M. O.
Barton was born June 4, 1828, in South
Carolina He was the son of Benjamin
Franklin, Jr. and Zilpha (Baker)
Barton. In 1840, Benjamin and Zilpha
sold their land to a cousin and set out
for Texas. They arrived near
Henderson, while it was still Nacogdoches
Co. Benjamin went up to Marshall to buy
horses, and there was killed, and buried
in an unmarked grave, in 1843.
M. O. helped his
mother keep the family together, providing
for her and his younger brothers and
sisters. He married Nancy Ann
Washington, June 13, 1850 in
Henderson. By December 13, 1851,
they were in Houston, where their
daughter, Mary Elizabeth was born.
Mary Elizabeth died February 3,
1923. They were still in Houston,
May 10, 1854, when William P. Barton was
born. Two more sons were born to
them, presumably in Coleman County.
Andrew Pinkney, July 23, 1856-January 6,
1928, and Baley (or Bailey) Anderson,
August 22, 1861- November 12, 1945.
A Negro slave had been part of the dowry
of Nancy Ann when she married M. O., his
name was Henry and he usually called
himself "Ole Nigger Hen" instead of "me"
or "I." After a time, Baley decided
the family cemetery held too much valuable
farming land, so he pulled up the
tombstones and plowed the field.
Ironically the only tombstone still
standing (in 1965) was the one for "Henry
Barton' - Slave; "Old Nigger Hen."
Never one to throw anything away that
might be of some use, Baley used all the
head and footstones that had been used to
mark the graves as stepping stones in the
corrals! That even includes the
stones for his mother and brother William
P.
M. O. gave his
age as 36 when he enlisted in the
Confederate Army November 9, 1863.
He was still in the Army in 1864, serving
in Coleman and Brown counties under the
command of Capt. Isaac Mullin.
Family tradition indicates he and a
brother, Lemuell Carroll Barton, had gone
to Mexico to help put down an Indian
uprising. In the ensuing battle he (M. O.)
was killed and buried in an unmarked grave
in Mexico. Before 1870, Nancy Ann
had married a Mr. McDowell and was again a
widow by 1870.
William P. Barton
married Mary Sevina Maberry, September 20,
1876 in Coleman. They had 3 children
on Homecreek Ranch. They were James
Madison, October 8, 1876; Bailey Young,
and a girl, Willie Ann. While on the
way to Houston to sell stock, William P.
(Billy) and Henry (the former slave) were
set on by rustlers and Billy was
killed. Since they were not that far
from the ranch yet, when he was gunned
down, Henry elected to bring his body back
home to be buried in the family
cemetery. Mary was distraught at the
loss of her beloved husband and the
thought of being left with a ranch to run
and 3 little children to care for.
She wanted to bury Billy right away, for
he had been dead more than a day and a
half, but Bailey and Pink, his brothers,
told her she would have to sign a paper
first or the Sheriff would not let her
bury him. Poor Mary, uneducated and
in an emotional state, put her mark on the
paper Bailey gave her. Then they
buried Billy. After the friends went
home from his funeral, the Sheriff came
and ordered her to vacate the premises.
She was confused until the Sheriff told
her she had signed a "Quit Claim Deed' to
her ranch.
Her confusion turned
to anger, but what could a mere woman do
in those days? Billy had not left a
will for her. Out of the "goodness
of his heart" Bailey let her spend the
night and leave the next morning. Mary
took her 3 children and went to her father
and mother, who, by this time, also lived
in Coleman County. Mary married Fox
Johnson, with whom she had a son named
Roy. She died in Muskogee, Oklahoma
in 1938, buried in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma.
James Madison
married a woman whose name was Murtice
(last name unknown) and they had a son
named Wesley. This marriage ended,
but whether by death or divorce, I don't
know. I surmise it must have been a
divorce because he did not have Wesley in
his household as a usual practice.
However, Wesley did visit there often,
according to my father. On January
14, 1903, he married Nannie Smith, the
daughter of Robert (or Henry) Smith and
had been born in Memphis, Tennessee about
1885. They had 5 children:
(1) Layton Lee,
June 6, 1904 at Santa Anna, head chef in a
large Kansas City, Missouri hotel, died of
cancer, February, 1951.
(2) Loren Henry
was born October 29, 1906, died August 31,
1965. On April 20, 1929, he married Evelyn
Barbara Bell in Phoenix, Arizona, they had
2 children; Loren Leroy, February 18,
1931, and Joan Cleo Barton, January 20,
1938.
(3) The only
daughter of James and Nannie, Camellia (or
Camille), was born in the spring of 1909
at Winters, and died at the age of 2½,
buried in Oklahoma.
(4) Leland
Carroll was born May 11, 1910 in Coleman
County. In 1930, he married a lady
named Clara Miller and they had a son
named William. He and Clara were
subsequently divorced and young William,
"Billy," as he was called, was adopted by
his stepfather. L. C. married Fay
Marie (Hudson) Foster in the 1930's,
leaving her a widow when he died of heart
trouble in Medford, Oregon, October 11,
1969.
(5) The last son,
Lester Young, was born February 25, 1913
in Caddo, Oklahoma. He married Ruth
Walker in 1933 and they had Jimmy and
Jack, Dorothy and Darlene. He
presently lives in Stockton, California.
Nannie belonged
to the Order of the Eastern Star and all
her brothers were Masons. She died
of tuberculosis complicated by childbirth
in April, 1913, in Oklahoma. Nannie
left her four young sons in the care of
Mary Dees, the daughter of James' sister,
Willie Ann (Barton) Dees. Willie Ann
Barton married Gip Dees in
1898-1899. Their daughter, Mary Ann
Dees, was born April 6, 1901 in
Coleman. Willie Ann Dees died,
buried in Turlock, California, 1948.
Bailey Young, son of William P. and Mary,
never married. When last heard from,
1946, he was living in Rhode Island.