Their next child was a son, William Alton, who married Nova Merle Hamilton. They
married in December of 1936, in the Chapel of the First Methodist Church in Dallas. Alton
and Nova Merle Truitt had two sons: William James Jimmy born March , 1940, and Dale
Martin, born July 17, 1941, both in Baylor Hospital of Dallas. Alton managed a Piggly
Wiggly store in Corsicana from 1941 to 1955. Then, he started building homes and purchased
several small grocery stores and washaterias in Corsicana. William passed away in 1994.
Seth and Maggie Truitt’s next child was a son, Andy Truitt, who died after fifteen months
of life on November 10, 1910 of a congenital heart defect.
Their next child was L.D. Truitt, born in 1911. L.D. married Vola Margaret Wiley on
November 26, 1931, in Camp County. They had four children: Doris Lynn, born October ,
1933, in Upshur County; Margaret Ann, born February 8, 1938, in Gilmer; Larry David, born
December 3, 1942, in Camp County; and John Stephen born August 5, 1948, in Ellis County.
L.D. Truitt managed a Piggly Wiggly store in Waxahachie from 1942 to 1960, then he started
a small grocery store and deli. L.D. passed away in 1989.
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 49 / 105
Seth and Maggie Truitt’s
youngest child was a
daughter, Fayrine Glenn,
born August 29, 1917, who
married Dr. William Bailey
‘Billy’ Traynham of
Pittsburg on April 14,
1941, in the first Baptist
Church of Gilmer. Billy
and Fayrine had a son,
William Hightower ‘Bill’
Traynham, born in 1944 in
Upshur County. Dr.
Traynham was a dentist,
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 50 / 105
first in Bonham and then in Pasadena. Fayrine was a charter member of South Main Baptist
Church in Pasadena, Tx. She passed away in 2010.94
Seth Truitt died on 18 Mar 1928 at the age of 56 and was buried with the family in
Concord Cemetery. His wife Maggie lived to be 89 years old and died on 27 Dec 1965 in
Gilmer. She is buried with the Truitt Family in Concord Cemetery.
_______________
Bill Truitt's second wife Liza Hefner Truitt died on November 3, 1878 and was buried in
the Concord Cemetery next to the Missionary Baptist Church to which they belonged. A year
after Liza, died, Bill Truitt married his third wife, Rebecca (Becky) Elizabeth Collier Minor,
on December 30, 1879 in Concord. Becky was a widow with two children from a previous
marriage to Joseph Minor. She was the daughter of John Thomas Collier Sr and Susanna
Elizabeth Pinson, was born May 12, 1832, in Giles County, Tennessee. The family moved to
Texas and she grew up in Upshur County and Coffeeville, where she later married and had
two children, including a daughter named Susan Elizabeth Minor. Her previous husband,
Joseph Minor95, died in 1875 and was buried in the old Coffeeville Cemetery.
Five years after his boys were married, William (Bill) Edward Truitt died at the age of 71
on December 19, 1899. He is buried in Concord Baptist Church Cemetery in Concord
alongside his second wife, Elizabeth M. When Bill died his land was divided equally between
his three living and married sons, each son receiving 100 acres.
His third wife Becky outlived him by five years and died January 20, 1904.96 She was
buried next to Bill in Concord Cemetery not far from her home.97 Becky's daughter Susan
married Andy Farmer who lived close by to the Truitt farm. Descendants of Andy and Susan
still live in the community and are active in the Concord Baptist Church.
94 ''Book Of Memories.” Book of Memories. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 May 2015.
<http://www.rosewood.cc/bookofmemories/1376720/traynhamfayrine/obituary.php>
95"Joseph Minor (1826 1875) 22 Jul. 2014 <http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5605459>
96"Rebecca Francis Collier Truitt (1832 1904) 22 Jul. 2014 <http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6333072>
97 ibid.
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 51 / 105
Family 2 Elijah (Lijah) Thomas Truitt
The second child and son of John Wingate and Elizabeth Truitt was Elijah 'Lijah'
Thomas, who was born December 10, 182998 in Smith/DeKalb County, Tennessee. When he
was ten years old the family made the long trip to settle in the Jenkins area of East Texas.
Together with his older brother Bill, Lijah helped their father John Wingate build the family
homestead cabin.
The family attended the Methodist and the Baptist churches. The preacher was not
available every week at each church, and often church was only held once a month. Everyone
went to whichever church was holding a service. The churches had protracted meetings
(similar to camp meetings) which are described in a sermon given by James Leonard, a
brother of Elijah. Parents were proud of the fact that their children had been 'saved' and were
part of the church family.
At an early age, Elijah Truitt went to the gold fields in California. Discovery of new gold
fields drew thousands of prospectors in a gold 'rush'. Men traveled by boat, on foot, or on
horseback to reach gold fields where they hoped to make their fortunes. Men and women
underwent great hardships as they struggled to reach and stake out their claims ahead of other
prospectors. On January 24, 1848, James Wilson Marshall discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in
California and the news of this quickly spread. By 1849, a large scale gold rush was under
way. San Francisco grew from a small town to a city of 25,000 over the course of one year.
Prices paid for food and lodging soared skyhigh, because gold was cheap and commodities
were scarce. Shacks rented for $100 and more a week, and a night's rest on a simple cot cost
as much as $15. So many miners went to California that the territory soon had enough people
to be admitted as a state.
Elijah was 19 at the time Marshall found gold in the millrace at Sutter's Mill. Exactly
when he traveled to California to find his fortune is not known, but he was listed as a resident
of Quincy, California, in a US Federal Census, and we have a copy of a letter written in 1858
to his 19 yearold brother James Leonard, in which he discouraged James from coming to
California or to any other goldrush site in the Yukon. The letter, written from Quincy,
California, described the work Elijah was doing hauling lumber for the mines and the
townsmen.
98"Elijah Thomas Truitt (1829 1908) 22 Jul. 2014 <http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6333082>
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 52 / 105
In 1993 Aubrey Doyle Truitt, a grandson of
Elijah, told the story of Elijah's trip back to
Texas from the California gold fields. While
still in California Elijah paid a seamstress to
make a special vest for him with little pockets
in it. Gold dust and small nuggets were inserted
into and sewn closed in these pockets, and he
literally carried his fortune home on his back.
Another precaution he took, when he was ready
to begin his trip home to Texas, was to find an
individual with old tattered clothing. When he
found such a man, he convinced him to trade
clothes with him. With the exchange, "he now
looked like someone down on his luck." This
turned out to be a farsighted move since the
group was later set upon by robbers as they
traveled back together. The others lost their
gold, but Elijah didn't lose any of his. Not only
did he have the gold in the 'special' vest, but he
had also hidden more in a false bottom in his
wagon. The vest exists today and is in the
hands of a great granddaughter.
War between the States broke out in 1861, and
both Elijah and his brothers Edward and James
served with Texas regiments during the Civil
War. Elijah and Edward enlisted in Company I,
14th Texas Infantry Regiment and fought as
privates in the TransMississippi Theater of the
war,99 whereas their younger brother James
rode with Company A, 27th Texas Cavalry Regiment and primarily served in the conflict’s
Western Theater, eventually rising to the rank of first sergeant.100
99 Records 1161 and 1162, Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of
Texas (National Archives Microfilm Publication M227, roll 37), Harold B. Simpson Confederate Research Center, Hill College,
Hillsboro; Randall Howald, Texans in the Civil War, “14th Texas Infantry Company I,”
http://www.angelfire.com/tx3/RandysTexas/14thCoI.html (accessed June 15, 2008).
100 Record 1168, Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Texas
(National Archives Microfilm Publication M227, roll 37), Harold B. Simpson Confederate Research Center, Hill College, Hillsboro;
Company A, 27th Texas Cavalry Regiment muster roll, compiled by William K. Nolan,
http://www.geocities.com/sixtxcavrgtcsa/27thtexascavalryregiment/27tcra.html (accessed June 15, 2008); 27th Texas Cavalry
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 53 / 105
After Elijah's death, his wife Analiza E. Walker Truitt (whom he married several years
after the war) applied for a Texas veterans pension, the forms of which are located at the
Texas State Library in the Texas State Archives at Austin, Texas.
By 1867 Elijah was back in Upshur County, about 5 miles NE of Gilmer, where he
bought land in the Concord Community adjacent to and just north of his brother Bill's family.
There he grew cotton, ribbon cane, raised cattle, and like all families, maintained a family
garden.
Elijah was nearly 40 years old when he married 21year old Analiza E. 'Ann' Walker,
daughter of Robert Wallace Walker and Sarah H. Bradshaw, on 18 Feb 1869 in Upshur
County. She was born on 22 Sep 1847 in Kentucky. Together they raised their family in
Concord. Travel during this time was slow, by horse and wagon or buggy. Time spent with
friends and family, at home, church, or school were precious and high points in their lives.
Work was hard and timeconsuming with horses, mules, or oxen pulling the plow, the harrow,
etc. Planting was done by hand.
Elijah and Analiza had seven children, 221 grandchildren, 40 great grandchildren, 72
great greatgrandchildren, and 59 great great greatgrandchildren. Their children were raised
in the Baptist church, and carried the values they learned there throughout their lives. The
church and education were dear to the heart of the Truitt family members. Elijah donated the
land on which a school (Concord School) and the Concord Missionary Baptist Church were
built, along with land for a cemetery, about 5 miles NE of Gilmer. Several family members
who attended both church and school were present at the Truitt Cousins Reunion in 1995.
When Elijah's sons married he gave each one 100 acres of land for a homestead, but none
of this land is now owned by any Truitt.
Elijah died at home from pneumonia101 at the age of 78 on 09 Feb 1908. He is buried in
Concord Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery.102 Many other family members are buried
close by.
'Ann' died on 19 Oct 1932103 at the age of 84 and is buried next to Elijah in Concord
Cemetery. The name of the individual filing the death certificate was unreadable, as was the
Regiment, Confederate States Army, http://www.geocities.com/sixtxcavrgtcsa/27thtexascavalryregiment/index27.html (accessed
June 15, 2008).
101 Upshur County Vital Records
102"Elijah Thomas Truitt (1829 1908) 22 Jul. 2014 <http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6333082>
103 Upshur County Vital Records
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 54 / 105
cause of death. Analiza's sister's daughter 'Maggie' married Joseph Seth Truitt, Elijah
Thomas's elder brother's youngest son.
Elijah and Analiza's seven children were as follows: James William 'Jim' (18701941),
Andrew Robert (18721938), Eligia Lee (18731951), Wingate E (18751878), Crawford
Sylvanus (18781955), Maddison 'Matt' (18801959), and Sarah Artha (18831973).
_______________
Elijah and Analiza's first child and son James William 'Jim' Truitt was born at home on
28 Nov 1870. He married Sarah Adaline 'Sallie' Moody, daughter of F. Henry Moody and
Ann Bryson on 02 Feb 1902 in Upshur County. She was born on 19 Jan 1881 in Bette. He
died on 09 Dec 1941 and was buried in Concord Cemetery. She died on 10 May 1972 and was
buried in Concord Cemetery.
