--- RULES, GUIDELINES AND OPINIONS --- HAVE FUN. (Rule) It is better to have fun than be right (my number one lifetime rule). ATTACHMENTS. (Rule) Do not send attachments through the list server. It can disrupt services. BEHAVIOR CORRECTIONS OR FLAMES. (Rule) Do not send corrections to other members, no matter how well meaning and helpful you have intended your message. This practice usually causes more strife and "flame wars" than the original issue that promted the correction. (There is an old internet axiom that perpetuates the idea that offenders must be flamed by everone, in order to correct their behavior. This is an outdated and counterproductive measure. It is inappropriate to flame on this forum.) It is the responsibility of the moderator (me) to issue these corrections. Address all complaints and grievances DIRECTLY to the moderator (me), not to the offender nor to the list. EMAIL GREETINGS. (Guideline) To send extraneous greetings, announcements, advertisements, "roll calls" and other non-thematic (not having to do with "surname" genealogy, in our case) messages to the list is considered inappropriate by most internet standards. It is argued that for every non-thematic message a contributor wants to send, there is a more appropriate forum for sending it. In principle, such should never be sent through the list server. In practice, it is sometimes useful to do so. As many of you know, I often mention Newsletters and web sites that research our surname. This is advertising. Some of those listed make their livings providing these services. It seems however, that this is in the best interest to our discussion group. As a guide, please consider carefully any message that you post to the group and ask yourself some important questions before forwarding it. * Does this message have direct application to this group? * Can it be sent personally and have the same impact? * Is there a more appropriate forum for it? * What reaction will my message prompt? If you have gone through this process and still feel your message should go to the group, it is probably appropriate to send it. If you are still unsure, send it to me for approval. PEOPLES IS HUMAN TOO. (Opinion) Having said this, I know (and I know that you know) that the rules and guidelines are going to be broken on occasion. Often it is out of inexperience. Sometimes the sender just doesn't know differently (that's another way of saying that the moderator (me) has failed to educate the group appropriately). It is rare that such things are done intentionally. The challenge is to see the offense for what it is...a mistake. Usually it is one that is made with the warmest and most generous intentions behind it. Sometimes: -Subscribers send inappropriate messages to this forum. -Nonsubscribers send inappropriate messages to this forum. -Flames are sent to offenders. -The moderator is left out of the loop. -The moderator is the offender. -Feelings are hurt. Always: -There are things Evil, things Inappropriate and things Fattening. -Each of these events described above are inappropriate. -All of them are correctable. -All of them are forgivable. Please direct any comments (or flames) DIRECTLY (NOT TO THE GROUP) to my address. MY EMAIL ADDRESS IS gnbf@tampabay.rr.com PS...Here are the GUIDELINES as provided by Rootsweb.com * Do not send spam e-mail messages to mailing lists. * Do not send attachments (attached files) to the list. This includes: URL shortcuts, v-cards, GEDCOM files, zipped or compressed files and any other type of attachment. * Do not forward virus hoaxes or chain letters to mailing lists. * Do not use HTML or RTF (rich text format) in messages sent to mailing lists. * Do not cross-post messages to multiple mailing lists. * Do not send e-mail messages to mailing lists for which the topic is inappropriate. * Do not flame other members of the mailing list. * Be nice to one another.

Alexander BROWN, born 1803 in Chatham Co, NC, twin of Andrew BROWN, Jr. Alex supposedly moved to Arkansas...story says he "owned land on Red River in Arkansas, and died there after 1859." Alex's parents were Andrew BROWN, Sr & Mary McLAUGHLIN, possibly born on Isle of Jura or elsewhere in Argyll, Scotland. Alex's grandparents were Archibald BROWN and Agnes DRAKE?? of Scotland. Alex may have had son (no info on wife) Alex, Jr, who married Mary Ann CHAMBERLAIN in 1853 in Pontotoc Co, MS. They both died near Tyro in Lincoln Co, Ark late 1860-early 1870;s. Top priority: linking Alex Sr to Alex Jr...proving Alex Sr was in SE Ark. Next: more info on Archibald BROWN's Scottish roots. Many thanks Bill in Dallas

