William Ewing EASTER

                   Notes
HUSBAND - Dr. William Ewing EASTER BIRTH: 1850 OH Census, Huron Co. Greenfield TWP, page 394, Dwelling #2730, Family #2785.

DEATH: Certificate of Death, State of Arkansas, Bureau of Vital Statistics, No.1645. Filed 26 Mar 1914.

MARRIAGE: Marriage Certificate, State of Arkansas, Ashley Co. Hamburg. Filed for record on 5 Dec 1866. Marriage Record AA, page 267.

CENSUS:
	1850 OH, Huron Co. Greenfield TWP, page 394, Dwelling #2730, Family #2785, enumerated with his older brother, Robert. Age 18, OH.
	1860 AR, Ashley Co. page 89, Family #623.
	1870 AR, Ashley Co.
	1880 AR, Ashley Co. Carter TWP, Dwelling #91, Family #94.
	1900 AR, Ashley Co. Carter TWP, Hamburg, Dwelling #183, Family #194.

MILITARY:
	Enlisted in the Confederate service on 12 Jul 1861 at Yellvile, AR for a period of 12 months and assigned to Company G, 14th Regiment, Arkansas Infantry. Discharged as a private. at Camp Priceville, MS on 21 Jul 1862. Civil War service record obtained from the National Archives and Records Administration, Wash DC.

BIOGRAPHY: Dr. William Ewing Easter was born on 25 Dec 1831. He was the son of James Easter and Catherine Ewing. His parents came to Ohio around 1822 from Londondary, Couty Tyrone, Northern Ireland. They were involved in the textile industry in Ireland. They bought a farm in Huron Co. OH where William was born and raised. William's siblings were Robert, Margaret, Rebecca, Andrew Washington, Wilson, and Augustus who died as an infant.

The children are found on the OH 1850 Census living on the farm after their parents had died. James died in 1847 and Catherine died in 1949. The will of James Easter stated he wanted his younger children to receive an education.

William Ewing received an education from Western Reserve Medical School in Cleveland, OH. It is not known what education his younger siblings received. In 1850, Dr. William is found in Hamburg, Ashley Co. AR. The state was new and he was one of the earliest doctors in the county. He married first, Virginia Bell on 28 Dec 1859; she died sometime afterwards.

Dr. William served in the Confederate Army for approximately one year and was discharged on 21 Jul 1862. He was a Private in Co. E, 14 Regiment, Arkansas Infantry. The South suffered terriblly during and after the Civil War. Dr. William went to Honduras, Central America, with a local group of men to seek a better life sometime during this period. He returned thereafter and married Susan Mosely Pugh on 3 Aug 1866. Their children were Annie Laurie,

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Dr. William was well respected in the community. He was President of the Board of Health in Ashley Co. He was responsible for the first smallpox immunization in Ashley Co. He valued education even though educational opportunities in rural Arkansas were limited. All the children were educated to some extent. He sent his daughter, Annie, and son, George, to Lebanon, OH to be educated at National Normal University. A fellow student at the university was Cordell Hull, a Cabinet member of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. Annie became a school teacher and George a dentist.

He built a family home in Hamburg, AR, which still stands and is on the National Registry of Historic Places. He died in 1914 at the age of 83. His wife, Susan, died in 1907. Both are buried in Hamburg Cemetery, along wiht all their children except Annie Laurie who is buried in Rock Island, IL.

WIFE		- Susan Mosley PUGH
	BIRTH: 1900 AR Census, Ashley Co. Carter TWP, Hamburg Town. Vol. 1,
	E.D. 10, Sheet 11, Line 11. Dwelling #183, Family #194.

DEATH: Tombstone Inscriptions and Notes of Ashley Co. AR, compiled by the Ashley Co. Genealogical Society, Crossett, AR (1992), page 95.

MARRIAGE: Marriage Record AA, Ashley Co. AR, page 267.

CENSUS:
1850 MS, Marshall Co. Northern Div., Family #445.
1870 AR, Ashley Co., enumerated with husband, William Easter.
	1880 AR, Ashley Co. Carter TWP, Dwelling #91, Family #94, enumerated with her husband, W.E. Easter.
1900 AR, Ashley Co. Carter TWP, Dwelling #183, Family #194

BIOGRAPHY: Susan Mosely Pugh was born 2 May 1843 in Marshall Co. MS. She was the daughter of Greenwood Pugh and Albena Low. She was the seventh child. Her siblings were Cynthia Ann, James L, Thomas Felix, Francis J, John Demarcus, Robert A, Martha A. (Patty), Mary Fannie, Daniel B, Cora E, and Dr. William. All the children were born in Mississippi except William, who was born in Arkansas and Cynthia Ann, born in Alabama.

