Mary Frances Hodges's Blog
May 4, 2016
March 25, 2016
My New Book, Man’s Search for the Invisible God, is available now!
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February 4, 2014
Cemeteries: A Treasure Trove of Information
Yes, it has been a while since I have posted on Arkansas History With A Twist. But my life took an unexpected twist on July 2nd when I had a stroke. My brain dis-connected with the fingers on my left hand-made typing impossible. That function hasn’t been completely restored but is much improved. The names […]
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Related posts:Who Were These Men?Happy Independence Day
September 9, 2013
Medicine In The 1800s
Prior to the Civil War there were very few medical doctors in the state of Arkansas and not many more following the War. There was no economic incentive to come to Arkansas and practice medicine. In a cash poor society, most patients wanted to trade eggs and chickens for medical services. In addition, our ancestors […]
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Medicine In The 1800s - by Mary Frances Hodges
August 28, 2013
Thomas Meade Bowen: The Last Union General In Van Buren, AR - by Mary Frances Hodges
by Mary Frances Hodges Thomas Meade Bowen was born near Burlington, Iowa in 1835. His parentage has always been in question. As a young man, he moved to Marshall County, Kansas. were he was active in politics. When Lincoln called for troops at the beginning of the Civil War, Bowen organized the 13th Kansas Calvary, […]
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Related posts:Let’s Be Blunt About ItThomas King May: A Community Leader Now ForgottenMoreau Rose: A Community Leader Now Forgotten
Thomas Meade Bowen: The Last Union General In Van Buren, Arkansas - by Mary Frances Hodges
August 21, 2013
Fresh Oysters in Booneville, AR in the 1860s? - by Mary Frances Hodges
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Short post this week because I am finishing up the next book in the Miss Mary Margaret series and trying to get it to the publisher.
I think it is safe to say that we take for granted that we can get fresh seafood at our local market and sometimes it is flown in fresh to our favorite restaurants.
For years I was puzzled/fascinated that back in the 1860s, the Booneville, Arkansas newspaper would, on occasion, run grocery store advertisements announcing they had fresh oysters for sale. Even with modern refrigeration, shipping oysters cross-country can be an ‘iffy” operation. I was sure the oysters were shipped from New Orleans via the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers but then they had to be off loaded onto wagons and hauled over 49 miles on unpaved roads.
After much inquiry I learned that oysters could be placed between layers of wet straw and placed in wooden barrel and could hold for two weeks. Our ancestors must have been adventurous souls and liked oysters as much as I do. 
Do you have a favorite oyster recipe that you would like to share? It could be featured in a future post with my recipe for oyster dressing.
August 14, 2013
Thomas King May: A Community Leader Now Forgotten - by Mary Frances Hodges
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This is Part II in the Community Leaders series. You can read Part I here.
Information taken from letters in the private collection of Francis Reid.
Thomas King May of Clarksville, AR was born in Dickson County, TN, May 11, 1829. He was the son of Captain Thomas May who served under General Jackson in the War of 1812 and was in the battle of New Orleans. His mother was Amy King who was born in North Carolina, A daughter of John King.
Thomas always loved to read and excelled at school. After he learned all he could from his local teachers, his parents sent him for one year to Cane Hill, Washington County and one and half years to the Ozark Institute also in Washington County. He had always been interested in Higher Education especially literature and science. His habits were good, as he never drank whiskey, never played a game of cards or billiards. He had a very retiring disposition.
Even in the Army he served as a private although he could have been an officer on his horse. After examination in Shreveport, he became an ordnance officer. He served three years in the Confederate Army, while not approving of succession as the right remedy for the evils that existed. He has no regrets to make that he fought for the Confederacy. He thinks the outcome of the war was better for the white man and black man both and that it is better for the white boys to work for themselves than to have slaves do the work for them.
Mr. May married Mary J Cunningham, January 14, 1851 near Fayetteville. Mrs. May was educated at the female seminary of the noted Miss Sophie Sawyer in Fayetteville. The Mays have six children. William graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute with Honors. George Walter was educated at Henry & Emory College (now Emory University). Anna Reid and her husband are now merchandising in Waldron. John took up farming and cattle raising in Johnson County. Lee May is a partner and book-keeper in the family store. Thomas E. cultivates 200 acres of bottom land in Johnson County.
Mr. May is believed to have opened the first grocery store in Clarksville. It became known as T. K. May and Sons. Because he had trained his boys so admirable, people have asked him how he did it. His uniform answer was “by keeping them employed”. Mr. May joined the Southern Methodist church in 1847. He became a Mason in 1862 and served as Worshipful Master of the Blue Lodge
Mr. May’s grave is marked with a large monument in a Clarksville, AR cemetery.
Photograph by Bill Sullivan
We will continue to explore other forgotten community leaders in Arkansas the weeks to come. Do you know of any men or women who helped build Arkansas in the 1800s and are now forgotten? Let us know.
August 7, 2013
Governor Samuel Adams - by Mary Frances Hodges
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No, he didn’t sign the Declaration of Independence. No, he is not the one who makes great beer. He is Arkansas’ Samuel Adams.
He was born in Halifax County, Virginia in 1803. At the age of nineteen, he married Rebecca May of Dixon County, Tennessee; they had six children, four of whom died during childhood. He moved to Arkansas in 1835, where he became a planter and was active in Arkansas politics. Adams was a Democrat, and was elected to the Arkansas Senate in 1840. He was reelected and served as president of the Senate during his second term. When Governor Archibald Yell resigned from office to run for Congress, Samuel Adams as President of the State Senate served as acting Governor from April 29, 1844 to November 5, 1844, making him the third Arkansas Governor. (There was no position of lieutenant governor in Arkansas at this time.)
During his tenure, he endorsed Yell’s agenda on internal improvements and education, and he was also a proponent of Yell’s financial programs. When he left office in November, there was a surplus in the state treasury. After his brief role in the governor’s office, Adams was elected in 1846, to the state treasurer’s office. He served in this capacity until his death on February 27, 1850. Samuel Adams died in Saline County, Arkansas and is buried in the historic Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock.
Adams’ wife died in 1840 and in 1842, Adams married widow Catherine “Kittie” Fagan. Fagan had two sons of her own who lived with them in Adams’ household. Adams’ son, John D. Adams, became a Civil War major, plantation owner, and steamboat magnate. At one time, he owned the Arkansas Gazette. He was the stepfather of Civil War Confederate General James Fleming Fagan, and in the Civil War period Adams’ likeness appeared on Arkansas $10 treasury notes.
Resources:
National Governors Association
