Shakin' the Family Tree

...And the rockets' red glare,
The bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave?
O'er the land of the free
And the home of the brave...

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Although we all know that the holiday we will celebrate Monday s the 240th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence - a statement declaring that the thirteen American colonies regarded themselves as a new nation - not everyone realizes how the Star Spangled Banner came to be, or that it was not written during the Revolutionary War.

As a matter of fact, Francis Scott Key didn't call it the Star Spangled Banner. His original title was Defence of Fort M'Henry.

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It was during the War of 1812 that the verses that would become our national anthem were written.

Key was an influential lawyer who volunteered to negotiate with the British for the return of some American prisoners captured during the war, and being held on the the flagship of the British fleet on the Chesapeake Bay. He and some friends were permitted to board the ship and were successful in their efforts, but since they had learned of plans of the British fleet to attack Fort McHenry at Baltimore, they were allowed to re-board their own vessel, but under British guard.

It was under this close scrutiny that on the night of 13 September 1814, Key watched anxiously as the British fleet continued to shell Fort McHenry, and the Americans became slower and slower to return fire. At twilight, he could still see the 30 by 42 foot Stars and Stripes (one of two flags made the previous year by a woman named Mary Pickersgill), tattered but still flying over Fort McHenry. The shelling continued throughout the night.

By dawn, an eerie silenced descended. Through the smoke, fog and haze, Key and the other Americans looked for the flag. There was a break in the haze, and they could see it.

Our flag was still there... announcing the American victory.

Mary Pickersgill's original flag is preserved at the Smithsonian Institute.

The memory of our ancestors and other relatives who fought for our independence from England during the Revolutionary War, and then fought for it again during the War of 1812, is preserved in our hearts.

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Revolutionary War
Joshua Bloomer Ashmore, Sr.
Stephen Bloomer Balch
Luke Chapin
Samuel Chapin
Thomas Hale
Jesse George Hoshal
Alexander Meek
James Meek
Samuel Meek
Nelson Edward Parrish
Elijah Rollins
Ichabod Rollins
Nathaniel Rollins
Jesse Williams

The War of 1812
John S T Callaway
John Ivie
Ephraim C Lemley, Sr.
Keys Meek
Abraham Lincoln Parrish
George Wharton
Jacob Wingfield


Lest we forget...

Have spent a lot of time the past two weeks on several family trees.

For the ones unrelated to my own family, there are friends looking for answers.

They didn't even know there were questions, because - well, every family has some secrets. If not created in recent generations, then the secrets of the ancestors can be startling and unwelcome surprises to their descendants.

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I have no farther to look for evidence of family secrets than my own great great grandfather, who had an entire second family a half mile away from his farm.

For at least 14 years, James Littleton Burris had a relationship with a woman young enough to be his daughter. They had at least 5 children together, possibly more.

You can't really call that a fling. So I wonder...did my great great grandparents have some sort of understanding? Our family lore says Elizabeth Adeline Ashmore walked beside James Littleton Burris on almost the entire journey from Lawrence Co., TN to Arkansas in 1838, and fell deeply in love with him. So, did she just look the other way when he left to go see his other family three decades later? Was my great great grandpa polyamorous, and his wife accepted that?

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Then, there are the other families...

The yearning and pain I see in the eyes of two half-brothers, who desperately want to find the body of their half-sister who just disappeared one day, and whom they fear was murdered by her own parents...

A dear friend who didn't find out until he was in his 30s that his grandmother stabbed his grandfather to death with a kitchen knife. Had she finally decided, after leaving him and moving to Memphis with their daughters, that she just wasn't going to take one more beating after he arrived drunk at her house that Saturday?

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Sometimes the answers died with them.

But it doesn't make me stop wondering. And if nothing else, I'll ask them on the other side...

He found me through my Find a Grave entries.

We've been corresponding for the past few days, and made an interesting discovery.

One of my Burris cousins was his first grade teacher in a little one room schoolhouse at Gumlog in Pope Co., AR.

I love it when this happens.

I am documenting my family history, not just my pedigree.

So my collateral relatives are documented as well.

Some of those families have what appear to be very tragic stories.

One example is the family of James Joshua Ashmore (my second great granduncle), and his wife, Ardena Mahala (Matthews) Ashmore Stewart.

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James Joshua Ashmore was the son of Andrew Sawyer Ashmore and Elizabeth McCarley, born in Lawrence Co., TN on 16 May 1821.

He was 17 when his family made the ambitious move from Lawrence County to Pope County, AR.

