Progress Notes

John Michael Smith, originally from Tuscumbia, has been sending me photos and documents from the collection of his mother, Betty Lou Messersmith Smith, who passed away last year. Regular readers will have noticed that more than a few interesting stories have originated from the items John Michael has sent me over the last few months (photo 01).

01 John Michael Smith

Recently, John Michael sent me some cartoon drawings his mother possessed which had been drawn years ago by Tuscumbia native, Raymond Abbett, who suffered a tragic death from a car accident in 1952. The cartoon drawings include one which is a self portrait of Raymond. Here is a photo of Raymond with his wife, Mary Edwards Abbett, and his drawings (photos 02 - 05):

02 Raymond and Mary Edwards Abbett

03 Raymond Abbett Self Sketch

04 Bugs Bunny by Raymond Abbett

05 Bugs Bunny by Raymond Abbett

The story of Raymond Abbett is interesting as well as poignant, one which I wanted to share with readers of this website. My resource for the story is Raymond’s daughter, Patricia (Patti) Abbett Wild (photo 06).

06 Patti Wild

Raymond was a very happy and personable young man who was well liked by everyone around Tuscumbia. His original name was Raymond Butterfield having been born in southern Missouri in 1926. He and his two brothers were orphans who had been placed in an orphanage in Joplin, Missouri. At about the age of three years Raymond was taken from the orphanage by a man who lived near Tuscumbia (name known but omitted). Raymond’s two brothers were taken by a farmer who lived in north Missouri. The story goes that the man from Tuscumbia would not care for Raymond and, in fact, abandoned him in the home. A day or so later some neighbors became aware of the situation and took Raymond to the courthouse to the office of probate judge Charles Abbett (photo 07).

07 Charles Abbett

Charles and his wife Bertha decided to adopt Raymond (photo 08).

08 Charles and Bertha Abbett

Here is a photo of Raymond near the time he was adopted by Charles and Bertha (photo 09):

09 Raymond Abbett - Age Four

Raymond adapted very well to his new home and attended the Tuscumbia school system. At that time, the Abbetts lived in a home close to the old Brockman hotel. Here is a photo of Raymond as a boy with the hotel pictured in the back ground (photo 10):

10 Raymond Butterfield Abbett - Brockman Hotel Behind

Soon after graduation from High School World War II began resulting in Raymond being inducted into the U.S. Navy (photo 11).

11 Raymond Abbett in Uniform

Fortuitously, Raymond served with another Tuscumbian, Jack Jones. Here is a photo of both men while on duty overseas (photo 12):

12 Jack Jones and Raymond Abbett

After the war Raymond married Mary Edwards, also of Tuscumbia, and the couple moved to Kansas City where Raymond worked for the General Electric Company (photo 13).

13 Mary and Raymond Abbett

They had one daughter whom they named Patricia Rae Abbett. Here are photos of Patti in her father’s arms and another photo of her in the arms of her step grandparents, Charles and Bertha Abbett (photos 14 and 15):

14 Raymond Abbett with daughter Patti

15 Charles and Bertha Abbett with stepgrandchild Patti Abbett

In 1952 Raymond and Mary were visiting in Tuscumbia when a tragedy occurred which took his life. Here is the newspaper account and other information which I copied from this website:

RAYMOND ABBETT ELECTROCUTED IN TRAGIC ACCIDENT

12 April 1952

In a tragic accident last Saturday afternoon about 4 p.m., Raymond Abbett, son of Judge and Mrs. Charles M. Abbett, was killed in an auto accident. The accident occurred on Highway 54 near Etterville, according to the highway patrol.

A coroner's inquest was held at Eldon Monday, April 14, at the city hall. The following information of witnesses was told at the inquest:

Raymond Abbett was traveling toward Eldon Saturday evening when he lost control of his car on Highway 54, near Etterville, and left the highway overturning twice before hitting an REA electric power line. He emerged from the wrecked Chevrolet and was leaning on the front of the car when Winston Wright and Don Clawson of Tuscumbia came to his aid. They said Abbett was not seriously hurt, but appeared dazed. The two men had previously stepped over power lines that were parted by the impact of the car against the pole. They told Abbett they would take him home, and Wright and Clawson again crossed the wires and were standing by the fence, with Abbett following them. They said he came under the wires then abruptly turned back toward the wrecked car, stumbled and fell on the live power line. Wright pulled him off the line and immediately began giving him artificial respiration. He was aided by Trooper Louis Rohls, who soon was summoned to the scene of the accident. Louis Phillips, of Eldon, arrived with his ambulance and resuscitator, and further attempts were made to restore Abbett, as he was rushed to St. Mary’s Hospital. All attempts failed to save his life. The power line carried approximately 7200 volts of electricity.

