Hood
County Texas Genealogical Society
JESSE
CARAWAY
1817 -
1893
From History of Texas
Published in 1896
JESSE CARAWAY, deceased, was one of Hood
County's pioneer settlers, taking up his residence within her border in 1859.
He lived in the beautiful and productive valley of Paluxy and aided in
transforming its wild lands into rich and fertile fields. He witnessed almost
the entire growth and progress of the region, living through the period when
the Indians made frequent depredations in the neighborhood, and through the
early day of settlement when the few homes were widely scattered over
the trackless prairie. He left the impress of his individuality on the
improvement and development of this region, and therefore deserves mention
among the honored founders of the county which now takes its place among the
best in the state. Jesse Caraway was a man whom to know was to respect, for his
life was upright and straightforward in every particular.
He was a native of Duplin County, North
Carolina, and a son of Bryant Caraway, who was born in the same state and was a
descendant of a notable English family and a cousin of Rufus King,
vice-president of the United States. His father married a Miss Reeves, and
about the year 1830 removed with his family to Tennessee, becoming one of the
first settlers of Gibson County, where he lived neighbor to Davy Crockett, the
famed explorer and hunter; and between the two gentlemen there sprang up a warm
friendship. Mr. and Mrs. Caraway spent their remaining days in that state and
reared to maturity five children. He followed agricultural pursuits and died at
an advanced age.
Jesse Caraway passed the days of his
childhood and youth on the homestead farm and attended the district schools
near by. He remained with his parents until his marriage, which occurred in
1838, when he espoused Miss Elizabeth Keathley. The lady is a native of Duplin
County, North Carolina, and a daughter of Daniel and Lieuhamy Keathley, who
were of Irish descent. With a wife to care for, Mr. Caraway now began farming,
on his own account, and continued that pursuit in Tennessee until his
emigration to Texas in 1859. He traveled with teams across the country, and
after a journey of four weeks arrived at his destination. He purchased a
tract of wild land in the Paluxy Valley and began the arduous task of making a
home and developing a farm on the frontier. He also engaged in raising stock,
but his business was largely interrupted through the period of the Civil War.
He served as a member of a minute company engaged in protecting the frontier.
On one occasion, while riding a spirited horse, he ran into a band of Indians, who
fired upon him and he barely escaped with his life. When hostilities had
ceased he resumed farming and stock raising, which he carried on continuously
until his death. He placed one hundred acres under a high state of cultivation,
transforming it into one of the best-improved farms in the Paluxy Valley. He
was industrious and energetic, and was most honorable and upright in all his
business relations.
Mr. and Mrs. Caraway were the parents of six
sons and four daughters, as follows: L.J., of Thorp Spring; Bryant, of Alma,
Arkansas; Adam, of Marshall, Texas; Archie, who is living on the old homestead;
John, of Anson, Texas; William, deceased; Adaline, wife of J.R. Jones, of Erath
County; Lieuhamy, wife of George McDermitt, of Erath county; Ann, wife of Albert
Roberts, of De Leon, Texas; and Amanda, deceased, wife of Joel Counts.
Mr. Caraway was an active and consistent
member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and also belonged to the Masonic
fraternity, and strange to say he was never known to speak an unkind word to
his wife. He took an active interest in all affairs that tended to promote the
material, educational, social or moral welfare of the community, and was one
of the founders of the church with which he was so long connected. He left
behind him the memory of a noble and well-spent life and an example that
is worthy of emulation. He passed away May 18, 1893, and his wife, a most
estimable lady who had a large circle of friends, is still living making her
home on the old homestead.
|
Jesse Caraway was born July 11, 1817 and died May 18, 1893. He was buried next to his wife in the Rock Church Cemetery in Hood County, Texas. |
SOURCE
History
of Texas, 1896, Chicago: The Lewis
Publishing Co.
~ Web
Page by Jo Ann Hopper ~
1999
HOOD COUNTY TEXAS GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY