Before Hill, Carroll and Terry represented Arkansas

Both attorneys were influential at city, state levels before taking on national roles

By Aprille Hanson
Associate Editor

Congressman French Hill was sworn in Jan. 6 to represent the Second District of Arkansas and is believed to be the first Catholic to serve in that position since 1853 when the district was created.

Though he’s the first Catholic in that particular district, Hill has a rich, religious history of footsteps to follow in when it comes to representing Arkansas, most prominently David Williamson Carroll (1816-1905) and William Leake Terry (1850-1917).

According to Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture, Carroll was the first Roman Catholic to represent Arkansas on a national level, serving in the Confederate Congress. His roots in Catholicism can be traced to Bishop John Carroll of Baltimore, the first U.S. bishop, and distant cousin Charles Carroll, the only Catholic to sign the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

Carroll, the oldest child to a prominent Catholic family in Baltimore, studied at St. Mary College in Baltimore before coming to Arkansas to work at a surveying company. He returned to Baltimore just two years later, marrying wife Melanie Mary Scull in 1838. The couple had seven children, with only three living to adulthood. His wife died in 1869.

In the 1840s, Carroll settled in Little Rock where he had a special guest live at his home -- Bishop Andrew Byrne, the first bishop for the Diocese of Little Rock. Bishop Byrne stayed with Carroll until the first Cathedral of St. Andrew and rectory were completed in 1846.

Carroll quickly rose through the political ranks: He was appointed by President James Polk to deputy clerk for the U.S. District Court in Little Rock; admitted to the Arkansas bar two years later and elected in 1850 to the Arkansas House of Representatives. Carroll was an Arkansas Democrat, battling attacks from what was known as the “Know-Nothing American Party.” The party was known for its strong opposition of Catholics and immigrants, who they claimed were a threat to “real” Americans, taking both jobs and land. The prejudice became so bad that in the late 1850s, a series of violent attacks broke out on Catholics in Little Rock. 

However, Carroll continued on his road to success, becoming the prosecuting attorney in the southeastern Arkansas district in 1860. On Dec. 7, 1864, Carroll won a special election to fill the vacant seat in the Confederate House of Representatives. The legislative body lasted two months, but Carroll supported several agendas, including more power to the Confederates and no peace talks with the Union. Out of the 11 Arkansas delegates, Carroll was the only one who did not own slaves.

When the Civil War ended, Carroll returned to Arkansas to serve in various positions, including as a probate judge and state chancery circuit judge. At 89, Carroll became the longest living Confederate Congress member, the only one who saw the 20th century. He died on June 24, 1905.

Though Carroll’s junior by 34 years, William Leake Terry made his mark as another prominent Catholic in Arkansas politics. Born on Sept. 27, 1850 in North Carolina, Terry moved with his father to Pulaski County after his mother’s death in 1861. Just four years later, Terry was orphaned, living with his uncle Col. Francis A. Terry. Terry studied at Bingham’s Military Academy and later at Trinity College, both in North Carolina. In 1872, Terry achieved the highest honors in Trinity history. He was admitted to the Arkansas bar in November 1873 and went on to build a successful law career and a reputation as a “skilled, effective and dashing courtroom attorney,” according to Encyclopedia of Arkansas.

Terry served on the Little Rock City Council for two years before moving to the Arkansas Senate from 1878-1879, becoming Senate president. From 1879 to 1885, he was the Little Rock city attorney.

In 1890, Terry’s career went national. He was named to the House of Representatives, representing the Fourth District from 1891 to 1901. Terry joined the Judiciary Committee and used his law skills to help move along court reform efforts and developing laws for the new Indian Territory in the western part of the country.

Terry, a member of the Cathedral of St. Andrew, was widowed twice. He had three sons with his first wife, Molly C. Dixon, who died in 1895. (Son David D. Terry was also elected to Congress, and Terry Elementary School in Little Rock and the Terry Lock and Dam south of Little Rock are named after him. David’s wife, Adolphine Fletcher Terry, a cousin of the late Bishop Albert Fletcher, was a prominent activist and the Fletcher Terry Library in Little Rock is named after her).

His second wife, Florence Forshe, died at 34 years old in 1912, leaving Terry to balance his career while raising their 11-year-old daughter.

Though Terry was known throughout his life as a prominent lawyer, he is most known today for The William L. Terry House (also known as the Terry-Jung House) at 1422 S. Scott Street in Little Rock. In 1976, the house, an example of historic Queen Anne architecture, was added to the National Register of Historic Places. Terry died on Nov. 4, 1917, when he was 67 years old.

“Col. Terry was a true Southern gentleman, courtly in manners and distinguished in appearance,” according to the Nov. 10, 1917, obituary in The Guardian (predecessor to Arkansas Catholic).

Carroll and Terry are both buried in Calvary Cemetery in Little Rock.

As Rep. French Hill takes his place in national politics, he can take pride in the small, but important Catholic politicians that came before him.

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