Members of the coroner's jury were: John Clawson, M. D. Dennison, Floyd Vaughan, Curtis Weeks, E. A. Allee, Ed McCulloch. Their verdict was accidental death by electrocution. The inquest was conducted by Coroner Walter Hedges of Iberia, and Prosecuting Attorney LeRoy Snodgrass of here.

•Note:
Abbett was a resident of Kansas City, along with his wife, the former Mary Edwards of Tuscumbia, and their infant daughter. He was planning to go to Alaska, where he had employment in construction work. He was the adopted son of Judge and Mrs. Charles M. Abbett and was a graduate of the Tuscumbia schools. He served in the Navy during World War II.

•Note:
He is survived by his parents, Judge and Mrs. Charles. M. Abbett; his wife, Mary, and infant daughter, Patricia Rae; two brothers, Earl of Lewistown, Pa., and Guy, of Purdin, Mo.

•Note:
Funeral services were held at the Tuscumbia Presbyterian Church Tuesday, April 15, 1952, with the Rev. James Duncan officiating, assisted by Rev. John D. Jenkins and the Rev. Mark Sooter. Burial was in the Tuscumbia cemetery with Military rites conducted by the Eldon Legion Post No. 229. Members of the Iberia Post No. 105 also participated in the service. Arrangements were under the direction of Phillips Funeral Home of Eldon.

The story of Raymond’s death is made more tragic because of the serendipitous cause. Even though he survived the car accident if only he had just lowered his head a few inches when crossing under the hot electrical lines he would never have been electrocuted. He left behind his wife Mary (Edwards) and three month old daughter Patricia Rae (Patti). Mary later married Lloyd Groves, who passed away only about a year ago.

Patricia (“Patti”) was only three months old when her father, Raymond was killed. However, she has treasured the stories about him told by family and many of his friends and has maintained a collection of memorabilia and photos some of which I copied for this story. She told me that not only was Raymond an artist (and she has several of his drawings) but also a musician having quite a talent for playing the guitar.

She also told me that Raymond and fellow Tuscumbian Lee Mace were very good friends and often danced to the jukebox at Sweaneys’ in Tuscumbia.

Raymond Abbett’s early life story was one of difficulty and mishaps considering he was at the beginning an orphan with a very dubious future. But fortuitously and very fortunately he found himself placed in a good Christian home with a loving extended family to support him. At that time many Abbett and Edwards families uncles, aunts and cousins were to be found in Miller County and get togethers were common. His childhood and school years in Tuscumbia were positively formative serving him well for his duties overseas in WWII. And later his marriage to Mary Edwards, born out of one of Miller County’s earliest families, gave him additional deep Miller County roots all of which were formative for his early years in Tuscumbia. The tragedy of his death at such an early age created among his family and friends much yearning to know what he would have accomplished had he lived.

The history of Charles Monroe Abbett, father of Raymond Abbett by adoption, is of some interest. He was a descendent of John Abbett of Kentucky. John moved to Illinois where he married Elizabeth Miller. Their children were born in that state before the family moved to Miller County in the late 1830’s. According to Miller County historian, DeVere Whitaker:

“The Abbott/Abbet family was in the lumber business in Miller County, Missouri. This family had ties with both the Barton and Rowark (Roark) families, as well as dozens, or maybe hundreds of other Miller County families.”

Charles Monroe Abbett was a great grandchild of John Abbett, grandson of William Abbett, and son of Eli Abbett. Eli raised his family on a farm near Capps. Here is a family photo taken when Charles was a young boy (photo 16):

16 Eli and Susie Forerester Abbett Family

And here is the caption for that photo:

“This photograph of the Eli Abbett family was made about 1895 near the Capps community. In the photo are parents Eli and Susie (Forrester) Abbett. From left to right the names are Sadie, Eli, Alma, Susie, Barcie and Charles.”

