USA > Arkansas > Pulaski County > Little Rock > The annals of Christ church parish of Little Rock, Arkansas, from A. D. 1839 to A. D. 1899 > Part 5
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A. D. 1843-1863. Mr. Wait's practice through life has been to deal fairly with everybody. With the exception of five years at the Arkansas Post, he endeavored to do a cash business in selling goods. He never had trouble in buying goods on a credit from the beginning to the end of his mer- cantile career. From 1843 to 1854 he never sued but one man on a bill of goods sold. There was never a judgment rendered against him in any court in the State on an action of debt. He always paid his bills. Looking on all the busi- ness he has handled-his long and varied business career- this is a remarkable feature in his history. Nor was he ever forced into chancery that he did not beat the plaintiff. His note was never protested for nonpayment. He has not, as a rule, invested in public or general enterprises. He is presi- dent of the Little Rock Building Association, numbers three and four; is director and vice president of the Merchants' National Bank, of Little Rock, and was among the first direc- tors of the Cairo and Fulton Railroad, and treasurer of that company from its organization till 1863, and was a director of the Bank of the State of Arkansas from its organization till 1838. He never belonged to any secret society or military company. He seldom kept more than one clerk; kept his own books; never hired a bookkeeper, and his success is to be largely attributed to his handling his money himself, and to the close attention paid to his own business. He was never ashamed to sweep out his store, or to do anything necessary about his establishment. Expenses and bad debts did not swallow up his profits. This record is valuable as suggesting -6-
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the pathway to financial success. Our young readers who would be wise, will be admonished by the perusal of these statements.
A. D. 1838-1869. Though Mr. Wait has been a Demo- crat, he has occasionally voted for candidates on the other side. He was against secession, but when his State went out he determined to remain at home and operate with the Con- federacy. For many years prior to 1863 he served as an alderman in Little Rock. He has been twice married. His first wife, to whom he was married in Little Rock, December 11, 1838, died there December 31, 1863. Her name was Martha Lavinia Reardon, sister of John Reardon, the book- seller at Little Rock. She was born in Easton, Md., in 1809, the daughter of Lambert Reardon, a merchant in Maryland, first, and afterward in Little Rock. He was a man universally respected for his honest and correct character and gentle- manly manners, and was of Irish descent. By this marriage Mr. Wait had four children, only one of whom is living, viz: Charles Edmond, born in Little Rock, November 3, 1849; graduated at the University of Virginia ; married in August, 1879, Miss Leila Beasley, of Petersburg, Va., and by her had one child, William Beasley Wait, December 24, 1880. Charles is professor of chemistry and metallurgy and manager of the school of mines at Rolla, Mo., a rising man, of whom any father might be proud .* Mr. Wait's second marriage, which occurred at Pittsburg, Pa., May 20, 1867, was with Mrs. Fannie Eastin Tyler, widow of William H. Tyler, lieu- tenant in the United States army. She was born and educated
*Mr. Charles E. Wait lost his wife and was married a second time to Miss Har- riet Morrison. By this marriage are two children, Chas. E. Wait, Jr., and Fanny.
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in Alabama. By this marriage Mr. Wait has one child, Robert Eastin, born at Pittsburg, Pa., July 24, 1869 .*
Mrs. Wait belongs to the Episcopal Church. She is a sister of Mrs. W. W. Spotswood, formerly of the United States navy. Her sister, Matilda, was the wife of Colonel Alexander Montgomery, of the United States army. Mrs. Fannie Wait's father, Thomas Eastin, edited the first newspaper published at Key West, Florida. He was on General Jackson's staff at the battle of New Orleans; was navy agent at Pensacola, under Van Buren's administration, and died in Florida in 1863. His wife (Mrs. Wait's mother) was Lucinda Gayle, sister of Governor Jolin Gayle, of Alabama. She died at Mobile, Ala., in 1870.
