James C. Womack- Farms in Apple Springs in 1880

In June, 1880, fifteen years after the civil war had ended, they took an Agricultural Census in Trinity County, Texas. James C. Womack, lived in Beat #4. His closest neighbors included his brothers, George Franklin Womack, and Thomas Womack, and two of his brothers-in-law, William Taylor and James Taylor. The census shows the dollar value of different components of each local farm.

Source Citation

Census Year: 1880; Census Place: Beat 4, Trinity, Texas; Archive Collection Number: T1134; Roll: 41; Page: 3; Line: 6; Schedule Type: Agriculture

The first section shows that JC Womack owned his land. James had tilled land, wooded land, and a large section of "old fields." The total dollar value of his farm, including land, fences, and buildings, was about $500. He owned two horses and a mule- typical in 1880 for most families in the community His livestock was valued at $425.  He paid $75 for farm labor- more than most of his neighbors. He sold about $535 worth of farm products that year.

James (#6) owned 8 milk cows. The record shows that Fannie had made about 300 pounds of butter that year. She kept about 20 chickens which had provided them with about 135 eggs. (Only about 11 dozen!) James also owned 10 pigs and 27 head of cattle and slaughtered 2 for meat that year.  

James was a farmer as well as a rancher. He planted 12 acres in corn, which resulted in 200 bushels of the crop, and 4 acres in cotton, which resulted in only 3 bales. He planted 10 acres in cow peas, and Fannie had a small garden with Irish and Sweet potatoes and an orchard with apple and peach trees.

The family cut about 15 cords of wood from their woodlands.

James C. Womack- Apple Springs Community in 1880

It was June, 1880, fifteen years after the end of the civil war. James C. Womack and Nancy Frances, "Fannie," Taylor were 30 years old, living on their farm in Trinity County, Texas. They had been married for ten years, and had three daughters; nine-year-old Emma, six-year-old Dona, and three-year-old Leona. Fannie was pregnant with my grandmother, Mattie, who would be born six months later on January 6, 1881.

The small community of Apple Springs was mostly inhabited by close knit relatives. James had several family members on adjoining farms;

James' mother, 63 year old widow Rebecca Franklin Womack, lived next door to the family with his youngest brother, 22 year old Thomas.

James' brother, George and Fannie's sister Mary Jane, "Mollie" had married and lived next door with their three children; nine-year-old Leon, seven-year-old Oda, five-year old-Edna, and three-year-old Jennie.

His eldest sister, 39 year old Matilda Womack West, had lost her husband in the war, and lived with her two children, Robert 19 and Annie 17.

Fannie also had siblings on nearby farms;

Fannie's 59 year old mother, Jennie Ainsworth Taylor, had also been widowed and was living with her son 20 year old son William and a farm worker, Benjamin Rasberry.

Fannie's brother 31-year-old James Taylor and his wife Sarah were also neighbors with their four children; Thomas 9, Eugene 5, William 4, and Annie 1.

Her 34 year old brother Lee Taylor and his wife Lenora lived nearby with their three children William 7, Lula 6, and Edgar 1.

Extended family also lived  in Apple Springs;

Rebecca's Franklin Womack's sister, 65 year old Jemima Franklin McClendon, had lost her husband in 1861, and was living with her sons 29 year old Robert, who worked as a mail carrier, and 23 year old Frank, who worked the farm. Jemima was caring for a 2 year old grandchild, Walter McClendon.

Rebecca Franklin Womack's cousin, 50 year old Lucy Campbell, whom she had grown up with in Mississippi, was married to 62 year old Abram Womack, a distant relative of our Womacks. The couple never had children of their own, but had raised many orphans over the years.

There were two school teachers living in the community; 28 year old Homer Hunston and 20 year old Henrietta Hunston. Like most schoolteachers of the day, they boarded with a local family, the Craigs.

Source Citation

Year: 1880; Census Place: Precinct 4, Trinity, Texas; Roll: 1329; Page: 328A; Enumeration District: 110

1857 Map of Trinity County Texas

I just found this wonderful map of Trinity County, made in 1857!
You can zoom in to see the individual properties.

