By: MaKenzie Free
Williams Baptist University senior Erika Isbill has won the Arkansas Historical Association (AHA) 2018 Student Scholarship for the First Congressional District.  The Jonesboro, Ark., native is a history major at Williams. She will will present her scholarly paper at the AHA’s annual conference in Fort Smith, Ark., on April 20. 

“We in the Williams history department are very proud of Erika,” said Dr. Blake Perkins, chair of the department of history.  “We are thrilled that her hard work has been recognized by the Arkansas Historical Association and are excited about the terrific opportunity she has to present her research at the AHA’s annual conference in Fort Smith.”

Isbill’s paper uses original documents preserved at the Northeast Arkansas Regional Archives and examines the early nineteenth-century life of Peter Halderman, a white merchant in Northeast Arkansas.  The paper highlights Halderman’s unique relationship with African Americans in the region during the tumultuous time of the the mid-1800s.

Isbill is the daughter of Eric and Marsha Isbill of Jonesboro.

Williams is a Christian, liberal arts university in Walnut Ridge.  It will officially become Williams Baptist University in July.