My Biggest Brick Walls (Part Two)

I have made a lot of great connections with cousins and other researchers over the years when they start searching online for my families and find my blog, Find A Grave information, or other places where I can be linked to my forebears so as to be available to exchange information. I have felt for a while that if I don't put "out there" (on the internet) more of my family information that I could miss some of these connections in the future. In particular, I worry that I'll miss the chance to break down a brick wall if no one knows I am trying to knock it down.

So I've decided to list my 10 biggest brick walls (in two parts), both what I know and what I hope to know, in hopes that in the future someone else with information that could help will be Google-searching (or whatever future search engine we're using) for my family and find my blog and reach out to me. So here they are, the conundrums in my family I have been unable to overcome (in no particular order of difficulty or importance):

6. THE WALLER BRICK WALL

My Waller family is full of headaches. From missing Census records to disappearing aunts and uncles, my problems with piecing together my Waller family are numerous. My closest Waller ancestor is my grandfather's grandmother, Leona Aden Waller. She married John Lafayette Vaughan. Her sister Mary Waller also married John's brother Thomas Kirk Vaughan. They lived in adjacent counties in eastern Oklahoma pre-statehood.

A third sister, Fannie, eventually also came to Eastern Oklahoma, where after she died, her children were taken in by John Vaughan for a time, even though by that time Leona had died. So he took the kids in despite no biological connection to them other than them being 1st cousins of his children, and I always thought that said a lot about what type of person her was. Anyway, Leona also had two brothers, John R. and Benjamin, whom we have no idea what became of them. Another sister, Matilda, died in 1880 per the 1880 Federal Census Mortality Schedules Index. The father of these children was James Henry Waller.

James is also frustrating for me. The family rumor for years was that he was buried at Muddy Water Cemetery in Hanna, an old Indian burial ground. But having scoured the graveyard top to bottom, I found no evidence of him or any of the Wallers being buried there. If he died in the area--not a given as there is no proof of him coming to Oklahoma--he is more likely to have been buried at Choate Prairie or possibly the Turner-McElhaney (formerly Thurman) Cemetery, Indianola Cemetery, or the Hanna Cemetery. Unfortunately, James is an enigma for me and he is "half" of this Waller brick wall.

James last appears in a Census in 1880 in Leake County, MS. He then pays taxes in Grant County, Arkansas in 1881 and has appeared in other Arkansas tax and land records after that time, primarily in Grant County. James's wife, Mary Ann Frances "Frank" Mooney, presumably accompanied him and the children to Arkansas, though there is no direct evidence of that. Her eldest brother William Jasper Mooney also migrated from Leake County, MS to Grant County, AR.

It is not known when James or Frank died. It appears that Frank likely died first and is buried at the Jacobs Cemetery in Grant County where her brother William is buried. There are numerous graves there marked only by fieldstones. Land records indicate James was still living in 1904 when he sold his land in Grant County, and what's more that record indicates he had remarried to a woman named Julia. There is a 14 Jan 1903 marriage record in Jefferson County, Arkansas of a J___ Waller to a Julia Lemons, and the Waller groom fits James's age, but it is by no means definitive that this is our James.

If after selling his land in Grant County, James moved to where Leona and Mary were living (and later Fannie moved) to the area around northern Pittsburg County and southern McIntosh County, then as I stated earlier, he would most likely be buried at Choate Prairie, though the other listed cemeteries remain feasible options--but again, only IF he moved to Oklahoma. We have no proof either way, which makes James one of my most frustrating brick walls as he and Frank are 2 of only 6/32 third great grandparents I don't have documented dates of death for and are 2 of 10/32 third great grandparents I don't have documented burial locations for.

Another frustrating brick wall for James concerns the Civil War. In 1860, James is in Neshoba County, MS, and a few months after Mississippi's secession from the United States, he marries Frank in Leake County in Aug, 1861. Mississippi was one of the few Confederate states in which military service for the Civil War was compulsory. Given that James was 19-20 years old by 1861 and married, he certainly fell in the target demographic for Civil War service. Unless there are some unknown extraordinary circumstances we are unaware of (even my over-40 ancestor Elisha R. Sain was obligated to serve because he resided in Mississippi at the time), then James Henry Waller certainly served in the Civil War in some capacity. But to this day I have failed to find any record of his service much to my chagrin because that is one of my primary areas of research. I know he must have served somewhere at some point, but I have never been able to find record of it which has been extremely frustrating.

But the lack of information on James and Frank Mooney Waller's deaths and burials plus James's Civil War service information are only half of this brick wall. The other half is James's Waller origins.

We know James's parents were Benjamin Waller and Celia Crimean/Carmine/Carmean who married in Hancock County, Georgia in 1820. James is in the widowed Benjamin's household in 1860 in Neshoba County which is adjacent to Leake County where James married in 1861. In 1850, James is enumerated as Henry Waller in Benjamin's household in Hancock County, Georgia where his wife Celia and his apparent mother Elizabeth also resided; both appear to have pre-deceased the 1860 Census.

Elizabeth's maiden name is not known. She was born about 1770 in Maryland per the 1850 Census. She can be found in the Census for Hancock County from 1820-1840 in her own household; the 1820 Census shows her to be the mother of a 10-15 year old male, a 16-25 year old male (presumably Benjamin), and a 10-15 year old female. Based on the ages of these children, I have presumed she was widowed between 1800-1810, and most likely between 1805-1810, though without knowing the names and actual ages of the other two children this is only an educated guess.

The 1805 Land Lottery for Georgia included a drawing entry from the orphans of Benjamin Waller, residents of Hancock County. I can't say definitively that this my family because orphans were only supposed to receive an entry if both of their parents were deceased, and clearly my Benjamin's mother Elizabeth was still living UNLESS she is not his mother but rather a step-mother or even an aunt. Unfortunately, I have no documentation that can align my Benjamin to the elder Benjamin Waller or any of the other numerous Benjamin Wallers in Hancock County, nor can I establish Elizabeth's relationship to the other Wallers of Hancock County. Ultimately, most if not all of these Wallers came from the same family in Maryland, but I have at least a couple of generations to fill in after Benjamin in order to connect with the larger Waller family. I'm hopeful that one day evidence of our connection to the larger Waller family will come to light.

7. THE ELIZABETH MARTIN BRICK WALL

I have documented the maiden names and parentage of all my 4th great grandparents with two exceptions: the mother of my 3rd great grandfather, Stephen Clinton Vaughan, whose mother may have been named Mary and who I discussed in my first "Brick Wall" post, and Elizabeth, mother of my 3rd great grandfather Thomas D. Martin.

According to the 1850 Census, Elizabeth was born about 1787 in North Carolina. Then in 1860, that changed to about 1793 in Tennessee. In both years, she was residing in Overton County, Tennessee as the widow of Menan M. Martin, also called Menan Mills Martin and M. M. Martin. Her origins are not known. Many (and by many, I mean DOZENS) of family trees on Ancestry and elsewhere give her maiden name as Brown, but not a single one offers a shred of evidence for that assertion. As far as maiden names go, Brown falls into the same category of Smith, Johnson, and Williams--that is to say "good luck finding any proof!" Even her married name being Martin complicates the issue because Martin is also an extremely common surname.

