Page 131 - Jefferson County AR 1889 History (Goodspeed)

] 802 HISTORY O F ARKANSAS.
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,j hired at a saloon, remaining one year. Having
-?- made some proficiency as a barber at odd
times, he decided to work at that t,rade, and took
a barber's chair in the shop of his brother-in-law,
Ben Reed, where he labored ten years. During
that time he laid the foi~ndationof his fortune, sav-
ing every cent of his earnings, paying his hoard by
waiting on the guests at a hotel near by at meal
hours. He found a ready market for the loan of
his money at the office of a well-known broker of
Fine Bluff, to whom he loaned the principal and
interest, as it accrued, realizing the largest interest He has been so engrossed in his business, that he
thn laws allowed. Mr. Jones is now considered a
wealthy man, and, with unbroken success, will
amass oneof the largest fortunes intheSouth. He
is owner of some of the most valuable real estat,e
in the city; is sole ownerof the Wiley Jones Street
Car Line, now nearly six miles long. This street
railway is laid with twenty-pound steel rails, man-
ufactured by Paddock-Hawley Iron Company, of
St. Louis, expressly for the Wiley Jones railway.
His cars are all new, and are the very best built
by the John Stephenson Company, of New York
City, and the St. Louis Car Company, of St.
Louis. He renders his road wonderfully attract-
ire by securing the hest equipment. Hiscarstables
and barns are tine and admirably suited to the
service, and are located on the periphery of his
belt-line, at his beautiful park of fifty-five acres,
south of the city, in which is a half.mile racing
track, said to be second to none in the South. Ad-
joining this park are the Colored People's Fair
Grounds, where is a handsome floral pavilion of
octagon sbape, and a large and well-constructed
amphitheatre, stock-stables and stalls, all the prop-
erty of Mr. Jones, and not a cent of debt is owing
on anything. Mr. Jones is very fond of fine stock,
and owns some of the finest in the South, among
which are noted trotters. He is t r d y a benefactor
to the deserving of his race, aiding with his ample
means those who are disposed to help themselves.
His example and advice are eagerly sought, and,
when followed, have resulted favorably to the
party interested. No man i.s more liberal with his
means, where the advancement of his race is the
object. There are few men of either race who
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stand higher with his fellow-citizens, both white 1.
and colored. He so deports himself toward the
white race as to command respect from all classes;
he is 88 polite and conrteou~to the poor white
laborer as he is to the man of wealth. While de-
cided in his political views, he is no politician; he
is a Republican in principle, and an earnest worker
in any cause that he deems just. He is a believer
in the Christian faith, but is not attached to any
church as a member; he years ago ndopted for
his guide t.hrough life two words, "Do right."
has never given thought to contracting marriage.
He has always been an early riser; 5 o'clock finds
him in fie saddle, looking after his many and
varied interests, and he never permits himself t.0
rest until he sees that every branch of his business
is moving on properly. One has said of him:
"Who will say the Africo-American is not capable
of becoming a worthy citizen? Looking back to
1864, and tracing him step by step from an igno-
rant slave to the position that thousands now oo-
cupy, we see almostevery avocation in life respect-
ably filled by men of a race who, twenty years
ago, could not boast of even the sirnplest rudi-
ments of an education. With no means with which
to begin his new life, hut fair intelligence and
bone and muscle, the subject of this sketch is a
bright example of what mar be accomplished by a
proper use of even that limited capital." Wiley
Jones is a man of great energy and foresight.
With a thorough business mind and almost unpar-
alleled industry, be has amassed a handsome fort-
une iu a few years, and bids fair to become one of
the wealthiest men in his State. Few men of either
race have succeeded so well in the South. Having
no partner in any of his ventures, what he pos-
sesses is truly his own; he does not owe a dollar
that has matured for payment, his motto being,
"Owe no mm." His portrait herewith presented
is an excellent representation of this esteemed cit-
izen.
William Laporte, a colored property owner, of
Little Rock, was born at the Post of Arkansas in
1828, the slave of Charles Gibson. At the age of
twelve years he ran away to New Orleans, and
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