Ouachita County ArArchives Biographies.....Gaughan, Thomas J. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ar/arfiles.html ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Robert Sanchez http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00027.html#0006574 June 15, 2009, 2:28 pm Author: S. J. Clarke (Publisher, 1922) THOMAS J. GAUGHAN. Thomas J. Gaughan, of the firm of Gaughan & Sifford, prominent attorneys at law in Arkansas, makes his home in Camden. He was born in Ouachita county, this state, on the 4th of December, 1S64, his hirthplace being the farm upon which he was reared. He is a son of Patrick and Caroline (Patterson) Gaughan, the former a native of County Mayo, Ireland, while the latter was born in Meriwether county, Georgia. Patrick Gaughan was a youth of nineteen years when in 1847 he came to the new world. He spent some time in New York city and then made his way to Georgia, where he met and married Caroline Patterson. In 1858 they came to Arkansas, settling on a farm in Ouachita county, and Mr. Gaughan was identified with the work of tilling the soil and raising stock during the years of his active life. It is said of him that he was not only a good farmer but also displayed notably sound judgment as a breeder of live stock. Through the careful management of his business affairs he became one of the successful men of Ouachita county and was also classed with the most influential and representative farmers and citizens. He lived to the age of seventy years, while his wife survived him and reached the age of seventy-nine years. Thomas J. Gaughan was educated at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, where he won the Bachelor of Arts degree as a member of the class of 1885. Returning home, he was offered and accepted the position of deputy circuit and county clerk, in which capacity he continued to serve for a year. During this time and later he studied law in the office and under the direction of Colonel H. B. Bunn and was admitted to the bar in February, 1888. He immediately began practice in partnership with Colonel Bunn, his former preceptor, and when the latter was appointed chief justice of the state supreme court, Mr. Gaughan entered into partnership with John T. Sifford under the firm style of Gaughan & Sifford, a connection that still exists. Advancement at the bar is proverbially slow and yet no dreary novitiate awaited Thomas J. Gaughan, who rapidly advanced to a most creditable position in the ranks of the attorneys of his section of the state. In 1891 he was elected a member of the state senate of Arkansas for a two years' term, being one of the youngest men ever chosen to the office in this state. In 1896 he was elected prosecuting attorney of the thirteenth judicial district and served in that important position with notable ability for four years. His course in office has always been characterized by the utmost fidelity to duty and by earnest effort to promote the general welfare. While he maintains a most creditable standing as a lawyer, he has also become well known in other business connections. He is the vice president of the Ouachita Valley Bank of Camden, is a director of the Frost-Johnson Lumber Company, a director of the Valley Lumber Company, president of the Gloster Lumber Company, president of the Rockwell Manufacturing Company, president of the Valley Oil Company and a director of the Union Sawmill Company. He is likewise attorney for all of these corporations and also for several railroads. He is the state president of the Association for the Recognition of the Irish Republic. Mr. Gaughan is the president of the Catholic Lay Council of Arkansas and has been a lifelong member of the Catholic church. On the 10th of October, 1888, Mr. Gaughan was married to Miss Lulu B. Higgins of Montgomery, Alabama, and they became the parents of three children: John Emmet, an attorney who is associated in practice with his father; Ruth, at home; and Thomas J., deceased. The wife and mother departed this life in 1896 and on the 12th of September, 1899, Mr. Gaughan was married to Miss Helen Bragg of Camden, Arkansas. To their marriage have been born seven children: Josephine, deceased; Caroline, who was educated at St. Mary of the Woods Academy in Indiana; Virginia, who is attending St. Mary of the Woods Academy; Ethel M. and Helen B., who are high school pupils in Camden; and Wary Alice and Thomas J., who are yet in the grades. Mr. Gaughan belongs to Camden Lodge No. 40, B. P. O. E., also to Pine Bluff Council No. 1153 of the Knights of Columbus. He is active in civic affairs and church work and also is a stalwart champion of the cause of education, having served for seven years as a member of the school board. Additional Comments: Citation: Centennial History of Arkansas Volume II Chicago-Little Rock: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company 1922 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ar/ouachita/bios/gaughan89bs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.poppet.org/arfiles/ File size: 5.1 Kb