CLEVELAND COUNTY HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2003 Submitted by Diane White email address: twomama@tds.net ----------------------------------------------------------------------- USGenWeb NOTICE: Libraries and individual researchers may download this file for personal, non-commercial use only. Any other use requires written permission from the transcriber. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net ------------------------------------------------------------------- Cleveland County Historical and Genealogical Society Diane B. White, Editor P. O. Box 192 Rison, AR 71665 Annette B. Rawls, President Don G. Thurman, 1st Vice President Rufus T. Buie, 2nd Vice President Hilda Terry, Secretary Sharon Gray, Treasurer Lisa Rowland, Reporter Louise Dawson, Historian Cleveland County Historical and Genealogical Society LETTER Vol. 15 No. 1 October 1, 2003 Churches of Cleveland County *************************************************************** Hebron Methodist Church Submitted by Billie Langford The Methodist of this community began meeting in the 1860's in the Gravestown School building, which was located about one mile east of the present location of Hebron Methodist Church. In 1884, Mrs. Amanda Urquhart and Mrs. Kate Fraser gave land for the church and cemetery. Mrs. Urquart died in 1887, Mrs. Fraser in 1908. No one knows where the name "Hebron" originated. It is imagined that the founding fathers of the church selected the name from the Bible. There is no record of the community being called "Hebron" before the organization of the church. The first Hebron Methodist Church was built in 1884. The original church building burned in May 1917. While the church building was being rebuilt, the congregation met in a brush arbor constructed in front of where the church now stands. After crops were laid by that summer of 1917, three men of the church got up at 3:00 a.m. and made a trip by wagon to Warren. Southern Lumber Co. Gave them three big loads of lumber to rebuild the church. The men were Fred Childress, Robert Merrill and Evan Marks. During the summer months, the men of the community met and built the new church, with the ladies bringing food to serve. The new building was near enough completed by cold weather that fall to begin having services in it. The first church had two front doors, with three rows of seats and two aisles. The new building has double front doors with one aisle in the center of the church. The present church has had additions of three Sunday School rooms, then a fellowship room with a kitchen and two bathrooms. Later a metal building was purchased and put behind the fellowship room for more classrooms. A concrete porch, with cover has also been added. Siding has been put on the outside of the church. Inside, paneling has been added over the beaded ceiling and on the walls. A very inspirational tent meeting was remembered as being held around 1920. A large tent was set up on the grounds of the church, with a large crowd of people coming on horseback and by wagon. Hebron was originally part of the New Edinburg Circuit. Later it was taken into the Kingsland Circuit. L. C. Gatlin was pastor of the church when it burned. Some of the other pastors that were remembered were: Hugh Revely, H. A. F. Ault, John Simpson, W. T. Bone, W. D. Golden, C. R. Andrews, Harold Scott, Richard Poss, W. C. Almstead, James Beck, Edgar Outlaw, L. C. Wax, Robert Johnson, Elam Turner, William Paul Woolley. The last two each served ten years. Some of the first members of Hebron Methodist Church remembered were: Mrs. Kate Fraser, Mrs. Amanda Marks Urquhart, Sampson Rogers, John Jones Mitchell. J. L. Mitchell, Frank Owens, Ellen Jan Mitchell, Will Owens, Helen Rogers, Sarah Graves, J. E. Davis, Anna Lee Marks, Amelia Marks, Melissa Merrill, Kathryn Tolfree Marks, William Wolf, John W. Lavillian, Susan Carson Morgan, Jackson Hamaker, Fannie Marks, H. S. Harris, Arkansas Rogers, S. M. Owens, Maggie Graves and L. A. Childress. When First organized, services were held in the afternoon on the fourth Sunday of each month. Later services were held on two Sundays of the month, in the morning. Around the 1950's services were changed to 9:30 a.m. and held each Sunday morning, with Sunday School following. Epworth League was held each Sunday night for the young people of the church for several years. It was disbanded around the 1950's. Electric lights replaced kerosene lamps in the 1940's. Gas heaters replaced the wood heater that had stood in the center of the church since it was built. Central air units now replace the heating and cooling system. The original pews have been replaced. In 1981, pew cushions were added. Rural water was added in 1980. Carpeting was also added. In 1983, a new Communion Table and two Communion Chairs were purchased. Hebron Methodist Church has sent their youth to Camp Tanako each year. In 1991, the church had 40 members. Under the leadership of our current Pastor, Dusty Rhodes of Fordyce, we now have 67 members. This church has participated in all activities of church worship. Billie Langford would like to thank Miss Grace Childress, a lifetime member of Hebron Methodist Church, for her help in writing this church history, for without her help, it would have been impossible. ********************** If you have the history of your church and would like to have it featured in the Cleveland County Historical and Genealogical Society Newsletter, please let us know. We would like to, eventually, publish all of Cleveland