 |
| Rueben Yarber |
Still encapsulated by the frangible and indefinite Hudson family of Richardson Creek, Anson and Union and Stanly Counties in North Carolina, I was compelled to take pause, after just completing a post on Nancy Hudson Yarborough/ Yarber, to endue upon my readers, a closer examination of the life of her romantic and intriguing eldest son, Rueben.
One thing I've noticed after decades of digging through aging records and reading modern stories about those long gone from this world, is that folks like to retroject modern mores onto figures of the past. We can't do that. We can't honestly judge them for following the precepts of their own time, nor can we apotheosize them into deification.
A little background on Reuben. He was born December 30, 1829, on the banks of Richardsons Creek, a tributary to Rocky River that forms the northern boundary of Anson and Union County, North Carolina with that of Stanly and Cabarrus.
His father was William Dawson Yarborough Sr., himself son of Shem and Nelly Helms Yarborough, and a grandson of Joshua Yarborough. His mother was Nancy Hudson, who is speculated as being the daughter of Joshua Hudson Sr., son of Hall Hudson of Amelia County, Virginia.
Reuben's family crossed the Blue Ridge and ended up in Washington County, in Northeast Tennessee, between 1848, when youngest son James was born, and 1850, when the family is counted there on October 11th of that year. Reuben, the oldest child, was 18 at this time. They had arrived accompanied by Reuben's grandfather, Shem Yarborough, uncles Jeptha and Thompson, and more than a few former neighbors.
On January 25, 1851, the next year, Reuben married a girl named Lucinda Spradling. Lucinda was the daughter of John Spradling lll and wife, Sarah. The Spradlings were originally from Wilkesboro, North Carolina and also migrated to Washington County by 1840. One of Lucinda's sisters would marry back into Yarber family connections. Ant that, in itself, it another thing, the name.
Once the Piedmont North Carolina Yarbourough's entered the Appalachians, they had also crossed into the phonetic spelling change of "Yarber". Some of the younger generations would later return to the correct spelling, others would not.
| Name | Reuben Yarborough |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Marriage Date | 25 Jan 1851 |
| Marriage Place | Washington, Tennessee, USA |
| Spouse | Lucinda Spraddling |
If you will notice, in the 1850 census, the family name is spelled "Yarbor", while in Reuben's marriage record, its "Yarborough". Spelling seems to have depended on the educational level of who had written it. Reuben was 22 years old and Lucinda was 19.
Mary Evaline Yarber was born December 18, 1851, nearly 11 months after her parents marriage.
William Alfred Yarber was born September 24, 1854, the oldest son, called Alfred.
Sarah Lavina Yarber was born May 1, 1858. Then, here is where it gets interesting, or confusing, however one may choose to contemplate.
On July 21, 1858, two months past the birth of Sarah Yarber, Reuben marries a second time, in the same county, to Harriet Tucker
| Name | Reuben Yarborough |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Marriage Date | 21 Jul 1858 |
| Marriage Place | Washington, Tennessee, USA |
| Spouse | Harriet Tucker |
It is also about this time that Reuben's entire family pulls up root yet again and moves or to the town of Lenoir, in Roane County, Tennessee, a distance of about 121 miles. This move could have been political. Jonestown, the oldest town in Tennessee, in Washington, the first county in Tennessee, were known for Unionist bendings. The North Carolina settlers came from an area that was a hotbed for Successionist leanings. The War had not started, but things were beginning to boil.
Reuben stayed put, possibly because he had developed a trade and would rather live the merchant and tradesman life than that of a farmer. He had acquired the lifelong trade of boot and shoemaker. He also made other things out of leather and by 1860 had set up shop in the store of Edward West, in the community of West's Store.
West's Store also served the community as a Post Office and a center of commerce and community. The Post Office, with Edward West as Postmaster, was open from 1853 until September 22 of 1866. The community is now considered a part of Conklin, Tennessee.
In the 1860 census of Washington County, Tennessee, Rueben Yarber is shown at 28, with his 18-year-old second wife, Harriett, his oldest two children with his first wife, Lucinda, Mary E. and William A., and his baby daughter with Harriett, named Annis. This child, who would be later known as Belle, was born on May 9th, 1859, ten months after her parents' marriage, so fully legitimate. One might be led to assume that Lucinda Spradling Yarber, and her infant daughter, Sarah, may have passed away at this time. That was not the case.
| Name | Lucinda Yarber |
|---|---|
| Age | 30 |
| Birth Year | abt 1830 |
| Gender | Female |
| Race | White |
| Home in 1860 | District 4, Washington, Tennessee |
| Post Office | Coxes Store |
| Dwelling Number | 447 |
| Family Number | 447 |
| Personal Estate Value | 30 |
| Inferred Child | Sarah Yarber |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Lucinda Yarber | 30 |
| Sarah Yarber | 1 |
Lucinda Yarber was living a few miles away in the Cox's Store community. She was alone, with her one-year-old daughter, Sarah. She seemed to be among and attached to the May family in the area.
