USA > Arkansas > Johnson County > Johnson County, Arkansas, the first hundred years > Part 17
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"And so he fell while forms 'round him flocked; And then upon the greensward, side by side, In death lay Pedro and his Indian bride."
* * ¥
Years had passed by; Desoto and his band, In passing up the river, came to where Pedro and Coree died, and yet the land Gave forth no trace of scenes enacted there. Searching along the creek a place to ford Desoto stumbled on a broken sword.
"Spadra!" he cried. (Spanish for broken sword) And so was named the stream and land around. Though now it has become a common. word, We've almost lost the meaning of the sword Name of the stream, where in youthful pride, Coree, the Indian maiden, loved and died.
Thus, borne on the night breeze, you may hear The waters murmuring o'er their rocky bed; Thus it has murmured from year to year 'Till since her death three centures have fled- Wild, lonely then, now crossed by bridge and ford, 'Tis "Spadra Creek " stream of the broken sword.
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
is a daughter of John Woodward. £ Mrs. Jamison is a woman of inherited ability. Many newspaper articles worthy of comment have been written by her. Two grown sons of Mr. and Mrs. Jamison, John and Charley, have died within the past two years.
Dr. John P. Mitchell came to Clarksville before the Civil War, from Mitchell, in Culpeper county Va., a village named for that family. Johnson County has never possessed a more loyal citi- zen than Dr. Mitchell. He was outspoken in his appreciation. He gave the flowers of friendship to his living companions rather than the dead. He was one of the most zealous workers in se- curing the Cumberland College at Clarksville, and could not have been more elated, when the final decision was made, had it been his very own. Dr. Mitchell married Louisa Willis, whose family was among the early settlers. They were the parents of three children, Dr. John P. Jr., William, and Selma, all of whom are dead.
James Mitchell was a brother of J. P. He was a farmer, and was the father of two daughters, Lou and Nette. The latter, who became Mrs. Ewing, died two years ago in Colorado. Her ashes were deposited in Oakland Cemetery at Clarksville. Lou Mitchell married M. A. Lucas, who came to Clarksville twenty- five years ago as passenger agent for the Missouri Pacific railway. For many years past he has been the efficient cashier of the Bank of Clarksville, and is one of the largest stockholders.
John H. Robinson, a young man from North Carolina, came to Johnson County in the fifties. Just prior to the war he married Sarah Frances James, a daughter of Joseph James. Mr. Robinson was a man with many friends, and much money. Mrs. Robinson was an ideal mother and a good friend. Their daughter, Elizabeth Robinson Blythe Kendrick, wife of T. J. Kendrick, is perhaps the best known and most loved woman in Johnson county. She is a true friend; she is the soul of charity,-especial- ly does she look after the poor and needy. Elizabeth Robinson was married, first to. E. D. W. Blythe, whose birth place was Grenado, Fishoning County, Mo., and who was an attorney, practicing in Clarksville. Her second marriage was to T. J. Kendrick a gentleman of the old school. Her children are John Blythe of Missouri, Mrs. Robinson Blythe Smith, wife of Dr. W. F. Smith, special surgeon of the Missouri Pacific Railroad, Little Rock, T. J. Kendrick, Jr., and Charley Kendrick.