WASHINGTON, Ark.-By twilight time, the candles will be lit, the carolers will stroll the street and costumed guides will wait at the doors of the historic homes and buildings. >From 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. today, Christmas and Candlelight at Old Washington Historic State Park will show off the park at its loveliest with natural, 19th-century decorations and 3,000 luminaries. The historic buildings will be decked with old-fashioned decorations made of pine cones, magnolia leaves, pine and cedar branches. Wreaths using grapevines, sumac, pine cones and other natural items will adorn buildings and homes, which are open for touring. Garlands will decorate the fences and warm fires will crackle in the homes' hearths. Guides will wait in the buildings at homes to give tours, and minstrels will perform throughout the town. The event, including the tours, costs $10 for adults and $5 for children. Visitors will be given maps to guide them to the homes and buildings on the tour, said Carey Walker, park superintendent. "This is the biggest event we have at the park," Walker said. "With the luminaria display and the houses decorated with natural decorations, it is a beautiful sight. About 2,000 people attended Christmas and Candlelight last year, and we expect more this year." The park is located 9 miles northwest of Hope and covers 100 acres. The park interprets Washington from 1824 to 1875. Presented by the Southwest Arkansas Regional Archives, Pioneer Washington Restoration Foundation, the city of Washington, Ark., and Old Washington Historic State Park, this event is the primary fund-raiser for the archives. >From Monday through Dec. 17, the park will celebrate "Christmas Past for Schools," allowing children to visit with Father Christmas and learn how our forefathers celebrated the season. Special curriculum-based school programs relating to the Christmas season and preparation for winter will be presented daily during this two-week period. The fee is $5.50 per student. Teachers should call for reservations at (870) 983-2660. BACKSPACE : The most used key on the keyboard.

Cemetery suffers rash of vandalism By JEFF MINOR/Of the Gazette Staff DEKALB, Texas-Police are seeking leads in another round of cemetery vandalism at the Pleasant Grove Cemetery in the Wards Creek community. Allen Cooper, a DeKalb resident who has relatives buried in the rural cemetery, said the site is prone to vandalism because of its seclusion. "They have pretty well torn it up once or twice before," Cooper said. "But sometime, evidently since the rain last week, they've gone in there and knocked over about every headstone in the cemetery." Almost every headstone in the 80-plot cemetery has either been shattered or toppled. Cooper said family members of the deceased provide annual upkeep for the cemetery and are attempting to construct a metal gate at the entrance to prevent easy access. The cemetery is located off Farm to Market Road 561, about 10 miles south of DeKalb. A few years ago, the tombstone marking the gravesite of Cooper's grandfather was retrieved from a nearby lake. The tombstone has since been restored, but was toppled during the recent incident of vandalism. Anyone with information about vandalism at the cemetery should contact the Bowie County Sheriff's Office at 798-3149. -Jeff Minor

I want to invite you all to check out the Arkansas Family History Association's new website at: http://www.rootsweb.com/~arfha We offer many FREE lookups from Arkansas resource books with many more sources coming online this weekend. So, stop by and see if we can help you find your ancestors! If you'd like to sign up for our email list, just send the following word: subscribe To: AFHA-L-Request@Rootsweb.com We are here to help you! Tracey <html> <div align="center"> Founding member of the Arkansas Family History Association!!<br> <a href="http://www.rootsweb.com/~arfha" eudora="autourl">http://www.rootsweb.com/~arfha<br> </a>*********************<br> FREE Genealogy Forms Online!!!<br> <a href="http://www.ancestrycorner.com/" eudora="autourl">http://www.ancestrycorner.com</a><br> We Specialize in ARKANSAS books!<br> ******************************************<br> Listowner of: the GRS E-Zine, GenTips, GenChat, GenSwap<br> Webmaster of the Central Arkansas Library System <br> <a href="http://www.cals.lib.ar.us/" eudora="autourl">http://www.cals.lib.ar.us</a><br> ******************************************************</html>

THANKSGIVING CELEBRATION AT ANCESTRY.COM Free Data Search http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/search/thanksgiving.htm Nearly 380 years ago, the early settlers of Plymouth Colony gathered to give thanks for the bounties and blessings that the "New World" afforded. In honor of this event, Ancestry.com is providing the following databases free for searching over the Thanksgiving Day weekend. Massachusetts Pioneers to the West Index New England Irish Pioneers History of Cambridge Massachusetts Founders of Old Dunstable Boston Vital Records Freemen of Massachusetts Genealogical Register of Plymouth Families Plymouth Colony: History and People Founders of New England Pioneers of Massachusetts Genealogical Dictionary of New England Settlers Massachusetts Town Vital Records Collection These databases can be found at: http://www.ancestry.com/ancestry/search/thanksgiving.htm

I recieved this letter, and I do not have an answer for the person. I checked the books I have at home for Texarkana. So, if anyone can help, reply to: janderson@worldnet.att.net Hello Mr Richards, I found you website today, in the Miller, AR, Business dated 1882-1883. I have three pictures each listing a different name, as follows, Shreves & Mood, 204 E Broad Str, Texarkana; The Imperial Studio 1131/2 Broad St. Texarkana; and last Harper Studio listing 2 towns, Greenville & Texarkana and Corsicana Tex. Were do I go to obtain more information regarding the dates these business where doing business. All 3 pictures has children and a young women. Any help is most apprciated Best regards janderson@worldnet.att.net