The following was recorded by James William Truitt, son of Elijah Thoma Truitt, shortly
before Elijah’s death in February 1908:
There was a young man married in 1902 that was 31 years old (sic 40 yrs) and his
bride was 21. His father gave him 100 acres of land but there was no house on it,
except a small tenant house. So, he bought 130acre farm joining his other land with a
large 5 room house partly built, and on the 17th day of February they moved to their
new home. It was a very large house for them to begin housekeeping and they were
lonesome for a while. But they had two tenants for company, 1 white and 1 colored
and their house had been rented to a school teacher and his wife the year before they
married, and the family had moved out and left their cats and those kittens would play
most every night until bedtime. But 1 day the man returned and took the kittens with
him. So they were lonesome again, but the man did not take all his chickens but sold a
few of them to the bride and groom and it was not long before they had a bunch of
little chicks to keep them company, and after that they got them 2 little dogs and
named them. Wheeler and Rowdy. Wheeler made a fine fox dog but Rowdy took to
playing with the little chicks and later he caught killing and eating them so they gave
him away.
It was now time to plant their garden, they had a large garden and planted melons,
peas, Irish potatoes and lots of other things. They had to work hard to keep the weeds
out and besides they had a crop to work. They did not plant much cotton and when the
cotton was old enough to chop they both decided they would chop out a small piece
that had a lot of short rows on one side. They both chopped together until they got to
the short rows and they had to stop to set out some sweet potatoes. So it began to rain
and kept them out of the field for a week or more and the short rows ran away in the
grass and it took over a day to finish that little corner. It was a very good crop year and
all of them made 32 bales of cotton on the place. They bought them a wagon that pulls
and cleared some more land, and they had between them about 10 head of cows and
there was a good pasture on the place so they raised lots of cattle and every year would
sell a few so they would have pasture for them. Some years they would make good
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 55 / 105
money on them when the price was good. They decided they could make more money
raising ribbon cane so they planted from 1 to 4 acres for several years and finally quit
on account of the bermuda grass being so bad on the land and its hard to work
anything where there is bermuda grass.
(The above text was copied and includes the original spelling, punctuation, etc.)
_______________
A little over a year after the birth of 'Jim', Andrew Robert Truitt was born at the family
home on 20 Mar 1872. He married Coudia Elizabeth Hart on 27 Jun 1909 in Upshur County.
She was born on 07 Oct 1878 in Upshur County. They lived together on the original land that
Andrew’s father Elijah had owned. Coudia died on 15 Nov 1932 and was buried in Concord
Cemetery. He died on 15 Dec 1938 and was buried in Concord Cemetery.
_______________
Elijah and Analiza's third child and son, Eligia Lee 'Lee' Truitt, was born at home on 21
Dec 1873. He married Mary Ann Hudgins on 21 Dec 1897 in Upshur County. She was born
on 20 Apr 1879 in Upshur County. Lee and Mary Ann lived on the original land that Lee's
father Elijah had owned. He died on 20 Aug 1951 and was buried in Concord Cemetery. She
died on 09 Feb 1975 and is buried in Concord Cemetery.
_______________
'Lee's birth was followed a couple of years later by the birth of Wingate E. Truitt, born at
home on 18 Oct 1875. He died barely three years later (3 yr 1 mo 16 days) on 03 Nov 1878,
and is buried in Concord Cemetery.
_______________
Elijah and Analiza's fifth child and son, Crawford Sylvanus Truitt, was born on 28 May
1878 in Upshur County. When Crawford was nearly 32 years old he married Alice Katherine
Howard on 07 Mar 1910 in Morris County. She was born in 1888 in Texas. Crawford
Sylvanus went to St Louis, Missouri to take his medical training and became a medical doctor
who practiced in Daingerfield. During his years there as a physician, he delivered numerous
Truitt family babies, as well as treating their other ailments. He died on 29 Oct 1955 and is
buried in Daingerfield Cemetery. His wife Alice died two years later in 1957 and is also
buried in Daingerfield Cemetery.
_______________
Elijah and Analiza's sixth child and son, Maddison 'Matt' Truitt, was born on 05 Sep 1880
in Upshur County. Matt grew up on the family farm and, when he became an adult, continued
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 56 / 105
to live on the original land his father Elijah had owned and had given him. At one point he
moved to Clarksville and Ore City, but later returned to the original property at Concord.
Matt Truitt was married six times. His first marriage, about the age of 25, was to 26year
old Susan Elizabeth 'Lizzie' Pilgrim, daughter of Isaac Timms Pilgrim and Sarah Emmaline
'Emma' Powell, about 1905 (Upshur County). She was born on 05 Dec 1879 in Camp County
near Pine. She died in 1956 in Upshur or Camp County. His second marriage was six years
later to 23year old Ollie Mae Scott Martin on 07 Apr 1912 in Concord Church. She was born
on 27 Feb 1889 in Upshur County. She died the same year as Matt's first wife, on 30 Oct
1956. She is buried in Ore City Cemetery. When he was 36 and four years after he married
Ollie Mae, Matt remarried for the third time, this time to 35year old Mrs. Anna Margaret
Fletcher Gilbert on 04 Nov 1916 in Upshur County. She was born on 11 Jan 1881 in Little
Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas. She died in 1961 and is buried in Gilmer City Cemetery. His
fourth marriage was to 39year old Mae Alexander on 30 Jul 1929 in Upshur County. Mae
was born in 1890 in Mobile, Baldwin County, Alabama. She died in 1972 and is buried in
Evergreen Cemetery, Union Parish, Louisiana. After ten years of marriage to Mae Alexander,
Matt married a fifth time, this time to 50year old Grace 'Gracie' Pamplin on 22 Apr 1940 in
Red River County. She was born about 1890. Ten years after they were married she died at
the age of 60 on 27 Apr 1950 in Clarksville. Less than four months after his wife Gracie died,
Matt remarried his second wife Ollie Mae Scott Martin Wells on 09 Aug 1950 in Upshur
County in his sixth and final marriage. She died six years later on 30 Oct 1956 and is buried in
Ore City Cemetery. Matt outlived several of his wives and died on 23 Jul 1959. He is buried
in Concord Cemetery.104
Elijah and Analiza's seventh child and only daughter, Sarah Artha Truitt, was born on 16
Jan 1883 in Upshur County. She married Isaac Walter Anderson on 10 Dec 1908 in Upshur
County. He was born on 19 Oct 1879 in Bette. Isaac was from Bette, where the newlyweds
made their home. He died on 23 Jan 1923 and is buried in Concord Cemetery. She died on 09
Apr 1973 and is buried in Concord Cemetery.
104 http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=15056889 57 / 105
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy
Family 3 Sarah Ann Truitt
The third child of John Wingate and Elizabeth Robinson was Sarah Ann, born February
23, 1832 in Smith County, Tennessee, near the present day town of Liberty, DeKalb County.
Sometime between 1834 and June 1837 the family moved from Tennessee to Etowah County,
Alabama where their fifth and sixth children were born, Matilda Ann (Mat) on June 12, 1837
105 and James Leonard (Jimmie) on May 15, 1840
106. In 1839 her father went to Texas to apply for a
headright in what is now known as the Jenkins
Community. There he was granted a headright of
320 acres and the family moved from Alabama to
Texas in 1840. Sarah Ann was eight years old
when the family moved to Texas.
Sarah Ann grew up there in the family homestead,
attended school (on their property) and regularly
attended church. The Bible was read and
discussed daily as well as whenever neighbors
dropped by or when they visited neighbors.
When Sarah Ann was 23 years old, she married
24year old James Andrew Jackson Richey about
1855 in Upshur County (no marriage record has
been found, probably because the Upshur County
courthouse burned). He was born on 22 April
1830 in Jefferson County, Alabama, the son of
John Richey (1790 1840) and Martha (1787
unknown). Andrew's father purchased land in
Jefferson County Alabama in December, 1821, and sold the land in December, 1837, seven
years after Andrew was born. He was brought as a small child to Texas and it is believed that
his father died soon thereafter in 1840 in Blossum Prairie. His father's estate was entered into
105"Matilda A "Mat" Truitt Dean (1837 1908) 22 Jul. 2014<http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=76129823>
106"James Leonard Truitt (1840 1916) 22 Jul. 2014<http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6143739>
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 58 / 105
probate on 30 September 1840 in Red River County. James Andrew was living in Gilmer with
his mother in 1850 when the 1850 federal census was taken.107
Sarah Ann may have met her husband through her brother Bill when he lived at Pine
Forest. Between 1848 and 1855, Bill was living in Hopkins County. Bill and James A. J.
Richey were both trustees of the Pine Forest
Methodist Episcopal Church South. Bill married
Elizabeth Hefner, the sister of their sister Matilda
Ann's husband, Crawford Sylvanus Hefner (sister
and brother married brother and sister).
James and Sarah settled at Pine Forest
sometime after 15 February 1854, where they lived
on the James A. J. Richey 'preemption' survey
#20, dated July 16, 1857. After their marriage
about 1855, letters written to her brother James
Leonard and sister Matilda Ann describe Bible
study and church located just a mile from their log
cabin home at Pine Forest. Sarah repeatedly urged
them to visit and enjoy their church services and
Bible study classes.
A letter written by Sarah Ann to her brother
James Leonard at Jenkins at the time of their sister
Nancy's marriage to Richard Moore (a widower) is
in the possession of Jim & Reva Truitt. It told how
she had learned of the marriage and her hopes for her sister's happiness. The following
information was provided by Cheryl Richey Lacy from the 10 June 1995 tape of the Truitt
Cousins Reunion at Daingerfield:
Sarah Ann Truitt married James Andrew Jackson Richey. He built a log cabin for them
at Pine Forest. There was a church about a mile from them, and this was a big part of
their life. She wrote to her brother James that they attended often, and pleaded with
them to come and visit her. They had a big garden, a cash crop of cotton and corn, and
a family garden. They had six children, five of whom survived to adulthood. Her son
Elijah Truitt Richey, and daughter Nancy Ann Richey married a sister and brother,
'Josie' Anglin and John Andrew Anglin, who were raised by her sister Matilda Ann
(Aunt Matt) and C. S. Hefner. Letters from Sarah, tell of the agony of losing a child.
Her letters to brother James also tell of the cash crops, the price for a bale of cotton,
107 ''James Andrew Jackson Richey.” Person:James Richey (12). N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2015. 59 / 105
<http://www.werelate.org/wiki/person:james_richey_(12)#s2>
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy
corn, and mentions meeting a Mrs. Tittle at church, whose husband George had just
made a trip to Jefferson for supplies. Jefferson was an inland port where everyone
went for supplies. On his way back from Jefferson, he stopped in Daingerfield, and he
had heard that Richard Moore was about to die... They said it was no wonder, as he
had just brought home a new young wife. ‘Imagine my surprise to find that the new
young bride was OUR sister, Nan!’ she wrote. She noted that Nancy had assumed a
thankless job (Dick Moore's wife died leaving him with 6 motherless children, 3 of
whom were crippled), but she hoped that Nancy would be as blessed as she had been
in their father’s home.
Along with his brotherinlaw, Selen Stout, James A. J. helped build the first church and
school hewed out of heart timber on the banks of Stout Creek, which later came to be called
the Bumble Bee School, named after the large number of bumble bees that built in the sweet
gum logs. He was also a trustee of the Methodist church at Pine Forest when land was given
by Thomas Willison for the "purpose of advancing the cause of religion in Stouts Creek
Neighborhood".
During the Civil War (18611864), James A. J. was recorded on a 1863 list of local men
attached to the Clark’s Regiment, 14 Texas Infantry, Confederate Army. He served in
Company I as a shoemaker in shops at Gilmer, Texas and Arkadelphia, Arkansas. His
Confederate record reflects he served from 1861 to 1863.
In 1871, James A. J. received his patent #339, situated on Stout's Creek, waters of White
Oak, and the waters of Sulphur Fork of Red River, near his brothers' John S. Richey survey.
