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Brightwell Documents, Manuscripts, Reports, etc.
BRIGHTWELL FAMILIES
of north Arkansas
JOSIAH BRIGHTWELL
1857 - 1889
{by Mr. Lynn McSpadden, ca 1986}
{page 5}
William, Elgin and Gainum Brightwell moved to Arkansas in the late 1840s and mid and late 1850s, settling in a part of {word Izard marked through and replaced with Independence} County that has been, since 1873, eastern Stone County in the area of Marcella, St. James and Pleasant Grove. They, like their father Leonard, were simple, poor farmers.
(1) WILLIAM, the oldest of the children of Leonard and Nancy, was the first to move to Arkansas. His name does not appear on either the Tennessee census or the Arkansas census of 1850. The census takers just missed him.
According to Frieda Massey, Brightwell Cemetery is located in Knight's Cove west of Pleasant Grove on the old Wilcox-Hall place. There are four graves near the house and garden place. In the past there was a fence and a gate around them. Two of the graves are marked only by rocks with no inscriptions. The two with inscriptions read:
"William E. Brightwell, husband of Martha Brightwell, Died June 3, 1872. 52 yrs. 5 mo. 11 days"
"Lavicy R., daughter of W. E. & Martha Brightwell, died Oct. 5, 1847. 11 mo. 1 day"
The burial of their daughter in 1847 is first proof of our branch of the Brightwell family being in Arkansas. William's wife Martha was a daughter of the John Knight family for which the cove was named. She married William before they moved to Arkansas.
{page 6}
(2) ELGIN, the second child of Leonard and Nancy Brightwell, was born in Tennessee on June 10, 1822. On August 19, 1843 he married Eliza Armstrong in Meigs County. Eliza had died before the TN census in 1850, and Elgin was listed with his first four children and Elizabeth Wilson, who was probably his maternal grandmother. He was married again, to Mary Jane Houser, soon after the census that year because in 1860 he had a nine year old daughter, Matilda E., who was born in Arkansas. She was probably the first child of Elgin and Mary Jane. Therefore, Elgin was probably the second Brightwell to arrive in Arkansas -- in about 1851. (my 2 great-grandfather ~ Lynn)
(3) GAINUM (or Ganden or Ganum), the third child of Leonard and Nancy Brightwell, was born in Tennessee in 1823 or 1824. He married Nancy Walker on December 29, 1839 in Meigs County. They were still in Meigs County during the census of 1850, and were listed with their children James, 9, and Lucinda, 8. Later census records indicate Gainum moved to Arkansas between 1857 and 1859.
By 1860 all three of these Brightwell brothers were living in the Franklin Township of Independence County, Arkansas. They had moved only a short distance (if at all), for a part of Izard County had become a part of Independence. The location was west across White River from Bethesda and O'Neal. The "town" in the township at that time was Buck Horn -- now called St. James, and since 1873 a part of Stone County. All three brothers had lived in what is present day Stone County since their arrival in Arkansas.
{page 7}
The 1860 census of Arkansas shows that the three brothers gave similar names to many of their children, and that they were raising substantial families. The following side by side listing helps make the point. The census report gave names, age at the time of the census, and state of birth.
1860 US CENSUS, FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, INDEPENDENCE CO., AR
| WILLIAM E. | 40 | TN | ELGIN | 38 | TN | GAINUM | 38 (?) | TN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martha | 41 | TN | Mary J. | 34 | TN | Nancy A. | 34 | TN |
| Sara A. | 17 | TN | Lutitia | 15 | TN | James L. | 19 | TN |
| Harriet E. | 14 | TN | Wiley O. | 12 | TN | Lucinda | 17 | TN |
| James P. | 11 | TN | James H. | 11 | TN | Josiah | 9 | TN |
| William H. | 9 | TN (?) | Matilda | 9 | AR | Mary J. | 7 | TN |
| Rachel P. | 6 | AR | Tennessee | 7 | AR | Matilda C. | 6 | TN |
| Hardy F. | 1 | AR | Nancy A. | 6 | AR | Amanda E. | 3 | TN |
| Mary E. Edds | 20 | TN | George W. | 5 | AR | Margaret T. | 1 | AR |
| | | Josiah | 4 | AR | | | | |
| | | John O. | 1 | AR | | | |
By 1870 Elgin's family also included:
| Philisee | b. 1861 |
| Wm. H. | b. 1863 |
| Oriana | b. 1866 |
| Mary C. | b. 1869 |
While the Civil War was just over the horizon, the three brothers and their families counted a total of 29 Brightwells among them, in addition to the two widows' families, and all were living in the land now encompassed by Stone County, Arkansas.
