Benjamin S. Farrow, born in 1843 in Montgomery County, Alabama, is a notable merchant in Faulkner County, Arkansas. The son of John M. and Susan M. (Smith) Farrow, he was raised and educated in Missouri, where his father was a prominent judge. Farrow served in the Confederate Army’s Home Guards during the Civil War. After the war, he married Sarah J. Woods in 1867 and pursued commercial and agricultural ventures in Missouri. In 1869, he moved to Arkansas, settling first in Mount Vernon and later in Conway. Farrow opened a successful general store in 1888 and has been active in local politics and community organizations. He and his wife, members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, have four children, two surviving: Edith Mary and Claudius Golder.
Benjamin S. Farrow is acknowledged to be a prominent figure in commercial circles and one of the most enterprising merchants of Faulkner County. He was born in Montgomery County, Ala., in the year 1843, and was the fourth in a family of six children born to John M. and Susan M. (Smith) Farrow, of Virginia. The parents moved to Missouri in 1829 and located in Montgomery County, where the father engaged in mercantile life and resided there for a number of years. For several years he was county and probate judge of that county. In 1872 he moved to Crawford County in the same state, where he was elected to the same office, which he filled with a dignity and wisdom that has never been surpassed. His death occurred in December 1881, but his excellent widow survives him and is residing in Crawford County.
Benjamin was reared in Missouri and received his education in the public schools of Danville in that state. After finishing his studies, he entered his father’s establishment and remained with him until he reached his twenty-fourth year. At that time the Civil War had just begun, and he enlisted in the Confederate Army, becoming a member of the Home Guards, in which body he served with distinction. After the war was over he returned to Missouri, and in 1867 was married in Montgomery County to Miss Sarah J. Woods, of that state. He then settled with his bride at Jonesboro, where he embarked in commercial life and continued in business for a number of years with great success. He also farmed for some length of time in Crawford and Montgomery Counties, but in 1869 sold out his business and agricultural interests in Missouri and moved to Arkansas, making the entire trip in wagons.
His first settlement was at Mount Vernon, in Faulkner County, where he engaged in various occupations before deciding on anything definite, but in 1882 he changed his location to Conway, where he opened up a first-class hotel, in which business he continued until his present pursuit, in 1888. Mr. Farrow’s business has rapidly increased since his opening, and he is now contemplating a removal to a larger building and adding to his stock. He carries everything found in a first-class general store and has become one of the most popular merchants in that section. He is an active politician and an ardent Democrat and has made the canvass for sheriff. In Montgomery County, Mo., he served as justice of the peace in a highly credible manner, and in Faulkner County, Ark., he has been a member of the town council with equally as good results.
In secret societies, Mr. Farrow is a member of Green Grove Lodge No. 107, A. F. & A. M., and Woodland Lodge No. 11, K. of P. He also belongs to Faulkner Lodge No. 1624, K. of H., and is Assistant Dictator in that order. Four children were born to the union of Mr. and Mrs. Farrow, of whom two are yet living: Evalina Margaret died at the age of eight years, and Susan Matilda died when three years old. Those living are Edith Mary and Claudius Golder. In religious faith, Mr. Farrow and his wife are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and take a deep interest in religious and educational matters. The former is an active and liberal citizen in aiding all worthy enterprises for the advancement of his county and is held in high esteem by the entire community.