A different link to the same info- <A HREF="http://www.heritagequest.com/genealogy/CD-ROM/">Genealogy: Genealogy Data on CD-ROM</A> http://www.heritagequest.com/genealogy/CD-ROM/ Sorry if there was a mix-up on the Heritage Quest address. Try this instead: http://www.heritagequest.com/genealogy/CD-ROM/ This page gives a description of the CD's and how to order. You do not have to be a member of Heritage Quest to order and you can order either on line, by telephone or by mail.

http://www.heritagequest.com/ There are federal census available on CD through Heritage Quest, and Miller County Arkansas is included (remember it was Lafayette County also to 1870). It is a long url and may need to be pasted back together. http://www.heritagequest.com/cgi-bin/page.exe?catalog=CensusFilms&file=CensusH ome.htm <A HREF="http://www.heritagequest.com/cgi-bin/page.exe?catalog=CensusFilms&file=C ensusHome.htm">Heritage Quest - Federal Census Schedules Title Page</A> If you are a member the CD's cost $17.95. Non members pay $24.95 Membership to Heritage Quest for one year is $29.95 per year. http://www.heritagequest.com/genealogy/membership/ <A HREF="http://www.heritagequest.com/genealogy/membership/">Genealogy: Heritage Quest Research Club</A> Arkansas CD's for our Miller County area: -ARKANSAS 1830 CENSUS: ENTIRE STATE -ARKANSAS 1840 CENSUS: *LAFAYETTE - PULASKI -ARKANSAS 1850 CENSUS SLAVE: ENTIRE STATE -ARKANSAS 1860 CENSUS FREE: *LAFAYETTE, LAWRENCE & MADISON -ARKANSAS 1870 CENSUS: JOHNSON & *LAFAYETTE -ARKANSAS 1880 CENSUS: MARION, *MILLER, MISSISSIPPI & MONROE -ARKANSAS 1900 CENSUS: *MILLER, MISSISSIPPI & MONROE -ARKANSAS 1910 CENSUS: MADISON, MARION & *MILLER -ARKANSAS 1920 CENSUS: MILLER & MISSISSIPPI If you are looking for other Arkansas counties, they are there also.

GREEN/GREENE GENEALOGY Providence Church Cemetery Marion Co., GA. James I GREEN no dates Co D 6 GA MIL CSA he had three sisters that I know of, Martha b 29 Sept 1850 d 31 Aug 1930 married Joseph Turner BENSON b 4 Apr 1845 d 13 Feb 1884. His second sister Lizzy married a SHORT and Ella. He had sons Joe, James Thomas, my grandfather, Willie and John who married C.M. (Maude) BROOKS 10 Sept 1893 daughter of Charlie BROOKS, they had two children, Joe and a daughter Johinnie. Samuel GREEN no dates Co H 46 GA INF CSA John GREEN b 20 Apr 1827 d 2 Jun 1887 J.W. GREEN 9 Feb 1832 d 9 Feb 1864 A GREEN b 8 May 1848 d 20 May 1911 These headstones are in the Providence Cemetery. I think the James I GREEN is my ggrandfather but haven't proved it yet. I have a picture of him standing with his five sisters three are Martha, Lizzy and Ella. This was taken in Buena Vista, GA. He has a beard and is dressed in a white shirt and pants with suspenders. I know he had one son, James Thomas GREENE (James added the e after the Green) b 11 June 1876 Red Bone District, GA d 9 June 1941 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR. He married Tressa Lee BLUNT the 7 Sep 1907 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR. Tressa was b 4 Jan 1889 d 26 Jan 1949 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR. She was the daughter of John Wesley BLUNT and Leila Arkansas DAVIS. Their children are: 1. Hubert Eugene b 4 Apr 1909 d 16 Jun 1910 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR. 2. Marshall Lafayette b 15 Feb 1910 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR. 3. Pearl Irene b 12 Oct 1912 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR d 1991 TX 4. Opal Rosalie b 12 Oct 1914 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR 5. Royal Albert b 8 Jan 1918 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR d 4 Sep 1997 AR 6. Myrtle Alva b 1 Jun 1919 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR d 17 Jun 1959 Bossier Parish, LA 7. James Doyle b 16 Oct 1920 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR. 8. Junior Boyce b 14 Jul 1925 Doddridge, Miller Co., AR d 26 Jan 1997 Hardeman Co., TN. Junior is my father. I would love to find James I Green and the names of his sisters, parents, wife and children. Thanking you in advance for any leads. Charlotte

