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246 dependent upon a poor mother. They, however, survived the hardships to which they were subject, and William received a good, practical education in the schools of Arkansas. He taught in the public schools of the state for years, always meeting with marked success, as shown at the examinations.

Retiring from the service of a pedagogue in 1884, he became editor of The Herald-Mansion, published in Little Rock. This is known to have been the first Afro-American journal published in Arkansas; which makes him a pioneer in the newspaper field, in that state. He served as editor of that journal for two years, when a dissolution of The Herald and Mansion was effected, the paper, though, continuing, under the name and style of The Mansion, and he as its editor and manager.

The company publishing The Mansion sold, in 1887, all the good will and material to Editor Buford, and he then launched upon the journalistic sea The Arkansas Dispatch, In politics, The Dispatch is Republican. It is a six-column folio, with the motto: "Hew to the line, let the chips fall where they may."

The race, the pulpit, and the press, vie in their respect for the above gentleman, who was born in Lash Creek Settlement, Vigo County, Indiana, May 8, 1848.

His life, which has reached forty-one years, has been marked with hardships and achievements, which occur in the experience of every one who attains to any degree of eminence in the world. He is the possessor of a good English education, obtained by persistent attention to books without the aid of an instructor, the foundation having been laid in a