Rootbound in the Hills #113: 21 Nov 1989

by Rocky Macy

Benton County, Arkansas, was home to forty-four post offices in 1890 - the largest number of mail facilities ever to exist in that county at any one time. That information comes from the book, Handling the Mail in Benton County 1836-1976, by George H. PHILLIPS. According to Mr. PHILLIPS, those post offices were located in the following communities:

Sulphur Springs, Beaty, Hiwasse, Pippin, Herd, Buttry, Pea Ridge, Garfield, Rago, Gravette, Maysville, Avoca, Pactolus, Clementine, Calis, Pond, Seba, Bentonville, Larue, Centerton, Ionia, Decatur, Parn, Vaughn, Key, Scranton, Cherokee City, Gentry, Colville, Silver Spring, War Eagle, Bloomfield, Springtown, Osage Mills, Hoover, Cannon, Wager, Lowell, Creech, Logan, Gallatin, Siloam Springs, Robinson, and Trident.

Good friend Raymond E. JEFFERIES (Jeff-Gen Research, P.O. Box 369, Pea Ridge, AR 72751) brought the PHILLIPS' book to Rootbound's attention. He says that copies may still be ordered from the Benton County Historical Society at P.O. Box 1034, Bentonville, AR 72712) for just seven dollars and fifty cents plus postage.

Raymond E. JEFFERIES (address above) is seeking to learn more about Buckston(e) or Buxton Cemetery which is located in Bella Vista, AR, near the junction of Highways 279 and 340 - just across the road from the new Bella Vista Cemetery. The following four individuals are buried at that cemetery: Marion E. FOSTER (buried in 1878 at age 17), Deloyd MAUPING (buried 1888), J.C. GORDEN (buried 1893), and J.T. FULLER (buried 1895).

Raymond believes that there may be twenty or thirty unknown burials in that old cemetery, and that Dr. Israel STANIFORD may have been interred there in the 1880s. The doctor's wife, Amanda STANIFORD, is possibly buried near Southwest City, MO. Do any of our readers have knowledge of the Buckston(e) (Buxton) Cemetery or the STANIFORD family that they could share with Raymond? He would like to hear from those that do - and so would Rootbound!

Kathleen RUMBAUGH (Rt. 2, Box 119, Trent, TX 79561) is on the trail of William and Samuel NALLY, a pair of brothers who were residing with their families in Pike County, MO, in 1850. William was married to Elizabeth ROBERTS. Their children which were listed on the 1850 census included Alexander, William, Flavius, Joseph, Rush, John, Mary Alice (married Mr. LOFLAND), and Sarah Elizabeth. Samuel's wife was Mary ROBERTS, and their children were Bennet A., Addison, Virgil, Home, Samuel, Eugene, Frances E., Anne E., and Tragetta.

Samuel NALLY died in Pike County in 1850, and William moved to Texas with his family a few years later. It is likely that most of Samuel's children (except Samuel and Eugene) made the trip to Texas with their Uncle William.

Even though Pike County is somewhat beyond Rootbound's reach, Kathleen believes that the surname NALLY is so uncommon that any of our readers researching the same surname may very likely tie into her lineage. That is a possibility!

Steve PATTERSON (115 Sandler Drive, Lafayette, CO 80026) is searching for leads on G.W. (George "Walter") PATTERSON who was born in Kentucky in 1872 to a father from Maine and a mother from Tennessee. Walter resided in southwest Missouri, northwest Arkansas, and northeast Oklahoma where he was a stone cutter, photographer, and publisher of short-lived newspapers. Perhaps some of Rootbound's editors might be able to give Steve an assist in his quest for information on this newspaperman.

Meanwhile Back at Pond: Material related to the now extinct community of Pond, AR, continues to land on the Rootbound desk. Maurice LOUX (Rt. 1, Box 148, Maysville, AR 72747) has forwarded a copy of an old newspaper article that credits Pond with having the coldest temperature ever recorded in the state of Arkansas - a minus twenty-nine degrees on 13 Feb 1905. Brrr!

Maurice LOUX (address above) also reports that he wrote a book on the history of Maysville, AR, that was published in 1974. Those doing research in and around Maysville might do well to contact Maurice.

And if Maurice can't help, send your questions to Rootbound in the Hills in care of this newspaper. We'll give it our best shot!

Happy trails!