BEN E. McFERRIN.     Arkansas numbers among her native sons Ben E. McFerrin who for many years has been prominent in the legal and political circles of this state.  He was born in Newton county, on the 15th of March, 1874, a son of John Brown and Clementine Tabitha McFerrin.  His paternal grandparents were John Blackburn and Martha N. (Rogers) McFerrin, both natives of Abbeville, South Carolina, who removed to Alabama in later life.  The grandfather engaged in farming in that state.  The grandmother was a daughter of Samuel Rogers, a veteran of the Revolutionary war.  The maternal grandparents of Ben E. McFerrin were John and Malinda (Parsons) McCray, who were natives of North Carolina.
     John Brown McFerrin, father of the subject of this review, was a native of Alabama and upon the outbreak of the Civil war, his sympathies being with the south, he enlisted in 1861 in the Thirty-sixth Alabama regiment, with which he served until 1865.  He was corporal commander of Clayton division and participated in the battles of Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge and Antietam.  At the close of the war he returned to Alabama and there engaged in farming and school teaching for some time.  He later removed to Harrisburg, Arkansas, making the trip by ox team and crossing the Mississippi river at Memphis, Tennessee by ferry.  He there remained until 1870, when he went to Carroll county and camped at a spring, where Harrison now stands.  Subsequently he homesteaded a tract of one hundred and sixty acres in Newton county and built thereon a substantial log house, which is still standing.  At that early day he was forced to do most of his trading at Springfield, Missouri.  He underwent many hardships, but allowed no obstacles to stand in his way, thereby gaining success.  Mrs. McFerrin was also a native of Alabama.  Ten children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. McFerrin: Cordelia, the wife off D. L. Smith, a merchant of Compton, Arkansas; Ophelia, deceased; Licurgus, a farmer and contractor of Commerce, Texas; Hester, the wife of J. E. Cecil, who is engaged in the livery and feed business at Jasper; Alice, deceased; John O., a prominent physician of Jasper; Ben E., whose name initiates this review; Joe, a farmer of Compton; Ardenia, who is the wife of Tom Jones, a farmer; and Martin, engaged in farming near Harrison.  Mr. McFerrin was a stanch democrat and held various public offices.  He was justice of the peace for some time and also served on the school board.   The family were reared in the faith of the Missionary Baptist church.
     In the acquirement of an education Ben E. McFerrin attended the country schools and the Carrollton Academy and had to walk a distance of from two and one-half to three miles every day.  After putting his textbooks aside he engaged in teaching school for some time at Carrollton and Jasper.  In 1896 he was elected county examiner, a position in which he was active until 1900.  He then took up law, reading with M. S. Moore of Jasper, and in 1904 was admitted to the bar.  He opened offices in Jasper and practiced there until 1910, when he bought a farm in Boxley, whereon he resided until 1917.  He retired from active life in that year and removed to Harrison, where he is now residing.  In addition to his activities as a lawyer and farmer he is interested in the Boxley Mercantile Company and is a sawmill and lumber business in Newton county.   Since attaining his majority Mr. McFerrin has been a stanch supporter of the democratic party and  has taken an active interest in its affairs.  He was state senator in 1901 and served until 1905, representing Newton county in 1910 and again in 1916 and was elected to the senate.  Mr. McFerrin is a man of admirable characteristics and in his various activities has employed only the most honorable of principles.
     In October, 1897, occurred the marriage of Mr. McFerrin and Miss Sara Belle Harp, a native of Newton county, and a daughter of William Harp, a farmer and revenue man.  To their union six children have been born: Orphea, the wife of Fred Duty, a farmer, merchant and stockman of Boxley; Tabitha F., the wife  of Bruce Frasier, teller in the Bank of Little Rock; Agnes, residing at home;  Ben E. Jr., at home; and Augusta P. and Mary John, at home.
     The religious faith of the family is that of the Baptist church and fraternally Mr. McFerrin is identified with the Elks and the Odd Fellows, having held all the chairs in the latter organization.  Mr. McFerrin enjoys a wide acquaintance among the business of character are such as command confidence and war regard.  
Source:  History of Arkansas, by Dallas T. Herndon, Vol. III, publ. by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1922 - Pg. 975

WILLIAM B. MURRAY.     William B. Murray has been a resident of Fort Smith for thirty-five years and  during the past two years his business connection has been that of active manager and part owner of the Twin City Welding Company, with plant at No. 1112 South B street.  He is a native of Illinois and it was in 1886 that he came to Fort Smith, Arkansas.  Here he was identified with business interests as a retail shoe merchant for eighteen years, then spent four years as state secretary of an insurance organization and subsequently embarked in the grocery business.  In 1919, in association with J. L. Londermann, he purchased the business of the Twin City Welding Company, which had been founded two years before by the firm of Orr & Mowbridge.  Mr. Murray is the active manager of the concern, his partner being a capitalist who is largely interested in telephone plants.  They have gained an enviable reputation for excellent work in intricate and difficult welding and their business in this connection extends  throughout the surrounding territory and also into Oklahoma.  the company has continued to prosper under the capable direction of Mr. Murray, who is widely recognized as a business man of sound judgment and unfaltering enterprise.
Source:  History of Arkansas, by Dallas T. Herndon, Vol. II, publ. by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1922 - Pg. 866

H. E. MURRY, M. D.     Dr. H. E. Murry, successfully practicing medicine in Texarkana, was born at Bearden, Arkansas, on the 6th of August, 1894, there spending the first ten years of his life, after which he became a resident of Texas, remaining in the Lone Star state for three years.  He afterward lived for a time in Sulphur Springs, Arkansas, and in 1909 came to Texarkana.  He acquired a high school education in this city and pursued his academic course in the University of Arkansas, for the B. A. degree.  He next entered Tulane University at New Orleans, where he pursued the study of medicine until graduated with the class of 1919.  Subsequently he filled the position of interne in the Touro Infirmary and charity hospital and on the 20th of September, 1920, located for practice in Texarkana, where he has since remained.  He specializes in diagnosis and in treatment of abdominal cases but also continues in general practice.
     On the 2nd of May, 1918, Dr. Murry enlisted for service in the medical division of the Reserve Corps, U. S. A., and was at Camp Martin most of the time.  He belongs to the Miller County Medical Society, the Arkansas State Medical Society, the Tri-State Medical Association, the Southern Medical Association, and the American Medical Association and keeps thoroughly informed concerning the latest researches and discoveries of the profession.  His methods are thoroughly modern and efficacious to the highest degree and he is enjoying a most creditable reputation for one of his years.  Fraternally he is connected with the Masons and is a worthy exemplar of the teachings and purposes of the craft.
Source:  History of Arkansas, by Dallas T. Herndon, Vol. II, publ. by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1922 - Pg. 307