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THE CALLAWAY FAMILY ASSOCIATION Volume IX No. 11
Always regard
with esteem the name you were given; The Editor's Corner The following article will be presented in several parts. It was written by Fred C. Pinnegar and presented at the Callaway Family Association meeting in San Diego, on October 14, 1982. It tells the story of a remarkable Calloway and his part in opening the American West. OPENING
THE AMERICAN WEST
According to his own statements, William P. Calloway was born about 1826 in Warren county, Kentucky. Little is known about his parents, family and early life in that state. Henry Ivens, William Calloway's stepson, said that Calloway was from Louisville and that he sometimes talked about "his people in Kentucky." In response to a question about Calloway's ancestry, Ivens replied that he was a grandson or great-grandson of Colonel Calloway of Virginia." It is therefore possible that William P. Calloway is a grandson of Caleb Calloway, son of Colonel Richard of Boonesboro, Kentucky fame. Caleb spent some time at Boonesboro, but after the death of Colonel Richard he returned to Campbell county, Virginia, and in 1784 married Elizabeth (Betsy, Betty) Callaway, daughter of Colonel John and granddaughter of Colonel William. Ivens also said that Calloway had two brothers, but he could only remember that one of them was named Harvey. A "John Calloway" is mentioned in the account of William Calloway's overland journey to California in 1852, but this person actually appears to have been John Craddock, the brother of Calloway's wife, rather than Calloway's own brother. More of this later. About 1838, when Calloway as 12, he moved with his family 100 miles north to Indiana, probably to the area near New Harmony on the Wabash River in Posey county. He enlisted for service in the Mexican war at New Harmony, he seems to have known people in the New Harmony area before he left, and he returned there after the war. The unit in which Calloway served was Company D of the 16th Infantry Regiment, Regular U.S. Army, and unlike most of the other units in the war, it was not a state sponsored organization, although it was largely recruited in and near Indiana and many of the men in it were from that area. Moreover, the 16th was also unusual in that it saw very little action. The official records show that the regiment was involved in none of the fighting, other than a few skirmishes with raiders; nevertheless, the hazards of service appear to have been considerable. No officers or men were killed or wounded in action, but two officers and 104 men died of "other" causes and 48 deserted. Corporal Calloway was honorable discharged on August 7, 1848, and , like most other veterans, sold his 160 acres of bounty land almost immediately. Henry Ivens describes Calloway's return to New Harmony after the war, and he tells about how Calloway rescued him after he fell off a ferry boat into the Wabash River. Calloway carried the six-year old boy in his arms to his mother, Sarah Craddock Ivens, a widow of about 35 years of age, who had come to America from England as a child. Within a year she and Calloway were married. The 1850 census shows them living in New Harmony township, Posey county; his trade is listed as "carpenter". In that same year, Calloway's petition for membership in the local Odd Fellows lodge was accepted, and he joined with that fraternal group; Sarah was received into the women's auxiliary a few months later. At about this time, various families and friends in the area, many of them members of the Odd Fellows, were making plans for migration to California. The west coast of America was a popular goal for emigrants for many years before John Marshall's discovery of gold in 1848, but it was not an easy area to reach. The vast interior of the continent was frequently labeled "The Great American Desert" on early North America maps, and expeditions, such as those of Lewis and Clark, Bonneville and Fremont, had confirmed that the West was a land of trackless deserts and plains, impassable mountains, and fierce nomadic tribes. But the explorers also saw the coastal regions of Oregon and California, and these areas gained a reputation as an Edenic paradise of fertile soil and temperate climate. Various groups pioneered routes across the continent, and by the late 1840s a number of parties had crossed the plains, deserts and mountains to reach the coast. Their reports of both the trip and life in sunny California did much to demonstrate that