Mrs. Wait's first husband, William H. Tyler, a relation of President Tyler, graduated at West Point. Her sister, Helen, is the wife of R. P. Pulliam, a lawyer at Fort Smith. Her sister, Lucinda, died the wife of Dr. Rossell, of the United States army. She left a son, William Trent Rossell, a graduate of West Point, who now belongs to the corps of civil engineers of the United States army. One of Mrs. Wait's cousins, Miss Mary Eastin, presided in the White House during part of General Jackson's administration, and was married there to Lucius J. Polk, the first marriage, it is believed, that ever occurred in the White House. Mr. Wait owns the finest residence in the State of Arkansas,+ built by Alexander McDonald, ex-United States Senator, at a cost of $40,000. He owns and rents several storehouses, several blocks and lots in town, a small stock in the Merchants' National Bank, has $17,000 stoek in the two Little Rock
*Robert Eastin Wait married Miss Isabelle Evans Smart, daughter of Rev. Rich- ard Davis Smart, a distinguished divine of the Methodist Episcopal Church. They have one daughter, Alice St. Clair Wait.
t Now owned and occupied by Colonel Thomas W. Newton and family.
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Building Associations, and owns 4,000 or 5,000 acres of land in Lincoln, Arkansas, Lonoke, Clark, and Pulaski counties.
His height is 5 feet 4 inches ; weight, 125 pounds ; eyes, blue and of very amiable expression.
He has been treasurer of the Episcopal Church of Little Rock for about thirty years, since 1843, and was chairman of the street committee in the city for several years before the war.
Mr. Wait was first vice president of the First National Bank in this city. Upon his resignation, at the meeting of the board of directors, the following resolutions were adopted :
Resolved, That although we cannot expect our words to add to the honorable reputation of a man who commenced active business in this city more than half a century ago, and has been known of all men as a gentleman of business integ- rity, whose entire career has been without spot or blemish, yet we would violate our feelings and be recreant to our duty if we permitted our fellow-director, William B. Wait, to retire from the first vice presidency of this First National Bank of Little Rock, Ark., without some official acknowledgment of our admiration for his many excellencies.
Resolved, That we desire to bear cheerful testimony to the fact that during our years of association with William B. Wait, his uprightness of action, his steadfastness of purpose and never failing kindness of consideration of all with whom lie has been associated fills each of us with a sincere admira- tion for him that will be as lasting as our memories.
Resolved, That N. Kupferle, P. K. Roots, and M. M. Colin be appointed a committee to present this expression of sentiments to Mr. Wait in such a manner and with such a souvenir as their tastes may dictate.
The children of Mr. Win. B. Wait now living are :
1. Charles Edmond, of Knoxville, Tenn., who married first Leila Beasley, and had one daughter, Fanny. Both
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mother and child died. Second wife was Harriet Morrison, of Virginia, who had one son, Charles Edmond, Jr.
2. Robert Eastin, who married Isabelle Evans Smart, daughter of Rev. Dr. Richard Davis Smart, of St. Louis Methodist Conference, and Julia Isabelle Evans, his first wife. A daughter, Alice St. Clair, was born to them.
WILLIAM S. FULTON.
A. D. 1835-1844. William S. Fulton, whose name heads the list of subscribers to the first Episcopal Church, in Little Rock (coming after the names of the collectors, Rev. Dr. Yeager, John H. Crease, Wm. C. Scott, and Jos. Grubb), served as fourth governor of the Territory of Arkansas in 1835. He was afterwards elected for the short term to the United States Senate in 1836, and died in 1844. His family attended the services of the Church. His father was Judge David Fulton, of Baltimore, Md., who married Miss Elizabeth Savin. Two sons and a daughter of this marriage were well- known citizens here, viz:
1. Hon. Wm. Savin Fulton, who married Matilda Nowland.
2. Dr. John Fulton, who married Caroline Scull.
3. Jane Fulton who married, first, Mr. Shall, and second, Dr. Holt.
The children of ex-Governor Fulton and Matilda Now- land. his wife, were:
Elizabeth Fulton, who married Moorhead Wright, and had William Fulton, Elizabeth Moorhead, Imogene, Amelie, and Isaac Wright.
