[2] Her brother William Kavanaugh Oldham moved to Arkansas in 1885 and later entered politics himself, serving as acting governor for a brief time in 1913.

A younger brother, Kies Oldham, served as Eagle's personal secretary during his time as governor.

Eagle was appointed deputy sheriff of Prairie County, Arkansas, in 1859, a position he held until the start of the American Civil War.

At the conclusion of the war, Eagle attended Mississippi College for less than one year but was forced to withdraw due to illness.

He was sympathetic to women's suffrage and once welcomed Susan B. Anthony to the state though he did not provide active political support.