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Harvey Crowley Couch (1877 - 1941)

Harvey Crowley Couch
Born in Calhoun Township, Columbia, Arkansas, United Statesmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 4 Oct 1904 in Athens, Claiborne, Louisiana, United Statesmap
Died at age 63 in Magnet Township, Hot Spring, Arkansas, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 9 Mar 2018
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Biography

Notables Project
Harvey Couch is Notable.

Harvey Crowley Couch, Sr. was an Arkansas entrepreneur who rose from modest beginnings to control a regional utility and railroad empire. He is regarded as the father of Arkansas Power and Light Company and other electric utilities now part of Entergy; he helped mold the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway and the Kansas City Southern Railway into a major transportation system. His work with local and federal government leaders during World War I and the Great Depression gained him national recognition and earned him positions in state and federal agencies. He also established Arkansas’ first commercial broadcast radio station.

Harvey Crowley Couch was born on August 21, 1877 in Calhoun Township, Columbia County, Arkansas. He was the eldest son of Thomas Grantham Couch and Manie Evans (Heard) Couch.[1][2][3] In 1880, the family moved to Blossom Prairie, Lamar County, Texas.[4] Around 1894, they returned to Arkansas and he lived in Magnolia, Columbia County. He attended the local school and considered dropping out, but was encouraged by Pat Neff, his teacher, to continue his education. Pat, who eventually became the Governor of Texas, encouraged him with adages like "A winner never quits" and "Men like you have built empires".[1]

In 1900, he lived in a boarding house on Popular Street in Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee where he worked as a postal clerk.[5] He married Jessie Maude Johnson on October 4, 1904 in Athens, Claiborne Parish, Louisiana.[6] After his marriage, he lived in Police Jury Ward 1, Winn Parish, Louisiana. He worked as a manager at the telephone company.[7]

In 1920, he lived in Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas. He was President of the Pine Bluff Company.[8] In 1930, he continued to live in Pine Bluff on Harding Street.[9] He was president of a public utility, which eventually led to the creation of Arkansas Power and Light (AP&L). He was the first to build a modern gas fired power plant in the lower Mississippi Valley. He also built the REmmel and Carpenter dams in Garland County.[1]

During the Depression, President Hoover appointed Couch to the seven-member board for the newly created emergency Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which operated from 1931 to 1956.[1] In 1933, President Roosevelt appointed him to the Public Works Administration (PWA).[1]

He had formed the Louisiana Railroad and Navigational Company, and in 1937 acquired stock in the Kansas City Southern Railroad (KCS). He combined the company with the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway. The combination gave him control of a stretch of railway from New Orleans to Kansas City.[1]

His final two projects were devising a new type of electrical distribution system to insulate the wire and make it easier to get electricity to farms. Instead of patenting the system, he turned it over to the Rural Electrification Administration (REA). His second project developed industries to process water, cotton, rice and timber in the state. Which helped grow the states economy.[1]

In 1940, he lived in Pine Bluff [10], and the following year he died on June 30, 1941 in Magnet Township, Hot Spring County, Arkansas.[3] He is buried in the Magnolia City Cemetery in Magnolia, Columbia County, Arkansas.[11]

Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Laster, Patricia Paulus, Benton, Arkansas, Encyclopedia of Arkansas, last updated on 9 Nov 2022. "Harvey Crowley Couch (1877–1941)." Accessed 5 May 2023.
  2. Wikipedia Contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, last edited on 18 May 2022. "Harvey C. Couch." Accessed 5 May 2023.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969: Arkansas Department of Vital Records; Little Rock, Arkansas; Death Certificates; Year: 1941; Roll: 3 Ancestry Record 61777 #473372
  4. 1880 United States Federal Census: Year: 1880; Census Place: Blossom Prairie, Lamar, Texas; Roll: 1314; Page: 137B; Enumeration District: 078 Ancestry Record 6742 #7774011
  5. 1900 United States Federal Census: Year: 1900; Census Place: Memphis Ward 19, Shelby, Tennessee; Roll: 1599; Page: 9; Enumeration District: 0114 Ancestry Record 7602 #61229815
  6. Newspaper Clipping, The Times-Democrat, New Orleans, Louisiana, Saturday, October 8, 1904. "Couch-Johnson Marriage Annoucement." Accessed 5 May 2023.
  7. 1910 United States Federal Census: Year: 1910; Census Place: Police Jury Ward 1, Winn, Louisiana; Roll: T624_535; Page: 20B; Enumeration District: 0123; FHL microfilm: 1374548 Ancestry Record 7884 #9891413
  8. 1920 United States Federal Census: Year: 1920; Census Place: Pine Bluff Ward 2, Jefferson, Arkansas; Roll: T625_67; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 136 Ancestry Record 6061 #65260782
  9. 1930 United States Federal Census: Year: 1930; Census Place: Pine Bluff, Jefferson, Arkansas; Page: 3B; Enumeration District: 0038; FHL microfilm: 2339814 Ancestry Record 6224 #86630393
  10. 1940 United States Federal Census: Year: 1940; Census Place: Pine Bluff, Jefferson, Arkansas; Roll: m-t0627-00146; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 35-43 Ancestry Record 2442 #101683562
  11. Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/81777474/harvey-crowley-couch: accessed 05 May 2023), memorial page for Harvey Crowley Couch (21 Aug 1877–30 Jul 1941), Find A Grave: Memorial #81777474, citing Magnolia City Cemetery, Magnolia, Columbia County, Arkansas, USA; Maintained by Michelle Garner (contributor 47234478).




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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with Harvey by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with Harvey:

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