Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 63

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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The last named is indebted to the public school system of Pine Bluff for the educa- tional opportunities which he enjoyed and after leaving school he became a planter. Later he entered the contracting business, to which he devoted his attention until 1914, when he was elected sheriff of Jefferson county, making a creditable record by the prompt and fearless manner in which he discharged the duties of that position. In 1918 he was appointed tax collector and in 1919 he was elected to the office of county judge, since which time he has served on the bench, his decisions being strictly fair and impartial.

In 1889 Judge Williams was united in marriage to Miss Mollie L. Core, a daughter of James B. and Nannie (Mosby) Core. They have a family of three daughters and a son: Sallie W., the wife of O. M. Spellman; Henry, who served in the World war aud is now filling the position of deputy sheriff; Jessie W., the wife of H. P. Savage, who is also a veteran of the world conflict, having been on active duty overseas; and Mary R., at home. Judge Williams and his wife are consistent members of the Presbyterian church and he is also a loyal follower of the Masonic fraternity, the Woodmen of the World, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and the Fraternal Order of Eagles. He is ever loyal to the teachings and high purposes

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of these different organizations, which are based upon a recognition of the brotherhood of man aud the obligations thereby imposed. He has ever been a capable public official, loyal to the duties reposed in him, and his record in office has received the high endorse- ment of the general public.

S. T. TAPSCOTT, M. D.

Dr. S. T. Tapscott, physician and surgeon, is practicing in Searcy, his native city. He was born October 7, 1884, and is a son of S. T. Tapscott mentioned in connection with the sketch of Mrs. J. B. Gill, on another page of this work. Dr. Tapscott acquired a public school education iu Searcy and then attended the Searcy College, from which he was graduated with the Bachelor of Arts degree in 1900. He afterward became a student in the University of Missouri at Columbia, where he pursued a preparatory course and later he matriculated in the Kansas City University, from which he was graduated with the M. D. degree in 1907. He was identified with the public health service in 1907-1908, being connected with a city hospital, and in 1909 he returned to Searcy, where he en- tered into partnership with his father for the general practice of medicine. Throughout the intervening period he has remained a close student of the profession and took post- graduate work in the Chicago Postgraduate Medical College in the winter of 1914-15. Broad reading at leisure hours has also kept him thoroughly abreast with the latest discoveries and researches of the profession and his pronounced ability is manifest in the excellent results which have attended him in his practice.

In March, 1918, Dr. Tapscott enlisted for service in the World war and was trained at Fort Oglethorpe, after which he went overseas with Base Hospital, No. 57, of the American Expeditionary Forces and was stationed at Juilly and at Paris. He was commissioned a first lieutenant and served for about a year.

With his return to his native land Dr. Tapscott again opened an office in Searcy, where he has continued in active practice and his professional duties now make heavy demands upon his time and attention. He is a member of the White County Medical Society, the Arkansas State Medical Society and the American Medical Association and has served as secretary of the county organization.

Dr. Tapscott was married to Miss Margaret Wilburn, a daughter of Major Wilburn. Politically Dr. Tapscott is a democrat and keeps thoroughly informed concerning the vital questions and issues of the day but has never been an office seeker. His religious faith is that of the Baptist church and fraternally he is connected with Searcy Lodge, No. 49, A. F. & A. M. He became a charter member of Herman Armstrong Post of the American Legion, in which he has served as vice commander. The interests and activities of his life are well balanced, with the major part of his attention being given to his professional duties which he discharges with a sense of conscientious obligation and according to the highest ethical standards of the profession.

ROBERT LEE SMITH.

Robert Lee Smith, superintendent of the public schools of Leachville since June, 1920, was born May, 28, 1893, in Cleburne county, Arkansas, near Heber Springs. His father, Newton Alexander Smith, now deceased, was a farmer of Cleburne county who was born and reared, however, in Mississippi, whence he came to Arkansas in young manhood, arriving in 1875, at the age of twenty years. He married Frances Mitchell, who was born and reared in Faulkner county, Arkansas, near Conway, her parents having been among the pioneer settlers of that county. The marriage was celebrated near Conway, August 10. 1876, and they became the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters. All are living with the exception of one of the daughters.

Robert Lee Smith, who was the seventh in order of birth, began his education in the rural schools of Cleburne county, Arkansas, and afterward attended the Quitman high school and the Arkansas State Teachers' College. He also did summer work at the University of Arkansas and took up the teaching profession in 1911 at Oakgrove, this state. During the succeeding six years he taught in rural and high schools of Faulkner county and in 1917 became first assistant principal and athletic coach of the Quitman high school, serving for one year. On the 14th of July, 1918, he entered the service of the government in connection with the World war, occupying a clerkship in the camp personnel office of the Motor Transport Division at Camp Holabird, Baltimore, Maryland. He joined the army at New Orleans and went from there to Atlanta, Georgia, and afterward to Maryland, remaining in the service until March 8, 1919.

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Mr. Smith then returned to Arkansas and in June, 1919, was elected superintendent cf the high school at Palestine, St. Francis county, Arkansas, where he remained for a year. He came to Leachville in 1920 as superintendent of schools and is still serving in this position, being at the head of the Agricultural high school, which is a consoli- dated rural high school, having a modern building and splendid equipment. The attendance at the school under his direction has increased twenty-five per cent. He has introduced many improvements and progressive methods and is making the school thoroughly modern in every particular. He belongs to the Arkansas State Teachers Association and the Mississippi County Teachers Association, and served as president in 1916 of the Faulkner County Contest Association, which was organized in Faulkner county, being the youngest incumbent in that position. Mr. Smith is now engaged in securing a higher education at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana.

On the 9th of August, 1919, Mr. Smith was united in marriage at Quitman, Arkansas, to Miss Elva DeJarnatt of that place. Their religious faith is indicated by their membership in the Methodist Episcopal church, South. They are prominent in the social circles of the city in which they live, the hospitality of the best homes heing freely and cordially extended to them. In his professional career Professor Smith has made sterdy progress, actuated by a laudable ambition and high ideals, and the various schools under his control have made substantial advancement.

J. M. STANFORD, M. D.

Although one of the more recent additions to the medical fraternity of Russellville. Dr. J. M. Stanford has already won a well established position in professional circle: and is rapidly building up a large practice. He is a native son of Arkansas, his birth having occurred near Scottsville on the 18th of March, 1879, and his parents were John W. and Anna (Snyder) Stanford, the former born in Mississippi and the latter in Missouri. They were married in Scottsville, Arkansas, and the father has devoted his life to the occupation of farming. He served for two years as a soldier in the Civil war and while participating in the raid in Missouri he became ill and was invalided home, but did not recover sufficiently to rejoin his command before the termination of the war. He is now residing with the subject of this review and has reached the age of seventy-seven years. He is a Baptist in religious faith and his political allegiance is given to the democratic party. His father, Miles Stanford, was also a native of Mississippi and previous to the outbreak of the Civil war he came to Arkansas, where he followed the occupation of farming. The maternal grandfather, Peter Snyder, was born in Germany, hut acquired his education in France and on emigrating to the United States he first settled in Missouri, removing to Arkansas prior to IS61. He was a well- known physician and his demise occurred in this state when he had reached the ad- vanced age of eighty-five years. His daughter, Mrs. Stanford, died in 1906. She had become the mother of six children. three of whom survive, namely: J. M .; Clara, the wife of Paul Llewellyn, who is one of the oldest teachers in Pope county and is now following his profession at Newton Springs; and Thomas, who is engaged in farming and resides at Dover, Arkansas.

In the public schools of Pope county, J. M. Stanford acquired his early education and his professional training was obtained at the Memphis Hospital Medical College, from which he was graduated in the spring of 1908. He entered upon the work of his profession at Hector, Arkansas, where he remained for sixteen years, during which period he developed a large practice, being obliged to cover an extensive area in minis- tering to his patients. While residing there he also hecame the owner of a drug store and acquired farming property, which he retains, and he likewise has a house and lot in that town. In April, 1918, he opened an office in Russellville, where he now has a large practice, conducting his professional interests under the firm style of Campbell. Hays & Stanford. He engages in the general practice of medicine, but devotes con- siderable attention to surgical work, in which he has been very successful. In 1918 he took a postgraduate course at the Mayo Brothers Hospital at Rochester, Minnesota, and is an earnest student of his profession. doing everything in his power to broaden his knowledge and promote his skill.

On the 21st of May, 1902, Dr. Stanford was united in marriage to Miss Fannie Webb, a native of Hector, Arkansas, and a daughter of James Webb, a well-known farmer residing in that place. Four children have been born of this union: Ruth, who died at the age of twelve years; Cecile, who is a student at the State Agricultural College; Mildred, who is attending the grammar schools; and John, Jr., who is but twenty-one months old.

Dr. Stanford is a democrat in his political views and fraternally he is identified

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with the Woodmen of the World and the Masons, and while residing at Hector he was master of his lodge. He keeps in touch with the advancement that is continually being made along the lines of his profession through his membership in the Pope County and Arkansas State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association, and of the first named organization he served as president in 1920. He has never been content with mediocrity, hut is ever striving toward the attainment of high ideals, and his pronounced ability and upright policy have won for him the respect and confidence of his fellow-practitioners and also of the general public.

LOUIS COHEN.

Louis Cohen, president of the Fort Smith Office Supply House, a man whose dili- gence and enterprise in business have constituted the basic elements of his steady progress toward the goal of prosperity, was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1889, a son of H. L. and Regina (Strauss) Cohen. The father is now engaged in the real estate business at Drumright, Oklahoma, having removed to the southwest by reason of his belief in the business possibilities and opportunities of this great and growing section of the country.

Louis Cohen, spending his youthful days in the home of his parents, who removed from New York to Denver, Colorado, there pursued his education to the age of sixteen years, when in 1905 he came to Fort Smith and here started out in the business world by securing employment on a local newspaper. He gradually worked his way upward in newspaper circles and eventually became circulation manager of the Southwest Ameri- can, a position which he occupied for five and a half years. Later he was made circula- tion manager of the Times Record at Fort Smith and there continued for six years. Desirous of engaging in the business on his own account, he ultimately organized the Fort Smith Office Supply House in 1919, and this was later incorporated, with Mr. Cohen as the president, C. S. Weaver as vice president and E. N. Cohen as secretary. They conduct a business in office furniture and supplies and their trade covers the territory of eastern Oklahoma and western Arkansas. The business is steadily growing along most satisfactory lines and already the patronage of the house has reached most sub- stational proportions.

Mr. Cohen was united in marriage to Miss Elizabeth Ney, a daughter of Rudolph Ney, and they now have one child, Marie Rosalie, who is three years of age.

Mr. Cohen is prominently known as a valued and representative member of various civic clubs. He is the secretary of the Lions Club, formed to promote business interests and to uphold the highest standards of Americanization. He served as president of the Ad Club, of which he was previously secretary, and he is the secretary of the Progress Club. He is likewise secretary of the Independent Order of B'naj B'rith and secretary of the Jewish Charity Fund. He also is a trustee of the United Hebrew con- gregation. He belongs to the Business Men's Club and to the Retail Merchants Associ- ation. He closely studies business conditions and his opinions thereon indicate his wide investigation and thorough understanding.

H. L. SWAN, D. D. S.

Dentistry may be said to be almost unique among other occupations, as it is at once a profession, a trade and a business. Such being the case, it follows that in order to attain the highest success in it one must be thoroughly conversant with the theory of the sciences, must be expert with the many tools and appliances incidental to the practice of modern dentistry and must possess business qualifications adequate to dealing with the financial side of the profession. In all of these particulars Dr. H. L. Swan is well qualified and therefore has attained prestige among the able representatives of dentistry in Hot Springs. His birth occurred in Kalamazoo, Michigan, on the 14th of January, 1877, his parents being William L. and Sarah J. (Rouse) Swan, the former a native of New York, while the latter was horn in Canada. The father, who was a minister of the Universalist church, came to Arkansas after putting aside the active work of his holy calling and spent his last days in retirement at Hot Springs, where he died January 19, 1921. The mother, who survives, now makes her home with her son, Dr. Swan.

