George Washington MISER, I

1807 - 1861  (54 years)

• Name	George Washington MISER
  Suffix	I
  Birth	21 Jan 1807	Blount County, TN
  Gender	Male
  Death	25 Dec 1861	Pea Ridge, Benton County, AR
  Burial	Buttram Chapel Cemetery, Pea Ridge, Benton County, AR
  Notes	(1) Meiser, Jr., Joseph A., "A Genealogy of the Meisser Family (Meiser, Miser, Mizar, Mizer, Myser)," Revised, From the Founding in America by Immigrant Ancestors to the Present Time, Lancaster, PA : Meisser Genealogy Association, 1975, pp. 300-303: GEORGE WASHINGTON MISER I . . . , son of John Miser . . . Elizabeth Hale, was born January 21, 1807 in Blount County Tennessee. A copy of a letter written by . . . George Miser's son, G. W. Miser III . . . , states that George W. Miser . . . came to Arkansas in 1826. It is believed that he came to look over land for future settlement. Family Bible and handwritten records by G. W. Miser III . . . reveal that G. W. Miser I . . . and Polly Swafford were married in Tennessee on October 18, 1826. Polly was born November 25, 1805 in Tennessee. Nine of their eleven children were born in Tennessee. Early in 1838, George Washington Miser I and wife, Polly S. Miser, began to make arrangements to move their family from their home in Sequatchie Valley, Bledsoe County, Tennessee to Arkansas. The date of the Miser family's move to Arkansas in 1838 is supported by the census records showing the birth of the last child in Tennessee, Michael . . . , and the birth of the first child in Arkansas, Elijah . . . , as well as by the land records of George W. Miser I . . . in Benton County, Arkansas. George W. Miser I . . . and family were listed in Benton County 1840 census. Polly Swafford Miser left an estate in Tennessee according to Deed Books in the Benton County, Arkansas Courthouse. It is assumed that this estate was property she inherited from her parents in Tennessee. George W. and Polly Miser Were attracted to the Pea Ridge area not so much by the beauty of the countryside, or the fertility of the soil, but by springs which furnished an abundance of pure water. They made their home in the Pea Ridge neighborhood near the fields which were battlegrounds 25 years later in the Civil War. The beautiful spring, which was a short distance from the Miser log homestead, is still a lovely spring with cold sparkling clear water flowing in abundance from a cave-like entrance. The name Pea Ridge came from a strip of territory lying between Big and Little Sugar Creeks where there was a profusion of wild peas growing in 1838. The "ridge" was about eight miles wide and about twenty-five miles long. Records reveal that 15 families settled in and around Pea Ridge. The first settlers were the Hardy, Hammock, Harris, Harston, Foster, Miser, Lasater, Morrison, Patterson, Pickens, Price, Patton, Walker, Webb, and Wood families. Of the fifteen families, descendants of eight of the families intermarried with members of the Miser family; namely the Harris, Foster, Lasater, Patterson, Pickens, Price, Walker, and Webb families. George W. Miser I . . . was anxious to help with the establishment of a church and school for his family as well as those of the community as soon as he was settled in his new Pea Ridge home. From the "Rogers Daily News," Rogers Arkansas July 1, 1950 - Sec. N. - Pg. 4: "Among the early settlers on Pea Ridge, there was a fair proportion of Methodists. The first meeting place of Methodists on Pea Ridge was at a camp meeting ground on what is now known as the George W. Miser farm. No records exist of this early effort toward establishment of the church but the time was somewhat around 1840. The first church building erected on the camp meeting site was destroyed during the Civil War. Around 1855, another Methodist church was organized at Buttram's Chapel located a mile south and a half-mile east of the present town of Pea Ridge." Phebe Buttram Pitts . . . (born 1886), a granddaughter of G. W. Miser I . . . , lives in Pea Ridge and relates that the camp meeting ground was known as the Segal Camp and School. Her mother, Sarah Miser Buttram . . . , attended church and school there. It is believed