Dr. Brooks Blevins’ A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1: The Old Ozarks.

An Ozark Book Review

 A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1: The Old Ozarks. By Brooks Blevins (Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2018. Pp. 312. Maps, illustrations, acknowledgments, notes, bibliography, index. $34.95.)

Every so often a manuscript is written that easily swizzles across every expectation and whets the reader’s appetite for the next volume. Working in a library, I hear these sentiments echoed every so often from bibliophiles who extol the virtues & prowess of authors of fiction. Yet, it’s not as often that I chance across the path of a reader of nonfiction or history scholar who lauds similar accolades. Brooks Blevins’ The Old Ozarks, Volume 1 of a new Ozark history trilogy, is one of those works that has not left the reader or student of Ozarks’ history in the pale, but it has delivered to this reader’s expatiation. For anyone who loves the Ozarks, a commitment to purchase this volume should be an easy decision so one can highlight, markup, and scribble notations on the pages inside. While reading through his first volume, I was reminded of Elmo Ingenthron’s Ozark trilogy.

Picture of my Elmo Ingenthron’s Ozark trilogy written in 1970, 1974 & 1980 respectively.
Indians of the Ozark Plateau

The Land of Taney: A History of an Ozark Commonwealth

Borderland Rebellion: A History of the Civil War on the Missouri - Arkansas Border
 
 Yet, with all due respect to what Mr. Ingenthron’s accomplishment, Blevins has crowned his edition with a broader scope and updated resources. So, this new triligy will set nicely as a companion on my shelf with the former’s Ozark trilogy. Due to the space allotted and attention spans, I will summarize a few of my favorite chapters of this volume in the next few paragraphs.

Rabbit Ice

In Blevins’ first paragraph of Chapter 1, “The Primitive Ozarks,” his small treatise on “rabbit ice” quickly had me transported to a frosty Ozarks’ morning, gently breaking off garlands of ice, and biting into the earthy tasting ribbons. (If you haven't dropped down on your belly and nibbled off a frozen ribbon, make it a point to commune with nature in this time-honored winter oblation!) After reading through the next five chapters, I was not disappointed.  This chapter takes the reader through ages & changes that transpired with ancient ocean coastlines, tectonic shifts, and regional uplifts over the ancient millennia. With these facts in hand, we can understand our geologic & karst topography composed of limestone, dolomite and “chert.” The chapter’s narrative chronicles the Paleo-Indians, Dalton, Archaic, and Woodland sojourners, along with the Ozark Bluff-Dwellers, who roamed the prairies, woodlands, and the Ozark Valleys...rather than the Ozark hills. For further explanation on the difference of the latter, you’ll have to read page 14. Additionally, this section details a different Ozarks than we know from today, and  the “former inhabitants of boreal forest” testified to a region populated with “spruce, fir, and jack pine supporting such large animals as the horse, muskox, giant beaver, and even the mastodon.”¹

Though the Ozarks’ Region may cast a wide net geographically, I believe Blevins’ “Natives & Newcomers,” Chapter 2, is one of his best chapters. Blevins weaves together the history of the Native & Transported Tribes into the Ozarks; all the while, he interlaces how explorers Thomas Nuttall and Henry Rowe Schoolcraft fit into the narrative along with Gov. Crittenden’s & Izard's perspective (to name a few). This chapter aptly details the Native American Nations and their wars along with the Osage Decline & Cherokee Ascension in the Ozarks. Furthermore, the latter part of this chapter has causes me to look back again at Arkansas Territory Gov. Izard and the events that transpired in the Arkansas Territory. Blevins references important excerpts and events in his book during this era which are relevant for historians pause and re-examine the views & conflicts transpiring in the Ozarks. For example, on page 63, Blevins references The Territorial Papers of the United States. Vol. 20, 1825-29, and I am offering an excerpt here as a teaser for historians and readers to realize the dynamics transpiring at this time: 

“Reflecting on the excitement in the White River valley a couple of years later, Arkansas territorial governor George Izard interpreted the gathering of the immigrant nations as both a plan “to exterminate” the Osages and a general insurrection among the “Savages west of the Mississippi.” ²

A portion of Governor Izard's Letter to the Secretary of War on behalf of the Arkansaw Territory.