In the acquirement of his education H. L. Swan attended the public schools of Michigan and Iowa, while his professional training was received in the Kansas City Dental College, which institution conferred upon him the degree of D. D. S. Following

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his graduation he at once located in Hot Springs and has here remained throughout the intervening years, building up an extensive and profitable practice which has been accorded him in recognition of his marked skill and ability as a representative of the dental profession. He belongs to both the Arkansas State Dental Association and the Southwestern Dental Association.

On the 28th of May, 1901, Dr. Swan was united in marriage to Miss Loretta Power of Jackson, Michigan, and they have become parents of a daughter, Mabel L. The Doctor is a member of the Business Men's League and is highly esteemed as a citizen, while his reputation as a practitioner of dentistry is a most enviable one.

WILLIAM RICHARD HUNT, M. D.

Dr. William Richard Hunt, well versed in the principles and practices of medicine and surgery and thoroughly qualified for the onerous and responsible duties of his profession, is now practicing successfully in Clarksville. He is a native of Johnson county, born November 16, 1863, and is a son of John D. and Irene (Ogdon) Hunt. The father was born in Georgia and died in 1913, at the age of seventy-one years. His wife, a native of Arkansas, is living at the age of eighty years. Long prior to the Civil war John D. Hunt became a resident of Arkansas and at the time of the hostility be- tween the north and the south served in Cabel's brigade. He was an attorney by profes- sion and practiced law for about forty years at Coal Hill in Johnson county, winning prominence in his profession. He also devoted a part of his time to merchandising. He had a large family of ten children, five of whom are living.

Dr. Hunt, whose name introduces this review, was educated in the schools of Johnson county and in the University of Arkansas, in which he pursued his medical course until graduated at Little Rock with the class of 1884. He then located for practice at Coal Hill, where he remained until 1906, when he removed to Clarksville. He prob- ably performed the first appendicitis operation, outside of the cities, in the state in 1885, and he is the pioneer surgeon of Johnson county. He bas the largest consultation practice of any physician in Arkansas and has always enjoyed a liberal patronage by reason of his marked ability to cope with the intricate and involved problems which have to do with the laws of health. He was one of the organizers of the Clarksville Medical Society, also of the Johnson County Medical Society and throughout his pro- fessional career he has kept in close touch with the trend of modern professional thought and practice. His ideals are high and his success has been the direct outcome of his capability.

Dr. Hunt was united in marriage to Miss Ruth Houston, who was born in Johnson county, Arkansas, in 1862, a daughter of Colonel John S. Houston, a prominent citizen of this state, who was born in Ohio and came to Arkansas in his boyhood days. He had previously gone to California in the days of the early gold excitement there and had become a prominent figure in connection with public affairs on the coast. He was the first comptroller of the state of California and wrote the first constitution of that common- wealth. He was quite successful during his sojourn on the Pacific coast and returned to Arkansas with substantial rewards of his labor in the far west. He became one of the early postmasters of Clarksville, filling the position for a number of years. He had been liberally educated and was a high type of the southern gentleman. One of his daughters, Mrs. Betty Littlepage, is a poetess of note and lives in Washington, D. C. She married into a prominent family, her husband being John C. Littlepage, who came to Arkansas after the Civil war, bearing with him a personal recommenda- tion from Robert E. Lee. Mr. Littlepage became a teacher in the Clarksville Academy, with which he was thus connected for a number of years, and afterward served as superintendent of schools at. Batesville, Hot Springs and Little Rock. In many ways he left the impress of his individuality and marked ability upon the educational devel- opment and progress of the state.

Dr. and Mrs. Hunt have a family of three children: Earl H., who was born at Coal Hill, February 16, 1886, there attending the public schools and afterward entered Hendrix College. He next became a medical student in the Washington University of St. Louis and was afterward graduated from the medical department of Tulane Uni- versity at New Orleans in 1909. He then began practice in association with his father, and their business connection has since been maintained. Like his father, he makes a specialty of surgery and he has taken postgraduate work in St. Louis, in the Mayo Brothers Hospital at Rochester, Minnesota, and in Tulane University. He was married in 1912 to Miss Totton Hutchison, who was born at Van Buren, Arkansas. a daughter of Leonard Hutchison, a locomotive engineer. They have two children, Lillian and Earl H., Jr. Dr. Earl H. Hunt and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church,

