Marion Co TOC

JOHN WOODROW METHVIN: Born 1827 in Madison County, Alabama to JAMES S. METHVIN and HANNAH WOODARD. Married: CORASANDA NOWLIN, daughter of JOHN NOWLIN M.D. and NANCY DIXON on 18 March 1847 in Madison County, Alabama by Wilson Woodward J.P. (Madison County Alabama Marriage Records, Vol. A-4, page 168)

    JOHN W. METHVIN was listed as an Attorney, and two months after his marriage to CORASANDA things began to happen. On 10 May 1847, JOHN W. METHVIN requested that the Orphans Court give him guardianship over his mother-in-law, NANCY DIXON NOWLIN, as she was unable to manage her own affairs; also that she was entitled to certain lands in Madison County, Alabama.
    On 12 May 1847 the judge requested an inquest into her "compas mentis" (mental competency), and the inquest showed that she was not "compas mentis", or not mentally capable.
    A suit was then filed in Chancery Court on 4 September 1848 (Chancery Court of Madison County, Alabama, Book Q,, page 246) the record stated that NANCY NOWLIN was in fact, at this time, insane. JOHN W. METHVIN was her attorney in fact. On the same date a lawsuit was filed in Madison County on her behalf.... (Madison County, Alabama, Original Bill, Book U, Page 246) "Nancy Nowlin, a citizen of Madison County, Alabama was married many years ago since to JOHN D. NOWLIN M.D., late of Marengo County, (Alabama), who died in 1838. On 13 June 1837 he conveyed land to Nancy FORD, John V. FORD and Hezekiah W. FORD ; and said at that time that Nancy Nowlin was 'insane'. Nancy Ford was the mother of John V. Ford and Hezekiah W. Ford; Nancy and Hezekiah are both now dead, and John V. Ford is owner of the land; he intends in a few weeks to remove to Texas. Bond is signed by the agents of Nancy Nowlin; acting in her behalf is John W. Methvin; Seth CASON, John COMBS, Sherrod G. Nowlin, and again John W. Methvin. (Probate records show that John W. Methvin is in fact the guardian of Nancy Nowlin.)
    Nancy Nowlin, through her attorney, John W. Methvin sold her dower rights to this certain tract of land which was in question, and had caused a great deal of contention on 16 December 1848. (Madison County, Alabama Deed Book X, page 202)
    The next record we have of Nancy Dixon Nowlin is in the 1850 U.S. Census for Carrollton Township, Carroll County, Arkansas where she is residing with her daughter Corasanda and son-in-law, John W. Methvin.

1850 United States Census
    (1850 Census, Carrollton Township, Carroll County, Arkansas entry #31)
    John METHVIN age 23 farmer born Alabama
    Cora 18 Alabama
    Alonzo D. 8/12 Arkansas
    Nancy NOWLIN 54 mother-in-law Virginia

It is believed that Nancy Nowlin died in Marion County, Arkansas in 1862 and is buried there with the Pyle family. Nancy had been the mother of seven children; Thomas, Wade Hampton, Martha A., Sherrod G., David Peyton., Catherine M, and Corasanda. Of these, three are known to have settled in Marion County, Arkansas: Corasanda (wife of John W. Methvin); David Peyton Nowlin and his 2^nd wife Lurana PAGE, and Wade Hampton Nowlin who married Genetta PYLE.

1860 Census finds them in Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas
    (1860 United States Census, Yellville, Union Township, Marion County, Arkansas, page 534 B, entry #24)
    J.W. METHVIN age33 Clerk of the Court born in Alabama
    Corasanda 29 Alabama
    Alonzo; 11 Arkansas
    Josephine 9 Arkansas
    Hannah 6 Arkansas
    James 1 Arkansas
    Mary McREA 14 Servant Alabama
    In this census there was a Dr. HANSFORD and his family living within a few houses, there is no doubt that James Hansford Methvin (age 1 above) obtained his middle name from this Hansford family.

From 1852-1862 John W. Methvin was the County Clerk of Marion County, Arkansas.

