Mouser: A Branch of the Family in Hempstead County Arkansas

In March of 1988 I traveled with my parents and my two young daughters to the area around Hope Arkansas to do a little family history sleuthing.  We were in search of my Dad’s Smith, Jones, and Mouser families.  That was almost twenty-five years ago, and my memories of that trip are a bit dim.  But fortunately, I have a few photographs and notes to jog my memory.  This blog post reflects on several discoveries we made related to our Mouser family during, and as a result of that trip.

The town of Hope is in the southwest corner of Arkansas, in the county of Hempstead.  Between 1825 and 1830 my paternal 4xgreat-grandfather, George Mouser, bought property and established his family at Rocky Mound, about four miles east of Hope.  One of the highlights of our Arkansas trip was meeting Roy and LaVeta Mouser.  Their gracious hospitality led us to the Mouser Memorial Cemetery (aka Rocky Mound Cemetery), and the old Mouser homestead.  They also introduced us to LaFrona Foshee Mouser’s book, “A Genealogy of the Mouser Ancestry, Including the Best and other families.”  This excellent resource, published in 1978, opened up a wealth of information about our Mouser ancestry. 

During our 1988 visit we viewed and photographed the old George Mouser Homestead from the road.  Family tradition suggests that this was the home built by George Mouser in the 1820’s, where he lived with his wife Phoebe Best Mouser and their thirteen children.  This early construction date has been questioned.  In her 1978 genealogy, LaFrona Mouser states, “This cabin still has two rooms and a hallway still standing with 14 inch wall.  It was sold by Isaac Mouser, Sr in 1907 and was the first time it passed out of Mouser hands for over eighty years.”  Roy Mouser (of Roy and LaVeta mentioned above) made a model of the George Mouser Homestead.  It was displayed at several Mouser Family Reunions in Hope Arkansas in the 1970s. 

Near the Mouser homestead we also photographed Mouser Memorial Cemetery (aka Rocky Mound Cemetery).  None of our direct Mouser family line is buried there, but family tradition indicates that George Mouser and his wife Phoebe Best Mouser are buried almost across the street in the totally overgrown Madison D Hall Cemetery.

 

As previously mentioned, George Mouser and Phoebe Best had thirteen children.  My family descends from their daughter Phoebe Mouser, who was born in 1834, and married to James Jones of neighboring Lafayette county Arkansas in 1850.  You can read about the Jones Family in my upcoming blog posting titled, Meet the Joneses.   For more details on George Mouser and Phoebe Best, visit their individual pages at Family Stories, pamgarrett.com.

Moving back in time:  Edith W Tanner 1902 (wife of Robert Hutchison) >Mary Lula Smith 1879 >Eliza Alice Jones 1859 >Phoebe Mouser 1834 >George Mouser abt 1800 (married Phoebe Best)