Elias Nelson Conway

Elias Nelson Conway
5th Governor of Arkansas
In office November 15, 1852 – November 16, 1860
Preceded by	John S. Roane
Succeeded by	Henry M. Rector
Auditor of Arkansas
In office October 1, 1836 – May 16, 1841
Appointed by	Arkansas General Assembly
Preceded by	New office
Succeeded by	A. Boileau (acting)
In office July 5, 1841 – 1849
Governor	Archibald Yell Samuel Adams Thomas Stevenson Drew
Preceded by	A. Boileau (acting)
Succeeded by	Christopher C. Danley
Personal details
Born	(1812-05-17)May 17, 1812 Greene County, Tennessee
Died	February 28, 1892(1892-02-28) (aged 79) Little Rock, Arkansas
Resting place	Mount Holly Cemetery, Little Rock, Arkansas 34°44′15.3″N 92°16′42.5″W
Political party	Democratic
Relatives	Conway-Johnson family
Profession	Lawyer

Elias Nelson Conway (May 17, 1812 – February 28, 1892) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fifth governor of Arkansas from 1852 to 1860.

Early life

Conway was born in Greeneville, Tennessee. Born into a political family, Elias Nelson Conway was the younger brother of Henry Wharton Conway, who served as territorial delegate to several Congresses, and James Sevier Conway, who became the first governor of Arkansas when it was admitted as a state in 1836. Another brother, William Conway, served on the Arkansas Supreme Court.

When he was a boy, his family moved from Tennessee to Missouri. Conway attended Bonne Femme Academy in Boone County, Missouri. His older brother Henry died in 1827 as a result of a duel with a former friend, Robert Crittenden.

In 1833, Conway moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where his older brothers had settled. He studied surveying. In 1835, he was appointed as the state auditor, and served until 1849.

Natural Steps by David Dale Owen

Political career

In 1844, Elias Conway was offered, and declined, the Democratic nomination for governor. When offered the nomination again in 1852, he accepted. With a successful campaign, he was elected as Governor of Arkansas. He was reelected to a second term in 1856.

His administration focused on physical improvements to the state: roads and other infrastructure to encourage development. He formed the Chancery Courts and eased the state's financial problems. When Conway left office in 1860, the state treasury held a surplus.

Conway formed the Geological Survey of Arkansas, commissioning Principal Geologist David Dale Owen, to survey the territory west of Little Rock and provide a report on the area. The 'Natural Steps' were first written about and drawn by Owen, in his Second Report of a Geological Reconnaissance of the Middle and Southern Counties of Arkansas (1859).

Personal life

Conway was first cousin of Ambrose H. Sevier and Governor Henry M. Rector.

Death

After Conway retired from public life, he became somewhat of a recluse, and died in Little Rock. Conway is buried at the historic Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock, Arkansas.

See also

• List of governors of Arkansas

External links

• Elias Nelson Conway Family
• Elias Nelson Conway at Find a Grave
• Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture entry: Elias Nelson Conway
• Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia, Inc.
• The Rector-Fishback-Conway-Sevier-Johnson Family