STORIES BEHIND THE STONES, Spring Hill Cemetery, Dawson, Texas
by Carl W Matthews (Posted April 23, 2012)
We found a footstone today with the initials M. A. and a piece broken out. Finally dug up the piece and it had an S. on it. The headstone was there but completely blank from weathering. After looking a bit more I found a stone for Mary E. daughter of H. and M. A. Sidwell (about two stones down from M. A. S.) so I made a posting in 'Find A Grave' for M. A. Sidwell nothing more known. You might look as there are three other Sidwell’s already listed. Interesting. Cecil Sanders, Dawson Tx. OPERATION RESTORE 2012
The stone marker at the Spring Hill Cemetery near Dawson, Texas bears a simple inscription: "M.A. Sidwell (Margaret Ann), 1825-1879, Wife of W. E." Three additional Sidwell markers are located nearby: "Mary E. Sidwell, 1857-1859". "Indiana Sidwell, 1859", "Henry H Sidwell, 1861-1865"
The “W. E.” Sidwell, husband of “M. A.” was Warren E. Sidwell who was listed in the 1850 Navarro County, Texas census. He was born in 1822 in Ohio, probably in Morgan County located in the far eastern area across the river from West Virginia.
An early Navarro County map reveals that he owned a plot of land immediately south of a plot owned by David O. McCandless in the Liberty Hill area. A history of the Methodist denomination in Western Navarro County Texas presents him as one of the early leaders of the church.
The 1850 Navarro Co Census listed: Warren Sidwell, 28, Ohio, Farmer. Margaret Ann, 25, Ohio. Emily Jane, 7, Missouri. Daniel J. Ramsey, 2, Illinois. Daniel J. Ramsey lives with them. He was two years of age and had been born in Illinois.
INTERESTING: Emily Jane Sidwell was born in Missouri. Warren and Sidwell families were living and dying and intermarrying into the 1900s in Windsor Township, Henry County, Missouri and many are buried at Laurel Cemetery there.
Warren E. Sidwell had descended from a family of Quakers who had fled Englan, migrated to North Carolina and then became part of a Quaker community in Georgia. The family relocated to an area of north-central Tennessee, originally a part of Kentucky.
Quakers were opposed to slavery and as the South grew more “pro slavery,” many Quakers began to move to Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. Nathan Sidwell first migrated to Ohio. Later, the family was found in Indiana and Illinois. Afterwards, some members of the family were found in Washington Co Arkansas.
Thomas Sidwell, a Quaker, organized the Sidwell Friends School in Washington DC in the 1800s. It remains there today and has become one of the most prestigious schools in the area.
Daniel J Ramsey, born 1848 in Illinois, was, apparently, the child of M. A. Sidwell by a former husband whose name was Ramsey and lived in Illinois.
THE RAMSEY FAMILY: The Ramsey family may have been one of the Shenandoah Valley Quaker families. Robert Ramsey, born 1750, was in Henry County, Tennessee by 1834. Two of his sons were in Navarro County, Texas prior to 1850. Hugh Ramsey, 1786: Hugh and his sons James and Ezekiel were listed in the Navarro County Mortality schedule 1850, all three died of Cholera. John Ramsey Sr, born 1798 in North Carolina is listed in the 1850 Navarro County Census as a farmer and wheelright. He was married to Jane, born 1895 in GA. The family had lived in Alabama in 1827 when son William was born and in Kentucky by 1832. They had remained there until 1843 when they were found in Illinois. His son, William Ramsey married Bristinia Lemley, a relative of Aaron Roberts. Jacob Lemley born in North Carolina had married Catherine Roberts and came to Navarro County, Texas from Union County, Illinois. Mary Ramsey, a widow, lives next door. She was born 1813 in Georgia. She had lived in Kentucky, then moved to Ilinois in 1843. A nephew, Seaborn Thomas Ramsey II, was born 1837 and is buried at the Hamilton-Beeman Cemetery, Corsicana Texas. He was married to Elizah J. Hardman who received a CSA Widow’s pension In Navarro County, Texas.
John Ramsey, born 1798, had married first in 1818 to Rachael Snead, daughter of a prominent Tennessee family. Rachael had borne a son, John Ramsey Jr in 1825. Note: An uncle of Rachael Snead Ramsey, Joseph Perkins Snead born 1804, came to western Navarro County, Texas in 1847 and purchased eight thousand acres of land near Liberty Hill. Joseph’s daughter, Bethena Perkins Snead, married John Randolph Ogilvie. Their daughters married: Gersham Alexander (Gary) Bills, Robert Dysart Bills, John Franklin Freeland, James Benjamin Slater, and J. Harry McReynolds.
