Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 53

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 29th of December, 1917, Mr. Barton was married to Miss Grace Tubbs, a native of Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Barton belongs to Camden Lodge, No. 1140, B. P. O. E. He is the president of the Camden Chamber of Commerce and is one of the city's most prominent and active business men. He readily recognizes the opportunities in the field of trade and commerce, and he sees the weak as well as the strong points in the matter of civic development. He therefore makes it his purpose to oust the former and utilize the latter to the fullest extent, and as head of the Chamber of Commerce he is producing excellent results for the city's upbuilding, nor is he neglectful of the holier

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and higher duties of life. He is of the Methodist Episcopal faith, while his wife has membership in the Baptist church, and they are welt known socially, enjoying the hos- pitality of the best homes of the city.

RABBI LOUIS BRAV.

Lonis Brav, a rabbi of the Jewish church, now presiding over Temple Israel at Pine Bluff, was born in Czecho Slovakia in 1884, his parents being Isaac and Hannah ( Rocker) Brav. The father was also a rabbi and died in his native country in 1919, while the mother died there at a comparatively early age. In their family were eight children, one of whom, Victor, is now a wholesale shoe merchant of Philadelphia, while Herman and Aaron are both successfully engaged in the practice of medicine in the same city.

The other member of the family residing in the new world is Louis Brav of this review, who largely acquired his education in the public schools of Philadelphia and in the Central high school of that city before entering Columbia College of New York, in which he won his Bachelor of Arts degree. Liberal educational opportunities thus quali- fied him for the important service which he determined to make his life work. Desiring to benefit those of his own race and faith in advancing the moral standards, he de- termined to enter the church and to this end attended the Jewish Theological Seminary, becoming a rabbi in 1910. He accepted his first charge at Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1911 and there labored until 1915, when he went to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he earnestly labored until called to the chair of French and Spanish in Lawrence College at Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1920. While engaged in educational work there he was peti- tioned by Temple Israel of Pine Bluff to come to this city, and accepted in 1922. Already he has made for himself a most desirable place in the community. His scholarly attain- ments, his broad vision, his high ideals and his practical service have won for him the respect and honor of his fellow townsmen and Pine Bluff has thus welcomed him to her ranks.

FREDERICK E. BROWN.

Frederick E. Brown, member of the state tax commission of Arkansas and a well- known representative of the Des Arc bar, was born August 27, 1858, on a farm in Choctaw county, Mississippi, but in his early youth he was brought to this state, where he has since resided. He was the eldest child in a family of four sous and five daughters, of whom two of the daughters died in infancy, while three of the sons and one daughter are living. The parents were Andrew Jackson and Margaret Elizabeth (House) Brown. The father was born in Autauga county, Atabama, July 24, 1835, and during his early childhood his parents removed with their family to Mississippi. The mother was atso horn in Autauga county, Alabama, her natal day being May 22, 1836, and their marriage was celebrated in Choctaw connty, Mississippi, in October, 1857. They continued to reside in that state until 1869, and then removed to Arkansas, settling near Des Arc. The father followed the occupation of farming as a life work and thus provided for the support of his family. During the Civil war he served for nearly four years as a member of Forrest's command of the Confederate forces. His political endorsement was always given to the democratic party. He died in 1905 and was survived for several years by his wife, who died in Des Arc in January, 1910.

Frederick E. Brown was but eleven years of age when brought to this state. He continned his education in the common schools of Prairie county, Arkansas, and in the high school of Des Arc, and afterward attended a commercial college in Little Rock, from which he was graduated in 1880. This constituted the scope of his literary training. but afterward he read law in Des Arc and was admitted to the bar in 1894, when he located for practice in the city in which he has been residing. He was admitted to practice before the Arkansas supreme court in 1895 and before the United States supreme court in 1914. He still maintains his law office in Des Arc and is recognized as one of the able attorneys of the state, his ability as a lawyer enabling him to find ready solution for many intricate and involved legal problems.

