My Genealogy Hound

John W. Halley was born in Scott County, Ark., in the year 1860, and is the youngest in a family of eight children born to the marriage of Robert Halley and Sarah Crowley, who died when he was an infant. The mother when married to Mr. Halley was a widow with one child: Capt. Benjamin H. Crowley, whose sketch appears in this volume. John Halley spent his childhood in the western part of Arkansas, but since eight years of age he has made his home, the greater portion of the time, with his half-brother, Capt. Crowley. During his youth he received no educational advantages and up to the age of twenty-four years his education was acquired by self-application, since which time he has received only the advantages of the common schools. At the age of eighteen years he rented land and began farming for himself, and has continued this in connection with teaching school during winter and summer since 1885. At this date he purchased 280 acres of land in the Cache bottoms, and in 1884 exchanged a portion of this farm for forty acres near Walcott, on which property there were but eight acres cleared. He opened up the remainder and now has the entire tract under cultivation and fence. This land is very fertile and last year (1888) averaged one bale of cotton to the acre. Mr. Halley is a young man whose energy, enterprise and good business abilities will one day place him among the wealthy residents of the county. He possesses excellent principles, is public-spirited, and takes a deep interest in worthy enterprises.