In the book "Early Days and War Times in Northern Arkansas", by T.J. Estes of Lubbock, Texas , it reveals sketches of early life , manner of living, hardships and deprivations, as well as pleasant times...both before and after the Civil War, taking place in Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas. He wrote of his memories so that the old citizens may have a record of these things and so that the young may know what their ancestors have had to endure. From page 10 comes this reference to John W. Methvin:
    "When about 12 or 13 years of age, my brother Jim, kept a large panther up a large Oak tree, with two dogs and an axe, until John Methvin went about two miles after a gun to shoot it. When it would start to come down, Jim would knock on the tree with the axe, causing the dogs to rally and bark, and the panther would go back up the tree. At last Methvin came with the gun and shot it in a vital part, it didn't die for a spell and it came near killing both dogs. ..." I enter this item merely because I found it to be an interesting story of long ago involving my ancestor.

On 30 June 1862 at the age of 36, John Woodrow Methvin enlisted in the Confederate Army at Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas. He is listed as a Major, 1^st Regiment, McBrides Brigade, Arkansas Infantry.

He was 5'8" in height, had hazel eyes and black hair according to the "Descriptive List of Prisoners of War". (Descriptive List of Prisoners of War sent to St. Louis, Missouri, November 1862, by Lieut. Col. James K. Mills, Provost Marshall General, S.W. Dist. Mo.)

In Turnbo's Tales of the Ozarks, by Silas Turnbo, he makes many references to Major John W. Methvin. Apparently for sometime there had been extreme conflict between Methvin and Major SHALER . Turnbo describes Major Shaler as a brutal man, constantly beating his men, and attempting to shoot one on one occasion for minor details which he had not adhered to. Major Methvin, on the other hand was kind, considerate, and took up for the men putting his own life on the line in several instances. The men admired and respected Major Methvin, and they hated Major Shaler. Major Shaler deliberately stood in the way of several promotions that John W. Methvin should have gotten in a more expedient manner.
    Turnbo states that Major Methvin was wounded and captured by the enemy on the 16^th of October 1862, while on his way to Yellville, to visit his family. He had been ill and was riding in a buggy rather than going on horseback. He was taken to Gratiot Street Prison, (which had been J.M. McDowell's Medical College) in St. Louis, Missouri. Captured officers were taken to forts and other structures that were adapted temporarily as prisons. He died of his wounds on 10 December 1862 and is buried at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri. (Sources: Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, 101 Memorial Drive, St. Louis, Missouri - Section 21, Grave 4861; Grave Marker - Major John W. METHVIN, 27^th Arkansas Infantry; headstone placed on 19 July 1864, died on 10 December 1862; DEATH RECORDS FROM MISSOURI NEWSPAPERS, The Civil War Years, Jan 1861-Dec 1865...death notice of Major John W. Methvin, died 10 December 1862, Gratiot Street Prison)

1870 Census (1870 Census, Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas page 519) 158/158
    METHVIN, Sanda (Corasanda) age 39 bn. Alabama
    James 11 Arkansas
    Four houses away lived James Monroe KEETER and his family. By 1880 Corasanda Methvin had married James Monroe "Row" Keeter. In the 1880 Census they are as follows:

1880 Census (1880 Census, Union Township, Yellville, Marion County,Arkansas#79/80)
    John (Monroe) Keeter age 50 bn. North Carolina
    Corasanda age 48 Alabama

Corasanda Nowlin Methvin Keeter died in 1918 and is buried in Murray County, Oklahoma near the town of Sulphur. They resided in Hickory, six miles northeast of Sulphur. Hickory no longer exists, however I am told that Sulphur is still a beautiful town to go to.

The following is the listing of the children and grandchildren of JOHN WOODARD METHVIN and CORASANDA NOWLIN:

1. ALONZO DEEN METHVIN: Born: 8 October 1849 in Carrollton Township, Carroll County, Arkansas. Married; 23 December 1866 in Jackson County, Arkansas to Elizabeth Ann WANN who was five years older than he was. She was the daughter of Samuel McGowan WANN and Martha ARCHA.
    Alonzo was well educated and could read and write in a fine manuscript hand. He owned a mercantile business in Arkansas for sometime. (This information is from his handwritten Journal, which I have in my possession - Frances Fortune 1998) Elizabeth Ann Wann Methvin worked as a seamstress. Alonzo Deen Methvin died at the age of 28 from diabetes. He was the father of only four children:

A. EMMA HESTER METHVIN born 17 Oct 1867 in Jackson County, Arkansas. Married General Rafe BATES on 1 Dec 1881 in Belva, Scott Co., Arkansas. She was the mother of 11 children. She died in Hamlin, Taylor County, Texas on 21 July 1941.

