William B. (Billie) Biffle (1855–1920)

William B. (Billie) Biffle served as the sheriff and clerk of Clay County, became mayor of Piggott (Clay County), and was a local Democratic Party leader. His son Leslie L. Biffle was Secretary of the U.S. Senate and an advisor to President Truman.

Billie (or B. B.) Biffle was born in Humphreys County, Tennessee, on October 19, 1855. He was the eldest son of six children born to William Biffle and Martha Skelton Biffle. Biffle was raised in Humphreys County and received a public education there. He moved to Arkansas, settling in Clay County, in 1879 and became the first to open a general store in Greenway (Clay County), when it was known as Clayville. He also operated a stave mill and served as the town’s postmaster from 1883 to 1888.

In 1888, he ran for sheriff on the Union Labor Party ticket with state representative candidate, newspaperman, and Cotton Belt Lumber Association president Jasper William Dollison. The Union Labor ticket of Biffle and Dollison was successful despite the fact that the Agricultural Wheel–backed Union Labor candidate Charles M. Norwood lost to Democratic gubernatorial candidate, James P. Eagle, by 392 votes in the county.

Biffle divested himself of his milling and stave business in order to focus on his new position. As sheriff, Biffle managed to capture Clay County’s most notorious active criminal, Bill Rich, who had been arrested previously for murder. Sheriff Biffle turned his prisoner back over to the U.S. Marshal Service, whose custody Rich had escaped a year prior. Despite this feat, Biffle was defeated for reelection in 1890 by former four-term sheriff J. A. McNeil. Biffle lost this race by a margin of 193, a significantly tighter margin than the Union Labor gubernatorial candidate Napoleon B. Fizer’s 836-vote loss in Clay County.

Biffle ran for county clerk in 1892 as a Democrat and prevailed, serving two terms. His past record as a Wheeler did not preclude him from being considered a good Democrat, and he was elected secretary of the Democratic Party of Clay County the same year, showing how members of the faction were able to reintegrate into the party.

Billie Biffle married Minnie M. Turner in 1883. She died of illness in 1884. In 1887, Biffle married Ella Turner, and they had four children. Their first child, Leslie L. Biffle, was born in Boydsville (Clay County) on October 6, 1889. Ella would die in 1900, and Biffle married Pearl M. Vickery in 1908.

Biffle had moved to the county seat of Boydsville during his term as sheriff and opened a general store there. When the county seat transferred to Piggott in 1891, Biffle moved accordingly, and while serving as clerk, he also opened a grocery store. He was among the incorporators of the Farmer’s Gin and Power Company of Piggott in 1902, as well as an incorporator of the Clay County Co-Operative Telephone Company in 1905. He established himself professionally in the finance and insurance businesses and would work in insurance until his death.

Biffle remained active and influential in politics after serving his second term as clerk and continued to be involved in leadership in the Democratic Party of Clay County. In 1900, he established a “Bryan and Stevenson Club” in Clay County to support the young progressive orator William Jennings Bryan in his second bid for the White House. Biffle was a delegate to the 1904 Democratic National Convention and was photographed there with Governor Jeff Davis. In January 1905, Davis appointed Biffle as a delegate to the National Cotton Growers convention.

Biffle was elected mayor of Piggott in 1907. He was reelected for another term but initially refused to serve, declaring, “I did the best I could for the city throughout the year, and I feel now that someone else should shoulder the responsibility that I have carried the last year.” He also reportedly stated that “where a town is as divided against itself as Piggott is” he would not serve as its executive officer. Mayor Biffle must have reconciled with his peers and citizenry, as he did ultimately serve the term. He was admitted to the Arkansas Bar and served as a special judge in Clay County cases when the presiding judge had to recuse themselves.

Biffle’s political connections likely helped secure his son Leslie a job as secretary to Arkansas First District U.S. Representative Robert Bruce Macon from 1909 to 1912, and then as secretary to U.S. Senator James Paul Clarke until 1916. Leslie Biffle was then appointed superintendent of the U.S. Senate folding room and served in that position until accepting a position as a War Department auditor with the American Expeditionary Force in France. Leslie Biffle would frequently come home to visit his father for guidance as he pursued his political career in DC, which would culminate years later in being appointed as Secretary of the U.S. Senate and serving as a top advisor to President Harry S. Truman.

Billie B. Biffle died on April 18, 1920. The next day, businesses in Piggott closed so that everyone in town could attend his funeral. He is buried in Greenway’s Mitchell Cemetery.

For additional information:
“Again in Custody.” Arkansas Democrat, July 15, 1889, p. 1.

“Clay County Instructions.” Daily Arkansas Gazette, May 8, 1892, p. 1.

“Clay Is All Right.” Daily Arkansas Gazette, September 4, 1890, p. 1

“Nearly All In.” Arkansas Democrat, September 10, 1888, p. 1.

“News from All over Arkansas.” Daily Arkansas Gazette, April 14, 1908, p. 3.

“Prominent Man Dies.” Paragould Daily Press, April 21, 1920, p. 1.

Ryan Carter
Clay County Genealogical and Historical Society