Biographical and Historical Memoirs of the Bobbitt Family in Arkansas
iWebTech:  Chird Bobbitt Copyright © 1997-2xxx All Rights Reserved

John Wesley Bobbitt
of
Craighead, Co., AR

My grandfather John Wesley Bobbitt son of Moses L. "Len" Bobbitt (abt 1823  Maury Co., TN?) was a partner in a logging operation on the Cache River near Jonesboro, in Craighead, Co., AR. He first married Harriet Thrower 11 May 1880. They had one son, Louis Bobbitt. b: Mar 1891 Craighead Co., AR who was listed on the 1900 Census of White County with the William Magness family. 1900 Census Clay TWP, White Co., AR  1900 Census Independence Co., AR
Magness, John 0013000100000-11101010000000
Magness, Wm. 0110210100000-0000000100000

Harriett may have died for John Wesley then married Mary (Redden?) Kitchens (whose mother, Amelia Redden was supposedly 1/4 Cherokee) from near Ward in Lonoke Co., 22 June 1893, the certificate located in White County Courthouse. Mary was born possibly near Newark in Independence Co., AR. Mary had first married Henry Lee Obediah Kitchens in 1882 in Izard Co AR., but they soon divorce. https://www.ancestry.com/boards/thread.aspx?mv=tree&m=1028&p=localities.northam.usa.states.georgia.counties.newton

John W. and Mary had two children, Clora Bell Bobbitt was born in 1894 (Picture wth her mother, Amelia Redden) and Flemon Benjamin Bobbitt. born  27 May 1896 near Bono in Craighead Co., AR.  John W. came down with consumption about 1897-8, traveled to Eureka Springs in NW Arkansas for the "cure" and died there. Living in Kensett, AR Clora married Henry Taylor (soon divorced, no children) then George Dudley Harder

After John W.'s death Mary moved back to Denmark Twp in White Co. (1900 census) with Flemon, his older sister Clora Bell and their half-brother Louis. Mary,s mother had had married Kirkwood Reeves, was located in the Roosevely Community.  After John W. Bobbitt's death Louis Bobbitt who was supposedly red headed, resided at and worked for the William Magness family in Clay TWP, White County, AR  from age 10 until his death at age 21. He was buried at the Walnut Grove Cem., McJester, Cleburne Co., AR. Flemon knew very little about his Bobbitt relatives, only that George Washington Bobbitt an older brother of his father John had walked barefoot to Missouri, married and lived near Bloomfield.
On the 1900 Census Independence Co., AR Flemon Bobbitt listed as Thurman Bobett, age 4 (son-in-law) of Henry Churchwell (Churchill)  p. 829 The Bobbitt Family in America Book. Flemon and his half-brother were featured in a short story publication Orphans on the River by local author Norman Martin.

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Dear Chird,
That is not a name that I have heard that I remember.  Where did William M. Magness live when Louis Bobbitt worked for him? 
My great-grandparents lived in Magness, Arkansas from around 1890 until they died.  My aunt still lives on the land they bought in Magness. 
My grandfather Jude Burns (Jewel Morgan Burns) was born in 1898, so it's possible that he could have known Louis Bobbitt if he lived in Magness. 

Liz Burns Glenn   laglenn@knology.net
Madison, Alabama
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Hiram Bluff, originally a settlement in White County is located two miles north of Pangburn and is now in Cleburne County., listed a Babbitt as an early resident.
http://ltc4940.blogspot.com/2008/09/searcy-ar.html

Flemon's  mother Mary Redden Kitchens Bobbitt married Henry Churchill, 22 May, 1898 and they had one child, Harry Churchill. After Henry was killed in a farming accident Harry lived with his mother in White and Lonoke Co. Mary Churchill is buried in an unmarked grave in the Apple Hill Cemetery in Lonoke County located on Hwy 319 West. She was related to the Ward and Reynolds families there.

A Craighead County Genealogist, Bob Couch,  had put a  Bobbitt tree online and I discovered it about June 2000. This set me off on the search again, I had not done any research for about 15 years. The Craighead Co. tree has some duplications and misspellings in it and is hard to figure out. The 1870 Census for Craighead County has all Bobbitt's listed as Bobbert. There are a few Bobbitt's in this area descended from a John J. Bobbitt from near Memphis, TN  but they are not our relatives.

I was born 08 April 1941 (our family bible had 07), near the Pumpkin Branch, Providence, White County, AR. The house we rented burned to the ground when I was 4. We lived in a two room shack until we moved to McRae the next year. I had started first grade at Providence in the fall at the old rock school house. When we moved to McRae before the next school session started and had to repeat the 1st grade. We moved to Searcy from there in 1956.

In 1964 I met the girl destined to be my partner in life Janis Dyann Benton who was born at 410 N. Olive in Searcy,  White Co., AR, and attended the  Searcy High School but since she is 6 years younger we never knew each other while in school. I quit school after the 11th grade & joined the U.S. Air Force.  I spent 4 years in the service, got out Tyndall ASB, panama City, FL moved back home and found a job as a Data Processing Machine Operator at the  "Little Rock Distributing Company" in Little Rock. I met Dyann while "crusing" with some friends one weekend in Searcy where she lived. She was in 12th grade so we dated and got married in June after she graduated and as they say, the rest is history. I spent only 2 1/2 years out of the service and went back into Air Force. In 1980 I had driven back to Searcy,  contacted a builder, bought a lot and had him build a home by a floor plan we had selected. Dyann, Shain & Kevin moved to Searcy when school was out in Knob Knoster, Missouri where they attended. I remained until my retirement date, 01 January, 1981. We have raised 2 sons,  Shain Bobbitt & Kevin Bobbitt. Dyann retired from the Liberty Bank 2010 & I retired as Information Systems Manager from White County Government in 2006.

Shain is married to Jackie Going and have two sons Shaun Brayden & Stephen Matthew Bobbitt.

Kevin is married to Alma Chanco and have two sons Kevin Tyler & Ethan Conner Bobbitt.