When The Way Is Hard

This week's blog post will need to be credited to Edith Boyer Suggs (1906-1992), my first cousin 5x removed. She complied a book in 1963, known as The House Of Boyer. It is probably one of the many reasons I fell in love with genealogy. It is the perfect mix of names, dates, (and the best part) stories about the lives of my ancestors and many of their descendants.

 

 

The theme for this week is 'There Is A Way' and I've decided to retell the sad story of my 5th great grandparents, William Henry Boyer and his wife Mary Cooper Boyer. The Civil War left people without many choices. And the choices they did make, were life altering, and weren't without consequences. They couldn't have been easy choices to make. The story of my ancestors isn't unique. Many of those living in Johnson County, Arkansas, during the Civil War had similar stories. There was extreme lawlessness at the hands of bushwhackers who took advantage of the unfortunate circumstances. Many of the men were off fighting the war, leaving older men, women and children to fend for themselves. Any kind of law enforcement were also busy fighting a war. There was no one to hold these renegades responsible for their crimes, and many brutal, and bloody crimes were committed.  I have several ancestors from this era and this area who met just as awful circumstances. Some didn't survive. But those tales will be told another day.
 

William Henry Boyer was the son of Henry and Mary (Gambell) Boyer. According to Civil War records, he was born in Humphreys County, Tennessee in the year 1818. *In one page of his records it lists his birthplace as Hampton Co, Tenn - which does not exist, and in The House of Boyer it lists his birth place as Hamilton Co * I am going to go with Humphreys Co.,  as I have found census records for a Henry Boyer with wife Mary and a few of their children in 1850 living in said county. I took the time to look at a formation map during the time of William's birth - the borders changed significantly between the years 1817-1819. And the population for the entire county for the year of 1820 was only 4,067.

 

The first proof of William H. Boyer's residence in the State of Arkansas, I have, comes from the affidavit of his wife Mary Cooper in her application for a widow's pension. She states her marriage date as 4 March 1841 in Spadra, Johnson County, AR. Mary's family moved to Johnson County, AR, from Rhea, Tennessee, sometime before 1836 where I find tax records in Johnson County for her father Kennedy Cooper. In 1830 Kennedy Cooper and family were found in Rhea, TN. so that narrows the date of their arrival to a window of 6 years.  In Edith's book, The House of Boyer, she states that there is a land grand for William H. Boyer in 1839, I have not found it. *Keep in mind that Mrs. Boyer-Sugg's did genealogy the old fashioned way. Traveling miles and researching records from court houses, libraries, and writing letters to any connection she may have found a long the way. I have the utmost respect for her and those like her.*
 

Mary Cooper was the daughter of Kennedy Cooper and Sussana Keesie/Kessie. She was born 6 January 1825 in Rhea, TN.
 

William Henry was a farmer by trade and the same year as the birth of his oldest child Mary Martha (who married William Wallace Swift), I find a land certificate registered in Fayetteville land office for 80 acres. His place of residence is listed as Pope County, which is directly to the East of Johnson County. In 1844, his daughter Parmelia (my ancestor), was born, then in 1846 his daughter Melinda was born. That same year, William Henry, enlisted into Company A, Gray's Battalion, Arkansas Volunteers, to fight in the Mexican American War. It's suspected that this was a way to improve his standing and gain more land. William Henry was one of about 380 men who were sent to Indian Territory to keep peace and allow U.S. forces there to enter the war under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Gray. In Edith Boyer-Suggs book she mentions that William received an Honorable Discharge in 1847, at Fort Gibson, Cherokee Nation, and received 165 acres of Bounty Land, located in Horsehead Township, Johnson Co. I have not been able to locate this record but Fold3 has an unindexed record, warrant # 47-160-15474 assigned to William H. Boyer.
 

In 1849, William Henry and Mary had another daughter Sarah Ann and in 1851 Mary finally gave birth to a son, James W. Next came Elizabeth in 1854 and Susan in 1857 then Mary Emeline in 1861
 

In February 1862 William Henry once again enlisted in the military on the side of the Confederacy. This time to fight in Company 'F' 10th Regiment Arkansas Militia for a period of only 3 months. Then in October 1863 he enlisted in Company 'L' Hill's 7th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry, this is the same month and year that his youngest child, the father of Edith Boyer-Suggs, was born, William Smith Boyer.

 

 

By this time the Civil War was well under way. William and Mary's two oldest daughters were already married. Mary Martha to a Yankee and my ancestor, Parmelia, to a Rebel. Sometime in the early part of August 1864, William was warned by neighbors that he would be one of three men who were to be attacked by the outlaws that pillaged Johnson Co.  William and the other two men on the list, were thought to have money. The other men were caught and tortured and their feet badly burned. But as soon as William had received warning he and Mary and their children quickly loaded their wagon with as many necessities and provisions as they could and left the Boyer Homestead. They barely made it. Just as their place was nearly out of sight they could see smoke rising into the sky, telling them that their home and all the belongings they had to leave behind were being burned.

This next part I will quote directly from Mrs. Boyer-Sugg's book:

With very little food and bedding, the farm wagon was still overloaded with 6 children of theirs and a niece (4 year old Jennie Ogilvie, daughter of Lavinia Boyer and Wm. Smith Ogilvie, a Confederate Soldier) and possibly some of Henry's married daughters. They started to Little Rock, AR, 112 miles away. Wm. Henry and Mary are said to have walked most of the way, with very little food. It was at Little Rock, on Aug 20, 1864, that Wm. Henry joined the Union or Federal Army. (Note: he changed sides.) He was in Company 'I' 2nd Arkansas Infantry. In return, the U.S. Government sent Mary Boyer and her children (my father, Wm. Smith Boyer, was only 10 months old) to Winona Co., Minn. for the duration of the war by the way of the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers.

Wm. Henry Boyer was transferred back to Clarksville, AR, to serve in the Medical Corps., having been assigned to the Post Isolation (Smallpox) Hospital. The building being used for the hospital was an old log residence that stood on the east side of what is now College Avenue, some 500 feet south of the railroad tracks. It was while nursing the Federal Soldiers there that he contracted Smallpox and died Feb. 16, 1865, at the age of 47, only a few months before the close of that terrible war. He was buried in the northern part of what is now Oakland Cemetery, at Clarksville. Then in 1867 the U.S. Government exhumed the remains and buried him in the National Cemetery at Ft. Smith, Ark. No one can say, as no one will ever really know, if this brave and courageous man, Wm. Henry Boyer, was a strong, opinionated man and was always willing to fight for his convictions, or if he was a husband and father who thought of the betterment and safety of the ones he loved. Whichever it be, the decision must not have been an easy one, as he had family and friends on both sides of that terrible conflict.

 Mrs. Boyer-Sugg's father was too young to remember the sad day his family said good-bye to his father, but her Aunt "Liz" (Elizabeth Boyer - Bramlett) was not. She was the one who shared this sad story and conveyed the fears of the dangerous journey from Arkansas to Minnesota.  She vividly remembered the tearful parting of her father and mother on the boat dock at Little Rock (they never saw each other again) and the long journey up the Mississippi River.