So what can I possibly do to figure this out? Well fortunately, her only being my 4th great grandmother and not my 8th, there's still a very good chance I have inherited some of her DNA, and a 100% chance that my grandmother, her brother, and their first cousin--being 2nd great grandchildren of Elizabeth--inherited as much as 6.25% of their DNA from this woman, greatly increasing the chances of finding a DNA match to her family. But in order to even to start attempting to sift through tens of thousands of DNA matches looking for connections to Elizabeth's family I need a surname to search, right? And the name Brown is not going to help me.

Some earlier Martin genealogies give her maiden name as China. That is a more unique surname and I do think it may tie in to the final answer, but like with Brown, there is no real evidence or documentation to support this "Elizabeth China" name any more than there is to support "Elizabeth Brown".

Fortunately, I have pieced together a pretty decent hypothesis. It is by no means proven as of yet, but I do think I will eventually find enough genetic evidence to strongly bolster the theory, and hopefully I will eventually uncover some sort of hard documentation.

I think it's best to start with the name "China". When looking for documentation on Menan M. and Elizabeth Martin, I found a couple of curious connections to a very similar name: Chaney. The Revolutionary War pension of John Chaney mentions three witnesses to the documentation of his honorable discharge from military service. Two of the witnesses were dead: his brother, Francis, and his sister, Margaret, who married an Allred (the same Allred family to which Barack Obama's wife belongs, incidentally). The third was still living: a Menan Martin of Overton County, TN. Interesting that his first two witnesses were his siblings. That indicates to me that Menan was also possibly a relative to him. (Side note, per Allred family expert Dawnell Griffin, the Allred who was married to Margaret Chaney was Theophilus Allred, son of Solomon.)

This brother of John he names as a witness, Francis Chaney Jr., had a son of his own, Francis Chaney (technically the III, but he often went by Jr. and his father, Sr., even though the father of Francis "Sr." and the aforementioned John Chaney was also named Francis). This son named one of his sons...Menan Martin Chaney.

Coincidence? Perhaps. But I believe Menan Martin was the husband of John Chaney's niece, and that Francis "Sr." of Overton County was actually the father of Elizabeth, wife of Menan Martin. "Chaney" and "China" are a little too close for it to be a coincidence. Combine that with John Chaney's pension and Francis's grandson being named Menan Martin Chaney, and I think this is a solid foundation for the theory that Elizabeth is Elizabeth Chaney rather than Brown or China.

I have found a few solid DNA matches that potentially lend credence to a connection to the Chaney family, but nothing concrete yet. So until DNA or documentation firmly proves a connection, this remains a brick wall for me. But of all the brick walls in my top 10, this may be the first one that eventually crumbles apart.


8. THE EPPS BRICK WALL

I descend from Francis Dewitt "F. D." Epps, a native of Lincoln County, Tennessee. His wife, Sarah Frances Moon, divorced and deserted him in the late 1880s after his poor treatment of her; most of her family wound up in eastern Oklahoma. Even my ancestress, his eldest daughter, who from her earliest records appears to have been named Frances Elizabeth Epps, appears to have distanced herself from her father by late in life going by the name Sarah Elizabeth. Most accounts now refer to her as Sarah Frances Elizabeth Epps although there is no proof beyond her headstone that she ever formally changed her name.

The story went that after F. D. was left in Tennessee, he later came to Oklahoma in an attempt to reconcile with his family but was rejected. No one knew what became of him other than the oral history was that he died in Missouri. Well in the last couple years, the "brick wall" of figuring out what became of F. D. Epps came crumbling down when an obituary and Find A Grave memorial for him were discovered in Ripley County, Missouri. This led to my acquiring an extensive number of probate records for F. D. and other relatives there and finally gave us the answers of what became of abusive old cuss.

The main brick wall in the Epps family, however, still stands strong. We know Francis's parents were Franklin and Elizabeth Epps. But we know nothing of either of his parents' origins. We do not know the Epps line from which Franklin originated, nor do we know Elizabeth's maiden name or family. I have hoped DNA would answer some of these questions; the last two known remaining great grandchildren of F. D. Epps, namely Ralph Johnson and Clyde Auston, have had their autosomal DNA tested, but we have yet to come up with any solid leads. There are some distant matches to some Virginia Epps families, but they are all far from concrete.

Elizabeth was born about 1800 in North Carolina. MANY people have attributed the maiden name Elizabeth Harless to her--that is completely and unequivocally false. The origin of the name Harless comes from the funeral record of William Epps, son of F. D. Epps, who died in 1943 in Pittsburg County, Oklahoma. The record says his mother's maiden name was Harless--but it was not, it was Moon, as proven by both the marriage record between F. D. Epps and Sarah Frances Moon AND DNA which firmly ties us to the Moon family. But someone at some point decided that the informant for William's funeral record, his son, "must have" put his GRANDMOTHER'S maiden name on the record.

That's quite a leap if you know anything about genealogy. As a reminder, here are the most trustworthy sources for things like parents' names and maiden names.

1. The person's parents
2. The person themselves
3. The person's siblings
4. The person's spouse
5. The person's children

So we're supposed to assume because the LEAST trustworthy source for this person's information put the name "Harless" for his father's mother's maiden name--a grandmother he probably never met as she appears to have died between 1900-1910--he must have "accidentally" put his grandmother's maiden name. No. Just no. That is so beyond ridiculous there is no point in continuing to harp on about it. I will not beat the dead horse; suffice to say if you have Harless as Elizabeth's last name, and if you did not know the source of where that name came from and now you do but you STILL want to apply that name to her--may God of Genealogy have mercy on your soul and may future generations be merciful when they laugh out loud at you. Suffice to say, Elizabeth was not a Harless--I don't know what family she belonged to, but it was not the Harless family.

Now we know Franklin, who appears in some records as Francis, was born in Virginia about 1799. And there was another Epps family nearby our's in Lincoln County, but no connection to them has been established, and despite confirming that several descendants of this "other" Epps family have had their DNA tested on Ancestry, none of our Epps descendants have matched up with them to this point, indicating that their mutual Virginian origins and Lincoln County, Tennessee residences appears to have been a coincidence.

While one wouldn't think Epps is a terribly common surname, if you look in the 1810 Census for Virginia you'll find an alarmingly high number of Epps/Eppes/Epes households. Too many to comb through one by one. But the hope is that eventually records will come to light naming Franklin/Francis an heir to a particular Epps family, or else sufficient DNA evidence will be uncovered as to link us to one family or another. But for now, the brick walls representing the parentage of Franklin Epps and his wife Elizabeth remain steadfast and impenetrable.


9. THE MANNING & WILLIFORD BRICK WALLS

Is it cheating to cluster two families into one brick wall? Perhaps, but I make the rules on this blog, and because these families are so closely tied together, I typically work on both brick walls at once and so the two are intrinsically linked in my mind.

One of my 4th great grandmothers on my Marks line was Sidney Manning, wife of William Hardy Bennett. She was the daughter of Redrick Manning and Sarah Williford. Both the Manning and Williford families are brick walls, as the parentage of Sarah's father Charles Williford of Fayette County, Georgia and the parentage of Redrick's father Mark Manning are both both unknown.

Mark Manning first definitively appears in 1816 when he purchased land in Madison County, GA. He subsequently appears in the 1820 Census of Madison County and the 1830 Census of Fayette County. I believe he likely pre-deceased the 1840 Census.

