|
As we
observe the 166th anniversary of Texas declaring independence from Mexico
-- March 2, 1836 -- one Montgomery County family is celebrating its
long-standing link to Texas, the Alamo and Montgomery County.
On Feb.
7, Bregan Terry became a ninth-generation Texan and the seventh generation
of Lindley's descendents born in Montgomery County.
Lindley's family
tree is one of the many generational stories that enhance the rich history
of Montgomery County, birthplace of the Texas flag.
According to the
Handbook of Texas, Lindley was born Feb. 21, 1814, in Illinois, the son of
Samuel Washington Lindley, born in 1788, and Elizabeth Polly Hall
Lindley.
He reportedly entered Texas in 1833 and applied for a land
grant as a single man in Joseph Vehlein's colony Nov. 4, 1834.
Lindley
was granted land, which is now covered by Lake Livingston in Polk County.
However, the land grant was invalidated because that land already had been
awarded to someone else. According to the Handbook of Texas, Lindley
apparently did not know the grant was invalid and was probably still
living on it when the Texas Revolution broke out in fall 1835.
Lindley
joined Capt. John Crane's company and participated in the siege of Bexar
in November 1835. In December 1835, during the storming of Bexar, Crane's
company served in the First Division under the command of Benjamin R.
Milam.
On Dec. 14, 1836, Lindley joined William R. Carey's artillery
company and helped garrison the Alamo under the command of Lt. Col. James
C. Neill.
Along with approximately 186 other defenders, Lindley was
killed in the Battle of the Alamo.
Ultimately, Lindley's death led his
ancestors to settle in Montgomery County.
According to a history of the
Lindley family, submitted to the Montgomery County Genealogical and
Historical Society by Estella Burns Stewart, Samuel Washington Lindley
came to Texas on a recommendation to enter Texas from the Illinois
governor. The Lindley family is thought to have come to Montgomery County
in 1826.
A copy of a Spanish Land Grant shows that Samuel Washington
Lindley asked to be granted a league of land. This request was signed Nov.
4, 1834, and proves that Samuel Washington Lindley resided in
Texas.
Another copy of a statement from the General Land Office showed
that in 1835, Samuel Washington Lindley was a resident of Montgomery
County and lived near the Walker County line.
Following Jonathan
Lindley's death in the Alamo, his family was given land in Panola County
for his service to Texas. That grant was transferred to Montgomery County
to Samuel Washington Lindley. Jonathan Lindley's father, Samuel
Washington, died in 1859 and is buried in the Shepherd Hill Cemetery.
A
historic landmark in the Shepherd Hill Cemetery pays tribute to Jonathan
Lindley.
Another of Samuel Washington Lindley's children, Mary, born in
1813, married Hiram Little in 1832. The couple had 10 children. The first
one born in Montgomery County was Jonathan in 1836.
Hiram Little also
played a role in the Texas Revolution.
According to family legend,
Little fought in the Battle of San Jacinto with Gen. Sam Houston.
A
marker at Hiram Little's grave gives validity to his role in the Texas
Revolution. The grave of his wife, Mary Little, also contains a marker
showing she was a citizen of the Republic of Texas following the Texas
Revolution.
On Nov. 18, 1840, Hiram and Mary Little had a son, William
M. (Doc) Little, who was born in Willis. Doc Little married Sarah
Elizabeth Paulsel April 25, 1865, at his father Hiram's home in Walker
County.
William and Sarah Little moved onto 98 acres of land along
Caney Creek in Montgomery County. They had eight children, including
Hattie Josephine, who was born Sept. 10, 1883, in Willis. Hattie married a
Meador from Montgomery County, and this was who Lee Murray Johnson called
"Ma."
Johnson, 74, who is the oldest of four of Lindley's generations
still alive and living in Montgomery County, lives off of Airport Road in
Conroe and was raised by his grandmother Hattie.
His mother, Ruby
Lillian Meador, Hattie's daughter, was born July 22, 1910, in Willis.
However, Johnson, whose father was Native American, was given to Hattie to
raise shortly after his birth May 26, 1927, in Willis.
According to
Johnson, Hattie also had a son three weeks after he was born named
Ray.
"Ray and I were raised like twins," Johnson said.
However, Ray
Meador was killed as a young man working in the oil industry.
Johnson
has spent his life working with horses and cattle in Montgomery County and
now shares the excitement surrounding his great-granddaughter's
birth.
Johnson had a daughter, Imogene Johnson, who was born March 31,
1959, in Conroe. Her daughter, Resa Ann Johnson Terry, born March 15,
1978, gave birth to Bregan Channing Terry, born Feb. 7 in The Woodlands,
thus making for seven generations of the family born in Montgomery County
and nine generations who have lived in Texas.
Johnson said stories
about his ancestors have been passed through the generations. It was a
letter from Edna Elizabeth Little, Doc Little's granddaughter, that helped
piece the family history together. She passed along the letter explaining
their family history to Johnson and his family.
Johnson now believes he
is very fortunate to be able to trace his family heritage back to Texas'
infancy and that all of his family members remain close by.
Barbara
Franz, head of the Genealogy Department at the Montgomery County Central
Library, said there are several families whose ancestors go back many
generations in Montgomery County.
For example, a Stewart line also
branches from Samuel Washington Lindley. A.K. Stewart who came to
Montgomery County in 1924, is descended from James Lindley, brother of
Jonathan Lindley.
Stewart was later county superintendent and county
attorney for Montgomery County.
Another of Montgomery County's oldest
family lines go back to the Collard family. According to a history of
Montgomery County, Elijah and Mary Collard came to the Montgomery/Walker
County area in 1833.
Collard was one of the first commissioners when
Montgomery County was formed in 1837 and was a member of the First Council
of Texas.
The Cude family also has a history that dates back to the
early 1800s.
However, linking family lines together is much like
putting together a puzzle and there are several places for Montgomery
County residents to get started.
The Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day
Saints, 1516 Wilson Road in Conroe, offers a Family History
Library.
The library is open to the public and offers 95 percent of the
genealogical material the Latter Day Saints Church has to
offer.
Library visitors first fill out a pedigree chart and then
information is sought from the Family History Catalog, Scottish church
records, the International Genealogy Index, ancestral files, war
information and information from the census.
At the Genealogy
Department in the Montgomery County Central Library local records as well
as more than 200 periodicals and CD-ROM databases are available.
The
department also has possession of some local records that are exclusive to
Montgomery County.
For more information on family history, contact the
Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saint's Family History Center at (936)
756-4004 or the Montgomery County Central Library at (936)
788-8363. |