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BIOGRAPHIES
Gabriel W. Paine and Mary Hanners Paine born in North Carolina and Tennessee, in 1801 and 1803, respectively, left Tennessee and came to Arkansas at an early date. Their children were Thomas B., Columbus, Francis, Houston, Susan, Julia Ann and Easter. Gabriel Paine was one of the first boarding house proprietors in Clarksville. The father of Gabriel was John Paine, who was a first cousin of the noted Thomas Paine of Tennessee. Mattie C. Paine, a daughter of Thomas B., was for long years postmistress of Lamar. Flora (Mrs. S.C. Sharyer) of Clarksville, R. G., F. M., Gordon (deceased), and Senator Jake R. Wilson of Eldorado, are children of Elizabeth Paine, who was Mrs. Charlie Wilson. Mrs. Tobe Adkins and Mayor Joe B. Paine of Van Buren, Mrs. Flora Eichenberger, Mrs. Emma Shangle, Mrs. Hallie Price, Robert, Lillie and Elizabeth Paine, were children of Francis and Susan Paine. Mrs. B. M. Riddell is a great-granddaughter of Gabriel Paine. Her mother was Gertrude Paine, daughter of Columbus Paine. Other children of Gertrude Paine King are Hannah, Myrtle, and Martha. This
name is spelled two ways. Gabriel Payne took out a land grant but in an old biography is found Thomas Paine. £ Thad Payne of Clarksville is a descendant of another branch of this same family. His father was Wm. Paine of Tennessee, who was a cousin to Gabriel. Ralph Payne is one of the sons of Thad.
Back somewhere in the course of the years before the inter- ception of the mid-century conflict, there came a gentleman and his lady, up from New Orleans. In the history of the country of Scotland is a lineage from days of old, of a courtly knight, with deeds of valor, whose name was Southerland. Southerlands since, in that highland country, have all claimed a lineage un-
broken. In those days, when the lure of the new world was still in the blood of youth, one Alexander Southerland crossed . the Atlantic by the long trip to that popular southern port of New Orleans . While in that city he married Miss Cox, who was from Scotland too. After several years they came to Clarksville. They had one daughter, Amanda, and two sons. One son died in Clarksville and the other went to Tennessee. Mr. Southerland was a confederate soldier from Johnson County and served throughout the war. Death had claimed both parents when Amanda was twelve yaers of age, and while she was still in her teens she was married to Abraham Laster, a nephew of the
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
pioneer Abraham. Seven children were born into their home. Soon the father died, and while some of them were yet children, the mother died too. These boys and girls grew to be splendid men and women. They are Arthur, Walker, who is the present Mayor, Ruby, (Mrs. L. C. Gray), all of Clarksville, also Carl, Arch, Lena (Mrs. Griffin) and Mary, who is the wife of the cele- brated scientist, J. W. Stimpson, all of California.
Mr. and Mrs. Herman Koschwitz, emigrants from the "Fatherland" were post-war arrivals in Johnson County. As the years passed four children came into their home, one of whom died. Mr. and Mrs. Koschwitz both died in the late nineties. Annie, the oldest child and only daughter, with her two young brothers, went to Washington City, where she was a government employee. Annie is now the wife of Hon. L. F. Kneipp of Washington City, who has for a number of years been connected with the U. S. Forest Reserve. A picture of President Harding and the two small sons of Mr. and Mrs. Kneipp, appeared recently in the Saturday Evening Post. Frederick Koschwitz is a graduate from the Harvard Law School and resides in New York City. Herman is a banker
E. D. W. Blythe, whose native state was Mississippi and who had previously settled with his brother at Waldron, Arkansas, came to Clarksville in 1879, following his marriage to Elizabeth Robinson. He was a lawyer and a journalist. In the latter profession, he was known as a caustic and forcible writer. His son, John Blythe, of Kansas City, is a prototype of the older cast, with everybody his friend. E. D. W. Blythe was said to have been responsible for the unearthing of the conditions in the Coal Hill mines, where the state convicts were employed. This has since been called "The Coal Hill Convict Horror."
Sometime in the seventies there came a family from Osa- watawa, Kansas, Dr. and Mrs. William I. James. Dr. James was a native of Kentucky but was reared in Illinois. Mrs. James was, prior to her marriage, Kathrine Margard, of Iowa. Their children are Grace James, a trained nurse, in Texas, Maude (Mrs. J. E. Morgan of Denver, Colo.), William of California, and Edwina (Mrs. T. E. May of Clarksville). Mrs. May is a woman with an abundance of energy, with wisdom and clearness of thought. Because of her fitness she naturally takes an active
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BIOGRAPHIES
and leading part in all organizations with which she is connected. She is an ardent church worker.
The Tacket family was in Johnson County too during the rush to the gold field of California, for it is said that two of the Tacket boys were slaughtered in the Mountain Meadow Mas- sacre in Utah.
There were many other families over the county at large in pre-war days. Some who are unknown at this time, but a few of them are still familiar: Norvil, Nourse, Gillian, Houser, Koonse, Watts, Arnold, Tate, Dover, Clemmons, Patterson, Price, Swift, Nard, Tucker, Seldon, Wise, Langford, Dickerson, Drew, Lind- sey, Boen, Casey, Scaggs, Pace, Smith, Dunn, Garner, Holloway, Kirby, Powell, Temple, Wright, Moore, Hudson, Whorton and Frazier.
ARRIVALS BETWEEN 1865-1880
Immediately following the close of the war, Capt. J. W. May, who had previously resided on the south of the river, came to Clarksville, where were many of the soldier boys of his company. Capt. May at one time operated a grist mill on Shoal Creek and it is said that the large stone with which the grinding was done may still be seen in the bottom of the stream. Capt May's mercantile establishment in Clarksville was one of the largest firms of the county . He called it an emporium and made an ef- fort to carry out to the fullest the meaning of the word.
B. D. Pennington, who was born in Meeklenburg, Va., in 1828, came to Clarksville immediately after the war ended and went into the mercantile business. He married Mary Ann Davis, and built a beautiful home, standing today on Johnson street. He reared and educated a family of boys and girls, only two of whom are living, Ben Pennington of Oklahoma, and Mrs. Cora McGlumphy of Van Buren.
Col. J. N. Sarber, who was born in Pittsburg, Pa., came to Clarksville from Kansas as a scout under Col. Cloud of the Federal army. He was stationed in Clarksville for two years and later married Sue Rose. He then made Clarksville his home through the remainder of his natural life. The Republicans were in power and for a full decade, between 1865 and 1875, he dominated the affairs of this section. He was a lawyer and a man of education. Col. Sarber caused to be formed, in 1874,
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
a new county, which in his honor was named Sarber. A short time after however, when that regime was passed, the confederate citizenship of the county, through the legislature, changed the name to Logan. Col. Sarber was United States Marshal of the Western District under President Grant. He received the brevit of Colonel when acting in that capacity for the 306 who espoused the renomination of Pres. Grant in 1872. Mrs. Sarber is now re- siding in California.
The Mckennon families who had previously immigrated to Carrol County from Tennessee, came on to Johnson after the war. Capt. A. S. McKennon had been associated with many of the soldier boys from Johnson County in the 16th Arkansas and was a young man just previously married to Miss Berry, a niece of the distinguished United States Senator J. H. Berry. Capt. Mc- Kennon together with Major Swagerty, opened a store, and began the sale of general merchandise. A year or two later Buckner, McKennon and his sister Sallie, and the father of the three, a re- tired physician, Dr. Archibald McKennon, moved to Clarksville. Mrs. Lucretia McKennon, who was the widow of Harvey McKen- non, came with her family of six boys and two daughters, A. M., F. R., Dallas, Foster, Onnie, Robert, who later moved to Texas, Spratte (Mrs. Berry) and Bee (Mrs. Hamilton).
Mrs. Mary Nelson, another widowed daughter of Dr. Mc- Kennon, came also with her family. She was the mother of Dr. Onnie Nelson, who is widely known over the county, and who has been a practitioner in the profession of dentistry in Clarksville for long years. The husband of Mary McKennon was Robert J. Nelson, who was the son of Prudence Polk, who was a sister of Samuel Polk, the father of the president of the United States, James K. Polk, of the Duck river district, Maury County, Tenn. Robert J. Nelson was an orphan early in life and was taken into the home of his uncle, Samuel. The father of Samuel Polk was Ezekial, whose father, Robert Polk emigrated from Ireland to America. The home of the earlier families of Polks was in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Samuel Polk moved to Tennessee in 1806.
Capt. A. S. McKennon began the study of law while yet in the mercantile business, and after being admitted to the bar became one of the leading lawyers of the state. He was a persuasive talker, tender hearted and generous, with a goodly supply of wit.
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He was considered one of the best criminal lawyers in the state. The children of his first wife were Minnie, Dr. George, of Russell- ville, Ordmer (deceased), and Archie (Mrs. Eugene Towell) of Hot Springs. Capt. McKennon was married a second time, to Hannah Basham. Dr. P. D. McKennon of Fort Smith is their son, and the late Dr. Charley McKennon was also their son. They were the parents of several other children. Capt. Mc- Kennon died in 1920 at McAlister, Oklahoma, where he moved more than twenty years ago following an appointment he received from the President as a member of Dawes Indian Commission. Capt. McKennon was an earnest temperance worker. He gave much of his time and energy while in Johnson County, espous- ing the cause. After going to Oklahoma he made his efforts state-wide and deserved much of the credit for Oklahoma's temperance activities. Mrs. McKennon passed away several years ago.
Buckner McKennon was a traveling salesman. He married Maggie Harley. Mrs. McKennon was a woman familiar with all the topics of the day, and was able to intelligently talk or write about them. She took the primal move to enforce the three- mile temperance law in Johnson County, a law back in the Ar- kansas archives, hidden and lost. When Mrs. McKennon re- membered that she had, at some time read about that status, she consulted lawyers of her acquaintance and they did not remem- ber of such a law, but she insisted, and finally her brother-in- law, Capt. A. S. McKennon, found it. Together they went to work and soon the law itself, was at work. Mr. and Mrs. Buckner McKennon were the parents of R. H., of the McKennon House Furnishing Co., of Clarksville; Paul, a widely kown mem- ber of the Bar of Johnson county; W. A., and Basil of Louisiana, and Mrs. Autumn Belt of Oklahoma.
Dr. A. M. McKennon is the only living member in Johnson County of the two generations who first came to Johnson county bearing the McKennon name. Dr. McKennon has been for long years, beginning in the seventies, one of the most energetic and prominent business men of Northwest Arkansas. He was a practicing physician for twenty-five years. He retired and for some time personally managed his plantation in the Hartman river bottom. After the death of Capt. J. C. Hill, Dr. McKen- non purchased his property on the corner of Main and Fulton
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
streets and was the manager and principal owner of one of the largest mercantile establishments in the county until 1920, when he sold to the Clarksville Mercantile Co. Dr. McKennon was for many years President of the School Board. Mrs. J. M. Davis of Little Rock, Mesdames D. W. Dunlap and A. N. Hannah of Clarksville, Mrs. Florence Blair of Minneapolis and Mun McKennon of Scranton are the children of Dr. McKennon.
Capt. John C. Hill, following the close of the Civil War, was married to Lyde Davis, daughter of Benjamen Davis of Clarks- ville. He was a merchant in Clarksville throughout his life. Capt. and Mrs. Hill were the parents of two children, John C. Jr., and Lillie. The former was quite young when he graduated from college where he won a number of medals of honor. He was a writer of some repute. His articles appeared in the Saturday Eve- ning Post and other magazines. Being an expert judge of cotton with a keen intuition and a versatile flow of English, he soon reached the top in his profession. For twenty years and until his death in 1919, he was manager of, and held a seat on the Cot- ton Exchange in the city of New York. Mrs. J. C. Hill Jr., was Annie Hightower of Ft. Smith.
She has one son, who is J. C.
Hill, III. Lillie Hill was educated in eastern schools, finishing in the Boston Conservatory of Music. She was married in 1897 to Walter Boogher of the Boogher Dry Goods Co., of St. Louis. They visited England, France, Italy and other European countries on their wedding tour. Mrs. Boogher is now a widow and re- sides in New York City. Capt. J. C. Hill was the son of William Hill of the Shoal Creek neighborhood south of the river. His mother was Lillie Ward, a daughter of Maj. John Ward. Capt. Hill died in 1910 and Mrs. Hill died in 1914.
Major Harold Borland was the editor of the Clarksville Democrat in the late sixties. Maj. Borland was graduated from West Point Military Academy in the class of 1860. He rendered distinguished service in the army of the Confederacy. He was the son of Col. Solon Borland, who was a veteran of two wars, a United States Senator and a United States minister to Panama. Maj. Borland lived to be an octogenarian.
Judge J. W. Robnson was a magistrate of Lamar for almost twenty years. He came from Alabama to Johnson County with his father, J. S. Robinson in 1877. They resided in Clarksville two years before going to Lamar, where they became associated with
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BIOGRAPHIES
Cazort Brothers in the lumber and gin business. Leo, the only daughter of Judge Robinson, is now Mrs. Lynn Thompson of Clarksville.
When James Anderson Rhea of Handcock County, Tennessee, returned from four long years of soldier life he found that Mrs. Rhea had died only three days before the surrender. His farm land was bare of houses and fences; his grist mill gone, and his negroes free. Instead of making an effort to reclaim his for- mer property he hitched up his team and left with his three small children, Elizabeth, Amanda and Lucy. He traveled through Virginia, Missouri, Arkansas and the Indian Territory into Texas. He remained in Texas for a year, but on account of much illness,
again started across the country. When he reached the Horse- head Creek neighborhood in Johnson County, Arkansas, he stopped at the home of Phillip May and asked the price of frying chickens. When told that they were twenty-five cents, he re- marked that he had reached the place to locate and raise chickens. Four years later, in 1872, he moved to Clarksville and engaged in the transfer business. James Anderson Rhea was the son of Elijah Rhea, of the family for whom Rhea County, Tenn., was named, and his mother was Lucy Anderson of Virginian lineage, but a member of the family for whom Anderson County, Tenn., was named. He was a nephew of Congressman M. J. Rhea of Tennessee. Mrs. Rhea was prior to their marriage, a Mrs. Rayhab (Brewer) Seal. Elizabeth Rhea married John P. Molloy. Amanda Rhea died at the age of twenty. Lucy Rhea is a Mrs. Horner of Oark. She is the mother of Foster and Beulah Hargis. Eb Rhea for many years a resident of Clarksville, also Robert (deceased) and Geo. Rhea of Edna, were nephews of J. A. Rhea.
At Princton in Dallas County, Ark., before the Civil War, resided the family of Basil C. Harley. They had previously immi- grated to that place from Mississippi. Their native home was Virginia. Hon. Basil C. Harley was at one time the Lieut. Gov. of the state of Mississippi, and after their removal to Prinston was elected to the Arkansas Senate and thereby became the Lieut. Governor of Arkansas. Mrs. Harley was Mary Thompson. Their children were James, William, Clabe, Livingston, J. T. and Maggie.
James Harley had occasion, back in the fifties, to visit Clarksville. He liked the little town so much that when the war
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HISTORY OF JOHNSON COUNTY
was over he came back and went into business, first with a tin shop and later hardware. This store was burned in the early seventies and with it the old E. E. McConnell residence, Drug Store and in fact that whole block. That was the first con- flagation on that corner. Hon. Basil C. Harley had passed away in Dallas County, in the meantime, and Mrs. Harley and family moved to Clarksville. James Harley married Amanda Ward, a daughter of Augustus M. Ward. William Harley married Clem- mie May, oldest daughter of T. K. May, and Livingston Harley, now Dr. Harley, moved to Paris and began the practice of medi- cine. He married Bettie Calthrop, who was the daughter of a pioneer of Johnson County. Mrs. Wm. Hardwick of Clarks-
ville is a daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Livingston Harley. J. T.
Harley married Margaret Connelley of Clarksville.
The only
daughter of the family, was Maggie, (Mrs. Buckner McKennon.)
