John Shields (1769-1809) - A Frontiersman and Explorer with the Lewis & Clark Expedition

The story of John Shields was an unexpected discovery in my genealogy research. After more than 30 years of research it was exciting to find a relative who was such an integral part of one of the greatest events in American history. John Shields is a 2nd cousin five times removed (in other words - a 2nd cousin 5 generations back) of my husband. His great grandfather, Davis Stockton, is my husband's 6th great grandfather. In DNA matches Davis Stockton is what is known as the most recent common ancestor between my husband and John Shields. This relationship is through my husband's maternal line.

John Shields was born about 1769 in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley near Harrisonburg, Virginia.  His parents, Robert Shields and Nancy Stockton were married in Virginia in 1761. They had a large family, eleven sons and one daughter. One of their sons, Ezekiel, died as an infant in 1778. The other 10 sons became known as "The Ten Brothers" and these were their names in birth order as best as I have been able to determine:  Thomas (1763-1797), Richard (1764- ?), David (1766- ?), William (1768- ?), John (1769-1809), James (1770- ?), Robert (1772- ?), Joseph (1773- ?), Benjamin (1780- ?), and Jesse (1782- ?). They were all born in Augusta County, Virginia which is now Rockingham County between the years 1762 and 1782.

In 1784 Robert and Nancy Shields, and many other Scotch-Irish settlers, moved their large families from Virginia to what is now Sevier (pronounced "severe") County, Tennessee. They settled on the bank of Middle Creek which flows into Little Pigeon and eventually a tributary of the French Broad River. Not long after the migration of settlers to this new frontier territory the Indian raids and massacres began. The ten brothers and their father built Shields Fort which is located near the present-day town of Pigeon Forge. Almost all of the early settlers lived in forts for protection from Indian raids as well as share in the hunting, gathering, farming, and socializing. Forts could be occupied by several families or a single family. Each family had their own log cabin and the log cabins were entirely enclosed by walls about 12 feet high made with logs sharpened at the top, a double gate and usually a small rear exit to have access to a spring for water. The Shields family lived with their children and grandchildren in Shields Fort for over ten years. Thomas, the oldest son, was killed in 1797 at the age of 34 in a vicious attack by Indians. He was ambushed, shot and scalped by Indians while hauling water to boil with sap from his sugar trees. He was the only one of their family who was killed by Indians. 

Historical reconstruction of Fort Nashborough,
a forerunner to the city of Nashville.

While living in the wild, untamed land in Tennessee, John Shields learned the trade of blacksmithing, ran a gristmill, gained experience in hunting, survival in frontier conditions as well as knowledge and experience in dealing with Indians. This was the land of the great pioneer Daniel Boone who moved on about a year before the Shields family arrived stating, "I must be moving on; why a man has taken up a cabin not twenty-five miles from my door."

Historical Map, Sevier County, Tennessee
Thomas Stockton & Shields Fort

In 1790 John Shields married a young woman named Nancy White whose name has not yet been proven with documents or records. They only had one child, a daughter named Martha Jenette "Jennie" Shields.  In 1806, Jennie married her first cousin John Tipton in Harrison County, Indiana.  John Tipton was the son of John Shields's only sister Janet and her husband Joshua Tipton.  On the 18th of April 1793, John's brother Joseph and his brother-in-law Joshua Tipton were ambushed by Cherokee Indians. Joshua was killed and Joseph was severely injured but survived. According to one source, John and Jennie Tipton had two sons, one whose name is unknown and the other son, Spier (or Spear) Tipton who graduated from West Point. The Tipton's marriage didn't last and they divorced in 1816. 

In June of 1803, Congress appropriated $2,500 to mount an official expedition to explore the territory of the Louisiana Purchase and establish trade with Native Americans along the Missouri River. Another object of the expedition was to find a waterway from what was the current United States to the Pacific Ocean before Britain and other European powers claimed it. President Thomas Jefferson wrote a letter to Meriwether Lewis, who was his personal secretary and aide, requesting him to lead the most important expedition in American history. Lewis recruited his friend and former commanding officer William Clark to share command of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 

Route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
(Victor van Werkhooven, own work)

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark established criteria for the positions needed for the expedition and Captain Clark was put in charge of the recruitment of the best men to join the expedition. The men had to be excellent hunters with a variety of skills and ingenuity to ensure their survival in the wilderness. They also preferred unmarried men. Clark, knowing where to find the best and most experienced men for the journey into the unknown, headed to Louisville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee at the Falls of the Ohio. 

On the 19th of October 1803, John Shields was recruited and enlisted as a private with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. And so began the greatest journey of a lifetime! Shields and fellow Kentuckians became known as "Nine Young Men from Kentucky". An exception to the rule of only unmarried men was made for Shields - and it more than paid off. At the age of 34, Shields became the oldest member of the Corps of Discovery. He possessed immaculate skills as a blacksmith, gunsmith, hunter, mechanic, and craftsman.

On May 14, 1804, the Corps of Discovery departed from Camp Dubois at 4:00 p.m. The route of the Lewis and Clark expedition was up the Missouri River to its headwaters, then on to the Pacific Ocean by way of the Columbia River. They traveled in three boats - a 55-foot long keelboat and two pirogues over 40-feet in length. The Corps of Discovery included Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, 4 sergeants, 23 privates, Clark's black servant York, Drouillard, a hunter and translator, and Seaman, Captain Lewis' Newfoundland dog.

Keelboat and Pirogues

It wasn't long before the Corps of Discovery suffered a tragedy. Charles Floyd, one of the "Nine Young Men from Kentucky", was the first and only member to die during the expedition. He died on August 20, 1804, from "bilious cholic" which is known today as a ruptured appendix. He was buried in Sioux City, Iowa and his gravesite is marked by a 100-foot high sandstone obelisk. Lewis & Clark honored him by naming a Missouri River tributary Floyd River.

There are 240 references to John Shields in the Lewis and Clark Journals and 70 of those references are in regard to his success in hunting. The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition are full of interesting and unimaginable experiences of daily life, new discoveries of unknown animals, plants, medicine, Native American tribes and natural wonders of this beautiful and virgin land.

There are a few excerpts from entries in these journals regarding John Shields that reflect on his character, skills, and ingenuity which I have included at various intervals. I have written these excerpts verbatim - slang, misspellings, grammar, etc.

Journal of Sergeant John Ordway:

"Friday, 14th September 1804  ..... John Shields who went on Shore with the horse killed a verry large white rabbit or hare it was as big as a Ureopian hare. --- nearly all white---& of a different discription of any one ever yet Seen in the States."

The first description of the white-tailed jackrabbit, Lepus townsendii previously unknown to science. John Shields discovered what was later named a Jack rabbit.

