| Husband |
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William B. Biffle |
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Born: October 19, 1855 |
Place: Humphreys County, Tennessee |
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Died: April 18, 1920 |
Place: Arkansas; he and his wives are
buried in Mitchell Cemetery, Greenway, Clay County, Arkansas |
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Parents: William
McHenry Biffle and Martha Leach Skelton |
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| 1st Wife |
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Minnie M. Turner |
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Born: July 14, 1865 |
Place: |
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Married: December 5, 1883 |
Place: Alexander County, Illinois |
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Died: December 4, 1884 |
Place: Clay County, Arkansas |
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Parents: Wiley V. Turner and Louisa M. Skelton
(see below for information on Wiley V. Turner) |
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| 2nd Wife of William B. Biffle |
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Ella Turner |
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Born: October 22, 1870 |
Place: |
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Married: October 2, 1887 |
Place: Humphreys County, Tennessee |
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Died: January 17, 1900 |
Place: Boydsville, Clay County, Arkansas |
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Parents: Thomas Turner |
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Goodspeed's says that his wife was "Miss
Ella Turner, daughter of Thomas Turner of Tennessee."
Ella as in poor health. She thought...if she could just have a long camping
trip...she would get better. Mr. Biffle had a beautiful team of horses,
which he hitched to a covered wagon. They went to Ravenden Springs, a little
more than sixty miles from their home. The group campted near Ravenden Springs
for nearly six weeks, living in a tent. Mrs. Biffle's health did improve
for a while. Suddently, however, she took a turn for the worse. A few months
later she died quietly. |
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| Children |
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| 1 |
Leslie L. Biffle |
| Sex |
Born: October 9, 1889 |
Place: Boydsville, Arkansas |
| M |
Married: October 1921, Mary Glade Strickling |
Place: |
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Died: April 6, 1966, of pneumona |
Place: Washington, D.C.; he is buried at Fort Lincoln
Cemetery, Washington, D.C. |
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At his death, Senator John
L. McClellan or Arkansas announced his death to the U.S. Senate, calling
him a "true patriot and one of America's finest citizens." |
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| 2 |
Blanche Biffle |
| Sex |
Born: September 8, 1891 |
Place: Arkansas |
| F |
Married: September 22,1917; Wilford Sanders |
Place: Piggott, Clay County, Arkansas |
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Died: November 18, 1970 |
Place: Dade County, Florida;
she is buried in the Piggott IOOF Cemetery, Section B, Piggott, Clay County,
Arkansas |
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She resided in Washington, D.C., where she and
her sister managed Biffle's Antique Shop. At the time of Leslie's death,
they were living in Miami, Florida |
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| 3 |
Joseph Turner Biffle |
| Sex |
Born: February 1894 |
Place: Arkansas |
| M |
Married: |
Place: |
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Died: December 19, 1947 as the result
of an automobile accident |
Place: Dade County, Florida (v. 1278,
Certificate 23469) |
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Telegram found in Piggott Banner; telegram dated
December 19, 1947: Mr. and Mrs. R.W. Turner received a telegram Sunday morning
informing them that Joe Turner Biffle had passed away at Miami Beach, Florida,
that morning where he had lived for the past year with his sister Miss Bernice
Biffle. He was a son of Mr. and Mrs. B. B. Biffle of Piggott. His body was
returned to Washington D.C. for burial, where his brother Leslie and sister
Mrs. Blanche (Biffle) Sanders reside. |
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| 4 |
Bernice Biffle |
| Sex |
Born: December 22, 1895 |
Place: Arkansas |
| F |
Married: after 1947, Charles Clark Hillman
(Brigadier-General) |
Place: possibly Florida |
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Died: October 7, 1974 |
Place: Dade County, Florida |
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| 3rd Wife of William B. Biffle |
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Pearl M. Vickery (Mrs.; maiden name unknown) |
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Born: October 24, 1879 |
Place: Illinois |
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Married: June 30, 1908 (see below) |
Place: Piggott, Clay County, Arkansas |
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Died: January 9, 1927 |
Place: Clay County, Arkansas |
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Parents: |
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- 1860 U.S. Census, Ashland, Wayne County, Tennessee, M653-1277, p.
247, William B. is found in his father's household.
- 1870 U.S. Census, District 10, Dickson County, Tennessee, M593-1524,
p. 367, listed in his father's household
1870 U.S. Census, p. 368, Minnie is found in her father's household.
- 1900 U.S. Census, Piggott, Clay County, Arkansas, E.D. 9, p. 6; B.B.'s
2nd wife was dead by this census.
- 1910 U.S. Census, St. Francis Twp, Clay County, Arkansas, T624-46,
p. 194. Found with his wife Pearl, daughter Blanche, son Joe; Pearl
and Billie had been married 1 year.
- 1920 U.S. Census, St. Francis Township, Clay County, City of Piggot,
Arkansas, T625-57, E.D. 22, pg. 3a: Billy (age 64), Pearl (age 41),
Joe (age 25). Billy was an insurance agent; Joe worked in lumber.
