My Genealogy Hound

Tom M. Mehaffy, attorney and counselor at law of Benton, Ark., was born in Tippah County, Miss., in 1859, being the elder in a family of two children born to T. L. and R. B. (Bradley) Mehaffy. His father, T. L. Mehaffy, a native of Georgia, emigrated to Mississippi in 1858, but returned to Georgia in 1860, and in 1862 enlisted in Thomas Cobb’s regiment, serving in the Confederate army, till his death, which occurred in 1863 from exposure and measles. His widow, the mother of Tom M., moved to Tippah County, Miss., where she remained one year, and in 1868 came to Hurricane Township, Saline County, Ark., where she continued to reside until 1887, then settling at Benton, where she now resides with her son, Tom M. The war had swept away all the property she had, and it became necessary to hire this boy to work on a farm, for which she received $6 a month. Mr. Mehaffy continued to work on a farm, and supported his mother and sister till he was nineteen years old. He received his education in the public schools of Hurricane Township, and attended for three years the high schools of Benton, beginning when in his twentieth year. He then engaged in teaching, at the same time applying himself to the study of law, and was admitted to the bar in 1889, and has since practiced at Benton, in Saline County. He has taken an active part in politics, is a strong Democrat, and has been city clerk of Benton since 1887. He is a member of Benton Lodge No. 34, A. F. & A. M., of which he is secretary. He was married in 1885, in Hurricane Township, to Miss Annie A. Poe, a native of Grant County, and daughter of James M. and Sarah (Swafford) Poe. Mr. Poe is a native of Alabama. He came to Arkansas at a very early day, and is now a resident of Saline County. Mr. Mehaffy has seen a vast change in Saline County since his boyhood days. He has taught in every school that he attended as a student, being principal of the Benton graded schools in 1888, and has always taken an active part in everything for the good of the town and county. Mr. and Mrs. Mehaffy are both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and take an active part in all church work, he being superintendent of the Sunday school at Benton. He is also secretary of the school board, and takes a strong interest in educational advancement.