James A. J. and Sarah lived their lives at their Pine Forest home where they had six
children– five sons (of whom one died at 2 months) and one daughter. Sarah's letters tell of
the agony of a sick baby and his loss. Her son, Elijah Truitt Richey, married Mary Josephine
'Josie' Anglin, who had been raised by Sarah Ann's sister Matilda Ann and C. S. Hefner. Her
daughter, Nancy Ann, married Josie's brother John Andrew Anglin who may also have been
raised by Matilda Ann and C. S. Hefner. Sarah Ann and James A. J. had the following
children.
Their first child, Charles Warren Richey, was born on 02 Apr 1858 at the family home in
Pine Forest. He died on 28 Sep 1928 and was buried in Pine Forest Cemetery. He married
Lucy A. Crain on 16 Oct 1878 in Hopkins County. She was born on 24 Mar 1861 in Pine
Forest. She died on 07 Aug 1922 and was buried in Pine Forest Cemetery.
Ten months after the birth of Charles Warren, Sarah and James A. J.’s second child and
son, Elijah Truitt Richey, was born at home on 21 Jan 1859. He married Mary Josephine
'Josie' Anglin, daughter of William Owen Anglin and Ellen Dudley on 24 Nov 1881 in
Gilmer. She was born on 05 Jan 1862 in Hopkins County. She died on 13 March 1894 and
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 60 / 105
was buried in Pine Forest Cemetery.108 He then married Sarah Zorada Gray Rains on 17 Aug
1897 in Upshur County. She was born on 28 Dec 1859 in Rising Fawn, Dade County,
Georgia. He died on 30 Mar 1938 and was buried in Pine Forest Cemetery. Sarah died on 03
May 1941 and was buried in Pine Forest Cemetery.
Two years later after the birth of Elijah Truitt, James Albert 'Jimmy' Richey was born at
home on 08 Dec 1861. He died on 22 Jun 1928 in Upshur County. He married Willie
Campbell on 19 Mar 1889 in Upshur County. She was born on 29 Jun 1871 in Upshur
County. She died on 18 Sep 1951 and was buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
Sarah and James A. J.’s fourth child and first daughter, Nancy Ann Richey, was born at
the family home on 25 Nov 1865. She died on 14 Apr 1949 and is buried Pine Forest
Cemetery. She married William Arthur Page on 28 Dec 1882
in Hopkins County. He was born in 1863 in Texas. He died on
08 Dec 1885 in Hopkins County. She married John Andrew
Anglin on 25 Nov 1886 in Pine Forest. He was born on 17 Apr
1866 in Pine Forest. He died on 16 Jun 1947 and is buried in
Pine Forest Cemetery.
The couple’s fifth child, Andrew M. Richey, was born on 03
Apr 1869 in Hopkins County. He only lived one month and
seven days and died on 10 May 1869 and was buried in Pine
Forest Cemetery.
Two and a half years later, Sarah and James A. J.’s sixth and
last child together, Joseph Perry Richey, was born at the
family’s Pine Forest home on 13 Oct 1872. He married Mary
Emma 'Mollie' Appleton on 12 Dec 1895 in Pine Forest. She was born on 09 Mar 1879 in
Panola County. Joseph Perry died on 17 Nov 1943 in Omaha, Morris County. Mary Emma
died on 12 Jul 1966 and was buried in Omaha City Cemetery.
Six year after the birth of their last of six children, Sarah Ann died at 46 years of age (46
years, 10 months, 5 days), December 28, 1878. She is buried next to baby Andrew, along with
several of her children and grandchildren, at Pine Forest Cemetery, north of Picton.
After his wife Sarah Ann died in 1878, James A. J. lived another 32 years, during which
he married three more times. His second marriage was to Susannah M. Hudson on 25 Dec
1879 in Hopkins County. They had two sons, William Hervy Richey, born Dec 9, 1880, and
Earl Richey, born June 13, 1882. William Hervy Richey lived only a short time (died 27 May
108 http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19994919 61 / 105
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy
1881) and is buried at at Pine Forest. Susannah died in
1892 in Hopkins County and is also buried at Pine
Forest.
After Susannah died, James A. J. remarried the same
year to Mrs. Alice Clemente Wright King, on
December 22, 1892 in Hopkins County. Alice died
four years later in 1896 at the old Robert Junell place
east of Pine Forest. James A. J. then moved to
Omaha, Morris County where he and Earl Richey
lived with his son, Joseph Perry Richey.
A few years after the death of Alice, James A. J., by
then nearly 69 years old, married a fourth time on 5
Jan 1899 to 49year old Lucina Camilla Powell Reese
(Lula). Her birth date of 1850 is the date reflected on
her marker. Lucina died 25 Dec 1939 (age 89) and is
buried in State Line Cemetery (3200 E. State Line
Road) in Texarkana near her daughter, Elizabeth
Reese Quarols (b. 1893, d. 1926) and Dovie Reese
Crabtree (b. 1899, d. 1982).
James A. J. Richey died at Omaha, on January 29,
1911 at the age of 81. He is buried in the Omaha City
Cemetery near his son's family. His grave is marked
with a marker obtained from his confederate service
and a 'Citizen of the Republic of Texas' marker, although the marker may have since been
stolen.
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Family 4 Edward Robinson Truitt
John Wingate and Elizabeth Robinson Truitt’s fourth child, Edward Robinson, was born
August 25, 1834 (died December 2, 1869)109 in Smith/DeKalb County, Tennessee. The family
moved soon thereafter to Alabama, where they lived for several years. When Edward was six
years old the family made the final move to their
new homestead in Jenkins, Texas. Edward spent his
remain youth on the family settlement homestead in
Jenkins.
When Edward was 24 years old he married 19year
old Sarah Ann 'Sallie' Logon on 13 Sep 1860 in
Morris County. She was born on 09 Aug 1841 in
Kentucky.
The couple lived with their children between
Jenkins and Daingerfield. Edward was a member of
the Masonic Lodge which his brother initiated in
Daingerfield.
Like his older brother Elijah and younger brother
James, Edward was a Civil War Veteran. Both he
and Elijah served in Company I, 14th Texas Infantry
Regiment. He died on 02 Dec 1869 at the age of 35,
not long after the war, from disabilities he received
in the war. He was buried in Clark Cemetery.
'Sallie', who was only 28 when Edward died, lived another 46 years and never remarried. She
died on 02 Jul 1916 at nearly 75 years of age, and was also buried in Clark Cemetery.
Edward Robinson Truitt and Sarah Ann 'Sallie' Logon had five children.
Their first child, Nancy Elizabeth 'Nannie' Truitt, was born at the family home in Jenkins on
03 Sep 1861. She married James Henry 'Jim' High on 10 Mar 1881 in Morris County. He was
born on 24 Apr 1854 in Georgia. He died on 13 Oct 1937 and was buried in Clark Cemetery.
She died on 02 Feb 1940 and was buried in Clark Cemetery.
109"Edward Robinson Truitt (1834 1869) 22 Jul. 2014 <http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=76129273>
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_______________
Three years after the
birth of 'Nannie',
Sara Elnora 'Nora'
Truitt was born at
home on 18 Nov
1864. She married
Louis Archibald
'Archie' Campbell on
20 Jul 1884 in
Morris County. He
was born on 17 Dec
1859 in Alabama.
She died in 1921 and
he died on 27 Jul
1925. They
were both
buried in
Clark
Cemetery.
_______________
Edward and 'Sallie's third child, Matilda Ellen 'Ellie' Truitt, was born at home on 14 Dec
1866. She married William Stenson 'Doc' Harrison, son of G. W. Harrison and Mary Elizabeth
Wallace on 24 Aug 1884 in Morris County. He was born on 26 Apr 1860 in Van Buren
County, Arkansas. He died on 21 Dec 1943 and was buried in Clark Cemetery. She died
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eleven years later on 01 Sep 1954 and was also
buried in Clark Cemetery.
Image: ‘Ellie’ (Truitt) and ‘Doc’ Harrison.
_______________
The couple’s fourth child, James Edward
Wingate 'Ed' Truitt, was born at home on 20 Mar
1869. He married Martha Cordelia 'Carrie'
Stephenson, daughter of Mr Stephenson on 09 Jun 1889 in Morris County. She was born on
02 Dec 1870 in Carnesville, Franklin County, Georgia. He died at the age of 50 on 01 Feb
1919 and was buried in Clark Cemetery. She lived another 35 years after her husband and
died at the age of 83 on 24 Apr 1954. She is buried in Clark Cemetery.
_______________
Edward and 'Sallie' had a fifth child for which there is little record other than he was born
in 1870, died in 1879, and was buried in Clark Cemetery.
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy
65 / 105
Family 5 Matilda Ann (Matt) Truitt
John Wingate and Elizabeth's fifth and sixth children were born when the family moved
to Etowah County, Alabama.110
Their fifth child, a daughter named Matilda A. 'Matt' Truitt, was born on 12 Jun 1837.
'Matt' was two years old when the family made the long move to their new home in Jenkins,
Texas.
She spent her childhood and youth at the
family home. When Matt was nearly
eighteen she married Crawford Sylvanus
(C.S.) Hefner in 1855 in Concord.
Crawford was the son of Alfred B. Hefner
and Mary Luiza Springs (Hefner), born on
05 Jan 1830 in North Carolina. His father
Alfred was born on October 27 1806, in
Buncombe County, North Carolina.
Crawford had 13 siblings. According to
one family account:
Matt and C. S. lived at Lone Mountain
about 34 miles NE of Gilmer in a white
house. 'Aunt Matt' and C.S. raised 13
orphan children who were not their own.
Among these were: Bill, Tom, Molly, Ora,
and Maude Napier; Belle and twin
brothers Roland and Marlin Bedair, who
were halfsister/brothers to Mary
Josephine 'Josie' Anglin and brother
William Owen Anglin. They also raised 'Josie' and later, her baby son Andrew Richey,
born 1892, son of Elijah Truitt Richey, son of Aunt Matt's sister, Sarah Ann Truitt
Richey.
C.S. fought in the Civil War for the Confederacy. Both he and James Andrew Jackson
Richey were gone at the same time. During the war Matt's sister Sarah Ann (who had
married James Andrew Richey) stayed with
110"Matilda A "Mat" Truitt Dean (1837 1908) 22 Jul. 2014 <http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=76129823>
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 66 / 105
Matt at her and C.S.'s farm.). Matt had begun to
think C.S. had been killed in the war as she had
not heard from him in such a long time. One day
she was churning butter on the porch when she
saw two ragged pants legs coming toward her
through the brush. C. S. was home from the
war!!
C.S. and Matt were both members of the
Primitive Baptist Church at Lafayette, ten to
twelve miles from their home. Services were
held once a month and C.S. traveled to and from
church on horseback, yet had a record of not
missing a service for fifteen years.
After John Wingate died in 1876 Matt's mother
Elizabeth (who was then 71 years old) also
stayed with Matt for awhile, and a letter written
by her tells of the bountiful vegetable garden,
and the huge size of the beets.
When Matt was nearly 68 years old, Crawford died on 20 Apr 1905 of cerebrospinal
meningitis111 at age 75 and was buried in Gilmer
Old City Cemetery. A year after her first husband
died, 'Mat', at the age of 69, married 70year old R.
M. Dean on 20 Jul 1906 in Concord. He was born
about 1836. According to one family account
(Virgie May Barnwell Berry):
Per Charles and Winnie Richey, after C.S.'s
death, Aunt Matt married a Mr. Dean who
had worked with the circus. She kept gold in
the house. She had sold the farm and moved
to Gilmer to a large white house on the west
side of Montgomery Street. She was found
dead under mysterious circumstances.....and
Mr. Dean along with the gold and her
jewelry had totally disappeared. They looked
for him, but didn't find him. The family felt
that he was a 'con' man who had poisoned her for her money.
