Staggs Family History

My ancestors in the United States

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      Joseph Henry McFerrin (1876-1969)

      BIRTH: 3 Jul 1876, Compton, Newton, Arkansas, USA
      DEATH: 13 Sep 1969, Harrison, Boone, Arkansas, USA
      FATHER: John Brown McFerrin (1836–1923)
      MOTHER: Clementine Tabitha McCrea (1841–1922)
      SPOUSE: Aly Ann Howell (1878–1971)

      When Joseph Henry McFerrin was born on July 3, 1876, in Compton, Arkansas, his father, John, was 40 and his mother, Clementine, was 34. He married Aly Ann Howell on November 17, 1901, in his hometown. They had six children in 10 years. He died on September 13, 1969, in Harrison, Arkansas, at the age of 93, and was buried in Hill Top, Arkansas.

      The Life of Joseph Henry McFerrin

      Gentleman Farmer, Educator, Lawman, and Entrepreneur

      Joseph Henry McFerrin entered the world on July 3, 1876, on the rugged homestead carved out by his grandfather, John B. McFerrin Sr., and later expanded by his father, John B. McFerrin Jr. The land lay three miles south of Compton, Arkansas, perched above the community of Erbie and the Buffalo River. It was a place of steep ridges, deep hollows, and forests so thick that the McFerrins built their fences from the stones they cleared just to make room for crops. Some of those rock fences still stand today, quiet monuments to the labor of generations.

      Joseph Henry was the eighth of ten children, surrounded by siblings who filled the woods with laughter, mischief, and the kind of freedom only the Ozarks could offer. His childhood blended hard work with adventure: hunting coons and foxes, trapping mink along the creeks, fishing the Buffalo River, and selling pelts tacked to barn walls. The boys learned early how to survive, how to work, and how to read the land.

      Unlike his brothers, who eventually scattered to other places, Joseph Henry stayed. After completing his schooling, he taught in several one‑room schools scattered across Newton County — a young man with a sharp mind and a steady presence.

      In the late 1800s, the Howell family moved down the road. Three daughters — Ida, Anthem, and Aley — quickly became known in the community, but it was the youngest, Aley Ann Howell, who caught Joseph Henry’s eye. Their courtship was quiet and earnest, and on November 17, 1901, they married.

      Joseph Henry asked his father to sell him 80 acres of the homestead so he could build a home for his new family. He chose a flat rise above a year‑round spring — a practical choice, but also a beautiful one. With his own hands, he felled trees, trimmed logs, and built a two‑room cabin with a stone fireplace. He roofed the spring to create a springhouse, lining it with flat stones where milk and butter stayed cool even in the heat of summer.

      Over time, he cleared more land, planting corn, sorghum, wheat, potatoes, and a large garden. He planted peach and apple orchards. He even cultivated ginseng and golden seal, valuable medicinal roots that required shade — so he built a framework of saplings and covered it with leafy branches to mimic the forest canopy.

      Joseph Henry was not just a farmer. He was an entrepreneur. He bought and operated his own sawmill, cutting the abundant timber into lumber for homes and barns across the region. White oak became barrel staves hauled to Harrison and Kingston. Cedar logs were floated down the Buffalo River. Pine was cut into planks for neighbors. Even pine knots were saved — burned for bright light on winter nights.

      The McFerrin children. (L to R) Hester, Vera Ida, and John Bayard. Troy Joe Cephasin front.

      As his family grew, so did his home. He built a two‑story house around the original cabin, adding a large kitchen, living room, bedroom, and an unfinished upstairs where the children slept. The front porch stretched across the width of the house, lined with cane chairs and rockers. The living room was kept formal — children were not allowed — and held his prized walnut “secretary” desk where he kept the records of his public duties.

      Joseph Henry raised cows, horses, pigs, and chickens. He butchered hogs in the fall, smoking the meat in the smokehouse or salting it down for winter. He sold calves and yearlings that roamed the hills freely.

      He was also a builder of community. When the people of Newton County began pushing for better roads, Joseph Henry became foreman of the crew that built the section of Highway 43 from Hill Top to Ponca Mountain. It was grueling work — drilling holes by hand for dynamite, dragging rock with mule teams, shaping the road with shovels and horse‑drawn graders.

