Monday, September 6, 2010

Dr. Silas Shruggs Stacey

Meet Dr. Silas Shruggs Stacey. Located at Jasper Cemetery in Jasper, AR.
Dr. S.S. Stacey
Born
Jan 20, 1828
Died
July 27, 1915

Here is a neat story about S. S. Stacey that I discovered while researching him. This story made me want to do a little more digging. In my digging I discovered an ancestor of Dr.Stacey's. I emailed her and had the pleasure of discussing this interesting fellow with Carol Clouse. She says he is her "2nd great-grandfather and her favorite Ancestor".  Here is some information and some photos she sent to me.

According to Caorl,
"Silas studied under other Physicians but he was also an Herb Dr. supposedly learned from his old Indian mother. Genealogical research has determined his mother was Rebecca Griffith Stacey who's father Jonas Griffith is Welch so maybe his wife was the Indian? Not proven."

According to the linked story above  Dr. Stacey received most of his medical training while in the military but never received a diploma. But that didn't stop him from opening his own medical practice. Where he used the training from the military physicians and his inherited herbal knowledge to operate a rather lucrative medical practice.

Carol also said:
"Dr S.S. Stacey was somewhat famous, as late as 1963 he was written about in a lengthy poem in southern, MO. Mention of him appears in 3 more books, "Let Us Build A City" by Donald Harrington. "The White River Chronicles of S. C. Turnbo"  and "Land of Taney" by Elmo Ingenthron."
The first photo on this entry is one of only two known photographs of him. This particular one, appearing on his tombstone, is originally from the book Indians of the Ozarks Plateau By Elmo Ingenthron. The only difference is the photo in the book and this one is that the book photo is a full body photograph. I will assume the full body one has been cropped to fit the ceramic plate.

This is the second known photo of him. This photo was given to Carol in the 1960's by Walter Lackey, who started the Newton County, AR Historical Society.
Here is the information Carol passed along with this photo:
"He is the man with the black beard and the woman on right is his wife Bette Morgan, the woman on her right is her mother. Picture was taken about 1896-8. His wife was Post Mistress at that time and town was called Wilcockson, it later became Marble City, it was just a little ways on Highway seven before you get to Jasper. It later became a Tourist attraction called Dog Patch, it went bankrupt and now is gone. According to Donald Harrington's book, "Let Us Build a City" Dr. Silas laid out the town."
On a side note: Dog Patch USA once was a small theme park in Newton county Arkansas but is now abandoned. You can still drive past and see it from the highway.  Reminds me of a ghost town you see in an old Western movie.  Here are a few links if you want information about it.
Wikipedia
What Dog Patch Has become.

Another photo Carol sent me. This is what the town of Marble Falls, AR looked like during Dr. Stacey's time. (This photo was also given to Carol by Walter Lackey.)
According to Carol Marble Falls was reported to have been laid out By Dr Stacey.

As an end note: I want to send out a HUGE Thank You to Caorl Clouse for all the information and time she gave me for this entry. I really enjoy getting to chat with relatives of  my blog post subjects.  It always amazes me how many people love to tell tales about their family members they never had the chance to meet. It really breaths life back into the individuals they speak about. 








13 comments:

  1. Thanks a lot for posting this information. Dr. Silas was my dad's grandfather, making him my gg

    Dad spoke of him several times when I was a boy and I was always fascinated with the way he became such a good old country doctor.

    It is said that he would get a message someone was sick and he would get on his horse, ride out to visit the patient, and he would stay at the house sometimes as long as three weeks till the patient was well.

    He manufactured and sold Dr. S. S. Stacey's sulphur mountain bitters which cost a dollar a bottle and sold briskly to all who came to obtain it. Only he knew the true ingredients of the product.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He was my grandmother Betty Stacey's grandfather. Making him my second great grandfather on her side. She died in 1921 when my dad was still a very young baby. I was named after James Stacey one of his sons and my great grandfather. Until recently I've never known much about him at all. I remember my dad telling me of a relative who used to be a doctor up around Dog Patch. I'm so happy to have found out something about my relatives as I've lived all this time and knew practically nothing of my family history.

      Delete
    2. Dr.Stacey is my father's Grandfather as well. I am the oldest daughter of Dale Stacey or Brad as family knows him.

      Delete
  2. I am so glad you liked the post. He was a fasinating man to research. Also Sounds like he really must have cared about his patients.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Can I please make a copy of my great-great grandfather's picture?

      Delete
    2. He was my gg grandfather he was my grandmother ola may trulove grandfather. My dad was Lester Glover. He is for sure my favorite. I took my kids to t
      he cave where he lived as a kid

      Delete
  3. I am just finding out about Silas Stacey and his story of survival on the "Trail of Tears". He was my great, great, great grandpa. His first wife was Matilda and they had many children, one daughter named after her, Matilda Stacey (my great, great grandmother), who later married and became Matilda Truelove. She had a daughter named Ola Mae Truelove (my great grandmother), who married William Glover and had a daughter named Beaula Ruby Glover (my grandmother) who went by Ruby.
    I would love to learn more about any part of the family history, if anyone is willing to share (rrweddo@yahoo.com).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm Lester Glover son ola truelove was my grandmother. Learned alot on family tree. Org you might want to check it out .

      Delete
  4. Dr. Stacey is my GGG-Grandfather. I always enjoy reading about him. I have found him mentioned in all of the books that you listed earlier and obtained most of them hoping to learn more. Thank you for sharing this story.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I actually just found out about him last night, im Vanessa Stacey, Stacey line goes my dad Steven, Delvis, Rufus, Chester Arthur, Hiram, Mecshack, Bryram,& Benjamin, ... Hiram and Silas are cousins ... Its so amazing to find out your past, your family lineage, i was just in Missouri fall on my way to AZ. and wish i would have known this so i could have made stops along the way to see places. Now planning this trip seems like a must!

    ReplyDelete
  6. He was my gg grandfather heared about him and when I did my family tree I found him .my all time favorite. I'm the son of Lester Glover and the grandson of ola may truelove her mom was arminda matilda Stacey.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great Story... I too am descended from Dr. Stacey. He is my g-g-g grandfather. My sister and I have much family captured in Ancestry.com. It has been very rewarding to find out about so much history.

    ReplyDelete
  8. It's very interesting to see so many descendants of dr stacey. Im also a descendent on maternal grandmothers side. Ive really loved reading about him. Ive been trying to figure out if he ever had a roll number but i havent been able to find anything in any archives.

    ReplyDelete