Mary Cooper and her children to didn't return to Johnson County, AR, until 1868, as there was strong resentment against them and other similar families who were northern sympathizers. Several Johnson County residents had fled the area and moved north during the war. I have other ancestors that went to stay with family further north into MO.

Mary's pension papers were originally filed in Winona Co., Minn. and had to be transferred back to Johnson Co. She was awarded $8/month as well as $2/month for every child under the age of 16. At the time of her application those children were James W., Elizabeth, Susan, Mary Emeline, and Wm. Smith.

Mary must have been a strong woman (as I'm sure many were during that time period). When she and  her children returned, she rebuilt her home at the same location of the one that had been burned. She raised her young children alone and never married again. She died at the home of her oldest daughter, Mary Martha Swift, in Franklin County, AR, on November 7, 1907 at the age of 76. She is buried in the Arnold Cemetery, one mile south and west of the Boyer Homestead.


If you are reading this and would like copies of the records I have collected, just ask, and I will be happy to share any information I have.

Until next week,
Becky

Where There's A Will, There's A Source.

I have to once again give kudos to No Story Too Small for this amazing idea of blogging about a different ancestor each week and to my sister-in-law at Days of Our Lives for letting me in on it. I have learned so much about my heritage and have made a lot of new contacts with various relatives. I love it! Alongside subscriptions to Ancestry, Fold3 and Newspapers.com I also have found great success in using FamilySearch and believe it or not, Facebook. You would be surprised at how many genealogy groups you can find. Some are better than others.

 

We're now on week #18 and the theme is 'Where There's A Will'... This will prompt me to write about my 5th great grandfather John Young because it was through his will that I was able to find a source to document my 3rd great grandmother, Martha Elizabeth Young's parentage.

According to the 1850 census John Young was born in Ireland in 1773, but after joining the Buncombe Co. NC Genealogy Research Facebook group, a descendant of John's shared with me a few images she had of John's Bible!! According to the Bible entry, John was more specifically born May 11, 1773.

This Bible was found by Bruce Whitaker in an 1820's era house, last occupied by Mary Edmundson Pinkerton, who was a direct descendant of John Young's.

 

Sometime around the year 1800, John married Roseanna, the daughter of Thomas and Mary (Mckey - Mackey) Hemphill. (Roseanna's father, Thomas Hemphill, mentions his son-in-law, John Young in his will.) By December 1800, their first child, Jane, was born. The next child born to this union is little Thomas Young, born December 12, 1902 and he died the following May. My ancestor William was born January 15, 1904 and the next child born, as was a common naming tradition of the Irish, was named after their deceased son, Thomas, who had been named after Rosanna's father. Thomas Lawrence Young was born March 6, 1806 followed by Mary M. , Nancy, Samuel and last but not least, Martha.

 

An article shared to me by a new found distant cousin, Shirley Summey, says that John lived in Burke County prior to moving to Buncombe County, NC. In the year of 1799 he was appointed election clerk, in the January term he served on the Grand Jury, and in the October term he served on a road jury from Morganton to Buncombe. And in 1800 John Young was appointed constable. This article was written by Linda Murdock. In gearing up for this post I have searched through the court files on Family Search and at this point in time I have only found records for John being a constable, but the year is 1799 - July Term. (I'm still searching - I've made it to image 523/998) *Other Young's mention in these files are a Joseph, Thomas, Wesley or Westley and a Rachel*








The Greensboro Patriot - 3 April 1833

In doing research on John, I discovered the tragic death of his youngest, Martha. It would seem in March of 1833, at the age of 17, when she and a friend were on their way to school, they had to cross the Swannano River. Both girls slipped and fell in and poor Martha drowned.

Notice that John's name is followed by Esq... I was curious what that signified. And I found the following:
"In the United States, the title is given to public officers of all degrees, from governors down to justices and attorneys. Indeed, the title, in addressing letters, is bestowed on any person at pleasure, and contains no definite description. It is merely an expression of respect. Webster's Dictionary, by Noah Webster, LL.D., Hurst & Company 1897"




Rockingham Post-Dispatch 1924

The previously mentioned article written by Mrs. Murdock also states that John Young was the Justice of the Peace in Buncombe County in 1813 and 28 Dec 1838 he was named as one of the commissioners to select the county seat for Henderson County. While I have yet to find any official records of being named a commissioner, I did find another article that backs her research up. (Disclaimer: I am not doubting her research. I'm just using it as a lead to do my own research and, unsurprisingly, I'm finding the same information). 



I'm not certain of the exact date of John's death but his will was signed 11 March 1850 and was proven in open court during the December term of that same year.

Below is my best attempt at the transcription of his will. I will highlight the portion that relates to my line - which was very beneficial in going one step further up the tree.


The last Will and Testament of John Young. In the name of God Amen. I, John Young of the County of Buncombe and State of North Carolina, being in my usual health but advanced age. And calling to mind the mortality of my body, do make ordain and establish this my last Will and Testament, inn manner and form following to wit by items

Item 1st - I will and desire that all my just debts be paid.

Item 2nd - I will and devise to my beloved wife Rosanna Young three hundred dollars in money, two beds, bed stands and furniture to be disposed of as she chooses.

Item 3rd - I will devise and bequeath to my daughter Jane Porter her heirs and assigns forever the tract of land on the North fork of Swannanoa River supposed to be one hundred and eighty acres being in three tracts, purchased by me from Francis Greer by referenced to which deed the boundaries there of will more fully appear. One copper mill now in possession of her husband Alexander Porter, and after the death of my wife Rosanna, one negro girl named Angeline and her increase should she have any.

Item 4th - I will devise and bequeath to my daughter in law Rebecca Young, widow of my son William, her heirs and assigns during her life or widowhood the tract of land on which she now lives, containing about two hundred and seven acres purchased by me from Levi Merrill and on her death or marriage, I will devise and bequeath that the said land be equally divided between Rosanna, Sarah, Jane, Thomas, Martha, Alla Melinda, Samuel and Mary Young, children of my said son William Young, their heirs and assigns forever.


Item 5th - I will and bequeath to my grandson Samuel P. Young his heirs and assigns one negro boy named George and a small rifle gun.

Item 6th - I will devise and bequeath to my son Thomas L. Young his heirs and assigns forever the tract of land on Swannanoa where he now lives which was purchased by me of John Patton, the boundaries of which will more fully appear by referenced to the deed of conveyance from said Patton to me. And one copper still now in his possession and a negro girl named Julia together with her increase and all my carpenter tools. I also will and bequeath to my said son T. L. Young during the natural life of my wife Rosanna five negros to wit Lucy, Spencer, Lowry, Angeline, Charlotte. All the stock of horses cattle, hogs and sheep. Wagon and geers (?) and farming tools of every kind. Household and kitchen furniture.

Item 7th - I will and bequeath to my grandson Samuel M. Young his heirs and assigns, a negro boy named Dick, and my large rifle gun.

