Information request -- Yocum family and Yocum Silver Dollars

Archeodeb

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Nov 3, 2012
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I was searching through the archives here for something on the Yocum family, and of course, the famous Yocum silver dollars, and came across this post from 2007. I would have posted my response there, but since it got no replies first time around and has not been visited much since, I thought this needed to be re-posted as a new topic. (I hope that is okay. I do have some things to say about under this old post, if you keep reading.)

For the past 150 years various folk legends about silver have circulated in the Ozarks of Missouri and Arkansas. In Southwest Missouri, in the early 1800’s one of the first families of settlers spawned such a legend, the famous Yocum Dollar Legend. The following is a composite of various versions of this legend:1

"Four Yocum brothers arrived in the Upper White River country following the War of 1812. They were friendly with the Indians, especially the Delawares, one of whom married a Yocum. The Delawares worked a silver mine somewhere near the James River The Yocums traded horses and blankets to the Indians in exchange for the mine. Then the Yocums began to mint their own money with the words "Yocum dollar" on the face of the silver coins."

"Everyone in the hills used the Yocum dollars as money and no one objected until someone presented the Yocum dollars at the government land office in Springfield, Missouri, to exchange for government land. The land agent objected to them as counterfeit and sent one of the coins to Washington D. C. for assay and a judgment. Meanwhile James Yocum and his Delaware wife were buried in a cave-in in the silver mine near their home, which concealed the mine entrance. A federal agent came to Southwest Missouri looking for the Yocums’ silver dollars and the mint. He did not find either."

"One of the Yocum brothers died about 1848 and in 1850 Solomon Yocum left for the California gold fields. Solomon was the last survivor who knew the silver mine’s location. Following a stroke, Solomon Yocum related the silver mine secret to his grandson, William, who drew a crude map of its location. William’s son, Joseph Yocum, brought the map to Taney County in 1958 hoping to find the mine. He did not, but he gave the map to Artie Ayres, friend and owner of the land where the mine was located on the Yocum map."

Colorful and alluring, as are most legends of lost treasures and secret mines, this bit of folklore has a complex history--a history that spans several decades and includes both white settlers and entrepreneurs trading with local Indians. Because the Indians had come to understand the white man’s attraction to precious ores, they too promoted a legend about a "silver mine." Evidence of the perpetuation of the legend is given by Silas Turnbo, Turnbo, a farmer, Confederate soldier, and newspaperman of German Palatinate ancestry who came with his family to the White River country in 1840 and later collected oral histories in the Ozarks.


This is something I have long been interested in, but unfortunately the only information I can find is like this -- folk tradition and "...my pappy used to say..." kind of stuff. Not that that is not valuable too, but after hearing these legends repeated over and over with an addition here and a new twist there, given a few generations, it is hard to tell fact from fiction. For example, I think a lot of folks lose sight of the fact that Missouri is just not known for silver or gold deposits. (Lead, iron and a few other important things, but not precious metals.) Silver mines are just plain NOT likely in these parts.

However, what Missouri is known for (particularly in this area down near the Arkansas border) is a little thing called the Civil War. And the Civil War produced something Missouri did not naturally have -- gold and silver. Not mines or raw products, but finished bullion and coinage. (It's a funny thing about war -- it tends to require a lot of that stuff.)

Anyway, I started thinking about those old stories -- particularly those that said things along the lines of - "...whenever they needed money ...they [the Yocums] would go off for a few days [presumably to their mine] and come back with some new-made silver dollars..." I know just enough about mining, extracting and creating silver objects from raw material to know that you don't just go off for 'a few days' to dig ore and then come back with pure silver coins in a few days. (Well, not PURE silver, but very high quality -- by some accounts higher quality than the US government was producing at the time.) So, I'm guessing that contrary to the silver-mine legend, the Yocums probably had a stash of high-quality silver (coins, possibly, or good silver bullion, jewelry, housewares -- who knows) and that rather than mining, they were probably melting. If they had the rest of the process down pat, it is possible they could have turned out a good supply of coins in a few days that way. Where they got the silver is up for another debate -- stolen goods from army payloads on either side is a good bet, or just general looting of homes and travelers in the chaos of war. It could even have been fairly traded for through friendly natives who accumulated it over the years. That isn't the point here though.

