Entry Category: Miller Leaders

Ben E. Carter, following in his father’s footsteps, got an Ivy League education and developed a stellar law practice at Texarkana (Miller County) but died in 1943, less than four months after reaching the pinnacle of success for a lawyer: justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. He had been a state representative and chairman of the state commission regulating public utilities before running for associate justice. He took office in January 1943 but suffered a fatal heart attack in early April at the age of forty-eight. Benjamin Estes Carter was born on November 1, 1894, at Texarkana to Jacob Monroe “Jack” Carter and Nellie Haywood Estes Carter. His father was a highly educated lawyer, and the son followed his path. …

Carol Dalby of Texarkana (Miller County) began serving in the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2017, representing District 100 (Miller County). Dalby made history in Arkansas by being the first woman to be appointed chair the House Judiciary Committee. The committee during her tenure as chair has taken up many controversial bills that include “stand your ground” legislation, hate crimes legislation, and legislation that impacts content in county libraries. Carol Cannedy was born on October 2, 1956, in Decatur, Illinois, to George and Jeanice Cannedy. Her father was an engineer, and his company transferred him to Texarkana when she was two years old. A lifelong resident of Texarkana, she graduated from Arkansas High School. She earned a BS in education …

Wayne Dowd was a lawyer and politician from Texarkana (Miller County) who accumulated power and influence during twenty-two years in the Arkansas Senate. He had a hand in nearly all the judicial reforms during that period and was the architect of a complete overhaul of Arkansas juvenile justice laws in 1985. He died while attending a convention of the Arkansas Bar Association at Hot Springs (Garland County), where he was about to be honored for fifty years of service to the legal system as a lawyer and lawmaker. Clark Wayne Dowd was born on November 1, 1941, in Texarkana, Texas, one of three sons of Tillman L. Dowd and Blanche Ethel Pope Dowd, both salespeople. He attended a junior college, …

James Harris Draughon was a prominent businessman and civic booster in Arkansas and Texas following the Civil War. With numerous business interests in the Texarkana (Miller County) area, he was also a central figure in the founding of the town that bore his name, Draughon (Cleveland County). James Harris Draughon was born on June 12, 1843, in Waverly, Tennessee, to William W. Draughon and Cassandra Murphy Draughon. His father died when he was less than a year old, leaving his mother to care for him and his six siblings. He grew up in Waverly and received his early education in the town’s public schools. He got his first job in 1857, working as a clerk in Dresden, Tennessee. Although he …