Eager Entrepreneurs, City Squabbles, Roaring Saloons and Tough Guys An aerial photo of downtown Texarkana taken around 1928 to 1930 shows the major intersections of Pine Street, State Line Avenue, Olive and Broad streets. Photo courtesy Texarkana Museums System. http://www.texarkanagazette.com/display/inn_feature/feature01.txt Texarkana is a city with its own unique history. But aside from the obvious notoriety it enjoys with its bi-state connections, the downtown area is also filled with wonderful tales. Many of the buildings that housed those early residents are gone, making way for places like the Bi-State Justice Building, parking lots, and now, the Broad Street Park. Those early residents were a hardy lot of railroad men, cowboys and loggers, businessmen and immigrants who were bright, ambitious, and lusting for a way to make their fortunes. The era smiled on the noveau riche, and the area offered ample opportunity to those willing to take a chance in the fledgling city. Businesses sprang up long State Line Avenue, but Broad Street quickly became the hot location because of its proximity to the railroad tracks. An early immigrant to the city was Anthony L. Ghio, a native of Genoa, Italy. Ghio was a businessman with a solid fortune when he came to Texarkana. He opened a shop at the corner of Maple (now Main) and Broad, selling whiskey and cigarettes. The structure was in an ideal location, near the tracks and next door to the Paragon Saloon. In 1882, Ghio decided he had outgrown his original structure and razed it, erecting a new brick building. But the new building was to be marked by tragedy. On July 13, 1882, a violent storm erupted, and an estimated 40 to 50 men sought shelter in the Paragon. As they reveled in the shelter of the saloon, the storm intensified. Ghio's building collapsed onto the Paragon, showering bricks and scaffolding on the saloon patrons. A few people were killed instantly, but the rest were trapped beneath the wreckage. Rescuers arriving on the scene found a grisly sight. Coal oil lamps used to light the Paragon Saloon had overturned, setting both the wreckage and the victims afire. One man trapped in the rubble reportedly sent rescuers away, shouting, "There isn't time! Go back!" He then pulled out his pistol and shot himself. There were few survivors of the carnage. Ghio rebuilt the structure, and the second floor of the new building became the Texarkana Opera House. Saloons were "men only" affairs in those days, and men drank whiskey and beer, smoked cigars and gambled at games like craps, keno, blackjack and poker. A 1906 city directory boasts at least six saloons and two liquor stores on the street. Later in the century, the Women's Christian Temperance Union and the Prohibitionists targeted the establishments, as they did across most of the country. But there was morality in the early days as well. In 1881, contemporary newspapers decried the moral decay of the city. Citizens held a mass meeting to reach some sort of game plan to rid the city of undesirable characters. Apparently they reached a consensus, because at least one citizen was carried from his house to the city limits and told not to return. Disease was also a problem in the early days, and posses to enforce quarantines were as much a standard as police and firemen. A clipping from 1881 worried that a "bad case of small pox" had been seen on the streets, and although the carrier was arrested and quarantined, the city feared an epidemic. The city fathers missed some undesirables, though, much to the chagrin of John Smith, a laborer. In early 1882, Smith was shot outside of a saloon by Tom Barry, a cowboy. An angry crowd abducted Barry and attempted to hang him, but the sheriff intervened and Barry lived to stand trial. Doctors didn't seem to worry about the Broad Street activities, however, as the Northeast Texas Medical Association convened within the city for its annual meeting. The city has carried on its medical tradition since those early days with some of the best medical coverage in the Four States Area. As the century turned, the city gained in stature. A 1911 visit from President William Howard Taft saw crowds gathered from around the region for a glimpse of the nation's leader. But the year had its own problems. The Courier reported a brouhaha over bricks when a move to lay a "double track" downtown was under way. The double track would have meant twice as much traffic for the area, but the problem was over the ownership of the bricks removed to lay the track. Did they belong to the street car operator, Texarkana Gas and Electric, or did they belong to the city of Texarkana, Ark.? No one seemed to know, and tempers flared, leading the newspaper to suggest, "Let's start some kind of racket and chunk each other until all the bricks on East Broad Street have been thrown out of the way." Neither the company nor the city fathers heeded the advice, and the next move was for residents to sign a petition asking for some settlement. The controversy was settled in late November of that year, with a Solomon-like ruling giving half the bricks to each. But that led to other questions. When the bricks were removed-where were they supposed to be laid? The settlement came when the bricks were finally laid in alley ways on Fifth Street to make pedestrian crossings. Some of those same bricks are still evident today. The brick war satisfied, city fathers were ready for some new strife. That same year, streetcar men received a raise in wages, their second in six months, receiving a princely $75 to $85 per month. That didn't seem to pacify them, because they went on strike within the month. The strike was passionate, with "pistols flourished and blows exchanged." The Texarkanian urged both sides to remain temperate, but in early November, the fray almost resulted in bloodshed. A protesting streetcar man, J.W. Cooper, and Texarkana Gas and Electric Assistant Superintendent William Dunn reached a confrontation. Dunn pulled a pistol on Cooper, plunging the barrel of the pistol into Cooper's abdomen and firing twice. Fortunately, the gun misfired both times, and Dunn was later prosecuted for the incident. Later, a street car bearing streetcar men brought in to replace the strikers was returning home when it was fired upon by an unknown sniper. No one was injured, and despite pleas from local newspapers, and no one was convicted of the crime. The strike was finally settled in late November. Today, although the street cars are gone, their legacy remains. Where the cars once ran, the city is probably one of the few in the country that allows parking in the middle, between the lanes of traffic. But not all of the city's history has to do with high drama and city problems. The city was also a popular location for P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth, and the event was large enough to draw in the populace from surrounding towns. Many businesses and schools closed for the event, although seeing the show represented a financial sacrifice to many. Henry C. Ward wrote of coming from Stamps to see the circus and making a special day of the event. "We went to a plush drug store for ice cream sodas ... we went into the 5 &10 cent store, the grocery stores, the clothing stores ... we peeped into barber shops, pool halls, and saloons," he wrote . After seeing the bearded lady, the fat lady, the giants and the dwarfs, the family went to a good restaurant for dinner. Downtown shops flourished in those days. In 1916, next door to the one-story brick Gazette building was the city's one and only Chinese laundry, an establishment known as "Sing Lee's." The Texarkana National Bank offered a place for the ladies of the Red Cross to sit in front of the building and knit for soldiers going off to fight World War I. And the "20s saw the groundbreaking of a new and historic building, the Hotel Grim. Now, the TNB building bears a new facade and hosts Hibernia Bank. The Grim is vacant, waiting for its own resurrection. Finishing touches are being put another historic spot, and representatives of Business Organization for a New Downtown hope the site will offer a place for present-day visitors to the downtown area to relax, and perhaps remember the history of the area. The site, at 106 E. Broad, has housed a variety of businesses through the years, including a drug store operated by W.A. Robinson from 1899 to 1901, a millinery operated by Ida Tucker and Carrie Baker, the Criterion, specializing in ladies ready-to-wear, a furniture store, a real estate company, and Dillard's, which left for its Central Mall location in 1978. The site also housed a restaurant, which burned. Richard Weber, executive director of BOND, said the case was deemed arson and the city ended up with the vacant lot, which in turn passed into BOND's hands. Weber said electricity was turned on this week, and the park should be open for business shortly after Thanksgiving.

Actually, this project will soon be moving to the Richard C. Butler Center for Arkansas Studies. The Math and Science school has run out of server space and the Central Arkansas Library System has volunteered to take on the project. Their should be another 100 articles online by the end of this semester! :) These are from some of the best and brightest students in the state and I think you will find them very entertaining and full of wonderful Arkansas information. There's over 150 megs of information and photographs. The new website should be up by the end of next week at: www.cals.lib.ar.us Just click on Arkansas History and Genealogy to get there. They are not online at that site yet but you can get a sneak peak at: www.cals.lib.ar.us/temp This is our staging site so if you see a typo or other problem, holler at me and I'll fix it! :) The Math and Science website will be coming down later this week so you may want to remember our site. This has all be made possible by a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council! Tracey At 08:27 PM 11/10/99 , GVRICHARDS@aol.com wrote: > The Arkansas Memory Project > ><A HREF="http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/memory.htm">Click here: The Arkansas >Memory Project</A> >http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/memory.htm > >The Arkansas Memory Project is modeled after the American Memory Collection >of the Library of Congress. It is a digital archive of primary source >materials designed for use by students and teachers in Arkansas classrooms. >It is a collection of official documents, publications, maps, letters, >narratives, recordings, photographs, art, and other artifacts from Arkansas. Founding member of the Arkansas Family History Association!! http://www.rootsweb.com/~arfha ********************* FREE Genealogy Forms Online!!! http://www.ancestrycorner.com We Specialize in ARKANSAS books! ****************************************** Listowner of: the GRS E-Zine, GenTips, GenChat, GenSwap Webmaster of the Central Arkansas Library System http://www.cals.lib.ar.us ******************************************************

The Arkansas Memory Project <A HREF="http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/memory.htm">Click here: The Arkansas Memory Project</A> http://asms.k12.ar.us/armem/memory.htm The Arkansas Memory Project is modeled after the American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress. It is a digital archive of primary source materials designed for use by students and teachers in Arkansas classrooms. It is a collection of official documents, publications, maps, letters, narratives, recordings, photographs, art, and other artifacts from Arkansas.

Found on web page- http://shuflin.rootsweb.com/Marriages/Arkansas.html <A HREF="http://shuflin.rootsweb.com/Marriages/Arkansas.html">Shuflin Family - Marriages by Location</A> Arkansas DELA WILBURN Shuflin, Charley Dixon January 17, 1910 Miller County, Arkansas FURQUERON, Mary Ethel Shufflin, John Robert May 23, 1914 Miller County, Arkansas LEWIS, Taylor Shuflin, Mary March 25, 1911 Miller County, Arkansas SHUFFLIN, John Robert Furqueron, Mary Ethel May 23, 1914 Miller County, Arkansas SHUFLIN, Charley Dixon Dela Wilburn January 17, 1910 Miller County, Arkansas SHUFLIN, Mary Lewis, Taylor March 25, 1911 Miller County, Arkansas

My husband is from this family in Miller County. Web site created by Wallace McKeehan. http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/mckstory2.htm In the middle of the 19th century the dream of many Americans was to go west and that they did by covered wagons, trains, horseback and any other feasible way. Charles Coffner McKeehan dreamed of the Tarrant and Parker counties of north Texas. No doubt he dreamed of the opportunities to exercise his carpentry and business skills that were offered by the booming area. Sometime between 1871 and 1873, he rented space in a boxcar on the Iron Mountain "M.P." railroad in which he could move family, belongings, animals and tools of his trade to Texas. An outbreak of measles prevented Parker County, Texas from becoming the hub of the next generation of this McKeehan family. They got as far as Texarkana on the border of Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana in Miller County, Arkansas where Charles had to postpone his dream, unload, rent a house and seek employment until the family recovered. However, the originally temporary stop became permanent and the tri-states Texarkana area became the hub for the next generations of this line which began in Ireland, Germany, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Tennessee. Spokes of the wheel branch out in many directions, but for the majority of descendants the area is the hub, the home country. Like central Arkansas, the Texarkana area also offered virgin timber and tillable land. The lumber industry was in full swing and sawmills driven by huge steam boilers were humming to capacity. It was in one of these that former justice of the peace, merchant and carpenter Charles Coffner McKeehan employed his knowledge of math, bookkeeping and office management skills to make a living and provide for his family. A huge explosion of a boiler adjacent to his office injured him so badly that he never recovered. He died on January 13, 1877 in Miller County, Arkansas. Charles Coffner lies on the east side of Harmony Grove Cemetery, next to wife Sarah Maria. In 1996, descendants placed a modern, prominent stone marker at the site. Virginia and Joshua, none by relatives as Jenny and Josh, lived in the Texarkana area throughout their lives and have a large number of descendants in and around Texarkana. They are buried in the Old Harmony Grove Cemetery south of Texarkana. Hot Springs County marriage records state Josua C. Gray, 19, wed Virginia A. McKeehan, 14, at residence of John Gray by Wm. ??, a young Baptist minister. Nettie Moore Camp’s records indicate that Virginia’s brother, Charles H., age 19, married Mary E. Ridley, age 15, at the same time. Children Jesse Chesterfield (1874-1949) m. Lona McBride Charles Coffner (1876-1955) m. 1. Grace Laverna Moore 2. Mary Lee Jackson Annette (Nettie) Virginia (1878-1968) m. John David Moore George Washington (1881-1904) Martha Lea (1884-1965) m. Mark Edward Jackson Ida Elizabeth (b. 1886) m. Ruben Giles Alta Lillian (1889-1978) m. 1 James H. Works 2 William Glanis Dendy 3 Samuel Stewart 4 Deliverance Throckmorton; 5 Richie Minnie (1891-1922) m. Jeff E. Works) Ruth A. (1894-1908) Lona (1896-1975) m. Quiller Melvin Day Mae Helen (1900-1990) m. Marshall Nardone Hobson

The Miller County Courthouse will close at 2 p.m. Friday, November 5, in order to install new equipment for the 911 emergency dispatching system. County Judge Hubert Easley said electricity to the courthouse will need to be turned off during the installation process, forcing the closure of business offices. The Miller County Sheriff's Department will remain open and existing emergency phone services will continue to operate during the maintenance procedure. Several courthouse personnel will be available to direct those unaware of the scheduled closure, Easley said. Normal courthouse operations will resume Monday.

This is a forward from Arkansas Roots List < Reply to > Ecrard@AOL.COM (Evelyn Rard) Subj: [ARK] Jordan/Serr/Sears/Scott/Strickland in AR Date: 11/1/1999 5:42:36 PM Pacific Standard Time From: Ecrard@AOL.COM (Evelyn Rard) Sender: ARKANSAS-ROOTS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU (Genealogy for Arkansas.) Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:Ecrard@AOL.COM">Ecrard@AOL.COM</A> To: ARKANSAS-ROOTS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU Edward Serr/Sears (the name changed sometime) supposed to be Seneca or Cherokee, depends on which relative you ask. m. Mary Elizabeth ________ don't know their birth or death dates or place or marraige date or place. Their daughter was: Celestia Sears b. 9-19-1842 in IL according to her death cert. d.4-04-1926 in Heavener OK Celestia m. Calvin Scott. Can't find a marraige record for them. Can't find anything on him except he applied for a homestead in Lafayette Co AR in 1864 and was dead by 1875 because Celestia finished the homestead as his widow. At that time she may have been married to Algy Strickland. Celestia and Calvin were the parents of: Mary Willis Scott b. 9-23-1867 in Miller Co AR d. 2-28-1951 in Heavener OK m. Thomas A Jordan on 5-01-1884 in Texarkana AR. Celestia had to give consent because Mary was 16 and she signed consent as Celestia Strickland. Thomas was b. 5-17-1853 d. ?????? There are so many Thomas Jordans I have collected 3 death certificates and not one of them is him. They were in Polk Co AR in 1905 when his daughter Cora Bell married. His father's name was supposed to be Edward. Have not documented this yet. Can anyone shed some light on any of these people? Thank you Evelyn

Texarkana, Texas High School Charles Dickens could have said of those double-blow years, "It was the worst of times and ... it was the worst of times." But those who lived through the late 1930s and early '40s didn't realize that later generations would consider their years as harder than most. They have happy memories of high school. The Texas High School class of 1939 will have its reunion Saturday and more than one member has commented that Tom Brokaw's book, "The Greatest Generation," includes their age group. The class will meet and reminisce, laugh and remember the good times. The planning committee has already started gathering their memories. The graduates in 1939 had spent most of their young lives in the Great Depression, the biggest economic crisis America ever had. They didn't know it then but when they graduated they would be catapulted into the most encompassing, devastating war the world has ever known. The late Sally Reese, a member of that class and a former newspaper reporter, wrote a first-person account for the Texarkana Gazette at the time of the 50th Reunion: "The world as we knew it was approaching an end the night we got our diplomas from Texas High, May 31, 1939. "We didn't know it then, but World War II was just three months away. Hitler invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, and Great Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later, and World War II began." The economy was slowly improving by 1939 but times were not flush yet-prosperity was several years away and to be bought at a terrible cost. But at the time, the graduates looked forward to a good life, one better than the struggles their parents suffered. Of what was behind them, the members say they accepted it; of what was ahead, they say they just did what was expected of them. "I guess as we grew up, all we knew were hard times and everyone else was in the same shape," said Alice Hatchett Quillin. "I remember when the Depression hit-we kids just knew that something terrible had happened. I don't remember my parents sitting us down and talking to us about it, or even explaining it. We knew, and we knew our friends were going through the same thing we were so there wasn't any envy or hard feelings. And we knew about some kids who were much worse off than we were." At a meeting of the planning committee, the group discussed and wrote down some of their memories and feelings. The committee consists of Quillin (who also gave a personal interview), Marle Dunnam Street, France Hibbitts Kittrell, Dorothy Sue Barbara Patterson and Marguerite Holman Magee. They remembered a simpler, happy time. Quillin remembers her grandfather had bought some property on Olive Street so her grandparent's home, her family's home and her uncle's home were in a row along 2121 Olive St. (families often all built on the same property during the "30s.) The house is still standing and is still known by some as the Hatchett house. "We had small yards, but we all had vegetable gardens we worked in," Quillin said. "Mother always put dinner on the table for all the kids in the neighborhood who wanted to eat with us-it might be cornbread, beans and tomatoes from the garden, simple but very good. My mother, like most housewives, fed hobos who came by too." The students' school clothes were homemade, including girls' prom dresses, and most clothes were passed down. "I don't think I had a brand new coat until I was grown," she said. "I was lucky because mother was a good seamstress and also did fine needle work so I had nice clothes." Jobs were so scarce that few high school kids could find part-time work except on farms, running a paper route or making deliveries. Mothers, by custom, didn't work and any available jobs would go to the head of the household. Quillin's father was a projectionist at the Hippodrome movie house, and had a job during the Depression (for about $10 a week, enough then). Going to the movies was one of the few luxuries they allowed themselves. Otherwise the young people listened to the radio and got together to socialize. Neighborhoods were like extended families, and school was the most important daily social contact. "We needed each other for entertainment," Quillin said. "We read the newspapers and ran to see the newsboy when he called, `Extra, Extra.' We enjoyed school activities and sports just like kids do now, but I think we were necessarily closer because there wasn't a lot that we could afford to do. Our classmates and our families were a big part of our lives." The classmates remember the Tiger Band rated third division in playing and second division in marching their senior year. They went to out-of-town games on trains, but the biggest game was just across town when Texas High and Arkansas High played the "Turkey Day Game." P.K. Browning had a coverall-overall factory on New Boston Road, Quillin said, and he made the white and orange outfits for the cheerleaders, the band sweethearts, drum major and pep squad. "Not only were school-sponsored dances popular, and we loved to jitterbug, friends would have dances at the new resplendent McCartney Hotel and the grand old Grim Hotel," Quillin and her friends wrote. "Some of the Texas High seniors played in local bands, and we had some roller-skating rinks. At school we had band concerts and Bobo the Magician would come and entertain." In warm weather, the high school kids swam in Akins Creek and Braumiller's Lake on Texas Avenue. Spring Lake Park was popular for picnics too. Everything they needed was in walking distance-it had to be because driving a car was a luxury in the "30s. People didn't take many vacations then except to visit relatives. "We had the highest respect for our teachers in high school, and we would never be disrespectful-not out of fear, but because we looked up to them. We were active in our churches, and my church, Highland Park, helped out the less fortunate, and I'm sure the others did too with their parishioners. "We all knew people who were hungry, but no children were pointed out or made to feel different. Hard times are a great leveler and we were all pretty much on the same level. Tom Brokaw referred to us as a generation of survivors, but we just accepted that this was the way things were and it didn't do any good wanting more." When the class of 1939 graduated, at 8 p.m. May 31, 1939, there were 153 graduates who started off on their new lives. The boys went out to find jobs driving laundry trucks, working in grocery stores and whatever they could find. Not many could afford to go to college, only the fortunate few could afford a university. "Most families could only afford one child in college and that would be the sons because they would be the breadwinners." Most of the young people married right out of high school and Quillin married her husband, George Quillin, in 1940. Just as the young couples began their struggle to make a life for themselves, some of them starting families, they were very aware of the war in Europe and the threat that hovered over them. "It was a Sunday night when I heard about Pearl Harbor and I remember Walter Winchell telling about it on the radio," she said. "Things were never the same. All of the young men we had just graduated with went off to war, and in no time Texarkana was cleaned out of young men. I remember when one of the first ones was killed-a pilot who got all of his crew out and then was killed in the crash. " It was the first of many deaths the class suffered. Red River Army Ordinance was built and jobs were plentiful, although little else was. No gas, tires or new cars, and rationing limited sugar, coffee, shoes, butter and meat. "You couldn't get a room in town, or rent a house," Quillin said. "One family fixed up their chicken house and rented it out as an apartment. We were out of the Depression but into a war." And now they are celebrating-some 60 or 70 including spouses-at 6 p.m. Saturday at Special Events "on the boulevard." As Reese said, "We were children of the Depression, who grew to adulthood in the midst of a global conflict." And perhaps with luck, no other class will have to go through such double blows. But if they do, may they do it with as much grace as those of the class of '39.

