Treasure Chest Thursday - In the Words of Rev. Joseph Smedley (my 4x great grandfather)

I wrote a few weeks back about the lovely man who contacted me regarding letters and a sermon he stumbled upon that are in the hand of my 4x maternal great-grandfather, Rev. Joseph Smedley. Let me give you a small background, Rev. Joseph was born in the United Kingdom (1790), he went to school there, went to a seminary (of sorts), became a minister, met and married his wife Mary Ann Ratcliff (1820), they soon started their family. He came to America in 1830 on the Ship the Arab via Philadelphia. His wife Mary Ann and 6 of the children came to America a few months later in 1830 on Brig Agnora via New York. They maintained a life and church family in Pennsylvania up until 1834 when he was acknowledged and commissioned not only as a teacher by the US Government (for the Native Americans being moved to Oklahoma), but also as a missionary for the Methodist faith. Rev. Joseph and Mary Ann went on to have two more children, she passed and Joseph was left to raise his children, teach, preach and live among the Native American peoples, specifically the Choctaw in what is now Le Flore County, Oklahoma and a 50 mile circuit of stops he made on horseback.

So, back to those letters I would like to share a letter and its translation. This is TRULY a family Treasure!!! P.S. There are VERY historically famous people mentioned herein.

TRANSLATION

To The Hon Choctaw Council:

I beg respectfully to present this appeal to your Hon. Body for the following Reason. The Treaty of 1864, says That all Missionaries to the Choctaws who have been such five consecutive years, shall be allowed a gr. sec. of land as as a home for themselves and families. The following facts will shew that I have been such a Missionary from the year 1844 till the commencement of the War.

"To all those it may concern. I hereby certify that the Bearer, the Rev. Joseph Smedley, this sixteenth day of Sept. 1844, was duly appointed Missionary to the red people, particularly the Choctaws West of the State of Arkansas, by the Board of Managers of the American Indian Mission Association in Louisville in the State of Kentucky. Isaac Mc Coy, Cor. Sec"

I continued my services to your people till Nov 27, 1855, and then was reappointed by the Rev. Joseph Walker, together with seven Choctaws, as Missionaries to their own people, as follows, Joseph Smedley 600 dols a year _ Peter Folsom as Interpreter 400 _ Lewis Cass 100 dols _ Shoonuby 100 dols _  Simon Hancock 100 dols _ Ishiatuby 100 dols _ Artumley 100 dols _ Atrumely's Brother 100 dols.
Apl 27, 1855, Mission Rooms, Marion, Ala. Joseph Walker Cor Sec.

The above Missionary services were independent of my employment as a Teacher in pay of the U. S. Government. I located a piece of land without interfering with any ones improvement; and all I ask of your Hon. Body is to allow me, in any way your wisdom may deem fit, to occupy the improvement I have made, till the Country becomes sectionized.

With sentiments of the highest esteem,
yours faithfully,
Joseph Smedley

P.S. I have four surviving children namely, John Ratcliff Smedley, Benjamin Bucknall Smedley, Samuel Henry Smedley, and Narcissa T Goddard_ all with families except to Samuel H.



As a side note of family history here, Benjamin was allowed to live on the land but it was eventually taken away from him by the Choctaw Nation and given to someone of Blood to the Nation.


Next week I will post and translate his sermon on the Lord's Supper, it's beautifully written.

Please note these letters are nearly 160 years old.

Happy hunting,

~ Alisha

Wacky World of Headstone Styles

As you wander among headstones there are varying types, styles, colors, fonts, shapes, sizes, and on and on and on. One thing specifically to this area, is the lack of even basic information. Now that could be for many reasons, one may have been money, then the lettering was hand chiseled, one may have been people didn't see the importance of having so much information. Now, some of the more recent headstones seem to be placing more of an emphasis of leaving information behind for others, but those 1800-mid 1900 stones it just wasn't seen as often in this area.

