---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Family Group Record 0150
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moved to Arkansas in 1808 from Tennessee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Husband's Name Taylor Polk
Born: 1804 Place: Tennessee
Died: 01 Jun 1885 Place: Howard County, Arkansas
Married: Abt 1821 Place: Miller County, Arkansas
Married: 28 Aug 1864 Place: Sevier County, Arkansas
Spouse: Martha Evaline (James) Cearley
Married: 26 Oct 1866 Place: Sevier County, Arkansas
Spouse: Jane Johnson
Father: Taylor Polk
Mother: Jency Walker
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wife's Name Prudence Anderson
Born: 1805 Place: Louisiana
Died: Aft 1860 Place: Pike County, Arkansas (census)
Father: James Anderson
Mother: Fannie Griffin
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Children
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Original Miller County, Arkansas created April 1, 1820
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Sex Name
F Eleanor (Ellen) Polk
Born: 27 Oct 1823 Place: Miller County, Arkansas
Died: Place:
Married: 15 Jul 1838 Place: Hot Spring County, Arkansas
Spouse: Daniel McKinley Huddleston
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Sex Name
M Anderson Polk
Born: 14 Sep 1824 Place: Miller County, Arkansas
Died: Place: Coryell County, Texas
Married: 21 Dec 1848 Place: Montgomery County, Arkansas
Spouse: Eliza Epperson
Married: Place:
Spouse: Martha Martin
Married: 17 Feb 1867 Place: Bell County, Texas
Spouse: Sarah Jane Langley
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moved to Clark (Hot Spring) County, Arkansas about 1825
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hot Spring County created in 1829 From Clark County, Arkansas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Sex Name
M Cumberland Polk
Born: 04 Nov 1830 Place: Hot Spring County, Arkansas
Died: Place:
Married: 09 Mar 1851 Place: Sevier County, Arkansas
Spouse: Almeda Ann Blackwood
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Sex Name
M Henry Clay Polk
Born: 28 Sep 1833 Place: Hot Spring County, Arkansas
Died: 24 Nov 1910 Place: Ben Lomond, Sevier, Arkansas
Married: Place: Pike County, Arkansas
Spouse: Mary Ann Dickson
Married: Place:
Spouse: Nancy P. .......
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Sex Name
M Sylvester Walker Polk
Born: 29 Jan 1835 Place: Hot Spring County, Arkansas
Died: 21 May 1924 Place: Mason, Mason, Texas
Married: 20 Jan 1856 Place: Coryell County, Texas
Spouse: Sarah Jane Large
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Sex Name
M Mitchell Anderson Polk
Born: 03 Jun 1836 Place: Hot Spring County, Arkansas
Died: Bef 1850 Place: Pike County, Arkansas (census)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Sex Name
F Sarah Delana Polk
Born: 27 Dec 1837 Place: Hot Spring County, Arkansas
Died: 1865 Place: Pulaski County, Arkanas
Married: 14 Sep 1851 Place: Sevier County, Arkansas
Spouse: George T. Epperson
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
8. Sex Name
M Taylor Polk
Born: 22 Nov 1839 Place: Hot Spring County, Arkansas
Died: 13 Jun 1932 Place: Ardmore, Carter, Oklahoma
Married: 20 Aug 1858 Place: Mt. Ida, Montgomery, Arkansas
Spouse: Mary Ann Elizabeth Petty
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Sex Name
F Prudence (Prudy) A. Polk
Born: 07 Apr 1842 Place: Hot Spring County, Arkansas
Died: 04 Jan 1922 Place: Denton, Denton, Texas
Married: Abt 1862 Place: Pike County, Arkansas
Spouse: Beverly Randolph Dickson
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Montgomery County created December 9, 1842 from Hot Spring County, Arkansas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Sex Name
M James Polk
Born: Abt 1844 Place: Montgomery County, Arkansas
Died: Bef 1860 Place: Pike County, Arkansas (census)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Sex Name
F Alfred Sapington Polk
Born: Abt 1846 Place: Montgomery County, Arkansas
Died: 30 Jul 1890 Place: near La Junta, Otereo, Colorado
Married: Place:
Spouse: Sarah Wilson
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Moved to Pike County, Arkansas in 1850
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sources of Information: The Polks of North Carolina and Tennessee, The
New England Historical and Genealogical Register, 1923, Volume LXXVII, page
37-38; Descendants of William Polk, son William Polk, Nancy Knox, Polk (All
Lines) & Logan Plus Related Lines of Bill Polk, Family Tree Maker Home
