Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 165

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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On the 20th of June, 1896, Mr. Maxwell was married to Miss Geneva Gholson, who was born in Benton county, in 1874, and there died in February, 1902, leaving a daughter, Lorea, who is now the wife of Frederick A. Pope of Little Rock, and they have one son, Frederick A. Pope, Jr., born in 1919. Mrs. Maxwell was a daughter of Pleas and Eliza (Parker) Gholson. Her father, who was born in Ben- ton county and who served as a soldier of the Confederate army during the Civil war, died in 1919. About six years after the death of his first wife, Mr. Maxwell was married in June, 1908, at Eureka Springs, Carroll county, Arkansas, to Mrs. Minnie H. Caldwell, a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Herman, the latter dying during the early girlhood of Mrs. Maxwell.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Maxwell attend the First Church of Christ Scientist, of which organization Mrs. Maxwell and Mrs. Pope are members. In politics Mr. Maxwell nas always been a democrat and while not active in party management, the recogni- tion of his ability on the part of his fellow citizens has led to bis election for important official service. Fraternally he is a Mason, having taken the degrees of both the York and Scottish Rites and in his life he exemplifies the beneficent spirit and purposes of the craft. At all times he receives and enjoys the high respect and confidence of his fellowmen because of his devotion to duty and by reason of the possession of those social qualities which make for strong friendship.

W. B. SMITH.

W. B. Smith, a man of enterprise and marked force of character who has been a resident of Fayetteville since August, 1910, has throughout his life made good use of his time and opportunities and is now engaged in selling state and United States lands. He is likewise active in the office of justice of the peace, to which office he was elected in 1912, and he is readily acknowledged a representative citizen. A native of Illinois, he was born in Chicago on the 30th of November, 1855, a son of John Gardner and Mary (Barker) Smith. On the paternal side Mr. Smith is de- scended from Scotch ancestors, the family having been members of the well known House of Sutherland. His great-great-grandfather came to this country at an early day and participated in the Revolutionary war under the name of Smith. John Smith, the grandfather was a native of New Hampshire. On the maternal side our subject is of English descent, the family having originally come from London, England. It is said of the Barker family that in peace or in war they, like Chevalier Bayard, the French national hero, have ever been "sans peur et sans reproche." The maternal great-grandfather, John Barker, was born in Pomfret, Connecticut, in December, 1756, and died in New Hampshire, March 15, 1834. He served in the Revolutionary war as a private and orderly sergeant and participated in the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill and was at the surrender of Burgoyne and with Arnold at Quebec. The grandfather, William Barker, was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, on the 18th of November, 1788, and in later life removed to Syracuse, where he married, reared a large family, and died on the 30th of April, 1854.

The parents of W. B. Smith, John Gardner and Mary (Barker) Smith, are both deceased. The father was born in Manlius, New York, in July, 1828, and in 1875 came to Arkansas. For some time he was chief clerk in a large hotel in Little Rock and gained substantial success prior to his demise. Mrs. Smith was a native of New York, also, her birth having occurred in Syracuse on the 26th of November, 1830. Her marriage occurred in that city, October 10, 1853, and she died in Little Rock on the 5th of June, 1892. Three chidren were born to their union: W. B., whose name initiates this review; Mary Langdon, born November 18, 1864, at Bristol, Wisconsin, and now the wife of John M. Pemberton; and Robert Emmett, whose birth occurred on the 30th of November, 1857, and who died in Little Rock, September 13, 1920, after having been associated with the Rock Island Railway for forty years. Throughout their lives Mr. and Mrs. Smith were consistent members of the Presbyterian church and he was a Royal Arch Mason. His political allegiance was always given to the republican party.

