Charles
Found this article about James C
Totty. I am related through Mary
Orton, my great-aunt. I have a picture of her before she died. Let me know if you need any other info. I have heard conflicting stories about which side
Johnson fought onn in the Civil War.
Thanks
Jimmy
WorleyWhen hard times hit the hills of
Hickman County, Tenn., in the late 1920s, a woman from Miss. came to Centerville recruiting workers. James, Mary, and the kids boarded a train and headed south to make some money on the farms. But James became very ill and died in mid-life. The children migrated over into southeast
Arkansas. The parents of James were William W. and Elizabeth
Totty of Totty's Bend near Centerville. They are buried at Defeated
Creek Cem. in Centerville.
William's father was
Johnson H. Totty and Susan
Spradling. Johnson
Totty was a magistrate in
Hickman County before the Civil War. When the war broke out,
Johnson Totty joined up -- but on the Union side! This put him at odds with many of the
Totty relatives in Totty's bend. Johnson
Totty spent most of his service in
Kansas. He served in the Cavalry as a
Staff Sgt. Some of Johnson's brothers were on the Confederate side. He came from a very large family. After the Civil War the
Johnson Totty family became involved with a group of Mormons who came through Totty's bend. There was a lot of conflict. Susan Spradling's parents were Mormons and migrated to the north. Johnson and Susan determined to go to Salt Lake City. The journey was too strenuous. They got as far as Pueblo,
Colorado, and turned back to Indedpendence, Mo. Johnson
Totty drew a pension for his war service. He died at Independence and was buried there. Johnson's son, William W., did not share the
Mormon vision. He returned to Totty's Bend and was thus somewhat alienated from his family.
Johnson Totty's father was
Harrison Totty and Patsy
Johnson. He is buried at Totty's bend on the Arnold place. Harrison
Totty raised a very large family. He was over 76 when his last child was born by a second younger wife.