On the 24th of December, 1882, in Des Arc, Mr. Brown was married to Miss Lucy Adelaide Morrill, who was there born January 16, 1862, a daughter of John C. and Anne Virginia ( Adams) Morrill, who were natives of Maine and of Tennessee, respectively, and are now deceased. They lived for some time at Des Arc, where Mr. Morrill established the Des Arc Citizen, which he published from 1854 until 1861. He died in 1862, while

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serving in the Confederate army. To Mr. and Mrs. Brown have heen born four chil- dren: Charles Frederick, whose birth occurred July 4, 1884; Epps William, horn February 23, 1891; Elizabeth, the wife of Albert Erwin, Jr .; and Mary Adelaide, the wife of Byron Gattinger. The second son, Epps William, volunteered on the 10th of April, 1917, and went to the Officers' Training Camp at Camp Pike, where he advanced rapidly. He wa : held in the United States, however, as military instructor in various training camps, rising through the grades to the rank of captain, and had been recommended for promo- tion to major when the armistice was signed.

Mr. Brown and his family attend the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and fraternally he is a Blue Lodge Mason, loyal to the teachings and purposes of the craft. During the war he served on the questionnaire board in Prairie county, Arkansas, and took active part in promoting the bond sales. In politics he has always been a democrat and has frequently heen called upon to serve in positions of public honor and trust. From 1898 until 1908, or for a period of ten years, he was prosecuting attorney of the seventeenth judicial district, and in 1891 he served as mayor of Des Arc In 1893 he was elected to the state legislature and was continued in the position for three consecu- tive terms. Again in 1909 he was chosen to represent his county in the general assembly and was made speaker of the house. From 1911 until 1917 he was a member of the state tax commission, and in 1917 he was elected a delegate to the constitutional convention. In April, 1921, he was appointed hy Governor McRea a member of the state tax com- mission and is now filling this position, with office in Little Rock. Over the record of his official career there falls no shadow of wrong nor suspicion of evil. The history of no man in public office in Arkansas has been more commendable. Faultless in honor, fearless in conduct and stainless in reputation, he has rendered valuable service to the state and enjoys the respect and confidence of all with whom he has in any way heen associated.

CAPTAIN HENRY FINCHER EASON.

Captain Henry Fincher Eason, prominently identified with educational interests and an honored resident of Texarkana whose aid and influence have ever been on the side of progress, reform and improvement, is a native of Miller county, his hirth having occurred near the Louisiana line, in Sulphur township, on the 2Ist of October. 1883. He is a son of Sidney S. Eason, a native of Georgia, who came to Arkansas in 1860 in company with his father, Abraham Eason. The grandfather was a well-to-do planter and served in the Confederate army during the Civil war as a member of Colonel Kelly's company but did not believe in the separation of the states. Having arrived at years of maturity, Sidney S. Eason was married to Miss Luella L. Hemperley, a daughter of Dr. E. T. Hemperley and also a native of Georgia. Sidney S. Eason still resides on the old homestead farm, at the age of seventy-three years, but his wife died July 19, 1896. Captain Eason is one of a family of fifteen children, nine sons and six daughters, all of whom are yet living, six of the children having been born of the father's second marriage.

Captain Eason spent his boyhood and youth upon the old home farm on which he was born and he early became familiar with the best methods of tilling the soil and caring for the crops. He attended the common schools to some extent but is largely self-educated, and realizing the value of intellectual training, he attended, after attain- ing his majority, the Louisiana State Normal School for a time and also continued his studies at Alexandria, Louisiana. When twenty-two years of age he began teaching in the country schools and taught for eleven years-twelve months in the year. In 1916 he was elected to the office of county clerk of Miller county and filled the position for two terms, or four years. In 1920 he was chosen county collector and has since occu- pied the position. He was also county statistician for the agricultural department of the United States government and was instrumental in promoting the investigation of the soils of Arkansas. From early manhood he has been identified with educational interests as a director, as teacher, as principal and as superintendent of schools and has been a very prominent figure in educational circles. He has also constantly broad- ened his knowledge hy reading, study and experience and is today a highly educated man, thoroughly versed in the natural resources and the possibilities for development in Arkansas. During the World war he had charge of the registration boards of Miller county and at the close of the war was acting as chairman of the board. He was also the first food administrator of the county.