Item 8th - I will and devise and bequeath to my daughter Mary M. Edmonston her heirs and assigns forever, the one half of the McCrary tract of land to be divided by commencing with the branch on which McCrary had a mill, crosses the North or North East line and sum wit the meander of the branch to the creek. And then to continue the same direction as the general course of the branch to the South line the part lying next to Tweeds to belong to the said Mary. And after the death of my wife Rosanna one negro boy named Sammy.(or maybe Lanny).

Item 9th - I will devise and bequeath to my grandchildren Willington Pattillo, John Pattillo, Samuel P. Pattillo their heirs and assigns forever the other or upper part of the McCrary tract of land joining the part given to Mary Edmonston in Item 8th and being the part of the McCrary tract of land not given to the said M Edmonson.

Item 10th - I will and bequeath to my two granddaughters Rosanna and Martha Pattillo their heirs and assigns, a negro girl named Louiza and her increase should she have any, to come into their possession after the death of my wife.

Item 11th - I will and bequeath to my granddaughter Martha Ann Edmondson her heirs and assigns, one negro girl named Caroline and her increase if any, to come to possession of the said Martha Ann after the death of my wife.

Item 12th - I will and bequeath to my daughter Mary M. Edmonson her heirs and assigns after the death of my wife, a negro woman named Lucy.

Item 13th - I will and bequeath after the death of my wife to my daughter in law Rebecca Young during her life or widowhood a negro girl named Charlotte and after her death or marriage the said girl and the increase after she comes to the possession of the said Mary (I think he meant to say Rebecca) to be divided among the same persons and in the same manner as the land mentioned in item 4th of this will directed to be divided.

Item 14th - I will and desire that all the rest of my property both real and personal be sold by executor at public sale on a credit of twelve months and the proceeds of such sales together with money and land debts ? me at my death. After paying my just debts and three hundred dollars bequeathed unto my wife be divided into five equal parts, and one part to be given to my daughter Jane Porter, one part to the children of my son William, one part to my son Thomas L., one part to Mary M. Edmonson. One part to the children of my daughter Nancy Pattillo deceased. I here by appoint Joshua Roberts my sole executor of this my last Will and Testament.

In witness whereof I here unto set my hand and seal the 11th day of March 1850

(Signed) John Young





If you're curious about these land deeds, a very beneficial resource was shared with me on the Ancestry Facebook group for anyone with ancestors in Buncombe County.

Going off the information in his will, we know the following about John's children: Jane married Alexander Porter, his son (my ancestor) William has already died but left a widow named Rebecca and the named children, Mary M. has married an Edmondson, Nancy married a Pattillo but she has already died, from the article I found I know that Martha died in '33 so that leaves a son named Samuel that isn't mentioned in the will at all. He must have died young as well, leaving no widow or children to inherit his portion.

Just an FYI:  Mary M. Young married James Edmondson. William (deceased) Young married James Edmondson's sister Rebecca Edmondson (my ancestor).

James and Rebecca's parent's were William and Sarah (Patton) Edmundson. John Young's was a witness to a deed between Thomas Hemphill and William Edmundson, dated Oct 1817. I cannot tell you if the Thomas Hemphill was John's FIL or BIL.

In an article found in the 1851 Fayetteville Weekly Observer there is a published court case between Miles Goforth vs John Young and Littleton Pattillo of Buncombe County, in Equity. The case was dismissed with costs. Was this Nancy's husband?

I think I have included all the information I have on our John. I hope if you're reading this and you have more to share, I would love it if you would leave a comment. I love hearing from and connecting with relatives of all distance.

Until next week,
Becky

A Dying Miser's Secret

 

 

This, I think, will be the most interesting post of the year. I just can't imagine it getting any better than this one. This week the 52 Ancestors theme is 'Prosper'... and as we will find out, someway or another my 4th great grandfather, Jonathan  Newman, did just that.

Jonathan Newman was born March 9, 1824 in Rutherford County, NC. At this point in time I do not know for certain who his parents were, but others have them to be William Newman III and Delilah Ellison. The mother for sure seems plausible as Jonathan named one of his daughters Delilah.

Jonathan married Susan Ann Lankford, daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth Lankford, sometime before 1848, the birth year of their oldest, my 3rd great grandmother, Arminta Newman. Other children born to this union, listed in birth order are, Amanda, William, (possibly a Nathan), Elizabeth, Jacob (called Jake), Delilah Jane, Thomas, Johnson (or Johnston), (possibly a Babe), Susan Ann, and George W.

Susan, Delilah, Elizabeth, & Amanda. Actual order unknown.

Several of these children have been verified by listing their parents on their death certificates, such as Delilah Jane, Susan Ann and George W. others come from family groupings in the 1850, 1860, 1870 & 1880 census records. There is also a court dispute over Jonathan's land that ran in the Western North Carolina Times in March of 1903 those listed are as follows: A. J. Newman, G. W. Newman, Thomas Newman, Arminta Stepp and Wm. Stepp, Elizabeth Lyda and W.W. Lyda, Amanda Case and W. S. Case, S.A. Bagwell and W.W. Bagwell, D. J. Allen and Carrie Newman vs. John Newman, Coatsworth Newman, Dock Newman and Fisher Newman (minor), Fred Newman (minor), and Bertha Newman (minor).

*I found it interesting that Arminta and her sisters, Elizabeth, Amanda, and Susan all married men named William.*

It would also seem that Jonathan's son Jacob murdered a man by the last name of Hoots after becoming intoxicated and looking for a fight. The year of these articles was 1884.

The Roanoke News 27 March 1884

I'm not certain if this next article is the same Jacob or not, but if it was, it would seem that karma caught up to him... His father did reside in Blue Ridge, Henderson County, North Carolina. And if he had killed Mr. Hoots and fled, it would make sense that he was now living in Tennessee. Though it is odd that they didn't mention the Hoots murder. The date of the article is 17 Nov 1887.




Given Jonathan's birth year, it would've been very likely that he would've fought during the Civil War. When I searched Fold3, I found no records for him enlisting but in the files under the Southern Claims Commision, I found a file containing 38 pages of information on Jonathan. When asked during his deposition, 'What force, compulsion, or influence was used to make you do anything against the Union cause?' his reply was, 'I was compelled to go into the services of the Confederacy or into the saltpetre business, which is the business I engaged in.' *Saltpetre was used to make gunpowder* His claim, of course, was denied. Below is an image of the final statement.





In his claim to the Southern Claims Commission there is quite a bit of information. Question #36 asks if he had any near relatives that served in the Confederacy to which he replied he had three brothers. He goes on to list them as David, James, and Thomas. He referenced the year 1863 and gave their ages as 35, 33, and 30, respectively. Thomas died while in service.  One of the witnesses for Jonathan's claim is Minerva Cornwell. In her deposition she states that she is 42 years of age and is a sister-in-law. The same source I have for the parents of Jonathan Newman does list his wife Susan Ann Lankford as having a sister named Minerva. She was born about 1836. And I have found a marriage record for Minerva Lankford marrying John B. Cornwell. She is widowed by 1864.