Born to the family later were Ernest, Ella, Cleo, Herman and Ruby. Here is a family photo of Eli and Susie's children, missing Ruby, taken many years later (photo 17).

17 Abbett Family: Sadie, Alma, Barcy, Ella, Cleo, Herman, Charlie and Ernest (Ruby Absent)

And here is a photo of Ruby with her husband Ralph Martin and and two of their three children (missing their youngest child, Kenneth) (photo 18):

18 Ruby Abbett Martin - Ralph Martin holding Melford - Juanita in Front

Herman Abbett, brother of Charles, held the Miller County Sheriff’s position for three consecutive terms of four years, some of which was during the time Charles was Probate Judge (Herman is behind on the far left in the group photo 17).

Charles’ career in Miller County is summarized in his obituary here:

29 Dec. 1960
Miller Co. Autogram

CHARLES M. ABBETT, MILLER COUNTY PROBATE JUDGE,
DIES DECEMBER 26, 1960 (photos 19 and 20)

19 Charles Abbett - Age 21

20 Bertha and Charles Abbett

Judge Charles Monroe Abbett, judge of the probate court and ex-officio magistrate of Miller County, died Monday at Still-Hildroth Hospital in Macon where he had been a patient 10 days.

Judge Abbett, 72, had been in declining health since last spring and suffered a stroke around Thanksgiving.

The judge was a familiar figure in the county courthouse at Tuscumbia. He served as circuit clerk for eight years, being first elected in 1922.

In 1938 he was elected probate judge of Miller County, an office which he continued to hold at the time of his death. He was last elected to a four year term in 1958. Since 1946, he had also served as ex-officio magistrate, following the adoption of Missouri's new constitution providing for this.

Judge Abbett was born Feb. 4, 1888 at Tuscumbia, the son of Eli and Susie (Foster) Abbett. His first wife, Bertha Amelia (Bartlemey) Abbett, died Aug. 12, 1955. On Aug. 26, 1959, he was married to Mrs. Eliza Abbett who survives at the family home in Tuscumbia.

Also surviving are two brothers, Ernest Abbett of Lake Ozark, and Herman Abbett of Tuscumbia; five sisters, Alma Craven of Eldon, Barcie Curry and Ruby Martin of Tuscumbia, Cleo Malberg of Granite City, Illinois, and Ella Sooter of Ulman; and one grand daughter, Pattie Abbett.

His son, Raymond Abbett, was electocuted in 1952 when he came in contact with a power line after an auto accident near Etterville.

Funeral services for Judge Abbett were held at 1 p. m. Wednesday at the Mt. Zion Church. The Rev. Mark Sooter officiated. Burial was in the Tuscumbia cemetery under the direction of Phillips Funeral Home of Eldon.

Patti Abbett Wild told me that Charles Abbett was the father figure for her since her father, Raymond Abbett, lost his life when she was only three months old. She has happy memories of riding in the car with Charles to visit his many friends and relatives in Miller County. One memory in particular were visits to the home of Charles’ sister, Barcy Abbett Curry, who lived near St. Elizabeth. Barcy’s husband, Irvin Curry, was manager of the Farmer’s Exchange in St. Elizabeth (photo 21).

21 Barcy and Irvin Curry - Sadie Abbett, sister of Barcy kneeling

Barcy loved to cook. In fact, she had three kitchens by the time Patti was visiting. Her first kitchen had her first stove, which was heated by wood. When propane gas became available in individual tanks, she added on a small extra room and bought a gas stove, keeping the wood stove. Then in the 1950’s when electricity arrived to the area she bought an electric range and built on a small addition to the house for her third stove. Barcy used all three stoves at times as she was used to preparing large meals. Barcy also harvested game off the farm to supplement her meals. In fact, she kept a loaded Winchester 30-30 lever action rifle by the kitchen door in case a deer happened to be walking across the nearby field.

Patti told me that Charles’ first wife, Bertha Bartlemey, was from St. Louis where Charles met her when he worked in St. Louis early in his life. She remembers Bertha as being very loving and caring (see photo 20 of Charles and Bertha).