County’s church histories. You may contact Diane White, Editor of this newsletter, at 870-325-7243, mail the history to 100 Rusty W Lane, Rison, AR 71665, E-mail me at: twomama@tds.net or you may mail it to P. O. Box 192, Rison, AR 71665 or you may contact Annette Rawls, President, at 870-325-6623 or E-mail her at jabr3640@tds.net ********************************************************************** Mercantile Store at the Pioneer Village Submitted by Diane White In the many years I have managed the Mercantile Store at the Pioneer Village, during the Pioneer Arts and Crafts festival, I have been asked many times, questions regarding the store. I was elated to find this article, "Footprints on the Sands of Time", from the Cleveland County Herald, dated October 15, 1975, and written by Harold D. Sadler. I hope this article will answer many of those questions. According to this article, the building will be 101 years old, on October 15, 2003. The article reads as follows: "A few weeks ago the small white building used as the office of the circuit and county clerk of Cleveland county for many years was removed to the County Fairgrounds by the Cleveland County Historical Society. It was moved from its location on West Second street in Rison. At the time of the removal of the frame building, the question naturally arose as to when it was first erected in the courtyard. Mrs. James L. Moore, who directed this project heard many conflicting versions as to the origin of this small 20x36-foot building with a seven foot front porch which was once used as a clerk’s office. She requested me to search it out. It was like looking for the proverbial "needle in the haystack." I interviewed many "oldtimers" but none of them was able to give me an answer or were not old enough to remember the date of its erection. Speculation was all I received from those interviewed. I resorted to the vault in the county courthouse. After going through voluminous county records I found it Monday, October 6, which happened to be the exact date of its inception by the Levying Count on October 6, 1902, making the building 73 years old. By November 20, 1902, claims were approved by the county judge for its completion. B. F. Quinn received $109 for the material and J. W. Roebuck received $139.00 for erecting the building, making a total of $248.00. The building was used as a clerk’s office from 1902 until 1911 when the present courthouse was finished for occupancy. From 1911 to 1921 it was occupied as an office by I. E. Moore in his extensive farming operations. It was occupied by the county Extension Service agents from 1921 until the county office building was erected in the late 1930's. When it was no longer needed, it was purchased by Dr. A. B. Robertson, who moved it to West Second street, where for many years it was the doctor’s office. After that it was used for a number of years to house a cleaning and pressing business operated by Mr. and Mrs. Wolfe. At the time the building was erected in 1902, the officials of Cleveland county were: S. T. Morgan, Jr., county judge: J. T. Renfrow, sheriff: Pitt Holmes, circuit and county clerk: Nathan Smith, county treasurer, and W. L. Overton, tax assessor. Three county clerks served during the time the building was used. Pitt Holmes, J. M. McMurtrey and Jno. T. Haskins. The levying court is composed of the justices of the peace from the various townships of the county. The record reveals that the following justices were present and by their vote directed the building of the clerk’s office in the courtyard: Redland, J. R. McCullouch: Kingsland, J. W. Thomas and G. T. Dickerson: Saline, A. J. Hudson: Whiteoak, L. McLendon and J. W. Flynn: Bowman, J. E. Roebuck and L. G. McSwain: Whiteville, J. M. Parker: Miller, B. F. Ryburn and J. L. Phelps: Harper, J. D. Thornton: Hurricane, J. H. Meek and S. A. Bussey: Smith, G. A. J. May: Tisdale (now Rison), E. A. McMurtrey. Hudgin and Rowell townships had not been formed at that time. Here are some real footprints on the sands of time. For all of you who are working on your genealogy, this can be a valuable tool when researching land records. Submitted by Diane White from the files of Lois Moore. PRESIDENT’S LETTER In September, The Cleveland County Historical and Genealogical Society hosted a book signing by Richard Ledbetter, author of The BRANCH and The VINE, an historical novel of the Civil War as told by his 2nd great-grandfather, John Riley Ledbetter, to his children and grandchildren. The Ledbetters were early Cleveland County Settlers. For our October 9, meeting we have scheduled Joe Glover as our speaker. He has a large collection of Indian artifacts which he will use in his show-and-tell program. On October 11, 2003, at the Rison-in-the-Fall Festival the Society is sponsoring a program. "The Early History of Rison" which covers the 1890-1920 time frame. This event is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the Masonic Hall which is located ½ block behind the Bank of Rison on 2nd Street. The program will consist of a panel discussion, a slide presentation, and displays of early maps and scenes in Rison. Dr. John Rison Jones, a nephew of William Richard "Billy" Rison for whom Rison was named, will be guest panelist. Dr. Jones, from Huntsville, Alabama, an academic historian with wide experience, has served as an historian with the U. S. Department of State. Other panelists will be Don Thurman and Rufus T. Buie who have compiled the early history of Rison into a booklet with