Trinity County Texas 1857

On the far right on side one, along Hackberry Creek, just west of Wamack's Ferry on the Neches River, you see the plantations of :

Ab Wamack (Abraham James Womack and Rebecca Franklin)
parcel 1- on Hackberry Creek  (next to W. Youngblood and Wamack's Ferry)
parcel 2- on Sandy Creek (says J. Wamack )(next to HY Wamack , MP Mead, Faiglie)

On the 1860 map below, the above parcels are clearly marked A.J. Womack

1860 land map Trinity County- A.J. Womack parcels

Jon Chapman ( and Frances Franklin)
W McClendon (William McClendon and Jemima Franklin)
D. Wamack (David Womack and Jane Franklin)


Wamack, McClendon and Chapman

Southeast of Sumpter- the county seat at the time (now a ghost town about 5 miles east of Groveton) you can find what looks like H.N. Kenly

Others:

On the top of the map, west of Cedar Creek near Piney Creek

PP Ainsworth
RR Taylor (and Jane "Jennie" Ainsworth -my gg grandparents) parents of Nancy Francis Taylor who married James Cornelius Womack (my g grandparents)

Ainsworth and Taylor 1857

Along Alabama Creek-
J.W. Young (John died enroute to Texas- his wife Almyra Minerva Campbell -sister of AB Womack's wife Lucy Campbell- settled the land in Trinity.
T.C. Crier (Thomas Cryer and Ailsy Franklin - Henry Franklin's sister)
and just north of this HY Womack (Henry Young Womack, brother of David Womack)

JW Young (AM Campbell) and Henry Young Wamack


Source:
Baumgarthen, John E. Trinity County, map, July 8, 1857; (texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth89023/:accessed June 5, 2017), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas General Land Office.

Survey Map Trinity County Texas showing landowners and creeks

Survey map of Trinity County Texas showing landowners and creeks

Trinity County Landowners


Womacks and Franklins

AJ Womack (and Rebecca Franklin) 2 separate parcels
David Womack (and Jane Franklin)
William McClendon (and Jemima Franklin)
John S. Chapman (and Frances Franklin)

Womacks and Franklins


Taylors

RR Taylor (and Jane "Jennie" Ainsworth)
AJ West (and Matilda Tayor- eldest daughter of RR and Jennie, sister of Nancy Frances Taylor)

Ainsworths

L. Ainsworth (Levin Ainsworth) (father of Jennie Ainsworth)
JL Ainsworth
JG Ainsworth

Taylors and Ainsworths

Source:

Trinity Co., map, 1905; Austin, Texas. (texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth493110/m1/1/: accessed June 5, 2017),University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Hardin-Simmons University Library.

Henry Franklin's Letter to AJ Womack-clues to migration

Background 1850- before the migration to Texas- 

In 1850, Henry Franklin was 64 years old, living in Rankin County, Mississippi. He is shown to be a farmer, with $1000 in real estate. With him are sons James, 26, a teacher (whom the letter tells us is running for public office) and Hilton, 24, a laborer (whom the letter tells us is studying with a doctor.)

Living next to Henry is the family of his daughter, Rebecca, age 27, and her husband, A.J. Womack, age 36. A.J. is a farmer, born in Alabama, no land value is listed. The family has 6 children, all born in Mississippi; Mary 11, Frances 10, Sarah 9, Richard 7, George 3, and James, who is 7 months old.

Some time after the 1850 census, and before 1854, the Womack family joined a group heading to Texas. Henry wrote this letter to A.J. after they reached Town Bluff, a ferry crossing on the Neches River, in Tyler County, Texas. They had traveled over 300 miles from their home in Mississipppi.

This letter was typed, and I need to find its origin!

May 28, 1858
(This must be a transcription error- Henry died in 1852, and the Womack's were already settled in Trinity County, Texas by 1853.)

Address:

A.J. Womack
Town Bluff, Tyler Co. Tx

(Town Bluff was one of the earliest settlements in Tyler County and at that time was the county seat. It sat on the edge of what today is "The Big Thicket." There was a ferry located there so that settlers to cross the Neches River. The ferryman would charge 3 cents each for swimming cattle and horses across the river.  By the 1840's, steamboats docked at Town Bluff - called "Natchez on the Neches" in order to travel the navigable river which ran south to the Gulf through what is today Beaumont Tx. (In order to travel north along the Neches, flatboats would be used. (4) This lies about 30 miles south of the San Antonio Trail/el Camino Real- making me wonder what trail was used to get to Town Bluff from Mississippi, and 30 miles NW to Apple Springs, where the Womack family finally settled.)

