What's Going on at the Society

Posted by Joy Russell

It's always difficult when problems arise and especially when it deals with being "in the red" financially. The cost of printing and postage for The Madison County Musings has increased over the years, and now it is costing us more to print and mail The Musings to you than your annual membership dues are paying for.

The last time we increased our membership dues was in 2007, but our costs of printing and postage have increased greatly. Publication of The Musings has always been considered our community service to our members, and while it was never meant to be a big-money-making part of our Society, it also was never meant to cost more to provide our magazine to you than your membership dues pay for.

After much discussion and analysis of our situation, we decided that we did not want to increase our membership dues at this time. We realize that many members are on a fixed income and it is our desire that those people will be able to continue to pay their membership dues. The solution that we decided would be the best option, is to decrease the number of issues of The Musings that each member receives each year. Since our beginning in 1982, each member has received four (4) issues of The Musings each year but beginning in 2024, we will be reducing that number to three (3) issues each year. With this change, we can keep our annual dues at $15.00 per year and still cover the cost of printing and postage.

A Chronological History of Huntsville, Arkansas was written by Huntsville Mayor Dr. Kevin Hatfield, in celebration of the 175th anniversary of the founding of the city. The book contains 19 chapters with each chapter describing the history of Huntsville by decade, beginning with the decade of the 1830's and ending with 2012. The first chapter describes the early Osage Indians who originally occupied the area and their tribal chief, Hurachais, known as the "War Eagle".

This book is a must for anyone who is interested in local Huntsville history and makes a great gift that will be enjoyed for years to come.

Pre-1920's Obituaries of Madison County, Arkansas, Residents was published in April 2011. This book contains 319 pages of full obituaries as printed in the local newspapers, covering a time period from 1855 to 1919. This book contains all available obituaries for this time period, but not all newspapers are available, so many obituaries are missing. This book is a valuable research tool, and many of the obituaries read like a story of the deceased's life.

The History of Education in Madison County, Arkansas 1827-1948 is available for on-line viewing or downloading from this website in pdf format. This book contains 725 pages and includes over 200 photos and index. The documents is divided into seven chapters:

Chapters
• 1. Introduction
• 2. The period from 1827-1865
• 3. Reconstruction Government creates a new school system
• 4. The period from 1926-1948
• 5. Statistics of the Disticts
• 6. Supervision, teacher education & certification
• 7. Madison County Schools by District No. (125+)

The documents can be viewed or downloaded in pdf format by selecting "Download Documents and Pics" from the website menu on he right.

 

Volume 42, Summer 2023, Issue 2 of Madison County Musings released

The Summer issue of the Madison County Musings was mailed on June 20th. The cover features a photograph of Earl Williams and Jessie Ayers beside a car belonging to her sister, Alma Ayers. Jessie and Alma were sisters and both of them taught at numerous schools in the southern part of Madison County. The photograph serves as an introduction to the first in a series of articles that will list Madison County teachers, the years they taught and the schools in which they taught.

Keep in mind that Madison County had a total of 125 school districts at one time with most of them one room, isolated country schools. The list of teachers will be a long one that will be published over several issues

This is the 166th issue of the Musings since the founding of the society and contains pages 59 - 116 of Volume 42.

Table of Contents - Musings, Volume 42, No. 2, Summer, 2023

Page No.	article title	author
59	Changes in Membership, Effective 2024	Musings Staff
60	New Book Now Available: Alabam Cemetery	Joy Russell and Dorothy Dyer
61	Hard Trials/Tribulations of an Old Confederate Soldier: George T. Maddox	Joy Russell
70	Madison County's Silver and Gold Mines & Treasures	Joy Russell
82	Delayed Birth Certificate Applications Madison County - for people born 1890, Part 7	Parts 1 & 2 were published by the Musings Staff in Vol. 41, No. 1 & 2. Part 3 in Summer 2022; Part 4 in Fall 2022. Part 5 in Winter 2023, Part 6 in Spring, 2023.
89	An 1833 letter to Sarah L. Brown at Clifty	from Margaret Brown
90	Death of Jack Be'gin near Pettigrew in 1898	Joy Russell
92	Madison County School Teacher's List, Part 1, Acord - Ayers	Year(s) taught and school name and district number
96	Madison County Residents and Businesses, Part 7, Conclusion T - Y	Wally Waits (date of article unknown) covering a period from 1830's - 1900 Note: Parts 1 - 3 published in Summer, Fall, Winter 2021; Parts 4 and 5 published in Spring and Winter 2022; Part 6 in Spring 2023
100	Ozark Customs - various articles as published in The Madison County Record from 1933 - 1959	Otto Ernest Rayburn
104	Early Obituaries Through 1949, Part #116 McH - McR	Musings Staff
109	Madison County Land Patents, Part 107	First private land owners of Madison County - from Federal Land Office