This era of history is rarely discussed, but it’s full of relevance.

Personal Opinion:

Currently, it seems this period in history is not elaborated as much as other illustrious times like the Civil War or Reconstruction. It's possible that this could be attributed partially to the recent celebration of the Sesquicentennial Celebration (150 years) of the Civil War, and it has overshadowed this era. Additionally, I believe the lack of discussion may sometimes stem from the deficiency of popular scholarship because documenting the dynamics of ethnic groups and events seems to spur racial tensions in today's society. These dynamics are not something to be swept under the rug under in the guise of political correctness. American historians & citizens need the intellectual freedom to discuss these issues and savor the lessons garnered. Nevertheless, I’m glad Blevins details these significant elements in the first part of the nineteenth century.

Fireplace hearth from the Looney Tavern
in Randolph County, Arkansas.

Back to the Review: 
 In “Americanizing the Ozarks,” Chapter 3, Blevins takes the reader along the ancient traces of the Ozarks. These proto-Ozarkers forged an Antebellum-American culture whose unique flavor of the Scotch-Irish whose roots is still traceable today. Important vicinities, to name a few, are giving credence such at the old Looney Tavern and Davidsonville along with ferries, bayous, trading posts, and blacksmith shops. Blevins synthesizes Dr. Billy Higgins’ book,  A Stranger and a Sojourner: Peter Caulder, Free Black Frontiersman in Antebellum Arkansas, in which Free Blacks and mulattoes were among the ethnic groups inhabiting the Ozarks. Additionally, Blevins intertwines a wide cast of ethnic groups migrating to the Ozarks bringing about a cacophony opinions, and loyalties scattered throughout a region. Additionally, there is little doubt that politics & religion held a huge sway over the Ozark amalgam. Well, fear not; Blevins does not disappoint on these issues.

Religious unity & camp meeting revivals in the Ozarks grew out of the Second Great Awakening. Eventually, local pastors fretted over the members of their congregation. Of the memorable quotes parlayed in this section, Blevins served an eloquent appraisal that smacked of sectarianism evident of the era as one Methodist minister reminisced over the Baptist practice (of course): baptism, “A few of our sheep were stolen, put under the water, went in and came out, no better in faith or practice.”⁴  Among the religious fracas, Blevins weaves together the agitation affiliated with the Hardshells, Campbellites, Mormons, and the Catholic/anti-Catholic sentiments. Similarly, an important caveat is also addressed giving credence to the temperance & prohibition movement as it began to hold sway in the region.

If spiritual & disorder-order wasn’t enough in the righteous assembly, the details of Violence, Discord, and Feuds are brought to bear on the hearts and backs of the noble hillfolk in the Ozarks. Blevins lays substantive groundwork on the Cane Hill murders and those who donned white caps & phantom hoods in the Slicker Wars. Additionally, a political debate erupting into hostilities that divided neighbor against neighbor, adds substantive reasoning for the Marion County, Arkansas, hostilities. This feud propelled the Tutt & Evert War, and it brought about the Arkansas governor to order the state militia to simmer down the embers of the melee.

If the evils of man’s heart weren’t enough, the role of slavery in the Ozarks is given its due credence. Blevins elaborates on the evidence that this practice was more palpable in the river valleys and the peripheral counties of the Ozarks than on the rocky ridges and prairies of the hinterland. Additionally, he lays evidence that slavery was more prevalent and socially accepted as a norm across the region. Within this section of Volume 1, Blevins hints that the influence of slavery in the Ozarks will be expanded in the next volume of his trilogy, The Conflicted Ozarks: Volume 2. 
I can’t wait.

Do I like this Book? 