My point is that instead of looking for a mine, we probably ought to be looking for a cave. (Another thing Missouri has plenty of.) I even have a couple in mind. The problem is that the "literature" on the subject is confusing. In one story we hear about a spot seemingly on the James River, in another its the White River; in one it may be Christian, Stone or some other county, then in another it's Taney Co. The stories have just enough common thread to make them convincing as a real tale that has been distorted by time, but not enough common details to pinpoint the location.

While researching our property title a few years back I came across a couple of interesting things:

#1, the courthouse records in Forsyth, MO (Taney County) only go back to the 1870s or so because the courthouse (as an institution -- not the same building or even the same location) was burned three times during the Civil War years. (Apparently by both sides -- one after the other, each time it was rebuilt.) I'm not sure what they had against it, but records were destroyed in each case. Most of the oldest records of settlement in this area are just plain gone, and only a few from the Civil War era remain as hand-written records (which I have seen).

#2, During my title research, I found to my great surprise, that our property was once owned by the Yocum family. This interested me a lot (for obvious reasons) at the time, but even more so in later years when I discovered a couple of other things on the property. One is a very old, and apparently bottom-less dump at an elevation of about 940' and in what looks like a small tributary of a larger creek running perpendicular to it. That alone is not significant, but at, or within 20' elevation higher or lower, we also discovered several year-round springs and a filled in cave. (Additionally, there are several unexplored, but known caves within a mile of our place on National Forest property -- all of which openings are within the same elevation.) We have spent the last 15 years digging out the cave (a sinkhole type -- typical of this area) but haven't had much time for that and have only managed to get down 20' or so, where it appears to branch off from the central well in 3 directions. That it connects to other subterranean chambers is obvious from the number of cave salamanders we have found in it, and from the fact that when we get heavy rains, it fills to the top with water, then drains away within 24 hours.

Now, I am not really expecting to come upon a horde of Yocum silver dollars or even a big stash of stolen silver jewelry, but it is intriguing to say the least. If I thought it was likely that our cave -- or one of the others nearby -- might be THE Yocum cave, I think I would suddenly find I had more time available to dig :icon_pirat: , but as it is, I would need a bit more to go on before dropping everything to remove the mountains of dirt (or the huge dump) on the place. I don't exactly own heavy equipment (and I am too much an environmentalist/archaeologist to do it that way anyway), so it would likely take years. So... with all that in mind...

I would like to know if anyone here knows anything about the Yocum (or Yokum, Yoachum, Yoachim, Yoacum, Joachim -- all variants) family in SW Missouri, or if they have personal recollections of having been told stories about these silver dollars or a lost mine/cave etc. I would really like to collect these anecdotes to see if I can find any commonalities. (And anything to make me run for a pick and shovel. :laughing7:)

Anyone?
 

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truckinbutch

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Don't have anything to help you . I would like to complement you on an interesting and well written post .
 

stevesno

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I grew up in Taney County Mo and have always been intersted in the Yocum Dollar also. There is a man in kimberling city the name of Artie Ayres whom has been searching for this mine/ or coins his whole life. He has also written a book about it. I have the book at home and will loan it to you if you would like to read it. Many seem to think that the Yocums had found Spanish silver coins and melted them down and used their own mold. Supposably a mold with the word Yocum was found on the bank of the James River several years ago. Also supposable over 200 of the dollars were found around the Branson area. Some also believe that the mine is now under Table Rock Lake. Bottom line though is that it is all speculation. Let me know if I can be of any help to you...Steve The title of the book is Traces Of Silver
 