The letter continues:

"Mr. A.J. Womack,

     Sir we are well except Jane and she is still mending sololey. It has been four weeks since I was down there but I hear from them every week."
 (Jane Franklin was 27 years old in 1852, married to 37 year old David Womack. They had 6 children; Henry 12, Sarah 10, Alice 8, Lucy 6, Francis 2,(5)  and a new baby, Cassie, born in 1852. Either Jane was ill, or was recuperating from the birth of her latest child. This family lived in Rankin County, and in 1852, Henry Womack was living in Polkville, Smith County, where he was a member of the Willis Masonic Lodge (6)

"The last time I was there I was at a meeting in Salam (Salem is a community near Cato, in Rankin County) and saw nearly all the old neighbors, they was generly well  and I believe doing tolerable well." 

(Salem cemetery shows Chapmans and Martins, Cato Dents, Kennedys, Ponders, Russells, and Sarah Womack)

"This is a hard year for those that has provisions to buy and good for those that has it to sell. Corn is worth one dollar per bushel and scairse at that. Bacon is worth $12.50 for clear side and other meet is proportion. The average price of flour in Brandon is 65 cents per barel. "

It appears that there are economic problems in Mississippi in 1852 and food prices are high.

"I have seen several leters from Texas but have not seen any that you have sent though heard you had sent some. I received a leter from Wm. McClendon dated April the 7th at Town Bluff and was glad to hear you was all well and doing as well as could be expected. He appears to like the country very well, but he is like the rest that goes to a new country thinks the good country is still ahead."

William McClendon was the husband of Henry's daughter, Jemima Franklin (sister of Rebecca.) In 1850, William was 37, a farmer with land valued at 400 dollars. Jemima was 36, and they had 7 children, all born in Mississippi; Millage 15 (m) Henry 12, Thomas 9, William 7, Mary and Rebecca- 5 year old twins, and Lewis, 5 months old.

 They lived in Rankin County next to another of Henry's daughters, Frances Franklin, 29, and her husband John Chapman, 26, a farmer with land valued at 200 dollars. This family had 6 children; Linny 7, Mary 6, Allen 5, Sarah 4, Mimi 2, and Rebecca 2 months.

So- we know that Rebecca Franklin Womack and her sister, Jemima Franklin McClendon, have both made the trip to Texas, and are staying at Town Bluff....for now. Their destination is uncertain, but it sounds like they are still seeking better land.

"As soon as I hear you are settled and satisfied I shall go on to where you are. I want you all to be properly satisfied by next winter. Any place will do me if you are all satisfied to stay- I do not want to move after I get there. When I get there I want to put a little store near the head of navigation on some of the rivers wher the country is backed out with good land. Not pertickler that I think keeping store is better than doing other things I think farming and raising stock in that country is as good a thing as a man can do but I am too old for that. If I was young and able to farm and rais stock I believe I would rather do it than inything I could do. I think it is the best for health and the shurest way to make a living."

Here we see that Henry, now 66 years old, is feeling his age. He suggests that farming and stock raising offer the best living for the young people, but wants a store for himself. He is mentioning some important things to the young people; settle before winter, near a navigable river, and on good quality farmland.

"I want to wind up here as soon after January as I can. I think I will be there in February or March at the furtherest. David Womack will start about the first of November and I want to send a wagon and little things by him. When I start I expect to go by water and land at Galveston."

This tells us two important things; the young people are going by land with wagons, although there is an alternative water route via the Gulf of Mexico; likely steamboat down the Mississippi to New Orleans, from there to Galveston, Texas, and then upriver by steamboat.

Also- Henry's daughter Jane Franklin and husband David Womack are planning to come in about 6 months with their 6 children (including a new baby)  although this would have them traveling in winter, if they begin the journey in November.

Henry goes on with some business matters-

" I do not know whether me and Reynolds is doing well or not. We will sell good enough at a fair percent but the most is on  a created until the first of November. We made them due then in order to try to buy coton or take it in payment for goods. If we make a good collection we shall do well and if we do not we shall do a slow business. I like to live at Polkville the people is very friendly in every respect."

It looks like Henry is in business with Mr. Reynolds in Polkville. Things are a little unclear here; but perhaps the bills are due in November when they can take payment in cotton, or are able to buy cotton to sell. Business is uncertain right now.

" I have not heard any certain news from Wm. Springs people since you left. I write to them but have not received a letter."