Captain Eason was likewise instrumental in raising Company C of the Fourth Arkansas Infantry of the state militia. He enlisted as a private and was advanced to the rank of first lieutenant in 1917, while in 1918 he was promoted to the captaincy of

CAPTAIN H. FINCHER EASON

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the company and is now on the reserve list of military officers of the United States army, in the Arkansas National Guard.

On the 23d of December, 1908, Captain Eason was united in marriage to Miss Ollie Minnie Walton and they have become the parents of six children, of whom two died in infancy, while those still living are Henry Fincher, Sidney S., William B. and Eveline M.

Captain Eason is a thirty-second degree Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine and he has served as senior deacon in the lodge. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Knights of Pythias and the Woodmen of the World, and he has membership in the Baptist church. His entire life has been actuated by high and honorable principles and in every relation with his fellowmen he has commanded the confidence, goodwill and high regard of those with whom he has been brought in con- tact. His life work has constituted a valuable contribution to progress and improvement in the section of the state in which he has always lived and at the time of world crisis he proved himself one hundred per cent American.

WILLIS H. HOLMES.

Among Arkansas' native sons who are devoting their energies to the work of advanc- ing the educational standards of the state is numbered Willis H. Holmes, who although but twenty-four years of age has already attained a position of prominence in the ranks of his profession, being superintendent of schools of Dermott, and he is conceded to be the youngest incumbent in that position to be found in any city of similar size in the state. He was born in Pike county, December 11, 1897, and is a son of David P. and Pattie M. (Palmer) Holmes, both natives of Amity, Arkansas. When a young girl of fifteen Mrs. David P. Holmes removed with her parents to Texas and in Blossom, that state, her marriage occurred. David P. Holmes is a graduate of the University of Arkansas, which bestowed upon him the A. B. degree, and he has also done postgraduate work at the University of Chicago. He is now a member of the faculty of the Hender- son-Brown College at Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and is one of the best known educators in the state.

After completing his public school course Willis H. Holmes became a student at Hendrix College of Conway, Arkansas, from which he received the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1921, and he has since followed in the professional footsteps of his father, also proving an able exponent of educational interests. During 1920 and 1921 he was principal of the high school at Carlisle, Arkansas, and in the latter year was called to his present position as superintendent of the Dermott schools. They are included among the twenty-seven schools in the state which are accredited with the Southern Association of High Schools & Colleges and now have an enrollment of eight hundred and sixty-two pupils, of whom four hundred and twelve are white, and four hundred and fifty are colored. They are housed in separate buildings, a corps of twelve white teachers being employed for the white pupils, while six negro instructors are engaged in teaching those of the colored race. Mr. Holmes keeps in touch with the most modern ideas in regard to the education of children and is exerting his influence to better school facilities and better school conditions in his district. He seems to have entered the calling for which nature intended him and inspires teachers and pupils under him with much of his own zeal and enthusiasm in the work. He holds to high standards in his professional service and his course has won the hearty approval of the citizens of Dumas.

Professor Holmes is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. He is a young man of marked intellectual attainments, whose enterprise and ability are hringing him rapidly to the front in his profession, and judging from what he has already accomplished the future holds for him large possibilities.

MOSLEY WILSON HARDY.

A name well known in banking and insurance circles is that of Mosley Wilson Hardy of Little Rock. He is now engaged in the insurance business in the capital city and still holds his financial and official connection with some of the banking institutions of the state. He is likewise one of the most prominent Masons of Arkansas, and the high ideals of the craft have long found exemplification in his career.

Mr. Hardy is a representative of one of the old southern families. His parents were Lewis Mosley and Lucy Caroline (Hill) Hardy, both of whom were natives of Heard county, Georgia, the former born in 1847 and the latter in 1848. During the last year of the Civil war Lewis M. Hardy served with the Confederate army, being on active

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duty during that period. After leaving Georgia he took up his abode in Roanoke, Ala- bama, where he lived for many years. At all times he gave his political allegiance to the democratic party, and he was a man ever loyal to any cause which he espoused. He died in the year 1881 and is still survived by his wife, who now makes her home in Lineville, Alabama. In their family were four children, Mosley W. being the only son, while the three daughters are yet living. There were also two other daughters, who died in early girlhood.