well-organized groups could safely complete the trek, and that life was indeed good in the West. Consequently, most of those who came before and after 1849 did so for other purposes than to pan for gold in the icy streams of the Sierra Nevada mountains. Through the winter of 1851-52, the Odd Fellows Wagon Train (as it came to be called) prepared for the journey. Each family furnished its own outfit, and single men were allowed to join if they contributed $100 to the general fund and agreed to help with the work. Hundreds of details had to be considered to insure the safety of the travelers on the long trip. Women made clothes, jellies and preserves. They gathered and packed possessions and discarded items too heavy, bulky or fragile to be carried two thousand miles by wagon. Early in 1852 cattle and hogs were butchered and the meat preserved by the various methods available; corning, salting and smoking. The meat was packed in barrels, and as the barrels were emptied during the journey they were used, as needed, to carry water. Toward the end of March, part of the group started overland through Illinois for St. Joseph, Missouri. They were to remain there until the rest of the party, traveling by steamboat, arrived. This latter group, which included the Calloway family, left New Harmony on April 12 and arrived at St. Joseph, on the edge of the frontier, on the last day of April, 1852. The emigrants remained in the St. Joseph area for a week, making final preparations for the overland journey. Stores were divided, wagons loaded, and camp duties assigned before setting out. Michael Craddock, the brother of Sarah Craddock Ivens Calloway, was selected as captain, but the other important members of the group also had a say in how the wagon train was governed. The party consisted of about 50 people, 11 canvas-covered prairie schooners, each drawn by four yoke of oxen, and several horse-drawn farm wagons. Men, women and older children walked most of the way, more as a means of staying out of the dust and helping the tedious hours pass than from necessity. The wagon train quickly developed an established routine. Each wagon took turns in the lead for a day, then fell into place at the rear when travel resumed the next day. They traveled about twenty miles a day and frequently passed debris left by earlier parties. The wagons would circle at night for security, and two men would stand guard; at the slightest noise they would waken the whole camp. The year 1852 was a peak time for migration on the Overland Trail. In addition to the thousands of people going to California, there were large numbers of pioneers going to the Oregon Territory, as well as Mormons on their way to Brigham Young's growing desert empire in the Salt Lake Valley. Between 50-75 thousand people are estimated to have left the major "jumping off" points near the Mississippi River during that year. With such large numbers of people traveling in a narrow corridor, it is understandable that disease would quickly become a major problem. Traveling by wagon train was physically exhausting, diet was bland and nutritionally poor, and the available water quickly became polluted with human and animal waste. Thus, many accounts of overland travel in the 1840s and 1850s give details of disastrous epidemics of cholera and other diseases. Cholera was especially dreaded. The course of the disease was usually very rapid, and death could come within a matter of hours. In addition, it is a highly contagious disease, so it is small wonder that stricken victims were sometimes abandoned outright by terrified fellow travelers. One day, John Craddock, the brother of the wagon train's captain, became ill from drinking unboiled water and died that night. Two days later Sarah Calloway, William P. Calloway's wife, died of similar causes, and four others became ill. A member of the group, Mrs. Variel, described in her journal how Mrs. Calloway feared death and the prospect of leaving her baby of nine months and her young son. She was a kind hearted woman, and Mrs. Variel did everything she could to save her, but she died during the night. The party halted for a few days to give close attention to the sick with the crude methods available; a diet of hot milk and red pepper, and hot boards placed across the stomach. These remedies were administered by Mrs. Variel, who also insisted that all drinking water be boiled. Those who were sick soon recovered and the party was able to travel on. For William Calloway, the tragedy of his wife's death was