For the
longest time Chesterfield was a man of mystery to me. I had trouble finding anything on him. Then I was able to make connections with a
few Carney relatives, mainly Dana and Reba and they helped fill in some gaps
for me that let me flesh out the Carney lineage abundantly. I am certain I still have gaps and some incorrect information, so if you can help correct these errors please let me know either in the comments section below or via email c.j.dreammaker@gmail.com
I also need more true documentation on some of the information I have, but here
is what I have so far. Perhaps others
that are researching him can help me get my records correct and fleshed out
even more.
Chesterfield
M. (probably for Monroe) Carney was born in March of 1849 in Port Royal,
Montgomery County, TN. The seventh child
of Harry D. Carney (1812-1865) and Sarah Murphy (1817 to about 1855).
Chesterfield
died on December 29, 1829 in Ft. Smith, Sebastian County, Arkansas. He is buried in Elwood Cemetery there. The cemetery is small and near a bank drive
thru. I would have never have found the
small flat marker if it had not been for the kindness of either Dana or Reba, I
am sorry ladies I didn’t make note as to which of you sent me this instruction
on finding his humble grave many, many years ago:
“CEMETERY
LOCATION: As you enter Ft. Smith from the Oklahoma side of the border take
truck route 255 South as if traveling toward Barling. When you reach the Y intersection of 255 N,
255 S and 71B (to Texarkana).there will be a large gray building that is the
City National Bank Building (1998).
Next to the bank is an open field that leads to a drainage culvert. That field is the Elmwood (formerly Poplar)
Cemetery, there is NO SIGN. The cemetery is often overgrown, and the tombstones
are in a sad state of disrepair.
Chesterfield's grave is near the street and the first light pole near
the drive into the bank. A few feet
north or east and he would have been either in the street or in the drive! His
grave is marked with a small metal marker "C. Carney Dec 29, 1928"
By following these very clear
instructions I easily found Chesterfield’s grave .
At this point in my research I
basically had when he was born, when my grandmother was born, when he died and
where he was buried. Nothing else.
I started quizzing my aunts and
uncles, this was circa 1988. One aunt,
Lula May Poyner Maxey Maynard (1916-2006) sent me the following letter to which
I added a notation later.
From a letter from Lula
May Poyner Maxey Maynard : " Mommas
Dad and all My Dads people were born and burried in Arkansas. Dats all I know
about the cituation."
From the same letter :
"Well then Mom's (Lena Carney Poyner)Dad married Grandma and they had my
Moma Galena. Then he married a woman
named Donaldson. They had 2 boys John and Elmer Carney That way my Mom's maiden
name, so far as I know only one survivor of both sides (1984) and that is John
Carney lives in Arkansas"
JP Note: Research has shown Aunt Lula to be wrong in
her assumption that Chesterfield Carney and his family was born in
Arkansas. He was actually from
Tennessee. He had left his family there
without leaving a trace of himself. Mrs.
Donaldson was actually Emma Turner Donily.
This information combined with the
funeral home records I acquired from Fentress Funeral home that indicated he
had at least at some time lived in Swain, AR.
From the Fentress Funeral
Home records:
Name of Deceased C. M.
Carney
age 77, sex M, color white
Married
Occupation Laborer
Place of Death St. E.
Date of Death Dec 29, 1928
Physician Dr. Jim Johnson
Length of sickness, Nov
5-Dec 29
Oscar A. Fentress Funeral
Director
On the back of that page
it has Swain, AR (supposedly that is where Chesterfield lived prior to his
death)
Religion: Holiness
Son: Elmer Carney of Swain, AR
This let me find the following on
ancestry.com
AR Death Record Index from ancestry.com Cm
Carney 29 Dec 1928 Sebastian co, Ar Roll #19241933
I have been told various stories about
his death. Aunt Lula swore he was hitch
hiking to see my Grandmother Galeenah Carney Poyner Barnes
when he became ill and died.
