Early Settlers Personal History

1. Mrs. Matt Wallace

2. 1325 Dechard Street (Van Buren)

3. Lives in her home, in way she is retired

4. House keeping

5. In the year of 1860

6. Crawford County, Arkansas

7. Married to Mr. Matt Wallace in 1882 in Van Buren, Arkansas

8. Not an Immigrant

9. All her life, 80 years.

10-11. None

12. Houses were usually built of logs with fireplaces. Her girlhood home was a three room log house with a fire place built of split wood and clay.

13. Tallow dips were used extensively in those days.

14. Electric lights were first used in Van Buren in 1899

15. Wood was the only fuel used at the time.

16. Fish and game of all kinds such as, wild turkey, squirrel and wild deer.

17. Home spun clothes were worn mostly in her day.

18. Mrs. Wallace says that prices were much higher when she was a child as it was soon after the war and coffee sold for a dollar a pound. Foods bought in large quantities, in barrels, hogsheads. She relates that they had one calico dress and two aprons a week to wear to school.

19. --

20. Mrs. Wallace relates that in those days people would kill hogs or beef and would divide around among the neighbors and they would in turn return the favor and if one had something more than they needed they would give to their neighbors of a needy family in the community.

21. Cotton and corn was the most extensively raised. Also potatoes for home use.

22. None

23. Farming was the most extensively industry in those days.

24. Polk salad [sic] (poke salit), wild lettuce, dock, wild lambsquarter. Most of the candy made in her day was made of Horehound. Sweet gum was used for chewing gum. There used to be plenty of sweet gum and the young people would go gather together and go Sweet gum and black berry hunting.

25. Mrs. Wallace relates how in her home they used to make shortened bread which contained cracklings. She also relates that she loved dancing and had spent a lot of time in dancing for past time.

26-27. None

28. The Bostic hotel was the first hotel she remembers which stood close to where the Frisco Depot now stands. Mrs. Wallace went to school in this building. She remembers the boat landing being at Van Buren.

29. Mrs. Ruie Wallace relates that her first school was in the Bostic Hotel building and that she was scared as she did not know her ABC and that she was standing on one side of the rocking chair which the teacher was sitting and another girl stood on the other side of the chair. She says she was scared and wanted to go home and began to cry and the teacher asked what was the matter and she would not talk but just cried and the other little girl told the teacher that she rocked on Mrs. Wallace toe. She cried until the teacher let her go home. The teacher was Miss Sally Bostic.

30. Close to where the Frisco Depot now stands.

31. Miss Sally Bostic

32. School books were used were the old Blue Back Speller, McGuffey's Reader. These were the principle books used in those days. Later on they used the Old Ray’s Arithmetic.

33. None

34. The Bible. The first newspaper was the Press, that she remembers.

Mr. Dunnham was the Editor.

35. In Van Buren, Arkansas.

36. Mrs. Wallace remembers when horse cars were used in Fort Smith but does not remember the date.

37. The first Automobile was owned by Mr. Lamey. She says people were afraid of cars in those days.

38. Mrs. Wallace remembers when the Frisco Railroad was put through. Does not remember the data of first train seen.

39, During the World War. 1918.

40-41. None

42. Mrs. Wallace remembers when they used to have the fair ground where fairs were held every year in Van Buren, and also had old soldiers reunion at this same place. Picnics were also held here at different times of the year. She relates that she had danced many times at these festivals.

43-56. None

57. Miss Mandy Wallace 1325 Dechard St., Van Buren.

58. Two Grandchild- Edward Wallace, Lucia Wallace

59. None

Transcribed by Whitney Robison, GHS Class of 2009