Lines and also for the Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf Railway. In the following period of five years, or until April, 1909, he was engaged in general engineering and contracting in Texas and since the latter date has been a partner in the firm of Ball & Peters, prominent railroad contractors of Little Rock. This is one of the leading railroad contracting firms of the southwest. His experiences have been broad and varied and step by step he has advanced, gain- ing more intimate and accurate knowledge of the business as the years have passed, developing his powers through the exercise of effort and advancing continuously until his position is a notable one in the field of railroad construction west of the Mississippi.

Mr. Peters is well known throughout this section of the country, being recognized as a man of notable forcefulness and resourcefulness, who has never hesitated to take a forward step when the way was open.

In his political views Mr. Peters has always been a stalwart republican where national questions and issues are involved, while at local elections he casts an inde- pendent ballot, nor has he ever been an aspirant for office. He is a faithful follower of Masonic teachings. He has taken the degrees not only of the blue lodge but of the Royal Arch chapter and Knights Templar Commandery and is a member of the Mystic Shrine. He is also a member of B. P. O. E., No. 29.

MILTON CARR JOHN, M. D.

Dr. Miltou Carr John, devoting his life to the practice of medicine and surgery, his labors being attended with results that spell success, is now . located in Stuttgart, where he has made his home for a decade. He is a native of Arkansas, his birth hav- ing occurred at Fordyce in 1877. His father, William F. John, was born near Macon, Georgia, and was a son of William P. John, also a native of that state. Many years ago the father came to Arkansas and the family has since been represented within the borders of this commonwealth. He wedded Mary Chambers, a daughter of James and Mary Chambers. The grandparents in both the paternal and maternal lines came to Arkan- sas, settling first in Dorsey county, now Lincoln county, but afterward removed to Cleveland county, In the family of William F. and Mary (Chambers) John there were

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six children and all of the four sons became professional men. They are: Milton Carr; Dr. J. W. John, who is a physician of Pine Bluff, Arkansas; Dr. R. E. John, who is engaged in the practice of dentistry in Stuttgart; and Dr. J. F. John, a medical prac. titioner at Eureka Springs. The daughters are Mrs. J. T. Beard and Mrs. Frank Myers, living in Stuttgart.

Dr. Milton Carr John pursued his early education in the schools of Fordyce, at- tending the training school there, while later he became a student in the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee. Having determined upon the practice of medicine as a life work, he entered the University of Nashville as a medical student and there won his professional degree. He located for practice in Laconia, Arkansas, and after- ward removed to Moscow, while in 1912 he came to Stuttgart, where he has continued. He has been most careful and conscientious in the performance of his professional duties and his ability is attested in the large practice now accorded him. He belongs to the Arkansas County Medical Society, of which he is serving as secretary, and during the World war he was a member of the county medical advisory board.

Dr. John was united in marriage to Miss Ida Towler, a daughter of G. H. Towler of Fordyce, and their children are: Louise, sixteen years of age; and Milton, a lad of thirteen. Dr. John and his wife are loyal followers of the teachings of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and he also has membership in the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. He belongs to both the Arkansas County Medical Society and the Ar- kansas State Medical Society and concentrates his efforts and attention upon the duties of his profession, which he discharges with marked capability and fidelity. He is keenly interested in anything that tends to bring to man the key to the complex mys- tery which we call life and his private reading and study as well as his college training have well qualified him for the onerous and responsible duties that devolve upon him.

WILLIAM E. McRAE.

On the roster cf officials in southern Arkansas appear the names of many who have proved their loyalty to the commonwealth in most capable, efficient and faithful service. Such is the record of William E. McRae, circuit clerk of the thirteenth judicial district and a highly esteemed resident of El Dorado. Union county, Arkansas, numbers him among her native sons, his birth having occurred in Mount Holly, May 27, 1876. His parents were John B. and Mary (Strain) McRae, the former a native of Robeson county, North Carolina, while the latter was born in Mount Holly and was a daughter of Samuel D. Strain, one of the early pioneer settlers of Union county. He came from Fairfield, Texas, to Arkansas about 1844, settling in Mount Holly and was one of the founders and promoters of the Presbyterian church there. In all public affairs he was prominent and influential, his aid being ever on the side of progress and improvement. John B. McRae, father of William E. McRae, came to Union county, Arkansas, from Louisville, Alabama, having removed to that place from North Carolina when a young man of about twenty-one years. On his arrival in Arkansas he, too, established his home in Mount Holly, where he was engaged in farming and also operated a sawmill, being thus identified with both the agricultural and industrial development of the community. He enlisted and served as a soldier of the Confederate army through the Civil war and after his return home he resumed his business activities in Mount Holly, being widely recognized as one of the substantial and representative citizens of the town. It was not until 1873, when forty-eight years of age; that he was united in marriage. He con- tinued in the sawmill business and also in farming until his death, in Mount Holly in 1900. For a year he had survived his wife, who died in 1899.