111 Upshur County Vital Records 67 / 105
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy
Charles Richey's grandfather, Elijah Truitt Richey, son of Sarah Ann Truitt and James
Andrew Jackson Richey took him and other family members to where the house was
in about 1959. He pointed out where the slave cabins had been located and told them
more about the farm. There was about 1200 acres, he believed. They grew cotton, as
well as garden vegetables.
'Matt' died on 29 Jun 1908. The following article was in the Thursday July 2, 1908 Upshur
County Echo (under the heading of 'Departed'):
Mrs. R. M. Dean of this city died Sunday night after a brief illness. The remains were
interred at the City Cemetery Monday afternoon at 4 o'clock. Rev. E. Palmer of East
Mountain Conducting the funeral services. Those from away who attended the funeral
services are: J. L. Truitt, Sr., J. L. Truitt, Jr., Willie Truitt and Lawrence Truitt of
Daingerfield, Cap Reynolds and wife, W. H. Truitt and Miss Dean of Pittsburg. She
was formerly the wife of C. S. Hefner, deceased, and was a member of the Primitive
Baptist Church of long standing. She leaves an aged husband to mourn her departure.
Both Crawford and Matt are buried next to each other at the top of a hill in the oldest
section of the Gilmer City Cemetery, east of Gilmer' main northsouth highway (US 271).
Graves around them bear the names of McClain, Graves, and James Bowie.
'Matt' and C.S. didn't have their own children, although there is a reference to an infant
that died at birth, but they had 13 different orphans in their home at different times. Mae Berry
remembered 10 of them. Some of the children were brothers and sisters, related on the Hefner
side of the family. They also had three Bedair children and 4 or 5 Napiers, also related to
C.S.’s family.
The children as remembered by Mae Berry were as follows:
Infant son of Crawford Sylvanus Hefner was born and died in 1857 in Upshur County. He
was buried in Old City Cemetery in Gilmer.
Mary Josephine 'Josie' Anglin was born on 05 Jan 1862 in Hopkins County. At 19 she
married Elijah Truitt Richey, son of James Andrew Jackson Richey and Sarah Ann Truitt
(Matt's sister) on 24 Nov 1881 in Gilmer. They had a son named Andrew who was born on 29
June 1892112 in Pine Forest. When Andrew was two years old, Josie died 13 March 1894.
Elijah asked Matt and C.S to help raise the boy. Andrew lived with Matt and C.S. until he was
fourteen years old, when he returned to live with his father. His father Elijah Richey died on
30 Mar 1938 and was buried in Pine Forest Cemetery. Andrew died on 04 Jan 1962 and was
buried in Pine Forest Cemetery.
112 http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=64466044 68 / 105
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy
While the exact dates of their births or their family circumstances, the following Napier
and Bedair children related to C.S. were all born in Upshur County and raised by Matt and
C.S.: William Own Anglin Jr. (about 1864), Florabelle Bedair (about 1865), William 'Bill'
Napier (about 1868), Thomas 'Tom' Napier (about 1869), Molly Napier (about 1870), Ora
Napier (about 1872), and Maude Napier (about 1874). These were followed by Marlin and
Roland Bedair (twins) who were born on 28 Feb 1881 in Gregg County, Texas.
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Family 6 James Leonard (Jimmie) Truitt
The sixth child of John Wingate and Elizabeth Robinson
was James Leonard (Jimmie), born on May 15, 1840 in Etowah
County, Alabama.113
When Jimmie was nearly 27 years old he married 18year
old Mary Louisa 'Ludie' Lilley, daughter of William Crogan
Lilley and Martha Jane Rogers on 10 Apr 1867 in Hughes
Springs. She was born on 08 Nov 1848 in Daingerfield.
Per Lessie Opal and Jesse
Huggins, Mary Louisa insisted
her name be pronounced
'Luiza'. Her nickname was
'Ludie'. Her father, William
Crogan Lilley, a Captain in the
Army, died after Feb 1864 at Galveston. Mary Louisa was the
eldest child of W. C. Lilley and Martha Jane Rogers of Cass
County. Martha Jane was the daughter of Edwin Green Rogers
who came to Texas in 1847 and settled on the Sarah Mercer
survey between Hughes Springs and Daingerfield. They are
buried in the fenced Rogers Cemetery on their original property near Hughes Springs, on a
little hill.
She was known as a godly woman who often 'shouted' as the spirit moved her at church.
She assisted in the birth of Rebecca Frances Truitt her granddaughter in June 1916. Rebecca
was born in a tent across the road from Mary Louise's home. Both Rebecca and Mary Louisa
had red hair. Twin sons were born to Mary Louisa and James who weighed 10 lbs each. Her
daughters had to help her dress, as she could not bend over, to put on her shoes.
Throughout Texas, James ('Jimmie') organized Masonic Lodges, including the lodge in
Daingerfield, and was one of the writers of the requirements for the Eastern Star organization
in the area.
113"James Leonard Truitt (1840 1916) 22 Jul. 2014 <http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6143739>
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 70 / 105
Like his older brothers Elijah and Edward, James
was a Civil War veteran, having rode with
Company A, 27th Texas Cavalry Regiment. He
primarily served in the conflict’s Western Theater
and eventually rose to the rank of first sergeant.114
After the war he attended Veterans Reunions each
year.
Wherever he went, he carried his Bible with him,
and visits to friends and relatives often became
Bible study events. He loved to ride his horse fast,
and his wife worried about him getting hurt. His
beard flew in the wind as he 'flew' down the road
riding his horse.
He died at the age of 75 on 14 Mar 1916 and was
buried in Clark Cemetery. Three years later, at the
age of 70, his wife Ludie died of a stroke on 09 Feb
1919 and was buried in Clark Cemetery.
James Leonard and Mary Louisa 'Ludie' had 14
children, 11 of whom survived:
William Edwin 'Willie' Truitt was born on 07 Mar
1868 in Jenkins. He married Lillie Belle Littlefield
on 14 Dec 1893 in Morris County. She was born on
07 Feb 1873. He died on 16 Aug 1937 and was buried in Daingerfield Cemetery. She died on
11 Feb 1956 and was buried in Daingerfield Cemetery.
Martha Elizabeth 'Betty' Truitt was born on 28 Jul 1869 in Jenkins. She married Joseph
Wesley Lewis Jr., son of W. A. J. Lewis on 03 Sep 1887 in Jenkins. He was born on 28 Mar
1869 in Morris County. He died about 1911. She died on 25 Jan 1961 and was buried in Clark
Cemetery.
Myrtis Leone Truitt was born on 20 Mar 1871 in Jenkins. She married John Thomas Hare
Sr. on 13 Aug 1889 in Morris County. He was born on 19 Jan 1869 in Raleigh, Wake County,
114 Record 1168, Index to Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations From the State of Texas
(National Archives Microfilm Publication M227, roll 37), Harold B. Simpson Confederate Research Center, Hill College, Hillsboro;
Company A, 27th Texas Cavalry Regiment muster roll, compiled by William K. Nolan,
http://www.geocities.com/sixtxcavrgtcsa/27thtexascavalryregiment/27tcra.html (accessed June 15, 2008); 27th Texas Cavalry
Regiment, Confederate States Army, http://www.geocities.com/sixtxcavrgtcsa/27thtexascavalryregiment/index27.html (accessed
June 15, 2008).
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 71 / 105
North Carolina. He died
on 27 Jan 1960 in
Kilgore. She died on 19
May 1960 in Kilgore.
Nannie Lela Truitt
was born on 15 Feb
1873 in Jenkins. She
married Isaiah J. H.'
Nute' Reed, son of
Robert T. Reed and
Matilda Ann Waters on
21 Dec 1890 in Morris
County. He was born on
03 Jan 1870 in Franklin County, GA. He died on 06 Dec 1918 and was buried in Highland
Cemetery, Durant, Bryan County, Oklahoma. She died on 14 Jan 1951 and was buried in
Highland Cemetery.
Jennie Lee Truitt was born on 08 Feb 1875 in
Jenkins. She died on 16 Aug 1875 and was
buried in Clark Cemetery.
Lula Kendal Truitt was born on 15 Apr 1876
in Jenkins. She married John Thomas
Barnard, son of Peter Castleberry Barnard
and Sara Elizabeth Barnard on 01 Mar 1894
in Morris County. He was born on 22 Jan
1871 in Morris County. He died on 12 Aug
1938 and was buried in Clark Cemetery. She
died on 08 Mar 1974 and was buried in Clark
Cemetery.
An infant son of James Leonard was born and
died the same day on 27 Jan 1879 in Jenkins.
He was buried in Clark Cemetery.
James Earl Truitt was born on 19 Jan 1880 in
Jenkins. He married Mary Adalaide Phillips,
daughter of Charles Henry Phillips and
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Nancy Emma Andrews on 12 Jul 1903 in Jenkins. She was born on 27 Feb 1883 in Harleton,
Harrison County, Texas. She died on 16 Dec 1953 and was buried in Clark Cemetery. He died
on 17 Feb 1956 and was buried in Clark Cemetery.
Lillie Dale Truitt was born on 16 Jan 1882 in Jenkins. She married Ernest Truitt Reed,
son of Russell Vandorver Reed and Margaret A. E. 'Betty' Cook on 21 Jun 1903 in Jenkins.
He was born on 12 Sep 1882 in Daingerfield. He died on 27 Nov 1963 in Gainesville, Cooke
County. She died on 20 Apr 1972 in Daingerfield.
Leonard E. Truitt (twin) was born on 29 Feb 1884 in Jenkins. He married Katheryn
'Kittie' Maude Garner, daughter of Joseph Osburn Garner and Rebecca VanDusen Traylor on
22 Sep 1907 in Morris County. She was born on 07 Oct 1889 in Llano, Llano County. He died
on 14 Apr 1968 and was buried in Pinellas Park, Pinellas County, Florida. She died a few
months later on 04 Oct 1968 and was also buried in Pinellas Park.
Lawrence L. Truitt (twin) was born on 29 Feb 1884 in Jenkins. He married Sarah Jane
'Janie' Taylor, daughter of Rev Amon T. Taylor and Carrie M on 21 Dec 1913 in Morris
County. She was born on 16 Dec 1889 in Bear Creek, Marion County, Alabama. He died on
27 Feb 1965 and was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Mt. Pleasant. She died on 29 Jul 1967
and was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery.
Walter E. Truitt was born on 28 Sep 1885 in Jenkins. He died on 22 Oct 1896 and was
buried in Clark Cemetery.
Dollie Mae Truitt was born on 24 Jan 1888 in Jenkins. She married Bonnie Fernando
Mason on 22 Jul 1906 in Morris County. He was born on 07 Jan 1886 in Jenkins. He died on
20 May 1914 and was buried in Daingerfield Cemetery. She died on 23 Aug 1977 and was
buried in Daingerfield Cemetery.
Eppie Lou Truitt was born on 02 Feb 1890 in Jenkins. She married Robert Hardy
Lockhart on 14 Feb 1909 in Morris County. He was born on 02 Jun 1887 in Daingerfield. He
died on 26 Jul 1943 in Greenville. She died on 13 Jan 1973 and was buried in Greenville
Cemetery.
