Elizabeth Rebecca Erwin
Elizabeth Rebecca Erwin was the daughter and eldest child of Thomas Johnston Erwin and Nancy Caroline Mathis. She married Josephus C. (Joe) Epley on September 11, 1864. Joe’s oldest known ancestor was Joes Petrus Appel, born about 1678 in Baden, Germany. Joe Epley served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and he married Elizabeth while home on leave.
Joe and Elizabeth had the following named children:
- Arlonia Alice (Leona) Epley, b. August 25, 1866 in Springfield, Greene Co., MO
- John Thomas Epley, b. May 5, 1868 in Denver, Carroll Co., AR
- Joseph Lafayette (Fate) Epley, b. July 12, 1871 in Denver Carroll Co., AR
- Nancy Caroline (Nan) Epley, b. March 20, 1874 in Denver, Carroll Co., AR
- William Franklin (Will) Epley, b. May 22, 1876 in Denver, Carroll Co., AR
- Susan Mahala (Sue) Eplay, b. October 17, 1878 in Denver, Carroll Co., AR
- James Mikel Epley, b. April 23, 1881 in Denver, Carroll Co., AR
- Hattie Symantha Epley, b. April 21, 1883
- Steven Sephus (Seph) Epley, b. January 9, 1888, Green Forest, Carroll Co., AR
Carroll County, during the Civil War, had the misfortune to be in an area of split allegiance. Many families had members in both armies, who could conceivably face each other in a skirmish or battle. During the latter part of the war many inhabitants of Carroll County, who were Union sympathizers, moved north to the Springfield, Missouri area to sit out the war. Joseph and Elizabeth were married in Carroll County, but Elizabeth’s first child was born in Springfield in 1866 after the war was over. It is not known when the family returned to Carroll County, but they had returned by 1868. Their second child, John Thomas Epley, was born in Denver, Carroll County, Arkansas in May 1868.
Granddaughter Halene Epley Marriott relates: “When Joseph was discharged from the Union Army at the end of the Civil War he was issued a horse that had been used in combat. He used the horse on the farm. The horse was afraid of storms, and when there was lightning and thunder my grandfather would have to put it in the barn. The family ate mostly corn and wild onions until grandfather and the horse got the first crop of cotton in after the war. With the horse Grandfather transported the cotton to the gin in Denver on a sled. Cotton was his money crop.”
Judging by the birthplaces of their children, Joe and Elizabeth must have stayed pretty much in and around Carroll County, Arkansas for the next few years. It is known, however, that at some point Elizabeth became a lay preacher in the Nazarene Church. A recollection by granddaughter Mary A. Power – a retired Austin, Texas school teacher – has Joe and Elizabeth down in Texas around 1900. According to Mary, Elizabeth was preaching in traveling tent revival meetings. Elizabeth would have been in her mid-fifties at the time. By 1911, however, they were back in Carroll County where Elizabeth passed away on March 13 of that year, and was buried in the Denver Cemetery.
Joe Epley lived until 1929. In the interim he married four more times. When he died, however, he was buried next to Elizabeth.
Following is an excerpt from the May 2001 issue of the Erwin Family Newsletter:
My Grandmother was a Preacher, by Mary A. Power
Camp Revival Meetings were held during the summers in the woods under an arbor made of branches cut from tree limbs. People came to the Texas meetings from miles around. I remember one such meeting during the summer of 1901. Folks came in wagons, buggies and by horseback, and some even walked long distances. Since these camp meetings would last several days, sometimes up to a week, the campers brought quilts and bedding to be used for sleeping on the ground. Food that was not perishable was brought from home, but sometimes a local vendor would hawk eggs and fresh milk, and even fruits and vegetables that were in season. Most of the food was cooked on open campfires made from wood gathered about the campsite.
To prepare for our journey to the meeting, my mother Arlonia (Leona) had worked for days canning fruits and making “jel,” as jelly was then called. The jelly was made from wild plums, and I can still remember how purple my mother’s right hand was from rubbing the cooked plums through a wire colander, which was placed over a dishpan. She used the plum juice for jelly and the plum pulp for plum jam. She also made loaves of delicious “light bread,” as baked bread was then called. She kept a “starter” of yeast dough and made the bread using this yeast dough and adding ingredients to it as needed. We unraveled the chain stitching on the flour sacks and used the sacks for dishtowels.
