Volume 4, Number 3 - Spring 1971
William Harrison Riddle
By Dorothy Riddle Marsh
My great grandfather, William Henry Harrison Riddle, volunteered for service in the Confederate 14th Ark. Regiment, on July 11, 1861, the day the incident told by S. C. Turnbo took place. He served in this company until the end of the war. I have a copy of this companies muster roll from the National Archieves and Records Service in Washington, D.C.
The 14th took part in the battle of Elk Horn, Pea Ridge, Arkansas on the 6th and 7th of March 1862 where Col. Mitchell and several of his men were captured, but they were all exchanged for in less than a year. Among the captured was my great grandfather, Wm. Riddle. He was put into prison in Springfield, Missouri by the Federals and after spending some time he wrote my great grandmother, Martha (Smith) Riddle and asked her to bring their two children and come to Springfield. He told her, "these people here throw away more food than we ever seen in the hills~’. My grandfather, Johnathan Nathaniel Riddle, was two years old at the time and his sister, Mary Jane, was a baby. They left their old home in Denny, Marion Co., Arkansas, with their mother, Martha, in the dead of winter and walked from where they lived to Ozark, Missouri where John Smith, a brother of Matha’s lived. Here Martha took pneumonia and died. She is buried there in Ozark and I hope some day to find her grave.
Soon after William Riddle was released from Federal Prison in Springfield, he rejoined his old company and was with them when they were sent east across the Mississippi River where they distinguished their-selves in several hard fought encounters with the enemy. This Regiment received its greatest glory, according to S.C. Turnbo, when it helped to defend Port Hudson to the end. Here, the 14th suffered many losses and hardships. Among the deaths was that of "Coon~’ Coker who was so well known in Marion Co., Ark. A coffin was prepared for him and William Riddle and Tom Maxwell dressed the body and otherwise prepared it for burial. My great grandfather, William Riddle, appears on the Roll of Prisoners of War captured in Port Hudson the 9th of July, 1863 and also on a list of Prisoners of War released on parole in July, 1863. The next record I have of my great-grandfather during
[3]
the Civil War took place in January, the 31st, 1865. However, I have been able to piece together bits of his personal life from the time my great grandmother, Martha, died, but first I would like to give what family history I have on my Riddle family.
William Henry Harrison Riddle was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth (Hub) Riddle. He was born in Hendersor County, Tennessee, December 30, 1840. This was the same year that Whig Party candidate, William Henry Harrison, was nominated President-elect of the United States. The democrats had held this office for forty years and now, the Whigs were the victors. It isn’t hard, even at this late date, to figure out what party Nathaniel Riddle belonged to as he named his son after the newly elected president.
It is sad to realize that Nathaniel, who was the son of Charles Riddle of Henderson County, Tennessee, would not live long enough to see his young son grow to manhood. Nathaniel and his wife, Elizabeth, left their old homeplace in Tennessee and, with his young brother and his small son, William, they started a long journey west, supposedly to Texas. After only a day or two journey, Nathaniel died and his young wife, Elizabeth, took her young son and turned around and returned to their home in Tenn. Nathaniel’s brother continued the trip.
By 1848, Elizabeth Hub Riddle, was married to John Jones and living in Decatur County, Tennessee. Besides her son, Wm., was the son of John Jones by his first wife, Rufus M. Jones, living with them in the 1850 census. By this time, John and Elizabeth had a child, Adaline, born in 1849.
John Jones and family left Decatur Co. Tenn. in 1857 and moved to Keesee Township, Marion Co., Arkansas which is located 31/2 miles southeast of Protem, Missouri. Here, John Jones, homesteaded some land which remained in the Riddle family until my Aunt Goldie Loard passed away in 1964.
In August, 1859 William married Martha Smith, daughter of Hue and (King) Smith. They had two children. One was my grandfather, Jonathan Nathaniel Riddle born the 17th of Sept. 1860 and the other was Mary Jane Riddle, born in Denny, Arkansas the 22nd of Jan., 1862.
William Riddle’s second wife’s name is unknown but she was supposed to be a full blooded Indian. They were married in 1863 and had a son, Charley, born 8th of April, 1864.
On Jan. 31st, 1865, William Riddle, along with Anderson Moore and Ben Williams, were camped on the north side of White River in Marion Co. Ark. under a cliff and in a gulch known as Cal Hollow. They were discovered by Federal scouts which numbered about 20 and being taken by surprise and having but one old muzzle loading rifle with them, they offered to surrender, but the Federals refused to show them any mercy. Mr. Moore escaped without injury, but Ben Williams was shot and killed on the spot. William Riddle was shot three times, one bullet hit his leg and the other his hand—he was bleeding badly but attempted to escape from his tormentors. Weak from his wounds, he found shelter under another ledge of rock where he lay behind big iciles.
The next morning, Wm. mounted a horse that had gotten away from the enemy during the attack and he made his way to Locust Hollow where friends took charge of him. He was so bad chilled and his clothes were so wet with blood and frozen to his body, they had to cut them off before dry ones could be put on him. As soon as they could move him, they took him into a forest of pine trees where Dodd City later stood, and here they built a shelter and kept him there until he recovered.
