Alfred Minlus McNair
Alfred filed for a delayed birth certificate. It reveals his parents' names. What was of interest to me was that he gave his mother's name as Sarah Miranda Henderson. I have long said that her name was Sarah Merinda Henderson, but I have had a hard time substantiating that. Here is my proof.
Jimson weed is a plant. The leaves and seeds are used to make medicine.
Uses: Insufficient Evidence to Rate Effectiveness for...Asthma, Cough. Nerve diseases. Causing hallucinations and elevated mood (euphoria).
More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of jimson weed for these uses. A few other names for the plant: Angel Tulip, Datura, Devil's Apple, Devil's Trumpet, Jamestown Weed, Locoweed, Mad-apple, Nightshade
Despite serious safety concerns, jimson weed is used to treat asthma, cough, flu (influenza), swine flu, and nerve diseases.
Some people use it as a recreational drug to cause hallucinations and a heightened sense of well-being (euphoria).
Jimson weed contains chemicals such as atropine, hyoscyamine, and scopolamine. These chemicals interfere with one of the chemical messengers (acetylcholine) in the brain and nerves.
In the United States, the plant is commonly known as
"Jimsonweed" (or, more rarely, "Jamestown weed"). This name
derives from Jamestown, Virginia, where soldiers sent to suppress Bacon's
Rebellion in the English colony of Virginia reportedly consumed the plant and
spent eleven days in altered mental states:
We lost our baby brother on 20 May 2019. Oh, how my heart hurts for what could have been. We had recently been reunited with him and were looking so forward to him coming to join us on the mountain on May 28 when his son Isaac got out of school. (we had fallen out of his favor when we purchased the mountain property in 2008) It was going to be the start of what I had dreamed about! I loved Troy as the little brother that I never had. He was one of the two people that I always thought would be there for me. That wasn't in God's plans.
We had just gotten to the mountains on May 15, had settled in when a heavy snow began to fall. We had gone out to play in the snow when we got a call from his son Michael that Troy had been found deceased in his home, earlier that morning. Nightmares are created from this type of call. We were frantic to make arrangements to get off the mountain and head back home, and we were trying to support Michael long distance. The snow had begun to melt, but we only had a window of time to get out on the road. More snow was on the way. I think we were packed and ready to leave by 1 pm. Our journey out was a bit dicey, but we got off the mountain. What lay ahead of us was to be the heaviest snowfall that Colorado had seen that late in the year since 1898. Another nightmare. We altered our route and made it home safely, but there were days and weeks of mourning the loss of one of my soulmates. He guarded and protected me through many occasions, and I miss him just as much or more today as I did on the day we lost him.
I have had communication with Lee Bruce McNair’s great grandson, Lee Doyle McNair. He just celebrated his 94th birthday. Here is the information that I have gathered about Lee Bruce and his wife, Virginia Estelle Ratliff.
Lee Bruce McNair was born on 26 Aug 1840 in Bradley Co., Tennessee. He was the eleventh child of John and Mary Ann McNair.
1840 census
His father, John “Jack” McNair, had committed his life to
the military. When he finally married, John was 18 years older than his wife,
Mary Ann Sherertz. After the death of John, Mary Ann moved the family to Searcy
Co. Arkansas to be near her eldest son James Claiborn McNair. This move would
have been sometime around 1852.
Lee B. enlisted in the Confederate Army, Company G, 27th Regiment Arkansas Infantry on June 19, 1862. Lee remained with the 27th for the duration of the Civil War. After the War,
Lee B. roamed through Oklahoma and finally settled in the 'Forks of the River' area, 8 miles Northwest of Trenton, Grundy County, Missouri.
After marrying Virginia 'Jennie' Ratliff in April 1878, Lee B. seldom left his farm, dying there at the age of 93. He and his wife, Jennie, are buried in the Salem Church Cemetery in the 'Forks of the River'.
