Malinda Haston (Maragriet Malinda Alzina Haston, as per some sources) was born on December 5, 1815 (some sources say 1819) in what was still White County, TN at that time–later Van Buren County. Colonel Howard Hillman Hasting summarized her life story in the seven lines you see below.
From Col. Howard H. Hasting Family Report
Malinda Haston married William P. Howard in then-White County, TN on September 5, 1839, with John Gillentine, Esquire, officiating their marriage.
But, Was William Howard Killed by Bushwhackers?
Here’s the Official Mortality Record
1860 Mortality List - Van Buren County, TN
I choose to believe the official mortality report that he died of Flux. His brother-in-law, William Leonard Dale (husband of Malinda’s sister, Amanda) was killed by bushwhackers in 1864, so I assume the Haston family facts have been confused. You will learn the William Leonard Dale story in the article to follow this one. See the button link above.
Bloody Flux
Dysentery, also known as “camp fever” or “the bloody flux,” was endemic throughout the colonial period and it raged right up through the Civil War. Symptoms of the disease include bloody or mucusy diarrhea, stomach cramps, pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever. Not only was dysentery a bacterial infection, but toxins can also be secreted by another type of Shigella bacteria, which damages blood vessels in the gut, kidneys, and lungs. This can produce hemorrhaging, bloody diarrhea, kidney failure, or even pulmonary edema.
Since the bloody flux was so common, people had no idea of the causes and it raged right up through the Civil War. Now we know it is caused by the Shigella bacteria and spreads rapidly in unsanitary conditions where food and water are contaminated by human waste. Crowded ships and soldier camps, poor personal hygiene, and lack of hand-washing conspired to create ideal breeding grounds for Shigella. This made dysentery a recurring, debilitating, and often fatal disease. Source
According to the 1850 census, William (age 30) and Malinda (age 31) were living in District 3 of Van Buren County, TN, with five children: Eliza J., age 9; Isaac M., age 7; Martha C., age 5; Joseph H., age 3; and James A., age 7 months. They were living next to John and Arenetta Haston. Malinda’s husband, William Howard, was a blacksmith, as was his father, Isaac Howard, according to the 1870 census.
At the time of the June 1, 1860 census, Melinda (age 43) was the head of the Howard household, no doubt grieving the recent death of her husband. All nine children were still living at home, and six of them were in school that year! Imagine a single mom with six children in school and two under school age–ages 2 and 4. Malinda and her 18-year-old daughter, Jane, were seamstresses.
I have not found an 1870 census record for Malinda in Van Buren County or elsewhere. She may have been on her way to Arkansas, but that’s just a “maybe.”
If you research this family, you will see references to William and Malinda Howard, who were on the 1870 census in Jefferson County, TN. This is a DIFFERENT family of Howards. The names of the children do not match the Malinda Haston Howard family and William Howard of Van Buren County, TN had been dead more than 10 years by the time of the July 8, 1870 Jefferson County, TN William Howard.
Source: Page 25 of unpublished document (book) on John Dale family - downloadable from link above.
Malinda Howard appeared on the June 30, 1880 census in Magazine Township of Yell County, Arkansas. Sons William M. (age 26) and Thomas F. (age 19) were living with her.
From Ellen Dale Sandlin's Book on the Dale Family - Ellen was a Daughter of William Leonard Dale, JR
Joseph H. Howard - Son of William and Malinda
Sheriff of Yell County, Arkansas
Source: Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Yell County, Arkansas (1891), page 157.
Inconsistencies with Other Records
Date of birth, January 31, 1849 does not match the 1850 census record that says he was three years old.
“His father was a gunsmith by trade” = possible, but Van Buren census records say he was a blacksmith.
Dates of his father’s birth and marriage of his parents do not match other records.
“Here the father died” – if “here” means Yell County, Arkansas, this is definitely wrong. William Howard died in Tennessee.
After what must have been a tough life, Malinda died on January 23, 1892. She was buried in the Shepherd Cemetery. Omega Road, Alpha, Yell County, Arkansas 72833, United States; Coordinates:35.12860, -93.26440
Shepherd Cemetery, Yell County, Arkansas
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