William L. Lovely, born in Ireland and brought at an early age to the Virginia Colony, spent part of his boyhood in the home of James Madison, later 4th President of the U.S. As a member of Colonial forces, he fought at Saratoga, Stony Point, and Yorktown. After being designated agent for the Western Cherokees in 1813, he and his wife, Persis, established a home in this vicinity, and he served as agent until his death in 1817. His effort to reduce friction among Indians in this territory led to the Osage Indians relinquishing claim to the area now designated as N.W. Ark. and N.E. Okla., and to a U.S. edict requiring all whites except Mrs. Lovely to leave the area, then inhabited by the Cherokees; history identifies the Osage transaction as the Lovely Purchase. In 1827 the Ark. Territorial Legislature organized the area to be vacated by the Cherokees as Lovely County, and the nearby shoals on the Illinois Bayou were known as the Lovely Shoals. After her husband's death, Persis Lovely continued to live in this area until her death in 1842.