U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865. “L.B. McNair,” Film # M376, Roll 16; National Park Service, Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, online <http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/>, acquired 2007. [online database: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2007]
Webpage of family historian Lee Doyle McNair
https://mcnare.tribalpages.com/tribe/browse?userid=mcnare&view=0&pid=1135&ver=6346#moreinfo_
James Claiborne McNair – refused to
take oath of allegiance to the Confederacy, resigned his local offices and took
refuge in the mountains. See attached story
John William McNair – private in 2nd
regiment Cherokee Mounted Volunteers from Arkansas
David Howell McNair – private in 1st
Cherokee Mounted Volunteers; killed in action
Nicholas Neely McNair – died
fighting for the Confederacy in the Arkansas regiment 20 Sept 1863 at
Chickamauga Georgia
Lee Bruce McNair – served 4 years
in Confederate Army in many engagements
Josiah McNair – served in the
Confederate Army, was captured by the Federals and later joined the northern
forces
Among other documents found was a court case brought before the Honorable Kelly Featherston Justice of the Peace for Carroll County Arkansas. The case was titled “The State of Arkansas vs. Knowledge of & Identity with Secret Treasonable Society” with testimony by Peter Tyler and Isaiah Ezell. It detailed their knowledge of a secret society held together by certain oaths and signs and tokens and pass words. P.A. Tyler claims that he was a member of this society and could receive the punishment of death for revealing his knowledge of said group. He had been initiated 3 weeks prior, swearing that he was not from the north and that now he would be given home protection. He was given the oath by ? Long and D. Jamison. He was also given the signs, tokens and passwords. The first sign was placing the three fingers of the left hand angling across the nose. The answer was carelessly feeling under the chin with one of the hands. The next sign was to place one finger in the shirt collar with the left hand and the answer was to put the right hand on the left breast. The next was to raise the hat with one hand and place it back on the head. The answer was to turn the back to the person moving the hat. Once sign was to hang a piece of red ribbon, calico, or flannel on the front door
of the house. Another token was if they were separated and
in order to get together was to Hoot like an Owl, and the answer was to howl
like a wolf. Peter’s testimony included that once he was initiated, he rode his
horse around and initiated more men. He gave a list of men and he included the
name of James Claiborne McNair and Claiborne Manes.
P. A. Tyler was Sworn
and subscribed to before the J.P. on this 18th day of Decr. 1861
Signed Kelly Featherston J P
Arkansas Peace Society / Federal Raids on Burrowville Historical Marker
Now..what is interesting is that in Oct 2020, I learned of James Claiborne’s resistance to the civil war, which is mentioned in the last paragraph of the story. The rest of the story is as follows:
SOURCE: From: Arkansas Historical Quarterly (Spring, 1958) page 83
Arkansas Peace Society
In the mountain counties of North Arkansas in the fall of
1861, secret organizations were formed for self-protection and apparently to
resist Confederate authority. Total membership in the organizations was
estimated at 1700 and was concentrated in Searcy, Marion, Carroll, Izard,
Fulton, and Van Buren counties. In these counties and perhaps in several
others, the local units of the Arkansas Peace Society were quickly suppressed
by extra-legal citizens committees acting with the county militia units and with
justice of the peace courts. Many of the arrested members were forced into
Confederate service either by local citizens committees or by the state
military board at Little Rock. Some were tried for treason in Confederate
circuit and acquitted. Many of those forced into Confederate service deserted
and joined the Federal army. Only a part of the records relating to the Peace
Society survived, but they are sufficient to show the scope and nature of the
organization. Surviving documents contain the names of 240 members and
suspected members. Of these, 181 were located in the United States census
manuscript schedules, 1860. An analysis of that record revealed that of the
181, 115 were born in Tennessee, 13 in North Carolina, and 11 in Arkansas. The
leadership of the movement was also predominantly Southern-born. Six preachers
among the leaders seem to have been especially influential. The brotherhood was
indigenous, composed of mountaineers who had no intention of going to war on
either side and who wanted to be left alone. There could of course be no
neutrality, and the members were forced to take sides. (then there was a list
of names)
MEMBERS OF THE PEACE SOCIETY 1861
There was a complete listing of names. Among them was the
name James Claiborne McNair and Claiborne Manes.
Mack McNair's oldest brother was James Claiborne McNair 1822 - 1906. Much was recorded about his life. Here is what I found:
1894 Story of McNair Family
Reminiscent History Of The Ozark Region Published 1894 by
Goodspeed Publishers found on http://www.accessgenealogy.com/arkansas/reminiscent-history-of-the-ozark-region.htm
It was with this story that I had a reliable source for the McNair and Sherertz Families. It highlights the life of James Claiborne McNair, the oldest brother to my great-great grandfather, Mack Manilus McNair. Through the documentation of James Claiborne’s life story, my life story was revealed as well. Though I know there are some inaccuracies, this is a valuable link to my story.