Page, Bill Polk, Kansas City, Missouri; Census Records: Hot Spring County,
Arkansas 1830, 1840; Pike County, Arkansas 1850, 1860, 1870; Howard County,
Arkansas 1880; Marriage Records: Hot Spring County, Arkansas; Montgomery
County, Arkansas; Pike County, Arkansas, Sevier County, Arkansas, Howard
County, Arkansas; Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas,
1890, Pike County, page 326.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Husband's Pedigree Chart
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
_William Polk___________
_John Polk______________|
| |_Nancy Knox_____________
_Taylor Polk____________|
| b | _Evan Shelby____________
| m 01 Nov 1798 |_Eleanor Shelby_________|
| d 11 Dec 1824 |_Letitia Cox____________
|
|-Taylor Polk
| b 1804
| d 01 Jun 1885 ________________________
| ________________________|
| | |________________________
|_Jency Walker___________|
b | ________________________
d 03 Dec 1814 |________________________|
|________________________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wife's Pedigree Chart
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
________________________
_Henry Anderson_________|
| |________________________
_James Anderson_________|
| b | ________________________
| m |_Bettie Mitchell________|
| d |________________________
|
|-Prudence Anderson
| b 1805
| d ________________________
| ________________________|
| | |________________________
|_Fannie Griffin_________|
b | ________________________
d |________________________|
|________________________
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
By the time the Federal Census of 1850 was taken in Pike Co., Arkansas, 8
Nov. 1850, Taylor (Polk) had moved from Montgomery County to Pike County
... (a prior) event happened in March ... that may have been (in part) the
trigger for the departure of the family ... (It was) a time of unrest as
settlers in frontier states such as Arkansas continued to suffer (raids and
robberies) at the hands of roaming bands of outlaws ... the thieves often
escaped the pursuing possees by fleeing to the Indian Territory to the
west. All of present-day Oklahoma and much of Texas ... offered almost
endless hiding places for the outlaw bands. Tracking these criminals down
was a truly daunting task for the Federal marshals and continued to be so
for many decades. Frontier citizens sometimes became impatient with the
slow processes of the law and sometimes took matters into their own hands.
The citizens of Montgomery County apparently suffered at the hands of these
outlaws, and residents were outraged and frustrated by the snail's pace of
justice in the matter. The Arkansas Gazette printed several articles and
letters in April and May of 1850 concerning criminal activities that
occurred or were said to have occurred in Montgomery County in March of
1850. The following is taken, exactly as it appeared, in the Arkansas
Gazette, Friday, April 5, 1850, page 2, column 2:
It appears that a man named Pool, who had fled from Missouri to
escape trial on a charge of forgery, and for whom a reward of
one hundred dollars was offered, was discovered to be residing
in Montgomery County. Pool was arrested; and while being taken
back to Missouri, stated that he dreamed that he was shortly to
die, and that being fully impressed with a conviction of the
truth of his vision, he desired to make a confession which
concerned the safety, security, and peace of his captors and
their neighbors. He then went on so state that he was knowing to
the existence of a large band of negro stealers, counterfeiters
and horse-thieves, regularly organized, from Southern Missouri
down through Arkansas into Louisiana, and who extended their
depredations and criminal operations in every direction in the
three States whereever and whenever they could find an
opportunity. Pool gave a detailed account of the mode in which
the affairs of this gang were conducted -- that they were bound
together by a joint interest in a common fund arising from their
diabolical schemes, and by an oath to stickle at no acts or
assertions to protect each other from the rigors of the law in
case of suspicion or detection of any of their misdeeds. Several
persons in Arkansas, who hitherto have been considered by their
neighbors, as well as by all who knew them, as honest, and
orderly citizens, amongst whom were some of the inhabitants of
Montgomery county, were named by Pool as being a portion of the
managers and members of this gang.