Mosley W. Hardy was born upon the home farm in Heard county, Georgia, on the 18th of October, 1879, and was quite young at the time of the removal of his parents to Roanoke, Alabama, where he attended the public schools. Later he pursued his more advanced education in the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, and there won his Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation with the class of 1901. Mr. Hardy initiated his business career as a railroad man in the employ of the Central Railroad of Georgia, with which he remained for two years. He afterward became connected with banking as an employe in the Bank of Roanoke at Roanoke, Alabama, there serving as assistant cashier for two years. On the expiration of that period he went to the Citizens Bank at Brewton, Alabama, where he continued for six months, and next located at El Dorado, Arkansas, where he organized the Citizens National Bank, becoming cashier and serv- ing in that capacity for two years. On removing to Camden, Arkansas, he was made manager of the Camden Oil Mill and so continued for two years, after which he returned to El Dorado, Arkansas, where he turned his attention to the real estate and insurance business, operating in that field of activity for six years. In October, 1914, he came to Little Rock, where he has since been well known as a leading figure in insurance circles. He still remains the vice president of the Citizens National Bank of EI Dorado and is a director of the Union Mercantile Bank of Little Rock. He has comprehensive knowledge of the banking business by reason of broad experience and study, and his cooperation in this field is of value to the institutions with which he is identified. At the same time he has made steady progress as a real estate man and as an insurance man, and his interests of this character at Little Rock are important. He is now a director in the Union and Mercantile Trust Company of Little Rock, and vice president of the Union Indemnity Company.

At Hamburg, Arkansas, on the 7th of January, 1913, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Hardy and Miss Corinne McCombs, who was born in Hamburg in 1888, a daughter of William Faulkner and Frances (Pugh) McCombs. They lived for some time at Hamburg, Arkansas, but both are now deceased. The father was horn in Kentucky, while the mother was a native of this state. Mr. and Mrs. Hardy have become parents of an only child, William McCombs, who was born January 3, 1915.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Hardy are members of the First Presbyterian church of Little Rock, in which he is serving as deacon, and in the work and upbuilding of the church they take active and helful part. His political endorsement is given to the democratic party. Fraternally he is a Mason and an Elk. He has attained the honorary thirty-third degree in Masonry, which is conferred only in recognition of valuable service rendered to the order, and he is likewise a member of the Mystic Shrine. He has gained a name and place of prominence during the years of his connection with Arkansas, not only as a Mason, but as a business man and citizen, and he is today most highly esteemed in the city which he makes his home.

WILLIAM C. BUTCHER.

William C. Butcher, a hardware merchant of Gillett, was born in Desha county, Arkansas, in 1874, and is a son of John W. and Mollie (Barnett) Butcher, the former a native of Virginia, while the latter was born in Louisiana. On leaving the Old Do- minion the father went to Tennessee. and about the year 1869 arrived in Arkansas, settling on a farm in Desha county. The mother's parents also located in Desha county at an early day and became farming people of that locality. In 1876 Mr. and Mrs. John W. Butcher removed to Mississippi and afterward became residents of Tennessee, where the mother departed this life. Mr. Butcher then took up his abode in Concordia, Mis- sissippi, where he engaged in merchandising for a time. His last days were spent in Gunnison, that state, where he died in 1900. In their family were two children: William C. and Thomas C.

William C. Butcher was educated in the common schools and early learned the value of industry, energy and determination as factors in the attainment of success in the business world. When his textbooks were put aside he engaged in rice farming and later turned his attention to the lumber business. Two years ago he established the Butcher Hardware Company and has since conducted a hardware store in Gillett, where

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he is now enjoying a good trade. He carries a carefully selected line of shelf and heavy hardware, so that he is ready to meet the demands of his patrons, and his progressive methods in the conduct of his store have been a salient feature in the attainment of his present-day success. Close application and diligence have ever characterized him in all of his business career and he well merits the prosperity which is now his.