In late October 1804, the expedition arrived at the Mandan Indian villages in North Dakota. They made their winter camp among the friendly tribes of Mandan and Hidatsa Indians where corn and buffalo meat would be plentiful. In early November the men started building their winter quarters which they called Fort Mandan. It was not completed until Christmas Day but they moved in earlier due to the extreme cold weather. The men wintered at Fort Mandan until April 7th. During their six month stay with the Mandan-Hidatsa Indians they learned what to expect on the next leg of their journey, how to communicate with other tribes, and various routes along the trails. On November 4th, Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian trader living in the Hidatsa village was hired as an interpreter along with his Shoshoni wife, Sacagawea, who had been captured by the Hidatsas Indians five years previously. On February 11, 1805, Sacagawea gave birth to her first child, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. In the Lewis & Clark journals, Sacagawea is often referred to as the "Indian woman". She was invaluable in more ways than just an interpreter and Clark said this of her, "The wife of Shabono our interpetr we find reconsiles all the Indians, as to our friendly intentions ...a woman with a party of men is a token of peace."

In the winter of 1804-1805, Shields is credited with hammering battle axes from iron lumps which were traded to the Indians for food. Lewis reported that the battle axes went a long way in preventing the men from starving that winter.

Journal of Captain Meriwether Lewis:

"Wednesday, 5th February 1805.....visited by many of the natives who brought a considerable quantity of corn in payment for the work which the blacksmith had done for them--- they are pecuarly attatched to a battle ax formed in a very inconvenient manner in my opinion.  it is fabricated of iron only."

Battle Ax, February 5, 1805
(figure sketched by Lewis)

In the first week of April 1805, the keelboat was sent back to St. Louis with a crew of six soldiers and two Frenchmen as well as many boxes, a trunk, and cages with a variety of specimens and animals to be delivered to President Jefferson. On April 7, 1805, the permanent party of the Corps of Discovery set out to continue their exploration. Additions to the expedition included Charbonneau, Sacagawea, John Baptist, who was less than two months old, and a Mandan man who agreed to take them to the Shoshoni nation.

Journal of Captain Meriwether Lewis:
"Monday, 20th May 1805 ..... Shields also found a bould spring or fountain issuing from the foot of the Lard. hills about 4 miles up the Missouri; a fountain in this plain country is a great novelty; I have not see a bould fountain of pure water except one since I left Mandans."

During the winter months at Fort Mandan the Indians told Lewis and Clark about the "great falls" of the Missouri River. On June 13th Captain Lewis would reach the Great Falls of the Missouri River. The passages in his journal were almost poetic describing what he heard and saw for the next few days. A couple of observations in his words:   "...my ears were saluted with the agreeable sound of a fall of water and advancing a little further I saw the spray arise above the plain like a collumn of smoke. ... I now thought that if a skillfull painter had been asked to make a beautiful cascade that he would most probably have presented the precise immage of this one. ...pleasingly beautiful and sublimely grand." It took the party almost two weeks to portage boats and equipment around the falls.

Lewis wrote that on August 8th Sacagawea recognized a high plain her people called Beaverhead Rock and informed them that they were not far from the summer retreat of her nation on a river beyond the mountains which runs west. Lewis decided to go out the next day with a small party to find the source of the principal stream of this river and a pass through the mountains to the Columbia then proceed down the Columbia until he found the Shoshone village. He set out the next morning after breakfast accompanied by George Drouillard, an interpreter, Hugh McNeal, and John Shields to explore the river, find the Snake Indians (Shoshoni), and a route if possible. It was important to find the Shoshoni in hopes that the Indians would provide horses for them - without horses they would not be able to continue. A couple of days later Lewis and Drouillard spotted an Indian on horseback and tried to approach him but when the Indian saw McNeal and Shields coming over a hill direction he took off fearing there would be many more men. They knew they were on the right path to find the Shoshoni village.

Lewis and Clark Reach Shoshone Camp Led by Sacagawea
by Charles Mario Russell, 1918

Journal of Meriwether Lewis:
"Monday, 12th August 1805..... at a distance of 4 miles further the road took us to the most distant fountain of the waters of the mighty Missouri in surch of which we have spent so many toilsome days and wristless nights.  thus far I had accomplished one of those great objects on which my mind has been unalterably fixed for many years, judge then of the pleasure I felt in allying my thirst with this pure and ice cold water which issues from the base of a low mountain or hill of a gentle ascent for 1/2 a mile.  the mountains are high on either hand leave this gap at the head of this rivulet through which the road passes.  here I halted a few minutes and rested myself.....after refreshing ourselves we proceeded on to the top of the dividing ridge from which I discovered immence ranges of high mountains still to the West of us...".

When Lewis climbed the dividing ridge at Lemhi Pass he expected to see from the summit a vast plain to the west and a short overland trek to the headwaters of the Columbia River which would take them to the Pacific - the Northwest Passage that had been the goal of explorers since the time of Columbus. Instead, all he could see were miles of mountain tops.

Lewis, Shields, McNeal, and Drouillard were the first Americans to cross the Continental Divide through Lemhi Pass and look upon Idaho and the northwestern territory. The day after crossing the Divide, Lewis met a band of Shoshoni and sent for Clark and the others. When Sacajawea arrived she discovered that the leader of the Shoshoni band, Chief Cameahwait, was her brother who she had not seen since she had been kidnapped by the Hidatsas Indians. This family connection helped the Corps acquire horses, information, and a Shoshoni guide named Old Toby to help them.

Lewis' First Glimpse of the Rockies
by Olaf Seltzer

Lemhi Pass, Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, Montana
National Register of Historic Places

The Corps had many difficulties crossing the Bitterroot Mountains in mid-September. Old Toby, the Shoshoni guide lost the trail in the steep, heavily wooded mountains, a couple of pack horses lost their footing and rolled down the steep embankment, and they ran short on provisions and had to butcher a horse for food. They were very weak and nearly starving by the time they spotted the Nez Percé Indian lodges. The Nez Percé befriended this strange party and fed them dried salmon, berries, camas roots, and bread made from the roots. Captain Clark cautioned the men of the consequences of eating too much after being so hungry. They ate heartily and most became ill from gluttony and probably a lack of tolerance to the change in their diet. Captain Lewis also became very ill and Clark administered "Rushes Thunderbolts" to the sick. This medicine which contained potent laxatives, was developed by Benjamin Rush, a physician.

Chief Twisted Hair taught the men how to use fire to hollow out pine trees and make new canoes. Then they guided the party down the Clearwater River to a tributary of the Snake River which would lead them to the Columbia River and from there to the Pacific Ocean.

The journey continued and on November 7, 1805, William Clark wrote in his journal "Great joy in camp we are in View of the Ocian, this great Pacific Ocean which we been So long anxious to See, and the roreing or noise made by the waves brakeing on the Shores (as I Suppose) may be heard distictly."