The 1820 Census indicates he had at least six sons and four daughters by that time, not counting any children that had already married and left the home. Those I have identified so far include:

1. William Manning, who was likely either the oldest son or possibly a much younger brother
2. Mary "Polly" Manning, who married in 1817 and was likely the oldest daughter
3. Redrick Manning, born circa 1800
4. Henry Manniny, born circa 1804
5. Anna Manning, born circa 1803
6. Lucy Manning, born circa 1810
7. Martha Manning, born circa 1815

 All of these children fit Mark's household in 1820 except Mary who had already married and left the home. I have not identified any of the remaining children, including the three males under 10 and one of the females under 10 in the 1820 Census. I have not been able to identify Mark's wife's name either, so it is possible the youngest sons and/or the widow appear in the 1840 Census but apparently not in the area around Fayette and Madison counties.

The biggest problem with researching Mark is that so many people mix his records up with Marcum Lott Manning, also listed as "Markham", a son of Moses Manning and Keziah Lott. They are very clearly different men as they have their own independent households in the 1820 and 1830 Censuses, but as many "Ancestry tree absorbing" researchers will do, people just blindly tie records to people with similar names without first confirming they have the right person. Mark was not the son of Moses Manning and he did not die in Texas in 1850; those details apply to Marcum Lott Manning. I think it's possible if not likely the pair were 1st or 2nd cousins but I have yet to find any definitive proof of that theory.

Charles Williford lived in the exact same region as Mark Manning and was closely tied to him, for good reason--at least two of his children married Mark Manning's children. Sarah Williford and King H. Williford were the spouses of Redrick Manning and Lucy Manning, respectively.

Charles appears in the 1820 Census for Madison County, and like Mark is in Fayette County for the 1830 Census. Unlike Mark, Charles goes on to live for a good long time, appearing in the 1840, 1850, and 1860 censuses, all in Fayette County. I have identified 10 children for him, which I believe are all of his children with the slim possibility that there was one additional daughter.

1. Sarah Williford, born circa 1805 (1/2 females 10-15 in 1820 Census)
2. Mary Williford, born circa 1807 (1/2 females 10-15 in 1820 Census and the female 20-29 in 1830)
3. Minerva Williford, born circa 1810 (1/3 females under 10 in 1820 Census)
4. King H. Williford, born 1811 (1 male under 10 in 1820 Census)
5. Martha Ruth Williford, born 1814 (1/3 females under 10 in 1820, 1/2 females between 10-14 in 1830, Female 20-29 in 1840)
6. Rebecca A. Williford, born circa 1815 (1/3 females under 10 in 1820, 1/2 females between 10-14 in 1830)
7. James T. Williford, born 1820 (Male 10-14 in 1830 Census)
8. Elizabeth W. Williford, born about 1821 (1/2 females 5-9 in 1830 Census)
9. Nancy Naomi Williford, born about 1823 (1/2 females 5-9 in 1830, Female 15-19 in 1840)
10. Charles Westley Williford, born 1825 (Male under 5 in 1830, Male 15-19 in 1840)

In the 1830 Census for Charles, there is an unknown 15-19 year old female. There is no space for her in Charles's 1820 household so I doubt she is an additional child, but it is possible. The female 5-9 in his household in 1840 is likely his granddaughter Elizabeth, daughter of Charles's daughter Martha Ruth and whose father, Wilson, was deceased by this time. Martha Ruth's marriage, I think, could eventually be the key to breaking down this Williford brick wall.

There are several Williford families in this same region of Georgia at the same time as our's. They are clearly of some relation to Charles, but the question is how. A big clue that needs to be unraveled is the parentage of one Wilson P. Williford, who was the first husband of Martha Ruth Williford. It would be unusual at this time for two people with the same surname to be married if they weren't fairly close relations, probably 1st or 2nd cousins. I think if I can find Wilson's parentage, I may find a sibling of Charles; likewise, if I can find Charles's parentage, it will likely lead to Wilson's. Wilson died in 1834 (https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/spradlin/1040/) leaving two children with Martha Ruth, who remarried in 1837 to Elisha Whatley.

This family has a number of good clues to go by, including some good early published Williford genealogies and the fact that there were only so many possible families that Charles could belong to. Eventually using logical deduction to rule out families and seek out documents on the remaining candidates, I think Charles's parentage will be discovered.

Until then, both of these brick walls--for the Manning and Williford families--will remained intertwined in my mind, and hopefully I can bring them both down in time. Of the all my Top 10 Brick Walls, this is one of the ones I think I have the best odds of working out eventually.


10. THE PATTON BRICK WALL

My Patton family research is another one with some frustrating holes that end at a big 'ol brick wall. My 4th great grandfather, Samuel Cleveland Patton, died 15 Nov 1877 in Collin County, Texas according to his wife's Confederate Pension application. That record is also the only one we have recording the pair's marriage as "1864-65 in Fort Smith" since for whatever reason (partial record loss, it is believed) there is no record for their marriage in Benton County, Arkansas.

Further frustrating me is half of the now-widowed Sarah Jane Todd Patton family's absence from the 1880 Census. She is enumerated along with her two children from her first marriage and one of her Patton children, but the remaining six youngest Patton children are conspicuously missing and I have never determined why. At that time they ranged in ages from 2-14 and for whatever reason they were all left off the Census, including my 3rd great grandmother, Martha Evelyn "Evie" Patton. Were they all at school when the Census-taker came by and they just decided to leave them off the enumeration? I have no idea, but that has always bugged me because that Census COULD have possibly included additional children I don't know about for Sarah Jane. I know of 10, including the 8 she says are still living in the 1900 Census, but she says she had 13 children total and I have no idea who the remaining 3 are.

And while Sarah Jane's Todd and Russell families have question marks of their own, their brick walls do no loom as large as the Patton wall.

We know Samuel was the son of Edith "Eady" Patton who was born about 1795 in North Carolina. Her maiden name is NOT known. A ridiculous number of online (mostly Ancestry) trees have her maiden name as Smallwood with absolutely ZERO proof/documentation. I don't know where the surname originated as far as being attached to Edith, but I know there has been ZERO factual documentation of any sort that has come to light to verify it.

Family oral history indicates that Eady was the widow of a Thomas Patton. He reportedly died before 1840 in Craighead County, Arkansas. There is documentation of Thomas Patton in Craighead County that appears to corroborate the oral history. Eight children have been tied to this couple, with a ninth less likely child also attached:

1. Isaac J. Patton, born circa 1815
2. Mary "Polly" Patton, born circa 1822
3. Rhoda Carolina Patton, born circa 1824
4. Samuel Cleveland Patton, born circa 1826
5. Thomas Anderson Patton, born 1829
6. Nancy Ann Patton, born circa 1830
7. Martha M. Patton, born circa 1836
8. Minerva Patton, born circa 1838

A 6-year old Elizabeth Patton also appears in Edith's 1850 household. Some people say Thomas Patton died closer to 1844 just so they can include Elizabeth as his child, but the 1840 Census naming Edith head of household indicates he deceased by that time. So Elizabeth was either an illegitimate child of Edith--who would age 49 at the time of her birth--or a grandchild. Since despite what many online genealogies lead you to believe it was NOT common for a 49-year old woman to give birth at that time--any more common that it is today--Elizabeth was most likely a granddaughter, possibly a daughter of Isaac J. Patton.