The maternal grandfather, Coonrod Sherertz, was a German and was one of the early settlers of east Tennessee, where he followed the occupation of farming. He died in Knox County when James was a lad, leaving a large family. The children born to Col. Jack and Mary Ann McNair are as follows: Myra, wife of Alfred Davis, of Bradley County, Tennessee; James Claiborne; Martha M., who died in Searcy County, the wife of William Manes; John W., of Fulton County, was a Mexican soldier and a soldier of the Civil War; Price, who died in boyhood in Tennessee; Hepzebah is the wife of James Carter, of Missouri; Delilah is the widow of George Elam, and resides in Kansas; David H. was a Confederate soldier, and was killed during the war; Harriet died in Boone County, the wife of John Manes; Nicholas N. was a member of an Arkansas regiment of the C. S. A., and was killed in battle at Chickamauga; Lee Bruce served in the Confederate Army four years, and was in many engagements; Josiah, who died in Missouri soon after the war, was first in the Confederate Army, but was captured by the Federals and after-ward joined the Northern forces; Irena, who makes her home with her mother, has been blind for nearly a quarter of a century; and McMinnless resides in Searcy County, Arkansas.
James C. McNair spent his early days in tilling the soil, and received but little schooling. In November, 1847, he joined Company C, Fifth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry, and started for Mexico, going down the Tennessee River on a flat-boat. At Mussel Shoals the boats collided, and the men seeing their danger, jumped into the river for safety, the result being that one man was killed and one man drowned, and nothing more was ever seen of the boats. The men made their way on foot to below Florence, where they took passage on board a boat bound for Vera Cruz, which place they eventually reached. Mr. McNair was in but one engagement, and that was with guerrillas. At the end of about nine months he was discharged at Memphis, Tennessee, after which he returned home.
September 14, 1848, was married to Harriet, daughter of George and Malinda Manes, natives of Tennessee, from which State they came to Searcy County, Arkansas, in 1851, the father dying here about one year later, and the mother in 1864. They were Methodists in their religious views, and the father was a well-to-do tiller of the soil. Mrs. McNair was born in Rhea County, Tennessee, August 24, 1832, and has borne her husband fourteen children: Martha Delilah, wife of B. F. Henley; Polly Ann, wife of Napoleon Rainbolt; Price Marion McDonald died during the war at about the age of thirteen years; Thela is the wife of L. Q. Thomp-son, of California; William Asbury; Jack, who died in Missouri; Harriet Susan, wife of Clinton Pruitt; Sarah Hepzebah, deceased; James C. W., also dead; Ida Jane is the wife of Dr. William Rogers, of Texas; John F.; David Bruce; Clementine, who died in infancy; and one that died unnamed.
March 26, 1866, Mr. McNair came by wagon to Searcy County, Arkansas, the journey thither occupying two months. He located on the farm on which he now resides, at which time a few improvements had been made, and here he has made his home ever since, with the exception of two years during the war, which was spent in Greene County, Missouri. Mr. McNair is one of the leading farmers of Searcy County, and his estate embraces 240 acres of valuable farming land. He also feeds considerable stock each year, and throughout his section he is regarded as authority on agriculture. He was first a Whig in politics, later became a Republican, and has voted for every Republican candidate for president since the time of Henry Clay in 1844. He was a Union man during the war, but took no part in the struggle. He and his wife are members of the Methodist Church. Mr. and Mrs. McNair have fifty grand-children, all living except five; and eleven great-grandchildren living. Mr. McNair’s mother, Mary Ann McNair, died in May, 1894, being ninety-one years, three months and four days old.
Mr. McNair has been active in church work since he was twenty-six years old, and has held some office in his church for a good many years. He has been a school director, justice of the peace, and overseer of roads. When the war broke out, he was ordered to the county seat to take the oath of allegiance to the Confederate States. Instead of obeying the command he resigned his local offices and took refuge in the mountains. In 1864 he went to Missouri, and May 1, 1866, returned home, where he has since lived, and has earned the respect and admiration of all who know him.”
Explains when the family arrived in the area.