In December, the Corps built Fort Clatsop, named in honor of the local Indian tribe, on the south side of the Columbia (near present-day Astoria, Oregon) for winter shelter, protection and to establish an American presence there with the American flag flying over the fort. Their time there was peaceful  but not particularly pleasant due to the damp weather - rain fell all but twelve days of the the three-month stay. The furs and hides rotted and almost everyone suffered an illness such as constant colds and rheumatism.

Journal of Captain Meriwether Lewis:
Thursday, March 20th, 1806 "but for the precaution taken in bringing on those extra locks, and parts of locks, in addition to the ingenuity of John Shields, most of our guns would at this moment been untirely unfit for use; but fortunately for us I have it in my power here to record that they are all in good order."

On March 23, 1806, the Corps left Fort Clatsop to began the journey home and gifted the fort to a Clatsop leader. The party backtracked across familiar terrain and battled against strong currents on the trip up the Columbia River. Their plan was to retrieve their horses from the Nez Percé and stay there until the mountain snow melted. 

While at Camp Chopunnish (Lewis' name for the Nez Percé tribe), John Shields came up with a cure for one of the men, William Bratton, who had been suffering from extreme pain in the lower back which had prevented him from sitting or walking. Shields recommended "violent sweats" which he had seen restore men with similar problems. On May 24th, Shields dug a 4-foot deep hole in the ground, placed stones in the bottom and heated them with fire, then removed the coals and provided a seat where Bratton could sit naked with a vessel of water to sprinkle on the hot stones, producing steam.  He fashioned a low tent with willow poles and blankets to cover the hole. Bratton endured the steam for 20 minutes while drinking "copious draughts" of a strong tea of horsemint. He was then taken out and twice plunged into the cold river. He spent another three-quarters of an hour in the steam then wrapped in blankets to cool off gradually. The next day he was able to walk around camp nearly free from pain and slowly regained his strength.

                                                                                                                                                              

On June 10th the Corps once again set out to continue their journey. When they reached Lolo Pass - before crossing the Continental Divide - Lewis and Clark had decided to split up in order to gather more geographical information.

On July 3, 1806, Lewis and nine men went north to the Great Falls of the Missouri and explored Marias River. Clark's group, including John Shields, Sacagawea, and her family, went south and explored along the Yellowstone River. The two groups would rendevous where the Yellowstone and Missouri met in North Dakota.

Captain Clark named a tributary of the Yellowstone River, the Shields River in honor of John Shields. It is east of Livingston, Montana and one of the few place names honoring enlisted men that remain.

Shields River

On September 23, 1806, the Corps of Discovery arrived in St. Louis, ending their journey after two years, four months, and ten days, traveling over 8,000 miles, costing $40,000 of taxpayer money, and losing only one member of their party.

After returning home Shields learned that Jonathan Clark, the captain's brother and business agent in his absence, had sent his wife Nancy 21 bushels of corn and four dollars. Jonathan may also have delivered a buffalo robe that Shields sent home from Fort Mandan for his wife.

On January 15, 1807, Capt. Meriwether Lewis wrote to the U.S. Secretary of War, Henry Dearborn: "John Sheilds [sic] has received the pay only of a private. Nothing was more peculiarly useful to us in various situations than the skill and ingenuity of this man as an artist, in repairing our guns, accoutrements, &c. and should it be thought proper to allow him something as an artificer, he has well deserved it."

Shortly after returning from the expedition, John Shields spent a year trapping in Missouri with Daniel Boone, who some historians believe was a kinsman of Shields. In 1807, the Shields family settled in Harrison County, Indiana where he hunted and trapped with Squire Boone, Daniel's brother.

John Shields died in 1809 at 40 years of age and just three years after returning home. There is a headstone in the Little Flock Baptist Cemetery in Crandall, Harrison County, Indiana.

A state historical marker to the memory of John Shields is located near the Harrison County Courthouse in Corydon, Indiana.

I wanted this writing to be about John Shields and his life but it was hard not to get caught up in sharing more and more of the Lewis & Clark expedition. I think it took me longer to edit than write. Although not long, John Shields' journey in life was filled with magnificent scenes of raging rivers, wildlife and plant species he never knew existed, mountains and trees greater in size than anyone could imagine, diverse nations of native Indians, and camaraderie of fellow explorers that made it all possible.

For those of you wanting to know more about the Lewis & Clark Expedition, there is an abundance of information in books and on numerous websites dedicated to the expedition and everyone related to it. I highly recommend seeing the great documentary, Lewis and Clark, The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, A Film by Ken Burns (http://kenburns.com/films/lewis-clark/).

The best way to describe The Journals of the Lewis & Clark Expedition is that they are amazing! In the biography of Meriwether Lewis and the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West, author Stephen E. Ambrose said, "The journals are one of America's literary treasures."

Notes:
John Shields's wife's name has not been proven with any documents or records. Wikipedia contributors, "John Shields (explorer)" gives Nancy White as her name but with no citation.

Zella Armstrong's book Notable Southern Families, Vol. 1 states, "His wife was a White, sister of Hugh Lawson White who ran for President against Jackson and Adams in 1828." Zella Armstrong is a well-known and highly respected researcher, compiler, and author. This is the statement regarding her sources for this volume, "Hundreds of histories, court records and family documents have been examined in the preparation of this volume."


Sources

1. Ambrose, Stephen E. Undaunted Courage, Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West, New York, NY: Touchstone, 1997, 108.

2. Shields, John Arthur. (1917). The Shields family: particularly the oldest and most numerous branch of that family in our America; an account of the ancestor and descendents [sic] of The ten brothers of Sevier County, in Tennessee, Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center.
https://archive.org/details/shieldsfamilypar00inshie/page/n3/mode/2up

3. Augusta County (Va.)., Chalkley, L., Lockwood, M. S. (Mary Smith)., Chalkley, L. (191213). Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish settlement in Virginia: extracted from the original court records of Augusta County, 1745-1800. Rosslyn, Va.: Printers: The Commonwealth Printing Co.
https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009029527/Home 

4. Full text of the Lewis and Clark journals -- edited by Gary E. Moulton, University of Nebraska--Lincoln   https://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/

5. Wikipedia contributors, Lewis and Clark Expedition. In Wikipedia, The Free  Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition (accessed March 20, 2020).

6. Wikipedia contributors, "John Shields (explorer)," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shields_(explorer) (accessed March 20, 2020).

7. Wikipedia contributors, "Shields River," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shields_River (accessed March 20, 2020).

