Battle of New Orleans.

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Moses Austin: Land Grant to Set Up American Colony in Texas

From Wikipedia.

October 4, 1761-June 10, 1821.

Back on November 23rd, I wrote about Zadock Woods being financially destroyed through business dealings with Moses Austin, who I then found out was the father of Texas' Stephen F. Austin.

American businessman and major mover in the development of the U.S. lead industry, father of Stephen F. Austin.

In 1820, Moses Austin received a land grant from the Spanish Crown and planned to establish an Anglo-American settlement in Spanish Texas, but died before his dream was realized.  On his death bed he pleaded for his son, Stephen F. Austin, to continue with the dream and he did.

Moses Austin was born in Durham, Connecticut and moved to Philadelphia in 1784, and then to Richmond, Virginia, where he married Mary Brown, from an affluent iron mining family.  His second child, Stephen F. Austin, was born in 1793.

--Brock-Perry


Monday, November 28, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 34: Young, Acker and Adams

JOHN YOUNG  Feb. 13, 1795 (May 16, 1879)  Buried Davenport Cemetery in Bexar, Texas.

Born in Knox County, Tennessee.  Died in San Antonio.

JOSEPH ACKER (September 16, 1774-August 8, 1856)  Buried at Holly Springs Cemetery in Maydelle, Texas.

His War of 1812 marker lists him as a private in the Tennessee militia.    Born in Virginia.

LEMMUEL ALLEN ADAMS--  (1795-1892) Buried in Peatown Cemetery, Lakeport, Texas.

Came to Texas about 1840.  Has a War of 1812 marker on his grave which says he was a private in the Tennessee militia.

There Are Many More Listed in the Texas 1812 Veterans Site.  --Brock-Perry

Friday, November 25, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 33: Zadock Woods

In 1842, Zadock Woods and two of his sons, joined a force from Fayette County recruited by Captain Nicholas M. Dawson to fight with Matthew Caldwell's forces at Salada Creek.  On September 18, Zadock Woods was killed in a skirmish that became known as the Dawson Massacre.

His son Henry managed a daring escape, but son Norman was severely wounded.  He was captured and died at Perote Prison in Mexico.

Zadock Woods was buried in a mass grave by Salada Creek, but his body was dug up and reinterred 6 years later at Monument Hill.

--Brock-Perry

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 32: Zadock Woods: Dealing With the Austins

Zadock Woods was financially ruined in Missouri as a result of a business venture with Moses Austin, he joined Stephen Austin's Texas Colony in 1824.  he is listed as one of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred.

I got interested in this first sentence in the relationship between Moses and Stephen Austin.  Was he perhaps a brother.  I looked him up, and Moses Austin was the father of Stephen F. Austin.

Zadock Woods settled first in Matagordo County and later moved north on the Colorado River to Fayette County.

There, his home near West Point, was called Woods Fort (or Woods Prairie) where it became a safe haven for settlers against Indian raids.

--Brock-Perry

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 31: Zadock Woods

ZADOCK WOODS  September 18, 1773-September 18, 1842

Buried at Monument Hill Cemetery, LaGrange, Texas.

Born in Brookfield, Massachusetts.  Married Minerva Cottle.  Moved to Missouri about 1802 and established a "fort" at Woodville, near Troy, Missouri.

During the War of 1812, Zachary Taylor garrisoned at Woods Fort and Zadock Woods later served with Jackson at New Orleans.

--Brock-Perry


Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 30: James Washington Winters

James Sr. and son Benjamin hauled supplies to the San Jacinto Battlefield in 1836 where his sons William Carver, John F. and James W. Winters, Jr., were in the action in General Sidney Sherman's Second Regiment and Captain William Ware's Company.  William Carver Winters was wounded in the battle.

His brother brought him home to Old Waverly where he recovered.

The three Winter brothers at San Jacinto all received Bounty and Donation Land Grants for their service.  Their names are engraved on the bronze panel inside the San Jacinto Monument.

