Judge Boles was born a farmer's son in Johnson county, Arkansas, July 16, 1837, and is of Norman-English extraction. A zealous biographer and enthusiastic genealogist of the family traces their advent into England as conquerors under William the Norman. The barons of Scampton and the lords of Swineshead in the county of Lincoln for seventeen generations figure conspicuously, dating back in this bailiwick to the reign of Henry III, and the biographer assures us that from another branch of the Boles family descended the Duke of Marlborough, John Boles, bishop of Rochester, William Boles, a naturalist, and Sir George Boles , lieutenant-general, who commanded a division under Wellington at Waterloo.

The youth of Judge Boles was but a duplicate of that of the ordinary farm boy; he attended the old-fashioned log school-house at interval's when he could best be spared from the field, and in this way he aggregated twelve months' primitive schooling by the time he attained his twentieth year. But he had aspirations, a taste for books and literature, and became his own zealous educator at night after his day's work on the farm was over. In this way he qualified himself to teach the rudimentary branches of an English education, and for two years taught school, and read law during his leisure hours, and was admitted to the bar in 1859, at Danville, in Yell county, and located there.

He served one year as deputy sheriff, and near two years as deputy clerk; was a Douglass democrat preceding Mr. Lincoln's election, but was a warm and zealous Unionist during the late civil war, and became captain in the Third Regiment Of Arkansas Federal cavalry, and figured conspicuously in the 10081 troubles and contests at the time.

After the war, in politics he became a republican and an active supporter of Governor Clayton's administration. In 1865 he was elected judge of the fifth judicial circuit of the State, with but little experience as a lawyer and none as a judge, but it is due to him to say that he did not seek the office in those troubled and disjointed times; that he only consented to fill the office after urgent solicitation ; and that he was pleasant, courteous and affable on the bench, and filled the office with becoming credit and respect.

In 1868 he was elected to the fortieth congress as a republican, and was successively elected to the forty-first and forty-second congress, and was an active supporter of his party during that stormy period. Arkansas, by reason of her relation to the rebellion, had been excluded from the benefits of an act of congress granting to the States lands to endow agricultural colleges. Judge Boles introduced and secured the passage of a bill in congress removing this restriction, and securing to Arkansas her proportion of the endowment college scrip. At the close of his congressional career he resumed the practice of his profession, and located at Dardanelle, and in 1878 was appointed, by President Hayes, receiver of the United States land office at Dardanelle. Governor Baxter tendered him the office of circuit judge of the fifth circuit, but he declined it. In 1882 President Arthur appointed him United States marshal for the western district of Arkansas, which position he held five years, disbursing for the government $300,000 annually. Since retiring from the marshal's office he has permanently settled in Fort Smith.