Lee Seamster

Lee A. Seamster (born September 14, 1888 – July 25, 1960) was a lawyer and politician from Northwest Arkansas. Passing the bar in 1913, Seamster practiced law in Bentonville, and represented the area in the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1919 to 1920, and served as mayor of Bentonville from 1921 to 1922, until he resigned to move to Fayetteville to open a law practice. Over the next two decades, Seamster practiced law and served as Chancery Judge of the 13th District for eighteen years before representing the Fayetteville area in the Arkansas House from 1947 to 1948. He was appointed to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Arkansas from 1955 to 1956 by Governor Orval Faubus. Early life Lee Seamster was born to Martin Luther Seamster and Nancy Jane ( Cole) Seamster in Beaty, Arkansas on September 14, 1888. Both parents were from Missouri, from Barry County, Missouri and Schuyler County, Missouri, respectively. The family had nine children, eight of which survived to adulthood, with Lee being one of seven brothers. Lee attended public schools in Benton County. He earned his teaching license at age 17, and taught in a rural Benton County school for two years while saving money for further education. He married Fannie Presley of Benton County in 1908. At nineteen, he was appointed as a rural mail carrier, a position he held for six years. While holding the position, he read law under a local judge and mentor W. D. Mauck. The family cared deeply about the Lost Cause. Lee and his brother, Alvin, were charter members of the Bentonville Ku Klux Klan when it formed in July 1922. Alvin was a noted collector of historic objects and artifacts, and the hobby may have extended to Lee as well. Lee Seamster and Clyde Ellis purchased the original Act passed on November 14, 1861, amending state laws to substitute "Confederate States" wherever the words "United States" occurred following secession from the union in 1942. Seamster's wife, Fannie Presley, was a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy by virtue of her ancestry. Lee's brother Alvin was active in the Arkansas Historical Association, where he advocated an Arkansas history curriculum in schools. Early career Seamster became a member of the Arkansas Bar Association on January 21, 1913, and opened a law practice in Bentonville from 1920 to 1923. Seamster also entered political life, serving as a justice of the peace in Benton County and as an alderman in Bentonville.