Abilene Reporter News 14-A Wed Feb 17, 1954
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Mack Manilus McNair was born on 10 April 1847 in Tennessee, probably Bradley County. He was the fourteenth child of John (Jack) McNair and Mary Ann “Polly” Sherertz. John always wanted to serve in the military, which became his focus. When he finally married at age 37, John was 18 years older than Mary Ann. This family is found in subdivision 26, Bradley, Tennessee in the 1850 census. Mack was the baby of the family. In 1850, there were 5 brothers and 4 sisters still living with their parents. Three children had already left home.
In 1851, John and Mary Ann moved the family. Some say this was to Union County, Illinois, but I later found Mack in Illinois County, Arkansas. So, I am unsure where exactly that John died on 28 July 1852.
[The "Knoxville Intelligencer" of 23 Jul 1822 says, "Married on Friday the 12th inst., by Robert Houston, Esq., Col. John McNair and Miss Polly Sheritze." After marriage John and Mary Ann moved from Knox County to the Cherokee Nation (now Bradley Co.). In 1851 they moved to Union County, IL (South end of the state).]
However, I found my Mack McNair in the 1860 census as a 13-year-old son, living with his mother, Mary Ann, age 57, and 3 other siblings. They were living in the Tomahawk section in Searcy County, Arkansas. In 1870, Mack moved to the south of his family home and was working for a wealthy young man, William G Hall. Included in the household was a young child, another laborer (a black man) and a domestic servant (a black female). This appears to be a wealthy district. Mack’s mother, Mary Ann and daughter Hannah Irena, were still living in Tomahawk, Searcy Co., AR, just a few doors down from her son James Claiborn McNair. In 1880, Mary Ann and her blind daughter, Irena, were still living in Saint Joe, Searcy County, Arkansas.
Mack married Sarah Henderson on 1 Oct 1873, and by 1880, they had also settled in Saint Joe. He was a laborer and had been unemployed for 3 months. His brother James and wife Harriet (Manes) lived next door. James was farming so Mack may have been working for James. My Charles Franklin was 3 years old. Mother Mary Ann and daughter Irena are living only a short distance away. Next door to them is a family of Hendersons. Eventually, brother James and his wife Harriet moved to Pleasant Hill, Missouri, and mother Mary Ann went with them where she passed away on 9 May 1894.
[After John’s death, Mack’s mother, Mary Ann, moved to Pleasant Hill, Missouri, to live with son James Claiborn McNair. This information was recorded in Reminiscent History Of The Ozark Region Published 1894 by Goodspeed Publishers found on http://www.accessgenealogy.com/arkansas/reminiscent-history-of-the-ozark-region.htm ]
Mack and Sarah eventually owned a 165-acre farm Searcy Co, Arkansas, at the side of Boston Mountain, part of the Ozark mountain range. He cultivated 70 acres of this farm. Mack and Sarah had 12 children.
Sometime between 1895 and 1898, Mack and Sarah moved to Eddy, McLennan Co, Texas (near Waco) where their last child, Eula Franes was born. In 1900, they were living in Blevins, Falls Co., Texas. They now had a large family, including my great grandfather, Charles Franklin McNair, age 22.
They eventually moved to Jones County, Texas, where they lived in the country near Bunker Hill School about 3 miles from Leuders. Mack received his mail at Avoca, Rt. 3. He owned a 160-acre farm which offered poor living conditions. Years later around 1960, this family farm and mineral rights were sold and now Jones County yields many oil fields.
Mack had a colorful personality. He was bald headed and had a beard. He often claimed that he walked on his head to keep the devil from tracking him and that was the reason why he was bald. He enjoyed visits from the grandchildren so much that if he awoke before the children, he would drip cold water on their faces.
Mack and Sarah lived in the
Lueders community for the rest of their lives and were buried in Bethel
Cemetery near Avoca, Texas. Mack died 15 May 1933. Mother and I visited their gravesite in 1995.
Their daughter Lee Ollie was buried next to them.
Family Group Sheet for Mack Manilus McNair
Mack Manilus McNair
b.
10 Apr 1847 in probably Bradley County, Tennessee
d. 15 May 1933 in Lueders, Jones, Texas
Burial: 16 May 1933 in Funston, Jones County, Texas.