Folks, if you can’t see by now down which trail we're going, I’d suggest you take the blinders off and enjoy the view. To cap off this review, Blevins throws in 40 pages of Notes to the Chapters and a 13 page Index that makes it worthy enough to rip out and tote in the front bib of one's overalls. For all misconceptions attributed to the Ozark region, Blevins assists in setting the context to understand the nuances and peculiarities of the Ozarks. This first volume has set a standard of readable and usable history. Most importantly, Blevins weaves a historical narrative of engaging scholarship that is not written in a high academic language, but it is a palatable narrative that should become a primer for those who are new to this field of history and a standard to the natives who can trace back their heritage to the Old Ozarks.

Enjoy your Ozarks’ History.

Brooks Blevins is the Noel Boyd Professor of Ozarks Studies at Missouri State University. He is the author or editor of eight books, including Ghost of the Ozarks: Murder and Memory in the Upland South; Arkansas, Arkansaw: How Bear Hunters, Hillbillies, and Good Ol' Boys Defined a State; and Hill Folks: A History of Arkansas Ozarkers and Their Image.

 
 
Bibliography

1. Blevins, Brook. A History of the Ozarks, Volume 1: The Old Ozarks. (Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2018),15.  

2. Ibid., 63.

3. Bloom, John Porter; Clarence Edwin Carter, and United States. National Archives and Records Service. The Territorial Papers of the United States. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. G.P.O., 1934), 192-193.

4. Blevins, 212.

Anywhere But Here

September 19, 1869.

     Some days, or months, or years seem to end with a sour note. Sometimes, we can foresee circumstances countering in a direction we no longer want to endure. 

     Sound familiar?

    In 1869, precocious times like these countered on a gentleman named Mason Simpson. Capt. Mason worked for the Freedmen's Bureau in the little hamlet of Union, Fulton County, on the Upper White River region of Northern Arkansas. Union is located north of Oxford on Arkansas Highway 9.

Google Street View of Union Cemetery.

     Simpson thought he thought he might find better circumstances & greener pastures in 1866.

   Nevertheless, circumstances turned awry and Simpson is murdered on September 19, 1869.

How did it happen?

   A few years back, Dr. Brooks Blevins gave a lecture at the Baxter County Genealogical & Historical Society entitled, "Murder, Mayhem, and Northern Arkansas's Civil War that Refused to End." Dr. Blevins gives a great view of circumstances surrounding the murder of Mason Simpson in Northern Arkansas during the Reconstruction Era.

 

     Dr. Blevins writes a great article in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly corresponding to this lecture entitled "Reconstruction in the Ozarks: Simpson Mason, William Monks, and the War that Refused to End."

Enjoy your Ozark' History.

References:

"Arkansas, Freedmen's Bureau Field Office Records, 1864-1872," images, FamilySearch                                   Jacksonport (Upper White River District) > Roll 11, Letters received, May 1866-Mar 1867 >                   image 36 of 111; citing NARA microfilm publication M1901 (Washington, D.C.: National                       Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).

Blevins, Brooks. "Reconstruction in the Ozarks: Simpson Mason, William Monks, and the War that Refused to End." The Arkansas Historical Quarterly 77.3 (2018): 175-207.

Blevins, Brooks. “Murder, Mayhem, and Northern Arkansas's Civil War That Refused to End.” Baxter County Genealogical & Historical Society. Lecture presented at the Baxter County Genealogical & Historical Society, July 29, 2017. 

Google Street View. Union, Arkansas, Cemetery. Photograph. Union, Arkansas, September 18, 2020.

Ozarks' Slavery: Introduction

You must never write history...until you can hear the people speak. ¹

 Arthur Boyd Hibbert

Medieval historian, Cambridge University 

   This is an axiom taught to me in a graduate seminar a few years ago, and it always works well for me. History's voice captivates me as I explore primary & secondary sources. After reading books, journals, forms, newspapers, and records, I begin to understand the perspective, or worldview, of my subject. When I wake up at night and hear the voices of the people I'm studying, I know I am beginning to understand my material.

   Historical voices are why I visit old estates, cemeteries, or familiar haunts and search for the obvious overlooked by myself and others. Sometimes, the obscure hides in the obvious. I believe abandoned roads & trails still hold familiar hints and a river's channel still possess a recognizable bend recorded on old maps. Even today, I can walk along stone fences that bear witness of a time when an Ozark barren (prairie) yielded to the will of our ancestors. 