Ardena's parents were Steven John Matthews (born in Lawrence County) and Sarah Perkins. If the Matthews family was not part of what I have now come to understand was a sizeable migration to Pope County, then they came shortly afterward, because James and Ardena were married in Pope County on 7 Jan 1842, when Ardena was 18.

Working their land, they began having stair-step children - eight in all, over the next 11 years.

Stephen Robert Ashmore was born in 1842;
William James Ashmore was born on 22 Nov 1843;
Sarah Elizabeth Ashmore was born on 14 May 1845;
Mary Louisa A Ashmore was born on 7 Sep 1847;
Martha Jane Ashmore was born on 12 May 1848;
Joanna M Ashmore was born in Dec 1850;
Georgia Ann Ashmore was born on 21 May 1852; and
Margaret Alice Ashmore was born on 21 Jan 1853.

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And then, James Joshua Ashmore died, on 18 Mar 1856. He was buried in the McCarley family cemetery, on his parents' homeplace, where his father had been laid to rest a couple of years earlier, and where his mother would be buried in 1875.

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Ardena's youngest child was 3 years old, and her oldest - son Robert - was just 14.

She had a farm to work and children to raise. She needed some help.

On 25 Nov 1856, Ardena married Robert H Stewart. Two years later, Ardena died.

What would happen to the children, the oldest of whom was only 16?

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The extended Matthews family - and some of their in-laws - stepped up to the plate.

In the 1860 census, four of the Ashmore children were living with their maternal grandparents. Robert, Martha, Georgia Ann and Margaret had a home with Steven and Sarah Matthews in Gum Log, not far from their family farm.

Sarah Ashmore had married (at the age of 14), on 14 Aug 1859, to William H Hall. She was not found in the 1860 census living with him. She and her brother, William and sister, Joanna were living in the home of William and Lucinda Gideon.

Lucinda (Matthews) Gideon was their great grand aunt. It is possible that Sarah was either widowed and pregnant (she would have a son, James H Hall in 1861), or William Hall was away fighting in the Civil War and was not present for this census. Joanna Ashmore later married George Henry Gideon, one of the sons of William and Lucinda Gideon.

Mary Louisa was living with Claiborne Harrelson in 1860. Leroy Matthews, her maternal uncle, had married Claiborne's daughter, Lavena, in 1854, and the couple made their home with Lavena's father.

Three families re-arranged their households and took in the Ashmore kids.

Because that's what families did.

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All eight of the children of James Joshua Ashmore and Ardena Mahala Matthews lived to adulthood, and raised large families of their own.

Two of the sisters - Mary Louisa and Margaret - married Bowden brothers, James and Charles.

All of the Ashmore children lived in or around Pope County their entire lives, close to the place familiar to their parents - the place two families in a wagon train chose in 1838 to make a new home.

And tragedy turned into triumph.

In observance of the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War on 12 Apr 1861, this blogging challenge was issued by Bill West, of West in New England.

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As regular readers of this blog know, I am a southerner. I still live in the South.

It has been a common occurrence for me to find slave-owners in my family history. I refuse to glorify that word with whatever politically correct substitute phrasing is in vogue these days.

Some of my Southern ancestors - most notably my Callaway and Meek ancestors - bought and sold other human beings and treated them as their property. They willed some of those same human beings to their heirs, and fought for the right to keep on doing it.

Some others of my Southern ancestors didn't.

And the two sets of ancestors intermarried before, during and after the Civil War.

Must have made for some interesting dinner table discussions.

I have a many-times-removed Bowden cousin who is getting on in years, but who regularly sends me information about the Bowden line, even though there were relatively few Bowdens who married into my direct ancestral line. Where he feels it relevant, he tells me which ones fought in the War of Northern Aggression. I've told him I thought I recalled from my history books that the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, not the other way around.

I definitely would have been one of those damned Yankees. The sight of the Confederate flag flying today sickens me, and makes me want to personally tear it down.

Because the good ole boys flying it have to know - don't they? - that the South ain't gonna rise again.

Not the way they want it to.

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No matter which side they were on, there is ample evidence that the Civil War changed the lives of my ancestors.

In many cases, it ended it.

In two cases I know of, the war had to have divided families - with brother fighting against brother.

It could have been Samuel Ashmore's suggestion, but for some reason I think not...he and his youngest brother, Robert D. Ashmore, enlisted at the same time at Dover, AR on 20 Jun 1862, in the 35th Arkansas Infantry, Co I, fighting for the Confederate States of America. Robert was 19 years old. Samuel was 30.

