My Genealogy Hound

Samuel M. Wyatt, a genial and popular farmer and stock raiser, of Independence County, was born in Davidson County, Tenn., in 1837, and is a son of Isaac and Eleanor (McCutchen) Wyatt, of North Carolina and Tennessee, respectively, the mother dying when Samuel was four years of age. The father moved to Gibson County, Tenn., the following year after her death, where he resided until 1857, and then came to Independence County, Ark., spending the balance of his life in that locality. He was a prosperous and highly-respected farmer at the time of his death, in 1885, and a member of the A. F. & A. M. His parents both died when he was still very young, and he was reared by an uncle in Tennessee. After the death of his wife he sincerely mourned her absence, and remained a widower all his life. Mrs. Wyatt’s parents were natives of Ireland, who emigrated to America and settled in Tennessee, where they resided until their decease. The father, John McCutchen, was a soldier in the War of 1812, and fought under Gen. Jackson, at the battle of New Orleans. Samuel was the fourth child of one son and four daughters born to his parents, and received a good common school education in his young days. He moved to Arkansas with his father and sisters, and has made that State his home ever since. When the war broke out he cast his lot with the Confederate army, and enlisted in the First Arkansas Mounted Riflemen, operating through Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, Florida, and in fact, all the Confederate States. He took part in almost all of the principal battles during that memorable period, besides a great number of skirmishes and minor engagements, and though the Confederacy had followers for her cause whose names are far better known to the world, she had no braver soldier than Mr. Wyatt. After his surrender at Jacksonport, in 1865, he returned to his farm, and again commenced cultivating the soil. In 1867 he was married, in Independence County, to Mrs. Mary Gainer, a charming young widow, and a daughter of John and Tobitha Rodman, of famous old Bourbon County, Ky. Two sons and one daughter were born to this union: Isaac R., John and Mamie. Immediately after his marriage, Mr. Wyatt settled on White River, and commenced farming in that neighborhood, residing there ever since. He has become one of the leading farmers in that section, and now owns about 1,000 acres of land, in different tracts, with about 500 acres under cultivation. He inherited a portion of his land, but the greater part has been derived from his own industry and enterprise, and outside of being a practical farmer he is a wide-awake and energetic business man. In politics he is a Democrat, and has been a stanch adherent to that party all his life. Mrs. Wyatt is a member of the Episcopal Church, and a devoted wife and mother, who makes her home one of the most pleasant in Independence County.