The Taylor families
mentioned above came to Arkansas from Warren, Dekalb, Smith, and even Franklin
County, Tennessee. They came in small
"waves". Dekalb County is 300
miles from Witt Springs, AR. That is not
too far a distance. I don't know if
letters were written encouraging other Taylors to join the groups here or they
just wanted a new start!
I don't know what route the Taylors and Cagles took from Middle Tennessee to Newton/Searcy County, but likely they crossed the Mississippi at Memphis.
Taylor is a name almost as common as Smith and Jones so it is a hard name to follow. The name came from exactly how it sounds--someone who made clothes! This is from the Wiki site: Taylor is a surname used in the British Isles of French and Latin origin which originated as a Norman occupational surname (meaning tailor) in France It is derived from the Old French tailleaur ("cutter"), which is in turn derived from the Late Latin taliator, from taliare ("to cut"). The first historical evidence of the surname dates to the County of Somerset, South West England in 1182. "Taylor" is the fourth-most common surname in United Kingdom, fifth-most common in England, the 11th-most common in Scotland and the 22nd-most common in Wales. It is also common in other English-speaking countries (especially Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, where it was the tenth most frequently encountered surname in the 2000 US Census), but has a low incidence in Ireland, where it is mostly concentrated in the North. It is often the anglicized form of the German surname Schneider.
I don't know what route the Taylors and Cagles took from Middle Tennessee to Newton/Searcy County, but likely they crossed the Mississippi at Memphis.
Taylor is a name almost as common as Smith and Jones so it is a hard name to follow. The name came from exactly how it sounds--someone who made clothes! This is from the Wiki site: Taylor is a surname used in the British Isles of French and Latin origin which originated as a Norman occupational surname (meaning tailor) in France It is derived from the Old French tailleaur ("cutter"), which is in turn derived from the Late Latin taliator, from taliare ("to cut"). The first historical evidence of the surname dates to the County of Somerset, South West England in 1182. "Taylor" is the fourth-most common surname in United Kingdom, fifth-most common in England, the 11th-most common in Scotland and the 22nd-most common in Wales. It is also common in other English-speaking countries (especially Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States, where it was the tenth most frequently encountered surname in the 2000 US Census), but has a low incidence in Ireland, where it is mostly concentrated in the North. It is often the anglicized form of the German surname Schneider.
Ardis Taylor wrote
several magazine type books about these Taylor families in the 1980's and
1990's. They are out of print. I have read and have partial copies of some
of her work. I want to dedicate this
little story to some of my Taylor descendant friends: first to Malinda Brown and Susie Tennison--Granny's
little nieces, then to Lou Kilgore who helped me see the big picture by sharing
her cousin DNA file with me, and finally to Steve Ingle who is a fellow
researcher. He made Jeremiah
Standridge's family come alive to me when he sent me copies of photos of the family almost 20
years ago. His grandmother is shared with
Lou--Nancy Cagle and Nancy's mother was Martha Pinetree Cagle. Lastly, I want to dedicate my research to
Rusty Moore who asked me to find out more about his Taylor tribe! So, I went down the Taylor trail!
I am fairly sure these
Taylors were from Surry County, Virginia in the late 1600's and into the
1700's. Surry is near a place we all
know--Jamestown, Virginia. I have not
tried to find the first immigrant as I was far too busy trying to document the
Middle Tennessee families of this story.
From Surry, the Taylors went south in North and South Carolina. During the Revolutionary War, many Taylors
were loyalists and some were "ran out of town" or even strung from a tree because of the
side they chose. Arthur Taylor died in
1781 in the service of our country. This
Arthur Taylor is probably where Pinetree's father got his first name.
In 1652, Surry County
was formed from the portion of James City County south of the James River. For
more than 350 years, Surry County has depended on an agricultural economy. It
has guarded its heritage, including many small towns and 19 sites listed on the
National Register including a landmark occupied in 1676 known as Bacon's Castle
and Chippokes Plantation (now a state park). The Jamestown Ferry provides easy
access to Virginia's Historic Triangle, featuring Jamestown, Williamsburg, and
Yorktown, linked by the National Park Service's Colonial Parkway.
Benjamin T. Taylor was
born in the late 1600's in Surry County, VA.
He lived until after 1740, but his death date is not documented. Researchers say his wife's surname was
Teasley. Two sons of interest to us are
William Taylor and Benjamin T. Taylor Jr.
Most of the families of this era were large. Ten children was actually normal if both
parents lived past 40. Benjamin T. Jr.
and William were not his only children.
Wilson Taylor is thought to be their brother.
Benjamin T Taylor, Jr.
b. in the 1730's in VA or NC, died in 1814 on Sink Creek, Warren Co. TN. He was
granted 200 acres of land in Elbert Co. GA and was on the tax list there in
1800 & 1802. He took up land in TN around 1810. The last name of his wife
is thought to be Watson or Wilder. Ardis
Taylor's husband descends from the William Taylor family. She spent most of her life in North Dakota
researching William and his descendants.
In 1771 William Taylor
was listed on the tax roll in the area where Franklin, Warren and Vance Co. NC
are now located . He received a land grant in GA in the 1780's which had to be
for military service or in some manner of aid during Revolutionary War. No
military service records were found. In 1784, William made an affidavit stating
he was moving his family to Georgia and was presently living in NC
State of Georgia,
Richmond County Personally appeared before us William Taylor and made oath that
he hath a wife and nine children in the state of North Carolina which he
intends shortly to remove into the state and that he never hath taken up any
land in the same either before or since the Revolution. William "X"
Taylor
He received a 600 acre
grant on Cold Water Creek GA in 1788. After his wife's death in 1805, William
and most of his sons moved to Smith Co. TN (now DeKalb) in 1809. William died
there at Indian Creek, TN about 1820.
Taylor, Ardis, "A Few More Taylors", Lisbon, ND: 2003, Volume
IV, p. 88
Below is a speculated
list of William Taylor's children. We
know by the middle 1780's he and Martha had 9 children. After that date, we know he had more children
and we know many of the Hunt family and William Taylor moved to Smith County,
Tennessee. Later they are in Dekalb
County, but did not move. Dekalb was
formed from Smith County. I found a
researcher who believes that William Taylor was a son of Joseph Taylor of New
Jersey. His assumption was drawn from y
DNA results. I agree with Ardis Taylor
that William and Benjamin T. and others were brothers but am inserting the other
opinion here to make it known.
Children of William
Taylor and Martha (Patty) ? Hunt are:
John Taylor, b. Abt.
1766, d. date unknown.
Barzilla Taylor, b.
Abt. 1768, d. date unknown.
Joseph Taylor, b. Abt.
1769, d. date unknown.
George Taylor, b. Abt.
1770, d. date unknown.
Samuel Taylor, b. Abt.
1774, d. date unknown.
William Taylor, Jr., b.
September 07, 1778, d. date unknown.
Henry. Taylor, b. Abt.
1780, d. 1835
Martha A. Taylor, b.
1782, d. date unknown.
Drury Taylor, Sr., b.
1788, Wilkes Co., Georgia171, d. December 06, 1845, Jefferson Co., Illinois171.
James Taylor, b. 1790, d. date unknown.
This is Bluetooth Taylor, son of Joseph listed above and the 2nd husband of Betsy Allen Taylor.
Bluetooth's son David J. Taylor Jr.
Half brother to Hezekiah Allen Taylor
He did not move to AR.
Wilson E. Taylor--son of Bluetooth and Betsy
He was a twin. Betsy's second set of twins.
William's brother
Benjamin T. Taylor Jr. moved to Georgia at the same time. They settled in what is Elbert County,
Georgia. When William left Georgia for
Middle Tennessee, Benjamin moved, too.
Two sons of Benjamin T. Taylor (recorded in Ancestry files) were David
Jacob Taylor and Arthur Taylor. Benjamin
T. Taylor died near Sink Creek in Warren County, TN in 1814. At one time there was a recording of the
estate files, but the courthouse burned.
Children of David Jacob
Taylor and Mary Watson:
Henry Taylor born 1810
in Elbert County, GA;
Ezekiel Wilder Taylor,
Sr. born November 5, 1803 Elbert County, Georgia,
Benjamin T W Taylor b: 1806 in Elbert County,
GA
Jacob P Taylor b: 1807
in Indian Creek, Smith County, TN
William Edward Taylor
b: 1810 in Indian Creek, Smith Co., Tennessee
Daughter One Taylor b:
ABT. 1811 in TN
Drury L Taylor b: ABT. 1814
Barnabas Taylor b: ABT.
1815 in Smith County, TN
Daughter Two Taylor b:
ABT. 1815
John C Taylor b: 19 MAR
1817 in Indian Creek, Smith County, TN
David C Taylor b: 1823
in TN
Captain B. F. Taylor
Son of William Edward and Betsy Allen Taylor
B. F. Taylor when a young man
The Taylor family seems
to be one that "stood for what they thought was right" or maybe they
always thought they were right. If a
dispute arose in families in the past, this is one way to find information about
the family. This happened in the David
Jacob Taylor family. I call this the
case of the snatched note.
"The Case of the
Snatched Note"
Transcribed and
submitted to the Dekalb County Genweb Site by LaVelda Faull of Ky.
In the early 1830's, a
family feud between members of the TAYLOR family in Smith County, Tennessee
(now DeKalb County, Tennessee) resulted in a court case, arrest, and flight
from the State. The records of this case can found in Smith Co, TN Loose Chancery
Papers (Case File No. 1548, Box 31) and in Smith Co., TN Chancery Court
Enrollments 1831-1873 (Microfilm Roll #227).