      He helped bring telephone service to the region, stringing a line from Compton to the McFerrin farm, then over the bluff to Granny Brisco, the midwife at Erbie, and on to Gaither where the nearest doctors lived.

      Aley and Joseph McFerrin, June 1959

      Joseph Henry’s sense of responsibility led him into public service. For nearly 50 years, he served as Justice of the Peace for his district. He investigated deaths, settled disputes, signed certificates, and even arrested offenders — often riding horseback to Jasper to deliver them to the sheriff. He performed weddings in his living room, standing couples before his ornate secretary desk.

      He could be gentle and soft‑spoken, but he was also firm when needed. One story tells of a new harness stolen from his plow horse while he ate lunch. Knowing exactly which troublesome boys had taken it, he strapped on his pistol, walked down the bluff to their home, and informed the elderly father that the harness had until 8 a.m. the next morning to reappear. At 8:00 sharp, it lay neatly in the field.

      His life intersected with national events as well. During World War I, a group of young men from the Erbie and Compton area — the “Slackers of Cecil Cove” — hid in the caves and bluffs to avoid the draft. When one young man decided to report for duty but feared being ambushed, Joseph Henry and neighbor John Richardson armed themselves and escorted him safely to Jasper. The young man went on to serve honorably in France.

      Joseph Henry lived long enough to see the world change around him — from horse trails to highways, from isolated hollows to connected communities. Through it all, he remained rooted in the land between Compton, where he was born, and Plumlee, where he farmed.

      He died on September 13, 1969, at the age of ninety‑three, and was buried in Hill Top Cemetery, a quiet resting place overlooking the hills he had known all his life. Five years later, his beloved wife Aley Ann was laid beside him. Together they rest in the landscape that shaped them — the ridges, hollows, and river valleys that hold the story of the McFerrin family.

      Legacy of Joseph Henry McFerrin

      In the end, Joseph Henry McFerrin left a legacy far larger than the acreage he farmed or the miles of road he helped carve into the mountains. His life was a long thread woven through the fabric of Newton County — a life that touched classrooms, courtrooms, homesteads, and hollows. He was a teacher who shaped young minds, a farmer who coaxed a living from stubborn soil, a sawmill owner who built homes for neighbors, and a lawman whose steady presence brought order to a rugged land.

      He lived with a quiet authority, the kind that did not need to announce itself. People trusted him because he was consistent, fair, and unafraid to stand firm when the moment required it. Yet beneath that firmness was a deep gentleness — a devotion to family, to community, and to the land that had shaped him from boyhood.

      Today, the traces of his life remain — in the rock fences still standing in the woods, in the roadbeds carved into the mountainside, in the stories passed down through generations, and in the descendants who still walk the ridges he once walked. His legacy is not a monument or a headline, but something quieter and more enduring: the memory of a man who lived with purpose, steadiness, and integrity.

      Joseph Henry’s story is, in many ways, the story of the Ozarks themselves — resilient, rooted, shaped by hard work and deep family ties. And like the hills he loved, his influence endures, carried forward in the lives of those who came after him.

      Parents

      FATHER: John Brown McFerrin (1836–1923)
      MOTHER: Clementine Tabitha McCrea (1841–1922)

      Married

      Aly Ann Howell (1878–1971) married on 17 Nov 1901 in Newton, Arkansas, USA

      Children

      • Vera Ophelia McFerrin (1902–1984) married Troy Phillips (1901-1997)
      • John Bayard McFerrin (1904–1976) married Gladys Richardson (1905–1990)
      • Ida Estelle McFerrin (1906–1994) married Earnest Edgar (1904–1992)
      • Hester Rhoda McFerrin (1908–1992) married Lex Burge (1905–1979)
      • Troy Joe Cephas McFerrin (1911–2008) married Thelma Bareland (1915–2009)
      • Joseph P McFerrin (1912–?)

