Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 29

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 13th of November, 1879, Mr. Reeves was united in marriage to Miss Julia S. Moore, and they have seven children, all now connected with the business. In 1872 Mr. Reeves purchased the block where he lives, the property now being worth one hundred thousand dollars.

In community affairs Mr. Reeves has ever taken deep and helpful interest. He has served as mayor of El Dorado, has been a member of the school board for a number of years and is the stalwart champion of all those interests which are a matter of civic virtue and civic pride. He has for an extended period been a consistent member of the Baptist church and is chairman of the building committee of the new Baptist church which is now being built at a cost of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The cornerstone was laid by Mr. Reeves on Sunday, March 12, 1922. His life has ever been guided by those high and honorable principles which command for the individual respect and confidence in every land and every clime.

S. A. HENRY.

S. A. Henry, a representative of a family that for over sixty years has been identified with the development and upbuilding of Arkansas, is now living retired in Russellville, Arkansas, after many years devoted to agricultural pursuits, and he has also been called upon to fill public positions of honor and trust. A native of South Carolina, he was born in 1841, and his parents were Andrew K. and Elizabeth Serena (Parker)

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Henry, who were also born in that state, the former a native of York county and the latter of Union county. They were married in that state and in 1856 came to Arkansas, settling in Pope county, where the father acquired a tract of land. This he cleared and developed, transforming it into a productive and well-improved property and continuing active in its cultivation until after he had reached the age of eighty-six years. Both he and his wife died on that place. They at first resided in a log house, which was replaced after the Civil war by a substantial frame dwelling, and in his farming operations Mr. Henry was quite successful, owning about ten negroes. He was a veteran of the Civil war, and his political allegiance was given to the democratic party, while in religious faith he was a Presbyterian. He was a son of Charles W. Henry, who was born in York county, South Carolina, and was there reared and educated. The maternal grandfather, Silas R. Parker, was also a native of South Carolina, and in 1859 came to Arkansas, where he spent his remaining years. To Mr. and Mrs. Andrew K. Henry were born ten children, four of whom survived: S. A., of this review; Kate, who is the widow of .W. O. Ferguson and resides in Russellville: Lizzie, who married William M. Henry and is living on a farm in Pope county, and Charles W., who resides on the old homestead.

S. A. Henry received a fair education, and in 1861, when a young man of twenty, enlisted in the Confederate army, hecoming a member of Company B of the Second Arkansas Mounted Rifles. He served from June, 1861, until July, 1865, participating in many important engagements in the Civil war. He was wounded on two different occasions and was discharged from the service with the rank of lieutenant. Returning home, he assisted his father for two years in the cultivation of the old homestead, working without pecuniary reward, and then secured a farm on credit. Through hard work and the exercise of careful economy he was soon able to discharge his indebtedness, and after residing on that place for a number of years he moved to Russellville. At the end of two years he returned to his farm, on which he spent a similar period. He then decided permanently to abandon agricultural pursuits and has since resided in Russell- ville, where he owns an attractive home. He is now living retired, in his eighty-first year, in the enjoyment of a comfortable competence, earned through former years of untiring industry, perseverance and well directed efforts. His fellow citizens, recognizing his worth and ability, called him to public office, and in 1894 he was elected sheriff of Pope county, capably discharging the duties of that position for two terms, or until 1898. For a time he engaged in the fuel business and was then chosen county treasurer, serving in that capacity for one term.

Mr. Henry has been married twice. In 1867 he wedded Miss Nannie Bigham, a native of North Carolina. Her father died during her infancy, and she was reared by her grandfather. Mrs. Henry died in 1897, leaving seven children: R. B., who is engaged in raising horses and mules, in addition to other stock, and is a resident of Russellville; C. Walter, a farmer and trader of Russellville; Jennings M., who is associated in business with his brother, R. B .; J. G., who is also a partner in that business; D. B, who is connected with the People's Exchange Bank of Russellville; Thomas S., who assists his brothers in their stock raising operations, and Lillie, who married S. J. Rye, a leading grocer of Russellville. The Henry brothers have been very successful in the conduct of their stock raising interests and are classed with the leading dealers in horses and mules in this part of the state. They operate on an extensive scale, and during the World. war secured a contract to furnish the government with horses and mules. They own a large, substantial barn which covers almost an entire block, and are progressive, energetic and thoroughly reliable business men, whose intelligently directed efforts have been rewarded with a gratifying degree of success. In 1908 Mr. Henry, Sr., was again married, his second wife being Mrs. Hattie Mckay, whose first husband was a physician.

In his political views Mr. Henry is a democrat, and in religious faith he is a Presbyterian. His has been a long, honorable and upright life, actuated by high ideals and characterized by devotion to duty, and as one of the pioneer settlers of Pope county ne is accorded the respect and esteem of an extensive circle of friends, all of whom attest nis genuine personal worth.

HARALSON & NELSON.

Although young in years, the two members of the firm of Haralson & Nelson, architects, with offices in the Merchants National Bank building at Fort Smith, have made a splendid record in their profession. Their patronage is now extensive and their business has reached most gratifying proportions, many splendid structures standing as monuments to their skill and ability. J. J. Haralson was born in Lagrange, Georgia,

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in the year 1895, and in the acquirement of his education attended the Alabama Poly- technic Institute, which conferred upon him the degrees of Bachelor and of Master of Science. Early in his professional career he was associated with the E. E. Dunlap Company, well-known architects of Indianapolis, Indiana, and in 1917 came to Fort Smith, where he has since remained, and through the intervening period has successfully followed his profession. In 1919 he formed a partnership with Mr. Nelson, and the association has since been maintained most satisfactorily. At the time of the World war Mr. Haralson joined the coast artillery, enlisting at San Antonio, Texas, and winning a commission as second lieutenant.

E. C. Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, July 26, 1894, and was a lad of six summers when his parents removed to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1900. His professional training was also reecived in the Alabama Polytechnic Institute. His early office training was received while in the employ of the firm of Miller & Martin, architects of Birming- ham, and he was afterward associated with Frederick Ausfeld, a well-known architect of Montgomery, Alabama. He has remained in Fort Smith since 1919, at which time he entered into a partnership with Mr. Haralson. He had also been in the army, having served for about two years during the period of the World war. The firm of Haralson & Nelson gained almost immediate recognition by reason of their professional skill and ability, and they now occupy a most enviable place as architects of the southwest. Both have been thoroughly trained and have had wide experience for men of their years, and that they are doing splendid work is evidenced in the many substantial and beautiful structures which they have erected. They were the architects of the Arkansas Valley Bank, the store of the W. A. Johnson Clothing Company, the Presbyterian Sunday school, the Ninth Street Baptist church, also the Stadium at Fort Smith and the residence of Buckner Williams at Fort Smith, the Masonic Temple of Fort Smith and the Tuberculosis Hospital for Fort Smith District of Sebastian county. They have a thorough under- standing of all of the scientific phases as well as the practical features which underlie their work, and as the years go by their developing powers are bringing them more and more into prominence.

T. L. BATES.

T. L. Bates, principal of the Washington school at Fayetteville, is one of the native sons of Washington county and his life record stands in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, for in this section of the state, in which his life has been passed, Mr. Bates has won a most creditable and enviable position as a prominent representative of the educational system of Arkansas. He was born May 4, 1869, his parents being Henderson and Eleanor (Crozier) Bates. The former was a sou of James Bates, a native of Virginia, who removed to Tennessee and there spent his remaining days, devoting his life to the occupation of farming. The mother was, a daughter of John B. Crozier, whose birth occurred in Tennessee and who traveled with team and wagon to Arkansas. He was a justice of the peace or "squire" for a number of years and he devoted much of his life to the profession of teaching.

Henderson Bates was born in Tennessee, May 4, 1804, and when he decided to become a resident of this state he walked the entire distance from Memphis, Tennessee, to Batesville, in 1827. He bought a horse from his brother at Batesville and rode horse- back to the Canehill country ,where he spent his remaining days. He was twice married. His first wife was Miss Nancy Miller and they became the parents of nine children, of whom two are living: J. Y. Bates, a merchant of Texas, who also served as district clerk in that state; and W. F., who is a farmer at Canehill. After losing his first wife Henderson Bates married Mrs. Eleanor (Crozier) Pyatt, who was born in Tennessee, November 30, 1831, and was the widow of Jacob Pyatt, who was killed in the Confederate army. By her first marriage she had three children, all of whom are deceased. To the second marriage there were born three children, two of whom are living: Mrs. Nannie Matteson, a widow, residing in Texas; and T. L., of this review. The father departed this life July 30, 1888, while the mother died in 1896. They were consistent members of the Presbyterian church and their sterling traits of character won for them the con- fidence and goodwill of all who knew them.

T. L. Bates was educated at Canehill College and at the Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio. He afterward went to Oklahoma, where he engaged in teaching for five years and was principal of a preparatory school at Chelsea conducted under the auspices of the Presbyterian church. Removing to Fayetteville he was principal of the Leverette school for a period of ten years and later became principal of the Washington school, in which position he has continued for eleven years. He has been engaged in educational work altogether for twenty-six years and twenty-one years of this period

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has been passed in Fayetteville. He owns a farm of twenty acres near the university and has four and a half acres planted to fruit, to which he gives his personal super- vision. He likewise has quite a large poultry farm and it has been a source of gratifying income to him.

In 1896 Mr. Bates was united in marriage to Miss Frances Kelleam, who was born in Charleston, Arkansas, a daughter of Dr. Kelleam, for many years a practicing physician and surgeon of this state and a veteran of the Confederate forces in the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Bates have three children, only one of whom is living, Margaret, who is now a senior in the State University of Arkansas. The parents are members of the Central Presbyterian church and fraternally Mr. Bates is connected with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, while his political allegiance is given to the democratic party. He has never sought nor desired office as a reward for party fealty but has concentrated his efforts and attention upon his professional duties and is classed with the eminent educators of the southwest. He is a man of pronounced ability, by reason of the fact that he has continually studied educational conditions and needs and has possessed the initiative that has resulted in forming progressive methods and ideas in relation to the school work. His labors have been far-reaching and resultant and there is no one to whom the success and improvement of the Fayetteville schools is so largely due as T. L. Bates.

SAMUEL B. STEELE, M. D.

Dr. Samuel B. Steele, actively engaged in the practice of medicine and surgery in Hot Springs, was born in Benton, Arkansas, June 6, 1869, and is a son of Samuel B. Steele, who served throughout the Civil war as a member of the Confederate army and who died when his son Samuel was in his first year. The mother died when the son was but three years of age, and thus left an orphan, he was reared by an uncle, John L. Hughes, who resided at Little Rock and was a well-known merchant and planter there.

Dr. Steele was educated in the public schools of the capital city, passing through consecutive grades to the high school, and thus laying a good foundation for his profes- sional knowledge. He first began reading medicine with Dr. A. H. Scott, and in 1892 he matriculated in the Louisville Medical College at Louisville, Kentucky, in which he completed his course by graduation with the class of 1894. Immediately he opened an office in Hot Springs, hanging out his sign here five days after graduating. Four months later he removed into the building which he now occupies, and his office has since been maintained here. He gives his attention exclusively to his practice and profes- sional duties. In 1895 he served as health officer and at all times has aided in maintaining the highest standards in the municipal health service. He was likewise a member of the city council from 1895 until 1897. and he exercised his official preroga- tives in support of all plans and measures for the general good.

Dr. Steele was united in mariage to Miss Harriet L. Gillis, and to them has been born a son, Gerald, twelve years of age. Dr. and Mrs. Steele occupy an attractive home which is the abode of warm-hearted hospitality. He is a stockholder in the Arkansas National Bank, hut gives his attention mainly to his professional duties, and has mem- bership in the County, State, Southern, Southwestern and American Medical Associations. Through the proceedings of these bodies he keeps in touch with the trend of modern professional thought, investigation and progress. He is a most competent physician, conscientious in the performance of all his professional duties, and his knowledge, ability and sound judgment are manifest in the liberal practice accorded him.

