My Genealogy Hound

Below is a family biography included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Crittenden County, Arkansas published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1890.  These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary.  Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more.  There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.

* * * *

Hon. Asa Hodges. The great men of our time are self-made. Born in the ordinary walks of life, with no especial advantage above their fellows, and forced in early youth to labor for their daily bread, they have risen above the common level by dint of personal effort, working their way up the hill “difficulty,” the true road to fame. The secret of their success is industry, perseverance and integrity. Firmness of purpose, rectitude of intention, and persistence in effort are their stock in trade, to which is very seldom added the jewel genius, the uncertain brilliancy of which too often dazzles, but to mislead. Its place is, however, supplied by a stock of that very uncommon article—common sense. A clear head, a quick eye, an accurate judgment, willing hands and self-reliance, are the true essentials to success. The great man is noted for his deeds of endurance; the man of power is known by his influence. While but a small proportion of the human family attain to positions of prominence, fewer still exhibit the ability to lead the masses. To achieve the greatness of power, one needs the ability to grasp, group and generalize the facts and ideas of the times in advance of the mass, to reason out the solution of the ever recurrent social problem, and make it patent to the popular mind, pointing out the path of improvement, mental, social, or physical, and inducing the people to travel therein, not by the force of fire and steel, but through the high and loftier process of enlightenment. He who at once informs and impels is the true hero, the king among his fellow-men. Such a man is the subject of this sketch, such his sphere of action, such his influence, and it is indeed a pleasure to the historian of the present day to refer to a life so filled with usefulness, so encouraging to struggling youth, and so worthy of emulation by them. Asa Hodges was born in Lawrence County, Ala., January 22, 1822. His father was Hon. William Hodges, a brave son of North Carolina, who, smarting under the would-be tyranny of the mother country, bore with his father an active share in the colonies’ struggle for independence. Great-grandfather Hodges was of sturdy Scottish birth, possessed of those sterling characteristics of honesty, uprightness and energy, that stamped him a man among men; and these noble traits have come down in a marked degree to his descendants. William Hodges, it almost goes without saying, was endowed with unusual vigor of character, and decided natural ability. A blacksmith in early life, he was held in universal esteem as a citizen, and in 1828 and 1829 was called upon to represent his native county in the General Assembly of the State, serving with a faithfulness and distinction that won for him permanent reputation. He was united in marriage with Miss Jeannette Daugherty, of Tennessee nativity, though her parents came originally from Nova Scotia. She attained to womanhood in the State of her birth, being married in Smith County, after which she accompanied her husband to Alabama, and there died in 1832. Firm in character and gentle in disposition, she was greatly beloved, the influence of her thorough training producing lasting impression upon the minds of her children. Of the original family of five sons and four daughters, two sons and two daughters survive. Of these Col. Fleming Hodges makes his home in Mississippi; Mrs. Townsend is a resident of Shelby County, Tenn., and Mrs. Phillips lives in Memphis. By the death of his father, in 1837, Asa Hodges was thrown upon his own personal resources at the age of seventeen. The family estate having been left in an embarrassed condition, he found himself face to face with the stern realities of life, never knowing much about the real pleasures of boyhood, but the very obstacles and struggles, which his self-dependent circumstances obliged him to undergo, served to develop those intellectual and moral characteristics which in after life made him a man of influence and mark among his associates. With praiseworthy ambition he set about to acquire an education. To a young man possessing no means this was not an easy thing to do, but great determination and a ‘‘keeping-everlastingly-at-it” spirit overcame the serious difficulties which earlier surrounded him, and he passed the later years of his student life in attendance at La Grange College, an institution of wide repute at that day, conducted under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It was, perhaps, not strange that young Hodges should have turned almost intuitively to the legal profession as a field offering the greatest inducements for his talents; at any rate he became a student of law