William Spring is the husband of Henry's eldest daughter, Mary Franklin. Mary was the only one of Henry's children who did not come with the family to Mississippi. In 1850, they were living in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana. William was a 50 year old  farmer with land valued at $2500. Mary was 42. They had 12 children; George, a 24 yr. old schoolteacher, Feraby 22, Henry F. 21, a laborer, John 20, William 18, Jerry 14, Sally 12, James 10, Elizabeth 8, Hilton 6, and Thomas 1.

This comment gives us a very good clue about when the Womack (and Chapman) family left for Texas. It is now May, 1852. We know that in January 1851, William Spring, resident of St. Tammany, appeared at the courthouse in Greensburg, St. Helena Parish, La. to sell a family of slaves to Maston Newsom. He was contracted to do so by Henry Franklin. This was one of the most heartbreaking documents which I found at that courthouse; the family consisted of 40 yr old Jenny and her five children; Nan abt. 8, John 4 or 5, Joe 2, and twin infants. Their cost was $1500- five hundred to be paid in cash, and the balance to be paid to William Spring by the following January. The document ends with a statement by Henry Franklin that these slaves are his property; dated  December 23, 1850, filed July 1851.

We assume Henry was in communication with William Spring at this time; so it was likely that the Womack's and Chapman's left after July 1851, arriving in Town Bluff by May 1852. How long would such a trip take? The distance would take about 20 days by a healthy person walking 6 hours a day. But driving heavy wagons hauled by slow oxen, dealing with rough terrain, fording rivers, and possibly driving livestock, it would be difficult for these families  to travel 300 miles in that time. It likely took them a month or more to make the trip.

"People has got tollerable fair prospects of crops in this country but they are small for the time of year but ginneralaly clean it has been a cold dry spring and it is vary dry this time people has generally got good stands."

Since Henry is telling them about the spring weather, we know the families were gone well before spring.

"James is a candidate for cleark for the probate court and ther is three more candidates namely Drew Fitzhugh, Joseph Fergenson, and Dr. Russell. It is unserton how they will make it but it is generly thought if they all continue to run James will be elected. Hilton is boarding at Dr. Holmes and is reading and studying. Alice and Feraby is well and I beleve is doing well. I never hear James and Hilton say anything about going to Texas though I expect Hilton will go with me when I start. "

 Hilton may be studying medicine, since he is boarding with a doctor and "reading and studying."  Henry Franklin was a justice of the peace in Rankin County, and it sounds as if his son James, a teacher in 1850, also has law training, as he running for probate court clerk. Henry's youngest daughter, Alice, is 22 years old and is married to 26 year old LE Russell, a farmer living in Rankin County. They have a son William age 3, and a baby daughter, Sarah Victoria, born in March of 1852. The only Feraby I have seen is Mary Franklin Spring's 22 year old daughter.

"There is abundance of the people talks moving to Texas next fall but there is abundance that talk of moving that will not go. I.W. Crook, that lives at Polkville talks of moving with David Womack and I expect he will go he wants to get to the best kind of range and rais cattle he says he would like to be in the settlement you all are in. When you write to me put a few lines for I.W. Crook and say to him the chance of raising stock in that country as stock is his principle object. Crook is a very good nabor I would like for him to be in that country "

Again, stock raising and fall travel plans....


"when you write always fill three sides of the paper." 

This seems to be a tradition at the time to save money on paper; reading these letters with writing going all around is very difficult; I saw this with Henry's great niece Mary Anna's letters!

"Give my kindes respects to all my relation not forgeting Laurence Lorenzo and famley. Write about all my acquaintances."  

I haven't been able to find anything on Laurence Lorenzo.

Henry Franklin
Polkville, Smith Co., Miss








4-(Handbook of Texas Online , Megan Biesele, "Town Bluff, TX," accessed August 31, 2016, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hnt27 . )

5- 1850 United States Federal Census Year: 1850; Census Place: , Rankin, Mississippi; Roll: M432_380; Page: 217B; Image: .
6- Willis Lodge, Polkville, Smith County- Masonic membership

What was the relationship between Abraham James Womack and the other Womack's that went to Texas?

Why did these two different Womack branches migrate together to the same place? 

The quick and easy answer is that both AJ Womack and David Womack married Franklin sisters- and all but two of the Franklin sisters emigrated to Texas.

Were they related? YES!

AJ Womack and David Womack and his siblings were also related on the Womack side. They certainly used the same given names again and again, so we must clarify who is who with birthdates to begin to keep them straight!