By 8 Jan 1863, Robert apparently had enough. He went AWOL. Twenty days later, his big brother Samuel died in the service of the CSA. Robert "deserted to the enemy" on 10 Sep 1863, enlisting in the 4th Regiment, Arkansas Cavalry, Co. H, United States of America.

Robert came home, Samuel did not. I don't know where Samuel is buried.

Cynthia Ann Ashmore, the widow of John Burris, was probably lucky that she did not know the grief the war would vist on her household.

All three of her sons went off to war. Franklin Buchanan and John Crockett enlisted at Dover in the CSA, 35th Arkansas Infantry on 20 Jun 1862, with Franklin serving in Company H and John in Company I.

Her oldest son, William James Burris, fought for the USA in the 3rd Arkansas Cavalry, Co. A.

Franklin died first, on the White River on 28 Oct 1862. His brother, John, deserted on 24 Aug 1863.

William died of typhoid on 1 Aug 1864. He was buried in the National Cemetery in Little Rock.

I can't imagine that the family was able during wartime to visit his grave. I don't know where Franklin is buried.

And I wonder if Cynthia did.

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The Brannon brothers, Benjamin and James, were Tennesseans by birth, but Yankees in their hearts, as was their father, John.

All three enlisted together on 15 Aug 1862 in the Arkansas 1st Cavalry Regiment, Company L at Springtown, AR in Washington County.

All three lived to tell about it, although James was discharged on 23 Nov 1863, with the surgeon saying his deafness had worsened during the war, and he had a lung disease. Benjamin was discharged on disability in August 1864.

All three lived out their lives in Benton County, AR, where James was a respected physician and merchant.

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There was no question about the Rev. Jefferson John Meek's loyalty to the Confederacy. He had much to lose if the South did not win the war. In the decade between the 1850 and 1860 census, he had doubled the number of slaves he owned.

He created his own infantry unit at Panola Co., MS on 27 Mar 1862. It was the 42nd Regiment, Mississippi Infantry, and Rev. Meek became Captain of it. He was 52 years old.

Capt. J J Meek had two sons old enough to serve, James Alexander, and Robert. James served in his father's regiment. Robert and Capt. Meek's son-in-law, William Waldron, served in the 2nd Mississippi Rangers, Company K.

Capt. Meek considered the war our holy cause. However, according to his letter of resignation dated 5 Aug 1863, he had found out just how much that cause was costing him.

Excerpted from the letter:
My son in law and my two sons have perished in our holy cause and my now aged and infirm wife has been left with no male members of the family to provide and care for her...

He was right about his son-in-law, William Waldron, who died on 3 Jul 1863. Capt. Meek's son, Robert, died of smallpox a month earlier in a POW camp in Alton, IL.

And when he heard of James' wounding and capture during the Battle of Gettysburg on 8 Jul 1863, he probably had every reason to believe that he was dead, too.

But James survived and spent the remainder of the war in the POW camp for Confederate soldiers at Fort Delaware, on Pea Patch Island, until he signed his oath of allegiance to the United States and was released on 11 Jun 1865.

Then he came back home to Mississippi to his wife and son, buried an infant daughter in 1867, had another daughter, and his marriage fell apart.

The Civil War nearly bankrupted his father.

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Virtually all of the Callaway men old enough to tote a gun served the Confederacy. Only recently, I discovered that my Callaway and Clark County Williams lines probably had their first interactions during the war, when Allen Mason Lowery Callaway and David Andrew Williams served together in the 10th Arkansas Cavalry Regiment, at least two years before either of them married the Dunn sisters, Martha and Mary.

There is very little available information about this regiment on the internet. From a cached website, you can find the following:
Newton turned command of the 5th Cavalry over to Colonel Thomas Morgan on December 24, 1863 (whereupon the regiment was renamed as Morgan's 2nd Arkansas Cavalry), and assumed command of a small cavalry brigade [Note: This "small calvary brigade" was the 10th Arkansas Cavalry] which he led for the remainder of the war. On January 14, 1865, Newton's brigade in company with the brigades of Colonels William H. Brooks and Ras Stirman conducted an attack on Union forces on the Arkansas River near Dardanelle, which was repulsed. They next chased a fleet of steamboats down the Arkansas River, ambushing and sinking several of them near Ivey's Ford. Following this campaign, the Confederate force returned to the stronghold of southwestern Arkansas where they stood mostly in defense or garrison duty until the surrender of the Confederate forces in the Trans-Mississippi on May 26, 1865. (Source: Archive Wayback)

And having now learned that, I wonder if Mace and David's Civil War service had anything to do with their very early deaths - Mace in 1877, and David in 1888.