The captors of Pool returned to their homes, and made public this
statement, whereupon a company of Regulators was organized for
the avowed purpose of giving all the suspected persons notice to
quit the county, and in case of regusal or neglect to leave, to
enforce obedience to their commands, if necessary, resorting to
violence.
On Monday the 13th ult., it being the day on which the Circuit
Court commenced its sittings at Mount Ida, the company of
Regulators assembled near the Tavern; and at noon, and as Taylor
Polk, one of the persons implicated by Pool, and Mr. Hughes were
passing into the house, some words passed between Hughes and some
of the Regulators, when shots were exchanged between some of the
company and Hughes and Polk, by which both the last named persons
were badly wounded. Hughes and Polk immediately went into the
Tavern. The former jumped out of a back window and made his
escape. After this, Polk came out and told the company that he
had lived in their county twenty-five years, and he defied any
one of them to say that he had done anything wrong, and, baring
his breast to them, he told them if they wished to take his
life, to 'shoot away.' Here some of the spectators interposed and
led him into the house, and no further demonstrations were made.
As his new home, Taylor chose an area (in Pike County) even more isolated
and unpopulated than (Montgomery County) ... along a tributary of the
Little Missouri River known then as Fallen Creek. The creek had two
branches which came together a few miles east of the new Polk homestead.
The lower branch of Fallen Creek was referred to as the "muddy fork" and
the township probably derived its name from this stream. The name Fallen
Creek or Falling Creek appears on maps as late as 1900, but after that it
is replaced by Muddy Fork.
The Montgomery County probate records show that Taylor Polk had been the
highest bidder on a sawmill and gristmill in Pike County in 1850, before he
left Montgomery County. With twelve slaves in 1850, eight of which were
over ten years of age and able to work the rich farmland along the Muddy
Fork, plus his other assets that he had transferred from Montgomery County,
along with the two mills, Taylor quickly established himself as the leader
in the township and one of the wealthiest farmers in the area. The tax
records of 1852 for Pike County reveal that he was paying tax on forty
acres of land valued at $500.00; his slaves were valued at $3,900.00; and
his livestock was valued at $1,231. He acquired 200 more acres of land in
1853. By 1855, he had 400 acres, and in 1856, 600 acres. By 1860, Taylor
had more than 800 acres of land in four different townships in Pike County.
He built a log house on land along what is now Highway 369 North, about
fifteen minutes from Nashville, Arkansas. The legal definition of the
plot's location is Section 29, Range 27 West.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes for Taylor Polk, Jr. Descendants of William Polk, son William Polk,
Nancy Knox, Polk (All Lines) & Logan Plus Related Lines of Bill Polk,
Family Tree Maker Home Page, Bill Polk, Kansas City, Missouri, edited.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pike County, Arkansas Census 1850
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule 1. Free inhabitants in Brewer Township in the County of Pike,
State of Arkansas enumerated by me, on the 8th day of November, 1850.
William H. Preston, Ass't Marshal.