Hon. W. D. Allnutt held a clerkship in Washington city when be resigned to come with Congressman C. C. Reed to Arkansas. After residing in this state for a time, he grew to like it. He found the girl of his choice in Clarksville, in the person of Augusta Robinson, a daughter of Hon. Littleberry Robinson. They were married and two babies, Lilly and Richard had come into their home when Mrs. Allnutt died. Mr. Allnutt is a lawyer by profession. He is a man of few words but accurate and de- pendable in all his dealings. After a number of years Mr. Allnutt married a second time. The present lady of that title was Nelle Edwin, a beautiful young woman who had recently emigrated from Scotland. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Allnutt
FOOT NOTE-A coincidence that may be interesting to the members, and probably to posterity of the Harley and Ward families, is the frequency of their intermarriage during the past seven generations. The last two being made without their cognizance of a common ancesterage. Some old letters of the family filed away years ago by Mrs. Maggie Harley McKennon revealed the lineage. An outline will be given here for those who care to know.
Henry Bowen was a brother of Rees Bowen who was killed in the Battle of King's Mountain in the Revolutionary war. A daughter of Henry Bowen was the mother of Henry Bowen Thompson of Tazwell County, Virginia. Mary Thompson, a daughter of Henry Bowen Thompson, was Mrs. Basil Harley who moved to Johnson County.
Mrs. Basil Harley was the mother of Maggie Harley, who married B. P. McKennon. Mrs. B. P. McKennon was the mother of Basil McKennon.
Mrs. John Ward, wife of Major John Ward, was a sister of Henry Bowen. Major and Mrs. Ward were the parents of Augustus M. Ward. Augustus M. was the father of William and Amanda. William Ward was the father of Margaret Ward. In the early sixties James Harley married Amanda Ward. Within the past decade Basil C. McKennon married Margaret Ward.
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BIOGRAPHIES
are William, Colen, Katherine and Jean. This family moved to Little Rock three years ago. Mr. Allnutt's native state is Maryland.
J. C. Faucett came from North Carolina in 1871 and settled near Cabin Creek. Mrs. Faucette was Mary Tripp of Rolla, Missouri.
Wm. B. Higgs arrived in the Pittsburg neighborhood of John- son County, from the state of Tennessee, prior to the sixties. His sons were J. W. and H. A. Higgs. J. W. now resides in the old home settlement, while Horace A. Esq., is a citizen of Clarksville. His former home, however, was Knoxville. Mrs. H. A. Higgs was Ella Angeline Mosley of Marion, Illinois. The children in this family are Mrs. W. C. Hobbs, Gertrude (Mrs. Humphrey), Eunice (Mrs. Morin), Rachel (Mrs. Lee Morgan), Howell and Roland.
R. J. Dunlap and his little family came to Johnson County from Oxford, Miss., in 1875. They had previously moved to that state from Lancaster, S. C., where Mr. Dunlap had served for four years as a Confederate soldier in the 1st South Carolina Regiment. Mrs. Dunlap was, before her marriage, Margaret Montgomery, each having originally emigated from Ireland. The children in this home were Robert David, Harry, Carl, all deceased, Nelle (Mrs. Ernest Fontaine), and Birdie. Mr. and Mrs. Fontaine are the parents of two boys, Ernest Jr., and James Robert. Mr. Fontaine is a native of Kentucky. Robert D. Dunlap, who married Effie Ward, was one of the most successful men the county ever possessed. His keen perception, intuition and energy, coupled with a personality for making friends, won for him not only a large business success but scores of friends at home and wherever he went. Mr. Dunlap died in 1918. His children are D. Ward, Robert, Polly (Mrs. M. A. Scarborough), and Jefferson.
D. Ward Dunlap is administrator of his father's estate and has large coal mining interests. He is at this time a member of the Arkansas Democratic Central Committee.
Robert D. Dunlap is cashier of the First National Bank of Clarksville, and also, has much coal interests.
To trace the genealogy of the Dunlap family one must begin with the children, D. Ward, Jr. and Robert T., who are the sons of D. Ward and Robert D. Jr., who are the sons of R. D. Dunlap., Sr., who was the son of Robert Jefferson Dunlap, whose father,
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