Northwest Arkansas is the birthplace and home to many people who reside here.

However, over the years many people have moved here drawn by the Natural State's charm and current prosperity as well as a unique way of life. Descendents of one Benton County pioneer, Andy Jack Lynch, met in Benton County over Easter weekend to visit family home sites.

The "last trail" of the day was to visit the Andy Jack Lynch farm and the Harra Lynch properties which have undergone major cosmetic changes over the years as well as acquiring new owners for part of the original Harra Lynch farm.

The true character of the early days of the region begins to unfold as the Lynch genealogical lines develop. If we remember that horse and wagon travel, along with walking, was the mode of travel of the day, families were usually fairly large but there were few families close by for daily fellowship. It follows that marriages between members of many of the same families are found throughout the years. This is illustrated clearly as we look at the seven surviving children of Andy Jack and Malinda Lynch and marriages with the Ruddick families in the area.

There were four sons of which three resided and farmed on Sugar Creek. The oldest son, Carlos, married Valeria Arnold and they lived and farmed the home place along what we know today as Sugar Creek Road. They had seven children, six of whom survived to adulthood. The second son, William married Mae Glasscock and they moved from Sugar Creek to the Garfield area.

John Lynch was the third son and he married Lou Bessie Ruddick, a daughter of John Ruddick. They built their house and farmed the land currently occupied by Wanda Bennett on Sugar Creek Road just west of the town of Brightwater. This marriage produced at least three children which survived to adulthood. As noted earlier, this is the last Lynch-built home surviving on Sugar Creek.

The youngest son Harra (named to rhyme with twin sister Clara but most frequently called Harry) first married a Ruddick daughter who died during pregnancy. (It is believed that she was also a daughter of John Ruddick.) He then married Betty Cox of the Elk Horn Tavern Cox family. They had seven surviving children. They built a house and farmed land a stone's throw east of Carlos on a farm which had also been part of Andy Jack Lynch's property. One of Harra's sons carried on the family marriage tradition and married Ida Mae Ruddick, mother of Leo Lynch.

Harra's twin sister Clara married Aza Cox a relative of Betty Cox Lynch. The eldest sister Martha Elizabeth married Charles Fitzpatrick initially, followed by a marriage to John R. Williams. The remaining sister Sarah Lynch married Joseph Ruddick keeping the family linkage alive.

On Saturday, the Lynch descendants spent their day taking photographs and touring of the Andy Jack Lynch restored log house in Bentonville. Filled with meaningful antiques and many items from life during the rural era, the house welcomes all who come to visit the historic Peel Mansion. Many of the out-of-town members also toured the Peel Mansion during the morning visit.

Other guests who participated during the weekend but not directly related to Andy Jack Lynch include : Sue Jaconis of St. Louis, a research genealogist and friend of Stephen; Dorothy Lynch, wife of Leo Lynch; Christine Kao, mother of Ellis and Hunter Lynch; and Libby Sattler, a friend of Hunter, both of Cedarburg, Wisc.

As with all research, we must add a disclaimer -- dates and spelling of names may vary from other sources and any errors are not intentional.

All credit for research used in this article must go to Stephen Lynch and Kerry Burtman for their dedication to the project. Without their efforts and research skills, and their sharing of genealogical sources, this group would not have access to many of the details recounted here. This article is dedicated to them and to all who need to "know more" and are willing to start the process for posterity's sake.

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Editor's note: This is the final in a three-part series about the descendants of Andy Jack Lynch, a resident of the Sugar Creek area near Brightwater.

Community on 05/16/2018