My James Boone Lewis born abt 1850, Jasper twp, Cedar Creek (Crawford), AR to a James and Katherine LEWIS... The following was written by InaLee Newport for the 1977 Lewis Newsletter I have which tells the story, possibly about bushwackers. It is said that our Katherine [Morris?] Lewis married John BOEN around 1855...

"had several children and in 1847 they had a baby girl they named Buenavista. The next year a boy was born, named D.W. "Walker" , and the following year another boy named J.B. "Boone" Lewis. In 1853 Katharine and these three younger children witnessed the raiders who made it seem to be Indians. She took her three babies to a relative in Cole City for refuge [whom I believe to be Aunt Juda]. During that three years and her death in 1856, she must've remarried, because there was also a half-sister Melissa, at the time of her death. No one seemed to know when the three Lewis children and Melissa stayed with their Aunt Juda (prob. Judith Julia Burnett) until Vesta married at the age of 15, Juda and John London's eldest son, Rufus Huston London. "Huse" took his ready made family to Pilot Point, Texas and from there became a soldier in the cause of the Confederacy. He and Vesta had two children born in Texas and then after the war returned to the banks of Cedar Creek where the Lewis boys claimed their father's [James M? Lewis] land there. Huse and Boone Lewis (myggggf) set up a cotton gin and a flour and saw mill on the banks of the creek and a little settlement grew up nearby [Lee's Creek?]. Walker had a large family and so did Boone Lewis [his brother] and Huse London...

The 1850 (20 Dec) Census lists them in Jasper Twp, Crawford County, AR
p. 334 #38, Catherine LEWIS f 25, “Winny” 3 f, David W. 2 m, Jefferson 1/12 (just born Nov 1850). We think Jefferson was renamed and is the same Boone Lewis. It is said shed died 07 Jan 1858 in Crawford County, in childbirth. We have found no documentation on these dates. There are several other dates listed before the 1847 birth of Buenavista, they called "Vesta" from 1833, 1835, 1838, 1839, 1842, 1843, 1845 who have not been found.

Susan Kimes Burgess has done a lot of work on our lines, also noted are Leila Menzies, and others. I noticed Leila had a similar story and that's why I added this information.

Beth Blote