This account of her life is based on an audio tape interview in 1993 with her daughter, Betty (Allen) Harness.

Liddie Scarber was born about 1868 on a wagon train enroute to Arkansas from Tennessee. Her parents, named Scarber ( her Dad's first name was "Beau", the mother's first name is not known) had lived somewhere in Tennessee. Mr. Scarber had been married previously and had two sons by that marriage. It is not known for sure why they set out to find a new home in a new state, but one reason might have been that Liddie's mother-to-be was apparently not well accepted by Scarber's family because she was apparently as much as half Indian.

Liddy Allen

She was pregnant with Liddie when the wagon train left Tennessee and Liddie was born somewhere along the way. Her mother died about three weeks after Liddie was born. Knowing that she was about to die, she asked Beau Scarber to give Liddie after her death to a widow woman also on the wagon train journey who had befriended Liddie's mother. She felt that Scarber and his two sons were in no position to take care of an infant.

As the wagon train journey continued, the widow lady married Scarber. The wagon train finally arrived in the vicinity of DesArc, Arkansas. Scarber got a job there running a ferry boat across the White River. He continued at that job until Liddie was about 4 years old. He became ill about that time and, accompanied by his two sons from the earlier marriage, returned to Tennessee, leaving behind his new wife, Liddie and a brother of Liddie's about two years older than her. (It is unclear when and where he was born). Liddie's father, Beau Scarber, died shortly after returning to Tennessee.

Scarber's wife kept Liddie, but gave her slightly older brother away to a man who lived about 50 miles up the White River from DesArc. The boy was apparently 7 or 8 years old at the time, and when the man who he was given to found out that the boy had eaten all the man's seed peanuts (another big Arkansas product at the time) he unmercifully beat the boy, and the boy ran away from home. Soon thereafter a small paddle boat was found overturned in the White River. Several weeks later the boy's body was found several miles down river.

At about this time (Liddie was about 5), her stepmother decided that she could not take care of her anymore either, so she gave her away to a childless couple named Betty and Joe Harvey. They lived in the DesArc area. The stepmother would visit Liddie at the Harvey's from time to time. Liddie was mistreated by Mrs. Harvey, and on one of the visits by her former stepmother Liddie told her about how she was being treated. Her former stepmother told her she would come back soon and take her back home with her. Liddie made the mistake of telling Aunt Betty (as she called Mrs. Harvey) what her stepmother had said, and Mrs. Harvey made sure that Liddie never saw the former stepmother again.

When she was about 12, Mrs. Harvey decided that it was time for Liddie to get married. She wanted her to marry an older man who lived down the road from the Harvey's. Liddie did not want to and begged Uncle Joe (Mr. Harvey) not to let it happen. He intervened and the marriage did not take place.

Liddie stayed with the Harvey's until she was about 15, but apparently because of continued mistreatment at the hands of Mrs. Harvey, she ran away from home. She lived from place to place after that, working for various couples in return for a place to stay.

She was still in the DesArc, Arkansas area. She apparently met her husband-to-be, Calvin Allen, while they were both picking cotton in that area. They were married when Liddie was about 18 or 19.

Calvin Allen

Calvin had been married previously to Molly Greenlee. Molly and Calvin had one child, a son, Fred. Molly died a short time after Fred was born. Fred lived with his grandparents for a time, but at the age of 6 or 7, after Calvin remarried, Fred moved in to live with his dad, and his new stepmother, Liddie.

Calvin and Liddy Allen with Children

By that time Calvin, his wife Liddie, and his son Fred lived on a farm at Atkins, Arkansas. It is not known how long they lived there, but in 1915 the family moved to Drasco, Arkansas, where Calvin and Liddie (Scarber) Allen and their family had a farm, raising cotton primarily.

Betty and Lillie Allen

In her latter years, Liddie lived at various times with her daughter Lillie and her husband, Vernon Neal, in Searcy, Arkansas, and with another daughter, Betty and her husband, Morris Harness, in Dundalk, Maryland and later in Kansas City, Missouri. Liddie (Scarber) Allen died in the Harness' apartment near downtown Kansas City in 1948. She was returned to Arkansas for burial in the Wolf Bayou cemetery near Drasco.