Autobiography Of Joseph Garland

The Autobiography of Joseph D. Garland (1843–1918)

My Grandmother was a Primitive Baptist and raised in a large family of sons and daughters. Her fourth son, Rev. Thomas Lowrey Garland, my Father, was born on the 20th day of April, 1807, in Henry County, Virginia. When a small boy he moved with his parents to Giles County, Tennessee, where he lived on the farm, worked with the negroes and went to school during the winter and summer. He advanced rapidly in his studies and acquired a good English education. He was a wild, wicked boy up to his 18th year [1825] when he attended a Methodist Camp Meeting where he was powerfully convicted of sin. After struggling for some days, the Good Lord set him free, he immediately realized that the Master had work for him to do and he straightaway began to exhort all of his companions to be religious. At the first call he joined the Methodist Episcopal Church South and was licensed to exhort, and soon after was licensed to preach, and he joined the Tennessee Conference. About this time he moved with his mother’s family to Madison County, Tennessee where he, about the year 1827, married my mother. My grandfather on my mother’s side was the Rev. Isham Green Hearn. He, I think, was of Scotch descent, a native of North Carolina. He, with a large connection—all Methodist—moved to Wilson County, Tennessee. He was a saddler by trade. He was licensed to exhort soon after joining the Methodist Church and afterwards licensed to preach. While living in Wilson County he and Grandmother married. She was Amy Jane Harris. The Harris family was a strong and reputable family of people who gave the State of Tennessee many great and good men and women. I think they were from North Carolina. After marriage, Grandfather Hearn moved with his family to McNary County in West Tennessee, where he settled on a farm. They had eleven children, eight girls and three boys, all of whom lived to be grown and married. One of the eight daughters, named Sophrenia Richmond Harris [sic] was my mother. She was a beautiful woman with black hair and fair skin, blue eyes and a pretty figure. She had a good mind, was very will informed—of course she was religious—very concerned to train up her children in the right way. Oh, Mother, lovely Mother, the dear friend and guardian of my youth! I shall soon meet thee again and Father too, with the innumerable company of the redeemer and all who died in the Faith! Grandma Hearn died at about 60 years of age. Grandpa Hearn lived to be near 80. They were good people. My mother died in the year 1857 when I was 14 years of age. I remember well, she died shouting and praising the Lord, and telling us all to meet her in Heaven. The last words she said to me were “Joe D. be a good boy and take care of Little Sallie.” Her remains lie at rest in the old Hearn Graveyard. After Mother’s decease Pa soon broke up house keeping. Pa could not bear to live there with his three youngest children and the negroes, so he put us at school for about two years. Part of this time I went to school at Ballard Academy near the old homestead. The balance of the time, at the Town of Savannah in Hardin County [Tennessee] where my two sisters lived. My mother and father had eight children, all lived to be grown and all of them at one time belonged to the Methodist Church. God help me to hope that they were all saved. The oldest of us children was Martha A. E. Garland, who married John L. Walsh. The second was Dr. John C. Garland. He died in Woodruff County, Arkansas.

