The Allen Family of Drasco, Arkansas
Anthony Allen is the earliest member of this branch of the Allen family who has been identified. He was born about 1577 in Dorchestshire, England. He married Hester Squire from the same British town. The couple had four children but only the name of one, Ephriam John Allen, is known. Ephriam John Allen was born in 1602 in Dorchestshire, England. He died in 1651 in Somerset, New Jersey. He was the first person from this branch of the Allen family to come to America. He married Deborah Hunt. They had three children: John Ananias, Elizabeth and Charles. Ephriam and his family became members of the "New Reformed Church" in Somerset, New Jersey. John Ananias Allen was born in 1623 in Somerset, New Jersey. He married a woman named Elizabeth. Her last name is not known. The couple had two children, Ananias and John. Ananias Allen was born in 1643 in Somerset, New Jersey. He married a woman named Mary. Her last name is not known. The couple had a son named Ananias, Jr. Ananias Allen, Jr. was born May 6, 1699 in Somerset, New Jersey. He married a woman named Hannah Hester who was born June 10, 1670. The couple had two children: Gislem Gersham and Gersham Ananias, Jr. At some point, prior to 1757 when the oldest son, Gersham Ananias, Jr. died, the Allen family moved from New Jersey to Orange County, North Carolina where Gislem was born. Gislem Gersham Allen was born February 10, 1734 in Orange County, North Carolina. He married Patience Graham of Surry County, North Carolina. She was born in 1740. Gislem and his wife had 5 children: Squire, Ananias, Ann, Lee and Isaac. Gislem is first found in the Orange County, North Carolina tax records, then later on the tax records of Surry and Wilkes County, North Carolina. He is on the 1790 Census lists (with sons Lee, Isaac and Squire) in Pendleton District, South Carolina. He is on the 1800 Census list for Pendleton District along with sons Lee, Isaac and Squire.
From 1804 to 1808, Gislem and his sons Lee, Isaac and Squire are listed in the tax records for Warren County, Kentucky, although not all of them are listed every year. The1810 Census lists Gislem and his wife, Squire and his wife and family in Wilkersonville township in Randolph County, Kentucky (present day Johnson City, Kentucky). There are no records of Gislem Allen after 1811. Squire Allen was born September 12, 1763 in Orange County, North Carolina and died in November, 1842. He married Martha "Tilda" Snow. Her birth date is unknown, but she died October 9, 1843. The couple had eight children: Eleazer "Eli", Polly/Maryann, Annanias, Moses, Aaron, Jessie B., Matilda and Wesley. Squire Allen first shows up in the 1790 Census in Pendleton District, South Carolina as a son of Gislem Allen. In the 1800 Census he still is in Pendleton District and has married and started a family of his own. He shows up in tax records for Warren County, Kentucky between 1804 and 1808 and it is indicated that he purchased land on Drakes Fork of Trammel's Creek in 1807. He and his growing family are also listed in the 1810 Census in Wilkersonville township, Randolph County, Kentucky. By the 1830 Census, Squire and his family were listed as residents of Harden township in Conway County, Arkansas. The 1840 Census shows Squire and his family in Saline County, Arkansas. On November 25, 1842, Richard Brazil (daughter Polly's husband) was appointed administrator of Squire Allen's estate. It was appraised at $1,145. On October 9, 1843, Squire's wife Martha "Tilda" died intestate. Moses Brazil, Sr. (daughter Matilda's husband) was appointed administrator of the estate on October 27, 1843. Eleazer "Eli" Allen was born in 1802 in North Carolina and died in 1889 in Cleburne County, Arkansas. He married Elizabeth "Bettie" Henson, whose birth date is unknown. She died in 1887 in Saline County, Arkansas. Eleazer and Elizabeth had 10 children: Jesse, Sarah, Lewis, William, Lee, Kessiah, Thomas, James J., Wesley and Jane. Eleazer is listed for the first time in the 1830 Census as residing in Conway County, Arkansas. He is on the 1840 Census list as a resident of Van Buren County (in the portion of the county that later became Cleburne County). He is on the October 11, 1839 Homestead list as owning 79+ acres of land. The 1850 Census lists him as the head of a household in Van Buren County, and his occupation as a farmer. The September 11, 1856 Homestead list shows him with 80+ acres of land in what is now Cleburne County, Arkansas. Jesse Allen was born in 1826 in Arkansas and died in 1877 in Cleburne County, Arkansas. His wife was Tabitha Hess, born