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Sharon,
Have you found this yet?
GOODSPEED'S BIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL MEMOIRS
OF NORTHEASTERN ARKANSAS
Elbert Benbrook is one of the most successful farmers and stockmen of Izard County, and deserves much credit for the success which has attended his efforts, for when he began life for himself he only owned one horse and rented land, whereas he is now the owner of 500 acres of as good land as there is in the county, and is one of the most successful stockmen of this region. He was born in Izard County, in 1838, and is a son of Henry and Catherine (Langston) Benbrook, who came from the State of Illinois in 1832, and settled on the farm on which our subject is now residing. The father was a miller as well as a farmer, and in 1848 erected one of the first mills in the county, and was also the proprietor of one of the first cotton gins. Upon settling in this region their neighbors, with the exception of the families who came with them, were twenty miles distant, and Indians and wild game of all kinds were very abundant. Flouring mills were very few and far between in the region at that time, and their corn and wheat were ground by machinery of their own manufacture and were of a very crude description. The first mill built in the county was said to have been erected by Langsten Close, near Melbourne, in 1816, its capacity being one bucket of meal per day, but this was sufficient to keep all the families in meal within a radius of fifty miles. Wild honey was very abundant, and as a means of carrying it in considerable quantities they would sew up a deer skin in the form of a sack, put the honey in at the neck, throw the same across their horse as a sack, and thus convey it home. A few elk were found in the region by the earliest settlers, but there was no buffalo, although the country showed evidence of their having been here, as the woods were entirely free from underbrush, the canebrake being only along the streams. At the age of twenty-three years Elbert Benbrook began managing a steam saw-mill, the first one of the kind in the county, it being erected by A. H. Matthews and Ben Bufford in 1858, but owing to the breaking out of the war he was compelled to give up the work. In 1862 he enlisted in the Confederate service, but at the end of six weeks he was discharged on account of disability and returned home, where he engaged in teaching school for a short time. He then operated his father's carding machine until after the close of the war, when he again embarked in saw-milling, and also managed the carding machine and followed farming up to 1873. From 1873 to 1881 he operated a gristmill, but since that time he has given his attention to farming and carpentering. He is a Democrat politically, and has held the office of justice of the peace and deputy sheriff, and is the present incumbent of the latter office, to which he was appointed in 1888, and had previously filled it from 1874 to 1878. Margaret M. Berry became his wife in 1861, but her death occurred seven years later, she having borne a family of three children: Susan A. (wife of W. J. Hudson), Robert H., and Martha C. (wife of W. C. Rodman). Mr. Benbrook wedded his second wife. Miss Sarah A. Mathes, in 1868, but after bearing three children, Margie A., Dora and Allan H., her death occurred in 1878, she having been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. In the latter part of 1878 Mr. Benbrook wedded his present wife, Mrs. Elizabeth (Slyre) Rodman, and both are worthy members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he is a Royal Arch Mason. He is one of the men who has helped to build up the county and has always been noted for his Christianity, benevolence, and high sense of honor.
Uen Benbrook, farmer, Pinesville, Ark. Located in the midst of one of the finest agricultural centers of Izard County, the farm which Mr. Benbrook occupies is conceded to be among the best in this vicinity, and this is saying not a little, for on every hand may be seen superior places, whose ownership indicate thrift and prosperity. He is a native of this county, his birth occurring in 1849, and he is the son of Henry and Elizabeth (Traylor) Benbrook, natives of Illinois and Indiana, respectively. Henry Benbrook came to Izard County, at a very early day, settled on a farm and tilled the soil, but in connection also carried on the milling business. He and wife reared a family of ten children, eight now living: Maria J. (wife of David Smith), Uen, Armedia A. (wife of Green P. Staggs), Washington, Serenia V. (wife of A. J. Franks), Perry, Charlotte T. (wife of L. L. Bailey), Henry and Nancy (deceased). Mr. Benbrook died in 1872, at the age of sixty years, and Mrs. Benbrook died in 1868, at the age of forty years. They were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he was a member of the A. F. & A. M. He had accumulated considerable property at the time of his death, and owned about 1,800 acres of land, besides a grist-mill, two saw-mills and a water gin and carding machine. He was one of the leading men of his day, and contributed liberally to all worthy enterprises. Uen Benbrook remained on his father's farm until twenty-four years of age, and acquired a taste for agricultural pursuits which has adhered to him ever since. He received a good practical education in the subscription schools, and when twenty-five years of age selected a wife in the person of Mrs. Acenith (Long) Benbrook, a native of Izard County, Ark. This union was blessed by the birth of six children: Elizabeth, Angelene A., Albert, Robert, Acie and Elbert. Mr. Benbrook first commenced farming on rented land, but two years later purchased 200 acres of land, selling part of this in 1881, and purchasing 115 acres unimproved. He then traded that for his present property, which consists of 205 acres, with about 125 improved. He also owns one-half interest in a cotton-gin. He has excellent buildings and plenty of stock to run his farm. He is a liberal donator to all public affairs, and is active in educational matters. He and Mrs. Benbrook are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and he is a member of the A. F. & A. M. Mrs. Benbrook had been married previous to her marriage to Mr. Benbrook, and to the brother of the subject of this sketch. He died in 1870. Her parents, George and Elizabeth (Langston) Long, were both natives of Arkansas, and her father was one of the earliest settlers on Strawberry Creek. He and wife were the parents of three children, two now living: Acey M. and Acenith. Mr. and Mrs. Long both died in 1834.
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