Dave and Kate Skipper

David James Skipper and Mary Katherine Dillon
8/18/1849 - 12/24/1909 and 2/7/1850 - 2/9/1914
Of Conway County Arkansas

by
Ray Don Bostian, 161, C.R. 166 South, Hope, AR 71801
placed on this site by
James M. Skipper

David James Skipper was born in North Carolina (apparently New Hanover County) on August 18, 1849. His father was Joseph W. Skipper and his mother was Susan Louisa Garnto. Only his maternal grandmother, Rebecca Garnto, is known of at this writing. Mary Katherine Dillon was born February 7, 1849 (possibly 1851) in Tennessee. Her father was Jim Dillon, from Tennessee, and her mother (name unknown) was from Kentucky. No information on her grandparents is known.

David James (also known as Dave and 'Big Jim') came to Conway County with his parents at age 7. They had migrated west from North Carolina, stopping for three or four years in Tennessee and arriving in Conway County in late 1856, clearing virgin land for farming between Solgohachia and Lanty. (See article on Joseph Skipper.) The exact date of their marriage is not known, but their first child was born in 1869. According to the 1900 U.S. Census and family records, they had 10 children, 9 of whom lived to marry and have children of their own. This picture is a scanned copy of a photographic copy of a large photographic print taken in about 1900.

Names and dates are not guaranteed. The following information is taken from what the writer considers to be the best sources of Information on the these ten Skipper children:

1. Mary Florence, born September 20, 1869, married John Franklin Kriselll, died September 26, 1903. Buried at Lone Grove Cemetery.
2. Harriet Lucretia, born September 1872, married James Franklin Lloyd, buried at Lone Grove.
3. Louisa 'Lou' Rebecca, born December 13, 1874, married Andrew LaFayette Treece, died March 17, 1954, buried at Jonesboro, Ark.
4. John Quincy, born February 27, 1877, married Mary Magdalene Sands and Martha Bradshew Bice, died April 17, 1931, buried at McLaren Cemetery, Lanty (see related article).
5. Elizabeth 'Betty' Casandra, born July 10, 1879, married Sonnetia Harzona 'Nett' Cowan, died February 12, 1931, buried Lone Grove.
6. James Arthur, born June 19, 1882 married Josephine Noland, died February 9, 1940, buried at England, Ark.
7. David, born 1885, died at 18 months in 1886.
8. Rosie Elmer, born August 21, 1887, married John W. Edwards, died February 12, 1974, buried at Gore1 Oklahoma.
9. Carl Toby, born December 14, 1889, married Ida Octavia Treadwell, died September 21, 1950, buried, England, Ark.
10. . Ethel Pauline, born June 18, 1894, married James Phillip Turner, died February 10, 1957. buried at Gore, Oklahoma.

Apparently all the children were born and reared on their parents’ farm. The entire Skipper land (including Dave’s father and two brothers) was at one time around 600 or more acres (perhaps giving rise to the name 'Skipper Mountain' as it was called). [Has been called Round Mountain since the '40's.]

The farm was quite self-sustaining. Grandchildren can remember a large orchard, corn, cotton, and gardens. Also cows, pigs, chickens, and geese (for feather bedding). There were mules and horses, but Dave still liked to use oxen for draft animals. (A family story says that Theodore Roosevelt, passing through the area, had words of admiration for Dave’s oxen team.) The wool from Angora goats was spun and weaved into clothing and other textiles. (Some recall a high log bridge over a road for the goats to get from pasture to pasture.) There was a leather tanning vat and tools for making shoes, saddles, and other leather goods for farm use. There was a large blacksmith shop with a large bellows (that kids liked to ride up and down) for making and repairing equipment, including shoes for the oxen.

Dave’s independence is reflected in a story told by a young Morrilton cotton buyer. When he was just starting out, he saw an old gray-bearded man coming into town with a bale of cotton on a wagon pulled by oxen. [Round mountain is about 10 miles from town.] The young buyer brashly ran and hopped onto the wagon, preparing to cut a sample from the bale. "Say, grandpa, how much you want for this cotton?" "Don’t cut my cotton, boy!" the old man replied. Next thing the young man knew, he was on the ground in the middle of the street nursing a knot on his head from the bull whip handle, the wagon continuing slowly down the street. He learned the hard way that Dave Skipper allowed no one to sample his cotton without his specific permission in advance. The buyer also learned to be more respectful of the local farmers.

Another story relates how Dave once set a trap inside his corn crib thinking that raccoons were reaching through the logs. Next morning, he found a man trying to get his trapped hand back through the narrow space. Dave turned him loose, doctored his arm, fed him breakfast, and gave him a sack of corn, telling him not to steal but to ask for the corn if he was that desperate. The man never stole from him again.

Dave Skipper died December 24, 1909. Mary Katherine died February 9, 1914. They were buried at McLaren Cemetery near Lanty. Dave’s grave marker indicates that he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows. [The cemetery is about three miles north of Round Mountain and just south of Lanty.]

This photo shows two of his great, great grandchildren, John Luther and Rebecca Louise Skipper, standing beside his tombstone. The photo was taken about 1988.

The story continues with James A. Skipper, Sr. who was 27 the year Dave died. James was postmaster of Solgahachia, AR at about that time. The James Skipper family moved to England, AR about three years after his mother died. He was postmaster at England into the 1930’s. His wife worked in their store. Click the 'J A Skipper' button at the top of the page or check the Index on the home page.

A total of 66 who lived beyond childhood. At least two of these were adopted. *At least five are still living in June 2002.

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7/12/02