intensified by the fact that he had a young family to care for. At this time there suddenly appears in the record a young girl about whom there are several conflicting accounts. She accepted Calloway's offer for transportation to California in exchange for child care duties, and, upon their arrival in California, she and Calloway were married. Calloway's second wife is given a different name and a different story in three separate accounts of what happened. Henry Ivens says that he "always understood her name to be Maria Wall from Springfield, Illinois, and that she came to our camp from another camp nearby ours, and asked if she could travel with our train. She stated that she was not being well treated by the parties she traveled with, and had left them. She had a bag of sack containing her belongings. A second account, written by Callaway's great-granddaughter, Jean Allen Brennan, appeared in a 1931 high school yearbook, where it is described as "founded on actual facts." It tells of a 14-yr old orphan girl, Maria Johns, who was traveling with a cousin's family from Springfield to California. It had started as a large party, the largest to leave Independence that year, but because of various troubles, some had turned back, some took different routes and others had died of disease. Maria was at a nearby spring fetching water when Indians attacked and killed the entire main party. She survived alone and wandered for several days before stumbling into the camp of the Odd Fellows wagon train, members of which she evidently knew. She married Calloway after their arrival in California. The third account was published in the Sacramento Union, March 23, 1941, as a human interest story on the life of Jessie Calloway, William Calloway's daughter. The story is similar to the Brennan account, except that the girl's name is given as "Delilah Jones." George Washington Oaks, a member of Calloway's Civil War company, also supports the Indian story. Mrs. Variel's notes of the trip are quite detailed, but she says nothing at all about these romantic events. Regardless of which account is true or most true, the motifs of the various narratives remain the same; a young girl joins with a wagon train going to California. She cares for the children of a man who recently lost his wife, and when they arrive in California he marries her. One of the problems with all these names is that they all can be found in relevant legal documents and public records. She appears to have called herself by different names at different times in her life. At any rate, the travelers moved on, arriving at Fort Kearney on the first of June. . . ~ Next month, Part II.
Editor’s note - I encourage each of
you to send in articles for the e-Newsletter. It doesn’t have to
be lengthy. It could be some "Callaway" news, a family story, a
family photo, a favorite family recipe, results from your family
line research, or any item you think would be of interest to our
readers. Send them to me, and I will take care of adding them.
Callaway Family Association 33rd Annual Meeting The 2008 CFA Annual Meeting was held in Nashville, TN on Oct 16-19. I've heard from several of you about this year's meeting. Everyone says it was one of the very best meetings ever. The program was excellent, as were the accommodations and the tours were especially interesting. Thank you to Pat Schnurr for all her hard work in making the meeting a great success. Genealogist's Woes Some additional fun comes from Carol Callaway Sturdevant to add to the Genealogy Facts that Bill Piper sent us last month. And this one like the other facts is "Oh So True"! Hi, Donna! Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Web Site The US
National Parks Service has completed the input of the 6.3
million Civil War soldiers records from the National Archives.
You can search by surname or state. Additional input is ongoing.
Their web site is:
U. S. Joseph Callaway Line CFA Member, Nova Patterson's Aunt, Mary Cordelia
McGraw descends from the Joseph Callaway line as follows:
Donna,
First I want to thank you
for all your work--I realize how much time it takes--I want
to tell you my family used our Callaway's to get in the DAR.
Edward Trent Bridges is my Great-Grandpa. My Aunt Mary
Bridges ,just died in 2007 and I have included her picture
and obituary. She was his granddaughter. (ETB) His
Grandson--Trent Bridge's wife, Aunt Jessie, just died at 100!!
So you know how very proud we are of our Callaway family!!
We sure have a lot of cousins in WVa and of course all
over!!!!