Volume 42, Spring 2023, Issue 1 of Madison County Musings released

The Spring issue of the Madison County Musings was mailed on April 17th. The cover features a photograph of a Sunday School group on White River at Saint Paul. The photograph was taken in the early 1900's. Many of the girls in the photograph are dressed in fancy dresses and hats.

In this issue, more memories from the Saint Paul area can be found in the Anderson-Hinkle Family History, an excerpt from a book written by Dora Mae (Anderson) Heckman, 1997.

This is the 165th issue of the Musings since the founding of the society and contains pages 1 - 58 of Volume 42.

Table of Contents - Musings, Volume 42, No. 1, Spring, 2023

Page No.	article title	author
1	Changes in Membership, Effective 2024	Musings Staff.
2	New Book Now Available: Alabam Cemetery	Joy Russell and Dorothy Dyer
3	Anderson-Hinkle Family History (12 pages with pictures)	Excerpts from a book written by Dora Mae (Anderson) Heckman, 1997.
15	Madison County's New Courthouse Built in 1939 (7 pages)	The Madison County Record, June 12, 1939
22	Great-Grandfather's Feather Crown	By Dorothy Roberts Dyer (contains photographs)
24	A Good Old Pioneer of Northwest Arkansas Gone to His Final Rest - Hiram B. Sumner	The Arkansas Democrat, 26 October 1888 edition by James Hayden VanHoose
26	Delayed Birth Certificate Applications Madison County - for people born 1889, Part 6	Parts 1 & 2 were published by the Musings Staff in Vol. 41, No. 1 & 2. Part 3 in Summer 2022; Part 4 in Fall 2022. Part 5 in Winter 2022
33	Madison County Residents and Businesses, Part 6, R - S	Wally Waits (date of article unknown) covering a period from 1830's - 1900
37	Biographical Sketch of Dr. Fredrick Youngblood, November 20, 1876 - February 24, 1956	By John T. Mitchell, February 20, 2021 (picture included)
39	Officer & membership listing for 1861 - Huntsville Chapter No. 20, Royal Arch Masons	Musings Staff
41	In Memory of Orval Faubus	By Bonnie Lou Salcido (picture included)
43	United Baptist Church, Clear Creek, Arkansas	Copy of membership, etc. from the original church book and record
45	Early Obituaries Through 1949, Part #115	Musings Staff
51	Madison County Land Patents, Part 106	First private land owners of Madison County - from Federal Land Office

Volume 41, Winter 2022, Issue 4 of Madison County Musings released

The Winter issue of the Madison County Musings was mailed on November 15th. The cover features a photograph of the home of Ernie and Iona Luck Vaughan, taken in 1956 near Clifty.

The cover photograph is accompanied by an article written by Iona Vaughan in the 1990's entitled "The Trail I took."

This is the 164th issue of the Musings since the founding of the society and contains pages 179 - 237 of Volume 41.

Table of Contents - Musings, Volume 41, No. 4, Winter, 2022

Page No.	article title	author
179	Iona Luck Vaughan: The Trail I Took - Biographical, with pictures and pedigree chart.	Iona Vaughan (Written in the 1990's and typed as she wrote it.
191	Ozark Customs: Shooting for beef; Anvil shooting; Mast for the hogs; Time by sun; chimney building; Making Lye.	Otto Ernest Rayburn, c. 1959
196	Madison County Residents and Businesses, Part 5 - covering a period from 1830 to 1900.	Compiled by Wally Waits (Parts 1 - 4 are in the Summer, Fall, and Winter 2021 Musings and Spring 2022 Musings.
201	Justice of the Peace Criminal Docket 1901 - 1903 for Prairie Township, Madison County	Taken from the Justice of the Peace book of C.S. Keeney, J.P.
208	Thompson, Arkansas and John Knox Pool - Boston Mountains still echo sounds of vanished hamlets.	John I. Smith (contains photographs)
214	Delayed Birth Certificates Madison County - for people born 1888, Part 5	Parts 1 & 2 were published by the Musings Staff in Vol. 41, No. 1 & 2. Part 3 in Summern 2022; Part 4 in in Fall 2022.
220	Rev. Daniel L. Saunders, M.D.	Wally Waits (date of article unknown)
223	Some Old Obituaries of Madison County Residents from 1856 - 1904	Musings Staff
226	Madison County Land Patents, part 105	Musings Staff
228	Early Obituaries through 1949, Part 114	Musings Staff

