As mentioned a time (or 12) before, my elusive paternal 2xGGrandmother Hannah is high on my search list. As a single mom with young boys in a new land, she somehow met and married a veteran of the early Texas battles for independence.
Sam Leeper was good enough to become guardian of her sons, and for that I am grateful. Gosh, I am downright fond of this old soldier! I've enjoyed learning his history as an early pioneer to "Baja Oklahoma" (Texas), his three marriages, and trailing his children (whom he never saw again after leaving Virginia to fight the Mexican Army).
Today was a lucky one, as I found a few gems. From March 6, 1836 is a roster of soldiers who served under Captain Hayden Arnold. Just four days before, an activist group had formally declared their independence from Mexico. Throw down!
These "Nacogdoches Volunteers" would soon fight in the famed Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Samuel's name is fifth on the list:
From April 27, 1838, his signature regarding real estate with a Mr. Henry Trott. Sam's actual signature!
For obvious reasons.
Nineteen year old Josephus Shelburn Paxton enlisted in the Confederate Army on the 10th of February 1863. He fought with Company K, 22d Regiment of the Virginia Infantry as evidenced by his military record. He no doubt fought against his distant cousins, as so many in his family did. See nine pages in the gallery below Cephas' photo.
Cephas mustered out on April 25, 1864 at Camp Gauley, West Virginia, and returned home safely to his parents, Abner John & Hester Paxton. He later married Sarah Jane Slack, and raised nine (known) children.
-- Mr. Paxton's military papers were found on the wonderful Fold3 website.
John Lee, my paternal 4th GGrandfather, was born in Harford, Maryland in 1772. He next appears in Montgomery County, Tennessee where he married Sarah Morgan in 1808. He moves once more to Stewart County, Tennessee, where he remained until his death in 1852.
Before the 1850 Federal Census, only names of heads of household were given on census pages. But age and gender were requested of residents within each household.
The 1840 census records John and Sarah Lee's household as:
White males aged: 10 thru 14: 3. Aged: 15 thru 19: 1 20 thru 29: 3, 70 thru 79: 1.
White females aged: 5 thru 9: 1, 15 thru 19: 2, 20 thru 29: 1, 50 thru 59: 1.
Males enslaved aged 10 thru 23: 2.
Female enslaved aged 10 thru 23: 1, 24 thru 35: 1, and 36 thru 54: 1.
Ancestry has John's Will. In this gallery I first placed the whole page, and then cropped two more so readers can better view the fine print:
Cicero, aged 8 years,
Harry, aged 5 years,
Nancy, aged 22 years, and
Jane, aged 38 years.
I have stared at those five names wondering if Jane wasn't the mother of Nancy and/or the mother of Cicero and Harry. I looked for Cicero and Nancy in the 1870 census in and around Stewart County. I found several Harrys. I had hoped to find people with these same names/ages living together or near one another. That might indicate a familial relation, stemming from their days on the Lee farm. That's a lot of "mights."
Considerable effort is made by historians of enslaved culture to compile lists of people once owned by others. Why? Descendants seek names of ancestors. DNA test results coupled with records naming enslaved African-Americans are especially helpful to genealogists.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/slavery-trail-of-tears-180956968/
I hope their descendants can trace back to these five people. #TheyHadNames
Source: Settlements and Bonds, 1812-1968; Author: Tennessee County Court (Stewart County); Probate Place: Stewart, Tennessee via Ancestry.com. Tennessee, Wills and Probate Records, 1779-2008, Provo, UT, USA
Note to cousins: Sarah and John's son, Josiah, was a dad to my grandmother Esther's maternal grandmother, Anna Lee. Got that?
This gave me a good laugh. But I doubt if my German immigrant ancestors found it funny.
Writer Annalisa Merelli's article for Quartz outlines Benjamin Franklin's loathing of Germans. I like this excerpt of Franklin's statements as published in qz.com on 12 Feb 2017:
“Those who come hither are generally of the most ignorant Stupid Sort of their own Nation.”
They were unable to adapt to the local values.
“Not being used to Liberty, they know not how to make a modest use of it.”
They were endangering New England’s whiteness.
“[T]he Spaniards, Italians, French, Russians and Swedes, are generally of what we call a swarthy Complexion; as are the Germans also, the Saxons only excepted.”
________
Old Ben expressed views commonly heard today. Have you noticed that many of the loudest squawkers against refugees seeking asylum are themselves descendants of very recent immigrants?
Several of my pale ancestors fled Europe or King George`s island(s). The Quakers sought religious freedom. The French wanted land they could own. The Acadians were expelled by force. And I imagine the Germans were tired of conscription in the constant wars created by "royals."
Their descendants fought in the Continental Army against those whose goal was to make the Colonies a two-tiered class society. Benjamin Franklin was a strong voice against further subjugation.
I like to think my English ancestors sent to America as indentured servants were among Franklin's many fans.
#ResistanceGenealogy
At Squires Chapel in Stephens County, Texas on November 8, 1898, a fight broke out among several men. Shots were fired. Three men killed. One fatality was Roscoe Phillip McCarty. He had accompanied his older brother, John Franklin McCarty, to help John in his personal fight against the Squires.
May 17, 2019 UPDATE: Here's another article from a Kansas paper with a slightly different take on the November 1898 killings:
John F. McCarty, Roscoe's brother, was found not guilty of murder the next year.
Poor Addie lived but five more years, leaving her children orphaned in 1904.
I appreciate "psfraiser1" on Ancestry for sharing some of the news articles about Roscoe's death. She credits Newspapers.com, from which I also downloaded copies.
My pretty cousin Mavis made the papers back in 1954:
Another article referencing young Mavis:
