JOHN P. LINVILLE
EARLE
CAME HERE IN COVERED WAGON
'Uncle John' Linville dies; was early settler
THE EARLE
One of Earle's earliest settlers, John P. Linville, died
Thursday, Sept. 23, at his home south of the city following a brief illness.
Mr. Linville, who was known
to many area residents as "Uncle John", was born
Bad luck had plagued them on the trip, due to a horse trade
Mr. Linville's father had made. The
elder Linville had traded two mules for three horses, who
died as they got near
Thinking they were without funds to continue, the Linville's
were convinced they were stranded in Nashville, when John P. came to the rescue
by pulling out a bill which he had found crumpled up in a pile of shavings in
his father's shop, then put it in his overall pocket.
Hearing his father and older brothers talk of their plight,
John P. took the bill from his pocket and showed it to them. It turned out to be $100, and it saved the
day.
With the providential hundred dollars, the family purchased
two mules and enough supplies to see them through, then renewed their journey,
crossing the Mississippi River at Memphis on a ferry.
The family unloaded its wagons on the Hood farm nine miles
north of Earle, where two sisters had married and settled there a year earlier.
Their first, home after their long journey, was a two-room log
cabin.
At the time the Linville's arrived in Earle, the only
clearings were small, set among the woods and swamps. The only route was a wagon trail, and it took
four mules to pull a wagon into Earle in the winter months, when the main
street of the town was axle-deep in mud.
There was one store, located where the Bernard gin now stands.
John P. was 12 years old when he came to Earle, but he helped
clear out more farming land in the summer, and trapped and hunted in the
winter, using clubs to kill his game after catching it. Later he made a trap gun from a .22 barrel,
using pieces of hickory log to fashion the stock and other parts of the weapon.
In 1914, he joined the Pentecostal Church during a revival
that was held in a little schoolhouse on the edge of a clearing. He was baptized in the Tyronza River by the
Rev. Jack A. David. After the revival
ended, he would travel in a team with family and friends to the
When the roads were begun in the county, John P. bought a
wagon and a team and began hauling gravel for the ends of bridges. Then, in 1920, he began his work as a
blacksmith. He also served as a gunsmith
and a horseshoer, becoming well-known for his
craftsmanship.
Funeral services were
conducted Saturday, Sept. 25, at
Surviving are his wife, Mrs. Betty Linville; two sons, Johnnie
Linville of Hedley, Tex., and Leslie Linville of Bald Knob; a daughter, Mrs.
Manila Lunsford of Earle, and a stepson, Joe Winders, of Earle.
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Last Updated Sunday, November 02, 2003 8:02:01 AM CST