Other interesting tidbits from his claim is that he stated he was once arrested in Hendersonville but was released without giving bond and during the war he was threatened, published and denounced in the Newspaper. ( I have found no article - so far ) What I did find during those years was an article from Sept of 1863 where he was appointed to a committee to draft resolutions for a meeting alongside an A.J. Gibbs and Thomas Blackwell in Blue Ridge.  In his deposition for his claim he states that his farm was in Henderson County about six miles east of Hendersonville. It consisted of about five hundred acres, about one hundred in cultivation, two acres in waste, and the remainder in woods.

And now for the part that has to do with being prosperous. Within the first few days after his death on 31 Aug 1901, Jonathan Newman made all the papers. The reason you ask? Here are a few of the articles where you can read for yourself what had the community all a stir.



Just to put things in perspective... $4,000 in 1901 is equal to $108,431.90 today. I've never been able to find out if they found the bucket of gold.

Jonathon Newman's home on Howard Gap Road, Henderson Co., NC (location-across from Fellowship Baptist Church and Kingwood Hill subdivision). Jonathon Newman's sister-in-law, Minerva  Lankford Cornwell & her husband, John Cornwell lived north of this location about 1/4-1/2 mile on Howard Gap Road - just across a bridge and to the left.

Until next week,
Becky

And as always don't forget to check out these other genealogy blogs: Days of Our Lives and Untangled Family Roots.

97 Years

Here we are at week 16 of this blogging challenge. This week the prompt is 'live long'. In going through my tree the longest living ancestor that I could find is my 2nd great grandfather John Calvin Jones. I've written about his mother, Mattie Teel (twice), and his grandfather Bradberry Teel, both of which I know very little about. Now it's his turn.

John Calvin Jones was born July 28, 1860 in Columbus, Muscogee, Georgia. As I have written before, his mother was Mattie Teal but his father's name is unkown. I actually have no records even placing John Calvin with his mother, but after speaking with my great Aunt Frances, she said Mattie's will leaves everything to John Calvin and she refers to him as "my only son". Aunt Frances says this will is from a copy that is a part of her 'Cousins Book' that was put together many years ago by a few of her cousins, John Calvin's grandchildren.

The first record I have found for John Calvin Jones is his marriage certificate from Oct 1881, where he married my 2nd great grandmother Leona Bass. My great aunt Frances remembers her grandfather calling his wife "Loni" . Leona Bass was the daughter of James Martin and Maggie (Miller) Bass. John Calvin and Leona were married in Cooke County, TX, which is right on the TX/OK border.

Leona's family ends up in Moore, Pottawatomie, OK, in 1900 and that same year, John Calvin, Leona with ten children are found in Wheeler County TX.  On May 19, 1899 there is a John C. Jones appointed as post master in Mobeetie, Wheeler, Texas - I suspect this to be him, but I can't be certain. Using birth information for their children I can trace this family's movements during the 20  years between marriage certificate and the 1900 census.

Lou Jones (daugheter) was born about 1882 in TX
Mamie V. Jones (daughter) was born in Clay County, TX about 1883
Mattie Jones (daughter) was born about 1885 in TX
James Calvin Jones (son) was born in 1887 in Clay County TX
Claude Jones (son) was born in 1889 in Mobeetie, Wheeler County, TX
Ben Masterson Jones (son) was born in 1891 in TX
Thomas Frank Jones (son) born in 1893 in Mobeetie, Wheeler County, TX
John Arthur Jones (son) (my great-grandfather) born in 1895 in Mobeetie, Wheeler, TX
Jasper Helton Jones (son) born in 1897 in Mobeetie, Wheeler County, TX
Fannie Leigh (daughter) born in 1900 in TX
Emma Belle (daughter) born in 1902 in TX
William M (son) born in 1904 in TX


So sometime between their Cooke County marriage and the 1900 Wheeler County census they were living in Clay County, TX

In 1908 there is still a John C. Jones on the Mobeetie, Wheeler County, Tax list but in July of 1907 John Calvin's wife, Leona, applied for membership (and was denied) into the Cherokee Nation and in her papers she lists her residence as Guthrie, Texas, in King County. By 1910 John Calvin, Leona and all of their children besides Lou are found in Knox County right next door. The next 10 years would be full of loss for John Calvin. In 1913 his son Ben died at the age of 22, then the next year his oldest daughter Lou died at the age of 31, then three years later he lost his wife of 36 years at the age of 50 - cause of death, general break down. Then in 1919 his mother Mattie died. In 1920, widower John Calvin, is found living in Potter, Texas, as the manager of a road gang with three of his children, Mamie, Fanny Leigh and William.

The thing about living a long time is you tend to bury a lot of your loved ones. In 1925 John Calvin would bury another daughter, Emma Belle. She was only 22. Cause of death is listed as pneumonia.

In 1930 John Calvin is living back in Knox County with his daughter Mamie and son William, where he would live for the next 10 years. During that 10 years he would sadly bury 3 more children, Fannie Leigh in 1937, Claude in 1938 (from cancer) and in 1940 my great grandfather, John Arthur in a train/automobile accident.

Not long after the death of my great grandfather, John Arthur, after the family moved back to Truscott from San Antonio, John Calvin came to live with his daughter-in-law, my great grandmother, Lurie Myrtle, and her children. My great aunt Frances and her brother Edwin had already married their spouses and were out of the house, but my grandmother Winnie Sue and her siblings Charles and Myrtle Lou were still living at home. I can remember my grandmother Sue telling me stories of her Grandpa Jones sneaking her candy through the bedroom window. In a recent conversation with Frances, she confirmed this story. She said my grandmother was always his favorite, probably because she would always play dominoes with him. She said that during that time, because they lived so close to the school house, my grandmother and her siblings would come home from school for lunch and when they'd leave to go back to school, Grandpa Jones would open his window and say "Sister, come here" and he'd give her candy, until his daughter-in-law found out and put a stop to it! Frances also remembered that John Calvin hated cats! She said that her mother, Lurie Myrtle, had a cat and he would always kick at it until she told him, "Pa, that's our cat." Then he never kicked at it again.

In 1957 John Calvin Jones finally was laid to rest with only 4 (possibly 5, I can't find many records for his daughter Mattie) of his 12 children outliving him. He lived only a few days past his 97th birthday, departing this life on July 31st. Cause of death is said to have been a heart attack (Atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease ). He is buried in Truscott Cemetery in Texas with his wife and mother and several of their children.



I know so little about this family and it is my hope that some of my grandmother's cousins and/or their descendants will somehow find this and contact me. I would love to know more about my Jones line.

Until next week,
Becky

And don't forget to check out these other great genealogy blogs Days of Our Lives and Untangled Family Roots.

More than two years later and I have made contact with a JONES cousin via AncestryDNA. She descends from John Calvin's son Thomas Franklin. She has shared a lot with me and I am beyond grateful. Thomas Franklin Jones was the family historian and if it weren't for him many records and images would be lost to us forever. I did want to post this wonderful picture shared with me here on this blog post.