She appears to be a tenant of Casimir May, who has a brief autobiography in The Early Landowners of Northeast Tennessee, that can be accessed here.
1870 finds Reuben still with Harriett and their family expanded by three. Oldest son, William Alfred, is still living with his father. Jerusalem is the same child as Annis, Bella Annis Jerusalem Yarber, now 12, it appears sometimes, they just were not sure what they wanted to call a child. The expansion were John, 8, Callie, 3 and Joseph, 8 months old.
Reuben is still a Boot and Shoemaker, but now his area is given as Garber's Mill.
Soon, we begin to see land records and other actions involving Rueben in court.
1873
In 1876, he bought property from his then neighbors, the Treadways, a very Anson/Union County, NC name.
Three years later, in 1879, Reuben Yarber sold to Henry Crawford and other trustees, of the Beloved Christian Church, for $25.00. The property met the corner of a property that Reuben kept, and borderd that of a 'colored' man named Lewis Brown and the bordered the railroad property of the Tennssee, Virginia, Georgia Railroad in the town of Jonesboro, in Washington County.
The lot was for the sole purpose of a church house for the colored Christian Church of Jonesboro, and if it closed, the land was to revert back to J. F. Chisholm, who had paid the purchase price.
The above transaction speaks volumes about the heart of Rueben Yarber and the area in which he lived.
The same year, in the month of January, Reuben sold a property to Lucy Stuart for $50.
The property was a part of the divide of George E and J F Gresham adjoining another lot of the said Lucy.
"Lucy Stuart of color and her heirs forever"
It sat upon the Cherokee Road in Jonesboro, bordered David Campbell's line, and 26 square, I suppose acres, although that was not stated. To begin, Lucy "shall pay" J F Grisham $25.
The 1880 census revealed Lucy Stuart to be a 'mulatto' woman of 50, with a 73-year-old husband named Jeremiah. As she lived in a community of mulatto's and a few white citizens, and knowing what I now know of the limited choices given census takers, I am not convinced that the Stuarts were of African descent, as anyone brown was called mulatto. Anyone who was not black or not white. These may have been an Indigenous family, or even that mixed race group known as Melungeon's, who were forced high into the mountains due to not fitting in anywhere. There had also been dangers in being brown before the War, as dark skin was sometimes seen as a commodity, wherein free persons of color, 'colored' folk, faced kidnapping by unscrupulous opportunist as 'runaways' and taken somewhere else and sold into slavery.
Reuben obviously had a heart for people of color and their circumstances.
The year 1879 was an eventful one for Reuben Yarber. He seemed to be parting with all of his property, some in altruistic ways, and others, not so munificent. Above, we find a document, "Agreement and Deed Between Reuben Yarber and Harriett M. Yarber". Dated January 18th, 1879, it claimed that on that day, that Harriett was "about to file (or has already began to file a Billy against" Reuben, requesting a divorce and attaching all of his property, real estate and personal property, which would affect his ability to earn a living. The property included his business, Yarber Grocery, and his liquor license. In exchange for dropping the divorce proceedings, Reuben paid her off in cash, cattle and interest in the business, along with real estate.She would agree to live with him as his wife, as long as he conducted himself properly, or as a husband would, but would he?
In exchange for Harriet dropping the divorce proceedings, Reuben would sign over to her his farm that sat on 100 acres of land, with the exception of the part that was still tied up with J. D. Cox. He also transferred to Harriet his right of ownership in his house and lot in the town of Jonesboro.
The town lot was on one acre, and Harriett pretty much got everything but the store and the livestock, with the exception of five cows that he gave her in the deed. "the said Reuben Yarber does hereby deliver to the said H. M. Yarbor the full possession and control of all of said property both real and personal." Signed by both and witnessed by J. B. Shipley and J. F. Grisham.
