Homesteading

This is a summary of homesteading by the ancestors of Jack and Betty McCall in Arkansas.

In 1888, Jack’s great-grandfather John Smith McCall homesteaded 160 acres on the west side of Rock Springs Road near his son George’s farm.

In 1885, Jack’s grandfather Charles Marion Ray homesteaded 120 acres south of Grandview.

In 1884, Betty’s grandfather Thomas Benton Hall purchased 40 acres from the federal government near the Cove Community of Carroll County. A year later, he homesteaded 80 more acres south of Berryville.

In 1883, Betty’s grandfather James Proctor Southerland purchased 40 acres on the Kings River from the federal government. In 1888, he purchased another 40 acres. Between 1888 and 1891, he homesteaded an additional 160 acres that joined his farm.

In 1882, Jack’s grandfather George Robert McCall homesteaded 80 acres on the east side of Rock Springs Road. In 1905, he homesteaded another 40 acres.

In 1860, Betty’s great-grandfather Joseph Calvin Houston purchased 40 acres on the Kings River from the federal government. Between 1882 and 1891, he homesteaded an additional 280 acres on Kings River. It should be noted that the extended Houston family homesteaded 1,760 acres in Carroll and Madison Counties.

In 1857, Jack’s great-grandfather John Smith McCall purchased 40 acres from the federal government in Jackson County, Arkansas.

In 1855, Jack’s great-great-grandfather Josiah McCall purchased 49.17 acres from the federal government in Jackson County. He died five months later at the age of 57.

In 1849, Betty’s great-grandfather Thomas Hall is first listed acquiring land from the federal government in Carroll County, though he’d been in the area for many years. He would go on to homestead several tracts of land in the vicinity of the Kings River.

Shady Grove Shadows

This column is from the September 8, 1916 edition of the Berryville Star Progress newspaper. It reports the building of the stone cellar on the George Robert McCall farm that I spent many hours playing on as a kid. To cool off on a hot summer day, we’d go down into the dark cellar and sit by the wooden shelves of sealed mason jars. It’s interesting that the cellar was built by “Merion Ray.” I would guess that he is Charles Marion Ray, the father of Clara McCall who we called Grandma.