Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 22

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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In 1902 D. M. Watkins was married in Mena to Miss Alice Gray, who was born in Logan county, Arkansas, a daughter of Mr. Gray, who settled in Logan connty on coming to this state from Illinois. He served in the Confederate army. Mr. and Mrs. Watkins have become parents of one child, Edward, who was gradnated in the spring of 1922 from the high school at Mena. Mrs. Watkins belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and Mr. Watkins has membership relations with the Masons, having attained the Knights Templar degree of the York Rite. He is past master of the lodge, past high priest of the chapter and past eminent commander of the Knights Templar Commandery. He also belongs to the Elks Lodge, No. 781. In politics he has ever been a stalwart advocate of democratic principles and has served as a member of the city council of Mena, taking an active interest in promoting all those forces which make for the advancement of civic standards and the adoption of higher civic ideals. His cooperation can at all times he counted upon to further any plan or project that is looking to the benefit and improvement of city and state.

At the same time Mr. Watkins remains one of the most forceful and representative figures in the business circles of Polk county. He is the president of the Watkins Hard- ware Company of Mena and vice president of the Watkins Lumber & Mercantile Com- pany of Hatfield, and a half owner in the Watkins Lumber Company of Mena, being a full partner of his brother in their nndertakings. Not by leaps and bounds but by a steady progression has he reached the creditable and enviable place which he now ocen- pies in the business and financial circles of this section of the state and his life shonld serve to enconrage and inspire others, showing what can be accomplished by persistent effort intelligently directed.

HENRY THOMAS SMITH, M. D.

In 1910 Dr. Henry Thomas Smith entered upon the practice of medicine and sur- gery in McGehee and as the years have passed he has won a well established position in the ranks of his profession, owing to his conscientious application and scientific attainments. He is one of Arkansas' native sons, his birth having occurred at Cin- cinnati, on the 16th of October, 1886, and his parents were Renben J. and Nannie C. (Bond) Smith, the former a native of Missouri and the latter of Tennessee. In child- hood they were brought by their parents to Arkansas and in this state their marriage

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occurred. The father, who has departed this life, followed the trade of a blacksmith. The mother is residing with a daughter in Pryor, Oklahoma.

After completing his high school course Henry Thomas Smith became a student at the University of Arkansas and in 1907 he took up the study of medicine, graduating from the University of Tennessee at Memphis in 1910, with the M. D. degree. In September of that year he opened an office in McGehee, where he has since successfully followed his profession, and he is now assistant surgeon for the Missouri Pacific Rail- road in this section. He is thoroughly familiar with the scientific principles upon which his work rests and is correct in the application of his knowledge to the needs of his patients. His labors have been attended with a gratifying measure of success and with the passing years his practice has steadily increased as he has had opportunity to demonstrate his professional skill and ability.

In 1912 Dr. Smith married Miss Mary Olive Avery of MeGehee, and they have a large circle of friends here. In religious faith they are Presbyterians and fraternally the Doctor is identified with the Masons, belonging to Desha Lodge, No. 643, F. & A. M .; Albert Pike Consistory, No. 1, A. & A. S. R .; and Sahara Temple, A. A. O. N. M. S., of Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias lodge and the Woodmen circle, while his professional relations are with the Desha County and Arkansas State Medical Societies and the Southern Medical Association. He utilizes every possible opportunity to promote his knowledge and increase his efficiency, ever keeping in touch with the advancement that is being made along the lines of medical and surgical science, and he enjoys the respect of his colleagues and also of the gen- eral public.

