Friday, November 15, 2013

Ozark County Bald Knobbers - Part 2

Read Part 1 of Ozark County Bald Knobbers  by clicking here.


According to the book Ozark County, Missouri: Records & Pioneer Families, complied by William A. Yates, in 1973, from Sparta, Missouri, Ozark County had their own league of the infamous peace society.  Mr. Williams chronicles the diary of Harry Nelson Force in which he narrates when the family of Benjamin & Augusta Force made their trek to Ozark County in the 1885.  After this migration, the Force family hear of the threats of the Ozark County Bald Knobbers.

We will validate the facts of this story as much as possible, and we will discover the families involved. 

The Force Family
Benjamin Franklin Force was one of eight children; he was born on the 30th of August, 1839, in Hayden, Jennings County, Indiana, to David Skinner Force (March 19, 1803 - January 19, 1880) & Eliza Day Force (September 16, 1807 – August 30, 1856).   
David Skinner Force

       Photo by Skip on Find a Grave





David & Eliza Force had 8 children. Of those children was Benjamin Franklin Force who was born on the 30th of August, 1839, in Hayden, Jennings County, Indiana. 

Before the Civil war commenced, Benjamin met his future wife, Augusta Orodyne Ewan, who was also born in Jennings County, Indiana, on the 8th of August, 1841.  Benjamin fought in the Civil War and was mustered in the 17th of April, 1861, to Company G of the 16th Indiana Infantry.  This tour of duty lasted until August the 2nd, 1861.  Twenty-eight days later, on the 30th of August, 1861, Benjamin & Augusta were married in Hardenburg, Washington County, Indiana.   

By the next month, Benjamin was again mustered out for service on the 18th of September, 1861, to Company C of the 37th Indiana Infantry and remained on duty until the 12th of February, 1864.   He served 3 years under Captain S. Carver as a Private and was promoted to Sergeant, and then he was promoted to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.  Benjamin’s last tour of duty began the 1st of July, 1864, and he was mustered out at Chattanooga, Tennessee, on the 17th of November, 1864.  According to records, Benjamin was shot in the arm during the war, and his arm wasn't straight afterward.


U.S. Civil War Pension Files: Benjamin F. Force
After the war, Benjamin & Augusta started their family, and all their children were born in Newton County, Indiana.
Newton County, Indiana, Highlighted in Green
Their first son, William Grant Force, was born May 16th, 1866.   
 
1870 U. S. Census for the family of Benjamin F. Force

 Charles “Charley” Stephen Force, their second son, was born March 25th, 1871.  Lastly, Benjamin & Augusta’s youngest son was Harry Nelson Force, and he was born June
25th , 1874.

By 1885, the decision was made to homestead land in western part of Ozark County, Missouri, for health reason on Augusta’s behalf.   After 7 years of work, a Land Patent, dated on February the 6th, 1892,  was registered for a total of 160 acres in the Land Office in Springfield, Missouri.  A plat map shows that its borders are adjoining the property of Newton "Newt" C. Tannehill.  Additionally, we discover that Newt's brother, Alfred Jesse "A. J." Tannehill, lived nearby.


Family Maps of Ozark County, Missouri


Land Patent awarded to Benjamin F. Force awarded after 7 years of hard work on the 6th day of February, 1892.
Benjamin brought his fourteen year old son, Charley, on the first trip to Ozark County; this expedition took at least week to make.  When the land was surmised, Benjamin left Charley to guard the small & rudely built cabin until Benjamin could return with the rest of the Force family.  Charley remained vigilant for two weeks alone while waiting for his father to return with the family and accouterments.  The homestead was initiated in 1885, and it was located at Section 19, Township 22 N, Range 16 W, on Highway 160, near the Taney County line.  The Land Patent was finalized the 6th of February, 1892.  

This area later became known as Ocie, Missouri,and a post-office established in 1907; it was named for Ocie Conklin, a citizen of the community.
Family Maps of Ozark County, Missouri - Courtesy of, Arphax Publishing Co., Norman, OK.
Their son, Harry Force, was only 11 years old when he made his week-long trek from Golden City, Indiana, to Ozark County, Missouri.  The land they purchased was along the banks of Lick Creek in the western part of Ozark County. (There are two Lick Creeks in Ozark County.)  A one room log cabin was soon built from the surrounding oak timber, and the walls were dabbed with clay & chunks of wood to chink the gaps in order to prevent the winters draft in seeping through.  A load of pine lumber from a sawmill in Rockbridge was also used to supplement its construction.