1920 U.S. Census, St. Francis, Clay County, Arkansas, T625-57, p. 2A;
Wilford Sanders with wife Blanche and son Billie B. Sanders.
- Leslie (age 30) is found in 1920 in St. Francis Township, Clay County,
Arkansas, T625-57, E.D. 22, pg. 4a; he is living with Dr. Frederick
H. Jones
- 1930 U.S. Census, Piggott, Clay County, Arkansas, T626-68,p. 20A;
Wilford Sanders, wife and son
1930 U.S. Census, Washington, D.C., T626-300, p. 11A; Leslie Biffle
and wife
No record of Joseph in 1930
- Clay County Arkansas Marriages, Eastern District, 1893-1924, by Una
Pollard (1988); Book 5, pg 596, B.B. Biffle, 42, Piggott, and Mrs. Pearl
M. Vickery, 31, Piggott, married June 30, 1908.
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- From Goodspeed's Biographies: Clay County
B. B. Biffle, sheriff of Clay County, and one of the representative
citizens of this section, is a native of Humphreys County, Tenn., where
he was reared and where he received a fair education in the common schools.
He is the son of William and Martha (Skelton) Biffle, the grandson of
Nathan Biffle, and the great-grandson of Jacob Biffle, who came from
Germany many years ago. To William Biffle and wife were born six children,
B. B. Biffle being the eldest. He left his native county at the age
of twenty-one years, or in 1879, and made his way to Clay County, Ark.,
where he started a store in Greenway, and, although a young man, he
was the first to engage in merchandising at that place. After that,
in connection with his store, he was for some time occupied in running
a stave mill, but in September, 1888, he was elected to the office of
sheriff, and then closed out the milling and stave business, to give
his undivided attention to his official duties. He fills that position
in an able and efficient manner, and to the satisfaction of all concerned.
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Blue Lodge and Chapter.
For his companion in life he chose Miss Ella Turner, daughter of Thomas
Turner, of Tennessee. He and Mrs. Biffle are members of the Methodist
Church.
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- Additional information: Billy owned a general store in Boydsville,
Arkansas. He sold everything from coffee to horse collars. However,
he alloed his zest for politics to interfere with his business. It was
said that "if Billie B. Biffle's commercial acumen had rivialed
his zest for politics, he might have become well to do." He held
the offices of sheriff and county clerk and was, in reality, a local
political boss. According to Goodspeed's Biographical and Historical
Memoirs of N.E. Arkansas, he ran a stave mill until September 1888,
whe he was elected sheriff. He was a member of the Masconic fraternity,
of the Blue Lodge and Chapter. In 1900 he was living in Piggot, Arkansas.
He was selected to be a delegate to the Clay County Congressional Convention,
April 15, 1904.
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- From Goodspeeds Biographies: Clay County
Dr. Wiley V. Turner, a retired physician and farmer of Greenway,
Ark., was born in Humphreys County, Tenn., May 19, 1836, his father.
(Wiley Turner, his father, being a native of South Carolina. He was
reared in Wilson County, Tenn., and was married in Davidson County to
Miss Maria Thompson, who was born near Nashville. He served in the War
of 1812 under Jackson, and was at the battle of New Orleans, dying in
Humphreys County.)
Dr. Wiley V. Turner grew to manhood in that county and until he attained
his majority made his home with his father. He received a good practical
education in Waverly Academy, and when twenty years of age commenced
the study of medicine under Dr. Ellis, taking his first course of lectures
in the winters of 1858-59 and 1859-60, in the University of Nashville,
graduating from that institution in the spring of the latter year. He
then practiced his profession in Houston County until the opening of
the war, and in the fall of 1862 enlisted as a private in the Fiftieth
Tennessee Infantry, Confederate States Army. He was soon after detailed
as assistant surgeon, and served in this capacity until 1864, when he
left the army and returned home and resumed practice. Here he remained
until 1871, when he removed to Clay County, Ark., and continued the
practice of his profession for nine years. About 1875 he was appointed
postmaster of Clayville, and in 1878 became the first postmaster of
Greenway. He kept a stock of general merchandise at his residence, and
continued for one year after the location of the town of Greenway, when
he moved his store to about one-half mile from his residence. He has
also been engaged in farming for a number of years.
August 4, 1864, he was married, in Tennessee, to Miss Louisa Skelton,
a native of Tennessee, and a daughter of A. B. Skelton. The Doctor and
his wife have four (is it really 5?) children: James, Joseph, Charles
and Robert. Minnie was the wife of B. B. Biffle, and died in December
1884. The Doctor and his wife are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian
Church, in which he is a ruling elder, and he belongs to the Masonic
fraternity.
- Additonal information on W.V. Turner's wife Louisa Skelton
died in 1892. He remarried to Martha E. ?, who died September 19, 1913
at the age of 63. All are buried in Mitchell Cemetery, Clay County,
Arkansas (from James G. Patey)
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