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Rufus L. Traywick

Male 1833 - Abt 1910  (~ 76 years)


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  • Name Rufus L. Traywick  [1
    Birth Nov 1833  Carroll County, Tennessee Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Gender Male 
    Death Abt 1910  Van Buren County, Arkansas Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Burial Holland Cemetery, Damascus, Van Buren County, Arkansas Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 
    • Rufus was born during an auspicious month. On November 13, 1833, between midnight and dawn, thousands of meteors showered the sky over North America. To the native peoples of the land, it appeared that the stars were falling out of the heavens. Some thought it was the judgment day. Others called it "The Night the Stars Fell".

      A young girl who was a slave at the time of the event said "Somebody in the quarters started yellin' in the middle of the night to come out and to look up at the sky. We went outside and there they was a fallin' everywhere! Big stars coming down real close to the groun' and just before they hit the ground they would burn up! We was all scared. Some O'the folks was screamin' and some was prayin' we all made so much noise, the white folk came out to see what was happenin'. They looked up and then they got scared too."

      The celestial phenomenon called "the most impressive and awesome display ever recorded" was, in fact, the Leonids meteor shower seen in one of its most impressive years. Viewers witnessed 50,000 to 150,000 meteors per hour, only equaled by the November 17, 1966 display, when the Leonid shower brought 150,000 meteors per hour. Debris from the comet Temple-Tuttle that orbits the sun every 33 years causes the shower.

      He spent his childhood in Tennessee, and didn't go to Arkansas in 1860 with his brothers and sisters. He moved there after his second marriage, to a Nancy, sometime after 1880. Family stories say that he served in the CSA, but the records have not been found to substantiate this. He supposedly lost a finger during the war. Rufus must have been either a minister or a Justice of the Peace, as he was able to perform marriage ceremonies. (Source: Betty Curry of Muskogee, OK; Courtesy of Lynell Cordell)

      About 1904, Rufus's wife Nancy was in the kitchen of their home near Gravesville, Arkansas. Having just churned, she ladled the butter onto a dish and was working the remaining milk out of the butter with a large spoon. At that moment, a tornado ripped off the roof of the house, leaving only the walls standing. The entire interior of the ruined, roofless home was littered with debris from the storm, then drenched with rain. Nancy surveyed the damage and commented "I'll swan. My butter's ruined!" (Source: K.L. Trawick)
    Person ID I6806  Strong Family Tree
    Last Modified 17 Aug 2014 

    Father John Traywick, II,   b. Abt 1795, Wake County, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Abt 1848, Carroll County, Tennessee Find all individuals with events at this location (Age ~ 53 years) 
    Mother Diana Cook,   b. Abt 1803, North Carolina Find all individuals with events at this locationd. Yes, date unknown 
    Marriage 1832  [1
    • Beverly Hudock says that from census information and from the History of Carroll County, TN she was able to conclude that John Traywick married Diana Cook (shown as Diannah on the 1850 census)
    Family ID F3224  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Sarah J. "Sallie" Huey,   b. Bef 1840   d. Bef 1872 (Age ~ 32 years) 
    Marriage 2 Jun 1858  Carroll County, Tennessee Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    • Second wife was Nancy C. ???>
    Family ID F3347  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 9 Dec 2006 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBirth - Nov 1833 - Carroll County, Tennessee Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsMarriage - 2 Jun 1858 - Carroll County, Tennessee Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsDeath - Abt 1910 - Van Buren County, Arkansas Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsBurial - - Holland Cemetery, Damascus, Van Buren County, Arkansas Link to Google Earth
     = Link to Google Earth 

  • Sources 
    1. [S532] Cordell, Lynell Gentry-Family Researcher P.O. Box 1992 Duncan OK 73534-1992 Correspondence, Gedcom, Family Group Sheets, Email.