Minnie Staggs
After my interest in family history was sparked by a fantastical tale my paternal grandfather told my children about his mother, Minnie Staggs, I began dabbling in family history. Minnie’s story was first on my list of family legends to explore. Although my grandfather was a notorious liar and the stories he told were suspect, I was still curious about my family’s proclaimed “Cherokee grandmother.” This post summarizes my discoveries about Minnie’s life story - all subject to update or change as more accurate information comes to light.
It’s Complicated!
A Bloody Affair in Arkansas
A search of old newspaper articles through the Library of Congress’s service, “Chronicling America,” offered a different take on the death of one Eli Staggs in August of 1866 and was reported in newspapers as far away as Memphis, Tennessee, and Wilmington, Delaware with the dramatic headline, “A Bloody Affair in Arkansas”:
The Jacksonport Era of the 11th says that a man named McKinney, an overseer hired by a planter in that county, was stopped on his way to the plantation the Tuesday evening previous by four men, who robbed, blind-folded and tied him to a tree. The Era says that as soon as released, he went to Cotton Plant and obtained a State’s warrant for the two he recognized – Stracener and Berry were their names – who were arraigned before Justice Lentz of Cotton Plant. The evidence for the State was in accordance with the above facts. But one of the accused parties – Berry – adduced evidence by which he proved that he was at another place at the hour the outrage was perpetrated. It is believed that the witnesses who deposed this testimony were the accomplices of Berry. Upon this evidence, both parties were released. When the trial was concluded, McKinney and his friends left Cotton Plant for their homes – some in wagons, and some on horseback. About five miles north of Cotton Plant, The Stracener and Berry party overtook them. One Eli Staggs, a brother-in-law to Berry and a witness for him – rode up to McKinney and commenced abusing him, and finally challenged him to a pistol combat or duel on the ground. McKinney readily accepted; and, leaping from his wagon, pistol in hand, about twenty feet apart, the firing between the parties commenced. Each party fired three shots, any one of which would have proved fatal. Staggs received the first shot in the mouth, the next in the throat, and the third in the breast. McKinney was shot three times in the breast. When these shots were fired, the parties turned their backs upon each other – walked about the same distance from the scene, and both fell about the same instant – one upon his back, and the other upon his face – and died with pistols in hand. This occasioned a good deal of promiscuous shooting – about twenty random shots – between the respective friends of both parties. But fortunately, no other damage was done.7
The Des Arc Citizen in Arkansas described the shooting more succinctly:
We learn from reliable authority that a serious affray occurred in the neighborhood of Parley P. Hill’s, six miles from Cotton Plant, between two men, McKinney and Staggs, in which McKinney shot Staggs, killing him almost instantly, after which a friend of Staggs shot McKinney, killing him. A man named Marsh was shot twelve times, but not seriously hurt. The difficulty originated in some old charges that had been preferred against McKinney.8
Although the family account of Eli being accidentally shot by the Army as a deserter may have seemed a plausible alternative to the shootout reported by the newspapers, the facts are hard to dispute. Augusta (where Eli and his family lived) and Cotton Plant (where the shooting occurred) are both within Woodruff County, Arkansas. A probate was opened for Eli Staggs in August of 1866,9 and this shooting occurred in August of 1866. Also, Eli was married to Nancy Berry, making his brother-in-law a Berry. Although another Eli Staggs appears in Arkansas on the 1860 Federal Census,10 he lived over 200 miles away in Magnolia, Arkansas and would only have been 19 years old at the time of this shooting, with no known Berry relatives.
A New Chapter
Sometime between her husband’s death and 1870, the widow, Nancy Staggs, married William T. Gilleon.11 In addition to Minnie and Robert, the 1870 Federal Census includes three of Eli and Mary’s children, Nancy, Susan, and George as members of the Gilleon household. Minnie is recorded as a white female who can read but cannot write.
By 1880, Minnie and Robert are working as laborers in Barnes (a township in Woodruff County) on the farm of J.J. McDaniel and his wife, Victoria.12 John McDaniel appears as a boy on the 1870 Census13 in De View, Woodruff County, where Minnie’s Uncle Burton lives, and John’s sister, Mary, is a close neighbor to Burton in the 1880 Census.14 Because the twins are only 14 years old and their mom does not appear on the Census, it is presumed she died sometime between 1870 and 1880, but I have found no documentation to verify the date of her death. Family accounts15 indicate that Minnie, Robert, and their half-sibling, George, became wards of their Uncle Burton, but I have not been able to find documentation of this. My assumption is that Burton, as the twins’ guardian, found work for Minnie and Robert on the farm of a long-time acquaintance, John McDaniel.
A Family of Her Own
Seven years later, William Webster Bates applied for a license to marry Minnie Staggs. The marriage record16 indicates they married exactly a year later, in 1888, but that may have been a mistake by the clerk. By 1900, Minnie and her husband appear on the Federal Census with their four children, Willie Lea, Jesse, Ada (Edythe), and Nora.17 The Census was conducted in July of that year, so there was no record of their son, Chancy, who was born August 22 but died 12 days later.18 At this time, William and Minnie own their home and farm free and clear. Minnie has not learned to write, but the census indicates that she can now read.