John & Rachael Snead Ramsey were living in Illinois in 1842, but, probably, went to Texas with Rachael’s uncle in 1847. John Ramsey Jr, meanwhile, may have married “M A”, and they had a child whose name was Daniel J Ramsey, born 1848 in Illinois. John Ramsey II must have died near the time of the birth of Daniel J Ramsey in 1848. He and his family may have come to Texas after the birth of Daniel and he may have died soon thereafter. His was one of two deaths near 1847-1848 that created this “Story Behind the Stone.”
M. A. Ramsey became a widow with a baby son born 1848. Warren Sidwell became a widower with a daughter born 1844. Warren Sidwell’s daughter, Emily Jane Sidwell, born 1844, married Sam Jetton on July 26, 1865. Their son, H. L. Jetton was born 1867 at Spring Hill, Texas and married Sallie Follis whose sister, Jennie Follis, married Dr Harvey Lee Matthews. Emily Jane Sidwell Jetton died 1873 and was buried at the Spring Hill Cemetery. She was twenty-nine.
Warren Sidwell and M A Ramsey needed each other and they were married by the time of the 1850 Navarro Co Texas census. Their marriage was not found recorded in the Navarro Co. marriage records.
Tragedy would visit the family. Mary E Sidwell was born in 1857, but died in 1859. Indiana Sidwell was still born the same year. Two years later, Henry H. Sidwell was born, but died young in 1865.
Warren E. Sidwell enlisted in the Army of the Confederacy on August 1, 1864 as a member of the Dresden Cavalry. He was listed as a farmer, 5’11” tall, fair complexion, blue eyes, black hair. He died November 18, 1864. No cemetery marker bearing his name has been discovered in the area.
M A Sidwell died in 1879 and was buried with her children at Spring Hill Cemetery.
SOME SPECULATION: This could be ”the end of the story”, and it would have been except for the fact that an 1862 wedding license was discovered for W. W. Turner and Rachael Sidwell. W. W. Turner was born 1847, near the time that the first wife of Warren E Sidwell died, possibly in childbirth. Warren E. Sidwell had a sister whose name was Rachael and, if a daughter survived after the death of his wife in childbirth, he may have named her Rachael.
When prospects for a civil war in the United States began to approach reality, many of the southern families who had migrated to the Midwest began moving south, not to the “Old South”, where their ancestors had lived, but to less settled areas of Arkansas and Texas.
The Jesse Sidwell Family had moved from Illinois to Washington County, Arkansas. His son, Warren Sidwell, had moved on to Navarro County, Texas.
WILLIAM WARREN TURNER, 1847-1919, Buried Wheelock, Texas. W. W. Turner was born April 4, 1847 at Union County, Illinois. He was only fourteen in 1861 when the War Between the States began, but family legend states that he left Illinois, came to Texas, donned a Confederate uniform, and is believed to have participated in the final battle of the war, a skirmish in south Texas and may have fired the final shot of the war, according to one story.
The war ended in 1865. Eighteen years would elapse before W. W. Turner would Mary Olivia Wheelock in 1878. A marriage license in Washington County, Arkansas was issued for W. W. Turner and Rachael Sidwell in 1862. William Warren Turner would have been fifteen years of age at that time. However, we must remember that many young people in those days married at a young age especially girls. William Warren Turner could have been large for his age, and was, apparently, very mature to have made his way from Illinois to Texas, to have enlisted, and to have participated in a military engagement.
John Sidwell migrated from Kentucky to Fayette County, Illinois. He was a son of Nathan Sidwell. Rebecca Jane Sidwell, married in 1833 in Fayette County, Illinois. Mahala Sidwell, daughter of William and Mary Key Sidwell married Adam Allen Guthry in 1830 in Fayette County, Illinois.
Warren Sidwell by 1847 was married, and had a daughter born in 1844. His wife died near 1847 bearing a baby girl who survived. Could Warren Sidwell have named this daughter, Rachael, after his sister? Could he have returned to Arkansas with both babies to permit relatives to care for them until he could make other arrangements. The girls were not shown in the 1850 census, but could have returned to live with their father and his new wife at a later date.
William Warren Turner, on his journey from Illinois to Texas, could have stopped to visit the Sidwells in Arkansas and Rachael was still living there in 1862. William Warren Turner was, perhaps, a fine looking young man for fifteen and Rachael Sidwell had, perhaps, bloomed into a very beautiful fifteen year old. The two would naturally be attracted to each other, but the fact that a young man was about to “march off to war” may have fanned the hot flames of teenage passion even more.