William E. McRae, their son, was educated in the public schools of Mount Holly, also in the Mount Holly Academy and in the Arkansas College at Batesville. After completing his studies he took up bookkeeping, his first position being with M. P. Watts & Brother, merchants of Camden, Arkansas. He afterward occupied the position of office man with the Ritchie Grocery Company, a wholesale establishment of El Dorado, with which he was connected for four years. Later he was made secretary and treasurer of the Arkansas Wholesale Grocery Company at El Dorado, in which important position he continued to serve for eleven years. His entire life has been characterized by fidel- ity to duty and faithfulness to every trust reposed in him and his recognized qualities led to his election for political office.

It was in 1918 that Mr. McRae was elected to the office of circuit clerk, in which position he is now serving for the second term and in connection with his official duties as circuit clerk he is also ex-officio recorder of Union county, keeping all of the public records. His devotion to the general welfare is a matter of general kuowledge and his labors have been an effective force along the line of public benefit.

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In 1902 Mr. McRae was married to Miss Munnie Owen, a daughter of William F. Owen, now a retired merchant of El Dorado. They have become the parents of five children, four daughters and a son: Violet, John Fred, Munnie, Mary Ella and Willie Gene. In Masonic circles Mr. McRae is well known, having membership in El Dorado Lodge, No. 13, A. F. & A M. He is also identified with the Lions Club of the city, in which he is serving as president and in this position he is doing everything in his power to promote the adoption of the high standards of the club, which is not only seek- ing business progress and development but also the adoption of the highest civic standards. Mr. McRae is a member of the Presbyterian church, in which he is serving as an elder. His wife belongs to the Baptist church and all of their children are united therewith. For years past Mr. McRae has been an active figure in educational circles and for twelve years he served as a member of the school board of the city, at all times proving himself a champion of the public school system and the friend and supporter of all plans and measures for the general good.

M. H. BAIRD.

M. H. Baird, justice of the peace at Russellville and having the distinction of being three times made brigadier general in the veteran organization of the Con- federate States of America in the district of northwestern Arkansas, which comprises twenty-one counties, came to this state from Alabama, where his birth occurred Feb- ruary 11, 1845. He is a son of William and Christian (Campbell) Baird, the former born near Nashville, Tennessee, while the latter was a native of North Carolina. They were married, however, in Alahama, to which state they had gone when young people. The father was a boot and shoe maker and worked at his trade for a number of years. He was a son of Hyram Baird, who was born in Tennessee but removed to Alabama, where his remaining days were passed. He, too, followed the boot and shoe maker's trade. The father of Mrs. Baird was Murdock Campbell, who was born in North Carolina but became one of the pioneer settlers of Alabama and there engaged in the tailoring business. Both Mr. and Mrs. William Baird were members of the Methodist Episcopal church and his political endorsement was always given to the democratic party. He and his wife had a family of eight children, of whom but three are living: M. H., of this review; Mrs. Eliza Davenport, a widow, now living at Russellville; and Mrs. Mattie Emison, also a widow, of Russellville.

The public school system of Alabama afforded M. H. Baird his educational priv- ileges and when but seventeen years of age he entered the Confederate army as a member of Company G, Nineteenth Alabama Regiment, with which he served under General Joe Wheeler for a time. He continued in the service as a member of the Nineteenth Alabama Infantry and was discharged at Greensboro, North Carolina, where his branch of the army surrendered. He had been wounded at the battle of Mur- freesboro on the last night of the fight there.

When the Civil war was over Mr. Baird returned to his home in Alabama and worked for his father in connection with the hoot and shoe business, which he followed until he reached the age of twenty-four years. In 1871 he arrived in Russellville, Arkansas, and was employed for a time as a farm hand in this section of the state. He then taught school for a number of years, proving a capable educator, connected first with the rural schools, while later he was a teacher in the schools of Russell- ville for three years. He was afterward elected justice of the peace and has served as judge of the justice court since that time, save for a period of four years when he occupied the bench of the county court from 1904 until 1908. He has been justice of the peace altogether for thirty years and has the remarkable record of never having had an opinion reversed. His opinions are always hased upon the law and the equity in the case and neither fear nor favor can swerve him from a course which he believes to be right.

In 1875 Mr. Baird was united in marriage to Miss Mary A. Quinn, who was born in Pope county, Arkansas, a daughter of Robert Quinn, who came to this state from South Carolina at an early day and followed farming here. Mr. and Mrs. Baird have three children: Della, the wife of J. E. Perkins, conducting a newspaper at Hope, Arkansas: Daisy, the wife of Ed Harkey, a real estate dealer of Russellville; and Max, who travels for the Calumet Baking Powder Company and makes his home at Knoxville, Tennessee.

