Field trip - Day 1, a mixed bag

Frankly, I was disappointed with the offerings at Ouachita Baptist University's Special Collections Section.

I did, however, make a few interesting discoveries.

A glance through the 1932 Southern Standard on microfilm did not yield an obituary I was looking for, but it did give up some interesting tidbits of local flavor about my Herrington relatives who lived in the tiny Clark County Arkansas community of DeGray.

I had never really considered it before, but what did you do for fun when you were dirt poor and the Great Depression sucked the life out of just about everything?

You went visiting...and it made the newspaper.

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Searching through the conference minutes of the DeGray Baptist Church provided no information at all about where or how my g-g-grandfather, Mace Callaway died, or where he might be buried.

I asked for copies of all 17 pages of membership notes in the New Hope Methodist Church file for the years 1860-1869. There appear to be skips due to missing records, but they will be useful to my Williams cousin, Jason, and to a lesser degree, to me.

And while I was waiting for copies to be made, I scanned through the Clark County Historical Association's Journal index, and stumbled across a CSA Cavalry unit that seems to be unreported in the usual places, with alphabetized lists of troops who served.

Even more interesting is that it appears possible that Mace Callaway and David Andrew Williams may have served in that cavalry unit together, as shown on a muster roll covering the time from 31 Oct 1864 through 28 Feb 1865. (I'll transcribe that as a separate entry later.)

Another of the CCHA's journals provides more information about years in which Bob Dunn was mentioned in the minutes of the Red River Baptist Association.

So the CCHA made $45 off me today. I bought the 1991, 1993, and 1998 Journals.

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Cousin Joe and I made an appalling discovery at the Clark County Courthouse.

We were looking for the letters of administration in the estate of one of our many greats grandpappies, John Callaway, who died intestate in 1834 in Clark County. Joe knew that John Callaway's estate was enumerated in an attachment to the letters of administration.

The probate clerk was able to provide us with a copy of the 6 Jan 1835 probate court order appointing John's widow, Amy, and his son, John S T, as co-administrators of the estate (they were, by the way, fined by the court in 1842 for failure to file an annual accounting of the estate - oops), but the clerk said we'd have to go to the books to look for the letters of administration.

So all three of us tromped over to the closet where the books are kept. 1840 was as far back as we could find.

So the clerk asked us if we wanted to take a look through the other books in storage.

In the attic.

IN THE ATTIC.

Books with documents over 175 years old are IN THE ATTIC. With no climate control.

And not just in the attic...they were just dumped in the attic in hodge-podge, helter skelter fashion...many looking as if they were thrown in there by whomever was assigned the chore of moving them because before they had been IN THE BASEMENT - where they kept getting damp.

Joe and I kept grimacing at each other over the clerk's head as we looked, each of us righting a book here and there.

We did not find the letters of administration of the estate.

I'm hoping that book was rescued by the Arkansas History Commission and filmed.

So I'll be squinting at microfilm there tomorrow.

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The journey is good.

And it continues...

Tenth Arkansas Regiment of Cavalry

Which seems to be known variously as Capt Reuben C Reed's "old company," which was company A. (I have also seen variant spellings of his first name of Rubin and Ruben.)

Below is transcription of an article originally appearing in the Southern Standard, on 2 Apr 1908, and which was re-published by the Clark County Historical Association in its 1998 Journal.

I have been unable to find much information at all on the internet about this company, and Footnote searches for several of the men whose names are included in my family tree reveal no CSA muster roll records for them.

From another CCHA Journal article in the same 1998 publication, I saw a note that the enrolling officer for the regiment was Capt. M Crary, and the unit was comprised of mounted volunteers.

The men of most interest to me in the article below are A M Calloway (sic) and D A Williams.

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Tenth Arkansas Regiment of Cavalry
Little Rock, Ark.
March 3, 1908

Editor Southern Standard:
Complying with a wish of some of the members of Capt. Reuben C Reed's old company, which was company "A" of the 10th Arkansas Regiment of Cavalry commanded by Col. Robert C. Newton, said company being raised in Clark County, some of whom are yet alive, I send you for publication the list copied from Muster Roll of October 31st 1864, now on file with General Jonathan Kellogg, Secretary of Historical Society.

The list is well preserved and is written in a good hand writing very plain and is as follows:
Reuben C. Reed, Capt.; N.M. Jones, 1st Lieut; James T. Sloan, 2nd Lieut.; W.R. Harris, 3rd Lieut.; A.G. Hearn, 1st Serg't.; K.R. Jones, 2nd Serg't.; Sterling Elder, 3rd Serg't.; W.F. Holder, 4th Serg't.; A.E. Rambo, 5th Serg't.; J.B. Smith, 1st Corp.; E.O. Rogers, 2nd Corp.; James Kellogg, 3rd Corp.; H.T. Harris, 4th Corp.