I asked Patti what her mother, Mary, did in the immediate aftermath of Raymond’s death, since such a sudden loss to the young family would have been so devastating. She agreed and told me the following:

“We stayed a short time in KC and some time in Warrensburg with mom’s sister, Doris, and her husband Rex Wyrick. Later, we moved in with Granny and Grandpa (Minnie and John Edwards) down on their Osage River farm. Mom understandably was very depressed when Raymond died. She was overwhelmed and needed Granny to help with me.”

Of course, no one easily could have confronted a tragedy of this magnitude in their life at such a young age facing the responsibility of raising a young baby alone. However, the family supported Mary and Patti and life gradually moved on. As noted above Patti had a good relationship with her grandfather Charles Abbett and her mother Mary later married Lloyd Groves to begin a new life back home in Miller County.

As I remarked in earlier Progress Notes this year I am going to feature an occasional story from the Civil War era of Miller County as part of our state’s recognition of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War in Missouri. This week I am featuring the story of Elisha S. Strutton of Iberia as researched and written by Peggy Hake. This biography by Peggy will then be followed by a story of a fight in Iberia witnessed by Elisha:

Elisha Strutton (photo 22)
By Peggy Hake

22 Elisha S. Strutton

Elisha S. Strutton was born in Burke County, North Carolina, in 1840 and died in 1922 at Hawkeye in Pulaski County, Missouri (photo 23).

23 Tombstone iin Hawkeye Cemetery

He was a son of Joseph and Christina Strutton of Burke County, North Carolina. Elisha’s first wife was Narcissa/ Narcissus Cathrine Carroll, called “Sis,” a daughter of Miles and Ruah (Setser) Carroll of the Madden community of southern Miller County. The Strutton and Carroll families came to the county together in a wagon train in the mid-1850s from North Carolina via Georgia, so had known each other for quite sometime.

Elisha and Narcissa were parents of eight children, but six died when young.

The children were:

- WILLIAMH. STRUTTON 1861-1866;
- JOSEPH M. STRUTTON 1863-1864;
- HENRY WASHINGTON STRUTTON 1866-1952 m. Sarah J. Shelton;
- CHARLES FRANKLIN STRUTTON 1869-1871;
- ROBERT SYLVESTER STRUTTON 1871-1889;
- ALFRED JACOB STRUTTON 1873-1922 m. Hester Brumley;
- JOHN EDWARD STRUTTON AND RUAH CHRISTINE STRUTTON, twins-- born and died in 1874.

Narcissa died in 1887 and in 1889, Elisha married Mary Viola Sipe (1861-1931) at Iberia. He was about 20 years older than Mary Viola when they married. Elisha and Mary were parents of six children but I could only find record of five----

- Ella Catherine 1889-1963 --never married;
- Jenny Belle 1891-1893;
- James Harrison 1893-1924 m. Iva E. Day;
- Joseph Benjamin 1895-1983 m. Grace Ellen Moneymaker;
- Bert McKinley 1897-1985 m. Rettie Arvilla Luttrell.

The sixth child was a daughter, but I do not know her name nor when she was born (photo 24).

24 Elisha Strutton with second wife Mary Sipe Strutton and four of their Children

During his lifetime Elisha was a farmer, carpenter, minister of the gospel and at one time owned a general store. During the Civil War, he served as a Sergeant in Company M, 3rd Missouri Cavalry and acted as a scout for the Union Army. He received wounds in the right shoulder and knee during one of the battles.

There was a fight on the streets of Iberia in December 1865 which arose over old hatreds caused by the Civil War. The outlook and thoughts were so different between many old friends who had fought on separate sides in the war. Several were killed in the fight, including a woman, and there was a hearing in the circuit court of Miller County concerning the afray.....Elisha Strutton was one of the witnesses.

I have researched and written a story of that infamous fight in the little frontier town of Iberia and it sounded much like the fights in the Old West between outlaw factions.

Ella Catherine Strutton, the only surviving daughter of Elisha and Mary Viola, never married. She died on Jan. 29, 1963, and was buried in the Crocker Memorial Cemetery but as far as determined has no grave stone to mark her grave site. The Strutton families are buried in several cemeteries in Miller and Pulaski counties.......

Elisha was buried at Hawkeye (Pulaski County); his first wife, Narcissa Carroll- Strutton is in the Madden Cemetery (Miller County) as are seven of their eight children.

His second wife, Mary Sipe-Strutton is buried at Concord Cemetery (Pulaski County); daughter Ella Catherine is at Crocker Memorial Cemetery; and other Strutton family members are at Pleasant Hill Cemetery (Miller County).

One of the sons of Elisha died in Oklahoma (Alfred Jacob); one in Arkansas (Joseph Benjamin); and one in California (Bert McKinley).

As I have indicated in previous Progress Notes, hostilities in Miller County did not end for more than ten years after the Civil War nationally ended in 1865. The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and most historians consider Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865 the end of the war. Although the Army of Northern Virginia surrendered on April 9th, technically, there were still Confederate Forces in the field until June. Confederate General Stand Watie surrendered on June 23, 1865 when the last major fighting occurred.

However, one of Miller County’s most fierce Civil War related battles was fought on the streets of Iberia, Missouri Christmas Day, 1865, several months after the Civil War officially had ended. This is the battle to which Peggy referred in her article above about Elisha Strutton. Here is Peggy’s narrative about that battle:

SHOOTOUT CLIMAXED CIVIL WAR FEUD IN IBERIA

by Peggy Smith Hake

Iberia is an average, small American town, quietly progressing through the late 20th century. Once called Rocktown, she sits upon the rolling hills of southern Miller County trying to project the image that her streets, businesses, and citizens are cast in a mold of peaceful contentment in this age of modern technology. There are ghosts from the past under that peaceful facade. Those haunting ghosts are riding roughshod over my mind as I write this story......the blacksmith's white-hot forge steaming; saloon doors swinging; horse hoofs echoing over the dirt streets of the town; fists flying; blazing guns.....that was the scenario of peaceful Rocktown/Iberia on Christmas Day, 1865.

The Civil War had officially ended only a few months earlier, but in Miller County the hatreds were still raging fiercely across the countryside. Neighbors suspected each other of supporting the opposite side of the war faction. An old-timer once said, "Miller County was the roughest place on earth!" He was referring to the fighting, suspicions, hatreds, and bushwhacking that continued on for more than a decade after the close of the war. The old saying, 'sleeping dogs would not lie down' described the situation perfectly.

For some reason, which I have not been able to determine, a group of Southern sympathizers spent much of their time and energy harassing the Long family of southern Richwoods Township. The Longs were certainly not the only family in the Big Richwoods who favored the Northern ideology of that day. Even more confusing is the fact that the Long family immigrated from the southern states and owned slaves......They lived in the vicinity of the Madden/Pleasant Hill community and some of their neighbors were the Maddens with whom they fought on Christmas Day 1865, on the streets of Iberia.

During the Civil War, a Union fort was built in Iberia and was under the command of Capt. William Long, son of James and Harriett Long. This old fort stood where the Farnham and Sons Lumber Co. once existed in the 1940s and 50s when I was a child growing up in Iberia (photo 25).

25 Farnham Store

Capt. Long was killed during the Civil War at his parent's farm home a few miles southwest of Iberia. While visiting his family, a group of bushwhackers rode up to the Long homestead and ordered Capt. Long outside. He helped his father, mother, and an old slave gentleman to escape from these marauders, but they set the house on fire and as Capt. Long fled from the flames, he was gunned down in the yard, killed instantly. Perhaps this was the beginning of the harassment the Long family endured over the next few years.

Christmas Day 1865, while families should have been together celebrating the birth of their Lord, blood was spilled on the streets of Iberia. Over one of the southern hills surrounding the town, horse hooves were echoing on the cold ground as several men rode into town with guns on their hips and fire in their eyes. They were shouting, "Death to all the Longs and their friends". According to old court records, eye witnesses related what they saw and heard during this day of tragedy. Some of the men and women who appear in the court records giving testimony were William H. Madden, Anderson Chappel, Ruel Elsey, John Smith, George Long, John Arnold, Joshua D. Cochran, John Long, William Harrison Smith, Julius Bailey, John B. Stone, Cornelius Lowe, James Madden, William H. Melton, William Madden, Francis M. Elsey, Peter Mashburn, Thomas Hickman, Calvin Elsey, Polly Ann Elsey, Elisha Strutton, James Boren, Louisa Jane Shelton, Caroline Hickman, Joseph Melton, James Runnels, Henry Carroll, John Carroll, Dr. James Carter, John Ferguson, and Ed Spearman.