Mr. and Mrs. Baird have always been consistent followers of religious teachings. He belongs to the Christian church, while his wife is a member of the Presbyterian church. Fraternally he is identified with the Masons and the Woodmen of the World and for forty years was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows but has

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now left that organization. He owns one hundred and twenty acres of valuable land near Russellville and is today in comfortable financial circumstances, although he came to Pope county a poor boy. For some time he suffered from ill health but at length benefited by the change of climate and he has now passed the seventy-seventh milestone on life's journey. He is yet active in the justice court and he has the honor of having been three times chosen brigadier general of the Confederate veterans in northwestern Arkansas.

WILLIAM B. MURRAY.

William B. Murray has been a resident of Fort Smith for thirty-five years and during the past two years his business connection has been that of active manager and part owner of the Twin City Welding Company, with plant at No. 1112 South B street. He is a native of Illinois and it was in 1886 that he came to Fort Smith, Arkansas. Here he was identified with business interests as a retail shoe merchant for eighteen years, then spent four years as state secretary of an insurance organization and subsequently embarked in the grocery business. In 1919, in association with J. L. Londermann, he purchased the business of the Twin City Welding Company, which had been founded two years before by the firm of Orr & Mowbridge. Mr. Murray is the active manager of the concern, his partner being a capitalist who is largely interested in telephone plants. They have gained an enviable reputation for excellent work in intricate and difficult welding and their business in this connection extends throughout the surrounding territory and also into Oklahoma. The company has continued to prosper under the capable direction of Mr. Murray, who is widely recog- nized as a business man of sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise.

As a companion and helpmate on life's journey Mr. Murray chose Miss Laura Osborne, and they are the parents of a son, James R. The family is widely and favorably known in Fort Smith, where Mr. Murray has made his home for more than a third of a century and enjoys an enviable reputation as a business man and citizen of substantial worth.

WALLACE DAVIS.

Wallace Davis is a member of the law firm of Pace, Campbell & Davis and he is a son of the late Hon. Jeff Davis, who as a lawyer and a political figure achieved a unique and nation-wide distinction. The son, though still comparatively young in years, has shown himself possessed of much of that quality which made for the father's extraor- dinary career. He has served for two years as attorney general of the state, while at the present time his effort is concentrated upon the successful conduct of a large and important law practice. He was born in Russellville, Pope county, Arkansas, July 12, 1888, and is a son of Hon. Jeff Davis, who had the unusual distinction of serving for three terms as governor of Arkansas, while on another occasion he was elected United State senator. He, too, ranked as one of the distinguished and able members of the Arkansas bar for many years, giving his attention to the practice of his profession, save when occupied with official duties. He is mentioned at length on another page of this work, his life record constituting an important chapter in the history of Arkansas.

At the usual age Wallace Davis became a pupil in the public schools of Russell- ville, which he attended to the age of twelve years, when the family home was estab- lished in Little Rock, after which he became a student in the schools of the capital city. He next entered the University of Arkansas, in which he completed his more specifically literary course, and then in preparation for a legal career he entered the law department of the Vanderbilt University at Nashville, Tennessee. Following his graduation from that institution he won admission to the Arkansas bar and entered at once the practice of law. To this he has given his attention throughout the interven- ing period. Upon the death of Senator Davis, Wallace, as the only son of age, shouldered the responsibilities of his father as head of the family. And right nobly has he stood in his father's stead in that capacity. He has succeeded also to his father's place in what was then the law firm of Davis & Pace. In September, 1915, Governor George W. Hays appointed him attorney general of Arkansas, as the successor of W. L. Moose, deceased. He held the office until January, 1917, having discharged the duties of that office in a most creditable manner. From 1915 until 1921 he was a member of the national democratic committee for Arkansas. He has always given his political allegiance to the democratic party and has done effective and far-reaching work in its support.

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Mr. Davis is a member of the Baptist church, loyal to its teachings and its purposes, and fraternally he is connected with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He has a wide acquaintance in the state and few men of his years are so favorably known in the legal fraternity.

MARCUS DEWITT BLACK, D. D. S.

Dr. Marcus DeWitt Black, a dentist of Fort Smith, was born in Attala county, Mississippi, on the 25th of February, 1874, and is a son of Captain B. M. and Elizabeth ( Hanna) Black. His father enlisted for service in the Civil war as a member of the Confederate army, going to the front with a Mississippi company which he commanded, with the rank of captain. To Captain Black and his wife were born eight children: George T., who followed the occupation of farming; W. B., B. E. and O. E., all of whom have become followers of the profession of dentistry; Eugenia of Tahlequah, Oklahoma; R. M., both a physician and dentist; M. D., who has qualified to practice both medicine and dentistry; and E. H., who is likewise a representative of the dental profession.

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Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 136

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