My Genealogy Hound

H. P. Mayers, of the firm of Shelby & Mayers, dealers in furnishing goods, hats, etc., at Fort Smith, Ark., was born in 1858, and is the son of Abraham G. and Jane Buchanan (Gilly) Mayers. The father was born in Hagerstown, Md., in 1807, and when a young man made his way southward, and was married at Natchez, Miss., to Miss Jane B. Gilly, who was a native of New Orleans, born in 1814. A romantic story is connected with their courtship and marriage, as Miss Gilly, then a beautiful young woman, eloped with her lover, and they were married on board a steamer on the Mississippi River. When Fort Smith was in its infancy, and still a barrack, containing then a few soldiers, whose duty it was to quell any hostile movement displayed by the savage tribes upon the border, this couple landed here, in 1840, and Abraham G. Mayers was appointed Indian agent, which position he filled for several years. He was one of the earliest and leading merchants of the place. He was editor of the Thirty-fifth Parallel, one of the earliest newspapers of Fort Smith. He was also postmaster at Fort Smith at the opening of the Civil War, and during the bloody struggle was stationed at Fort Washita, in the Indian Territory, in charge of the Government commissary. He was one of the pioneers of Fort Smith, was a man of unusual enterprise, and when he died, in 1870, this community mourned the loss of one of its most respected citizens. Jane B. Mayers died August 27, 1886. By her marriage she became the mother of seven children, three of whom are still living: Howard S., Jennie B., wife of T. J. Cunningham, and H. P., the subject of this sketch. H. P. Mayers was of German extraction. He was taken to Tennessee by his parents, and afterward to New Orleans, where he remained until about 1869. From 1875 to the fall of 1880 he was connected with the post-office in Fort Smith, and afterward traveled for Scott, Jones & Co., of St. Louis, for a year. August 15, 1887, he became a member of the present firm with Mr. Edwin Shelby. He is a member of the Episcopal Church, is a Democrat in politics, and is a Sir Knight and Captain of the uniform rank K. of P., Fort Smith Division, No. 9.