Letha Faye Small (1906-1926)

Civil War soldier from new interpretive film, by Nat'l Park Service

The program is intended for beginning genealogists who are attempting to find relatives who fought for the Union and the Confederacy and tracing their service histories.

Park staff members will instruct those attending the program in the process of locating a Civil War soldier or sailor relative, finding personal information in state and federal archives centers, and tracing the histories of particular Civil War units and ships. Attendees also will learn more about the unique holdings of the Hulston Library at Wilson’s Creek.

The program is free of charge and will be in the battlefield library’s multipurpose room. Registration is not required. For more information, call 417-732-2662 or send e-mail to jeffrey_patrick@nps.gov.

Administered by the National Park Service, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield preserves the site of the first major engagement of the Civil War in the West, site where the first Union general was killed in the Civil War and evokes the rural character experienced by the combatants. The site is considered to be one of the best-preserved battlefields in the National Park System. Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield is 10 miles southwest of Springfield at Greene County ZZ and Farm Road 182.

For more information about Springfield, visit www.SpringfieldAdventures.com or call the Convention & Visitors Bureau at 800-678-8767.

Republic Monitor, February 6, 1975, 4 of 11

Overview:
This lesson asks students to interview their parents or other relatives about what it was like where they grew up. Students will then use outline maps to create “genealogical atlases” that illustrate the places of their ancestry and the activities their relatives and ancestors did in these places.

Connections to the Curriculum:
Geography, social studies, history, genealogy

Connections to the National Geography Standards:
Standard 17: “How to apply geography to interpret the past”

Time: Three to four hours (not including interviews)
Materials Required: Blank Xpeditions outline maps of the world, one for each student, along with Drawing materials

Objectives:
Students will write interview questions to ask their parents or other relatives about the places where they grew up and where their ancestors came from; label maps with the places where their relatives and ancestors came from; and draw pictures on the maps showing the activities their relatives and ancestors did in these places.

Lindon, UT – March 11, 2010 – In order to encourage more people to find their ancestors and connect with family, Footnote.com, the web’s premier interactive history site, is opening all of their U.S. census documents for free to the public for a limited time.

Unlike any other historical collection on the web, the Interactive Census Collection has the unique ability to connect people related to ancestors found on the historical documents. Simply by clicking the “I’m Related” button for a name on the document will identify you as a descendent and also list others that have done the same. Never before has it been as easy to connect with distant relatives through historical documents. To learn how to get started with the Interactive Census, visit: http://go.footnote.com/discover.

Marker No. 16, Fort Ancient

An Ozarks family is looking for others that share an ancient connection, and their interest in restoring and preserving a historic site. Chris Gray and his father, Jerry, have found the site known as Fort Ancient or Spanish Fort in Lawrence County. It’s where many of their ancestors are buried. It’s also on the National Register of Historic Places for what it was long before a cemetery.

“Being an ancient historic site, and being on the historical register, I think it’s important we take care of it,” said Gray. They hope others will want to share in picking up the pieces, and preserving this place for the future.

“Lawrence County was full of the Allen family, the Faucet family, the Gatton family and some other families that are buried here. We’re asking for everybody’s help,” Gray said.

The people who used to take care of the site are unable to do so anymore. Now the Grays, who actually live around the Cassville area, plan to start a serious clean-up effort at the site near Hoberg in Lawrence County. They want to straighten and fix stones and trim back limbs Oct. 30 and 31. They’re looking for descendents or anyone interested. Call (417) 342-0287 if you would like to help.

From the Springfield-Greene County Historical Markers Index

A small secluded cemetery, dating back to 1880, is located on an Ozark Mountain ridge in Lawrence County, about three miles southeast of Hoberg. Probably the cemetery site was selected because it was conveniently level; it had served earlier as the location of Fort Ancient.

On Sunday, October 12, 1930, an appropriate marker provided by the University Club of Springfield was dedicated. Dr. F. T. H’Doubler delivered the dedicatory address and the marker was unveiled by Dr. E. M. Shepard. Made of granite, it is six feet high, two feet wide and eight inches thick. Little if any vandalism is evident after more than half a century, probably due to the isolated location. The text on the marker reads as follows (pictured above):

FORT ANCIENT, BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED BY A GROUP OF EASTWARD MIGRATING MOUND BUILDERS, A BAND OF INDIANS PROBABLY LONG ANTEDATING THE OSAGES, ON THEIR WAY TO WHAT IS NOW OHIO. THESE EARTHWORKS ARE A SMALL REPLICA OF THE GREAT FORT ANCIENT IN OHIO, WHERE THIS PREHISTORIC GROUP REACHED ITS GREATEST CULMINATION. THIS TRIBE PROBABLY HAD ITS VILLAGE IN THE VALLEY AND USED THESE FORTIFICATIONS FOR DEFENCE. FIRST PIONEERS DESCRIBE THE WALLS AS ORIGINALLY ABOUT 5 FT HIGH AND THE MOAT 2 FT. DEEP. SPRINGFIELD UNIVERSITY CLUB HISTORICAL MARKER NO. 16. ERECTED OCT. 1930.