Another story I was told was that he
and Emma were estranged and that he was traveling when he took ill on the
train. He was removed from the train and
died under a doctor’s care. The story
went on to say some unkind things about Emma, so I shall not repeat them
here. I never met the woman, she was
deceased before I was born.
I began to search Arkansas history books at
the LDS genealogy research library in Tulsa, OK. By sheer luck I stumbled upon
this entry in “The History of Newton County, Arkansas.”
LIFE AMONG THE
HOMESTEADERS
During the years between 1900 and 1911,
hastily constructed homes in T 16, Range 22, shot up like mushrooms. The sound of the ax and the tap of the mallet
could be heard in all directions. We
hill people did not understand that our land was fast passing into the hands of
outsiders. Many of our local men of homestead age had never taken advantage of
the homestead act. Being isolated as we
were, we enjoyed their company. But they
were queer ducks, we thought. We thought
of our new neighbors as city dudes; they thought of us as ignorant
hillbillies. With these two thoughts in
mind, a drama began to appear. The city
dudes putting on one act and the hill people the other, each group enjoying the
show. As the show moved on, the actors
became better acquainted. We now
realized that our new neighbors were just human, made of flesh and blood. They soon learned to speak and understand our
language and that education did not always come from the study of books. They
soon began to like and love these big rough, blue-eyed monkeys, as they
sometimes called us. And we began to
understand the people from the large heir mode of life and courtesy. Day by day, we came closer together. They told us of life in the cities. We gave them instruction in nature and taught
them how to recognize the different birds, insects, wild flowers, and
trees. They in return lent us books to
read and tried to explain the working and organization of a large city.
Life among the homesteaders proved very
satisfactory with a few exceptions. The
life and customs of the hill people and that of city people could not be,
adjusted to all concerned. That is, the
city woman's ways of life did not always meet with the approval of her hill
sister. The hill woman had always been
taught to keep in the background. The
life of the city woman was bold and free.
This retention caused much jealousy among the hill women. The city woman thought nothing of asking the
husband of her hill neighbor to take her out into the forest on a nature study
expedition. With these acts of courtesy
and demonstrations by the city women, the big, strong, rough hill men, who had
been (sorter skittish) began to get tame. But it was not long until the
difference in life and the mode of living was adjusted and we lived together in
peace and harmony. They soon became a
part of us and we a part of them. They
enjoyed our square dances and log rolling; the women learned to knit and mend,
the men became enthusiastic hunters and fishermen. On an all-night hunting or fishing trip, they
were the last to say, "Let's go home."
For many years life moved on. Many of the new comers had wealth or
considerable savings when they came there.
They were good spenders and this was much help to the local people who
were hard pressed for cash. But the drain on their saving soon had its effect.
One by one, they started returning to the city with nothing left but
memories. Fortune seekers started
chasing the other end of the rainbow.
Then came the awakening of the hill people. They now began to realize what had happened
to the land that should have been theirs.
It was now in the hands of large timber land speculators from the. east. Many young men with families did not own the
land where they lived. Surveys made by
the new timber land owners proved this.
Thus, the offer by the government to give 160 acres of free land was not
always accepted. It was not easy for the
hill men to realize the meaning of the homestead law. They were born and had lived continuously on
the same land. In some cases they defied
the new owner to put them off the land. The possessing of that land in our
community caused some
grief, hatred, and some killings. Jack
Lamar shot and killed John Self because he homesteaded the land he wanted. Many other similar occurrences happened.
The following local men made homestead
entries in T 16, and 15, Range 22 West: John C. Rush, 1903; CHESTER M. CORNEY, 1908; Thomas
McGuire, 1904: John H. Roney, 1906; John A. Harper, 1907; Sam A. Eoff, 1883;
Susan Reynolds, 1895; Reuben Kilgore, 1883; Isaac Wishon, 1883; Ancel C.
