Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 15

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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C. P. Hummel largely acquired his education in the public schools of lowa, accom- panying his parents on their removal to that state when he was a young lad. After putting aside his textbooks he began earning his own living by clerking in a grocery store when but fourteen years of age. He gained much valuable knowledge while thus employed and acquired considerable skill as a bookkeeper. In 1901 he arrived in Monte Ne, Arkansas, where he erected a large store building and then secured an extensive stock of general merchandise. He continued to conduct his store in a very successful manner to the time of his demise, which occurred May 18, 1921. He was classed with the representative and progressive business men of this section of the state and as he

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ARKANSAS

prospered in his undertakings he made judicious investment in property, becoming the owner of valnable land and a number of city lots in Monte Ne. He was also keenly interested in affairs relating to the improvement and progress of his community and for seven years he acceptably filled the position of postmaster.

On the 8th of July, 1889, Mr. Hummel was united in marriage to Miss Frank A. Kimpton, who was born in Saint Lawrence county, New York, a daughter of C. P. and Augusta A. (Woodward) Kimpton, the former a native of Saint Albans, Vermont, and the latter of Manchester, New Hampshire. They removed to lowa in 1876 and there Mr. Kimpton followed the occupation of farming until his life's labors were ended in death on the 21st of November, 1909. He had long survived his wife, who departed this life November 18, 1876. They were the parents of twelve children, six of whom are living, Mrs. Hummel being the sixth in order of birth." The others are: Charlie. who is engaged in the telephone business in Gravity, Jowa; Mrs. Jennie French, living in Creston, lowa; Mrs. Henderson, a resident of Colorado; Mrs. John Marseil, of Colo- rado; and Mrs. Nellie White of Omaha, Nebraska. Mr. and Mrs. Hummel became the parents of three children, of whom two are living: Mrs. Hazel Means, whose husband operates a large wheat ranch at Goddard, Kansas; and Mrs. Josephine Graham, living with her mother.

Mr. Hummel was for many years widely known as a faithful member of the Inde- pendent Order of Odd Fellows and took an active part in the work of his lodge, which he also represented in the grand lodge for a number of years. He likewise belonged to the canton and the Daughters of Rebekah and he was also connected with the Wood- men of the World. His political allegiance was given to the democratic party and he manifested his interest in the public welfare in many tangible ways. He did more to grade the roads from his home to Rogers than any other man of the community. He gave freely of his time and labor to the cause, six months being required to com- plete the job. He was very progressive, believing in improvement and advancement at all times, and his cooperation could ever be counted upon to further any plan or measure for the general good. He built the dance hall, established a swimming pool and otherwise recognized the demand of youth for pleasure, making it his purpose to provide clean sports and interests for the young people. The sterling worth of his character, his contribution to the public good and his loyalty in alt matters of citizen- ship made him a man whom to know was to esteem and honor and his death was the occasion of deep and widespread regret.

Mrs. Hummel gives her political endorsement to the republican party and from 1907 nntil 1914 she served as postmistress of Monte Ne, while recently she has been reappointed to the position, which she is now acceptably filling.

JACOB H. C. KING, M. D.

Dr. Jacob H. C. King, a physician and surgeon of Hot Springs, who won his pro- fessional degree upon graduation from the medical department of the University of Arkansas, deserves much credit for what he has accomplished, as he had to provide for his own support while pursuing his medical studies. Laudable ambition prompted him to the greatest industry both in his work for others and in acquiring a knowledge of the science of medicine and surgery, and today he occupies a place of prominence as a successful practitioner in Hot Springs. He was born in Talladega, Alabama, August 31, 1860, and is a son of Jacob W. and Sarah Ann (Mayes) King, the former a native of North Carolina, while the latter was born in South Carolina. The father was one of the pioneer citizens of Alabama and was one of the leading organizers of the Confederacy. He served throughout the four years of hostilities between the north and the south, continuing active in his organization work. He was a physician by pro- fession and also a minister of the Missionary Baptist church and his life was at all times guided by his Christian belief and characterized by his devotion to every cause which he believed to be right. He died in 1889, at the age of seventy-eight years.

