Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas Copyright 1890 Published by The Goodspeed Publishing Co.; Chicago, Nashville and St. Louis Biographical Sketches J through L ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- USGenWeb NOTICE: Libraries and individual researchers may download this file for personal, non-commercial use only. Any other use requires written permission from the transcriber. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- HISTORY OF ARKANSAS. CHAPTER XXV CLEVELAND (FORMERLY DORSEY) COUNTY-DESCRIPTION-STATISTICS- ORGANIZATION-COUNTY SEAT AND BUILDINGS-SEAT OF JUSTICE-DIVISION INTO TOWNSHIPS-BOUNDARIES-CHANGES OF TOWN- SHIP LINES-LIST OF SUCCESSIVE COUNTY OFFICERS-CIRCUIT COURT-RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL ADVANCEMENT-VILLAGES AND POST-OFFICES EARLY SETTLERS-TIIE CIVIL WAR-THE COUNTY PRESS -RAILROADS AND GENERAL PROGRESS- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. Extremes of fortune are true wisdom's test, And he's of men most wise who bears them best.-Cumberland. Judge Jesse F. Johnson, county and probate judge and farmer, Kingsland, Ark. There are few men of the present day whom the world acknowledges as successful, more worthy of honorable mention, or whose life history affords a better example of what may be accomplished by a determined will and perseverance, than Judge Johnson. He owes his nativity to Madison County, Tenn., where his birth occurred in 1845, and is the son of Stephen and Nancy M. (Jones) Johnson, natives also of Tennessee, born in 1812 and 1819, respectively. The parents were married in Madison County, Tenn., and in 1850 they left that State, and moved to Arkansas, being among the early settlers of what is now Cleveland County. Mr. Johnson was a well-to-do farmer, was justice of the peace for many years, and from 1876 to 1884 he was treasurer of Cleveland County, holding the office as long as he was able to attend to the duties of the same. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity for many years, and at the time of his death was a member of Kingsland Lodge No. 430, also of the Royal Arch Chapter. In politics he was Democratic. His wife died in 1884, and he in 1889, and both were for many years members of the Methodist Church. He was the son of Thomas Johnson. Grandfather Beverly Jones was a carpenter, and died in Madison County, Tenn., when our subject was but a boy. Judge Jesse F. Johnson was the second of nine children born to his father's second marriage, eight of whom are now living. His early scholastic advantages were not of the best as he grew up, and his time was principally employed in assisting on the farm. In October, 1863, he joined Company I, Tenth Arkansas Infantry, operated in Arkansas and Texas, and surrendered at Marshall, Tea., in .May, 1865. His marriage took place in December, 1863, to Miss Margaret M. Ropers, who was born in Tennessee, and who became the mother of six children, one sore and four daughters now living. Her parents, Spirus and Elizabeth Ropers, were natives of Tennessee, and moved from that State to Dallas County, Ark., in 1849. There the mother died, in 1872, but the father is still living, and is a successful tiller of the soil. He served one year in the Confederate army during the latter part of the war. Mrs. Johnson died in Cleveland County, in 1882, and in July, 1883, the Judge married Miss Sarah J. Parks, a native of Columbia County, Ga., born in 1851, and was about five years of age when her parents moved to South Carolina. Her parents, Lewis and Sarah A. Park, were born in Lincoln and Columbia Counties. Ga.. and removed to South Carolina about 1856. There the mother died, in 1862, and in 1880 the father moved to Cleveland County, Ark., where he died in 1889. Mr. Parks served for four years in the Confederate army, first in the State troops of South Carolina, and afterward in the Virginia army. He was captain of the State troops. To Judge Johnson's second marriage were born three children-two eons and a daughter. Since his first marriage the Judge has lived on his present farm, which consists of 200 acres, and that he has been successful is plainly indicated by the surroundings of his place. In 1888 he was elected county and probate judge, and is a man whose decisions are not made without careful and painstaking study of the evidence adduced, but on the contrary all feel that his judgment can be relied upon. He has been a Democrat all his life, and his first presidential vote was for H. Seymour, in 1868. Ho is a member of the Agricultural Wheel, and he and wife have been members of the Methodist Church for many years. Edmund Kendall, farmer, Rison, Ark. Mr. Kendall was born in Stanly County, N. C., in 1827, and is the son of Hon. Reuben and Sallie (Smith) Kendall, natives, respectively, of Virginia and North Carolina. The parents were warned in the last-named State, and there spent their entire lives, the mother dying abort 1847 and the father in 1854 or 1855. Both were members of the Methodist Church for many years. The father was a tiller of the soil; was a prominent citizen; was a member of the Legislature at different times for twelve or fifteen years, and for four years was in the Senate. ' He was colonel of the militia, and was a man universally respected. Edmund Kendall, the ninth of ten children born to his parents, and the only one now living, was early taught the duties of farm life and received a fair education in the common country school. He was married in his native county in 1852, to bliss Emma Owen, a daughter of William D: and Parthena (Legrand) Watkins, of North Carolina, and the result of this union was seven children: Della Parthena, William Waddle, an infant daughter born dead, Charley E., Benjamin F. and Edmund Owen (deceased), twine, and Rosa Lee (wife of S. D. Lockhart). Three of these are living. Mr. Watkins was a farmer and died in 1877 or 1878. Mrs. Kendall was born in Stanly County, N. C., and died in 1866. In 1856 Mr. Kendall moved to Arkansas, settled in what is now Cleveland County, and since 1867 on his present farm. He is the owner of about 1,300 acres, and all this he has accumulated by his own exertions. He was elected to the office of sheriff of Cleveland County, and filled that position in a highly creditable manner from 1874 to 1876. In politics he was formerly a Whig, but he now affiliates with the Democratic party. His first presidential vote was cast for Z. Taylor in 1848. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity since about 1865, and has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, since about sixteen years of age, and his wife and all the children are members of the same. Joseph J. T. Kendrick, merchant of New Edinburg, Ark. The degree of success which has been achieved by Mr. Kendrick since the establishment of his mercantile house, fully warrants the assertion that it is firmly established in public favor and has become a worthy representative of trade. He established his business in, 1872, and his trade has gradually but surely increased until it has assumed extensive proportions. Mr. Kendrick was born in Franklin, Heard County, Ga., December 23, 1838, and is a son of Hezekiah and Nancy (Cook) Kendrick, natives respectively of Virginia and Georgia, who died in Calhoun County, Ark., the former's death occurring in 1853 at the age of sixty years, and the latter when about fiftyfive years of age. When a young man the father removed from the Old Dominion to Georgia, which State was his home until 1847, at which time he came to Calhoun County, Ark., and here made his permanent home. He was a successful farmer, and he and his wife were worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and in his political views he was a Democrat. Joseph J. T. Kendrick was the fifth of their six children; five sons and one daughter and his school days were spent at Chambersville, Calhoun County, Ark. After he had reached manhood his parents passed from life, and he then commenced the battle of life for himself as a merchant's clerk at Hopeville, but in 1861 gave up this work to join the Confederate army, enlisting in the month of June in the Third Arkansas Cavalry, with which he remained until the close of the war, participating in the battles of Corinth, the celebrated retreat through Georgia, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and Knoxville. He was taken prisoner near where the battle of Franklin was fought, but he was soon released. After the war he began working at the tanner's trade in Calhoun County, continuing until the latter part of 1866, when he came to Cleveland County and tilled the soil until 1871. The following year, as above stated, he engaged in his present business, and the property he has accumulated has all been earned since the war: He was married in 1868 to Miss Martha Vance, a daughter of J. J. Vance, of Bradley County (now Cleveland County), and their union has resulted in the birth of a daughter named Annie. Mrs. Kendrick is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and Mr. Kendrick is a Democrat in his political views, and has always supported the men and measures of that party. Dr. Louis Leali, physician and surgeon, Kingsland, Ark. Dr. Leali is recognized throughout the county as a friend of and laborer in the cause and advancement of the medical fraternity. He is a native of Italy, born in Bergamo in 1824, and his father, Charles Leali, who was also a native of Italy, is probably living in that country at the present time. The elder Leali was a farmer and was married in his native country to Miss Rosa Taschini, also a native of Italy, but who died when our subject was an infant. The latter was the only child born to his parents, and he was given every advantage for an education. He spent five years in the study of medicine at Pavia, and graduated in 1848 from Pisa. He then in 1848 and 1849 fought with Italy against Austria, but his native country being defeated, he refugeed to America. He sailed for this country in 1850, located in Arkansas, and soon after on his present farm, where he has since lived, with the exception of from 1857 to 1860, when he resided at Princeton. He has practiced among the same people for forty years and is one of the oldest and most successful physicians of Southeast Arkansas. He is well known and esteemed by everybody. His practice yields him a comfortable living, and he is reaping the reward of forty years honorably spent in the cause of humanity. In an early day his practice extended over a radius of thirty miles, and he was often gone from home for three or four days at a time. He still has an extensive practice. He was married in 1855 to Miss Sarah Wash, a native of the Old Dominion and the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth (Belcher) Wash, also natives of Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Wash moved from their native State to Tennessee, and thence to Dallas County, Ark., where they died some years later. To Mr. and Mrs. Leali were born two children, a son and daughter the former living, Dr. Charles, who is a graduate from that well-known and firmly established seat of learning, the Missouri Medical College. of St. Louis. Dr. Louis Leali is the owner of about 1,000 acres of land seven miles northwest of Kingsland, and this is the fruit of his own labor. He was in the Third Arkansas Cavalry until May, 1862, and afterward was in different commands in Northeast Arkansas, and Southeast Missouri until cessation of