Biography of W. D. Davenport, 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. W. D. DAVENPORT W. D. DAVENPORT, attorney at law of Searcy, was born Aug. 3, 1877, in White Co., Ark., and comes of Irish ancestry. His grandfather, John DAVENPORT, was a native of the Emerald Isle & in 1830 crossed the Atlantic, settling in NC. Later he removed to Tenn. & afterward to White Co., Ark., in 1856. He then entered 160 ac. of wooded land & after clearing away the trees & brush, broke the sod & began development of a farm. He was one of the pioneer settlers of White Co., having made the journey westward with ox team & wagon & his oxen were used in breaking the sod. There was much big game to be had in this section of the country at the time and all of the experiences & hardships of pioneer life constituted the features of the daily existence of the people of the community. He did his trading at West Point in the early days & he lived to see many changes as the country became settled & developed. His death occurred during the Civil War period. He was the father of Benjamin F. Davenport, who was born in NC & accompanied his parents to Ark. in 1856. He enlisted in the Confederate army from White county & served during the last year of the war, although only 15 years of age, being on duty west of the Miss., the time being largely passed in northern Ark. & along the Missouri border. When the war was over he returned to White Co., where he became a land owner & carried on general farming. He had to clear, break, & improve his land & from time to time he added to his holdings, prospering as the years passed by. He continued to occupy & further develop the homestead until his death & the property is still in possession of the family. In young manhood he married Francis HAYWOOD, a native of Miss., the daughter of William HAYWOOD, who removed from Miss. to Greene Co., Ark., in 1866 & in 1867 came to White Co. In Miss. he had been a slave owner and had engaged extensively in farming, but during the Civil War lost everything that he had save his home. After coming to this state he bought land in White Co. and here spent his remaining days, until his death, occurring in 1876, while his wife, who bore the maiden name of Tabitha HALEY, also departed this life here. Their daughter, Mrs. Frances DAVENPORT, survives her husband, who died in 1886 at the age of 36 years. She has reached the age of 72 & she recently carded & spun yarn & made a scarf, which was on exhibit at the Ark. State Fair. Mr. DAVENPORT was a populist in political faith & in religious belief a Christadelphian, while Mrs. DAVENPORT belongs to the Apostolic Church. In the family were 4 children: W. D., of this review; Kate, the wife of Walter N. HARSHAW, who operates a gin & conducts a farm at Pangburn, Ark.; Jennie, who is the widow of George REAVES ; and Benjamin Booth, who died at the age of 16 years. The daughter, Jennie, had one child by her first marriage, Maude, who is the wife of Riley DOYLE, a farmer of Pangburn, Ark. After losing her first husband, Mrs. REAVES became the wife of Pressely BROADWATER & they have one child, May, who is the wife of Goldie WILLIAMS of Pangburn, Ark. Mrs. BROADWATER died in 1901. W. D. DAVENPORT, having mastered the elementary branches of learning taught in the rural schools of White Co., continued his education in the Searcy high school & then took up the occupation of farming, to which he had been reared & which work he successfully conducted. He also taught in the district schools for a period of 10 years, mostly in the winter seasons & ambitious to advance his education he later became a student in the State Univ., where he prepared for law practice, being graduated in 1909 with the Bachelor of Laws degree. In the same year he opened an office in Searcy & entered upon general practice. Through the intervening period he has tried all kinds of cases. While he regards the practice of law as his real life work he is also well known as a land-owner, having a thousand acres, from which he derives a good rental. Mr. DAVENPORT is also interested in the Union Bank & Trust Co. of Searcy as one of its directors & vice president. Mr. DAVENPORT was united in marriage to Miss Margaret E. FIGG, who was born in White Co., and they became parents of 2 children, but the older one died in infancy. The other, Elvin FIGG, is at home. Mr. DAVENPORT is a democrat in his political views & has been called upon to fill several important public positions. In 1915 he was elected to the state senate, serving as president of the upper house during 1917. He was also acting governor of the state for a short time during the absence of the chief executive. He is thoroughly conversant with all of the questions vital to the welfare & progress of the commonwealth & his aid & influence have been a dominant force in shaping the history of the state in recent years. His patriotism & public spirit are manifest in all that he does & his labors have brought satisfactory & helpful results.