PRIVATES
Bates, H. M.; Logan, John C.; Berry, Levi A.; Logan, T.J.; Bethea, J.B.; Lawley, John; Bettis, Lauson; Lawley, William; Billingsley, C.C.; Mackey, J.W.; Brown, E. L.; Marsh, H.C.; Brown, V.O.; May, S.B.; Buck, James; Moon, H.D.; Calloway, A.M.; Osborn, G.C.; Carlee, John Z.; Pride, T.J.; Crump, W.H.; Ross, L.O.; Davis, John H.; Ross, W.D.; Drummins, Thomas; Ross, W.P.; Fite, A.J.; Rudisill, R.M.; Fite, John D.; Russell, A.J.; Gibson, John S.; Sloan, Donald; Gates, W.W.; Sloan, W.J.; Harris, W.K.; Stafford, J.W.; Hart, G.W.; Stafford, T.J.; Harvey, W.W.; Stevenson, J.T.; Heard, T.A.; Stoval, John; Holder, T.B.; Stroope, W.S.; Holmes, H.G.L.; Wallace, J.; Huie, R.W.; Watson, John; Hunter, R.W.; West, J.R.; Jones, D.E.; Williams, D.A.; Jordan, Alex; Williams, J.H.; Littlejohn, A. W.; Williams, P.H.; Wingfield, John.

It is probable that some names with "J" as an initial should be an "I" as all are made above the line and for that reason it is immpossable (sic) to distinguish the "I's" from the "J's".

There is interesting data in connection with many names, among which is the record of those who were on a scout with Lieut. Harris to Burton, I will mention them: Lieut. W.R. Harris, E.O. Rogers, E.L. Brown, Thomas Drummins, H.G.L. Holmes, J.C. Logan, G.C. Osburne, T.J. Pride, D.A. Williams, and B.H. Williams.

In noticing more carefully I see that this report comes from October 31st, 1864 to Feb. 28th, 1865. Lieut. Joe Sloan is reported as acting Adjutant of Regiment pro tem since Feb. 19th, 1865. R.W. Huie is reported as "scout as courier to Arkadelphia." Donald Sloan is reported sick at home in Clark Co., Ark. since Dec. 25, 1864. W.J. Sloan is reported sick in hospital in Washington, Ark. Feb. 25, 1865. I might continue this almost indefinitely.

All of the above names are familiar ones in Clark County, some of whom are alive and residents of the county now. Some few of them were from Dallas county. This list of names ought to be placed on record in the clerk's office of each county: when the companies were organized for reference and for presentation, as the state will probably never do anything toward their presentation, judging by the failure of every effort to have it do something on that line, under the administrations of the last eight years.

I am appealed too often to ascertain the company and the regiment to which certain men belonged in order that the wife of some confederate soldier may be placed on the pension roll, or the soldier himself seeks the names of comrades in order to establish his service in the Confederate army. It always affords me pleasure to investigate as far as possible for them, but I am often unable to find anything because of the incompleteness of many company rolls.

Stan C. Harley

Too many parallels for mere coincidence...

Comparing church and military records for the Dunns, Callaways and Williamses...

In July 1863, Julia Ann (Wingfield) Callway and her son, Mason, joined Bethel Union Baptist Church in Clark County.

In 1865, Mary Dunn was a member of New Hope Methodist Church in Clark County.
In 1866, Mary and Martha Dunn were members of New Hope Methodist Church. (Lucinda Hitchcock, mother of David Andrew Williams, was also a member, although I didn't find David in the membership list, but it's a fragmented one.)

A M Callaway and D A Williams appeared on a muster roll dated from 31 Oct 1864 through 28 Feb 1865 in the 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, commanded first by Reuben C Reed, and finally by Col. Robert C Newton.

On 8 Sep 1866, Mary Dunn and Allen Mason "Mace" Callaway were married by an itinerant Cumberland Presbyterian minister in Clark County.

In August 1867, Martha Dunn, Mary Callaway and James Dunn joined Bethel Union Baptist Church in Clark County.

On 27 Jun 1869, Martha Dunn and David Andrew Williams were married by a Methodist minister in Clark County.

On 2 Nov 1876, Martha Dunn Williams died of tuberculosis in Clark County.

On 15 Feb 1877, Mace Callaway died - we presume in Clark County.

On 13 Jul 1878, David Andrew Williams and Mary Dunn Callaway were married by Isom Langley, a clergyman, in Clark County.

And all the while, Robert James Dunn was living two farms over...

And my cousin Jason tells me...Capt Nat M Jones and Pvt. L. O. Ross are the ones that signed the proof of service forms for Mary to apply for her Civil War widow's pension.