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Adam Clark Mitchell & four of his eight sons: Seated left: George Clay Mitchell (full beard)

James Darling MITCHELL

Adam Clark MITCHELL

The crossing of the Platte River, near Kearney, Nebraska, posed for them a perilous task. The river was a mile wide with a bed of quicksand. Tragedy could engulf the enterprise should they make a miscue in attempting this crossing. A careful plan was devised to assure a safe passage. Six or eight oxen were hitched to a wagon. Four mounted drivers were assigned to each side of the teams. Two other sharp-eyed men, one on either side of the teams, were to look for hidden holes. When a wagon began to roll, the mounted riders were to whoop and whip the oxen to assure continuous progress. Should a wagon stop, the sucking sands would likely engulf it. Not only was the crossing a success but A. C. profitably sold to some needy travelers several head of steers he had bought from Uncle Billy Winton.

The mountainous trails were conquered. As they descended the elevations to Boiling Springs, a celebration was planned for July the fourth. Then calamity struck. Cholera broke out. A. C. was stricken. A way-faring Missouri doctor named Holloway supplied a mustard plaster and predicted, "You'll live". A. C. did live but he credited his own strong constitution for the recovery.

When they renewed their westward journey, they left behind fourteen of their company. Two more were to die, W. C. Campbell and a sister-in-law, Elizabeth Cates. (Note: Elizabeth was the wife of Dudley Smith, Mahala's brother.) And A. C. was to spend nearly the whole of six days and nights in the saddle.

Upon nearing Sacramento, California, they sold eleven cows for $100.00 apiece. Two fresh cows sold for $255.00 each. Nephew J. W. Mitchell handled the sales. When they closed their books, there was $8,000.00 to divide between A. C. and W. C. Campbell's representative. A. C. had made $400.00 or $500.00 on the side.

A. C. decided to come home by way of the sea from San Francisco to Nicaragua, overland to the gulf waters where he embarked for New Orleans. He arrived home June 1, 1853.

In that year, he commenced a mule trade in the South which ran until 1861. Being in Louisiana and ready to return home, he found himself holding $32,000.00 in drafts from planters for the sale of slaves and mules. This paper was payable in New Orleans. But A. C. had identified himself with the Union. He could not cash his drafts therefore he lost all and arrived home financially broken. With the outbreak of the Civil War, A. C. steered clear of involvement until Sterling Price's threatening invasion of Missouri in 1864.

He then was asked to report to Company F commanded by Capt. Lunsford of the old 25th Regiment of the Enrolled Missouri Militia. Upon arriving in Springfield, Missouri, he was commissioned Colonel by General C. B. Holland. Because various companies were below strength, the new Colonel was ordered to secure recruits. Visits to Buffalo, Humansville, Stockton, and Bolivar rectified this condition.

When Colonel A. C. Mitchell arrived back in Springfield, he heard objections had been voiced against his commission. He offered to resign, but General Holland was adamant. The two compromised with A. C. acceding to a proposition that the soldiers select their commanding officer by ballot. A. C. was overwhelmingly elected Colonel by the regiment over his opponent. In 1865, he was discharged in Springfield.

In 1870, he was elected as a delegate to the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. There he was placed on a committee to look into the condition of the colored people. His role in the committee's work made him chiefly responsible for their being set apart as a separate organization in the Methodist connection and deeding them any property held in trust for them by their white brethren in Nashville or any other place. They were authorized to elect their own bishops and other officers as soon as their financial, numerical, and spiritual conditions justified such action. This was a wise provision at that time of history but it has all been changed in present day Methodism. Blacks today enjoy all the rights and privileges of members in the contemporary church.

On August 27, 1876, Adam's wife Mahala, died at their Polk County home and she was buried in Mitchell Campground Cemetery. Their eight children were all boys. The colonel ultimately was to have fifteen grandchildren. All but one were boys.

After Mahala's death, the Colonel or "Uncle Dock" as he was affectionately called, moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1877. There he purchased a livery barn where he bought and sold mules and horses.

Perhaps the crowning glory of his career was found in his Methodist Church life. The Louisiana Annual Conference sent A. C. to the 1882 General Conference at Nashville. There he had the unusual experience of seeing a fellow delegate, Dr. T. O. Summers, standing only a few feet from him, fall dead while addressing the conference. In 1886, A. C. was elected to the General Conference which convened in Richmond, Virginia.

Another distinction of which A. C. was proud was that of being Grand Commander of the Grand Lodge of the Independent Order of Good Templars in the State of Louisiana. That order had selected him to be a delegate to the Grand Lodge of the World of that Order. He was excused from the floor of the General Conference to attend the Grand Lodge of the Order of Good Templars. There he was elected Grand Marshal of the Lodge of the World. Delegates from five continents were present. Colonel Mitchell's cup must have been filled to overflowing. He had been highly honored by his church and his lodge.

Mary E. Mitchell, the Colonel's second wife, died on November 17, 1897, in Shreveport.

In 1901, Colonel A. C. Mitchell moved to Borden Co., Texas, to join his sons,  Captain James D. Mitchell and John Knox Mitchell , both of whom were developing herds of purebred Herefords and Durham cattle. 

Colonel, W. A. Ruyle, a dear friend, has commented, "I've heard my father say that Dock Mitchell was a man of the best ability of any Mitchell he ever saw."