132-132 D.M.K. Huddleston 33 m Farmer Tennessee
Ellen 27 f Arkansas
Dalana J. 11 f Arkansas
Prudence J. 4 f Arkansas
D.M.K. 5 mo m Arkansas
134-134 Taylor Polk 45 m Farmer Tennessee
Prudence 45 f Louisiana
Anderson 23 m Arkansas
Eliza 21 f Georgia
Henry T. 1 m Arkansas
Cumberland 20 m Farmer Arkansas
Henry C. 18 m Arkansas
Sylvester 16 m Arkansas
Taylor 11 m Arkansas
James 6 m Arkansas
Alford 4 m Arkansas
Delona 14 f Arkansas
Prudence A. 8 f Arkansas
George Epperson 23 m Farmer Georgia
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Federal Census, Pike County, Arkansas 1850, National Archives
Microfilm Publication: M-432, Roll 23.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Howard County, Arkansas Land Patents
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purchaser Name Sec No Twp Rng Acres Patent Date
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Polk, Taylor 29 7s 27w 40.00 1855 Mar 01
Polk, Taylor 29 7s 27w 40.00 1855 Mar 01
Polk, Taylor 29 7s 27w 40.00 1855 Mar 01
Polk, Taylor 29 7s 27w ----- 1860 Jul 02
Polk, Taylor 29 7s 27w 160.00 1860 Jul 02
Polk, Taylor 30 7s 27w ----- 1860 Jul 02
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Land Management, Arkansas Land Patents, Howard County.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pike County, Arkansas Census 1860
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule 1. Free inhabitants in Muddy Fork Township in the County of Pike,
State of Arkansas enumerated by me, on the 22nd day of June, 1860. W.J.
White, Ass't Marshal. Post Office: Murfreesboro
59-59 Rebecca Dickson 45 f North Carolina
H.C. Polk 27 m Farmer Arkansas
M.A. Polk 22 f Arkansas
H.D. Polk 4 m Arkansas
E.A. Polk 5 mo f Arkansas
J.F. Black 31 m Grocer South Carolina
B.R. Dickson 24 m Physician Arkansas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule 1. Free inhabitants in Muddy Fork Township in the County of Pike,
State of Arkansas enumerated by me, on the 20th day of July, 1860. W.J.
White, Ass't Marshal. Post Office: Wilton
267-267 Cumberland Polk 28 m Farmer Arkansas
Almeda Polk 25 f Tennessee
P.A. Polk 7 f Arkansas
Taylor Polk 5 m Arkansas
Caladona Polk 2 f Arkansas
L.B. Polk 6 mo m Arkansas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Schedule 1. Free inhabitants in Muddy Fork Township in the County of Pike,
State of Arkansas enumerated by me, on the 25th day of July, 1860. W.J.
White, Ass't Marshal. Post Office: Wilton
299-299 Sylvester Polk 24 m Farmer Arkansas
S.J. Polk 22 f Texas
S.W. Polk 3 m Arkansas
L.V. Polk 1 mo f Arkansas
300-300 Taylor Polk Jr. 20 m Farmer Arkansas
M.A. Polk 19 f Mississippi
L.V. Polk 7 m0 f Arkansas
301-301 Taylor Polk Sr. 56 m Farmer Tennessee
Prudy Polk 55 f Louisiana
P.A. Polk 17 f Arkansas
Alford 13 m Arkansas
Sylvester Polk 5 m Texas
302-302 Elen Huddleston 37 f Arkansas
Elisabeth Huddleston 13 f Arkansas
Daniel Huddleston 10 m Arkansas
Rachel Huddleston 7 f Arkansas
Thomas Huddleston 4 m Arkansas
E.E. Huddleston 2 f Arkansas
303-303 G.T. Epperson 35 m Farmer Georgia
S.D. Epperson 23 f Arkansas
M.A.S. Epperson 7 f Arkansas
H.P. Epperson 5 m Arkansas
E.J. Epperson 3 f Arkansas
T.T. Epperson 8 mo m Arkansas
J.C. Polk 24 m Arkansas
S.H. Burns 24 m Arkansas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Federal Census, Pike County, Arkansas 1860, National Archives,
Microfilm Publication: T-7, Roll 10.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pike County, Arkansas Census 1870
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 228, Muddy Fork Township, Post Office: Wilton
D-43 Columbus Polk 42 m w Farmer Arkansas
Almeda Polk 40 f w Mississippi
Ruda A. Polk 16 f w Arkansas
William T. Polk 14 m w Farm Laborer Arkansas
Cala D. Polk 12 f w Arkansas
Lawrance Polk 10 m w Arkansas
Henry Polk 8 m w Arkansas
Lucinda Polk 5 f w Arkansas
Sylvester Polk 3 m w Arkansas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 231, Muddy Fork Township, Post Office: Wilton
D-61 George T. Epperson 45 m w Farmer Georgia
Julia Epperson 42 f w Arkansas
Mary Ann Epperson 17 f w Arkansas
Payton Epperson 15 m w Farm Laborer Arkansas
Isabella Epperson 13 f w Arkansas
