Judging Our Ancestors Fairly

by Donna Swagerty Shreve

I am so fortunate to have found a niece who has taken an interest in our family genealogy. She made the comment that she wished she could actually talk with a certain ancestor, from another century, as his life was fascinating. Then she paused and said she probably would not like some of his views on life. It got me thinking about how we are formed by nature and nurture. 

If we step back a bit when we do our research, we should try to put our ancestor’s life in his environment. The important question to me is not if he voted a certain way but the fact that he moved when circumstances became untenable for him and his family. Why did he feel he needed to move instead of staying and making do.

The ancestor that comes to mind is my great great-grandfather Isaac Swagerty (1827-1897). He was raised in Arkansas near Bentonville. In 1862 a Civil War skirmish broke out on part of his 160 acres of fertile farm land. This skirmish happened day or so before the major battle at Pea Ridge on March 7-8, 1862. His farm was shattered with devastation to property and animals. The family hid under a hay stack until the skirmish ended and they could get help.

Isaac sent his eleven year old son Sampson Swagerty out to get help. Sampson was instructed to look for soldiers with blue uniforms and on horses if given a choice. Isaac wanted an officer. Sampson found two officers and they helped the family to safety. The family was taken to a barricade in Bentonville until the family could be escorted to a military fort in Kansas.

Isaac had chosen the Union side in the Civil War and not the Confederates when given the chance. A Confederate scout had stopped by the farm a few days before the skirmish and told Isaac to pack up his supplies so he could join the Rebel army as a blacksmith. Isaac had even been given Confederate money to help with his supplies. My grandfather, son of Sampson, remembers playing with confederate money when he was a child.

Another choice Isaac made was letting his paid workers hide in the various wagons his daughters and younger sons drove as they joined the caravan. One of those workers ended up married to one of Isaac’s daughters. The workers did not want to be forced to join the army as they were of age. Isaac had a successful life and when pushed, he chose to move his family and start over. His older brother Axley had moved to Kansas a decade previously and then returned after the Civil War and made a very successful life back in Arkansas. 

We can only guess at the reasons that drove our ancestors to make the decisions they did. Events surrounding their home were very important when trying to guess at why a move was made.

Another ancestor who made a move that did not seem logical was Jesse Charles Brown who was creating and supporting his family in Harrison, Arkansas. By 1900 he owned land and was employed as a teacher. Why would he move his then family of six from Harrison to Missouri where he no longer owned land and worked as a laborer for other farmers? After researching the history of Harrison, Arkansas from 1900 to 1910, I found that there was an ugly incident in 1905 where the town reacted to an incident involving a supposed burglary that involved a black man versus a while family. The town people went on a rampage and “cleaned” the town of any black residents, Jesse Charles Brown and family were white but it was around this time he took his family to Missouri and then a few years later on to Idaho.

With other family lines I have not been so lucky to find a possible reason for a big move. I have charted the moves and when they happened and put them on a map. Patterns occur but the reasons can only be guessed.

D. Shreve

8/27/2024

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