hostilities. He was at the battle of Corinth, besides many other engagements of note. He was a member of the Masonic fraternity for many years, and in his political views is Democratic, casting his first vote for Franklin Pierce, in 1852. George L. Lochridge, general merchant, Kingsland, Ark. Mr. Lochridge is a member of the well-known firm of Lochridge & Buster, dealers in farm implements, mill supplies, wagons, etc., at Kingsland, and is a man of good business experience, progressive in his ideas and who well understands how to suit the desires and wishes of his customers. This business was established in 1883 by Mr. Lochridge, who continued alone until January, 1889, when Mr. Buster, formerly a clerk, became a partner. The average value of their stock is from $10,000 to $15,000, and the annual salsa amount to $35,000. They also have a branch store at Orlando, which is doing an annual business of $6,000. George L. Lochridge was born in Princeton, Ark., in 1859, is the son of George W. and Indiana (Russel) Lochridge, the grandson of Thomas and Deborah (Wright) Lochridge, and the great-grandson of James Lochridge, who was reared and married in Georgia. The latter moved to Maury County, Tenn., in 1800, and there spent the balance of his days, his death occurring in the thirties. He was of Scotch-Irish descent (his parents natives of the old country), and was a soldier in the Revolutionary War. The paternal grandparents of our subject, Thomas M. and Deborah (Wright) Lochridge, were natives of Maury and Bedford Counties, Tenn., the former born in 1801 and the latter in 1801. 'they moved to Marshall County, Miss., thence, in 1819, to Dallas County, Ark., and settled in the woods near Princeton, where Mr. Lochridge cultivated the soil. He died in 1861 and his widow in 1875, both members of the Methodist Church for many years, and pioneer settlers of Southern Arkansas. George V. Lochridge was born in Maury County, Tenn., in 1831, is now a retired farmer and resides in Kings land. He came with his parents to Arkansas in 1819, assisted his father in clearing the home place and received a fair education in the common school, supplementing the same by a course at Princeton Academy. He began for himself at about the age of twenty. one as a clerk, and was married, in 1854, to bliss Indiana Russell, daughter of Jesse and Mary Russell. Mr. and Mrs. Russell were natives of Tennessee, where they remained until about 1836, and then moved to what is Dallas County, Ark., being among the first settlers in that county. There they passed the clos­ing scenes of their lives, the father dying in 1841 and the mother in 1874. Mr. Russell was a farmer by occupation, and served as lieutenant in the War of 1812, and was with Gen. Jackson at the battle of New Orleans. Mrs. Lochridge was born in Tennessee, and by her marriage became the mother of ten children, two sons and two daughters now living: George L., J. Frank, Mary (wife of Albert Acruman, of Fordyce), and Lucy D. (wife of W. Scroggins, of Bearden). The father of these children resided in Princeton and was engaged in the grocery business until during the war, when he removed to a farm near by, and in 1867 to what is now Cleveland County. He resided in Saline Township until 1887, and then removed to Kingsland. He still has a good farm of 360 acres, and is a man whose honesty and integrity is unquestioned. He was justice of the peace for some time in Cleveland County, and filled the position of deputy sheriff while a resident of Dallas County. In July, 1861, he joined Company I, Twelfth Arkansas Infantry, and operated in Kentucky and Tennessee. He was captured at Island No. 10, but made his escape and joined his command at Memphis. A few months after rejoining his command he obtained a furlough and made a visit home; then, after rejoining his command operated in Texas. He was discharged near Marshall, Texas, in April, 1865. He is Democratic in his political views, and his first presidential vote was for Franklin Pierce in 1852. He has been a member of the Masonic fraternity for many years, and he and wife are worthy members of the Methodist Church. Their son, George L. Lochridge was early initiated into the duties on the farm, and secured a country school education, after which he spent five months at Little Rock Commercial College. He then embarked in his present business, starting with $318 worth of goods, and through good business management and close application to business, has become one of the leading merchants of Cleveland County. He was married, in 1887, to Miss Ids Lee, daughter of E. A. and Mary Acruman, one of the prominent families of Fordyce. Mr. Acruman came from Alabama to Arkansas when a young man, and is now one of the wealthiest and most extensive business men of South Arkansas. Mrs. Lochridge was born in Chambersville, Ark., and by her marriage to our subject became the mother of one child, a daughter. Mr. Lochridge has a good home in town, and is a young man whose future outlook is indeed bright. He is a Democrat, politically, and his first presidential vote was cast for Hancock in 1880. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Kingsland Lodge No. 430, and is senior deacon of the same. He was at one time secretary. He is also a Royal Arch Mason, belonging to Kingsland Chapter No 74. Mrs. Lochridge is a member of the Methodist Church. Mr. Lochridge's maternal great-grandfather, Rev. James Wright, was probably born in North Carolina, and resided for many years in Bedford County, Tenn., and finally moved from there to Henry County, Tenn., where he died in 1835 or 1836 He was a farmer and a Methodist minister for many years. He was a soldier in the Creek War. He was of Irish descent. His wife also died in Henry County, Tenn.