that the Campground was in use in 1839. The location was about ½ mile south of the home of George W. Miser I. An arrangement was made by George W. Miser for a subscription school to be held during the week and church services on weekends. His children attended the school, and the entire family was present for all the church services. Tragedy struck the G. W. Miser home in the fall of 1842 when his beloved wife, Polly Swafford Miser, became ill and died on November 23, 1842. She was buried in the Miser homestead cemetery which was a short distance from their home. It is believed that her grave was the first in the cemetery. Daughters, Elizabeth . . . - then 14 years old. and Nancy . . . - 10 years old, took over the role of their late mother and helped rear the younger children. CHILDREN OF GEORGE W. MISER, I . . . AND POLLY SWAFFORD: . . . [i] Henry Clay Miser. . . . [ii] Elizabeth Miser. . . . [iii] Aaron Miser. . . . [iv] John Henry Miser. . . . [v] Nancy Elizabeth Miser. . . . [vi] Mary "Polly" Miser (1833-1855). . . . [vii] Sarah Miser, II (1834-1836). . . . [viii] George W. Miser II (1835-1853). . . . [ix] Michael Miser. . . . [x] Elijah H. Miser. . . . [xi] Phebe Miser II (1841-1848). . . . George W. Miser I . . . met Jane Potter in Benton County, Arkansas and was married September 9, 1845. She was born July 4, 1819 in South Carolina. Descendants state that Jane Potter Miser was very much loved by her stepchildren as well as by her own. George W. Miser I . . . was a very colorful, intelligent and ambitious pioneer leader in the Pea Ridge, Arkansas area. His original land patents totaled 1460 acres on the homestead property. The 1860 census reported a valuation of $10,000 in real estate and $2000 in personal property. It is important that one understands the duplication of names among the children of George W. Miser I. . . . Children of his first wife died and children born later to his second wife were named for them. Roman numerals are used to differentiate the duplications. CHILDREN OF GEORGE W. MISER I . . . AND JANE POTTER: . . . [xii] Sarah E. Miser III. . . . [xiii] James H. Miser. . . . [xiv] Jordan Stanford Miser. . . . [xv] Phebe Jane Miser III (1851-1866). . . . [xvi] William McCalister Miser. . . . [xvii] Susan Arnildra Miser. . . . [xviii] George Washington Miser III. . . . [xix] Emily Melvina Miser. . . . The biographies of George W. Miser I . . . and his wife Jane Potter would not be complete without mention of the hardships inflicted on the family during the Civil War. Phebe Buttram Pitts . . . of Pea Ridge, Arkansas has related the following information about her Grandfather G. W. Miser I . . . which was told to her by her mother, Sarah Miser Buttram. . . . "Grandfather had been ill with a fever in the summer of 1861 and he had not regained his strength by early fall. He became very discouraged with his slow recovery as there was so much work to be done in the fall to prepare for the long cold winter season. Their pork meat supply had been exhausted for some time, and Grandfather was anxious to replenish the supply. ["]The family quickly made all the preliminary preparations for the large task of butchering the hogs and preserving the meat. By the time the hogs were dressed, the weather turned much warmer. An encampment of soldiers was in the Miser community and rumors were being circulated that the soldiers were taking food from some of the citizens. Grandfather George directed the family to place all of the meat in the large barrels of salt brine for preservation. There was the strong possibility that the meat would spoil. They waited the necessary time for the meat to remain in the brine, and then took out the side meat first to smoke. Because it was thinner, it had taken the salt much faster than the thick hams. As soon as the sides had been smoked, Grandfather dry salted them as an extra precautionary measure and hid them under the house where it was dry and cool. The hams and shoulders were removed from the salt brine and carried to the smoke house to prepare for the smoking process. There was a moldy smell, and Grandfather was afraid they could not use