Early Bar of Washington County, Arkansas
The bar of Fayetteville has always been one of eminent ability, and has numbered among its members some of the most brilliant legal lights in the State. One of the first lawyers to locate here was Judge David Walker, who came to Arkansas in 1830, and, after standing an examination by Judges Cross and Johnson, was admitted to the bar, and located in Fayetteville. He was born in what is now Todd County, Ky., in 1806, and had but meager opportunities for securing an education. He, however, had an indomitable will, that enabled him to rise above adverse circumstances, and he soon became a leader in the profession which he chose. In September, 1833, he was elected prosecuting attorney, and at the expiration of his term was reelected. He was chosen a member of the convention which framed the first State constitution, and took an important part in the deliberations of that body. In 1836 he was a presidential elector for Hugh L. White, and in 1840 was elected to the State Senate. He was a strong supporter of the Whig party, and in 1844 made a canvass for Congress against Archibald Yell, who was doubtless the only man that could have defeated him. In 1848 he was elected by a Democratic Legislature to a seat in the Supreme Court, where he served until 1855, when he resigned. In the campaign of 1860 he supported the Bell and Everett ticket, and in 1861 was elected to the Constitutional Convention, of which body he was chosen president. During the war he served in the military court of Price's army, and in 1866 was elected chief justice of the Supreme Court. He continued in that position until ousted by the reconstruction acts. In 1874 he was again elected to the Supreme Court, from which he resigned in 1878. He died in 1879. He was a man of uncompromising integrity, indomitable energy and strong native ability, and he has had few equals in Arkansas, either as an advocate or as a jurist.
Soon after Judge Walker's arrival in Fayetteville, Archibald Yell located
in the suburbs of the town on a place now owned by Col. T. J. Hunt, which he
called "Waxhaws." Gov. Yell was born in North Carolina in 1797 of poor
parentage, and received a limited education in his youth. In 1812 he
volunteered in a Tennessee regiment, having previously removed to that
State, and by his gallant service attracted the attention of Gen. Jackson,
by whom he was attached to the company that constituted his life-guards.
When the war was over Yell returned to Middle Tennessee, and after studying
law engaged in the practice of his profession at Fayetteville, in Lincoln
County. About 1833 Gen. Jackson, then President, appointed him a judge in
the Territory of Arkansas. Upon the admission of Arkansas into the Union, he
wished to be the first Governor, but it was discovered that he was
ineligible, and he was elected to Congress. He was re-elected in 1838, and
in 1840 was elected Governor. He continued in that office until 1844, when,
at the request of the Democratic party, he resigned and entered upon a
canvass for Congress. He was elected, and in 1846 was re-elected, but soon
after resigned his seat, returned to Arkansas, organized a regiment for
service in the Mexican War, and was killed at the battle of Buena Vista. His
remains were returned to Arkansas, and buried with Masonic and military
honors at Fayetteville. In 1872 his remains were removed by Washington Lodge
from their first resting place, and deposited in Evergreen Cemetery.
While Gov. Yell was not the equal, perhaps, of some other Arkansans in
either native intellect or education, he possessed, in a remarkable degree,
that indefinable quality called personal magnetism, and as a politician, in
the best sense of that term, he was without a peer.
Among the other early attorneys in Fayetteville were Stephen G. Sneed, W.
McK. Ball, W. S. Oldham, L. D. Evans, R. T. Wheeler, Isaac Murphy, Jonas M.
Tibbetts, A. W. Arrington, John B. Costa, Mathew Leeper, W. D. Reagan and A.
M. Wilson. Stephen G. Sneed came to Arkansas from Missouri sometime about
1830, and subsequently removed to Austin, Tex., where he died in 1883. In
1831 he was elected prosecuting attorney of his circuit, and was a candidate
for re-election, but was defeated. In 1844 he was elected judge of the
Fourth Judicial Circuit, and remained upon the bench for four years. He was
not highly educated, and had but a limited acquaintance with the text books
of his profession, yet he was a very successful advocate, and a powerful
adversary before a jury. He was a man of fine physique, was thoroughly
versed in human nature, and during his residence here was one of the most
conspicuous figures before the bar in North west Arkansas.
Williamson S. Oldham was a native of Tennessee, who came to Arkansas in
1835. He had previously been admitted to the bar, and in 1837 was made
attorney for the Fayetteville Branch of the State Bank. In 1838 he was
elected to the Legislature, and six years later was again elected. In 1845
he was elected to a seat on the bench of the Supreme Court, but the duties
of that office were distasteful to him, and he soon resigned. In 1846 he was
a candidate for Congress, but was defeated by Robert W. Johnson, and soon
after removed to Texas, which State he represented in the Confederate States
Senate.
William McK. Ball was one of the most popular lawyer politicians of
Washington County during the "thirties." It was a popular saying at that
time, referring to politics, "As goes McK. Ball, so goes Washington County,
and as goes Washington County, so goes Arkansas." His influence secured for
him the position of cashier of the Branch Bank at Fayetteville, and the
failure of that institution cost him his prestige. He was accused of having
appropriated some of the funds to his own use. He soon after removed to
Texas.