Now let's look at the ones from England, FULL of information not only about that person, but the person's family. How incredible is that? When the first settlers came to this country from Europe and their burials commenced, they carried on with this tradition of including these wealth's of information. Somewhere along the way as they moved west, those traditions seemed to die out. Was it because of money or the lack there of, was it because they didn't have those with the skills they were used to, as seen below, back in Europe? If you look closely, now remember this was in the 1800s, there were no lasers to complete these pieces of art. Look at the precise lettering, the scroll work, and not to mention those stones were hand carved into those shapes!

We definitely haven't found anything like this in Oklahoma, at least in the part that I am in, but Andrea's cemeteries in the United Kingdom are filled with them. One day I would LOVE to go visit them there and also I would love visit the Northeast portion of the US and Virginia where the settles came and started their lives and found their resting places here. I'd love to photograph those headstones and cemeteries.

We hope you enjoy the photos, Andrea's are from St. Andrew's Church, Netherton, Dudley, United Kingdom.

Happy Hunting,
~Alisha

Travel Tuesday - Hi from The Sanatorium Postcard

My recent run in with Mr. Robert from Texas, the man I previously wrote about that not only came upon but sent me original letters and a sermon from my 4 x great grandfather, he also sent these to me. I love looking at old things, old pictures, imagining what it must have been like to live in that time, those days and conditions. I treasure these new found goodies from Robert! Thank you again for your kindness and going way above and beyond!

From Alma Smedley at the State Sanatorium to Mr J H Smedley in Mansfield Arkansas.
Stamp dated Feb. 10, 1937.


  

             This is the postal side of the card.

This is the image on the opposite side of the card (it took me a minute to figure out what was going on in the image).

The bottom says "Keeping flies off the Mellon, State Sanatorium, Arkansas" 

The following images are the buildings on the Sanatorium grounds. These are the flip cards inside the actual post card itself.

Nurses Home

                    Administrative Building

                    George B Brown Building

                       Meriweather Hall

                       John Stewart Building

                         Office Building

Bird's eye view of State Sanatorium, Arkansas

Arkansas State Tuberculosis Sanatorium The Arkansas State Tuberculosis Sanatorium was established in 1909 about three miles south of Booneville (Logan County). Once fully established, the sanatorium was the relocation center for all white Arkansans with tuberculosis. By the time the facility was closed in 1973, it treated over 70,000 patients, and in time, its main hospital, the Nyberg Building, became known worldwide for its tuberculosis treatment. With the passage of Act 378 of the General Assembly, a board of trustees was created to oversee the search for land to build a sanatorium. This was a very vital start to create a facility that would, in fact, quarantine a highly pathogenic disease. Tuberculosis, which caused scarring of the lungs and led to many deaths, was spread by the fluids of the respiratory tracts of infected persons; the bacteria that caused it could become airborne when those fluids dried. Before the sanatorium, the mortality rate of the disease was eighty percent. The sanatorium helped to reduce that rate to ten percent. The search for land began in March 1909, and the site south of Booneville was selected by October. The first patient was admitted in August 1910; by year’s end, the population at the center had reached sixty-four. In 1924, the Belle Pointe Masonic Lodge in Fort Smith (Sebastian County) constructed the Mason’s Building for children, and in 1927, a school was added for the young patients. In 1938, the legislature passed the Nichols-Nyberg Act, which funded the construction of a new hospital building on the grounds. The act was promoted by Phillips County Representative Leo E. Nyberg, who had tuberculosis and lived at the sanatorium, and by Logan County Representative Lee Nichols. The hospital building, probably the most notable on the grounds, is 528 feet long and five stories tall with a full basement and housed 511 patients. The building also housed doctors’ offices, X-ray facilities, and the employee cafeteria and kitchen, and while it was not common knowledge, the sanatorium morgue was housed there also. The building was named for Nyberg, although he passed away before it was completed in 1941. The facility became known worldwide for tuberculosis treatment as it was one of the most modern and successful facilities of the day. Today, half of the first floor is used for offices, and the rest of the building is closed. Besides the Nyberg Building, the facility had many structures, including dormitories, staff entertainment buildings, a chapel, a laundry, water treatment plant, and even a fire department. Today, most of the structures are used, and in fact, the fire department still operates within the grounds, and until recently, the Benedictine monks of Subiaco Abbey and Academy (Logan County) operated the chapel. The complex was self-sustaining, housing nearly 300 staff members at the height of its use, and the total population of the center at the time was greater than that of Booneville in the valley below. In the 1950s, new drugs to treat tuberculosis had resulted in a decline in the center’s patient population. It was decided by the sanatorium administration to operate it as a children’s colony as well; this continued until the facility closed in 1973. In 1971, the General Assembly dissolved the sanatorium as an independent agency and created the Department of Health to oversee it. At the time, the health department was also left in charge of the sanatorium at Alexander (Saline County), which was the relocation center for all non-white people with tuberculosis. On February 26, 1973, the last seven patients were discharged, and on March 13, the legislature approved Act 320, authorizing the facility’s closure and the transfer of control from the Department of Health to the Board of Mental Retardation. On June 30, 1973, the Arkansas State Tuberculosis Sanatorium officially closed, and the main gates were left unlocked for the first time in more than sixty years. Today, the facility operates as the Booneville Human Development Center and is classified as a historic site. While most people who were condemned to live at the center considered it the equivalent of a death sentence, in actuality, the outdoor air on the top of the mountain benefited patients. Treatment—consisting of fresh air, bed rest, and drug therapy—usually lasted from ten months to two years, although some people did stay longer.   PAGE INFORMATION

