John W. Williams and his wife, Marinda Humphries Williams were relatively "late comers" to Pope County, Arkansas, arriving around 1870. The civil war had brought devastating changes into John and Marinda's lives and they had migrated to Pope County hoping for a fresh start in life.
John W. Williams, was born 5 Jan 1809, one of ten children born to Louis Houston and Winney Frances Williams. Louis was an early settler of Walker County, Georgia. Walker County was inhabited by the Cherokee Indians until 1838. There was one small country store where the city of Atlanta is now located, at that time known as "X" roads. During 1835, Louis Williams and Amos Williams, two brothers with their families moved from Gwinnett County to Walker County.
Louis settled near what is known as Gordon's Gap on the Alabama Road where he resided until his death which occured during the civil war. He was an active member of the Baptist Church and a local leader and authority in the Democratic party. Amos Williams was a Whig in politics and a member of the Methodist Church. The brothers were known in the community because of the differences over politics and religion. The minutes of the "Coosa Baptist Association" list Louis Williams and his sons, John W. and Amos Williams (named undoubted for his Methodist Uncle) as members of the Association. The Coosa Baptist Convention's annual meetings were held in the Peavine District in Walker County, Georgia from 1853 until 1857, with the Williams family shown as attending the meetings.
The community Louis Williams lived in was called Chestnut Flats and with the assistance of slave labor and his own hard work, by the early 1840's, he had acquired a large cotton plantation and a beautiful two story home. Louis' first wife, Winney Frances (maiden name unknown) died on October 8, 1850 of typhoid fever and she was buried on the grounds of the plantation. Louis, who was born 29 Nov 1785 in Virginia, was in his early 70's when he married a second time. Louis' second wife was a much younger woman named Sarah Moon. She was thirty eight years old at the time of their marriage, however, they had no children.
John W. Williams, Louis' older son, married Marinda Humprhies in Walton County, Georgia on 23 Dec 1830. Marinda born 12 Jun 1815 in Jackson County, Georgia was the daughter of Shadrack and Sarah Camp Humphries. She was in the unique position of being the only daughter among nine sons. Marinda's father, Shadrack, died prior to 1830 and did not live to see his only daughter marry. Sarah Camp Humphries died on a Monday, 6 Feb 1832 in Walton County. She did not live to see the birth of her daughter's first child, a son, born 20 Apr 1832 in Gwinnett County and named James Louis Williams.
John and Marinda and their young son moved to Walker County in 1835 when Louis Williams decided to move there. John and Marinda settled a short distance down the road from Louis' plantation. They seem to have lived an ordinary life the first forty years of the marriage. Their union produced eight children, James Louis born 20 Apr 1832; Jane Vashtie born 25 Oct 1836; Mary Caroline born 2 Jun 1839; Martha Victory born 19 Mar 1842; Sarah Winney born 31 Mar 1837; Melissa Marinda born 11 Aug 1854; Jackson Jeremiah born 29 Dec 1857 and Elizabeth Mary born 10 Aug 1858.
John and Marinda's quiet ordinary life came to an end when the civil war started. John's brother, Jeremiah Jackson Williams, who had joined the Confederate States Army, 4 Mar 1862 was killed in the battle of Resaca in April of 1863. The battle took place just seven miles from the Williams plantation and Jeremiah's body was brought back to the plantation and buried on the grounds next to his mother. Jeremiah left a widow and three fatherless children. Louis Williams who was 78 years old in 1863 died two months later on 4 Jun 1863. The stress of the war and the loss of his sons seemed to have overcome him. He, too, was buried on the grounds of his beloved plantation. Marinda later told her grandchildren of the days of the war and of hiding the family's silver in the banks of a creek to keep the "yankees" from stealing it.
The war's end brought heart wrenching changes in the family. The courthouse in Walker County, Georgia burned, so it is not possible to know the contents of Louis Williams will. Somehow, either by inheritance or purchase, Sarah Moon's brother became owner of the plantation house.
John W. Williams is not listed on the 1870 Pope County, Arkansas census, however, he must have arrived in the very early 1870's. He was appointed the Postmaster of the Glass Village Post Office in October of 1872. He retained that position until his death 30 Sep 1878. Marinda, left alone, after John's death moved into the home of her daughter, Jane Vashtie Hopkins. Her husband Frances, operated a mercantile business in Appleton, Arkansas. Marinda died 18 Dec 1900, she and John are buried in the Appleton Cemetery in Appleton, Pope County, Arkansas.
John and Marinda Humphries Williams were my Great Great Grandparents, for more information on their family, please contact Virginia Campbell (jcampbell@mev.net), who submitted this information.
JACKSON COUNTY, ARKANSAS BIOGRAPHIES
The Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1889.page 848
George D. Camp, farmer and fruit raiser, of Jackson County, was born in Pittsylvania County, Va., September 30, 1830, being a son of William [p.848] H. Camp (German descent), of Virginia, and Catherine (Whitehead) Camp (French descent), also of Virginia. May 7, 1852, he married Miss Maria Ferguson, of McCracken County, Ky., whose parents came from Rhode Island. By this union they had two children: Luther R., now of Perry County, Ark., and Catherine F. (married William F. Hammond, and died in 1881). Mrs. Camp died June 15, 1866, and he again married Mrs. Martha (Nance) Robertson, who had two children: William Jesse Robertson and Martha A. By his second wife Mr. Camp has eight children: George Washington, born September 28, 1861; Nancy J. Camp, born May 10, 1863; Sarah E., born May 29, 1865; Doctor Dick Camp, born April 10, 1867; Daniel L., born March 23, 1869; John H., born December 24, 1870; Laura Jane, born January, 1873; Mary A., born December 24, 1875; and Martha H., born February 8, 1880. Mrs. Camp died October 6, 1886, and Mr. Camp married Mrs. Missouri Crabtree, who had one child, Eva Blair, by her first husband, who lives with her stepfather. Mr. Camp learned the carpenter's trade, finished it in 1853, and engaged in the business for three and a half years, when he commenced farming. After coming to Arkansas he leased a farm belonging to the estate of John Jones, at the expiration of which lease he moved upon the present farm, which has since been his home. He bought the land of the State of Arkansas at seventy-five cents per acre, and with will and determination commenced clearing and improving it. Mr. Camp now has fifty-five acres of land under cultivation, seven acres being in orchard, containing apple, peach, pear and fig trees, he having the largest and finest variety of fruit in Arkansas, in which he takes a just pride. Mr. and Mrs. Camp are both members of the Christian Church, and Mr. Camp has always been a friend to religious, educational and social advancement, and by strict and honest dealing, has earned the reputation of an honest man. What higher tribute can be paid his name? He well deserves a place in the present volume.
FATHERS OF THE RIDGE, Vol. I by George W. Rowland. Copyright 1978 by George W. Rowland. Printed by College Bookstore and Press, Route 4, Box 196, Paragould, Arkansas 72450.
Thomas Camp was born in Virginia in 1808. His wife Eliza was born in North Carolina in 1818.
In 1850 the Camp family was living in Hardeman County, Tennessee. Their children at this time were: Ann, 1835; James, 1838; William, 1841; Mary, 1844; Pitser, 1847; and Robert, 1849. Ann was born in North Carolina, but all the other children were born in Tennessee.
Pitser Camp married a woman named Sarah J., born in Tennessee in 1850. Their known children in 1880 were: Robert L., 1871; Benjamin, 1875; and Alice, 1878. Robert and Benjamin were born in Tennessee and Alice was born in Arkansas. Their nearest neighbors at this time were the families of Asa Herren, Joseph McClure, M. V. Cleavland, and Sophia Russell.
In 1880 the nearest neighbors of Asa Herren were the families of William Cone, Taylor Fletcher, Joseph McClure, and Lewis Camp.
FATHERS OF THE RIDGE, Vol. IV, Genealogical Sketches of Greene County, Arkansas by George W. Rowland, M.S., Ed.D. formerly Professor of Education at Missouri Valley College and the University of Tennessee at Martin. Copyright 1984 by George W. Rowland, P. O. Box 702, Paragould, Arkansas 72451 - 0702. Printed by Crowley's Ridge College Bookstore & Press.
The reader is referred to the CAMP sketch in Volume I of this book. Hardeman County, Tennessee cemetery records (Mrs. Robert Owens) show that Thomas Camp was buried at the Camp Cemetery located on the Wilmore Mitchell farm near Bolivar. His niarker indicates that he was born in Southampton County, Virginia on March 4, 1809 and died on April 21,1870. The record also shows that there was originally a marker for his wife, but that it has since disappeared.