Clifton, 1897; Jackson Knight, 1874; Milas M. Wishon, 1903; Elzy Rossberry,
1887; John Arrington, 1869; Joe Hammons, 1869; Lepold E. Baum,.1868; Craft
McFarlin, 1891; William Roark, 1891; Hezekiah Villines, 1873; John H. Brown,
1902; Sarah L. Lackey, 1897; Amos B. Lackey, 1882; Luther J. Hull, 1889; John
Eaton Waters, 1894; James McAfee, 1897; and Anderson Carlton,1869.
"Cultivators of the earth are the most
valuable citizen. They are the most
vigorous, the most
independent, the most virtuous, and they are tied to their country and
welded to its interest, by
the most lasting bounds." Thomas Jefferson.
There he
was! On a small bit of microfilm I had found my first real clue. No wonder I had been having trouble finding
him. He was wasn’t listed as
Chesterfield M. Carney, but Chester M.
CORNEY. This was not the last time I
would find his name largely misrepresented as my research would go on.
I verified
his homesteading and that it was truly him by ordering the homestead
papers. It was definitely him.
Department of the
Interior, United States Land Office, Harrison, Arkansas Abstract No. 614 Case
No. 11 Confirmed by the Board Nov. 30, 1921 N. N. C. Clerk, Serial No. 012385
Receipt No. 2 567 124 Pur. Mon $98.03, Testy 1. 85 PCM
CERTIFICATE COMMUTED
HOMESTEAD Feb 1, 1921
It is hereby certified that, in pursuance
of law, section 2301, Revised Statues of the United States, Chesterfield M. Carney residing at
Ryker in Newton County, State of Arkansas on this day purchased of the Register
of this Office the North half of the North West fractional 1/4 Section 30
Township 14 North, Range 23 West, 5th Principal Meridian, Arkansas, containing
78.42 acres at the rate of one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, amounting
to ninety-eight dollars and three cents, for which the said Chesterfield M. Carney made payment in
full as required by law.
Now, therefore, be it known that, on
presentation of this Certificate to the Commissioner of the General Land
Office, the said Chesterfield M. Carney
shall be entitled to receive a Patent for the land described above if all then
be found regular. Signed Jno. L. Cluidenin (?) Register
Posted March 31, 1921 Vol. 3` p. `10 WJR,
Approved July 27, 1921 by E. R. Bailey Division C.
Stamped Pat. No. 840591 Dec. 30, 1921 No
reservation
There is a copy of an
envelope for a registered letter sent to him at Low Gap, Arkansas date Nov 18,
1919 showed as returned to sender, moved away.
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
United States Land Office, Harrison, Arkansas, September 22, 1919
Chesterfield
M. Carney,
Low Gap, Arkansas five year notice.
Sir:
You are hereby notified that the Homestead
Laws requires final proof of settlement and cultivation to be made with two
years after the expiration of three years from date of entry, and that in the
case of your entry, Serial No. 012385 for N 1/2 NW 1/4 Section 30 Township 14
N., Range 23 W., 5th Principal Meridian, dated July 15, 1914, the time fixed by
the statute has expired with the requisite proof being filed by you.
You will, therefore, within thirty days
from date of service of this notice, show cause before us why your claim shall
not be declared forfeited, and your entry canceled, for noncompliance with the
requirements of the law, so that the case may be reported to the Commissioner
of the General Land Office for proper action.
Signed Jus L. Clendeuim (?) Register. W. L. Suapp (?), receiver.
There are copies of return
receipts signed by C. M. Carney for
registered mail dated 1/13/1920 and by E. J. Carney for Chesterfield M. Carney
dated 12/5/1919
His Homestead Entry lists
the same property as the default notice and states that he is a native born
US Citizen, married, head of a a family
and over 21 years of age living in Low Gap,
Ark dated July 15, 1914
NOTICE OF INTENTION TO
MAKE PROOF, Department of the Interior, U. S. Land Office at Harrison, Arkansas
January 12, 1920.