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In the acquirement of an education W. B. Smith attended the common schools of Memphis, Tennessee, having located in that place with his father, who was then secretary and treasurer of the Street Railroad Company, an association he main- tained tor eleven years. Upon putting his textbooks aside Mr. Smith made his initial step into the business world as cash boy in the Southern palace Dry Goods Store and worked in that capacity eighteen months, when he resigned and became stock boy on the third floor of the Urquhart Company, Wholesalers. His ability and conscientious performance of every duty assigned him won him promotion to shipping clerk and subsequently he severed his relations with that concern to take a position in his father's office. Some time later he became a brakeman on the Memphis & Little Rock, now the Rock Island Railroad and was also active as switchman until 1879 when he came to Arkansas, locating in Fort Smith. He be- came associated with the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad at Cherokee, Indian Territory, and was later put in charge of the express department of the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad where he remained until he went into the general offices of the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad at Little Rock. He was connected with the Memphis & Little Rock Railroad Company until 1883, when he went to Camden, Arkansas, with the Cotton Belt Railway for about eight years and then became agent for that railroad at Pine Bluff. He remained in the service of that road until August 4, 1894, when he returned to Fort Smith and was engaged by D. J. Young as bookkeeper in the conduct of a brickyard and brewery business. For four years he was active along those lines, achieving substantial success for some time when hard luck attended his efforts, and disposing of his business interests he came to Fayetteville in August, 1910, financially crippled. Being a man of determination and pluck, however, he determined to let no obstacle remain in his path, and soon recovered from his misfortune. He indexed the probate records from the beginning down to date and then worked in the courthouse for some time. In 1912 he was appointed a justice of the peace, and he has held that office since. While in the courthouse he took note of the meager information that was at hand for home- steaders. So he platted and indexed government lands of the county and later the state lands, and became agent and attorney for the handling of these lands and the locating of settlers thereon. Mr. Smith has been married three times. His first marriage occurred in Fort Smith, on the 14th of April, 1879, to Miss Jane George Rutherford, a native of Columbia, South Carolina, and a member of the dis- tinguished Butler family of that state. Six children were born to that union, all of whom are deceased, and Mrs. Smith died in 1900. For his second wife Mr. Smith chose Miss Alta M. Williamson, a native of Kankakee, Illinois, and to their union five children were born, three of whom are living: Dorothea Orton, who works in her father's office; Marion W., attending high school; and Harold Ney, in school. Mrs. Smith was a prominent woman in the community and in the Baptist church, of which she was a member. Her demise occurred in January, 1916. Mr. Smith was married the third time, Carrie Elizabeth Moores becoming his wife. She is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, where she was born on the 18th of June, 1856.

Since age conferred upon Mr. Smith the right of franchise he has been a stanch supporter of the democratic party, having firm belief in the principles of that party as factors in good government. His religious faith is that of the Episcopal church, while his wife is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, During a residence in Fayetteville which has covered a period of more than eleven years, Mr. Smith has made many close and stanch friends who admire him for his won- derful business ability and the enterprising and progressive spirit he at all times manifests in matters of citizenship, but most of all they esteem him because of his high sense of honor, fine personality and kind, generous nature.

H. L. TOWNLEY.

H. L. Townley is the senior partner in the firm of Cowne & Townley, merchants of Greenwood. Alert and energetic he is constantly watchful for opportunities for the legitimate advancement of trade and has been active in the development of one of the important mercantile interests of the city, contributing largely to the commercial ad- vancement of Greenwood. Mr. Townley was born in Florence, Alabama, in 1874, and is a son of B. R. and Martha (Curtis) Townley. The father had four brothers who lost their lives in battle in the Civil war, two of them meeting death on the battle field of Shiloh. The mother was a daughter of Jonathan Curtis, builder of the Muscle Shoals canal. In the year 1881 B. R. Townley came to Arkansas, settling at Greenwood, where he engaged in farming. He still makes his home on an excellent tract of land in that vici-

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nity and is numbered among the representative agriculturists of his part of the state. To him and his wife were born seven children: B. W., now living in Oklahoma; Susan, the wife of R. Joyce of Oklahoma; Gaither, the wife of Tom Bryant; Viola, the wife of Lester Beam; Laura, the wife of R. Gant; W. V .; and H. L.

The last named pursued his education in the schools of Greenwood and in early life devoted his attention to farming, early becoming familiar with the best methods of till- ing the soil and caring for the crops and he assisted his father in the further develop- ment of the old homestead. Later he was employed by a coal company at Fidelity, re- maining with the Long Bell Company for a period of nine years, a fact which indicates his trustworthiness and industry. On the expiration of that period he entered into part- nership with Mr. Cowne, forming the firm of Cowne & Townley in 1910. Subsequently they took over the business of the old and well known mercantile house of C. R. Owens. The Cowne & Townley store is one of the thriving mercantile establishments of Green- wood, carrying an extentive and well selected line of goods, while every effort is made to please their patrons, the firm having ever recognized that satisfied customers are the best advertisements.

