Biography of T. J. Bowers, White County, Arkansas *********************************************************** Submitted by: Bonnie Palmer Date: Jun 1997 Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/ar/white/white.html *********************************************************** From "A Centennial History of Arkansas", edited by Dallas T. Herndon, the Director of the Dept. of Archives & History, published by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., Chicago-Little Rock, 1922. T. J. BOWERS T. J. BOWERS, editor of the Searcy News, was born in Greene Co., Tenn., Aug. 19, 1861. He is a representative of one of the oldest families of Penn., his ancestors coming into the New World during William Penn's time. The family is noted for longevity. The grandfather, Lewis BOWERS, was born in the Keystone state & removed to Tenn., where he followed the occupation of farming. His son & namesake, Lewis BOWERS, was born in Greene Co., Tenn., and after arriving at adult age, there married a Barbara A. COBBLE, who was also born in that county. Mr BOWERS was actively interested in politics prior to the Civil war & was serving as sheriff of Greene Co. when the war broke out. He enlisted for service with the Confederate troops while seven of his eight brothers fought against him, being members of the Union Army. He was under Bragg & participated in many of the most important battles of the war. On one occasion a bullet struck a Bible which he carried in his pocket & thus prevented him from being wounded. He served with the infantry forces and on one occasion was captured. At another time he saved the life of a Union general by carrying him off the field. He was court martialed for furnishing arms to the Confederacy but was paroled. He had become quite wealthy prior to the war but lost everything during that conflict, having been an extensive landholder & slave owner. Later he went to Huntsville, Alabama, where he engaged in farming, leasing a plantation there for 8 years. He shipped his first crop of cotton but never received anything for it. He then removed to Saint Francis Co., Ark., settling in Forrest City in 1874, & was there engaged in farming until he took up his abode in Cushman, Ark., where he conducted a hotel & also served as Justice of the Peace. He afterward removed to Wash. D. C., where he died in 1910, at the advanced age of 85 years, while his wife departed this life in 1908 at the age of 81 years. They were the parents of 10 children, of whom the eldest died in infancy. The others are: Sarah E., who is the widow of J. A. MCGALL & is living in Wash. D. C., at the age of 76 years; Rebecca, the wife of J. F. ENGLES of Wash. D. C.; Mattie, who became the wife of J. F. ESLINGER, but both are now deceased; Mary E., who is the wife of I. D. W. COBB, living in Huntsville, Alabama; Andrew J., a machinist, residing at Batesville, Ark.; T. J., of this review; C. C., a stockman, residing in Comanche, Texas; Fay I., the wife of F. J. HEADSTREAM, living near Roby, Texas, where he owns land & is engaged in dairying; & Lillie A., the wife of J. W. SIMMONS of Wash. D. C. The parents were consistent members of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, & Mr. BOWERS was a democrat in his political views & fraternally was connected with the Odd Fellows & the Masons. The mother was a daughter of William COBBLE, who was a carpenter & contractor of Tenn. T. J. BOWERS pursued his advanced education in a college at La Crosse, Ark., under Prof. KENNARD, there studying in 1883 & 1884, while in 1885 & 1886 he attended the State Univ. at Fayetteville. He then returned to Independence county & became a teacher in the rural districts after which he spent 3 years as a teacher in Cushman, Ark. He next turned his attention to merchandising at that place, where he remained until 1896, when he came to Searcy & here entered the grocery business. Later he spent 3 years in Blue Mountain, Ark., but in 1904 he returned to Searcy & for 3 years was on the road as a traveling salesman. He afterward purchased a general merchandise business in Searcy, which he conducted for a time & then sold. Subsequently he concentrated his efforts & attention upon the insurance & real estate business & at the same time filled the office of justice of the peace. In June, 1918, he purchased the Searcy News & has continued as its manager & editor. This is a weekly paper of merit, devoted to the dissemination of general & local news & in addition to printing the paper Mr. BOWERS does job work of all kinds. He has improved the equipment of the office, so that excellent work is turned out & he has largely built up the paper, which today has a circulation of 1000. He devotes his entire time to his newspaper interests & real estate business & for many years he has figured prominently in connection with the business development & progress of the community. In 1894 Mr. BOWERS was married to Miss Quilla CROW, who was born in Ark., a daughter of Joe CROW. They have many friends in Searcy & the hospitality of their home is greatly enjoyed by their large circle of acquaintances. Mr. BOWERS is a democrat in his political views & he & his wife hold membership in the Missionary Baptist Church, its teachings constituting the basic principles of all their acts.