Early Settlers Personal History

1. William W. Benefield

2. Charleston, Arkansas

3. Harness and shoe repair shop operator.

4. Farming

5. Oct. 17, 1868

6. Chapel Hill, Douglas County, Georgia.

7-8. Married to Hattie O. Hesterly in 1905, at Greenwood, Arkansas.

9. Native of the United States.

10. 1/7/1899-1940.

11. Came on train to Greenwood, Arkansas

12. Came with my father who was hoping to better himself in a financial way.

13. When I came to Arkansas some of the houses were built of logs and some were frame buildings of pine lumber, and stone chimneys.

14. Some used candles made at home and some used kerosene in brass lamps.

15. None

16. Wood was used for fuel

17. Mostly hogs and cattle with some deer and turkey, Opossum and coon.

18. In boyhood days homemade by spinning the thread and weaving the cloth and making it up in clothing, and about 1890 clothes were all factory made.

19. My father and mother went to church in the buggy and my brother and I went in a wagon and take a load of girls, which was a custom with young folks in that day. Charivaries (shivarees) were common, when people got married they would throw water, rice or flowers on them.

20. Flour was $9.00 per barrel, present price $7.50 per barrel. Meat was 3 cents per lb on the pole present 10 cents. Milch cows were from $20.00 to $30.00, present price $35.00 to $60.00,  Corn from 15 cents to 25 cents per bu.  Present price 50 cents.

21. The people would kill a hog and divide it out among their neighbors until the regular killing time. And if one person had more than they needed of any kind of food and their neighbors were in need and was not able to buy, they would give it to them.

22. Corn, cotton, wheat and oats. Domesticated animals were horses, cattle, sheep and hogs. Do not remember about tomatoes.

23. Homemade single stocks, Bull tongue and twisting plows used to break and bed the land with. And later they bought turning plows (left handed). They used scythe blade to cut the grain and later used a cradle, They would cut by sections, they would go from one mans field to another, having big dinners, dances and parties.

24. Cotton ginning, flour mills operated by water mills and thrashing grain in early days was done by putting up a pole and taking a bundle and striking it over the pole. Then winding the trash out, and about 1882 the ground hog thrasher came in, the thrasher was put on the second floor and was operated with horse power, the horse working on the ground floor. The thrasher would blow the straw, grain and chaff all out together, the straw was picked out with forks and the chaff was winded out

25. Polk salad, dock, wild onions, black berries, wild straw berries, wild grapes, summer and fall sassafras in place of coffee and mullin (mullein) tea for sickness.

26. Corn was pulled ad piled under a shed beside the corn bin, And at night the neighbors would come in and shuck the corn, and those that wanted to would dance while the others would have a party. They also had house raisings with big dinners and dance and play parties at night. Camp meetings and brush arbor meetings were common in the early days.

27. In early days forest fires were combated by raking a path around the fire and back firing, Building fires were fought by carrying water in buckets.

28. Don’t remember any

29. Remember shipping cotton on boats on the Mississippi river and the cotton caught on fire and it was thrown in the river to put it out but it burned up.

30. Pay school

31. None

32. Miss Bonner

33. By tuition, don’t remember how much payment was made in kind.

34. Webster’s Dictionary, Blue Back Speller, McGuffey's Reader and Tick (Charles?) Davis Arithmetic.

35.Newspaper, The Atlanta Constitution and the Bible.

36. At Charleston, Arkansas in 1899

37. Buses taken place of trolley cars in 1920;

38. At Charleston, Arkansas in 1903.

39. In Georgia at Chapel Hill in 1881.

40. At the Confederate Park at Charleston, Arkansas in 1910.

41. About 1900.

42. In the early days the people would drive their stock to market horses, cattle, geese and turkeys.

43. At the park at Charleston, Arkansas. Of the Fourth of July, The reunion of Confederates at the Reunion Park at Charleston. The big celebration when the electric lights were turned on at Charleston In 1929, The opening of the big bridge at Ft. Smith, Ark. And the celebration of the opening of the bridge at Ozark, Ark.

(44 to 52 inc) None

53. K and P and Woodman of the World.

54-56. None

57. Two

      Vivin Jones. Ozark, Ark.

      Marcus Edward Jones, Ozark, Ark.

58. None

 

Transcribed by Alyssa Metcalf, GHS Class of 2007