The third was William Wirt Garland, a merchant at Morrilton, Arkansas. The fourth was Isham Green Garland, a merchant. He died at Augusta, Arkansas. The fifth was Thomas L. (Lowrey) Garland, a merchant. He died in Texas. The sixth was Robert R. Garland, a farmer of Emmett, Arkansas. The seventh was Joseph D. Garland, a farmer and the writer of this sketch. The eighth was Sallie H. Garland, who married Palris [?] A. Steel. She has been long dead. In the year 1860 my father sold his farm in Tennessee and moved in wagons with Brother Robert, I and the negroes, to White County, Arkansas, where he bought a farm which is now on the Mountain Railroad near the town of Bradford, Arkansas. Brother Wirt lived nearby, so he and Sister Mollie (his wife) lived with Pa, Bob and I, and we all worked together and with the negroes made a fair crop. This was 1861. Pa had left Sister Sallie with Sister Martha at Savannah, Tennessee, as she was not grown. Brother John lived 30 miles from us in White County, and Brother [Isham] Green lived 10 miles. Dr. John [Garland] came to live with us that year and practiced medicine. We were all single except Sister Mott [Martha] and Brother Wirt. So this brings us to the opening of the Civil War. During the year of 1861 there was great excitement. Brother Green and Brother Bob enlisted in the Calvary and crossed into Kentucky. I remained at home until January 1862 [age 19] when I enlisted in Capt. Will Hicks Cavalry Company. So, in a few months all of us brothers were in the Confederate Army. All of us that were not disabled served until the close of the War. After one year’s service in the Calvary I joined the infantry, was a Regimental Color Bearer, or Ensignia, with the rank and pay of a First Lieutenant. I participated in four regular battles after I joined the Infantry, those of Prairie Grove, Helena, Pleasant Hill and Jenkins Ferry. My Regiment, the 36th Arkansas, was at Marshall, Texas when Lee surrendered. I went from there to Camden, Arkansas, where on the 4th of July 1865 I was paroled. From there I traveled on steamboat down the Washita [Ouachita] River to the City of Memphis. From there, back and up the White River to where our home was. I arrived at our old home in White County, Arkansas in August 1865, found Pa there with the negroes—who had been set free and were working for themselves. I also found out that Pa’s trouble with his children and loss of his property had forever destroyed his prospect for happiness. So I remained on the farm for the balance of the year. In the meantime, Pa made his last trip to Tennessee while alive. On this return, I left the farm. There is where I made one mistake, but I located in the town of Grand Glaze in Jackson County and commence to work at the shoe and bootmakers and to sell whiskey. Oh, how horrible to think of a young man of my training in such as business as that! In the month of August of 1866, I was married to Zeritha Ann Parrish, a native of Tipton County, Tennessee. She was an orphan and lived with her half sister, Mrs. Francis Lamb. They came of good parentage but of their antecedents I know but little. I selected her from the many young women that I was acquainted with, as a partner and helpmate for life, and Time has demonstrated the wisdom of my choice. She was of medium height, black hair and eyes and rather dark skin, very industrious and pretty high tempered. We were married at the town of Grand Glaize by the Rev. John Cook, a Methodist preacher.

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We were poor but happy, so we set up housekeeping and I soon learned that it cost less to keep both of us up than it formerly did to pay my expenses. Thus we live well, had plenty of good friends and had a good time generally. In the year 1868, Pa engaged us to go out and live with him, so we moved to the old home place to commence farming. On the 21st day of March 1868, our first child was born. We named him Enos Lowery. He was a fine boy and was the light of our eyes, the beginning of our strength. Enos was baptized by the Rev. C. S. Floyd. I worked Pa’s land. He gave me all I made and I did well with my crop. In July of this year Pa was stricken down with what proved to be his last sickness, from which he suffered greatly until the 20th September 1868, when the Lord mercifully relieved him and took him Home to be with Mother. Sister Martha, Brother Wirt and myself were the children present when he died—Brother Green was also present. Pa died with full faith and confidence in the Master and exhorted us to all make preparation to meet him in Heaven. He was buried by friends near the house, temporarily. When winter came on, Brother Wirt carried his remains back to Old Tennessee, where he was buried near his mother in the old Mt. Pisgah Churchyard where many of my kin people are buried. Pa willed me some money and 40 acres of land in the woods. I settled on a vacant 40 acres of land adjoining, built a very good little home and could have done well, but about this time we began to be sick and in the summer of 1871 our dear little Enos died suddenly. He was buried in the old Center Graveyard near the town of Russell on the Railroad. A stone monument covers his grave that can be easily identified. So we began to drink deep of the cup of sorrow, but I think under God it was the means of bringing us both to repentance for we were not religious. (I see that I have left out a chapter that I must insert.) I was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church South at 10 years of age at Old Buckett’s Camp Ground in West Tennessee. In that I am not mistaken, and I lived a pretty clean Christian life, doing the part assigned to me in the Church and Sunday School up to the time the War ended. At that time I became reckless, everything was confusion, and I failed to attend church and commenced a bad life. I drank some and kept bad company. There seemed none good, not one. But, strange to say in this backslidden condition I still had faith in the Son of God as the only Savior of lost men. While I knew that if I died in that condition I would be lost, yet I expected to do better sometime and be saved. I tried to be honest and act a gentleman. I was elected Justice of the Peace in our town, helped to settle the negro element and to keep down trouble. I refused to join the notorious Ku-Klux-Klan and hated the Union League. I did not study much. I was just free from the Army and must have a good time. I was clerking for Brother Green at that time, made over $50.00 per month and paid $20.00 for board. Money was plentiful but just such high prices! Flour was worth $16.00 per barrel, other things in proportion. At a meeting, held at old Pleasant Cove Church, by Brother Brady, my wife was converted and we both joined the Methodist Episcopal Church South and commenced to work for the Lord, Bless his Holy Name forever. On the 29th day of November 1871, our second child was born. She was a fine looking child. We named her Bonnie Earl. She was baptized by Bishop Wightman. This was near Bradford, White County [Arkansas]. In January 1872 we moved to Woodruff County where I farmed Brother John’s land. A dry year, but I mad a very good crop, moved back to White County in the Fall, rented a place near Bradford, worked at carpentering and building stone chimneys. There we made a good crop and had a good time going to Meeting and Sunday School.

