- Early Settlers Personal
History
-
- 1. Joseph A. Robertson
- 2. Charleston, Arkansas
- 3. Retired
- 4. Taught school in Mississippi 3 years, Was in the grocery
business for 8 years, Then farmed until retired
- 5. Born Feb. 17, 1848
- 6. Near Oxford Mississippi
- 7-8. Mary M. Bearden, Nov. 24, 1886. At Charleston, Arkansas
- 9. Came to Arkansas from Mississippi, in 1881.
- 10. 1881-1940.
- 11. Came to Arkansas by railroad train.
- 12. Thought Arkansas might be a better country, better farm land
and thought I might have a better chance to make a living
- 13. When I came to Arkansas all homes were built of logs,
chimneys were built of stone, a few were made of brick.
- 14. Candles were used for lighting until about 1870, Then we
began to use kerosene lamps. Tallow candles were made at home. We
purchased spern candles at stores
- 15. About 1935 or 1936
- 16. Wood and coal, Now we have Gas. Have used coal since I came
to Arkansas (1881)
- 17. For bread we had wheat flour and corn meal. For meat we had
pork, beef, mutton and fish. Game was not plentiful when I came
here, There were a few deer and wild turkeys on the mountains
- 18. Farmers wore jeans in winter and linen and cotton in summer.
During the Civil War clothes were made at home with the spinning
wheel and loom. Since that time they were manufactured at other
places.
- 19. Not frequent
- 20. Civil War times; Flour $10.00 a barrel, Molasses 50 cents per
gal., Sugar 12 to 14 cents per lb. , pork 10 cents per lb. on the
pole, Higher prices when cured out and sold at stores. Present
prices; Flour
$5.00 a barrel, Molasses 75 cents per gal., Sugar 7 3/4 cents per lb.,
Pork 9 cents per lb.
- 21. Don’t remember
- 22. Early cultivated crops were Irish potatoes, corn, cotton,
all kinds of vegetables. Domesticated animals were cattle,
horses, sheep and hogs.
- 23. Early farm implements were scooter plows, turning plows,
harrow and double shovel. The scooter plows were made at home,
The turning plows, harrows and double shovels were purchased at
nearest town. Don’t remember prices.
- 24. Farming , Ginning cotton, Thrashing wheat and Carpenters
buildings houses.
- 25. Polk salad and Dock plant.
- 26. The Negroes like to go to log rollings , especially if they
had a jug of whiskey. I remember one time we were at a log
rolling, several Negroes were invited and there was one that
lived in a near community that didn’t have and invitation but
wanted to come and be with the crowd, So he came without an
invitation. While we were working the wind began to blow pretty
strong, some one noticed a dead tree was about to fall and
yelled for us to look out the tree was going to fall. The negro
that came without an invitation started running, but the wrong way
and ran in the way of the falling tree and was killed. ( lost
his life by coming to the log rolling without an invitation)
- 27. We used to fight forest fires with wet sacks. And fight
building fires with buckets of water from one man to the other,
transferring water from wall to fire.
- ... Not able to answer any more questions ...
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- Transcribed by Whitney Robison, GHS Class of 2009
-