   Lately, I am visiting old farms & gravesites of men and families who held political & social sway within the Ozarks. Today, I see their historical waysides eroding under our urge to develop new subdivisions; all the while, some old homesteads are wasting away among the red cedar & blackjack oak trees. As I look to see the toil and effort extracted under their influence, and I hear a familiar refrain from the Song of Solomon:

I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; 

and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind.

Ecclesiastes 1:14

   Recently, I have undertaken a new project that may seem taboo to some of my readers. My focus is on Antebellum Slavery in the Ozarks, and there are caveats of this subject that are changing my perspective on slavery in the Ozarks. The scope of my study is not to badger every family that once held slaves. We are all in need of mercy and grace. My purpose is to discover the depth of the slavery institution within the Ozarks.

   I decided to embark on this subject in September 2019, and I took an opportunity to hear Dr. Brooks Blevins lectured on his latest Ozarks’ trilogy. In his book, History of the Ozarks, Volume 2: The Conflicted Ozarks, Blevins wrote two sentences that still cause me to pause and highlight a portion of his book. (Yes, I highlight books.) First, Blevins states:

     Even in circumstances free from the whip, slaves were subject to forced separation from family members, sexual abuse, and the ever present, oppressive psychological weight of subversive and deference. ²

   Secondly, the WPA (Works Progress Administration) in the 1930s under the Roosevelt Administration chronicled former slaves. From these narratives, Blevins observes:

     Forced separation from family members is the most common form of psychological abuse cited by former slaves interviewed in the 1930s.³

   One of the facets I am currently studying is children in Ozark slavery. In Kenneth F. Kipple's study "Slave Child Mortality: Some Nutritional Answers to a Perennial Puzzle," he reveals:

   Most slave children were exposed to many traumas, by the very nature of their enslavement. Poor diet, living conditions and lack of medical care led to a high rate of infant/child mortality...The death rate for white children at this time was approximately 12.9% whilst that for black children was double that at 26.3%.⁴

    Concerning the spread of slavery in the United States, I often refer to a map from the Library of Congress website:  Map Showing the Distribution of the Slave Population of the Southern States of the United States.⁵ Another asset is Lincoln Mullen's article from the Smithsonian Institution, “These Maps Reveal How Slavery Expanded Across the United States.” ⁶ Mullen's article also has some great animated maps worth the time to study.

Map Showing the Distribution of the Slave Population of the Southern States of the United States. 
Drawn by Hergesheimer and Leonhardt.
 Published by  Henry S. Graham 1861, Washington, D. C.
 Library of Congress.

    To assist in this endeavor, I also made modifications to the above 1860 Slave Population Map, and the Ozark Plateau is outlined in green. Just for fun, the Arkansas, Mississippi & Missouri Rivers are with a trace of blue.

1860 Slave Population Map of the Ozark Plateau outlined in Green.

   In October of this year, I downloaded the U. S. Census forms from Christian, Douglas, Howell, Ozark, Stone &Taney & counties in Missouri. I am also researching Carroll, Fulton, Izard, Marion & Searcy counties in Arkansas.  Currently, I am delving into the 1840, 1850 & 1860 Census records. I do not use Ancestry.com because the compiled data is often confusing and the statistics are sometimes inaccurate. Yes, pulling data straight from the Ancestry website will skew the data, and not everything on Ancstry.com is correct. 

   I am also obtaining data from the National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS). The NHGIS obtains digital data directly from the Census Bureau and provides easy access to summary tables and time series of population, housing, agriculture, and economic data, along with GIS-compatible boundary files, for years from 1790 through the present.⁷

 

My Current County Focus Group of the 1860 Slave Population Percentages.

   Though the percentages of slaves in the Ozarks look relatively small compared to the United States, they are figures I am endeavoring to comprehend today. Why?

When we look at the percentages for slavery per Ozark county,

we are not only talking about adults; 

we are also looking at a lot of children in slavery. 

