Posted By: John Lewallen
Date Posted: Feb 20, 2010
Description: Thomas Riley Lewallen (1861-1940) & Nancy Alma Lewellen Lewallen (1859-1942) (Daughter of Anderson S. Lewellen who married Thomas Riley Lewallen). Nancy has a twin brother named James B. Lewellen (1859-1942)
Date Taken:
Place Taken: Possibly Smiley, Texas
Owner:
Billie Harris - Feb 21, 2010
Ironically Nancy and her twin brother died the same year.
John, what can you tell us about Thomas Riley Lewallen. Do you know where he was born, his father's name, where they lived, anything at all.
The reason I ask is that my grandfather's brothers names were Riley and Marion and we have a Thomas Riley (yours) and a Thomas Marion (another member's). I'm wondering if there might be a connection somewhere.
John Lewallen - Feb 23, 2010
Billie, Thomas Riley Lewallen born Arkansas 1861, father name Moses Alexander Lewallen,born 1834 Tenn. Thomas Riley Lewallen lived in Temple, Texas area and later
moved to Smiley, Texas. Thomas engaged in the farming business and later the mercantile business. Thomas had 6 sisters and 2 brothers. William and Charles.
Obit dated 1940 Thomas died in Smiley,Tx Survivors listed 1 brother Charile Lewallen
of Troy, Tx and sisters Mary Atkerson of Temple,Tx and Fannie Whiteley of Belton Tx.
Billie Harris - Feb 23, 2010
He's bound to have been related somehow to my Wiley Lewallen (born 1795 N.C.) who also lived in the Temple, Troy, Waco areas of Texas. One of his grandson's was given the name of Riley.
I have searched every census on Ancestry and can't find a Moses nor an Alexander. However, Moses married Margaret Rainwater in Washington County, Arkansas 1856. In 1881 Bell County, Texas there were two Lewallen and Rainwater marriages. (1) July 8 C. Lewallen married M. Rainwater. (possibly Charlie ?) and on October 26 James Lewallen married Susan Adeline Rainwater.
Here's what I have on Wiley. Take a look. I should spend some time and try to piece the rest of his family together one of these days.
[NOTE: broken link]
John Lewallen - Feb 23, 2010
Billie, maybe that C. Lewallen could be Columbus Lewallen, he married Mary Rainwater. the Lewallen Cemetery in Bell county Texas has 6 unmarked graves and
77 marked graves. Wiley Lewallen no dates,Mary E. Witt no dates. are buired there.
and 6 more Lewallen graves that are marked.
Billie Harris - Feb 24, 2010
John, the Lewallen Cemetery you're talking about. Is that in Troy? The reason I ask is because that land was donated for a cemetery by one of Wiley's sons. The Coxes, the Witts, the Teaffs, are all part of Wiley's descendants. Until someone surveyed the cemetery, I didn't know Wiley was buried there. One of these days I'll see if there's anyone in or near Bell County that can look up information in the old newspaper. It might tell when he died.
http://files.usgwarchives.org/tx/bell/cemetery/lewallen.txt
The C. could have stood for Columbus. Do you know who he was?
John Lewallen - Feb 26, 2010
Billie, Yes Lewallen cemetery outside of Troy,Tx in Bell county. I will be in Dallas, Tx
week after Easter. On my trip home I plan to check on Arthur cemetery located
in Bell county which not far from Lewallen cemetery , according to maps
and info. Will try to find the information your asking for.. On the name
Columbus his last name is Lewellen, I used Lewallen my mistake...
Billie Harris - Feb 26, 2010
John, if you have time to check the newspaper for Wiley's death, it would be such a huge help for me and others researching that line. Sometimes there's more in the paper than just the date of death. It might include not only his children, but his brothers and what a tremendous help that would be. A rough guess is that he died 1868-76.
Clete Ramsey - Feb 28, 2010
Billie,
As you may recall, my mother’s maternal grandmother was Arkansas-born Mary Jane (Lewallen) Jackson (1861-1954), a daughter of Monroe W. Lewallen and Mary Ann (Wann) Lewallen.
Looking for any clues to the Richard Lewallen-Gracie Stockley-Parazeda Vowell mystery to which my Granny Jackson connects me, I read a lot of Lewallen postings. For some reason, this thread involving Thomas Riley Lewallen caught my eye. So, I did a little rooting around, particularly to examine his Arkansas birth.
Just in case you don’t already have this information . . .
There’s a Texas Standard Certificate of Death on file for Thomas Riley Lewallen, who died from pneumonia in Smiley, Gonzales County, Texas, on 18 February 1940. His age at death was 78 years, 4 months, and 24 days. He had resided there for 28 years. He was male, white, and married. The death certificate named his wife as Mrs. Nancy Lewallen. His occupation was farming, at which he had last worked in December 1939. The death certificate noted the total time he had spent farming not in years, but as “All.” He was born in Arkansas on 24 September 1861. His father was named as Moses Lewallen, born in Arkansas. His mother was named as Margaret Rainwater, born in Arkansas. Thomas Riley Lewallen was buried in the Bundick Cemetery on 19 February 1930. The undertaker was A.B. Holmes of Nixon, Texas. The Informant listed on the death certificate was Mrs. J.B. Patteson [as spelled] of Smiley, Texas.
Nixon is located east-southeast of San Antonio, primarily within Gonzales County, but part of the city is in Wilson County. Smiley is eight miles or so due east of Nixon on Highway 87.
On a map, the Bundick Cemetery appears to be about a mile or so west of Smiley, just north of Highway 87. Bundick Cemetery Road connects the cemetery to Highway 87.
The 1920 census lists Thomas Riley Lewallen as Tom R. Lewallen, head of a household in Gonzalez County that included wife Nancy and daughter Docia.
I’m confident the Informant on Tom Lewallen’s death certificate, Mrs. J.B. Patteson, was in fact his daughter Doshia Edna “Docia” (Lewallen) Patteson (1894-1965), the wife of Jefferson Beasley “Jeff” Patteson (1891-1987). Doshia Patteson’s Texas death certificate lists her parents as Thomas Lewallen and Nancy Jo Lewellen. She died in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas, but her usual residence was listed as being 3 miles west of Smiley, Texas. The Informant listed on Doshia Patteson’s death certificate, who provided her information by telephone, was Nancy Jo Cook. Doshia Patteson’s body was removed from San Antonio to Nixon, Texas.
Tom Lewallen’s wife Nancy was Nancy Almira (Lewellen) Lewallen, a daughter of Anderson S. Lewellen (1836-1912) and his first wife, Sarah (McDonald) Lewellen (1833-1869). Nancy’s Texas death certificate names her as Nancy Lewellen Lewallen. She died from heart trouble, with “age” a contributory factor, in Smiley, Gonzales County, Texas, on 17 September 1942. 82 years old at death, she was female, white, and widowed. Her occupation was listed as “Housewife.” She was born on 12 December 1859 in Kentucky. Her father was named as Anderson Lewellen, birthplace unknown. Her mother was named as Sarah McDonald, birthplace unknown. Nancy was buried at the Bundick Cemetery. The Informant on her death certificate was Mrs. Bertie Whitely of Smiley.
There’s a Texas Standard Certificate of Death on file for Mrs. Mary Adeline Atkerson, who died from an acute coronary occlusion at 804 North 6th Street, Temple, Bell County, Texas, on 4 November 1950. Her age at death was 82 years, 8 months, and 7 days. She had resided in Temple for 32 years. She was female, white, and widowed. Her occupation was given as “At Home.” She was born in Arkansas on 28 February 1868. Her father was named as Mose Lewallen, born in Arkansas. Her mother was named as Margaret Rainwater, born in Arkansas. She was buried in the Little Flock Cemetery, Temple, Texas, on 5 November 1950. The Funeral Director was Sam Davis of the Hewett Funeral Home. The Informant listed on the death certificate was Mrs. J.C. Elza.
I think Mrs. J.C. Elza was Maude Alice (Atkerson) Elza (1887-1973), the wife of Jesse Calvin Elza and a daughter of Thomas Marion “Tom” Atkerson and Mary Adeline (Lewallen) Atkerson.
Like Mary Adeline (Lewallen) Atkerson, Tom Atkerson (1865-1939), Maude (Atkerson) Elza, and Jesse Elza (1890-1957) were all buried at the Little Flock Cemetery.
On a map, the Little Flock Cemetery appears to be about 3 miles east of Temple, off Little Flock Road. Cemetery Road connects the cemetery to Little Flock Road.
Little Flock Cemetery appears to be somewhat of a Lewallen/Lewellen “mixing bowl,” as it is also the final resting place for a number of descendents of Columbus Scott Lewellen (1847-1934) and Dorcas (Kroger) Lewellen, as well as for Lucinda Elizabeth (Lewellen) Bell (1850-1928), the wife of Calvin C. Bell (1833-1912) and the daughter John Lewellen and Detta (Reed) Lewellen. Also buried in the Little Flock Cemetery was Mary Effie (Anderson) Vanderveer (1907-1990), the wife Joel R. Vanderveer (1902-1961) and a daughter of Robert D. Anderson and Balzada (Lewellen) Anderson (1877-1955). I understand Balzada (Lewellen) Anderson was a daughter of Anderson S. Lewellen and his second wife, Nancy (McDonald) Lewellen (1835-1900) [A sister of his first wife, Sarah McDonald) Lewellen?].
There’s a Texas Standard Certificate of Death on file for Fannie Whiteley, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Travis County, Texas, on 22 December 1951. Her usual residence was Belton, Bell County. Her age at death was 76 years, 11 months, and 18 days. She was female, white, and married. A housewife, she was born on 4 June 1875 in Bell County. Her father was named as Moses Lewallen, born in Texas. Her mother was named as Margaret Rainwater, born in Texas. She was buried on 22 December 1951 at the Bottoms Cemetery, near Temple, Texas. The Informant was her daughter, Mrs. Lola Giles.
Fannie Lewallen appears to have married three times. I believe her first husband was Joseph C. “Joe” Arthur. That marriage ended after June 1900, when Fannie was listed as Arthur’s wife on the 1900 census of Precinct 2, McLennan County, Texas. Included in Joseph’s household in 1900 were daughters Esther (13) and Emma (7), as well as son (3), whose name may have been Chalie or Charlie [Charles Monroe Arthur by some accounts; Monroe Charles Arthur by others]. Fannie’s second husband was Hiram Desmukes Thompson (1870-1933), who was buried at the Bottoms Cemetery. I haven’t been able to more fully identify her third, Whiteley husband. The Informant on Fannie’s death certificate, Mrs. Lola Giles, was Lola (Thompson) Giles, a daughter of Hiram and Fannie Thompson.
It’s possible the Mrs. Bertie Whitely who was the Informant on Nancy (Lewellen) Lewallen’s death certificate could be Fannie (Lewallen) Arthur Thompson Whiteley, but I can’t be sure.
After his marriage to Fannie Lewallen ended, Joe Arthur married again. His new wife was Sarah Caldonia Rainwater. If I have the generations correct, Sarah’s father, Benjamin Franklin Rainwater (1840-1882), was a younger brother of Margaret Elizabeth (Rainwater) Lewallen (1835-1898), the wife of Moses Lewallen. If that’s correct, Joe Arthur first married Fannie Lewallen, then her first cousin, Sarah Rainwater.
Several sources state the Bottoms Cemetery is also known as the Arthur Cemetery.
There’s a Texas Standard Certificate of Death on file for Chas. Martin Lewallen, who died on 1 September 1951 from uremia due to lower nephron nephrosis [retrogressive kidney changes following traumatic injury] caused by shock suffered from an accidental fall. His place of death was the Kings Daughters Hospital in Temple, Bell County, Texas. His usual residence was Rt. 1, Troy, Bell County. His age at death was 73 years, 3 months, and 22 days. He was male, white, and married. He was born in Bell County on 18 September 1877. He was a retired farmer. His father was named as Moses Lewallen, born in Arkansas. His mother was named as Margaret Rain-Waters, born in Arkansas. He was buried at the Belfalls Cemetery in Belfalls, Texas. The funeral director was Sam Davis of the Hewett Funeral Home. The Informant listed on the death certificate was W.G. Brightwell.
On a map, the Belfalls Cemetery is on FM-935 between Troy and Belfalls, near the line between Bell and Falls Counties.
I’m fairly certain that W.G. Brightwell, the Informant on Charles Martin Lewallen’s death certificate, was William Gain Brightwell (1885-1965), a brother of Charles Martin Leweallen’s wife, Nancy Jane (Brightwell) Lewallen (1876-1957). W.G. Brightwell was also the Informant on the death certificate of his sister, Mrs. Nancy Jane Lewallen of Nolanville, Bell County, Texas, a widow. Nancy Jane (Brightwell) Lewallen was also buried at the Belfalls Cemetery.
Of note, Charley Lewellen (21, b. September 1878, TX) was living in a household in Precinct 5, Bell County, Texas, headed by his father, Moses A. Lewellen (65, b. October 1834, TN). I don’t know which birth date is correct for Charles Martin “Charley” Lewallen: September 1877 or September 1878?
I’ve rooted around more than enough to determine there was no immediate connection between my Granny Jackson and these Lewallens and Lewallens, except possibly way back in Virginia, perhaps in Prince Edward County.
Regards,
Clete
*****
P.S.
You’ll note some differences in nativity data when comparing the Texas death certificates to this 1880 census report:
Precinct 5, Bell County, Texas
LEWELLEN Moses Head Married Male White 45 TN (TN) (TN) Farmer
LEWELLEN Margaret T. Wife Married Female White 44 TN TN TN Keeping House
LEWELLEN Thos. R. Son Single Male White 18 AR TN TN Works on Farm
LEWELLEN Mahala A. Daughter Single Female White 13 AR TN TN Student
LEWELLEN Mary A. Daughter Single Female White 11 AR TN TN Student
LEWELLEN Nancy B. Daughter Single Female White 10 AR TN TN Student
LEWELLEN Fannie Other Single Female White 5 AR TN TN
LEWELLEN Charley M. Other Single Male White 2 AR TN TN
STOUT Price Other Single Male White 16 AR (AR) (AR) Farm Hand
From the birth dates of Moses and Margaret Lewallen’s children, the family should have been in Arkansas from about 1862 to as late as 1878. They should be on the 1870 census somewhere (Washington County?) in Arkansas, but I haven’t been able to find them so far. Where were they?
Billie Harris - Mar 1, 2010
Clete, thank you very much for all the information. It's very, very helpful. I've just incorporated it in the information we have for Bell County, Texas and for Washington County, Arkansas. I'm going to e-mail you with some questions that perhaps you can answer because there's still confusion for me on some of it and maybe you can sort through.