Bibliography Biography Cemeteries Churches Cities & Towns Contributors Ephemera Genealogy
An Old Veteran in Cowley County.
(Winfield Courier 18)In Beaver township, Cowley county, west of the Arkansas river in the bend, lives John Anderson McWarter, who is one hundred years old.
He was born at Cowpens, South Carolina, September 10th, 1777. At two years of age he was carried by his parents to Kentucky in company with Daniel Boone, and was with Boone some years. At one time when Boone and his men were in a fight with Indians young McWarter carried water and waited on the men.
He lived at Crab Orchard until eighteen years old, when he went to the wilds of Tennessee, where he lived ten years and married, when he moved to Wayne county, Illinois.
He was in the 1st Illinois volunteers all through the Black Hawk War as First Lieutenant, for which he was entitled to eighty acres land warrant. He only got forty, so the Government still owes him forty.
During the Black Hawk war he pursued a lot of Indians to recover two white girls, Rachel and Sylvia Hall, whom they had captured and he overtook but did not attack for fear they would kill the girls. Negotiated and bought the girls of the Indians paying forty horses. After the girls were recovered and safe, they again pursued the Indians, attacked them, killing 68 of them and recovering the forty horses. Soon afterwards they captured the rest of these Indians at Badaxe Creek, on the Mississippi, with Black Hawk.
After this war he moved to Boone county, Iowa, on the frontier, where, like Boone, he could avoid civilization. Here he lived twenty nine years, but people got too thick and he went to Dacotah, where he lived forty years, when he moved to where he now lives which was two years ago.
He is hearty, gets around considerable, goes a fishing and walks around among his neighbors. He lived with his wife 61 years. She died at the age of 80. He lives with his daughter, a widow named Lusian Corbin. Says his heart had not pulsated so as to be detected for 68 years. Had a sickness then and thinks his heart sunk to some other part of his body. He is dependent upon his friends and ought to have a pension.
Thanks to Shirley Brier for finding, transcribing and contributing the above news article to this web site!
This RootsWeb website is being created by Jerry Ferrin with the able assistance of and many Contributors. Your comments, suggestions and contributions of historical information and photographs to this site are welcome. Please sign the Guest Book. This page was last updated 17 July 2005.