Benjamin & Augusta were staunch Methodist, but there was no Methodist congregation nearby.   Therefore, they joined the local Missionary Baptist Church at the Tannehill Schoolhouse; Benjamin faithfully severed as the local Sunday School Superintendent.  The current & hearty backwoods preacher, Reverend John Wesley Benjamin Sullivan, served in the pulpit.  Rev Sullivan was born December 22, 1857, and died January 5, 1934.  Rev. Sullivan's wife, Sarah A. Sullivan, was born: April 1oth, 1860, and died March 15th, 1935.

As the Force boys were growing up, they attended school in the old Tannehill schoolhouse three months a year.  Since education was limited to three months per year in those day, the Force boys always looked forward to the publication of the Youth's Companion to supplement their reading material.

In 1890, a family member by the name of Joseph Ewan, brother-in-law, who was living in Watseka, Illinois, began working on the papers for a pension for Benjamin Franklin Force.  The application was declined the first time on the 23rd, of December, 1887, but it was awarded in 1894.   
 


        Tannehill, Jesse
Cpl.
C
9th
Kan.
Cav.
Pontiac
        Baxter, Ballon
Pvt.
S
24th
Mo.
Inf.
Pontiac
        Willach, William R.
Pvt.
H
10th
N.C.
Bat.
Dit
        Force, Benjamin F.
Cpl.
C
37th
Ind.
Inf.
Dit


           United States 1890 Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War.

When the pension was awarded to the amount of $15.   

In due time, after 1901, Benjamin & Augusta migrated west.  In 1906, they were living in Oklahoma,  By 1910 they were living in Carlsbad, Eddy County, New Mexico, in the same household and under the care of their eldest son & daughter-in-law, William T. & Jennie Force.  Charles Force, the middle son, never married, but he was living in the same household too.  Eventually, Benjamin & Augusta and the Force family, except Harry, were living in Los Angeles County, California.  At the age of 71, Benjamin Force was admitted to U.S. National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers at its Pacific branch on the 4th of February, 1911, in Sawtelle, Los Angeles County, California.  Upon his own request, Benjamin was discharged from the soldier’s home on the 22nd of July, 1913; he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Benjamin Franklin Force passed away from this life the 8th of December, 1913, in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California.  His wife, Augusta Orodyne Ewan Force, departed this life on the 27th of September, 1924, also in Glendale, Los Angeles County, California.  Charles “Charley” Stephen Force died January 8th, 1932, in Los Angeles County, California.  Charley was also buried by his parents in the same cemetery.  William Grant Force died October 19th, 1951, in Bakersfield, Kern County, California.

Harry N. Force, the progenitor of the Ozark County Bald Knobber Chronicle, in due course became a school teacher.  Harry received his Teacher’s Certificate at Gainesville, Missouri, and he taught in Ozark & Douglas County Missouri.  Harry N. Force married Maud G. Wood.  She was born in Gainesville, Missouri, the 14th of April, 1883, to John Wood & Nancy Jane Hudson Wood.  Harry & Maud were married in Ozark County on the 20th of December, 1906, in Gainesville, Missouri, by the Reverend Andrew L. Simmons.
Ozark County Marriage License of Harry N. Force & Maud G. Wood in 1906.

In 1908, Harry & Maud Force were living in Searcy, White County, Arkansas, where their first child, Irma Madeline Force, was born July 14th, 1908.  After this, the family moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where Harry graduated from Pharmacy College in St. Louis.  The St. Louis College of Pharmacy, founded in 1864, is the oldest college of pharmacy west of the Mississippi River.  
A class in a pharmacy lab at the college during the 1892-93 academic year.
Next, on September  the 12th, 1918, Harry filled out his World War I Draft Card, and we find the following details:
  • Harry was 44 years old & born the 25th of June, 1874
  • Harry & Maud were living in Cotter, Baxter County, Arkansas
  • Harry was currently working as a bank clerk at the Baxter County Bank in Cotter, Arkansas.
  • Harry had Brown hair, Blue Eyes
  • He was Medium Height & Slender Build
  • Harry was partially paralyzed in one leg.
 



