Yalobusha Historical Society Minutes – Jan. 21, 2010
The Yalobusha Historical Society held its regular monthly meeting January 21 in its headquarters, the Presbyterian Church in Coffeeville. There were 36 members and guests present, representing four counties.
President Mike Worsham called on Chaplain John Moorman for the opening prayer. He welcomed everyone, especially the speaker and visitors. He then gave a report on the Board meeting held just prior to the regular meeting. As stated in minutes of the December meeting, the Society was given the Coffeeville Masonic Lodge building which sits next door, only a couple of feet from our building. The Board voted to proceed with plans to connect the two buildings with a ‘tunnel’ as Mike called it. A door will lead from one of the classrooms at the back of the building, to one in the side of the Lodge building. The opening will be enclosed, and a door installed that can be locked from both sides. The Board accepted the offer from Jimmy Weeks, of Weeks Vinyl Siding, to do the work at cost. Mike stated that about 2/3 of this cost has already been pledged toward this effort, some by anonymous donors, and that no funds from the Society checking account will be used. Mike said that the Society continues to receive some memorial donations, all of which are appreciated. He also reminded everyone that membership dues are payable now – $20.00 per calendar year. All correspondence can be sent to YHS, Box 258, Coffeeville, MS 38922. Current members are urged to recruit new members so that our incoming funds can stay ahead of the outgoing funds. (insurance, utilities, etc.)
Mike also spoke of the former YHS headquarters at the corner of Depot and Front St. Realtor Sherry Fisher is handling the sale of the building, and Mike stated that everyone should spread the word that the building is for sale, and if anyone is interested, direct them to Sherry Fisher in Water Valley.
January is election time, so Mike then called on the nominating committee to submit the slate of potential officers and Board members. (the Board is composed of the four officers and three elected members) The names submitted were: Mike Worsham for President, John Moorman for Vice-president, Pat Brooks for Treasurer, Betty Miller for Secretary, Joy Herron, Opal Wright and Dave Hovey. The latter two were to fill the seats of Tom Moorman and Harold Jones, who did not wish to remain on the Board. Mike asked for nominations from the floor, and since there were none, the nominations ceased and the vote was held. The vote was unanimous, and the afore-mentioned people will served as officers and board members for the year 2010. We will strive to honor the trust placed in us, and we sincerely hope that the Society will grow and prosper. Above all, we appreciate the support of a loyal membership, some 200 strong. Our plans are to set up various committees to help carry on the work of the Society, and we know that we have a lot of capable members who can fill this need.
Program Chairman Opal Wright announced that the February speaker will be Justin Wilkes, who is the Manager of the Fish Hatchery at Enid Lake. As always, the public is invited to all Society meetings.
The day’s speaker was Keith Spence, of Grenada. Keith is a cattle rancher and bulldozer operator, and an avid historian. He is active in the Gen. E. C. Walthall Camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and in the 15th Miss. Infantry Regiment re-enactors group. Keith was born and raised in Grenada County, the son of Dennis Spence (deceased) and Bessie Harris Spence Lancaster. He is a graduate of Grenada High School and of Miss. State University. He and his wife, the former Barbara Mays, of Nashville, have a daughter, Beth Ann, a Senior at Ole Miss, and a son, Denny, a Junior at Ole Miss.
Keith’s subject was “The Life of David Crockett.” Mike started his talk by showing a strange-looking gadget, which many of us could not identify. He said that it was a hunter’s horn that belonged to his late father, and they used it to call the dogs while they were out hunting. He said that David Crockett found other uses for it, which he would tell about it as the story progressed.
Keith said that he was a young boy when the popular Walt Disney movie came out about the life of “Davy” Crockett. He quoted the first verse of the song : “Born on a mountain top in Tennessee, the greenest state in the land of the free. Raised in the woods, so he knew every tree. Killed him a b’ar when he was only three – Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier.”
In real life, Crockett was always known as David. Keith saw the movie, and it “set my heart on fire.” He was one of the thousands of boys who just had to have a Davy Crockett coonskin cap. Keith said he wore out two Davy Crockett suits during that time. He outgrew the Davy Crockett fad, but never lost his love for the story. Then, as an adult, he began researching his family history and traced some of them to the mountains of NE Tennessee, the very area where David Crockett was born. Keith was overjoyed to learn that his ancestors had actually walked these hills and valleys at the same time as his boyhood hero, and sparked his interest in the Crockett story even more.
David Crockett was born on Aug. 17, 1786 on Limestone Creek in the mountains of Ea’s Tennessee. His father served in the NC Militia during the Revolutionary War, and was paid for his service with a land grant, as were many other service men. (the lands were in NC at the time, but were cut away to form present-day TN in 1792, I believe)
David inherited a strong work ethic from his father, and began his first ‘job’ when his father bound him out to a cattle drover headed for Virginia. David said he got all the way to the sailing ships at Baltimore, and was approached by a sea captain about joining his crew. He told him “Naw, I’m going back to TN.” But the man he was bound to didn’t want to release him. Some friendly travelers he had met helped him escape in a snowstorm, and let him travel with them back to TN. He left home several times on odd jobs, always giving his father his earnings. Upon returning from one of his trips, his father decided to keep him at home and send him to school. His education came to an abrupt end, however. Seems that the school bully set his sights on David. David was not one to be bullied, so he put an end to it by taking a stick to the boy, and as Keith said “beat the fire out of him.” David knew, though, that he would get a whipping himself when his father found out, so he left home again. He was gone several years, but some people he knew talked him into returning to TN with them, and he did. By this time, his father owned an inn, so David, now 16 years old and big for his age, returned and, he sat at the dining table with the family as would any other traveler. While they were eating, one of his sisters kept staring at him. Before the meal was finished, she exclaimed “Oh, my Lord, it’s my lost brother, returned from the dead.”