Dr. King received his primary educational training in the public school of Lineville, Alabama, and afterward attended the Lineville Academy. In 1880 he entered the University of Arkansas for further study, but was compelled to return home in 1882 in order to attend his father, who was on a sick bed. For two years he cared for his father and during that time he read medicine under his father's preceptorship and passed the examination before the county board of examiners, as was then the custom, being granted a county license to practice.

Dr. King entered upon the active work of his profession in Amity, Clark county, Arkansas, and in the winter of 1886-7 he became a student in the medical department of the University of Arkansas, from which he received his professional degree as a

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ARKANSAS

member of the class of 1889. During his attendance at medical college he worked at whatever offered in order to gain the money necessary for the expenses of his course, and in vacation periods he practiced his profession, thus paying his way through the university. His entire cash capital at the time he entered college was twenty-five dollars.

Following his graduation Dr. King returned to his practice in Amity, where he remained until 1897, when on account of ill health he removed to Pike City, in Pike county, Arkansas. Four years later, still in quest of health, he took up his abode in Merkel, Texas, and after two years there spent he removed to Roswell, New Mexico, while subsequently he established his home in Lakewood, that state. On regaining his health he came to Hot Springs in 1904 and for the past seventeen years has made this city his home. In 1914 he suspended practice on account of a sunstroke sustained that summer and for six years was not in the active work of the profession but returned to the practice of medicine and surgery in 1920. In the meantime his reading had kept him abreast with the trend of modern professional thought and investigation. He resides on his farm of one hundred and sixty acres, which is situated on the Ouachita river, five miles southeast of Hot Springs.

In 1889 Dr. King was married to Miss Mary Alice Runyan of Amity and they became the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters, of whom five are living, all sons: Henry, Glen, Paul, Stell and Cue. In 1909 Dr. King wedded Mrs. Lucy F. Gilbert, nee Amick, and by this marriage there is one son, Jacob. Dr. King and his wife are members of the Methodist church and they are well known in Hot Springs and throughout the surrounding district, where the hospitality of the best homes is freely accorded them. Dr. King deserves much credit for what he has accomplished. Handicapped in youth by the lack of financial resources, he displayed the elemental strength of his character in the manner in which he achieved his education. He is a broad-minded man of wide general knowledge as well as of excellent information con- cerning the science of medicine. His views are progressive and he is steadily looking toward further development along helpful lines.

SEBASTIAN GEISREITER.

Sebastian Geisreiter, an Arkansas pioneer, with a distinguished military record for service in the Civil war and ranking with the honored and representative residents of Pine Bluff, was born in Bavaria, Germany, May 30, 1840, his parents heing Jacob and Elizabeth (Von Schmuck) Geisreiter. He attended school in his native land to the age of fourteen years, when he came to America in company with his father, who was a cabinetmaker hy trade. They lived in New York city for some time, the father working at his trade, and during that period the son became a clerk in a cigar store and later a furniture salesman. He afterward occupied a position as bookkeeper in Brooklyn, New York, but when several years had passed he and his father removed to lowa, where the father died. Anxious to improve his education, Sebastian Geisreiter attended Washington College in Iowa and eventually won a teach- er's license. Later he moved to Minnesota and it was during his residence in that state that he inaugurated his military career by enlisting in the Second Minnesota Cavalry and participating in the campaign against the Sioux Indians, who rendered life and property unsafe on the western frontier. He was assigned to a detail to guard immigrant trains across the plains of Montana and was made a sergeant. He was afterward ordered to St. Louis and commissioned a first lieutenant in the Army of the Department of the South. He remained on active duty not only until the surrender of Lee but also continued in the service and in 1866 appeared before the army officers examining hoard and was assigned to Fort Smith, Arkansas, on special service. He was ordered to report to General Ord at Little Rock the same year and was assigned to inspection duty in eastern Arkansas, with headquarters at Pine Bluff. There were many delicate situations arising during the reconstruction period and Mr. Geisreiter was called on to solve many perplexing problems requiring skill and diplomacy of the highest order. He endeared himself to the people of this community by his fairness and splendid sense of equity and he has carried this esteem with him through the years that have passed since the disturbed days following the civil con- flict. His continued residence in this community, honored by his fellow citizens, is a rare mark of distinction and is in itself a splendid testimonial to the integrity and broad spirit of one who came here to discharge a military duty at a period fraught with dissension.