No record has been found in Navarro or Robertson Counties to support the above. However, the two may have returned to Arkansas after the war. It must be assumed that they visited the widow of Warren Sidwell from time to time at Spring Hill for she continued to live there until the 1880s. Rachael Sidwell Turner would have died at some point prior to 1878, perhaps in Arkansas.
William Warren Turner, alone, perhaps, despondent, wanders back down to Texas. He visits relatives in Robertson County, Texas. There he meets Mary Olivia Wheelock, daughter of a prominent family. He is thirty-one, she is sixteen. The couple married at Wheelock, but lived in the Dawson area for almost thirty years. William Warren Turner was buried at the Wheelock Cemetery in Robertson County in 1919. Their daughter, Elizabeth, married Clyde Sims, long time Dawson grocer. Son Leonard Turner married Zelma Garner. Son Cliff Turner married Kathryn Mccluney.
THE CARL MATTHEWS COLLECTION
GEORGE WASHINGTON HILL, M.D. (1814 -1860)
The date of Dr. George Washington Hill's arrival in Texas has not been discovered, but he was in Texas prior to December 15, 1835 when he was paid a fee of twenty-five cents on February 5,1836 for services rendered on December 15, 1835.
Despite the fact that Dr. George Washington Hill was one of the leaders of the Republic of Texas and honored in having Hill County, Texas named for him, little has been written concerning his life. He was born April 22, 1814, in Warren County, Tennessee. His grandmother, the Widow Hill had married Sterling Savage in North Carolina. After the death of Sterling Savage, the family migrated to Georgia. Henry John Alexander Hill, a son of the Widow Hill-Savage, married Susannah Swales. Several children were born to this union while the family lived in Georgia. When the family migrated from Georgia to Tennessee, the family brought with them a young lady whose name was Polly Johnson-Johnston who became the paramour of Henry John Alexander Hill.
Two houses were constructed side by side for the two families. Names of children, born to both women, were written into a common family Bible. Five children were born to Henry John Alexander Hill and Polly were: Harriet Hill, Sally Hill, George Washington Hill, William Carroll Hill, and Eliza Grundy Hill. The Hill Family appears to have risen to prominence wherever they settled. Major Green Hill served in the American Revolution as did Daniel Hill. Benjamine J. Hill, bore a son who became General Benjamine Hill of the Confederate army during the civil war. Some sources state that this family originated in Wales. Some family members came to America during the early Colonial Period. They first settled in Virginia, moved from Virginia to Georgia, and later, to Tennessee. Mountain Hill, found in Georgia in the early 1800's, lived later in Warren County Tennessee. Dr. G. W. Hill grew up in Warren County, Tennessee, approximately seventy miles southeast of Nashville. His parents were, probably, of some means in that George was permitted to attend College in Wilson County, Tennessee, located twenty or so miles east of Nashville. Few parents in those days had financial means to provide such an education for their children. A large stone monument over his grave at Spring Hill Cemetery, Dawson, Texas, states that George Washington Hill received a Medical Degree from Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky. However, an inquiry to the curator at Transylvania revealed that no record could be found for George Washington Hill. It is possible that he could have received a "Medical Degree" from the college in Wilson County, Tennessee. Several references have been discovered associating Dr. Hill with the Medical Profession. ONE: Dr. Hill was, apparently, mentioned in a story by a former Texas Ranger as "D. Hill, a medical student" when the former Texas Ranger recounted an Indian fight that occurred in 1838.
TWO: Dr. Hill's payment for "Services" rendered has been mentioned previously and could have been for "medical" services.
THREE: Official records of Texas lists "G. W. Hill, Medical Censor, Milam County, Texas 1837." Dr. Hill arrived in Franklin, Texas at some point in the 1830's, probably, in company with his brother, William Carrol Hill, and as step-brother, Alan J. Hill.
Allen J. Hill, who married Lucenda and had two sons, died in 1838. Five years later, Lucenda married Ethan Melton.
Melton had purchased a track of land north of Richland Creek near a community later named Dresden and had constructed a log house on his property. Melton added a room for the two young sons of his new wife.