the meat. They went ahead and continued with the smoking anyway. The soldiers who were encamped in the community raided my Grandparent's smokehouse just a few days later and took the molded meat. Grandfather was so thankful that their good meat had been hidden from the thieves. ["]Grandfather George Washington Miser I . . . died on Christmas day in 1861 and was buried beside his wife, Polly, in the Miser Homestead Cemetery. Everything seemed so difficult without him during the stress and turmoil of the beginning of the Civil War. Grandmother was a very courageous lady and did the best she could to hold the family together. The older sons remained at home that winter, spring, and early summer of 1862 to help with the work." Dr. Wilson Lee Miser . . . related the same story about the meat that Phebe Pitts remembered. However, he added the following information: "The intruding soldiers did not become discouraged with the spoiled meat for they repeatedly returned and took all of Grandmother's stock. They did leave one animal for her - a bow-legged mule. The soldiers took the family feather beds, bed clothing and blankets - nothing was left but the straw bed ticks and the slats on the beds. Fortunately, the furniture wasn't taken. They took all the cloth they could find in Grandmother Jane's home. It was believed the soldiers took the cloth for uniforms and clothing." Wilson L. Miser . . . has a receipt which was given his Grandmother Jane Miser by an Army Captain who took a heifer to butcher for food for the troops. It was intended that she receive money for the animal, but there was no place or arrangements made to redeem the receipts so she never was reimbursed by the Army. He states that, "The bow-legged mule, that was left as the lone animal on the 1460 acres of land belonging to Grandmother and her children, was used in many ways by many people. The soldiers drove the mule down the hill first and then returned to drive some of Grandmother's geese. The soldiers tied the heads of the geese together and put them over the back of the mule - they then drove the mule down the hill to their encampment. They would make several trips; and when the old mule was unloaded, he made his way back home as soon as he could. The soldiers dressed the geese for those in their Company. The old mule was used by the family for cultivating the vegetable gardens as well as any other work that they could persuade him to do. The Miser family members suffered no physical abuse by the soldiers for they were apparently friendly, but they stole about everything the family owned." In 1889, the eight surviving children of George Washington Miser I . . . began to consider the future of the Miser Homestead Cemetery as there were no permanent gravestones for future identification of the graves. Field stones had been placed at each grave through the years, and the immediate family could identify each one, but they were fully aware it would be impossible for future generations to find the unmarked cemetery. The children decided to purchase a large monument in memory of their father which would mark his grave as well as identify the cemetery. The monument has some lovely inscriptions. In part, the wording is, "Erected in 1889 in memory of our Beloved Father - GEORGE W. MISER, A Native of East Tennessee, born January 21, 1807, died in Benton County, Arksanas, December 25, 1861 - Also in memory of his family who are deceased." George Washington Miser I and his first wife Polly Swafford Miser, were buried in the Miser Homestead Cemetery with six of their children and two children by G. W. Miser and his second wife, Jane Potter Miser. . . . Through the years, the fence around the Miser Homestead Cemetery had been torn down and had not been replaced in recent years. The Cemetery had bcome a cow pasture, and the cattle had rubbed against the tall monument, and knocked it over, thus parts of it had become disassembled. The monument was repeatedly put together again. In 1970, a meeting of some of the G. W. Miser I . . . descendants was held, and it was unanimously agreed to follow Dr. Wilson Lee Miser's suggestion that the grave