B. MARY "MOLLIE" METHVIN born 4 January 1870 in Jackson County, Arkansas/ Married Samuel Kelly WANN, her 1^st cousin, on 4 January 1889 in Sebastian County, Arkansas. She was the mother of nine children. She died 5 June 1849 in Alhambra, California .

C. JOHN WILLIAM METHVIN born 4 January 1873 in Arkansas. Married Mrs. Della MANNING on 2 March 1910 in Carolan, Logan County, Arkansas. Had one son and one daughter. Died 25 May 1949 in San Fernando, California. Buried in Logan County, Arkansas

D. THOMAS C. METHVIN born 1 November 1875 in Arkansas. Died 1893 of pneumonia in Arkansas. No descendants.

2. JOSEPHINE METHVIN: Born: 1852 in Marion County, Arkansas. Married: John W. COKER, (born 29 January 1852, son of William "Yellville Bill" and Mary TRIMBLE COKER) about 1869/1870 in Marion County, Arkansas. Her husband John served as the Sheriff of Marion County, Arkansas. Goodspeed, published 1895, mentions them in the Reminiscent History of the Ozark Region,, page 670. She was the mother of nine children:

A. JAMES RANDOLPH COKER "Ran" born in June 1871 in Marion Co., Arkansas. Married to Jeanette Pocahontas "Nettie" BURNES on 8 January 1891.He died 1946 in Bentonville, Arkansas, buried in Bentonville Cemetery.

B. NANCY BELLE COKER born 1874 in Marion County, Arkansas.

C. JOHN WILLIAM COKER born March 1877 in Marion County, Arkansas

D. CALVIN ALONZO "CAL" COKER born August 1878 in Marion County, Arkansas. Died 22 October 1906

E. ELIZA COKER born June 1882 in Marion County, Arkansas.

F. EDWARD COKER born December 1884 in Marion County, Arkansas

G. ARTHUR COKER born April 1888 in Marion County, Arkansas.

H. ANSEL COKER born June 1889 in Marion County, Arkansas.

I. MARION (GARVIN) COKER born February 1893 in Marion County, Arkansas.

3. HANNAH ANN METHVIN: Born: 24 March 1855 in Marion County, Arkansas. Married: 18 August 1869 in Bruno, Marion County, Arkansas to Nathan Absolom PYLE (born 2 March 1852 in Polk County, Missouri, the son of Samuel Gove PYLE and Catherine Genetta ANGLIN). In the 1870 Census for Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas , Nathan and his young wife Hannah (age 14) are living with his parents (page 519B). Hannah died on 1 February 1929 in Roff, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, buried at Pauls Valley, Garvin, Oklahoma. (Nathan died 5 October 1945 in Cromwell, Seminole, Oklahoma..also buried at Pauls Valley). She was the mother of eleven children:

A. CORA CATHERINE PYLE , born 23 February 1871 in Bruno, Marion Co, Ark. Married George A. GLENN in Marion County, Arkansas, (he was the son of George A. GLENN Sr. and Leanna BRISCO of Eros, Arkansas); she was the mother of three children. Cora died 9 April 1949 in Coalinga, California.

B. MOTEN ALONZO PYLE born 1876/77 in Bruno, Marion County, Ark. He died as a young man of measles, place of death unknown.

C. HANNAH ELIZABETH PYLE born 14 February 1880 in Bruno, Marion Co, Ark. She married John WILSHER in Marion County, Arkansas. She died 6 May 1946.

D, ALICE JOSEPHINE PYLE born 14 February 1880, (Twin to Hannah Elizabeth) in Bruno, Marion County, Arkansas. Married to General Glenn ROLLER. She had one child whom they called "Doll Roller". Alice Josephine died (about 1903) almost immediately after Doll was born, and General Glenn Roller died soon thereafter. Her grandparents Hannah (Methvin) and Nathan A. Pyle raised "Doll" Roller.

E. WOODARD DURANT PYLE born 1 October 1881 in Durant, Bryon Co., Oklahoma. Married to Eva GLENN (sister of George Alonzo GLENN Jr. that married Cora Catherine Pyle) in Marion County, Arkansas. He died 4 April 1961.

F. JAMES B. PYLE born 24 February 1885 in Bruno, Marion County, Arkansas. Married Callie MATTHEWS in Marion County, Arkansas. He died 29 April 1966 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

G. ROSA BELL PYLE born 11 September 1886 in Bruno, Marion County, Arkansas. She married George MALICOAT in Marion Co., Arkansas. She died 29 October 1948 in Roff, Oklahoma.