8. Discovering Lewis & Clark, http://www.lewis-clark.org/
Sponsored by: Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation, Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, National Park Service, Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

9. Lewis and Clark in Kentucky, The Kentucky Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commission, https://www.lewisandclarkinkentucky.org/index.html

10. National Park Service, U. S. Department of the Interior, Gateway Arch, National Park Missouri, St. Louis, MO, https://www.nps.gov/jeff/learn/historyculture/corps-of-discovery.htm

11. Map, Route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Victor van Werkhooven), Own work. This file was derived from: Carte Lewis-Clark Expedition-en.png, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=32915075

12. Headstone photo: Woodhill added to Find A Grave November 13, 2003.

13. Armstrong, Z., French, J. Preston Collup. (19181933). Notable Southern Families, 6 volumes. Chattanooga, Tenn.: Lookout Pub. Co., 1: 208.
https://hdl.handle.net/2027/wu.89062951330

   

The Jefferies & Goodman Families from the Plantations of South Carolina to a Legacy in Smith County, Texas

I have been researching my husband's family history for over 25 years, and I thought there would not be any more surprise discoveries. This time, my goal was to find the maternal lineage of my husband's great-grandfather, Dee Jefferies Wilkins. I had researched the Wilkins quite a bit, but I didn't have much to go on regarding the Jefferies. The surname is spelled many ways in the records, and Jefferies/Jeffries have been used most often. I decided to use Jefferies because that is how I saw it most in the older records, and many signatures in their writing. It's a long story, but when I first saw that Rebecca C. Jefferies' aunt was married to Samuel A. Goodman, I didn't think too much about it. I decided to look into the Jefferies-Goodman family a little more when I found that they had migrated from South Carolina to Smith County, Texas, sometime between 1850 and 1860, based on the census records. The biggest shock came when I discovered that they were the Goodman family of the Goodman-LeGrand House on North Broadway in Tyler, Texas - my hometown! I have had fun with this project because I have many early childhood memories of seeing this huge plantation style house every Sunday, because it was behind my church.  I have other memories of community events on the grounds of the estate. I have visited the museum as an adult, but it has been many years. I no longer live in Tyler, but I will be visiting again very soon. I plan to take my mother-in-law, and I know we will both have quite a different perspective on this beautiful and grand antebellum house. I look forward to sharing with her the history and past times of her ancestors whom she knew nothing about before my discovery.

Pamelia Corry Jefferies (1811-1878)

Pamelia Jefferies Goodman

Pamelia Corry Jefferies was born into a wealthy family of plantation owners from Union County, South Carolina. She was born on 11 February 1811 to Nathaniel "Nate" Jefferies, II, and Rebecca Corry. Pamelia is my husband's 4th great-aunt. She had two older brothers, John Corry Jefferies and William Corry Jefferies, who is my husband's great-great-great-grandfather. Pamelia's two grandfathers, John Randolph Jefferies, Sr., and Nicholas Corry, and one great-grandfather, Nathaniel Jefferies, were Patriot veterans of the Revolutionary War. Her two sons, William Jefferies Goodman and Samuel A. Goodman, Jr., were Confederate veterans of the Civil War. Her maternal grandfather, Nicholas Corry, immigrated from County Down, Ireland, in about 1767. Just nine years later, he joined his friends and neighbors in supporting the fight for independence in the American Revolution.

Pamelia was only 10 years old when her mother died in the summer of 1821 at the very young age of 29. Her father married his second wife, Frances Goudelock, in 1822, and they had eight children between 1825 and 1842 - the youngest only lived a year.  Pamelia and her brothers were not alone for long with the addition of five half-brothers and three half-sisters.

Samuel Adams Goodman, Sr. (1805-1892)

In the late 1820s, Pamelia met and fell in love with a quiet and handsome young man, Samuel Adams Goodman. Samuel was born on 22 October 1805 near Nashville, Tennessee to Benjamin and Maria William Goodman, a somewhat poor family.  When Samuel was old enough, he apprenticed as a tanner in Tennessee and practiced his trade in Tennessee and Kentucky.  His older brother, Benjamin Lewis Goodman, who was practicing law in Union District, South Carolina, persuaded Sam to move to South Carolina and study law. However, before long, Sam realized his interest was not in the law but medicine, so Ben supported his brother and put him through medical school. I have not found any records regarding what medical school he attended. However, one source mentioned a certificate signed by Dr. A. Lancaster, dated 22 November 1828, stating that "through hard study and diligent application, Samuel Adams Goodman qualified for the practice of medicine." An apprenticeship was possibly an acceptable training for practicing medicine during the early 1800s.

Samuel Adams Goodman, Sr.

According to one source, Pamelia's family objected to Sam being a professional man instead of a plantation owner, and he was indebted to his brother for his medical education, which amounted to about $2,200 - a great deal of money in the early 1800s. He was afraid to tell Pamelia about the debt, but he began practicing medicine in Thickety Creek, an area of wealthy people, and in a year had paid off half of the debt. Pamelia and Sam were married on 11 February 1830 in Union County, South Carolina.

An excerpt from The Goodman Family, An Intimate History by Marjorie Goodman Carlisle:
Sam always felt greatly indebted to Pamelia's family. In the last letter he ever wrote to his wife's half-sister, Mrs. Rachel Littlejohn, in 1898 at age 93, he expressed his feelings:
"... Well do I remember my first days at Thickety Creek among the Jeffries - without friends - without money, poor, very poor indeed. Thus I toiled until that connection backed by numbers - by wealth - by character and influence took me up and numbered me with their own. They gave me position in society, patronage and success there. They were a power behind me. May I never forget those days. May I never fail to acknowledge my lasting obligation to the name of Jeffries...".

The Goodman Family of Union County, South Carolina

The Goodmans lived in the community of Gaffney in Union County for a while after they married but eventually moved to Gowdesville in Union County and purchased a plantation of their own. Sam and Pamelia did not have what would be considered a large family for that time period. There were four children - only two of which survived to adulthood: (one source states there were five children - two lost in infancy)
1.  James B. Goodman
     b. 7 Sep 1831, Union County, SC
     d. Nov 1831, Union County, SC, Age: 2 months

2.  William Jefferies Goodman
     b. 9 Dec 1833, Union County, SC
     d. 26 Aug 1921, Tyler, Smith, TX, Age: 87
     m. 13 Feb 1867, Mary Priscilla Gaston

3.  Samuel Adams Goodman, Jr.
     b. 3 Feb 1836, Union County, SC
     d. 19 Aug 1899, Tyler, Smith, TX, Age: 63
     m. 1 Sep 1863, Nancy Catherine "Kate" Vinson

4.  Sarah Rebecca Pamelia Goodman
     b. 18 Jul 1838, Union County, SC
     d. 17 Dec 1852, Union County, SC, Age: 14

In the 1840 Union, South Carolina census Dr. Sam had a large plantation home and owned 10 slaves which he managed in addition to his medical practice. I have found very little information about their life during the 1840s.