a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council. These booklets will be available at the program which is open to the public. A reception will follow the program. We are pursuing the possibility of publishing a Cleveland County Heritage Book which will include a history of Cleveland County and the genealogies/family histories of the early settlers. Heritage books are a great source of information to those researching their family history and the places where they lived. We would like to include as many of our early families as possible. Another possibility is a pictorial history of the county. Please contact Annette Rawls, jabr3640@tds.net or mail to CCHGS, P. O. Box 192, Rison, AR 71665, if you have written or plan to compile your family history or if you have pictures of early Cleveland County scenes that we might copy. We would like to hear from you. We were deeply saddened by the death of September 12,2003, of Cleveland County native Johnny Cash who was born at Kingsland on February 26, 1932. Proceeds from his March 1976 Rison Concert and the Spring Crafts Fair was a boost for the Cleveland County Historical Society and the Pioneer Village. Both Johnny and his parents, Ray and Carrie (Rivers) Cash were life members of the Historical Society. Many current county residents rightfully claim kinship to him including (but not limited to) Cash, Rivers, Massey, Hurst, Lise(n)mby, Overton, Phillips, Whorton, Taylor, Hudson, Campbell, and Meadows. There are surely others of whom I am not aware. An outline of the Cash and Rivers Family Tree appears in this issue. More extensive ancestral information can be found at http://geneweb.genastar.org:2137/sstars?lang; http://www.familysearch.org; and ancestry.com. Membership dues for 2004 are now payable. See membership form on inside back cover. We look forward to hearing from you. Annette Boyd Rawls, President ****************************************************************** SOURCES FOR RESEARCHING VETERANS IN MAJOR U. S. WARS Compiled by Nathan Barlow Once a genealogist or family researcher has determined the names and dates of the ancestors, the next step is fleshing out the lives of those ancestors. A major part of this process may be obtaining information on the individual’s military service. Nearly every individual has at least one ancestor who served in the military during a major war. We will address most of the major wars and try to give Internet cites, databases and other sources to establish background information on the wars and to obtain individual service records. The major conflicts include the Revolutionary War, the Mexican War, the Civil War, WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the Southwest Asian War, commonly referred to as Desert Storm. If not, the war in some way touched their life. Revolutionary War There was only one recognized military conflict in Arkansas during the Revolution War. That conflict was located at Arkansas Post. During this action, Spanish soldiers and British partisans clashed. The event, which occurred in 1783 is normally referred to as "Colbert Raid". Often a genealogist searches records or data bases for names and dates. The background, culture, geographic changes are all important to a research. One needs to know this information before starting. Below are some sources that will give additional information for those searching for information on their Revolutionary War ancestor. http://www.ushistory.org/march/links/htm http://www.revwar.com/ http://www.uswars.net/1775-1783/records.htm http://www.arkansasstories.com/asc/timeline.html Source for soldiers who served in the Revolutionary War. http://www.usgennet.org/usa/topic/colonial/census/1840/1840ar.html Mexican War Civil War On April 24, 1864, a Civil war battle occurred in the area of the Camden, Pine Bluff, and Mount Elba Roads in Cleveland County, (presently, near the junction of Highways 8 and 97, east of Fordyce). The site was near the John Harvie Marks plantation. Marks and his father-in-law, Nathaniel Barnett had come to Arkansas on an exploratory expedition in 1834, and bought land that composed three counties - Union, Dorsey (now Cleveland), and Bradley. Both built homes and operated large plantations. Marks home has since been destroyed by fire, but Barnetts home built in 1834 still stands. General Steele’s troops had been defeated at the Battle of Poison Springs and a large Union supply train had left Camden on its return to Pine Bluff. The train was camped outside Mark’s home, where they took possession of the yard and intended to strip the place. The train included 240 government wagons guarded by 240 calvary men and four pieces of artillery, and about 1600 men, not including the First Iowa Calvary, which was not in the battle. About 9:30 a.m. the Confederates attacked the wagon train, in a battle that lasted five hours. They successfully subdued the two lead Union regiments, the rear guard, and scattered the 500 veterans of the 1st Iowa, who were returning home on furlough. Union losses were estimated at 1300, with the majority being captured. Southern losses were less than 500 of the 2500 Confederates, including those wounded. The visitors found themselves with their spoils, the entire train of 1500 horses and mules, private vehicles, ambulances, four guns, and valuable official reports about Steele’s army. A marker, placed by the Department of Parks & Tourism, is at the junction of Highways 8 and 97. The Marks and Barnett families have formed an association and have done extensive work to mark