|
Chapter 47: The Narrative of John Eudaly, Section Three |
 |
 |
 |
"in the fall of 1848 Benjamin Holms being sheriff of Wayne county com to my house and drew off a tax list of all taxes due west of black for me to collect for him, which I did and return in due time in the year 1849 Butler county was taken off of Wayne it was now time to have som officers the Legislature appointed John Stevenson Solomon Kittrell a(nd) Jonathan Sandlin judges Jacob Blount was clerk early in the year 1850 the court appointed Thomas R. Davis assessor and also town commissioner to lay off and sell the town lots in Poplar Bluff about the risering of the grass the gold feaver got so high Davis deterined to go to California after doing a part of assessing then by request I taken both appointments completed the assessments had Poplar Bluff laid off in town lots and sold them held the office till 1856 when I was elected judge (County Court) which ended my term as commissioner.
In May 1850 the quarterly conferenc (Methodist) elected me recording steward of the district which I held for 35 years then resigned in 1854 I was elected justice of the peace for Epps Township which office I held without a brak for 36 (years) eys (eyes) was failing and resigned during my term of office I solemised over 40 mariges after the war the county court apointed me assessor to make the first assessment (after war period) assessed the county 8 times in year 1872 Shiloh post office was started and I appointed postmaster and held the office for seventeen years then resigned"
Church papers and reading of them. "in 1834 I subscribed for Christian Advocate published in New York then when there (was) one started Cincinnati Ohio taken that" The next entry is incomplete but indicates he subscribed to a religious paper published in Nashville and took it "till the St. Louis started then I-(word missing) with the St. Louis and have continued to this day"
"on the 25 day of March 1877 was married to Surana Capps"
"in fall of 1873 in company with Samuel S. Varner & Elias Brannum as vi-(edge of page worn away) to the annual conference at Charleston in 1873 I went as delegat to the conferenc at Caledonia a deligate to St. Louis in 1879 a deligate to Fredericktown 1881 again a delight to St. Louis anuel
- (date frayed away) a deligate to St. Louis in 1879 a deligate to Fredericktown 1881 again a deligate to St. Louis anuel conference"
The next to the last entry is a verse of song.
God morning brother pilgrim
What marching to Zion
What doubts and what danger
Have you met today
Have you found a blessing
Then pray without ceasing
This is the command
That was given by Paul
Final entry. "As I have all ready stated that on the 18 day September 1832 I was married to Orlena Cox. And to this union there was born eleven children. Three boys and eight girls. Two of the boys dying in infancy. Nine of the children living to raise familys of their own. There are twenty seven grand children. And thirty eight great grand children."
This closes the story written by John Eudaly, great community leader. Notations in parentheses are our own for greater clarity.
The more we study the journey from Jefferson County, Tennessee, down the French Broad, the Tennessee, the Ohio, the Mississippi, to New Madrid, Missouri, the more we are amazed. Twelve adult men, presumably all heads of families, constituted the colony, probably forty or more persons. According to the 1850 Census John Eudaly and John Walton each had three children born in Tennessee. The other ten families must have numbered thirty or more people.
The Tennessee River dips into Alabama before turning northward to join the Ohio River near Paducah, Kentucky. An automobile, starting from Jefferson County, Tennessee, and going to New Madrid, Missouri, via Guntersville, Alabama, on the Tennessee River, would travel well over five hundred miles. We will not venture a guess on the river miles for the same journey. This band of immigrants, probably twelve families, with wagons, horses, feed, tools, household goods, food and whatnot, in three flat bottom boats, floated down the rivers without mishap. At least John Eudaly said, "Nothing unusual happened on the voyage." What a tribute to pioneer ingenuity and determination. The next summer, after the crops were "laid by" Reed Cox, John Walton and John Eudaly, with a wagon and team and one extra "nag", traveled another six hundred odd miles through northern Arkansas and Southern Missouri, searching for "the place we had started to find."
We believe Reed Cox was the accepted leader of the group and that he also was the father-in-law of John Eudaly. The families staked out their homes up and down Cane Creek in the present Carter and Butler counties. After arriving on Cane Creek, the first campsite, eight miles above the future home of John Eudaly, was in the present Carter County.
Mr. Eudaly must have written his story when he had become an elderly man. The accuracy of details and dates indicates he might have kept a diary. If so, it would be a wonderful thing for Butler County if the diary could be found. We note only one mistake in the narrative. Mr. Eudaly states that in 1850 Thomas R. Davis was Commissioner of Poplar Bluff. This varies from the record of the Butler County Court. The Court records shows that Obadiah Epps was appointed the first Commissioner of Poplar Bluff, resigned March 18, 1850, and the same day John Eudaly was appointed to the office. Thomas R. Davis was the assessor, resigned and was succeeded by Eudaly, as stated in the narrative. The information we have is that Obadiah Epps resigned to go to Texas and Davis resigned to go to California, where gold could be had for the digging.
We have found one other item of great local interest in the career of John Eudaley. Richard L. Metcalf in "A View of a Growing Town" states that John Eudaly was one of the trustees taking title to the site for the first church building owned by the Methodist Church in Poplar Bluff, about 1871.
For opportunity to read and prepare for publication the narrative written by John Eudaly we wish to thank Mr. And Mrs. J. W. Moore, Poplar Bluff. Their courtesy and cooperation has made it possible to permanently preserve this very interesting record of local history.
|
|