After Yellville was founded, it was for a good many years a pretty pert place, and whiskey vendors began to sell "fire water" to the Indians passing through, and causing trouble. The government sent engineers and road builders, and leaving the old Military road on Fallen Ash Creek, near the present town of Flippin, built what is yet called the Fallen Ash road up that creek, connecting again with the old road about a half mile west of the present railroad town of Summit. After that the Indians were carried by the government troops over this route. I had this Fallen Ash road history from W. B. Flippin, one of the pioneer settlers in the Flippin Barrens. His father, Thomas Flippin, I believe, was the first man to be buried in the present. Flippin graveyard, just northeast of the present railroad town of Flippin.
The early settlers did not find half as much timber as is here today. There were three great prairies, known as "barrens". One, the Flippin barrens, named for the Flippin families who very early settled there. The Cowan barrens was so-called because of the Cowan family that was the first, I believe, to settle there. Then most all of what is now southwest Marion County was called simply 'The Prairie'."
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The Long cemetery is located in Section 31, Township 20 N, Range 15 West about four miles north of Flippin and one half mile west of the Fairview church building. Few markers are readable but among the graves there are those of the Long family who died in the early part of the 20th Century; some members of the Rea family and some members of the Robert Sanders family of the same era. One grave is that of a soldier who drowned in White River near Oakland and whose body was recovered some two months later near Dew's Ford and was buried in this cemetery. Graves of those who have been buried here in the past fifty years include a Mr. Coots, members of the Smith and Flippin families and perhaps, some of the Pate King family.
Flippin Cemetery is one of the older, larger cemeteries in the county. It is about one-half mile north of Flippin near the airport. It was named for the Flippin family who settled there in the 1830's. Members of that family are some of the earlier burials. It is in a beautiful setting and well kept.
With the invention of the gasoline lantern and the car battery with a light bulb under the water fastened to a piece of tin that reflected the light, improvements in this method of fishing were noticed. Many fish were taken in this manner. Some of the men who were very accurate in throwing a gig were E. L. (Sug) Kirkwood, Everett Hurst, Truman Cornell, W E. Rose, Jake Flippin, Frank Flippin, Ralph Wood, Paul Flippin and Vester Smith.
About Marion Co.
Being descendants of the hardy warring tribes of Scotland, Ireland, and England, later called Scotch-Irish, and coming to this country to flee persecution, our ancestors found refuge in the backside of the Appalachian Mountains and later in the westward movement, across the Mississippi River to the Ozark Plateau. In them are found the cool reason of the English; the poetic, fun-loving nature of the Irish; and the austere, penny-pinching, make-do-with-what's-at-hand hardiness of the true Scotchman. With his combination of charm, poise, and astuteness, they were invincible. As they came by ox wagon, horseback and on foot, they brought with them this invincibility and, because of it, were able to cut from the wilderness a culture unique and enduring until this year 1976, one hundred and forty-one years since the birth of the county, which is also the Bicentennial of our nation.
In the second census made in 1850, after Marion County was formed in 1835, one year before Arkansas became a state, there were listed 495 farmers, three preachers, one miner, one saddler, 16 blacksmiths, three teachers, one cabinetmaker, four millwrights, one cooper, four carpenters, three merchants, two tanners, two turners, two wagonmakers, two physicians, one sheriff, one miller, one gunsmith and two attorneys. The oldest resident was John Young, aged 91. (John Carter was 80 and William (Buck) Coker was 81). Mr. Young came with the earliest settlers when this was a territory in the year 1814 and settled near Lead Hill, Arkansas.