David’s father was determined that his son get an education, but he was heavily in debt, and needed him to work, to help pay his debts. He made a deal with a man to let David work part of the week, and go to school the other days. This didn’t last long, however, just a few months, and was the only formal education David had. He was very intelligent and was strong in character, and these traits served him well for the rest of his life.
David married Polly Finley in 1806. She died in 1816, shortly after the birth of their second child. Their business had failed, and David was financially strapped once again, but as luck would have it, he soon met and married a rich widow, Elizabeth Patton. They started another business, this one in Lawrenceburg, TN. David went into the whiskey-making business, one of the very first in the state. He also ran a grist mill, but adversity struck again – both businesses were destroyed in a flood.
Life took a turn for the better when Gen. John Coffee entered David’s life. (Gen. Coffee is Coffeeville’s namesake) Gen. Coffee served under Gen. Andrew Jackson who recruited the TN Volunteers. David was a Sergeant and, later, a Colonel, in the Volunteers, and made several scouting trips into AL and FL. He was acquainted with most of the Indian tribes, and that helped him in his efforts to settle the problems. Another problem facing Gen. Jackson was the attempted invasion of the country by the British, so he won a place in history by defeating the British in the Battle of New Orleans in 1814.
Following his military service, David entered into some disastrous business ventures. He built a stave mill, and after a while, loaded a keel boat with staves, headed for New Orleans. Early in the trip, the keel boat capsized, trapping David under deck. He managed to escape through a small window, emerging from the tight opening minus his pants!
David Crockett was known for his bear-hunting abilities. He is quoted as saying that bear meat was the best-tasting meat on earth. One winter, when his debts began piling up on him, he decided to spend a winter in the woods, killing bears for their skins. He hired a man to stay with him just to skin bears. The total for the season was 106 bears, the largest weighing over 600 pounds. He hunted with a flintlock gun, and it only held one round at a time. There were several instances when he had to finish off a bear with his bare hands. Keith said this hunting expedition was probably one of David’s success stories.
David was approached about running for a seat in the TN Legislature. This, Keith said, holding up the hunter’s horn mentioned earlier, was where this gadget came in. Other than for calling the dogs, it could be used for holding flintlock powder. David found another use for it – to hold whiskey. He kept it full when he hit the campaign trail, along with some chewing tobacco. When he spoke with a man, he left him with a drink of the whiskey, and a fresh plug of tobacco. He boasted that “I can whip my weight in wildcats and for ten dollars, you can throw in a panther.” Also, “Make sure you’re right, then go ahead.” David flourished in his political career. He, as the song says “went up to Washington and served a spell.” He was known as “the canebrake Congressmen” which would have been an insult to anyone but David. He never forgot his humble beginnings, and he was a champion of the ordinary citizen. His wandering ways, however, caused Elizabeth to leave him. He had long been a friend of Andrew Jackson, but fell out with Jackson over the treatment of the Indians. He forced them on a “Trail of Tears” to OK, and many perished before they got there.
The last time David ran for office, Jackson spent a lot of money campaigning against him, and he lost the election. When asked what he was going to do now, He replied “the rest of you can go to h___ but I’m going to Texas.” He became one of many who put a sign on the door of their empty cabin – GTT – (GONE TO TEXAS)
David answered Sam Houston’s call for volunteers to fight Mexico’s Santa Anna, and was one of the defenders of the Alamo in 1836. Every man was killed and their bodies burned in a funeral pyre. It is believed that David’s rifle “Betsey” and his fiddle survived. He had claimed over 4,000 acres of land in TX, and after his death, his estranged wife and children were given the land, and the children grew up there.
Keith has long admired David Crockett and men like him. They exemplify the true American pioneer spirit, and deserve a place in history alongside this great country’s other founding fathers.
Thanks, Keith, for another interesting and informative program. Your fascination with the Davy Crockett saga made for a wonderful program, and we appreciate your sharing it with us.
As always, a delightful social period followed in the dining hall after the meeting.
ATTENDING: Frances Stewart, Nell Cox, Dessie Caulfield, Dick and Jackie Weibley, Jimmie and Francine Pinnix, Thelma Roberts, Julia Fernandez, Sarah H. Williams, Keith Spence, Yola Spence Bailey, Joyce Williams, John Moorman, Joe Moorman, Tom and Alma Moorman, Carl and Mae Vick, Hugh Bill and Alice McGuire, Richard and Betty LaMantia, Dave Hovey, Jimmy D. Waddell, James Person, John Nelson, Sue Fly, Joy Herron, Opal Wright, Pat Brooks, Dot Criss, Mike Worsham, Betty Miller, Kay McCulley and Ray Cox.
Betty R. Miller
226-6975