We are fairly certain that their grandfathers were brothers- AJ's grandfather was Jesse born abt 1739 and David's grandfather was David, born abt 1735.

So- their fathers were first cousins- AJ's father, Richard Womack born abt 1784 and David's father, David Womack, born about 1774.

So- AJ born 1814 in the Mississippi Territory (now Alabama) and David born abt 1820 in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana-were first cousins once removed? I always get confused on that part.

These two Womack branches had traveled distant paths, but surely kept touch with letters and visits.

The grandfathers

Jesse and David were both born in Henrico County, Virginia, where the Womack's had lived since the 1600's. Their parents were Richard Womack (1710-1785) and Ann "Nancy" Childers. Following the migrational patterns of the time, Richard and Nancy left Henrico/now Chesterfield County to move southward and westward during colonial times. We see them in Amelia County and Lunenburg County, Virginia, and in Orange County/Caswell/Person County NC (county boundaries changed.) Eventually, we find them in Burke County, Georgia, where Nancy died in 1747 and Richard died in 1785.

David moved from Virginia, to Orange/Caswell/Person County NC and then on to St. Helena Parish, Louisiana, where he died in 1804.


The fathers

In the end, the cousins (Richard b 1784 and David b 1774) both ended emigrating to Mississippi about the same time, living in Simpson County. We know that Richard died in Simpson or Rankin County before 1850 (when the Rankin County census shows just his 2nd wife, Sarah, and children) and David died in 1854 in Simpson County.

Franklin Sisters on the way to Texas- 1852

James Cornelius Womack 

My grandmother's father was just a toddler in 1852, when his family emigrated to Texas from Rankin County, Mississippi.

His parents were Abraham James Womack and Rebecca Franklin. James had three older sisters along on the trip; 13 year old Mary, 12 year old Frances, and 11 year old Sarah. His two older brothers were Richard, age 9, and his closest sibling- five year old George. All of the children except James and George would have been old enough to walk alongside the ox drawn wagon that carried their household goods to Texas. The older girls may have taken turns riding horseback along with the wagon train. Richard was old enough to ride alongside his father, and hunt for small game along the way. But little James and George would have likely traveled in the bumpy wagon, with an older sister looking out for them while their mother helped drive the oxen along the way.

There were plenty of other children making the trip; cousins that had been friends for years in Rankin County.

Aunt Fannie (Frances Franklin) and Uncle John Chapman and their family comprised yet another wagon on the train. Theirs was the youngest family of the group. The two oldest girls were Allace "Linny"  and Mary, ages 9 and 8. The only boy in the family was 7 year old Allen. There were three little girls; 6 year old Sarah Elizabeth, 4 year old Jemima  "Mimy" and the baby- two year old Susan.

Aunt Mima (Jemima Franklin) and Uncle William McClendon had a wagon with  seven children. The eldest boy, Milledge Livingston, was 17- able to do the work of a grown man. Henry was 14 and Thomas 11- both old enough to ride, help herd what cattle came with them, and hunt for game along the way. William McClelland was 9- the same age as his cousin, Richard Womack. Mary was 7- probably old enough to be expected to look after her younger sister Rebecca, age 5, and two year old Lewis.

 It may be that the aunts grouped the babies together during the day in order to share childcare duties while everyone was busy on the road. Two year olds- James Womack, Susan Chapman, and Lewis McClendon might have played in a wagon during the day, under the watchful eye of one of their sisters.

But for the most part, everyone walked. Someone had to walk alongside the team of oxen, coaxing them along the route. The gentle, lumbering beasts were strong but slow- walking only about 3 miles per hour. This matched the pace for those family members walking alongside the wagon.

The wagons were too bumpy and heavily laden to accommodate anyone but the youngest during those long, dusty days of travel. A treat would have been to spend some time on horseback along the trail, although this was likely primarily the realm of the heads of the families- Abe Womack, John Chapman, and William McClendon. They would scout ahead for sources of water, small game, and places to rest at noon and in the evening.

There may have been other families that traveled with them- but these three seem to have traveled together- the three Franklin sisters and their husbands, and 19 children.

We can imagine the cousins working and playing along the way. The Womack sisters- Mary, Frances and Sarah- were the oldest girls- pre-teens capable of helping the women with most adult chores, including cooking and cleaning up, and possibly even driving the oxen who pulled the wagons during the day.

The teen-aged McClelland brothers- Livingston (17) and Henry (14) were certainly old enough to help the three men with their duties.