by W.B. Flippin
Pages 55-70The Tutt-Everett War
One event in the history of Marion County of which no one is proud and, perhaps, one which most of us would prefer to be forgotten and go unmentioned is the Tutt and Everett War. However, it seems that it does have historical significance and for this reason, a brief resume of the event as written by W. B. Flippin in 1876 is perhaps the most authentic document on this matter and is reproduced hereafter:
The truth of History requires that I should mention at least some of the circumstances that culminated in what is widely known in the North part of the State as the "Tutt and Everett War."1 This dark and bloody chapter of contention and crime I would fain bury in the pool of forgetfulness did not a record of truth demand it. In order to understand the causes of the fatal and bloody feud it will be necessary for me to go back to the early settlement of the county. There was when the county of Marion was formed in 1836 living in it a family of Everetts. Ewell Everett and John, I. B., commonly called Bert, Simmons,2 Hayne, and Jesse N. Everett, six in number from the state of Kentucky. Originally all of them were tall and powerful men. Simmons or Sim Everett, as he was called, when sober was a peaceful quiet citizen, but when drinking, which was frequently the case when he was in the village, seemed rather to court a knock down than to avoid it; and woe be the unlucky weight that happened to incur his displeasure and come in conflict with his ponderous fists under such circumstances. He was thought to be the most powerful man in a straight knockdown or fisticuff that lived in the county. Ewell Everett was the second county Judge, the successor of William Wood the 1st Judge, and shortly after Bart was elected Sheriff, which he held for several years. Jesse N. Everett was elected Colonel of the Militia. There was also living in the county an old man by the name of Benj. Tutt who had 3 sons-Ben, Hansford3 and David K.4 They were keen, active, resolute, and untiring. The old man, a gambler with cards and a horse racer, fond of drinking and fighting. Hansford (called Hamp Tutt) came to the county some years after the others, I think they hailed from east Tennessee. Hamp was a business, money making, man, had the only public House in the village, bought a few goods and a few barrels of whiskey and soon became widely known in the county and was with many very popular particularly the whisky lovers, also many others, for he was in many respects quite a genteel man for his day. Living where he wished the county site to be permanently located, he soon began to take a lively interest in the politics of the county. The Everetts held most of the offices5 and their friends the rest, which soon brought the Tutts and Everetts in opposition to each other. The Tutts, being small or medium sized men, were no matches for the stalwart Everetts in physical force; so the long headed and wily Hamp Tutt made friends of the fighting bullies of the county in order to use them as allies in cases of emergency. Many were the fights and feuds between the parties from year to year. The Everetts generally being worsted. The Tutts nearly always doubling teams on them or using clubs or stones.
Well, to continue my story, matters stood in this condition, Sometimes one group carried an election and sometimes the other, until the county became pretty much divided into what was called the Tutt and Everett parties. At that time there was about 300 voters in the county, till the year 1844 came the Presidential Election. A public speaking was announced, William F. Denton of Batesville in favor of Harrison and Jonas M. Tibbitts of Fayetteville for Van Buren. A large crowd was assembled at the village and after the speaking was over and most of the crowd was gone home (the speaking was at Tutts' house) a fight commenced between the Tutts and Everetts which was long after known as the "June fights of 1844". When the fight commenced, Denton and Tibbetts hid their guns which were in the house under the bed. Several rushed in to get them but not finding them went out and joined in the general melee. Fists and rocks were freely used. Old Sim Everett, like an uncaged lion, was laying flat all that came in reach of him when one of the Tutt party named Alfred Burns caught a weeding hoe and ran up behind Everett and struck him a powerful blow on the back of his head which felled him, and he lay for some time as if dead. Burns, thinking him dead, hastily made a retreat. All hands ceased fighting as they supposed Everett was killed. A bloody scene, blood was flowing freely from heads and noses where deep cuts were made by flying stone. Then came lawsuits for many years. Every court the lawyers had something to say of the "June fights of 1844". Both parties from this time forward generally went armed with large knives, pistols, guns, etc. There came to the county a large resolute man by the name of Jesse Mooney, who ran for the office of Sheriff. The Everetts supported him and for some years he became the principal object of hatred to the Tutts. Mooney was twice elected Sheriff. Many were the fights and brawls during the contests; in one of them, a kind of free fight in which as usual many participated. Mooney and Hamp Tuft met in a hand to hand conflict, Mooney with a large loaded walking stick and Tutt with a flat rock in his hand. Mooney struck with his walking stick but Tutt kept so close to him, striking him on the head repeatedly, that Mooney could not use his stick effectively. Mooney fell almost senseless on the ground from the effects of Tutts' blows. One of Tutts' nephews, B. W. Farrall, ran up and attempted to shoot Mooney in the head with a pistol, but just as the pistol fired John Hurst, usually called Uncle Jack Hunt, a good man attempting to quell the riot and prevent murder, sprang in to assist Mooney and received the contents of the pistol in his thigh just above the knee in the back part ranging down into the calf of his Leg, which disabled him for many years. The fight ceased when the pistol fired. Mooney was removed to his house almost in a senseless condition. Jesse N. Everett and one of the Everett party by the name of Jacob Stratton moved to Texas, Denton County.
