“The Sinking of the Rueben James” Has Ties to Heavener

By Barbara Lewis

 

Reuben James was born about 1775 in Delaware and became a boatswain's mate of the United States Navy.  He served on the USS Constellation and was a crew member when they captured a French Ship during the Quasi-war.  This was an undeclared naval war with France from 1798-1800 fought in the Caribbean and off the eastern coast of the United States. Reuben James became famous for his heroism in the First Barbary War following the USS Philadelphia’s capture by Barbary Pirates. When a sword wielding pirate attacked his commander, James stepped in front of him and took the blow himself.  He continued his navel career after recovery serving in the War of 1812 and the second Barbery War in 1815. 

In honor of Rueben James, the U.S. Navy commissioned three ships in his name.  The first USS Reuben James was a four-stack destroyer commissioned in 1920. On October 31, 1941, the ship was one of five escorting merchant ships off the coast of Ireland. A German submarine fired two torpedoes hitting the destroyer. The Reuben James became the first U.S. warship to be sunk by enemy action during WW II, several weeks before the official U.S. entry into the war. All seven of the ship’s officers and 93 enlisted men perished. There were 44 survivors that were rescued. “The Sinking of the Reuben James” was a song written by Woody Guthrie and made famous by Johnny Horton. Woody Guthrie had started writing to include each name on the casualty list, but later changed the chorus to, “tell me what were their names.” 

At the time of the sinking of the Rueben James, many from Heavener did know the name of one or the 44 survivors of the ship. George Napolean Beasley, Jr. was a sailor from Heavener. He had moved to Heavener along with his parents in 1937 and lived there until he enlisted in the U.S. Navy on July18, 1939.  His name was on the muster roll for the USS Rueben James in December 1939. After surviving the sinking of the Reuben James, George served on the USS Stack, USS Cacapon, USS Currituck, and the Midway. He was promoted through the ranks of Fireman and Machinists’ Mate and retired in May 1969 as Warrant Officer, First Class.

 

George was born June 4, 1919, in Tulsa, Oklahoma to George Napolean Beasley, Sr. and Minnie Belle Garland Martin. The Beasley family moved from Mansfield, Texas to Tulsa in 1907, then to DeQueen, Arkansas in 1923 where George Sr. worked for the railroad for 14 years before moving to Heavener to continue with KCS.  When ill health caused his retirement about 1942, the family moved to Tulsa then to Chico, California to be near their son, Earl. George Napolean Beasley, Sr. died 2 months later in December 1947.  Minnie Belle lived until the age of 98 and died in Texarkana, Texas, near their daughter, Verona.

 

George had seven siblings, two brothers, John and Terrance, who also served in the military. His brother Leroy worked for post office in Tulsa for 42 years before retiring to Florida. Brother Earl married in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, then made his home in Chico, California. His sister Verona, married James Scott Whitlock and lived in Texarkana. Sister Marie married Emmett Hammers, and they are both buried in the Vaughn Cemetery at Gilmore, Oklahoma. A baby brother, Robert died at six months from measles and pneumonia and is buried in DeQueen, Arkansas. 

 

George Jr. married in 1948 at Suffolk County, Virginia to Ila June Peck. She died in 2000 at the age of 77 and George died in 2003 at the age of 83 in Skiatook, Oklahoma. They are both buried in Floral Haven Memorial Gardens in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.

 

Please feel free to comment on these genealogy articles, you may do so on our Facebook page, Poteau Valley Genealogical Society, or by e-mail at pvgs1977@gmail.com or by mailing to PVGS, P.O. Box 1031, Poteau, Ok. 74953. 

 

 

History of Double Branch Baptist Church

 

In very early Indian Territory days a group of citizens decided to build a school and community building.  Bro. Haskell Reed’s ancestors were among them, and they hewed the logs with a broad axe for a twenty-two-foot square log house and built it between Sugar Loaf Creek and Nail Creek.  It was covered with split boards and a large fireplace in the north end of the building. The fireplace was built to accommodate long sticks or logs. The school was a subscription school at .5 cents per day per pupil.  Time and usage had left their signs on this building when a group met to organize a church, and the location gave the name to the church established there in April 1870 as the Double Branch Missionary Baptist Church.  It was open to people of any denomination that wished to use it.

The 21 charter members were Brother Speairs, Moderator and Pastor aged 75 and Vaughn, Tucker, and Mitchell families.

 

Vaughn Family-Members included Jonathan Colley (J. C.) Vaughn, Church Clerk (1815-1878) (Vaughn Cemetery on the north side of the church named for him) Florence Vaughn age 49 (could this be wife Martha?), son Zack Vaughn age 25 (1848-1875), daughter Helen Vaughn age 25 (Is it possible this is daughter Martha?) son Tom Vaughn age 20 (1854-1887),  Hattie(Hettie) Vaughn age 18, and Hassie Vaughn age 17 (1856-1936 m. Step Wise, both buried in Howe Cemetery).  These seven Vaughn family members were charter members of the church.   

