My Genealogy Hound

Simeon William Cate has been a resident of Butler Township for nineteen years and a citizen of the State for nearly thirty years, a period of sufficient length to acquire for him a wide and honored acquaintance. He was born in Tennessee on April 10, 1834, his parents being William and Susan (Cate) Cate, natives of North Carolina. William Cate was born in 1801, and died at the age of eighty. He married his second cousin in Tennessee (whither he moved when about eighteen years of age), who survived him some two years. Both were of Irish descent. They were the parents of eleven children, seven of whom are now living. Simeon W., the subject of this sketch, was married in 1855 to Mary L. Fryar, who died in 1856, leaving one child, William P., of Cleburne County. In 1858 Mr. Cate married his present wife, Naomi Wilson, originally from Tennessee, and who is the mother of eleven children: James M., Calvin F., Simeon L., Joseph N., Charles P., George H., Lulu (wife of Thomas J. Allison), Ida P. (wife of William Allison), Susan C., Mary L. and Sarah. In October, 1860, Mr. Cate moved from Henry County, Tenn., to Prairie County, Ark., and in January, 1870, came to this county, settling in Butler Township, where he now makes his home. He has a fine farm of 345 acres, 150 acres under cultivation. The surroundings here indicate the presence of a thorough agriculturist. In 1862 Mr. Cate enlisted in Company A, of McCray’s Infantry Regiment, in which he served eighteen months. He was wounded at the battle of Helena, being shot through the hand and also in the side (the effects of which he still feels), soon after which he was captured and taken prisoner. After his release he was paroled and returned home. Mr. Cate has been a member of the Masonic order since 1857, and belongs to Mount Pleasant Lodge No. 99. He is a well to do farmer and a good citizen, and has held the office of justice of the peace for thirteen years.