In 1898 Mr. Butcher was united in marriage to Miss Allie Hibbard, a daughter of J. Hibbard of Tichnor, Arkansas. The children of this marriage are: Clara, Mabel, Nellie, Carroll, Hazel and Pattie. The second daughter, Mabel, is now the wife of James Brannen. The religious faith of the family is that of the Methodist Episcopal church. They are interested in all of those forces and plans which make for the uplift of the individual and the benefit of the community at large. Mr. Butcher is a public-spirited citizen whose influence is ever on the side of progress, and Gillett has profited by his efforts in her behalf.

IRA O. MILLER.

Ira O. Miller, manager of the Red Spoke Company of Fayetteville, was born October 18, 1878, near Howe, Indiana, a son of Thomas A. and Mary ( Kauffmann ) Miller, who were natives of Ohio and Pennsylvania, respectively. The former was a son of Abraham Miller, a native of Pennsylvania, who spent his last days in Michigan. The maternal grandfather, John Kauffmann, was born at Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and was there living at the time of the memorable flood, when a great portion of the city was swept away and many lives were lost. For two days and nights he was without food. He had passed the ninety-ninth milestone on life's journey when called to his final rest.

The marriage of Thomas A. Miller and Mary Kauffmann was celebrated in Ohio and soon after the close of the Civil war they removed from the Buckeye state to Indiana. where the father followed the occupation of farming. His wife died in that state and Mr. Miller now makes his home in Sturgis, Michigan. He has always given his political support to the democratic party, while his religious faith is that of the Methodist Episco- pal church. To him and his wife were born eight children, four of whom are living: Samuel E., a dentist, engaged in active practice in Toledo, Illinois; David C .. a jeweler, located at Fort Wayne, Indiana; Ira O .: and Lizzie, the wife of Harry Nearhood, a mason contractor of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Ira O. Miller obtained his education in the high school at Howe, Indiana, and in the Howe Military School, while later he pursued a commercial course in the Elkhart (Ind.) Business College. He was first employed by the Union Pacific Railroad Company in connection with the construction department, his duties taking him from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Oregon. He was on the Pacific coast for only five months when he became ill of typhoid fever and afterward suffered from an attack of smallpox. With the recov- ery of his health he returned to the east and was employed by the Studebaker Manufac- turing Company at South Bend, Indiana, there spending four years. On the expiration of that period he hecame connected with the International Harvester Company and has ·represented that corporation for five years. In 1910 he came to Fayetteville and took charge of the interests of the Red Star Spoke Company, which has a large plant in this city and makes shipments of spokes throughout the United States and also to Holland, France, Cuba and Mexico The firm manufactures spokes for automobiles, wagons, bug- gies and other vehicles. During the period of the World war the entire plant was turned over for the production of war material.

On Christmas day of 1915 Mr. Miller was married to Miss Helen Hoover, who was born in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and who is a great-granddaughter, in the maternal line, cf Elias N Conway, at one time governor of this state. The Conways are of a very prominent family in the east, and representatives of the name served in the Revolution- ary war. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have become parents of one child, William Conway Miller, now four years of age. Mr. Miller belongs to the Episcopal church, while his wife has membership in the Methodist Episcopal church. He is also connected with the Knights of Pythias and his political allegiance is given to the republican party, while at all times he is thoroughly informed concerning the vital issues and questions of the day. He devotes his entire attention to the spoke business and does not seek to figure promi- nently in any public connections. Since starting out in life on his own account at an early age he has been dependent entirely upon his own resources. His father was always interested in a sawmill and Ira O. Miller early became identified with the timber and lumber industry. He was connected with the wood department when with the Union Pacific and also with the International Harvester Company and the Studebaker Corpo- ration. Eventually he hecame identified with the interests which he now represents. There is little connected with the lumber industry in its various phases with which he Vol. 11-22

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Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 53

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