In 1868 Captain Geisreiter resigned from the service and embarked in the insur- ance business. As the years passed he prospered in his undertakings and, making

SEBASTIAN GEISREITER

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ARKANSAS

judicious investments in real estate, is now the owner of two thousand acres of enl- tivable land besides substantial holdings in city property. In all things he has mani- fested sound judgment and marked enterprise and for many years has been numbered among the men of affluence in this community, while in the evening of life he is able to enjoy not only its necessities and comforts hut many of its luxuries.

In 1877 Mr. Geisreiter was married to Miss Mary Olive Merrill, a daughter of James Merrill. She died in 1878 and in 1889 Mr. Geisreiter wedded Linda D. Chinn, a daughter of Dr. Raleigh Chinn of Mason county, Kentucky. She died in 1920. Mr. Geisreiter has one daughter, Mary Merrill, who became the wife of J. Hall Miller of Atlanta, Georgia, a representative of one of the old and distinguished families of that section of the country.

Mr. Geisreiter has served as a captain in the uniformed rank of the Knights of Pythias and in Masonry he has been accorded the honorary thirty-third degree in the Scottish Rite-a degree that is bestowed only upon those who have rendered signal service to the fraternity and exemplified in the highest measure the beneficent principles underlying the order. He has at all times enjoyed the friendship and con- fidence of many distinguished persons, including some of the leading figures in Arkansas' history, from Civil war times down to the present. To him have come "the blest accompaniments of age-honor, riches, troops of friends."

JOE LEE DAVIS.

Joe. Lee Davis of Magnolja, a prominent and representative business man, is iden- tified with manufacturing, mercantile and banking interests and his labors are a potent force in promoting the material development and upbuilding of the district in which he operates. Mr. Davis was born in Atlanta, Arkansas, December 20, 1869. His father, James Evan Davis, who died in Magnolia in 1909, at the age of eighty-two years, was at one time a successful merchant and planter of Atlanta, Arkansas, but retired about five years prior to his demise and established his home in Magnolia, where his remain- ing days were passed. His people were from Georgia. During the entire period of the Civil war he was in the service of the Confederate government and was disfranchised afterward by carpetbaggers because of his connection therewith. In early manhood he wedded Mary R. Morgan, who died in Magnolia in 1908, at the age of seventy-five years. She was born in Jasper county, Georgia, and was a daughter of Henry S. Morgan, who served as a soldier in the Seminole war in Florida. The Morgans were originally from Virginia and were descendants of Captain John Morgan of Revolutionary war fame, who came from Ireland and settled in Virginia in 1752. The Davis family comes of Welsh ancestry, although representatives of the name emigrated from Wales to Ire- land and then came to America in the eighteenth century, settling first in Virginia. while at a later date a removal was made to Georgia. The marriage of James E. Davis and Mary R. Morgan was celebrated at Longcane, Georgia, in 1850, and they became parents of eleven children, five sons and six daughters, of whom three sons and two daughters are deceased, while six of the family are living.

Joe Lee Davis, the ninth in order of birth, was educated in Atlanta Academy in Atlanta, Arkansas, pursuing a full college course in mathematics and two years in English and science. Through the intervening period he has been an active factor in business circles and now divides his attention between manufacturing, banking and mercantile interests. He engages in business under the firm name of J. L. & D. M. Davis, the firm having branches at Magnolia, El Dorado, Kerlin and Haynesville, Louisiana. At these various points they are actively engaged in the lumber business. to which J. L. Davis has largely given his attention for the past fifteen years. He is also the vice president of the People's Bank of Magnolia, vice president of the Bank of Taylor, at Taylor, Arkansas, and a director in the Farmers' & Bankers' Trust Com- pany. He is also the secretary of the Columbia Cotton Oil Company of Magnolia and of the Ouachita Cotton Oil Company at Camden. He is the president of the Davis Loan & Investment Company at Magnolia and president of the Magnolia Grocer Company, a wholesale grocery concern. He is likewise the president of the McNeil Hardware & Furniture Company of McNeil, Arkansas, is a director of the McNeil Mercantile Com- pany of McNeil, Arkansas, vice president of the firm of Hollis & Company, wholesale dealers in mill supplies at Little Rock, and is a director of the Shreveport Fertilizer Works at Shreveport, Louisiana. His business interests, therefore, are of large extent and importance and that he deserves great credit for what he has accomplished is indicated in the fact that he started out in the business world as a bookkeeper while in his teens, for C. M. Fomby, at Atlanta, Arkansas, and was afterward at Magnolia with Mr. Fomby, who was his brother-in-law and who was engaged in general mer-