Nova Bridges Remley Patterson
Millbury, Ohio
jpatterson4 at woh.rr.com
Born Feb. 21, 1918, at Meadow Bridge, she was a daughter of the late George Walker And Cynthia Ann Gwinn Bridges. Mrs. McGraw retired from Norwegian American Hospital where she worked in the dietitian's office and kitchen. She was a longtime Chicago Cubs fan who always kept score, and when she could no longer keep score, someone had to do it for her. She was also a member of Lawn Baptist Church near Meadow Bridge. Mary was preceded in death by her husband, Duffa Wilson McGraw, in 1965, a daughter, Eugenia, a daughter-in-law, Carol Lee McGraw, two sister, Edith Remley and Rose Lilly, and a brother, Trent (Jessie) Bridges. She was the loving mother of three daughters, Virginia Dare McGraw of Naperville, IL, Myrtle Ann Gill (Edward) of Mullins, SC, and Mary "Suzi" Elizabeth Chambers (William) of Houston, TX; four sons, Grady Wilson (Elsie) McGraw of Princeton, WV, John Loye (Janie) McGraw of Carrolton, GA, Leonidas Dee (Essie) McGraw of Cincinnati, OH, and Sherman Lee (Debra) McGraw of Naperville, IL; proud grandmother of 24; prouder great-grandmother of 41; and really proud great-great-grandmother of three. Also surviving are a host of nieces, nephews, and friends. Services will be 10 a.m. Thursday at Wallace & Wallace Chapel, Rainelle, with the Rev. Michael McGraw officiating. Burial will follow in McGraw Cemetery, Meadow Bridge. I would like
to thank Anne Leyden for sending us the following obituary. I
believe the Col. James Callaway, Jr. mentioned is from the
following line of descent. Can anyone verify this? From the Lynchburg Daily
Virginian, published 3 December 1835, p.3 c.2: Anne also sent us the following Civil War information from Franklin Co., VA. Can anyone verify their family line? ROLL OF Company D, 2nd
Virginia Cavalry Please welcome new CFA Newsletter subscriber, Cathie Schoppenhorst, of Marthasville, MO. She works at the Daniel Boone Home and has an interest in the Flanders Callaway connection. Hello, U. S. Peter Callaway Line I
would again like to thank Pam Stenhouse for sending us the
following newspaper article about Judge Andrew Wilson
Callaway from the following line of descent: Donna,
Well, that's all
the information I got yesterday. If you have any
questions please let me know. I thought I'd finish
this up with a little more info about Aunt Lucy's
wonderful husband, Judge Andrew W. Callaway. Here's
a couple of articles about him and I'm attaching a
photo from the 2nd article - it was from microfilm,
so the quality of image isn't the best, but I love
it anyway.
The Atlanta
Journal
June 18, 1930, p. 8
Nominated
Without Opposition
Six candidates
for city officer were unopposed in Wednesday's
primary. They will be nominated automatically, four
of them being candidates for re-election to their
present posts. They are (left to right): Top row,
Judge A. W. Callaway, first division, recorder's
court . . .
______________________________________________________________
The Atlanta
Constitution
February 3, 1945, p. 2 (photo of his wife Lucy Vinetta Ratterree Callaway giving him a kiss on page 1)
Officials Fete
Judge Callaway
Police Recorder A. W. Callaway Friday afternoon mounted his bench and heard himself praised and congratulated by more than a score of legal and civic leaders. The occasion was his sixty-second birthday and the beginning of his twenty-third consecutive year as judge of the court.
A neon-lighted
"happy birthday" placard flickered at his back while
senators, judges, public officials and friends
lauded his many years of faithful and fruitful
service to the City of Atlanta. Comedy skits
composed by ex-Police Reporter (now attorney), James
A. Belflower added merriment to the occasion.
Speakers
included Mayor Hartsfield, Judge Robert Carpenter,
Luke Arnold, Ralph McClelland, Jesse M. wood, Frank
Hooper, A. L. Ethridge, County Solicitor Lindley
Camp, Fulton County Sheriff Jake Hall, Frank C.
Holloman, of the FBI, and numerous others.
The police
quartet rendered a song which was followed by
recitations, a musical selection, a transcribed
"life history," and magic tricks by Patrolman John
Smith. The judge's wife shared the spotlight with
him.
Pam Stenhouse
tomstars at bellsouth.net
I would like to thank Shirley
for sharing the following letter with us. It
is written by J.D. Callaway to his brother. This
line of descent is as follows:
Hi Donna,
Not sure I ever sent this or whether any other
descendant of Andrew Callaway (Calloway), son of
Zachariah ever sent this. J.D. was the youngest
son of Andrew and Sarah Callaway (Calloway).
5 March 1899 from Dayton, Washington;
"My Dear Brother, I will write you a few lines to let you know that I am well. Hoping that few lines may find you well and all the rest. I have thought several times of coming back to see you all. But it seemed as that was something always in the way. Have been gathering up my horses most all winter and aint got more then half of them yet. And whn I get them up I will go off up to the mines soon and may be gone all summer. I have got some good prospects now and there are lots of men that wanted to go with me. Tell William Marshall to write to me. As I have written to him. And tell brother Andrew that I wrote two letters to him last year and never got an answer. I will send you some prospects next fall and when you write direct your leter to Dayton, Washington. Hope you will get this and find you well and all the rest well. So goodbye one and all for this time. Write soon, Yours truly, J.D. Callaway (The above letter was transcribed as best as possible. Some of the writing wasn't copied by the copier. Note that he signed his name Callaway with an "A".) Shirley Other C/K Lines I would like to thank CFA Charter Members, Tom and Betty Adcock for sending us this family story. Betty descends from one of our "Mystery Callaway" families; John W. Callaway of Greenville, SC.
Dear
Donna, Webster Clay Garth and his Second Wife, Virginia Williams In his second marriage Webster Clay Garth made a fortunate choice. Virginia Williams Garth was a wise and loving mother to his four children. They loved her in turn. As a child I remember my father explaining to me that all stepmothers were not like the one in the story of Cinderella for he had a stepmother he loved very much. Virginia's sister, Amanda Williams Cooke (Mrs. W. B. Cooke) and her family were very close to the Webb Garths. The three Cooke children, Charles, Patsy and Alice were cousins - if not by blood, in affection. In the hope that I would be a boy, before I was born the name chosen for me was Charles Cooke and my father suggested that I be called "Charlie". Mother wanted to name me for her sister, Katie, and I am glad she won the argument. The name decided on was Cathryn Cooke. I grew up knowing the three elderly cousins, Charles, Patsy and Alice. They were always nice to me and interested in what I did. I have wondered if there might indeed be blood kinship, but have never been able to establish any. An often told story relates that Webb and Virginia Garth went to Louisville on their honeymoon and attended the fourth running of the Kentucky Derby. Generally they were not bettors, but the Derby was considered an exceptional occasion, and they wagered their money on the horse that won the race, DAY STAR. He was not the favorite and paid well. The favorite came in second. With the winnings the honeymooners bought a fine, large set of Haviland china dishes. In addition to the usual dishes, the collection included many serving dishes, platters, etc. It was a family prize and my parents inherited it. I remember it being used for Thanksgiving Day and at Christmas and on special occasions. My sister, Evelyn, was given the set and she has taken good care of it. To the three Garth boys, Anderson, John and Dudley, their stepmother promised each a gold watch if he would not smoke before he reached 21 years of age. My father received his - a fairly heavy, thick watch with double cover at the back. It was given by him to his grandson, Anderson Garth House, who has it attractively displayed in a domed glass case. How the couple fared in their final hours on earth is a bizarre and interesting tale. Webster became seriously ill, and as was usually done at such times, was taken by train to Nashville to St. Thomas Hospital (now Vanderbilt Hospital). while he was there Virginia went to visit him. Upon departing, in the hallway just outside his room, she suddenly collapsed and died on the spot. Because he was critically ill, her husband was not told of her death. However, he too passed away that same day, and each of them did not know the other had died. I would like to thank Lesley Haigh for sending us additional information about Louisa Callaway who was mentioned in the Oct 2008 Newsletter. Hi Donna and Chris,
The
Louisa Callaway mentioned in the last newsletter was I believe
this one from Winterbourne Dauntsey near WINTERBOURNE Piece: 1845 Folio: 284 Schedule: 019 Address: Winterbourne Dauntsey CALLAWAY Stephen HD M 38 Ag Lab WIL Winterbourne Dauntsey (c1813) CALLAWAY Ann M. WI M 35 Ag Lab's Wife WIL Newton Toney (c1816) CALLAWAY Charles SO U 18 Ag Lab WIL Winterbourne Dauntsey (c1833) CALLAWAY Louisa DA - 6 - WIL Winterbourne Dauntsey (c1845) CALLAWAY Emma DA - 4 - WIL Winterbourne Dauntsey (c1847) The mother was Ann Marian and the reference for Louisa’s birth certificate is: Births September 1844 Amesbury 8 247 I don’t have a birth for Stephen. It is possible Ann was his second wife and Charles was from the earlier family as we have also STEPHEN CALLOWAY & ELIZABETH HAYTER m.10 Sep 1831 Durnford Sarah 01.01.1832 Winterbourne.
