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GEORGE JACKSON
SPENCE
1827 – MARCH 26, 1886
HAYS SPRINGS CEMETERY – GRAPELAND
On March 15, 1862 George
Jackson Spence, son of Isaac Spence of Thomas
County Georgia, rode horseback to Tyler Texas from
Van Zandt County with his brothers, Winphred (Winford)
and Bluford to volunteer to serve in the
Confederacy.
They were assigned to Company
I, Texas 22nd Infantry under Captain.
Dick Hubbard. . This company was also known as
Captain Ed Sharp’s Company; Company C, Hubbard’s
Battalion Texas Infantry; and Captain Sharp’s
Company Texas Volunteer Infantry. He served until
June 1865 when he was discharged in Hempstead, Texas
Unfortunately, his wife,
Elizabeth Strickland Spence had died May 1, 1865
leaving four children, Moses S., John Wesley, Andrew
Jackson, and Sarah E. All but Andrew Jackson are
buried in Hays Springs Cemetery. (A. J. is buried in
Resthaven Cemetery in Southland, Garza County,
Texas.)
Jackson, as he was called by his family, spent
some time in the Confederate Hospitals in Rusk,
Texas and Shreveport, Louisiana.
Second wife, Margaret Gandy from Buna was the
mother of Artimus and Cary, but died at an early
age.
Third wife, Elizabeth Meador "Maddy" Boykin,
was a widow with two sons when they married in
Freestone County on October 6, 1881. She lived until
August 11, 1928 and is buried in Hays Springs. The
family loved Maddy so much that John Wesley named a
son Chester Boykin. John Wesley and brother, Moses,
helped her get a pension in 1922. Jackson and Maddy
had two sons, Bob who never married and Bee who was
killed jumping from a train when he was a teenager.
Maddy lived with son, Bob, after the death of George
Jackson Spence.
In 1866 pneumonia caused many deaths,
including George Jackson (March 26) his daughter,
Sarah E. Whitescarver ( March 23), and his brother,
Bluford (April 1). |
