Stone County Arkansas 1873 - County Seat Mountain View 1874

The War of 1812 gave its veterans Bounty Lands and the new territories forming west of the Mississippi were distributed by Lottery. The Survey of Public Lands set aside for Purchase began in 1815. There are excellent web sites discussing the Louisiana Purchase, the inception of the Rectangular Grid Survey, the Public Lands Survey System, the Surveyors who braved the wild and many times inhospitable terrains and many other aspects of our Father's determination to gain land. This time period of American History is fraught with Land Speculators, Political Scandels and other forms of obtaining land in which Squatting on it played a formidable role.

In these early years of Arkansas' growth the land which becomes Stone County is slower to be settled than the rest of Arkansas primarily because it was not an easy place to get to. However with the advent of steam powered paddle boats the White River became the "Gateway to Paradise". The Federal Government realised the need to build roads especially for its Military Movements and its support of Military Outposts. We can find in the Acts of Congress the bills which called for the building of these Roads and the soon to come Railroads which invariably ended the Era of the Steamboat. Prosperity and Growth marked these early years and the future looked promising to lands of northern Arkansas. This prosperity is evident in the Federal Censuses of 1850 and 1860.

The Civil War and the following Reconstruction Years all but obliterated the growth of north central Arkansas and the effects can be seen in the 1870 and 1880 Censuses. Our Fathers and Sons who fought in this war would have volunteered in Izard County and the Military Units would have been mustered in this vicinity. While there were some who sympathised with the North the majority joined the South and Arkansas' Secession Votes were nearly unanimous. Those with Northern Sympathies just moved into Missouri. Its only fitting that here we find ourselves governed by yet another nation however not recognized as such by the Union. The Confederacy was merely an extension of the American Government as Southerners believed it to be. They did not rebel against that government nor did they commit acts of tyranny or treason. They did what they believed was their Constitutional Right and Moral Obligation as outlined in the Constitution to prevent their Government from Absolute Control.

Stone County began in the community of Riggsville in 1873. The first courthouse was east of the present one and built of logs, there's a marker there. Mtn View was established in 1874 and incorporated in 1881. The first courthouse burned and was rebuilt of stones at its present location. The Izard county courthouse burned as well, but there is a place where some records can be obtained. The earlist tax records in Stone that I can find has been 1879. Thanks Sue.

The Lands of Stone County became privately owned by several means. As mentioned earlier Bounty Lands in payment for military service was one means. By Acts of Congress the Lands Set Aside for Purchase in 1820 can be found through the Land Office of Batesville and Lands Subject to the Homestead Act of 1862 can be found through the Land Office of Harrison. Prior to these two Land Offices opening, land was sold through the Land Office of Little Rock.

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The Nineteenth Century saw its fair share of inventions and technology. Many were the improvements in agriculture which we see play an important part in Stone County. Although agriculture was the predominant occupation there were other occupations that were just as important. In this section we can see these occupations and the people who worked at them.

The Twentieth Century began with the Federal Census of 1900. The Censuses of 1910, 1920 and 1930 reveal more personal data about the families. The 72 year waiting period will reveal the Census of 1940 in the year 2012.

Technology and Transportation puts an automobile in everybody's possession giving rise to a more mobile nation. The telephone eases the communication gaps of a remote area.

Courthouse Records begin keeping Land Transactions in the Records of Deeds, Marriages were recorded with a little more regularity and Divorces can be found in the civil cases.

Advances in Medicine lessens the Mortality Rate of Communicable Diseases.

The Cemeteries of Stone County.

The various Religions of Stone County and Early Education.

The Military History, Units, Muster Rolls, Pensions, Indigent Families, Bounty Lands, The Draft, Paroles, POW Camps and other miscellanious stories of war, indian raids, outlaws, bushwackers, jayhawkers, carpetbaggers, underground railroad, police states, and peace officers of Stone County.

Other Items of Interest, Folklore, Entertainment and certain political notations.

Research Aides - Arkansas Heritage Society, Arkansas Historical Society, The Church of Latter Day Saints' Family History Centers, Heritage Quest Online (available remotely with a library card through many public libraries), Public Libraries that participate in Inter-Library Loans, The countless genealogy libraries that may be found in your area such as Clayton Library in Houston Texas, RAOGK (Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness, and Many More.

Institutions of Higher Education

Message Boards and Forums

And a Hearty Thanks to AncestryCom, USGenWeb, ArGenWeb, RootsWeb and all the volunteers that make genealogy accessable on the WWW for free (This includes you who donate your databases to websites like this one).

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The Families of Stone County, their Bibles and Family Registers, Photo Albums, and their stories of items found in their Trunks, Barns and Attics.

What is Genealogy to You?

