$1 Per Annum.
Newark, Independence County, Arkansas, Friday September 2, 1904.
Vol. 4, No. 36
JOHN N. TOMLINSON,
Seventy-seven Years Old and the Founder of Newark.
— Photo by J. R. Lewis
JOHN N. TOMLINSON
A Sketch of the Han Who
Once Owned the Hntire
Site of Newark.
One of the most remarkable
men in Independence county is
John X. Tomlinson, of this place.
Mr. Tomlinson, or “Uncle John,”
as lie is more familiarly known,
settled upon the present site of
Newark in tie* year 1854. and
might properly be termed the fath
er of Newark.
Ho built tho lust house over
built in the town; a large and spac
ious old-fashioned log house,which
is still standing today, and is fre
quently pointed out to visitors.
When Uncle .John settled here
this immediate section was what
might properly be termed a wild
erness. There was no railroad
and no settlement of any kind
nearer than Akron. The land on
which Newark now stands was all
in the woods, and at the time be
longed to the state. He patentedl
*2M) acres where the town is now
I
situated in 1872, and in 1854 built
his house.
At that time the idea that a live
and progressive town would ever
spring up here had never entered,
the head of anyone.
In those days old Jackson port
was in her glory and the principal
part of the trade from this section
went there.
It was in the year 1883 that the
town of Newark was laid off under
the direction of Uncle John and
the first lots sold were to Jimerson
Moore. Mr. Moore built the first
business house. About the same
time, or shortly afterwards, Uncle
John erected a business house on
the lots where Ilolderby & Law- ;
ton are now doing business and;
. i
went into the mercantile business,
and during Cleveland's first ad-;
ministration was postmaster. Af-i
ter the erection of these business
houses people began to settle here
and Uncle John sold lots to them!
at reasonable prices, and thus en-j
couraged the growth of the town.
Uncle .John can relate many in-;
teresting experiences of life dur
ing the early settlement of thii
country. Mr. Tomlinson's father
was a South Carolinian and movec
to Arkansas and settled in Bit
Bottom in the year 1828. At tha
time Indians were numerous ir
this part of the country, and tin
: country was infested with nearly
all kinds of wild animals. At tin
age of 12 he had a hand-to-hanc
tight with a wounded bear on tin
Island, and when 1!* had a similiai
experience near Fairview. It was
a fight for life in both instances,
and he was successful in killing
them.
uncle .John was born at Murph
reesboro, Tenn., .May 1<>, 1N27
Two years after liis father settlec
in this country his house, which
stood between here and Akron
was burned. Uncle John was on
ly three years old, but says lie re
members the occurrence very dis
tinctly.
He was married March 11,
18.) 1, to Mary Sutherland. There
were no children born unto them
and his wife died January 23,
1 N5t).
In lstJ2 he was again married,
this time to Mrs. Nettie Johnson,
a daughter ot Jonathan Reeves.
To them four children were born,
all girls. Of the four children on
ly one is now living—Mrs. Dove
Edwards.
Uncle John has a remarkable
memory and can recall many im
portant incidents in the early his
tory of the country. Dr. Manly
was the first doctor to settle in the
county. He settled at Batesville,
but practiced a good deal in this
section. Dr. Urine was the next
doctor. lie located in this town
ship, but died about 1*37, and Un
cle John's father, purchased the
doctor’s books at the sale. Books
of any kind were very scarce in
those days and Uncle John studied
these medical books, not from any
desire to enter.the profession, but
merely to be studying. But he
found the knowledge thus acmiir
ed very valuable in after years
and has given a good deal of 'med
icine in his own family.
I ncle John is now 77 years old
and enjoys remarkably good health
tor a man of his age. lie gets
around well and spends a good
portiou of Ins time on the streets
TRIED to wreck a train
' Took Spikes From Rails on Iron
Mountain Near Homan, and
Engine Was Wrecked.
1‘rescott, Ark., Aug. 29. Some
time during last night some person
or persons, with evident intent of
robbery, took the spikes from sev
en rails on the Iron Mountain track
between here and Texarkana, near
j Homan, and also took the bolts
| and taps from the flanges that
hold the rails together. The first
train to pass was passenger No. S,
north bound, a short train, which
carries but few passengers and no
money. The track spread and the
engine and tender were ditched,
but no one was hurt. The train
was slowly pulling out of lloman
when it >truck the effected track.
Investigation revealed the pur
poses of the parties, and in a few
hours a special, containing blood
hounds and the officials of the road,
was on the way to the scene. The
hounds tracked the perpetrators
through a path that was made in
the grass off to the woods, half a
mile, when a circuit was made and
they came back to the track a few
hundred yards from where they
started. Then the scent was lost
1 and could not be found.
The supposition of the official.4
is that after the track was tamper
ed with the perpetrators hied te
• the woods, and when the train was
1 wrecked they came back, and, see
ing that they had caught tin
wrong train, climl>ed on top an<
rode up the road after the train
had been placed on the track
again.
A reward of $250 has been off
‘ ered for the arrest of the guilty
persons. It is believed that they
are professionals, as the track was
tampered with on a curve, and the
spikes were removed very system
atically.
TRAGEDY AT HOLLY GROVE.
i Stephens. Ark., Aug. 30.—News
i reached here today of the killing
of a white man by the name of
i Stower and a negro man and wo
man near Mount Holly, Union
county, twelve miles east of here,
about 1 o'clock last night. The
! cause of the tragedy is not known.
Stower, it is said, was ’a stranger
in that community and the citizens
know nothing of the causes that
led up to the triple killing.
--
BOY KILLED BY COLT’S KICK.
