To request a copy of this photo for your own personal use, please
contact our state coordinator. If you are not a family member or the original photographer —
please refrain from copying or distributing this photo to other websites.
Additional CENTER Surnames in COLLIER - YOES (AKA BOSTON) (WINSLOW) Cemetery
CENTER, LouisCENTER, Mary ElizabethCENTER, Theodore RooseveltCENTER, AliceCENTER, Sally RCENTER, AlvisCENTER, James GuilfordCENTER, James WCENTER, Johnny RCENTER, MatildaCENTER, Joseph ACENTER, S E Additional CENTER Surnames in WASHINGTON County
CENTER, Brenda JeanCENTER, Calvin D "Sonny"CENTER, Clayton CCENTER, Claude RandallCENTER, Elva JuneCENTER, EugeneCENTER, George WCENTER, GladysCENTER, Henry Noble "Hank"CENTER, Ica OraCENTER, Infant SonsCENTER, John HCENTER, LavernaCENTER, LelahCENTER, Luverna TempletonCENTER, Marcus LindseyCENTER, Myrtle JeanCENTER, Nancy MillerCENTER, Raymond ECENTER, Robert EugeneCENTER, Ruby RosalieCENTER, Sally AnnCENTER, SolCENTER, Victoria
Thank you for visiting the Arkansas Gravestone Photo Project.
On this site you can upload gravestone photos, locate ancestors and
perform genealogy research. If you have a relative buried in Arkansas,
we encourage you to upload a digital image using our Submit a
Photo page. Contributing to this genealogy archive helps family historians and
genealogy researchers locate their relatives and complete their family tree.
Submitted: 11/26/10 • Approved: 12/28/13 • Last Updated: 12/31/13 • R418136-G0-S3
October 28, 1843 - January 14, 1914
Amus Nickerson Center, the son of Guilford and Sarah (Hatler) Center, was born in Allen County, Kentucky, on October 28, 1843. His name has been spelled variously as Amos and Amous, but the family spelling for it is Amus. He was known as Nick by family and friends. Amus's parents were married on September 25, 1839, in Scottsville, Allen Co, KY. His six siblings were: William Riley, Francis Evaline, Celia Elmira, Mark Lindsey, Emily Jane, & Sarah Elizabeth. Amus & three other children were born in Kentucky, after which his parents moved to Sumner County, TN, where the other three were born. The family moved to MO, settling on the MO river near Jefferson City. Descendants claim that Sarah contracted malarial fever and died in 1851. Guilford became a widower when he was about 31 and was left with 7 children, ages 11 to 1. He moved his family to Washington County, AR, where he homesteaded on Lee's Creek, near Winslow. The Center family supported the side of the Union, so when the Civil War started, Amus, as well as his father and brothers, enlisted in Company D, First Arkansas Cavalry Volunteers. (Amus enlisted at Cassville, MO, on June 14, 1862.) By this time Amus's father was married to Laverne Freet, and they had two children, John Henry & S.J. Amus married Mary Elizabeth Rebecca Joplin Wire Bell, the daughter of James & Caroline Bell, in Fayetteville on December 12, 1863. Their wedding ceremony was performed in the home of Mr. Zinnanon by Rev. Cox.
Amus occasionally slipped home to see Mary and was absent without leave for months at a time. Perhaps it was on one of these visits that their first son, James Guilford, was conceived. He was born on March 9, 1865, and was named in honor of Amus's father. Amus was discharged on August 3, 1865, allowing them to have a long life together. Amus and Mary were in Missouri, possibly in Trail, when their second child, Malisa, was born in August 1866. They returned to Arkansas where they lived in West Fork Township. Mary gave birth to John Thomas in 1868, and to Amos Franklin, in 1869.
By 1871, Mary and Amus had moved to Crawford County, where their son, Herman, was born. Within three years they moved to Washington County where they lived in the Winslow area.
Their sixth son, Louis, was born in 1874. They lived in TX for a short period of time. Mary's brother, Malichi, had written to their brother, James, on August 22, 1875. In it he wrote: "Nick & Mary has got back from Texas to their old home."
On June 13, 1878, Amus went to the Harrison land office and filed a homestead claim on 80 acres in Washington County, located near Winslow, off Devil Den's road.
Mary gave birth to four more children before the summer of 1880: Matilda, 1875, dying before 1880; Martha Ellen (Matt), 1876; Mason, 1878; and Henry, 1879.
Amus's father and his step-mother,Laverne, were divorced, and on September 11, 1880, his father married Sarah Elizabeth Taylor, a woman about 21 years younger than him. They had six children (Samuel Cooper, Hannah, Mary Melvina, Martha Ellen, Mary, Willis, & Charity Myree).
Mary gave birth to Mark in December 1880. On January 15, 1883, Amus filed for an additional 40 acres, adjacent to his land. Caldonia was born in 1883, and their last child, Alvis, was born in 1885, making a total of 13 children.
Amus applied for a Civil War Pension in May 1912. Whether he received a pension is unknown. He died at home on January 23, 1915. His grave is near the fence by the road.
Much of the above information is from a book I (Virginia Brown) wrote titled "The Family of James and Caroline Bell."
At the time of his death, He was survived by his wife, Mary E. Bell Center and 12 of their 13 children, Thomas, Herman, James Gilford, Amos, Louis, Henry, Mason, Alvis, Mark, Malisa, Martha (Matt) and Callie; two brothers, Riley and Mark; a sister, Elizabeth Caughman; two half-brothers; three half-sisters; and 45 grandchildren. Services were held in the family home with Rev. G.W.C. Lasater presiding, followed by burial at Collier Cemetery.
Parents: Guilford Center, Sarah K. Hatler Center
Children: James Guilford Center, Malisa Center Caughman, Thomas John Center, Louis Center, Martha Ellen Center Dudley, Mark Center, Caldonia Center Curry, Ollie Center, Alvis Center.
Spouse: Mary Elizabeth Bell Center
Contributed on 11/26/10 by tslundberg
Email This Contributor
Suggest a Correction
Record #: 418136