Dallas County, Arkansas

Page 735
P. H. THOMAS, editor and general manager of the Enterprise, Fordyce, Ark. Printing, the first and finest of all mechanical arts, has ever counted in the ranks of its prosecutors and the best talent of all communities. So peculiarly has its uses been recognized and developed that a distinct difference has been made by it between the civilized and an uncivilized people. The Enterprise, one of the newsiest and most interesting newspapers in Southern Arkansas, has for its editor and manager Mr. P. H. THOMAS, a great reader, a deep thinker, and a man of sound judgment and good practical common sense. Mr. THOMAS was born in Dallas County, Ark., in 1854, and is the son of Phillip H. and Mary E. (ROUNSABILL) THOMAS, who were born in Virginia in 1826 and North Carolina in 1825, respectively. The parents spent the principal part of their lives in Dallas County, Ark., and there died, the father in 1879 and the mother in 1880. He was a merchant of Princeton, Ark., for a good many years, and during the late war he was enrolling officer. P. H. THOMAS was reared on the farm, and as he attended school but about thirteen months altogether, his education was obtained most wholly by his own exertions. He remained with and took care of his mother until after her death, and in 1881 was married to Nannie W. SMITH, a native of Dallas County, Ark., and the daughter of Samuel W. and Hester A. SMITH, early settlers of Dallas County, where they passed their latter days. The mother died in 1880, but the father died in 1864, from the result of imprisonment in the prison at Little Rock during the late war. Both were members of the Methodist Church. To Mr. and Mrs. THOMAS were born four children two sons and two daughters. Mr. THOMAS farmed until 1888, when he removed to Fordyce, and in 1889 was the means of establishing Fordyce District Fair, of which he is secretary. In 1890 he became manager and editor of the Enterprise, and his being a man of ability and energy accounts for his success as a journalist. In politics he is Democratic and his first presidential vote was cast for Gen. Hancock. He and wife are members of the Methodist Church. His father was one of the first settlers of Dallas County, and for many years one of the foremost citizens in many respects. He accumulated a fortune, which he lost the principal part of in the late war. He owned immense salt works and during the war manufactured salt for the Government.