Hope this helps anyone looking for links. I would like to thank CFA Member, Don Kellaway in Ontario for sending us the following information about two Kellaway families from Dorset.
Hi Donna: Found the following on
the "This is Dorset" webpage. It was not clear who was
researching the family but it may be worthwhile to put it in the
query section of the newsletter as it may be of help to some
Kellaway researcher. Kellaway Families Cerne AbbasHere are 2 Kellaway families I have connected to my tree. I
am not sure of a connection between the 2 of them yet. So if
anyone out there can find one and let me know I would be
grateful. As both George Kellaway and Richard Amos Kellaway
married into my family. Would be great if I could find out if
they are related. Will update page if i find out anything more.
Editor's Note - See additional information on this family line in the Dec 2008 newsletter. I would like to thank CFA Genealogist,
Sherrill Williams, for sending us this information. It is a list
of people being held in Canada by the Indians in 1793. Four Callaways are included among many others. The link is:
http://www.shawhan.com/indiansite.html.
Can anyone identify these
Callaways?
AND THE BLOG GOES ON - Once on the Blog page, just scroll down to find your article listed in the archives on the right, or use the Search form. There is also a full list of all our Blog articles on the CFA web site: http://www.callawayfamily.org/cfablogarchives.htm
Query # 511 My gggg-grandmother was Jane "Jenny" Callaway born in Virginia in 1794. She died in Georgia in 1850. Do you have any information on her please. I have been reading and trying for (3) three weeks and can not find anything on her or her parents. Thanks for all your help.
Query # 512
Through your knowledge of
the Callaway family, is there any proof of the exact location of
a burial site for Flanders and Jemina Callaway in Warren County,
Missouri? I know that is speculated that they are buried
in unmarked graves at the Bryan (Boone Monument) Cemetery, but I
am looking for letters/journals/bibles and other information to
prove this theory. Editor's Note - According to an article written in 1984 and presented to the CFA meeting in St. Louis that year, Bobbie Callaway, CFA Historian, says that from her research Flanders Callaway died in February 1829 at his home near the present town of Marthasville, MO and was buried in the David Bryan Cemetery which was very close to his own land.
Visit The Callaway Family Association web site. It has much to offer. Would you like to . . .
And As Always, Find a Way to . . . Let Your “Callaway” Voice Be Heard!
Until next time, * ~ From the preface of The "Visitations of the County of Somerset in the years 1531 et seq" by Frederic William Weaver M.A. Oxon. (1885), translated from the Latin. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - Copyright © 2008 Callaway Family Association |
William
Perry Calloway was a man who participated in the opening of the
American West. Like many others of his generation, he was born
east of the Mississippi, he fought in the Mexican War, he
emigrated to the west coast during the California Gold Rush, and
he served in the Civil War. He left no known diary or personal
letters, but his life is well documented in public records, such
as newspapers and military correspondence, and in the letters
people wrote about him. Although there are some gaps in his life
story, enough information has been uncovered to provide an
accurate view of his character. It is unfortunate that
historians have not always been kind to Calloway; he has been
accused of cowardice, theft and murder, but a careful
examination of his life and personality demonstrates that he was
an energetic pioneer, a capable soldier and a respected
community leader.
Current News
Mary
Cordelia "Pug" McGraw, 89, formerly of Meadow Bridge, WV, passed
away early Friday morning, Aug, 24, 2007, at her home in
Naperville, IL, following a short illness.