Back Row Standing: Mattie, Mamie, *Nettie Williams (friend and school teacher), and Lou
John Calvin and Leona are seated
Bottom Row: Claude, Johnny, Frank, baby Jasper, Jim & Ben.
Photo taken late 1897 or early 1898



How DO You Spell That?

Hey there dear reader! We're on week 14 of the 52 Ancestors genealogy challenge and the prompt is just what the title says - 'How do you spell that?". ... I am not as excited about this post because it won't have many stories just facts or speculated facts. I started this whole blogging challenge with my 3rd great grandmother "Mattie" Teal/Teel/Teele - and since there are so many variation on how to spell her maiden name, I thought I would go back one generation and write about her father, Bradberry Teel/Teele/Teal.

I'm going to start in the middle with the 1850 census because it is the only record that places my Martha with her family - this census is my anchor for this line. According to the 1850 census Bradberry Teele was born about 1786 in North Carolina. That year he and his family were living in Russell County, AL. His household is listed as number 143 and living with him is his wife Nancy (Robinson) Teele born about 1807 in North Carolina, a daughter Kipiah age 17, a son, Bradberry age 15, my Martha age 12, John age 10, and Vesty age 8.

Two households down is one of Bradberry's other daughters Lucinda (Teele) Tillery with her husband William and 5 children. The household between the Teel's and Wm. Tillery is of a Rebecca Tillery. Evidence that Lucinda is Bradberry's daughter comes from probate records of his will, in which his surname is spelled Teel, being contested by "William Tillery in right of his wife, Lucinda Tillery" others mentioned are Arnold Teel, JD Hadley in right of his wife, Minta D. Hadley, Jesse Holt in right of his wife, Louisa Holt, and Riley S. Calloway in right of his wife, Polly Calloway.

Bradberry's marriage record spells his surname as Teal. He and Nancy were married 25 September 1825 in Newton County, GA. - Indexes place their marriage in Jasper County. I'm not sure why.

In 1830 "Brdbery Teal" is still living in Newton County with a household of eleven. There are two boys under the age of five, two boys of the age of 5 but under 10, one male of the age of 50 but under 60 (Bradberry). There is also one girl under the age of 5, two girls of the age of 10 but under 15, two girls of the age of 15 but under the age of 20 and one female of the age of 20 but under the age of 30 (Nancy). The ages of the children listed tells me he was probably married before Nancy. And the fact that there is about a 20 year age difference also makes me lean that way. Was Nancy married before him?? - My Martha isn't born yet - so I can rest easy in knowing that Bradberry and Nancy are her parents.  *Note* There is a William Calloway on the same page... is this his future son-in-law or his family?

In 1840 the family has migrated to Russell County, AL. The surname is Teel (Transcribed on Ancestry as Tul). There is one boy under the age of five (Bradberry Jr), three boys who are five to ten and one male who is 50-60 (Bradberry). There is also on girl under the age of five (my Martha), two who are five to ten (Kipiah and Mary "Polly"), one who is 15-20 (Lucinda), two who are 20-30 and one who is 30-40 (Nancy). *Note* The household right before Bradberry's is of Rebecca Tillery - is this Lucinda's mother-in-law?

In 1860 in Russell County is a B Teel (Transcribed on Ancestry as Tell) age 74 living with a female N Teel age 47 and a female C A Teel who is 9 years old. Again right above Bradberry is a Tillery - but this time it is a 6 year old female living with a P E Wells family. Her initials are hard to make out - definitely the first is an S the second may be a J.

The last records I have of Bradberry are his probate records. The earliest date is from Oct 1862 meaning he died sometime before then. In all of his probate records the surname is spelled Teel..

In compiling my tree with his children and their descendants, I have seen the last name spelled or transcribed as Till, Keil, Teil, Teele, Teel, Teal, Teale, Theil, Tul, and Tell.


Now enough with just bare bone facts... let's add a touch of interesting to this story... READ TO THE BOTTOM OF PAGE.

Bradberry Teel is presumed to be the son of Bradberry Teel Sr. who was married to Mary Delouch. There was an article in a local (local to where I have no idea) newspaper about a Hymn book, printed in London in 1722 given to the local library. The book burned in a fire in 1910. All that exists is what the writer of the article mentioned that he could read:

Francis Meeks, b. Sept. 27, 1765
Robert Teel...no dates
Amos Teel, b. Jan. 15, 1833
Laney Teel, dau. of Bradberry and Mary Teel, b. Nov. 7, 1780
James Teel, son of Bradberry and Mary Teel, b.Aug. 5, 1777
Abraham Deloach, son of Mary Deloach, b. July 21, 1775
Ann Deloach, dau. of James Deloach, b. Aug. 2, 1768
Another child of James Deloach, b. 1766

My Bradberry is not mentioned....

But the above Bradberry Sr got  himself in trouble passing counterfeit money. The punishment was unbelievable.

Here are the transcribed records:
North Carolina - Pitt County "Criminal Action Papers, New Bern District, 1785-1789." D.S.C.R. 206.326.2 in NC Archives

Loose documents including one of the counterfeit shilling pieces. Matthias Moore esquire personally appeared before me one of the Justices for aforesaid county and complained on oath that on the 30th day of April ... Instant: Bradberry Teal of Pitt County did pass unto him the said Matthias counterfeit twenty shilling bills no. 1071, one ten (shilling) no. 3868, which is against the laws of our state aforesaid - These are therefore in the name of the State to command you to take the body of the aforesaid Bradberry Teal and himself keep so that you have him before one of the justices aforesaid to keep the peace in and for the County of Pitt aforesaid- Given under my hand and seal at Greenville 30th of April 1789 to lawful officer to execute and return summons on the part of the State. Jn Moye J.P. Mathias Moore esquire John Bowers esquire William Northcut and William Jones of Beaufort County now being in Pitt.
Jn. Moye J.P.

Warrant State vs Bradberry Teal - warrant The defendant committed to the goal for the District of New Bern the witnesses bound in recognizances to appear the 30th April 1789. Jn Moye J.P. Executed: Thos. Warson Conbl. (Constable?)