William Fulton Wright, married Louisa Watkins, eldest
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daughter of Chief Justice Geo. C. Watkins and Mary, daugh- ter of John H. and Jane P. Crease. Their children are Moor- head (Watkins, died), Mary and Louisa Wright.
May Wright married S. French Hoge, of Kentucky, and had Virginia Briggs, William Fulton, and Charles Eugene Wright.
Elizabeth Moorhead married Dr. Putnam Dickinson, and had Elise and Wright (both died), Putnam, Imogene, and Annette Dickinson.
Imogene married Ambrose Hundley Sevier, and had Mande, Easter (died), Ambrose Hundley, Amelie, Imogene (died), Juliet Sevier.
Amelie married Dean Adams, and had one son, John D. Adams.
Isaac died, a minor.
Sophia Fulton married, first, James M. Curran, a distin- guished young lawyer, and had William S., Matilda F., and Alice Jimora Curran, and, second, Chief Justice Geo. C. Watkins, and had Maria Louise, Elizabeth Wright (died), Georgie Claiborne, and Ida Watkins.
William S. Curran married Jennie Goodfellow, and had James Moore and Hattie Curran.
Matilda F. married Francis Johnson, and had Alice, Ada May, and Robert W. Johnson.
Alice married Celsus P. Perrie, and have one daughter, May Curran Perrie.
Alice Jimora married Frederick Elias Conway, and had Frederick Nelson, May Fulton, Alice Elise, James Curran, and Claiborne Watkins Conway.
Maria Louise married Wm. J. Turner, and had George Watkins (died), William J., and Helen A. Turner.
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Georgie Claiborne married Pope Yeatman ; no children.
Ida married Marshall Shirk; they have one daughter, Anne Bell Shirk.
In the north wall of the new Church is a window with six lifesize figures representing Dorcas, "who was full of good works and almsdeeds, which she did," and inscribed with these words :
Sacred to the memory of Sophia Watkins.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth.
This window was donated by the two younger daughters of the deceased, Georgie and Ida.
Ida Fulton, youngest daughter of ex-Governor Fulton, married William Hunter, and had two children. All the family are dead.
2. Dr. John Fulton removed from Little Rock at an early date.
3. Jane Fulton, sister of William Savin and Dr. John Fulton, married, first, Mr. Shall, and had three children- David Fulton Shall, who married Mary Stout, and had one daughter, Mary Lizzie (parents and daughter, all dead) ; Margaret Ann, who married James Galloway, and had several children ; only one of the name, David Fulton Shall Galloway, who married May Wesson, represents the family in this parish ; Elizabeth Savin Shall, lives unmarried in this city. Jane Fulton's second husband was Dr. Holt, surgeon of the expedition sent out by the government under command of Captain B. L. E. Bonneville, U. S. A., to make a reconnois- sance of the plain .* No children.
The following biography of James Hervey Otey, whose name is a household word in Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas,
*See Early Days in Arkansas, by Wm. F. Pope, p. 152.
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Mississippi, and Florida, and his pocket diaries, which have been transcribed, will be read with especial interest, as they develop the life of the Church and its founders :
RT. REV. JAMES HERVEY OTEY, D. D.
A. D. 1800. The Rt. Rev. James Hervey Otey, D. D., the first Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church for the Diocese of Tennessee, was born on the 27th of January, 1800, near the Peaks of Otter, in Bedford County, Va. He was a great lover of mountain scenery and cherished a special affec- tion for his native Peaks. He had, after he became a Bishop, an oil painting of them executed and presented by a friend, a local artist. His eyes sometimes filled with tears as he gazed upon this picture and thought of all the scenes which it re- called. Here he grew up on his father's farm and rendered some assistance in its work. But he early exhibited an inclin- ation for study. He was sent to what was generally termed an "old field" school; but some of those neighborhood insti- tutions were very good ones. Afterwards he entered the Academy at New London, in the same county, which has gen- erally been a place of education of an excellent grade from that day to the present. There he made preparation for college and was matriculated in the University of North Carolina in his sixteenth year. He was well grown and athletic and was fond of outdoor sports, and especially of angling, for which he retained his love all his life, and was a great admirer of Sir Isaak Walton. He was also attached to his violin, on which he became quite an expert performer. Thus he had an abundance of recreation, though, during his vacations, he cheerfully assisted his parents. He gave up his violin, but his son, Mercer, still has it.