The cliff where this attack by Federal troops took place was a favorite hiding place for the men in those parts as it wasn’t safe for any of them to visit their homes as the place was crawling with enemy scouts. When the women-folk felt it safe for their husbands to come home for a few hours, they would signal it was safe by hanging a white sheet on the line. My grandfather, Johathan Riddle, could remember the Federals riding into their yard and killing and eating all the chickens they had while his mother stood by helpless.
Following the close of the Civil War, Wm. Riddle moved to the east side of James River in what is now Stone Co., (Ark. or Mo.?). Staying there only a short time, he moved to Long Creek Township, Boone Co., Ark. where he lived many years 12 miles below Carrolton, Ark.
Having divorced his second wife, around 1872 he married Hester Ann Nelson, daughter of John and Rachel Nelson, natives of Kentucky and residents of Boone Co. Rachel died in 1894. They became the parents of five boys, one girl. Their names were: W. Wm. Rufus Riddle, Alford Layfayette "Fate"
[4]
Riddle, George Riddle, Henry Riddle and Caroline Elizabeth "Betty" Riddle. After the death of his 3rd wife, Rachel, William Riddle lived out the rest of his life as a widower.
In 1904, Wm. went to Red Bird, Indian Territory, to visit his half-brothers, Frank and Fate Jones. He spent all winter there and Fate’s son wrote me that his Uncle Will was very funny and cutting up all the time. He was as lively as a young man and wanted to hunt.
On April 12, 1912, William Riddle lay down on a bed at his daughter, Betty Woods, home where he was staying at the time and never awoke from his daily nap. Only the day before he had walked down to the river and back. His body was prepared for burial by his family and his coffin loaded onto a wagon drawn by horses and taken to the Leartherman Cemetery which is located in a mans field near the river and here he was buried next to his wife and an infant child that had passed on before him.
I have a picture of my great-grandfather, William Henry Harrison Riddle, and sometimes as I gaze at it, I recall these stories of his life and times and my heart grows sad, but I also experience a feeling of pride in this old ancestor of mine. May he never be forgotten.
JOHN RIDDLE
John Nathaniel Riddle was born Sept. 17, 1860, son of William and Martha (Smith) Riddle. After the death of his mother when he was around five years old, he stayed mostly with his grandmother Elizabeth Riddle-Jones and his step-grandfather, John Jones.
He married Sara Ashton, a native of England who came to this country when she was twelve years old. Sara was a widow, having been married to a man whose last name was Tatum. He died five or six weeks following their wedding.
John and Sara Riddle were the parents of four children. The eldest was Arbelle, who died around the age of two. She was first buried in Protem, Missouri but was later moved to the John Riddle Cemetary. Icie Elizabeth was the second born child and the only one to reach maturity. She married John Ransom and they have always lived close to my family. Aunt Icie was eighty years old on October 7, 1968.
A son, named William (Willy) was the third born child of John and Sara’s. He was only about six months old when she died of worms. The last born was a little girl named One Effie in 1891, and she also died shortly after birth. Sara Riddle, the mother, died soon after her last child was born. All are buried in the Riddle Cemetary.
After Sara’s death, John Riddle married his step-first-cousin, Ellen Jones, daughter of Rufus and Margarette (Turnbo) Jones. They were married around 1893 on the old Shaffer place. John and Ellen were my grandparents, and they were the parents of twenty children. Their family record is as follows:
John N. Riddle, Sept, 17, 1860-Nov. 2, 1937
Ellen F., Sept. 17, 1875-Dec. 18, 1946
1. Mary Agnes (Martin) May 10, 1894-April 7, 1965
2. Minnie Edna, April 6, 1895-Oct. 21, 1895
3. Ethel Beatrice (Wilkerson) May 5, 1896-
4. Nora Ann (Wilkerson) April 18, 1897
5. John Nathan (my beloved father) Nov. 14, 1898-Aug. 1, 1957
6. Iva Cardia (Justus) Nov. 19, 1899
7. James Andrew, April 6, 1901-April 15, 1901
8. Russell Martin, Mar. 24, 1902-Feb. 1, 1916
9. Neal Claiborne, April 16, 1903
10. Goldie Margaret (Loard) Apr. 6, 1904-Aug. 1, 1964
11. Ruby Travila (Stratton) Aug. 16, 1905
12. Ruth Pearl (Akins) Dec. 29, 1906
13. Benjamin Rufus, Jan. 7, 1908
14. Burl Marvin, June 2, 1909-Aug. 11, 1958
15. & 16. (Twins) Earl Lafate and Eara Flecia (Moore), May 13, 1911
17. Velva Josephene (Rogers) July 18, 1912
18. Alfred L. Oct. 21, 1913-Oct. 24, 1913
19. Leona Ellen, Apr. 29, 1915-Oct. 6, 1915 (my sister is named after her.)
20. Berrie Charles, July 11, 1918
[5]
This volume: Next Article | Table of Contents | Other Issues
Other Volumes | Keyword Search | White River Valley Quarterly Home | Local History Home
Copyright © White River Valley Historical Quarterly