L. D. Evans came to Arkansas from Tennessee, and, after several years
residence in Fayetteville, removed to Texas, where he became a judge of the
supreme court. He was not a good speaker, but was a close student, and was a
fairly successful lawyer. Physically he was a large, fine looking man, and
possessed a strong intellect.
R. T. Wheeler came to Fayetteville from Kentucky, but did not remain long.
He married a sister of Judge David Walker, and removed to Texas, where he
was elected a judge of the supreme court. He was a highly educated and
polished gentleman, and a lawyer of fine ability.
Jonas M. Tibbetts was a native of New Hampshire. He came to Fayetteville in
the "thirties," and remained until the beginning of the Civil War, when he
returned to the North. In 1844 he was elected prosecuting attorney, and in
1850 became a member of the Legislature. Subsequently, as attorney for the
State Bank, he accumulated a goodly fortune.
Mathew Leeper came to Fayetteville from Tennessee, under an appointment by
President Jackson, as receiver of the land office, and was never actively
engaged in the practice of his profession. He was an ardent Democrat and a
man of some influence in political circles. Soon after his arrival in
Fayetteville he was challenged to a duel by Judge Jesse Turner, who
considered himself insulted by some remarks of Leeper. The latter accepted
the challenge, and chose Judge S. G. Sneed as his second, while B. H. Martin
acted as second for Turner. The parties met at some point across the line in
the Cherokee Nation, but when all was in readiness for the principals to
take their position, Mr. Leeper made an apology and the duel was declared
off, much to the disgust of the many Indians that had gathered to witness
the affair. Mr. Leeper subsequently removed to Texas, where he is still
living.
Judge J. M. Hoge was born in Tennessee in 1806. In early youth he attracted
the attention of Felix Grundy, and became a sort of protege of that
distinguished gentleman. After graduating in the Nashville University, he
studied law with Judge Grundy, and in 1827 was admitted to the bar. Soon
after he came to Washington County, and for the first two years lived in a
cabin on the farm of Rev. Andrew Buchanan, where he engaged in teaching
school. He then removed to Fayetteville, and opened a law office. In 1836 he
was elected a judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, and in 1840 was
re-elected. Near the close of his second term he removed to Bentonville, and
just before the opening of the Civil War he went to California, where he
acted as correspondent for various newspapers. He died in Colorado in 1874.
He was an able jurist, and wielded a facile pen, but he was not a ready
debater.
Isaac Murphy was a Tennesseean who came to Fayetteville about 1840, and
subsequently removed to Huntsville, in Madison County. In 1856 he was
elected to represent Madison and Benton Counties in the State Senate, and in
1861 was chosen a member of the constitutional convention, which passed the
ordinance of secession. He was a Union man and voted against the ordinance
and when the Federal Army secured control of the State in 1864, he was made
governor, serving in that capacity for four years. He was a quiet,
unobtrusive man, somewhat visionary in his ideas, but always throughly
honest.
Alfred W. Arrington was one of the most unique characters ever at the bar in
Northwestern Arkansas. He came to the State some time in the "thirties" from
Missouri, and for a time was a school teacher and Methodist circuit rider.
He finally turned his attention to the law, and soon became noted for the
brilliancy of his imagination and the success which attended his practice in
the courts. He was of a poetic temperament and possessed much dramatic
power, and as a reporter of remarkable trials he became even more
celebrated. Among his most famous reports is the imaginative account of a
trial in Conway County, in which Rev. John Taylor and an Indian maiden were
the chief characters. In a collection of similar sketches, which were
published in a pamphlet entitled "The Regulators of the South and
Southwest," he gave an account of the hanging of the supposed murderers of
the Wright family at Cane Hill, which gave great offense to those engaged in
the affair, and their friends. In 1842 he was elected to the Legislature on
the Whig ticket, and soon after the expiration of his term he went to Texas;
subsequently he removed to Chicago, where, after attaining a high reputation
as a lawyer and orator, he died early in the "seventies." He was very
erratic in his manner of living, and lacked mental balance. He frequently
indulged in fits of dissipation, and did many things to destroy the
confidence of the public in him.
John B. Costa was an Italian by birth. He studied law under Judge Sneed, and
became his son-in-law. He went to Texas with him, and died there a few years
later.
Of those pioneer lawyers of Washington County, but two, W. D. Reagan and A.
M. Wilson, are now living. The former has now retired from practice, but
both for nearly half a century have been among the most able and honored
members of the Fayetteville bar. Mr. Wilson came to the county in 1837, and
almost before he considered himself a lawyer he was appointed prosecuting
attorney of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, then embracing ten counties. He
served in that capacity for four years, and subsequently he was appointed
attorney to wind up the business of the Branch State Bank of Fayetteville.