Mace's father, Nathaniel C. Callaway, died in the service of the Confederacy of typhoid on 7 May 1862 in Shelby County, TN, when Mace was 15. Mace's mother, Julia Wingfield, was left with three children under the age of 10 to raise. Until I discovered last summer that Nathaniel was buried at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, I don't think anyone in the family knew. Nathaniel just went off to war, and never came home.

Mace's first cousin, Jonathan Wilson Callaway, survived the war, and as reported by Goodspeed,...His final surrender was made with the Confederate forces, at Shreveport, at the close of the war, in May, 1865, following which he walked the whole distance back to Arkadelphia. (Source: Goodspeed's Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Central Arkansas, (publ. 1889) at page 427)

Jonathan Wilson Callaway went on to be a fairly prominent political figure in Pulaski County, AR after the war, and died there in 1894. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery in Little Rock.

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There is no question that the Civil War changed the lives of everyone who lived and died during that era in history, not the least of whom were the black Americans - slaves and free -who even after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, still did not receive the full measure of their American citizenship until nearly a century later.

As I study and make continuous discoveries about my ancestors who lived during that time, I always wonder what made them choose the side they did, and how those choices affected the lives of their families and others around them.

I guess I'll ask them on the other side...

The 1838 wagon party from Lawrence County, TN to Pope County, AR was quite large.

Large enough that when all the families began to intermarry in the years after their arrival, their descendants wound up with a LOT of cousins.

That's illustrated quite well in the descendants of Steven John Matthews, whose children and grandchildren married Burrises and Ashmores, among others.

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First Generation

1. Steven John Matthews was born in 1805 in Lawrence Co., TN. He died in 1880 in Pope Co., AR.

Steven married Sarah "Sally" Perkins on 6 Jul 1825 in Lawrence Co., TN. Sarah was born on 11 Feb 1809 in Kentucky. She died on 9 Jun 1882 in Pope Co., AR.

They had the following children:

+ 2 F i. Ardena Mahala Matthews was born on 14 Jun 1824. She died in 1858.

+ 3 F ii. Josinor Matthews was born on 10 Dec 1826. She died on 31 Dec 1896.

4 F iii. Elizabeth Matthews was born in Feb 1828. She died in 1904.

+ 5 M iv. Daniel Matthews was born in 1829. He died in 1880.

+ 6 M v. Leroy Matthews was born on 4 Sep 1832. He died on 3 Apr 1873.

+ 7 M vi. Andrew Mason Matthews was born on 14 Sep 1834. He died on 16 Jun 1916.

+ 8 F vii. Mary Jane Matthews was born on 20 Jan 1836. She died on 30 Sep 1875.

9 F viii. Margaret Matthews was born in 1837.

+ 10 F ix. Sarah Ann Matthews was born on 11 Aug 1839. She died on 13 Feb 1905.

11 M x. William T Matthews was born in 1840 in Pope Co., AR. He died on 14 Jun 1903 in Pope Co., AR.

+ 12 M xi. John Wesley Matthews was born in Jun 1842. He died in 1908.

Second Generation

2. Ardena Mahala Matthews (Steven John) was born on 14 Jun 1824 in Tennessee. She died in 1858 in Pope Co., AR.

Ardena married James Joshua Ashmore son of Andrew Sawyer Ashmore and Elizabeth McCarley on 7 Jan 1842 in Pope Co., AR. James was born on 16 May 1821 in Lawrence Co, Tennessee. He died on 18 Mar 1856 in Russellville, Pope Co., AR. He was buried in McCarley Cemetery, Pope Co., AR.

They had the following children:

13 M i. Stephen Robert Ashmore was born in 1842 in Pope Co., AR. He died in 1900 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.
Stephen married Martha Ann Keeton daughter of Zachariah Keeton and Catherine Anthony on 30 Sep 1866 in Pope Co., AR. Martha was born in 1848 in Tennessee. She died on 7 Oct 1947 in Newton Co., AR.

14 M ii. William James Ashmore was born on 22 Nov 1843 in Pope Co., AR. He died on 15 Jan 1913 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Ford Cemetery, Appleton, Pope Co., AR.
William married Mary Angeline Wilson daughter of Robert S Wilson and Elvira Gordon on 24 Jul 1867 in Pope Co., AR. Mary was born on 22 May 1848. She died on 24 Dec 1923 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Ford Cemetery, Appleton, Pope Co., AR.