Mack and Sarah are buried in
Bethel Cemetery. Mother and I visited there in 1995. Lee Ollie was buried with
them.
Father: John (Jack) McNair
Mother: Mary Ann Polly
Sherertz
Spouse: Sarah Merinda
Henderson
Marriage: 1 Oct 1873
Sarah Henderson
b. 10 Jun 1853 in McMinnville, Warren County,
Tennessee
d. 6 Sep 1922 in Nugent, Jones County, Texas
Burial: Funston, Jones County, Texas
Father:
James T. ?? Henderson
Mother: Susan Sewell
Children:
1)
Martha Jane
McNair
b. 22 Nov 1874 Searcy County,
Arkansas
d.13 Dec 1875 in Searcy County,
Arkansas
Martha died in infancy of bowel trouble.
2)
John Boyd McNair
Birth: 28 Feb 1876 in Saint Joe,
Searcy County, Arkansas
Death: 01 Sep 1961 in Corpus Christi,
Nueces County, Texas
Burial:
Robstown, Nueces County, Texas
Spouse: Dora Franklin Jackson
Marriage:
26 Jun 1901 in McLennan, Texas
3)
Charles Franklin
McNair
Birth: 05 Feb 1878 in Saint Jo
Arkansas
Marriage: 07 Jun 1903 in Moody,
McLennan County, Texas
Bethel Baptist Chapel
Death: 09 Dec 1968 in Vernon,
Wilbarger, Texas
Burial:10 Dec 1968 in Vernon,
Wilbarger Memorial Park.
Spouse: Ella Vermell King
4)
Thomas William
McNair
Birth: 18 Mar 1880 in Searcy County,
Arkansas
Marriage: 22 Oct 1905 in McLennan,
Texas
Death: 06 Oct 1945 in McLennan
County, Texas
Spouse: Kate Ellen Fitzpatrick
5)
Mary Elizabeth
McNair
Birth: 28 Jan 1882 in Searcy County,
Arkansas
Marriage: 30 Jan 1902
Death: 07 Dec 1945 in Leuders, Texas
(rural)
Burial: Lueders, Jones County,
Spouse:
George Barnes Gray
6)
Susan Artamiss
McNair
Birth: 10 Jan 1884 in Searcy County,
Arkansas
Marriage:06 Oct 1901
Death:22 Sep 1978 in Belton, Bell,
Texas
Burial: Troy, Bell County, Texas
Spouse: Charles Erastus Johnson
7)
Alfred Minlus
McNair
Birth: 12 Apr 1886 in Searcy County,
Arkansas
Marriage :06 Nov 1915
Death: 22 Feb 1965 in El Paso, Texas
Burial: Funston, Jones County, Texas
Spouse: Della Brown
8)
Lessie Trena
McNair
Birth:01 Aug 1888 in Searcy, Arkansas
Marriage:06 Jul 1907 in McLennan,
Texas
Death:16 May 1977 in Hamlin, Jones,
Texas; Age: 88
Burial:18 May 1977 in Hamlin, Jones
County, Texas
Resided for a while in Holiday Lodge
Nursing Home. Buried in Hamlin memorial Gardens.
Spouse: Ervin H Huff
9)
Lee Ollie McNair
Birth:06 Jul 1893 in Searcy County,
Arkansas
Death:17 Aug 1934 in Texas
10) Thelma Iowa McNair
Birth:25 Feb 1895 in Arkansas
Marriage:26 Oct 1917 in Shackelford,
Texas
Death:07 Jul 1979 in Stamford, Jones,
Texas, USA; Age at Death: 84
Burial:09 Jul 1979 in Funston, Jones
County, Texas
Buried in Bethel Cemetery.
Informant on death certificate was
I.W.McNair, a nephew.
Spouse: Thomas Newel Graham
11) Sarah Alice McNair
Birth:08 Jan 1896
Death:06 Jun 1969
12) Eula Frances McNair
Birth:22 Sep 1898 in Eddy, McLennan,
Texas
Death:17 Feb 1954 in Stamford, Jones, Texas
Eula never married and was living with her sister Thelma, at the end of her life.
She died from uterine cancer buried on 18 Feb 1954 in Bethel Cemetery.
Burial: Funston, Jones County, Texas
https://clipground.com/4-leaf-clover-bunch-clipart.html
Our McNair Family History
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