Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 7

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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LUM WILLIAMS.

One of the substantial business men of Huntington, Arkansas, is Lum Williams, who has engaged in the grocery business here for some time. He was born in Shamokin, Pennsylvania, in 1881, a son of Nels and Elizabeth (Burgett) Williams. His father was a well known and successful physician and his demise occurred in Oklahoma, to which state he had removed. The maternal grandfather came from Alabama. Dr. Williams was an army surgeon during the Civil war, having offered his services to the Union upon the outbreak of the conflict. To the union of Dr. and Mrs. Williams four children were born: Martha, Mary, Nell and Lum, whose name initiates this review.

In the acquirement of an education Lum Williams attended the schools of Mc- Alester, Oklahoma, and upon putting his textbooks aside made his initial step into the business world in connection with the meat business. In 1913 he came to Huntington. Previous to locating here, however, he engaged in the grocery and meat market busi- ness at Bonanza. Mr. Williams has built up an extensive patronage and has a well equipped store with a butcher shop in connection. He is one of the prominent and representative business men in Huntington and has contributed much to the growth and development of that place.

Mr. Williams was united in marriage to Miss Ellen Hayes of Barling, this state, and to them three children have been born: Harry, Morris, and Louise. Fraternally Mr. Williams is identified with the Ancient Order of United Workmen and the Inde- pendent Order of A. M. He takes the interest of an intelligent and wide-awake citizen in public affairs and in the selection of competent men for office. He has never become actively engaged in politics, nor has he sought nor held public office, preferring the quiet home life and the association of a select circle of friends.

WILLIAM W. BETHELL.

William W. Bethell, an alert and energetic merchant of Des Arc was born in Prairie county, a son of B. B. Bethell, also a native of this county. The father married Miss Mary Walsh, a daughter of the well known Dr. William Walsh, who practiced medicine in Prairie county for many years and who was a soldier of the Confederate army during the Civil war. B. B. Bethell also served with the Confederate forces during the period of hostilities between the north and the south and afterward became a river pilot at a time when all traffic and transportation was conducted by means of the river route. He afterward worked as a salesman and subsequently opened a store, in which connection he developed a business of splendid proportions, becoming one of the prominent and representative merchants of Des Arc. B. B. Bethell served during the Civil war in General William Slemons' brigade, in Colonel Crawford's regi- ment and in Company E, under Captain A. S. Erwin, the commander of a Cavalry Com- pany. To him and his wife were born four children: William W., Henry B., Erwin and Bedford. The last named joined the American army during the World war, en- listing at Jacksonville, Florida, and was sent to France with the Motor Transpor- tation Corps, dying of illness on the western front. His death greatly affected his mother, who gradually succumbed to her grief and it seemed as though the summons from the other side was clearly manifest to her as she made a will a few days prior to her death mentioning in the legal document that the Father in heaven, the Master, had called her. She died a few days after making this will, although she was in her usual health at the time she penned the document.

W. W. Bethell served as chairman of the United War Work campaign in Prairie county and the family always registered one hundred per cent in everything having to do with the prosecution of the war and the maintenance of high civic standards in relation to community, commonwealth and country. W. W. Bethell was reared under the parental roof with the usual experiences of the lad of the period, who largely devotes his boyhood to the acquirement of a public school education. The present

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ARKANSAS

Bethell store was organized in 1902 and W. W. Bethell is now the active head of the concern, having devoted many years to the conduct of the business in association with his father. He is a progressive and enterprising business man, who closely studies the demands of the trade and who, in his energy and enterprise, is meeting with most substantial success.

W. W. Bethell was united in marriage to Miss Bertie Greer, a daughter of T. F. Greer of Des Arc, and they have two children: Preston and Mary Nell. Henry B. Bethell, a brother of W. W. Bethell, married Clara Pride; and Irwin Bethell wedded Katie Sides, their children being, Mary, Virginia and Caroline. The family is widely and prominently known in this section of the state, where their activities have constituted an important element in the material development and in the social, intellectual and moral progress of the community. Their record is closely interwoven with the history of Prairie county and the work of father and son has been of decided benefit and value to the community. Both W. W. Bethell and his father are men of marked initiative and they have left and are leaving the impress of their individuality in marked manner upon the development of Prairie county.