In 1848 he was elected to the Legislature, and in 1852 was appointed by
President Pierce United States District Attorney for the western district of
Arkansas. He was re-appointed in 1856, and completed a second term. He
espoused the cause of the Southern Confederacy, after the efforts to secure
a peaceable settlement of the difficulties had failed, and during the war
his property was nearly all swept away. He has since held no official
position except that of State Senator, but he has exercised a very
considerable influence in the Democratic party of Arkansas, and was an
important factor in delivering the State from the rule of the
"carpet-baggers."
Wilbur D. Reagan came from Tennessee in 1830, and located in what is now
Carroll County. He followed school teaching for two or three years, and then
began the study of law under Judge S. G. Sneed. In 1835 he was admitted to
the bar, and the next year was elected to the Legislature. In 1838 he
removed to Fayetteville, and with the exception of some eight or ten years
in Texas, has been a resident of that town. As a practitioner he was
industrious and energetic, and highly successful. He was excessively
aggressive, and was wont to rely for success upon sarcasm and invective, and
his ability to browbeat witnesses and overawe juries, rather than upon a
knowledge of the law and a skillful presentation of his case.
Among the lawyers that began practice at Fayetteville, at a little later
date than those mentioned above, were Gen. H. F. Thomason, Col. James P.
Neal, P. V. Van Hoose, Hiram Davis, Senator J. D. Walker, Lafayette Gregg
and J. R. Pettigrew. Out of this number only two, Senator Walker and Judge
Gregg, are now members of the Fayetteville bar.
Gen. Thomason came to Washington County with his father in 1829, and in 1846
began the study of law with W. D. Reagan. He was admitted to the bar in
1847, and in 1851 was elected prosecuting attorney, which office he filled
for two terms. In 1856 he was a candidate for Congress upon the Know-nothing
ticket, and in 1860 was a presidential elector on the Bell and Everett
ticket. In 1857 he removed to Van Buren, and has since been identified with
the interests of Crawford County.
James P. Neal also came to Washington County in 1829. He was a stepson of
Andrew Buchanan, and remained with him until 1840, when he removed to
Fayetteville, and entered the clerk's office. A year or two later he entered
the office of W. D. Reagan, and began to prepare himself for the practice of
law. In 1844 he was admitted to the bar, and remained at Fayetteville until
1854, with the exception of one year spent in fighting the Mexicans. In 1854
he removed to Texas, where he was engaged in the practice of his profession
until about 1870. He has since resided upon the farm settled by his
stepfather, where he founded the pleasant village of Prairie Grove.
J. R. Pettigrew was a native Arkansan, having been born in Hempstead County
in 1829. He was educated at Ozark Institute and Arkansas College, and about
1850 entered upon the study of law with Maj. Reagan. Two years later he was
admitted to the bar and soon after formed a partnership with his preceptor,
whose son-in-law he became. During the war he served in the Confederate
Army, and in 1866 he was elected to the Legislature. In 1879 he was elected
journal clerk of the United States Senate, and in 1882 President Arthur
appointed him the Democratic member of the Utah commission, which position
he held at his death in 1886. Col. Pettigrew possessed a good degree of
natural ability, and in manner was modest and retiring, but pleasant and
companionable. His connection with journalism is mentioned elsewhere.
Hiram Davis was a native of Missouri. He came to Washin gton County in 1832
or 1833, and shortly afterward married and rem oved to Carroll County. Upon
the election of B. H. Pierson to the office of clerk of Washington County,
he returned and assisted him in the office. At the end of the term he became
a law student under Judge David Walker, and subsequently was a partner with
him. He was a thorough lawyer and a good counselor, but was not a fluent
speaker. In 1874 he was elected county judge, and filled the office from
that time until his death in 1879.
P. P. Van Hoose, a brother of Mayor J. H. Van Hoose, was educated at Ozark
Institute, in which he subsequently became a professor. He was a thorough
scholar, and lawyer of high ability, but was cut off by death in the prime
of life.
The present bar of Fayetteville is composed of the following members: A. M.
Wilson, J. D. Walker, Lafayette Gregg, T. M. Hunter, B. R. Davidson, J. W.
Walker, J. V. Walker, C. W. Walker, William L. Gregg, R. J. Wilson, C. R.
Buckner, S. H. West, I. M. Partridge, S. E. Marrs, E. B. Wall, George W. M.
Reed, Jr., J. W. L. Stuckey, D. M. West and R. W. Carter.
The present bar of Fayetteville is composed of the following members: A. M.
Wilson, Lafayette Gregg, J. D. Walker, T. M. Gunter, B. R. Davidson, J. W.
Walker, E. B. Wall, G. W. M. Reed, Jr., C. W. Walker, J. V. Walker, William
L. Gregg, R. J. Wilson, J. W. L. Stuckey, S. H. West, C. R. Buckner, S. H.
West, D. M. West, S. E. Marrs, I. M. Partridge and R. W. Carter.
Back to: Washington County, Arkansas History
Source: History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford, Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas. Chicago, IL, USA: Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889.