On the 25th day of March 1873, our third child was born, Javian Crowley. This was at the O’Neal place in White County. He was baptized by Brother Brody. The next year, we live on the old Nunn place near by. I made no crop but worked at my trades. During the winter we moved back to Woodruff County, lived at Brother John’s farm, made a splendid crop. In the summer a had a bad spell of sickness and have never seen a well day since. This was in 1875 [age 32]. After gathering my crop in the Fall we boarded the train at Bradford, White County, got off at Hope, Hempstead County, where Brother Robert met us with wagons and carried us 21 miles to his home in Columbia County. I bought a place from him which is 4 miles North of the town of Buckner, in the old Knighton Settlement. This begins the year 1876. I commenced farming, made a good living, had plenty of friends, was Steward of our church, lived religiously. On the 28th of October 1877, our fourth child was born. A pretty babe, we named her Bertha Hearn. We were living on the Warren place, near Jim Knightons. We lived on that place 6 years. I was twice elected Justice of the Peace. The year of 1881 was awfully dry, so in the Fall we sold out and started North for the mountains, stopped one year in Sevier [?] County, made a good crop, had a heap of sickness, lost two good horses and left there in the Fall broke. We arrived at Dallas, Polk County about Christmas. In January 1883 we moved out and bought the claim to the place we now occupy, gave for same $1.50. This was the best move I ever made. This place is near Acom, Arkansas. We have been on this place 20 years, have made a good living but it has been in great measure due to my wife’s industry and frugality, for she has worked hard and we have been saving, but we always had good friends. I have tried to act honest and live and work and love and fear my Lord. I have kept up family worship and have done the best for my children that I was able. I served the people of this County one term as County and Probate Judge, and my Township as Justice of the Peace. That makes 11 years I have served as Judge or Justice, besides many other honorable positions to which I have been called. I am not satisfied with my life work. I have made many blunders but I feel that God as forgotten them, although I never can. I have fought a hard fight against the “Flesh and the Devil” but I am on the Lord’s side now. I have been sick for 5 years, have suffered greatly, but the good Lord has taken good care of me and my family and my prayer now is that the good Father will still support and comfort me while in this vale of tears and save my wife and all of our children and grandchildren, and that we may all meet in Heaven where we will form an unbroken family. I want each of our three children to have a copy of these memories, that they keep them during their life so their children may know something of their origin, and may God bless and save everyone of us is my prayer. Amen. —Joseph D. Garland This was written in the year 1900. Joseph D. Garland was born April 21, 1843 and died in January 1918. Zeritha Ann Garland was born January 1, 1843 and died in January 1927.

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