North Carolina - Pitt County Personally appeared before me the subscriber one of the justices assigned to keep the peace in and for the aforesaid county William Northcut, Junior; William Northcut, Sen. and Drury Nobles all of the county aforesaid and acknowledged themselves indebted? to the State of North Carolina in the following sums, William Northcut, Jun. five hundred pounds currency; William Northcut, Sen and Drury Nobles two hundred and fifty pounds each to be levied (sic) on their respective good _______lands and tenements in case ______be made in the condition hereafter written - The conditions of the above recognizance is that if the above-named William Northcut, Jun shall will and truly make his personal appearance before the judges of the Superior Court of Law and Equity to be held in the District of New Bern at the Courthouse in New Bern on the 20th day of ______(cut off). Instant (Instruct?) then and there attend said Court as an evidence in behalf of the State against Bradberry Teal committed for passing counterfeit money and not depart without leave first had and attained then these recognizances (aforesaid). Acknowledged before me 1st day of May A Dom (Anno Domini) 1789 and 13th year of our Independency. Jn Moye J.P.
North Carolina - Pitt County Personally| appeared before me, the subscriber one of the justices assigned to keep the peace in and for the County aforesaid. Matthias Moore esquire, John Bowers esquire, William Jones lately? from Beaufort County, Richard Moye esquire, Cornelius Patrick and John Jolley all of the County of Pitt aforesaid and acknowledged themselves indebted to the State of North Carolina in the following sums - Mathias Moore esquire one hundred pounds currency. John Bowers esquire one hundred pounds ? and William Jones one hundred pounds, and the aforesaid Richard Moye esquire, Cornelius Patrick and John Lolley fifty pounds currency each to be paid? respectively on their good chattles? lands and tenements in case ______be made in the condition hereafter written - The condition of the above recognizances is that if the above named Matthias Moore, John Bowers, and William Jones shall will and truly make there personal appearance before the judges of the Superior Court of Law and Equity to be held for the District of New Bern at the Courthouse in New Bern on the 20th day of May next, then and there attend said court as evidence in behalf of the State aforesaid against Bradberry Teal committed for passing counterfeit money and not depart without leave. First had and obtained then these recognizances paid?- Acknowledged before me 30th day of April A. Dom. 1789 - and 13 year of our Independency. John Moye J.P.
New Bern District Co Superior Court of the May term 1789. The jurors for the State upon their oath present that Bradberry Teal late of Pitt County, planter, on the thirtieth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine and in the thirteenth year of the Independency of the State, with force and arms in the County and District aforesaid, one bill? of false money counterfeited to the likeness and similitude of the good and true bills? of credit of the denomination of ten shilling bills, emitted aforesaid? to one act of the General Assembly passed at Hillsborough the seventeenth day of May in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, unlawfully, knowingly, falsely and feloniously did write and pass to one William Jones, as and for a true bill the said Bradberry Teal then and there knowing the bill by him so altered and passed as aforesaid to have been false and counterfeit against the Act of the General Assembly in that case made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the State. A. Moore
Attn Gen
New Bern District, Minutes of Superior Court. D.S.C.R. 206.301.1 NC Archives p. 506 The State vs. Bradbury Teale Wednesday, May 27, 1789 The jury finds the defendant guilty in manner and form. Jury of: 1. James Easton 7. Caleb Penny 2. Abraham Dudley 8. William Swan 3. George Dennison 9. Henry Bonner 4. Charles Crawford 10. Newell Bell 5. Southey Rue 11. William Shepard 6. Richard Cogdell 12. Reuben Wallace

p. 508
Friday, May 29, 1789
The Sentence: The State vs. Bradbury Teel Present the honorable Samuel Ashe, Samuel Spencer, John Williams, Esquires. Passing counterfeit money. The prisoner being sett to the Bar was asked if he had any reason to show why the judgment of the law should not be inflicted on him, saith nothing. The Court proceed(ed) to pass sentence in the following manner to wit that he stand in the pillory one hour, have one of his ears cut off, receive 39 lashes, remain in the jail two months without bail or main prize and forfeit one half of his property to the State to be executed this afternoon.Well folks, that's all I have for this ancestor.

Until next week,
Becky

Please check out my sister-n-law's blog over at Days of Our Lives and a distant cousin of mine's blog over at Untangled Family Roots!

 

If You Got 'em Smoke 'em

 

 

This is week 13 and the prompt was 'favorite photo'. I am really enjoying this. How about you?

I had a really hard time deciding what photo to use. I really wanted to do one of my grandmother flashing a great big beautiful smile while holding a birthday cake, but I decided a lot of what I would write about might give out too much information... and the internet isn't always safe about things like that. I started going through all my genealogy pictures and nothing was standing out - or the ones that did, I had already written about those individuals. Then I went searching through my grandma's old photos and found one that I just had to write about.

Meet my Great-grandfather, Newell McKinnley Stepp, and his brothers-in-law, John Thomas and Joseph "Joe" Charley Acord. This picture was taken in the late 30's or early 40's. And you guessed it, they're stealing honey from a bee tree!

 

Newell McKinnley Stepp was born April 24, 1896, "out in the woods near Fallsville" as he said in an interview by my 2nd cousin Tarona , who kindly shared it with me. Fallsville is a small community in Madison County, AR. His parents were James Jonathan and Rebecca Matilda (Merrill) Stepp. When he was 21 years old he was drafted to fight over seas in WWI. He was a Private in the Trench Art., Co B 6th Regt., and was discharged Jan 29 1920 from oversea service. In the same interview mentioned above he said he served in France and never even had to shoot his gun! He said he must've just been there for numbers and that by the time the American boys got over there, it was pretty much over. He was in France for about 6-6 1/2 months.

Three years later on April 1, 1923 he married my great-grandmother Zula Jane Acord. The two boys in the picture above were two of her younger brothers. The one in the middle is John Thomas and the one holding the smoker is Joe.

Newell and Zula had seven children, one died as an infant. One of their daughters, my grandmother, Reba, had grown up watching her daddy raise bees and when she had a place to raise some of her own, she got some help from her family to capture some from a known bee tree out on 'Eldridge Holler' (not the one pictured). This story is one that much of my family still tells today.

My grandmother's youngest brother Dwight had cut down the tree but it had become lodged in another one. Everyone was trying to get Dwight to get out from under it - when Dwight's youngest brother Tooter (who had been drinking a little) showed up and also tried to get Dwight to get out from under the tree. Next thing they knew the brothers had gotten into a fight. A lot of the family was there, Grandma Zulie and a few grandkids as well. When the boys began fighting underneath that lodged tree, Grandma Zulie fainted and the little ones started crying because they had thought she died. Finally Tooter's wife, Roma Lynn and Dwight's wife, Peggy encouraged Tooter to come with them down to the creek and on the way there he began singing "poor little black sheep", feeling a sorry for himself.

As story telling goes... there's usually a few different versions. Here's a snippet from an interview Tarona did of my great-grandmother Zula in 1985 with her version of the bee tree story. Click here.

There seems to be a lot of hesitation in telling the famous bee tree story, but my second cousin Debra, Art's daughter, was one of the first to give her account (she was about 10 years old):

"We went way up in the holler that day. Everyone walked in. Tooter had been hitting the bottle and when we got to the business of robbing the bees, the tree (or some tree) had to be cut down. I don't remember who was doing the sawing with the chainsaw, but I remember Tooter & Dwight got into a fuss over something. As the tree was about to fall Grandma Zula came up to calm them down and the tree almost fell on her. Scared everyone to death!! Tooter was scared like everyone else and he started crying and singing "I'm the Black Sheep of the Family". He sang it all the way back to Grandma's house."