Mr. Townley was united in marriage to Miss Dosia Moore and they have two chil- dren: Everett and Dosia. The son married Miss Bessie Scales and has one child. For his second wife Mr. Townley chose Willie Lamb, a daughter of John Lamb. Six children have been born of this marriage: Knotts, Mathe, Dorothy, Shannon, Cora and Charles. Mrs. Townley presides with gracious hospitality over their pleasant home and the fam- ily is widely and favorably known in this section of the state. Mr. Townley is an ener- getic and enterprising man, who at the outset of his career realized that success de- pended upon industry and close application. He has therefore always cultivated these qualities and his determination and perseverance have enabled him to overcome all dif- ficulties and obstacles in his path and steadily to progress toward the goal of success.

GEORGE ARMSTRONG LEIPER.

George Armstrong Leiper, who was an active citizen, prominent also in the business and social life of Little Rock, died July 13, 1916. He was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in March, 1855, a son of George Armstrong and Mary Elizabeth (Spence) Leiper. The father was born in Pennsylvania and was descended from William Leiper, who came from Ireland with a brother of Robert Emmet and settled in Pennsylvania during the early epoch in the development of that state. One of the family, Thomas Leiper, served as a soldier of the Revolutionary war. George Armstrong Leiper, Sr., early entered upon the study of medicine and qualified for active practice. He then located in Nash- ville, Tennessee, where for many years he was a well known and honored physician. His political support was always given to the democratic party. His wife was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and was also descended from one of the old and honored American families which furnished a number of representatives to the colonial army during the Revolutionary war.

George Armstrong Leiper, Jr., was reared in his native city and pursued his ednca- tion in the Montgomery Bell College, a private school of Nashville. He came to Arkan- sas in the year 1884 as manager for the Arkansas Industrial Company, lessees of the state penitentiary, so serving until 1888. He then returned to his old home but again took over the management of the penitentiary and continued in that position until 1893, when he turned his attention to hrick mannfacturing, in which he engaged during the following ten years. In 1903 he organized the George A. Leiper Company, dealers in builders' supplies, and built up a substantial business in that connection, remaining as president of the company until his death.

On the 20th of April, 1885, Mr. Leiper was united in marriage to Miss Florence Carruthers, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, and a daughter of Captain James Slaughter and Sarah Frances (Hill) Carruthers, who were residents of Memphis. Her father was a member of Forrest's cavalry forces in the Civil war and three of his brothers were also with the Confederate troops, two of them being army surgeons. To Mr. and Mrs. Leiper were born six children: Brent Spence, who married Mamie Watson; Florence, the wife of Chester E. Reece of Winchester, Kentucky; Mary E., the wife of Jennings W. Foster of Summerville, South Carolina; George A. (III); Frances, the wife of Murray F. Gibbons of Purcell, Oklahoma; and Ellen, a student in Sweet Briar College, Virginia. The son, George A., is now conducting the business which was established by his father and is still carried on under the name of the G. A. Leiper Company. Mrs. Leiper and her daughters are members of several patriotic societies, including the Daughters of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Colonial Dames, and the Aesthetic Club, the exclusive club of Little Rock. Florence

GEORGE A. LEIPER

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Leiper, now Mrs. Reece of Winchester, Kentucky, was the first regent of the Basil Gaither Chapter, D. A. R., which was named in honor of Major Basil Gaither, one of her Revolutionary forbears. Mrs. Leiper is also an ex-regent of the Daughters of the American Revolution and has held many state offices therein, also in the United Daughters of the Confederacy and otber similar societies. Her sons are members of the Sons of the American Revolution and no family in Arkansas surpasses them in distinguished American ancestry.