in the office of Hon. L. P. Walker, of Florence, one of the most able and successful practitioners in Northern Alabama, under whose instruction he pursued a thorough course of study until qualified for admission to the bar. Upon receiving his diploma in 1848, as a regularly licensed attorney, he entered into partnership with the eminent Thomas M. Peters, afterward chief justice of the supreme court of Alabama, which relation proved mutually beneficial, and more than ordinarily lucrative until dissolved by the loud mutterings of civil war. Some years before Mr. Hodges had met and formed a pleasant acquaintance with Mrs. Caroline Chick, an estimable lady, whom he married April 17, 1853, Mrs. Hodges bringing to this union the culture, influence and wealth of a prominent family of South Carolina. Subsequently, and previous to the breaking out of the Rebellion, he purchased and settled upon a large and valuable plantation in Crittenden County, Ark., which he still owns. After locating here he was made judge of probate, the duties of which position he discharged with peculiar care and fidelity, winning unbounded commendation from his fellow-citizens, who soon transferred him to a seat in the State constitutional convention as a delegate under the reconstruction act of 1867. Following the adoption of the constitution he was elected to the General Assembly in 1868, and in 1870 was the choice of the people of his district as State senator, in which body he served as a member for a term of four years. While holding the latter position, Mr. Hodges was sent as a Republican to represent Arkansas in the XLIII Congress. Here, also, a loyal, consistent adherence to the best interests of those whom he represented attended his career. While there may have been no occasion for especial brilliancy of oratorical powers, or momentary manifestation of personal aggrandizement, there was always about him that quiet, thoughtful, dignified demeanor which is never without its influence. Indeed, it is well known that Congressman Hodges was a man able to do his own thinking and act upon a judgment rarely, if ever, at fault. Public service, honorably discharged, stands as a lasting monument to any man, and no words that might here be added could carry with them more power, or greater appreciation of Mr. Hodges’ public efforts Than the verdict accorded him, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” In his private life he is all that his national reputation would indicate him to be. Considerate, thoughtful, and always courteous, is it any wonder that he is so generally beloved? The large means given him have not been misused, as the many recipients of his open-handed charity stand ready to testify. His pecuniary success is well known. His immense plantation in this county, 3,000 acres in extent, laid out into highly cultivated fields, is a present reminder of his industry and labor, for when he moved upon it only seventy acres were cleared. Several other tracts in various parts of Crittenden are included in his possessions, some 2,000 acres of which are also worked. A 350-acre plantation in Bolivar County, Miss, (yielding a bale of cotton to the acre annually), another 1,000 tract in Monroe County, Miss., and city property in Memphis also comprise a part of his wealth, a single block in the latter city being valued at $40,000. The opinion gathered by ninety-nine out of every 100 individuals, from a survey of his appearance, would be that he is a man of good, sound, sterling, practical common sense; not afraid of work, persistent in effort, quick in perception and temper, straightforward, sincere, a fast friend, a man with a large heart, clear head, quick eye, and honest intentions. His character is this and more. There is nothing of the hypocrite about him, and he detests hypocrisy in others. As a friend to progress he is especially liberal, and it is his great desire to see this favored section become rapidly appreciated by the outside world. The accompanying excellent portrait of Mr. Hodges is reproduced from a photograph taken while he was a Congressman, and though twenty years have spread the mantle of declining years and left their silvery imprint on his hair, they have not dimmed the honest candor of his eye, obliterated the intellectual cast of his facial features, dulled the activity of his mind, nor quenched the milk of human kindness that has forever flowed from his generous heart. Here, in the meridian of life, happy in his domestic relations, he resides, enjoying the sincere respect of all who are favored with his acquaintance.

* * * *

This family biography is one of 82 biographies included in Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Crittenden County, Arkansas published in 1890.  For the complete description, click here: Crittenden County, Arkansas History, Genealogy, and Maps

View additional Crittenden County, Arkansas family biographies here: Crittenden County, Arkansas Biographies

Use the links at the top right of this page to search or browse thousands of other family biographies.