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Note: MADISON COUNTY PEOPLE DROWN The Daily Democrat Newspaper (Arkansas) reported on 27 April 1907 the death of three Madison County residents as follows:
The shocking word was received here late Saturday afternoon that a man and two women had been drowned at the crossing of the Middle Fork, of White River on the Maguire Road that day.
It has developed since then that the man was William MUNCY aged about 27 and the women were Susan Ward aged 25 and Mary Ward aged 16 and that they lived between Drakes Creek and Aurora in Madison County.
They came here Friday to do some trading and visit relatives and left Saturday morning for home. On Saturday afternoon Uncle Fay Reed and his wife who live half a mile beyond the river, went down to the ford to see the stage of the water. On arriving there they discovered the wheel of a wagon below the ford, lodged against the limbs of a Sycamore tree. Upon further investigation, washed down the river, a mule and a womens dress could be seen. They went for help and recovered the body of the women, a letter was found on the body that gave the name of the man.
Parties at Harris, which is near by, knew Muncy and telephoned his relatives here, who knew he was accompanied by the two women.
The ford there is very treacherous and often changed by high water. The water is deepest and swiftess on the east side, and the landing is just wide enough for a wagon to pass out. It was evident that the wagon and team were washed down when they reached the swift water on the other side and had gone in the deep water below where the woman, wagon and team were found.
They had crossed West Fork, but later that stream had become a raging torrent, far to high to cross. The Middle Fork is a shorter stream and rises and falls quicker.
Many people from here and the surrounding neighborhood visited the sad scene Sunday and assisted in the search for the bodies of the man and the other woman, but the bodies could not be found. The search was renewed this morning and more than a hundred men are making every possible effort to find the bodies.
The two women were the nieces of MUNCY and of Mrs. W.H. WRIGHT whose husband is an employee of the Phipps-Williams Lumber Company of this city. The father of
MUNCY also lives here making his home with his daughter Mrs. W.H. WRIGHT.
William Albert MUNCY born 16 July 1878 in Clay County, Kentucky was married 22 December 1898 in Madison County to Florence Effie LEDBETTER. They were the parents of four small children: Albert 7, Alice 5, Pearl 2, and Clarence 6 weeks old. Muncys body was not found for ten days. He was buried at Drakes Creek
Cemetery.
Susan Ward born 29 September 1881 in Jackson County, Kentucky was unmarried and the letter found was to her boyfriend Jess SULLINS. Mary Francis Ward born 11 January 1890 in Madison County, Arkansas was unmarried. It was seventeen days before her body was recovered. Both Susan and Mary are buried in Aurora Cemetery near their fathers grave.
Their parents were John Cole WARD and Nancy MUNCY. John Cole WARD died in 1891 of pneumonia. John and Nancy were also the parents of William Albert WARD
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