It is next Saturday, and I hope, unlike last year, it does not get rained out again. If you have an urge to go rootsdigging in south Miller County or East Cass County, next weekend would be a great time to go, and combine the two. From: The History of Cullen Baker No one who grew up in Bloomburg.. or surrounding area.. will forget the hair-raising storied about the notorious outlaw, Cullen Baker, Civil War renegade. Many a child has been thrilled and chilled with fear at hearing the true stories about Baker and his companions. It is said that one of Cullen Bakers main hiding places was a large colonial house on what was later the V. D. Glass Farm, south of Sulphur River on highway 59. The house, evidently built during the civil war days, had secret passages and trap doors with hidden entrances and exits. These were used by the noted outlaw. A few storied were told about he Baker helping a family which was in need by taking from those who had plenty.. but more often, that was not the case. While the man of the house was away in the army, during the war, women and chidden lived in fear that Cullen Baker might come and take their food, their money, or whatever struck his fancy. The outlaw was shot to death by Joe Davis, who had sworn to avenge the wrong done to him by Baker. Another man with Davis was Smith, shot and killed Baker's companion (name unknown). The two dead bandits were loaded into a wagon, covered with corn fodder, and hauled to Jefferson, then the capital of Cass County, where Davis and Smith received $3,000... he standing reward offered for the outlaws "if taken dead or alive".

Sunday, Oct. 31 The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program will offer a free walking tour of Texarkana's historic residential area beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday. The tour is part of the Preservation Program's "Walks Through History" that are scheduled through noteworthy Arkansas neighborhoods and historic districts around the state. The first tour starts at 1 p.m. at the south steps of the Downtown Post Office on State Line Avenue in Texarkana at the most photographed spot in the Twin Cities-Photographer's Island. The walk will focus on the historic architectural and historic landmarks on the Arkansas side of the line but the Downtown Post Office is notable because it sits like a saddle on the state line, one stirrup in Texas and the other in Arkansas. Next the group will visit sites on the Arkansas side listed on the National Register of Historic Places: Foulke House, Wadley House, Whitmarsh House and Garrison-McLain House as well as other historic buildings in the neighborhood. The Texarkana Museums System will co-sponsor the tour, which is open to the public. The "Walks Through History" tours are held monthly. The final 1999 tour will take place Dec. 4 in downtown Jonesboro. Ken Story, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program's outreach coordinator, leads each of the tours.