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Submitted: 5/6/11 • Approved: 5/12/11 • Last Updated: 8/3/12 • R522013-G522013-S3
1878 - 1953
He was born and died in Independence County Arkansas
A story told by family about "Uncle Martin" : When he was a young man, he was policing the railroad tracks in Independence County for vagrants in order to keep the trains clear from vagrant hitchhikers. He discovered a group of men, playing cards beneath a railroad overpass near a creek at the northeast side of Batesville. When he attempted to breakup the game and disperse the men away from the tracks, they hit him over the head, knocking him unconcious and layed his body across the railroad tracks. Uncle Martin regained conciousness just as he heard a train whistle and realized a train was coming down the track . Still stunned by the blow to the head, he groggily managed to drag his body off the track, except for his left arm, before the train reached him. Uncle Martin lost about half his left arm to that train that day. Fact that supports credibility of this family story: On the 1910 Census, Martin B. Cross' occupation was listed as "Superintendent of Convict Gang". Interesting Job Title, mostly likely referring to prisoners used for various work assignments, which is still practiced for certain types of work. (Note: A published article that also supports the credibility of this family story appeared in the GuardOnline in News of Other Days as follows:)
News of Other Days - Published Monday July 10, 2006
Editor's note: This column ran previously in the Guard on July 20, 1993.
85 Years Ago
Sheriff Noah Harris, Constable Martin Cross and enforcement officer W.R. Pasley spent several days in Oil Trough bottom last week in the effort to locate a distillery reported to be in operation in that section. Friday they succeeded in capturing a large 18-gallon still with a lot of sugar, prunes and other ingredients for the manufacture of illegal whiskey. The still and other articles were concealed in a dense thicket on the Meadow Lake farm. — Guard, June 20, 1921
Contributed on 5/6/11 by joycemorgan662010
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Record #: 522013