HON. EDMOND PENN WATSON.

Hon. Edmond Penn Watson, a member of one of the pioneer families of Arkansas, has been a representative of the Bentonville bar since 1872 and is the dean of the profession in this district. He has also figured prominently in connection with public affairs in Arkansas and his record is a credit and honor to the state which has honored him. He was born at Van Buren, Arkansas, August 31, 1848, and has therefore passed the seventy-third milestone on life's journey, but is still an active factor in the world's work. His parents, William Albert and Christiana L. (Crews) Watson, were natives of Virginia, whence they removed to Arkansas in 1847, casting their lot with the pioneer settlers of the state. They located at Van Buren, where for a number of years the father successfully engaged in merchandising. He was a democrat in his political views, and Mrs. Watson was a member of the Baptist church. She died at Fayetteville, Arkansas,

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in January, 1872, having for twenty years survived her husband, whose demise occurred at Van Buren in 1852. They were widely known and highly respected residents of their section of the state. In their family were nine children, seven sons and two daughters, and all but two are deceased, those who survive being Clementine, the widow of Thomas H. Boles, and the subject of this review.

In the acquirement of an education Mr. Watson attended the schools of Fayetteville, this state, and at the time of the outbreak of hostilities between the north and the south he was a student at Arkansas College. During the Civil war he aided in supporting the family and after its close engaged in clerical work for two years. He then took up the study of law under the direction of Major W. D. Reagan, and in 1869 was admitted to the har, entering upon the work of the profession in Boone county, Arkansas, where he remained for nearly four years. In 1872 he came to Bentonville, where he has continued in practice. His ability has developed with the passing years, which have brought to him broad experience, and that he has won the confidence and support of the public is indicated by the large clientage accorded him. He has been admitted to practice in all the courts and has ever held to high standards in professional service. He displays keen discrimination in the solution of intricate problems of the law and is seldom at fault in the application of a legal principle. He prepares his cases with great thoroughness and his arguments are forceful and convincing, while his deductions are at all times logical.

In December, 1873, Mr. Watson was united in marriage to 'Miss Grace Dinsmore, a native of Benton county and a daughter of A. W. Dinsmore, who came to Arkansas about 1846 and for many years successfully followed merchandising at Bentonville. To Mr. and Mrs. Watson have been born eight children of whom seven survive: Catherine C., the eldest, attended the grammar and high schools of Bentonville and the State University and is now a teacher of expression at Clarksville, Arkansas; Rebecca D. and Mary M. are twins. The former is the wife of E. C. De Shong, a traveling salesman residing at Bentonville, while the latter is employed as private secretary by a large husiness house of Denver, Colorado; William W. is interested in the oil business at Wichita Falls, Texas; Grace is the wife of W. Bull, a prominent automobile dealer of Syracuse, New York; Edmund Penn, Jr., is a civil engineer by profession and is now residing at San Diego. California; Charles Clement is traveling auditor for the Sinclair Oil Company, his home being at Bentonville.

Mrs. Watson is a member of the Presbyterian church, while Mr. Watson is affiliated with the Episcopal denomination. He is a stanch democrat in his political views and has been called to public positions of importance and trust. In 1871 he was chosen to represent Boone county, Arkansas, in the state legislature, being the youngest member of the house, and in 1877 he was called upon to represent Benton county in that body, while in the following year he was elected state senator from the twenty-fourth district, comprising Benton and Madison counties. He has long been an active worker in the ranks of the party and was a member of the constitutional convention of 1917-18. He has done much to shape public thought and opinion, leaving the impress of his individu- ality indelibly upon the history of the'state, and in his public service has ever looked beyond the exigencies of the moment to the opportunities and possibilities of the future. For almost a half century he has been a member of the Benton county bar, and that his life has been an honorable and upright one is evidenced in the high regard entertained for him by his colleagues in the profession as well as the general public.

