Amanuensis Monday 1905 Leon Reporter Decatur County

Amanuensis Monday Leon Reporter Thursday April 6th 1905

     On Tuesday, the 26th of this month W H Colier of Decatur, gave Earl Riley a large cottonwood tree on the farm to cut down, providing he took limbs, brush and all except the stump. The tree was cut down and measured 30 inches in diameter across the stump and contained 49 circles from the heart of the log to the surface, which gives the age of 49 years.  About 7 feet up from the butt of the tree a horseshoe was found in the heart of the log hung there by Milton Board in the spring of 1860, forty five years ago when the tree was a small sapling of four years. W D Shelton of Decatur is very familiar with the circumstances being a boy at the time, 15 years of age.  Mr Shelton says Milton hung the horseshoe on the sampling, early in the spring and some time in the fall about horseshoeing time Milton wanted the shoe, but the sapling had grown so much during the summer and the shoe being so tight around the tree he left it there.
     James Milsap , John Gardner and Samuel Black remember of the horse shoe being in the tree and Milton talking about it at different times.  This tree was located on John Cole's farm south by west of Decatur half a mile and 150 yards south by west of John Coles house,standing directly on the spur of the two ravines leading west.  John Cole sold the farm to George McClain and McClain sold it to Calvin Board and is now owned by W H Colter.  Milton Board was Calvin's son. This horseshoe and the nails were hammered out by James Ownsby ( that is the supposition of the old settlers who live here Howand James Ownsley son.  The shoe, as it being around the sapling is  a block of wood just as it appeared in the tree and is a curiosity to look at.  If any of the old settlers or anybody wishes to see it call at C R Riley's office, Decatur. I am told forty nine years ago around DeCatur was mostly prairie and that the public road led from house to house all over the neighborhood. and that a man called everyone his neighbor from one to twenty miles away. How different now a man now seldom calls the man living next door a neighbor. Some of the old neighbors living in and near DeCatur that were farmers are: John Cole, James Millsap, Jessie Lloyd , William Cash, Verd Covington, Lewis Walker, James Summers, Calvin Board, George McClain, Fred Teale, Commodore Ward, Medley Shelton , John Evritt, James Woodmansee, John McLaughlin, Amos McLaughlin , John Tullis, Mat Cornett, Robert French, Al Wafford, John Zion, Henry Ellis, Thomas Black, Matthew Hauston, Peter Scott, William Akers, Spence Akers and Al Aden.
Merchants John Hall , Robert Notson, Geo Shelly, Wash McGrew and Medley Shelton. These men got their goods by wagon route from Keokur. Blacksmiths James Ownsley and William Bear. doctors J O Day, Dr McClelland , Dunn brothers and James Lane.  Preachers J C Porter, Moses Hull, Samuel French and Benjamin Springln. Carpenters John Shelton, Frank Hacker and Samuel Page. Millers John Wartenbe, Judge Absalom Black. Justice, Merchant, Mayor and a gentleman of leisure W D Moore.  A few of these old settlers live here now.  Some have moved away and a majority have passed over the river.  These old settlers wild neighbors were Indians, deer , wolves and Elk
C R Riley

NOTE Genea-blogger John Newmark (who writes the TransylvanianDutch blog) started his own Monday blog theme many months ago called Amanuensis Monday.What does "amanuensis" mean?John offers this definition:"A person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another."