I, Chesterfield
M. Carney, of Ryker, Arkansas, who, on July 15th 1914, made homestead
entry, No. 012385, for the N 1/2 NW 1/4, Section 30 Township 14 N. Range 23 W.,
5th Prin. Meridian, hereby give notice of my intention to make three year
proof, to establish my claim to the land above described, before Clerk ofthe
Circuit Court, Newton County, at Jasper Arkansas, on the 19th day of February
1920, by two of the following witnesses: S. L. Eastep of Fallsville, Arkansas,
B. F. Hibbard, of Ryker, Arkansas, John Knucks and L. J. Donley, of Red Star, Arkansas. Stamped received Jan 16, 1920
Chief Field Division also stamped "No information now in this office
warranting field investigation Feb 13, 192- John V. Baile Ct Chief Field Div.
FINAL PROOF: Testimony of
Witness:
Q 1. What is your full
name, age, and post-office address? A- L.
J. Donley, age 26 years, Post Office, Red Star, Ark.
Q 2. Was your name
correctly give in the published notice? A-yes
Q 3. How long have you
know the claimant in this case and the N 1/2 NW Section 30, Township 14 N.,
Range 23 W, 5th Prin. Meridian, the land embraced in Homestead Entry, No.
012385, made at the Harrison Land Office? A- have known claimant and land 18
years.
Q4. Is entryman married?
A-yes
Q 5. Is said tract within
the limits of an incorporated town, or used in anyway for trade or business?
A-no
Q 6. When did entryman
settle upon the homestead? July 15, 1914
Q 7. At what date did
entryman establish actual residence thereon? A-At the same time.
Q 8. Have entryman and
family resided continuously on the homestead since thus establishing residence
thereon? A- Entryman has been absent some each year at work, but he has never
(blank)
Q 10. If there have been
any such absences, give the dates covered by such absences, stating who was
absent and for what reason. A- Entryman has been absent a few months each year
at work, but his family has continually resided on and cultivated the land.
Q 11. Describe the land
embraced in above entry by legal subdivisions, showing the character of same,
and kind and amount of timber, if any. A- n 1/2 NW Sec 30-14-23 Kind of timber
principally oak, 30 acres cultivable, 70 acres timbered feet timber 20,000
Q 12. State the number of
acres cultivated and kind of crop planted, each year. A- 1915, Cultivated about
4 acres in corn and vegetables, 1916, 6 acres same, 1917, 7 acres same, 1918 9
acres same, 1919 10 acres same 1920 10 acres same.
Q 13, Describe fully and
in detail the amount and kind of improvements and number of acres under
cultivation on each subdivision. State
total value of improvements on the claim.
A. n 1/2 NW sec 30-14-23 One three room log house, Barn, chicken house,
small orchard and 10 acres under cultivation, Value of improvements $500.
Q 14, Are there any
indications of Coal, salines, or minerals of any kind on the land? If so, descrive what they are. A-None that I
know of
Q15. Have you any
knowledge or information that the claimant has sold or contracted to sell,
optioned, mortgaged, or agreed to option or mortgage this land? If so, give full details as to whom, for what
purpose and in what amount. A-no
Q 16. Have you personal
knowledge, from your own observation, that claimant and his family (if any)
actually resided upon and cultivated this land each year in accordance with
your above testimony. A-yes
Q 17. How many times each
year have you seen this land, and the claimant and his family residing thereon;
and what other knowledge have you upon which your answers are based? A-See
claimant or family on land as much as once each week.
Q. 18 Are you interested
in this claim, or related to the claimant?
If so, how? A- Not interested, claimant is my stepfather.
Signed L. J. Donley, attest R. L. Swain.
(certification by Swain follows the above on the original document).
The same questions with
the basic same answers were also asked of S. L. Eastep age 50 years of
Fallsville, Ark, with the exception he said he was not related.
Chesterfield's
Testimony of Claimant stated he was Chesterfield M. Carney, age 69 living in
Ryker Arkansas, born in TN. His family on January 21 consisted of he,
his wife (this would be Emma) and 3 children.
