Saturday, September 19, 2015

Border Ballads

My husband and I enjoyed Hank Roberts' and Tom Refiner's "Border Ballads" concert down at the Bates County Historical Society Museum in Butler, MO. this morning along with a donation luncheon afterwards.

Tom wrote two books about Brig. Gen. Thomas Ewing's Order No. 11 that affected the citizens in Jackson, Cass, Bates, and the northern edge of Vernon County in August of 1863. My 3rd great-grandfather, Martin White had passed away by that time ( April 21, 1862), so it didn't affect him, but it did his wife, Kiturah, and the rest of their family. They heard about the order a little late, so only had a few days before the deadline to vacate Bates County. They moved across the county line into Henry County about half-way between Germantown and present-day Montrose, Mo. They lived there until after the Civil War and then returned home. One third of the citizens of Bates County returned and those that did, had to pay back property taxes during the years of the war. Those who could not afford to pay, forfeited their land.
Tom had an idea for a collaboration after hearing Hank's concert during the Order No. 11 Memorial Marker dedication last year in Butler (March 22, 2014). Hank agreed and the rest is history, so to speak! Tom gave Hank especially moving stories he read during his research which Hank composed into ballads. He sang a few today as a teaser to their CD which has thirteen songs altogether.  I purchased Tom's second book today for $25.00 -- "Cinders and Silence: A Chronicle of Missouri's Burnt District 1854-1870." Burnt District Press, Harrisonville, MO. 2013, which he signed for me.  As in his first book, "Caught Between Three Fires," Tom wrote about Martin in his second also, but with a correction to the story concerning Martin's "demise" at the hands of Charles Jennison.

You see, Martin had been "killed" a number of times in the papers since the summer of 1856 in the territory of Kansas and Missouri, but, then, oops!, he shows up alive somewhere.  I know several recent authors who have mistakenly written about Martin's death based on one or two newspaper articles, however, at the time that Jennison supposedly killed Martin in Morristown, MO., Martin was on his way south to Republic, MO.  (Wilson's Creek) with the Missouri State Guards. And speaking of Wilson's Creek, Tom is currently researching R.L.Y. Peyton  who was Martin's Colonel in the Missouri State Guard. You can find all about his other projects on his website.

To purchase either Hank's CD's or Tom's books, please visit their websites which are linked into their names above in the first paragraph. By the way, my husband took a photo of us together for my blog post today. Thanks, guys! You did good!  :)