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Archeodeb

Archeodeb

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I grew up in Taney County Mo and have always been intersted in the Yocum Dollar also. There is a man in kimberling city the name of Artie Ayres whom has been searching for this mine/ or coins his whole life. He has also written a book about it. I have the book at home and will loan it to you if you would like to read it. Many seem to think that the Yocums had found Spanish silver coins and melted them down and used their own mold. Supposably a mold with the word Yocum was found on the bank of the James River several years ago. Also supposable over 200 of the dollars were found around the Branson area. Some also believe that the mine is now under Table Rock Lake. Bottom line though is that it is all speculation. Let me know if I can be of any help to you...Steve The title of the book is Traces Of Silver

Thanks for the book loan offer, but I think our local library has a copy of it I can get. I actually read it once awhile back, but I had forgotten the name, so I'm glad you mentioned it. I read another book written by someone local to this area (about early settlers and a bunch of stuff about the Baldknobbers) that had a little bit about the silver mine legend in it. I may try to track that back down too while I am at it. It's been a few years since I really did any research of the subject so I have forgotten a lot of what I once knew about it (life has a way of getting in the way of fun stuff like this, doesn't it?:unhappysmiley: )

As for the theories about it being under Tablerock Lake -- I really wouldn't be surprised. A LOT of interesting places are down there now. Almost makes me want to take up scuba-diving! :laughing7:
 

fordwhite

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Jul 7, 2013
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No known Yocum dollars have ever been found. I believe after reading a few " Lost treasure" books that is myth, folklore, etc. It is just like every other story in certain aspects. I believe that they even use the yocum story at Silver Dollar City or at least did when I was a kid. Now, there is a real treasure to be found in the area. I have done a lot of research and have some ideas that may pan out. 1st, I can't imagine that it is a huge treasure as many may think or even states in stories. Check out the Al Bolin story. There is some truth there!
 

GhostlyDesigns

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You might want to do a search of the website cointalk.com there was quite a bit of discussion on Yoachum dollars there and I believe even pictures of a set of dies that were reported as being found. It's quite the interesting piece of history.
 

Dyocham

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I'm supposedly a descendant of the yocums and I was always told that they hid their coins in a cave and the indians had put a curseon it
 

ErGarber

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I'm supposedly a descendant of the yocums and I was always told that they hid their coins in a cave and the indians had put a curseon it

Every hear any of the old timers hint about where this cave might be?
 

lastleg

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Feb 3, 2008
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There you go! No silver mine. Gypsy used to post scads of legends without any personal endorsement.
I do like your research skills and trying to get to the 'bottom' of this one. BTW you may have heard of
the Swift silver mines in the Appalacians? Lost Treasure/Treasure Facts claimed years ago the mines
were in Colorado and had the provenance to back it up.
 

ErGarber

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I have read one article saying that the cave was on Bread pan Mountain. Bread Pan Mountain is near Lampe. However I get a feeling that it isn't the right place. I looked at topo maps of the area and it just doesn't make sense for other tales I have heard.
 

Ecominer

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I enjoyed your article, but your determination to excavate a cave on your property appears to be lacking as far as a real treasure hunter. I found a mine that Dobie mentioned in one of his books and after the first year I spend about one day a year digging on it. The reason why is that it is way back in the hills and I have to do the work myself since it starts out as a vertical shaft. It does get boring when you don't get to the gold right off.!Why don't you spend some time digging when available rather than saying I coulda, woulda, etc? I've read stories where women actually used a shovel and pick once.
 

maccounty

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20170709_142847.jpg 20170709_142855.jpg
 

Rico08

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Nov 11, 2019
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I have read one article saying that the cave was on Bread pan Mountain. Bread Pan Mountain is near Lampe. However I get a feeling that it isn't the right place. I looked at topo maps of the area and it just doesn't make sense for other tales I have heard.

According to the lost treasures of the Ozarks book the Spanish could see the cave from the top of bread tray Mtn where they had an outpost.
My family has lived in the area for many years, my mother always stated that there was no silver mine but the Yocum’s were very good moonshiners and they traded the Indians out of the silver the government was paying them for the land and to keep the government at bay they used a mine to hide the fact, they just melted the American coins down and stamped them.
 

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