I am going to try to reconstruct the story the best I can as I try to fully understand what actually happened.....The trouble did not begin on Christmas Day, but earlier before the Christmas holiday. William Harrison Smith stated he had been at a 'house raising' at Mr. and Mrs. Stone's (John B. & Samantha Bailey Stone) in the Big Richwoods, northwest of Iberia. About 10 p.m. that night Anderson Chappel, Ruel Elsey and several other men rode up on their horses. There was a lively party going on because the work was finished and the folks were having a dance to celebrate the 'house raising'. Ruel Elsey sent word into the house for the Long boys to send their slave outside to fight him, but the Longs went out instead and gun shots rang out. One of the men shot that night was a son of William H. Melton who lived over near the Pulaski County line. William rode out the next day to get his son to haul him home and he enlisted the aid of the Madden boys to help him. I am presuming that the Melton boy was killed. The fight set the stage for the Christmas Day shoot-out in Rocktown!

When the crowd of gunmen rode into Iberia on Christmas Day, John Arnold was at Thompson's blacksmith shop. William Madden came there with Ruel Elsey and several other men. Elsey took a gun from George Long. Joshua D. Cochran said he was talking to George Long when 15 or 16 men came riding up. George Long was asked by Elsey where young Johnnie Long was, but George did not know. George had told Joshua Cochran that he feared of being killed.

William Harrison Smith was in Rocktown on Christmas Day when Madden and the others rode into town. Julius Bailey cornered Smith and told him to steer clear of the group because they considered him a friend to the Longs. Bailey suggested he stay out of the way. Smith said, "A few day before, some of the Longs told me they were afraid in Rocktown". Evidently he was one of their comrades from the war. Smith was a former Union soldier (he was also my great grandfather, born in Pulaski Co., MO in 1841 to John Wesley and Nancy (Stinnett) Smith, natives of Tennessee...psh).

Francis M. Elsey, called Bud, owned a grocery and saloon in Rocktown and it stood at the corner of Main and St. Louis Streets (site of the Roy Porter Store in the days of my childhood). Evidently several men had spent the better part of the day in and around the saloon. Had word gotten out that 'today is the day of reckoning?' Was old scores ready to be settled? The Smith boys, George and James, had tried to raise a fuss with Mr. McMillen all day, but each time they managed to get their problems silently settled. They also had tried to pick fights with Bud Elsey. Peter Mashburn was with the Smith boys and he was in the 'thick of it', too.

William Madden was among the riders who had come to town and was inside Elsey's store talking with Elsey. He opened the front door to leave and George Smith said something to him. Madden replied..."I want no fuss", but words continued between them. One called the other a 'cowardly rascal' and the other yelled 'you're a no-good Rebel'. The Smith boys threw off their coats and rushed toward Madden, who had been joined by Anderson Chappel. They yelled.."Go bold face against the world!" and began a fight that became vicious and finally ended in a cloud of smoke as a revolver was fired. James Smith fell dead. Francis/Bud Elsey had run from his store to his home nearby and got his revolver. Albina Elsey, his wife, had run out in the yard beside him to see what was happening. All of a sudden, Elsey jumped over the fence and fired his gun. Albina Elsey had a gun also and she fired it at George Smith. He fell, dying almost instantly as well. She turned and ran back toward her house but was shot as she tried to get to safety. She fell through her front door.

In the meantime, James Runnels had shot Francis Elsey. Four or five men began chasing Runnels and Calvin Elsey through the field toward Moreland's stable. Evidently they made it safely to the stable. Back at Francis Elsey's home, his sister, Polly Ann Elsey, had a revolver when she appeared at the front door and she fired it into the crowd of men outside. They scattered in all directions but the same man who had shot Albina, her sister-in-law, also shot Polly Ann. Her sister, Louisa Elsey Shelton, saw what happened and she started to run to Polly Ann, but the man told her to go back or "I'll shoot you, too."

In the meantime Peter Mashburn and James Runnels carried Bud Elsey in from the field where he had been shot down and threw him over the yard fence. Elsey was not dead and begged to be carried in the house, but some of the men told him to just lay outside with the other dead men in the street. Albina, his wife, was mortally wounded but did not die at the scene. Someone carried her to her Uncle Isaac Crismon's farm in Maries County and she died there. There is record that her young brother, Bob Page, age about 16 years, was sent back to Iberia to get medical help for her, but he was gunned down and killed also. Back at the horrendous scene of murder and mayhem, the bodies of two Smith brothers were carried from the public road to the home of Thomas and Caroline (Rowden) Hickman in Rocktown.