Matters now assumed the worst form, neighbor against neighbor, as they happened to express their feelings in favor or against either party. Good citizens and thinking men saw that matters could not long continue in this condition unless finally culminating in some bloody catastrophe or finale. The principal actors from this time forward went armed with knives and pistols, some with guns, until the 4th of July 1849, when many gathered to celebrate the day at the county Site. The Everetts came with their friends armed with rifles and pistols and from their movements keeping together showed they meant business if molested and from appearance it would take but little to bring on the conflict. The others, seeing them so well prepared and moving about in a body were careful to give no cause of offense. The Everetts and their friends at last formed in line in the street opposite the grocery where the Tutts and their friends were collected and bantered them for a fight, stating they were prepared for it in any way the Tutts chose. The parties commenced bandying epithets back and forth and it seemed every moment the contest would commence. A whirlwind came between the belligerents when they were only a few paces apart, covering them with dust and blowing their hats off and completely scattering the formidable array (the older heads thought is providential as it was a clear bright day). For a time war like demonstrations ceased; the people began to scatter and to return to their homes. After most of the crowd had gone, the Everetts went to where their horses were tied in a clump of trees with bunches of low cedar bushes. Most of them had mounted and started home and were out of sight among the trees when one of the members named Bob Adams had not yet mounted his horse. One of the Tutt party, Derrel Wood, went out to him and a violent quarrel commenced between them. The Everetts hearing it wheeled their horses and came back in a gallop. The Tutt party, hearing the advance of the Everetts, advanced to meet them in the clump of trees before mentioned and the fight commenced. The Everetts used their rifles and the Tutt party pistols; it was a hand to hand fight among the thick cedar bushes. Old Sim and Ban Everett fell dead on the ground and a man by the name of Watkins was supposed also to be killed. He was shot on the top of his head and the greater part of his scalp carried away but he rose up in the course of an hour and finally recovered. Of the Tutt party Jack King was mortally wounded and died next day; two or three others were wounded but not mortally.6 This caused a general scattering of those engaged in the fight for fear of prosecutions. Much to the relief of the citizens of the county, apparent quiet and peace was general in the county for a time, but the end was not yet.
In order that my story may be understood I must give a sketch of the Kings, for they figure conspicuously from this time. There came into the county during the muss a family of Kings, or rather 3 families or 3 brothers, more properly-William, Hosea and James. Old Billy, as he was called, had 9 grown sons, Jack, Lumas and Dick. Jack and Lumas were whisky drinkers. Dick was steady and did not imbibe very freely. Jack was a great drinker and very quarrelsome and resolute (killed in the fight I have already related). Lumas was called as brave and fearless a man as there was in the county. Dick was cool and fearless and it was said, and perhaps was true, that they were the men that did the principal part of the damage in the fight mentioned except the killing of Sam Everett which was credited to Dave Sinclair, a desperate character living in Searcy County, who was an intintate friend of the Tutts.
Hosea King had two sons-Bill, called Young Bill, and Little Tom-one of those fices among men, a great drunkard, and it was said of him that a fight could not take place in 300 yds. of him, if he could see or hear it, but that he would be there before it ended and throw a stone at one or the other of the combatants before it ended whether he ever saw either of them or not before. He seemed to glory in a fight as much as a fice does among big dogs and many a fight he has brought on that otherwise would have been avoided had Little Tom been absent. James King had no grown children: I do not now, remember whether he was married; he was a young man in the prime of life quite sober and steady and never engaging in fights or brawls (he is or was living in Lonoke Co. in 1875 and was the sheriff of the county, and I understand, a Baptist Preacher). He was Captain of a Company at the Battle of Oak Hill and wounded severely in the arm. How do I know? I was there and saw him myself.
Dave Sinclair went to Searcy county after the fight at the county Site, and a posse killed him in attempting to arrest him. Dick and Lumas King went to Van Buren or White County, I do not now remember which, but I think Van Buren Co. Some of the Everetts and several of their party went to Texas. When Jesse N. Everett in Texas heard of the death of his brothers, he made preparations to come to Ark, and avenge their death. Tutt had heard of his threat and knowing the desperate character of the man was on the look out. In the summer of 1848 Hamp Tutt went to Lebanon, Searcy Co., and on his return about ten miles before reaching Yellville he was fired on from an ambush, but the shots did not take effect. He made his escape and came to Yellville and said he was certain Everett was in the county and had attempted to kill him. This again threw the county into great confusion, and several unsuccessful attempts were made by Everett and a man he brought with him by the name of Jacob Stratton, who had formerly lived in the county, a great hunter and a bold daring desperate man, who kept concealed, only being seen by some few of their friends. But Hamp Tutt kept on the alert. Finally Everett got the Sheriff Jesse Mooney and went in search of Dick and Lumas King to Van Buren Co. where they were found and arrested, I think by the sheriff of Van Buren Co. Everett, Stratton, and a number of