J. F. SIMS.

J. F. Sims, president of the New Bank of Hazen and also identified with the busi- ness interests of the city as a merchant, has likewise figured in public affairs and has filled the office of sheriff of Prairie county. Thus he has led a busy, useful and active life, contributing to the progress and upbuilding of the district in which he makes his home. Mr. Sims is a native of Missouri, his birth having occurred in Mexico, that state, in 1878, his parents being John and Melinda (Crockett) Sims. Thirty-four years ago his parents moved to Hazen and his father is still a prominent factor in the business circles of this city, where he has for more than a third of a century taken active part in promoting the upbuilding and advancing the civic interests of the community. With the removal of the family to Hazen, J. F. Sims became a pupil in the public schools here and when his textbooks were put aside he entered upon the live stock business and likewise engaged in the shipment of hay. Since his early start in the business world he has constantly enlarged and developed his business activities and his enter- prises have been forceful factors in the growth and substantial improvement of this section of the state. He early devoted acreage to rice cultivation, being among the first in this section to grow rice, planting one hundred and fifty acres to that crop the first year that rice was produced in this part of the state. He now has eighteen hun- dred acres of good rice land and he also owns other lands. He turned his attention to merchandising at La Grue, Arkansas, there remaining until his election to the office of sheriff, when he removed to Hazen to enter upon the duties of that position, in which he served by reelection for two terms. He is now president of the New Bank of Hazen, in which he has previously been a director and he gives much of his time to the execu- tive control of the bank, which has become recognized as one of the strong financial institutions of Prairie county. He also owns one of the largest mercantile establish- ments here and in all of his undertakings is very successful, owing to his close appli- cation, his thoroughness and his progressive spirit. His plans are always carefully formed and promptly executed, so that he never fails to reach his objective in any business transaction.

Mr. Sims was united in marriage to Miss Maggie Johnson, a daughter of Lee John- son, and they have become parents of five children: Annabelle, Bessie Grace, Blanche, J. T. and I. T.

During the World war Mr. Sims was chairman of the exemption board and did everything in his power to uphold the interests of the government and promote those activities constituting a basis for the success of the American and allied forces. Fra- ternally he is prominently known, having membership with the Masons, the Odd Fel- lows, the Elks, the Woodmen of the World and the Modern Woodmen of America. He is loyal to the teachings and purposes of these different orders and his life has been actuated by a progressive spirit, which has made him a valued representative of these different organizations and made him a prominent and forceful factor in business circles.

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In politics, too, he has exercised considerable influence and in office he proved a most capable and faithful official but his ambition has been rather in the field of business progression than of office holding. Watchful of all the opportunities pointing to suc- cess, he has wisely used his time and talents in the control of his business affairs and as banker, merchant and planter is today widely known and highly honored.

HENRY HENNEGIN TUCKER.

Henry Hennegin Tucker, secretary of the Fones Brothers Company, controlling an extensive wholesale hardware business, of which he is part owner, has thus gained an enviable position as one of the substantial business men of Little Rock, his native city. He was born January 14, 1888, and is a son of Sterling W. and Jennie (Hennegin) Tucker. Following the death of the father, the mother later hecame the wife of D. G. Fones, of the Fones Brothers Hardware Company, one of the mammoth business con- cerns of the capital city. When she passed away she left this business to her two sons, Sterling W. and Henry H. Tucker.

The younger son was educated in the public schools of Little Rock and also attended the Arkansas Military Academy for two years before entering Cornell University at Ithaca, New York, from which he was graduated in 1909 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Having completed his education, he returned to his native city and here became identified with the wholesale hardware house of Fones Brothers. He has since been identified with this business and has contributed in no small degree to the success and continued growth of the undertaking. In June, 1912, he became secretary of the company, while his brother, Sterling W., succeeded to the presidency in 1916. The brothers are now joint owners of this business, which is one of the most important com- mercial interests of the city, its trade relations covering a very wide territory. They have always fully sustained the high reputation which the house has borne since its founders first opened the doors of the establishment and at the same time they have kept apace with the most progressive commercial methods, the gradual expansion of their trade being the direct result of carefully formulated plans and sound judgment.

On the 5th of June, 1919, H. H. Tucker was united in marriage to Miss Katharine Duke, who was born in Baxter, Arkansas, August 14, 1893, a daughter of Charles Talbot and Willie (Slemons) Duke. The father, a native of Arkansas, is now deceased and the mother has also been called to her final rest. To Mr. and Mrs. Tucker has been born a daughter, Elizabeth Duke, whose birth occurred April 21, 1921.

In his political views Mr. Tucker has always been a stalwart democrat but never an aspirant for office. He and his wife are consistent members of the First Methodist Episcopal church, South, and the nature of his interests aside from the lines indicated is manifest in his membership relations with the Rotary Club and the Country Club. That his has been a well spent life is indicated in the fact that many of his stanchest friends are those who have known him from his boyhood to the present. He is a splendid representative of that class of wide-awake, alert young business men who, meeting present-day requirements of the commercial world, also measure their activi- ties by the highest ethical standards of trade.

