|
|
The Conways settled in Lafayette County in a region along the Red River that they called Long Prairie. Henry Conway soon entered politics and served as territorial delegate to Congress from 1823 until his death in 1827.
James divided his duties between those of a surveyor and a planter. He soon owned a 2000 acre plantation and more than 80 slaves. Meanwhile he surveyed Arkansas's southern border and laid out the controversial "Choctaw Line" from Fort Smith to the Texas border. This boundary separated white settlement areas from the newly created Choctaw Cession. Indian removal to the Choctaw Cession was extremely unpopular in Arkansas because it displaced hundreds of white families from what had been the fastest growing region in the Territory. Conway was supposed to run this line due south from Fort Smith, but he won many friends by slanting it westward, allowing white settlers to retain 130,000 acres at the Choctaw's expense.
Political leadership of "the Family" should have passed to James when Henry Conway died in a duel with Territorial Secretary Robert Crittenden in 1827, but the role suited him poorly. He lost his bid to represent his district in the legislature in 1828 and barely won a special election for the same position in 1831. Conway apparently had little skill at either speaking or campaigning. So, the task of running the Family fell to his nephew, Ambrose Sevier, who was a Territorial delegate. Thanks to the Family's connections to Andrew Jackson, Conway was appointed Surveyor General of Arkansas Territory.
Next: Governor James Conway
Back to the James Conway Menu Page