A group of younger boys- Thomas (11) and William (9) McClelland and Richard Womack (9) were likely good buddies along the way, with 7 year old Allen Chapman following along. It is easy to imagine a group of mischevious boys on such a journey- darting off to search for berries, wading in creeks, and playing along the way.

A group of younger girls would have been playmates-Allace (9) and the two Mary's- Mary Chapman (8), and Mary McClelland (7.) Old enough to be responsible, this group could help with simple chores and care-taking of the younger cousins, yet they surely skipped and talked together along the way.

The youngest group on foot would have been- George Womack (5), Sarah Elizabeth (6) and Mimy (4) Chapman and Rebecca (5) McClendon. Although Sarah may have managed to fit in to the slightly older girls, this younger group would have needed watching to make sure they didn't wander off along the way, or fall behind. Their little legs would have grown weary with walking before the day was through, and they likely spent some time resting in the wagons with the toddlers.

There is likely one other group that traveled with them. All of these families were slave owners. Looking at the ages of John Chapmans slaves in 1850 and 1860 it appears that two of his slaves made the trip to Texas with the family- boys aged 16 and 14 in 1852. Considering that John and Fannie Chapman had no teen-aged children of their own to help along the way, these boys would have been a huge help to the family on this trip- able to help with driving the wagon and with herding any cattle that came with them from Mississippi.

photo- Ox-drawn farm wagon, Hendersonville, N.C." (P0650), Jody Barber Photographic Collection, D.H. Ramsey Library Special Collections, UNC Asheville 28804

Franklin Relatives in Town Bluff, Texas 1852

                          


When the Womack, Chapman, and McClendon families arrived in the booming town of Town Bluff, a settlement on the navigable Neches River, they would have been warmly greeted by relatives.

Their uncle, James B. Franklin, and his wife, Mary Chapman, seem to have been the first members of the Franklin clan to move out of Rankin County and on to Texas. Their son Benjamin "Bud" was born in Rankin County on the 5th of December 1845, just before Texas attained statehood. The next child, "Babe," was born in Texas in February 1848.

Aunt Alicy Franklin and her husband Thomas Cryer probably moved with them. Their youngest child, William, had been born in Rankin County in 1844.

There was surely a great deal of talk about starting a new life in Texas during these tough times in Mississippi. Letters from family who had made the move would have greatly influenced those considering following that path. James and Ailcy surely sent letters on to their eldest brother, Henry, about their experiences along the way, and the new land they had settled on in Tyler County, Texas, which sat just across the Neches River from Louisiana.

By 1850, James was 43, and Mary ten years younger. They had a thriving family; William Plummer 13, Thomas Harrison 11, Sarah 9, Benjamin "Bud" 6, Robert Baker "Babe" 3, and a baby, Eliza.

Thomas Cryer was 54 and Aunt Ailcy Franklin was 42. Their family consisted of Francis 23, Emanuel 22, Wade 16, Marshall 14, Henry 12, Lucinda 10, Fanny 8, and William 6.

There would have been quite a celebration when the Franklin, Cryer, Womack, Chapman and McClendon families were reunited in Town Bluff.


Sources:
Year: 1850; Census Place: Tyler, Texas; Roll: M432_915; Page: 170B; Image: 322

More information:

Town Bluff, Texas - a plan for a "Natchez on the Neches"

1852- The Route to Texas- Maps

We have very few clues as to which roads our ancestors actually traveled. 

We can see where they had relatives along the way- likely spots to stop, rest, visit, and learn about the way ahead (separate post)

 We can also look and see where there were ferries available to cross the larger rivers (separate post)

Luckily there are also some old maps of the time. From these we can see which modern roads follow the original roads, and try and chart possible paths west. (After you click on the link, you can click again on each map to zoom in and see more details.) I had always thought of these 1852 pioneers to Texas traveling through the wilderness, but from what we see of these maps, this was not the case. For the most part, they would have followed an existing route which passed through established towns along the way.

1845 Map of Mississippi

1852 Map of Mississippi

1850 Map of Louisiana

1853 Map of Louisiana

Using the location of our ancestors homes in Mississippi and Texas, their relatives homes in 1850, and the possible routes from the old maps and information on routes west at the time, I came up with a couple of possibilities for their journey. Of course, this is just a guess! They may have gone a different way- but this gives me some idea of what their journey MAY have looked like!

