THE
BACKTRACKERã
VOLUME
II
April
1973
NUMBER
II
Contents and Policies .............................................................................................................1
New Members......................................................................................................................2,
3
List
of Exchanges....................................................................................................................3
1834-35
This
is the Personal Tax List of
1836.
It was submitted by James Logan Morgan.
The
Dabney Families - “In Memory Of“...................................................................................7
“In
Memory of the Dabney Families of
is
about Dr. William P. Dabney, 1842-___. He married Miss Martha
Sears of
Franklin
Co.
The
diary of Mrs. T. H. Moore is continued again in this issue covering
the
dates
of
dated
from
Index
to
The
Index is from Goodspeed’s Biographies of
Page
12 also has “Bits and Pieces about
creation
of the county in 1820, it also has the 1821 Officers, 1823 Officers,
and
early settlers (1/2 page long).
Obituaries
from The
The
dates of these obituaries are September 1971 to March 1972. They
only
include
individuals born before 1910.
“As
I Remember It”,
Vera Key.......................................................................................15,
16
Vera
Key talks about the early days in Rogers, Arkansas, beginning
with the
first
house built in
Addington
Family Notes...................................................................................................17,
18
This
article begins with William Riley Addington and Martha Lucinda
Smith,
his
wife of
migration
to
Tate
Credentials - Benton Co.,
The
Tate Credentials covers the Credentials of Mitchell Tate, Minister,
from
Marriage
Book A, page 73,
The
in
Richards,
Boucher, Russell, and Shaffer.
Query
Section..............................................................................................19,
20, 21, 22, 22a
Index.....................................................................................................................................24
This
Surname Index is the original index from the Backtracker.
|
NAME |
PAGE |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
ADDINGTON |
17,
18 |
|
|
ALBERT |
13 |
|
|
ALLAN |
13 |
|
|
APPLEGATE |
15 |
|
|
ARRINGTON |
8 |
|
|
BARNES |
23 |
|
|
BASHAM |
12 |
|
|
BEANE |
12 |
|
|
BILL |
8,
9 |
|
|
|
8,
9, 15 |
|
|
BOUTCHER |
18 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
BROWN |
8,
14 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
BRYANT |
15 |
|
|
BUCKLES |
13 |
|
|
BURRIS |
13 |
|
|
CALLISON |
16 |
|
|
CARTER |
8,
9, 17, 18 |
|
|
CHERRY |
14 |
|
|
COHEA |
14 |
|
|
COLBURN |
9 |
|
|
COOPER |
7,
23 |
|
|
COVEY |
17 |
|
|
COX |
14 |
|
|
CREADY |
9 |
|
|
CZOLGOSZE |
8 |
|
|
DABNEY |
7 |
|
|
DAVID |
13 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
DODSON |
18 |
|
|
DOUGLASS |
9 |
|
|
DUNAGIN |
18 |
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
DYER |
12 |
|
|
EDWARDS |
16 |
|
|
EICHENBERGER |
8,
9 |
|
|
ELLIS |
7 |
|
|
ELSEY |
8,
9 |
|
|
ESTES |
13 |
|
|
EVANS |
14 |
|
|
FELKER |
15 |
|
|
FLEEMAN |
9 |
|
|
FORD |
13 |
|
|
FOUST |
13 |
|
|
FRANKE |
13 |
|
|
GAMMILL |
13 |
|
|
GARMAN |
13 |
|
|
GARNER |
9 |
|
|
GARRETT |
13 |
|
|
GEHRMANN |
13 |
|
|
GILLIAM |
13 |
|
|
GLASS |
13 |
|
|
GLENN |
13 |
|
|
GODLEY |
13 |
|
|
GOODING |
13 |
|
|
GOODMAN |
13 |
|
|
GORE |
13 |
|
|
GOSNELL |