Volume 41, Fall 2022, Issue 3 of Madison County Musings released

The Fall issue of the Madison County Musings was mailed on September 25th. The cover features a photograph of Mr. Harvey Ward, sitting atop his horse in front of the Muddy Gap School, taken c. 1920. The Muddy Gap School District No. 108 was established in April, 1891 by the County Court. The Muddy Gap schoolhouse was located about two miles southeast of Pettigrew.

This is the 163rd issue of the Musings since the founding of the society and contains pages 120 - 178 of Volume 41.

Table of Contents - Musings, Volume 41, No. 3, Fall, 2022

Page No.	article title	author
120	Muddy Gap School and Teacher Pauline Jackson Thacker	Vernon Eaton (1996)as it appeared in The Madison County Record
122	1903 Annual Reports of Two Madison County Business (Madison County Bank and the Dutton Merchantile Company)	Musings Staff
124	Some 1919 - 1922 deaths from The Madison County Record	Musings Staff
127	Events in the Life of Nathaniel Reed or Here lies "Texas Jack", Legend and All	Dwain and Betty Skelton, Easton, Kansas Submitted to the Society, 1999
139	Community Survey of Huntsville, Arkansas	Compiled by an unknown person(s), c. 1962-1963
152	Captain Smith Cemetery, Part 3	Parts 1 & 2 were published by the Musings Staff in Vol. 41, No. 1 & 2.
158	Delayed Birth Certificates Madison County - for people born 1887, Part 4	Musings Staff
163	Early Obituaries of Madison County Residents through 1949, Part 113	Musings Staff
169	Madison County Land Patents, part 104	Musings Staff
171	Books we have for sale	Musings Staff

Volume 41, Summer 2022, Issue 2 of Madison County Musings released

The Summer issue of the Madison County Musings was mailed on June 25th. The cover features a photograph of Captain G. W. R. Smith & Lieutenant Simon Peter Smith. In the photo, George Washington Russell Smith and Bethena BOLINGER Smith are on the right; Lucinda BOLINGER Summers is standing between them; Simon Peter Smith and Rachel BOLINGER Smith are on the left. The three ladies are sisters and the two men are brothers. The little boy in front is unidentified. The cover photo relates to the Captain Smith Cemetery article, Part 2 on page 61 of this issue. Part 1 of the Captain Smith Cemetery was published in the Spring 2022 issue of The Musings.

This is the 162nd issue of the Musings since the founding of the society and contains pages 61 - 119 of Volume 41.

Table of Contents - Musings, Volume 41, No. 2, Summer, 2022

Page No.	article title	author
61	Captain Smith Cemetery, Part 2	Musings Staff
69	Andrew Minks Autobiography, Part 2 - Conclusion	Andrew Minks, submitted by Geneva Thacker Greenwell. The autobiography was written starting in January, 1968.
76	Visit to my Childhood Home (Poem, written c. 1936	G. R. Simpson
78	The Ozarks and Real Estate Ads, Part 2	Musings Staff From the Carl V. Stewart Land and Abstract Company land catalog, 1945
87	Delayed Birth Certificates for people born 1885-1886 Part 3	Musings Staff
94	Daniel Bryant Dies of Wounds: was shot while resisting Madison County Officers.	The Springdale News September 8, 1911
95	Huntsville during the Depression	from The Madison County Record, December 11, 1930
96	Montgomery Family	By John F. Anderson, May 1969
100	Tragic Deaths of Mrs. Henry Presley and Samuel Thomas Montgomery	from The Sprindale News, 1905 and 1898
101	Newspaper Articles from the 1930's	written by D.N. Dudgeon
108	Early Obituaries of Madison County Residents through 1949, Part 112	Musings Staff
112	Madison County Land Patents, part 103	Musings Staff

Volume 41, Spring 2022, Issue 1 of Madison County Musings released

The Spring issue of the Madison County Musings was mailed on April 14th. The cover features a photograph of Thomas Edward & Mary Lucinda Seals Minks with children William Andrew and Zelma Cleo. The photograph was taken in 1909 near Dutton and is associated with the fascinating autobiography of Andrew Minks which begins on page 1 of this issue. This is the 161st issue of the Musings since the founding of the society and contains pages 1 - 60 of Volume 41.