As the sun set over the western horizon on Christmas Day 1865, Rocktown was in a shambles. Three men and one woman lay dead; a woman and another man were severly wounded; and a few days earlier another man had been killed in a feud-type argument that continued through Christmas Day.

I have tried to research the various families involved in this story and found some interesting data....... The Long family, who became the target of southern sympathizers, came from East Tennessee quite a number of years prior to the Civil War. The family was originally from Culpepper Co., VA; had migrated into East Tennessee and then moved on west into Missouri in the late 1830s and 40s. There were several families in the Long clan and each had numerous children. Their allied families were the Stewarts and Castlemans who also settled in the Big Richwoods. They were a close-knit, early American family.

The Elsey family came from DeKalb Co., AL in the 1840s and first settled in Maries County, MO (then Osage Co.) near Mrs. Elsey's family, the Rowdens. John Elsey married Rachel Rowden, dau. of Asa and Margaret (Hannah) Rowden, in DeKalb Co., AL in 1839. Her family originated in Henry Co., VA; moved to East Tennessee; and then moved to DeKalb Co., AL where she met and married John. John and Rachel had a large family of 13 children. Between 1850-60, they moved from Maries County to southeastern Richwoods township and settled on a prairie which later was called Elsey's Prairie. During the Civil War, a battle was fought on their land and it was called the "Elsey Prairie Fight". My great, great grandfather, John Levi Whittle, a Union soldier, was killed in that fight and was buried near the battleground in what later became the Billingsley Cemetery. Many of the Elsey family members were involved in the Christmas Day fight at Iberia including, Francis M., Ruel, Calvin, Thomas, Louisa Jane Elsey-Shelton, Caroline Elsey-Hickman and Polly Ann Elsey. The Elsey family left Miller County and moved to Franklin Co., AR in the years following.

The two Smith brothers have been the missing link of the puzzle. I have searched in Miller and Pulaski County records trying to determine who these boys were, but I have not been able to identify them. I believe they were sons of John and Telitha Smith of Pulaski County, but have no definite proof. They were the only Smith family who had sons named George and James. If they are their sons, George died at the age of about 18 years and James was about 26 years old. William Harrison Smith, mentioned in this story, was my great grandfather and may have been a cousin to the two Smith brothers who were killed. Several others mentioned were residents of Pulaski County including Peter Mashburn, James Boren, James Runnels, Cornelius Lowe, and Mr. McMillen.

Francis (Bud) Elsey survived his gunshot wounds. He left Miller County with some of his brothers soon after the Christmas Day fight. He went to Franklin Co., AR and married his second wife, Mollie Berry. Calvin Elsey, Bud's brother, married Callie Painter in Franklin Co. also. By 1871, most of the Elsey family was gone from Miller County.

For about ten years a number of post Civil War skirmishes occurred in our county quite similar to the one described above in Iberia. These enmities and quarrels persisted among inhabitants of the county not only because of quarrels and disputes related to the war but also due to post war economic deprivation.

In the Progress Notes of October 10, 2011 I featured the donation to our library by Gary and Freda Flaugher of their huge Jewell Tea china collection.

Recently, Harold Flaugher and Doris Wiggins created a large wall display in our kitchen of many of the collection’s dishes. The display was so colorful and attractive I took a photo of Harold and Doris in front of their very beautiful arrangement (photo 26).

26 Harold Flaugher and Doris Wiggins posing in front of Wall Display

Another photo reveals a closer look at the dishware (photo 27):

27 Closeup of Dishes in Wall Display

Also, a new display featuring antique dishware was placed nearby (photo 28):

28 Table and Wall Display

We are very thankful to Harold and Doris for creating this beautiful enhancement to the décor of our kitchen area.

If you didn’t receive a copy of our Spring Newsletter you can read it here (photo 29):

29 2012 Spring Newsletter
Click image to read entire newsletter in PDF format

That’s all for this week.

Joe Pryor

Previous article links are in a dropdown menu at the top of all of the pages.