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South, and fraternally he is connected with the Masons, the Knights of Pythias and the Elks. In the Knights of Pythias organization he has been chancellor commander. He also belongs to the Chi Zeta Chi, a medical fraternity, and to the Pi Kappa Alpha, a literary fraternity. He was the first county health officer of Johnson county and he devotes practically his entire time and attention to his professional duties. He and his father together own the Johnson County Telephone Company. The second of the family is Lillian, the wife of E. A. King, who is at the head of the Clarksville Motor Company, and they have a little daughter, Mira. The third of the family is Dr. W. R. Hunt, Jr., a dentist, who was graduated from the Clarksville high school and from the Cumberland College in Clarksville, after which he studied dentistry in the University of Tennessee at Memphis. He is now following his profession in his native city.

Dr. W. R. Hunt of this review and his estimable wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal church and he belongs to the Knights of Pythias and to the Woodmen. In politics he is a democrat, but has never been an aspirant for public office. His entire time and attention have been given to his professional interests and duties, and he is today one of the best known representatives of the profession in southern Arkansas. He was early thrown upon his own resources, but, actuated by a laudable ambition, has steadily worked his way upward and has long occupied a commanding place in the ranks of the medical fraternity in his part of the state. Both he and his sou, Earl, have long been active in both the County and State Medical Societies, and the family name has become a synonym for high standards and splendid service in connection with med- ical and surgical practice.

REV. JOHN E. BROWN.

The life of Rev. John E. Brown, evangelist, author and founder, and president of the John E. Brown College, has been one of far-reaching influence and usefulness, devoted unselfishly to the service of others and exemplifying the true spirit of Chris- tianity. He was born in Mahaska county, Iowa, in 1879, a son of John F. and Julia A. (Bramner) Brown, who were natives of Indiana. They were Quakers in religious belief and in 1853 removed to Jowa, where the father followed the occupation of farming. Mr. and Mrs. Brown became the parents of nine children, of whom seven survive, the subject of this review being the fifth in order of birth.

During his boyhood Dr. Brown worked in the limekilns of Arkansas, coming to this state when fourteen years old, and his youth was a period of hard and unremitting toil, for his father was poor and the family was a large one. The son at first received for his services seventy-five cents a day and as he became more proficient this amount was increased to a dollar. Life seemed to hold out but little to him as he toiled in the blazing sun with aching muscles, but one night, impelled by curiosity, he attended a meeting of the Salvation Army and this marked a turning point in his career. Ani- mated by hope and courage, he joined the little band of religious workers on their journey to Siloam Springs, Arkansas, for the purpose of opening a mission, being at the time seventeen years of age. During the absence of the ensign Dr. Brown was placed in charge of the mission, which he conducted so successfully that he was invited to deliver his message in a neighboring town, and this constituted the beginning of bis work as an evangelist. He did not follow closely the tenets of the Salvation Army but strove to deliver a message that would find a lodging place in each heart, regardless of creed or doctrine, and so eloquently has he delivered it that with the passing years he has succeeded in influencing many to choose the better path in life. The secret of his power lies in his utter honesty and sincerity, his abounding sympathy and under- standing, his magnetism and his all-embracing democracy. The boy from the limekilns has grown, and grown greatly.

Feeling that Siloam Springs had given him his start in life. Dr. Brown chose this pretty little Arkansas city as his home, for there is no fairer region anywhere among the Ozarks. He purchased a farm a mile west of the town and on the brow of the plateau he built a big, wide-porched house commanding a fine view of the surrounding country. While carrying on his work as an evangelist he never lost sight of the dream of his life and at length his long cherished ambition came to fruition in the founding of the John E. Brown College, whose purpose is to help ambitious boys and girls to help themselves. To the home farm were added two other farms, with their buildings, approximating altogether three hundred acres of land, most of it highly cultivated. All- this became the property of the school, together with a herd of about forty Jersey cattle, horses and mules for working the land, hogs, sheep and poultry, all necessary farming implements and a fully equipped printing plant, all being free of debt. Dr. Brown practically impoverished himself and family by the gift, never doubting that

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Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 63

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