9 |
|
|
GOULD |
13 |
|
|
GRAYDON |
13 |
|
|
GREEN |
13,
18 |
|
|
GREER |
8,
9 |
|
|
GRIM |
13 |
|
|
GRIMES |
23 |
|
|
GRISSON |
13 |
|
|
GRUBB |
13 |
|
|
GULICK |
13 |
|
|
GUMM |
13 |
|
|
HADDOCK |
18 |
|
|
HAIL |
9 |
|
|
HALE |
13 |
|
|
HALL |
9,
13 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
HANCOCK |
7 |
|
|
HANEY |
13 |
|
|
HANKS |
14 |
|
|
HANN |
14 |
|
|
HANNA |
14 |
|
|
HANSBERRY |
8 |
|
|
HARGUS |
14 |
|
|
HARLAN |
14 |
|
|
HARMON |
14 |
|
|
HARRALSON |
14 |
|
|
HARRIS |
14,
18 |
|
|
HARTENBOWER |
14 |
|
|
HARTMAN |
14 |
|
|
HATHAWAY |
14 |
|
|
HATHORN |
14 |
|
|
HATTABAUGH |
14 |
|
|
HAYES |
14 |
|
|
HEATHCOCK |
14 |
|
|
HELLSTERN |
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
HENDREN |
17 |
|
|
|
9,
14 |
|
|
HENRY
|
14 |
|
|
HICKEY |
8 |
|
|
HINSHAW |
17 |
|
|
HOFFMAN |
18 |
|
|
HOKE |
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
HOLLENSWORTH |
14 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
HORTON |
14 |
|
|
HOTZ |
14 |
|
|
HOWARD |
14 |
|
|
HUBBARD |
23 |
|
|
HUCKABY |
17 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
HUGGINS |
14 |
|
|
INGRAHAM |
14 |
|
|
INGRAM |
14 |
|
|
INSKER |
13 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
JAMES |
14 |
|
|
|
9,
18 |
|
|
JOHNSON |
14 |
|
|
JONES |
8,
14 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
KEY |
15,
16 |
|
|
KING |
8 |
|
|
KLEBER |
14 |
|
|
KRUEGER |
13 |
|
|
KUYKENDALL |
12 |
|
|
LEE |
14 |
|
|
LEIB |
18 |
|
|
LEONARD |
13 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
LITURAL |
18 |
|
|
McCLELLAND |
17 |
|
|
McDOWELL |
13 |
|
|
McILROY |
9 |
|
|
McKINLEY |
8 |
|
|
McLEOD |
13 |
|
|
McNEIL |
16 |
|
|
McRUNELS |
13 |
|
|
|
14 |
|
|
MADLOCK |
13 |
|
|
|
8,
9 |
|
|
MARTIN |
12 |
|
|
MASHBURN |
13 |
|
|
MASON |
14 |
|
|
MILLS |
12 |
|
|
MITCHELL |
18 |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
MONTAGUE |
9 |
|
|
MOON |
8 |
|
|
|
8,
9 |
|
|
MORTON |
13 |
|
|
MURDOCK |
16 |
|
|
NAYLOR |
8 |
|
|
NICHOLS |
8 |
|
|
NORTON |
9 |
|
|
OLIVER |
8 |
|
|
PARNELL |
14 |
|
|
PICKETT |
12 |
|
|
POINDEXTER |
9 |
|
|
REYNOLDS |
9 |
|
|
RICE |
16 |
|
|
RICHARDS |
18 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
RITHERFORD |
18 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
ROUGHTON |
16 |
|
|
RUSH |
12 |
|
|
RUSSELL |
8,
18 |
|
|
SADLER |
9 |
|
|
SCOTT |
13,
14 |
|
|
SEARS |
7 |
|
|
SHAFFER |
18 |
|
|
SIKES |
15 |
|
|
SMITH |
8,
17 |
|
|
SMOOT |
12 |
|
|
SPIKES |
16 |
|
|
|
13 |
|
|
STEELE |
9 |
|
|
STROUD |
13,
16 |
|
|
SUMMER |
12 |
|
|
SWINNEY |
14 |
|
|
TATE |
18 |
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
THOMPSON |
17 |
|
|
THREET |
14 |
|
|
TOLLESON |
9 |
|
|
VANWINKLE |
16 |
|
|
VICKERY |
7 |
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
WEBB |
9 |
|
|
WEEDEN |
9 |
|
|
WHITTENBURG |
13 |
|
|
WILLIAMS |
8,
9 |
|
|
WOODFIN |
17 |
|
|
WORTHEM |
9 |
|
|
WRIGHT |
12 |
|
Miss
Vera Key, a long-time resident of Rogers, was the guest speaker
at the February meeting of the N. W. Ark. Genealogical Society.
Following are some highlights of her talk about the early
days in Rogers.
“Early settlers came from Tennessee, including
my great-grandfather, because they heard about the abundance of
streams and trees, and they came to homestead.
By 1881, there was a population of some 20,000 across the
county. Most of the hamlets were
located near springs or streams, which were the lifeline of the
community. Most roads were from one
stream to another.