 

Tucker Family Nine of this family were charter members. Edd Tucker age 75 and Nancy Tucker age 65; Two of their sons: (1) George Washington Tucker (1850-1925) with wife Elizabeth Coker (1854-1935) both buried in Vaughn Cemetery (2) John B (Jack) Tucker age 50 married his first cousin, Margaret (Peggy) Tucker age 49. Their daughter Elizabeth (1844-1896) married Lee Martindale and daughter Mary Pauline Tucker (1853-1880) married David Wren (1849-1911).  David and Pauline are both charter members. She is buried at Vaughn Cemetery along with two infant children that died in 1873 and 1876.  (Daughter Ann Tucker Smedley and husband William (Bill) joined later). Bill Smedley was the grandson of the noted missionary Joseph Smedley from England.  He came west with the Christian movement and did mission work in Arkansas and Indian Territory. They lived on what was known as Nail Prairie but later became known as Smedley Prairie. 

 

Mitchell Family William C. Mitchell died in 1863, and his wife Nancy Dunlap-Mitchell died in 1870, but a son and three daughters-in-law were charter members.  Their son Bob Mitchell age 40 (Robert Henry 1837-1922) and wife Martha Mitchell (1840-1923) were both charter members and both are buried at the Reichert Cemetery. Becky Mitchell (1844-1917) wife of Jessie and Hettie Mitchell (1844-1877) wife of Richard are also charter members. This Mitchell family lived at Crooked Creek which later became Harrison, Arkansas. William Harrison served 14 years as a State Senator from Carroll County, Arkansas.  Two of his sons, a daughter-in-law and grandson as well as his wife’s two brothers, wives and 12 children were killed at the “Mountain Meadow Massacre” in Utah in September 1857. William was appointed a Special Agent to meet the Army at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas and receive the 17 surviving children and return them to Arkansas to their families. A monument was erected in Harrison, Arkansas to memorialize the 120 that were slain and is now registered as a National Historic landmark.

 

In 1882 the Double Branch Church had 55 members with W.M. Holland as pastor.  There were 66 members in 1884 making it the largest of eight churches to join the newly formed Short Mountain Baptist Association , now Cowlington.  Double Branch pastors and approximate dates of service include William Moses Holland 1882-1885, W. J. Patterson, N. L. Pound, George W Evans with more than 60 baptisms in Sugar Loaf Creek at one time among them the oldest living person who was member Brother Jim Williams, 95, living in Poteau and member of Southside in 1970.  Baptized at the same time were the two oldest members W.E. “Will” Ratterree and Walter Durant.  Will was 88, on February 24, 1970 and Walter 88 on November 2, 1970. 

 

About 1892 Jim Gassaway, age 15, came to Indian Territory with his family and they moved into the building until they could establish living quarters.  It was in very dilapidated condition, the roof swayed and leaked, and the wide floorboards were loose, but the fireplace was the biggest one he ever saw. 

 

               Other pastors include John Crenshaw 1893, Isaac Napier 1894-1896, W. Jim Pinkerton in 1896 had 43 baptisms in Sugar Loaf creek at one time.  W.G. Lucas pastor in 1896, Thomas Bowles 1900, Bernie and Lona Hale got him out of cotton patch on November 3, 1919 to marry them. R.T. Little was pastor in 1902, W.H. Gober 1907 and 1915, Charley Hale 1910, J.J. Gibson Gipson dismissed August 1913,  John Dove September 1913, J. H. Gober 1915, J.W. Harrison 1916.

 

In 1917 land was deeded for 20 acres from D.B. & Lillie E Woodson to Double Branch Church trustees, Noah Griffith, Geo. W. Tucker, and W.A.J. Harrison to build a church house.

G.W. Gober March 1918, G.W. Davis July 1918,  Sherman Wren August 1922 with more than 40 baptisms in Nail Creek at one time (picture), Aud Ratterree 1922,  A.D. Chronister 1925,  J.B. Turner, G.W. Davis,

 

John L. Tinell  (?Tendell) serving in September 1938-resigned June 1940. On October 1938 a motion passed that the old church house be torn down and rebuilt. A building committee was appointed.  The next meeting was to be held in the Gilmore school house. That lasted at least thru January 1939.  Some other pastors were Weaver Hendricks 1940, A.L. Smith 1941 to 1948, Haskell Reed 1950-1953. J. B. Nobles 1953-1958, Don Wheat, Clarence Raines,  Harold Caywood  (Cawood) 1964, Neal Prock April to September 1964 then he went to Poteau Trinity,  Harvey Hickman 1966, Franklin Carroll, Glen Stenhouse,  J. W. Dugan February 2013.

 

Over 152 years later the oldest church in LeFlore County, the Double Branch Baptist Church with Pastor Travis Cook is still worshipping, baptizing, and continuing to spread the Word of God.