Dora Belle Anderson’s (1885-1964) ancestry includes the
surnames Anderson, Spurlock, Murray, Llewellen (a Welsh surname), Rice,
Slaughter, Davis, and more. Rice and Davis are often Welsh surnames. Belle’s
great-grandfather Elkanah Anderson Sr. died in January 1815, while a soldier at
the Battle of New Orleans. He was in a Tennessee militia unit, part of a force
which rapidly moved to New Orleans under Andrew Jackson. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsRK3DNoa_Q No doubt battle re-enactors will agree that
this is exactly how it must have happened.
Belle’s parents were William Pleasant Anderson and Martha
Ann “Mattie” Rice. Belle’s maternal grandfather was Othaniel Arthur Rice. Family
history research took a step forward when Othaniel’s Civil War furlough permit
was discovered among family records. O. Rice enlisted in the Panola County,
Mississippi, Confederate Cavalry on November 8, 1861. He was granted a brief
furlough on Nov. 19, 1861, & that slip of paper has survived through the
years. Before the war, Othaniel Rice had been a plantation overseer and
reportedly lived quite comfortably. He became a Private in the 4th
Battalion of Mississippi Cavalry. During
the war, his unit fought at the Battle of Shiloh, and Othaniel may have died
about then. On the Union side at the Battle of Shiloh fought Albert Straub,
future husband of Elizabeth Ann Weidenhamer. Elizabeth’s sister Francis
Weidenhamer Jagger was the maternal grandmother of “Gramps” Robert Pierce
Muffley (1911-1990).
The Anderson and Barham families were closely associated
with the Enon Primitive Baptist Church, north of Ozark, Franklin County,
Arkansas.
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| Enon Primitive Baptist Church , North of Ozark, Franklin county, Arkansas. Taken September 1998. The church was attended by James Arthur and Dora Belle Anderson |
Mattie Milton Donald (wife of Oscar Mahlan Donald) had Barham ancestry through her mother. The current Enon church building is from 1935, with 1951 modification. Anne Donald Muffley visited this church when she was young.
Dora Belle Anderson was variously called Belle or Betsy. She
was born in the Rock Creek area of Franklin County. She became a member of the
Enon Primitive Baptist Church on October 14, 1903, at age 18. At her death she
had set a record for longest membership. Belle may have attended Paul Graham’s
Academy at White Oak. She taught at Sulphur Springs School prior to the birth
of her son Oscar William Donald.
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| Jimmie, Belle and Anne |