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Family 7 Nancy Elizabeth Truitt
Nancy Elizabeth 'Nannie', born in February 1844 in the family's Jenkins cabin where the
last two of the eight Truitt children were born.115
At 25 yrs of age, Nancy married 52year
old Richard Moore on 30 Jun 1869 in
Titus County. He was born in 1817 in
Tennessee. This was Richard Moore's
second marriage. His first wife, a cousin
named Sarah, had passed away, leaving
him with six children, of whom three boys
were crippled. They lived in the Sycamore
Community southwest of Daingerfield.
Nancy and Richard had four children. At
the time Nancy married Richard, her sister
Sarah Ann wrote a letter to their brother
James Leonard Truitt with a few lines referencing the comments of another neighbor about
''Richard Moore being about to die, and it was no wonder, he had taken a new, 'young' wife.'
She had been surprised to learn the 'new young wife' was none other than their sister 'Nan'!
She wished her the same kind of happiness she had enjoyed in her father's home.” (June 2004
Shirley Walters Nygaard informed the family that she had discovered the marriage
certificate of Nanny Truitt and Richard Moore in Jefferson. It was issued 5 June 1869, and
returned 30 Jun 1869 signed by the minister.)
Richard and Burrell Moore emigrated to the Mt Pleasant area of Texas. The land for the
courthouse at Mt Pleasant was donated by Richard Moore. The depot land was donated by
Burrell Moore, brother of Richard. For many years, a picture of Richard and Nancy Moore
hung in the courthouse at Mt. Pleasant, but is now
located in the library.
When 'Nannie' was 60 years old, Richard Moore died
on 08 Feb 1904. She died a few months later on 14
Jun 1904 and was buried alongside her husband in
115"Nancy Elizabeth Truitt Moore (1843 1904) 22 Jul. 2014 <http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=76135312>
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 74 / 105
the Richard Moore Cemetery in Morris County.
In addition to Richard's six children from his previous marriage,
Nancy Elizabeth 'Nannie' Truitt and Richard Moore had the
following children: Samuel Edel (b. 20 May 1870), Sarah Ann
(1872), Elouise Fosique (05 Jul 1875), and Hattie Estelle (b. 31
Oct 1877).
Samuel 'Ed' Moore was born on 20
May 1870 in Sycamore Community,
Morris County. He married Ellen 'Ellie'
Harris on 21 Jan 1891 in Morris County.
She was born on 21 Apr 1871 in Raleigh,
Wake County, NC. He died on 31 Dec
1935 and was buried in Richard Moore
Cemetery116. She died on 16 Mar 1963
and was buried in Clark Cemetery.
Sarah Ann 'Annie' Moore was born
in 1872 in Sycamore Community. She
married William Richard 'Will' Barnard
Sr, son of Peter Castleberry Barnard and
Sara Elizabeth Barnard on 19 Oct 1890 in
Morris County. He was born on 04 Dec
1868 in Morris County. She died on 12
Dec 1938 and was buried in Daingerfield
Cemetery. He died on 20 Apr 1952 and
was buried in Daingerfield Cemetery.
116 The Moore Cemetery is located by driving south on Willis Street to a dirt road to the right across the railroad tracks. turn
left down the west side of the tracks to the cemetery on the right. It had been newly cleaned out in about 1990. The slave
cemetery is located to the SE of the family graveyard on part of the Moore farmstead. (to reach the location, go back to the
paved street which was turned off onto the dirt road, and turn right (south) a short distance to where another paved road goes
off to the left. The cemetery was in the SE corner of that intersection. Following that road one comes to the Clark Cemetery.
Of note: also buried in the Richard Moore Cemetery is Minnie Lee Moore, a granddaughter of Richard Moore, who was shot
and killed by her former fiance, B. B. Willis, on Christmas Eve 1893. B. B. Willis was a second cousin (a grandson of Burrell
Moore, Richard's brother)to whom she had been betrothed at one time. He killed her in a fit of jealous rage, because she was
engaged to another young man. Minnie is buried in the Richard Moore Cemetery. B. B. Willis is buried in the Burrell
Moore/Willis Cemetery in Daingerfield.
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Elouise Fosique Moore was born on 05 Jul 1875 in Sycamore Community. She married
Davey Kirkham, son of George William Kirkham and Sarah Jane Barnard on 01 Jan 1899 in
Sycamore Community. He was born on 09 Mar 1875 in Duck Creek, (Garland) Dallas
County. Elouise died on 17 Apr 1953 and was buried in Daingerfield Cemetery. Her husband
Davey died on 08 Jan 1957 and was also buried in Daingerfield Cemetery.
Hattie Estelle Moore was born on 31 Oct 1877 in Sycamore Community. She married her
first husband Rufus E. Wright on 03 Mar 1895 in Daingerfield. He was born on 29 May 1869
in Gladewater, Upshur County. He died on 16 Aug 1900 and was buried in Richard Moore
Cemetery. Three years after Rufus's death she married James Henry 'Jim' Walters on 25 Dec
1903 in Daingerfield. He was born on 11 Dec 1870 in Gladewater, Upshur County. He died
on 11 Aug 1951 and was buried in Daingerfield Cemetery. Hattie died nine years later on 18
Aug 1960 and was buried in Daingerfield Cemetery.
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Family 8 Wingate Henry Truitt
The eighth and youngest child of John Wingate and Elizabeth Robinson Truitt was their
son Wingate Henry Truitt, born on November 7, 1847, in the family's Jenkins cabin where the
last two of the eight Truitt children were born.117 He grew up on the family farm. After he
moved out of the house, he originally lived in the Jenkins area close to his father's property.
When he was 22, Wingate married 16 year old Susan Elizabeth Clark, daughter of
Sanford Wesley Clark and Susan Elizabeth High. They were married on 01 Feb 1870 in
Daingerfield. She was born on 06 Oct 1853 in Monticello, Jasper County, Georgia.
Ten years after Wingate Henry and Susan were married Susan was tragically killed.
Wingate was removing a tree which had fallen on the house during a storm. Wingate hitched
up the horses to move the tree. He was in process of removing the tree when a limb broke off
it, and hit Susan on the head, killing her. The youngest child at the time was only about 8 wks
old, and had been hidden in the well for safety. She died at the age of 27 on 30 Nov 1880 and
was buried in Clark Cemetery.
Wingate Henry Truitt and Susan Elizabeth Clark had the following four children:
Their first child, daughter Sara Evalina 'Evie' Truitt,
was born on 11 Apr 1872 in Titus County. She married
Andrew Gaines Wise, son of William G. 'Buck' Wise
and Martha A. High Chapman on 16 Jul 1893 in Morris
County. He was born on 24 Mar 1868 in Titus County
(part Indian from Jasper County, Georgia). He died on
22 Dec 1944 and was buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery,
Montgomery, Grant Parish, Louisiana. She died on 08
Oct 1964 and was buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery.
_______________
Their second child and first son, William Henry 'Buddy'
Truitt, was born on 15 Aug 1876 in Morris County. He
married Mattie Belle Irvin on 04 Aug 1895 in Morris
County. She was born on 04 Nov 1877 in Cass County.
117"Wingate Henry Truitt (1847 1936) 22 Jul. 2014 <http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=44200670>
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She died on 30 Jul 1963 and was buried in Harris Chapel Cemetery, Cass County. He died on
10 Aug 1963 and was buried in
Harris Chapel Cemetery.
_______________
Two years later, Wingate Henry and
Susan had a third child and second
son, Charles Wesley Truitt, born on
27 Dec 1878 in Daingerfield.
Family records note that when
Charles was nineteen years old, his
uncle James Leonard Truitt filed a
motion on 21 Nov 1897 declaring
him to be of unsound mind. Charles
Wesley was committed to the State
Hospital at Terrell for a period of
time (records indicated his mother's
father had mental health issues). He
recovered and lived a long life. He
married Minnie Pearl Reed,
daughter of Russell Vandorver Reed and Margaret A. E. 'Betty' Cook, on 09 Nov 1902 in
Cumby, Hopkins County. She was born on 13 Mar 1879 in Hopkins County. He died on 06
Jan 1965 in Wichita Falls, Wichita County, Texas. She died on 22 Sep 1970 in Wichita Falls.
_______________
Wingate Henry and Susan Elizabeth’s fourth child was named after Susan. Susan Ann
Elizabeth 'Sussie' Truitt was born on 04 Oct 1880 in Jenkins. She married Henry Walter
Slayton on 25 Feb 1897 in Morris County. He was born on 15 Nov 1872 in Titus County. He
died on 18 Jul 1933 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Wise County. She died on 18
Feb 1970 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
Wingate's second marriage was at the age of 34 to Martha Ellen 'Mattie' Lilley, daughter
of Harris Barnett Lilley and Jane Finley on 20 Oct 1881 in Morris County. She was born on
22 Oct 1858 in Daingerfield. Mattie was a niece of Mary Louisa Lilley Truitt, who married a
James L. Truitt, an older brother of Wingate Henry.
In addition to the four children Wingate had from his first marriage, Wingate and Mattie
had eight more children. The last eight children were all born in the Daingerfield/Jenkins area
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 78 / 105
prior to their move to Wise County around 1900. In 1899, Mattie Ellen, and two of her
brothers, William Simpson Lilley and Jack B. Lilley bought the Bar70 land which was in
three counties. Mattie Ellen sold her 1/4 share to her brother Jack B. Lilley in about 1900 (the
deeds are now in possession of Reva Truitt). There they settled and spent the rest of their
lives. Jack B. Lilley, Mattie's brother had a business at Whitewright, Texas, and bought land
there for a home for them where they spent the rest of their lives. Most of their children settled
nearby, with the exception of Sarah Evalina (the eldest daughter) who moved to Louisiana
after her marriage, and William H. 'Buddy' Truitt, who lived at Violet Hill near Harris Chapel
and Hughes Springs.
When Wingate Henry was 85, his wife
Mattie died at the age of 74 on 22 Feb
1933 and was buried in Greenwood
Cemetery. Wingate Henry died three years
later at the age of 88 on 02 Sep 1936 in
Greenwood and was buried at Greenwood
Cemetery.
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 79 / 105
Wingate Henry Truitt and Martha Ellen 'Mattie' Lilley had the following children:
Jack Finley Truitt was born on 02 Sep 1882 in Morris County. He died on 06 Jun 1966
and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery. He married Ada Lee Dye on 18 Dec 1907 in Wise
County. She was born on 14 Mar 1891 in Cumby. She died on 25 Jan 1967 and was buried in
Greenwood Cemetery.
Nancy Ora Truitt was born on 07 Jan 1885 in Morris County. She died on 23 Jan 1970
and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery. She married E. G. Peyton Rodgers, son of Hill M.
Rogers and Ann Rogers on 23 Dec 1901 in Wise County. He was born on 11 Mar 1878 in
Nacogdoches County. He died on 20 Jan 1962 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
Joe Truitt was born on 16 Jan 1887 in Daingerfield. He married Mary Anna Vaughan,
daughter of Albert H. Vaughn and Sally Cook on 20 Dec 1911 in Wise County. She was born
on 01 May 1888 in Morris County. She died on 03 Mar 1960 and was buried in Greenwood
Cemetery. He died on 16 Aug 1963 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
Bertha Ann 'Birdie' Truitt was born on 10 Mar 1889 in Morris County. She married
Thomas Cleveland Hammonds on 24 Dec 1906 in Wise County. He was born on 09 Feb 1885
in Grassy Point, Alabama. He died on 18 Feb 1952 in Denton. She died on 19 Sep 1978 in
Denton.