of G. W. Miser I . . . and monument be moved from the unmarked Homestead Cemetery to the Buttram's Chapel Cemetery. Wilson gave two burial sites in his father Jordan S. Miser's lot in Buttram's Chapel Cemetery for the purpose of the removal. Some of the descendants of G. W. Miser's first wife, Polly Swafford Miser . . . , decided it was the thing to do to move her grave also. The latter had been marked with the footstone of G. W. Miser's grave. A new monument was provided by Polly Miser's descendants, and her grave is beside that of G. W. Miser's. The farmland of G. W. Miser I . . . where the original house stood, and the family burying plot to the rear of the house, is currently owned by the heirs of the late Eugene Howard Miser. This farm is one mile south of the Buttram's Chapel Cemetery and is on the east side of the road. The Buttram's Chapel Cemetery is a mile and one-half east of the Village of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, Benton County. The removal and new location of the G. W. Miser I . . . and Polly Swafford Miser graves are registered in Little Rock, Arkansas for future generations' information. Jane Potter Miser, second wife of G. W. Miser I . . . , was residing with her daughter, Susan Miser Perkins Requa . . . (1859-1938) at Neosho, Missouri at the time of her passing on February 8, 1907. She was buried at Buttram's Chapel Cemetery by the side of her little granddaughter, Minnie, who had requested this privilege of being buried by her Grandmother some twenty-two years previously. (2) www.findagrave.com: George Washington "LIGE" Miser Birth: Jan. 21, 1807, USA Death: Dec. 25, 1861, Pea Ridge (Benton County), Benton County, Arkansas, USA GEORGE WASHINGTON MISER WAS BORN JAN. 21, 1807 UNTO AND DIED DEC. 25, 1861. Family links: Spouse: Polly Swafford Miser (1805 - 1842); Children: Henry Clay Mizer (1827 - 1877) Burial: Buttram Chapel Cemetery, Pea Ridge (Benton County), Benton County, Arkansas, USA Created by: Charles Robin Rauch Record added: Aug 10, 2011 Find A Grave Memorial# 74715072
  Person ID	I30236	Frost, Gilchrist and Related Families
  Last Modified	17 Apr 2024

  
  

  Father	John MISER,   b. 1779, Northumberland County, PA d. 1849, Bradley County, TN (Age 70 years)
  Mother	Elizabeth HALE,   b. Abt 1779   d. Abt 1837, McMinn County, TN (Age ~ 58 years)
  Family ID	F13139	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Polly SWAFFORD,   b. 25 Nov 1805, TN d. 23 Nov 1842 (Age 36 years)
  Marriage	18 Oct 1826	TN
  Children	1. Henry Clay MISER,   b. 30 Jul 1827, TN d. 19 Dec 1877 (Age 50 years)   2. Elizabeth MISER,   b. 1 Oct 1828, TN d. 6 Nov 1858 (Age 30 years)   3. Aaron MISER,   b. 4 Feb 1830, TN d. 15 Feb 1865 (Age 35 years)   4. John Henry MISER,   b. 4 Mar 1831, TN d. 13 Jul 1910 (Age 79 years)   5. Nancy Elizabeth MISER,   b. 3 Jul 1832, TN d. 3 Mar 1921, Pea Ridge, Benton County, AR (Age 88 years)   6. Mary MISER,   b. 1833, TN d. 1855 (Age 22 years)   7. Sarah MISER, II,   b. 1834, TN d. 1836 (Age 2 years)   8. George W. MISER, II,   b. 1835, TN d. 1853 (Age 18 years)   9. Michael MISER,   b. 14 Nov 1837, TN d. 28 Jul 1862 (Age 24 years)   10. Elijah H. MISER,   b. 3 May 1839, AR d. 14 Aug 1864 (Age 25 years)   11. Phebe MISER, II,   b. 1841, AR d. 1848 (Age 7 years)
  Family ID	F13141	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	17 Apr 2024

  
  

  Family 2	Jane POTTER,   b. 4 Jul 1819, SC d. 8 Feb 1907 (Age 87 years)
  Marriage	9 Sep 1845
  Children	1. Sarah E. MISER, III,   b. 20 Jun 1846   d. 30 Jan 1922 (Age 75 years)   2. James H. MISER,   b. 7 Dec 1847   d. Apr 1866 (Age 18 years)   3. Jordan Stanford MISER,   b. 14 Jan 1850   d. 11 Jul 1935 (Age 85 years)   4. Phebe Jane MISER, III,   b. 1851   d. 1866 (Age 15 years)   5. William McCalister MISER,   b. 17 Nov 1853   d. 3 Feb 1898 (Age 44 years)   6. Susan Amildra MISER,   b. 13 Feb 1855   d. 4 Apr 1938 (Age 83 years)   7. George Washington MISER, III,   b. 6 Apr 1858   d. 31 Jul 1951 (Age 93 years)   8. Emily Melvina MISER,   b. 13 Dec 1859   d. 27 Sep 1937 (Age 77 years)
  Family ID	F16986	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	17 Apr 2024