Pitser M. Camp, son of Thomas, came to Greene County, Arkansas sometime during the 1870's. The Camp family may be located in the 1860 census for Hardeman County, Tennessee by referring to microfilm page 1 78 in that record. After coming to Greene County, Pitser Camp settled in Poland Township. His family may be found in the 1880 census record for this township.
S.D.H. (Shady D.) Flopper was born in Tennessee in 1825. He married Elizabeth R. Lemonds in Lincoln County, Tennessee on September 1 3 1846. In 1 850 the couple was living in Gibson County, Tennessee and their children were: John W., 1847; and Elizabeth, 1849. In 1870 the family was still living in Gibson County and their home was near the town of Gadsden. By this latter date several more children had been added to the household: Thomas, 1852; Emerl in, 1854; James, 1857; John T., 1859; Joseph (William Joseph)1 1862; Jane, 1865; and Henry, 1869. Apparently Shady (Shadrick) Hopper died sometime during the 1870's. By 1880 his widow, Elizabeth, had moved to Randolph County, Arkansas and settled in Roanoke Township. Five of her children, including John and Joseph (William Joseph), were living with her. Members of the Hopper family have indicated that William Jospeh Hopper's first wife was Ellen temonds. ln 1900 WUliam J. and tis second wile, Sar at A. AHyde?), were living in floanake Township and their children were: John T., 1884; Hattie F., 1886; James F., 1891; and William F., 1899. It is believed that James and William were the children of William J. and his second wife. By 1910 William J. and Sarah A. had moved to Greene County and settled in St. Francis Township. By this date four more children had been added to the household; Ethel, 1901; Perva (a daughter), 1904; Tyler, 1907; and Estel, 1910. William F. (Frank) Hopper married Jewel I Mabry, daughter of Nathan Mabry (see MABRY, Vol. lV). Frank died in 1958 and was buried at the Shiloh Cemetery. John T. Hopper, son of William J., is buried at Shiloh and his marker shows dates of 1884 and 1943. John T. Hopper, brother of William J., is buried at the Pine Knott Cemertery and his marker bears dates of 1859 and 1907. William J. Hopper and hiswife, Sarah A., are buried at the Pine Knott Cemetery. William died in 1941 and Sarah, in 1 950. Hattie Hopper Camp, daughter of William and Sarah, is buried at Pine Knott and her marker shows dates of 1887 and 1925. A biographical sketch regarding John W. Hopper (born 1847), son of Shadrack and Elizabeth Lemonds Hopper, may be found in Goodspeed's History of Gibson County, Tennessee. Jewel I Mabry Hopper, in a letter to the writer, described her father-in-law, William J. Hopper, as a "walking preacher". The writer is indebted to Mrs. Hopper, now living in Cocoa, Florida, for the information she has provided regarding the Hopper families.
Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Eastern Arkansas.
Goodspeed Publishers, 1890. page 517
Rev. James F. Jernigan, pastor of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, of the Osceola Circuit, was born in Henry County, Tenn., May 18, 1851, being sixth in a family of seven children born to Rev. W. H. and Dicy (Moore) Jernigan, natives of Middle Tennessee. There the father followed farming for a long time, but being converted, he began preaching nearly fifty years ago. James' paternal grandfather, Jesse, and his wife, Rebecca, were pioneers of Western Tennessee, going there from Middle Tennessee in 1823, where the old gentleman lived, following farming and carpentering, till his death, which occurred in January, 1857, at the age of eighty-three years. Rev. W. H. Jernigan later removed from Tennessee to Independence County, Ark., and settled near Sulphur Rock, where he brought a tract of 200 acres. On this land he has made many improvements, providing a comfortable home for the family till about 1883. The mother died August 10, 1878, at the age of sixty-four years. The estate still belongs to the family, but Mr. Jernigan, Sr., makes his home with his youngest son, L. C. Jernigan, a merchant at Sulphur Rock. In 1865 this estimable man (our subject's father) taught the first free school in Independence County. He was a teacher for a long time in Tennessee, and has always been active in school and church work. He has continued preaching up to the present, and during the summer of 1888 assisted his son in a series of protracted meetings, covering a period of nearly three months. On the 23d of July, 1889, at the house of his youngest son, he made the remark, that forty-nine years previous a chain of two links had been formed; subsequently seven links more had been added, and to this increasing chain thirty-eight more links, representing his grandchildren, were added, making in all a chain of fifty-four links. During this long period there have been but eight breaks in this family chain, the death of five children and three adults. This respected pioneer has lived in Northeast Arkansas thirty years, and during that time has never had a chill; in fact, as will be seen from the above, the health of the entire family has been remarkable. Our subject remained at home, working on the farm, till about the age of twenty-three years, during which time he attended school in the vicinity of his home, and in 1872 was a student at a five-months' session at Spring Hill Academy, Henry County, Tenn. From his sixteenth year, when he was converted, he has been a diligent student of the bible, and works on theology, feeling from that early age that there were fields for labor in the coming years, in which a knowledge of those books would be his greatest if not his only help; and so with these years of preparation, by private study and his father's help, he became well qualified for active usefulness. He entered the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, White River Conference, which was held in 1874 in Searcy, White County, Ark., his first charge being Salem Circuit, Fulton County, where he remained one year. He was then changed to West Point Circuit, White County, and thence, after one year, to Pleasant Valley Circuit, Jackson County. In 1878 he was changed to Newport Station for one year; thence to Lee County, for one year; in 1880 to Clay County, Boydsville and Oak Bluff Stations; in 1881 to Corning Station, same county; in 1882-83, Jamestown Circuit, Independence County; in 1884-85, at Vanndale Circuit; in 1886-87, in Marion [p.517] Circuit, Crittenden County, and in 1888 back to Sulphur Rock Circuit, his old, boyhood home. In 1889 he was appointed to Osceola Circuit, in Mississippi County, which charge he is filling at the present time. Brother Jernigan can justly be called a revivalist, for in all these years his ministry has been marked with wonderful success. In 1882, 175 conversions resulted from his efforts, and two-thirds of this number united with the church; in other years nearly as many, and this year (1889) during about eight months' labor he had 118 accessions to the church. He has held protracted meetings at Carson's Lake, Golden Lake, Pecan Point, Mill Bayou. Dunavant's Chapel, Louise Chapel, Elmot and Osceola, and at all these meetings great interest has been manifested, and many conversions made. Indeed, the degree of interest manifested among the people who have been attending his various meetings is sufficient to impress a thoughtful person as being wonderful. Religious matters have here been the chief topic of conversation, and the thoughts of almost all seem to dwell on the “big meetings.” Brother Jernigan has been married twice; the first time November 14, 1877, to Miss Kate D. Shoup, a native of Marshall County, Miss., who came to this State with her parents in her youth. She died September 9, 1878.
He married the second time, October 11, 1881, Miss Lizzie I. Camp, a native of Tennessee, born in Memphis, and the daughter of Dr. M. V. and Sallie C. (Shed) Camp. Her mother died in 1888, but her father is at the present time a prominent physician of Walnut Ridge. He was on the editorial staff of the first secession paper published in Alabama, and later served as captain in the Confederate army. Brother Jernigan at present resides at Walnut Ridge, where he has a pleasant home, presided over by his estimable wife. In personal appearance, as will be seen by a glance at the accompanying portrait, he is a man of striking personal appearance, with an intellectual expression superior to the average. Slightly above the ordinary height, also inclining somewhat to stoutness, with an erect carriage, it is apparent that physically he has been generously endowed by nature, and as a result makes a commanding presence in the pulpit. Such endowments, when combined with the earnest and entreating expression of the eye, and the ringing tones of eloquence as he expounds the truths of the Divine Story, contribute materially to the success which follows every meeting. He also strives to have the congregation see that what he says is not the labored production, studied for oratorical effect, but that each word springs from the sincere heart, and that he feels with all an enthusiast's power, the truth and passion of the Holy Law. His preaching, at proper intervals, is often enlivened by an appropriate anecdote, containing a moral, clothed in a few pleasing and often humorous sentences, which relaxes the tension of the hearer's mind, as it also points more directly to the open door of truth. In conversation with various members of the different churches in Mr. Jernigan's charge, it is found that his efforts are justly appreciated, for, from no one are heard words of censure or unkind criticism, but from all, terms of the highest praise.
