A Trip to Arkansas

Once upon a time, there were three orphans: Nancy, Napoleon and John Thomas McGuire. They lived in Clay County, Arkansas in 1880. I am descended from the youngest brother. Not very much was known about the parentage of these orphans except for this family legend. From a letter by my great-aunt Susie:

"Yes. Uncle Polly, George, and Aunt Nansy is full brother and sister to my dad. My dad and mother was married in Clay county Arkansas, and from what I remember the people that raised my dad lived at Clay County too. They was mean to my dad. Dad's father left the children a nice house and some land. My dad being the youngest had to wait until he was 21 before [he] could settle about the property...but anyway the court house burn a short while befor my dad became 21 and ever body thought the man Taylor burned it. Anyway he got the place, not my dad."

With a little bit of research, I was able to track down the probate record for the McGuires.

This is part of the Letters of Guardianship for the McGuire kids. I know it's impossible to read. If you would like the originals, I can send them to you. It reads, "Know all over by those present, that we Jacob Lewis as principal and W. H. Martin and David Nolan as sureties are held and firmly bound unto the state of Arkansas for the use of Nancy, Napoleon, William P. and John T. McGuire minors under the age of 21 years old (...) the said Jacob Lewis is hereby authorized to collect and receive all moneys, property and effects that are now or hereafter may be due

So this was an exciting find as well as it mentions another brother...William P. George W. McGuire (the eldest child) is also mentioned in other pages not shown here. Jacob Lewis died about a year after he was made the guardian of these children. John V. Taylor was named as the subsequent guardian.

Two questions:
1. What is the name of Charles' wife?
2. What about the land that Charles' left his children-the probate doesn't mention it at all?

We did find a Charles McGuire in the 1860 census married to a Sarah Gibbs. These Gibbs living next door had a daughter named Sarah in the 1850 census, the same age as Charles' wife. Pretty sure they are one and the same. :) One child is listed, George W. (Perhaps named after his grandfather?) Charles' farm was valued at $600, the same amount as the bond for the children. These McGuires were living in Pemiscot County, Missouri-about 40 miles east of Greene County, Arkansas. But how do I prove that the Charles who died in Arkansas is the same Charles who lived in Missouri fifteen years prior?

I had exhausted all avenues I could think of to prove they were the same guy...so it was time for a road trip

Paragould, Arkansas-the county seat of Greene County, AR.

Getting my bearings...there were tons of court files, in their original packets. It was a TON to go through.

Where to start? These record books began in 1876.

The old files were in the bomb shelter built in the 1950s of the county courthouse.

The gold mine books!  These are the real and property tax indexes for 1876-1878 in Greene County, AR.

This is the 1876 property index.

This is in Blue Cane Township. Please notice Chas. McGuire is listed. There are 15 heads of household listed needing to pay taxes on their property. Interestingly enough, Jacob Lewis is also listed as being part of this small town. AND G. W. Gibbs is mentioned as well. What are the chances that a G. W. Gibbs moves from Pemiscot, Missouri to the same little town as Charles McGuire in Arkansas?

This is the 1877 property index. Charles is listed here as M. C. McGuire. G.W. Gibbs is listed again, as well as Jacke Luis (Jacob Lewis). John Taylor is also listed in this property index. 

In the 1878 property index, Charles McGuire is no longer listed obviously. Jacob Lewis is listed. If you compare his property compared to Charles' from the previous year, you can see that he has obtained Charles' property. G.W. Gibbs is still listed as well as a J.F. Barnett-who coincidentally is married to Selena Gibbs (Sarah's younger sister).

I was pretty confident that Arkansas Charles and Missouri Charles were one and the same...but what about the family legend that said the farm was taken away from the kids? I had searched Greene County land records, and a Charles McGuire wasn't listed. The land that Charles had in Pemiscot County-he purchased it in 1855 and sold all of it in 1860. Where was that land for the kids' inheritance?

Guess what. Totally found the land. And it was taken away-and given to someone else. I guess there is some truth to all legends.


This is a Swamp Land Patent. In 1857, Charles purchased 14 acres that bordered the 80 acres he had purchased in 1855. He sold those 80 acres in 1860, but he hung on to those 14 acres. He paid $17.50 for this land. Further down the page it reads

"And whereas said Charles MaGuire by means conveyances has sold, assigned, transferred and conveyed said land to one Gideon Owens, who is now the owner thereof, and is entitled, so this Court finds, to a patent thereof."

This patent was dated May 5, 1915. I'm not sure how it was "conveyed" to Gideon Owens, but Charles McGuire wasn't around in 1915. He didn't receive any payment for it, and his children were not given the land either. So yes. Charles did leave land to his children, but they didn't get it, or receive any payment for it.

I wanted to find out more about the land patent. Unfortunately, the courthouse closed at 4:30. We got there about 4:45 on a Friday. Bummer.

We visited Charles' land. This is part of the 80 acres he sold in 1860. Google maps is amazing.

Ta da! Arkansas Charles and Missouri Charles are one and the same. :) I also found another daughter of Charles that we didn't know about before. It was in the Pemiscot County Mortality Index for 1860. There was only one McGuire family living in Pemiscot County. This is what the entry read:

Permelia McGuire, 2, f, Missouri, January, worms

This means that Permelia McGuire died in January 1860 from worms. It was a swamp that they were living on. Charles sold the 80 acres that August. She was born in Missouri.

There was an overgrown cemetery on the corner of Charles' land. The names were unreadable, and the headstones were difficult to get to, so we didn't get too much information from the cemetery. Maybe Permelia was buried here.

One of the probate records mentions that Charles was from Gainesville, Arkansas. This picture is of Gainesville Cemetery. I couldn't find a gravestone for Charles. Some of the headstones dated back far enough. Maybe he was buried here.


Charles and Sarah McGuire
-Permelia McGuire                                   b.abt 1857 Missouri  d. 1860 Pemiscot Co, Missouri
-George Washington McGuire                  b Feb 1860 Missouri  Pemiscot Co. Missouri d. ??
-Nancy E. McGuire                                  b. 1868 AR   
                                                                m. 24 Feb 1887 Dunklin, MO M.J. Tilman ?
                                                                d. ??
-Napoleon B. McGuire                            b. 1869 AR
                                                               m. 21 Jul 1896 Lulu Howard Marmaduke, Greene, AR
                                                               m. 24 May 1903 Annie Pierce Dunklin, MO
                                                                                  -Rader McGuire
                                                                                  -Sadie McGuire b. 7 Feb 1910 d. 17 Apr 1910
-William P. McGuire                              b, abt 1872? AR
                                                             d. after April 15,1878 and before April 1879
-John Thomas McGuire                                  b. 10 Sept 1874 Rector, Clay, AR
                                                                      m. 20 Oct 1900 Elizabeth Maud Howard Dunklin, MO
                                                                           -Susie Lorraine McGuire (1902-1981)
                                                                            -Trules McGuire (1904-1927)
                                                                            -Charles Monroe McGuire (1906-1973)
                                                                            -George McGuire (1909-1909)
                                                                            -Elbert Glenn McGuire (1910-1982)
                                                                            -Eugene McGuire (1915-1989)
                                                                            -John Thomas McGuire (1922-1967)
                                                                    d. 10 Jun 1934 Manila, AR

 So now I have lots more hints to go on! It was a great first family history trip!