Thomas's origins are unclear. In 1880, three of his children are still living--two say he was born in Alabama and one says he was born in Tennessee. No records have been identified giving him the middle initial A. People want to call him "Thomas Anderson Patton Sr." because it's convenient, but there is no proof he had a middle name or initial or what that name or initial might have been, so anyone that concludes he was "Thomas Anderson Patton Sr." based solely on the fact his son was named Thomas Anderson Patton is probably not a great genealogist.

Further, countless trees apply him as the son of a John Thomas and Sarah Jane Cunningham Patton. The family was primarily from Buncombe County, North Carolina and later migrated to Tennessee. A family bible record proves that family did indeed have a son named Thomas. And based on Eady Patton's age, it is probable that both Eady's husband and John Thomas Patton's son were roughly the same age. But there is NOT--I repeat NOT--one single solitary shred of evidence linking Thomas Patton, husband of Eady, to John Thomas Patton's family.

John Thomas's son Thomas would have been born in North Carolina, and none of Eady's husband Thomas's children reported their father as a native of North Carolina. Could they have been wrong? Absolutely. But are we--modern researchers looking at Thomas more than 170 years after his death going to presume we know him better than his children? Come on now. Facts are facts and guesses are guesses and what we have in this Patton genealogy are a bunch of guesses--and not really even very educated guesses, mostly lazy ones. You found a Patton family with a Thomas in it approximately the right age as your Thomas? Congratulations! That doesn't mean diddly squat!

 Unfortunately, Thomas Patton is a rather common name. You'll find a number of them in early Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi records and our Thomas could be any number of them. It is going to take some serious genetic genealogy to at least help narrow down which Thomas Patton could be our's and then which family he belongs to, but blindly following baseless research is nonsensical. It's almost as nonsensical as this family continuously applying the maiden name Smallwood to Eady despite the complete absence of anything even remotely resembling proof.

And then there's the fact that numerous confirmed descendants of Samuel C. Patton have had their DNA tested, and the connections to confirmed descendants of John Thomas Patton are scant and can largely be attributed to alternate familial connections. Patton is not an uncommon name after all. It is in the top 500 most common surnames in the United States. As of 2014, more than 85,000 people in the United States had the last name Patton. So one really has to be careful when trying to make genetic connections with a common surname like that because much of the time it really is just a coincidence.

Along with genetic genealogy, the next best route to take in knocking down this Patton brick wall definitively will be looking into some of the other Patton families with geographic and military ties to our Patton family. There were a large number of Pattons in Benton County, Arkansas where Samuel was living in the 1860s, and several of them ended up not just in the same regiment but the same COMPANY as Samuel. It could just be a coincidence, but I do believe that is a better lead to pursue than "Oh LoOk! A pAtToN fAmIlY hAs A tHoMaS tHe SaMe AgE aS oUr'S! hE mUsT bE oUr ThOmAs!" The dedication it took me to write that should illustrate just how firm I am in the belief that the guesswork and bad genealogy in this Patton family has gotten out of hand and needs to not just be re-evaluated but started over from scratch. No more guesswork, no more assumptions, just some real genealogy.

Maybe then this brick wall will fall.

And so that's it, folks. The remaining 5 (or 6--who's counting?) brick walls in my Top 10 Genealogy Brick Walls. If you come across this page and can help me out, I'd love to hear from you. If you think I can help you in some way, by all means, feel free to reach out.

If and when I take any of these walls down you can bet there will be a new blog post for it.

A Quack & A Killer: The Story of A. B. Armstrong & His Sins

Albert B. Armstrong was born March 13^th, 1875 in Monroe County, Kentucky to Lucas and Virginia Buford Armstrong. The family eventually migrated to Collin County, Texas, where Albert married Minnie B. Hundley on August 16^th, 1896. The next year, he was the father of a daughter, Beatrice. By the time he was 25 in 1900, the lie of his life had begun: Albert decided he was a doctor, and he was going to practice as such.

There is no evidence that Albert B. Armstrong ever received any formal medical training. What limited repositories there are for seeking out evidence of medical education for a person have been exhausted, and no record for Armstrong has been found. It is possible that he had an apprenticeship with a doctor at one point, but this would hardly have qualified him as a learned and licensed medical professional. When for the 1900 Census in Dallas County, Texas (1) Albert gave his profession as a “Physician”, he did so because that was what he wanted to be considered, but not because that was what he was.

(1)

Albert was what was called at the time a “quack”. 

This was a person who engaged in “quackery”. Per Quackwatch (2), we can learn a little more about these persons who claim to be and genuinely believe they are medical doctors or professionals:

“Dictionaries define quack as "a pretender to medical skill; a charlatan" and "one who talks pretentiously without sound knowledge of the subject discussed." These definitions suggest that the promotion of quackery involves deliberate deception, but many promoters sincerely believe in what they are doing. … Most people think of quackery as promoted by charlatans who deliberately exploit their victims. Actually, most promoters are unwitting victims who share misinformation and personal experiences with others.”

While most quacks might fall into the latter described category of “unwitting victims who share misinformation”, Albert B. Armstrong belonged to the former category which most people associate with the term quack: “charlatans who deliberately exploit their victims.” This assertion can be demonstrated by the ample amount of evidence provided by newspapers published during Armstrong’s heyday of swindling, fraud, and malpractice which amounted to actual murder.

 Armstrong was fully aware of the fact that he was not an actual physician, but in pretending to be one and presenting himself as one to unwitting “patients”, when his actions caused the deaths of those patients, those actions amounted to premeditated murder.

(3)

[Please note: As we delve into the evidence against Armstrong, for the sake of full disclosure, this author acknowledges that as the nephew (several generations removed) of one of Armstrong’s victims, the dialogue in this article will be perceived as heavily biased. And it is. If it appears that that I think Armstrong was a despicable, pathetic excuse for a human being, it’s because I do. However, when subtracting all of the supplemental dialogue and left only with the facts, one is sure to reach the same conclusion as I have: That Albert B. Armstrong was not a doctor, but a fraud, a criminal, and a killer that unfortunately escaped justice.

While he may now rest in relative peace below the ground, this author has taken it upon himself to ensure that there is clear, succinct and available evidence in existence of Armstrong’s treacherous and cowardly legacy.]

The first of Armstrong’s legal transgressions occurred while he lived in Texas, and came to light after he found himself in trouble with the law in Oklahoma. For the sake of avoiding confusion, his earliest offenses in Texas will be documented after his crimes in Oklahoma are, as that is the timeline provided by the newspaper records that have been found.

(4)

It is unclear precisely when Armstrong came to Oklahoma. His second daughter, Mildred, was born in Texas about 1902, and Albert begins appearing in Oklahoma newspaper records by 1909. He is found in the 1910 Federal Census in Shawnee, Pottawatomie, Oklahoma (4). He was still proclaiming himself a medical doctor in that year as well. In the year before, 1909, Oklahomans got their first taste of Armstrong’s fraudulent practices when he visited the town of Chandler, Oklahoma. At this time, he was asserting himself as “Dr.” A. B. Armstrong. (5)

Albert proclaimed himself an “Assistant State Health Officer” working for the state of Oklahoma. He conducted "investigations" of some local businesses in Chandler, claiming reports had been received of there being unsanitary conditions in some of them. He cited concerns with the conditions of some of the local businesses, and threatened “that if the city health officer did not do his duty the state would”. (5)

“Without letting his business be known he visited the different hotels of the city and made a thorough investigation. He also noted the sanitation of the town at large, and after consulting with the city health officer he stated that the city was in a very bad condition and that steps should be taken to clean up from one end of town to the other. He stated that the city should at once begin cleaning out the sink from the depot to the north end of town and rid that part of the city of the unhealthy condition.” (6)

At the end of his inspection of the town, he said “that he would return to Chandler within a week or two and would take further steps to enforce the laws if found necessary.” (6) He took his ruse so far that he appointed a local doctor (an actual medical physician) named Dr. A. M. Marshal as the “superintendent of health for this judicial district with authority of the state board of health”. Eventually, it came to light that he either blackmailed or accepted bribes from some of the local business owners so that he would “quiet the matter at headquarters”. (7)

(6)

Unfortunately for Armstrong, someone in Chandler apparently grew suspicious of his scheme and contacted Dr. J. C. Marr of Shawnee, who was a genuine state health officer. Dr. Marr apparently informed the people of Chandler that they had been had, and “Dr.” Armstrong was in no way affiliated with the state health office. (7)

Armstrong was arrested and charged with gaining money under false pretense and was fined $8.00 by the court. The criminal complaint of impersonating an officer did not go through. After being fined, he was released from jail, and his “wife and two children” accompanied him home. (8)

Not to be deterred by being prosecuted as a fraud, Armstrong continued to practice medicine. He hired a nurse from Davenport named Willa Keller to assist him with patients in Shawnee. (9) In April of 1910, he was still listed as being “of Shawnee” when the spouse of an apparent patient published an announcement about her “successful operation” of having a tumor removed. However, this man, a J. N. Henderson, felt that he needed to add that he published this announcement “without the solicitation of the doctor and not by his request”, (10) an assertion which reeks of disingenuousness and indicates that Armstrong did in fact ask Henderson to publish this proclamation. He likely did so to demonstrate to locals that he truly was an actual doctor, when the truth is that he likely just got lucky that he did not kill poor Mrs. Henderson since he had no true medical training. His ruse apparently being convincing enough to fool even actual physicians, he even received consultations in Davenport from a Dr. Wade of Shawnee. (11)

(12)

By the month after the above profession of apparent competency from the spouse of a patient, he was listed in the paper as being “of Davenport”, which indicated he either fully relocated to Davenport, or was operating practices in both towns. Apparently, the people of Lincoln County didn’t realize exactly what they were dealing with the first time he came to the area to victimize unsuspecting citizens. His first heinous act of true disregard for human life (not counting however many other surgeries he had conducted where luck was on his side and he did not permanently maim or kill a patient) occurred that month, May of 1910.

“Mrs. Ed Berry who lived about two miles north of Mud College died last Tuesday night. She will be buried today in the New Zion cemetery south and west of town. County Attorney Davis drove to the home yesterday, empaneled a [coroners] jury and an autopsy was held over the body, with the result that Dr. Armstrong under whose treatment the patient had been, was held pending further investigation.” (12)

(13)

And so the first known victim, 26-year old Carrie Berry, was dead at the hands of a fraud that was hired to help her. Armstrong allowed himself to be hired to perform a medical procedure knowing full well that he was in no way qualified to perform such an operation. But out of either arrogance or sheer greed for the poor family’s money, he took on the job and because he was ignorant in the ways of proper medical practices, he killed her.

“Chandler - Dr. [Armstrong] of [Davenport] was arrested there on the charge of malpractice and brought to Chandler where he made a $3,000 bond and was released. Dr. Armstrong recently paid a fine here, charged with impersonating an officer in granting an inspection certificate to a butcher shop, purporting that he held authority from the state board of health.” (14)

If Armstrong had any sort of conscience at all within that unhinged mind, he would have stopped then and there. He would have dropped the ruse, taken his punishment, and assumed the life of a normal person, taking up farming or logging or some other type of profession; he clearly had some sort of oily charm to him to manipulate as many people as he did, so perhaps a career as a used car buggy salesman. But of course, he did not. He fought the charges, and was convincing enough to sway at least a couple of jurors of his innocence, leading to a hung jury.

“The trial of Dr. Armstrong in which many Davenport people were interested was concluded Wednesday and the jury disagreed, there being three who held out for conviction.” (15)

“The State against A. B. Armstrong was tried and [testimony] in the case was given to the jury, who returned with a report of no verdict due to disagreement. This case is one wherein a physician is accused of malpractice.” (16)

And so, as he had to countless others, Armstrong manipulated jurors of his position enough to lead to a non-verdict, and it does not appear that the State attempted to charge the case a second time. This close call would lead a reasonable person to conclude that if they continued on this path of deception their luck would run out eventually. But Armstrong does not appear to be a reasonable man by any stretch of the imagination, and he obviously lacked the foresight to know his jig would soon be up.

Though the local newspapers didn’t go into details about them at the time they occurred, Armstrong accrued new charges in early January, 1911. Armstrong told Hugh Ballard “H. B.” Mann, a Davenport resident, as a “doctor”, that he could procure a very expensive remedy that was the best and only chance Mr. Mann’s wife Anna Evelyn Mann (nee Blair) had to survive her bout with tuberculosis. Obviously, since Armstrong was not a doctor and there wasn’t a cure of tuberculosis at that time, Mrs. Mann still died. (17) Armstrong was subsequently charged with Obtaining Money under False Pretenses and Practicing Medicine without a License, and was released on bond (18) (19), where he was free to victimize still more innocent souls.

(20)

Regardless of all past and present charges, and arrogant enough to believe that he would either not be convicted or have only a fine levied against him as a result of these newest offenses, Armstrong continued practicing medicine as if the deaths of Mrs. Berry and Mrs. Mann had never occurred. In January of 1911, it was an unfortunate newly-married couple that crossed paths with this devil.

Louvica Barnett was born in Madison County, Arkansas to Jackson Barnett and Phoebe Napier, natives of Breathitt County, Kentucky who fled the feud violence of that territory.  She was orphaned as a young girl and brought to Davenport, along with her brother Andrew, to be raised by her elder half-sister, Amanda Barnett Roberts, and her husband, William. She married Richard Cunningham on December 7^th, 1910 and began her new life with her new husband. The next month, she needed to undergo an operation, which was reportedly an abortion. The reasons for this surgery being necessary are not known. It is also unknown if the Cunninghams were aware that in just the past few months, their hired “physician” had killed another young woman and falsely led another family to believe that he could save their matriarch. Regardless, they made their decisions, and these were certainly not choices that should have warranted the tragedy that would befall them.

Amanda Barnett Roberts and her husband, William Roberts, and one of their children. This was taken by their home in Davenport, which would have been the home Louvica Barnett was raised in after her parents died.