My father brought in a large ham from the smokehouse that he had cured. He carefully wrapped it to be ready to take to the Camp Meeting. My father always had a vegetable garden, and evenings, after he came home from working in his blacksmith shop, he would work tirelessly weeding a cultivating his plants. For the Camp Meeting he packed cabbages, onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green peppers, red peppers, turnips, and “chow-chow” made from green tomatoes, green peppers and spices. We also took kraut to the meeting. It was made from cabbage that had been chopped up and then placed in a stone jar with seasonings. Butter that we had churned in our kitchen was packed. Eggs from our hens, also, were carefully packed.
My two older brothers helped with the team of horses and also helped load the wagon. I was ten years old and the oldest of six girls, and we had a baby brother about three. It was my duty to help can fruit, churn the butter and iron our dresses. Ironing was real hard work as each dress was ankle-length and bulky. The dresses had four or five inches of wide white lace in the neck that had to be pressed also. The irons were all iron, even the handles, and they had to be heated on our wood cook stove. When they were hot, we had to use potholders to hold them. Much of our home cooking was done in large black pots over coals in the hearth of the fireplace.
When all was ready and the wagon loaded my father and mother climbed up onto the front spring seat. We children piled into the back with the supplies and bedding, and we were off! The site for this meeting was in the adjoining county so the trip by dirt roads took most of the day. When we arrived at the campground, we found that Grandpa Joe and Grandma Lizz Epley were already there, as well as many other families, and they all rushed to greet us.
The meetings were called “John Matthews Camp Meetings,” since he organized them. Rev. John Matthews was a circuit rider preacher, but when we arrived, he was away preaching at another meeting. My grandmother, Rev. Elizabeth Epley, preached for him the first day or so. Grandma would use many books of Bible quotations as she preached, but I remember being very impressed when she quoted scripture without ever having to refer to the Bible.
The night sessions were very long. We children were put to bed early. Our mother and father put the boys’ pallet near the girls’ pallet. Eslie (Shorty), our two-year-old baby brother, was just learning to talk from his big brothers Arry and Orb. One night, Arry and Orb had Eslie go to Zina on our pallet and say “Zina, Zina (Shine, Shine), if you don’t (doan) shut your (yo) mouth (mouf) and quit talking I’m going to pour sand (shan) in your (yo) eyes (ize).” I could hear Arry and Orb laughing. This was very funny to them. They had their faces covered but we girls still could hear them giggling.
The songs that were sung at the Camp Meeting were the same religious songs that we sing today. Some of them were: Just as I Am, The Old Rugged Cross, In the Garden, My Faith Looks up to Thee, In the Sweet By and By, and many others. A tuning fork was used to give that great collection of voices the key, then male voices and female voices blended to make the whole countryside ring with the sound of music. We children had learned those old songs and we joined in also. No musical instruments were used to accompany the singing.
When meals were eaten it was common for two or more families to get together to make a social affair of the meal. My parents had brought food for Grandpa and Grandpa so they ate with us at each meal. When Rev. John Matthews was present, he often came, at our invitation, to eat with us also. He and Grandma Epley would often tell of experiences they had while preaching. At one meal Rev. Matthews told of a marriage that he had performed the week before. He described all of the materials that he carried in his saddlebags in order to marry couples. Those old saddlebags were magic!
Many prayers were said thanking our Heavenly Father for His many blessings and asking His guidance in our Camp Meetings. The people seemed happy and relaxed as if this week of prayer meetings was therapy for them. At the end of the week the Camp Meeting came to a close. Plans were made for a later meeting. Many people came to Rev. John Matthews and Rev. Elizabeth Epley expressing their joy and thanking them for the blessings received at the Camp Meeting.
Grandma and Grandpa Epley left to begin their journey home, which was in Mills County, Texas. Our family, which included my father William Irving Taylor and my mother Arlonia Alice (Leona) Epley Taylor, and my eight brothers and sisters, began our journey back to our little home in Mullin, Mills County, Texas. Our home was small and unpretentious, but there was always love and harmony there.
Author’s note: Mary Aubly Taylor Power was a teacher most of her active adult life, and retired from the Austin, Texas school system. She was an active supporter of the Austin-Travis County Collection in the Austin Public Library. The above story was remembered in February 1984 when Mrs. Power was 93.