David Evander Shapard (Chapter 6) 1892 The Trip to Madison Station, Tennessee

Chapter 6

THE TRIP

MADISON STATION, TENNESSEE

1892

 

“You must not think of those who are gone and of those who are not as young as they used to be and are nearing the end of this mortal career. But rejoice with these that remain, and be happy and try not to grieve about things that are always sure to come in any one’s life. Take things in a good common sense way and grieve for those who are gone as little as possible. Do your best to enjoy things while you are there and take things easy and don’t worry about me for I am getting along very well indeed.”

Sumner Shapard to his mother July 4, 1892

 

On June 9, 1892, Mrs. Shapard received the tragic news that her younger brother Edwin Ewing Hall of Lynchburg, Tennessee, was killed in a train wreck near his home. It was one of those dreadful calamities where a man in the full vigor of health is in an instance cut down by the reapers hook, rendering his body mangled and lifeless. Edwin was only 39 years of age at the time of the accident, and left a widow, Martha “Mattie” Lee Hall (1852-1939) and seven children. His remains were initially buried at Lynchburg, however, in December of 1892, they were reinterred in the Hall family plot at Spring Hill Cemetery in Davidson County, Tennessee.

All the tragedies over the last many years were taking an especially hard toll on David’s mother. She became melancholy and adrift, missing those she had lost and longing for a place of youthful familiarity, amongst kin and friend alike. A place to rest, a place to breathe, a place to reconnect…a place known simply as ‘home.’ In June of 1892, she took five-year-old David, and twelve-year-old Edwin, Jr., on an extended stay to her childhood home, known as ‘Neely Farm,’ at Madison Station, near Nashville, in Davidson County, Tennessee.

Neely Farm was the original 300 acre plantation of Mrs. Shapard’s grandparents William Neely (1772-1842) and Jane M. (Davis) (1798-1889), who resided there with their only child, Hadassah Neely (1821-1907). In 1836, Hadassah married Samuel Sumner Hall (c.1821-1897) and they continued to live at Neely Farm, raising a family of thirteen children. Their fifth child was David’s mother, Jennie “Jane” Neely Hall, who married Rev. E. R. Shapard. Interestingly, in 1870, Rev. Shapard became part-owner in the undivided Neely Farm, obtaining one share through his wife as an heir of William Neely. For the next year, Rev. Shapard managed the farm’s profit and loss books. In 1889, Jane M. (Davis) Neely died and the property was inherited by Samuel Sumner Hall through his wife Hadassah. They remained at Neely Farm working the fields and livestock with a few of their grown children. The farm was located eight miles north of Nashville and just over a mile west of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad station at Madison. A dirt road ran east to west through the middle of the property connecting the Gallatin and Dickerson pikes. During the 1890s, Neely Farm was bounded by the lands of Ben Hambien to the north, R. L. Armistead to the east, Mr. Ensley and Mr. Collier to the south, and George Davis and Mr. Collins to the west.

A few weeks before their trip, David’s mother mortgaged her rent house on lot 5, block P, of the Fitzgerald Addition in Fort Smith to Mr. F. A. Curtiss, an investor from Connecticut, through his Fort Smith loan agent, Mr. George H. Lyman. Mrs. Shapard borrowed $250 for her trip, on a promissory note which matured in three years at eight percent interest per annum. It would take her seven years to finally pay off the loan from her trip, which was satisfied on December 14, 1899.

The morning of their departure, Mrs. Shapard, Edwin, Jr., and David boarded the train at the Fort Smith passenger station, on the southeast corner of South B and 7^th streets, and rode the Little Rock & Fort Smith Railroad east towards Little Rock, Arkansas. After six stops and seven hours, they reached Little Rock, and likely changed trains to reach Memphis, Tennessee, on the Little Rock & Memphis Railroad. After a layover in Memphis, they caught a connecting train east to Decatur, Alabama, where they again changed trains, taking the Louisville & Nashville Railroad north, eight miles past Nashville, to reach their destination at Madison Station, Tennessee. After a long and tedious journey, spanning at least two days, David, his brother and his mother collected their luggage at the station platform where they were met by family members and driven by horse and buggy along the dirt road to Neely Farm. That day a long overdue and joyous reunion was celebrated by all.

David, now five years old, had only seen his maternal grandparents a few times, as well as, his aunts, uncles and cousins residing at or in the vicinity of Neely Farm. David’s grandfather, Samuel Sumner Hall, was one of the oldest and most well-respected gentlemen at Madison Station. He had crystal blue eyes and full head of silvery white hair complementing the speckled hues of his beard and mustache. His face was slender and his silhouette lean. He smoked a cob pipe, was well read, and had a great curiosity of nature, agriculture and history. He was a southern gentleman, abhorred the use of alcohol, was a Mason, a devout Christian and an Elder of the Madison Presbyterian Church.