Everett's friends were along and formed the guard after the arrest. Lumas King was sick and they brought him in a wagon. Old Billy King their father, Hosea King, James King and young Bill King came with them. When they got to Lebanon, Searcy Co., those in charge, perhaps the sheriff of Van Buren county, wished Sheriff Mooney to take charge of the prisoners which he refused to do until in his own county. They went on in charge of the Everetts as guards until near the Marion county line Mooney left them-as it was growing late, directing the guard to bring them to Yellville in the morning. A short distance from where Mooney left them they left the road about half mile and just in the county of Marion. The Everett crowd commenced an indiscriminate attack on the Kings, killing Old Billy, Young Billy, Lumas and Dick King - Hosea and Jim King making their escape by rapid flight. Mooney was accused of knowing of the intended massacre by Tutt and his friends and left home and went to where the Everetts had their headquarters for safety. A constable gathered a considerable posse and went to where the Everetts and their friends were said to be, for they now no longer attempted to keep concealed but openly defied arrest. Perhaps one half the posse was friends to Everett, at least I will say one third, besides the company he had with him. Of course (after coming in sight of them they showing a determination to fight) no arrests was made and the posse returned to Yellville and was mostly discharged or took leave themselves. The wildest excitement prevailed throughout the county, the citizens being nearly equally divided pro and con. A reign of terror lasted for some time. The Gov. was called on to order out the Militia. Gen. Allen Wood of Mexican War memory was ordered to go to the scene and arrest the parties. He raised two companies in Carroll County, one commanded by Capt. W. C. Mitchell, the other by Capt. Tilford Denton, and came to Yellville. The Everetts scattered or concealed themselves. For some time we had open war in all its pomp. Finally the General hearing that Everett and Stratton were in Searcy Co. attending a Camp Meeting, where they had many friends, made a forced march and surrounded the camp ground a little before day, which created considerable confusion among the worshipers and no little terror among the females. A demand was made of Everett and Stratton which was very promptly complied with by the campers. They were brought to Yellville. Mooney and some others were also arrested, gave bail and were released. Everett and Stratton were sent to Smithville, Lawrence Co. jail. The militia returned home. In a few nights after their incarceration the friends of Everett prized open the door of the Smithville jail and released Everett and Stratton and again matters stood about as they were before the Militia came. Everett and Stratton came back still determined to kill Tutt before they left or die. After considerable hiding on the part of Tutt, sometimes shifting his quarters from one place to another suddenly, mostly through fortified in his own house, Everett all the time trying to waylay him and dispatch him, Everett changed his tactics and gave out that he was gone; Still Tutt was on the alert, seldom ever, if at all, leaving the village, till one day going from his grocery to his dwelling he was shot from the bushes and mortally wounded. It, was afterwards found to have been done by a man by the name of Wickersham, who was said to have been hired to do the deed by Everett. Wickersham was not suspected by Tutt and was in the village frequently and knew of Tutt's movements when he generally went to his store or grocery and when he returned. Wickersham went to Indiana from whence he had lately come. Everett and Stratton with some of their friends left one night shortly after in canoes down White River and taking steam boat down the Mississippi and up Red River to Shreveport where Everett took the cholera, which was raging there at the time, and died suddenly. Thus ended the Tutt and Everett War which retarded the settlement and prosperty of the county for years. It began in ambition and ended in crime, bloodshed and murder. Its history has never before been written and perhaps ought never to have been. I was well acquainted with all the principal actors in it, lived in the county during its continuance and have tried to give a truthful statement of the principal occurrences.
I have given you our darkest side. I have not at this writing time to merely say that we also had a bright side. We had many pious, charitable, honest, upright, God-fearing men and women. An account of the acts of many it would give me pleasure to chronicle. I have not written this account expecting you to incorporate it in your history but that you may, if you think fit, give a synopsis of the Tutt and Everett War in a dozen lines, or let it pass altogether and vanish from the memory of man, but few now living that know much of it only from heresay, and those few will soon cross the dark river when its history will be lost forever. I am still willing to give any information in my possession if desired but suppose by the time you read this you. will be disgusted and thoroughly satisfied.
(Copied with permission because w.B. Flippin is a direct ancestor of mine).
Footnotes:
1 In 1876 W. B. Flippen wrote this account of the Tutt-Everett War in response to Robert W. Trimble of Pine Bluff, who was assembling materiel for a history of Arkansas. Flippin's original manuscript is in the Trimble Collection at the Arkansas History Commission. W. B. Flippin, for whom the town of Flippin, Arkansas, was named, was born in Monroe County, Kentucky, September 4, 1817, and came with his father, Thomas H. Flippin to Marion county Arkansas in 1837. Flippin therefore had first-hand knowledge of the feud, and as he says in the narrative, knew all its principals. These notes are added by Ted R. Worley.
2Simmons Everett was in Lawrence County, Arkansas, as early as 1830. Thomas E. and John S. Everett are found in the 1836 tax list of Searcy County.