All other testimony was identical to that of Lonnie. It mentioned, however that he entered and
patented 80 acres several years prior. This was followed by a question that
asked if he had since August 30, 1890, made any entry or filing (not mineral)
other than homestead? He replied not, except as above stated.
A page later on talks of
the prior homestead as follows
State of Arkansas, }
County of Newton. } SS.
Chesterfield
M. Carney, who made homestead entry No. 012385, made July 15, 1914 for the
n 1/2 NW 1/4 Section 30 township 14 north, of range 23 west, containing 78.42
acres, being first duly sworn according to law deposes and says that he is the
identical person who made final proof before R. L. Swain, Clerk of Newton
County, Arkansas, on the 6th inst, and the reason he did not make proof within
five years on the above described entry, was he had been advised by the clerk
he made homestead that we would be allowed seven years in which to make his
final proof from the date of his entry and relying upon the advice of said
clerk he failed to make said proof.
And affiant further state that his former
homestead entry embraces the following described lands:
The SE 1/4 SE 1/4 Section 29 and the NE
1/4 Ne !/4 section 32 township 16 north, of range 22 west containg 80
acres. -signed Chesterfield M. Carney.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this
31st day of January, 1921 R. L. Swain, clerk.
Bingo!
It was definitely him and now I had he was born in TN by his own
testimony. I also now knew to look for
any corruption I could think of for his name, both first and surname at that.
I then checked online trees for
children roughly his age and soon realized his ancestry back through Harry D.
and Sarah Murphy Carney. Census records
verified this.
1850 Port Royal,
Montgomery County, TN Census
211 211 Carney, H. D TN
Sally 33 TN
Melvina 11 TN
Barbara 9 TN
John 7 TN
James 5 TN
Lawson 3 TN
MONROE 1 TN
(was this the one listed as F Monroe in other records or is it Chesterfield M?)
---------------
1860 North and east of
Cumberland River, Montgomery, Tn. PO
Clarksville pg 50
Morgan, W 44
Fredonia 34
Carney H. D. 48 b. TN
E.M. 21 TN
JW 18 TN
JH 15 TN
FM 12 TN
LR 13 TN
Chesterfied 11
TN
Infant 6 TN
--------
1870
Chesterfield
Carry,
1870 Tennessee, Montgomery District 1.
b. 1852 TN he's a farm hand living in the household of Sylvester A. Murphy,(his
aunt Sylvester A. Carney Murphy) and Chesters
brother Thomas is with him.
For a long
time after that I could not find him in any census records, he simply
disappeared until he showed up married to my maternal great grandmother
Columbia Porter Branham on June 12, 1892 in Crawford County, AR. I have a copy of the marriage license and
will add it at a later date to the documentation and photos blog.
After much
digging I found him in the 1900 and other census records as well. The corruption of his name continued:
1900 AR Soundex C650:
Carny,
Chester F.
Vol 13 ED 201 Sheet 3 line 46
male white b. April 1852
age 48 b. TN
Franklin County, White
Rock Twp enumerated with Alexander, Mary E. as a boarder
In the same household
Carny Galina white b 7/1894 age 5 IT
On the ancestry census
data base he is listed as Cluster F.
Corney. Talk about mutilating a name.
The actual census record
on T 623-59 of Franklin County White Rock Twnsp enumerated 6/6 1900 by J. B.
Stuart (there he is again--see marriage license)
Dwell 43 Family 43
Alexander, Mary head white
female b. sep 1848 age 67 widow b. Ny fb NY mb NY occupation: farmer can
read, write, and speak English
Carney,
Chester F.
boarder white male b. 4/1842 age 48 married 2 years b. TN, fb. TN, mb TN
occupation:
day Laborer can read, write and speak
English
Ida boarder white female b. 2/1880 age 20
married 2 years b. AR fb. TX mb. MO can only speak
English, but not read or write it.