To the Taylor family
historian, this saga has much human interest as well as humor. In order to
fully understand the events that took place, it is necessary to recall a few
TAYLOR family relationships in that part of Indian Creek, now DeKalb County,
Tennessee. In approximately 1829-30, a daughter of DAVID TAYLOR SR's, whose
first name still remains a mystery, married a young man from Burke County,
North Carolina, named ROBERT GARRETT whose parents and family were "highly
respected in that State". He had apparently moved from North Carolina a
number of years before while still a child. At the time of his marriage to
DAVID TAYLOR's daughter, he was only between the ages of 15 and 20 according to
the census records. His bride was also only about 15 years old. Robert's
parents remained in North Carolina where they were friends and neighbors to a
man named DAVID STROUD. This man was born ca 1777 and was therefore much older
than ROBERT GARRETT and his wife. The 1805 Burke Co., NC list of taxables
records DAVID STROUD, JORDAN STROUD, WILLIAM STROUD, PETER STROUD SR, and PETER STROUD JR living
in Capt Armstrong's District. At the time, the only GARRETT living in Burke
County was a KILLIAN GARRETT enumerated in Joseph Dobson's Company. He was
taxed for 110 acres and may have been ROBERT GARRETT's father. The 1830 census
for Smith County, Tennessee does not record a ROBERT GARRETT, but does list
RICHARD GARRETT and wife living neighbors to DAVID and EZEKIEL Taylor. Also
living nearby were ANDREW ALLEN, HUGH SMITH, RICHAD MCGINNIS, JOEL CHEATHAM,
and several HAYES families. RICHARD and ROBERT GARRETT were apparently one and
the same man.
DAVID TAYLOR SR had a
son named HENRY TAYLOR (born 1801 in Georgia) who married ca 1824 to SARAH
TAYLOR, the daughter of JOHN TAYLOR, son of WILLIAM TAYLOR SR., and nephew of
DAVID. HENRY died young in approximately 1831. His widow then remarried in 1832
to DAVID STROUD of Burke County, North Carolina who had moved to the Indian
Creek area in July of 1831. SARAH (TAYLOR)TAYLOR STROUD had, among others, two
half-brothers named JOHN T. TAYLOR and JOSEPH C. TAYLOR. DAVID TAYLOR SR. ROBERT GARRETT and DAVID
TAYLOR SR had been engaged in a number of cattle and hog drives to the State of
Alabama for the previous four years (since 1828) and usually made about two
drives a year (per Robert's court statement). It might appear that DAVID
TAYLOR, if indeed he did choose sides in this feud, was on the side of his
daughter and her husband. Perhaps he also felt some degree of resentment
towards DAVID STROUD for taking over the family of his deceased son. This, of
course, is only speculation.
The "Case of the
Snatched Note" begins on 16 July 1832 when DAVID STROUD filed a bill of
complaint at the Chancery Court of Smith County in Carthage, Tennessee against
ROBERT GARRETT, Robert's brother HEZEKIAH GARRETT and PETER STROUD. The latter
was DAVID STROUD's nephew. STROUD took out a bond for 500 dollars. His
securities included his two much younger brother-in-laws JOHN T. TAYLOR and
JOSEPH C. TAYLOR, plus JAMES HENDRICKSON and JOEL CHEATHAM. From the court
statements made by DAVID STROUD and the defendant, the sequence of events can
be pieced together.
DAVID STROUD had come
to Tennessee from North Carolina with three negro slaves. At the time of his
arrival, he had no land was anxious to convert the value of his slaves into
land and stock. After much search, he located a tract of land on Caney Fork
which he wished to purchase. Stroud had not seen ROBERT GARRETT since Garrett
was a child in North Carolina, but he was the only person in the area with whom
he was acquainted at the time of his arrival. As David knew Robert's family
well, he agreed to sell his slaves to him at Robert's proposal This was in
April of 1832. STROUD may have already married SARAH TAYLOR by this time.
GARRETT paid off some small debts for STROUD which included $300 to JOSHUA
TAYLOR and $7.00 to EZEKIEL TAYLOR. He then wrote to his brother, HEZEKIAH,
still living in North Carolina, to "buy one of the notes". These
notes were evidently contracts involving the sale of the salves or may have
been debts that GARRETT was to pay for STROUD. Shortly after this, ROBERT left
for North Carolina to "take up the notes of complainant agreeable to the
original contracts". Robert returned to Tennessee after directing his
brother to "buy them and bring them to this country". HEZEKIAH
GARRETT did bring the notes to Smith County and stayed at the home of his
brother and his family.
Some time later,
GARRETT went to DAVID STROUD and said that he could not afford to pay the rest
of what was owed for the slaves and that he wished to cancel the contract. It
appears from the record that Robert still owned him about forty dollars. STROUD
said in his petition that GARRETT was "absent for some time and returned
in company with his brother HEZEKIAH GARRETT and PETER STROUD, nephew of your
orator". Both GARRETT and STROUD gave accounts of the incident in which
the "note" was snatched. This note was evidently the original
contract or agreement between the two men. The note in controversy was
"snatched away' from STROUD at the home of ROBERT GARRETT.
DAVID STROUD gave the
following account:
"HEZEKIAH told your
orator(Stroud) that his brother ROBERT had designs against your orator and that
as a brother he dare not betray him..that if he could get the note to bring him
(GARRETT) they would destroy it, and he would give him a certain grey horse
that belonged to DAVID TAYLOR, Robert's father-in-law, and if HEZEKIAH would
give him aid in the matter, he would also pay him another horse then belonging
to DAVID TAYLOR...said ROBERT at several times sent word to your orator to come
to his house and exchange papers and cancel the contract... (neither) your
orator nor ROBERT could read. GARRETT wished his wife to take the papers and
read it...PETER STROUD came to your orator and said if your orator would go
with him to ROBERT GARRETT's that he would see that no advantage was taken
against him...your orator not suspecting the combination of fraud entered into
between said, ROBERT, HEZEKIAH and PETER, went with said PETER to the house of
said ROBERT....ROBERT agreed at the request of your orator to go to ESQUIRE
HAYES and exchange the papers and cancel the contract as to the negroes....He
(ROBERT) states that he did not believe your orator had the papers and he
wished his wife to look over the papers..in the presence of the three
defendants, the papers were handed to the wife of the said ROBERT who when she
was asked by her husband if that was it (the correct papers), replied it was.
HEZEKIAH immediately snatched the note out of her hand, stepped out of the
house, and made off. Your orator requested that PETER STROUD pursue him and get
the note. PETER followed on but both were absent about three days..PETER(?)
returned and said that the said HEZEKIAH and PETER had gone to the state of
North Carolina taking with him formerly DAVID TAYLOR's great horse.."
ROBERT GARRETT's account
of the incident is as follows:
"In the month of
of August 1832, defendant was lying on his bed when PETER STROUD came and
roused him and HEZEKIAH GARRETT to come and make a settlement about the note as
he wanted his forty dollars At this time complainant(DAVID STROUD) was not
present nor did defendant know he was about the plantation. After PETER STROUD,
HEZEKIAH GARRETT had been there a short time talking about the note, and about
settling it, DAVID TAYLOR rode up to defendant's house and while there remarked
that complainant was lying under a sycamore tree some distance from the house.
Defendant then mentioned to PETER and HEZEKIAH the circumstances and asked them
what it meant. PETER STROUD then went and brought him to the house..."
ROBERT GARRETT denied that the note had been taken by his design.
In 1833, several
depositions were taken from witnesses who all appear to agree that the GARRETTS
were indeed guilty of fraud and theft In May of 1833, a Sheriff's note reads:
"ROBERT GARRETT is not in this county and I am informed he has gone to
North Carolina".
HUGH SMITH was summoned
as a witness but no deposition was recorded in the loose paper files. ANDREW
ALLEN, age 27 (born 1806) gave his deposition on 20 May 1833. He calls DAVID
STROUD - "UNCLE DAVID". Since STROUD himself indicated that GARRETT
was the only one he knew in Smith County, the relationship of ANDREW to DAVID
STROUD remains a mystery. He may have been referred to a relationship through a
TAYLOR connection in some manner, but it is not currently known what that may
have been. ANDREW's wife was LYDIA J. ___ born 1816 in Tennessee. He was the
son of HEZEKIAH ALLEN. ANDREWindicated that sometime before the note was
snatched, HEZEKIAH GARRETT proposed that he buy ANDREW's horse. ANDREW told him
that he would sell him one for cash, but HEZEKIAH said he didn't have any money
and would get a horse from DAVID TAYLOR and ROBERT GARRETT for sntaching the
note from "Uncle David Stroud". Hezekiah told him that he would trade
horses with him before he left the country. ANDREW stated in his deposition
that ROBERT GARRETT, PETER STROUD and HEZEKIAH had not been seen in the area
since and "It is reported that they have run away". HEZEKIAH was seen
by RICHARD MCGINNIS "going towards Warren County riding the grey horse
formerly the property of DAVID TAYLOR who is the father-in-law of ROBERT
GARRETT". RICHARD MCGINNIS, age 50, swore to this on 11 Aug 1832.
Also in August of 1832,
ROBERT GARRETT and his wife (first name again not stated) were brought before
ESQUIRE JOEL CHEATHAM and DAVID WINFREY (age 54) to be tried for robbery and
other misdemeanors. The charge was that they had robbed DAIVD STROUD of a 675
dollar note, and that while MRS. GARRETT was reading it, HEZEKIAH GARRETT
snatched it out of her hand. DAVID
TURNER, age 21, testified to a plan that GARRETT had to frame STROUD. He said
that ROBERT GARRETT had asked him to slip some money into DAVID STROUD's
pocket. ROBERT said that he would take the money and some whiskey to STROUD's
house at night time to frame him. He would pretend to be drunk and fall down on
the floor (asleep). Then, in the dead of night, he would slip the money into a
basket that DAVID had under his bed in which he kept all his papers. The next
morning, GARRETT would go off and get a search warrant to search STROUD's home.
The paper would be found and STROUD would have to give up the note he had for
the Negroes.
A search warrant was
issued, only it was issued for the arrest of GARRETT, his wife, his brother,
and PETER STROUD. This warrant was put into the hands of THOMAS HARPER (age 31)
as an "officer". HARPER went to GARRETT's house and arrested him and
his wife. However, before he was allowed into the house, HEZEKIAH and PETER hid
under the floorboards of the cabin. They were let out by Robert's negro woman.
HEZEKIAH GARRETT drew a knife on HARPER who decided he had better go get more
help. He stated that as he was leaving, he "heard ROBERT GARRETT call out
to the other boys that HARPER was going for a stronger guard and to clear themselves
out". Evidently when the law returned, PETER and HEZEKIAH had escaped. HARPER called upon JOHN
HAYES (age 40) to help guard the defendants (ROBERT and his wife), while
holding them in custody at their home, ROBERT GARRETT pointed up on a mountain
and said "the boys" were there and he had taken them a whiskey or two
that he must go and take them some more. Then GARRETT's wife spoke up and said
that she had "sent or took" HEZEKIAH and PETER some "victuals
and bed clothes" and that she would do the same again if they needed it.
From the record, it is
not clear what happened after this. In May of 1833, the Sheriff noted that all
the GARRETTS and PETER STROUD had left the country and gone to North Carolina.
I think it is possible that they went west towards Missouri, Illinois or
Arkansas instead. Robert and his wife, dau. of DAVID TAYLOR SR, had a baby
daughter named BETSY born in 1831 in Indian Creek. She evidently stayed there
or perhaps came back later as she married JOHN C. TAYLOR, her first cousin. It
appears that she was living in the household of DAVID TAYLOR and was mentioned
in his will. He may have raised her. The 1850 census of DeKalb County lists a
PETER GARRETT (born 1837) and ROBERT GARRETT (born 1839) in the household of
WILLIAM and ELIZA TAYLOR. These two boys were born in Missouri. Were they also
sons of DAVID TAYLOR's daughter?
A search of Smith
County records revealed no deeds for either Robert Garrett or David Stroud.
DeKalb county records revealed two deeds for DAVID STROUD dated 1839 and 1851.
There were no deeds to show what land he had acquired in 1832. The two deeds
located in DeKalb are:
Deed Book D p 89-90, 21
Dec 1839
JOHN FISH to DAVID
STROUD, for $150, 200 acres, survey dated 14 April 1838, Camp Branch of Indian
Creek, adjoining the conditional line between JOHN FISH and BENJAMIN TAYLOR
Wit: JOHN C. (his mark)
TAYLOR, FARIS (his mark) TAYLOR.
Deed Book D p 328, 7
July 1851
DAVID STROUD to GEORGE
A. EVANS, for $300, land on Indian Creek purchased of JOHN FISH Survey No 6708.
Wit: T. WHALEY, S. B.
WHALEY
From the Case we
learn--David Taylor had a daughter who married Robert Garrett. David Taylor's son Henry married Sarah
Taylor, his cousin. Henry died and
Sarah Taylor Taylor married David Stroud, who was much older than she. David Stroud called David Taylor Uncle so he
may have been related to the Taylor or Watson family. David Taylor left a will in Dekalb County,
Tennessee. This story also ties the
William Taylor family to the David Jacob Taylor family by marriage.
Martha Isabell
"Pinetree" Taylor's Family
Martha Isabell Pinetree Taylor and Henry Edward Cagle
Pinetree in old age. Descendants say she smoked a pipe.
From the cousin DNA of
Steve Ingle's mother and her 3 sisters and the DNA of Lou Kilgore, I found
connections to Arthur Taylor's children and Martha Cagle (I am going to call
her Pinetree in this document as that was a name her family used for her). Your DNA is best described as a two big fruit salads. One of the salads if filled with your
father's DNA and the other your mother's.
Each child gets a big dipper of DNA from each fruit salad. The DNA of siblings will be very similar, but
not identical. Only identical twins get
the same DNA. So at Ancestry, I had 4
DNA cousin matches to sort through and I am POSITIVE that Pinetree was the
daughter of Arthur Taylor. I know Arthur
was closely related to David, William and Benjamin T. Taylor. Arthur is young enough to be a son of William
and William has one son missing, but I believe he is the son of Benjamin T.
Taylor and William is his uncle. I
believe that David Jacob Taylor and Arthur Taylor are brothers. I have not yet tried to connect the older
Taylors in the DNA results I have access to but I will follow through on this
endeavor. First, I wanted to share
Pinetree's family with her descendants.
Arthur Taylor was born
in North Carolina and removed to the area of Elbert County, GA with William and
Benjamin T. Taylor. More of the Taylor
clan went to Georgia. I have only
looked for information on William and Benjamin T. William started selling his 600 acres of land
not long after he received it. Benjamin
had a grant there, also. The area they
lived was on the Savannah River. The
land was low and swampy, covered with water part of the year. Around 1809, the Taylors became leaving
Georgia for Tennessee. Benjamin settled
on Sink Creek which was in Warren County, Tennessee. William was on Indian Creek in Smith County,
later Dekalb County. By 1814, Benjamin
died and he did leave papers, but they were destroyed when that court house
burned. The Taylors are found in
different counties near Warren and Smith, but they did not move, the counties
changed. As settlers fill an area, big
counties are divided into smaller ones mainly because the residents did not
want to travel a long distance to record deeds, marriages and such at the court
house.
The first record I have
found for Arthur Taylor is a marriage record in 1802 in Georgia where he
married Sarah Williams. Some of the
children attached to him were born before 1802. I am
positive that the two older children are his.
DNA matches were found to both.
Sometimes, a couple married in these olden times and it was not recorded
so they repeat the marriage for legality purposes. Arthur could have had a first wife and Sarah
could be his second wife. His children
stayed near him. Maybe this question
will be answered as Arthur is researched.
Arthur and his family are listed on the 1820 and 1830 Warren County,
Tennessee censuses. From these, his
birth is set at circa 1775.
1820 Warren County,
Tennessee Census for Arthur Taylor's family
Name
Arthur Taylor
Enumeration Date
August 7, 1820
Free White Persons -
Males - Under 10 2
Free White Persons -
Males - 10 thru 15 1
Free White Persons -
Males - 45 and over 1
Free White Persons -
Females - Under 10 2
Free White Persons -
Females - 10 thru 15 1
Free White Persons -
Females - 26 thru 44 1
Number of Persons -
Engaged in Agriculture 1
Free White Persons -
Under 16 6
Free White Persons -
Over 25 2
Total Free White
Persons
8
Total- White, Slaves,
Colored, Other 8
This tells us that
Arthur and his wife are between the ages
of 26 and 44. They have 6 children. One son is between 10-15; two boys are under
10. One daughter is between 10-15 and
two girls are under 10 years of age. Neighbors who have names I recognize are
Jacob Cagle, Thomas Word, Charles (Cagle?) last name ink blocked, Nancy Taylor
lives about a dozen houses away with no husband and a very large family.
1830 Warren County
Census For Arthur Taylor's family
One male between 10-14,
one male 50-59, One female 10-14, one female 15-19, one female between
50-59! There are 5 in the
household. Three of the children from
the 1820 census have married and moved to their own homes.
John L. Brown lives one
house away from Arthur. He married Sarah
Taylor and they have one daughter , Celia, born in 1828. Lemuel Hogan Wright married Priscilla
Taylor. Willis Taylor is married to
Martha Elizabeth Word before 1820.
George William Taylor is married to Lavinia Wright by 1830. Martha Isabell Pinetree Taylor and her
brother David Taylor are still living with their parents. They would be the male and female 10-14. This leaves a daughter that I have not found
who was born between 1811-1815 and any children who like Willis were already
married in 1820. Willis and Betsy Word
Taylor are listed on the same page as Arthur in 1820 with 5 in their
family. Lemuel Wright is listed but it
looks like he is living with a aged female is in not married in 1820.
By 1840, Arthur Taylor
is deceased. In Franklin County,
Tennessee--we find Henry Cagle with Pinetree.
A daughter under 5 years old and an older (60-70 years) woman (likely
Sarah Williams Taylor) lives with them.
David Taylor is next door and George William Taylor lives next. Other Taylors within a few houses are: Robert and Alfred Taylor. They could be more sons of Arthur Taylor.
Ten years later, Henry
Cagle and David Cagle are still side by side in Franklin County,
Tennessee. David lists his birth in 1815
and Pinetree says she was born in 1818.
In Henry's family the children are:
Nancy, Susanna, Rebecca, Charles, Sally Ann, and Henry Carson
Cagle. David has a wife Mary. His children are: Elizabeth, Nancy, Willis, Susanna, William,
Vinney, and Sally Ann. George William is
listed only a few houses away. He gives
Georgia as his place of birth in 1803. His wife is listed as Laina (I think her
name was Lavinia). She is two years
older than he. Her maiden name was
Wright. His children are: Eliza, Samuel, Nancy, John B. Hickman, Arthur
J., Martha N., Sarah, and Elizabeth.
Nancy Lebo age 74 is living with George.
I do not know who she is.
Sarah Taylor Brown and
her husband John L. Brown are also living near the others in Franklin County,
Tennessee. They have nine children in
the home. Willis Taylor and Priscilla
Taylor Wright are still in Warren County, Tennessee. They both have large families. I do know not where Alfred and Robert Taylor
are in 1850 and I don't know if they are sons of Arthur. After 1850, I cannot find David Taylor.Summing
up what we know about Arthur Taylor. He
was born about 1770 in North Carolina or Virginia, son of Benjamin T. Taylor
Jr. He was likely a brother David
Taylor and a nephew to William Taylor who lived in Dekalb County, TN. Dekalb County and Warren County join. Arthur married Sarah Williams in Warren
County, GA in 1802. Two of the children
that are connected to Arthur were born before that date: Willis Taylor was born 1795-1797 and
Priscilla Taylor was born March 29, 1799 in Georgia. George William Taylor was born 1803 in
Georgia. Sarah Taylor was born June 16,
1808 in Georgia. David Taylor was born
about 1813 and Pinetree about 1815. On
the 1850 census, they list their birth state as Tennessee. From the birth dates, it is easy to see that
there may have been more children. The
1830 census even lists a daughter younger than Pinetree!
More DNA data! Steve Ingle had his mother's DNA tested plus
all her sisters as he like Lou Kilgore had heard all his life that Pinetree was
Native American. All the tests show negative! So he had his mother's mitochrondia DNA
categorized. Mitochrondia DNA is passed
from mother to child. So through mothers
it can go back in time to see what Haplo group a person's original mother. Steve's mother's mother was Mae Arizona Smith
and Mae's mother was Nancy Isabell Standridge.
Nancy's mother was Nancy Cagle.
Nancy's mother was Pinetree Taylor and Pinetree's mother was Sarah
Williams. Brian Sykes wrote a book about
the groups of mothers. It is called the
Seven Daughters of Eve. All
Mitochrondria DNA goes back to the cradle of history--the Nile River
Valley. Steve's mother's group was J
which is European. The exact label of
her MtDNA is J1C2B because as more research is completed the groups are
divided. So if there is Cherokee or
other native heritage it is not through Sarah Williams' mother as her MtDNA is
J for Jasmine.
To explain the
"Tangled Taylors", the next family I am going to discuss is the Allen
family of Dekalb County, Tennessee.
Hezekiah Allen was born in 1775 in Stokes, North Carolina. He married
Martha Elizabeth Fereby Lawson in 1795 in Stokes, North Carolina, and died on
March 6, 1838, in DeKalb, Tennessee, at the age of 63. His children include: Mary Ann Allen Page, Hugh Joseph Allen, Jane
Allen Page, Andrew Allen, William Blakely Allen, Alfred Allen, Elizabeth
"Betsy Allen Taylor, Elijah Allen, and Hezekiah Allen Junior. If we
explored all the above children, many interrelationships with the Taylor family
would appear. Two of his daughters
married men of the Page family. Jane
Allen married Jacob Page and their daughter Malinda Page married Arewine
Yates. Their daughter Betsy Allen
married first William Edward Taylor and second David Jacob
"Bluetooth" Taylor. As a side
note of information, "The name Bluetooth used to identify David J. Taylor,
Sr. The story is that one day while he was trying to make a yoke for a team of
oxen the piece of wood that he was
bending to make the curved part that went under the neck, slipped and hit him
in the mouth, knocking one of his teeth loose. The tooth eventually died and
turned dark, and the name 'Bluetooth' became his replacing the 'Jake' he had
been called prior to this. Bluetooth
raised horses and there eventually became a bloodline of horses called the
Bluetooth horses. There was also a hollow on Indian Creek called Bluetooth Hollow."
Children of Jane Allen
Page and Betsy Allen Taylor came to Newton/Searcy County with Pinetree's
family. Pinetree may have been related
to the Yates, Pages, or Allens. We
learned in the snatched note law suit, the members of this family called David
Taylor (brother of Arthur Taylor) Uncle David.
I do not know how the families were related.
Malinda Page (daughter
of Jacob and Jane Allen Page) married Arewine Yates in 1837. Arewine Yates was born September 15, 1815 and
died June 09, 1886 in Richland Creek, Newton County, Arkansas with burial in
Richland Cemetery, Newton County, Arkansas.
He and Malinda Page Yates came to Arkansas with the Henry Edward Cagle family about 1855. Henry bought 40 acres
of land near Richland, AR. Arewine first
lived in Searcy County, but soon bought land and moved near the Taylors. The Yates children include: Mary Ann, Lorenzo Dow, Sarah Jane (Susie and
Malinda's Great Grandmother), Elvira, Alexander, Artemissa, Parilee, George Washington, Amanda. Births occuring
from 1839 until about 1860. Arewine
Yates served in the Union Army during the Civil War. He drew a pension for his service. Malinda Page Yates lived until 1902 and is
buried in McCutcheon Cemetery. When
they came to Arkansas, none of their children were married. Elizabeth "Betsy" Allen Taylor was
Malinda Page's Aunt.
Arewine and Malinda Page Yates
Betsy Allen was born in
1816 (one of Hezekiah Allen's younger children) and died in 1902. She married first William Edward Taylor, son
of David Jacob Taylor who was a relative of Arthur Taylor. Betsy and William Taylor had a large family
and in 1844 he unexpectedly passed away. One story says he was in the service of his
country. It would have to have been the
Mexican War. Their children were: Daniel P. Taylor (1831), David Carroll Taylor
(1832-1863), Garrison Greenwood Taylor, Nancy B. Taylor, Martha Taylor
(1836-1911), Hezekiah Allen Taylor (1836-1864) Rusty Moore's Grandfather,
Benjamin Franklin Taylor (1839-1897), Barnabas and Ezekial Wilder Taylor (twins
born in 1842, both died in 1862, Civil War Casualties). So Betsy had nine children and the youngest
two were twins. Shortly after William
Edward Taylor's death, Betsy married David "Bluetooth" Taylor. I don't know their marriage date but by 1847
they have a child together. He was the son of Joseph Taylor who was the son of
William Taylor. William Taylor is likely
the uncle of Arthur Taylor. Bluetooth had been married twice before to Turner
sisters who had both died. The last wife
died in childbirth. William Edward
Taylor's brother Ezekial Wilder Taylor went to court and took custody of his
brothers' children. The 1850 Dekalb
County census finds all of the boys living with William Edward Taylor's family
excepting one of the twins. The Taylors
again got in a big ruckus. Guess they
did not want Betsy marrying Bluetooth.
Who knows what happened. Betsy
and Bluetooth remained together the rest of their lives and had a large family
of "more tangled" Taylors!
Their children include: David
Jacob Taylor (1847-1918), William Edward Taylor (1848-1883), Wilson E. Taylor
(1848-1931), Lucretia Taylor (1851-1925), and John Bethel "Turkey
John" Taylor (1854-1941). Several of Betsy's children were on the 1855
wagon train to Arkansas.
Joseph Taylor (father
of Bluetooth) had a brother named Henry Taylor (1776-1835). In 1830, Henry Taylor is living next door to
Hezekiah Allen. Henry Taylor married
Edith "Beadie" Watson in DeKalb County, Tennessee or Georgia. Henry's parents
were William Taylor and Martha Patty
Hunt. A list of his children include:
William C, Wilson, Elizabeth J, Abraham Perry, John W, Pharies L
(Farris), Jasper, Jacob P, Jessie W, Sarah, and
Mary Lucinda Taylor. Ferris married Martha Jane Drewry about 1840 in
Dekalb. By 1850, Ferris is in Dade
County, Missouri and Searcy County, Arkansas in 1860. The children of Henry Taylor are not really
substantiated. Some of his sons died in the Mexican War and one died by being
hit by lightning while riding a black horse.
The Henry Taylor family and the David Jacob Taylor family were very
close. They signed notes, named children
honoring the other's family, and traveled to the new lands of Arkansas
together. They may have married sisters
but the family connections are not proven.
In 1854 or 1855, Henry
Cagle's family, Benjamin Franklin Taylor, Hezekiah Allen Taylor, Barabas
Taylor, Arewine Yate's family, and perhaps others left middle Tennessee for the
hills of Arkansas. The trip would not be
nearly as difficult as the one Pinetree's family took to Oregon Territory. By this date, a trail was established. The group probably came across lower
Tennessee crossing into Arkansas near Memphis then heading north toward Newton
and Searcy County. Henry Cagle have
already bought his small farm near Richland.
The Taylor boys settled in Searcy County near Witts Spring and
Snowball. The Arewine Yates family
settled first near the Taylors. By
looking at the Searcy County Census for 1860 we can identify several families
that removed from middle Tennessee including: Ferris Taylor's family, David
Carroll Taylor, three Taylor boys that came with the Yates and Cagles, Joseph
Drewry (remember Ferris Taylor married a Drewry), Thomas Jefferson Taylor,
Isaac Snow, Eliza Stewart, Arewine Yates, Allen Page, and Samuel Page (likely
brothers of Malinda Page Yates). The
families settled down in neighborhoods, built homes, planted crops, and put down
roots! But by 1862, civil unrest came to
Arkansas. The ruling party of Arkansas
supported the south. Many of the
mountain families just wanted to stay out of the conflict. The Taylor family had a history of being in
the military. They served in every war
until this time. The Taylors quickly
took sides and they were pro union.
Arkansas' Governor Rector ordered Samuel Leslie to get control of the
militant men of Searcy County, AR. The
Arkansas Peace Society was a loose affiliation of local anti-Confederate groups
that formed in response to Arkansas’s secession from the Union. These groups
operated like secret societies in several north Arkansas counties until late in
1861, when local militias and the Confederate government of the state began
carrying out large-scale arrests of perceived traitors in the region. According
to Arkansas historian Thomas A. DeBlack, they formed a network whose members
recognized each other by means of codes: a yellow ribbon on a fencepost, or the
phrase “It’s a dark night,” answered with “Not so dark as it will be before
morning.” The Arkansas Peace Society was
quickly broken up, though north Arkansas contributed approximately ninety
percent of soldiers from the state who fought for the Union.
From the Arkansas
Democrat Gazette--Unionists grew more fearful of their neighbors after hearing
stories of anti-secessionists being murdered in Pope and St. Francis counties
and being driven off their farms. The situation grew much worse when the
Confederate forces began raising military units throughout Arkansas, including
the uplands. One Searcy County man who was coerced into joining a Confederate
infantry company commented on the stark situation: “I had my choice to go with
Co K, 14th Arkansas [Confederate] or look up a limb to be hanged on.”
In April 1862, the
Confederate Congress made military service mandatory for males between 18 and
35 years of age. This drove most of the remaining Unionists underground, with
some men hiding in the caves that dotted the Ozarks. Others fled to the
protection of the Union army in Missouri.
No one knows how the
first peace society was organized, but it was clear that Unionists faced a dire
situation. This was especially true for families whose men had left to join the
Union army. The peace societies offered hope that Unionists could look after
each other by sharing food, providing temporary housing for Unionists whose
homes had been burned, and assisting Unionists who decided to leave for
Missouri or Kansas.
Years after the war,
Benjamin G. Watts of Searcy County recalled the vulnerability he and other
Unionists felt when “feeling[s] became intensified” and local Confederates
organized militia units. “The members of this organization [the militia] were
in the main our former neighbors and [they] knew all the Union men in the
county.”
Watts continued: “We
had no place of meeting but pledged ourselves to avoid Confederate service and
to protect the families of those who were forced to quit the country or to go
to the [federal] service.” Watts recalled that many of his neighbors joined a
peace society. “I took the pledge at a house raising and several others went in
at the same time.”
Peter A. Tyler, a
resident of Tyler Bend on the Buffalo River, swore in 32 new members. Jehoida
J. Ware recruited members even while representing Fulton County in the
Confederate state legislature.
The peace societies
were not highly structured, but it is known that a variety of means were used
to identify other members. A specific tip of the hat or the placement of
certain fingers alongside the nose signaled one’s membership. Upon leaving his
home, a member was supposed to attach a yellow ribbon to a door or window so
that “if a friend or Northern Army came along that property & family would
not be molested.”
It is a miracle that
the peace societies lasted as long as they did. Their discovery and suppression
began in Van Buren County, on Nov. 17, 1861, when local vigilantes in Clinton
started arresting men who were believed to belong to a secret anti-Confederate
organization. It did not take long before Confederate vigilantes and home guard
companies in Fulton and Izard counties began arresting peace society members.
Soon attention turned to Searcy County—a stronghold of stubborn and loyal
unionists.
The first arrests of
peace society members in Searcy County occurred in Locust Township, an area
which today is part of Stone County. Organizing the roundup was Col. Samuel
Leslie, head of the Arkansas militia in Searcy County and the namesake of the
town of Leslie.
Within days a total of
30 prisoners were taken to Burrowville, the original name for Marshall, the
Searcy County seat, where they were kept under guard in the county courthouse.
After the arrival of more prisoners, measles broke out, which also infected
some of the guards. Local authorities decided to move the prisoners to Little
Rock.
It was a cold Dec. 9,
1861, when 77 peace society members were chained together by the necks and
forced to commence a march to the state capital under an armed guard. Although
it was claimed that the prisoners were restrained for their own safety, the act
of chaining the men like slaves was deeply insulting to the prisoners. end of Democrat article
Hezekiah Allen Taylor
by 1860 was married to Arewine Yate's daughter Sarah Jane. They lived in northern Pope County just south
of where Benjamin resided. He was 22 and Sarah only 18. This was before with
their two sons and a daughter Malinda were born. By 1860, Benjamin Franklin Taylor was married
to Mary Wortman and has two daughters.
Benjamin Franklin and Hezekiah Allen Taylor were members of the Peace Society. They were arrested and placed in a cattle pens near Burrowsville (Marshall, AR). On December 9, 1861 they were among the men chained by twos by the neck and marched a foot to Little Rock, AR. Armed guards rode horses and prodded the men in the cold, wet trek. When the prisoners reached the Capitol they were given a choice--join the Confederate Army or be shot. Most joined, but like the two mountain Taylor boys they soon deserted! Benjamin Franklin Taylor because the leader of a Union regiment in Northern Arkansas. Hezekiah Allen Taylor and his brother Barnabas died in a skirmish in 1862, but the year may be in error as the two skirmishes on Richland occured in 1864. Malinda and Suzie's Grandmother Sarah Jane Yates Taylor was a widow at 20 years of age. Arewine Yates joined the Union Army. Sarah Jane and the rest of the family likely fled to Richland Creek where Henry Cagle and Pinetree lived. Henry Cagle joined the Confederate Army. His son Charles fought with the Union. Jeremiah Standridge lived neighbors to the Cagles. He and almost every single Standridge chose the USA for allegiance. The men of Richland went to War or hid in the caves and hollows! Only women remained in the little cabins. They became close like sisters joining together to survive.
Benjamin Franklin and Hezekiah Allen Taylor were members of the Peace Society. They were arrested and placed in a cattle pens near Burrowsville (Marshall, AR). On December 9, 1861 they were among the men chained by twos by the neck and marched a foot to Little Rock, AR. Armed guards rode horses and prodded the men in the cold, wet trek. When the prisoners reached the Capitol they were given a choice--join the Confederate Army or be shot. Most joined, but like the two mountain Taylor boys they soon deserted! Benjamin Franklin Taylor because the leader of a Union regiment in Northern Arkansas. Hezekiah Allen Taylor and his brother Barnabas died in a skirmish in 1862, but the year may be in error as the two skirmishes on Richland occured in 1864. Malinda and Suzie's Grandmother Sarah Jane Yates Taylor was a widow at 20 years of age. Arewine Yates joined the Union Army. Sarah Jane and the rest of the family likely fled to Richland Creek where Henry Cagle and Pinetree lived. Henry Cagle joined the Confederate Army. His son Charles fought with the Union. Jeremiah Standridge lived neighbors to the Cagles. He and almost every single Standridge chose the USA for allegiance. The men of Richland went to War or hid in the caves and hollows! Only women remained in the little cabins. They became close like sisters joining together to survive.
Hezekiah Allen
"called Bill" Taylor died during a skirmish along Richland Creek;
thus, it was either in December 1863 or May 1864 and buried in a field in front
of a cabin on the Ozark Highland Trail and the field is owned by Lunce
Cash"(Searcy Co.AR). This area is now part of the National Forest.
Skirmish on Richland
December 1863
On December 16, 1863,
Captain John I. Worthington of Company H, First Arkansas Cavalry (US), left Fayetteville
(Washington County) to scout Carroll, Marion, and Searcy counties looking for
bands of Confederate guerrillas. Company H was recruited from Arkansas refugees
in Missouri, and one third of them were from Searcy County. Capt. Worthington’s
scouting party had 112 men from his own company and one gun from the howitzer
battery under Lieutenant Robert M. Thompson, attached to the First Arkansas.
Worthington’s scouting
party reached Carrollton (Carroll County) on December 19 and skirmished with
Confederate bushwhackers. On December 22, they marched to William P. Stroud’s
Store near Marshall’s Prairie in southeastern Carroll County (now in
southeastern Boone County) after dispersing and breaking up the small
Confederate bands in Carroll County. Worthington reported that he killed eleven
Rebels and had two of his own soldiers wounded.
The Federals resumed
their march from Stroud’s Store at daybreak on December 23 toward Yellville
(Marion County) and were almost immediately attacked within a quarter of a mile
by Captain Marshall’s force, estimated by Worthington to be between 200 and 300
strong. Worthington dismounted seventy-five men and attacked, routed, and
pursued Marshall’s men through the brush for five miles, scattering the men in
every direction. Apparently Worthington’s men camped at Yellville the night of
December 23 and, on December 24, took up the march to Searcy County.
Capt. Marshall’s men
regrouped and, with other Confederates, shadowed the Federals as they chopped
the way for their cannon over a primitive track from Yellville across the
Buffalo River and across Point Peter Mountain to Richland Valley in western
Searcy County. They camped on the west bank of Richland Creek about two miles
south of the Buffalo River. On December 25, Worthington sent out two scouting
parties under Lieutenant Lawson D. Jernegan, which were attacked and driven in
by the reinforced Confederates. Missourians Major Louis M. Gunning, coming from
Yellville, and Colonel Thomas H. Freeman, marching from Izard County, had augmented
the Rebels under Capt. Marshall and Searcy County’s Captain James H. Love’s
company of irregulars. The Federals had four killed, including Searcy County
resident Private John Forehand, and four wounded, including Lt. Jernegan. Two
were reported taken prisoner and killed. Two were wounded, left in Searcy
County, and later died, including Richland resident Private Larkin L. Hendrix.
At 3:00 p.m., the
Confederates approached Worthington under a flag of truce and requested a
suspension of hostilities until daylight the next morning to bury the dead,
care for the wounded, and exchange prisoners. The Federal captain denied the
long suspension, but he granted an hour-and-a-half suspension to recover the
wounded and bury the dead. The Federal wounded were held by the Confederates
and skirmishing recommenced. At dark, a Confederate. force estimated at about
200 tried to capture the howitzer that was located on a small spur of Horn
Mountain west of and overlooking fields bordering Richland Creek. Lieutenant Robert
M. Thompson, commanding the howitzer, double-shotted the cannon and fired it
into the charging Confederates, killing many and foiling the attempt. A
cannonball from this repulse remained in a nearby tree until the 1930s.
Worthington learned
that Maj. Gunning and Capt. Marshall were encamped a mile downriver from him
and that Col. Freeman’s men were two and a half miles upriver and intended to
attack him at daybreak on December 26. The Federals immediately assumed the
offensive and attacked Gunning and Marshall at 8:00 p.m. After fighting ten or
fifteen minutes, the Confederates withdrew, with fourteen killed and between
thirty and forty wounded, Worthington estimated. The whole Rebel force fell
back during the night to Clapper’s Mill, then in Carroll County (now Boone
County), and the Federals returned to Fayetteville through Newton County,
arriving on December 31. Worthington reported a loss of four killed and six
wounded. Worthington’s superior Major Thomas J. Hunt reported six killed and
seven or eight wounded. Federal service records state that three were killed in
action, two killed after surrendering, and two left wounded on Richland Creek
who later died. Two casualties were from Searcy County.
There are no accurate
figures for total Confederate casualties. Mid-afternoon on December 25,
Worthington heard that Confederate casualties were nine killed and five
wounded. Henry Cole of Captain Love’s band was wounded, taken to a nearby house
where his uncle Dr Samuel Cole treated him, and nursed back to health by his
new wife in a remote cave, safe from Union guerrillas. Fellow Richland resident
Private Larkin L. Hendrix, Company H, First Arkansas Cavalry, was also
seriously wounded on December 25 and was taken to a cave near his relatives,
but he died on January 10, 1864.
A forty-man detachment
from Company M, Second Arkansas Cavalry (US), was also in Searcy County on
December 25 and within ten miles of Capt. Worthington during his engagements,
but could not join him. The next day, this detachment had an affair near
Burrowville—now Marshall (Searcy County)—with some of the local Confederates
who had been in the December 25 fight. Captain Giles M. Wright, an officer in
James H. Love’s command, was pursued by the Second Arkansas. After they wounded
his horse, they caught him near Lebanon on Bear Creek and shot him eight times.
They left him lying near Spout Spring and returned to Lebanon and took
Lieutenant John M. Hensley of Love’s company prisoner at his home. Wright was
buried in the cemetery in Burrowville. Hensley died on April 9, 1864, in the
Gratiot Street Prison Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. The Second Arkansas
scouting party returned to Berryville (Carroll County) before January 18, 1864,
when Colonel John E. Phelps made his report. Brigadier General John B. Sanborn,
reporting on this scouting mission, wrote that six Rebels were killed, four
wounded, and sixteen taken prisoner.
Richland Creek May 1864
May was a pivotal month
in Arkansas. Rebels gained a momentum as Federals fell back from Arkansas
Valley and Red River due to defeats and the Federals fell back into southern
Missouri due to forage problems in northern Arkansas. The Buffalo River region continued
to experience Federal and Rebel presence and movements.
May began with Rebels
reported in the Huntsville area. However, on May 3 Rebels attacked and
destroyed a Federal forage train on Richland Creek. Forage in north central
Arkansas was an increasing problem since Federals arrived in January, but was
worse in southern Missouri. General Sanborn noted that he had half his stock in
Arkansas grazing and received his forage from Rolla, but also noted that the
grass in southern Missouri was growing and provided some feed for horses.
The search for forage
more than anything dictated the direction and objectives of Federal scouts.
Richland Valley, noted for its agricultural bounty, once again lured Federals
into an attack by opportune rebels. Following this attack, Federal troops began
pulling back into the border region of Missouri.
The Official Records
report that after crossing the Buffalo, the advanced guard, escort, and
train-rearguard were separated when Jackman attacked down from Point Peter
Mountain. The location of the advance guard, giving accounts from oral
histories and James Johnston, seem to have been where the Point Peter-Snowball
Road joins with the Richland Valley Road near Hall school and the cemetery.
This point is about ¾ mile from the Campbell-Wasson ford where oral history
claims that the Federal wagon train was burned. The Maddox account claims that
the Federals moved up the valley from the main body about ¾ of a mile when they
saw the Rebels coming down the mountain. If the advance guard was about ¾ mile
ahead of the train on the other (east or south) side of Wasson Ford, then where
was the escort? They may have been on the same side of Richland Creek as the
advance guard, but a little north of Hall School, thus separated by the creek from
the train and separated by distance from the advance guard and by the quickly
advancing Jackman. The escort came under attack as well, but upon finding the
advance guard wiped out, they escaped, leaving the wagon trains behind. The
Maddox account claims that the Confederates, after destroying the train, went
into camp at the mouth of Dry Branch, one mile up the Richland Valley. The
junction of the Richland Valley and Snowball roads was about one mile from Dry
Branch camp.
Jackman claimed to have
spotted the Federal wagons from two and a half miles away from the top of Point
Peter. Jackman either spotted the trains while he was rounding the old Point
Peter Road near the mouth of Richland and the train was nearing Christy Ford,
or Jackman was in Point Peter (the Snowball Road) watching the wagons crossing
the Buffalo. The second choice is unlikely since he had to travel at least 12
miles to get to this point, while the Federals crossed the Buffalo in the
morning of the same day.
What is significant is
that Col. Phelps’ follow up attack on the 5th ended when he could not pursue
the enemy due to the bad conditions of his horses. This was no doubt true given
other correspondence between Phelps and Col. Sanborn. In addition, Phelps
marched all night (May 4) to attack Jackman on the morning of May 5.
General Sanborn
pondered what to do with the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry. He suggested either moving
the troops south of the Boston Mountains and reassigning them to the Department
of Arkansas or keeping them north in Missouri. But, he mentioned that without
this force he could not operate in northern Arkansas. Sanborn opted to pull his
troops back to Cassville, Mo., Berryville, Ark., and Forsyth, Mo., where
apparently, forage along the White River had improved with spring growth. Major
Murphy at Yellville was ordered back to Cassville while Col. Phelps was advised
to fall back on Berryville and Forsyth.
A point of importance
in late April and throughout May concerned the advance of Rebels back into
Arkansas with the retreat of Federals following the Red River defeat and near
escape. On May 12, Governor Murphy of Arkansas wrote President Lincoln that
with the retreat and defeat of Banks and Steele, Little Rock was threatened.
Unless help came, “all will be lost.”
Indeed, Federals were
retreating. The Batesville garrison was to evacuate to Jacksonport. The Federal
commander cited forage reasons for the move, claiming that all north central
Arkansas was exhausted of forage and no enemy could subsist there. Yet, General
Sanborn notified Col. Phelps that some good grazing could be found on Huzzah
and Sugar Loaf Prairies in Arkansas. Huzzah Prairie is just southeast of
Harrison and Sugar Loaf is northeast of Harrison and northwest of Yellville.
This is contradictory in that the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry had been stationed near
there for four months and was compelled to move back north due to lack of
forage. However, since the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry’s departure, green grass had
apparently sprung up enough to provide some kind of sustenance. Sanborn
cautioned Phelps to take his time in falling back to his new posts. He was to
bring everything with him, driving out any abandoned stock ahead of him.
Sanborn cautioned
Phelps to keep a strong lookout for Rebel groups coming north, since General Price
followed up General Steele’s retreat to Little Rock. Rebel cavalry was likely
to work its way north. Although Sanborn comments that no Rebel force could
subsist in northern Arkansas, he ordered Phelps to put out scouts well to the
south. Thus, the Buffalo River region likely remained under Federal eyes even
though the high tide of Federal presence was subsiding.
In mid-May, Federal
commanders noted that the northern two tiers of counties in Arkansas were
rapidly depopulated and becoming “wilderness,” while refugees flocked north to
inhabit southern Missouri counties. More than 3500 refugees from Marion and
Searcy counties in Arkansas were reported crossing the White river at Forsyth
in three or four days.
Confederates began
besieging Union posts at Little Rock and Alexandria, Louisiana, but were
limited by the lack of sufficient ammunition and forage. However, Rebel forces
moved across the Arkansas River into the Boston Mountains with orders to fill
up their ranks by calling in absentees, conscripting, and arresting deserters
for mandatory service. General Price was to prepare for an invasion into
Missouri, reinforced by Rebel troops in the Red River theater. Everyone between
16 and 50 years of age was forced into service. Unorganized guerilla bands were
to be broken up and forced to consolidate. Union commanders expected the Rebels
to move north as Col. Phelps captured Rebel orders and papers in his
counterattack in Richland Valley on May 5.
Sanborn informed Col.
Harrison in Fayetteville that at that moment (May 17) no large force of Rebels
occupied north Arkansas. Sanborn suggested organizing home guards while time
permitted. All the country “north of the Buffalo Fork is desolated.” Harrison
informed Sanborn of an increase of Rebel guerillas east and south of
Fayetteville. Lt. Col Cameron led a detachment to Richland Valley on May 17th.
The camp of Lt. Col.
Cameron on the night of May 17 was at Woolum, on the north side of the Buffalo
River opposite Richland Creek. The locations of R.W. Robertson’s and Mrs.
Hendrix houses are uncertain, but likely south of the cemetery. The trail
followed by Cameron across the mountains and north of Point Peter to Calf Creek
is likely the old Richland-Snowball road. The location of Widow Turney’s is
near Snowball (Turney’s Mill). The route taken from Widow Turney’s to the
Buffalo River is uncertain. Two routes are likely: 1) follow down the Calf
Creek road to near the Buffalo River, or 2) angle to the northwest in order to
check up on Captain Love’s farm before proceeding down the north side of the
Buffalo River. The exact route along the “north side of the Buffalo” is
uncertain, as is the route taken to Yellville across the Tomahawk Barrens, the
location of which is unknown.
Cameron’s trip through
Richland Valley, reportedly gained information that Col. Jackman was at the
head of Richland Valley organizing and combining forces. This information
likely came from loyal Union citizens who lived in the valley, or by jayhawking
men anxious to have Union forces strike a blow at Rebel guerillas in their
region of upper Richland. Cameron also learned that Rebels under Col. Freeman
were gathering on the White River near Batesville.
He harassed a few
bushwhackers while moving from Richland down the Buffalo River, then to
Tomahawk Barrens and to Yellville. From Yellville he proceeded to Talbot’s
Ferry and crossed the White River on his way back to Camp Cameron, somewhere
along the Missouri-Arkansas border. He reported the presence of Jackman and
others on the Richland headwaters in the Boston Mountains with several hundred
men of different bands. He also noted Freeman moving up the White River near
Batesville.
On May 24th, Sanborn
reported a Rebel force below Buffalo City on the White River. Thus, the Buffalo
River region continued to harbor rebel bands and Union patrols. Lt. Col.
Cameron probably did not encounter this group of Rebels forming in the hills.
On May 26th, Major
Melton claimed that Shelby with 2,000 men was on the Osage Branch of King’s
River with artillery, and he was recruiting. Melton felt insecure at Berryville
and had little reliable transportation. Sanborn doubted the number of Rebels
but suggested that if Melton had to retreat, he should take all he could and
burn the rest. Sanborn continued to claim no large Rebel force north of the
Buffalo, while Rebel troops were forming between the Buffalo and the Arkansas
in addition to 250 Rebels quietly moving in to Missouri per week. Rebel
commanders were ordered to gather and form troops at all costs, and shoot those
who fail to comply; desertions were to be tolerated no longer.
General Sanborn ordered
the 2nd Arkansas Cavalry to send out woman spies and scouts to ascertain the
enemy’s whereabouts and information. On May 29, General Sanborn found out that
Shelby was not on the Osage with 2,000 men as reported, nor was he north of the
Boston Mountains. This suggests that either the Rebel commanders were not in
the area recruiting yet, or, they were quiet about it. Sanborn also reported
that Rebels (Jackman) were attempting and succeeding in getting groups north in
small bodies which confirms that the Rebels were quietly moving north in hopes
of assembly in Missouri through northeast and north-central Arkansas, towards
Rolla. Thus, the month ended with Federal watching but not stopping small bands
of Rebels moving into Missouri.
In the end of May,
Confederate leaders were to assemble their commands near Powhatan. Again,
orders were given to conscript all able-bodied men. Major Pickler, Captains
Rusk, Robinson, Roberts, and Johnson were to go and recruit in northwest
Arkansas forcing all Rebel bands not attached to join Major Pickler. The area
south of the White River and north of the Boston Mountains became a
no-man’s-land, depopulated, mostly destitute of forage. Yet, Union scouts
continued to probe the Buffalo Valley looking for signs of Rebel movement
north.
In the end the Federals
got the upper hand and the Great War ended.
More citizens died in this War than any other in the history of the
United States. Henry Cagle was said to have
made it home during the War with only one leg to be nursed by Pinetree! He did not survive. Either disease or bushwhackers took his life.