--Brock-Perry

Monday, November 21, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 29: James Washington Winters

As a young man, he moved to Tennessee where he met and married Rhoda Beal and lived in Memphis.

With the coming of the War of 1812, he enlisted in Andrew Jackson's West Tennessee Militia and was in Thomas McCrory's regiment until 1814.  He fought at the Battle of Talladega and the Battle of Horseshoe Bend where he met a young man named Sam Houston and they became friends.

In 1835, he met Sam Houston again in San Antonio where he and his three sons joined Stephen F. Austin's army.  The two men renewed their War of 1812 friendship and traded stories.

--Brock-Perry

Friday, November 18, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 28: James Washington Winters, Sr. To Texas

From "the Family of James Washington Winters, Sr." by Pauline Winters McCullough.

He started the Texas branch of the Winters family.  He was a War of 1812 veteran who left Tennessee in a covered wagon with his family in August 1834 and arrived in Nacodoches in December where he received the title to an original Spanish land grant and the same year held a headright certificate to the land that eventually became the town of Old Waverly.

Old Waverly is essentially a ghost town today, near New Waverly, Texas.  All that remains is a cemetery and a Presbyterian church.

James W. Winters' father was Thomas J. Winters, who served 84 months in George Washington's Continental Army.  The home where James was born in 1773, in Halifax, North Carolina, was robbed by Tories during the American Revolution.

--Brock-Perry

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 27: Private James Washington Winters, Sr.

PVT. JAMES WASHINGTON WINTERS, SR.  (1773-May 23, 1848)

Buried at Winters Memorial Park, New Waverly, Texas.

Born in Halifax County, North Carolina.  Private in Col. T. McCrory's Regiment in War of 1812.

Col. Thomas McCrory's regiment was the 2nd Regiment West Tennessee Militia.  served October 1813 to January 1814.  Part of General Isaac Roberts Second Brigade.  Fought at the Battle of Talladega on 9 November 1813.

They had enlisted for just three months and General Jackson tried to get them to stay, but only 20 men did.

--Brock-Perry

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 26: Samuel Wilson

SAMUEL WILSON (June 7, 1772-November 15, 1862)

Buried in Mustang Cemetery in Shiro, Texas, which has 175 internments.

His marker there lists him as a member of the 3rd Infantry of the Georgia Militia.

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 25: Stephen Williams

STEPHEN WILLIAMS (1786-July 2, 1846)

Born in Granville County, North Carolina.  Died Fayette County, Texas and buried in the Williams Cemetery, located on the Williams farm which has a total of seven internments.

A veteran of the War of 1812 who followed the major migration to Georgia and then Alabama before coming to Texas in 1832.  He received a land grant in 1843.  he was an ardent Baptist and did a lot for his church in its growth in Texas.

He married in 1810 in Wilkes County, Georgia.

--Brock-Perry

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 24: 155 Listed

These are just the last page of the Texas 1812 Veterans Find-A-Grave page.  Going from John S. Roberts to John Young.  There are a total of 155 names listed.

--Brock

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 23: John Whitehorn and Hezekiah Williams III

JOHN McGLAMERY WHITEHORN (Feb. 5, 1795-March 25, 1870)

Buried in Hallsville Cemetery in Hallsville, Texas.

HEZEKIAH WILLIAMS III (B. 1780-D. 1853)

Buried at the Amos Barber Cemetery in Mont Belvieu, Texas.  Listed as a War of 1812 veteran in Texas.

--Brock-Perry

Monday, November 14, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 22: James Taylor White

JAMES TAYLOR WHITE (July 28, 1789-March 5, 1852)

Buried at the White Cemetery in Monroe City, Texas.

Born in Louisiana and became a big cattleman.  In 1840 he owned 4,605 acres with 1,775 head of cattle and 45 horses.  He was known as "The Cattle King" of southeast Texas.

He died of cholera nine days before his wife died of the same disease.

--Brock-Perry

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 21: Benjamin White

BENJAMIN WHITE (September 26, 1792-September 19, 1869)

Buried in Alexander Cemetery, Anna, Texas.

Born in Georgia.  He has a War of 1812 marker paced at his grave by the General Society of the War of 1812, Craig Austin Rowley Chapter, Plano, Texas, dedicated on November 16, 2013.

--Brock-Perry

Friday, November 11, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 20: Eleazor Louis Ripley Wheelock

During the Texas Revolution, Wheelock organized and was captain of a company of Texas Rangers.  During the Texas Republic, he served as a regional land commissioner.  From 1836-1845 he was either an adviser or leader of expeditions against Indians.  During one raid, his son-in-law was killed and his daughter taken prisoner by the Indians.

But even then, like his friend Sam Houston, Wheelock was a defender of Indian rights.  Toward the end of the Texas Republic, he was Indian commissioner.

He visited Washington, D.C. on Republic business and on his way home, died unexpectedly at the home of his brother-in-law in Edwardsville, Illinois.

--Brock-Perry

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 19: Eleazor Louis Ripley Wheelock

By 1820, he was investing heavily into Texas real estate.  In 1823, he visited Texas and spent a year surveying the town of Tampico.  During his second trip he met Sterling C. Robertson.

Returning to Illinois, he answered the call of Illinois Governor Reynolds in 1832 and served in the Black Hawk War.  Throughout his adult life he was active in militia organizations and had risen to the rank of colonel by 1833.

In 1833, he moved his family to Robertson's Colony in Texas and established the town of Wheelock in what is now in Robertson County.  He served as a surveyor, lawyer, rancher, farmer and soldier.

--Brock-Perry

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 18: Col. Eleazor Louis Ripley Wheelock

From the Texas State Historical Association.

They spelled Eleazor as Eleazar.

He was the son of Col. Eleazor Wheelock, Jr., a Revolutionary War veteran.  At the age of 13, his family moved to Ohio.  After the deaths of his parents, he entered the U.S. Army and served first in the Ohio militia and later as an ensign in the New York 21st Regiment.

He saw active duty in the War of 1812.

After the war, he settled in Illinois and in 1818 married Mary Prickett.  Their four sons and daughter were all born in Illinois.

--Brock-Perry

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 17: Colonel Eleazor Louis Ripley Wheelock

COLONEL ELEAZOR LOUIS RIPLEY WHEELOCK (March 31, 1793 to April 20, 1847)

Buried at the Texas State Cemetery.

Born in New Hampshire, the grandson of the founder of Dartmouth College.  Officer in the War of 1812, the Black Hawk War and the War for Texas Independence.

Founder of the town of Wheelock in Robertson's Colony.

Captain in the Texas Rangers.

Quite a list of accomplishments for this man.

I have also already written about a General Eleazor Wheelock Ripley in this blog and I imagine these two men have to have had some relationship.

--Brock-Perry

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

31st U.S. Infantry and the Battle of Shadage Woods

I was interested in John Ferdinand Webber's War of 1812 unit, the 31st U.S. Infantry.  Unfortunately, I was unable to find out much about it, or the Battle of Shadage Woods.  I did find out it was a Vermont regiment (as was the 30th U.S. Infantry).

With Webber's company commander, Captain S. Dickinson, I found out the "S" stood for Silas.  Beyond that I couldn't find anything about him.

Nor was there any mention of a Battle of Shadage Woods other than in regards to Webber fighting at it.  It might possibly be referring to the Battle of Longwoods.

I did find mention of a Captain Rufus Stewart, 31st Regiment U.S. Infantry who served from December 25, 1813, to June 7, 1815.  He was asked to raise a company of Vermont militia who patrolled the Vermont-Canada border to prevent smuggling.  He was at the Battle of Plattsburgh.

--Brock-Perry


Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 16: John Ferdinand Webber

JOHN FERDINAND WEBBER (1794-1884)

Born in Vermont.  Also known as "Juan Fernando."  During the War of 1812, he was in Captain S. Dickinson's Company, 31st U.S. Infantry from May 23, 1813, to May 31, 1814.  Fought at the Battle of Shadage Woods.