ISAAC DREYFUSS.

Isaac Dreyfuss is one of the pioneer merchants of Pine Bluff, where he is conduct- ing a well appointed department store. Enterprise and persistency of purpose have actuated him in all of his business career and his success is the merited reward of his labors. Mr. Dreyfuss is a native of Louisiana, his birth having occurred in New Orleans in 1850, his parents being Isaac and Rosina (Meyer) Dreyfuss. The parents were from Germany and on coming to the United States settled in New Orleans, where the father engaged in merchandising.

Isaac Dreyfuss, one of a family of four children, was educated in his native city, after which he traveled through this section of the south. In 1869 he located at Grand Lake, where he engaged in merchandising on his own account and after eleven years there spent came to Pine Bluff in 1880. Here he opened a small store on Barraque street and some time afterward established his store at his present location. Here he founded the nucleus of what is now a large department store, gradually adding different departments to the original store until he is at the head of a very substantial com- mercial enterprise. He is one of the oldest merchants in years of continuous connec- tion with business in Pine Bluff and his slogan "your grandparents traded here" is

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literally true. His lines are comprehensive in their scope, tasteful in selection and reasonable in prices and his patronage has steadily grown as the years have passed by.

Mr. Dreyfuss was united in marriage to Miss Bertha Simon of New Orleans, and their children are: H. C., J. M., D. S. and Hattie. The son, D. S. Dreyfuss, served with the Red Cross during the World war and was also at Camp Pike. The sons are engaged in business with their father and are progressive young men, whose enterprise and zeal are guided by the sound business judgment and experience of the father, making this a strong combination. Mr. Dreyfuss certainly deserves much credit for what he has accomplished as he started out in the business world empty-handed and by per- sistent effort has made continued advancement, his labors winning for him the just and merited reward of diligence and persistency of purpose.

GEORGE FERDINAND SNYDER.

George Ferdinand Snyder, secretary-treasurer of the Charles F. Penzel Grocer Company of Little Rock, has been identified with this business continuously since 1906, or for a period of fifteen years. He started in a humble capacity, but has gradually been advanced as his powers and capability have increased until now he is one of the executive officers of the concern. Mr. Snyder displays the enterprising spirit that has been characteristic of the development of the southwest. He was born in Morrillton, Arkansas, September 11, 1887, and is a son of John W. and Anna (Rolf) Snyder, who are now residents of Little Rock. The father was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in February, 1866, and the mother's birth occurred in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1868. Both came to Arkansas in early life and they were married in Morrillton on the 26th of August, 1886. They became parents of five sons and two daughters and the family circle yet remains unbroken by the hand of death. On the 1st of January, 1895, John W. Snyder removed with his family to the capital city, where he is engaged in business as a hookkeeper. His political views are in accord with the principles of the democratic party.

George F. Snyder was a lad of hut eight years when the family home was established in Little Rock, where he pursued his education in the public schools. When a youth of sixteen, or in 1903, he became office boy for the Little Rock Board of Trade. During the two succeeding years he occupied the position of bookkeeper with the National Biscuit Company at Little Rock and in 1906 he entered the employ of the Charles F. Penzel Grocer Company as assistant bookkeeper. On the 1st of January, 1907, he was promoted to cashier and credit man and on the 15th of November, 1920, was elected secretary and treasurer, which position he now fills. He is an energetic, progressive and farsighted business man and is accomplishing much in the commercial world by reason of his determination and unabating industry.

On the 14th of June, 1910, in Subiaco, Arkansas, Mr. Snyder was married to Miss Anna Cecilia Spieler, whose birth occurred February 12, 1888, in the town of Spielerville, Logan county, Arkansas. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder are members of the Catholic church and he is identified with the Knights of Columbus. His political endorsement is given to the republican party, but he has never been ambitious to hold office, preferring to con- centrate his efforts and energy upon his business interests. This consistency of purpose has been one of the salient elements in his advancement and today he ranks with the successful and representative merchants of the capital city.

WILLIAM H. JOHNSON.

