| Obit For | Sarah "Sally"(Ross) Baxter |
|---|---|
| Headline | Southwest Missouri's Oldest Woman Dead: Career Marked by Experiences with Indians, Mormons and Bushwhackers |
| Text | With the death of Mrs. Sarah Baxter, commonly called "Old Aunt Sally", the oldest person in Southwest Missouri, passes away. At the time of her death, a few days ago, she was past 106 years of age, as so far as known, no woman living in this section of the state lays claim to that many years of life. Certainly none have more interesting history. Stories of hardships, her stolen to an Indian band, a thrilling escape, deeds of daring at the time of the Mormons were migrating to Utah and a daring exploit, in which she rescued her own son from Bushwhackers, during the Civil War are some of the early day experiences of this early day woman. Mrs. Baxter was born in Illinois, but her parents moved to Independence, then little more than a fort, when she was a small girl. It was there that she was taught her first lesson of Indian life. It was the experience that she loved to repeat in her old age. Her father, one day, in jest, offered to sell her, to an Indian, for a pair of moccasins, little thinking that the Indian would take him seriously. A few days later, the Indian brought the moccasins, and when refused, throw them on the floor. The next night the girl was stolen, when returning to the house from the well. Several days later she was recaptured by a posse organized by her father, after a hard fight with the Indians. A few years later, she helped make bullets to repel the attacks of the Mormons, then on their way from Illinois to Utah. During the Civil War, she had many experiences and hardships, too: the one which her friends tell was not often repeated by her. Her son was home one day, on a furlough when a party of bushwhackers attacked the house, and took the son into the yard, tying him to a tree, where they intended hanging him. Mrs. Baxter and her daughter alone, held up the entire party, and cut the ropes, which held the son, permitting him to escape and again join the army. Globe Democrat |
| Newspaper or Funeral Home | Cassville Democrat, Cassville, Barry Co., MO |
| Date | Saturday, December 9, 1905 |
| Death Cert Link | - |
| Resource | State Historical Society of MO Microfilm |
| Submitted by | Donna Cooper |
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