15 F iii. Sarah Elizabeth Ashmore was born on 14 May 1845 in Pope Co., AR. She died on 11 Jul 1933 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.
Sarah married (1) William H Hall on 14 Aug 1859 in Pope Co., AR. William was born in 1843 in Pope Co., AR.
Sarah married (2) George Washington Russell son of James Calvin Russell and Nancy Attaway on 25 May 1870 in Pope Co., AR. George was born on 1 Jun 1851 in Coosa Co., AL. He died on 22 Jan 1932 in Russellville, Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

16 F iv. Mary Louisa A Ashmore was born on 7 Sep 1847 in Pope Co., AR. She died on 21 Jan 1938 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.
Mary married James H Bowden son of John Sanders Bowden and Elizabeth Reynolds on 6 Jan 1870 in Pope Co., AR. James was born on 31 Jan 1842 in Marion Co., AR. He died on 27 Jun 1904 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.

17 F v. Martha Jane Ashmore was born on 12 May 1848 in Pope Co., AR.
Martha married John Wesley Stout son of William Stout and Anne Parker in 1867 in Pope Co., AR. John was born in 1833 in Blount Co., AL. He died on 23 Feb 1895 in Belleville, Yell Co., AR.

18 F vi. Joanna M Ashmore was born in Dec 1850 in Pope Co., AR. She died in 1932.
Joanna married George Henry Gideon son of William Gideon and Lucinda Matthews on 12 Oct 1868 in Pope Co., AR. George was born in Feb 1849 in Pope Co., AR.

19 F vii. Georgia Ann Ashmore was born on 21 May 1852 in Pope Co., AR. She died on 20 Feb 1941 in Russellville, Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.
Georgia married John Calvin Parker on 22 Feb 1871 in Pope Co., AR. John was born on 8 Apr 1846 in Arkansas. He died on 14 Jan 1926 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.

20 F viii. Margaret Alice Ashmore was born on 21 Jan 1853 in Pope Co., AR. She died on 23 Oct 1935 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.
Margaret married Charles S Lay Bowden son of John Sanders Bowden and Elizabeth Reynolds on 24 Dec 1868 in Pope Co., AR. Charles was born on 29 Jan 1850 in Arkansas. He died on 4 Jun 1933 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.

3. Josinor Matthews (Steven John) was born on 10 Dec 1826 in Lawrence Co., TN. She died on 31 Dec 1896 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

Josinor married William Reynolds about 1844 in Pope Co., AR. William was born on 26 Oct 1823 in Tennessee. He died on 14 Mar 1897 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

They had the following children:

21 M i. Thomas J Reynolds was born in 1845 in Pope Co., AR.

22 M ii. William J Reynolds was born on 9 Oct 1846 in Pope Co., AR. He died on 6 Feb 1908 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Russellville, Pope Co., AR.
William married Sallie R Lewis on 18 Apr 1871 in Pope Co., AR. Sallie was born on 17 Oct 1848. She died in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Russellville, Pope Co., AR.

23 F iii. Mary Jane "Mollie" Reynolds was born in 1849 in Pope Co., AR. She died in Aug 1879 in Pope Co., AR. The cause of death was heart disease, per 1880 mortality schedule. She was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

Mary married Fletcher W Thompson on 24 Feb 1870 in Pope Co., AR. Fletcher was born in 1845 in North Carolina. He died in 1891 in Atkins, Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

24 F iv. Sallie Reynolds was born in 1853 in Pope Co., AR.
Sallie married Halledger . Halledger died before 1880.

25 M v. Albert D Reynolds was born in 1858 in Pope Co., AR.

26 F vi. Julia Reynolds was born in 1862 in Pope Co., AR.

27 F vii. Virginia Reynolds was born in 1865 in Pope Co., AR.

5. Daniel Matthews (Steven John) was born in 1829 in Tennessee. He died in 1880.

Daniel married (1) Eliza Jane Strickland daughter of Zachariah Matthew Strickland and Savel G (Sable) Vick on 8 Sep 1853 in Pope Co., AR. Eliza was born in 1831 in Tennessee. She died before 1860 in Pope Co., AR.

They had the following children:

28 M i. William S Matthews was born in 1855 in Pope Co., AR.

29 F ii. Margaret Jane Matthews was born on 5 Apr 1857 in Pope Co., AR. She died on 15 Apr 1901 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.
Margaret married William Greenberry "George" Fridell on 25 Jul 1880 in Pope Co., AR. William was born on 5 Feb 1856 in Tennessee. He died on 5 Feb 1948 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.


Daniel married (2) Sarah Winfred. Sarah was born in 1831. She died in 1912 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

They had the following children:

30 M iii. Peter Warren Matthews was born on 8 Apr 1867 in Pope Co., AR. He died on 15 May 1934 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.
Peter married Sammie Jane Stallings in Nov 1888 in Pope Co., AR. Sammie was born on 25 Mar 1866 in Lewisburg, Conway Co., AR. She died on 17 Jan 1899 in San Antonio, Bexar Co., TX.