1880
| Name | Ruben Yarbrough |
|---|---|
| Age | 50 |
| Birth Date | Abt 1830 |
| Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Home in 1880 | District 6, Washington, Tennessee, USA |
| Dwelling Number | 84 |
| Race | White |
| Gender | Male |
| Relation to Head of House | Self (Head) |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Spouse's Name | Harriet Yarbrough |
| Father's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Mother's Birthplace | North Carolina |
| Occupation | Shoemaker |
| Neighbors | View others on page |
| Name | Age |
|---|---|
| Ruben Yarbrough | 50 |
| Harriet Yarbrough | 38 |
| Bell Yarbrough | 20 |
| John Yarbrough | 18 |
| Callie Yarbrough | 12 |
| Joseph Yarbrough | 10 |
| Thomas Yarbrough | 2 |
Reuben had relocated his business to two doors below Grisham's store in the town of Jonesboro, placing an ad in the local paper, to let his customers know. I wonder if his move had anything to do with the transfer of property and impending divorce.
Mary Yarber Landreth and Sarah Yarber West are found living side by side in Rhea County, where they will stay for many years.
Their brother, Alfred is living one district over in the same county. Lucinda Yarber and her younger two children are not found in the 1880 census, but they were in Rhea County.
 |
 |
Disa "Dicy" Williams.
In May of 1881, Reuben Yarber and Dicy Williams were brought to Superior Court in Washington County on charges of Lewdness and Adultery. He was 52 at the time and she was 29.
Reuben plead guilty to the charges and paid the fine, along with his surety, merchant and friend, J. D. Cox, the "Cox" in Coxes' Store. As a secondary fact, this was the location that his first, and abandoned, wife Lucinda Spradling Yarber was found living at in 1860.
Dicey Williams was a young, single woman who lived in Jonesborough, Washington County, Tennessee in 1880.
She appears to have grown up in Washington County, the daughter of Jesse and Catherine Williams, found in Washington County in 1840, 1850 and 1860, when they are living in the Coxe's Store District Dicey had two brothers, John and William and six sisters, Eliza J., Malinda, Araminta, Mary Ann, Maria E and Martha. Disa, or Dicey as she was called, did not marry, but was the mother of three children. Charles, born in 1870, Edward, born in 1872, and Catherine "Kitty" Williams, born in 1875. The father or fathers of these children are unknown. It very well could have been Reuben Yarbor if she had participated in a long-term affair with him. Edward, who married in 1896 in Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Virginia, to Charlotte Octavia "Lottie" Wells, named his parents as Dicey Williams and Jesse Williams, his grandfather. I've seen this often enough to not jump to any conclusions of incest. Many children born out of wedlock would either invent a nonexistent "John" with whatever their mother's surname was, or name the man who raised them, often their maternal grandfather.
 |
 |
Rueben is found one more time, advertising his business location as being in the basement of the Court house at the Sheriff's office. Odd place to make boots and shoes. It is unknown if Harriett remained with him or not after his affair with Disa Williams, or if she took everything to which she was entitled to by his own signature and kicked the old philanderer to the curb.
Reuben died on October 8, 1890, in Jonesborough. His resting place is unknown. Harriett Tucker Yarber and most of her children moved to McMinn County, Tennessee, where she died on December 31, 1919 a the age of 81. She is buried at the Etowah Cemetery there.
Lucinda Spradling Yarber is last found in Rhea County, Tennessee at age 69, living with her son Daniel Spradlings Yaber, the youngest.
No more is known of Disa Williams, she may have ended up in Kentucky or West Virginia with her children.
The known children of Reuben Yarbrough/ Yarber with his two wives (or they alone) were:
With Lucinda Spradling Yarber
Mary Evaline Yarber (1851-1925) Married James Washington Landreth, a carpenter and farmer. She died in Spring City, Rhea County, TN. Ten children.
William Alfred Yarber (1854-1898) Married Elizabeth Ann Green, three children. Alfred was a successful and respected merchant, businessman and wood dealer. He fought on the side of the confederacy as a Private in Co. I , 41st Tennessee Infantry. He lived for a time in Rhea County and Roane County, Tennessee and finally in Waco, McLennan County, Texas, where he died on July 9, 1898, at age 43, and is buried in the Greenwood Cemetery in Waco.
Sarah Lavina Yarber (1858-1935) Married Leander Jackson West, a farmer. Raised a family of ten children in Rhea County, Tennessee. Buried in the Smyrna Cemetery in Evansville.
Lillie L. Yaber (born 1860, after Reuben married Harriett Tucker.) Fate Unknown.
Daniel Spradling Yarber (1870-1921) Married Sally Everett Marshall, a widow. No children together. Had a bit of a troublesome life. Took care of his mother until she passed away. He died in Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee at the age of 50. Buried at the Rossview Cemetery in Clarksville.