Des Arc, Ark., Aug. 31.—The
9-year-old son of Paul Winborne,
living about six miles from this
place, was kicked in the stomach
yesterday by a colt, and died with
in thirty minutes after the occur
rence. The accident occurred
about sundown, and. although a
physician wassummoned by phone,
he arrived after the boy s death.
-.»♦■»
Advertised Letters.
The following is a list of letters
remaining uncalled for int he New
ark postotlice September 1, 1904.
G. N. Etheridge, G. W. Dutton,
Miss Winnie Metcalf, F. A. Ramey,
Mrs. LauraG. Stokes, Mrs. E. L. Bell,
Miss Winnie Page. Chas. Coleman,
If not called for in 30 days will
be sent to the dead letter office at
Washington, 1>. C. When calling
for above letters say advertised.
T. M. Hakrelson, P. M.
-♦ »»■
Try one of those hot baths at
the Newark bath house. I hey are
fine.
THE TRIAL OF DR. LIGHTLE
Preliminary Trial at Searcy Yester
day, But Results Was Not
Known at Press Hour.
The preliminary trial of l)r. K.
(i. Lightle on t he charge of grave
robbery was set for yesterday,
(Thursday) at Searcy, hut up to
the time of going to press The
Journal was unahle to learn any
thing definite of the result.
Quite a large number of witness
es have been summoned and it was
thought that some sensational de
velopments would take place at
the trial, although these may be
reserved for the final trial of the
case.
The Journal presents its read
ers this week an excellent likeness
of Dr. Lightle, who, as principal
in the now famous case, has ereat
DR. R. G. LIGHTLE,
Of Searcy, who is charged with grave
robbery and arson.
oil tho greatest sensation in the
I history of the state.
Dr. Light le is a young mar
' about ‘2b years old, and it is indeec
deplorable to think of a younj
man just entering upon whai
promised to be a successful ant
honorable career, falling to tin
depths of dishonor and shame, ant
so far transgressing the law as t<
bring himself into contempt ant
dishonor before his country-mer
and before the bar of justice on sc
serious a charge.
It illustrates the weakness ol
man and his consuming lust foi
money.
-.—
Peculiar Incident in Lightle Case.
A rather peculiar incident in
connection with the Lightle cast
in Searcy lias come to light since
the return of Sheriff Wood, ol
White county, from Georgia.
When Wood and his deputy ar
rived in the mountains of Georgia
they looked for someone to pilot
them around, and at last succeed
ed in securing the service of a man
who took them over the country,
but was not aware of the fact they
were looking for Lightle. On
their return to the town from
which they started Sheriff Wood
and his deputy informed him what
their business was, when, to their
surprise, their guide told them his
name was Pitts and he was a broth
er to the man whose body w*as
stolen and incinerated by Lightle
j and his cohorts.
HOX1E EXPANDS.
The Iloxie city council at a re
cent meeting passed an ordinance
accepting the recent addition of
territory to the city limits. Iloxie
is now three miles long by one and
one-half wide.
OLD CITIZEN PASSED AWAY
J. H. Wells Died at His Home Mon
day Afternoon at the Advanced
Age of Eighty Years.
II. Wells, the oldest and one
of the most highly respected citi
zens of the town, died at his home
Monday afternoon, after a short
illness.
Mr. Wells had been very feeble
for some time, but was bedfast on
ly four or live days.
Mr. Wells was SO years old and
was a Virginian by birth, having"
' been born near Petersburg, Va..
April 10, l s24. lie was a veteran
of two wars, having served
through both the Mexican and the
civil wars. After the Mexican
war he returned in 1854 to Char
lottesville, Va., and was married
in 1855. He and his wife joined
the Christian church shortly after
their marriage and Mr. Wells liv
ed a devoted Christian until his
death. Nine children were born
unto this union, only four of
whom are now living.
In 1872 he removed to Texas
where he resided until 1879, when
he came to Arkansas.
He was married again, Februa
ry 10, 1879, to Mrs. Mary H. Di
vers and to them six children were
born, three of whom and the wid
ow survive him.
He was formerly mayor of the
town and always took an active in
terest in the public welfare.
The funeral took place Tuesday
afternoon under the auspices of
the Masonic fraternity of whicU
he was an honored member. The
remains were interred at the Mac
. edonia graveyard and the burial
was attended by a large number
of friends.
I
I " *
$1,451,095.07 in State Treasury.
The taxes for the year 11)03,
; which have been turned into the
stab* treasury by the various coun
s t.v collectors, with the exception
of a few small amounts, will a«-'
i mount to nearly a million ami a
half dollars. The total amount of
i the collections now in the treasury,
, which will be practically the same
as the final figures, is $1,451,995.
' 07. This amount is considerably
• larger than the collections hist
year.
A statement from the state
treasurer’s office shows the follow
ing amounts in the various funds:
General revenue.$ 506,382.73
Liquor license. 125,690.00
Peddler’s license.... 1,025.00
Commom schools.... 403,765.04
(’onfederate pensions. 177,415.95
Sinking fund. 59,287.80
State capitol. 118,428.55
Total.$1,451,995.07
A few small amounts are yet to
be paid into the general fund by
several collectors, but all the oth
er funds are complete. The a
mounts still due the general fund
are so small that they will make
little difference in the total amount
of the taxes.
CRUSHED TO *DEATH.
Marked Tree, Ark., Aug. 29.—
! Martin, the 14-year-old son of
John Hopkins, was crushed to
death by a horse yesterday even
ing at 6 o’clock. The unfortunate
youth was racing when his mount
stumbled, pitched him forward
and fell across his body. The boy
died during the night, never re—
| gaining consciousness.