the historical area around the site of the Marks plantation and the site of the family cemetery. The homesite is marked as well as the old Camden-Pine Bluff Road and the road to Moro Bay. Near the cemetery, antique equipment and implements. The family has blazed a nature trail between the cemetery and the site of a spring house. Each year on the third weekend in July, the descendants have a reunion at the site. A pig is roasted overnight (the old time way) in a pit, while the family members make music and dance the night away. 2003 marked the 127th consecutive reunion. http://www.civilwarhome.com/pearidge.htm 1864: Camden Expedition (March 23-May3) The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Vol. XXXIV, Part 1, pp. 653-849, Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1891 Source for soldiers killed at Mark’s Mill: http://www.couchgenweb. com/civilwar/MarksMill.html Source for description of Mark’s Mill: http://www.fordycearkansas.com/ recreation/cemetery.html SMF #186 DIARY OF CONFEDERATE SOLDIER CHARLES HUMPHREY II Scouting expeditions through Southwest Arkansas after the battles of Prairie de Ann and Mark’s Mill, 1864; names of villages and families where he stayed overnight. (Also see SMF #230). SMF #230 CHARLES HUMPHREY CIVIL WAR DIARY Copy of Logan County Historical Society Magazine, Wagon Wheels, Winter, 1981; Charles Humphrey was a scout for Company I, Gordon’s Regiment; fought in the battles of Mark’s Mill, Prairie De Ann, Poison Springs. SF #013 UNWRITTEN HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR Three articles written by Benjamin Polk Haynes prior to 1914; battles of Prairie de Ann and Marks’s Mill. SF #475 RED RIVER EXPEDITION OF 1865 From The Fordyce News Advocate articles on Mark’s Mill, Poison Springs, Camden, etc. by Ira Don Richards, Duane Jacobs, and Carolyn Ann Orr, 1986. Brief description of battles: http://www.usacivilwar.com/ battles_arkansas.htm Southwest Regional Archives of Washington, Arkansas. Routines that generate the pages were written and copyrighted by C2002 Danny Stewart. The site is hosted by the Prescott Community Freenet Association. www.southwestarchives.com Mark’s Family home page which includes description of Civil War incidents: http://wwwgeocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/3150/markstories.html Source for Civil War Regimental Histories: http://www/aristotle.net/ ~tomezell/AR_infy.htm Arkansas Sources http://www.arngmuseum.com/ (TO BE CONTINUED IN NEXT ISSUE) ****************************************************** AMERICAN WAR BIRTH DATE GUIDE Submitted by Annette Boyd Rawls Often times a monument will have US ARMY or US Navy but will not have which war they were in. This chart is a rough guide as to which war they participated in. AMERICAN WARS FROM 1791 to PRESENT Quasi War 1791-1800 Navel War w/France Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1760-1776 War of 1812 1812-1814 Conflict w/Canada Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1774-1776 Mexican War 1846-1848 War w/Mexico Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1807-1832 Mounted Cavalry 1850-1917 United States Army Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1810-1902 Civil War 1861-1865 USA vs CSA Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1821-1848 Spanish War 1898-1898 Approx. Birth Dates of Inductee’s 1858-1883 World War I 1917-1918 Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1873-1902 World War II 1941-1945 Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1901-1926 Korean Conflict 1959-1957 Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1910-1945 Vietnam Conflict 1959-1975 Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1920-1957 Desert Storm 1990-1991 Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1950-1978 Iraqi Freedom 2003- Approx. Birth dates of Inductee’s 1985- CLEVELAND COUNTY HISTORICAL & GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF DIRECTORS MUSEUM PLANNING COMMITTEE Bruce Dawson Rufus T. Buie Linda Newman Sharon Gray Andrew Roshell Andrew Roshell Don Thurman Hilda Terry Randy Boyd Don G. Thurman Diane B. White ***************************************************** OCTOBER SPECIAL Dear Members & Friends of Cleveland County Historical And Genealogical Society, Inc: January begins the year for CCHGS, but if you join now, you will receive three (3) additional months free membership. Your continued membership will support the Society’s effort to preserve and enjoy the history of our area. Meetings are scheduled for the second Thursday of each month, at 7:00 p.m., at the Cleveland County Library. Our newsletters will be distributed at our regular meetings, or will be mailed to those who cannot attend. Dues are $10.00 for Individual Membership, $15.00 for Individual Family Membership, $50.00 Business Membership, and $100.00 Individual Lifetime Membership. Please fill out the blank below and mail it with your check, made payable to CCHGS or Cleveland County Historical & Genealogical Society, Inc. I wish to join or continue my CCHGS membership and enclose my check for $____________ Date __________________________ ___________________________ ____________________________________ Telephone Number E-mail Address Cleveland County Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc. P. O. Box 192 Rison, AR 71665 ********************************************************************************** Some information mentioned in the newsletter is not included in this file. Contact the CCHGS directly for that information.