Taylor Epperson 11 m w Arkansas
Catharine Frances Epperson 13 f w Arkansas
Columbus Epperson 10 m w Arkansas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 231, Muddy Fork Township, Post Office: Wilton
D-82 Taylor Polk 64 m w Tennessee
Jane Polk 46 f w Arkansas
Liretta Polk 13 f b Arkansas
Sarah Ship 20 f b Farm Laborer Arkansas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 232, Thompson Township, Post Office: Murfreesboro
D-10 Henry C. Polk 35 m w Farmer Arkansas
Mary A. Polk 31 f w Arkansas
Henry D. Polk 14 m w Arkansas
Mary A. Polk 7 f w Arkansas
John F. Polk 4 m w Arkansas
Louisa L. Polk 1 f w Arkansas
Rebecca Dickson 55 f w Tennessee
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1870 United States Census, Pike County, Arkansas, Dorothy Kennedy Partain,
1986, page 62, 65, 68, 70.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Howard County, Arkansas Land Patents
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Purchaser Name Sec No Twp Rng Acres Patent Date
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Polk, Cumberland 20 7s 27w 160.00 1876 Apr 01
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bureau of Land Management, Arkansas Land Patents, Howard County.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
POLK TAYLOR Date Pg Cl
Cousin of President Polk dies in Howard County 06/06/85 02 01
Polk was 87 yrs old, had lived in Howard County 75 yrs 06/06/85 02 01
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arkansas Gazette Index 1885, page 158.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A Gazette correspondent mentions the death in Howard County of "Uncle"
Taylor Polk, a cousin of the late President Polk. He was 87 years old and
for 75 years had lived in that portion of Southwest Arkansas, of which he
was the oldest known resident.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Daily Texarkana Independent, June 9, 1885, Volume 1, Number 260.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
George T. Epperson, farmer and stock-raiser, Star of the West, Ark.
Thompson and Ailey (King) Epperson, the parents of our subject, were both
natives of Franklin County, Ga., and to their marriage, which occurred in
this State, were born eight children, George T. being the eldest in order
of birth. The parents left their native State, moved to Tennessee, and in
1847 to Arkansas, settling finally in Pike County, where they resided until
they received their final summons, the father dying in 1866 at the age of
sixty-three, and the mother in 1876 at an advanced age. The grandfathers on
both sides figured conspicuously in the Revolutionary War. George T.
Epperson was born in Habersham County, Ga., October 29, 1829, and was
principally reared in Tennessee, where he obtained a limited education, and
when twenty-four years of age he commenced working for himself as a farmer,
and this occupation he still continues to follow. At the present he is the
owner of 520 acres of land, and has about 180 acres under cultivation. He
is also the owner of considerable town property. He was married (in 1851)
to Miss Sarah D. Polk, who was born in Arkansas, and who is the daughter of
Taylor Polk, a very prominent man in his day. Five children were born to
this union: Henry P., Mary A. (deceased), Taylor T., Eliza J. and Union D.
(deceased). All the children now living are married and reside in Arkansas.
Mrs. Epperson died in 1865. During the late (Civil) war, or in 1863, Mr.
Epperson enlisted in the Federal army as captain in Company D, Fourth
Arkansas Regiment, and although in no general battles, he was in numerous
skirmishes. He is a Democrat in politics, and socially is a member of the
Masonic fraternity, which he joined at Murfreesboro in 1854, and he still
holds membership in Star of the West Lodge No. 210. He is ready and willing
to aid in all worthy enterprises for the good of the county.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Southern Arkansas, 1890, Pike
County, page 326.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update 11.23.00 David Kelley 2000 FGR-0150.HTM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------