The family traveled by wagon train with slaves from Mississippi to Ashley Co. AR in the early 1850's. They settled on a plantation a few miles north of Crosett, AR. Susan's father, Greenwood, was a cotton planter and one of the first settlers of Ashley Co.

Susan married Dr. William Easter 3 Aug 1866. They made their home in Hamburg, AR where Dr. William practiced medicine. Their children were Annia Laurie, George Murphy, Charlotte (Lottie), Sula Margaret, and Wilson Ewing. It is known that Susan played the piano and was quite literary. She and Dr. William were members of a Literary Club which frequently met in their home. She valued education and all of her children were educated to some degree. Annie and Sula became teachers. George became a dentist.

Susan died 20 Nov 1907 at the age of 64. One of her daughters, Sula Margaret preceeded her in death. She is buried in Hamburg Cemetery along with her husbannd, Dr. William, and all of her children except Annia Laurie who is buried in Rock Island, IL.

CHILD 1 - Annie Laurie EASTER BIRTH: Family Bible of William Ewing Easter and Susan Mosley Easter; in possession of Robert Atkinson, Pine Bluff, AR (12-96).

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DEATH: Obituary of Annie L. Ferguson, THE ROCK ISLAND ARGUS, 16 Oct 1952, page 2. Rock Island IL Public Library. Copy of obituary is possession of the submitter.

CHILD 2 - Dr. George Murphy EASTER BIRTH: 1880 AR Census, Ashley Co. Carter TWP. Vol. 7, E.D. 7, Sheet 14, Line 24.

DEATH: Death Certificate, State of Alabama, State File No. 03102, Registrar No. 3737020.

MARRIAGE: Marriage License, State of Arkansas, Union Co. Recorded in Marriage Book M, page 93 on 16 Apr 1900.

CENSUS:		E
	1880 AR, Ashley Co. Carter TWP, Dwelling #91, Family #94.
Enumerated with his father, W.E. Easter; age 7, AR.
	1910 AR, Ashley Co. Carter TWP, Dwelling #12, Family #13.
	1920 AR, Ashley Co. Carter TWP, Vol. 1, E.D. 5, Sheet 5, Line 13.
BIOGRAPHY:
Dr. George Murphy Easter was the son of Dr. William Ewing Easter and Susan Mosley Pugh. He was born 6 Dec	_
1872 in Hamburg, AR. He died 21 Feb 1944 in Birmingham, AL. He was buried in Hamburg Cemetery in Hamburg,
AR. George married Verser Dean Harrison on 27 Feb 1900 in Eldorado, AR. They had three children, Harrison Ewing,1M~ ~~
born in Eldorado, AR, Jack Stuart born in Stout, AR, and Shirley Eugenia born in Hamburg, AR.

After attending local schools in Hamburg, he completed two years of college in Lebanon, OH at National Normal University together with his sister, Annie Laurie. Subsequently, he attended Vanderbilt University where he studied dentistry. He practiced dentistry throughout his life in Hamburg, AR. He also served as Mayor and was a member of the schoolboard.

His wife Verser died in 1933. Afterwards, he married the widow, Bertha Perry, who had a young daughter, Helen, six years of age. George and Bertha continued to live in the family home. In Feb 1944, he traveled to Birmingham, AL by bus, to visit his son, Harrison, and grandson, Daren, who was home on leave from the Navy. While there, Gorge was stricken with Viral pneumonia and died a few days later. His remains were returned to Hamburg for burial.

Dr. George Easter was loved and respected by his family and friends. His dental office was located on the second floor of one of the stores on the town square. The square of buildings surrounded the county court house. George lived five or six blocks from his office and walked back and forth each day. He always walked home for lunch and took a nap afterwards.

Gorge's dental office was a fascinating and mysterious place. It had a black leather dental chair which tilted back and forth. There were strange instruments on a tray attached to the chair. Dr. George was the only dentist in Hamburg. He pulled teeth and made imprints for dentures. He served many people in the county. In the depth of the depression he accepted farm food for payment. Dr. George loved to fish and hunt. Many times he would close his office at noon and go fishing. His young grandson, Philip, often went with him. George had a birddog named Sooner, who was also by his sides. He loved good food. He had a smoke house for his meat, a garden, chickens, a cow, fig trees, and a rose garden. He lived a simple life in rural Arkansas. His death came too early and he had been sorely missed.

CHILD 3 - Sula Margaret[Maggie] EASTER BIRTH:
	1900 AR Census, Ashley Co., Carter TWP, Hamburg Town. Vol. 1, E.D. 10, Sheet 11, Line 12. Also, Family Bible of William E. Easter and Susan Pugh Easter.

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