“The first and only house in Rogers was
the B. F. Sikes log cabin located on Arkansas Street between Elm
and Poplar. Mr. Sikes had arrived here
in 1853 with his father and brother, J. W. Sikes.
J. W. stayed, but B. F. returned with his father to Tennessee,
but came back here in 1873.
J. W. was a very influential man, and he began teaching
school because he taught school in Tennessee before he came to
Rogers. He became
a surveyor and later a lawyer.
He lived to be 100 years old.
He had joined the army and was in the battle up around
Pea Ridge, and later lost an arm in Georgia. We all rather idolized
him because he was the one man that we knew who had been a soldier
and had lost an arm.
“The Frisco Railroad began surveying for
a road, and on May 10, 1881, the first train of officials stopped
here. At the time the railroad
came in, this was known as the Post Office of Cross Hollows.
Mr. Sikes kept all the mail that that the stagecoach brought
in, in a small cubbyhole desk.
One of the camps for soldiers during the war was located
at Cross Hollows, and there was also a big still there.
After the railroad came, the name of the town was changed
to Rogers, after the Mr. Rogers who was the Vice-President of
the Frisco Railroad.
“In August, 1881, the first passenger
train went through Rogers.
The early settlers said that people came from miles away
to see it. They couldn’t
imagine anything rolling along without some animal pulling it,
or how it could stop or start.
The mules and the horses were very frightened of it. After the railroad came
through, people began moving in like flies.
“My great-uncle, J. A. C. Blackburn, had
married one of Peter Van Winkle’s daughters, and had bought
Mr. Van Winkle’s sawmill and 15,000 acres near War Eagle.
This mill supplied a great part of the finished lumber
for the first homes in Rogers. All down First Street from
Walnut to Cherry, soon built up with frame buildings.
“The voluntary fire department was housed
in the livery stable, and most of the first merchants belonged
to this fire hose brigade.
These merchants were quite prosperous, and soon the frame
buildings were torn down and the big brick buildings were put
in.
“Mr. W. C. Bryant had a hardware and furniture
store on First Street, where Sears is now.
Mr. Bryant was the only undertaker here for many years. Mr. Applegate had his drug
store in that block, and Mr. W. R. Felker had a bank, in which
all of the counters were made of Italian marble.
The H. L. Stroud family had come in early and started a
dry goods store, and their first store was on the corner of First
and Walnut Streets. There
was a grocery store belonging to Howard Edwards which stayed open
from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and he would deliver a nickel’s worth
of groceries anytime you called him.
“The building on the south corner of First
and Walnut Streets was a bank owned by Mr. Spikes.
His daughter, Lillian, was our postmistress for 15 years
and was also one of our teachers.
She passed away in 1971.
Up above this store was the opera house.
How well I remember attending one of the first operas there
when I was just a little child. I don’t remember the
name of the opera, but there was a scene in it where they were
going to saw a woman in half. I became very scared, and
my father had to take me home because I was screaming so much.
“Mr. Tom McNeil had gone out on a limb
and started selling automobiles in Rogers.
He first took over the livery stable for his place of business
and kept us all frightened to pass the door for fear someone would
come dashing out in one of those cars.
One of the first cars sold was to Dr. Rufus Rice.
The Doctor and his car really scared the horses and stirred
up the dust, for this was really a dusty town.
Mr. Callison began business and established an undertaking,
furniture, wallpaper, and picture framing business.
He soon bought one of those automobiles for a hearse.
Everyone talked about how fast he drove to the cemetery.
When you saw a funeral procession, first came the hearse,
then the few cars, and then the horses and buggies.
Everyone was very indignant at this fast pace they were
driving and the dust they were creating.
“When we first got telephone service in
Rogers, Miss Anna Murdock was the telephone girl, and when you
would ring Miss Anna, you wouldn’t need to tell her the number;
you would just say, ‘Please give me the Blackburn residence’,
(or whoever you were calling).
And if a man called his wife and couldn’t find her
at home, he would leave the message with Miss Anna to tell his
wife when she came home.
“Along the early twenties, there was much
feuding and fighting about paving the streets of Rogers.
The people were very much divided on the issue, because
there would have to be a bond issue passed, and people were afraid
that they wouldn’t be able to pay it, as this was about the
time of the depression. But, finally the bonds
passed, and they began the brick paving down by the Presbyterian
Church. That brick paving has really
been a good deal for us, as it is still standing up well.
Later, after people began to see what it meant to get rid
of the dust, they started on additional paving.
“The town of Rogers has had lots of ups
and downs, and those early days were surely the ups.”