Pulaski County ArArchives Biographies.....Roots, Philander K. 
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Author: S. J. Clarke (Publisher, 1922)

PHILANDER K. ROOTS.
    Philander K. Roots, one of the venerable and highly honored citizens of
Little Rock to the time of his death on October 16, 1921, was closely connected
with the development and progress of the state through his activity as a civil
engineer, railroad builder and banker. His life had been one of intelligently
directed activity and of intense usefulness and Arkansas largely benefited by
his labors. Mr. Roots came to the southwest from New England and his ancestry
was strictly American in both the lineal and collateral branches through many
generations. The line is traced back in this country to 1634, when
representatives of the name came from England. The great-grandfather of Mr.
Roots, a graduate of Yale College, became a clergyman of the Congregational
church, while the grandfather was a graduate of Dartmouth College and also
devoted his life to the work of the ministry, although becoming a representative
of the Baptist church, in the home mission field of which he did most effective
work. Benajah G. Roots, father of Philander K. Roots, was a pioneer settler of
Illinois. In New England he had qualified for the profession of civil
engineering and had devoted his attention to professional work of that character
for a considerable period. He determined, however, to become identified with the
upbuilding of the growing middle west and settled in Perry county, Illinois,
where he turned his attention to educational interests and contributed much to
the development of the schools in that locality. He married Martha Sibley Holt
and they became the parents of four children. The wife and mother died in 1864,
while the father survived until 1888.

    Philander K. Roots was the second in order of birth of their children and
was still an infant when the family removed to Illinois from Connecticut. He was
born about twenty miles east of Hartford, in the town of Willington,
Connecticut, on the 4th of June, 1838, and has therefore passed the eighty-third
milestone on life's journey. He was reared on a frontier farm near Tamaroa,
Illinois, his father having there taken up a government claim. He early assisted
his father in the development and cultivation of the fields and he likewise
received a liberal educational training under his father, who was a highly
educated man. At a later date Philander K. Roots became a student in the
Carrollton College at Carrollton, Illinois, where he specialized in civil
engineering, and later he matriculated in the State Normal School at
Bloomington, Illinois, where he continued in the same line of study to the time
of his graduation. He started out in the business world as assistant to his
father, who was then division engineer on the Illinois Central Railroad in
Illinois. In 1853 Mr. Roots accepted a position as engineer in connection with
the work of laying out the town of Centralia, Illinois, and when that task was
accomplished he went to Paducah, Kentucky, where he was in the employ of the
Mobile & Ohio Railroad, acting as locating and constructing engineer. With the
outbreak of the Civil war, however, he returned to Illinois and entered the
educational field by becoming principal of the high school at Duqnoin. A year
passed in this way and then, prompted by a most patriotic spirit, he joined the
engineering corps of the Union army, rendering valuable service to his country
in operations between Nashville and Atlanta under command of General Thomas. He
did much reconstruction work along engineering lines, following the trail of the
Confederate Generals Wheeler and Forrest in that section of the south.

    When the country no longer needed his aid Mr. Roots turned his attention to
the west and for some time remained in Nevada and California, acting as deputy
state surveyor in Nevada but also giving considerable attention to mining
interests. He dated his residence in Arkansas, from 1869, where he became a
partner of his brother. Colonel Logan H. Roots, in the conduct of plantation
enterprises at De Vall's Bluff. In the early '70s, however, he again engaged in
civil engineering. being employed as locating and constructing engineer by the
Cairo & Fulton Railroad, now a part of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern
Railroad system. His labors as a civil engineer constituted a most valuable
contribution to the upbuilding and development of the state. He was one of the
first expert representatives of his profession in the state and the value of his
service can scarcely be overestimated. In 1873 Mr. Roots turned his attention to
banking, becoming managing official of the First National Bank of Fort Smith, in
which he held a large amount of stock to the time of his demise. Little Rock had
been his home since 1880 and for a decade he was the cashier of the First
National Bank of the city but retired from active connection with the
institution in 1890. In the meantime he had made large investments in property
and along other lines here and was able in the evening of life to rest from
labor and yet enjoy all of the comforts and luxuries which make for a pleasant
existence.

    On the 23d of May, 1866, Mr. Roots was married in San Francisco, California,
to Miss Frances Maria Blakeslee, who was. reared and educated in Duquoin,
Illinois! They became the parents of the following named: Bishop Logan H. Roots,
of the Episcopal diocese of Hankow, China; Rev. Willard H. Roots, Episcopal
missionary in the state of Idaho; Mrs. Mary Emily Hall of Little Rock; and one
who died in infancy. The wife and mother died on August 21, 1906, her death
being the occasion of deep regret to her many friends. The sons and daughter of
the household are now all married and filling positions of great usefulness in
life. The son, Logan H. Roots, married Miss Eliza L. McCook, a daughter of the
Rev. J. J. McCook of Trinity College, Hartford. Connecticut, and they became
parents of three sons and two daughters, all born in Hankow, China; Willard Holt
Roots, who has devoted his life to the work of the Episcopal ministry, married
Miss Katherine Philp, of Canada, and they have two children, Mary Frances and
Willard H., Jr. Both sons were graduated from the Cambridge (Mass.) Theological
Seminary; Mary Emily, the only daughter, is the wife of Walter G. Hall and they
have two children, Graham Roots and Mary Emily. Mrs. Hall has been very active
in Sunday school and church work and has served as president of the Young
Women's Christian Association of Little Rock. Mr. and Mrs. Hall and their two
children made their home with Mr. Roots and the household has ever been noted
for  its gracious and liberal  hospitality.

    Mr. Roots had long been identified with the Masonic fraternity, taking all
of the degrees of the York Rite, including that of Knights Templar, while in the
Scottish Rite he attained the thirty-second degree. His political endorsement
was always given to the republican party and he never neglected any duty of
citizenship. He belonged to the Protestant Episcopal church and for almost a
half century WJS senior warden therein, while for many years he had served as
superintendent of the Sunday school. He became one of the organizers of the
Young Men's Christian Association of Little Rock in 1885 and there was no good
work done in the name of charity or religion that sought his aid in vain. He
approached the end of life's journey with the consciousness of duty well
performed, of a life well lived, and the honor and respect accorded him were not
the recognition of mere business success but of a sterling character above
reproach. He died at his home, 1018 Scott street, Little Rock, Sunday, October
16, 1921, and his departure is deeply mourned by his family and hosts of friends.


Additional Comments:
Citation:
Centennial History of Arkansas
Volume II
Chicago-Little Rock: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company
1922


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