VIRGIL CARPENTER PETTIE.

Virgil Carpenter Pettie, vice president of the England National Bank and president of the Arkansas Hydro-Electric Development Company, is one of the most alert and progressive business men of Little Rock. His activities have ever been of a character that have contributed to public progress and advancement as well as to individual success, and the value of his service in connection with the upbuilding of the capital is widely acknowledged. Mr. Pettie was born in Eminence, Henry county, Kentucky, November 2, 1878, and is a son of the Rev. Albert S. and Lonella (Tinsley) Pettie, both of whom are Kentuckians. The father was born in Versailles, that state, in 1851, while the mother's birth occurred in Eminence in 1857. They were married at the latter place on the 9th of January, 1878, and they are now residents of Hickman, Kentucky. The father, has devoted his life to the work of the ministry of the Baptist church and he has always given his political endorsement to the democratic party. To him and his wife have been born seven children, a son and six daughters, all of whom are yet living.

Virgil Carpenter Pettie, the only son, pursued his early education in the public schools of. Mayfield, Clinton and Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He also attended the Clinton (Ky.) College and in 1897 he came with the family to Arkansas, settlement being made in Jonesboro. In the year 1900, however, the father returned to Kentucky and is now pastor of the First Baptist church in Hickman.

Remaining in Arkansas, Mr. Pettie has through the intervening years made for himself a very prominent position in business and financial circles in his adopted state. When he became identified with the England National Bank of Little Rock, the Arkansas Gazette said: "Virgil C. Pettie, vice president of the Bank of Jonesboro, has been elected an active vice president by the board of directors of the England National Bank. Mr. Pettie is one of the most widely known bankers in Arkansas. He was president of the Arkansas Bankers Association in 1917 and was vice chairman and in active charge of the Victory Liberty Loan campaign in Arkansas in the spring of 1919. He is the president of the Jonesboro Building & Loan Association and of the Jonesboro Rotary Club and is secretary of the A. B. Jones Company, the largest wholesale grocery com- pany in eastern Arknasas. He is likewise interested in other business enterprises." Thus before coming to Little Rock, Mr. Pettie had had broad experience along business lines and had become firmly established as a most substantial and progressive citizen, ready to meet any emergency or to improve any opportunity. Aside from his connection with the England National Bank as its vice president, he is today the president of the Arkansas Hydro-Electric Development Company, to which office he was called in 1920. He is likewise the vice president of the United Insurance Agency of Jonesboro, Arkansas. One who has long been associated with him in business said of him: "Virgil C. Pettie is a banker of the new school of thought; he recognizes the duty a banker owes the public and discharges it. He is an entertaining speaker and lends this gift as well as his rare judgment freely and without selfish interests to public work. He has never been connected with an unsuccessful enterprise. While the bank with which he is connected will benefit from his services, Little Rock too will also enjoy the advantage of having as a citizen such a man as Virgil C. Pettie, who not only occupies an ad- vantageous place in the business circles of the capital, but whose splended ability, progressive ideas and public-spirited citizenship radiate a larger sphere of enthusiasm

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ARKANSAS

to others in the upbuilding of the state and the development of Little Rock as its com- mercial center."

On the 21st of December, 1901, in St. Louis, Mr. Pettie was married to Miss Blanche Hawthorne, who was born in Corning, Arkansas, in 1882. They now have one child, John Hawthorne Pettie, born March 5, 1904. Mr. Pettie is a member of the Baptist church and his wife of the Methodist Episcopal church, South. He is a Knight Templar and thirty-second degree Mason and member of the Mystic Shrine. He also belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and to the Country Club. In politics he is a democrat, but in times of national crisis partisanship is always made subservient to patriotism. He served on the County Council of Defense, was county chairman of War Loan and district manager of the third and fourth Liberty Bond drives, while in the spring of 1919 he was made vice chairman for Arkansas of the Victory Loan. He has acted as secretary of the Arkansas state democratic central committee. He is the president of the Arkansas Advancement Association. and in that office has done effective work for the welfare and progress of the state. He is a man of broad vision as well as of marked execulive force and he carries forward to successful completion whatever he undertakes.

WILLIAM ERI LIVINGSTON.

William Eri Livingston, who is the organizer and head of a newly created real estate firm known as the W. E. Livingston Company, 123 West Second Street, Little Rock, has had wide experience in the field in which he is active and has made steady progress along his chosen line. Mr. Livingston knows Arkansas, her opportunities and possi- bilities, and is especially familiar with her real estate market. He is a native son of the state, born in Enola, Faulkner county, May 18, 1880. His parents, Asher Eugene and Miranda Bartimeus (Whiteley) Livingston, were natives of Caledonia, Boone county, Illinois, and of near Batesville, Arkansas, respectively, the former born June 10, 1853, and the latter March 9, 1855. They were married in 1874 and became parents of three sons and three daughters, all of whom are living. Following his removal to the southwest Mr. Livingston engaged in merchandising at Conway, Arkansas, from 1889 until 1920, or for a period of more than three decades, but is now living retired, he and his wife making their home in Little Rock.

William E. Livingston pursued his early education in the public schools of Enola and of Conway, Arkansas, the family removing to the latter place in 1889. He was there graduated from the high school with the class of 1900 and after putting aside his textbooks he became the active assistant and partner of his father and his brother J. J., in the store in Conway, which was conducted under the style of A. E. Livingston & Sons from 1900 until 1906. In the latter year the junior partner became a member of the firm of Wilson Brothers & Livingston, haberdashers, of Conway, Arkansas, a con- nection that was continued until 1910, in which year Mr. Livingston turned his attention to the real estate field, becoming secretary and treasurer of the Holman Real Estate Company of Little Rock. This business was organized under a partnership relation, but was incorporated in 1911. He continued to discharge the official duties of that position until April, 1917, at which time he became a real estate salesman for the Southern Trust Company, with which he remained until November, 1918, when he accepted the position of manager of the real estate department of the Central Bank of Little Rock. Several years before, or in 1911, he began the study of law and in 1915 was graduated from the law department of the University of Arkansas. While he has never practiced the profession, his knowledge of law is of great value to him in the conduct of his business affairs. He continued with the Central Bank until August, 1921, when he established the firm now conducting business under the name of the W. E. Livingston Company, the Realtors. His previous experience has heen of great value to him and he is making substantial progress. The firm has become a member of the real estate bureau of the Board of Commerce and Mr. Livingston is one who studies closely every phase of the business and is able to speak with authority upon anything connected with the local real estate market. The firm handles Little Rock and Arkansas property and already has gained a good clientele.

On the 8th of November, 1905, at Benton, Arkansas, Mr. Livingston was married to Miss Mary Evelyn Glenn, who was born in Benton, Arkansas, August 20, 1882, and is a graduate of the Central College at Conway. She is a daughter of Hiram S. and Martha ( Quinn) Glenn. The father died in 1919 at the age of eighty-three years, while the mother survives and makes her home in Benton. Mr. and Mrs. Livingston have become

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ARKANSAS

the parents of two children: Evelyn Maurine, born July 29, 1907; and Margaret Eliza- beth, born October 10, 1911.

Mr. and Mrs. Livingston are members of the Second Baptist church. He has always voted with the democratic party and his loyalty in matters of progressive citizenship is pronounced. During the World war he served on the local bond drives and in days of peace or days of war he labors untiringly for the adoption of high ideals in regard to public affairs. Appreciative of the social amenities of life he has membership in the Lakeside Country Club.

H. S. NEEL, D. D. S.

The dental fraternity of Stuttgart finds a young but progressive representative of the profession in Dr. H. S. Neel, who is one of the native sons of this state, his birth having occurred at Bearden in 1893. He is a son of J. R. and Esther ( Yeager) Neel, the former born near Princeton, Arkansas, while the latter was born at Bearden. The grandfather in the paternal line was James Neel, who on coming to this state settled at Princeton.

Dr. Neel pursued his education in the Brock Springs Academy of Arkansas and in preparation for the practice of dentistry entered the University of Tennessee and was graduated from the dental department with the D. D. S. degree in 1915. He taught school at Huttig, Arkansas, in that year and then entered upon the active practice of dentistry at Delight, Arkansas, where he remained until 1916, when he removed to Stuttgart. Here he opened an office but in 1917 abandoned his professional interests in order to join the army. He enlisted in the Medical Corps, went to Fort Riley and was afterward sent overseas, going to Nantes, France, where he was stationed during the period of his foreign service. When the country no longer needed his aid he returned to the United States and once more resumed practice in Stuttgart, where his ahility is fast winning him recognition, until his practice is now gratifying and gives every evidence of future growth.

Dr. Neel was married to Miss Orpha Hill, a native of Streator, Illinois. Fraternally he is a Mason and that he has advanced far in the order is indicated in his connection with the Mystic Shrine. He likewise belongs to the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks and enjoys in large measure the high and friendly regard of his fellow members of these fraternities.

WILL HUGH MOCK, M. D. F. A. C. S.

Dr. Will Hugh Mock, thoroughly trained for the practice of medicine and surgery, has won notable success in following his profession in Prairie Grove, where his record stands in contradistinction to the old adage that a prophet is not without honor save in his own country, for in this locality in which his life has been passed he has made substantial progress and enjoys in unusual measure the confidence and goodwill of his fellowmen. Dr. Mock was born here in 1875, his parents being John and Margaret (Rogers) Mock, the former a native of Sevier county, Tennessee, while the latter was born near Charleston, South Carolina. The Mock family was long represented in Ten- nessee, the grandfather having been a native of that state, while within the borders of the commonwealth he spent his life. The grandfather in the maternal line was Hugh Rogers, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, who came to Arkansas in pioneer times and devoted his life to farming, aiding in the early agricultural development of the section in which he lived.

The marriage of John Mock and Margaret Rogers was celebrated in Georgia and removing to Arkansas they settled in Washington county in 1851. Here Mr. Mock pur- chased a farm, which is still owned by his son, Dr. Mock. In his religious faith the father was a Methodist and fraternally he was a Mason. His political allegiance was always given to the democratic party and during the Civil war he served for four years with the Confederate army. He departed this life December 16, 1900. He is still survived by his widow, who has reached the notable age of ninety-one years. Mrs. Mock deserves more than passing notice in this volume, by reason of the part which she played in the period of pioneer development and her activity in the Civil war. Her home was located on the battle ground of Prairie Grove and during the course of the battle she sent her daughter to the cellar while she remained in the home until after firing had ceased. When hostilities were over she had the wounded brought to her home in order to help nurse them. She knitted socks and made clothing for the

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ARKANSAS

soldiers throughout the war, gave them food and in every possible way assisted the southern cause. When the troops were encamped near her home she and an old negro went to the fields and shot their hogs, which they then cooked and served to the soldiers of the south. Mrs. Mock is still living near the old home with her son and though she is now an octogenarian she possesses all her faculties to an unusual degree and is a most well informed and lovable old lady, who well deserves prominent mention in the history of the state. Mr. and Mrs. John Mock had a family of eight children, all of whom are living: J. E., a land owner of San Angelo, Texas; John F., also a land owner, living at Altus, Oklahoma; W. H., of this review; Martha J., the wife of J. J. Baggett of Fayetteville; Mary, the widow of Frank Lake of Oklahoma, now living in Prairie Grove; Margaret, who is the widow of Samuel Neal of Altus, Oklahoma, and a wealthy land owner of that place; Carolyn, the wife of Senator G. T. Cazort, wealthy planter of Lamar, Arkansas, who is a large land owner and now represents his district in the state senate; and Josephine, who is the wife of W. L. Stuckey, an attorney of Fayette- ville, who also owns a fine country home at Johnson, Arkansas.

Dr. Mock pursued his education after completing his public school course in the University of Arkansas and in the Vanderbilt College of Tennessee, in which he matricu- lated as a medical student, being there graduated with the class of 1895. He next attended the University of Tennessee and completed his course there in 1899. He had a year's hospital service during that period and later he became chief surgeon for the O. & C. C. Railroad. In 1899 he entered upon the private practice of medicine and after his hospital service he opened his office in Prairie Grove, where he has remained, save for the period of two years which he spent in connection with the railroad com- pany. He engages in general practice and also specializes in surgery. He has taken postgraduate work in New Orleans, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Kansas City and Cleveland and has thus constantly promoted his knowledge and increased his efficiency. He is now prominently known by reason of his highly developed .skill in surgery and does all his operating in Fayetteville hospitals. He possesses comprehensive knowledge of anatomy and the component parts of the human body, is cool and collected in the face of cases and his efforts have been attended with splendid results.

