William Hines Furbush, an African-American, was born in 1839, in Carroll County, Kentucky. Around 1860, Furbush operated a photography studio in Delaware, Ohio. In March 1862, Furbush traveled to Helena, Phillips County, Arkansas, where he continued to work as a photographer. Around December, 1862, Furbush moved back to Ohio, where he married Susan Dickey. In February 1865, he joined the Forty-second Colored Infantry at Columbus, Ohio, and was honorably discharged at the rank of Commissary Sergeant in January 1866. Furbush departed for Liberia on the Golconda, an American Colonization Society ship in late 1866, but had returned to Helena by 1870 working as a photographer. In 1872, he was elected as a Republican, to the Arkansas General Assembly, representing the eleventh district comprised of Monroe and Phillips counties. One of Furbush's accomplishments during his tenure in the legislature was the creation of Lee County. He served as its first sheriff from 1873-1879. In late 1878, Furbush was named as the Democratic nominee to the Arkansas House of Representatives and resigned as sheriff. In March 1879, Furbush moved to Colorado following his vindication on bribery charges. He publicly announced his intention to return to Arkansas soon, but he did not move back to Arkansas until 1888, where he established himself as an attorney. In 1889, he co-founded the African American newspaper National Democrat. In the early 1890s, the Arkansas Legislature passed the laws disenfranchising African American men. It was around this period when Furbush moved to South Carolina and later to Savannah, Georgia. In 1901, he moved to Marion, Indiana to the National Home for Disabled Veterans. Furbush died at the home on September 3, 1902.
From the description of William Hines Furbush photographs, [manuscript] ca. 1862 (University of Arkansas - Fayetteville). WorldCat record id: 502012489
