Parmenas James “P. J.” Nolen, my maternal great-grandfather
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
Week 27 – July 1, 2025
Prompt: Family Business
NOTICE!
Everything for Horses and Mules!
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| At the bottom of the handbill was the name of the shop: P. J. Nolen & Sons P. J. was the second of six children and the only son of Parmenas James “Pet” Nolen and Louisa Jane Foley. He was born in Arkansas around 1860 and died on April 1, 1924, in Batesville, Independence County, Arkansas. His death certificate listed heart disease and nephritis as the cause, but his obituary in the Tulsa World on April 6, 1924, stated pneumonia. His son Leonard brought his body to Sand Springs, Oklahoma, for burial in the Nolen family plot at Woodlawn Memorial Park. |
P. J. does not appear in the 1860 census, but by 1870, he was living in Cotton Plant, Woodruff County, Arkansas, with his parents and three sisters: Ellen, Josephine, and Surrilda (aka Riller).
By 1880, both parents were deceased, leaving four minor children. Josephine and Riller were living with their aunt, Mary Foley, and her husband Stephen Adair. I have not located P. J. or his sister Ellen in the 1880 census. And, of course, there is no 1890 census.
P. J.’s father died intestate but left a note asking that J. E. James be appointed as P. J.’s guardian. J. E. James, a farmer, served in that role for several years. Upon his resignation, his son D. W. James became guardian. There is no evidence that P. J. ever lived with the James family.
On October 1, 1891, in Prairie County, Arkansas, P. J., age 31, married 17-year-old Mattie McCorkle. Her father wrote a note giving her permission to marry.
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| P. J. and Mattie's Marriage License |
They had three children:
• Pet, a daughter, was born sometime after the marriage and died before the 1900 census. She is mentioned in a letter from P. J. to his son Leonard many years later.
• Robert Luther, born in 1893 in Augusta, Woodruff County, Arkansas.
• Leonard, born in 1897, also in Augusta.
In 1900, P. J., Mattie, and their two sons were living in Marianna Village, Independence Township, Lee County, Arkansas. (Mattie’s parents, Daniel and Hester McCorkle, were also living in Lee County at the time.) P. J.’s occupation was listed as “Harness Maker.”
In an undated handbill, P. J. wrote, “I have been cutting leather for 32 years this fall.” That would place the start of his work around 1882.
Sometime after 1900, Mattie left P. J., taking the boys with her. In 1907, she married William F. Jones and was living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In 1910, P. J. was listed as a harness maker with his own shop in Batesville. By 1920, the listing described it as a “Harness and Saddlery Shop.”
The shop was located at 458 Main Street in Batesville. According to one of his handbills, he opened each morning at 4:00 a.m. and closed at 9:30 p.m.
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| Handbill for P. J. Nolen's Harness and Saddle Shop |
Among the many items sold in his shop were:
Whips, saddle blankets, sweat pads, collar pads, buckles, snaps, hames, chains, bits, spurs, rosettes, curry combs, brushes, storm covers, carriage heaters, heater coal, carriage trimmings, storm fronts, dash aprons, neck yoke centers, harness polish, harness oils, metal polish, duck drill, harness soaps, and “all other items that you will find in a first-class store that carries a line of harness.”
He specialized in repairs and even had a good shoe shop in the rear of the building.
P. J. expressed his appreciation in the first handbill above:
“I thank the merchants, the livery stable men, the doctors and lawyers, and the ladies of the city and the good farmers of this county and six other counties for their liberal patronage.”
I have many years of correspondence between P. J. and his son Leonard. In nearly every letter, P. J. mentions the weather, the conditions of local farms, and whether “traide is quiet” or “traide is good.”
One of my favorite details comes from a letter in which P. J. thanks Leonard for sending him a hat. He was proud to wear it and made a point to mention it in several letters. I have two photographs of P. J.—in one, he is hatless, and in the other, he wears the hat Leonard sent. It’s a small thing, but it reflects the love and respect between them.
In 1912, P. J. added a “first class mechanic,” who may have been Washington Sherrill. Sherrill’s World War I draft registration lists P. J. Nolen as his employer, and the 1920 census lists him as a harness maker. By 1930, after P. J.’s death, Wash Sherrill had his own auto mechanic shop.
Although the business name was P. J. Nolen & Sons, neither Robert nor Leonard ever participated in the shop. Even though they didn’t live with their father after Mattie left, they visited fairly often. From the letters, it’s clear that P. J. was a loving and attentive father—always interested in their upbringing at the Sand Springs Home and their development as young men.
As I reflected on his long career, I wondered how P. J. learned the trade. It seems likely he learned from his uncle, Stephen Anson Nolen, who was listed as a Saddler in White County, Arkansas, in 1880. Stephen held several patents related to the saddlery business, including:
• 1881 patent for a boot and shoe heel
• 1884 patent for a saddle stirrup
• 1891 patent for a bridle
• 1893 patent for a harness saddle
• 1897 patent for scissors or shears with a loop to hang from a pocket
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| Stephen Anson Nolen's Patent for Harness Saddle |
P. J. Nolen spent a lifetime at his workbench, cutting leather and crafting harnesses with the same steady hands that penned letters to his sons. He may have learned the trade from his uncle, but he made it his own—building a shop that served farmers, merchants, and neighbors across seven counties.
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| P. J. Nolen's Harness and Saddlery Shop, Batesville, Arkansas |
This undated photo, likely taken between 1910 and 1920, shows the interior of a harness and saddle shop that closely matches descriptions of P. J. Nolen’s business in Batesville. Though neither man appears to be P. J.—who would have been in his 50s or 60s at the time—the rows of hanging harnesses, leather goods, and display cases evoke the bustling trade he built. The flat-top case on the left especially caught my eye. For years, a nearly identical one sat quietly in my garage—an heirloom from my grandfather, P. J.’s son. I only realized its significance after finding this photo. Regrettably, I sold the case at a garage sale, unaware of its connection. It’s a bittersweet reminder that our family history sometimes lingers in the everyday, waiting to be recognized.
When we cleared out my grandparents’ house, there was also a saddle and a wooden sawhorse-style stand to hold it, both in such poor condition that I don’t think anyone kept them. At the time, we didn’t even know what P. J. stood for, let alone the full story of his trade. We probably first learned about the harness shop when we found the handbills tucked away. Still, I wonder now if another cousin ended up with a tool or two from his shop—something ordinary that once belonged to a man who built a life from leather, grit, and early mornings.
Though his sons never followed him into the business, his legacy lives on—in the letters he left behind, the tools of his trade, and the quiet pride of a man who worked hard, loved deeply, and always kept the door open at 4 a.m.
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