Lucenda died two years later in 1845 and in her dying wish requested that Dr. Hill be made guardian for her two small sons. Melton objected to the dying wish of his wife and the court at Franklin awarded Melton guardianship of the two small boys as well as administrator of their large estate located near Franklin. Melton may have been more interested in the "Large Estate" than the boys. Melton became a strong political figure in Navarro County and, evidently, someone of considerable means. He died in 1873. The 1850 Census revealed four male Hills living with George Washington Hill at Spring Hill. B .J. C. Hill is 20 (b.1830) and G. W. Hill is 19 (b. 1831). It may be noted that the 1850 Census record of Ethan Melton (52) revealed he had, apparently, married Hannah (24) from Missouri and they had a new baby, Emily G. Melton, born the previous December. Lucinda Melton, age 5, was listed and was probably the daughter of Lucenda Hill who had married Melton in 1844, had, probably, died during the birth of the child. Dr. Hill and Robert Harve Matthews, probably, if they had not known each other in Tennessee, became close friends soon after both arrived at Franklin. They were both single, both were from Tennessee. Both were born in 1814, both vitally interested in their new home. Both did their part to protect the frontier. Major H. D. Prendergrast, a retired Texas Ranger, related in 1879, the story of when circa 1840 Indians had stolen horses from a settlement near the center of Robertson County and north of Franklin. A group of men, organized at Franklin to pursue the Indians, included G. H. Love; Judge S. B. Killough; Harvey Matthews; and A. C. Love and D. Hill, two medical students. (It is assumed that D. Hill, a medical student, was Dr. George Washington Hill. One early writer stated that the "D. Hill" was David Hill. However, no David Hill has been identified in that area of Texas in that time period. The pursuers overtook the Indians, cornered them, and a vicious hand to hand battle ensued. Dr. Hill shot one of the Indian's horses, but as the horse went down its rider fired point blank in the face of Dr. Hill, "who fell to the ground, his jawbone shattered."
(NOTE: The only known picture of Dr. Hill shows him with a long beard. The beard could have been worn to cover any scar the injury may have left.) The following year Dr. Hill began to serve in the Republic of Texas Congress as a representative from Robertson County. On December 4, 1839, Dr. Hill voted with Sam Houston to move the Texas Capital to the Falls on the Brazos (Marlin, Texas). The vote carried against Sam Houston and Dr. Hill. Dr. Hill continued to serve in the Texas Congress until 1843 when President Sam Houston appointed him as Secretary of War, replacing Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson. Dr. Hill was reappointed by President Anson Jones and continued to serve until 1845 when The Republic of Texas became a state. Francis Slauter, brother-in-law of Robert Harve Matthews, had come to Franklin with Robert Harve in 1835, died in 1842. Minerva Catherine Matthews Slaughter, then a widow with three young children, needed a husband and father. Dr. Hill needed a wife and family. Both received their needs. Dr. Hill married Minerva Catherine November 17, 1846
. Some references state that Spring Hill, Texas was the oldest community in what became Navarro County, and that Dr. Hill had established a Trading Post at the Indian Spring by 1838 when the Battle Creek Massacre occurred.
However, serious study of the dates of Melton's and Chamber's colonies and the activities of Dr. Hill appear to refute both positions. Dr. Hill was extremely busy with State of Texas matters until after 1844, when Sam Houston's presidential term ended. More, his tax records were in Robertson Co until 1848 and not found in Navarro County until 1849. It is doubtful that he did more than visit the area until after his marriage in November 1847. It is likely that the move from Franklin to the Indian Spring area was in January of 1848. Dr. Hill moved his new family, approximately one hundred miles north of Franklin and opened a trading post. His friend from Franklin and fellow Indian fighter, Robert Harve Matthews, apparently, made the move with them. Another of Robert Harve's sisters and her family had arrived in Franklin in 1835 or 1836 and may have made the move to the Indian Springs as well. Martha Patricia (Patsy) Matthews, ten years older than Robert Harve, had married James D. Matthews in Maury County Tennessee in 1823. James D Matthews died in 1844 in Franklin. Patsy and four of her children are listed in the Navarro County Texas census of 1850 living near Porter's Bluff ferry on the Trinity River. Another sister, Prudence Matthews, had married Samuel Wright in l836 in Maury County Tennessee. She, her husband, and six children arrived at the Indian Springs in 1849. Other families were moving into the area, many from Franklin and more from Maury County Tennessee. A United States Post Office was established at the Indian Springs Trading