Dwight's wife Peggy remembered it like this:

" What I remember about cutting the bee tree

One afternoon we all, grandpa Stepp, Grandma Stepp, Art, Reba, Tooter, Dwight, their spouses and all the little kids walked up the hollow and up the hillside. We went to cut a bee tree for Reba. Grandpa Stepp told Dwight how to cut it. Cut it where it will lodge in another tree and come down slow so it won't bust the bee tree up. Dwight did just what Grandpa said. Tooter had already had way too much to drink. He grabbed the saw from Dwight. He said Dwight was the worst tree cutter and started over the hill to cut the tree it was lodged in. The bee tree was coming down and Tooter was under it. Dwight saw the bee tree was going to fall on Tooter. He ran over the steep hill and bulldoged Tooter and they went rolling over the hill. The bee tree hit the ground right by them. Grandma thought it was falling on them and she fainted. The little kids thought she had died and they were all running, screaming and crying. The bees had come out of the tree and had covered Dwight, stinging him all over. Tooter was wanting to fight Dwight. Roma Lynn and I got Tooter and started to the house with him. He was singing he was the black sheep of the family. We decided when we got to the creek where the foot log was across we would let Tooter fall in, hoping it would sober him up. That didn't work. We couldn't even push him off. He kept wanting to go back and fight Dwight, then he was say Dwight was the best brother anyone could have and then he should just go back up there and whip him. Wasn't much fun at the time but we have had a lot of laughs about it since. Dwight ended up with so many bee stings that he was very allergic to them the next time he got stung. Guess Tooter had so much alcohol in him that they didn't sting him. Grandma was ok and the kids finally settled."

Now for stories about Newell and his bee keeping skills - My great-aunt Merle remembers having to help her Dad rob all of their bees. She said her momma was afraid of the them. Merle recalls that before they got a smoker for keeping the bees off when they were getting the honey they used rags rolled up to the length of a flashlight or so and would light it with a match and it would smoke instead of flame up. She had to hold the rags and smoke the bees while her dad got the honey. She said she never got stung very much. She remembers one time when she was a young girl, there was a big tree in Chinquapin (near Friley) that had a bee hive in it. There were several people trying to get that honey and nobody was able to get it, the bees kept them away . Then her dad, Newell, and her Uncle Roy Bentnar decided to go and try to rob those bees. It was on a Sunday and a big crowd of people came to watch. They were successful in getting the honey. She said her daddy would just wipe the bees off him and he didn't ever swell up or anything. Aunt Merle dates the above picture around 1939 or 1940 because that was about when they got their first smoker. She said the way Newell would hunt for bees was by setting out some sort of sweet bait and when the bees would get full he would follow them home.

Newell's mother Rebecca (Merrill) Stepp would hear a swarm of bees coming and she would get under a tree and hold up a big wash pan and bang on it with a spoon and it would make the bees come and light on the tree. Then they would get them and put them into a bee gum.

This tradition of bee keeping hasn't died out with the younger generation. Newell's grandson James Stepp and Merle's grandson Sundance both keep bees.

James shared a memory of the last bees he caught:

"The last bees I caught was on the side of the road by where I work. A guy from work wanted them so I told him I would be back with them. I gathered up a cardboard box, some tape and some pruners to cut the limb off with. The hardest part was getting someone to hold the box while I cut the limb off. We got about 5-6 pounds of bees and the queen with no smoke or head net with neither one of us getting stung. I watched and helped my grandpa Harmon with his bees - the secret is to not be scared!"

With any luck, when my husband and I are able to move out to our 5 acres - we would love to try our hand at it. Both my mother and father-in-law as well as my brother and sister-in-law have been keeping bees for about 2 years now. I hope we can join in the "fun" soon!

Until next week,
Becky

And don't forget to check out my bee keeping sister-in-law's genealogy blog Days of Our Lives!

 

 

The Way Things Were

Last week's 52 Ancestors blog prompt was 'same' so it is only fitting that this week the prompt is 'different'.  I thought this was a fitting prompt for the local doctor in the community where some of my family was from.  The way things were back then are quite different than the way they are today. This week I am going to introduce to you a man who was both well known and well loved by those in the Oark, Catalpa and surrounding communities. His name was Doc Floyd. Now I am not related to this man, but if it weren't for him a few of my ancestors may not have survived -my mother included- therefore I wouldn't be here to write about him or any of my ancestors.

So let us begin, with the bare bones facts...

 

John William Earnest Floyd was born Oct 27 1881 in Hunt, Johnson Co., Arkansas to James Richard Floyd and Alice Lou Ella Bennett. (Hunt, at that time, was known as Hunt Town or Hunttown). He was the oldest of five children, followed in birth by two sisters, Stella and Lula, then two brothers, Norman and Russell. In 1902, at the age of 20, he married Laura Ella Pyron. The following year they had their first child, a daughter, Ocie Lee, and soon after Frankie Estelle, Tommie Irene, Ruby Miriam and last Deward Wilson.

If it weren't for my Great-Aunt Peggy, I wouldn't even be writing this post at all. A few weeks ago she posted the photograph on the left on Facebook and began asking all her friends and family members if they had any great stories about this man. I, having a love for anything old-timey, was naturally drawn to the conversation. I began to ask a few questions and followed along reading each of the stories shared and decided he would be a wonderful addition to this blog.

Peggy has an unsual connection to Doc Floyd that she herself didn't discover until just a few years ago. Her mother, Irene Adams, confided in her that before she had married Peggy's father, Leroy Clark Harmon, she had been married to Doc Floyd. The story Peggy sent me is as follows:

"In 1935, my mother, Irene was at school and took a bad case of appendicitis. Doc Floyd came to her house that evening and told her mother, Eva, to give her nothing but a small amount of soup and no sweets period, and to not get out of bed. She stayed in bed for 6 weeks. Doc Floyd came to see her nearly every day. On her 17th birthday he gave her a ring and asked her to elope with him. She went with him and worked as his nurse. He would leave her with his patients and she would care for them in their homes. On March 22, 1940 they went to Cassville, MO and got married in the court  house. They came back to Eureka Springs and spent the night at the Basin Park Hotel. When they came back to Oark he continued to have her stay with his patients. Come to find out, he didn't want his family knowing they were married. In the fall of 1942 he rented a house in Oark and they moved into it. He still wouldn't make it public that they were married. My Mother didn't like them living together and people thinking there were not married. In 1943 they were divorced. The first time she asked for a divorce he didn't want one but he had his brother-in-law who was an attorney to write one up and she found out it wasn't legal. He had another one made and she signed it and Dr. Floyd was supposed to have it recorded and she thought he did but I have never been able to find it."