Table of Contents - Musings, Volume 41, No. 1, Spring, 2022

Page No.	article title	author
1	William Andrew Minks Autobiography, Part 1	Andrew Minks, submitted by Geneva Thacker Greenwell. The autobiography was written starting in January, 1968.
10	Captain Smith Cemetery, Part 1	Musings Staff
19	First Comers to Madison County	Bob E. Sutton, reprinted from Early Days in the Ozarks, published 1950.
22	The Ozarks and Real Estate Ads, Part I	Musings Staff From the Carl V. Stewart Land and Abstract Company land catalog, 1945
34	Delayed Birth Certificate Applications for Madison County	Musings Staff - (this part lists people born in 1882 - 1884)
43	Madison County Residents & Businesses, Part 4 (J - L)	Compiled by Wally Waits (date not listed)
48	Early Obituaries of Madison County Residents through 1949, Part 111	Musings Staff
51	Books We Have for Sale	Musings Staff
53	Madison County Land Patents, Part 102	Musings Staff

Volume 40, Winter 2021, Issue 4 of Madison County Musings released

The Winter issue of the Madison County Musings was mailed on December 1st. The cover features a photograph of the John A. & Fannie Doson home with accompanying article from 1976 by Bob Edmisten. This is the 160th issue of the Musings since the founding of the society and contains pages 164 - 221 of Volume 40.

Table of Contents - Musings, Volume 40, No. 4, Winter, 2021

Page No.	article title	author
164	Memories of Huntsville (from the Madison County Record)	Musings Staff
168	John A. & Fannie Dodson, Married 71 years	Bob Edmisten 1976
171	Kennan Family Letters & Descendants of William Kennan	Musings Staff
181	Old Houses Reflect Historical Era	Bob Edmisten, 1977
187	Delayed Birth Certifcate Applications for Madison County for Births during 1858-1881	Musings Staff
198	John Clark Johnson & May Jane Drake Family	Lockie Harwood Wiggins
199	Madison County Residents & Businesses 1830-1900, Part 3, G-H	Compiled by Wally Waits (date not listed)
204	Lee Roy Homesley - The Sound of the Bugle	from theOzarks Mountaineer,September, 1974 by Irene Keesee
206	Bob Frost Death is official	Madison County Record 1945
207	Early Obituaries thru 1949, Part 110	Musings Staff
211	Madison County Land Patents, part 101	Musings Staff

Volume 40, Fall 2021, Issue 3 of Madison County Musings released

The Fall issue of the Madison County Musings was mailed on September 12th. The cover features a photograph of the William B. "Bill" & Wealtha Luddington Duvall Family taken c. 1906-07. This is the 159th issue of the Musings since the founding of the society and contains pages 110 - 163 of Volume 40.

Table of Contents - Musings, Volume 40, No. 3, Fall, 2021

Page No.	article title	author
110	Judge & Sinda Duvall 40th Anniversary and Genealogy	Musings Staff
116	Huntsville Fire Department History	Dorothy Roberts Dyer
130	Outlaw Bill Gibbs Killed Near Huntsville	Pullman Washington Herald, Aug. 10, 1889
132	Madison County Wills, 1905-1939, Part 17, conclusion	Musings Staff
137	Newport/Clack Letters & Asa Newport Descendants	Musings Staff
141	Madison County Residents & Businesses 1830-1900, Part 2	Compiled by Wally Waits (date not listed)
144	Burney Mountain House & Weathers School and Post Office	from theSouthwest Times Record, Fort Smith , June 10, 1973
146	1880's and 1890's Old Newspapers Items	Musings Staff
150	Brodie House Built 1889 and Still Standing	Musings Staff
152	Early Obituaries thru 1949, Part 109	Musings Staff
155	Madison County Land Patents, part 100	Musings Staff
157	Old Madison County Photos	Musings Staff