Sarah Jane Yates Taylor
Sarah Jane is Malinda
and Suzie's Great Grandmother. She
married Hezekiah Allen "Bill" Taylor about 1858 or '59. She was only 16 or 17. By 1864, she is a widow. She and Hezekiah had 3 children: Pleasant McKinley Taylor (1861), William
Hezekiah Taylor (June 1, 1862), and a little daughter born and died in 1863 named
Malinda for Sarah's mother. Sarah
married again before 1870 to Joseph Harrison Cavin. They had 4 children: Malinda Sue Cavin (1870-1927), Martha
Caroline (1872-1899), Margaret (1873), and Lorenzo Dow "Ranzie"
(1875-1950). Harrison Cavin died and by
1880 Sarah Jane is married to "Little" Alex Standridge, son of Martin
and Catherine Unknown Surname Standridge.
Little Alex and Sarah have one son--Arewine Yates Standridge
(1881-1938). Notice Sarah named a second
daughter Malinda after her Mother.
Alonzo Standridge told his children stories that Sarah told him. She was with Mary Meek Standridge the night
her two sons and husband were shot and she helped move the bodies on a feather
mattress to be buried in Richland Cemetery.
She said they buried them at night as they were so afraid the bushwhackers
would return!
Pleasant McKinley
Taylor married Mary Standridge (daughter of Little Alex Standridge and Eliza
Meek Standridge). She was his
step-sister and she is Rusty Moore's Grandmother. They had these children: Janey Elizabeth
Taylor (1882-1952), Ambrose Garrison
Taylor (1884-1951), Malinda Taylor (1887-1939), English Monroe Taylor
(1889-1940), Riley Abraham Taylor (1890-1971), Martha Callie Taylor
(1893-1918), and William McKinley Taylor (1896-1955). My notes say, "Ples was a moonshiner and
lived on Richland Creek". Ples has
passed away by June of 1900. Mary is
living with their children on Richland Creek.
The story I was told by a descendant was that the family went to the
Arkansas River bottoms to pick cotton that year. Ples was sick and they camped
just passed Dover, AR on the Bayou. Ples
died there and they buried him near that place.
Mary went back to the mountains alone.
Hezekiah Allen Yates' full sister Martha Taylor Robinson
She did not come to AR
Janey Elizabeth Taylor
married George Washington Freeman in late 1900.
She is on the census with her mother in June of 1900. George Washington Freeman was the son of Eli
Luther Freeman and Theodocia Caroline Henderson. Docia married a Young first and had two
children and then she married Eli Freeman and they had several children. I think Eli ran off and left Docia. Her sister Martha Ann Henderson, wife of
George Harris, raised George Washington Freeman. Docia and Martha were daughters of Levi and
Rhoda Young Henderson. Soon after 1860,
I think Rhoda died. Rebecca married a
Thompson and had one son, James Franklin; Rebecca died in 1872. Docia and her sisters were probably born in
Marion Co. AR but by 1860 they are living in Washington TWNShip Carroll
Co. Later this became Boone County,
AR. Geo. Washington's dad, Eli, served
in the Civil War. He is an orphan in
1860 living next door to Docia in Carroll Co.
He is living with Thomas Young.
Nearby his sister Rebecca and his brother Thomas are living with
families and also listed as orphans.
George Washington Freeman's sister, Sarah Ardena Freeman, married John
Wesley Standridge and had a large family.
John was call Bob. George and
Janey Taylor Freeman had a large family including Ethel Elizabeth Freeman who
married James Garrison. These are
Rusty's grandparents.
GEORGE WASHINGTON FREEMAN AND HIS WIFE JANEY TAYLOR AND THE FIRST 6 CHILDREN. ALSO IN THIS PICTURE IS GEORGE HARRIS AND WIFE MARTHA ANN HENDERSON THIS COUPLE RAISED GEORGE W. FREEMAN. MARTHA ANN IS A SISTER TO GEORGE W. FREEMAN'S MOTHER THEODOCIA CAROLINE HENDERSON.
William Hezekiah Taylor
married Rachel Overturf (daughter of Francis and Martha Overturf). I have these children recorded for them: Martha, Malinda, Lula, Maggie, Allen, Arthur,
Arizona, Walker, Andew and Oliver. I have
who these married if anyone needs the information.
Sarah Jane's children
by Harrison Cavin: Malinda married Howard
Standridge. Martha married Riley
Shelton. Ranzy married Martha
Bolin. Margaret died young is what I
have in my files.
Sarah Jane and Alex
Standridge's only child was the outlaw Yates Standridge. I have already written a story about him and
will include the link here if anyone wants to read about
him.
Click on the link to read about Yates
Yates Standridge's first wife, Devina Dixon
Click on the link to read about Yates
Yates Standridge and Divena Dixon
Yates Standridge, son of Sarah Jane Yates and Little Alex Standridge
Hezekiah Allen's brother Benjamin Franklin Taylor survived the Civil War and became a leader in Searcy County, AR. He had a grist mill on Calf Creek and became a US Marshall. Capt. Benjamin Franklin Taylor of Snowball, AR US Deputy Marshal was killed by moonshiner, Harve Bruce, on 20 August 1897. Find a Grave says this occurred in Bullfrog Valley which like many things at Find a Grave is false. There are lots of false tales about his murder, but I will include here the story Piney Page wrote about it. Piney is one of my favorite Ozark authors!
For Harve: Three shots,
three deer
By Piney Page
Harve Bruce's Wanted Poster
This is a legend of
Harve Bruce as related to Dr. Arnold Henry by some of his mountain friends.
Mountain men have
always been noted for their accuracy with a gun. It is a tradition handed down from father to
son. The need for such accuracy began
when the pioneer with his single shot muzzle loader found his life and that of
his family dependent on his accuracy when fighting Indians.
Lead for bullets and
powder were scarce and expensive. They
were not to be wasted foolishly. Food
for the table was also dependent on the ability to use a rifle. To miss a charging bear meant death or at
best serious injury. To miss a deer when
the hunter only got one shot meant a hungry family. Accurate shooting was a skill necessary for
survival.
In a pioneer world the training for this skill
began early in life. The young boys
could kill with a rifle when so young they had to prop the gun up over a limb
to shoot. The gun was the pioneer's most
important tool.
Harve Bruce grew up in
a time when ability to shoot was an essential skill. According to men who knew him, he had no peer
with a rifle. He acquired additional
skills with guns as a fighting man in the forces of the Confederacy. Those who knew him considered him a man not
to fool with.
Charley Landers during his life lived east of
Dover. On one occasion he was hunting
with Harve Bruce when the dogs jumped a herd of deer. As the herd passed through a clearing, Harve
shot three times and killed three deer.
Jake Gargous lived in the area north of
Hector. He had many times seen Harve
shoot objects thrown into the air. That
man's favorite rifle was the lever action Winchester, a 45-70.
On one occasion Jake and Harve were hunting
with a pack of dogs, both men riding mules.
In a creek bottom meadow were five deer.
The dogs gave chase as did Harve.
Shooting from the back of a running mule he killed three of the five
deer.
According to Jake, Harve was a
bootlegger. On one occasion he had taken
a wagon load of whiskey to Clinton, AR. and was peddling it in the outskirts of
town. He was approached by a man
claiming to be a deputy sheriff. He
wanted to search Harve's wagon. Harve
requested he show his credentials but the man ignored him, moved towards the
wagon and began the search. Not wishing
to kill the man Harve shot him in the leg.
He went home and took to the woods.
On a Sunday morning Harve was visiting some
friends who were operating a still. The
mash was worked in homemade wooden boxes rather than barrels. Harve was sitting on a fence built to keep
the hogs out. As it became light, some
men came in shooting. At that time Dr.
Arnold Henry's grandfather was sheriff.
He was a strong sympathizer with all old soldiers, including Harve
Bruce. The revenuers who had attacked
the men at the still had avoided the sheriff since they suspected where his
sympathy would be. The revenuers did
find other Russellville men to go along.
Their moving in on Harve Bruce and his friends
was without warning according to Jake.
Harve rolled off the fence, jumped behind a mash box, and grabbed his
Winchester. With the first two shots he
killed two men. Another attacker was
behind a tree with his elbow sticking out.
Harve put a bullet in the elbow.
Another man was lying on his stomach with a hip exposed. Harve put a bullet in the hip. A young Russellville man trying to run away
was shot in the shoulder. The battle was
over.
Harve stayed hid out in
the woods. After a couple of months he
sent word to Silas Henry, sheriff, that he would surrender to him in
Atkins. He had killed two men and shot
others but due to the circumstances of the raid he pleaded self-defense. He served a year in the pen. When he got out he reported to the sheriff's
office to let him know he was back home.
He was advised to stay away from moonshining and bootlegging but he did
not heed the advice.
Harve was said to have been a tall man with
piercing blue eyes. His vision was
perfect and his reflexes legendary. A
couple of years later, after Silas was out of office, a deputy went into the
mountains to bring Harve in for making mooshine. When asked his wife did not know where he
was.
He was under an
overhang working at his still when the deputy approached. Harve's daughter was assisting him with the
work. The deputy came up and said he
wanted to talk. The deputy said,
"If you don't go with me, I'll take your daughter."
Harve replied,
"You bother my daughter and I'll kill you." That ended the conference.
Later, one of his sons
who had become a medical doctor talked Harve out of further involvement with
whiskey.
William Harvey Bruce
was the son of William and Sarah Ann Walker Bruce and was born in North
Carlina. He enlisted in the C.S.A., Co.
D., Thomas Legion, N.C., in 1863, when he was only 16 years of age and served
until the close of the war April 9, 1865.
In 1871, he married Hannah L. Cotter from Sevier County, Tennessee. To them were born 9 children. He made a claim
in a very choice location and by good management he soon had a well established
farm. a large dwelling, a huge barn,
being careful to cut the logs when the sap was down so they would not rot. Some of the center logs are still there
yet. Still being plagued by bushwackers
he was appointed Deputy Sheriff of van Buren County. by Sheriff W.S. Maddox, in
1891.
William died March 27, 1907, and Hannah died
March 7, 1915. Both are buried in the
Pleasant Grove Cemetery at Alread.