JAMES FRANK BLAKEMORE, D. D. S.

One of the youngest members of the dental profession in Arkansas is Dr. James Frank Blakemore, who has been practicing here since July, 1919. He is a native of this state, his birth having occurred at Prairie Grove in 1898, a son of T. M. and Jennie ( Allen) Blakemore. His father is now engaged in farming at Prairie Grove.

James Frank Blakemore is the youngest of seven children born to his parents, and he was reared in Prairie Grove. After graduating from the high school there he entered the St. Louis University and received his degree of D. D. S. in June, 1919. During the World war he enlisted in the Medical Reserve Corps and upon completion of his dental course he was to have received a commission in the army. In 1918 he was transferred to the Students Army Training Corps. He never received his commission in the army, because the armistice was signed before he completed his course. In July, 1919, he came to Van Buren and in spite of his youth he has built up a large and lucrative practice.

On February 25, 1921, Dr. Blakemore was united in marriage to Miss Glenn Goldsby, a daughter of Mrs. Lora Goldsby of Fort Smith. Fraternally Dr. Blakemore is identified with the Masons and the Knights of Pythias, and he likewise holds membership in Delta Sigma Delta, a college fraternity. In the line of his profession he is indentified

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with the National and State Dental Associations and as a citizen always interested in the development and improvement of the community, he is active in the interests of the Rotary Club and the Business Men's Club of Van Buren. In his practice he is always careful and he is conscientious in the performance of his professional duties. His col- leagnes recognize his worth and ability, and that public opinion is favorable to him is indicated in the liberal patronage accorded him.

CHARLES ERNEST DICKEN, LL. D.

A most prominent figure in educational circles in Arkansas is Dr. Charles Ernest Dicken, the president of Ouachita College at Arkadelphia. He was born in Elizabethtown, Hardin county, Kentucky, December 1, 1877, and is a son of the Rev. Charles W. and Mary (Williams) Dicken, the latter a daughter of William Williams, D. D., who was one of the founders of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at Greenville, South Carolina. The Rev. Charles W. Dicken, deceased, was born in Campbell county, Kentucky, November 24, 1842, and his life record covers the intervening years to June, 1913. He was the ninth in order of birth in a family of four sons and six daughters, whose parents were Charles and Mary (Cherry) Dicken. His father was a native of Campbell county, Kentucky, and died in 1863, at the age of sixty-three years. He in turn was a son of Joseph Dicken of Virginia, who was one of the heroes of the Revolutionary war and who became a resident of Campbell county, Kentucky, about 1795. There he owned a large farm and many slaves. He was of English and Welsh origin, the family being established on American soil in colonial days. Joseph Dicken wedded Mary Sutton of Virginia, and died at the ripe old age of eighty four years. Succeeding generations of the family continued to reside in Campbell county, Kentucky, and there Charles Dicken, grandfather of Dr. Dicken of Arkadelphia, made his home for many years. He wedded Mary Cherry, a daughter of Nicholas Cherry, who removed from Pennsylvania to Ken- tucky during the pioneer epoch in the history of the latter state.

Their son, Charles W. Dicken, spent his youthful days in the usual manner of the farm bred boy, and upon his father's death was thrown on his own resources for a liveli- hood. When but eighteen years of age he was licensed to teach school, which he did for a time, and then became a student in Bethel College, while in 1864 he matriculated in Toronto University at Toronto, Canada. Some time later he became a student in George- town College in the District of Columbia, and was there graduated in 1868. On the 12th of July of that year he was ordained to the ministry of the Baptist church and engaged in teaching and preaching for a year at Aspen Grove, Pendleton county, Ken- tucky. He then entered the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary at Greenville, South Carolina, in which he studied for two years, after which he took charge of churches in Kentucky, spending two years in pastoral work in Woodford county and two years in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, where he engaged in both teaching and preaching. Later he became president of Murray Institute of Calloway county, and still later was actively engaged in ministerial work for five years. In June, 1884, he located near Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he had charge of several churches.

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Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 29

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