Barry County Missouri- A Remembrance by Manta Frost McCary ==================================================================== Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: © William B Landers ==================================================================== Submitted by:William B Landers A Remembrance Written by Manta Frost McCary Born: January 12, 1877 Died Dec 24, 1959 Transcribed and Donated to our pages by her grandson Mr. William B Landers My Mothers name was Christina Gowen. She was born in Tennessee near Nashville in Rutherford Co. in 1853, July 6. She moved with her mother and brothers and sisters to southwest Missouri when she was 3 years old in the summer 1856. They were three months on the road, had several wagons loaded heavy and drove their stock through. One wagon turned over on the way and caused some delay. They came by the way of St. Louis. They finished the journey on October 25, staying at one of her aunts, Henretta Harbin, in Barry Co. near Washburn Mo. Word had reached there by letter of the death of her father Alfred Gowen. He had remained in Tennessee to attend to business matters. He traveled three days with the family on their journey and on returning to the old home became suddenly ill and seeing he would not live, gave the family where he was staying his horse and saddle to take his body back to the old home. It was all very sad news for them and they were very much dissatisfied and would probably have returned to the old home but (it) was such a long hard journey in those days and my grandmothers only sister lived in Missouri. There were six children in the family, two boys, Burrel and Walter, four girls, Martha, Amanda, Mary and my mother, Christina, the youngest child. They bought land over two hundred acres paid for it in gold, eighteen hundred dollars. The family had been wealthy at one time and had owned slaves but had lost most all they had and never wanted slaves, they saw the distress and wrong. I don't think one of the family would have wanted a slave. My grandmother had to learn how to work and manage after she had grown children. Her children all knew how to work and wanted to make honest livings. They were all very agreeable and loved each other and helped each other in any way they could or any one in distress could always depend on any of them for help. When the civil war came up Burrell went to the army and served three years. Walter died, he had never been a very strong boy. Martha married John Arnold, they had two children, Fannie and Buddie. Their father was killed in the early part of the war. Their mother married John Harbin in 1870. Mary was married in 1867 to William Northcutt. Amanda married Clay Smithey in 1878. My mother was married in 1869 to Pleasant M Frost. There were four children, Will, the oldest, he was born November 26, 1870, Tom Burrel, March 1, 1873, he died in October 1875. My birth was January 12, 1877, Daisy's October 24, 1884. We lived on a farm most of the time. I didn't have all I wanted but had the things that were good for me. Some of the things I remember my grand mother Gowen would have us all near her and tell stories, some of them are the same I hear now told to children at bedtime. As I got older I remember her looking old. I was ten years old (12?) when she died. My father and mother always had a good living for us, plenty to eat and wear and a good Christian home. My mothers life was short, she died at 54, just when they could have lived comfortable with out such hard work. The family is all buried in a cemetery on a hill near the old home place, a beautiful place for a cemetery, there were 20 grand children, 15 are living . The family was Scotch or Irish and English. I was never told about this but know from the names, Gowen, Lowe, Todd, Sutton and Raines. Their ancestors first settled in Maryland and Virginia. They lived near the Appomatic court house where my grandmother was born, May the 9th in 1809. Some of the family knit Washington a pair of silk stockings so they must have known him, they moved west to Tennessee in 1812 with a lot of other families. It was all new country then. I have heard my grandmother tell about the earthquake of 1811.(date?) It happened while they were making the trip. She said they were eating, had their meal spread on the ground and the dishes rattled and rolled together. Tennessee was unsettled so they got lots of land. There were many Indians but didn't seem to disturb them. I never heard but think my grandfather was from one of the southern states. He was the only child raised in luxury and never knew how to manage. As soon as his father died he lost all he had through bad management, signed notes, loaned many and did countless of favors for the kinfolk so his slaves were sold. He had wanted to free them, hadn't believed in slavery and then the trouble was worse when they would come back and beg to stay and he hid some where the new owners would whip them unmerciful. It was hard for the family to hear (of) these old honest slaves to be treated that way, my uncle was very small then but was found once carrying bread and water to one hid in the cellar, said he was feeding Mandy. Return to Online Data Index Return to Barry County © 1999 Susan Tortorelli All Rights Reserved