In that same year, their son and second child, Franklin Hudson Force, was born in Cotter, Arkansas, October the 11th, 1918.
Birth Announcement
In 1925, Harry & Maud were living in Springfield, Missouri, and he was working as a pharmacist at the Siglar Drug Company in Springfield, Missouri.  They were living on 715 E. Grand Street.



In  1932, Hary & Maud were living on 1027 W. State Street in Springfield.


In 1933, We find Harry & Maud at the same address.  Also, we find their daughter, age 24, Irma, living at the same address employed as a nurse, and their son, age 16, Franklin, listed as a student.



Eleven years later, at 60 years of age, Harry Nelson Force departed this life on the 30th of December, 1944.  After Harry’s death, Maud was remarried to a Mr. Stevens.  Maud died twenty years later on the 1st of March, 1964.   
Harry Nelson Force & Maud G. Wood Force/Stevens are buried side by side in the Maple Park Cemetery in Springfield, Missouri.  Their daughter, Irma Madeline Force Lietz, is also buried along side of her parents.

Source Citations:

Anderson, Vincent S. Bald Knobbers: Chronicles of Vigilante Justice. The History Press,Charleston, SC. 2013.

Birth year: 1839; Birth city: Hardenburg; Birth state: IN.


Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Force, Augusta Orodyne Ewan. Find A Grave Memorial no. 24633440.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Force, Benjamin Franklin. Find A Grave Memorial no. 24633429.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Force, Charles Stephen. Find A Grave Memorial no. 49461451.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Force, David Skinner. Find A Grave Memorial no. 27712770.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Force, Eliza Day. Find A Grave Memorial no. 24633198.

 Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Force, Harry Nelson. Find A Grave Memorial no. 31074890.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Force,  Maud G. Wood Stevens. Find A Grave Memorial no. 40780766.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Force, Sarah. Find A Grave Memorial no.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Force, William Grant. Find A Grave Memorial no. 17992724.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Force,  Maud G. Wood Stevens. Find A Grave Memorial no. 40780766.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Lietz, Irma Madeline Force . Find A Grave Memorial no. 40780716.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Sullivan, John Wesley. Find A Grave Memorial no. 7375814.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Wood, John. Find A Grave Memorial no. 31526454.

Find A Grave, database and images (http://findagrave.com : accessed 1 October, 2013), memorial page for Wood, Jane Hudson Wood. Find A Grave Memorial no. 47998806.

Historical Data Systems, comp. U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2009.

Kansas State Census Collection, 1855-1925 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009.

Meyer Brothers Druggist, Volume 38, Issue 11. St. Louis. November, 1917. Page 364 books.google.com/books?id=9eVXAAAAMAAJ

Missouri Manual, 1897-98, p. 423; 1899-1900, p. 422. Ocie, Ozark County,” Place Names; Our Storehouse of Mo. Place Names, p. 76.

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General's Bureau (Civil War); Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); ARC Identifier: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 3 of 6.

National Archives and Records Administration. U.S., Civil War Pension Index: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2000. Original data: General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. T288, 546 rolls.

Turnbo, Silas Claiborne, Campfire Stories: Hunting Series. Editor: Blevins, Bill Dwayne. 2006.

Yates, William A.  Ozark County, Missouri: Records & Pioneer Families, Sparta, Missouri. 1973.

Year: 1880; Census Place: Jasper, Ozark, Missouri; Roll: 707; Family History 

Film: 1254707; Page: 519D; Enumeration District: 108; Image: 0625.

Year: 1850; Census Place: Vernon, Jennings, Indiana; Roll: M432_155; Page: 341B; Image: 110.

Year: 1860; Census Place: Spencer, Jennings, Indiana; Roll: M653_271; Page: 255; Image: 255;  Family History Library Film: 803271.

Year: 1870; Census Place: Beaver, Newton, Indiana; Roll: M593_347; Page: 52A; Image: 107; Family History Library Film: 545846.

Year: 1880; Census Place: Beaver, Newton, Indiana; Roll: 301; Family History Film: 1254301;  Page: 223C; Enumeration District: 129; Image: 0443.

Year: 1900; Census Place: Big Creek, Ozark, Missouri; Roll: 880; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 0094; FHL microfilm: 1240880.

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