Biography of Judge Foster O. White, 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. JUDGE FOSTER O. WHITE Judge Foster O. WHITE, now occupying the bench of the county court of White Co. & making his home at Searcy, was born in Bald Knob township, this county, July 5, 1882. He is the son of H.C. & Cassie (GUTHRIE) WHITE & a grandson of James WHITE, who was a native of Alabama & there owned & operated an extensive plantation, having some number of slaves. He lost everything, however, during the Civil War. He had 2 sons in the service, Bud & Perry, & the latter died of measles while he was held captive. Bud was wounded in the leg & body & this rendered him a cripple for life. James WHITE bought 640 ac. of land near Judsonia, White Co., Ark., which he had to clear, as it was then covered with timber. The place is now known as the Jim WHITE farm & is mostly devoted to the cultivation of strawberries. He died in 1887 at the age of 65 years. The maternal grandfather was Samuel GUTHRIE, who was born in White Co. & became a farmer & prominent stock raiser, devoting his entire time to that business. One of the great-grandsons of Judge WHITE was Samuel WHITE, who was born in Georgia & became the first county judge of White Co., Ark., settling here among the pioneers. He held 4 sessions of court per year & received a salary of but $50/year. While he held court at Searcy, he made his home at Clearwater & in addition to serving in public office he engaged extensively in farming, remaining in White Co. to the time of his death. The father of Judge WHITE of this review was born in Alabama, Oct. 7, 1851, and removed from that state to White Co., Ark., in 1871, when a young man of 20 years. He followed farming & also engaged in construction work on the Iron Mountain RR from Newport to Texarkana, Ark., assisting in building all of the bridges. He, too, became actively interested in agricultural pursuits, purchasing land which he had to clear the timber from. In those days turkey, deer & wild game of other kinds were plentiful & he has lived to witness many changes wrought by time & man as the work of development & transformation has been carried steadily forward. He has devoted his life to general farming & stock raising and he now lives with his son, Judge WHITE. His wife, who was born in White Co., died at the comparatively early age of 38 years. They were the parents of 10 children, 9 of whom are living: William H., of Little Rock, who is a train conductor on the Iron Mountain RR, having been in the service since 1900; Foster O., of this review; M. S., a bridge foreman on the Memphis division of the Iron Mountain RR; K. H., a locomotive engineer on the Missouri Pacific Road; Eurah, who is the wife of Walter MCLAUGHLIN, a farmer of Bald Knob township; Samuel, a conductor on the Iron Mountain RR, serving on the Memphis division; Rose, a bookkeeper with the Arkansas Electric Appliance Co. of Little Rock; Dock, a brakeman on the Memphis division of the Iron Mountain RR; Mamie, the wife of Earn CHOLENDT, a brakeman on the Ark. division of the Missouri Pacific; and one child who died in infancy. The mother was a member of the Baptist Church, while Mr. WHITE belongs to the Christian Church & in politics has always been a democrat. His son, Judge WHITE, was educated in the public schools of his native county & remained on the home farm to the age of 18 years, when he, too, began railroading, entering upon an apprenticeship in the bridge & building department of the Iron & Mountain RR. He served in this way for 6 years & was connected with railroading altogether for about 10 years. He then returned to Bald Knob township, where he began contracting on his own account, carrying on a general contracting business in White & adjoining counties. He was thus active until 1918, when he was elected county judge, taking the office in Jan., 1919. So creditable has been his record on the bench that he was reelected for a 2nd term without opposition. His decisions are strictly fair & impartial & his course has been a highly creditable one. Judge WHITE was married to Miss Elva L. BAKER, who was born in White Co., Ark., daughter of Joseph BAKER, who was one of the builders of the Iron Mountain RR & afterward ran trains over that line until 1892. He then turned his attention to farming & is now living with Judge & Mrs. WHITE. This worthy couple have become the parents of 6 children: Lillian, Willie Maude, Foster O., Lorraine, H. C. & Opal, all at home. The parents are members of the reorganized church of the Latter-Day-Saints, in which Judge WHITE has served as elder & as president of the Bald Knob branch, also filling the office of branch elder. Fraternally he is connected with the Masonic Lodge, with the independent order of Oddfellows, with the Ancient Order of United Workmen & also with the RR Bridgemen, being one of the pioneers in the Brotherhood of RR Car Men. His has been an active & useful life & the sterling worth of his character has placed him high in the regard of his fellow townsmen.