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RT. REV. JAMES HERVEY OTEY, D. D., LL. D.
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LINEAGE.
Bishop Otey was one of the younger of twelve sons and daughters of Isaac Otey and Elizabeth Mathews.# Isaac Otey was a well-to-do farmer, of sterling qualities of mind and heart, and a stern regard for moral principle, which he was careful to instil into his children. He was the representative of his people in the Legislature of Virginia for about thirty years, and as a State Senator, was so attentive to all appro- priations of the public treasure that he was called "the Cer- berus of the Treasury." IIis wife was of a high and strong character also, and his worthy helpmeet.
A. D. 1601-1613. Isaac was the son of John Otey and
Mary Hopkins. The Oteys were, on both sides, of good old English stock and settled first in New Kent County. John Otev was a valiant soldier in the war of '76. There is a credited tradition that he, when the British had obtained pos- session of the Pamunky River, raised a company at his own expense and captured one of their boats. The Hopkinses go back to Sir John Petters, Knight, member of the British Par- liament for Norwich, A. D. 1601 and 1604-1611, benefactor of Norwich Cathedral and subscriber of £25 (two shares) to the Colony of Virginia, of which he was one of the founders. He died April 19, 1613.
A. D. 1840. Colonel Thomas Sellers, one of his descen- dants, settled in Virginia in 1840. His daughter, Elizabeth, married Dr. Arthur Hopkins, and it was their daughter, Mary, who married John Otey. Hopkins became a Chris-
*William Mathews, father of Elizabeth Mathews, Bishop Otey's mother, was one of the seven brothers and partakers of the wars of that period (Indian. Colonial, and Revolutionary . His wife was named Frances Crowe. She left a little prayer book to her children with the words, "Keep steadfast to this faith once delivered to the saints."
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tian name in the Otey family and John Hopkins Otey, of Franklin, Tenn., married one of Bishop Otey's sisters.
One of James Hervey Otey's intimates at the University of North Carolina was William Mercer Green, who became an Episcopal clergyman, a professor in his Alma Mater and the Bishop of Mississippi. He has published a memoir of his
very dear friend, Otey, in which he says : "He had a keen, dark eye, a complexion made up of the ruddy and the brown, with straight, coal black hair, and the striding gait of the true son of the forest. No wonder then that he was soon dubbed with the nickname of 'the Cherokee.' But there was nothing vulgar about him." This "Cherokee" developed into an ex- ceedingly fine looking and commanding person, in stature over 6 feet. One of his lady friends was once pressing him to avow whether he was High or Low Church. He arose, erected himself and said: "I am 6 feet 2 inches without shoes." He never would admit that he belonged to any party in the Church, but only claimed to be "a Churchman."
A. D. 1820. Ilis career at Chapel Hill University was bright and honorable, and he was gradnated with high honor in 1820, receiving the title of "Bachelor of Belles Lettres," the first time it was conferred by that institution, an evidence of his taste and culture. Bishop Green remarks: "Here may be seen the foundation of that clear, vigorous and correct style which marks his writings." He must have paid special attention to the precious classics, for he was appointed tutor of Latin and Greek in the university.
A. D. 1800-1821. The 13th of October, 1821, he was married to Eliza Davis Pannill, born March 27, 1800, very near his own age. She was the blooming daughter of William Pannill and his wife, with whom he had boarded whilst he was a student. Her father and mother were Virginians, and
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prosperous, but owing to reverses of fortune, removed to North Carolina. He was the third William Pannill, of Vir- ginia, and was related to the Strothers, Mortons, Bankes, and Bruces. Mrs. Otey was related to the two great generals, Zachary Taylor, the twelfth president of the United States, and J. E. B. Stuart, of Confederate fame. The Pannills can go back to the Roll of Battle Abbey. At the University, Mr. Otey, as a tutor, had to lead the morning religious exer- cises, and to offer prayer, in which he had had no practice, was embarrassing. A lady friend presented to him an Epis- copal Prayer Book, which not only relieved his embarrass- ment, but enlisted his admiration and was instrumental in
shaping his life. Soon after his marriage he removed to Tennessee and was about to open a school at Franklin, Wil- liamson County, when he was induced to return to North Caro- lina to take charge at Warrenton of an academy, which was just passing out of the hands of the Rev. G. W. Freeman, who afterwards became Missionary Bishop of Arkansas. There he was baptized by his warm friend, Rev. William Mercer Green, Rector of that parish, and confirmed by Bishop Ravenscroft.
A. D. 1825-1827. Whilst engaged in teaching, he pur- sued his theological studies, and was on the 10th of October, 1825, ordained a Deacon, and on June 7, 1827, a Priest, by Bishop Ravenscroft, for whom he always cherished great affection and veneration. He returned to Franklin, Tenn., took charge of Harpeth Academy and preached in the Masonic Hall. He was a Mason and had attained a high degree in that order. In Warrenton he had under his in- struction Gen. Braxton Bragg and his brother, the judge, and in Franklin, the world renowned Matthew Fontaine Maury. For eight years he led a hard and laborious life, as teacher,
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minister and missionary. There was only one clergyman to aid him-Rev. John Davis, a Deacon, sent out by a Mission- ary Society in the North.
A. D. 1829-1831. In 1829 he had the pleasure and encouragement of a visit from Bishop Ravenscroft. The Diocese of Tennessee was organized in Nashville, July 1, 1829, and in 1830 Bishop Meade, of Virginia, held a conven- tion there. In 1831 Bishop Ives, of North Carolina, visited the Diocese, and in that year the Rev. J. H. Otey was called to weep over the death of his oldest son, Reginald Heber.
A. D. 1833-1834. In 1833 there were five Presbyters and one Deacon in the Diocese. The necessity for a Bishop was seriously felt, and a convention was held, partly for the purpose of electing one, in Franklin, June 27, 1833, and Rev. J. H. Otey was chosen. He was consecrated in Christ Church, Philadelphia, on the 14th of January, 1834. The Venerable Bishop White was the Consecrator and was assisted by the brothers Onderdonk and Bishop Doane, who preached the sermon. Bishop Otey was then just 34 years old and proved to be one of the great and commanding members of the American Episcopate. About this time he was greatly reinforced by the arrival of the Rev. Leonidas Polk, who became Reetor of St. Peter's Church, Columbia, Maury County, Tenn.
A. D. 1834-1836. Bishop Otey had long been prac- tically, as well as theoretically, a friend of education and had commenced advocating it publicly as early as 1832. One of the first acts of his Episeopate was to urge it before his eon- vention in Columbia, June, 1834. His plan always was to establish good schools for both sexes, and to have a college, which would embrace the preparation of ministers of the
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gospel. He was strongly in favor of a native ministry so far as it could be obtained. It was not long before he conceived the idea of the Female Institute in Columbia, which was opened in 1836. In this he was warmly aided by Rev. Leonidas Polk, and his brothers, who were men of wealth and liberality. It was, however, a difficult task to raise all the funds which such an institution needed, but he stood firmly by it, and by his own efforts obtained, outside of the Diocese, from Boston and New Orleans, a large, if not the larger part of the means necessary for its erection and continuance. Be- sides being its visitor, he was one of its instructors. He also established "Mercer Hall" at his residence near Columbia and tried to establish "Ravenscroft College," and induced the Rev. John Thomas Wheat, D. D., to resign the Rectorship of his Church in Nashville to take charge of that college, but this enterprise did not succeed. .
A. D. 1837-1860. Bishop Otey was also the originator of the germ of "The University of the South," now in opera- tion at Sewanee, Tenn. The views which he had so often and earnestly presented to his Church friends, both in Ten- nessee and Mississippi, were at last embodied in a charter, which he obtained in 1837, for Madison University, to be situated at Jackson, Tenn., but to be for the three States of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Louisiana. His warm friend and colaborer, Rev. Leonidas Polk, was one of the corporators, and undertook to visit the South for the purpose of obtaining funds for that university, but was prevented from carrying out his plans by the financial crisis of that year. Bishop Otey made various addresses in different parts of the Dio- cese and obtained some liberal subscriptions, but his hopes were again disappointed. Years afterwards, under more favorable circumstances and in a very different condition of
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affairs, in both the Church and the country, from 1837 to 1860, Bishop Polk very naturally and properly expanded the former plan, so as to make it embrace all the Southern Dio- ceses. An autograph letter of Rev. James H. Otey to Thomas Adams, Esquire, of New Orleans, explains this plan :
Memphis, January 6, 1862.
Thomas Adams, Esquire, New Orleans :
Dear Sir-The following resolution was passed unani- mously by the Board of Trustees of the University of the South, at the late meeting at Charleston, S. C., to-wit :
"Resolved, That the president of the board be requested to inform Thos. Adams, Esquire, that the trustces accede to his proposal to raise $25,000 by subscription for building pur- poses, and duly appreciate the interest expressed by him in behalf of the University."
I need not say how much the friends of education gen- erally and the favorers of our enterprise in particular will be gratified by the successful accomplishment of the plan sug- gested by you. That plan, if I understood it correctly, was for the citizens of each of the States concerned in the Uni- versity to provide each a building at Sewanee by contributions in their States respectively, as Louisiana one, Mississippi one, etc. We shall be truly thankful to you if you can in- augurate a scheme which promises such happy results by suc- cessful application in Louisiana. If you are asked for any authority to raise funds in behalf of the University, the above resolution will be regarded as furnishing ample power.
With the salutation of the season to yourself and Mrs. Adams and the expression of the hope of seeing you on the mountain next summer, I remain, very respectfully,
Your friend and obedient servant,
JAS. H. OTEY .*
*Copied from the original by the annalist.
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A. D. 1835-1844. In December, 1835, Bishop Otey removed from Franklin to the vicinity of Columbia, so as to be nearer the Female Institute, that he might watch over it and place his daughters in it. He afterwards removed into the town and again, a little out of it, to "Mercer Hall," which he opened for students. He had the pleasure of preparing for the ministry of the Church several promising young men.
In 1838 Rev. Leonidas Polk was elected Missionary Bishop of Arkansas, and Bishop Otey succeeded him as Rector of St. Peter's. This only increased his Herculean task, but he felt constrained to accept the proffered position. The resources of the Diocese were then very meagre. In 1841 Bishop Polk was elected Bishop of Louisiana, and the missionary work in Arkansas was, by the General Conven- tion, assigned to Bishop Otey, who was, most probably, the grandest missionary in spirit, zeal and actual labors, that the Church has ever had. His own Diocese was but a missionary field, a good part of his life. Shortly after his consecration · the friends of the Church in Mississippi besought his assist- ance, and he afterwards became their provisional Bishop. At the request of the General Convention, he made a visitation of Florida. His efforts in Arkansas and the Indian Ter- ritory were the more difficult and trying on account of roads and the means of locomotion, wherever steamboats could not be used. How he had to get along is shown by a letter from him to his friend, Mr. Wm. C. Hopkins, of North Carolina, which is to be found in Bishop Green's memoir. He made full reports to the members of the Board of Missions, who published them in their organ, "The Spirit of Missions." In 1844 he was compelled to resign this jurisdiction. One result of his services to the Church in Mississippi was the close friendship of Dr. William Newton Mercer. This estimable
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