Martha Jane 'Janie' Truitt was born on 15 Aug 1891 in Morris County. She married
Robert Dennis ' Dan' Warren, son of Frank Warren and Betty Woodard on 09 Dec 1923 in
Wise County. He was born on 13 Sep 1892 in Ellis County. She died on 10 May 1944 and
was buried in Greenwood Cemetery. He died on 11 Apr 1963 in Greenwood.
James Howard 'Jim' Truitt was born on 01 Jan 1894 in Morris County. He married
Winnie Miller, daughter of Ada Miller on 27 Jan 1923 in Wise County. She was born on 18
Nov 1905 in Wise County. He died on 06 Apr 1962 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
She died on 07 Feb 1993 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
Charles Bryant 'C.B.' Truitt was born on 16 Mar 1896 in Morris County. He died on 13
Jan 1975 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery. He married Letha B. Bentley on 03 May
1922 in Decatur, Wise County. She was born on 12 Nov 1904 in Cooke County. She died on
12 Nov 1996 and was buried in Greenwood Cemetery.
Mattie D. 'Julia' Truitt was born on 07 Nov 1898 in Daingerfield. She died on 24 Mar
1982 and was buried in Valley View Cemetery, Cooke County. She married John Henry
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 80 / 105
Bundy on 24 Dec 1922 in Greenwood. He was born on 05 Feb 1892 in Cooke County. He
died on 30 Jul 1979 and was buried in Valley View Cemetery.
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 81 / 105
Chapter 4 Historical J.W. and Elizabeth
Truitt Cabin
The historical J.W. and
Elizabeth Truitt homestead
cabin in Jenkins, Texas, is
about 150 feet Southwest of the
Clark Cemetery where John
Wingate and his wife are
buried. In front of Mr. Truitt's
gravestone, there is a bronze
seal designating him as a citizen of the Republic of Texas. Two of the Truitt children are
buried beside their parents, as well as many descendants. Other Truitt children and cousins are
buried in the Concord cemetery a few miles from Jenkins near Gilmer and Bette.
S W. Clark conveyed to Elizabeth Truitt of Morris County and her heirs the place known
as the Truitt Burying Ground. This was filed for record December 10, 1875 at 6 p.m. and was
recorded December 11, 1875. Known today as Clark Cemetery, it is well maintained and has
several hundred grave sites. It is the site of the graves for John Wingate and Elizabeth and
many of their children and descendants. The cemetery association owns the land and controls
the cemetery maintenance.
The historical officer of the Texas State Surveyor Association says it is the only
remaining structure of its kind in Morris County and perhaps in the seven surrounding
counties. That makes this approximately 100 miles from any known cabin of its type.
The Truitt log cabin is important to the Republic of Texas. It is a remainder and reminder
of the founders of the republic and the history of Red River and Morris Counties, a history in
which John Wingate Truitt and his descendants are a part.
The property consists of approximately 4 acres on the north side of HWY 144 and
approximately 9 acres on the south side of the highway. On the north side stand the old Truitt
homestead with the well and remains of an orchard. There is also the Clark cemetery that
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 82 / 105
holds the graves of John Wingate and Elizabeth Truitt, many of their children and
descendants. The cemetery association owns the land and controls the cemetery maintenance.
On the south side of HWY 144, the original spring still flows (Mandy's Spring) where the
family water initially was found. The well on the north side still exists. It was added later,
probably around 1890. The old road bed and stage coach stop are located on the south side
too. The road bed is clearly visible including the ruts left by wagons. Wagon transportation
was used through the 1940s along the JeffersonPittsburg road bed. HW 144 was constructed
around 1956 and replaced the old road bed. The property lines are along the southern
boundary of the original Truitt grant from the Republic of Texas. Those files are a matter of
public information at the General Land Office of Texas in Austin.
The cabin is in amazingly good condition for the 150 odd years of it existence. While a
few boards have been added to enclose the
dog trot, the original dog trot cabin remains
basically intact. On either end, deterioration
of the wood can be seen, but many of the
original fireplace rocks still exist and more
are available in exact detail from a nearby
quarry. No mortar was used either on the
fireplace or to fill in gaps in the original
logs. According to witnesses, mud and clay were used to seal the logs. The front and back of
the cabin are made up of the original notched logs of hand hewed description, varying in
width from about 12 to 14 inches, and extending most the distance to the center and in the
case of the base logs the entire length of the house. The roof is now of tin, but was made of
wood shingles according to available information.
The foundation of the house is of indigenous stone, and the same stones that were used
for the fireplace remain on the property today. According to Mary Ellen Shaver, who lived in
the property in the 1930s, the home's one fireplace was on the east end of the structure in a
room used for cooking and sleeping.
For more information, description and historical details, please refer to the Nomination
Application for the National Register of Historic Places submitted by the Truitt Cousins
Association (and prepared by Phillip Sozansky) attached in the Annexes.
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 83 / 105
Annexes Notes and family stories
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 84 / 105
Family Timeline J.W. and Elizabeth Truitt Family
1765 Birth – William Truitt Abt. 1765 Maryland
Birth Tabitha Wingate Whaley (spouse 1769 So. Carolina
1769 of William Truitt)
Marriage Tabitha Wingate Whaley Abt. 1799 Worcester Co, Maryland
1799 (spouse of William Truitt)
Birth John Wingate Truitt (s.o. Wm. 18011219 Worcester County, Md.
1801 Truitt)
Birth Elizabeth J. Robinson (spouse 18041223 Smith Co., Tn,
1804 J.W. Truitt)
Birth Elijah 'Elija' Henry Truitt (s.o. Wm. Liberty, TN
1808 Truitt) 18080416 (headstone4161808)
1810 Birth Nancy Truitt (d.o. Wm. Truitt) Abt. 1810 Smith Co., Tn
1812 Birth Margaret Truitt (d.o. Wm. Truitt) 18121207 Smith Co, TN
Death William Wingate Truitt (father 1815 bur; Liberty Bapt Ch Cem, Liberty,
1815 J.W. Truitt) Smith Co., Tennessee
Marriage Elizabeth J. Robinson (spouse
1825 of J.W. Truitt) 18251219 Tennessee
Birth William Edward 'Bill' Truitt (s.o. 18280110 Smith Co., TN.
1828 J.W. Truitt)
Birth Elijah Thomas Truitt (s.o. J.W. 18291210 Smith Co., TN.
1829 Truitt)
Birth Elizabeth Jane Filshot Ellis (spouse Abt. 1830 UNKNOWN
1830 of W. E. Truitt)
Birth of Sarah Ann Truitt (daughter J.W. 18320223 Smith Co., Tn,
1832 Truitt)
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 85 / 105
Birth Rebecca Elizabeth Collier (spouse 18330512 Giles Co., TN
1833 of W. E. Truitt)
Birth Edward Robinson Truitt (s.o. J.W. 18340826 Smith Co., TN.
1834 Truitt)
Birth Elizabeth M. 'Liza' Hefner (spouse 18340110 North Carolina.
1834 of W. E. Truitt)
Birth Matilda A. 'Aunt Matt' Truitt (d.o. 18370612 Etowah Co., AL.
1837 J.W. Truitt)
Birth James Leonard Truitt (s.o. J.W. 18400515 Etowah Co., AL.
1840 Truitt)
Death Tabitha Wingate Whaley (mother Aft. 1843 DeKalb Co., TN
1843 of J.W. Truitt)
Birth Nancy Elizabeth 'Nannie' Truitt 1844 Jenkins, Titus Co., Tx.
1844 (d.o. J.W. Truitt)
Birth Wingate Henry Truitt (son J.W. 18471107 Jenkins, Titus Co., Tx.
1847 Truitt)
Marriage Elizabeth Jane Filshot Ellis Abt. 1852 Upshur Co., Tx.
1852 (spouse of W. E. Truitt)
Marriage William Edward 'Bill' Truitt (son Abt. 1852 Upshur Co., Tx.
1852 J.W. Truitt)
Death Elizabeth Jane Filshot Ellis Upshur Co., Tx. (Burned in house
1853 (spouse of W. E. Truitt) Abt. 1853 fire)
Marriage Elizabeth M. 'Liza' Hefner 1855 Gilmer, Upshur Co., TX
1855 (spouse of W. E. Truitt)
Marriage Matilda A. 'Aunt Matt' Truitt 1855 Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx.
1855 (daughter John Wingate Truitt)
Marriage Sarah Ann Truitt (daughter Abt. 1855 Upshur Co., Tx.
1855 John Wingate Truitt)
1856 Birth Eliza Jane Truitt (d.o. W. E. Truitt) 18560922 Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx.
Birth Emily Frances 'Emma' Truitt (d.o. Concord Comm., Upshur
1859 W. E. Truitt) 18590312 Co., Tx.
Marriage Edward Robinson Truitt (son 18600913 Morris Co., Tx.
1860 John Wingate Truitt)
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 86 / 105
Birth Mattie Tabitha Truitt (twin) (d.o. W.
1862 E. Truitt) 18620330 Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx.
Birth Mollie Tabitha Truitt (twin) (d.o. W. 18620330 Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx.
1862 E. Truitt)
1864 Birth W. Albert Truitt (s.o. W. E. Truitt) 18641017 Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx.
Birth James Leonard Truitt (s.o. W. E. 18661222 Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx.
1866 Truitt)
Death Mattie Tabitha Truitt (twin) (d.o. 1866 Bur; Unmarked Grave, Old City
1866 W. E. Truitt) Cem, Gilmer, Tx.
Marriage James Leonard Truitt (son 18670410 Hughes Springs, Cass Co., Tx.
1867 J.W. Truitt)
Birth Wingate Henry Truitt (s.o. W. E. 18690420 Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx.
1869 Truitt)
Death Edward Robinson Truitt (son bur; Clark Cemetery, Jenkins,
1869 J.W. Truitt) 18691202 Morris Co., Tx.
Marriage Elijah Thomas Truitt (son Upshur Co., Tx. (Elijah 40 yrs of
1869 J.W. Truitt) 18690218 age)
Marriage Nancy Elizabeth 'Nannie' Truitt
1869 (daughter J.W. Truitt) 18690630 Titus Co., Tx.
Marriage Wingate Henry Truitt (s.o. J.W.
1870 Truitt) 18700201 Daingerfield, Titus Co., Tx.
1871 Birth Joseph Seth Truitt (s.o. W.E. Truitt) 18711210 Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx.
Marriage Eliza Jane Truitt (d.o. W. E. 18721012 Upshur Co., Tx.
1872 Truitt)
Birth Ella 'Lizzie' Johnson (spouse of 18740606 Bette, Upshur Co., Tx.
1874 James Leonard Truitt)
1876 Death J.W. Truitt (father of W. E. Truitt) Jenkins, Tx: bur; Clark Cem,
18761231 Jenkins, Morris Co., Tx
Marriage Emily Frances 'Emma' Truitt 18770118 Upshur Co., Tx.
1877 (d.o. W. E. Truitt)
Death Elizabeth M. 'Liza' Hefner (spouse bur: Concord Cem., Upshur Co.,
1878 of W. E. Truitt) 18781103 Tx.
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Marriage Rebecca Elizabeth Collier 18791230 Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx
1879 (spouse of W. E. Truitt)
bur; Concord Cem., Upshur Co.,
1880 Death Eliza Jane Truitt (d.o. W. E. Truitt) 18800524 Tx
Death Elizabeth J. Robinson (mother of Jenkins, Tx: bur; Clark Cem.,
1880 W. E. Truitt) 18801007 Jenkins, Morris Co., Tx.
Marriage Mollie Tabitha Truitt (twin) (d.o.
