From the WPA Federal Writers Project - answers to Questionnaire - Arkansas HRS Form J

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Early Settlers Personal History

1.      W. J. Petray
2.       914 West Main St.
3.       Retired
4.       Farming – Janitor of People’s Exchange Bank
5.       Sept. 13th 1859
6.       Russellville, Ark.
7.       Bachelor
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10.   82 years
11.   Always lived in Russellville and Pottsville, Ark.
12.   Was born in Russellville, Ark.
13.   I was born in a box house, had three rooms, no chimney. This was on Denver St., Russellville, Ark.
14.   Candle Dip, candles poured at home and later years, electricity.
15.   In Russellville, Ark.
16.   Wood
17.   Corn bread and hog meat.
18.   Clothes were manufactured by a loom, made Linsey, Jeans and Cotton and colored with corpus.
19.   “Shivaree” was frequent
20.   In 1862, prices were higher than of today, was told that my mother paid $0.25 yd. for calico.
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22.   Corn, cotton, wheat, oats, sorghum corn   Horses, mules, cows, sheep Don’t recall tomatoes being known as “Love Apples”.  The first tomatoes I ever ate were grown in a field and were very small.
23.   The early farm implements were home made. The harrow was home made and also wooden teeth, had twister and bull tongue made solid like a turning plough. This was in Russellville, Pope County, Ark.
24.   Farming – Gins
25.   We used Pepper grass and poke salad for greens, sassafras root for tea, parched wheat for coffee.
26.    We had corn huskings, brush arbor meetings and sorghum making.
27.   We fought forest fires with brush and brooms, some time we had water.
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29.   We had a stage coach station at Pottsville, Ark. 6 miles from Russellville, Ark. There was a man, who had charge of changing the horses and would put fresh ones in the place. This was the stage route between Little Rock and Ft. Smith.
30.   Early schools were taught in residences. After about nine years, we had a box house built for school.
31.   The school I went to was in country between Russellville, Ark. and Pottsville, Ark.
32.   Emily Withers
33.   Paid tuition
34.   Blue Back Speller, Arithmetic. In later years, Readers and Geography.
35.   Bible, seldom saw newspaper.
36.   First telegraph station in Russellville, Ark. about 1875.
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39.   First time saw train was at Perry Station three miles east of Atkins, Ark. in 1873.
40.   First airplane I saw was in Little Rock about 1919.
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50.   I remember seeing the smoke from the Battle of Dardanelle. I heard the cannon roar. The cannon ball traveled five miles to Russellville, Ark. and was in a large gum tree that I cut down.
51.   Bush Whackers and Scallywags were the ones who did so much dirty work. The soldiers were not so bad.
52.   The first I remember about the Ku Klux Klan were the ones who sang “Run nigger run the patta roll will catch you.” We were always afraid of them.
53.   Masonic Lodge, Brother of Freedom, Odd Fellows, Nights of Honor, Woodman of the World.
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58.   No children
59.   Nephews and nieces:                                                  
     Charles Reed, Little Rock, Ark.
Ida Stewart, Pottsville, Ark.
Marlie Cotton, Pottsville, Ark.
Betty Dane, Russellville,Ark.
Mattie McDonald, La.