William Pace, Ouachita County, AR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCE: Chicago: The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889. Contributed by Carol Smith. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouachita County, Arkansas - from Goodspeed's History of Arkansas William Pace, if for no other reason, is deserving of prominent mention was one of the oldest settlers of Bridge Creek Township. He was born in Kentucky in 1807, a son of John and Elizabeth (Jones) Pace. The father was born in Wales about 176-, a son of Frederick Pace, who came to this country before the Revolutionary War, when his son (father of our subject) was but seven years of age. He was a farmer by occupation, and moved to Tennessee in 1805, and in the following year to Kentucky, residing in this state until 1809, when he removed to Alabama and died in Clark County, that State in 1821. He and wife were members of the Baptist Church. The mother of the subject o this sketch was a daughter of a Mr. Jones, who was of English descent. She died about 1854, at a ripe old age. They were the parents of fourteen children, three of whom only are living, viz: the subject of this sketch, the eldest, Richmond, a farmer of Mississippi, and Jesu, a farmer of Mississippi. Mr. Pace, the subject of this sketch, remained at home until he had reached his twenty-fifth year, when he commenced farming in Alabama, continuing there until 1842, when he came to Arkansas, and located in this county on the farm on which he still lives, most of which he entered himself. Mr. pace has been married three times: First, April 7, 1830, to Miss Sarah Yarbrough, a native of Tennessee, who died November 27, 1857, at the age of forty-six years, leaving ten children, three of whom are still living, viz: Jesse M. ( a graduate of the Medical College of New Orleans, and now practicing his profession in Dallas, Texas), William W., (a bookkeeper of Camden) and Lawrence J. (a graduate of New Orleans School of Pharmacy, and engaged in merchandising in Alabama). Mr. Pace was next married, in 1858, to Mrs. Pernicia Reed, nee Compton, widow of Christopher Reed, of this county, and daughter of Aaron Compton, a Baptist minister. She died in 1870 leaving no children by her marriage with Mr. Pace. Mr. Pace was married to his third and present wife in 1871, wedding Mrs. Nancy Smith, widow of William O. Smith, of this county, and daughter of Nelson and Elizabeth (Thomas Harris), natives of North Carolina and Virginia, respectively. In 1861 Mr. pace enlisted in the Confederate service, but did not serve, being discharged on account of his age. He was the third volunteer from this county, and he thinks the third from the State, and was very anxious to take part in the war, and to get a shot at a live Yankee, but his wife persuaded him to remain at home. He had four sons in the war. At the breaking out of the war he owned 3,560 acres of land and forty-seven slaves, and was the largest planter in Ouachita County, his property (real and persona) being valued at $72,000 (tax valuation), but after the war property was greatly depreciated in value, and , having lost all his slaves, he was obliged to sell a large part of his land to pay taxes. His property was then valued at $4,000. He now owns 920 acres of land, and cultivates about 150 acres of it. Both Mr. and Mrs. Pace are members of the Primitive Baptist Church, as were also his two former wives. In his political view, Mr. Pace is a staunch Democrat and is a man of considerable influence.