Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas Page: 243 of 894
762 p., [172] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 30 cm.View a full description of this book.
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218
INDIAN WARS AND PIONEERS OF TEXAS.
Jane (Dillard) Stoneham, died on Grimes Prairie,
June 3d, 1858, beloved and respected by all who
knew her, at the extreme age of 105 years.
The Stonehams of this generation (the children
of Henry and Jane Stoneham) and indeed for generations
back, were an exceptionally hardy people;
all owners of slaves, nevertheless hard workers
themselves, the women manufacturing, by the crude
means then known to Southern people, nearly all
the cloth used for the household and the slaves.
The men inured to much hardship, also actively
participated in outdoor sports and grew to be splendid
examples of physical manhood. Their powers
of endurance, capacity for labor, industry, perseverance,
integrity and manly deportment secured
them wealth and the respect and admiration of
their fellow-men, as well as accounted for their unfailing
cheerfulness and abiding hopefulness of disposition,
and their long and useful lives. The
sterling integrity, industry, thrift, enterprise and
hardiness of this generation of Stonehams may not
improperly be said to have been largely inherited
from their mother, for in her industry and enterprise
were realized King Lemuel's description of the
ways of a virtuous woman: "She considereth a
field and buyeth it; with the fruits of her hands
she planteth a vineyard."
Several of Henry and Jane (Dillard) Stoneham's
children lived to a remarkable old age. Their son
Henry, long to be remembered for his Christian
character, his charity, his love for children and his
exalted integrity, died in Grimes County at the advanced
age of ninety-five years. Their daughter,
Susan, never married, remarkable for her industry,
respected and loved for her noble character, died in
Grimes County at the age of ninety-seven years.
Another daughter, Mrs. Thos. J. Shackelford, died
in Jackson County, Ga., in 1895, at ninety-one
years of age.
None of the sons of this generation of Stonehams
are now living except Bryant, and none have left
issue, to any extent, except Joseph. He married
Rebecca Crowder near Mille(lgeville, Ga., afterward
moved to Alabama, and both he and his wife
died in Conecuh County in that State in 1835, leaving
six sons and two daughters. The two daughters
(Caroline and Martha) married in Alabama.
The two youngest sons (William and Sebron) died
in Alabama in boyhood. The remaining four boys,
George, John, Henry, and Joe, are the minor children
referred to as having been brought to Texas by
their uncle and guardian, George Stoneham.
John Stoneham, a son of Joseph Stoneham, and
of the second generation of Stonehams that came
to Texas, was born in Conecuh County, Ala.,December 20, 1829. When a small boy he attended
school at Evergreen, Ala. His uncles being slave
owners, and desirous of obtaining richer and
cheaper lands than could be readily procured in
Alabama, left that State in 1845 and in preceding
years, taking him with them and his orphan brothers
in 1845. Most of them made their way overland
with wagons and teams and camp equipage enough
to make the party comfortable. Those that came
with the orphans arrived on Grimes Prairie in 1845.
They found on Grimes Prairie and vicinity, upon
their arrival there, the following well-known people:
Judge Jesse Grimes, for whom Grimes County was
named; Mrs. Margaret McIntyre and her two sons;
Franklin J. Greenwood and family; Maj. Pierson
and family; Gwyn Morrison and family; Andrew
and Edley Montgomery and their families. What
an inviting prospect this section of country must
have presented to the energetic and enterprising
Stonehams! Rich lands of marvelous productive
capacity, well timbered and watered; sleek cattle
on every hillside and an abundance of game were
all found there. Indeed this was a land flowing
with milk and honey and after over half of a century
of constant tillage these lands yield bountifully
to the hand of industry.
John Stoneham and his orphan brothers, under
the influences of pioneer life, grew to manhood on
Grimes Prairie. Here they were sent by their
guardian to such schools as from time to time the
people of that sparsely settled country were enabled,
in that primeval day to secure. Upon John attaining
to his majority, his guardian, who had
judiciously managed his father's estate, placed him
in possession of his portion. He at once invested
in lands and began to follow farming, the vocation
of his father. He was married to Evaline Greenwood,
daughter of the venerable Franklin J. Greenwood,
on the 20th of October, 1853. John Stoneham
and his brothers George, Henry, and Joe,
served in different capacities on the Southern side
in the late war. Joe was killed at the battle of
Mansfield in Louisiana. He left a widow and four
sons, all of whom are dead. George never married;
he died the 12th of July, 1874. Henry died in
Milam County, Texas, leaving a family of girls and
boys, most of whom are married and live in different
counties of the State. Since the war John
Stoneham actively engaged in farming, and, to some
extent, stock-raising, and, for about ten years prior
to his death, merchandised. He lived till his death
in the vicinity of Grimes Prairie and during
his long and useful life a large family of children
grew up about him. By frugal and judicious
management he acquired large bodies of valuable
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Brown, John Henry. Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas, book, 1880~; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth6725/m1/243/?rotate=90: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.