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
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
|
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 |
 |
| Newton County, Indiana, Highlighted in Green |
Their first son, William Grant Force, was born May
16th, 1866.
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.
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.
 |
| 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
Courtesy of, Arphax Publishing Co., Norman, OK.
 |
| Land Patent awarded to Benjamin F. Force awarded after 7 years of hard work on the 6th day 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.
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.
United States 1890 Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War.
When the pension was awarded to the amount of $15.
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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
Next, on September the 12th, 1918, Harry filled out his World War I Draft Card, and we find the following details:
In that same year, their son and second child, Franklin Hudson Force, was born in Cotter, Arkansas, October the 11th, 1918.
 |
| A class in a pharmacy lab at the college during the 1892-93 academic year. |
- 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 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.
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, 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment