Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas) Page: 297
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Memorial Park.
by Don Fii
FLANARY FAMILY
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F383
I.William Joseph Flanary and some of his grand-
children. Back row: Flora Cooper, J.D. Craig, Hazel
Cooper, Ola Flanary. Third row: Starlin Chastain,
Jr., William Joseph Flanary, Billie Martin, Mil-
dred Burgan. Second row: Patrick Chastain, Mary
Cathrine Craig, Welma Dee Burgan, Erma Mae
Burgan. First row: Joe Bill Chastain, Elois Craig,
Oscar Burgan.
The ancestors of the Flanarys came from
Ireland in the early 1700's. It seems that they
settled in South Carolina and then on to
Illinois.
William Joseph Flanary was born in 1851
and died in 1925 at his home on Flag Branch.
He lived to be 74 years of age. He married
Susan Turner in Crawford County, Arkansas
in 1869.
When an infant, his parents moved to
Coryell County, Texas and there he grew to
manhood. About 1867 his parents moved
back to Arkansas. There he married Susan
Turner. They had one child born in Arkansas.
They returned to Texas and settled at Flag
Branch. And to them were born six children.
John Abraham (1869-1941) married Martha
Daniels, and they had six children: Mary,
Georgia, Susie, Thomas, Earl, and Sam.
William M. (1873-1953) married first Georgia
Daniels; she died and he then married Mattie
Tipton. They had two children: Johnny and
Ola. Lee (1877-1934) first married Elmira
Adkins; she died and he then married Pearl
Hankins; they had nine children: Lorene,
Velma, Loyd, Cecil, Travis, Annie Fay,
Minnie Lee, Alice, and Altus. Susan (1883-
1974) married John Cooper and had two
daughters: Hazel and Flora. Mollie (1886-
1969) married Arch Adkins and had two
daughters: Ruby and Susan. Mattie (1894-
1962) married Thomas Wood, and they had
three children: Newton, Mary, and Ray. Her
second marriage was to Tom Taylor.
William Joseph's wife Susan died in 1890
and he then married Fannie Ellis Flanary, his
brother Albert's widow. She had two chil-
dren: Albert and Sally. He and Fannie had
five daughters. Lilly (1893-1975) married
Frank Craig and had three children: J.D.,
Mary K. and Elouise. Stella (1895-1983)
never married. Zura was born in 1898 and
died in 1969. She married Bruce Burgan and
they had seven children: Mildred, Oscar,
Erma Mae, Wilma Dee, Hester, Billy, and
Bruce Jr. Lola (1904-1972) married Starlin
Chastain and they had three children: Joe;
9
". .,by Lillian Flanary
FLANARY, ABRAM
Y'
Second home built on the banks of Flag Branch by
Abram and Louisa Flanary. The first was a log
cabin. Their son, James R. and family are pictured.
Abram Flanary, born 1816 in Illinois,
married Louisa Martha McDonald, born
1827, in Yell County, Arkansas, February 3,
1842. To this union were born seven children:
Mary, William D., Martha Jane, (who
married Thomas B. Warren), William Jo-
seph, (who married (1) Susan Turner, (2)
Frances Ellis), Sarah Ann Clarissa, (who
married William B. Allen), James R. (who
married Eliza Ann Childress), and George
Albert, (who married Frances V. Ellis).Bill, Starlin, Jr. and Patsy. Vista (1900
married Frank Martin and had one
Billie, who when her mother died was
at school age and raised by Stella.