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ARKANSAS

chandising. Mr. Davis was thus employed at Atlanta and Magnolia for eight years and during the latter part of that period became a partner in the business. Later he embarked in merchandising independently, carrying on business of that character under different firm names from 1890 until 1908, at Magnolia. He afterward entered the present firm, under the style of J. L. & D. M. Davis and has continued to operate suc- cessfully to the present time in connection with the lumber industry and mercantile pursuits. His holdings and investments are now extensive and his business affairs place him as one of the representative men of this section of the state. He also operates several plantations in Columbia county, near Atlanta and Kerlin. He is a man of forceful character, resourceful in all that he undertakes, and hy reason of what he has accomplished he is recognized as one of the captains of industry in the southwest. His fellow townsmen recognizing his worth and ability and seeing what he has accom- plished in a business way have chosen him for various positions of public honor, trust and responsibility. He is now the president of the Chamber of Commerce at Magnolia and has been president of the county board of education since it was established in 1920. He was likewise a member of the state board of charities from 1907 until 1909 and was a delegate from Columbia county to the constitutional convention of 1917-18. As a candidate he received every vote in the township in which he was horn and reared except two, a fact which indicates in notahle measure his personal popularity and the confidence reposed in him. He was supervisor of the census for the Seventh Congres- sional district in 1920. Fraternally he is a Mason, belonging to Magnolia Lodge, No. 82, A. F. & A. M .; Magnolia Chapter, No. 112, R. A. M .; and Magnolia Council, No. 11, R. & S. M. Religiously he is connected with the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and is serving on its board of stewards and its board of trustees.

Mr. Davis has heen twice married. On January 11, 1894, he wedded Mattie Goo le, daughter of Dr. John Goode of Magnolia, Arkansas. Mrs. Davis departed this life in 1898. At Prescott, Arkansas, on the 16th of January, 1901, Mr. Davis was united iu marriage to Miss Ella Arnold of that place, a daughter of Dr. W. E. Arnold, who is still living, at the age of eighty-four years. Mr. and Mrs. Davis have become parents of four children, a son and three daughters: Ruth, who married James Hatley White of Hope, Arkansas, where they reside; Joe L., Jr., who is cashier for the J. L. & D. M. Davis Company; and Mary and Lottie who are students in Galloway College at Searcy, Arkansas. Mr. Davis is a native son of Arkansas and has spent his life in this state. He has recognized and utilized the opportunities which have come to him and his enter- prise and diligence have carried him steadily forward, until he has long since left the ranks of the many to stand among the successful. His persistency of purpose and capable management have brought him substantial reward and, moreover, his labors have heen of a character which have contributed to public progress and improvement along material lines. At the same time he has never allowed business affairs so to monopolize his attention that he has had no time for other interests and duties. On the contrary, he has contributed much toward the work of general advancement and improvement, standing loyally at all times for progressive citizenship and for those interests which lead to the intellectual and moral progress of the state.

HARRY NORWOOD STREET, M. D.

Dr. Harry Norwood Street, a physician of Lonoke, was born at Street, Mississippi, in 1868, the town having been named in honor of the family of which he is a repre- sentative. His parents were Thomas Parke and Emily Kate (Norwood) Street and the former was a son of Henry G. Street, of Hanover county, Virginia, and of Revolutionary war stock. The mother was a daughter of Abel J. and Emily (Stanley) Norwood. The former lived at Norwood, Louisiana, and was a son of Abel Norwood, who was born in South Carolina. Thus in both the paternal and maternal lines Dr. Street is descended from old and prominent southern families. He is related to the Curtis and Parke families of Virginia. His father was a Civil war veteran, serving as a major sergeant for four years, and following the close of hostilities between the north and the south he owned and developed a large cotton plantation.