{page 8}
William, Elgin and Gainum entered the service of the Confederate States at Hess Ferry (later called O'Neal Ferry) and were stationed at Camp Shaver (Pocahontas) Arkansas on July 26, 1861. Gainum was soon promoted to Captain. His son James L. was a 2nd Sgt. in his company, and his brother William was a Lieutenant. Elgin was a Private. Gainum became the real leader: during the war he started and was captain of two different companies of men. He is the "G. Brightwell" whose name appears twice on the Civil War monument at the courthouse in Batesville, Arkansas. His first company was Company G, 7th Arkansas Infantry. During the war this company was in Bowling Green, KY, in September and October of 1861; in Corinth, MS, Feb. 28 - May 17, 1862; in Tupelo, MS, in May and June 1862.
On April 6, 1862, "Brightwell's Company" was in the thick of the Battle of Shiloh. At noon Gainum was wounded and was temporarily rel{ie}ved of his command. The Shiloh battle was extremely costly in lives to both the Union and the Confederacy, with both suffering severe losses.
Later, at the battle of Helena, the Confederacy suffered more losses. Then the Union army advanced toward Little Rock and took control of that city with very little resistance being offered. The Confederate troops dispersed toward southwest Arkansas. Many soldiers simply deserted the fallen-apart army and returned home. It was after these desertions, according to Stanley Harmon, that Gainum returned to recruit for the new Company F, 8th Arkansas Cavalry. Wilson Harmon, J. J. Hancock, Elgin Brightwell and Gainum's son James L. were all among his new recruits.
{page 9}
There were three significant events during a four month period in 1864 in which the Brightwells were either affected {sic} or directly involved, and all three were close to home near St. James and O'Neal.
(1) THE BATTLE AT WAUGH FARM on Feb. 18, 1864 was the first of these three events. This event was the largest skirmish to occur in Independence County during the war. The Waughs were the largest slaveholders {sic} in the western part of the county, and their farm was located northwest of Bethesda near Weber's Chapel. The Union forces were occupying Batesville at the time, and they sent out a foraging party to the area. They camped at Waugh farm for the night. Some Union soldiers had visited the nearby home of Robert Childress and annoyed his daughter. She slipped away to the west, crossed White River and reported the soldiers' presence to Captain George Rutherford and his company in present day Stone County. (The Robert Childress home was later bought by Thomas Alva McSpadden, who was a soldier in Rutherford's company. The house is still standing today in an open field west of the Experiment Station.)
The official Confederate report: "Captain George Rutherford, with a part of his own company of Dobbins' cavalry regiment and Capt. S. J. McGuffin's company of boys called the 'Popcorn Company' . . . was resting in Knight's Cove [now Stone County] when he received information that a train of 43 foraging wagons with an escort of 147 men from the 11th Missouri Cavalry . . . was encamped for the night at James Waugh's farm, 11 miles northwest of Batesville, and he determined to attack them with the 83 men he had with him. Crossing White River above Penter's Bluff, after a night march of some 15 miles, Captain Rutherford reached the Federal camp just after daylight on the 18th of February, 1864, and attacked with such a vigor that he stampeded the escort after a short, sharp fight, killing 13, wounding four and capturing 17, among the killed being the Federal commander,
{page 10}
Captain Cassell [Castle]. Captain Rutherford captured and carried off 127 mules, with their harness, and 34 horses, with their accoutrements {sic s/b accouterments}, and burned 43 wagons, loosing in the engagement four killed and three wounded."
The next day the humiliating loss to the Federals brought out 400 men after Rutherford's company, but he had escaped cleanly back across White River where the Confederate companies, including Brightwell's, were stationed. They began to move the captured horses and mules southward.
(2) THE SKIRMISH AT BUCK HORN was the second event. Buck Horn was the old name for the present community of St. James in eastern Stone County. It was within four or five miles of where all the Brightwell's lived.
On May 5, 1864, Confederate Brigadier General J. O. Shelby was ordered from his position south of the Arkansas River to "occupy the valley of White River and to prevent its navigation . . . in every possible manner and fashion." Shelby and his troops crossed the Arkansas at Dardanelle, passed through Dover and Clinton "over rough and sterile roads, over Blue and Ozark Mountains thru {sic} Richwoods" and to Buck Horn. There they encountered the rag-tag Union gang of Bill Williams, who had taken advantage of the area men being away at war and had been terrorizing the Buck Horn area for some time. Mention of Bill Williams' name "sent chills of terror into the hearts of people who were helpless against him; he and his men stopped at nothing." From his camp near Wall's Ferry he stole, plundered and murdered.
Shelby's men encountered Williams' gang at Buck Horn on May 25, 1864. In the battle they killed 47 of his men and captured two more who were executed the next day. Shelby's report described the relief felt by the residents: "Young girls and
Copy submitted by Avlyn Dodd Conley. Permission to reprint here by Lynn McSpadden.
Online transcription by Susan Shields Sasek. My notes, etc. are in curly brackets { }.
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| Page Updated on: 17 Apr 2004 | c. Susan Shields Sasek |
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