One of our first experiences with genealogy is probably the Family Register in our Family Bibles. Marriages, Births and Deaths of Father and Mother, Grand Parents, Children and Grand Children. These Registers may date back for many generations or they may begin with our own marriage and register or our children. When our Great Grand Parents pass on their Family Bibles we would possibly see another generation or two of people we never knew but were very much a part of our families. Another form of genealogy we might recieve, and in a lot of cases never recognize as genealogy, is the Family Story as told to us when we are but children. Yet another pleasurable form is the photo album, which when viewed generally comes with some sort of story with each photo. Alas the countless gems of family history that soon vanish once the Photo Album is closed and stored back in its hiding spot on the top shelf of the closet. One may be lucky enough to recieve such an album handed down through the generations or perhaps a shoebox or two with various photos of Great Grand Fathers and Mothers and Cousins and dear and close friends, however there is that possibility that they were not labeled or identified and the best remarks about the photo may be something like 'oh, what an old photo this is', or 'look at this metal picture'. We may see the historical value of such photos as these by their age and yet never realise that Great Great Grand Mother saved her pennies from ironing shirts on the side to have it taken at the Carnival when it passed through town. Better yet, that Grampa hired the photographer to take it as a Christmas Present for Gramma in 1907.

Mother's Cedar Chest or Grandma's Trunk always held the things which were deemed important, irreplaceable or intended to be passed on to future generations. Some of the items one could find in the Trunks and Chests of our families include a WWII Uniform of Uncle Sam's, dinner plates of Gramma Josie's, a pocket purse of Mammaw's, Granddad's mother-of-pearl cufflinks and tie clip, a bag of skeleton keys and another of assorted small locks, Daddy's pocket knife collection, GrandPa's Colt 45, and numerous other items including Big Mom's Golden Braided Hair which was about 26inches long when she cut it off before she died. Grandad's little black lock box contained I.O.U.'s for certain loans to be paid in speci, Warranty Deeds for lands purchased, membership cards and certificates of the Freemasons including Grand Patriarch of a Texas Division, a poem written in remembrance of young Gorda when she died, old driver's licenses and church cards, school and propery tax receipts as well as a receipt for several horses bought and two old photos of Great Great Great Great Great Grand Fathers Hunt and Shelton, one paternal, one maternal. Oh yes, and Pappaw's Daisey Red Rider BB Gun. Nanna's secret letterbox contained every letter she recieved by her future husband and after their marriage every letter he wrote while traveling away from home. True Romance Stories to a Tee complete with mystery and intrigue still to this day.

The Barn is another place in which items of the past are stored. Such as Granny's quilt frame and metal clamps, a 12 foot two man lumber saw and various power tools before the time when 'power' was associated with electrical cords and 110 volts, Uncle Harrison's WWII vintage Harley Davidson (I wish, although I do have a picture of him on it), and even an old Model T Ford drive shaft (again, too bad the truck didn't come along with it). There were also 20 or 30 old cigar boxes, Granddad's Popular Science Magazines and a 'Junk Box Radio' built by instructions from one of the issues, a telegragh key board with battery hookups and speaker with adjustable tones, an old crystal type radio and headphones which when I installed a wire across the eave of the house and hooked it up, I could get various radio stations depending on where I placed the contactor on the crystal. The crystal looked like a piece of magnet, I'm not sure what it actually was. However many friends were amazed at its operation as it required no electricity. Especially when FM Radio was the thing to listen to back then, now we have satelite radio or XM Radio. There was an old cotton bail scales arm and hand operated gin which were two paddles with a wire brush attached at an angle on their faces. The wires were about a quarter inch in length and the cotton was placed between and pulled apart to stretch the fibers out so they could be spun into thread. Two old crank type telephones lived in the barn till they were handed down to Father's son-in-law who just happened to be in the telephone business. The crank spun within a coil and produced a mighty jolt if you held unto the contact leads. An old plow head was placed in the fork of a tree out in the back yard. Now the tree has grown over the plow with just the edges still in view. Have you ever heard the expression 'I've got too many irons on the stove'? There were two irons that were placed upon the wood cook stove and heated for ironing the clothes. One was used while the other heated up, when one cooled off enough not to work any more they were exchanged placing the cool one back on the stove and using the hot one till it cooled. I'm sure the phrase didn't mean Gramma had more irons than she needed.

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The Townships - Proposed for its own page

1840 Blue Mountain Twp, Izard County, Arkansas Heads of Households
Ethelbred Pitman | William Whitfield | Isaac Rainbolt | James Welsh | Jesse Scoggins | Samuel Brown | Joshua Richardson | Mortimus Pitman | Samuel Brown | Edward Taylor | Anderson Hamilton | Gabriel Davis | Daniel Wilson | Arthur Overton | John Crouch | John Lancaster | Robert Caigle | John Jacobs | S E Rawson | Joshua Richardson | Benjamin Cox & alias | Thomas Riggs | Lewis Richardson | Isaac Flanary | Hyram Glass | Christian Young | Benjamin Tipton & alias | John Richardson | Peter Young 7 alias | Jesse Lancaster | Robert Lancaster | Allen Lancaster | Anderson Sutton | Andrew J Lancaster | Green S(L) Wiley | Isaac Scroggins | Allen Stephens | Polly Williams | James Moorhead | William Pew | Abner Davis | Eli Ward