By the 1850s there were many changes for the Goodman family. The plantation had grown and prospered with many improvements. With the help of 28 slaves, they maintained and farmed a very large and profitable 265 acres of improved land and 187 acres of unimproved land. In the agricultural census of 1850 the livestock included, horses, mules, cows, oxen, cattle (300 pounds of butter), swine, and sheep (50 pounds of wool). The produce farmed in 1850 was 75 bushels of wheat, 1200 bushels of corn, 100 bushels of oats, 32 bales of ginned cotton (bales weighed 400 pounds each), and 100 bushels of sweet potatoes. The cash value of the farm in 1850 was $2,550 - equivalent of just over $82,000 in 2018. That is a surprise - and wouldn't buy much of a plantation today!

The Goodmans were very determined to provide the children with a good education. Both of their sons attended South Carolina College at Columbia and Sarah attended Limestone Springs Female High School in Spartanburg. Sadly, their only daughter became ill while away at school and died from inflammatory influenza. William continued his education at the Medical College in Charleston then on to Bellevue Hospital, and lastly College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York City.  Sam Jr. entered South Carolina College in 1854. Letters from family seemed to focus on his behavior and William's focused on the "demon rum" telling him to "never let a drop of that accursed liquid pass your lips." Sam stayed at South Carolina College until 1857.

Goodman Family Migrates to Texas

The Goodman family migrated to Texas sometime in 1857 according to the Texas Voter Registration Lists of 22 November 1869 which shows that Samuel A. Goodman, Sr. had lived in the state and county for 12 years. It is difficult to understand why they would leave their home in South Carolina which they had built into a beautiful and prosperous plantation. There was some political unrest simmering in the deep south but possibly the fact that Sam's brother Benjamin had migrated to Texas in 1852 was a factor as well as the availability of inexpensive land. They built a large two-story house on a plantation near Jamestown in Smith County and Sam became a dedicated and successful farmer. Pamelia's brother, William Corry Jefferies, also migrated to Texas with his family about 1860. He is in the 1870 U.S. Census in the Starrville community of Smith County.

Samuel A. Goodman, Sr.
Jamestown 1860 Agriculture Record
(#18 John Jeffries was probably Pamelia's nephew)

In the 1860 U.S. Census of Jamestown, Smith County, Texas, there was only Sam and Pamelia living in the house on a large farm in Jamestown. It must have been a large plantation because they had 43 slaves listed on the 1860 U.S. Census-Slave Schedule. Their real estate value was $10,000 and their personal estate was valued at $20,000.

The eldest son William was practicing medicine and living in Tyler in the household of his uncle Benjamin L. Goodman - who was practicing law. Sam Jr. is living in Tyler and practicing law also.

S. A. Goodman Business Card

I have not found any records or letters regarding his education in law but he did attend South Carolina College for three years.  In the 1860 U.S. Census, it appears that Sam Jr. is probably living in a hotel or boarding house. The head of the house is listed as a merchant and all residents have different surnames, ages, and vocations.

Civil War Surgeon

In February 1861 Texas seceded from the Union and before the end of the year, the Goodman sons had enlisted in the Confederate States Army. William enlisted first on 1 October 1861 in Tyler, Smith Co., Texas:  https://www.fold3.com/image/13699644
He mustered in as a Private in Capt. Douglas' Co., Col. Joseph Bates Regiment. In his service records, William is referred to as Major and this was because he was a surgeon but did not have any authority commanding. In late 1863 he was appointed Surgeon of the Provisional Army of the Confederate States. Most of his military career was spent in Velasco, Brazoria Co., Texas. He remained in the war until the end - the last roll he was on was dated 13 March 1865. He was paroled as Surgeon, 13th Texas Infantry, Marshall, Harrison Co., Texas. He returned to Tyler after the war and continued his medical practice.

Samuel Adams Goodman, Jr.
(1836-1899)

Samuel Adams Goodman, Jr. 

Sam Jr. enlisted on 26 December 1861 in Tyler, Texas:  https://www.fold3.com/image/13699364
Sam Jr. was discharged on 1 March 1862 for sickness. On 4 March 1863, he was given a Certificate of Disability for Discharge due to disease of the lungs. Sam Jr. married Kate Vinson 1 September 1863 in Rusk County, Texas. They had seven children and all survived to adulthood. Their first child, Mattie May, died when she was 18 years old. Kate Vinson filed a Widow's Application for Confederate Pension on 22 February 1927 and it was approved 24 February 1927.

A Cottage on North Broadway

Kate Vinson's
Widow's Application for Confederate Pension

In 1866 Samuel and Pamelia sold their farm which probably was not very profitable after the end of the war with prices for cotton collapsing and the loss of his slave labor. They purchased a cottage and nine acres on North Broadway in Tyler and made a few exterior alterations to the one-story cottage.

In 1867 when William and Mary Priscilla Gaston were married they moved into the cottage with his parents. In the 1870 U.S. Census both Samuel, Sr. and Samuel, Jr. Goodman families were living in Starrville, Texas next door to each other. I don't know what took place to cause them to move to land in Starrville but they kept the cottage and acreage in Tyler. Their son William and his wife Mary continued to live there and in 1873, the elder Goodmans sold their cottage and acreage to William and Mary who had two daughters by this time.

Kate Vinson
(1842-1933)

Pamelia C. Goodman dictated her last will and testament on 2 December 1877. She had very specific instructions regarding what she bequeathed to who and how it was all to be handled by the executors even to the point of seemingly dictating her husband's will as well. Most of their assets were in city and state bonds executed to the Houston and Great Northern Railroad Company, and "brick stone houses and warehouse on the west side of the public square in the city of Tyler on lots purchased by my husband" - rents were collected from these properties. Considering all I have read regarding the Jefferies and Goodman families I imagine that the majority of the wealth of their estate was due to her family inheritance. Samuel Jr. was left the majority of the interests and investments. This could be due to his bad health, limited means of making a living, and a large family to support. Pamelia Goodman died at the age of 67 on 21 Sept 1878. Dr. Sam lived almost 24 more years and died 23 April 1902 at the age of 96. They are buried in Oakwood Cemetery, in Tyler, Texas which is designated a Historic Texas Cemetery by the Texas Historical Commission in Austin, Texas.