3Hansford Tutt, Thomas H. Flippin, and William Goodall advertised lots for sale in the new town of Yellville in the Batesville (Ark.) News, May 6, 1841.
4David K. Tutt was killed in Springfield, Missouri, July 20, 1865, by "Wild Bill" Hickok and was buried in Springfield.
51n the years 1836-1840, T. E. Everett served two terms as sheriff and one term as sheriff of Marion County I.N. Everett was the first Marion County surveyor. R. B. Tutt was sheriff 1836-1838.
6Flippin apparently confused events of 1848 and 1849. The Washington (Ark.) Telegraph, Oct. 25, 1848, carried the following account of a fight of Oct. 9: "On Monday they all met at Yellville. Hampton Tutt had a store there, and was prudent enough to keep out of the way. He knew that a row would be raised, and that they would if possible kill him. Jesse Turner, Esq. spoke there that day, and after the speaking the two parties, armed so the teeth, had some words and drew up in battle array-but the matter was quieted, and no outbreak took place. Toward evening when the people pretty generally had left for home, the fight commenced. A man by the name of Watkins, of the Everett party, shot down Jack King. At the same time Sim Everett fired at Sinclair and missed him, Sinclair returned the shot mortally wounding Everett, King's brother was shot by Barlett Everett, the ball grazing his shoulder; he in turn shot Ban Everett dead in his tracks. After Sim Everett was shot he gathered a rock and pursued Sinclair, but finding King, who had been shot in the beginning of the fight, he turned on him and mashed his skull in a shocking manner, and expired while in the act. King lived until morning. Watkins was badly beaten." The 1848 fight is also described by William Monks in A History of Southern Missouri and Northern Arkansas (West Plains, Mo., 1907),
Thomas J. Flippin succumbed to the urge to find new land and in 1820 he and several members of the Flippin family left Hopkins County, Kentucky, bound for Arkansas. It took several months to make the trip but in 1821 they settled near where the Marion County Airport is now located. As time passed, a town of sorts grew; there was a general store, flour mill and a cotton gin. A traveling salesman called the place Goatville, but the residents of the growing community thought it should be called Flippin Barrens (there were very few trees) to honor the early settler. The years following brought the families of: Pangle, McBee, McCracken, Huddleston, Alford, Wood, Marberry, Williams, Noe, Osborn, Barnett, Mears, Keeter, Fee, Musicks, Sanders and others, mostly from the southern states.
Some of the earliest Marion County teachers' names and records found were W. B. Flippin who taught a subscription school in 1838. The three men who hired him were Jacob Wolf, John Adams and John Be Armond.8
1895 Teacher - J. H. Poynter Board Members -
H. C. Butler,J. C. Matthews
and T. H. Poynter
1896 Teacher - same Board Members - same
Issued warrants in amount $54.50 for the year
1897 Teacher - same Board Members - same
Special tax and Poll tax $341.71
Issued warrants 221.11
Balance $120.60
1898 Teacher - same Board Members -
J. H. Poynter, J. A. Flippin
(Uncle Jim) W. H. Lynch
(Uncle Henry)
Collected taxes $292.75
Issued warrants 292.75
Balance 0
The school at Flippin was located north of the airport on the land presently known as the Guy McCracken or Simon Osborn place. It was built by W. B. Flippin and the land at that time was owned by Jim Lynch. Some other teachers through the years at this school were Con Huddleston, Mr. Bellamy, Houston Poynter and Raleigh Matthews.
Below is listed in consecutive order the names of those who served Marion County in the House of Representatives:
3rd General Assembly-B. C. Roberts and S. Leslie
4th General Assembly-John Campbell and B. C. Roberts
5th General Assembly-Albert R. Robinson
6th General Assembly-Nathan Clements
7th General Assembly-John H. Deeds
8th General Assembly-no name shown on records
9th General Assembly-J. A. Wilson
10th General Assembly-W. B. Flippin
11th General Assembly-D. C. Williams
12th General Assembly-J. B. Carlisle
13th General Assembly-E. H. Messick
14th General Assembly-J. E. Hull
15th General Assembly-J. W. Orr
Confederate General Assembly met in Washington, Hempstead County on September 22, 1864 with no Representatives.
16th General Assembly-1866-1867-Jesse Mooney.
20th General Assembly-W. B. Flippin 1874.
