James William Monroe Horton

My grandfather, James William Monroe "Will" Horton, was born November 21, 1878, in Wayne County, Tennessee, the eldest child of John Ellison Horton and Sarah Jane Woody.

Will appears with his parents on the 1880 Wayne County census, 7th District, listed as James W., age 1 year. Will was about two years old when his family moved to Searcy County, Arkansas, around 1881. According to census, that is where his brothers and sisters were born.

The 1900 Searcy County census shows Will, age 21, boarding with the Joseph Loyd family in Sulpher Spring Township, a short distance from the home of his parents and siblings. Will was living next door to his uncle Peter A. "Ponie" Horton and wife Sallie B. Horton.

Will married his cousin, Mary A. Horton, on February 7, 1901, in Searcy County. Mary A. Horton was born July 1879, in Searcy County, the daughter of William Winthrop Thomas Horton and Tennessee A. Parks. Will's grandfather, Than Horton, and Mary's grandfather Ikey Horton were first cousins.

Mary appears on the 1900 Searcy County census, living with her widowed mother and siblings in Spring Township. She is listed as 20 years of age on the census.

Mary and Will had but a short time together, however. Mary died in childbirth in 1902. The baby died unborn. Mary is buried beside her parents in Canaan Cemetery, at Canaan, in Searcy County. A fieldstone marks her grave.

Will married my grandmother, Effie Ann Harmon, on June 25, 1905, at Ella, in Pope County, Arkansas. Effie Harmon was born January 23, 1887, at Cave City, in Independence County, Arkansas, the fourth of five children born to James Louis Harmon and Martha Jane Crow.

Effie was about three years old when her family moved from Independence County to Pope County, Arkansas. There her father homesteaded 160 acres of land a few miles south of Tilly and built a log house for his family. Effie's parents were strict but loving parents, and saw to it that their children attended school and got as much education as was usual for farming families at that time. They taught their children to work and divided the chores among the children according to their ability to perform those chores. As the children grew in age and ability, their chores grew in size and responsibility, and the easier tasks were passed down to the younger children.

 Effie's mother taught her to cook at the fireplace where an iron rod with hooks had been attached at each side of the fireplace. Round bottomed iron "boiling pots" were hung from these hooks for cooking over the fire. She learned to bake bread in a "baker", which was a round iron pot with three legs so it could be set on the coals in the fireplace. Hot coals were then heaped over the flat lid of the baker to provide even baking and browning of the bread.

Effie learned the proper way to wash clothes. Several buckets of water had to be drawn from the well and poured into the large iron "wash kettle" to be heated for washing the clothes. Additional water had to be drawn and poured into two tubs for rinsing the clothes. Wash wood had to be dragged in from the woods to build a fire around the kettle. After the fire was built and the water heated, part of the water was put into a large tub where a rub board was used to wash the clothes clean. Homemade lye soap was used to rub the clothes with, then some of the soap was whittled into the wash pot where the white clothes were boiled to get them whiter. The clothes were then lifted out of the boiling water with a "punching stick" and put into a tub of clean water and rinsed. "Bluing" was added to the final rinse water to make the white clothes whiter.

Soap making was another important activity Effie learned from her mother. Ashes from the fireplace had to be stored in an ash hopper until ready for soap making. An ash hopper was a large trough made of wood, in which large amounts of ashes were stored and kept covered and dry all year until spring when it was time to make the soap. The base of the hopper was slanted just enough that when several gallons of water was poured over the ashes, the ash-water run off could be caught in containers. This ash-water was the beginning of lye soap. It was then mixed with old lard or grease drippings and boiled in a huge wash kettle. After due boiling, the liquid soap was ladled into containers "to setup". When the soap was set, it was cut into bars to be used for washing clothes and dishes.

Effie's parents always planted a large garden every year. Much of the food the garden produced was dried for use in the winter months. Effie learned to snap green beans and string them on a thread to hang and dry. She learned to preserve corn by first shucking and silking it, then cutting it off the cob and spreading it on a clean cloth to dry. Other vegetables were preserved in the same way. Fruit was peeled, sliced and laid out to dry. After drying, the food was placed in sacks and hung for the winter. Both Irish and sweet potatoes were raised in abundance and preserved through the winter by placing them in holes in the ground and covering them with a thick layer of straw and dirt to keep them from freezing. Turnips were preserved in the same manner. By the time Effie married she had learned the skills necessary for caring for her own home and family.

Will and Effie settled in Pope County, not far from her parents. Their first four children were born in Pope County a few miles south of Tilly. About 1913, the family moved to Una, in Searcy County, where two more children were born. Una was only a few miles away from Tilly. Will homesteaded farm land in Searcy County, where he built a house for his family. He farmed the land and hunted and trapped to provide extra food and income. He also dug ginseng and golden seal roots and sold or traded them for needed supplies. Will was restless, however, and soon sold the farm. He never owned land again after that time.

Will's parents had moved to Douglas County, Missouri about 1908 and in late 1918, Will moved his family to Glendale, in Douglas County, Missouri, where they lived near his parents for a short time. It was in Douglas County that their youngest child was born. Because of a problem in getting a delayed birth certificate, however, the place of birth was incorrectly listed as Conway County, Arkansas.

The 1920 Douglas County, Missouri census, McMurtrey Township, shows James W. Horton, 41, a farmer; Effie A., wife, 33; Luna L., daughter, 13; Belle B., daughter, 11; Opal S., daughter, 9; Harrcill, son, 7; Meda M., daughter, 5; Maggie M., daughter, 4 years 2 months; and Edna E., daughter, 9 months old.

Will moved his family to Conway County, Arkansas, in 1921, and settled his family near Springfield in the Cedar Creek community. Will was always restless and was never content to stay in one place for long at a time. The family moved from one farm to another every year or two. They were a poor family and never had much. Will farmed for other people and Effie and their children all worked in the cotton patch along beside Will. Effie was a religious person and took her children to church and taught them about God. She and Will saw to it that the children had what was considered a fair education for poor people of that day. Effie taught her six daughters the homemaking skills she had been taught by her mother. Will taught their son how to plow and plant; hunt and trap.

In 1925, the family moved to Pleasant Hill community, in Conway County. The 1930 Conway County census shows the family living in Lick Mountain Township. The census shows William Horton, rented his farm, 51, married at 25; Effie, 43, married at 18; Lunie, 23, a farm laborer; Bell, 22, a farm laborer; Orvill, 17, a farm laborer; Medie, 16, a farm laborer; Maggie, 14, a farm laborer; and Enda, 10 years old. Living nearby was their married daughter Opal, 19, and her husband Harry Hill, 27, both farm laborers.

For short periods of time during the early and mid 1930's, the family also lived at Sunny Side, Portland bottoms near Plumerville, and at Overcup, all located in Conway County.

In 1939, Will moved his family from Overcup to Solgohachia, in Conway County. They lived at Solgohachia until 1951, at which time they moved back to the Overcup community. As the years passed, the children grew, married and left home. They often spoke of the days of their youth; of both the good times and the hard times they had known. The good times had brought them joy and happiness and the hard times had made them strong. They remained near Will and Effie and took care of them as long as they lived.

Will died at Overcup on March 4, 1952. He is buried in Friendship Cemetery near Solgohachia. Effie died October 2, 1963, and is buried beside her husband.

Children of Will Horton and Effie Harmon

The music you are hearing is The Old Oaken Bucket.