The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 102, July 1998 - April, 1999 Page: 537

Book Reviews

Press, 1997. Pp. vii-139. Acknowledgments, notes, sources, index. ISBN
1-555728-498-9. $24.00, cloth.)
People seeking land aided by religion motivated the westward movement.
Land meant financial security to farmers; religion meant eternal security.
William Oates Ragsdale gently and powerfully tells this story regarding settle-
ment in the Arkansas River Valley.
During 1840 to 1842, migration from Gaston County, North Carolina and
York County, South Carolina began to Arkansas. Then letters to relatives encour-
aged them to come west. These people were Associate Reformed Presbyterians
whose ancestors had survived the hazardous crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. Well
educated and prosperous, they had increased their strength, self confidence and
independence. Now a new crossing and land beckoned in Arkansas. Ragsdale
reveals that these hardy Presbyterians desired greater economic opportunity for
their children.
In 1850, John Oates IV and William Oates Jr. left the comfort of their
Carolina homes. Other difficult migrations followed as Ragsdale colorfully
describes. Five hundred settlers and their slaves came to the Arkansas River
Valley, on a main route to the gold of California. Trading corn, wheat, oats and
cotton stimulated their economy. Faith in the Bible, aided by the Westminster
Confession of Faith and the ministry of John Patrick, strengthened the settlers.
These pioneer farmers created the first Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church
west of the Mississippi River.
On the eve of the Civil War, prosperous economic times confirmed the faith of
those who made the journey. Ragsdale accurately notes that migration stopped
because of the scarcity of good available land in Pope County and the decreasing
number of family members left in the Carolinas. Church growth increased in
Pisgah where, unlike many frontier communities, most adults were literate.
Success would not last long. Ragsdale perceptively describes the turmoil of the
Civil War. Settlers manifested genuine concern for their slaves, yet most Pisgah
residents supported the Confederacy. That changed in 1863 when the Union
army occupied part of the Arkansas River Valley and recruited some Pope
County men. Economic, judicial, political, and religious decay followed. The war
weakened the patriarchal society and the church. Assassination of county offi-
cials occurred; outlaws preyed on the defenseless. Bitterness between the former
Confederate and Union soldiers continued to divide the community and church
after the war. Even the strong ministry of Monroe Oates could not rebuild the
community to its past strength. Migration from the valley accelerated, and the
era closed.
Ragsdale wisely uses primary and secondary sources. He perceptively describes
the settlers' strengths and failures and presents the data in chronological order
with critical analysis. Yet, the preface failed to clearly state the author's objec-
tives, and readers will wonder about the weakness in describing migrations out
of the valley. While the author placed out-migrations in proper historical con-
text, specific examples would have benefited the book. On the other hand, west-
ward migration by wealthy people commonly occurred. Ragsdale has revealed an
important impact of Calvinism and Presbyterianism on the frontier with a
unique blend of religion and wealth.

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