Boone County AR

Biographical Sketch of L. R. Smilie

MR. L. R. SMILIE, one of the proprietors, is a native of Pennsylvania. In early childhood he moved with his parents to Livingston County, Illinois, and in 1866 they again turned their faces westward, locating in Crawford County, Kan. Mr. Smilie was a successful farmer, and remained at this place until 1884, when he went to Boone County, Arkansas, where he first engaged in the saw milling business and later in flour milling. He has two sons: Robert Percy and Charles Oscar Smilie.

Biography of James H. Gray

JAMES H. GRAY. Lead Hill, Arkansas, is known as a flourishing town and contains many able and brainy business men, among whom the general merchant takes prominent rank. In this calling few members possess a wider reputation for ability and enterprise than James H. Gray. He was born in Stone County (then Independence County), Arkansas, in 1865. and is a son of John W. and Tennessee (Cornett) Gray, natives of Mississippi and Hamilton County, Tennessee, respectively, the father born in 1836 and the mother in 1844. When young Mr. and Mrs. Gray came with their parents to Arkansas, and here … Read more

Biography of James S. Hudson

JAMES S. HUDSON. This gentleman is one of the substantial residents of Newton County, Arkansas, and is also one of the pioneers of the same, for he has resided here since his birth, which occurred on February 4, 1857. His uncle, Samuel Hudson, was the first white settler of the county, having come to this region in 1830, and his brother, Andrew Hudson, the father of James S., came here in 1835 from his native county of Jackson,Tennessee, where he was born in 1818. He settled on a farm about three miles west of where Jasper now is on Little … Read more

Biography of Judge John Q. Adams

JUDGE JOHN Q. ADAMS. This gentleman is the worthy son of a worthy father Lynn Adams, an old pioneer of this section whose sketch appears in this work. Judge Adams was born on December 22, 1858, on the old Adams homestead in this county, and here arrived at man’s estate, having acquired a good education in the district schools and the school of Marshall, as well as that of Rally Hill, Boone County. In 1879 he started out to fight life’s battles for himself and at first was engaged in teaching the “young idea,” and connection with tilling the soil, … Read more

Biography of Thomas R. Cantrell

THOMAS R. CANTRELL. One of the famous lines of the great play, “The Old Homestead,” is “Young blood tells.” This expression applies not alone to a man’s social advancement, but in business life particularly, where the old men are dropping out and the younger generation stepping into their shoes. In Lead Hill, Arkansas, the younger generation is in the lead in every calling, especially in the mercantile business, a noted firm being Pumphrey & Cantrell, of which Mr. Cantrell is the junior member. Thomas R. Cantrell was born in Warren County, Tennessee, in 1858, son of Paris and Rosanna (Frier) … Read more

Biography of Robert A. Thornton

ROBERT A. THORNTON. Robert A. Thornton, a prominent merchant, stock-man, farmer and cotton dealer of Shaver, Arkansas, came originally from Christian County, Missouri, his birth occurring in 1859 to the union of K. M. and Jane (Boatwright) Thornton, natives of Tennessee, where they lived until 1851. From there they removed to Springfield, Missouri, and resided in Greene and Christian Counties for a good many years. Mr. Thornton, who was born in the year ____, died at Shaver in 1885. Mrs. Thornton died when about seventy-seven years of age. Both were members of the Free-Will Baptist Church for nearly fifty years. … Read more

Biography of D. P. Redwine, M. D.

D. P. REDWINE, M. D. Few, perhaps none save those who have trod the arduous paths of the profession, can picture to themselves the array of attributes, mental, physical and moral, and the host of minor qualities essential to the making up of a good physician. His constitution must be of the hardiest to withstand the constant shock of wind and weather, the wearing loss of sleep and rest, and contact with disease of all kinds. The above are but a few necessary remarks introducing Dr. D. P. Redwine, who is a native of Searcy County, Arkansas, where he was … Read more

Biography of Jesse P. Briscoe

JESSE P. BRISCOE. The time has never been that the prescription drug gist was not of as great importance to a community as the physician. Indeed it would be difficult to name a branch of business that is more indispensably important than that devoted to the sale and importation of drugs and the preparation of prescriptions. Neither is there any line of business demanding more ability and scientific knowledge. One of the eminent prescription druggists of Harrison, Arkansas, is Jesse P. Briscoe, who is a gentleman of bright talent and enterprise. He was born in Benton County, Arkansas, May 15, … Read more

Biography of J. A. Weatherly

J. A. WEATHERLY. In this day and age of bustle and hurry very few people stop to consider what we can and how to select it, but the skillful housewife is very careful in her purchase of groceries, for she knows that on their purity and wholesomeness depends in a large measure the health and happiness of her family. J.A. Weatherly, dealer in fine groceries at Harrison, Arkansas, enjoys a reputation for courteous dealing and promptness in his line of business which any grocer might be proud to have and his goods have become noted for their excellence and purity. … Read more

Biography of Thomas Newman

In the veins of this gentleman flowed sturdy English blood, for in Dorchester, England, he first saw the light of day. In his boyhood he was brought to this country by his father, John Newman, and with him settled in Philadelphia, Pa., where the latter followed the calling of a mechanic, and eventually died. Thomas Newman attained manhood in the East and then embarked in the battle of life as a railroad engineer, but in 1858 or’59 turned his attention to newspaper work in Kansas, and through its pages advocated the cause of Abolition. After a short time he moved … Read more

Biography of A. C. Hull

This gentleman is the able editor of the Boone Banner, one of the best country journals of which the State of Arkansas can boast. It is published in Harrison, one of the busiest and best towns of north Arkansas, and has an extended circulation throughout one of the largest and richest zinc and lead regions in the United States, and has a rapidly growing field to cover. It finds its way into the homes of the best class of people, who can always glean something useful and interesting from its columns, and it is essentially a paper of, by, and … Read more

Biography of John Stone

JOHN STONE. Among the prominent farmers and stockraisers of Sugar Loaf Township, Boone County, Arkansas, stands the name of John Stone, whose fine farm and surroundings show what perseverance and industry will accomplish. Mr. Stone was born in Lauderdale County, Ala., in the year 1829, to the marriage of Noble and Mary (Simmons) Stone, natives of the Palmetto State. When both father and mother were children they went with their par-ents to Alabama, grew to mature years in that State, married, and when our subject was about six months old they removed to Marion County, Tennessee There the mother died … Read more

Biography of Judge B. B. Hudgins

JUDGE B. B. HUDGINS. The present circuit judge of the Fourteenth District of Arkansas is Judge B. B. Hudgins, who was born in Taney County, Missouri, August 15, 1854, the eldest child born to Dr. John W. and Malinda (Byrne) Hudgins, who were born in Jackson County, Ala., and Marion County, Tennessee, respectively. The paternal grandparents were Benjamin and Martha (Ellis) Hudgins, and were born and reared on the Atlantic coast, and Benjamin was a young man when he came West. He was descended from one of three brothers who came to this country from England. Dr. John W. Hudgins … Read more

Biography of De Roos Bailey

Of the younger element of our prominent, energetic and influential citizens, none are better known than De Roos Bailey, one of the distinguished attorneys of the northwestern part of Arkansas, whose home is at Harrison. During the years that he has practiced his profession here he has shown that he is endowed with superior ability, and his comprehensive knowledge of the law, together with the soundness of his judgment, secured his almost immediate recognition at the bar. Since that time to the present he has so identified himself with the affairs of his section that its history can-not be recorded … Read more

Biography of I. C. Wilson

I. C. WILSON. This gentleman is one of the oldest pioneers of Marion County, and his name is so inseparably mixed with its progress and welfare that to leave it out of this work would be like the play of Hamlet with Hamlet left out. He was born in North Carolina February 2, 1814. Of that State his parents, James and Celia (Askew) Wilson, were also natives. In 1845 they turned their faces westward, eventually landed in Arkansas, and here they breathed their last, the father’s death occurring in Yellville at about the age of sixty-seven years, and the mother’s … Read more

Biography of Prof. J. T. Gilley

PROF J. T. GILLEY. While the life of an educator is generally barren of incidents for biography, it is still true that a life devoted to this calling must have many points of interest to practical thinkers, and be of benefit to the great work of educational progress. Prof. J. T. Gilley is one of the most popular educators of Marion County, Arkansas, and was born in Tennessee March 2, 1855. a son of one of the old and prominent farmers of this section, A. S. Gilley, who came thither from Tennessee in 1870, with his wife, Elizabeth (Little Gilley, … Read more

Biography of Dr. George W. Thompson

DR. GEORGE W. THOMPSON. Dr. George W. Thompson is a successful follower of Aesculapius at Cave Creek, Arkansas, and through ability and well merited success has built up a practice that is eminently satisfactory. He is a product of Caldwell County, Kentucky, born in 1836, and the son of William R. Thompson who was born in Claiborne County, Tennessee, in 1807. The father was liberally educated in his native State and was there married to Miss Elizabeth Wells, also of Tennessee, and a lady of more than ordinary intelligence. She was born in Knox County in 1809. About 1834 the … Read more

Biographical Sketch of Charles G. Brown

Brown, Charles G. (See Ward)—Charles G. Brown, born in Texas March 12, 1854, educated at Tullahassee Mission in the Creek Nation. Married at Sauna, Cherokee Nation July 30, 1880, Mary, daughter of William and Lenora Coker, born in Boone County, Ark. January 25, 1865. They are the parents of: Lulu, born December 10, 1881; Quatie, born December 21, 1890; Etta Beatrice, born No­vember 23, 1896; Nannie Lenora, born July 21, 1899 and Debra D., born April 19, 1905. Mr. Brown is farming near Pryor. John Ward, a white man, married Catherine McDaniel of Scotch-Cherokee descent and they were the parents … Read more

Biography of C. C. Hudson

C. C. HUDSON. Many of the most active and enterprising residents of Newton County are natives of the same, and have here spent the greater part of their lives. In them we find men of true loyalty to the interests of this part of the State who understand as it were by instinct the needs, social and industrial, of this vicinity, and who have a thorough knowledge of its resources. They are, therefore, better adapted to succeed here than a stranger could be and are probably without exception warmly devoted to the prosperity of their native place. Mr. C. C. … Read more

Biography of W. F. Ryan

W. F. RYAN, another of the proprietors of the The Harrison Roller Mill Company, has been a resident of the county since 1885, having come thither from Kansas, but was born in Clark County, Illinois, February 12, 1858. His father, Jacob M. Ryan, was born in Ohio, but at an early day became a resident of Clark County, Illinois, later moved to Kansas, and in 1882 came to Boone County, Arkansas, where he died in June, 1893, having been an extensive lumber dealer of Harrison. He was a soldier in Company G, Fifty-fourth Regiment of Volunteers, during the war, belonged … Read more