Jesse sitting on lap of W.W. Bates, Willie Lea standing, Minnie, & baby Ada Pearl.
In 1910, Minnie and William are renting a farm in Looney, Oklahoma, and have added three more children and one grandchild to their household: Robert (my grandfather), William E. F. (Bun), Beulah, and Jessie Daniel (Willie Lea’s son).19 This is the last federal census that Nora appeared in as she will die in 1918,20 reportedly a victim of the Spanish flu (although I have found no official records to support the cause of death). On this census, Minnie is reported as a white female who can read and write.
William W. and Minnie Bates
William makes his last appearance on a Federal census in 1920,21 and will pass away four years before the next census. Sometime after William’s death in 1926, Minnie moves to Los Angeles, California, presumably to live near her daughter, Ada (now called Edythe), who appears on the 1930 Federal Census in Los Angeles.22 I have not been able to locate Minnie on a census after 1920, but her death certificate23 indicates she owned a home in Los Angeles and had been a resident for 10 years.
Minnie died of cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 65 in Los Angeles. She had been suffering with arteriosclerosis for 10 years and myocarditis for 5 years. The funeral director noted that the body was to be transported to Quanah Texas, but she was ultimately buried beside her husband in Harmon County, Oklahoma.24
Notes:
To date, I have found no connections to support family stories indicating that Minnie had Native American heritage. Several of Minnie’s grandchildren and great grandchildren (myself included) have had their DNA tested and, so far, there is nothing to substantiate the family stories. Despite genealogical documentation collected by me and my cousins, and their own DNA results, several of my relatives doggedly insist that Minnie was Native American (sometimes they declare she was “full blood Indian” and at other times they declare she was “half Indian.”) Other members of the Staggs family have pursued similar family stories,25 so there may be a thread that I will find someday to lead me to the source. My aunts’ stories about Minnie’s father being a Native American Chief are obviously false, as Minnie’s father was a white farmer who died in a shootout in Arkansas. I will dive deeper into Minnie’s ancestry in another post, but for now, I am confident that my grandfather’s tales about his mother were not based in fact.
Minnie Bates
To the family assertions that Minnie and Robert were orphaned at a very young age, that is most likely true. It is not true that they were orphaned when their father was killed, as they appeared on the census with their mother, stepfather, and three cousins/half-siblings at age four. Their mother appears to have died sometime before they turned fourteen, which is a horrible loss, but, according to the census reports, they had many Berry and Staggs family members living within the same county for support.
I can remember my grandmother speaking so fondly of Minnie (her mother-in-law), describing her as a remarkable woman who faced incredible hardship but remained kind and gentle toward all living beings. It is thrilling for me to be able to track her life through historical records and to compare the documentation to our family stories. As long as I have unanswered questions, the mystery of Minnie Staggs lives on.
References
1a. "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QGVW-NM37 : 22 October 2019), Minnie Bates, 1935. [Minnie’s birthdate listed as 10 March 1866.]
1b. "Arkansas Marriages, 1837-1944", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/ 1:1:F7SQ-RP1 : 11 January 2020), Minnie Staggs in entry for W. W. Bates, 1887. [Minnie’s age recorded as 21 years old.]
1c. 1900 U.S. census, Oklahoma Territory, population schedule, Greer, p. 421 (written), dwelling 443, family 444, Arminda F Bates in household of Willian W Bates, image Ancestry.com: (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 June 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication T623. [Minnie’s age recorded as 34.]
2a. "Mississippi Marriages, 1800-1911", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V28F-VKQ : 14 February 2020), Eli Staggs, 1852. [Marriage to Mary Berry.]
2b. 1860 U.S. census, , Jackson County, Arkansas, population schedule, Bayou Cache, p. 681 (stamped), dwelling 1744, family 1744, Eli Staggs, image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 June 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication M653. [Lists Eli as head of family with wife, Mary, and children, Nancy, Lewis, Susan, and George.]
3a. 1850 U.S. census, Pontotoc County, Mississippi, population schedule, Pontotoc, p. 183B (stamped), dwelling 1710, family 1710, Mary Barry and Nancy Barry in household of Jarrett Barry; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 June 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication M432, roll 380. [Mary Berry and Nancy Berry listed as siblings.]
3b. Records of Administrator, Executor & Guardian Bonds; Record of Letters of Guardianship; Record of Administrators and Curators, 1861-1904; Author: Arkansas. Probate Court (Woodruff County); Probate Place: Woodruff, Arkansas, Eli Staggs, 11 August 1866: image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 June 2020). [Nancy J Staggs and Burton Berry listed as administrators.]
