My Genealogy Hound

William H. Haley. Among the prominent farmers of De Kalb Township, is W. H. Haley, who was born in Washington County. Ala., July 31, 1818, and is the son of Robert and Mary P. (Baird) Haley, natives of Georgia and Alabama, respectively. Mr. Haley and family, after living in Mississippi, moved to Tennessee, and from there to Arkansas, in 1830, locating in what was then Pulaski, but now Saline County. There he resided until his death, in 1831. His wife survived him a number of years, having married again, and died at the residence of her son in 1884, aged ninety years. Of a family of four sons and two daughters, three brothers and one sister still survive. Our subject, the oldest of the family, came to Arkansas with his parents, when but twelve years old, growing to mature years in this part of the State. At the time of their immigration to Arkansas there were not to exceed six families in this section of the county. Mr. Haley made his first settlement in Calvert Township in 1841, where he cleared a farm and built a nice home, residing there until 1851. He was married in Saline County, November 3, 1842, to Harriet S. Cobb, a native of Alabama, and the daughter of one of the oldest pioneers from South Carolina. Mrs. Haley died in 1884, leaving a family of eight children. She was a true, faithful wife and helpmate for forty-two years. Mr. Haley made his next settlement in Union County, in 1851, and resided there for seven years, when he exchanged farms and moved over into Louisiana. He returned to Union County in 1863, and bought a farm, where he remained three years. His next move was to Saline County, or what is now Grant County. This place was then slightly improved, but the additional changes that have taken place since show that he has not been idle. Of 120 acres, there are forty under cultivation, a comfortable house, good barns, etc., indicating prosperity and comfort. Mr. Haley has served in several local positions, but the honor has always been tendered him, as he has never sought any public office. His children are: R. J. (wife of B. A. Westbrook, of Saline County), Mary V. (wife of E. T. Ashcraft, of Grant County), Rachel L. (wife of J. J. Holiman), A. R. (of Grant County), Wm. M. (of Grant County), Sampson C. and Henry P. (of Grant County) and A. Emeline (wife of H. C. Harrington). Joel C. died in his eighteenth year, and four others died in infancy. Mr. Haley is a member of Liberty Baptist Church, and was made a Mason in Louisiana in 1854.