William Jefferies Goodman (1833-1921)

The William J. Goodman family was growing and by 1880 they decided to enlarge the cottage. They added a second story and double galleries on all four sides of the house. They rebuilt the cottage into a grand house with an elaborate painted and stenciled parlor ceiling. All of their children were born and raised in the house. Their children were:

William Jefferies Goodman

1.  Berta Goodman
     b. 14 Aug 1868 in Tyler, TX
     d. 19 Mar 1870 in Tyler, TX
         Age: 19 months

2   Sallie Gertrude Goodman
     b. 19 May 1871 in Tyler, TX
     d. 12 Oct 1939 in Tyler, TX
         Age: 68
     m. 25 Oct 1893 in Tyler, TX
          James Hutcheson LeGrand

3.  William Gaston Goodman
     b. 21 Jan 1875 in Tyler, TX
     d. 23 Oct 1937 in Tyler, TX
        Age: 62
     m. 19  May 1926 in Dallas, TX
           Lucille Pate

4.  Etta Gwendolen Goodman
     b. 21 Jan 1878 in Tyler, TX
     d. 11 Jun 1915 in Tyler, TX
                                                                         Age: 37

Mary Priscilla Gaston Goodman
(1847-1915)

The Goodmans lived in the house on their estate until their deaths. Mary Priscilla Gaston Goodman died on 1 January 1915 after several weeks of illness. Their youngest daughter, Etta, died 11 June 1915 in San Antonio. Her obituary stated that the death of her mother earlier in the year had caused a breakdown from which she could not recover. She had been in San Antonio in hopes that a change of climate would be helpful in her recovery.  Dr. William Jefferies Goodman died on 26 August 1921. Most of the Goodmans are buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Tyler, Texas.

Sallie Gertrude Goodman LeGrand (1871-1939)

Their oldest daughter, Sallie Gertrude Goodman, married James Hutcheson LeGrand on 25 Oct 1893 in Tyler. She inherited her parents home and with her husband James's large inheritance they added on to the home to accommodate their social activities. The house was rebuilt once again in its present form in 1924. The LeGrands enjoyed entertaining and opened their home for charity functions and Tyler rose activities which were an annual tribute to the city's rose-growing industry.

James Hutcheson LeGrand died 18 April 1935 and Sallie Goodman LeGrand died 12 Oct 1939. She bequeathed the Goodman-LeGrand home to the City of Tyler as a park, museum, and cultural center. In 1964, the Junior League of Tyler restored the house and converted the second floor into a local historical museum with many exhibits from the Civil War period. Many photographs of the family and other historical photographs are on display. The first floor rooms are used for public receptions, recitals, and meetings of various cultural, historical and civic organizations.

Sallie Gertrude Goodman

Sallie Gertrude Goodman LeGrand

Mr. & Mrs. LeGrand

Goodman-LeGrand House, Tyler, Texas

PHOTO GALLERY

Samuel A. Goodman, Sr.

Samuel A. Goodman, Jr. at his farm in Jamestown

Etta Gwendolen Goodman
(1878-1915)

Four Generations: Samuel Vinson Goodman holding his daughter Anne Marjorie Goodman,
Samuel A. Goodman, Jr., Samuel A. Goodman, Sr.

Samuel A. Goodman, Jr. & daughter Mattie

William J. Goodman & daughter Sallie

Sources:

Carlisle, Marjorie Goodman (1897-1979). "The Goodman Family, An Intimate History", Part One: Up to Abt 1864.
(Shared by ShirleyGarrett80, ancestry.com)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b15IWW6dUUX_ccxwejqu07_yusEoZOWp/view?usp=sharing

The author is the granddaughter of Samuel A. Goodman, Jr. and is the baby - Ann Marjorie Goodman - in the photo of four generations of Goodmans in the photo gallery. URL for article:

The TXGenWeb Project, Smith County, Texas. Sponsored by the East Texas Genealogical Society;
The Goodman-LeGrand House.
https://www.etgs.org/txsmith/histmark/goodman.html

East Texas Genealogical Society, Smith County Pioneers
https://www.etgs.org/txsmith/pioneers/

Source of the photo of Goodman-LeGrand House - Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Goodman-LeGrand-House/236117573131521

"Texas, Wills and Probate Records, 1833-1974," Ancestry.com,
https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=2115

Pamelia C. Goodman, Last Will and Testament:
https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2115/007576647_01083?pid=759377&backurl=https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv%3D1%26dbid%3D2115%26h%3D759377%26tid%3D157165700%26pid%3D302068166872%26hid%3D1001366752842%26usePUB%3Dtrue%26_phsrc%3DDvi7714%26_phstart%3Ddefault%26usePUBJs%3Dtrue&usePUB=true&_phsrc=Dvi7714&_phstart=default&usePUBJs=true#?imageId=007576647_01094

Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 11 December 2018), memorial page for Dr Samuel Adams Goodman, Sr (22 Oct 1805-23 Apr 1902), Find A Grave Memorial no. 63919443, citing Oakwood Cemetery, Tyler, Smith County, Texas, USA; Maintained by Tyler (contributor 46592885).

Ancestry.com. Alabama, Texas and Virginia, Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

Ancestry.com. 1850 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2004.

Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2009. Images produced by FamilySearch.

Ancestry.com. 1860 U.S. Federal Census - Slave Schedules [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2010.

Photos shared by Perry Jefferies Goodman (Ancestry.com):
Pamelia Jefferies Goodman

Photos shared by rechrg (Ancestry.com):
Samuel Adams Goodman, Sr.
Kate Vinson
Four Generations: Samuel Vinson Goodman, Ann Marjorie Goodman, Samuel A. Goodman, Jr., Samuel A. Goodman, Sr.
Samuel A. Goodman, Jr. and daughter Mattie
William Jefferies Goodman and daughter Sallie

Photos shared by wparr1979 (Ancestry.com):
S. A. Goodman Business Card
Samuel Adams Goodman, Jr. (soldier and farm in Jamestown)
William Jefferies Goodman
Mary Pricilla Gaston Goodman
Mr. and Mrs. LeGrand
Samuel A. Goodman, Sr. (front porch with fan)

Photos shared by jgbj2016 (Ancestry.com):
Sallie Gertrude Goodman
Etta Gwendolyn Goodman
Sallie Goodman LeGrand

Lewis Francis Holt (1812-1859), Louisiana Plantation Owner

The Holt family history is interesting and probably typical of the wealthy southern plantation owners of the 1800s prior to the Civil War. While researching my husband Mike's maternal ancestry I discovered articles about Thomas and Lewis F. Holt, sons of John and Isabella Hardeman Holt,  that piqued my curiosity about this family. I found enough information to follow the life of Lewis Francis Holt from his birth to his death.

Early Life in Tennessee

There is no blood relation between my husband and the Holt family. Lewis F. Holt's daughter, Tennessee A. Holt, married John Hall Wilkins, Sr. on 31 January 1867 in Rusk County, Texas. John Hall Wilkins, Sr. was the overseer on the Holt plantation near Brentwood, Tennessee. On 26 February 1869 Tennessee gave birth to twins, John Hall Wilkins, Jr. and Tennessee Holt Wilkins. She died in March 1869 at 26 years of age leaving twins less than two months old. John Hall Wilkins, Sr. married again on 11 August 1870 to Rebecca Jeffries, the widow of a Confederate Civil War soldier. John and Rebecca are Mike's great-great-grandparents. Their oldest son, Dee Jeffries Wilkins, is the father of my husband's grandmother, Nelda Mae Wilkins.

Lewis Francis Holt was born in Williamson County, Tennessee on 9 July 1812. He grew up on the Holt Farm near Brentwood, Williamson County, Tennessee and was known to friends and relatives as "Luke" Holt. The Holt family were pioneers in Williamson County having emigrated there from North Carolina before 1800. Many of the early inhabitants of Williamson County were veterans of the Revolutionary War who had been paid for their service in land grants. In 1835, Thomas Holt built a large house on land originally granted to his grandfather, Christopher Holt, for his service in the Revolutionary War.  By 1859, Thomas Holt owned 682 acres and 14 slaves and operated a plantation which grew crops of cotton and soybeans. In the 1850 U.S. Federal Census his real estate was valued at $10,000 - quite a large sum for that period. The land continued as a plantation until the end of the Civil War. According to the history of the Holt House, "After the war, the farm continued to produce crops such as cotton and soybeans, with many of the former slaves and their families staying on as hired farmers and caretakers of the land. The Holts built homes, a school, and a church for the African-American community that worked and lived on the farm, which functioned into the 1980s when nearly 80% of the 1,200-acre farm was sold to develop a residential subdivision." Thomas Holt's great-grandson, Charles Witherspoon III, shuttered the historic home in 1965. In 2016 the house and nine surrounding acres were sold to a local couple, who planned to restore and renovate the home while honoring its historic legacy. The history and photos of Holt House in Brentwood, Tennessee can be found at www.holthousetn.com.

The Civil War severely affected Williamson County, Tennessee. Three battles were fought within the county: the Battle of Brentwood, the Battle of Thompson's Station and the Battle of Franklin which had some of the highest fatalities of the war. The large plantations suffered greatly and the economy was devastated. The worst of the tragedies for the county was the loss of many of the youth who were killed during the war. The McGavock Confederate Cemetery in Franklin, Tennessee contains the bodies of 1,481 soldiers and is the largest private Confederate cemetery in America.

On 27 March 1834, Luke Holt married Emily Cummins in Williamson County, Tennessee. Their first two children, daughters Mary Perkins Holt (1835-1858)  and Rachel C. Holt (1837-1879), were born in Williamson County, Tennessee.

Migration to Caddo Parish, Louisiana

In1839, Luke Holt moved his family to Caddo Parish, Louisiana to begin building his own plantation and establishing himself there as a planter.  L. F. Holt is on the 1840 U. S. Federal Census in Caddo Parish, Louisiana with his wife, two daughters, and five slaves.

Marriage Record for Lewis F. Holt and Emily Cummins

1843 Land Patent for 477 acres in Caddo Parish

On 1 April 1843, Lewis F. Holt acquired two land patents in Caddo Parish, Louisiana between the towns of Bethany and Greenwood. One patent was for 477 acres and the other was for 238.89 acres.
Over the next 10 years, he had purchased land patents for almost 1,200 acres of land in Caddo Parish. He had a partnership with his brother Thomas who continued to live in Brentwood, Tennessee but they shared two land patents, dated 1 September 1849, in Caddo Parish totaling 160 acres.

Greenwood, Louisiana was established in 1839 after the forced removal of the Caddo Indians to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). In 1840 the small village of Bethany boasted of one log store, a tavern, a grain mill run by water, and a tanning yard. Shreveport was only a day's journey away and had a large cotton and agricultural market due to the navigable Red River by steamboats.
There were a lot of travelers passing through Bethany because it was so near Shreveport and also a stopping point for settlers moving to the Republic of Texas. The Holt plantation bordered Texas and the town of Bethany. The northern part of Bethany is in Caddo Parish, Louisiana and the southern part in northeastern Panola County, Texas - it is an unincorporated community.

A Death in the Family

From the years 1841 to 1846 the Holts added four more children to their family. Three more daughters, Isabella R. Holt (1841-1870), Tennessee A. Holt (1843-1869), Caroline Emily "Emma" Holt (1846-1924) and one son, John Thomas "Clay" Holt (1844-1879).

According to the 1850 U.S. Federal Census-Slave Schedules, Lewis F. Holt owned 54 slaves. He had built quite a large plantation and his family grew as well. Tragedy visited the Holt family in February of 1850 when Emily Cummins Holt died at the age of 37. The cause of Emily's death is unknown. Luke was left alone with six dependent children age 15 years to 4 years of age. He had many relatives and help on the plantation to take care of everyday tasks but the children needed a mother. On 5 June 1851, he married Laura Peltiahs Beall who was born in Floyd County, Georgia in 1833. She was not yet 18 years old and Luke was 39 years old when they married but this was not uncommon in those times and she did quite well by marrying a wealthy plantation owner. Luke and Laura added three more children to the family, Thaddeus Solon Holt (1852-1920), Romaldus Edwin Holt (1855-1919), and Mary Lewis Holt (1858-1891).

The Holt family carried on and I found very little information until 12 March 1856 when a notice was placed in the newspaper announcing the "closing up immediately all the outstanding affairs of the late firms of T. & L. F. Holt, Holt & Moore, Holt & Hall, and of L. F. Holt". There is no more information regarding this announcement but he did not sale his home or land at this time.

Tragedy Strikes Holt Family

Unfortunately, the life of Lewis Francis Holt ended tragically on the 27 May 1859. According to an article in the newspaper, Daily True Delta, dated 10 June 1859, "On the 27th ult., near Bethany, in Caddo parish, Mr. L.F. Holt, a respectable planter of this parish, was shot by Shed Boren. After Mr. Holt was shot, Mr. J. F. Camp struck him two or three times. Mr. Holt expired in a few minutes. The perpetrators of this outrageous deed immediately made their escape. Should they be taken, a legal investigation will take place, as the coroner's inquest found a true bill."

Murder of Mr. L. F. Holt of Caddo Parish

There is no explanation regarding the reason for the attack on Luke Holt nor any background information on Shed Boren or J. F. Camp. I did find a newspaper article that proves that Shed Boren was arrested and in prison for the murder of L. F. Holt and this article in the Bossier Banner, dated 29 July 1859, detailing the most unusual and unimaginable demise of Shed Boren. There was no mention of what happened to Mr. Camp but hopefully, he did not escape punishment for his part in the murder. I have wondered why on earth he felt the need to strike Mr. Holt so many times after he had been shot! 