3c. 1870 U.S. census, Woodruff County, Arkansas, population schedule, De View, p. 479A (stamped), dwelling 138, family 137, William T. Gilleon; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com; accessed 22 June 2020; citing NARA microfilm publication M593. [Children include Eli’s and Mary’s children, Nancy J. Staggs, Susan Staggs, and George Staggs, along with Eli’s and Nancy’s children, Arminda Staggs and Robert Staggs.]
4. Mrs. John B. Kittrell, Sr. “Information Sought on the Eli Staggs Family.” Woodruff County Historical Society 1981 (Summer Edition): 18-19, image. [Information supplied by Minnie’s youngest daughter, Beulah.]
5. Compiled service record, Eli Staggs, Sergeant, demoted to Private, Company I, 32nd Arkansas Infantry; Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Arkansas record group M317; National Archives, Washington, D.C. [These records show that Eli deserted on 12 January 1863 and on 15 August 1863. See https://catalog.archives.gov/id/30704927]
6. Kathryn Shively Meier, “‘Cowards of the Army’: Straggling in the Civil War” HistoryNet, nd (https://www.historynet.com/cowards-of-the-army-straggling-in-the-civil-war.htm: accessed 22 June 2020).
7. "Bloody Affair in Arkansas," Public ledger, Memphis, Tenn, 24 Aug. 1866. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress, (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85033673/1866-08-24/ed-1/seq-1/ accessed 14 May 2020), Eli Staggs, col. 3, para. 5.
8. 4Des Arc citizen. (Des Arc, Ark.), 04 Aug. 1866. Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. (https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn89051370/1866-08-04/ed-1/seq-3/ accessed 17 May 2020), Staggs, col 1, para. 7.
9. Records of Administrator, Executor & Guardian Bonds; Record of Letters of Guardianship; Record of Administrators and Curators, 1861-190. Woodruff, Arkansas: 11 August 1866.
10. 1860 U.S. census, Columbia County, Arkansas, population schedule, Magnolia, p. 347B (written), dwelling 925, family 945, Eli Staggs in household of Levi Staggs; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 June 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication M653.
11. 1870 U.S. census, Woodruff, co. Arkansas, pop. sch., p. 479A (stamped), dwell. 138, fam. 137, Nancy J Gilleon in household of William T Gilleon.
12. 1880 U.S. census, Woodruff County, Arkansas, population schedule, Barnes, p. 238B (stamped), dwelling 16, family 19, Minny and Robbert Stags ins household of J.J. McDaniel; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 22 June 2020); citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 59.
13. 1870 U.S. census, Woodruff County, Arkansas, population schedule, De View, p. 472B (stamped), dwelling 49, family 49, John McDonald [McDaniels]; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com; accessed 22 June 2020; citing NARA microfilm publication M593, roll 67.
14. 1880 U.S. census, Woodruff County, Arkansas, population schedule, De View, p. 249D (stamped), dwelling 105, family 106, Mary McDonald [McDaniels]; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com; accessed 22 June 2020; citing NARA microfilm publication T9, roll 59.
15. Mrs. John B. Kittrell, Sr., “Information Sought on the Eli Staggs Family,” 18-19.
16. "Arkansas Marriages, 1837-1944", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/ 1:1:F7SQ-RP1 : 11 January 2020), Minnie Staggs in entry for W. W. Bates, 1887.
17. 1900 U.S. census, Greer County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Duke, p. 21 (written), dwelling 443, family 444, Arminda F Bates; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com; accessed 22 June 2020; citing NARA microfilm publication T623.
18. The Louis Cemetery (Louis, Oklahoma), Find a Grave, database with images(https://www.findagrave.com/: accessed 1 July 2020), “Chancy C., Son of W.W. & M. Bates. Born Aug. 22, 1900. Died Sept. 3, 1900, [illegible quote].”
19. 1910 U.S. census, Harmon County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Looney, p.8B (written), dwelling 136, family 138, Florence R Bates; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com; accessed 22 June 2020; citing NARA microfilm publication T624.
20. The Louis Cemetery (Louis, Oklahoma), Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/: accessed 1 July 2020), “Nora M Bates, Oct 7 1897, March 15, 1918, [illegible quote].”
21. 1920 U.S. census, Jackson County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Baucum, p.1A (written), dwelling 8, family 8, Minnie Bates in household of Willian W Bates; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com; accessed 22 June 2020; citing NARA microfilm publication T625.
22. 1930 U.S. census, Los Angeles County, Oklahoma, population schedule, Los Angeles, p.1A (written), dwelling 1, family 1, Edythe P Haman in household of Harry F Haman; image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com; accessed 22 June 2020; citing NARA microfilm publication T626.
23. "California, County Birth and Death Records, 1800-1994", 1935, Minnie Bates.
24. The Louis Cemetery (Louis, Oklahoma), Find a Grave, database with images (https://www.findagrave.com/: accessed 1 July 2020), “Mother Minnie Bates 1866-1935 | Father W.W. Bates 1860-1926.”
25. William A. (Bill) Staggs, “STAGGS in S.C., Ala., Miss., & Ark.” Genealogy.com Forums, April 1998, (https://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/staggs/14/): accessed 1 July 2020).