William Joseph was a farmer and ca
an. His educational advantages durii
youth were limited, but by hard wor
application he was able to prosper. He
bought land, and at his death he <
fourteen hundred acres. When his ch
had no school to attend, he moved to
Texas, and bought a home and stayed
several years before moving back tc
Branch. He was a member of the Met]
Church at Oden Chapel in Somervell C<
He took his family in a wagon throu
cedar brakes to church at Oden Chap
remained a member there until 1920 wl
moved his membership to the Met
Church at Flag Branch. He was instrur
in building the church at Flag Branc
Uncle Billy, as he was called by mar
Grandpa by those who survive him, pos
three cardinal virtues: fidelity, sobriet
industry, to which was added a great c
common sense and knowledge of -
nature. His success in life can be attri
to the fact that he laid hold upon
opportunity that came his way. He
sham and hypocrisy. He died the da3
Christmas in 1928 and is buried in the
cemetery at Flag Branch.
The family story is that on his
Abram's place there was a large and be
tree on the hillside down from his house
through the years as he looked down
this tree he told his wife that he wan
be buried under the tree and make it a
cemetery for his children and their
Abram and Louisa had a child to
infancy, and they buried it there. As
died the land did become a family cerr4
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The Flanarys went to Rusk County, Texas
about 1850, then to Coryell County before
1853, where they lived in the Rainey Creek
community.
It has been said that Abram joined in
several of the early chases to recover stock
and materials stolen during Indian raids. On
one occasion he is recorded in "Bosque
Territory" as having participated. During the
spring of 1854 a second Indian party was
discovered in the southern section of Bosque
County, and several Indians were killed as
they fled from the settlements. This particu-
lar group of Indians was discovered by a man
named Chesser, veteran of the Mexican War
of 1848, who lived "on what was known as the
Old Scrutchfield ranch." Chesser sounded
the alarm in the southern section of the
county, and a group of settlers that included
Lowery Scrutchfield, J.K. Helton, Matt
Gaffey, Isaac Gary, John Thomas, the Ev-
eretts and Jasper Mabray, organized to give
pursuit. The trail was followed south to the
middle Bosque River where Abe Flanary and
Bill Edwards joined the Bosque settlers. A
herd of stolen horses was soon discovered in
a narrow ravine. Abe Flanary, assisted by
Chesser, killed two Indians on the spot. A
large number of the Indians fled in terror,
pursued by the settlers. The chase was soon
called off on advice of Chesser, and the
Bosque settlers returned for a closer inspec-
tion of the ravine where the first contact was
established. The closer inspection revealed a
cave where an additional thirty or forty
Indian warriors were in hiding. Several of
these Indians were killed in the attack that
followed; others fled the scene of battle.
Darkness stopped the fight and on the
following morning the settlers were unable to
locate the Indian trail.
In Coryell County Abram served as county
commissioner from 1854 to 1856. He was
present at a meeting of the citizens of the
county November 21, 1860, to determine
whether the people would support or oppose
President Lincoln and his policies. They
voted for the opposition, and to send a
delegation to a state meeting for the same
purpose. Also, they resolved to recommend
the reorganization of military companies to
be ready for any emergency that might arise
because of the eminent danger of the Indian
tribes between Texas and Kansas. A. Flanary
was named to serve on the committee to carry
out these resolutions. During the war that
followed, he served as a private in Company
E of the 15 Texas Infantry.
Some time in 1865, Abram and family
returned to Arkansas until 1870, when he
bought land and moved to Bosque County.
That farm was described as being twelve
miles west of Meridian south of the Bosque
River. Later he bought land north of Iredell
on Flag Branch where he lived the remainder
of his life. He died in 1885 and is buried in
the Flanary Cemetery which once was part of
the Flanary property.
Louisa continued to live on the farm in the
house they had built on the bank of Flag
Branch. They first lived in a log house which
still stood beside the new one. She continued
to care for her farm animals and tend her
garden. She carried water from the spring
and kept milk in the spring for refrigeration.
She kept her money hidden about the house.
Quite a tidy sum was found after her death
in 1903. She is buried by the side of Abram.
by Lucille Allen Hughes
297
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Bosque County History Book Committee. Bosque County: Land and People (A History of Bosque County, Texas), book, 1985; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth91038/m1/313/?q=campbell: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Denton Public Library.