1880 W. E. Truitt) 18801216
1885 Death W. Albert Truitt (s.o. W. E. Truitt) bur: Concord Cem., Upshur Co.,
18850628 Tx.
Marriage Ella 'Lizzie' Johnson (spouse of Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx.
1894 J. L. Truitt) 18941226 (dbl wdg)
Marriage James Leonard Truitt (s.o. W. Concord Comm., Upshur Co., Tx.
1894 E. Truitt) 18941226 (dbl wdg)
Marriage Joseph Seth Truitt (s.o. W. E. 18941226 Seth's brother Jim
1894 Truitt)
1895 Birth Robert Cecil Truitt (s.o. J. L. Truitt) 18951006 Daingerfield, Morris Co., Tx.
Marriage Wingate Henry Truitt (s.o. W. 18950214 Jefferson, Marion CO., TX.
1895 E. Truitt)
Death Mollie Tabitha Truitt (twin) (d.o. bur; Gilmer City Cem., Upshur
1896 W. E. Truitt) 18960725 Co., Tx.
1899 Birth Zelma Ruth Truitt (d.o. J. L. Truitt) 18990121 Louisiana
1899 Death W. E. Truitt (father of J. L. Truitt) bur; Concord Cem., Upshur
18991219 Co., Tx.
1901 Birth Ruby Evelyn Truitt (d.o. J. L. Truitt) 19011115 Morris Co., Tx.
Birth Lenox Maurice Truitt (s.o. J. L. 19041129 Morris Co., Tx.
1904 Truitt)
1907 Birth Eloise Truitt (d.o. J. L. Truitt) 19070318 Morris Co., Tx.
Birth Marguerite Elizabeth Truitt (d.o. J. 19100615 Morris Co., Tx.
1910 L. Truitt)
1912 Birth James Dees Truitt (s.o. J. L. Truitt) 19120918 Morris Co., Tx.
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 88 / 105
Death James Dees Truitt (s.o. J. L. 19130805 Morris Co., Tx.
1913 Truitt)
Birth Frances Marion Truitt (d.o. J. L. 19140609 Daingerfield, Morris Co., Tx
1914 Truitt)
Birth Carolyn Musick Truitt (d.o. J. L. 19171002 Morris Co., Tx.
1917 Truitt)
Marriage Zelma Ruth Truitt (d.o. J. L. 19181226 Daingerfield, Morris Co., Tx.
1918 Truitt)
Marriage Robert Cecil Truitt (s.o. J. L. 19200418 Hughes Springs, Cass Co., Tx.
1920 Truitt)
Marriage Ruby Evelyn Truitt (d.o. J. L. Abt. 1921 Dallas Co., Tx.
1921 Truitt)
Marriage Marguerite Elizabeth Truitt 19291226 Hughes Springs, Cass Co., Tx.
1929 (d.o. J. L. Truitt)
Marriage Lenox Maurice Truitt (s.o. J. L.
1932 Truitt) 19320716 Shreveport, Caddo Parish, LA.
Marriage Frances Marion Truitt (d.o. J. 19350528 Denton, Denton Co., Tx.
1935 L. Truitt)
Marriage Carolyn Musick Truitt (d.o. J. L.
1937 Truitt) 19371211 Jefferson, Marion CO., TX.
1937 Marriage Eloise Truitt (d.o. J. L. Truitt) 1st Bapt. Ch., Daingerfield,
19370404 Morris Co., Tx.
Death Robert Cecil Truitt (s.o. J. L. bur; Hughes Springs, Cass Co.,
1956 Truitt) 19561013 Tx.
1957 Death Ella 'Lizzie' Johnson (spouse of J. 19571224 bur; Daingerfield Cem., Morris
L. Truitt). Buried in Daingerfield Cem., Co., Tx.
Morris Co., Tx.
1958 Death (of J. L. Truitt) bur; Daingerfield Cem., Morris
19581029 Co., Tx.
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 89 / 105
Retrospective from the Truitt Cousins Association
(20082011)
Update from Truitt Cousins Association – 2008
Along with best wishes for good health, happiness, and prosperity for the new year, from
your many loving TRUITT COUSINS. Even with our recessionary economy, we still enjoy
the greatest wealth and comfort of any society in the history of the world. So may the joy of
the LORD be with you and your family.
We have come so far in just over 150 years through wars, depressions, innovations and
biological and technological advancements. By comparison, let's reflect back on the happy but
yet harder times our ancestors John Wingate and Elizabeth Robinson Truitt must have
endured. They were married on December 19, 1825, and then blessed with the births of their
first four children, Bill, Elijah, Sarah Ann and Edward, in Smith County (now DeKalb
County), Tennessee before moving on by wagon to Etowah County, Alabama where they
were again blessed with the births of Matilda and James L. Truitt. When they finally settled in
what would become Jenkins in south Titus County (now Morris County), they were a family
of eight, until the births of their last two children, Nancy and Wingate Henry Truitt making
them a family of ten.
The Christmas of 1851 would be the final Christmas which would find Wingate and
Elizabeth enjoying all eight of their children still at home before their oldest child, Bill would
marry in 1852. The Christmas of 1851, ten years before the Civil War, would find them all
living in their eleven year old two room dogtrot log cabin before electricity, indoor plumbing,
and running water were available. Heat and cooking would be from fireplaces in each of the
18' X 18' rooms which were separated by the dogtrot 12' wide open hallway. Due to a lack of
space, I doubt that they would have had a decorated Christmas tree. Christmas activities
probably included a special church gathering, a special family dinner and maybe some
homemade or cooked surprise gifts perhaps placed in stockings hung on or near the fireplace.
Thus, Christmas of 1851 would have been vastly different from those we enjoy today having
electric Christmas decorations, tinsel, lots of gifts, Christmas music, videos, large family
gatherings, etc.
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 90 / 105
Bert Hervey, received a letter from the Texas Historical Commission informing us that
the John Wingate Truitt Log Cabin Site has been accepted for nomination for State
Archeological Landmark status and will be presented at their January 26, 2009 meeting. If it is
approved at that time, we will then apply for a similar designation for the cabin also and
prepare to secure a state historical marker for both.
Let this Christmas letter serve as your first reminder that we will have our 2009 Truitt
Cousins Reunion again on the first Saturday of June (June 6th) in the fellowship hall of the
South Union Baptist Church of Jenkins, four miles south of Daingerfield on US hwy 259 at its
intersection with CR 144. Doors open at 10:00 AM, lunch is graced and served at high noon
and the program begins at 12:45 PM. The ticket to this heartwarming event is a covered dish,
a smile on your face and great expectations for a really great time of family information and
entertainment. We always enjoy and appreciate your bringing duplicate copies of old family
photos for us to post on our family album boards. For us all let me now express our
appreciation to Reva Truitt for printing mailing labels and updating our mailing list and to
Bert Hervey for his work in getting our J.W. Truitt Cabin site designated as a historic
landmark with the State of Texas. Finally now your assignment is to circle in red June 6 on
your new 2009 Insurance/S&L calendar, for I have already reserved your seats at our best
reunion banquet table so you need not try to think of any excuses for not attending our 2009
TRUITT COUSINS REUNION!
During your family Christmas gatherings, please share this note with other family
members who are not on our mailing list. Thanks & have a great Christmas – Dale Truitt
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 91 / 105
Update from Truitt Cousins Association – 2009
Merry Christmas to you and your family in 2009 from your Texas Truitt Cousins
Association. Let's begin by looking back on our John Wingate and Elizabeth J. Robinson
Truitt family 150 years ago, in 1859. This was a couple of years before the beginning of the
Civil War in which sons Elijah and Edward valiantly served in the Confederate army.
December was always a special month due to two important birthdays and a wedding
anniversary. John was both born and married to Betsy on the 19th of December in 1801 and
1825 respectively, while Betsy was born on the 23rd of December 1805.
By Christmas of 1859, John 58 and Betsy 54 would have only their younger children still
living with them in their 19 year old 'Dog Trot' log cabin home in Jenkins – Edward 25,
Mattie 22, James 19, Nancy 15 and Wingate 12. Their oldest son Bill 31, was now married to
his second wife Elizabeth 'Liza' (Hefner) and living in the Upshur County community of
Concord on a three hundred acre farm he had inherited from his first wife Jane Filshot Ellis,
along with their first two children, Eliza Jane 3 and Emily 'Emma' 9 mos. John and Betsy's
second son Elijah 30, was still single and living a long way from home, prospecting for gold
in Quincy, California where he 'struck it rich' and allude robbers while bringing his fortune
back home. Their third child Sarah 27 was living over in Pine Forest, in Hopkins County, with
her husband of four years, Andrew Jackson Richey, and their first two children, Charles
Warren 1, and Elijah Truitt Richie 11 mos.
An 1859 Christmas dinner in the Jenkins log cabin home might have included John,
Betsy, son Bill, daughterinlaw Liza, grandchildren Eliza and Emily Truitt from Concord;
daughter Sarah Ann, soninlaw James Richey, grandchildren Charles and Elijah Richey from
Pine Forrest; son Edward, daughter Mattie, son James, daughter Nancy, and son Wingate who
were still at home – a family gathering of fifteen. They might not have had a Christmas tree
with candles, ornaments and gifts beneath as we and I might envision today. They would have
been grateful to just have love, health, the warmth of their home place and a good family
dinner.
Now for your 2009 update. Due to Bert Hervey's hard work we now have two
commemorative plaques denoting the historical significance of our Truitt Texas artifact which
will be mounted on the property at the completion of the restoration. As many of you know,
2009 was a bit bumpy for our cabin restoration project. The first pavilion which was
constructed early in 2009 to protect our log cabin from the elements, was destroyed by
hurricane Ike which past just east of Jenkins. Before the reunion, we were able to employ a
second local steel contractor to remove the damaged pavilion and reconstruct a second
pavilion having more reinforcement for less money than we paid the initial contractor.
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 92 / 105
Through our aggressive fund raising efforts at a well attended 2009 Truitt Cousins Reunion,
we were able to finish paying off both pavilions. The second pavilion was completed on
Wednesday following our '09 reunion and looks very nice. It extends twelve feet beyond all
four cabin exterior walls for maximum protection.
Now it is time for us to get serious about financing the restoration of the cabin. At this
writing we have only a small loan outstanding against the property and nothing secured for the
actual cabin restoration. A couple from Marshall will be doing the cabin restoration and are
willing to stage the work into subsections, i.e. walls, roof, flooring, dirt etc. Since we now
have the cabin completely in the dry, time is no longer of the essence. This will allow us to
complete the subsections as we are able to pay for the work. I estimate that we will need to
raise around sixty thousand to procure all needed materials i.e. new logs and fireplace stones
as well as pay for restoration construction on the cabin. Ninety percent of the stones for the
two chimneys are going to have to be quarried and moved to our cabin site. Stone masonry
work is not cheap. Upon completion of the cabin restoration, we will need to add dirt around
the southwest sides of the structure, provide some native landscaping and provide a gravel
road onto the property. We will also need to add security lighting and fencing to protect the
cabin. Once the project is complete we will be in a position to find a county or regional
historical society which might have interest in assuming management, upkeep and operational
responsibilities.
There is no time like the present to get started shouldering our responsibility. We can not
blindly look for fast major changes in our John Wingate Truitt cabin restoration project
without personally taking on some financial responsibility. Our professional restoration team
can complete the work as fast as we can pay for it – as quick as eight months or as slow as a
couple of years. It would be most helpful if we could raise a large portion of our needed
finances with initial large donations followed by much smaller monthly or quarterly
contributions of maybe 2% to 8% of your first contribution. Even though we all can't give
initial gifts of several thousand dollars, we all can all contribute at some initial gift level with
much smaller quarterly gifts.
