In 1856 Jesse Black, a farmer who was born in North Carolina, left his home there and came to Arkansas, locating in Marion County. He, like many others, made the trip overland with oxen. He purchased land, cleared it, and put it under cultivation. He was soon recognized as one of the prominent farmers of the community. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he put everything aside and enlisted in the Union Army. He fought gallantly in many of the important battles and made the supreme sacrifice.
The son of Jesse Black and his wife (name unknown) was J. W. Black. He was born in North Carolina in 1854 and came here when he was two years old. He attended Salem College, Salem, Iowa, for one year then he was engaged in teaching in the country schools of Marion County. He held several county offices. First, he was elected County Surveyor and served for a period of six years. Subsequently, he was elected County and Circuit Clerk for a term of four years. Having read law in his spare time, at the termination of the period as Clerk he engaged in the practice of law in association with S. W. Woods, a prominent attorney of Yellville. From 1905 until 1907 he was a member of the State Legislature and after that time resumed the practice of law in Yellville. After a few years he retired and joined the Methodist Episcopal Conference, becoming a minister of that denomination. He served as Pastor of the Methodist Church at Cotter for several years. He was a Democrat and a Mason.
Mr. Black's wife, Ann Elizabeth Spiller, was the daughter of the Mr. Spiller who was a casualty of the Civil War. He enlisted from Marion County and met his death while in service.
The Blacks were the parents of eight children. They are: J. H. (Jewel), Ernest, Brundidge, Bryan, Roy, Anna Lee, Oscar and Earl. Both Oscar and Earl died at an early age. The other children attended school in Yellville.
J. H. Black attended the University of Arkansas and became a successful lawyer and married a girl (Bess ) from Oklahoma. They were the parents of Frank, Fred and Ned (twins). After the death of J. H., Bess Black took her teenaged sons to Oklahoma.
Ernest Black was a very successful teacher. After one year's experience as a teacher in Marion County, he went to Oklahoma and entered the State Manual School at Edmund (1912). He then taught in Chickasha for three years as Principal of the Elementar-y School. After that, he was a student at the University of Oklahoma; later going to Columbia University in New York City. He held three degrees -- Bachelor, Master, and Ph.D.
After finishing his training, he was Superintendent of Schools at Lamarque, Texas. He taught twenty years in Oklahoma and thirty years in Texas.
The other sons were also successful in their undertakings. Brun was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and had many years of teaching experience in that state. After retiring from the field of education, he was a pharmacist.
Roy Black was a Methodist minister, serving his church for many years.
Bryan was a farmer, now retired. His wife, Flossie Cowdrey Black, was the daughter of Doc and Mary (Briggs) Cowdrey.
Anna Lee and Bryan are the only survivors of J. W. and Ann Elizabeth Black.
Reprinted with permission from History of Marion County edited by Earl Berry, copyright 1977.