Mr. Leiper was a charter member of the Quapaw Club, belonged also to the Country Club and was identified with the Chamber of Commerce and similar organizations. In fact, he was a most active and progressive citizen, taking a keen interest in everything that pertained to the public welfare, and was prominent in the business and social life of the community as well. Fraternally he was connected with the Masons and with the Elks. His political allegiance was given to the democratic party and his religious faith was that of the Presbyterian church. His entire life was guided by high and honorable principles and worthy motives, so that while he gained success in business and won a substantial competence, he also left to his family the priceless heritage of an untarnished name.

C. D. MURPHY.

Greenwood numbers among her representative business men C. D. Murphy, who has been engaged in the hardware business there since 1907. He is a man of good business capacity, acknowledged integrity of character and also possesses an energy and progress- iveness which are prominent attributes of leaders in all lines of endeavor. He was born in Sebastian county, this state, in 1873, a son of Elias and Elizabeth (Dumas) Murphy. The father engaged in farming in Arkansas, having come here at an early date from Tennessee. He was a veteran of the Civil war, having fought throughout the conflict in the Confederate army.

C. D. Murphy received his education in the common schools of his native state and after graduating from high school went to Fort Smith and entered a commercial col- lege. There he became thoroughly learned in business training and subsequently made his initial step in the business world. He removed to Oklahoma, where for four years he was engaged in the grocery business and in 1898 he returned to Greenwood. He entered the same line of business here, conducting it with a great amount of success until 1907, when he disposed of the business and took up a hardware line. He also handles furniture and auto accessories. In the conduct of his business he has been a persistent, resolute and energetic worker and has built up an extensive and steadily increasing patronage.

In 1899 Mr. Murphy was united in marriage to Miss Mary E. Campbell and to them two children have been born: Foy, who married Elizabeth Fitch; and Blanche. Mrs. Murphy is well known in the club and social circles of Greenwood and is a woman of charming and magnetic personality. Mr. Murphy is one of the estimable citizens of the town, who can always be depended upon to meet his obligations in both public and pri- vate life, as has been manifested during the period of his residence here.

JAMES MITCHELL.

James Mitchell, educator and journalist, occupying a distinguished position in jour- nalism and educational circles as one whose labors were a most valuable contributing element to the development and progress of the state and to the molding of public thought and opinion, was born at Cane Hill, Arkansas, May 8, 1832. He spent the great- er part of his life in Little Rock and as owner and editor of the Arkansas Democrat stood for many years at the head of journalism in this state. He came of Scotch-Irish ancestry and his father, his grandfather and great-grandfather all bore the name of James Mitchell. His grandfather was a native of Virginia and in early life removed to Kentucky. It was in the latter state that James Mitchell, the father, was born, in 1793, and during his youthful days the family removed to Indiana. When he was seventeen years of age his father enlisted for service in the army of General Harrison and par- ticipated in several engagements in the War of 1812. After the close of hostilities with England he went to Columbia, Tennessee, where in 1824 he was married. Four years later the family came to Arkansas, settling at Cane Hill, in Washington county. The father was a farmer and was one of the pioneer settlers of that section of the state. A man of great force of character he was always strong in his convictions, his likes and

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his dislikes and his position on any vital question was never an equivocal one. In young manhood he wedded Mary A. Webber, who was the daughter of George Webber, a Scotch sea captain, and was born at St. Mary's, Florida, in 1806. Captain Webber was lost at sea and his wife afterward made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Mitchell. She died at Cane Hill, in 1842, at an advanced age.

The youthful experiences of James Mitchell were those of the farm bred boy at a period when all farmers' sons were compelled to work from the time of early spring plant- ing until crops were harvested in the late autumn, with opportunity to attend school only through the winter season. He did not greatly fancy farm work but circumstances com- pelled him to do much of it. When he was about ten years of age the character of the schools in his portion of the country was greatly improved and he took advantage of every opportunity offered, ambitious to acquire a thorough education, recognizing its value as a factor in success in life. In 1846 he went to Fort Smith, where he attended school, devoting his attention largely to Latin, rhetoric and history. In 1850 he matricu- lated in Cane Hill College, the first college chartered in the state of Arkansas and sub- sequently he taught school in the Choctaw Nation for two years. He then returned to Cane Hill College, which he further attended for two sessions, making rapid progress in his studies. In 1856 he went to Kansas and through the influence of friends in con- gress obtained an appointment as United States deputy surveyor for the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. His work was sectionizing and he had a number of contracts in different portions of the territory, performing all of his duties in a manner entirely satisfactory to the surveyor general.