      Documents

      • Birth Records
        • Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969 > Name: Joseph Henry McFerrin; Gender: Male; Race: White; Marital Status: Widowed; Age: 93; Birth Date: 3 Jul 1876; Birth Place: Compton Arkansas
        • U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 > Name: Joseph McFerrin; Social Security Number: 429-24-0660; Birth Date: 3 Jul 1876; Issue year: Before 1951; Issue State: Arkansas; Last Residence: 72601, Harrison, Boone, Arkansas, USA; Death Date: Oct 1969
      • Wedding records
        • Arkansas, U.S., County Marriages Index, 1837-1957 > Name: J H McFerrin; Gender: Male; Marriage Age: 25; Event Type: Marriage; Birth Date: 1876; Marriage License Date: 16 Nov 1901; Marriage Date: 17 Nov 1901; Marriage Place: Newton, Arkansas, USA; Residence Date: 1901; Residence Place: Compton, Newton, Arkansas; Spouse: Aly Howell; FHL Film Number: 1035374
      • Death records
        • Arkansas, Death Certificates, 1914-1969 > Name: Joseph Henry McFerrin; Gender: Male; Race: White; Marital Status: Widowed; Age: 93; Birth Date: 3 Jul 1876; Birth Place: Compton Arkansas; Death Date: 13 Sep 1969; Death Place: Harrison, Boone, Arkansas, USA; Father: John McFerrin; Mother: Clementine McFerrin; Spouse: Aley Howell; Certificate Number: 013752
        • U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 > Name: Joseph McFerrin; Social Security Number: 429-24-0660; Birth Date: 3 Jul 1876; Issue year: Before 1951; Issue State: Arkansas; Last Residence: 72601, Harrison, Boone, Arkansas, USA; Death Date: Oct 1969
        • Find a Grave > Joseph Henry McFerrin; Birth: 3 Jul 1876; Compton, Newton County, Arkansas, USA; Death: 13 Sep 1969 (aged 93); Boone County, Arkansas, USA
        • Burial: Hilltop Cemetery, Hill Top, Boone County, Arkansas, USA
      • Census Records
        • 1880 United States Federal Census > Arkansas > Newton > Van Buren > 114 > Name: Henry J. Mc Feirn; Age: 4; Birth Date: Abt 1876; Birthplace: Arkansas; Home in 1880: Van Buren, Newton, Arkansas, USA; Dwelling Number: 65; Race: White; Gender: Male; Relation to Head of House: Son; Marital Status: Single; Father’s Name: John B. Mc Feirn; Father’s Birthplace: Alabama; Mother’s Name: Clementine T. Mc Feirn; Mother’s Birthplace: Alabama; Others: John B. Mc Feirn (44), Clementine T. Mc Feirn (38), L. H. Mc Feirn (15), Jarrett L. Mc Feirn (14), Jerusha A. Mc Feirn (12), John O. Mc Feirn (9), Benj. V. Mc Feirn (6)
        • 1900 United States Federal Census > Arkansas > Newton > Plumlee > District 0089 > Name: Joseph H Mc Feirn; Birth Date: Jul 1876; Birthplace: Arkansas, USA; Home in 1900: Plumlee, Newton, Arkansas; Sheet Number: 7; Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: 108; Family Number: 109; Race: White; Gender: Male; Relation to Head of House: Son; Marital Status: Single; Father’s Name: John B Mc Feirn; Father’s Birthplace: Alabama, USA; Mother’s Name: Clementine Mc Feirn; Mother’s Birthplace: Alabama, USA; Occupation: Teacher; Can Read: Yes; Can Write: Yes; Can Speak English: Yes; Others: John B Mc Feirn (64), Clementine Mc Feirn (58), John O Mc Feirn (28), Oliver P M Mc Feirn (18)
        • 1910 United States Federal Census > Arkansas > Newton > Plumlee > District 0102 > Name: Joseph H McFerrin; Age in 1910: 33; Birth Date: 1877; Birthplace: Arkansas; Home in 1910: Plumlee, Newton, Arkansas, USA; Sheet Number: 5a; Race: White; Gender: Male; Relation to Head of House: Head; Marital Status: Married; Father’s Birthplace: Alabama; Mother’s Birthplace: Alabama; Native Tongue: English; Occupation: Farmer; Industry: General Farm; Employer, Employee or Other: Own Account; Home Owned or Rented: Own; Home Free or Mortgaged: Free; Farm or House: Farm; Able to read: Yes; Able to Write: Yes; Enumeration District Number: 0102; Years Married: 9; Enumerated Year: 1910; Others: Aly McFerrin (31), Verra McFerrin (7), Bayard McFerrin (5), Ida McFerrin (3), Hester McFerrin (1)