in February, 1828 in Independence County, Arkansas and died in 1907. Jesse Allen's home was near the old "Need More" school house on the Little Red River, about eight miles west of Heber Springs, Arkansas. At the time it was part of Van Buren County (now Cleburne County). The area is now covered by Greer's Ferry Lake. Jesse Allen owned a great deal of land in the Little Red River bottoms. He raised cattle and hogs and did some crop farming as well. He and Tabitha (Hess) Allen raised their family on this farm. They had eleven children. Two died in infancy. Jesse Allen was one of the leaders in establishment of the Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church in 1864. He and his brother, Thomas, were deacons in the church. At the time the church's name was "Flat Woods." Jesse and Tabitha raised their family as members of this church. Jesse Allen was the second man to be buried in Mt. Olive Cemetery. He helped clean the cemetery regularly and picked his last resting place. Jesse Allen fought in the Civil War as did three or four of his brothers. His sister Kizzie (Kessiah)married a man named Blackwell. Jesse Allen's wife, Tabitha (Hess) was born in 1828 in Independence County, Arkansas. She was orphaned at the age of 10 in Columbus, Kentucky. Her uncle Solomon was appointed guardian of the 10 minor children of Samuel Hess, including Tabitha. She was quite young when she married Jesse Allen. Tabitha died in 1907 at the age of 78. In the 1900 Census, Tabitha was listed as living with her son, Samuel. She was buried in Atkins, Arkansas (in Faulkner County). Her daughter, Mahalia (Hallie) Guinn is also buried there. Tabitha and Jesse Allen's children: Calvin Allen (first wife: Molly Greenlee; second wife:
Liddie Scarber) Calvin Allen was born March 7, 1857 and died in 1935 at or near Drasco, Arkansas. Not a great deal is known about Calvin Allen's boyhood. He was a farmer in the Des Arc, Arkansas area when he met his second wife, Liddie Scarber, apparently while they were both picking cotton. They married when she was about 18 or 19. Calvin had been married previously to Molly Greenlee. Molly and Calvin had one child, a son, Fred. Molly died shortly after Fred was born. Fred lived with his grandparents for a time, but at the age of 6 or 7, after Calvin had remarried, Fred moved in to live with his father and his new stepmother, Liddie. 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 and their family had a farm, raising cotton primarily. Calvin and Liddie Ann had five children: Emmet George, Lillie May, Betty Emma, Albert Eugene and a little sister who died in infancy. Calvin Allen's second wife, Liddie Ann Scarber, was born December 23. 1880 on a wagon train enroute to Arkansas from Tennessee. Her parents, named Scarber ( her Dad's first name was "Beau" or "Bo", the mother's first name is not known) had lived somewhere in Tennessee. Bo Scarber was reportedly a big red-headed Irishman who spoke with a heavy accent. He 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. 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. His name was believed to be Joshua. (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 according to Liddie, 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 is said to have 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. It was rumored that he had been badly beaten and that the boat was tipped over as cover for the boy's murder, but that is uncertain. At about this time (Liddie was about 5), her stepmother decided that she could not take care of her any more 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 said she was badly mistreated by Mrs. Harvey (who she called Aunt Betty). At times Mrs. Harvey would apparently hang Liddie in the woodshed and beat her. As a young, tired girl, Liddie would sometimes go to her bedroom during the day and kneel by the bed and sleep because Mrs. Harvey would have beat her if she had messed up the bed during the day. On one of the visits by her former stepmother, Liddie told her about how she was being treated by Mrs. Harvey. 