H. ELMER ARTHUR PYLE born 23 Feb 1889 in Bruno, Marion Co., Arkansas. Married Vesty SMITH in Marion County. He died 21 November 1972. He was the father of ten children. In his later years Nathan Absolom Pyle went to live with Elmer's family.

I. EULA ONEDA PYLE born 30 June 1892 in Bruno, Marion County, Arkansas. She married Jim TUCKER in Marion County.

J. NATHAN ABSOLOM PYLE JR. born 8 March 1895 in Garvin County, Oklahoma. Family "lore" has it that he left for Texas soon after his mother's death. It is believed that he lived and died in Texas, exact place unknown.

K. BULAH MAE PYLE born 23 June 1900 in Elmore City, Garvin Co., Oklahoma. She married Sidney TALLEY.

4. JAMES HANSFORD METHVIN: Born 8 February 1856 in Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas. He was the father of twenty-two children, by two wives. He married 1^st to Ellen ANGLIN, who it is believed died in 1905 of childbirth. He married Tiney MAXEY in 1906 in Marion County, Arkansas. He died in Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas and is buried in Burnes Cemetery.

His children by Ellen Anglin were:

A. JOHN WOODARD METHVIN born about 1876 in Yellville, Marion Co., Ark. He married Nancy Elfrida MURRY.

B. ADA METHVIN born about 1877 in Yellville, Marion Co., Arkansas. Married John TAYLOR.

C. WILLIAM WALTER METHVIN born 15 August 1878 in Yellville, Marion Co., Arkansas. Married 1899 to Maude Agnes PYLE . He died 9 June 1934 in Flippin, Arkansas.

D. DAISY METHVIN born about 1883 in Yellville, Marion Co., Arkansas. Married Wayne ADAMS.

E. BELLE METHVIN born about 1885 in Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas. Married Tom FAULKENBERRY. She died in the state of Texas.

F. ANNA METHVIN born about 1887 in Yellville, Marion County, Arkansas. She married Alfred TAYLOR.

G. JOSEPH OLIVER METHVIN born about 1889 in Marion County, Arkansas. He married Ida MINTON.

H. AUDE METHVIN born 19 March 1891 in Marion County, Arkansas. He married Ethel Paralee TAYLOR.

I. EMMA EDNA METHVIN born 20 June 1893 in Marion County, Arkansas. She married Alfred RICE.

J. "Baby" METHVIN born 1896, died 1897 in Marion County, Arkansas.

K. "Baby #2" METHVIN born 1898, died 1898 in Marion County, Arkansas.

L. VERNA METHVIN born about 1901 in Marion County, Arkansas. Married John ENGLAND. She died in Oklahoma.

M. RALPH RAMSEY METHVIN born 3 June 1903 in Marion County, Arkansas. Married 18 November 1918 to Lela ANDERSON in Marion County. He died 22 January 1960 in Yellville, Marion Co., Arkansas. He is buried in Anderson Flat Cemetery.

N. FLOSSIE METHVIN (twin) born 15 March 1905 in Marion County, Arkansas. Married 6 November 1919 in Marion County to Roy STILL. She died in Grandview, Washington.

O. FLOYD METHVIN (twin) born 15 march 1905 in Marion County, Arkansas. He died in early infancy, 1905. Buried in Yellville area.

ADDITIONAL CHILDREN BY WIFE #2 TINEY MAXEY

P. TROY HANSFORD METHVIN born 11 February 1907 in Marion County, Arkansas. Died 10 September 1969 in Harrison, Arkansas.

Q. THERON METHVIN born 25 August 1909 in Marion County, Arkansas.

R. WOODROW WILSON METHVIN born 11 December 1913 in Marion County, Arkansas.

S. NINA IDELLA METHVIN born 23 February 1915 in Marion County, Arkansas. She married B.H. STILL. Died in St. Joseph, Missouri.

T. EWELL METHVIN born 7 September 1917 in Marion County, Arkansas. Married Frances GOODALL. Died 23 January 1978 in Newcastle, California.

U. ERKIN MAE METHVIN born 29 January 1919 in Marion County, Arkansas. She married Braz GOODALL in Marion County, Arkansas. Died in Yakima, Washington.

V. RUBY DEAN METHVIN born about 1921 in Marion County, Arkansas. Died in infancy , at about 6 months of age in Marion County.