After the war, he eventually ended up at Austin's colony in Texas in 1824.  He married a slave, whom he freed and had eight children with her.  He did not fight in the Texas Revolution.

Later, he was the first settler in Webber's Prairie in Travis County, Texas, but in the 1840s, with more settlers moving into the area from the South, he found that they did not approve of his mixed marriage and he moved his family in 1853 to land near Hidalgo, Texas, on the Rio Grande River where he established Webber's Ranch.

Webber was a staunch Unionist and felt forced to move to Mexico during the Civil War, but returned in 1865.  He is buried in Webber cemetery in Hildalgi, Texas.

--Brock-Perry

Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 15: William Weaver

WILLIAM HAMILTON WEAVER  (1791-1877)

Born in North Carolina.  In the War of 1812, he was a private in Captain Benjamin Henry's 2nd Regiment Georgia State Troops and Militia.  In 1818, he was in Alabama.

Buried in Bascom Cemetery, Bascom, Texas.

--Brock-Perry

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 14: Francis Marcus Weatherred

FRANCIS MARCUS WEATHERRED (1781-1854)

Born in Virginia.  Was a soldier in the Creek War and the Texas War of Independence.

Buried in Milam Cemetery, Milam, Texas.

--Brock-Perry

Monday, November 7, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 13: Thomas Watts

THOMAS WATTS   (1765-1841)

Born in Ireland.  Awarded a Mexican Land Grant and lived to see the Republic of Texas but not Texas becoming a U.S. state.

Died February 21, 1841, and is buried at Watts-Fuller Cemetery in Jaspar County, Texas.

--Brock-Perry

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 12: Elisha Henry Robert Wallis

ELISHA HENRY ROBERT WALLIS  (1781-1846)

Born in Georgia.  Married in Louisiana in 1814.  That same year he enlisted in the 16th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Division at Opelousas, Louisiana and fought at the Battle of New Orleans.

Moved from Louisiana to Texas in 1824 and settled at Wallis Hill.

He is buried at Wallis Hill Cemetery, a plaqued site.

Wallisville, Texas, an unincorporated town on the Trinity River is named after him.

--Brock-Perry

Friday, November 4, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 11: David Wade and Warner Wallace

David Wade, 1779-1861.  Born in Virgina and was a private in Captain Pat Anderson's company, William Trueheart's 74th Virginia Militia.

Served during 1813.  Buried in Fayetteville Cemetery.

Warner Wallace 1779-1870.  Buried Texas State Cemetery.

--Brock-Perry

Thursday, November 3, 2016

Texas State Cemetery

From its website.

After doing the post on William Todd, who was reinterred here because of his prominence in Texas history, I decided to find out more about it.

It is just blocks away from the Texas State Capitol in Austin and is the final resting place of many Texas governors, senators, legislators, Congressmen, judges and legendary Texans.

The effort to establish this cemetery began in 1851 with the death of General Edward Burleson who served with Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto and was vice president of the Republic of Texas.

Others buried there include Stephen F. Austin, General Albert Sidney Johnson and Governor John Connally (in the car with JFK during the assassination).

Wikipedia says the cemetery has 22 acres and is divided into two sections.  The smaller one, 900 burials, is for famous Texans and larger for Confederate veterans and their widows.  Two thousand Confederate veterans and their widows are buried in the larger part.

--Brock-Perry


Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 10: William Tom

WILLIAM TOM  Born 1792 in either Maury County, Georgia, or the Southwest Territory.  Died February 15, 1871 in Guadalupe County, Texas.  Buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

Early settler, Texas Revolutionary Soldier and Texas Ranger.

During the War of 1812, he fought at the battles of Horseshoe Bend and New Orleans.  He moved his family to Stephen F. Austin's colony in Yexas in 1835.  In June and July of that year he organized a unit and fought the Comanche and Towakoni Indians.