But alas, tragedy did strike. Obviously performing another operation for which he was unqualified, Armstrong left 18-year old Louvica Barnett Cunningham dead. According to Newspaper records, the date of this incident was January 30^th, 1911. As previously noted, he was already out on bond for other pending charges when he killed Vica Cunningham. And while he had escaped justice once already in Mrs. Berry’s case, apparently he realized his chances of exoneration yet again were slim after a second killing in eight months, so he fled.

Louvica's handmade stone; taken in the 1900s by Debbi Mosher Malwick, a great granddaughter of Amanda Barnett Robers and niece of Louvica.

When a person is released from jail on bond while a court hearing is pending, they must adhere to strict rules while out on bond. Among these rules is one that disallows one from engaging in other criminal activities, and not to leave a specified locale, usually restricted to the county or town in which the offender resides or where the offense occurred. In Armstrong’s case, he violated both of these orders, leading the court to issue a warrant for his arrest on the charges for which he had been bonded.

(21)

Fortunately, Armstrong underestimated the ability of law enforcement to recognize him from only a written description, and he was quickly detained in Hollis, Oklahoma. He was initially detained by police there on a warrant for having absconded bond for the aforementioned charges of Obtaining Money Under False Pretenses and Practicing Medicine Without A License. While in custody, a warrant for murder arrived.

Newspapers from Altus to Shawnee covered his arrest, finally making his malevolent practices known statewide:

“A. B. Armstrong, of Shawnee, Okla., was arrested at Hollis Monday morning by City Marshal P. M. Porter, of the latter city, on a warrant from Davenport, Okla., charging him with obtaining money under false pretenses and practicing medicine without license. The marshal arrested the man when he came to town with a friend, the officer recognizing him from a description from the sheriff’s office at Chandler, the county seat of Lincoln county, where the crime was committed. The Lincoln county sheriff was notified and O. C. Burgess, a deputy from Davenport, was sent to take the prisoner back.

At Oklahoma City on his way here, Burgess received a message that still another warrant had been issued for Armstrong on the charge of murder by abortion, his victim being a Mrs. Cunningham of Davenport, 18 years old and a wife of three months.

It is alleged that Armstrong, who claimed to be a physician, induced the girl to submit to an operation which caused her death on Monday. Armstrong was under bond at the time for obtaining money under false pretenses, and left the county, coming to Hollis, where he had some acquaintances. City Marshal Porter and his prisoner were met here by Deputy Sheriff Burgess who took the man back to Lincoln county for trial.” (21)

“A. B. Armstrong, a fake doctor hailing from Shawnee, was arrested on Hollis Monday, on a warrant from Davenport, charging him with obtaining money under false pretense. He is also charged with practicing medicine without license, and murder by abortion.” (22)

"The victim was a young woman who had been married three months and her death resulted from treatment at the Doctor’s hands.” (23)

The Shawnee paper was quick to distance its town from the “fake doctor”, stating that “Armstrong has not resided in Shawnee for more than a year, leaving here about twelve months ago for Davenport.” (18) And so Armstrong was brought to Davenport to answer for his absconded bond.

“Dr. Armstrong who was under bond to appear before Justice Robertson, Jan. 26^th and did not put in appearance was brought to Davenport Wednesday in the custody of Deputy Sheriff Burgess. He had been detained at Hollis, Okla. He was in time to save the forfeiture of his bond, ten days extension having been granted. The doctor was taken to Chandler Thursday morning on a warrant issued as the result of the death of Mrs. Cunningham four miles north east of Davenport, death having resulted, it is alleged, from an operation performed by Armstrong.” (19)

Armstrong waited in the Chandler jail for his preliminary hearing, which was set for March 3^rd and then continued to March 15^th. (24) On March 9^th, in a despicable display of support for a convicted manipulator, 25 or more people of Davenport gathered together to post Armstrong’s $3,500 bond and he was released. (25) Deciding to go even further to display their support for the known fraud, a reception in Armstrong’s “honor” was held by some of the same folks who bonded him out. At this time, he was back to being referred to as “Doctor” in the paper (the only paper continuing to do so, indicating a probable bias by the paper’s editor in Armstrong’s favor), and it was noted that “all enjoyed a pleasant day socially and did full justice to the excellent dinner”. (26)

(26)

Speaking of justice, surely the Barnett and Cunningham families were eager for some, and it is doubtful that they were having a pleasant time while Louvica Barnett Cunningham’s and Carrie Berry’s murderer was schmoozing it up with ignorant townsfolk.

(17)

It appears Armstrong’s murder charge was downgraded to manslaughter, which surely strengthened the positions of support held by some of the people of Davenport, illustrating to them that Armstrong was truly just a man being wrongfully charged with a death they apparently deemed either accidental, or simply irrelevant. So then it must have been to their great chagrin when Armstrong was arrested on yet another warrant, this time issued from the state of Texas.

“A. B. Armstrong of near Davenport was Monday turned over to the sheriff of a west Texas county on an indictment charging him with defrauding Irvin Park, a jeweler of Big Springs. The case was fought out in court here, but he was given over to the custody of the Texas sheriff in spite of all efforts to save him. He left Monday afternoon for Big Springs. His wife returned to Davenport, and it is not known what her intentions are.

Sheriff J. A. Baggett of Big Springs, Texas, arrived last week with a requisition from the governor of Texas to the Oklahoma governor, asking that Armstrong be turned over to that state on a charge of defrauding. He was accompanied by Irvin Park who positively identified Armstrong as the man who swindled him out of a large amount of jewelry.

Mr. Park stated that Armstrong at that time claimed to be an expert on eye, ear and throat diseases, also an optician. [Mr.] Park stated incidentally that he was an expert on the “eye,” having caught him in the first round for a good sum. It is also charged that Armstrong defrauded the First National bank of Big Springs of $100.00, by depositing a check for a large amount on a foreign bank and then drawing a check on the Big Springs bank against the check deposited. Mr. Irvin stated that he understood there were charges against him at Pittsburg and Wichita Falls, Texas, but did not know what the charges were. Armstrong presented affidavits from different people, who swore that he was not at the place mentioned in the indictment at the time stated. This it is presumed will be the basis for his defense. These affidavits were presented at the hearing before Judge Huston, before whom the hearing was had, but he ruled that the case was not being tried upon evidence as to his guilt or innocence but whether or not the Texas officials had a valid indictment and had followed the law in demanding Armstrong’s requisition.

Armstrong, through attorneys, made a strong fight to keep out of Texas. Governor Cruce honored the requisition over a week ago, but habeas corpus proceedings were instituted at once by Armstrong, and he fought every point that came up.

There were two or three cases against Armstrong in this county, but the officers could not help but feel a relief when he was ordered back to Texas. Armstrong brought trouble with him when he came to Lincoln county, and it has followed him all the day of his residence here. He blew into Chandler one bright spring morning and immediately got busy, claiming to be an inspector of pure foods and sanitation. As a result he left on the afternoon train, and took with him some of Chandler’s filthy luere [sic]. But Chandler people got busy, too, and he was brought back the next week on an indictment charging him with impersonating an officer.

After his release, he has been into trouble ever since. One of his recent exploits, was when he accosted H. B. Mann of Davenport and stated that he could procure a preparation that would cure Mrs. Mann who was in the last stages of consumption. He stated to Mr. Mann that this anti toxin was the only thing that could possibly help her but that it was expensive. Mr. Mann told Armstrong to go ahead and get the medicine. Mr. Mann states that Armstrong went to Shawnee and had a mixture of something fixed up and sent to him at Davenport C. O. D. and that the charges were $56.00. This was paid and the medicine administered but the patient died soon afterward.

Many other cases are pending against Armstrong in Lincoln County, therefore we say that the officers and the people both gladly bid him adieu, and wish for him many years of useful toil to the Lone Star state.” (17)

Despite Armstrong’s claims that the charges against him in Texas were a case of mistaken identity (28), his actions after his extradition indicate he knew full well that he was about to be convicted, and then likely sent back to Oklahoma for more convictions. The coward was no doubt convinced that he was above being held accountable for his actions. And so he made his escape. (27)

“Armstrong Out – Two jail birds, who have been confined in the Howard county jail here for some time, took wing last night at some unknown hour and at this writing are still doing their best to continue their flight. They may not be making the speed of the average skiyiator [sic], but its two to one, however, that they are going some. The two gentlemen in questions, who have been watching the rain clouds through steel lattice work, are A. B. Armstrong and J. M. Coley, both of whom are charged with the crime of swindling, but who have, since their incarceration, maintained they were innocent and not the parties under indictment. The scheme they worked to gain their liberty seems to have been the old method of sawing an iron bar of their cell and bending it so as to afford a sufficient opening to crowd their bodies through. At just what hour this all happened is not known but is supposed to have occurred about midnight. It is believed that they received outside assistance, as a ladder that had evidently been raised to a window to allow them to reach the ground was this morning found lying near the jail. The tracks of a buggy were also discernable near the jail.

Armstrong defrauded I. H. Parks, the well known jeweler here, and also succeeded in swindling the First National bank of this city out of $100.00. – Big Springs (Texas) Herald.” (28)

Not satisfied with only being a lying, manipulative, cowardly quack, fraud, swindler, murderer, and now escaped fugitive, Armstrong added to the list of his criminal accomplishments thievery in August, 1911.

“Deputy Sheriff O. C. Burgess received a letter this morning from L. S. Carrington, of Maramec, Okla., asking assistance in capturing one Dr. A. B. Armstrong who left Maramec a short time ago with a team carriage and $75.00 for the theft of all which, the letter says, there is now a warrant out for the doctor. He is said to have started to Shawnee to get his family and all trace has been lost of him. Several months ago Dr. Armstrong was taken from this county to Big Springs, Texas, on a charge of swindling a bank. He later broke jail and this is the first the public has hear of him since.” (29)

(29)

The Davenport editor exposes his bias here again, deciding to continue christening Armstrong with the title of “Doctor”, despite how clear it had become that he was in no way an actual physician. The papers in Chandler, Big Springs, and elsewhere took no issue with stripping Armstrong of this undeserved title, but Davenport’s editor seems to have struggled in letting go of this. Friends like this editor of the Davenport paper, all of whom had clearly been taken in by Armstrong’s ruse, are likely what assisted him in escaping jail, getting back to Oklahoma, laying low in Pawnee County or wherever else for a couple of months, and then allowing him to cleanly gather his family from Shawnee and remove them from the state. And this he did, as he is not mentioned again in Oklahoma papers after the theft in Maramec.

But Armstrong did not disappear. He simply ventured where he believed no one from Big Springs, Davenport, or elsewhere would think to look for him. By March, 1912 Armstrong and his family had relocated over 500 miles away from Davenport in Hickman, Kentucky. Hickman lies in far western Kentucky, very near the borders to both Missouri and Tennessee. He set about practicing medicine again there apparently as soon as he arrived, as he is noted as treating a patient in Fulton County at that time. (30)

(31)

Another interesting note is that a few months after his arrival in Hickman, Armstrong had to have surgery (presumably by an actual licensed physician) to remove some ribs which “had been broken and complications developed which necessitated the operation”. (31) Were these injuries incurred during his flight from justice in Texas and Oklahoma? Given the relatively short timeframe from August to May, it seems likely. Living life as a fugitive murderer and criminal is surely bound to lead to occasional injuries. 

(32)

Not only did he change states, but Armstrong changed his name as well. In the 1920 Census for Fulton County, Kentucky, Armstrong is found as George Armstrong. (32) The presence of his wife Minnie and daughter Mildred prove it is the same man; that, and the fact that he continued to pretend that he was a “Physician”, as he listed his profession as such. Consistently undeterred by the regular exposure by others as a fraud, “Dr. George Armstrong” continued his skulduggery despite being discovered as a fraud yet again while in Hickman. Perhaps his ruse had reached the point of being a full blown delusion by this point, and he could not be convinced by anyone that he was not a real doctor; perhaps by this point, rather than prison, Armstrong required intensive therapy at one of the nation’s finest mental institutions.

   

In September of 1916, he was charged with six offenses. On one count of practicing medicine without a license, he was tried by jury and fined $50. On one count of “violating local option law” (dispersing alcohol or liquor illegally—he most likely did so in the name of “medical treatment”), he was tried by jury and fined $60. On a second count of practicing medicine without a license he was found not guilty. The other three cases were continued. (33) In May, 1917, he was found not guilty of a third count of practicing medicine without license, and the other two cases were continued. (34) The results of these final two counts were not located.

(33)

Without being privy to the specific court notes to each case, it is interesting that he would be found guilty of practicing medicine without a license once, and then found not guilty on the same offense twice after that. The only explanation seems to be that he sufficiently argued that whatever practices he engaged in in those two cases did not meet the criteria for “practicing medicine”, or else claimed that he gave unsolicited advice that was not meant to be medical orders in nature. Regardless, the first conviction of practicing medicine without a license sufficiently proves the assertion by those in Oklahoma that claimed he did not have a medical license, and therefore proves he was not a true medical physician.

Unlike Albert Armstrong in Oklahoma, “George” Armstrong was able to stay off-the-radar more often than not in Kentucky. The only other newspaper mention of him found was an announcement of his daughter Beatrice’s marriage to a George Bradberry in Union City, Kentucky. (35)

(36)

By 1930, “George B” Armstrong, still posing as a medical doctor, is found residing in Memphis, Tennessee with his wife Minnie (36). Whether he chose to relocate to Memphis or was run out of Hickman when the people there grew tired of his subterfuge is not clear. His daughter Beatrice married a second time that same year in Memphis to a Clarence Pleasant, but that is the only other located record of Armstrong or his family during that time.

(37)

Apparently assuming either the statute of limitations on his offenses in 1911 and earlier had run out, or simply believing that no one was looking for him any long, Armstrong reverted back to using the first name Albert by 1940, where he is found to still be living in Memphis and steadfastly clinging to his delusion of being a medical doctor. (37) Memphis newspapers during this time period have not been digitized, so it is not known at this time to what extent Armstrong continued to trick others into believing he was an actual doctor, or if he was ever held accountable there for continuing to practice medicine without a license.

(38)

In one of Karma’s greatest failures, Albert B. Armstrong lived out his days in apparent peace, and died in Memphis on October 7^th, 1948. He is buried there at Forest Hill Cemetery Midtown, under the false title of “Dr.” (38), and an online record of his burial indicates his stone even bestows him the nickname “Doc”. (39) And his official death certificate even reflects the lie that he stretched for nearly 50 years, bestowing upon him the unearned and undeserved title of "Dr." (38) But this sorry excuse for a human being was no doctor. He was never anything but a fraud and a common criminal, and he should forever be remembered as such.