2lst General Assembly-J. F. Wilson
22nd General Assembly-W. B. Flippin
23rd General Assembly-F. M. Cash
24th General Assembly-F. M. Cash
25th General Assembly-Thomas F. Flippin
26th General Assembly-W. W. Seward
27th General Assembly-~J. C. Floyd
28th General Assembly-Thomas F. Flippin
29th General Assembly-_J. S. Owens
30th General Assembly-W. R. Jones
31st General Assembly-W. R. Jones
32nd General Assembly-James M. Coker
33rd General Assembly-George H. Perry
34th General Assembly-George H. Perry
35th General Assembly-J. W. Black
36th General Assembly-J. W. Black
37th General Assembly-W. H. Hudson
38th General Assembly-Elmer Owens
39th General Assembly-W. H. Hudson
40th General Assembly-H. H. Perkins
41st General Assembly-J. M. Coker
42nd General Assembly-Lee Carson
43rd General Assembly-J. 0. Ledbetter
44th General Assembly-W. E. Noe
45th General Assembly-W. E. Noe
46th General Assembly-W. R. Jones
47th General Assembly-W. R. Jones
48th General Assembly-George H. Perry
49th General Assembly-Earl Berry
50th General Assembly-Earl Berry
51st General Assembly-Thurman W. Lancaster
52nd General Assembly-Henry V. Young
53rd General Assembly-Henry V. Young
54th General Assembly-Henry V.. Young
55th General Assembly-Henry V. Young
56th General Assembly - Loyce D. Berry
57th General Assembly-Alex James
58th General Assembly-Jim Evans
59th General Assembly-Jim Evans
60th General Assembly-Cordon Stanley
61st General Assembly-Gus McCracken
62nd General Assembly-Gus McCracken
63rd General Assembly -George Young
64th General Assembly-George Young
65th General Assembly - Kenneth R. Smith
Mr. Jones states that "The two nestors of the Christian church were Elder W. B. Flippin of Flippin Barrens, and Elder W. C. Jenkins of Sugar Loaf. Other Christian preachers were Elders James Rose, Tom Nowlin and Joseph Boyd."
From Early Days in Marion County by Marion Burnes, this obituary was carried in the MOUNTAIN ECHO, written by J. A. Rose, an early Christian minister: "John H. Tabor, one of our oldest and best citizens has gone home. He came to Marion County when only a boy. He lived with the Indians and enjoyed hunting, fishing and living the life of the red-man. In 1868 he obeyed the gospel of Christ and was baptized by W. B. Flippin and lived a godly life."
Chapter Thirty-One
Marion County Churches
by Mrs. Bernice Johnson
Christian Churches
Flippin Christian Church
Page 498-499
By: Mrs. Glenn (Bernice Adams) Johnson
The Christian Church in Marion County has been in existence for many years, probably since early 1830's. W. R. Jones writes in his History of Marion County: "W. B. Flippin and William Jenkins came to what is now Marion County in the, 1830's and were nestors of the Christian Church." Earl T. Sechlet, in his Church History of the Ozarks writes: "It is said of W. B. Flippin that no other man in the north part of Arkansas did as much work, preaching the gospel, baptizing the people and establishing churches." Both men lived, died and are buried in this community of Flippin.
The town was named for the Flippins. W. B. Flippin was the grandfather of Mrs. Stella Flippin Wood and Oscar Flippin, both members of the congregation of the Flippin Christian Church.
Meetings were held in homes, brush arbors and the schoolhouse located near the Marion County Airport, until 1903 when a Union Church was built and used by all congregations of the town until the 1920's.
BRAMBLE BUSH
THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF
THE HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF MARION COUNTY ARKANSAS
Vol. I, No. 3 July 1996 Yellville, Arkansas 72687
MARION COUNTY AS SHE WAS IN 1836.
Adapted from the Mt. Echo articles by W. B. Flippin ca 1899.
In the fall of 1836 the related Goodman, Rutherford, and Flippin families of Tennessee and the Goodman family of Indiana counciled together, agreeing to move west to a new state. Jesse Goodman, Wright, Rutherford (2 teachers and members of the Christian Church), and John Rutherford were chosen to travel west to find a place to settle. They went through southeastern Missouri. The area was so sparsely inhabited these men often traveled 10 to 20 miles without seeing a house or cabin until they reached White River in Arkansas.
White River was a broad shallow stream, clear as crystal, coming down from the Ozark Mountains, with shoals in every bend and running with a velocity that surpasses description. At the time before settlers it was said the water of White River was so clear you could see a Buffalo fish the width of the river, which was about 300 yards.
Goodman, Rutherford, and Wright returned to Tennessee to prepare for the journey with their families. Jesse Goodman, a keel boat operator on the Forked Deer River, agreed to furnish a keel boat to take the women and children who wished to go by water. The rest of the men would travel overland by wagon. Goodman traveled to Louisville KY and purchased a 30-ton keel boat and a large stock of merchandise that he felt would be necessary for the colony on the long trip. This merchandise included a supply of old peach brandy, Spanish brandy, rye whiskey, cherry and mint cordials.
