A. J. Peavy is vice president and general manager of the De Soto Land & Lumber Company at Mansfield, La., and was born in Covington county, Alabama, August 8, 1866.

Mr. Peavy's father was a farmer and afterwards moved with his family to Butler county, Alabama, where he was engaged in the timber business. The family left Alabama in 1877 and moved to Angelina county, Texas. Young Peavy, the subject of this sketch, was then 11 years old.

Mr. Peavy worked on a farm and went to school until he was 18, after which his first work in life was four successful years of school teaching. During school vacations he clerked for W. H. Bonner in Mr. Bonner's general store in Lufkin, Tex.

After his experience at teaching and clerking he went into the logging business at Michelli, Texas, for the Tyler Car & Lumber Company, the partnership being known as Bonner, Peavy & Bonner. At the end of fourteen months he sold out his interest in the logging company and spent one and one-half years in the store. He then bought an interest in the T. J. Bonner Logging Company, and logged on the Angelina river for the Tyler Car & Lumber Company.

In 1898 he began business for himself personally, logging for four months for the Emporia Lumber Company, and afterwards made an arrangement for logging the mills of the Angelina County Lumber Company. That was in April, 1899. His contract lasted until June, 1903. In that work he had associated with him for a part of the time his brother, J. E. Peavy.

In 1902 Mr. Peavy helped to organize the Lufkin Foundry & Machine Company and he was assistant secretary and treasurer of the company until 1903, when the Henderson Land & Lumber Company was organized at Clawson, Tex., with Mr. Peavy as vice president and general manager. The company leased a mill on the St. Louis Southwestern railway, six miles from Lufkin, and bought timber of the Foster Lumber Company.

Mr. Peavy remained in business there until he came to Mansfield in 1905. In fact his interest at Clawson did not terminate until the closing out of the business at that point, an event which occurred in July, 1905.