Two kick off our first major fundraising effort; we have found two anonymous donors
who are willing to provide some stimulus. Between Christmas and April 1st, the first
anonymous donor will match all initial contributions, dollar per dollar up to $10,000; while
the second anonymous donor will match the initial dollar contributions of the two (2) largest
donations, up to $20,000. But, the two anonymous donors will not be matching each other's
contributions. If you and your brother each sent in an $8,000 check, which were the two
largest donations, they would be matched by our second anonymous donor for an additional
$16,000 and also by our first anonymous donor for a portion of his $10,000, thus resulting in
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 93 / 105
up to $42,000 for our project. If we can possibly nail down $40,000 by April 1st, we can
really speed up our restoration project and avoid having to pay interest on an extended
builder's note at the bank. The more we pay up front the cheaper its going to be for us all, so
let's see what we can do. Again, it important that we all do a little soul searching and commit
to our best efforts in resurrecting a great historical family artifact for our posterity. This can be
the Christmas that John & Betsy's descendants all make sacrificial gifts to our family which
will truly keep on giving for generations to come. Also consider a provision for the Truitt Log
Cabin's restoration and preservation in your 'Will' as others have already done. Look forward
to our spring letter providing you a log cabin financial report and construction update.
Now it's time for each of you to get out your RED Christmas markers and circle June 5th
on your new 2010 calendars to remind yourselves that as always our 'Truitt Cousins Reunion'
will be held on the first (1st) Saturday in June in the Fellowship Hall of the South Union
Baptist Church, in Jenkins. The doors will open at 10:00 AM, with a log cabin tour at 11:00
AM, and a covered dish dinner at high noon. This year it has been requested that a cousin
descending from each of the eight John Wingate Truitt children provide a 3 to 5 minute oral
presentation plus a written report for our notes. For this to happen, YOU need to be the one
making those preparations, knowing that yours will be the best and the only one to show up
that day. OK, again your presence is your major contribution to making our 2010 reunion
another really great one, so know that I have already reserved a table for your entire family!!!
Address Changes & Additions, Mail to: Cabin Contributions, Mail to:
Reva Coon Truitt Bert Hervey
1903 Winter Park Road P.O. Box 1498
Austin, TX 78746 Galveston, TX 775531498
Phone 5123277429 (c) 5127570114
Wishing all our Truitt Cousins the greatest NEW YEAR in 2010!!
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 94 / 105
Update from Truitt Cousins Association – 2010
Merry Christmas to you and your family again in 2010, from your Texas, Truitt Cousins
Association. This season of the years is always special, especially when we share it with our
family. As we get older, the Christmas song lyrics "I'll be home for Christmas if only in my
dreams", takes on a more realistic meaning. I think many of us wish we could go back just one
more time to that special Christmas from our past. So, allow me the opportunity to skip back
200 years to peep in on the activities of several of our linage families – Leonard Fite with wife
Margaret A. 'Peggy' Cross and Stephen Robinson with wife Elizabeth 'Bettie' Holland
Elizabeth Robinson Truitt's grandparents; and William Wingate Truitt and Tabitha Brattan or
Whaley John Wingate Truitt's parents.
By 1810, many of our ancestors had
elected to leave their comfortable,
second generational, New England
homes to participate in westward
expansion – enduring chance and
hardships in exchange for new
opportunity. The families of John and
younger brother Leonard Fite, along
with other families such as the Adam
Dales and the Stephen Robinsons were
bringing the first wagons into what
would become DeKalb County,
Tennessee by 179698. Leonard Fite,
after fighting 13 mos. in the American
Revolution as a member of Cpt.
Hazlett's 'Minute Men', married
Margaret A. 'Peggy' Cross of Oxford,
Sussex County, NJ, on April 12, 1781.
They first lived just across the state line
in Pennsylvania on a 100 ac. farm where
their three sons were born before moving on to Lincoln County, NC. By 1796 Leonard along
with some of his brothers and sisters again moved on to Tennessee. John and Leonard, first
went to Nash's Lick (Nashville) where they met Adam Dale who had been to Smith Fork.
They were persuaded to move their families by wagon to Smith Fork. Stephen and Bettie
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 95 / 105
Robinson and their five children may have been part of this wagon team in 1798. In March of
1803 Leonard Fite bought 590 acres at the present site of Dowelltown.
Both Stephen and his father Edward were also Revolutionary War Soldiers, from
Cumberland County, Virginia. Before the war on June 13 1774, Stephen married Elizabeth
'Bettie' Holland, the daughter of Dr. George and Sarah (Ford) Holland. Their first five
children were born in Cumberland County, Virginia before moving by wagon to DeKalb
County, Tennessee. Towns eventually grew up on the lands of four of the five first settlers:
Temperance Hall at Stephen Robinson's, Alexandria at Daniel Alexander's, Liberty at Adam
Dale's and Dowelltown at Leonard Fite's.
Liberty, TN became the first major town in DeKalb County. Its rapid growth was partly
due to Adam Dale's influence and attraction of other relatives and friends from his native
home of Worcester County, MD. By 1804 a secondary migration from Worcester County,
MD included families of James Bratten, several Dale brothers, Thomas West, Thomas
Whaley, William Wingate Truitt and his wife Tabitha Whaley or Bratten.
In 1798 Tennessee gained statehood and was developing and growing by 1810. By 1803,
in DeKalb County, Stephen and Bettie Robinson's fifth child James had married Elizabeth
Fite, the daughter of Leonard and Peggy (Cross) Fite. This union yielded twelve children of
which the third was Elizabeth J. 'Betsy' Robinson, born on the 23rd of December, 1805 (a
Christmas Baby).
Two hundred years ago, Christmas of 1810, would have found William Wingate Truitt
and wife Tabitha with three children, the oldest a nine year old son John Wingate Truitt.
They would have been living in the vicinity of Liberty or nearby Roundtop, Tennessee. While
John Wingate's future wife Elizabeth J. 'Betsy' Robinson would have been only five and also
living at home with her parents James and Elizabeth (Fite) Robinson along with her siblings
Peggy, Sarah 'Sallie', Edward 'Ned', and young Stephen. Even though Christmas two hundred
years ago would not have resembled the materialistic rituals of today, they would have
included the love of family we still most cherish.
Our couple of interest, John Wingate Truitt and Elizabeth 'Betsy' Robinson probably lived
less than 15 miles apart but would not have attended the same community schools or church,
thus it is hard to really know how they met and would eventually marry on another special
Christmas December 19, 1825. But, from this union we can all be proud for they produced
eight loving children who we have all have learned to admire and appreciate. And as you
know, by 1840, our John and Betsy Truitt family had moved into their new Log Home in
Jenkins. For A more info. on our Fites, Robinsons, Whaleys, Dales, and Truitts settling
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 96 / 105
DeKalb log home in Jenkins, Texas. County order a hardcopy of Thomas G. Webb's, A
Bicentennial History of DeKalb County, Tennessee from the Justin Potter Library, 101 S.
First St, Smithville, TN 37166 for only $30.00 + $5.00 shipping.
The Truitt Cousins' Reunion of 2010 had 97 sweet/loving cousins in attendance who
contributed over $3000 toward the cabin's restoration. I'm always impressed by the great
attendance, good food, exceptional talent, generosity, and keen interest our relatives share in
each year!! Last year we conducted a meaningful dedication of the two Texas Historical
Markers which have been awarded to the John Wingate Truitt Cabin Site and Land. The
monument is located along Hwy 144 in front of the cabin.
It was decided by your cabin trustees and Truitt Cousins Association that the East Texas
Communities Foundation should be used to handle the finances for our cabin's restoration and
upkeep. By using them, you can be assured that all donations will be tax deductible, and
insured. I am enclosing one of their sheets to provide you with added information. Thus, from
now on, please make your cabin donations payable to ETCF with Truitt Log Cabin
Foundation in the memo of your check.
Now on those new 2011 calendars, circle in RED the 4th of June – the first Saturday of
June for our 2011 Truitt Cousin's Reunion. Again we will be opening the doors of the South
Union Baptist Church Fellowship Hall at 10:00 AM. For free admission all you will need is a
couple of covered dishes and a couple of despondent Truitt Cousins under each arm. I know
with your attendance I can promise your cousins to expect the best food and entertainment
ever!!
Will you do me one last big favor, use the enclosed Forms to report any changes in vital
statistics for your immediate family – birth, deaths, marriages, divorces giving names, dates,
locations i.e. hospitals, cemeteries, etc. This information needs to be sent to Reva Truitt, 1903
Winter Park Road, Austin, TX 78746. Phone 5123277429 (c) 5127570114.
OK, now know that you are the greatest group of folks on earth, I'm just thankful I was
not born as a cousin on your other family side. Just kidding – I think they are great too. Hey,
have a Very Merry Christmas and let's all believe that 2011 will be better than 2010! See you
on JUNE 4th!!!
Love Ya!!
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 97 / 105
Update from Truitt Cousins Association – 2011
Merry Christmas again to you and your family in 2011 from your Truitt Cousins'
Association. This is that special season of the year when we all pause to give thanks to our
creator for His gift to all humanity – His Son, Christ the Lord. Just as Mary and Joseph went
back to their family origin, Bethlehem of Judea, when Jesus was born; we gather as families
to celebrate His birth through sharing gifts. Although family Christmas traditions have
evolved through time, I would like to envision with you what Christmas might have been like
for some of our ancestors two hundred and fifty years ago, in 1761. Before the American
Revolutionary war of 1776, all four sets of Elizabeth Jennings Robinson's (John Wingate's
wife) great, great grandparents were already established as second and third generation
American families living around Richmond, Virginia.
The fraternal grandparents of Elizabeth's father, James Robinson, both lived within 20
miles of Richmond, Virginia. Christmas of 1761, would find 31 year old Edward Robinson
and his 31 year old wife Judith A. (Southall) Robinson living in or near Goochland, on the
James River, in Henrico County (now Goochland County), Virginia some 14 miles northwest
of Richmond. This would have been a very special Christmas for the young Edward Robinson
family since all seven of their young children were at home – Stephen 11 yrs old (more about
him latter), Josiah 10 yrs old, Jones 9 yrs old, Josas 7 yrs old, Edward 6 yrs old, Mary 4 yrs
old, and Field 3 yrs old.
It had to have been a struggle for these two young parents to support, raise and educate
seven children in the 1750's and 60's. Maybe they received some assistance from Judith's
parents, John and Marie (Furnea) Southall, who lived down the James River in Charles City,
14 miles southeast of Richmond, and 20 miles west of Williamsburg the Provincial Capital of
the Colonies. And perhaps, Edward's parents, John and Tabitha (Scruggs) Robinson who lived
about 28 miles southwest of Goochland, in Cumberland, Cumberland County, Virginia could
have also assisted them in rearing their grandchildren. Having both sets of grandparents in
neighboring counties may have offered some assistance to the young family.
In 1761, small towns in colonial Virginia, like Goochland, Charles City, Cumberland and
Louisa would have only had a few poorly kept dirt roads, no running water, sewer systems, or
electricity, and folks would have had to use candles and oil lamps for lighting and wood for
heating and cooking. It's hard to imagine the daily struggles families had to endure during
these more primitive times, yet their daily dress was more formal and upscale than ours
today's. Christmas of 1761 would have most likely only been a church celebration of singing,
prayers and worship with perhaps a special family dinner of chicken or turkey, beans, potatoes
175th Anniversary 2015 J.W. & E.J.R. Truitt Texas Legacy 98 / 105
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