The Conway Democrat 17
Aug 1900
Arkansas Penitentiary
While in Little Rock
Thursday J.E. Little, Dr. Foster Richardson and J.W. Underhill were the guests
at supper of Col. Bud McConnell, superintendent of the State Penitentiary. He showed us the new State Capitol building
which is making rapid progress. We were
informed that the work which has been done at the established prices for such
work would amount to $85,000 and there is yet remaining $15,000 of the $50,000
appropriated by the last legislature.
The walls and buildings
of the old penitentiary are being torn down as the work on the new
penitentiary, southeast of the city, progresses. We did not go to see the new penitentiary.
One of the most noted
characters in the penitentiary is Harve Bruce.
He was sent up from Pope County for the killing of two deputy marshals
and wounding two others. He has a very
short term, only six months. He is a
typical old mountaineer and moonshine distiller. He is 65 or 70 years old and before his
imprisonment began, he wore long flowing whiskers, which made him look about as
we imagine Moses did about the time he delivered the law of the "Children
of Israel." these whiskers were cut
off when he began his term of service.
When asked if he killed
those marshals he said, "well, I was the only one that did any shooting on
that side and when it was over two were dead and two others wounded." He regretted that he had to do it, but said
he would have to do it again under the same circumstances. On the morning of the killing, six deputy
marshals crept up under the cover of a bluff when upon the top of the bluff to
within one hundred yards of where old man Bruce sat with a neighbor on a fence. The neighbor said "look at those
men". Old man Bruce stood up and
looked in the direction indicated. The
marshals began shooting without saying a word, so he says. The neighbor fled. Bruce's Winchester was several yards from him
and towards the marshals, he ran and got it and began shooting at them. He said the bullets whizzed around him when
they get too close to whiz. If any of
you was in the war you know bullets don't whiz when they get too close. Old man Bruce was in the Confederate
Army. One of the bullets glanced Bruce's
ankle making a blood blister. He shot
two of the marshals down and it was afterwards found that they had been
killed. He wounded two others and two
escaped uninjured.
After his trial and
sentence he was turned loose on his own recognizance to arrange his business
and then to go to the penitentiary.
One evening about one
month ago Bud McConnell, superintendent of the state penitentiary, was notified
that a man at the office wanted to see him.
He found old man Harve Bruce there ready to begin his term of
service. He is now one of the guards on
the wall. The superintendent told him he
thought that as he could use a Winchester so dexterously on marshals he would
make a good guard. He impresses one that
he would keep his promises if possible.
It is said that when disputes arose between his neighbors they generally
left the matter to old Harve Bruce.
The mountaineer hates
the marshals and the government that try to prevent him from doing with his
corn as he pleases. He thinks that he
has as much right to make whisky out of it as bread.
Old man Bruce explained
that their corn was worth only 30 cents per bushel. When they made it into whiskey the slop was
worth as much as the corn to feed the hogs and they could get $2.00 per gallon
for the whiseky. This was about the only
way, he explained, of getting any money up there in the mountains. He said that he would not distill any more
whiskey as he wanted to live in peace now.
End of Piney's story.
David Carroll
Taylor--Searcy County, AR
A metal marker was left
by Ellenora Taylor Tomlinson at the Baker Hollow Cemetery, Searcy County,
Arkansas. There is no proof that David Taylor is actually buried there. She
just wanted to make sure he was remembered.
David Carroll Taylor Sr b 1832 Indian Creek DeKalb Tennessee d Aug 1863
Baker Hollow Searcy Arkansas. His
parents were William Edward Bill Taylor
and Elizabeth Betsy Allen. He was
Hezekiah and B. F. Taylor's brother. After he was killed his widow married a Garner who was twice her age. True to Taylor form--Benjamin Franklin Taylor went to Garner's house and took his brother's kids home with him--is a story I have been told.
James J. Johnston told
the story of his death this way--
David Carroll Taylor,
born about 1832 in Tennessee, married Eliza (Louisa) Henderson about 1854, and
had three children at the time of the 1860 census. In 1860 he bought 80 acres
in Section 11, T 13 North R 18 West about a mile north of Witts Spring along
the highway. Like some of his neighbors, he was enrolled in Co G Cocke's
Regiment of Arkansas Infantry (CSA) probably in the last half of 1862. His
brother Benjamin F Taylor was a staunch Union supporter and a member of the
Peace Society. In the last half of 1862 Ben organized a Union Co which drilled
on Witts Spring Mountain. Other brothers, Hezekiah, Barnabas B, Daniel P, all
served in the Confederate Army, and Barnabas and Hezekiah were killed in the
service. (note by Betty: Barnabas and
Hezekiah may have deserted and moved to the Union Army as that is where there
loyalties were.)
In August 1863, D
Carroll Taylor was coming home to see his new baby born July 28, 1863, when
Jayhawkers caught him about halfway up Witts Spring Mountain. He never got
home. They castrated him, tied him to a mule's tail and he was found dead about
three and a half miles from home. His wife was still in bed
from the birth when the Jayhawkers, after they had killed Taylor, came to the
house and made her fix them a meal and would not let her feed the crying baby
boy. She named him David Carroll after his father. David Carroll Taylor, Sr's
burial place is variously reported to be on Spider Creek or on Bear Creek, so
he must have been north of home when he was killed. We do not know who the murderers were. They
are called Jayhawkers in one version, which was the name given Union
guerrillas, but this phrase is used in this folklore to mean any group which
commits atrocities. We know very little about what happened on Witts Spring
Mountain in the last half of 1863. There were no Union Troops in the area until
December 1863/ January 1864 when scouting expeditions were sent into Searcy
County. Confederate commands were all south of the Arkansas River, leaving the
area north of the river and east of Fayetteville in the hands of bushwhackers,
Jayhawkers, guerrillas and renegades.
Benjamin F Snow's
affidavit states that Confederate recruiting pressure became so great in 1862
around Witts Spring that he and other Unionists formed a company and joined the
Confederate army. In April 1863, he was released from a Confederate hospital
and sent home. In may 1863 he had recovered so well that he went and
stayed with a company of Federal soldiers commanded by Captain James K
Vanderpool, Co C, 1st Arkansas Infantry, until July 11, 1863 when he joined the
2nd Arkansas Cavalry(US) in Fayetteville. Federal soldier William L Conley of
Pope County was wounded June 1863 by Confederate bushwackers
while scouting for James Vanderpool's command and was carried to a place of
safety until he recovered enough to go to Fayetteville In August or September.
Mary Pell Wright later
wrote that Bill Conley killed her father, Confederate Captain James T Wright,
in 1863 on a fork of the Illinois Bayou south of Witts Spring. She went on to
say, "They was a set of robbers, the Meekses, Hubbles, Brassfields,
Conleys. There was quite a bunch of them...They called it Meekstown."
Confederate Lieutenant James H Campbell had this to say about eastern Searcy
County, "During the fall and winter of '63, northwestern Arkansas was over
run with deserters, guerrillas and thieves who claimed that they belonged to
(Col John S) Marmaduke's and (Col J O) Shelby's commands, but the commands were
south of the Arkansas River and the Federal troops all up and down the river,
and they were cut off from their commands for some reason and were scouting
through our country, the same as they were in southern Missouri, stealing
horses and robbing loyal Union citizens. They became so bold and so reckless
that the battalion to which I belonged was compelled to protect the country and
our friends from the depredations of these Missouri guerrillas and as a
consequence, there was very bitter feeling worked up and continued between
members of our battalion and this band of desperadoes, parading under the name
of Confederate soldiers, but as a matter of fact, over riding all laws of
decency, and were more after plunder and money than serving their
country."
Captain B. F. Taylor and family
In the fall of 1862
Benjamin F Taylor had organized a band of Union sympathizers near Witts Spring
and had drilled with them and attempted to arm them. However in February 1863
he had gone to Fayetteville and enlisted in the union army, leaving not even a
fig leaf of local Union protection in the area. I don't know who the band, or
bands were that castrated and killed the Cassell boys and D C Taylor. Because
of the proximity in time, place and method, I assume that it was the same
group. End of James J Johnston account
Garrison Greenwood
Taylor
Garrison Taylor family
Notice he is missing a leg!
Garrison G. Taylor was
born November 19, 1833. He lived with
Alfred Allen after his father died according to 1850 census. On July 18, 1852, at nineteen years, he
married Elizabeth Atnip. They had eight children, all born in DeKalb County,
Tennessee. They were Mary Frances, Jemima Elizabeth, William Stevenson (Steve),
Martha Jane, Samantha, Mitty Dolly Ann, Benjamin Garrison, and Derthula.
During the Civil War
Garrison served in the 16th Tennessee Regiment in Captain Perry Adcock's
Company for the Confederacy. Sometime during the war he lost a leg. At the end
of the war he returned to Indian Creek where he remained until the 1870's.
During the late 1860's and early 1870's the "Night Riders" terrorized
may of the residents of Indian Creek, including some of the Taylors. Garrison,
wishing to escape the "Night Riders" took his family and joined his
brothers in Searcy County, Arkansas. He remained here until his death on Oct
19, 1910 at the age of seventy-seven years. (Ardis Taylor's book The Taylors)
When Garrison Taylor
came to Arkansas--all of the Taylor boys, expecting Ezekiel Wilder, had joined
again even though some were in graves. After William Edward Taylor died,
Ezekiel was the only son who remained with Betsy Allen Taylor. In 1860, Ezekiel Wilder married Mary Smith in
Dekalb County, Tennessee. After 1862,
there is no record of him. He surely
died in the Civil War. If he had lived,
he would have likely moved to Arkansas as the
other Taylors did. The Taylors had a loyalty to kin. Blood was thicker than water. B. F. Taylor has sons of his brothers with
him on every census. He cared for his
kin. Wilson Taylor (his half brother--Bluetooth's son) is living near Snowball,
AR in 1900. He followed his
brothers. Wilson was also a twin! Betsy Allen Taylor Taylor had two sets of
twins!
The war ended and some of the men came home. Old wounds healed and new ones opened. Marriages occurred between the survivors of those who fought for the North and South. The days of murder and mayhem were not spoken of as two sides lived in one home.