Galina,
boarder white female b. 7/1894 age 6 single b. IT, fb. TN, mb. MO
Monaham, Walter 16 male
(the ancestry site lists him as Waller)
Keys, Wallace 16 male
--------------
1910 May 2, ED 2 ED 97 pg
1617A Low Gap, Newton, AR
233 237
Carney,
Chester
58 married 8 years TN TN TN Farmer
Emma 36
8 births 6 three living KY, KY,
KY
Elmer 3 son OK,
TN, KY
John 2 son AR, TN, KY
Donley, Lonnie 16 stepson AR , MO, KY
nearby:
Morgan, Joe M. 1874
Kaveba 1884 wife AR
Emmie 1904 and others.
-------------
1920 Kentucky, Newton Co.,
AR
Carney,Chesterfield 67 TN
Emma 47
Elmer 13
John 10
Next door
Donley, Alonzo 24
Amanda 23
Leonard 3.5
Monroe 5/12
(JP note the fact his stepson named his son Monroe makes me more certain
that the initial M in Chesterfield's name stands for Monroe)
I still
have a gap in my lineage of where he was from the 1870 census to where he was
in the 1900 census.
When
touring Pea Ridge Civil War site in AR I skimmed the index of a book that had a
roster of some of those who fought there.
There was a Carney or Kearney (another way I have found it spelled over
the years) listed, but I have not verified if it was Chesterfield, or a family
member, or even a distant relative.
One family
story I was once told said he had gotten in trouble during the war for eating
the corn that was meant for the horses of the military. Fact or fiction I have not been able to
verify.
Besides
the corruption of his name there are the issues about his marriages. Basically how often he was married.
Census and
marriage records I have been able to locate so far indicate three wives.
The first
was Columbia Porter Branham, I think. The reason I say I think is by the time he
married her he was 43 years old, she was 28 (she had previously been married to
Jefferson Harris). Most unusual for that
time in history. So far I have not found
any wives prior to Porter, as she was called, but that does not mean they don’t
exist. None are shown in any of the
census records until Ida Jones in 1900.
The third
was Emma Adeline Eurella Turner.
Another
family story I was told was he had a fourth wife, a woman of Native American
descent, that they were married just a short time and he came home to find her
with another man. So he left. This of course has lead to all sorts of
speculation during the years as to whether it was a fourth wife or one of the
three we already know about. We shall
probably never know for certain.
So far my
research has shown up only the three wives and the following children and step
children for him.
Charles
Porter Harris (1882-1944)
Albert
Green Harris (1885-1959)
Alfred
Harris (1885-before 1930)
Lula
Harris (1889-before 1920)
William H.
Harris (1892-?)
She also
married a third time to George Washington Archer (1865-bef 1910). She had one child with Mr. Archer, Homer
Augustus Archer (1902-1979)
Chesterfield’s
second known wife was Ida Jones (1880-?).
They wed November 1, 1898 in Sebastian County, AR. So far I have found no children of this
union.
His third
wife was Emma Adeline Eurella Turner (1871-1946). They wed in 1905 in Oklahoma. They had four children, by my records:
Larry
Carney (?-?)
Ivory
Elmer Delbert Vernon Carney (1906-1970)
John Henry
Lawson Carney (1908-1996)
And a
fourth child that I do not have dates on and who MAY possibly still be living. To protect their privacy I will not list
their name here until I receive verified information that this person is
deceased.
Emma was
also previously married to Unknown Donley and they had one child Alonzo
“Lonnie” Donley (1895-?).
As you can
see just from this one union we have a lot of cousins, known and unknown, out
there. Hopefully by posting this and
other narratives of our Poyner and Carney lineage we will answers to our
questions and more cousins. If you have
any information that can help in this genealogy research please contact me
either in the comment section below or through c.j.dreammaker @gmail.com.
I am
particularly interested in photos of any of the people I have listed in this
post and other genealogy related posts. Once I receive them and add them to my
genealogy file I would like your permission to post them for the rest of the
family to see on the photos and documentation file. Thank you.