The group left Tennessee mid-February 1837. Those who went overland by wagon were on the road for about six weeks. Every stream they came to seemed to rise just before they reached it. Often they would have to wait several days before the water went down. Sometimes the road would be only a bridle path which the men had to get the wagons through. The overland party arrived at its destination in late March, but there had been no word from the keel boat. It had gone down the Mississippi River to the mouth of White River, then up the White for a distance of about 400 miles. When a message finally came through, all the men who could be spared were asked to go down river to help push the keel boat up White River. Goodman also requested the men rig canoes to take supplies of meat and meal. There were only two small dugouts available so the men cut down a large hickory tree. They built a fire to warm the tree so the bark would slip off more easily. With axes the bark was split on one side and gently peel off, thus making a bark canoe. This was loaded with supplies and, with the men in the two dugouts, started down stream.
The keel boat was met a short distance above Batesville. With the aid of the extra manpower, Jesse Goodman brought the keel boat, loaded with merchandise, women, and children, up White River to Talbert's Ferry landing, which he had purchased on his scouting trip to White River. As they neared their destination people came from miles around to see the big keel boat loaded with dry goods and groceries. This was definitely something to see; there had never before been a boat of this size this far up the White River. Since there was not a store north of Batesville, many people came 30 or 40 miles to buy goods brought in by the keel boat and Jesse Goodman.
This country was sparsely settled then, mainly on the creeks and rivers. Many thought the uplands and prairies unfit for cultivation. In 1837 there was only one cabin between White River and Crooked Creek; it had been erected by John Tabor. Thomas H. Flippin, Allen Flippin, Thomas Rutherford, and Dr. James Rutherford all settled the Lee's Prairie region, now Flippin Barrens.
The pioneers who were the first settlers of Shawneetown were a rude, whole-souled, chivalrous, gener-ous class, few of whom wore hats or coats. A handkerchief for a covering for the head, Indian Style, a hunting shirt and moccasins, and frequently deerskin pantaloons sufficed. When the Indians left Shawneetown, there were a number of cedar cabins left. Old Ben Wood, a brother to the first County Judge William "Dancin' Bill" Wood, moved his family into one of these vacant cabins and was forever after known as "Cedar Ben." In those early days folks lived in peace, did not need locks for their homes, corn cribs, or smoke houses. Game was plentiful the year round and folks were glad to share.
THE QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER OF
THE HISTORIC GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF MARION COUNTY ARKANSAS
Vol. I, No. 4 ___October 1996 ___________Yellville, Arkansas 72687
MARION COUNTY AS SHE WAS IN 1836
Adapted from the Mt. Echo articles by W. B. Flippin ca 1899
(continued from Volume I Number 3)
On coming to the State of Arkansas one would suppose a person could very clearly be devoured by bears or panthers. Back in Tennessee or Kentucky when it was rumored that the track of a bear had been seen in the vicinity of a settlement, the women and children would "house up" and "fear to go out far from their houses." A great deal was learned about animals in Arkansas. They are not likely to attack a person unless very hungry, almost starving. A bear, panther, or wolf will fight for their young, but "neither of them" is as vicious as a wild cat or lynx. Panthers were often heard scream and growl by the early settlers.
"On the bank of White River at the ford of the river, a small distance below where Talbert Ferry is located, in early times stood a small log cabin surrounded by a rail fence in which the calf of the family milk cow was kept. A man, his wife, and one small child lived here. A bear came to the bank of the river and heard the child crying. The bear swam the river and headed for the cabin. The man was not at home and the woman was trying to quiet the child. When the woman saw the bear near the fence, she closed the cabin door to keep the animal out of the house. At that moment the calf happened to walk near the fence where the bear stood. The bear seized the calf and carried it off into the canebreak where it made a meal of it. The reason, as backsoodsmen will tell you, was that wolves often catch a fawn and they bleat a good deal like a young child crying, and if a bear hears the noise, he will rush to the place, drive off the wolf, and eat the fawn."
"Another incident occurred just a few miles above Tolbert's Ferry. A widow decided to ride her horse to the blacksmith to have him shod. Several days before she had killed a beef and she doubled the fresh hide under her saddle. It was difficult to keep the green hide from slipping, but the widow was determined to use it as payment for the horse shoeing. When she got within three miles of the shop, there were wolves smelled the hide and wanted to divide it with the widow. She hurried the horse and the hide slipped from under the saddle. Most men would have given the wolves possession of the hide and rode on but not so with the widow. She dismounted and fought off the wolves with rocks, picked up the hide, mounted her horse, and rode to the blacksmith shop."
