My Genealogy Hound

Leon Roussan, editor and publisher of the Osceola Times (which he purchased in 1870), is a gentleman of culture, of large general information, and has proven himself to be a man of good judgment in directing the editorial policy of his paper. He was born in Ste. Genevieve, Mo., in 1838, and was the second in a family of seven children born to Michael and Sophia (Janis) Roussan. The parents were natives of Missouri, but were descendants of early French pioneers in that section. Leon Roussan attended the public and private schools of his native town until sixteen years of age, when he entered the newspaper office of the Ste. Genevieve Plain Dealer, and there remained one year. He then clerked in a store until 1861, when he enlisted in Company C, First Confederate Battalion, and was assigned to Mississippi River division. He was in the siege of Island No. 10, was there captured and taken to Johnson’s Island, Lake Erie, where he remained some six months, and was then exchanged at Vicksburg. Later he joined the Forty-second Tennessee Regiment, and was elected lieutenant of Company C. He was in the Georgia campaign, and was wounded at Atlanta. After the close of the conflict Mr. Roussan went to St. Louis, where he clerked for a year, and then moved to Randolph, Tenn., where he engaged in commercial pursuits. In 1870 he came to Osceola, and bought the paper which he now conducts. The Times is one of the old and well-established papers of this portion of the State, and has ever exerted a potent influence in public affairs and the general interests of Mississippi County — never more so than in late years, whilst under the supervision of its present editor. It has a good patronage, and commands the respect and confidence of the entire reading public among whom it circulates. At the incorporation of Osceola, in 1872, Mr. Roussan was active in promoting a harmonious organization, and was elected its first mayor. Since then he has been justice of the peace, and is at present county examiner. In 1879 his marriage was consummated with Miss Adah L. Pettey, a native of the “Lone Star State,” and the daughter of Dr. F. M. Pettey. Mr. Roussan is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Lodge No. 27, of Osceola, and is also a member of the Arkansas Press Association.