Ghastly Suicide 

Laura Beall Holt, at the age of 26 years, was a widow with seven children at home and a large plantation. In 1860 Laura Holt and all of the children were living with her step-daughter Rachel Holt and her husband James Beall. James was Laura's nephew - very small world back then and there were many family connections through blood or marriage. Rachel and James Beall had three children of their own so there were three adults and ten children living together in one household in Shreveport, Louisiana. Laura Holt died in 1864 and once again six children were left without parents. It is probable that they remained in the household of James and Rachel Holt Beall until they married. James was a physician and farmer and the children most likely had an inheritance to help support them.

Estate of Lewis Francis Holt

It is unknown who took over the plantation following the death of Luke Holt. On the 1860 U. S. Federal Census-Slave Schedule there is no Holt surname listed as a slave owner. The house and land remained the property of the Holt family as proven by the succession sale mentioned below. The Civil War started two years after Luke Holt's death so whoever maintained it after his death probably had a difficult time once war broke out. The next news regarding the estate was the sale of the property.

Laura P. Beall, Administratrix of Lewis F. Holt Estate

A surprising statistic: In 1860 the state of Louisiana's slave population made up 47% of the total population and in Caddo Parish, the slave population was 60.8 % of the total population.

Probate Sale of the Lewis F. Holt Plantation
2 March 1867

The estate of Lewis F. Holt included the 1200 acres of land in cultivation, a comfortable house, all the necessary outhouses, a good water well, and a gin-house - no not that kind y'all - one that gins cotton. There were two other tracts of land, one containing 40 acres more or less, and one containing 73 acres more or less. William C. Agurs bought the 1200 acre plantation from the Holt heirs for $10,282.05. William C. Agurs was married to Mary Perkins Holt from 1855 until her death in 1858. She was the oldest child of Lewis F. and his first wife, Emily Cummins Holt. William and Mary had one son John Lafayette who was born in 1856. Shortly after the death of his wife Mary, William and his son moved to Texas. He married Frances Moore on 3 February 1859 and lived in Harrison County, Texas until he enlisted in the Civil War with 17th Regiment of the Texas Cavalry. After the war, he purchased the Holt Plantation in a succession (probate) sale in January 1867 and moved back to Caddo Parish. His wife Frances died in April 1868 at the plantation and he remarried for the third and last time to Margaret Martin in September 1869. William died in 1878 and in the 1880 U. S. Federal Census Margaret Martin Agurs was still living on the plantation in the village of Greenwood. Sometime between 1880 and 1900, Margaret had moved to Shreveport where she was listed on the 1900 U. S. Federal Census. I have been unable to find any more information online regarding the Holt plantation in Caddo Parish, Louisiana. There are probably many manuscripts and records available locally in Caddo Parish regarding the history of all the plantations which are gone forever and those still standing as a reminder of life in the old south.

Descendants of Lewis F. Holt & Emily Cummins

1. Mary Perkins Holt (1835-1858), married William Culp Agurs (1822-1878) on 23 February 1855.
2. Rachel C. Holt (1837-1879), married James Thaddeus Beall (1833-1872) on 23 February 1855.
3. Isabella R. Holt (1841-1870), married James Christopher Hudson (1826-1863) on 17 Dec 1859.
4. Tennessee A. Holt (1843-1869), married John Hall Wilkins (1829-1899) on 31 Jan 1867.
5. John Thomas "Clay" Holt (1844-1879), married Lavinia Waty Cunyus (1847-1914) on 16 Mar 1861.
6. Caroline Emily "Emma" Holt (1846-1924), married John Martin Thompson (1829-1907) on 18 Jul 1871.

I haven't spent a lot of time researching the lives of Lewis F. Holt's children after his death but a few bits of information were easily found. The records indicate that all of the Holt children and their families migrated to East Texas by mid-1860s. The earliest record of the Holts in East Texas is the marriage record of Tennessee A. Holt and John Hall Wilkins in 1867 in Rusk County, Texas. Rachel Holt and James Beall are in the 1870 U. S. Federal Census living in Henderson, Rusk County, Texas. Living with them are their five children, Rachel's sister Isabella Holt Hudson and her son Cuthbert, age 9, John T. Holt (Rachel and Isabella's brother), Romaldus Holt (Rachel, Isabella, and John's half-brother), John Hall Wilkins, Jr. and Tennessee Wilkins, 1 year old twins who are the children of her late sister Tennessee A. Holt and John Hall Wilkins, Sr. I have not found John Hall Wilkins, Sr. on the 1870 census but he married Rebecca Jeffries about two weeks after the census was taken and probably the twins were reunited with their father at that time. Isabella's husband, James C. Hudson, was a Confederate soldier who died at the Battle of Chickamauga, 20 January 1863 leaving behind a wife and 2-year-old son. Caroline Emily "Emma" was the only child I could not find on the 1870 census. Most likely she was living in Rusk County at the time because she married there in July of 1871 and all of her family was there. It's possible she was living with another family or that the census taker just missed her.

That is all I have on the Holt family but I hope to follow-up soon with the story of the Wilkins family and the ancestry of my husband's maternal grandmother.


Sources:

John William Wilkins (1928-2010), Wilkins Family historian, researcher, and genealogist. Articles located at the Longview Public Library, Genealogy & Local History Department, Longview, Texas.

Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records (https://glorecords.blm.gov/default.aspx).

"Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L93F-496Z-D?i=265&cc=1619127).

Ancestry.com. Texas, Select County Marriage Index, 1837-1965 [database on-line]. (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60183).

Ancestry.com. Texas, Marriage Index, 1824-2014 [database on-line]. (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8795).

Library of Congress. The South-Western, (Shreveport, La.). 1852-1870, January 30, 1867, Image 3. Image provided by Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016483/1867-01-30/ed-1/seq-3/).

Library of Congress. The South-Western, (Shreveport, La.). 1852-1870, March 19, 1856, Image 3. Image provided by Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016483/1856-03-19/ed-1/seq-3/).

Library of Congress. The South-Western, (Shreveport, La.). 1852-1870, June 15, 1859, Image 3. Image provided by Louisiana State University; Baton Rouge, LA (http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016483/1859-06-15/ed-1/seq-3/).

Genealogy Bank. Bossier Banner, July 29, 1859, Benton, LA, Vol. 1, Page 3. (https://www.genealogybank.com).

Holt House (http://www.holthousetn.com/).

Find A Grave, (https://www.findagrave.com/).

Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8057).

Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census-Slave Schedules [database on-line]. (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=8055).

Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. (https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7667).

Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [database on-line].(https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7163).

Ancestry.com. Louisiana, Compiled Marriage Index, 1718-1925 [database on-line].
(https://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=7837).

Handbook of Texas Online, Christopher Long, "BETHANY, TX (PANOLA COUNTY), accessed November 5, 2018, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hrb27.