6. Leroy Matthews (Steven John) was born on 4 Sep 1832 in Tennessee. He died on 3 Apr 1873 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.

Leroy married (1) Lavena Jane Harrelson daughter of Claiborne C Harrelson and Phebe Unknown on 16 Mar 1854 in Pope Co., AR. Lavena was born on 21 Jan 1834 in Tennessee. She died on 15 Aug 1863 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.

They had the following children:

31 M i. John Henry Matthews was born on 25 Dec 1854 in Arkansas. He died on 15 Nov 1941 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.
John married Catherine Tocoa Murdoch daughter of James William Murdoch and Gracie Ophelia Plunkett on 5 Jan 1881 in Pope Co., AR. Catherine was born on 10 Jan 1855 in Rome, Floyd Co., GA. She died on 8 Apr 1928 in Atkins, Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Oakland Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

32 M ii. William James Matthews was born on 10 Feb 1856 in Arkansas. He died on 21 Jun 1936 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.
William married Mary Frances Cochran on 7 Mar 1878 in Pope Co., AR. Mary was born on 10 Feb 1863. She died on 25 Feb 1942 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

33 F iii. Arabella Matthews was born in 1859 in Arkansas.


Leroy married (2) Mahala Elizabeth Turner.

7. Andrew Mason Matthews (Steven John) was born on 14 Sep 1834 in Tennessee. He died on 16 Jun 1916 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

Andrew married Mary E Strickland in 1853. Mary was born in 1837 in Tennessee.

They had the following children:

34 F i. Sarah E Matthews was born in 1855 in Pope Co., AR. She died in 1941 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Owens Cemetery, Waldo, Pope Co., AR.
Sarah married John Marion Waldo . John was born in 1852. He died in 1912 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Owens Cemetery, Waldo, Pope Co., AR.

35 M ii. James M Matthews was born in 1857 in Pope Co., AR. He died before 1870 in Pope Co., AR.

36 M iii. Daniel Webster Matthews was born in 1862 in Pope Co., AR.
Daniel married Eliza C MNU . Eliza was born in 1870 in Arkansas.

37 M iv. John J Matthews was born on 9 Jan 1865 in Pope Co., AR. He died on 8 Apr 1917 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

John married (1) Mattie Beckham on 6 Jan 1889 in Pope Co., AR. Mattie was born on 24 Aug 1871. She died on 30 Jan 1898 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.
John married (2) Neomia Gipson in 1906 in Pope Co., AR.

38 F v. Margaret F Matthews was born in 1868 in Pope Co., AR.

39 M vi. Stephen Matthews was born in Feb 1870 in Pope Co., AR.

40 F vii. Seena Elizabeth "Bee" Matthews was born on 16 Aug 1874 in Pope Co., AR. She died on 5 Feb 1921 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Bells Chapel Cemetery, Pottsville, Pope Co., AR.
Seena married (1) R T Nelson . R T Nelson died before 1900 in Pope Co., AR.
Seena married (2) Pleasant "Plez" W Torrence in 1902 in Pope Co., AR. Pleasant was born on 16 Feb 1858 in Tennessee. He died on 23 Apr 1943 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Bells Chapel Cemetery, Pottsville, Pope Co., AR.

8. Mary Jane Matthews (Steven John) was born on 20 Jan 1836 in Tennessee. She died on 30 Sep 1875 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.

Mary married (1) William James Burris son of John Burris and Cynthia Ann Ashmore on 30 Mar 1854 in Pope County, AR. William was born in 1832 in Tennessee. He died on 1 Aug 1864 in Lewisburg, Conway Co., AR. He was buried in Little Rock National Cemetery, Little Rock, Pulaski Co., AR.

They had the following children:

41 M i. John James Burris was born on 20 Jan 1855 in Pope County, AR. He died on 1 Mar 1938 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Crossroads Cemetery, Appleton, Pope Co., AR.
John married (1) Mary Ann Cole daughter of James Cole and Rebecca Jane Vinson on 17 Dec 1876 in Pope County, AR. Mary was born on 5 Mar 1862 in Pope County, AR. She died on 9 Dec 1878 in Pope County, AR. She was buried in Crossroads Cemetery, Appleton, Pope Co., AR.
John married (2) Sarah L Ann Burks daughter of James Edward Burks and Nancy Mildred Patterson on 8 Jun 1879 in Griffen Flats Twnship, Pope County, AR. Sarah was born in Aug 1861 in Saline Co., IL. She died on 8 Sep 1942 in Pope County, AR. She was buried in Crossroads Cemetery, Pope Co., AR.

42 M ii. Stephen Horatio Burris was born on 12 Mar 1857 in Harmony, Pope Co., AR. He died on 29 Jul 1868 in Pope Co., AR.

43 M iii. William Hugh Davis Burris was born on 11 Dec 1860 in Pope County, AR. He died on 13 Jun 1950 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Crossroads Cemetery, Appleton, Pope Co., AR.
William married (1) Nancy Mildred Burks daughter of James Edward Burks and Nancy Mildred Patterson on 27 Jul 1879 in Pope Co., AR. Nancy was born in 1864 in Saline Co., IL. She died on 16 Aug 1886 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Crossroads Cemetery, Appleton, Pope Co., AR.
William married (2) Lucy Jane Burks daughter of James Edward Burks and Nancy Mildred Patterson on 26 Jun 1887 in Pope Co., AR. Lucy was born in 1871 in Pope Co., AR. She died on 16 Apr 1898 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Crossroads Cemetery, Appleton, Pope Co., AR.
William married (3) Frances L Burks daughter of James Edward Burks and Nancy Mildred Patterson on 11 Sep 1898 in Pope Co., AR. Frances was born in Feb 1877 in Arkansas. She died in 1970 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Crossroads Cemetery, Appleton, Pope Co., AR.

44 F iv. Sarah "Sallie" Ann Burris was born on 29 Mar 1862 in Harmony, Pope Co., AR. She died on 9 Aug 1921 in Dover, Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Old Lake Cemetery, Dover, Pope Co., AR.
Sarah married Yancey Bailey Shepard Poynter on 27 Apr 1879 in Pope Co., AR. Yancey was born in 1859 in Dover, Pope Co., AR. He died on 10 May 1937 in Dover, Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Old Lake Cemetery, Dover, Pope Co., AR.


Mary married (2) Zachariah Keeton son of Keeton and Unknown on 22 Apr 1866 in Pope Co., AR. Zachariah was born in Feb 1816 in Tennessee. He died on 21 Jun 1908 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Old Baptist Cemetery, Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.

They had the following children:

45 M v. General Grant Keeton was born in 1867 in Arkansas.

46 F vi. Lucinda Alice Keeton was born in 1869 in Pope Co., AR. She died in 1894 in Pope Co., AR.
Lucinda married Sidney Jackson Eggleston on 5 Sep 1889 in Pope Co., AR. Sidney was born on 14 Nov 1867 in Alabama. He died on 5 Jan 1960 in Ft Worth, Tarrant Co., TX.

47 F vii. Ada M Keeton was born in 1871 in Arkansas.

48 M viii. Charles D Keeton was born in 1873 in Arkansas.

10. Sarah Ann Matthews (Steven John) was born on 11 Aug 1839 in Lawrence Co., TN. She died on 13 Feb 1905 in Adona, Perry Co., AR.

Sarah married William Henderson Stout son of James Stout and Elizabeth Rackley on 20 Jun 1858 in Pope Co., AR. William was born on 13 May 1838 in Blount Co., AL. He died on 19 Mar 1912 in Adona, Perry Co., AR.

William and Sarah had the following children:

49 M i. William Marcellus Stout was born in 1860 in Pope Co., AR. He died on 3 Apr 1909 in Adona, Perry Co., AR.

50 F ii. Sarah E Stout was born in 1864 in Pope Co., AR.

51 F iii. Mary E Stout was born in 1867 in Pope Co., AR. She died on 25 Feb 1915 in Centrahoma, Coal Co., OK.
Mary married John R Linker in 1891. John was born in 1870.

52 F iv. Margaret I Stout was born in 1869 in Pope Co., AR.

53 M v. Houston Q Stout was born in 1871.

54 M vi. Stephen J Stout was born in 1872.

55 M vii. Osie Q Stout was born in 1873. He died on 22 Feb 1911 in Ada Valley, Conway Co., AR.

56 F viii. Ona I Stout was born in 1874.

57 F ix. Orrie Belle Stout was born in 1876.

58 F x. Jennie B Stout was born in 1878.

59 F xi. McKie Stout was born in 1880.

12. John Wesley Matthews (Steven John) was born in Jun 1842 in Arkansas. He died in 1908 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

John married Margaret Katherine Gray in 1866 in Pope Co., AR. Margaret was born in May 1848 in Arkansas. She died in 1937 in Pope Co., AR. She was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

They had the following children:

60 F i. Mary R Matthews was born in 1867 in Pope Co., AR.

61 M ii. John T Matthews was born in 1868 in Pope Co., AR.

62 F iii. Sallie F Matthews was born in 1870 in Pope Co., AR.

63 M iv. Stephen M Matthews was born on 13 Jul 1872 in Pope Co., AR. He died on 5 Aug 1880 in Pope Co., AR. He was buried in Atkins City Cemetery, Atkins, Pope Co., AR.