The name of William H. Johnson is well known in connection with the industrial and financial interests of Fort Smith, where he is the vice president of the Merchants National Bank. Along the line of steady progression he has reached his present posi- tion, learning many valuable lessons in the school of experience and constantly develop- ing his powers until his labors have become a potent force in the city's improvement and material upbuilding. Mr. Johnson came to Arkansas from New England, his birth having occurred in Bridgeport, Vermont, his parents being R. H. and Susan (Smith) Johnson. In early life he became a resident of the middle west and his preliminary education was supplemented by a course of study in Drake University at Des Moines, Iowa.

The year 1896 witnessed the arrival of Mr. Johnson in Arkansas and through the intervening period be has been actively identified with the lumber business and timber interests and eventually became president of the Fort Smith Wagon Company. While

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a resident of Iowa he engaged in the hardware business and his initial experience along mercantile lines acquainted him with the hest methods of conducting his interests. He early recognized the eternal principle that industry wins and industry became the beacon light of his life. He learned to value opportunity correctly and has ever dis- played ready discrimination between the essential and non-essential in business affairs, thus developing his interests along constructive lines and he made for himself a most creditable place in connection with the lumber trade of the southwest and with the manufacturing interests of Fort Smith as general manager of the Wagon Company. On January 1. 1917, he became one of the directors of the Merchants National Bank and in 1921 was elected to the vice presidency, so that he is now the second executive officer in this strong financial concern.

Mr. Johnson has also found time and opportunity to promote public interests and has displayed hearty cooperation in all movements for the general good as president of the Business Men's Club. During the World war period he acted as chairman of the county council of defense and was also chairman of the Liberty Loan drives and Red Cross work. Fraternally he is connected with the Knights of Pythias and also with the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and in his life exemplifies the beneficent spirit upon which these societies are founded. He has many traits admirable and worthy of all praise and one meeting him face to face would know at once that he is an individual embodying all the elements of what in this country we term a "square" man.

GARDNER K. OLIPHINT.

When old age comes upon an individual, family and friends feel that the end is near and that it is hut natural to pass from this life to eternity, but when death comes in young manhood or middle age it always carries with it a sense of the deepest regret and hereavement to the close associates of the one who has died. Gardner K. Oliphint was but thirty-three years of age when the final summons came to him. It is doubtful if there are many men who have crowded so much into a short lifetime. His entire career was one of intense activity and it was the keen mental labor of his early years that undoubtedly hastened the end.

Mr. Oliphint was horn in Little Rock, October 13, 1888, and attended the grammar schools in his boyhood days and also assisted in his father's law offices. He early hegan using a typewriter-in fact he was a child prodigy in this respect. When but four and a half years of age he was taken throughout the state by a traveling man, a friend of the family, and the little lad would demonstrate in store windows how easy it was to use an old L. C. Smith typewriter. When but seven years of age he was taking deposi- tions direct on the machine. By the time he was twelve he had become an expert stenographer and at thirteen years of age he was private stenographer for one of the officials of the Rock Island Railroad. At seventeen he had full charge of the wholesale liquor establishment of the Sandefur-Julian Liquor Company and when a youth of but nineteen he had become a court reporter on the first circuit of Arkansas. Throughout his remaining days Mr. Oliphint continued to act as court reporter. He had won a medal for being the most rapid typist in the state when but twelve years of age and his skill in stenography and typewriting was of great value to him in his reportorial work. He remained for a time in his father's office as stenographer, studying law until he was admitted to the har in 1913. The same year he was admitted to the bar at Little Rock and continued to engage in practice to the time of his demise. In 1917 he was appointed by Chancellor John E. Martineau as official court reporter for the district embracing Pulaski, Lonoke and White counties, and Judge Martineau granted him per- mission to practice law in addition to the performance of his other duties. Mr. Oliphint was a memher of the firm of Oliphint & Powell, court reporters. After engaging in this line of business alone for a number of years his business had grown to such an extent that he could not handle it alone and he therefore entered into partnership relations with Mr. Powell of St. Louis. He was engaged in the performance of his duties as court reporter when death overtook him. He started to drive his motor car from Little Rock to Pine Bluff, there to engage in court reporting work, but as he and his wife neared Wrightsville he became ill and Mrs. Oliphint returned with him to their home, death occurring a little later.