Mr. Mitchell was married in 1860 and soon afterward settled on a little place in Washington county, near Cane Hill, which he had purchased. From early manhood he was an influential factor in shaping public thought and action and his influence was ever on the side of progress and reform and improvement. In the summer of 1860 he became a candidate for the state legislature on the regular democratic ticket, and was elected. The session of the general assembly that followed was a stormy one. A bold and determined minority sought to take the state out of the Union by a vote of the general assembly. To this Mr. Mitchell was unalterably opposed and used all of his ef- forts and influence in favor of a bill, which finally passed the subject of a convention to the people themselves. Mr. Mitchell cast his vote in favor of a loan of one hundred thou- sand dollars to the Little Rock & Memphis Railroad, the passage of which measure re- sulted in the completion of the road to Little Rock just prior to the outbreak of hos- tilities between the north and the south. He remained a member of the legislature for a year and did not seek nor care for reelection. In fact he never afterward became a candidate for public office, although keenly interested in the public welfare and at all times giving active aid and support to plans and measures for the general good.

Following the outbreak of hostilities, Mr. Mitchell joined the Confederate army and served as a private in an independent cavalry company and later in connection with the Missouri troops in the summer campaign of 1861. In the following year he joined the infantry forces as a lieutenant and remained in that branch of the service until after the retreat of the army from Little Rock in 1863. In December of the same year he was transferred to the cavalry division and appointed quartermaster for Crawford's regiment. He was with General Price in his famous raid in Missouri in the fall of 1864 and suffered many dangerous and untold hardships. The command to which he belonged surrendered near Corsicana, Texas, on the 27th of May, 1865.

Following the close of the war, Mr. Mitchell returned to his old home in Arkansas and began the task of rebuilding his residence and improving his farm, greatly devas- tated during the period of hostilities. For a number of years thereafter he was close- ly and prominently associated with educational progress in the state. Cane Hill Col- lege, which had been destroyed by fire by the Federal troops in 1864, was rebuilt and in 1868 Mr. Mitchell was elected to a professorship, which he filled for six years. On the expiration of that period, or in 1874, he was unanimously elected to the professorship of history and English literature in the Arkansas University at Fayetteville, which place he at once accepted, teaching successfully in the university through the succeed- ing three years, when he received an offer to take editorial charge of the Arkansas Gazette. This he did on the 1st of December, 1876, at which time the paper was owned by Messrs. Adams and Blocher. In 1878 Major John D. Adams, who was the principal owner of the Gazette, sold the paper to Major A. H. Sevier and Mr. Mitchell retired, be- ing succeeded by Colonel R. H. Johnson and Judge Peek as editors. A few months later Mr. Mitchell, associated with W. D. Blocher, purchased the Arkansas Democrat from Colonel J. N. Smithee and following the death of Mr. Blocher in November, 1879, the whole business management as well as the editorial duties of the Arkansas Demo- crat devolved upon Mr. Mitchell, who continued as editor and owner of the paper until his demise. Following the death of General Blocher, Mr. Mitchell admitted James R. Bettis of St. Louis to a partnership and the latter assumed the business management

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of the paper, the partnership relation between them continuing for eleven years. In 1890 the Arkansas Democrat Company was organized with Professor Mitchell as presi- dent and editor-in-chief and he continued in charge until his last illness. For more than two decades he stood at the head of journalism in the state and through his sagacity and editorial ability the Democrat wielded a wide influence over public sentiment and public action. His plans and thought constituted a dominating policy in the tone of the paper. In the first year after he became owner a fierce warfare between the Arkansas Democrat and its contemporary, over the senatorial race of R. W. Johnson and J. D. Walker, occurred, in which the Democrat espoused the cause of the latter and carried him to victory. This gave the Democrat a prestige that brought to the paper a largely in- creased subscription list and advertising support. In the course of years the Democrat had gained sixty-four hundred subscribers and the entire success and policy of the pa- per mirrored the guiding principles and business standards of James Mitchell.

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Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 165

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