64 F v. Georgiana Matthews was born in 1875 in Pope Co., AR.

65 F vi. Maggie Matthews was born in 1877 in Pope Co., AR.

66 F vii. Gertrude E Matthews was born in Aug 1882 in Arkansas.

67 M viii. Cecil A Matthews was born in Nov 1884 in Arkansas.

Via email.

I love it when that happens.

She and I are related through Joshua Bloomer Ashmore.

So I'm putting the information about Joshua Senior, and all the begats for the next generation following here...

---

First Generation

1. Joshua Bloomer Ashmore Sr was born in 1760 in Maryland. He died on 8 Jul 1846 in Pope Co., AR.

Joshua married Mary Henderson in 1797 in Lawrence Co, Tennessee. Mary was born about 1780 in North Carolina. She died about 1850.

They had the following children:

+ 2 M i. Andrew Sawyer Ashmore was born in 1798. He died on 13 Oct 1853.

+ 3 M ii. Joshua Bloomer Ashmore Jr was born on 25 Jul 1799. He died on 10 Oct 1862.

+ 4 M iii. Robert (Ellet) Doke Ashmore was born on 5 Jul 1800. He died on 27 Oct 1862.

+ 5 F iv. Cynthia Ann Ashmore was born on 16 Jun 1806. She died in 1881.

+ 6 F v. Athalinda Ashmore was born about 1808.

7 M vi. John Calvin Ashmore was born in 1810 in Lawrence Co., TN.
John married (1) Polly Rea (Ray) on 13 Mar 1824 in Lawrence Co., TN. Polly died before Mar 1827 in Lawrence Co., TN.
John married (2) Letty Rea (Ray) on 26 Mar 1827 in Lawrence Co., TN.

+ 8 F vii. Jasinda Ashmore was born in 1811. She died in 1870.

+ 9 F viii. Lucinda Ashmore was born in 1814.

The second generation gets really heavy with Burrises...
( Click here to read more... )

This was the first grave in Old Baptist Cemetery in Center Valley, Pope Co., AR.

It's the grave of the first infant of James Littleton Burris and Elizabeth Adeline Ashmore.

The baby was stillborn in 1841, about a year after they married, and about two and a half years after they arrived in Pope County from Lawrence Co., TN.

Monday, 11 Dec 1961...

That's the day my younger sister was born.

I was told that - at first - I was quite excited to be a "big sister."

But the new wore off, and when she was a few weeks old, I asked if we could take her back to the hospital.

Sis shares the same birthday with the following people in our family tree:
Frances Adelaide "Fanny" Ashmore - 1879
Charlie W Baker - 1882
Elizabeth Buck - 1868
Seth Chapin - 1733
Gilbert J Duelmer - 1932
Homer M Francis - 1896
Hans Devauld Funderburk - 1724
Charleen Herrington - 1946
Lena Belle Hobbs - 1880
Harriet Pauline Lee - 1848
Abner Meek - 1795
Leona V Potillo - 1910


My sis and me, Arkansas Democrat, 22 Dec 1963

I'm glad they didn't take you back, sissy.

Have a great birthday!

Last spring, my dad called me and said there was going to be a tour of the old McCarley family cemetery on Saturday, March 27. The cemetery is abandoned now - I think the last grave dug in there was before 1900. The first one I know of was in 1847, when Moses McCarley's wife, Elizabeth P Griffin, died. As the crow flies, the cemetery is less than 3 miles from Dad's house.

There are at least 50 (mostly unmarked) graves. Some of our ancestors who came to Arkansas from Lawrence County, TN in 1838 are buried there, including my g-g-g-grandfather. I've been bugging Dad for years to tell me how to get down there, but it would have meant getting mixed up in a family feud.

The land where the cemetery is located now belongs to a third cousin-in-law of mine, and he has most of it fenced. We have a healthy respect for the symbolism of fences in the south, and honorable people ask if they can cross to the other side.

In my cousin-in-law's case, that means asking to open (and close behind you) a lot of gates.

( And then, there was that matter of the feud...they are serious stuff down here.  )

Because they have stories. And we are the story-tellers.