Monday, July 28, 2008

Rootbound in the Hills #207:
10 Sep 1991

by Rocky Macy

Last week Rootbound carried queries concerning two area CRABTREE lines. We have since come across a series of obituaries from local newspapers on William H. CRABTREE, a resident of rural Neosho, Newton County, MO, who died at the age of eighty in August of 1948. Mr. CRABTREE was survived by one son, Roy CRABTREE of Salida, CA; a daughter, Mrs. Ida Bell MACY of Neosho, Rt. 4; two sisters, Mrs. Will LANKFORD, Seneca, MO, and Mrs. Sally GARRY of Kansas City; seventeen grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren. One of the obituaries contained a great deal of material on Mr. CRABTREE's ancestry. It follows:
"Funeral services being held today at Seneca for William H. CRABTREE are recalling some of Seneca's most interesting history to old timers there.

The old timers recall that William H. was a grandson of Bill Abe CRABTREE, who was murdered by the bushwhackers at the close of the Civil War.

The story goes that Bill Abe was a Union sympathizer, whose son was with the Union Army, and that he had refused to join with the Confederates.

When the bushwhackers came, they shot the old man through the neck as he lay in bed, and as he lay bleeding to death, they stole all the horses out of the barn and ordered the rest of the family out of the house so that they could burn it.

Bill Abe's wife and his daughter-in-law with a week-old baby were in the house, and persuaded the bushwhackers to allow them to keep some women's stockings that were hanging on the clothes-line near the house. That was all that was saved.

The daughter-in-law, the infant, and the body of Bill Abe were put in a feather-bed in a wagon and brought up to Neosho, where Bill Abe was buried.

Bill H., who is being buried today, will be interred in Regan cemetery, which was part of his father's farm. Mr. CRABTREE and Mr. REGAN deeded the land years ago for the cemetery which bears Mr. REGAN's name."

Are descendants of this CRABTREE line still living in this area? Rootbound would like a family update!

Christine HARRIS (2533 Guinotte Avenue, Kansas City, MO 64120) would like to contact descendants of the Jacob BULLARD or John BULLARD families who at one time lived in the vicinity of Gravette, Benton County, AR. Does anyone know the parentage of William Riley BULLARD who was born 13 Sep 1874 in Siloam Springs, AR? Was he a part
of the family that lived near Gravette?

Christine HARRIS (above) is also interested in the KILLION family of Benton County, AR, for inclusion in a BULLARD family history. Those with material to share should get in touch with her.

Lila L. LEE (P.O. Box 118, Stites, ID 83552) is the g-g-granddaughter of Clint Leftric ANDERSON, a resident of Flint Township, Benton County, AR, in the 1860's. She would like to learn more about two men who were related to Clint, possibly his brothers. The first, Clingman ANDERSON, might have lived in Missouri. He was the father of five or six children. The other, Philip ANDERSON, lived near Independence in Jackson County, MO. Do any of our readers have information to share on either of these men?

Need a boost up the old family tree? Write to Rootbound in the Hills in care of this newspaper. We're as close as the mailbox!

Happy hunting!

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