David also enjoyed the company of his uncle Joseph A. Hall who also lived at Neely Farm. During the war, Joseph was a soldier in the Confederacy, having entered in 1862, but soon after was taken prisoner, remaining confined at Camp Morton, Indianapolis, Indiana, until the surrender of the Confederate Army in 1865. He remained a bachelor during his life and lived with his parents at Neely Farm, assisting in the operation of the farm. He was a pious parishioner of the Madison Presbyterian Church, and became a deacon. He was also a member of the Frank Cheatham Bivouac and of Center Star Lodge, F. and A. M.

While David, Edwin Jr., and Mrs. Shapard were reconnecting with family for the summer in Tennessee, Sumner remained behind at Fort Smith to work and manage the houses. He had been employed with Dyke Brothers, attending school when able, until May of 1891, when the company went bankrupt and was forfeited to J. G. Miller & Co. Shortly thereafter, he earned a position at the Sengel Hardware Company of Fort Smith as their debt collector of delinquent accounts. The hardware store was owned by Mr. George Sengel (1852-1925) and sold all hardware items, in addition to sorghum mills, iron corrugated roofing, buggies, spring-wagons and wagons. Apparently, Sumner was very successful with his collection abilities and worked himself out of a job. However, Mr. Sengel was greatly impressed with Sumner and helped him get hired at the Holmes Dry Goods Company of Fort Smith as their collector. Sumner wrote, “Mr. Sengel told them if I didn’t beat any man they ever had collecting for them that they could have his head, and several other good things that I heard of, he said of me. I certainly don’t mind his complementing me and all that, but I had a great deal rather he would just give me a good recommendation and not praise me so highly for I am always afraid that I will fall short of his recommendation…”

The Holmes Dry Goods Company was established by Mr. Sam G. Holmes in 1887. The large department store was initially located at 165 Garrison Avenue at Fort Smith, and carried a full line, at competitive prices, of clothing, shoes, home furnishings, kitchenware, carpets, fabric, hats, trunks, etc. In April of 1891, Mr. Holmes moved to Denison, Texas, selling the business to Mr. H. L. Page of St. Louis, Missouri, who continued to operate under the Holmes trade name. In April of 1892, Mr. Page moved the business to a new location in the city of Fort Smith. Due to the common practice of allowing customers to purchase items on credit, Mr. Page hired Sumner Shapard, in late June of 1892, at $50 per month, to collect on the growing number of delinquent accounts. Sumner traveled not only around Fort Smith, but took the train as far as Little Rock, Arkansas, in pursuit of collections. By early August, Sumner had once again worked himself out of a job after reducing the company’s overdue accounts by two-thirds. Although Mr. Page could not supply Sumner with additional employment, he was well pleased with his work and complemented him by offering a recommendation to his future employer. Unfortunately, Mr. Page could not carry the business and the Holmes Dry Goods Company ceased operation circa November of 1892.

After a short duration without a stable job, Sumner accepted employment, in late August of 1892, with Lyman & Sherlock of Fort Smith. This firm, established in 1885, at 523 Garrison Avenue, was owned by George H. Lyman (1850-1920) and S. H. Sherlock, and dealt in real estate, abstracts and loans. Mr. Lyman came to Fort Smith, from Illinois, in 1882, having a background in civil engineering, and organized the first abstract company in the city. Shortly thereafter he also established a real estate company and loan agency, which greatly benefited the growth and prosperity of Fort Smith and its citizens. Socially, Mr. Lyman was a member of the Knights Templar Masons and the Congressional church. He was admired, far and wide, as a man of great integrity, inspiration and involvement. Interestingly, only a few months before Sumner was hired, it was Mr. Lyman who provided the $250 loan for Mrs. Shapard’s Tennessee trip.

One of the great concerns of Mrs. Shapard, was that, 17 year-old, Sumner would be left unattended in Fort Smith for the duration of her trip. To remedy this, the Shapards found a responsible adult tenant, known to the family as “Cousin Furner,” to reside with him until her return. In addition, a room was rented to a boy named Robert, who worked with Sumner at the hardware store and was about his same age. In early July, Sumner sent word to his mother that their tenant, “Cousin Furner,” was in need of departing, but not to worry that he was diligently seeking a new adult renter. Like a typical 17 year-old, Sumner had a hilarious manner of trying to alleviate his mother’s worries, to keep her from returning home too early. No doubt he was greatly enjoying his teenage liberation. He relayed that he and Robert were managing quite well. They were eating ham and bread for breakfast and supper, and having dinner downtown near their work. 

Comically, Sumner’s next correspondence to his mother, only a few weeks later, informed her that he had lost his job, that Robert had been fired from the hardware store and then snuck off to Indian Territory without paying them his rent; that no suitable adult tenant had yet been procured; and that he had only “been to see but one girl since you left.” This clearly did not resonate well with the wise Mrs. Shapard. She informed Sumner that she would be returning to Fort Smith early, for which Sumner quickly acquired room and board at Mrs. Birer’s house on Walnut Street and a new job to remedy the situation. The plan worked and Mrs. Shapard, David and Edwin, Jr., all remained in Tennessee, until September of 1892, returning just before the next school year began.