        • 1920 United States Federal Census > Arkansas > Newton > Osage > District 0105 > Name: Joseph H Mc Ferrin; Age: 43; Birth Year: abt 1877; Birthplace: Arkansas; Home in 1920: Osage, Newton, Arkansas; Street: Jasper Road; House Number: Farm; Residence Date: 1920; Race: White; Gender: Male; Relation to Head of House: Head; Marital Status: Married; Spouse’s Name: Aly A Mc Ferrin; Father’s Birthplace: Alabama; Mother’s Birthplace: Alabama; Able to Speak English: Yes; Occupation: Farmer; Industry: General Farm; Employment Field: Own Account; Home Owned or Rented: Owned; Home Free or Mortgaged: Free; Able to read: Yes; Able to Write: Yes; Others: Aly A Mc Ferrin (41), Vera O Mc Ferrin (17), John B Mc Ferrin (15), Ida E Mc Ferrin, (13), Rhoda H Mc Ferrin (11), Troy J Mc Ferrin (8)
        • 1930 United States Federal Census > Arkansas > Newton > Plumlee > District 0021 > Name: Joseph H Mcferrin; Birth Year: abt 1877; Gender: Male; Race: White; Age in 1930: 53; Birthplace: Arkansas; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head; Home in 1930: Plumlee, Newton, Arkansas, USA; Map of Home: Plumlee, Newton, Arkansas; Dwelling Number: 4; Family Number: 4; Home Owned or Rented: Owned; Home Value: 2000; Radio Set: No; Lives on Farm: Yes; Age at First Marriage: 25; Attended School: No; Able to Read and Write: Yes; Father’s Birthplace: Alabama; Mother’s Birthplace: Alabama; Able to Speak English: Yes; Occupation: Farmer; Industry: Gen Farm; Class of Worker: Working on own account; Others: Aly A Mcferrin (51), Joseph P Mcferrin (18), Lex Burge (son-in-law, 24), Hester R Burge (daughter, 21), Milton Mayhu (farm laborer, 19)
        • 1940 United States Federal Census > Arkansas > Newton > Plumlee > 51-22 > Name: Joe Mc Ferrin; Age: 62; Estimated Birth Year: abt 1878; Gender: Male; Race: White; Birthplace: Arkansas; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head; Home in 1940: Plumlee, Newton, Arkansas; Map of Home in 1940: Plumlee, Newton, Arkansas; Farm: Yes; Inferred Residence in 1935: Plumlee, Newton, Arkansas; Residence in 1935: Plumlee; Sheet Number: 5A; Number of Household in Order of Visitation: 85; Occupation: Farmer; Industry: Farm; House Owned or Rented: Owned; Value of Home: $400; Attended School or College: No; Highest Grade Completed: High School, 2nd year; Hours Worked Week Prior to Census: 40; Class of Worker: Working on own account; Weeks Worked in 1939: 52; Income: $75; Income Other Sources: Yes; Others: Aly Mc Ferrin (wife, 60), Hester Burge (daughter, 31), Lex Burge (son-in-law, 35)
        • 1950 United States Federal Census > Arkansas > Newton > Plumlee > 51-22 > Name: Joe McFerrin; Age: 73; Birth Date: abt 1877; Gender: Male; Race: White; Birth Place: Arkansas; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head; Home in 1950: Plumlee, Newton, Arkansas, USA; Street Name: North East on Highway 43; Dwelling Number: 43; Farm: Yes; Occupation: Farmer; Industry: Farm; Worked Last Week: Yes; Hours Worked: 15; Worker Class: Own Business; Same House: Yes; School Completed: S12; Weeks Worked: 4; Income: $158; Other Income: none; Supplemental Income: none; Relative Income: noneRelative Other Income: none; World War II Veteran: No; World War I Veteran: No; Veteran: No; Other: Aley A McFerrin (wife, 71)
      • Other

      Relation of Joseph Henry McFerrin to Karen Edgar: great-grandfather

      Page last updated June 8, 2026

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