Early Settlers' Personal Histories
As part of the Works Progress Administration's (WPA) Federal Writers' Project many older citizens were interviewed to provide first hand recollections of their life's history (primary sources). In Arkansas these were done in the early 1940's when the WPA was beginning to downsize and funds dried up.
Greenwood High School challenged other high schools to take on the project of transcribing their counties' interviews. This involves contacting the U of A Special Collections library, arranging to have copies made of the original interviews, having students type out exactly what they read with imperfect spelling and grammar and sharing the transcriptions. The hope is that when all of the state interviews are done that they will be included in the Library of Congress' American Memory Collection.
The following Early Settlers' Personal Histories were transcribed by Greenwood High School Media Center student workers. They began with our county, then in 2007 students transcribed the surrounding counties. Arkansas Counties Map. The interviewees are answering questions from the WPA Questionnaire. In the third round of transcriptions, copies have been acquired for the following counties to begin transcription: Washington County (Box B251) - 26 copies, Madison County (Box B148 & Box OV 6) - 80 copies & 4 copies, Johnson County (Box B123) - 21 copies, Pope County (Box B197) - 47 copies, Yell County (Box B266) - 40 copies, Montgomery County (Box B166) - 19 copies, Polk Counties (Box B191) - 9 copies
Sebastian County
| Amos Braley (Greenwood) | Wharton Carnall (Fort Smith) |
| Henry Estes (Greenwood) | Nettie Johnson (Greenwood) |
| Chesley Nichols (Greenwood) |
Margaret Foster Power Sherlock (Fort Smith) |
|
Rebecca "Jane" Akin? Moorman Bell Wright (Fort Smith) |
|
Crawford County
| Rebecca Childs "Recebba" (colored ) Transcribed at U of A in their African American series. More information | |
| Mr. Author William (colored) Transcribed at U of A in their African American series. More information | |
| John James Boatright (Van Buren) | Mrs. Virgil Samual Davidson (Dyer) |
| Mr. Virgil Samual Davidson (Dyer) | Clara B. Eno (Van Buren) |
|
Mrs. Prince Albert Evans (Lettie Brown Johnson) |
Miss Addie Garner (Van Buren) |
| Laura Jane Daugherty Johnson (Van Buren) | Mr. A. A. (Farrow) McKelvey (Van Buren) |
| Mrs. Dan H. Miller (Van Buren) | Mr. Mack McLoud Powell (Van Buren) |
| Mrs. Matt Wallace (Van Buren) | |
Franklin County
| William W. Benefield (Charleston) | Daniel W. Bryan (Charleston) |
| Joseph A. Robertson (Charleston) | John S. Smith (Charleston) |
| C. F. (Frank) Spillers (Charleston) |
Logan County
| Mr. Henry Askins (Paris) | J. M. Campbell (Ratcliff) |
| Thomas Cole (Ratcliff) | George Gilmer Dandridge (Paris) |
| Wafer Jay Dodson (Paris) |
Mr. John Ezell (Paris) |
| Mrs. John Ezell (Locky Keck) (Paris) |
Dellah Hill Gammill (Ratcliff) |
| Mrs. T. J. Gattis (Ratcliff) | John Anderson Hall (Paris) |
|
Mrs. Amanda Jane Harley (Paris) |
Mrs. Ethel McCubbin (Paris) |
| Mr. John McCubbin (Paris) | Mr. Andrew McKinney (Paris) |
| Mrs. Bettie McKinney (Paris) |
B. F. Miller (Ratcliff) |
| Sarah Elizabeth (Lee) Moore (Paris) | Sem D. Nunnelee (Ratcliff) |
| O. C. Paschal (Ratcliff) | Martha Jane Ross Rogers (Ratcliff) |
| Mrs. Margaret Caroline Street Spencer (Ratcliff) | Mary E. Pendergrass Smith (Ratcliff) |
| Mary F. Phipps Smith (Ratcliff) | Mrs. Elizabeth Trusty (Paris) |
| Mr. Robert Trusty (Paris) | Tom Walker (Paris) |
Scott County
| Mary Jane Audas (Waldron) | Jon L. Casey (Abbott) |
| Sam A. Metcalf (Waldron) | William F. Oliver (Waldron) |
| Alvin W. Self (Waldron) | |
Transcriptions in Progress
Washington County
| Miss Aadaline Blakely (Fayetteville) (colored) Transcribed at U of A in their African American series. | |
| Hosea Van Bennbrook (Fayetteville) | Alex Harris (Elkins) |
| Mrs. Loreta Hester Roberts (Fayetteville) | Mrs. Laura Tresner Woods (Fayetteville) |
Madison County
| J. L. Auslam (Huntsville) | James Gilbert Berry (Huntsville) |
| Mrs. Anna Wahlquist Cannaday (Huntsville) | George W. Fritts (Huntsville) |
| Lon Garrett (Huntsville) | Charles Hudson (Huntsville) |
| J. F. (Major) Keck (Witter) | Frank Nance (Huntsville) |
| J. B. Presley (Huntsville) | J. R. Withrow (Huntsville) |
Johnson County
| Pate Newton (Clarksville) (colored) Transcribed at U of A in their African American series. |
Pope County
| Isabell Alien Boggess (Russellville) | Anna Boles (Russellville) |
| Sue Marion Deaton (Russellville) | J. T. Odom (Russellville) |
| W. J. Petray (Russellville) | Mary Ann Sinclair (Russellville) |
| M. A. Walker (Russellville) | W. W. Williamson (Russellville) |
| Florence Wilson (Russellville) | |
Yell County
| George Butts (Belleville) | Laura Jackson Edwards (Dardanelle) |
| O. S. Ferguson (Havana) | Mrs. Polly D. Hedges (Havana) |
| Mrs. J. J. Jackson (Dardanelle) | Joe Lofland (Gravelly) |
| Dr. Louis Edward Love (Dardanelle) | John Arthur Marcum (Birta) |
| Ike May (Dardanelle) (colored) Transcribed at U of A in their African American series. | |
| Mrs. Mary M. Myres (Dardanelle) | |
| Harry Parker (Danville) (colored) Transcribed at U of A in their African American series. | |
| Christine Parker nee Rhoades (Gravelly) | Van Vodrazka (Dardanelle) |
Montgomery County
| Malinda A. Cubage (Caddo Gap) | Mrs. Julia Ann Jones (Norman) |
| Albert Pike Vaught (Caddo Gap) | |
Polk County
| Walter William Brumley (Mena) | Mrs. Eilla Logan Hoover (Mena) |
| John Wesley Martin (Cherryhill) | |