LETTER

Mrs. Johnson,

Thank you for your letter of April 5, 1994. Your organization seems like a caring group which is interested in helping descendants to come to grips with the past and lost loved ones.

I'm enclosing the original of John Baugh's photograph. He was raised by Ingram "Ink" Hecklin who was a farmer who also had slaves back then who lived a short distance from Independence (Greenwood), Missouri. We can rest assured that Mr. Baugh was not mistreated but worked hard coming up. They were pioneers from Kentucky. My great-grandfather, Ink Hecklin was acquainted with the James Boys, the Youngers and William Quantrell during and after the Civil War. They used to stop and visit with the family.

Mr. Hecklin died in 1911 and John Baugh was to become the hired hand of Oscar Harris, my grandfather, and the Hecklin's son-in-law.

It is difficult to try and pinpoint when John Baugh was sent west. However I am going to guess between 1870 and 1880.

This is my mothers handwriting on reverse of photo. I implored my mother to write on the back of photos anything she knew about the individuals. Without this I would have just thrown them out because I knew he was not related.

We don't know if anyone will ever match up his story with a descendant, but it is fun to try! Looking forward to the newsletter and I might add, your organization certainly serves a worthy purpose.

Fred Goocher, Beaumont, TX.