  As I look through the data, tough questions begin to arise while looking for nuclear families within the Ozark slave population. After assembling population statistics, a couple of items are relevant: 

1. The absence of potential African-American fathers in slave households is disproportionate to the number of potential African-American mothers. 
2. For the amount of potential African-American mothers, many girls in slavery were becoming pregnant & bearing children by age 14-16.

   As the weeks of research begin to tabulate, I write down tough questions and concerns give way to voice.

Slave Mother & Children.⁸

• How many Slaveholding families have Mulatto Slave children living with them without a potential or an eligible mother in the household? 
• What are the age ranges of the children in slavery?     - This is surprising at times.
• How many Slaveholding families have 1 Black Slave child living with them without potential or eligible mother in the household? What are the circumstances of this situation?
• How many Slaveholding families with 2-5 Black Slave children living with them without potential or eligible mother in the household?
• How many Slaveholding families have Mulatto Slave children living with them without a potential or an eligible mother in the household?
• Which Ozark counties have the highest Mulatto population?
• Which Ozark counties have more children in slavery than adults?
• Who are the fathers of the Mulatto children when
  there is not a potential or eligible Mulatto male in the household or vicinity? Could it be the Slaveholder or one of their white family members?
• If the evidence shows the lack of whole Slave Nuclear Families with no potential or eligible Father & Mother, do parents or family members live nearby?
• Do slave children know their father, mother, siblings, or extended family?
• Are all slaveholders Confederate soldiers or sympathizers? - The short answer is, "No." Actually, I have discovered some slaveholders in Ozark County, Missouri, listed as Union soldiers & officers. There's more on this in the future.
• Do records or journals to show Union officers took advantage of inappropriate situations toward female and/or emancipated slaves? The short answer is, "Yes."
• If so, what are the officer's names and the African-American girl's & ladies' names?
• When looking at the 1860 U. S. Slave Census, what happens to these minors after Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st, 1863?
• Where do slave families eventually go after the Emancipation & the Civil War?
• What are the subsequent relationships between former slaves & prior slaveholders & households?
• And...what are their names?

   If you have any other questions, post them at the bottom of this page.

   Though we may not know all the nameless faces held in slavery, I believe we can begin to hear their voices as we ask questions.

 Reflection:
   No matter our failures, flaws, or controversies, looking at our past can increase our ability to understand a portion of our historic Ozark culture. Whether we like it or not, slavery was a part of the Ozark tapestry. Understanding its texture, appearance, rigidity, disdain, and demise can enhance our ability to look at topics once only whispered.

   If you happen to be a person of faith and prayer, I would ask for you to pray that I would have wisdom and insight to delve into this subject. As we take this journey together, I hope you will pause & investigate our Ozarks' History.

My attempt to color a picture using software from https://www.colorizephoto.com/converter.

References:

1. Boxall, Peter. The Cambridge Companion to British Fiction: 1980-2018, (Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2019), 243.
2. Blevins, Brooks. A History of the Ozarks, Volume 2: the Conflicted Ozarks, (Champaign, IL: University of Illinois Press, 2019), 18-19.
3. Ibid.,19. 
4. Kipple, K. F., and V. H. Kipple. “Slave Child Mortality: Some Nutritional Answers to a Perennial Puzzle.” Journal of Social History 10, no. 3 (January 1977): 290. https://doi.org/10.1353/jsh/10.3.284. 
5. Hergesheimer, E. Map Showing the Distribution of the Slave Population of the Southern States of the United States. Compiled from the Census of 1860. (Washington, D. C.: Henry S. Graham, 1861) https://www.loc.gov/item/99447026/.
6. Mullen, Lincoln. “These Maps Reveal How Slavery Expanded Across the United States.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 15 May 2014, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/maps-reveal-slavery-expanded-across-united-states-180951452/. 
7.  “IPUMS NHGIS.” National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS). Accessed January 1, 2020. https://www.nhgis.org.  
8. “Children In Slavery: Take Your Child To Work Day Was Every Day.” Children In Slavery: Take Your Child To Work Day Was Every Day: Accessed January 2, 2020. https://slaveryfacts.org/classroom/children-in-slavery-take-your-child-to-work-day-was-every-day.