Thank you for stopping by again!

Happy Hunting,
~Alisha

Photographs, Paper, Pen, Clipboard and COPS, OH MY!

Well as the title eludes I am still working, in the heat of this wonderful Oklahoma summer, on photographing, documenting all the cemeteries in Le Flore County. Now, that might not seem too large a task when you visit your local cemetery, but on average cemeteries here have around 200 internment's that are identifiable. Those have to be photographed, some require a few shots to discern the writing, then there are making all the notes (thus the paper, pen and clipboard in the title of this blog) because sometimes no matter how you turn your head, stand on your tip toes, down on your knees in the ant piles, leaning down looking under leaning stones looking for clues, pressing yourself into bushes and thorns, you just cannot make out what those precious things say...sigh

As I was bending, twisting, turning, writing this very morning in a local cemetery, I hear a vehicle (Ward's favorite word I say HA, British think we use funny words here lol), behind me which isn't all too unfamiliar a sound. I normally wait and hear someone walking then make sure I am not in a place that they are trying to get to. Sometimes I am asked what I am doing, I take a minute to explain. Usually to the tune of a smile and a nod, a time or two it has been an "Oh, that's wonderful", followed by the quizzical look of, hmmmm, what is she thinking?

Today, however, I hear the vehicle, I listen for footsteps, none. So I just turn slightly to see, no matter where you live you still have to be aware of your surroundings, and there looking puzzled in a uniform, badge, GUN, is a local police officer. Now, I have no issues with police in general, as with any position (even in nursing there are people who get a big head and think they are WAY more than they are) there are some that go a bit overboard. I was greeted with a sorta smile and a "Good mornin." I returned the "Good morning" and turned back around as to get busy again and then I heard the footsteps. So, I turned again to him, and his now partner getting out. I am thinking, "ummmm, am I REALLY being talked to by the police"?

He goes on to say that apparently some neighbors were concerned as there was a car and someone with something in their hands walking around the cemetery. I smiled and explained what I was doing, then I showed him my business card, which I keep one in my pocket just in case. I showed him my papers that I had been working on and he was pleasant enough with me and said that I was doing a good service for the community and to carry on. Like I wouldn't have anyways, but hey, I suppose it made him feel alright giving me permission to do what I was going to otherwise!

I sent Ward a text about my little run in and I think we both had a great laugh! Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed, some days interesting things happen that turn into blog material! HA

Since you all know I am doing cemetery work, I can't go a blog and not introduce you to one of our recent discoveries!

Native American Burials

Happy Hunting,
~Alisha