"A Panther Tale"
"Alexander Moreland, who lived on White River, a short distance above the mouth of Crooked Creek decided late one evening to visit his father who lived where Buffalo City now stands. On crossing the creek, just below his farm Alex heard a panther scream. This was a common occurrence. He had rode a short distance when he discovered the panther by the roadside ready to leap on him and his horse. The horse was a good one so when the panther leaped the horse sprang forward and the panther fell behind him in the road. Both Alex and his horse were badly frightened and the horse set off in a run. The panther also started to chase the horse and rider springing every chance with the same result as the first time. It continued to follow until a short distance of his father's house."
(Continued next quarter - - - -)
FLIPPIN FAMILY NOTES
by Marjorie Flippin Daniel
The Flippin (Flippen, Flipping) family has left a paper trail across the United States. Researchers have found property and military records, wills, court witness records, etc. starting in Virginia. Thomas H. Flippin, the early settler in what is now Marion County AR, was the fourth Thomas Flippin in a direct line living in this country.
The first Thomas Flippin found in this country was living in Gloucester County VA in 1704 where he was paying a quit claim rent in Kingston Parish for 300 acres. Landowners then were required to pay the King of England one shilling for each 50 acres purchased. The will of Thomas' widow, Elizabeth, was probated 23 Jan 1758 in Cumberland Co. VA. Their youngest son, Thomas, born in Gloucester Co. VA 1710, was a farmer who raised tobacco and livestock on his plantation. His will, probated in Cumberland Co. VA June 1755, indicates that his wife had already died and that he had four surviving children.
This second Thomas Flippin had a son named Thomas who was born in Cumberland Co. VA ca 1740. He married Rhoda McAdoo, daughter of John and Ann McAdoo, who was born in VA ca 1750 and died in Barren Co. KY between 1810 and 1816. Her father was of Scots-Irish descent, coming from Ulster (Northern Ireland) to Virginia in the early eighteenth century.
This third Thomas Flippin served as a sergeant in Lord Dunsmore's War against the Indians. When Thomas returned home from this, the Revolutionary War had already begun. Lord Dunsmore, the Royal Governor of Virginia and a Tory, was overthrown. Thomas, a patriot, served in the Revolutionary War as a scout and teamster, transporting war materials from Bedford Co. VA to Fort Patrick Henry (now Fort Knox) in KY under the command of George Rogers Clark. Revolutionary War soldiers received land grants and scrip for their service in the military. With this start, Thomas moved from Virginia to Tennessee to Kentucky, each time being appointed a captain of a militia company. He bought land, sold land, and bought more land, thus becoming a very prosperous farmer. He gave land and slaves to his children when they married and moved from his house. His will was probated in 1830 in Henry Co. TN where he was living with his son Jesse.
Thomas H. Flippin, the fourth Thomas, was one of 12 children. He was born in TN 1793 and died in Marion Co. AR 1856. He married in Warren Co. KY 18 Nov 1816 Elizabeth Baugh who was born in KY 1798 and died in Marion Co. AR in 1891. Thomas H. served as a sergeant in Captain Hugh Brown's Company of Kentucky Mounted Volunteers in the War of 1812 and was discharged 30 Oct 1812. In her Widow's Pension Application, Elizabeth related that her husband's troop tried to go to the aid of Fort Harrison which was being besieged by the Indians. The troop was caught in a prairie fire which had been set by the Indians while a high wind was blowing. Many of the horses stampeded. When they finally reached the fort, they were nearly starved, having taken three days' rations with them but being gone eleven days. Thomas, Elizabeth, and their two sons, William Baugh Flippin and Thomas Haggard Perry Flippin, emigrated to Marion Co. AR in 1837 together with a number of friends and relatives, all of whom lived in Tennessee and Indiana. Several of the party traveled in wagons, spending six weeks on trails and in the woods in southern Missouri, and reaching their destination near Batesville AR sometime in March. The rest of the party traveled in a keel boat down the Mississippi River and up the Arkansas River to the mouth of White River near Batesville AR, a distance of about 400 miles. The two groups rejoined and traveled together to their destination.
Thomas H. and Elizabeth are buried in the Flippin Cemetery along with many family members. They gave a great part of their land to the north side of this cemetery. Later the Wood family donated additional land.
THE MOUNTAIN ECHO October 5, 1888:
Mrs. Elizabeth Flippin, mother of Judge W. B. Flippin, of White River Township, died at the residence of her son on Thursday, September 27th, 1888, aged 90 years and several weeks. She, perhaps, was at the time of her death, the oldest person in Marion County.
