The Forrest City times., 1903-02-13
|EX-G0V. F|SHBACK DEAD
Passed Away at His Home in Fort
 Smith on the oth Inst.
AT TIE AGE OF SevenIY.Iwo YEARS.
One of the Most Progressive Men in Public Life in Arkansas Author of Famous Amendment to the Con- stitution, Which Saved the State Thousands of Dollars.

Ex- Gov Fishback died at his home
 in Fort Smith at II o'clock on the 9th | inst.
 Gov. Fishback was attacked with stroke of paralysis about ten days be- l fore his death and from that moment the attending physicians had but little hopes of his recovery.
 As private citizen and public ofh- cial Gov. Fishback was recognized as | progressive, conscientious man. and | he was highly esteemed by the people l not only in this state, but throughout l the country.
 1 Biographical.
 William Meade Fishbaek, seventeenth governor of Arkansas GS93-35) was | born at Jefferson, Culpepper county. | Va. November Q. lSsl son of Frederick 1 and Sophia A Yates) Fishbaek. His paternal srandfat ther. Martin Fishback,
 revolutionary soldier was descended from Frederick Fishbaek, a planter. who. settling in Maryland at an early 1 date owned the land upon which Fred l erickstown afterward stood; his wife's
 father. named lager, owning the sub- seauent site of Hsgerstow9. His ma ternai grandfather was Gel. Poitress | Yates, of Petersburg. Va. whose wife 1 tborn Stith) was directly descended | from William Stith author of His l tory Of Virginia" also des cendant of 1 the Randolph family and president of William and Mary College. The son l received his rudimentary edncation at | the schools of his native village and l vicinity. subsequently entering the Cn- l iVersity of Virginia. After his gradu- l ation. in 1S55 he studied law in the l office of Luther F. Spellman. at Rich l mond. and was admitted to the bar in l 1858. His first venture in law prac- | tiee was in 1S5S. while on an extended | visit to Illinois. Here he became ac- | quainted with Abraham Lincoln. who. 1 attracted to the young man. entrusted | him with important legal business while l travelling through the state. In 1858 l Mir Fishback took up a permanent res | ideree at Fort Smith, Ark, where he | engaged in the practice of his profess | sion.
 | In 1861 he was elected delegate to the l state convention which passed the or | dinance of secession. Although so pro- | nounced a Union man that the seces- 1 sion press of the state denounced him | as an aboltionist. yet he was opposed | to the policy of coercion. thinking that | such course would provoke civil war. l Upon Mir Lincoin's call for troops, by | advice of his constituents. Mr. Fish | back voted for secession. in the hope l that when the North saw the with l drawal of all the Southern states it | might be forced into accepting the Crit l tendon compromise All efforts at com | promise failing, however, when the war 1 broke out he went north. but during l the occupation of Little Rock by the l,.. .I.tt ttrf.xx .l | a newspaper called the Unconditional | Union" While editing that paper he. | ss commander, was raising the Fourth | Arkansas cavalry for the Federal ser | vice When about 900 men had enlisted | he was elected to the United States | senate by the Union legislature. and | thus was never mustered into service. | Under the proclamation of President | Lincoln the reorganization of the state | was at length accomplished in Janu- l ary. 1861.
 Mir Fishback had such influence with | the convention in charge that he was l called upon to write the greater part | of tho constitution of 1864. sometimes | called the "Fishback Constitution" He l was advised that ii the word white" | as a prerequisite to voting was not l stricken out. the state would not be re- 1 ceived into the Union. and that he would | not get his seat in the senate. to which | 1t was known he would be elected Be- | lieving. however. that it would not be l safe to confer the suffrage upon all he | refused to strike it out; he was. there | fore, not seated. In 1865 he was ap- l pointed treasury agent for Arkansas. 1 and his conduct in that office added
 largely to his popularity. In 1884 he | was elected to the convention which | framed the present constitution. and in l 1877. 1879 and 1885 he served in the
 legislature. He is the author of what | is known as the "Fishback Amendment" | to the constitution Of the state of Ark
 ansas, by which the legislature is for l bidden ever to pay certain state bonds | issued during reconstruction times. During the summer of 1892. contrary l to the policy of his opponents. he made 1 no canvass for the nomination for gov | ernor. His cause was taken up by the | people. however and he received 540
 votes out of 62s in the nominating con
 vention. while his plurality at the polls | was larger than that received by any | other governor since reconstruction | times Immediately after his election | he accepted the urgent invitation of the | national Democratic committee. and. go- l ing North. made a number of speeches | in New York and in Indiana. which met | with gratifying success. His adminis-
 tration was marked by continued pros | perity
 It was at the suggestion of Gov. Fish | back that the governors of the Southern | states met fin convention at Richmond. | Va, in April 1893. the assembly being
 one of the most important and dstin- | guished ever held in America. Of this | he was made president. As lawyer, | Gov. Fishback ranked with the best.
 while as a debater and public speaker
 he had few equals. No man was bet
 ter known throughout his state. his his | tory being a part of its history In
 1867 Gov. Fishback was married to Ad- | elaide. daughter of Joseph Miller. a prominent merchant of Fort Smith Five l children were born to them. three sons
 and two daughters Mrs. Fishback died at Fort Smith. December (, 1882.