Photo: Arminia Lavonia Eubanks Futrell-Hall
SECOND GENERATION
Arminia Lavonia Eubanks was born 11 September 1846, according to the Bible of Zeulia Cordelia
Hall Clark, in possession of Carmyn (Morrow) Pitts, Fayetteville, Arkansas. Arminia was the
last child born to James and Frances (Massey) Eubanks.
1850 AR, Greene Co., living with parents; listed as Arminta, age 3, female, born GA.
1860 AR, Greene Co., living with parents; listed as Armina L., age 13, female, born GA.
"The Family Histories of Breckenridge, Smelser, Morrow, Hall, Eubanks and Clark" by G.
Denele Campbell, described Arminia from family memories. "Her childhood taught her many
lessons, one of which was to try to attain a more comfortable level of daily life. She was an
intelligent and strong-willed woman, finding that struggling for education and delaying
marriage was best suited to her, although not in the fashion of the times. Her personal efforts
toward higher standards are perhaps best illustrated in the attainments of her son
Marion Futrell, who became Democratic Governor of Arkansas in 1932, serving until the end of two
terms in 1936."
"Vonie filled her life with every ounce of education she could obtain. She had a consuming
passion for learning, accomplishing ciphering (Mathematics), spelling and reading at a
rate usually expected only in males. She memorized every word of the Blue Back Speller and
McGuffy's Reader; indeed, at spelling bees she could anticipate the next word to be called.
She studied the Bible, learning to quote its lessons by chapter and verse. Her strict religious
upbringing was a fundamental part of her life, and she adhered always to basic Protestant
teachings. She and her father somehow managed to pay for education
through "normal" (often called
"subscription') school at Croft College. This was simply the name of a one-room building
where Mr. Croft taught, and here she won the top-of-class prize in mathematics.
"Before the end of the Civil War, in 1864, Vonie fell in love with a local boy, Jeptha Futrell.
Vonie's father took her aside to caution her, reminding her that she had often remarked that
she would never marry a fiddler, a widower or a hunter, and Jeptha was all three. But Vonie's
love for Jeptha overrode her previous statements, and they were married."
"Vonie's marriage to Jeptha flourished. They worked side-by-side on
Jeptha's land, which lay along
the bottoms of the Cache River. Their three-room log house which had a sleeping loft upstairs,
seemed a fine home."
"Soon Vonie had their first child, James Daniel, and within the next couple of years, she had
the second, Junius Marion. Vonie and Jeptha purchased an adjoining parcel of land from the Iron
Mountain Railroad company and they continued to improve their properties, farming, clearing
land and sometimes fighting off the hordes of mosquitoes that carried the dreaded malarial
fever across the river bottoms of those days. They had many friends, and worshipped at a
nearby church, adhering to a branch of the Presbyterian faith referred to by some as
'Campbellites,' due to the leadership of Alexander Campbell.
"Late in the winter of 1874, Jeptha fell ill from exposure after a long and arduous hunting trip.
He contracted pneumonia, and lay weakly in bed one Sunday morning when a friend came by on his
way to church. He saw the serious condiction of Jeptha, and offered to sit with Vonie at her
husband's bedside. But Jeptha insisted that the friend go and "do his duty" in going to worship,
saying that he and Vonie would be fine. The friend came back by after church to find that
Jeptha had died.
"Spring came hard to Vonie that year, as she struffled to cope with her grief and the enormous
amount of owrk which lay in front of her. The two little boys were not much help, and she was
pregnant. She tried to bury her loss in the work and and literally drove herself to make ends
meet. Soon after being born, the new child, Jeptha Armina Exer, died. Vonie continued to work,
plowing, cutting timber and working a team to pull stumps, gardening and tending the
livestock. Then the measles swept through the region and Vonie caught it. She fretted
through the illness, and forced herself up from her sickbed too soon. She suffered a relapse,
and become permanently weakened from the experience.
"Finally, by 1877, Vonie had faced the stark situation of her life alone and had become the
object of the armorous intentions of a neighbor, Thomas Hall. Thomas, a widower whose
land bordered hers, was five years younger than Vonie. Their families knew each other,
and on 18 January 1878, Thomas Hall married Vonie.
State of Arkansas -County of Greene
To any person authorized by law to solemnize marriage--Greeting: You are hereby commanded to
solemize the Rite and Pulish the Banns of Matrimony between Mr. Thomas R. Hall of Cache
Township in the County of Greene and State of Arkansas age 25 years, and Miss Arminia L.