It was on the 10th of March, 1917, that Mr. Oliphint was married to Miss Helen Nothwang of Little Rock, a daughter of William and Alice Nothwang, the former a native of Germany and the latter of Illinois. Heavy had been the business responsibili- ties that had devolved upon Mr. Oliphant from his childhood, due to the notable aptitude and capability which he had displayed in early youth, He was a phenomenon in his work-perhaps unequaled by any other in the United States-through the period of

Ferris. For ..

GARDNER K. OLIPHINT

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his minority. His business and professional activities had brought him a wide acquaint- ance and he was greatly esteemed by all who knew him because of the many admirable traits of character which were his. He left behind him many friends and his memory will be cherished for years to come.

REV. JOSEPH SCHLATTERER.

Rev. Joseph Schlatterer, pastor of the Holy Rosary Catholic church at Stuttgart, was born in Baden, Germany, in 1853. He studied for the priesthood at the theological seminary of Freiburg, Germany, and was ordained by Bishop Kubel. His first pastorate was in Baden and later he was transferred to Offenburg, while subsequently he labored as a priest at Constance.

It was in 1900 that Father Schlatterer came to Arkansas and took up his ahode at Pocahontas as successor to the Rev. Father Sattele. He also held a pastorate at Knobel, Clay county, and largely through his influence many German farmers went to that locality and settled. In 1910 Father Schlatterer was assigned to the pastorate of the Holy Rosary Catholic church at Stuttgart, a church that was founded about twenty-five years ago and had previously been served by Rev. P. J. McCormick. Rev. J. Plamondon and Rev. J. McQuaid in turn. The parochial school conducted in connection with the church is taught by the Benedictine Sisters and has sixty pupils. There are about eighty-two families that worship at the Holy Rosary church and the work of the church has been thoroughly systematized and is being efficiently carried on under the guidance of Father Schlatterer.

BRADFORD KNAPP.

Bradford Knapp, dean of the College of Agriculture of the State University, is a man who combines high ideals with practical methods. He has accomplished great good in the educational field, especially in connection with the enlightenment of the farmer as to more progressive and adaptable methods of crop production and the care of stock. The value of his service in Arkansas is almost inestimable. Mr. Knapp was born at Vinton, Benton county, Iowa, December 24, 1870, his parents being Seaman A. and Maria E. (Hotchkiss) Knapp and he is a grandson of Bradford Knapp. Seaman A. Knapp hecame a man of national reputation in connection with agricultural develop- ment. He was born in Essex county, New York, December 14, 1833, and after pursuing his early education in private schools he attended the Troy Conference Seminary at Fort Edwards, New York. He also became a student in Union College at Schenectady, New York, and later was professor and associate president of the Troy Conference Seminary. Subsequently he was associated with the management of the Ripley Female College at Pulteney, New York, and in 1866 he removed to the west, settling on a farm at Big Grove, Benton county, Iowa, becoming a prominent factor in the agricultural development of that state. He published the Cedar Rapids farm paper at one time and his influence became a most potent force in agricultural progress. He removed to the west on account of his health and after living on his farm for a time he established his home in Vinton, lowa, although retaining the ownership and operation of his farm property. In 1869 he was elected superintendent of the College for the Blind, located at Vinton, and remained at the head of the institution until 1874, when he resigned and again engaged in farming. He was one of the early breeders of Berkshire hogs and shorthorn cattle and was a member of the First Iowa Live Stock Breeders' Association. In the latter part of the '70s he began the publication of the Western Stock Journal and Farmer and his continued labors for agricultural progress and improvement brought him more and more constantly into public notice. In 1879 he was elected professor of agriculture in the lowa State Agricultural College at Ames, and president of the same institution in 1883, and there continued until 1886, when he removed with his family to Lake Charles, Louisiana, and accepted a position with a large corporation engaged in the development of the southwestern section of that state. He devoted twelve years to that work and in 1898 and again in 1901 he was chosen by Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture, during his administration, to go to China, Japan and the Philippine Islands as an agricultural explorer to secure available information regarding rice varieties, rice production and rice milling. When the United States acquired Porto Rico, following the Spanish-American war, Secretary of Agriculture Wilson sent Dr. Knapp to the island to make a special report with regard to agricultural resources there. A notable thing concerning Dr. Knapp's important work is that he

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Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 22

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