The Word returns

Grandview man donates Bible of county founder

By Matt Smith/msmith@trcle.com

A Bible once owned by one of the founders of Johnson County recently made its way back to Cleburne by happenstance.

Printed in Philadelphia in 1863, the Bible traveled to Ohio, Johnson County, Arkansas and points unknown before coming back to Cleburne.

Grandview resident Mark Watson loaned the Bible to the county in December for display in the Johnson County Courthouse’s soon-to-open county museum.

“I thoroughly enjoyed receiving [the Bible],” Watson said. “I’d never held anything in my hands that old before. I think it’s the Lord’s way of bringing something to me, that he knew I’d do the right thing with it.”

Elbert Monroe Heath — some accounts list his name as Elburt Munroe — apparently obtained the Bible while a prisoner of war during the Civil War.

“It feels good to me that his Bible is home now,” Watson said. “It may have been one of his prized possessions during the war and his time in prison, probably the only thing that kept him sane.”

Heath, born 1830 in Indiana, later made his way to what is now Johnson County. Heath, along with other Alvarado area residents, petitioned for the establishment of a new county.

The legislature approved the petition in 1854, and Gov. Elisha Pease selected Heath to act as commissioner to organize the new county, according to a May Community Life article by Mike Beard.

The new county was named after Col. Middleton Tate Johnson of the Texas Rangers, said county historian Dorothy Schwartz.

Heath went on to serve as justice of the peace and county tax collector before volunteering with the Confederate Army and enlisting in the 20th Texas Cavalry.

There he rose to the rank of major. After being captured at the battle of Honey Springs, Heath was taken to Johnson’s Island Prison in Ohio.

“I realized this Bible has an amazing history,” Watson said. “I was coming off knee surgery when I got it, so that left plenty of time to research it.”

B.B. Mullins, a Kentucky resident, apparently befriended Heath and gave him the Bible while both men were imprisoned at Johnson’s Island, Watson said.

The Bible’s inscription page shows that Mullins gave it to Heath on May 21, 1864.

When the war was over, Heath returned to Johnson County.

“The story I’ve heard is that they kicked him out in Texarkana, and he walked all the way back here barefoot,” Watson said.

Heath went on to serve as county sheriff and vice president of the Johnson County Bank of Cleburne among other accomplishments. He died in 1902 and is buried in the Cleburne Cemetery.

What became of the Bible after Heath’s death is a mystery, Watson said.

“A Rev. Donald Campbell gave it to the Butler Center [for Arkansas Studies] last summer,” Watson said. “I don’t know how Rev. Campbell came to have it.”

The center, a department of the Central Arkansas Library System, serves as a research facility for Arkansas history.

David Stricklin, the head of the center, was born and raised in Grandview, as was his sister, Nancy Willis, who now lives in Glen Rose.

The Grandview Masonic Lodge is listed on the Bible’s inscription page, Watson said.

“What I understand is that David Stricklin thought it needed to come back down here and called his sister,” he said.

Nancy Willis contacted the Grandview Lodge, of which Watson is a member.

Watson later learned that Heath was an early member of the Grandview Lodge and one of the founders of the Cleburne Masonic Lodge.

This fact may in part explain the friendship between Heath and Mullins.

Mullins was a past master in a Kentucky Masonic Lodge, Watson said.

“Nancy contacted me, and I liked to fall out of my chair,” Watson said. “We later met at the Walgreen’s parking lot [in Cleburne]. I couldn’t wait to get home with a magnifying glass and research the Bible. She told me to do what I feel is right but that it needs to have a home.”

Willis said she’s happy that the Bible will soon be displayed for all county residents.

“When David saw that it came from Grandview, he thought it needed to go home,” Willis said. “I think it’s part of our history and something that needs to be here.”

Watson agreed.

“Maj. Heath helped build Johnson County; he’s known as the father of the county,” Watson said. “He lived [in Cleburne] and is buried here. That’s why I thought the Bible needed to come home and stay home.”

Watson said he hopes the Bible will, in some small way, inspire residents to study the county’s history.

“I was born and raised in Cleburne, and I didn’t know who Heath was before now,” Watson said. “I wish our schools would teach more about our founding fathers.

“And not just so much for the history. I’m a strong believer in the Masons. Heath was a Mason, and this is his history. I felt it was my brotherly duty to other county residents to see.”

Heath’s Bible is one of several items loaned or donated to the Johnson County Courthouse Museum in recent months.

“We encourage it anytime anyone can donate something as a gift or loan, anything that’s to do with the history of our county,” said County Judge Roger Harmon. “We’re always appreciative of items we can display and use to share the history of Johnson County.”

Work on the museum continues, Harmon said. County officials expect it to open later this year.