On the reverse side of the marker, possibly to placate the local folk, is inscribed: “Locally known as the Old Spanish Fort”. This refers to the fact that the site was formerly known as Spanish Fort, particularly by the local residents of the region. It was designated Fort Ancient after a study of more than 40 years by Dr. E. M. Shepard, an archeologist and geologist.

Dr. Shepard had been employed by the State of Missouri to write about the geology of the district. From his prolonged study, it seems probable that the Mound Builder Indians were the creators of Fort Ancient. They were early Indians who fashioned burial mounds, fortifications and other earthworks found in the Middle West and Southeast. The Lawrence County ruins are much smaller than, but otherwise almost identical with, the immense Fort Ancient (in Ohio) which was known to have been constructed by the Mound Builders. The Ohio site was four miles in circumference compared to only a few hundred feet at Hoberg, but both were irregular circles with gateway openings and moats. Early Missouri pioneers described the walls as about five feet high and the moat as two feet deep; however, it is believed that the original distance from the top of the wall to the bottom of the moat was at least 15 feet.

–Prepared by James Allwood

The index can be searched by first name and last name, county, and by year and month. Once a name is selected, a digitized image of the original certificate can be retrieved.

This is an ongoing project and additional records will be added as they are transcribed and imaged. If the image of the certificate is not yet available researchers can request a photocopy of the certificate by contacting the Archives Reference Desk . For death certificates less than 50 years old please contact the Missouri Bureau of Vital Records.

If you have questions or comments about these records, please contact the Missouri State Archives at archref@sos.mo.gov.

Dr. Brooks Blevins, professor of Ozarks studies at Missouri State University, will be guest speaker at a meeting of the Lawrence County Historical Society at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 19, in Mt. Vernon.

Blevins will focus on the Ozarks region, what it means to be an Ozarker and how Lawrence County fits into the broader scope of Ozarks studies.

Brooks Blevins is the Endowed Associate Professor of Ozarks Studies at Missouri State University. A native of Izard County, Arkansas, Blevins earned the B.A. at Lyon College and the M.A. and Ph.D. in American history at Auburn University. He has authored and edited four books, including Hill Folks: A History of Arkansas Ozarkers and Their Image (University of North Carolina Press, 2002).

The meeting will be held at Jones Memorial, 11110 Lawrence 1137 (adjoining the west side of Mt. Vernon Golf Course). The public is invited.

The historical society’s museum will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. that day. Admission is free.

AKA: Allen Cemetery

We in Barry County were chosen for the Oakley Award a few days ago. We were selected because we have been restoring cemeteries and photographing all the cemetery stones in the county. We have started adding documentation notes to the data that we collect so that our posted records have creditability and can be depended on for accuracy. We still have some cemeteries left to do – so we aren’t finished with the project yet. But some of our hard working volunteers submitted information about our project to the Gravestone Studies Association some time last year for their grave studies award that is to be given in June of this year.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Association of Grave Studies, it is a non-profit association and was founded in 1977 for the purpose of furthering the study and preservation of grave markers of all periods and styles. Through its publications, conferences, workshops, and exhibits AGS promotes the study of gravestones from historical and artistic perspectives, expands public awareness of the significance of historic grave markers and cemeteries, and encourages individuals and groups that have similar interests.

Here is the link to Barry County

Here is the link to our cemetery pages. The cemeteries with the little camera next to the name are the ones we have finished photographing – many of which were also restored.

Here is a copy of the message that I received yesterday -

“Dear Donna, It is our pleasure to inform you that the Board of Trustees of The Association for Gravestone Studies has selected you to be a recipient of The Oakley Certificate of Merit. This award is given to groups or individuals who “…foster appreciation of the cultural significance of gravestones and burying grounds,” and it is in recognition of your contributions in research and recording for the MOGenWeb site, and coordinating cemetery projects in Barry County, Missouri.

Congratulations and best regards, Brenda W. Reynolds, Awards Committee”