Theudas Henderson Loftin

Henry Pinkney Loftin

Great-grandfather Thadyus Henderson "Coop" Loftin was

born in Alabama, March 11, 1858, and came to Arkansas with

his mother when he was a small boy.

We believe his mother to be buried in the Antioch Cemetery,

4 miles south of Morrow, Arkansas, with only a rock for a

headstone in the Loftin row. No one knows her name.

Coop Loftin possibly had two brothers, but they had gotten

separated from the family during the Civil War. George and

Jessie, apparently older brothers and they were thought to be

married, Jessie to a Mary and George to a Elizabeth. One had a

son named John.

Great-aunt Luannie "Annie", daughter of Coop, always said if

we find other Loftins with their name spelled the same, they

must be our lost relatives.

Thadyus Henderson married Sarah Francis Burrow March

14, 1882 in Crawford County. They had three children: Henry

Pinkney Loftin (my grandfather), James Abraham Loftin and

Luannie Loftin (who never married).

The Loftins lived in the communities of Skylight, Cove

Creek, Garrett Hollow and on to Morrow, where they lived until

their deaths.

After Coop Loftin's wife Sarah died, his daughter, Annie

lived with him until his death.

Sarah (Burrow) Loftin's parents, Isam K. and Mary Ann

(Clanton) Burrow are buried in Garrett Creek Cemetery, south

of Prairie Grove and Cove Creek.

The Garrett Hollow School located in the Prairie Grove Battlefield

Park was the school where the Loftins attended when it

was located at Garrett Hollow. My dad, Oscar Omer Loftin and

his brother Vernon, sons of Henry P. Loftin are in the school

picture in front of the school building.

Henry Pinkney Loftin had five sons: Oscar Omer, Vernon,

Ray, Ernest Omer (Grandma forgot she had already named her

oldest son Omer, it was told) and Arvel Stanford. Vernon and

Ray did not have middle names.

Grandma was Florence (Walton), twin to Flora, two other

sisters, Fanny and May, brothers - Fred, Elmer, Alfred and Virgil

Walton. Parents were Mary Ellen (Rhodes) and John Walton

both born in Indiana. Married May 7, 1885 in Washington

County, Arkansas, they later moved to Morris, Oklahoma. After

John's death??? she, Mary married George Cole and left him,

came back to Arkansas about 1920 and lived until her death,

1959. (Always remembered as Grandma Walton). She lived with

her daughter, Florence and Henry; his sister, Annie, had moved

in with them after her dad Coop had died. Annie was always

helping out her brothers, Henry and Jim, with their families and

grandchildren.

Grandpa Henry used to laugh and joke about the "bad times"

all three women gave him. He was a very good Christian man. I

never saw him mad at anything or anybody. I spent a lot of good

times with them.

Grandma Florence raised her five boys, washing on a rub

board and she couldn't see going modern, to a wringer washer,

during World War II, I remember. She didn't want the butane

refrigerator that my dad tried to give them before they put in

electricity. They kept milk and butter in a well bucket, hung

down in hand-dug well and the icebox with big block of ice came

later.

James Abraham, (Grandpa Henry's brother) married Alta

(Pitts) and they had six children: Charlie, Irene (Loftin) Abshier,

Clyde, Glenn, Dean and infant Eugene, who died, two days old.

My dad Oscar Omer Loftin married my mother, Martha

Maude (Cuzick) from Odell, Arkansas. She had only been off the

Mountain at Odell, once, I believe she said when she married my

dad. They were the parents of three of us children: lcephine

(Loftin) Sears, Aftin Leroy and Jimmy Dale.

My dad worked for the Washington County Road Department

most of his working years, grading roads. Moved to Beaumont,

Texas, in 1945, worked in shipyard, at end of war moved to

Yakima. Washington, for a while. Back to Arkansas and to

Washington County Road Department until retirement.

By: Mrs. lcephine Loftin Sears