With Harriet Tucker Yarber/Yarbrough
Harriett Tucker Yarber
The children of Harriett Tucker lived a more white-collar existence than Lucinda's children, except perhaps, her older two. They were better educated and married into the same class of people.
Belle Annis Jerusalem Yarbrough (1859-1933) Her tombstone bears the name Belle "Ma'am" Annis Jerusalem Whitehorn. Belle was quite a character, apparently and deeply admired by her children and grandchildren, some who wrote poems for her and about her. She was a Dressmaker and fiercely independent.
She married .Rufus Whithorn, a bricklayer and merchant. He was also from Jonesboro, Washington County, Tennessee. They married in Unicoi, but settled in Knoxville, where they raised six children.
Hattie Eugenia was 8 and William Alfred, 5, when Belle delivered triplets.
 |
| John Newton Yarber |
John Newton Yarbrough (1861-1932) Married Minnie Fortner and raised four children with her. John and his family first moved to Claiborne County, TN, after leaving Jonesborough. There he settled among a bunch of coal miners and worked as a Cook Oven Boss. He relocated to Knox County, where he worked as a Coal Mine Foreman. Last stop was McMinn County, Tennessee, where he operated a brick kiln, and then became the proprietor of a Retail Grocery Store during his later days. He died there at age 71 and is buried at the Etowah Cemetery. His wife, Minnie, survived him by about 30 years. A land transaction between Minnie and Daniel Spradling Yarber/Yarborough helps to indicate that all of Lucinda Spradling Yarber's children were probably the children of Reuben, although it is unclear how he was able to maintain two marriages, with Lucinda being the first, and therefore legal marriage, if no divorce had occurred, in the same county, Washington, without having been arrested.
Laura Caldonia "Callie" Yarbrough (1867-1935) Married widower William Calvin Finley at the age of 40, and had no children of her own, but raised her younger stepchildren. Died at the age of 67 and is buried at the Etowah Cemetery in McMinn County, Tennessee. She had arrived there after living for a few decades in Meigs County, after leaving Washington County.
Joseph Lockner Yarborough/ Yarber (1869-1952) Had a tempestuous early life, and a bit of a wanderer in his youth. He married Margaret Elizabeth "Bettie" Reeves in Jefferson County, Alabama on November 16, 1890.
In 1897, he shot a man named John Cox, of the "Coxes Store" Coxes in Meigs County, Tennessee and took off.
He wasn't tried until May of 1902, despite being found in the 1900 census of Meigs County, living with his mother, along with his wife and two children.
He was a restless soul, despite having not served much time for it, obviously and is found boarding and working a laborer in Benton County, Arkansas in 1910. He had returned to his family and lived a life of respectability for the rest of his days, after 1920, when he has returned to the place of his siblings in Etowah, McMinn County, with his family in tow, working as a Car Repairman, then a Carpenter. He was the father of ten children, although only six lived until adulthood. He lived until age 82, and dying in Etowah in 1952, and is buried at the Etowah Green Hill Cemetery.
Thomas David Yarborough (1877 -1946) was the youngest child of Reuben Yarbrough and Harriett Tucker Yarbrough. He boarded with his brother, John for a while before establishing his own Retail Store in Knoxville. By 1912, he had removed to the town of Shamrock in Bell County, Kentucky, where he would remain. He was named Postmaster of Shamrock and married Eddie Melinda Gragg. They had three daughters, Edith, Ethel and June. By his fifties, and during the 1930's and 1940's, he became a Traveling Sales Rep for a Commercial Drug Company. He died at the age of 68 in Middlesborough, Bell County, Kentucky and was buried at the Hurst Cemetery.
Since it is unknown who the father of Disa Williams children was, I will not include them in this list.
Reuben Yarber was a lover, not a fighter. He maintained two wives simultaneously and had an unknown number of mistresses, at least one. Certain parts of his life remain a mystery, but he was the only child of William Dawson and Nancy Hudson Yarber/ Yarborough to remain in Washington County, after they had migrated from Richardson's Creek in present Union County, North Carolina. I believe his descendants should be DNA matches to descendants of Joshua Hudson of Ugly Creek in Stanly County, NC and descendants of Benjamin Hudson of Lilesville in Anson County, as well as those of Evan Hudson who migrated to Texas. Reuben made a good life and living for himself, despite his indiscretions, as a boot and shoemaker and a Retail Merchant and Grocer. He gave most of his children a good start in life, which is what all parents would, or should, like to do.