1852- Possible routes from Rankin Co. Miss to Trinity Co. Tx

* Although it is a later date, this 1880 railroad map of Mississippi and Louisiana still gives us a good idea of what might have been a good route from Rankin County; surely the railroad followed a practical route accessing major towns of the time...you can see Cato, the Rankin County home of the Franklin's, on this map, as well as Flowery Mound, the home of the Campbell's in Concordia Parish. The railroad follows from Jackson, Miss. south paralleling the Natchez Trace to Natchez, then straight westward, going north of the lake in Catahoula Parish, then down to Alexandria, and branching at Burkeville Tx. with the southern branch going to Woodville in Tyler Co. Tx. (which would have passed through Wood Bluff.)

1882 Railroad map Miss and La.

The 1854-1855 Texas Scholastic Index in Trinity County

During the school year of 1854-1855, Texas required that a Scholastic Index be taken in each county, showing the number of students aged 6-16 who were attending school in each county. In Trinity County, the list was compiled by 27 year old Andrew Jackson West (who in October 1855 would marry 15 year old Matilda Taylor, the eldest sister of my great-grandmother,Nancy Frances Taylor.)

This list provides us with a good picture of the 80 families that were early pioneers in Trinity County. There were 218 children attending school in the county in 1854-1855 - a remarkable achievement considering how greatly these children were needed with everyday farm labor during early pioneer times, and what distances were no doubt traveled to and from the nearest school room.

From this index we know that three of the Franklin sisters-Rebecca, Frances, and Jemima- were already settled in Trinity County by 1854.

Rebecca Franklin and Abraham James Womack had six children. 2 males and 2 females were attending school. This would have been Frances Elizabeth 14, Sarah Jane 13, Richard 11 and George 7. Mary age 15 was no longer attending school, and James age 4 had not yet started school. We know that Rebecca was pregnant with another child at this time; William Alfred who would be born in January, 1855.

Frances "Fannie" Franklin and John Chapman had seven children. 1 male and 3 females were in school; Allace "Linny" 11, Mary 10, Allen 9, and Sarah Elizabeth "Betty" 7. Jemima "Mima" age 6 Rebecca age 4, and Caroline 1 were still at home. Fannie was also pregnant; another daughter, Adeline, would be born in 1854.

Jemima Franklin and William McClendon had seven children. 3 males and 2 females were attending school; Henry 16, Thomas 13, William 11, Mary 10, and Rebecca Alace 7. 19 year old Milledge Livingston was finished with school, and 4 year old Robert Lewis was not yet attending school.

What was school like for these children?

We know that in 1860, the school teacher, 23 year old John Burris, was living with the McClendon family. It is likely that in the earliest days of the county, when a formal school had yet to be built, the classes may have been held in private homes or community buildings. We know that in 1866 the Eastern Star Lodge in Nogalus Prairie held a community school in their meeting hall, charging $1 per student per month. If students could not afford the fee, the Masons paid tuition for them. (History of the Eastern Star Lodge #284 AF p. 227) Respect for the Masons ran deep in these families; Henry Franklin had been a Master Mason and most of the families were members until recent times. My grandmother was a member of the Eastern Star and my grandfather and father were Masons. By 1873 the school had moved to Centralia and there were paid teachers for 5 months of the year.

 Books would have been precious and in short supply; simple primers for the children may have been brought with the pioneers and other books may have been sent up to town from New Orleans or Galveston. It is certain that each family had a bible; that likely provided the main reading material in the early days. Children would have done their lessons on slate tablets using chalk; pen and paper would have been very dear indeed. Henry Franklin admonishes his son-in-law AJ Womack to make sure and write along all the sides of the paper when writing a letter- and artifacts of letters from his great-niece, Mary Anna Purvis Campbell show that she did just this (Making letters somewhat hard to read!)

Girls were destined to become wives and mothers, using their education for running a household. Most male children prepared for the business of running a plantation. A few male children were prepared for higher education including Rebecca's eldest son, Richard Hilton, and Jemima's eldest son,  Livingston McClendon, who both became physicians.

Why was Rebecca J. Franklin Womack buried in Grimes County, Texas?

I was confused for some time about why Rebecca Franklin Womack was not buried with her family in Trinity County.  I finally found her grave in Iola, Grimes County, Texas. She had traveled down to be with her daughter, Mary Ann, who is also buried there, as is Rebecca's other daughter, Sarah Jane. Both were married to the same man; Dr. Theophilus Hill.

