Sunday, June 1, 2008

Rootbound in the Hills #111:
7 Nov 1989

by Rocky Macy

Rootbound mourns the passing of Dan SHORT of Noel. It was barely two years ago that Dan and I began cranking out columns for the same demanding editor, and while I groped and groaned for any material to use in Rootbound, Dan penned Sports Rap with an ease and eloquence that surely stirred the envy of many "professional" journalists. Dan had talent. The thugs* who murdered Dan SHORT stilled a powerful wordsmith and violated the nature of a truly gentle man. His death is a loss to us all.

Irene MORGAN (432 Alcorn Avenue, Dallas, TX 75217) needs information on Theodore SUTHARD (SOUTHWORTH) (born circa 1811, VA) and Dica BRIDGEWATER (born circa 1814, VA). They were married on 30 Nov 1830 in Person County, NC. The couple was in Lost Creek Township of Newton County, MO, by 1850 with the following children: Mary Ann (born 1832, VA), Margaret (1837, TN), John (1838, IL), Jackson and Jefferson (twins - 1841, County, MO), Martha (Nancy Jane) (1846, MO), and William (Billy) (1850, MO). By 1860 William (Billy) SOUTHARD and a younger brother, Richard (age four), were living with Armstrong and Adeline LITRELL.

(Andrew) Jackson SUTHARD (SOUTHWORTH, SOUTHARD) married Elizabeth McBEE in Greene County, MO, in 1862, and he married Mary Isbell LOLLER in Newton County, MO, in 1870. Do any of our readers have information that will help Irene with her research?

We've had a proliferation of Texans researching in the Ozarks lately. Perhaps some of our readers might like to turn the tables. If so, consider this:

Michael KELSEY (905 Duval, Temple, TX 76501) has advised Rootbound that his latest collection of Texas newspaper abstracts is now available on microfiche. The material (Volume 3) has been taken from miscellaneous Texas newspapers spanning 1839-1875. It is available from the compiler for just seven dollars plus one dollar shipping and handling. The first two volumes of this series were mentioned in Rootbound earlier, as was his collection from the Austin Texas State Gazette.

Word about Rootbound spreads in mysterious ways! Anna Ray McELROY (7230 Thomas Jefferson Circle West, Bartow, FL 33830), for instance, found a copy of the column while persuing the crumpled newspapers that had been used for packing in a shipment of something or other from the Ozarks. We are glad she did! Please read on...

Anna Ray McELROY (address above) is tracking her great-grandparents, _____ HENSON (born LA) and Amanda C. (_____) HENSON (born 24 April 1838, TN). Their children were Julia Ann (born Sep 1864, MO), Louella J. (20 July 1868, MO), and John E. (1872 or 1873). Amanda's husband probably died in 1872 or 1873 because Amanda and the three children moved to Pocahontas, Randolph County, AR, in 1873. Amanda C. (Mandy) HENSON died on pneumonia on 9 Jan 1916 while living on a houseboat. Anna is particularly interested in finding this HENSON family on the 1870 Missouri census, a record of Amanda's marriage, and a record of the death of Mr. HENSON. Can any of our readers provide her with some assistance?

Last year Rootbound published two columns on the pioneering SMITH family of Southwest City, MO. Dan SHORT was one of the many area descendants of that proud lineage. If any of Dan's kin (or anyone else for that matter) missed those columns and would like to have copies of them, please send a request along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Rootbound in the Hills in care of this newspaper. Rootbound is always happy to share.

The Genealogy Friends of the Library plan to carpool to the LDS Library in Joplin for their November meeting. The group will meet at that facility (2101 Indiana, Joplin, MO) on November 14th from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. where they will view a videotape on how to use the LDS archives. They will also have an opportunity to work with the new International Genealogical Index (IGI). It should be a great meeting, and, as always, visitors are welcome.

Until next week...happy trails!

(*Dan SHORT, President of the State Bank of Noel, was abducted from his home in northwest Arkansas one evening in early October 1989. He was driven to the bank in Noel and forced to open the vault. After robbing the bank, Mr. SHORT's abductors then drove him to Grand Lake in Oklahoma, where they chained him to a chair and dropped him off of a bridge and into the lake. His body surfaced several days later. Joseph and Shannon AGOFSKY, young adult brothers from Noel, were eventually arrested and convicted of bank robbery and murder. They are currently serving life sentences in prison. Rocky Macy - 2008)

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