Joining the Volunteer Army of Texas on October 10, 1835, he marched to San Antonio and fought at the Battle of Concepcion and the Grass Fight.  He was at the Siege of Bexar and remained at San Antonio until February 11, 1836.  (The Siege of the Alamo was from February 23-March 6, 1836).

He commanded a Ranger company on the Sabinal River during the Republic of Texas.  In 1846, he moved to Seguin.  His wife died in 1870 and he the following year and they were buried in the family cemetery but in 1937, their bodies were reinterred at the State Cemetery of Texas.

--Brock-Perry

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 9: James Thomason

JAMES THOMASON (1781-1856)

Born in Georgia.  Buried Oakwood Cemetery, Huntsville, Texas.

Son of Corp. John R. Duet Thomason.  Born 1724 in Petersburg, Virginia.  Died 1825 and buried in Dr. William D. Partlow Armory Cemetery in Ashville, Alabama.

He was a soldier in the American revolution and due to his being an officer, was given a large tract of land near present-day Springville, Alabama.  He evidently was the father of the James Thomason buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville, Texas.

There was also another Revolutionary War soldier named John Thomason who was a corporal in a North Carolina artillery company commanded by Captain John Kingsbury. who enlisted March 20, 1777, for the duration of the war.

--Brock-Perry

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 8: John "Jackie" S. Thomas

John "Jackie" S. Thomas (1794-1875)

Pioneer of Dallas.

I could find no mention of his War of 1812 service, though he is listed in Find-A-Grave's Texas War of 1812 Veterans.  He was married in 1815 in Sevier, Tennessee, so was likely served with a Tennessee.unit.

First Chief Justice of Dallas.  Buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Dallas.

--Brock-Perry

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 7: James Gibson Swisher

JAMES GIBSON SWISHER (1794-1862)

In the War of 1812 he served in Captain David Mason's company of Tennessee militia from August 18, 1813 to May 21, 1814, and in Captain John Donelson's company of United States Mounted Rangers from September 2, 1814, to September 2, 1815.

He participated in the two battles for New Orleans.

He and his family moved to Texas in 1833 and he was one of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence.  He was a veteran of the Siege of Bexar.

Swisher County, Texas is named for him.

Buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Austin, Texas.

--Brock-Perry

Turncoat Led Raid on Newark-- Part 3: Joseph Willcocks

Willcocks joined the American Army as a colonel while still serving in the lower assembly of Canada and was kicked out of office.  He used U.S, troops to conduct a campaign of slash-and-burn expeditions that often targeted former of political enemies..  He especially went after his old hometown of Newark.

This is one of the reasons for the British burning Washington, D.C..

He managed to evade several capture attempts, but later died fighting for the Americans at the siege of Fort Erie in 1814.

--Brock-Perry

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 6: Sam Stone, Ferry Man

When Mexican General Adrian Woll seized San Antonio in 1842, Stone was there on business and taken to Mexico as a prisoner until released in 1844.  In 1845, he moved to Austin and in 1846 opened the first ferry at Austin across the Colorado River.

He and two sons went to California during the Gold Rush and returned with a few nuggets of it.

Buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.

--Brock-Perry

Texas War of 1812 Veterans-- Part 5: Sam Stone

Continued from November 17, 2015.

From Find-A-Grave Texas 1812 Veterans.

Smither, John  (1779-1860.  Born Virginia.  Buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville.

Stone, Samuel Theophilus, Sr.  (1797-1857)  Joined the Virginia Militia in Baltimore in 1814, giving his occupation as hatter and described as six feet tall.  (He very likely was at the Battle of Baltimore.)  Honorably discharged in 1814.  Got married in Alabama in 1823 and then moved to Hannibal. Missouri in 1828 where he established the first ferry across the Mississippi River.

In the Spring he and several Hannibal families moved to Texas.and settled in Barstop and became a hatter and operated a ferry across the Colorado River.  he and his sons often served in the Texas military to defend against marauding Indians and Mexicans.

More on Him Next Post.  --Brock-Perry