Dr. Street pursued a common school education and afterward continued his studies in a preparatory school at Port Gibson, Mississippi. He determined upon the practice of medicine as his life work and to this end became a student in the medical college of Tulane University at New Orleans in the fall of 1887, heing graduated April 1, 1890. He then located for practice in his native town and in 1892 removed to Gloster, Amite county, Mississippi, where he followed his profession until 1907. He afterward traveled for two years before locating in North Little Rock in 1909. Later he took up his abode in the city of Little Rock and made for himself a creditable position in professional

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ARKANSAS

circles of the capital. He became a member of the faculty of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and his power in the educational field as well as in the practice of medicine and surgery was widely acknowledged. On leaving Little Rock he took up his abode in Lonoke in 1914 and has here remained throughout the intervening period. He has gained a liberal practice here and is most conscientious and capable in the performance of his professional duties. Aside from his practice Dr. Street has been interested in a railroad project, building a short line, and he is now general manager of the Pine Bluff & Northern Railway Company and president of the Central & Gulf Railroad Company, which is under construction into the city of Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

Dr. Street was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Robinson, a daughter of L. B. Robinson, president of the Bank of Gloster, Mississippi. Their children are two in number: Thomas N., who is a student of Batesville College; and Helen K., who is a graduate of the Lonoke high school and also of Belhaven College of Jackson, Mississippi. She held the chair of Latin and English in the high school of Arkansas City and is now teaching in the Fordyce high school at Fordyce, Arkansas.

Mrs. Street is very active in church work and is now Bible instructor in the Young Women's Christian Association of Little Rock and is likewise well known throughout the entire south as an instructor in Bible work. Fraternally Dr. Street is a Mason of high degree, having become a member of the Mystic Shrine, and is a loyal follower of the teachings and high purposes of the craft. The Doctor and his wife occupy a very prominent position in social circles and their influence has been a potent force for good in the field of general development and progress.

COLONEL EDWIN LANDVOIGT.

Colonel Edwin Landvoigt, vice president of the Times Herald, published at Forrest City, Arkansas, was born in what is now the District of Columbia, then a part of Virginia, June 11, 1840, his parents being George and Dora (Kramer) Landvoigt. The father was a native of Austria, while the mother was born in Bremen, Germany. Coming to the United States in young manhood, George Landvoigt located in Baltimore, Mary- land. He had previously been a soldier in the Austrian army and he was a botanist of renown, devoting his life to botanical work and to the conduct of a greenhouse in Baltimore until he removed to Washington, D. C., where he continued his activity along the same line, becoming recognized as one of the foremost hotanists in the capital city. He entered the United States army with the rank of captain, serving with the regulars. He went to Mexico with the American forces and was killed during the progress of the Mexican war. His wife had come to the United States when but six years of age in company with friends, her parents having previously died. She was reared in Washington, D. C., and was there married. She lived to the advanced age of eighty- seven years. In their family were four children: Charles E., who served as a surgeon in the Confederate army and is deceased; John A., who was a member of the Federal army during the Civil war and is also deceased; Doris W., who served with the Federal forces; and Edwin.

The last named attended a private school in Washington and was also a student in the Georgetown College for a year. He afterward entered the employ of the Buell & Blanchard Printing Company in Washington and while thus employed he set up captions for Uncle Tom's Cahin. He also acted as proof reader on Hinton Helper's Impending Crisis of the South. In 1858 he went to Memphis, Tennessee, where he took charge of the joh office of the Eagle-Inquirer, being thus connected until the war, when he enlisted in the Confederate army, becoming a member of Wicks Mounted Infantry. Thus two of the four brothers of the family were in the Federal service and two with the Confederate forces. Colonel Landvoigt was wounded at the battle of Perryville and sustained two wounds at Fort Morgan, where he was captured. He was afterward taken to New Orleans and Ship Island, also to Point Lookout and to Castle William in New York, thence he was sent to Elmira, New York, where he was held as a prisoner of war until the close of hostillties. He afterward returned to Washington, D. C., and later again went to Memphis, where he entered the service of Whitmore Brothers as foreman on the Evening Ledger. In 1885 he came to Forrest City, Arkansas, where he purchased the Forrest City Times, which had been established by Bill Oury in 1871. This was a weekly paper, which he continued to publish until 1919, when he organized a stock company and retired from active management. He had previously consolidated this with the Herald under the name of the Times Herald. He remains vice president of the company, owning stock, hut is not active in its control. In connection with news- paper publication he also did commercial printing and built up a business of gratifying proportions, having devoted the greater part of his life to newspaper interests.

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Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 15

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