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 what her stepmother had said, and Mrs. Harvey made sure that Liddie never saw the former stepmother again. (Many years later Liddie told her daughter, Betty Harness, that someone advertised in the DesArc, Arkansas newspaper for Liddie when she was still a little girl, but the Harvey's did not respond to the ad. ) 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. (Although she was badly mistreated by Mrs. Harvey, she was really the only mother that Liddie ever knew, and until Liddie's death one of her cherished possessions was a large framed photograph of Mrs. Harvey. In 2001 that photograph still hung on a wall in one of the bedrooms of Betty Harness (one of Liddie's daughters) in Independence, Missouri. After she ran away from home at the age of 12, Liddie lived from place to place, working for various couples in return for a place to stay. She was apparently still in the DesArc, Arkansas area when she 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. In her later 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. Cleburne County, Arkansas was home to the Allen's Cleburne County, where the Allen's lived, is Arkansas' youngest county. Encompassing portions of land that had once been in Van Buren, Independence and White Counties, Cleburne County was established in 1883. The town of Sugarloaf, which was later renamed Heber Springs, was selected to be the county seat. Life was hard for settlers to the area in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many people had a day's travel to get to town. Those trips became annual or semi-annual events that could include several families. ( Betty Harness said she does not remember ever coming to Heber Springs, less than 15 miles from her home in Drasco, until she was a young lady.) Once in town, non-perishable staples were purchased; taxes would be paid; business transactions conducted; and goods were sold or bartered. Between these trips to town, people relied on the community mercantile store and travelling peddlers to provide for any item not homegrown or homemade. The mercantile stores became the local gathering spot for receiving news and visiting with neighbors, as well as providing a platform for local politicians and preachers to be heard. Since most of the general stores had a post office, residents could pick up their mail while shopping for their supplies. The mercantile stores tried to carry a wide assortment of supplies-everything from flour and cheese to horseshoes, fabric, pre-made work clothes and shoes. The travelling peddlers supplemented what was offered at the general store by offering bulky items like wood stoves and services such as knife sharpening, as well as potions and medicines to cure everything from warts to broken bones. And if the peddler did not have what you needed, he would gladly order it for delivery when he passed through the area again. (Later, when the Sears Roebuck catalogue came into existence, rural residents could shop for what they wanted in the catalogue, and send their selections along with payment by mail and the merchandise would be delivered by mail to the postoffice nearest their home.) The Little Red river between Drasco and Heber Springs made it difficult for residents of the area to get their goods to town. Although there were fords and shoals in certain areas that could normally be crossed, they would get washed out in a storm. The location of safe crossing spots could change from year to year or even from season to season, making a trip to town even harder than normal. A few enterprising individuals created ferries for public use. Three ferries sprang up in rapid succession in the area. William V. "Bud" Greer, whose ferry service was established in the 1880's, was so well known locally that when the lake was established in the mid 1900's, it was named after him. Although the ferries offered the public a reliable mode of transportation across the river, there were still problems. Storms made it impossible for the ferries to run at times and hauling goods down the steep banks to the river's edge was a chore. In 1911, a decision was made to erect several bridges in key places along the river. After a lot of debate and research, it was decided that three bridges would be built: Miller Bridge, Tumbling Shoals Bridge and Winkley Bridge. Engineers were called in to design and construct the bridges. Local legend says that the engineers who designed the bridges are the same ones responsible for the design of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. At one time, the Tumbling Shoals Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the United States. In addition, it made its way into "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" book as being the only bridge in the U.S. (or perhaps the world) that you could see the other end of before you could see the side you were driving onto. The Tumbling Shoals Bridge was torn down when the new Greers Ferry lake dam was built in the mid 1900's, and a new modern bridge across the dam replaced it.
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