Sarah Jane Womack had first married Dr. George Marion Wallace. In 1860 they were living in nearby Angelina County. She had three children; Brink, Lucy, and Elizabeth. We are unsure of how she was widowed, but it was wartime, and her husband died before August 1866, when she married another doctor- James Theophilus Hill. They made their home in Iola, in Grimes County. Sarah had three children with Dr. Hill; Mary Leona, Alma Amerial, and James Abraham.

Although we are uncertain of AJ Womack's exact date of death, we know it was sometime between 1867, when he registered to vote in Trinity County, and 1870, when he no longer appears on the Trinity County census. There is some uncertainty in his burial place at Apple Springs; some say he was buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery, others say at Calvary.

By 1870, Rebecca Franklin Womack was 52 years old and living alone on the plantation with her two youngest sons, Alfred and Thomas, ages 15 and 12. Helping her on the plantation was a newly freed black family, the Scurlooks. Sam was 54, and his wife Melissie 35. They had seven children, and the 82 year old grandmother, Lucie Scurlook, also lived with them on the plantation.

The Hills were back visiting Rebecca on the plantation in 1873. Somehow 5 year old Leona either sickened and died or had a fatal accident. She was buried in Mount Zion Cemetery in Apple Springs.  Two years later, Sarah gave birth to another daughter, Sallie. However the birth was too much for Sarah; she died in early April. She was only 34 years old. Sadly, little Sallie would die as a toddler, in the fall of 1876. Mother and daughter were buried in Zion Cemetery, in Iola, Grimes County.

According to the story by Sarah Miltia Hill, Dr. Hill took the children to live with their grandparents on the plantation (however we know that this included only one grandparent; Rebecca.) Dr. Hill went back to his work, visiting them whenever he could. While visiting, however, he got better acquainted with Sarah's older sister, Mary Ann; a widow with two children who was also back living at home on the plantation. They were married November 30, 1875.

According to Sarah Miltia Hill, Rebecca Franklin Womack returned with them to Iola to help look after all the children. However the 1880 census still shows her as living on the Womack plantation in Trinity County, now age 63, with just her youngest, Thomas "Sweet" Womack, age 22. Her sons, George and James were still living nearby with their growing families.  George and Mollie had Leon 9, Oda 7, Edna 5, and Jennie 3. James and Fannie had Emma 9, Dona 6, and Leona 3.  I think it is likely that Rebecca made extended visits to her daughter and grandchildren in Iola/Madisonville, which was 100 miles away; a long trip by horseback or carriage for a woman in her 60's. She passed away there on July 20, 1882. She was buried at Zion Methodist Cemetery in Iola.

Her daughter Mary Ann lived until June 6, 1897, when she was 59 years old. By then all her children and step/children (also her nephews and nieces) were grown.
Dr. Hill did not pass until 1911, when he was 73 years old. He and Mary Ann were also buried at Zion Cemetery in Iola.

Dr. Hill's family was a complex one; his wife Sarah's children- Brink Wallace, (Elizabeth and Lucy's lives are unknown,) Alma Amerial Hill (a family genealogist and the mother of Sarah Miltia Hill) and James Hill and his wife Mary Ann's children- Laura and George Franklin, and Runie Maude and Rebecca Hill. Rebecca, born in 1878, was surely named after her grandmother, Rebecca J. Franklin Womack.

While researching this family I found that Runie Maude Hill had married, had seven children, and was buried at Madisonville City Cemetery near Iola. One of her sons was William Womack Heath, born in 1903. While teaching, he attended Texas Christian University and the University of Texas Law School. He was not yet legal age when he was appointed the county attorney for Grimes County. After two terms as county attorney he was appointed as a judge. In 1933 he was appointed Texas secretary of state, and then assistant attorney general. He entered private practice in 1937, becoming one of the most prominent insurance lawyers in the country. This success enabled him to buy a ranch near an old friend, Lyndon B. Johnson and he was influential in establishing the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library. He re-entered public affairs in his later years, culminating in being appointed as ambassador to Sweden in 1967. After this he retired to ranching and working with charitable foundations. He died in Austin in 1971 and was buried at the State Cemetery.

Rebecca would have been proud. I wonder if William Womack Heath knew that her father, Henry Franklin, had also been a lawyer and magistrate...

Handbook of Texas Online, Charles Christopher Jackson, "Heath, William Womack," accessed March 12, 2017,http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhe08.