William M. Deas, Augusta, GA., then Bienville Parish, Louisiana
Submitted by Mike Miller

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William M. Deas, president of the First National Bank of Arcadia, has for a number of years been one of the public spirited and progressive citizens in the building and development of this most attractive and growing town in Bienville Parish.  His individual career has been one of stimulating interest, since he started without capital and as a common laborer.

He was born in Augusta, Georgia, in 1878, and two years later his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Murphy Deas, moved to Louisiana and located at Arcadia in Bienville Parish.  William M. Deas grew up to boyhood in the community where he lives today, and was educated in the E. A. Seminary, conducted by a noted educator, Prof. R. A. Smith, and followed that with work in the old Arcadia Male and Female Academy.

His working and earning experience began as an employee of a saw mill, and for a time he farmed in Bienville Parish and later worked in a blacksmith shop.  Another experience was in the railroad service with the V. S. and P. Railroad.  After leaving railroading he became bookkeeper in the mercantile house of A. L. Atkins and Son at Arcadia, which for many years was the largest concern of its kind in Louisiana outside of Shreveport.  He was a factor in this business for a number of years.

Since 1910 Mr. Deas has been identified with the First National Bank of Arcadia, rising from bookkeeper through the various grades of service to president, an office to which he was elected March 1, 1924.  This bank was established as a National Bank in 1894, and has had a prosperous record of growth and development through thirty years.  As its president Mr. Deas has added still further to his reputation as a business man and financier.  The capital stock of the bank is $100,000 with a surplus of $27,000.

Mr. Deas is a member of the Methodist Church.  Of his marriage to Hessie Stewart he has three children:  Dorothy,  Stewart and  Thomas.

A History of Louisiana, (vol. 2), p. 307, by Henry E. Chambers.  Published by The American Historical Society, Inc., Chicago and New York, 1925.