Michael Womack
1794
-1861
Michael Womack was born 1794
in Virginia and migrated to Bedford County Tennessee with his parents.
He was one of 23 who enlisted
in the War of 1812 from Bedford County, enlisting as a private under Captain
Barrett, West Tennessee
Militia.
He was in the battle of
New Orleans, January
8, 1815 with
General Andrew Jackson and it is generally known that this Tennessee
marksman who was stationed behind cotton bales was the soldier
that fired the fatal shot that killed British General Packenham.
After the war he returned to
Tennessee and married Sarah Jones,daughter of Charles and Rebecca (Norman)
Jones, who had removed from
Union County South Carolina. Michael
Womack was a millright in Tennessee and also had two sons, David D.and
Wade H. Womack. A large
caravan of 40 families from Bedford
County, Tennessee came to Arkansas in 1849 and settled north of Nashville,
Arkansas in the settlement, known as "The Ridge" or
Corinth. This land was in Brewer township, Pike County and Mine Creek
township, Hempstead County. When
the caravan reached Mine Creek, Mine
Creek township, the settlement was
only a hamlet and a few settlers called it
"Hell's Valley". Michael
Womack, a member of the
Caravan immediately named the hamlet "Nashville"
in honor of
the capital of Tennessee. It
was officially changed to Nashville in 1856.
Reverand Issac Cooper
Perkins and his family
settled in 1836 and were the first
settlers. He entered most of the
land in
and around Nashville. William
and Pete Coulter, also
Thomas Parker settled a few months later. About
the time that the Tennessee Caravan was moving into Arkansas, the Arkansas
newspapers teemed with information about the land that one might enter. The
Military roads in Arkansas had been built by the Federal Government as a
means of the removal of the Indians to the West.
The gold rush to California was on and the
Arkansas route was very attractive. The
citizens in the East were eager to find more desirable land. About one third of the
land in the United States that had
been offered to the 1812 soldiers
was in Arkansas. Michael
paid cash for his land and purchased land three times.
He built a large log house
on the land that some of his decendants now own.
He died in 1861; his wife
Sarah Womack died about 1865.
Two sons, David D. and Wade
H. Womack served in the Confederacy.Wade lost his life in 1863 from a wound in
one of his hands, resulting from blood poisoning.
David D. Womack removed from
his farm to Nashville
in 1878 and built a large
home on North
Main street now owned by Mr.
and Mrs. Walter Westbrook. Much of
the wood work was walnut, including the bannisters around his porches. He
first built a saw mill at Center
Point then built a large
saw mill
at Nashville also a grist
mill and planer. He built a cotton gin, the largest in the community which
ginned 8 bales a day. David
D. Womack was an energetic citizen always very progressive.
For several years he was the
largest tax payer in Howard
County. He
was one of the first alderman when
Nashville was incorperated in October,
1883. He married Lydia
E. Lokey. Their first child, Sarah, was
born in a covered wagon somewhere in Arkansas
on the way to Arkansas. She married
William C. "Billy" Hutson.
The Nashville Woolen
Mill was
owned and operated by David D. and his son, John David ( Dick ) Womack.
Products of the mill were jeans, flannels,
linseys tweeds cashmeres,
blankets, yarns and coverlids. David D. died
March 6, 1898.
The
Church of
Christ in
Corinth was established in 1850 with a majority of the Tennessee Caravan
its charter members.
Nazereth University was
established in the
fall of
1889 at Corinth, Arkansas.
Elder C.M. Wilmeth, who was president of Nazereth University at
Dallas, Texas agreed to transfer his institution to Corinth . Over
$1250.00 and five acres of land was
subscribed by the citizens of Howard County and adjoining counties.
The
board of
directors was
elected and
the work commenced on the building.
David D.Jones, president, W.C.Mauldin, vice-president; Samuel
W. Reese,
Secretary; Dr. A. J.
Ball treasurer; T. R. Wilson; D. J. Chesshir;
Allen Dorsey;
W. W. Watson; S.W.
Power; Tom M.
Holt, directors.
Four Departments--Biblical, Classical,
Industrial and
Musical. Tuition was free in
the Bible department. Board $8.00 per month.
"The Watchman" was
a weekly
newspaper issued by the
Nazereth Publication Society. The paper was started December 21, 1889 and was
issued in the interest of the University
with C.M.Wilmeth as advisor and W.T.
Jones, publisher.
W.T. Jones was a son of Elder J. R. Jones, Christian preacher who was organizer of the churches
Saratoga, Blue Bayou and Nashville. The school
thrived until
1897 when
C. M. Wilmeth and his family left Corinth in
February for Old Mexico to do Missionary
work and
also find
a location for farming. His
move proved disastrous for several members of his family were
stricken with yellow fever,
C. M. Wilmeth, his son-in-law,Mrs. Rutherford, all succumed.
Most of the survivors removed to Texas.
Nothing remains at
Corinth now for it was enclosed in the Highland district
Peach Orchard by Bert
Johnson. The
Church of Christ
has endured and is
still a thriving, active church--the only
marker of long ago. Across the road from the church, many of the pioneers
are at rest in the Corinth cemetery.
The students had a baseball
club and
literary socities. Irene
Wilmeth ,daughter of Elder and
Mrs. Wilmeth was the music instructor.
She married Richard Watson.
This credit can be found in
an article published in the Arkansas
Gazette, by Fletcher
Chenault, Staff correspondent, April 26, 1926, and
in an article entitled,
" Nashville---all Fifteen of Them", published in
the Nashville Tennessee Banner, June 2, 1935.
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