This is a man who stole the lives of two young women, who could today have had a number of descendants between them. My own grandfather, who was quite close with his grandfather Andy Barnett and also knew his sister Amanda Barnett Roberts, likely would have known Louvica as well. He could have told me about her, had stories of who and how she was, and we would have pictures of her to hang on our walls.

But instead, we’ve been left with nothing but the knowledge that this lowlife ended her life and never paid the consequences for it. But we will continue to honor and remember Louvica and the life she lived and should have continued to live. Her handmade headstone, with her name written by a finger in cement, sunk into the ground at Davenport Cemetery several years ago. While visible through the 90s, by 2012 it could not be found.

On October 21^st, 2016, cemetery caretaker and local historian, after seeing a picture of Louvica’s stone taken in the 90s, took it upon himself to locate the lost stone. And so after going to the plot purchased by her husband Richard Cunningham, he pushed his shovel into the ground until it hit something solid. And so her stone was found four inches below the ground and brought back to light.

Update, 12/28/16: Cecil Barnett, grandson of Louvica's brother Andrew, went to Davenport and took Louvica's stone home. He reinforced it with new cement to prevent it from sinking below the surface again, and placed a container on the memorial so flowers could be left for her. It was put back in its place on Christmas Day, 2016. It is surely what Andrew and Louvica's other loved ones would have wanted, and their descendants will continue to ensure that Louvica is not lost or forgotten.

Finally, I encourage anyone who comes across this article and has the time to pay respects to the three women whose deaths were tied this quack Armstrong, two directly at his hands and one by his soulless promise of a cure. Be glad that your own people did not cross paths with this pathetic excuse for a human being, and be sure to honor all those innocent souls whose lives were stolen by the foulest of our kind, the murderers like Albert B. Armstrong.

Bibliography

1. "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3L2-X63 : 22 January 2015), Albert B Armstrong, Justice Precinct 3, Dallas, Texas, United States; citing sheet 16A, family 283, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,241,626.

2. http://www.quackwatchdef.html.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/quack

3. http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Spring04/quackery.cfm

4. "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ML77-M73 : 29 October 2015), Albert Armstrong, Shawnee Ward 4, Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 224, sheet 2B, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,375,284.

5. The New Era (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 39, Ed. 1, Thursday, October 21, 1909. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

6. The Chandler Tribune. (Chandler, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 34, Ed. 1, October 22, 1909. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

7. The New Era (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 40, Ed. 1, Thursday, October 28, 1909. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

8. Carney Enterprise. (Carney, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 16, Ed. 1, Friday, November 12, 1909. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

9. The Chandler Tribune (Chandler, Okla.), Vol. 10, No. 1, Ed. 1, April 15, 1910. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

10. Cushing Independent. (Cushing, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 19, Ed. 1, April 7, 1910. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

11. The New Era (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 45, Ed. 1, December 1, 1910. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

12. The New Era (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 15, Ed. 1, May 5, 1910. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

13. Photograph from the Find A Grave Memorial of Carrie Berry, Memorial # 7279112, created 21 Mar 2003 by contributor Angie (#46507705). Picture posted 28 Nov 2010, taken by contributor ancestryhunter2 (#46949759). http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7279112

14. Carney Enterprise. (Carney, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 43, Ed. 1, Friday, May 20, 1910. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

15. The New Era (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 2, No. 19, Ed. 1, Thursday, June 2, 1910. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

16. The Chandler Tribune (Chandler, Okla.), Vol. 10, No. 10, Ed. 1, Friday, June 10, 1910. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

17. The Chandler Tribune (Chandler, Okla.), Vol. 11, No. 5, Ed. 1, Friday, April 7, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

18. The Shawnee Daily Herald. (Shawnee, Okla.), Vol. 15, No. 152, Ed. 1, February 2, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

19. The New Era. (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 2, Ed. 1, February 2, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

20. Photograph from the Find A Grave Memorial of Anna Evelyn Blair Mann, Memorial # 17099437, created 20 Dec 2006 by contributor OkieBran (#46530611). Picture posted 21 Dec 2006, taken by contributor OkieBran (#46530611). http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17099438

21. The Altus Times. (Altus, Okla.), Vol. 9, No. 4, Ed. 1, Thursday, February 2, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

22. The Blair Progress (Blair, Okla.), Vol. 7, No. 36, Ed. 1, Thursday, February 2, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

23. Hollis Tribune (Hollis, Okla.), Vol. 1, No. 25, Ed. 1, Friday, February 3, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

24. The Chandler Tribune (Chandler, Okla.), Vol. 10, No. 49, Ed. 1, Friday, March 3, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

25. The New Era. (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 7, Ed. 1, Thursday, March 9, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

26. The New Era (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 8, Ed. 1, Thursday, March 16, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

27. The Bryan Daily Eagle and Pilot (Bryan, Tex.), Vol. 16, No. 164, Ed. 1, Friday, June 16, 1911. Accessed through the University of North Texas' Portal to Texas History: https://texashistory.unt.edu/

28. The New Era (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 27, Ed. 1, Thursday, June 22, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

29. The New Era. (Davenport, Okla.), Vol. 3, No. 36, Ed. 1, August 24, 1911. Accessed through the Oklahoma History Society's Gateway to Oklahoma: http://gateway.okhistory.org/.

30. The Hickman Courier (Hickman, Kent.), Page 5, Ed. 1, 28 Mar 1912. Accessed through Newspapers.com, owned by Ancestry.com.

31. The Hickman Courier (Hickman, Kent.), Page 16, Ed. 1, 23 May 1912. Accessed through Newspapers.com, owned by Ancestry.com.

32. "United States Census, 1920," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHL8-9QP : 14 December 2015), Minnie Armstrong in household of George Armstrong, Hickman, Fulton, Kentucky, United States; citing sheet 8B, NARA microfilm publication T625 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 1,820,570.
33. The Hickman Courier (Hickman, Kent.), Page 4, Ed. 1, 21 Sep 1916. Accessed through Newspapers.com, owned by Ancestry.com.
34. The Hickman Courier (Hickman, Kent.), Page 8, Ed. 1, 3 May 1917. Accessed through Newspapers.com, owned by Ancestry.com.
35. The Hickman Courier (Hickman, Kent.), Page 9, Ed. 1, 4 Mar 1915. Accessed through Newspapers.com, owned by Ancestry.com.
36. "United States Census, 1930", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SP7Q-3DH : 8 December 2015), George B Armstrong, 1930.
37. "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K4CC-W8N : accessed 29 October 2016), Minnie Armstrong in household of Albert Armstrong, Ward 25, Memphis, Civil District 2, Shelby, Tennessee, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 98-163, sheet 7A, family 163, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3965.
38. "Tennessee Death Records, 1914-1955," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NSNK-PKZ : 25 May 2014), Albert Armstrong, 07 Oct 1948; citing Forest Hill Cemetery, Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, cn 22860, State Library and Archives, Nashville; FHL microfilm 2,137,402.
39. Find A Grave memorial #74022333. Created 27 Jul 2011 by contributor Ann Lindsey (#46801569). http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=74022333