The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941 Page: 408

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

of Virginia, moved to Tennessee, where he became "a man of
wealth."3 Later he lost the greater part of his fortune through
security debts and died a man of moderate circumstances in
Cherokee County, Alabama. His wife's maiden name was Arnold,
and this name they bestowed upon their child. Arnold, father
of Robert Teague, was born in Lincoln County, Tennessee, 1818.
While Arnold was a young man, he moved with his parents
to Cherokee County, Alabama. Here he married Mrs. Mary
Taylor, daughter of a farmer named White. Arnold Milner
owned no slaves, had little education, was laconic of speech,
but he was "a patient listener to interesting conversation."'
He was a man of fine judgment, possessed an unsurpassed sense
of honor, and "in spite of his lack of wide education it was to
the great advantage of his county that he consented to serve
as county commissioner and a school commissioner."5
During the Civil War, Arnold Milner served in the Confed-
erate army with a company of cavalry in the protection of the
coast near Galveston. He was a Democrat and never failed to
vote except when, possibly, he was disfranchised for his services
to the South in the War Between the States." In an atmosphere
of unquestioning devotion to the Democratic cause and in the
religious spirit of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, in
which he was an elder, Arnold Milner brought up his children.
The scene of Robert T. Milner's childhood is best viewed
through his own eyes:
My first recollection of this country was during the
Civil War. Deep and lasting were the impressions then
formed of the stirring events, and shifting scenes, the
occupations of the people, the dependence of a country
cut off from every avenue of commerce, and the heavy
responsibilities laid upon the old men, women, and chil-
dren, and the proper use and management of the
negroes. The country was new, the farms were still
"new grounds" and fertile, the virgin soil was not yet
deprived of its original plant food. Just how to make
food, clothing, shoes, hats, plows, wagons, and all the
articles necessary to support all the people was the
grim problem that confronted society.
But the problem was solved. For meat the forests
abounded in cattle and hogs. Sheep furnished wool
which was carded and woven by hand and made into
winter clothing. Hides were tanned and made into
3Frank W. Johnson, A History of Texas and Texans, III, 1392.
4Ibid.
*Ibid.
,Ibid.

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