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From: "Jettie Parrish" <>
Subject: Re: [ARFAULKN] Sanford C. Faulkner Bio
Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 15:53:38 -0500
References: <003c01c4abd2$582d4460$760d22d1@D8LDN321>


Becky, would it be ok if I copied this to the Arkansas Travelers site on
Myfamily.com??

I want you to know that I really appreciated the posting of this, it answers
some questions I had about Faulkner County.
Jettie
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rebecca Millet" <>
To: <>
Sent: Wednesday, October 06, 2004 1:28 PM
Subject: [ARFAULKN] Sanford C. Faulkner Bio


> >From Faulkner County Its Land and People, p.354-355
>
> SANFORD C. FAULKNER
>
> "In 1829 Sanford C. Faulkner, age 26, came to Arkansas from Kentucky.
> He settled in Chicot County where he operated a large cotton plantation.
> He was a wealthy Southern planter, having inherited two or three moderate
> fortunes.
> Sandy, as he was known, loved to hunt and would sometimes wander
> through the woods for days and weeks. He was endowed by nature with a
> keen sense of humor, originally, and ready wit, and was a born
> entertainer. Therefore, he was greeted with enthusiasm when he would
> visit any public gathering in the various settlements and villages. He
> must indeed have been a bright spot in the usually drab life of the
> frontier.
> Goodspeed says that Faulkner moved his family to Little Rock in 1844.
> He kept the Chicot County plantation and acquired another one near Little
> Rock. He spent the rest of his life in the capitol city.
> It was about this time that Sandy Faulkner gained immortality through
> his connection with the now famous "Arkansas Traveler" folk tale. His
> authorship has been frequently disputed, but Arkansans generally give the
> honor unquestionably to Faulkner.
> During the political campaign of 1840, Faulkner toured the state with
> A.H. Sevier, Archibald Yell, Chester Ashley, and William S. Fulton. Some
> authorities say the incident occurred on the Illinois Bayou near
> Russellville; others say it took place in the backwoods region of Chicot
> County. As Goodspeed describes it: Faulkner happened upon the
> dilapidated shack of a squatter. The man was playing on a three-stringed
> fiddle the first part of a particular tune - over and over - the last part
> of which he longed to hear. The man exhibited no hospitality as Faulkner
> quizzed him, so taking the battered old fiddle in his own hands, Sandy
> proceeded to play the rest of the tune. This so intrigued the
> backwoodsman that he changed to and elaborate show of friendliness toward
> the stranger. He gave Faulkner the only dry spot in the kitchen, fed his
> horse, and even gave him a turn at his whiskey jug.
> After returning to Little Rock, Faulkner attended a banquet at the
> Anthony House barroom on Markham Street where he gleefully told the story
> for the first time in public. The dialogue with its violin accompaniment
> captured the fancy of the people and it soon became quite famous.
> Everywhere he went Faulkner was asked to perform it - even as far as New
> Orleans. This was at a banquet at the request of the governor of
> Louisiana.
> In spite of the merriment and success of the "Arkansas Traveler" folk
> tale, trouble had caught up with the carefree Sandy Faulkner. Financial
> worries had hovered over him for some time, but the first major disaster
> which came to him was the death of two of his children which occurred only
> a week apart. The Arkansas State Gazette of September 8, 1841 carried
> this announcement: "Died in this city, of worm fever, on Sunday morning,
> August 29, Laura, age two years and a half, and on Sunday morning last,
> the 5th of September Mary Gene, aged five years, daughters of Col. Sanford
> C.and Eveline Faulkner." The little girls were buried in the old town
> cemetery at the present site of Peabody School (now Federal Building).
> Sanford Faulkner had been a wealthy man, but he was a generous
> fun-loving spendthrift and blithely squandered his money. When his
> fortune was dissipated, he borrowed heavily from both the Real Estate Bank
> and State Banks. When he could not repay these debts, he voluntarily
> surrendered to the banks all of his 37 slaves, plus his plantation
> property in December of 1851.
> On May 30, 1855, tragedy struck again with the death of his daughter
> Bettie who had married John C. Peay. Her grave in Mount Holly Cemetery is
> the only Faulkner grave that is marked. Her simple tombstone is
> inscribed: "Bettie, daughter of Sanford C. and Eveline Faulkner and wife
> of John C. Peay, June 22, 1833-May 30, 1855." The words, "To my wife and
> little babe" on the back of the marker indicate that she died in
> childbirth and that her child was buried with her.
> Sandy and Eveline Faulkner had at least nine children: Sally A.,
> Elizabeth (Bettie), Mary Jane, William H., Laura, Sanford C., Jr., and
> Matilda J. We find mention of two others, Phillip and Minnie, as the
> "children of our old age."
> In 1858, Col. Faulkner announced his candidacy for Pulaski County
> representative to the General Assembly. It was his first and last venture
> into politics, and was a dismal failure.
> In 1859 the "Arkansas Traveler" was again prominent on the Little Rock
> scene when the Arkansas True Democrat announced that the painting by
> Edward P. Washburn had been lithographed in Boston and would be offered
> for sale at $2.50 each. A copy of the story as told by Faulkner, with the
> music, came with the picture, if desired. The original painting, an
> illustration of the Faulkner story, measured about 18 by 24 inches and for
> many years the unframed canvas hung on the wall of Faulkner's parlor. The
> traveler in the painting is said to be a remarkably good likeness of
> Faulkner.
> When the Civil War began in 1861, Sandy Faulkner became the military
> storekeeper at the arsenal in Little Rock. His son William H. Faulkner,
> was killed in the war. Sandy's wife, Eveline, died on June 2, 1871, and
> was buried at Mount Holly Cemetery. Her name appears in the record book
> of the cemetery but there is no marker.
> On April 12, 1873, Sanford Faulkner, who had done nothing particularly
> noteworthy except to originate the most famous bit of folklore, received
> an honor that had been coveted by legislature from land in Conway and
> Pulaski counties and named Faulkner County in his honor.
> He died on the afternoon of August 4, 1874, at his home in Little
> Rock. His funeral was held at the Christian Church on the following day
> and was called by the Gazette "one of the largest ever witnessed in the
> city." The legislature adjourned for the day and members marched from the
> state house to the funeral in a body. The grave of Sanford Faulkner in
> the Mount Holly Cemetery remains unmarked today, but Pulaski County
> Historical Society recently voted to erect a marker at his grave.
> The grave of Edward Washburn, painter of the "Arkansas Traveler," also
> is in Mount Holly and is also unmarked. Washburn and his father, Rev.
> Cephas Washburn, died within a few days of each other and were buried side
> by side."
>
> Source: Facts and Fiddlings, Vol IV, No. 3, 1961.
>
>
> Becky
>
> "The best measure of the future is the record of the past."
> -Benjamin Franklin
>
>
> ==== ARFAULKN Mailing List ====
> The archives are a great source of info
> http://resources.rootsweb.com/USA/AR/Faulkner/
>
> ==============================
> Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration
> Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more.
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>
>


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