Post in 1849 and Dr. Hill was named Postmaster. He served until 1852 when he sold his interest in the Trading Post to Robert Harve Matthews who became Postmaster. The selling of the Trading Post was prompted by the fact that Dr. Hill was appointed by Robert S. Neighbors to serve as "Special Agent, Texas Indians" of the United States Indian Service, replacing Jesse Stem. His primary duty was to supervise several agrarian Indian tribes which had been located on the upper Brazos River. He was at Fort Belnap on 28 Sept, 1853 when the Indians were moved to Young County south of present day Graham, Texas. The new facility was named The Brazos Reservation and Dr. Hill was the First Agent. He remained Indian Agent for some time after the resettlement and returned to Spring Hill. A note of interest is that Robert Harve Matthews soon joined Dr. Hill in Young County and was named Young County Surveyor. Robert Harve Matthews and several members of the Hill family purchased property in Young County during this period. Dr. Hill, apparently, served as a Real Estate Broker and may have been a "Land Agent" for the State of Texas. A Warranty Deed executed June 30, 1847 reveals that "G. W. Hill" served as "Agent" to convey" one third league situated in Robertson District on Richland Creek" from heirs of A. J. P. M. Smith to William C. Hill. (William Carroll Hill, brother of Dr. Hill) The deed was filed at the Courthouse in Corsicana August 4, 1847. James M. Love, probably a member of the Love family from Franklin, notarized the document. William C. Hill sold the above property, approximately fifteen hundred acres, to G. W. Hill in 1852. William C. Hill had paid $650.00. Dr. Hill sold five hundred acres of the property to Robert Harve Matthews April 15, 1857 for $500.00. This appears to be the property Robert Harve Matthews developed with streets, town lots, and farm lots and recorded on the flyleaf of the Navarro County Clerk's book as the town of Spring Hill, Texas. Witnesses to the deed from G. W. Hill to Robert Harve Matthews were "B.J.C. Hill" and "N. W. Matthews." N. W. Matthews was, probably, Newton Matthews, son of Robert Harve's sister, Patsy. Newton was born in 1832 and would have been twenty-five years of age in 1857. Little has been recorded about the last years of the life of Dr. Hill. He had sold the Trading Post to Robert Harve Matthews in 1852. He had served as Indian Agent for some time beginning in 1853. He was appointed by the Commissioners of Navarro County to represent Navarro County at a celebration in Austin July 4, 1854. He had sold Robert Harve Matthews five hundred acres of land in 1857. He, apparently, had assembled large land holdings in the area, was engaged in raising cattle, and owned several slaves. He was busy just attending to his holdings. He did have sufficient time to engage in some political life and ran unsuccessfully as a candidate for the State Legislature in 1860. His opponent was Roger Q. Mills, a good friend. It was Mills, who, in l853, when a new county was being carved out of Western Navarro County, read into the minutes of the proceedings the name of George Washington Hill, thus naming the new county. George Washington Hill died May 29, 1860 at age fifty-four. He was buried in the little cemetery located a short distance from the cabin he had built when he first came to the area. His will specified that two acres of land be set aside from his property to serve as the cemetery. He made provision in his will for his wife and for the step-children. His death, as had been his life, was in order.
Carl W Matthews
1130 Madlynne Dr
Cedar Hill TX 75104
972 293 9309
STORIES FROM SPRING HILL CEMETERY
THE HARGIS STORY
Four Hargis Family markers are found at the Spring Hill Cemetery. Two babies, Joe Louis Hargis, born 1893, and Joseph B. Hargis, born 1894. Both died 1894. Joseph B. Hargis, their father, born 1861, died 1943. Maggie Staaden Hargis,born 1861, died 1952. Joseph B. Hargis appears to have arrived at Spring Hill, Texas from nowhere. Maggie Staaden Hargis was the daughter of Jacob Louis Staaden, a Spring Hill blacksmith who had married Christina Hagle. Both had migrated to Western Navarro Co. TX from Germany in the 1840s. The Hargis family had a single son to survive. Overton Hargis was born in 1895. He was shown in the 1930 Dawson, Texas census living with his parents at age thirty-five. The family moved from Spring Hill to Dawson in the 1890s, purchased two town lots, and constructed a large residence which was used as a boarding house for many years. The residence still stands on Dawson's Main Street, immediately north of the present Methodist Church building.
Joseph B. Hargis, more than likely, was a son of William Hargis, son of Ruben Hargis, son of Joseph Hargis who had settled Overton Co. TN. William Hargis, born 1825, migrated early from White Co. TN to Eastern Hill Co. TX. Several families from the White Co. TN area settle near the converging lines of Hill, Navarro, and Ellis counties, and included family names of Savage, Farley, Womaack, Rogers, and others.