By Jo Ann Ricketson Hopper
 
 

By 1880 five Ricketson brothers had settled in or around Llano County. Hiram and
Aaron had been in Burnet County by 1870. Aaron had a place near Kingsland
where he remained. Hiram had a place nearby on the Colorado River, but he sold
that to his son Abner and moved to Oxford, Llano County to join his brothers Eli,
Benjamin Franklin, and David. The brothers were all born in Georgia where their
father Allen had been a large landowner. They had served in the Civil War on the
losing side and probably felt the need of a fresh start.

The first Ricketson in America, William, came to Rhode Island from England,
probably for a fresh start; later he settled in Dartmouth Massachusetts. He
married Elizabeth Mott in 1679 and died in 1691. The early Ricketsons were
Quakers and stayed fairly close to the original home until in the third generation
Timothy proved to be a wander who ended up in Georgia with bounty land grants
for his and his sons service in the Revolutionary War. The British hanged one son;
Indians killed two others, but Timothy, Jr. survived and his son Joseph and his
grandson Allen owned land in Ware County, Georgia.

The Georgia historian Folks Huxford writes of Allen:

          RICKETSON, ALLEN. 1807-1855 ATKINSON

          Allen Ricketson was born in 1807 in Tatnall County, son of Joseph and Serena
          Ricketson (Vol. I). He came to present Atkinson County (at that time, Ware County)
          with his widowed mother, and was married there in 1826, to Luraney Sears,
          daughter of David Sears (Vol. 1). She was born in Montgomery County in 1811, and
          died at her home in Coffee (now Atkinson) County in 1882. To Allen and Luraney
          Ricketson were born thirteen children:

          1. Bryant b. Nov. 28, 1821, m. Nancy Smith, dau. of Wm. D.

          2. Joseph b. Feb. 7, 1828, m. lst Rachel Gillis, dau. of Angus; 2nd. Dora Ann Griffis,
          dau. of Kindred (Vol. 1).

          3. Benjamin Franklin, b. Dec. 18, 1830, m. Mary Davis, dau. of James and Elizabeth.

          4. Ivy b. Dec. 10. 1833, m. Elizabeth Harrell, dau. of Lovett.

          5. Hiram b. Apr. 21, 1836, m. Amelia Wright. dau. of Wm

          6. Mary b. Feb. 10, 1839, m. Matthew Sears.

          7. Manning b..14. b. Jan. 1, 1840, m. Amanda Simmons, dau. of Thomas.

          8. Eli b. Nov. 11, 1840, m. Jemima Jane Adams, dau. of Willoughby.

          9. Aaron b. Jan. 19, 1842, m. Sarah Ann Harwell of Kingsland, Texas

          10. Louiza b. Jan. 11. 1844, m. John Jackson Sutton (2nd wife).

          11.Thaddeus b.April 9, 1845, m. Mary Corbitt, dau. of William (Vol. 1).

          12.David b. June19, 1848, m. Mary Sears, dau. of Geo. W. Moved to Texas.

          13. Lavinia b .Apr. 12, 1850, m. John J. Sutton (1st wife).

          Mr. Ricketson became a large landowner in his community in his day. Coffee
          County estate records show that his estate was appraised July 18, 1856, and that
          he owned 101/2 lots of land and 147 head of cattle. Following his death on Nov. 16,
          1855, his widow and his oldest son, Bryant, were appointed administrators of his
          estate July term, 1856, Coffee Court of Ordinary. The lands he owned were lots
          201, 303, 304, 305 and 397 in the 6th district and lots 54, 55, 56, 83, and the East
          half of 57, in the 7th district. These lands were sold at public sale on the lst
          Tuesday in May, 1857,subject to the widow's dowry, and were bid in mostly by
          some of the sons. The cattle were sold at the same time.

          The widow married Riley Wright sometime between July and November, 1856
          (exact date not obtainable due to loss of Coffee County marriage records for that
          period).

          The Ricketson residence was cut out of Ware into Clinch in 1850 and out of Clinch
          into Coffee in 1854, and since 1918 has been in Atkinson County.

          CENSUS REFERENCES: 1830, 1840, 1850, Ware.

Another researcher, Ovid Ricketson, a descendant through Thaddeus, recalls:

          Mr. (Allen) Ricketson had extensive land holdings and large cotton farming. He
          also had four cotton ginning mills. In the early 1850's, the northern industrialists
          tried to crash the cotton agriculture base of the south by withholding orders for
          cotton. Mr. Ricketson started buying up cotton in order to keep the prices up and
          stable. He spent his entire fortune (Dad said in excess of $1 million in 1850
          dollars) and still could not prevent the crash. He busted. Probably this broke his
          spirit and his health, since he died soon after. This strategy of the northern
          industrialists to break the agricultural based economy of the South led to the Civil
          War and is not mentioned very much in the history books

          Anyway, after that the family earned a living working in timber and saw milling. My
          dad's family turpentined (the practice of slashing a long vertical "V" onto the side
          of a pine tree and catching the sap) and saw milled; bringing the timber out of the
          woods to the sawmill.

Coming from a war-torn Georgia with hopes of a new life, the Ricketson brothers
started over in or around Llano County:

Hiram7 Ricketson (Allen6, Joseph5, Timothy4, Timothy3, Jonathan2, William1) was born April
21, 1836 in Ware County, GA, and died April 20, 1914 in Oxford, Llano County, TX. He married
Amelia (Milly) Wright 1855 in Coffee County, GA, daughter of William Wright and Susan
Carver.

Hiram Ricketson served in the Confederate Army in the 1st Battalion of Georgia
Sharpshooters. Hiram and his family moved from Coffee County GA (formerly Ware County) to
Burnet County before the 1870 and then to Oxford, Llano County, Texas,

Children of Hiram Ricketson and Amelia Wright are:

          i. Abner8 Ricketson, born July 27, 1864 in Coffee County, GA; died March 24, 1944
          in Burnet, TX.

          ii. Thomas Gardner Ricketson, born November 11, 1859 in Georgia; died November
          06, 1922 in Oklahoma.

          iii. Levina Ricketson, born July 14, 1861.

          iv. Corinthia Ricketson, born September 10, 1866 in Coffee County, GA.; died April
          09, 1941 in Oxford, TX.

          v. Laura Ricketson, born November 17, 1868 in Oxford, TX.; died January 11, 1900
          in Oxford, TX.

          vi. Hiram Columbus (Lum) Ricketson, born February 20, 1872 in Kingsland, TX.; died
          September 09, 1933 in Oxford, TX.

          vii. Albert Ricketson, born July 28, 1874 in Burnet County; died 1962 in Oxford, TX..

          viii. Etta Ricketson, born December 18, 1876 in Burnet County, TX. She married
          Jacob Stephensen April 09, 1905 in San Francisco,

          ix. Walter (Jake) Ricketson, born July 05, 1878; died 1881.

          x. Milton Ricketson, born December 25, 1882 in Llano, TX.; died 1960. He married
          Beulah Berry.

Benjamin Franklin7 Ricketson (Allen6, Joseph5, Timothy4, Timothy3, Jonathan2, William1)
was born December 18, 1830 in Ware County, GA, and died June 30, 1909 in Llano, TX. He
married Mary Davis May 25, 1855 in Clinch County, GA, daughter of James Davis and
Elizabeth Peterson.

Children of Benjamin Ricketson and Mary Davis are:

          i. Luraney Ricketson, born September 22, 1863 in Clinch County, GA; died 1947 in
          Burnet, TX.

          ii. Samantha Ricketson, born June 23, 1857 in GA.; died July 11, 1891 in Oxford,
          TX.

          iii. Allen Ricketson, born April 19, 1859.

          iv. Elizabeth (Betty) Ricketson, born March 28, 1861 in Clinch County, Ga.; died
          July 06, 1949 in Baby Head, Llano County, TX.

          v. Ann Ricketson, born 1869.

          vi. Benjamin Ricketson, born 1871.

          vii. Mary Jane Ricketson, born February 27, 1874 in Berrien County, GA.; died
          November 23, 1938 in Llano, TX.

10. Eli7 Ricketson (Allen6, Joseph5, Timothy4, Timothy3, Jonathan2, William1) was born
November 11, 1840 in Coffee County, GA., and died January 29, 1922 in Llano, TX. He
married (1) Jemima Jane Adams February 1861 in Coffee County, GA, daughter of William
Adams and Sarah Fletcher. He married (2) Clara Ann Strickland October 26, 1905.

Eli served in the Civil War in the 63rd Georgia Regiment. He survived being a prisoner of war
and running the gauntlet.

Eli Ricketson and his wife, Jemima, moved to Llano County Texas before the 1880 census.
They lived in the Oxford area. Jemima died November 3, 1901. After her death, Eli married
October 26, 1905, Clara Ann Strickland of Texas. Eli died January 29, 1922 in Llano, Texas
and is buried in the Oxford Cemetery.

Children of Eli Ricketson and Jemima Adams are:

          i. Delila8 Ricketson, born December 16, 1861 in Coffee County, Georgia; died April
          06, 1881 in Llano County,Texas Oxford C

          ii. Lamuel (Elam) Ricketson, born August 06, 1863 in Berrien County, GA; died 1923
          in Llano County, TX.

          iii. Malinda Ricketson, born July 14, 1866 in Berrien County, GA.

          iv. Sarah Eugenia Ricketson, born February 13, 1868 in Berrien County, GA; died
          April 28, 1941 in Kingman, Mohave County, AZ.

          v. Levina Ricketson, born May 03, 1870 in Berrien County, GA; died 1913 in Runge,
          Karnes County, TX.

          vi. Julia Ricketson, born June 06, 1877 in Berrien County, TX; died March 11, 1951
          in Travis County, TX.

          vii. James Eli Ricketson, born December 24, 1879 in Berrien County, GA; died June
          12, 1923 in Llano, TX.

          viii. Berrien Ricketson, born May 03, 1880 in Llano County, TX.

          ix. Oscar L. Ricketson, born October 11, 1881 in Llano County, TX; died June 10,
          1949 in Llano County, TX.

          x. Ernest Lee Ricketson, born August 23, 1883 in Oxford, Llano County, TX; died
          December 31, 1946 in Oxford, Llano County, TX.

David Leon7 Ricketson (Allen6, Joseph5, Timothy4, Timothy3, Jonathan2, William1) was born
June19,1848 in Coffee County, GA, and died February 11, 1891 in Oxford, Llano County, TX..
He married Mary (Mollie) Sears January 18, 1870 in GA.

Children of David Ricketson and Mary Sears are:

          i. Lavinia8 Ricketson, born December 22, 1870.

          ii. Arnemius (Minnie) Ricketson, born December 02, 1872 in Coffee County, GA; died
          December 15, 1949 in Burnet County, TX.

          iii. George Leon Ricketson, born January 17, 1875.

          iv. Delora Ricketson, born December 22, 1876.

          v. Cyrus Ricketson, born December 09, 1879; died 1938.

          vi. Seward Ricketson, born December 09, 1879

          vii. John Baker Ricketson, born March 09, 1881.

          viii. Lee Ricketson, born March 08, 1883

          ix. Daisy Pearl Ricketson, born April 15, 1885

          x. Aaron Gardner Ricketson, born February 04, 1888.

          xi. David Ricketson, born March 08, 1890
 
 

Aaron7 Ricketson (Allen6, Joseph5, Timothy4, Timothy3, Jonathan2, William1)was born
January 19, 1842 in Coffee County GA, and died November 20, 1916 in Burnet County, TX. He
met (1) Mary Adams, daughter of William Adams and Sarah Fletcher. He married (2) Sarah
Ann Harwell March 23, 1873 in Burnet County, TX, daughter of James Harwell and Mary King.

Aaron served in the Civil War between 1863-65 as a private in Co.K, 63 Reg't Georgia
Infantry. He came to Texas after the war and served as a Texas Ranger with Company I
Frontier Forces in 1870 and 1871. He appears in the 1870 Burnet County, TX Census.

After Aaron married Sarah Ann Harwell in 1873, they made their home in Wolf Crossing
community at Harwell Point about a mile from her family. They first lived in a log house, but
Aaron later built, with lumber he hauled from Austin by ox wagons, the first plank house in
the area. Their principle source of livelihood was ranching, farming, and their gravel pit,
which became the train stop for the community.

Children of Aaron Ricketson and Sarah Harwell:

          i. William Manning8 Ricketson, born November 28, 1878 in Wolf Crossing
          Community, Texas (BurnetCo.) died November 30, 1944, Llano

          ii. Mary Lourana (Molly) Ricketson, born February 11, 1874 in Wolf Crossing
          Community, TX; died April 10, 1958, Llano

          iii. Delitha Ricketson, born May 01, 1875 in Wolf Crossing Community, TX.; died
          September 25, 1930.

          iv. Ivy Columbus Ricketson, born September 11, 1877 in Wolf Crossing Community,
          Burnet, TX; died December 11, 1952 in Austin

          v. Raymond Ricketson, born September 15, 1881 in Wolf's Crossing Community, TX.;
          died October 14, 1969.

          vi. Larcenia (Cenia) Ricketson, born September 07, 1883 in Wolf's Crossing
          Community, TX.; died May 29, 1969.

          vii. Dew Lana (Lanie) Ricketson, born January 12, 1885 in Wolf's Crossing
          Community, TX.; died October 06, 1962 in Llano

          viii. Harriet Neoma Ricketson, born April 13, 1888 in Wolf's Crossing Community,
          TX.; died June 11, 1974.

          ix. Aaron (Buck) Ricketson, born July 13, 1890 in Wolf Crossing Community, Burnet
          Co., TX; died April 12, 1979 in Burnet County

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                                           Web Page by  Jo Ann Hopper