 

 

Now for how this man impacted my life - even though I never knew him. It would seem that not only is my Dad "Lucky To Be Alive", but so is my mother, thanks to Doc Floyd. In the early 60's my mother's family lived about half a mile from their grandparents, OZ and Bondell Melson, near Oark. My Aunt Diane recalls the story:

"When we were kids we took baths in the wash water. I got in the washing machine and Nay and Shell used the rinse tub. Shell some how broke a gallon jar getting into the rinse tub and Nay decided she would tell mama about the jar. The soapy water was really slick (I can still feel the ability to slide around in the washing machine to this day). Nay got out of the water and stepped on the rounded lid of the canner and fell back into the broken jar. It had really long spikes sticking up from the base. One of shards, sticking up like a dagger, went through her back near her shoulder blade. She was able to get up off of it, but then she slipped again and fell on her butt onto the same glass point. Mom came in to see about all the screaming. When she saw what had happened she grabbed some clothes for me and told me to run and get Granny and Papaw. They had a car. I ran the fastest I could. I can remember thinking that if I stopped running Nay might die. I have no idea how far they really lived from us, I had been there several times to watch TV, but this time it seemed to take forever. I got to the house and no one was there. I was scared. Then I heard the tractor down in the pasture and I ran to them screaming for help with every step. Granny told Papaw "Turn that thing (baler) off can't you see this girl is upset." I told about the incident and we went to the house. When we got there I saw Mom walking down the road toward us carrying Nay wrapped in a big quilt with blood dripping off the bottom. Michelle, only being two, was beside them struggling to keep up, crying. We stayed with papaw while mom and granny went to Doc Floyds. Nay was so pale I can remember that day as plain as yesterday. I was about 6 years old."

I called my Grandma Reba for her memories of the incident. She said when she went to see what was going on and she saw my momma cut, she told Diane, "Run and go get Granny and Papaw, Reine is cut all to pieces" (She later found out that her saying that had really scared little Diane because Diane thought Reine was hacked up into little pieces.) She remembers carrying my Momma while Michelle
followed behind them crying and that my Momma said "I hope little Shell don't get lost." Grandma said she doesn't remember my mom bleeding too much, since no main blood vessels were cut - though there was blood. She said once they got loaded into Granny and Papaw's car it was only about a 5 mile drive to Doc Floyd's.

She recalled it was a hot summer day and it was cooler to be outside Doc's office than it was to be inside. Doc Floyd had a rock outside his little office that many people remember sitting on, either for treatment or for waiting their turn. This rock is where my Grandma sat while holding my mom, so that Doc Floyd could begin stitching her up. She recalled that her cousin Hurley and my Grandpa Leroy were working on the grade school building in town and came to Doc's office when they heard what was going on. She said that Hurley fanned Momma with his hat.

Doc Floyd's Office

Diane also had to have some stitches from Doc Floyd once. She said they had a little sandbox and they kept an old tin can in there to scoop the sand. One day when she went to go play, she tripped over the side wall and plunged her hand into the can hitting the edge full force gashing her hand. She says the scar is very small now, but when she was 4 or 5 the gash had gone clear across her hand. She remembered a dark room and him putting stitches in her  hand but she doesn't remember if he numbed it. She figures he probably did because she doesn't have any negative memories about it.

When I called my Grandma to ask about my Momma, Grandpa Leroy told her that his Dad, Obie
Zearl (O.Z) had once chopped off his big toe with a chopping axe. They only lived about 150 yards from Doc Floyd. Doc sewed OZ's toe back on and it survived. Grandpa said his dad's toe didn't wiggle but it healed. Grandpa Leroy also remembers collecting old medicine jars and taking them back to Doc Floyd for a whole nickel. Grandma remembers taking their old medicine jars back to him, but she didn't remember if they were paid for it or not. From other stories I'll share, Doc Floyd seemed like a very kind man, and was always treating the little children with a small amount of money for an ice cream from the store next door. He may have paid my grandpa a nickel, just out of kindness since he was such a small child, and his neighbor.

My Grandmother Reba's brother Dwight remembered when he and Tooter (another brother) were young boys Grandma and Grandpa (Reba and Leroy) brought them a rod and reel. They wanted to see how long the line was. Tooter held the rod and reel while Dwight ran through the yard with the line. When he got to the end of the line it jerked the lure went into his hand. They had to make a trip to Doc Floyd's. Doc cut the hook off and shoved it on through his hand. And Grandma remembered when Dwight got a bean stuck up his nose, and their neighbor Austin Denzer had to take them to Doc Floyd.

Peggy sent me a memory from Anita Pitts, who was a neighbor of the Stepps.

"Doc Floyd delivered me and my little brother, Glenn at home. Dad would go get him and he came. With the help of the neighbor women we were safely delivered and well taken care of. As we got older when we had sore throats, ear aches, etc. he was always at his office in Oark. He would give us pink throat tablets and usually penicillin or sulfur drug in tablet form. What I hated the most was the black croup pills. He would have Mom crush them and pour calcidrine cough syrup over them. I can still smell something that smells like that terrible yellow cough syrup and gag! Mom would hear one croupy cough at night and here she came with a spoonful of that terrible stuff and a dripper that should have had a good drink of water in it, but she barely let it touch your lips and said no more. I got a lot of ear aches from swimming in the creek and one year I could not get rid of them. He gave me penicillin pills along with those ear drops  he always had on hand but the ear ache would just come right back. His cure was for me to come to his house every morning before school and get a penicillin shot in the rear end. That cured them up for years. He always had plenty of those little pill boxes that he wrote directions on and such He did not give prescriptions to take to the drug store. Most of the medicines were kept in his office. I can remember a few times he would have Mom and Dad go by Laster Drug Store and pick up  medicines he had ordered.

He was a very knowledgeable doctor who knew how to treat most things. When he didn't he would send them somewhere else. I know Dad was sick with heart problems and he sent him to Holt-Krock Clinic in Fort Smith for a diagnosis. Then after the diagnosis he treated him. Without him having to go back to Fort Smith every week or month. I wish we had doctors like them today."  

Peggy recalled that Doc Floyd made his own antibiotic ointment. He mixed Vaseline and powdered penicillin. A cure all for cuts, scrapes or infected insect bites.

One of Doc Floyd's granddaughter's, Gwendella, says,

"Papa Floyd was a 'dyed in the wool - yellow dog Democrat'. He also refused to change the time on his clock. He didn't "spring forward" or "fall back". He was a good musician. He loved his Fiddle. He was quite a baseball fan too. At one time he had been quite a good player. He loved watching the game on the TV in his later years. Another thing he was strong for was a good education for all children. He was quite instrumental in getting the good school in Oark. Another accomplishment he had to do with was the good road to Oark. At one time it was not much more than a trail from Harmony to Oark."

Memories shared from Peggy's Facebook post:

 



 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From all these memories I believe Doc Floyd had a compassionate heart for the people of the community in which he served. He made house calls, kept them well, and helped them in every way he could.  These days we tend to have a negative view towards those who work in the medical field. But I believe, and know, there are a still several out there who still care deeply for their patients.

In closing I hope you'll take the time to read this article on Doc Floyd, as there is quite the story of some teenage boys helping him capture little runaways in the woods.

And if you're in the Clarksville, AR, area stop by the Johnson County Historical Society. It's my understanding that they have an exhibit dedicated to Dr. John Floyd, MD.

As always be sure to check out my sister-in-law's genealogy blog over at Days of Our Lives!

Until next week, 

Becky

The Springfield News-Leader
Springfield, Missouri 27 Sep 1994, Tue • Page 9