Dr. Mock belongs to the Methodist Episcopal church and fraternally is a thirty- second degree Mason and member of the Knights of Pythias, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Since attaining his majority he has been a stalwart democrat and has filled various local offices. As the years have passed he has acquired outside business interests beyond his profession, having made judicious investment in banks, in oil stations and in land. He owns two excellent farms and town property and is the owner of two parks in Prairie Grove. After all, however, his time and energies are most concentrated upon his professional duties and he keeps in close touch with the trend of modern thought along medical and surgical lines through his membership in the Washington County Medical Society, the Arkansas State Medical Society, the American Medical Association and he is also a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. The Doctor has perhaps given more of his time gratis toward charitable work than any other man in his town and to the development of his com- munity, from the good roads subject to every call that is made for help and charity.

ANDREW CLAUDE HAMILTON.

Some men live for gain and judge the world by the inch rule of self; others gain a world vision and form their. opinions by the understanding obtained through association with the master minds of all ages. Principle and not personal prejudice is their guide, and dignity in thought and honor in action mark their pathways. Such was the career of A. C. Hamilton, a man whose business success was not inconsider- able but who regarded the attainment of wealth only as a means to an end. Life with him found its expression in his love of travel, love of literature and most of all in his love of family.

Mr. Hamilton was born 'in County Down, Ireland, in 1852, and traveled life's journey to 1913, when he was called to the home beyond. He came of an old and distinguished family and his lines of life were cast in harmony with the ancestral history. He pursued his education in the schools of Belfast, Ireland, and it was intended that he should enter the ministry, but changing his plans, he came to the United States at the age of nineteen years and entered the business world. His first position was in the establishment of A. T. Stewart, then "The Merchant Prince of America," in New York city. The great west appealed to his love for a bigger life, and going to Indiana he engaged in business for a time in Muncie. From there he went to Memphis, Tennessee, where he was prominent in business and social life.

ANDREW C. HAMILTON

CENTENNIAL HISTORY OF ARKANSAS

But love of travel took him into the empire of Texas. In Waco he opened a whole- sale grocery business, which he later removed to Galveston.

One summer he chanced to visit Fayetteville, Arkansas, and was at once im- pressed with the beauty of the town, the natural scenery and the excellent climate and in 1896 removed his family to this city. Here he originated the dried fruit packing industry in Arkansas and made shipments on an extensive scale. He built up a great business, shipping to practically every state in the Union. Later he estah- lished a cold storage, which also proved a most profitable enterprise, contributing to the substantial growth and development of the city as well as to the advancement of his individual fortunes. He rejoiced in his success merely by reason of what it enabled him to do for his family and his fellowmen. He found his happiness in visiting the beauty spots of the world, in spending hours and days and months in poring over the writings of the best authors of all ages and most of all in bringing his family into touch with those interests which develop character and bring cultural worth into life.

In 1880 Mr. Hamilton was united in marriage to Miss Mary Kate Downs, who was born in Waco, Texas, in 1858, a daughter of William P. and Martha Sandal (Fort) Downs, both of whom were natives of northern Alabama and both repre- sentatives of distinguished old southern families. The grandfather of Mrs. Ham- ilton in the paternal line was Major W. W. Downs, a native of North Carolina, who at an early day removed to Alabama and in 1854 became a resident of Waco, Texas, where he purchased several thousand acres of land and owned many slaves. He built the first two-story residence in Waco and was largely connected with the develop- ment and improvement of that section of the country. He served as a chaplain in the Civil war and all of his sons were in the Confederate army. Prospering as the years went by, he left a vast estate. The grandfather of Mrs. Hamilton in the maternal line was David G. Fort, a native of North Carolina and a descendant of Frederick Fort of Revolutionary fame.

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Centennial history of Arkansas, Part 7

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