Futrell of Cache Township in the County of Greene and State of Arkansas age 30 years,
according to law, and Do You Officially Sign and Return this
License to the Parties Herein
Named.
Witness My Hand and Official Seal this 29 day of January 1878. D.B. Warren, County Clerk.
"Vonie and Thomas Hall built a house, located a little to the north of the house that Vonie and
Jeptha Futrell had built, up the slope away from the river a little.
"Within the first year of their marriage, Vonie had the first of their children, Zeulia
Cordelia born 18 November 1878. Their next child, Zahn Zora, died at age two. They then had Ira
Ishmel born 19 January 1885 and then Arta Elza born 25 December 1887."
1880 AR, Greene Co., Cache Twp., Dwelling 50, Family 54
Hall, Thomas Head 28 Md Farmer GA NC NC
Armina Wife 33 Md GA SC SC
Futrell, James SSon 14 S AR GA GA
Julius SSon 9 S AR GA GA
Hall, Zula Dau 2 S AR GA GA
McKinley, Jeptha Cousin 19 S AR GA GA
Reilly, Missouri Hireling 21 S GA GA GA
Thomas Randolph Hall died 22 May 1899, in Greene County.
Campbell wrote, "By 1900, Vonie's health was steadily declining and she would often be too fatigues
to finish a job at hand. Ira decided to try his fortunes in Texas. He began working in Coke
County. Soon, Vonie decided that the drier air in Texas might be better for her health, so she
and Arta travelled to Lampasas on 5 July 1905, when they took the train. They first went to stay
with Vonie's older sister, Amanda, who had managed to buy her own place in Texas by taking in
washings. They then moved on to stay for awhile with Tomas Hall's sister, Martha, then later
lived with Vonie's half-brother Alexander.
"By 1909, Vonie's health had deteriorated to the point that she realized she must be dying.
Diagnosed as "Bright's Disease," her kidney failure was imminent.
"Vonie asked Arta to telegraph the Futrell sons in Greene County. They sent money for their
train fare, Marion sending $35 and Daniel chipping with with $5. But the money was sent by
check, and Arta had to find someone the bank would accept as endorser. Finally, he
found out that his Uncle Posey's son-in-law Tol Phelan worked at the local bank, so he
got the check cashed and got the tickets. They boarded the train, with Vonie feeling pretty
bad. At one scheduled stop at Temple, Texas, Arta was sent by Vonie to find her sister Amanda's
son, Bud Moore, who was supposed to be there to greet them in
passing. Arta got off the train,
looking for Bud whom he'd never met. After blancing around briefly, he walked up to a likely
looking fellow and asked. Surprisingly, it was Bud. They boarded and Vonie saw her nephew
for the first and last time."
"The train continued its journey across southern and eastern Arkansas, with Vonie and
Arta wondering if she would live long enough to arrive. A fellow lady passenger, noting
Vonie's serious condition, fixed her a toddy to drink. Arta managed to get her a berth on the
Pullman car so she could lie down. Finally, the train arrived in Greene County, at Paragould.
There, Marion was waiting and transported her immediately to his new home. Vonie was completely
exhausted and Marion sent for the doctor. Upon his arrival, the doctor decided that all he
could do would be to give a sedative shot, so that she might rest better. She never regained
consciousness. It was January 1910, and she was 63 years old.
"Zeulia and Ira, who were now living in Mena, Arkansas, did not
know of their mother's death
and burial until one day, a week or so later, a newsletter arrived. Zeulia's young daughter, Sylvia,
on her way home from school, picked up the mail and there in the Greene County newsletter was
the notice that her grandmother had died."
On 10 January 1918, the Lampasses Leader (Texas) noted the death of Amanda Arantha Eubanks Futrell.
A few days later,the paper included a paragraph:
"A singular co-incidence in connection with the death of Mrs. A L Futrell was the death of her
sister Mrs. T R Hall at Paragould, Ark within 24 hrs of the death of her sister here. Mrs. Hall
had come to spend the winter with Mrs. Futrell, but Monday morning, January 3, feeling that she
was not improving as she desired, decided to return home. She arrived a Paragould Wednesday
morning and died that night at 8:30 January 8. Thank you note from family."
Children of Arminia Lavonia Eubanks Futrell-Hall
Photos of Descendants of Arminia Lavonia Eubanks Futrell-Hall
Thomas Randolph Hall
Arminia Lavonia Eubanks with 2 sons,
