Rootbound in the Hills #176: 5 Feb 1991

by Rocky Macy

As reported time and again in Rootbound, our area libraries are excellent places to hunt ancestors. Most, if not all, have rooms reserved and stocked for the study of genealogy. One of the best in this regard has always been the McDonald County Library at Pineville. the dedicated staff of that facility have spent years assembling a wide array of reference items such as local histories and genealogies, materials related to Indian research, census indexes, books about research in other parts of the country, a superior collection of local obituaries, and much more.

Now, through a much needed expansion of their hours of operation, the McDonald County Library will be more readily accessible to those of us who are unable to do research during normal weekday hours or on Saturday mornings. Effective Febraury 5th the facility will be open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m., on Fridays from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. That represents a 27 percent increase in the library's hours of operation. Hats off to the library board!

Roger SHAW (102 West Knickerbocker, Midwest City, OK 73110) reports that his family would like to acquire a photograph of Bert CRUM, a relative who died on 21 Nov 1940 and is buried at Soldiers' Plot, Osborne Memorial Cemetery, Joplin, MO. Mr. CRUM served in the infantry in World War I and afterward was a salesman. He lived in Joplin for twenty years and was a member of the Christian Church, American Legion, and the Elks Lodge. Do any of our readers have a photo of Bert CRUM that they would share with Roger?

Jimmie A. CARRUTH (P.O. Box 22, Knickerbocker, TX 76939) is having trouble sorting out some DAVIDSONs of northwest Arkansas. Her ancestor, John E. DAVIDSON, was born in North Carolina around 1787. He moved to Maury County, TN, around 1807, and married Mary N. HOLMES in that same county in 1810. (Who were Mary's parents?) John and Mary were residents of Washington County, AR, in 1830, and living in Benton County, AR, between 1840 and 1860.

Unfortunately for our correspondent, there was also another John DAVIDSON (of England) in Washington County, AR, during the same period. His records inevitably became entangled with those of Jimmie's ancestor.

Jimmie A. CARRUTH (above) believes that John E. and Mary DAVIDSON were the parents of the following sons (each born in Arkansas after 1830): Jonah H. (or Josiah H.), Harvey N., John C., and Sidney B. Was Eliza Gardner DAVIDSON (born 1811, TN) their child, and were there other daughters? Eliza married David MITCHELL in Washington County, AR, in 1830 and moved to Texas around 1845. Our correspondent also wishes to know when John E. and Mary DAVIDSON died and where they are buried. She will answer all correspondence.

Wilma J. DANIELS (2041 Legrand Road, Columbia SC 29223) is interested in learning what became of the Carrel JONES family who were residents of Wyandotte County, KS, in 1860. In addition to Carrel, the family included his wife, Mathilda, daughters Rebecca and Nancy, a man named Jonathan JONES, and Mary JONES (aged sixty-one). Wilma is almost certain that this Mary JONES was her g-g-grandmother. Can any of our readers help in proving or disproving that relationship? Has anyone seen this family on an 1870 or an 1880 census?

Need help shaking the old family tree? Why not write to Rootbound in the Hills in care of this newspaper? We're as close as the corner mailbox!

Happy hunting!