Thomas A. McSpadden brother to Mary Ann McSpadden From newspaper article - newspaper and date published unknown. Pioneer McSpadden became something of legend Editor's note: Mr. McSpadden is a resident of Mountain View but is known throughout this area as a craftsman of fine dulcimers and, with his wife Mary Catherine and brother Larry, as owner of The Dulcimer shop. He recently published a pamphlet, "McSpadden Generations," as a result of research into his family history, and agreed to permit the use of some of his material here. By Nancy Britton and Lynn McSpadden
The roots of the McSpaddens
of North Arkansas are Scotch-Irish and Cumberland Presbyterian.
It was one of their ancestors, the Rev. Samuel McSpadden, who
helped found this denomination in Tennessee in the early 19th
century. The Arkansas McSpaddens descend from his son, William,
who was born in Tennessee in 1818.
William McSpadden married Sarah Birch Stroud, and her family
connections probably brought him to Arkansas around 1853. Sarah's
brother, O. P. Stroud, had moved to the Barren Fork community
(Izard County) a few years earlier. This is now the area around
Mount Pleasant. Craig Ogilvie, who has done research on that
community, named the McSpaddens as one of the earliest families
to settle there. Some information on William's family was obtained
from his family Bible, which had been handed down to a descendant,
the late Othel McSpadden of Batesville. William and Sarah Stroud
Mcspadden had 14 children, the first nine born in Warren County,
Tennessee, the rest after they arrived in Arkansas. The children
were Thomas Alva, John Dillard, Lucy Rebecca, Samuel M., Mary A., George Acton Steel, General Zachary
Taylor, William Theodore, Eulacta C., Sarah Elizabeth, Robert,
Amanda Jane, Clementine M. and Martha L. Some of these have local
decendants, but only the line of Thomas A. has been traced in
this article. Thomas Alva McSpadden was the oldest son of William
and Sarah. Born in Tennessee on July 4, 1837, he was about 16
years old when the family moved to Arkansas. Except for a brief
absence during the Civil War, he lived the rest of his life in
Independence County. McSpadden became something of a legend in
Washington Township, in the Bethesda-Campground area, because
he was the father of 21 children by this two marriages. The first
wife was Temperance Luster. She was the mother of the first 12
children: William, Reuben, Mary Cornelia, Thomas A., Jr., John
M., Sarah, Margaret, George washington, David, James King, Minnie
and Joseph. The last child, born in 1876, died in infancy.
Temperance McSpadden also died about the same time, and Thomas
then married Mary Elizabeth Defriese. They became the parents
of nine more children: Mose, Samel Spear, Henry, Hiram, Robert,
Louisa, Ewin, Anice and Aaron. Aaron, the last survivor of the
children, died in Oklahoma in 1975. By all his children Thomas
McSpadden had more than 135 grandchildren. That number was reported
in the Batesville Guard in 1916, but others were born later.
Most of them grew up in their grandfather's immediate neighborhood,
in the Campground-Bethesda-Harmontown area. One story is told
that Thomas had his own communications system in the days before
telephones. So
many of his children and grandchildren lived along the road from
his house to his White River bottomland that he could ride to
the river, look over his crops, then decide what equipment he
needed that day. By shouting to the nearest offspring he could
count on his message being relayed back by a human yelling chain
over a distance of about four miles. McSpadden almost lost one
of his sons. One summer afternoon some of the boys of his second
family slipped off
to go swimming in White River, which their father had forbidden
them to do. One of the boys, Samuel Spear, went under and apparently
drowned. His brothers managed to pull him out and put his body
across the back of an old mule. Sadly they started home, wondering
how to explain their disobedience to their father. But as the
mule jogged along the rough road, the bouncing apparently forced
the water out of the boy's lungs and worked almost as well as
artificial respiration, for the drowning victim was miraculousl
restored to life. Tom had so many grandchildren that he thought
every child he met around Bethesda was one of them. One day he
was riding his big black horse down a lane when he met 13- year-old
Joy Fowler, whose family had recently moved into that area. He
reined in his horse, smiled down at her and asked, "Now
which one of my grandchildren are you?" Joy thought it was
funny because she wasn't related to him at all. Later, however,
she married his grandson, Lester Calaway, and became his granddaughter
after all. "Uncle Tom," as nearly everyone called him-even
his grandchildren-did break the family tradition of Cumberland
Presbyterianism and became a Methodist. In 1895 he gave part
of the land that is now the property of Campground Methodist
Church, and many of his descendants have been - and still are
- members of that church. McSpadden enlisted in the Confederate
1st Arkansas, in Capt. Rutherford's Co. D., in 1862. According
to his obituary, written by Theodore Maxfield in 1924: This company
was engaged in outpost and scout duty almost throughout the war.
This required brave men and (McSpadden) was always ready for
duty and performed it well. He was engaged in the battles of
Helena, Little Rock, Marks Mill and others in South Arkansas.
He was also with General Price when he made his famous raid into
Missouri. During the Missouri campaign McSpadden fought against
some of his Missouri cousins. He was paroled, along with most
Independence County Confederates, at Jacksonport in 1865. Obviously,
the names of all of Thomas McSpadden's local
descendants cannot be included in the article. The oldest is
probably George W. McSpadden's daughter, Mrs. Bertha Shaw, now
95 years old and residing in a local nursing home. The marriages
and number of offspring of each of the sons and daughters listed
below should enable a descendant to find his or her own line.
William W., the oldest son, married Sarah Martin, then Elizabeth
Brooks. He had 14 children and 12 grandchildren. Reuben married
Mary Elizabeth Martin, Then Mary Criswell. He lived in Rotan,
Texas, and had a total of 14 children.
Mary Cornelia married Robert "Lance" Leonard, who owned
a steam gin and grist mill on Harmon Creek. They had 13 children
and 53 grandchildren. Thomas A. Jr. married Mary Catherine Sisco
and had six children and 24 grandchildren. John M. married M.
E. Hess. No other information available. Sarah married Luther
J. Bracy and had 10 children and 30 grandchildren. Margaret married
Judge John H. Marshall. They had four children and 10 grandchildren.
George W. married Elizabeth Hancock, then Hattie Arizona Love.
He had 13 children by the two wives and about 25 grandchildren.
(George and Hattie are the grandparents of Lynn McSpadden.)
David married Josephine B. Anderson and had two children and
12 grandchildren.
James King married Sarah M. Martin and had 16 children and 34
grandchildren.
Minnie married Thomas A. Anderson. No further information is available.
Mose married Elizabeth Martin. They had five children and
several grandchildren.
Samuel married Stella Kimmer and moved to Oklahoma. They had
six children and 18 grandchildren.
Hiram married Maggie Coop or Cook and moved to Oklahoma. They
had at least nine children.
Robert married Myrtle Cook. They had two children before his
death in 1909 and no known grandchildren.
Ewin married Winnie Ryan and moved to Oklahoma. They had at least
four children.
Aaron married Flossie Wright and moved to Oklahoma. They had
three children and five grandchildren.
Joseph, Henry, Anice and Louisa died in infancy.
The second wife of Thomas McSpadden, Mary Elizabeth, died in
1913. Eleven years later the old patriarch himself died at the
age of 87. Sometime around 1915 he held a big public sale of
household goods and farm equipment and began to live with one
of his children. McSpadden, both his wives and many other family
members are buried in the Campground Cemetery. The original list
of the children of Thomas A. McSpadden, currently being updated
and corrected by Lynn McSpadden's voluminous correspondence,
was provided a number of years ago by the late Malissa Calaway
of Batesville, who summed up the compilation with the phrase,
"Such a heritage!"