Hood County Texas Genealogical Society
ELLIOTT FAMILY HISTORY
Passed
down & believed to be written by Oma Townsend,
granddaughter
of John F. Elliott
Submitted
by Glenn Elliott
John F. Elliott was born April 7, 1829 in Tennessee. He died July 5, 1902 at Lipan, Texas and was buried there in the Baptist Cemetery.
He
had a brother, William Elliott, who lived in East Texas, and that’s probably
when he slowly wended his way toward the Lone Star State.
It
is presumed that he met and married his first wife in Arkansas. To this union were born four children,
Wright, James called Doss, Demetria called Ellen, and Charles. Wright, Doss and Ellen were born in
Arkansas. Charles was born in
Louisiana. When Wright was a young man,
he left home and the family never knew what happened to him. They presumed he went to Arkansas. Charles must have died.
Doss
married Elizabeth and they had three daughters, Nancy L., Cora and Betty. Elizabeth became mentally ill and lived in
the Terrell Hospital for seventeen years.
She was dismissed from the hospital, made Doss a good wife for several
years and died in East Texas. He died
in the 1920’s and was buried at Paint Rock, Texas.
Ellen
was married three times. Her first
husband was Albert Robertson. Their
children were Emma, Frank and Ida.
Her
second husband was Frank Foy. Their
children were Ada and Frank. Mr. Foy’s
team of horses ran away going down Baird Hill and he was killed.
Ellen’s
third husband was a Mr. Roberts, probably he was her best husband. He committed suicide.
John
F. Elliott’s brother, William H. Elliott and wife, Laura, were both born in
Tennessee. Their children were Wright,
Jesse, Cora and P. Henderson all born in Texas. Cora married an Arnold, and had four or five children. She was a school teacher. Her daughters, with their husbands, became
prominent citizens near Leuders. Cora
lived her last years at Leuders and was buried there.
Pinkney
H. Elliott was a prominent man in Greenville, Texas. A young daughter studied too much and became mentally ill. She set fire to their home. Another daughter was a good friend of an
A.A.U.W. state president one or two years in the 1950’s.
John
F. Elliott’s second wife was S. Elizabeth Armstrong who was born September 2,
1839 in Alabama. She died March 11,
1906 while living with her son, John Elliott, in Merkel, Texas and was buried
in the Merkel Cemetery. She was a
remarkable lady. She waited on every
one and was of the Primitive Baptist Faith.
Her granddaughter, Oma Townsend, had the same wonderful qualities as
she.
John
F. and Elizabeth’s children were John, George W., Sarah E. (known as Lula) and
Arthur F. were all born in Texas. The
Hood County, Texas U.S. Census shows they were raising an orphan boy, Major
Cambell, two years old.
During
the Civil War, John F. Elliott had poor eye sight, and couldn’t enlist in the
army. He became a wheel wright and made
wagon wheels for the army.
John
Elliott was a windmill merchant in Merkel and was considered “well-to-do.” George W. said John “made a dollar to every
nickel he made.” John married Sally
White, an orphan girl, at Lipan. To
this union were born Roy, Lloyd, Jack, Bessie and Elsa. Roy was a career army man. Bessie died when she was a child. Roy’s first wife died in the Philippine
Islands. He had three daughters by his
second wife. Lloyd married a Boston
girl and he was a mechanic. Miller was
a printer. Both Jack and Elsa died then
they were in their twenties.
John
went and moved to San Antonio. In 1936
or ’37, he was run over by a car and was killed. John, Sally, Jack and Elsa are buried in San Antonio.
Lula
was courted by Buck Blackwell. She
thought he was a rich man, because he drove a different span of horses each
time he came to call. She married him,
but later became disillusioned and after years ran off with another man. Buck took her back. Their children were Claude, John, Earl,
Clifford, Leta and Cecil. Claude got a government
job in Washington, D.C., and Buck and Lula moved to Maryland. They died and were buried there. Claude was killed in a hunting accident. Earl lived and died at San Angelo. John’s wife ran off with another man and
left him with four boys to raise. All
the men except Cecil have passed away by 1984.
Leta also died.
Arthur
was really the black sheep of the family.
He stole some horses and spent a term in the state penitentiary. He married Ava Baker at Lipan. After raising a big family, his wife
divorced him. Names of some of his
children were Seay, Irene, Hal, Ralph and Pauline. Arthur fussed with a neighbor and caused Hal to be killed. Ralph married an Indian girl in Oklahoma and
became a millionaire. At this writing
very few of Arthur's children are living.
A tractor fell on Ralph and killed him.
Arthur
married again. He was too old to make a
living for his two daughters by his last wife who were reared in the Methodist
Orphan’s Home in Waco. They were grown
and married when he died in Waco. He
was born February 23, 1877 and died October 12, 1952.
George
W. Elliott was born at Carthage, Panola County, Texas September 6, 1863. He moved with his family to Hill County and
thence to Hood County. He married Mary
Alice Compton March 26, 1885 and died April 11, 1932.
George
went to school very little, for his father became blind, and he had to
work. He liked to read and write
letters. His reading consisted of the
Bible and newspapers. He was able to
quote many verses of scripture.
George
was a member of the First Baptist Church organized at Lipan in 1876. It was on the bank of Crockery Creek, by the
old Baptist Cemetery in the country. He
was the first deacon to be ordained and that was in 1889. He was licensed to preach the gospel in
1890. In 1894, the members voted to
move the church to the Lipan school building.
George
became a charter member of the Woodmen of the World Lodge January 29, 1900 at
Lipan. He was a member of the I.O.O.F
(Oddfellows) Lodge, which was organized January 19, 1884. He was also a member of the Masonic Lodge at
Lipan, which was granted a charter December 16, 1882. He retained his membership in that lodge until his death. He dropped his membership in the other two
lodges.
At
a later time, George became a member of the Methodist in Lipan.
In
December, 1905, he, with his wife, Alice, and three children moved to Stephens
County.
George
was a “straight-laced” man. He never
smoked or drank alcohol beverages. He
never made love to any other woman except his wife. He called her “my little angel.”
He never contacted his brother for he was ashamed of the life Arthur had
led.
Alice’s
father, Yelverton O. Compton, was born February 26, 1837 in Missouri and died
about 1871 or ’72 in Arkansas and was buried in Randolph County. He enlisted in the Confederate army
designated as the 6th Regiment Missouri Cavalry Division, Company G, on August
24, 1862 at Washington County, Arkansas.
He entered as a private and was promoted to corporal February 1,
1863. He was a prisoner of war and
surrendered May 11, 1865. He was
paroled at Jacksonport, Arkansas June 6, 1865.
Y.O.
married Sarah L. Iles (Ales) August 12, 1858 in Missouri. She was born November 16, 1836 in Missouri
and died March 23, 1902. To this union were
born six children. A son was born dead
June 25, 1859.
~ Web Page by Virginia Hale
~