Walter Payne Allen, Jr.

Notes:

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JD1W-LP2
Name: Walter P. Allen
Death Date: 03 Dec 1943
Death Place: Terrell, Kaufman, Texas
Gender: Male
Race: white
Death Age: 73 years 10 months 23 days
Estimated Birth Date:
Birth Date: 10 Jan 1870
Birthplace: Mt. Enterprise, Rusk County, Texas
Marital Status: Married
Spouse's Name:
Father's Name: Benjamin Allen
Father's Birthplace: Alabama
Mother's Name: Mattie Lawler
Mother's Birthplace: Tennessee
Occupation: Banker
Place of Residence: Terrell, Kaufman, Texas
Cemetery:
Burial Place: Terrell, Texas
Burial Date: 05 Dec 1943
Additional Relatives:
Film Number: 2137699
Digital Film Number: 4029616
Image Number: 355
Reference Number: cn56640
Collection: Texas Deaths, 1890-1976

Excerpt re Walter's parents from a bio of the C. A. Lawler Family
http://www.tomatocapital.com/people/lawler-ca.html

Mr. Lawler's oldest sister, Mattie Lawler Allen, and her husband, Ben Allen, were among the first settlers in old Jacksonville. They later moved to Athens and opened a boarding school, which Mr. Lawler attended before moving to Jacksonville. It was through their influence that he decided to make Jacksonville his home.

(Research):

Census Listings:

1900 Census
Texas, Kaufman County, City of Terrell
Enumerated 21 Jun 1900
SD 6 ED 75 Sheet 34 B
657-667
Cartwright, Ophelia Head W F Aug 1845 54 Wd 3/3 Tx Va Miss
Allen, America P Daug W F Feb 1874 26 Md 6 3/3 Tx Tx Tx
Allen, Walter P S-in-law W M Jan 1870 30 m 6 Tx Ala Tenn Cashier Bank
Allen, Pauline Gdtr W F Jany 1895 5 S Tx Tx Tx
Allen, Ophelia Gdtr W F Jun 1897 2 S Tx Tx Tx
Allen, Walter P Gson W M Oct 1898 1 S Tx Tx Tx
Kennedy, Hetty Servant B F Dec 1869 30 Wd 0 Tx Tx Tx
Francis, Hally Servant B F JNun 1883 16 S Tx Tx Tx

Walter married America "Meck" Peyroux Cartwright about 1894 in Texas. America (daughter of Americus "Meck" Peyroux Cartwright and Margaret Ophelia Smith) was born on 16 Feb 1874 in San Augustine County, Texas; died on 4 Apr 1959 in Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

She was born five months after her fathers death, and was named in honor of him. Like other children born after the death of a father, many people believed America had extraordinary powers for healing others. (Henson and Parmelee, p. 288).

https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JDDJ-5HP
Name: America Cartwright Allen
Death Date: 04 Apr 1959
Death Place: Terrell, Kaufman, Texas
Gender: Female
Race: White
Death Age: 85 years
Estimated Birth Date:
Birth Date: 16 Feb 1874
Birthplace: San Augustine, Texas
Marital Status: Widowed
Spouse's Name:
Father's Name: Americus Peyroux Cartwright
Father's Birthplace:
Mother's Name: Ophelia Smith
Mother's Birthplace:
Occupation: Housewife
Place of Residence: Terrell, Kaufman, Texas
Cemetery: Oakland Memorial Park
Burial Place: Terrell, Texas
Burial Date: 06 Apr 1959
Additional Relatives:
Film Number: 2115910
Digital Film Number: 4165956
Image Number: 1978
Reference Number: v X cn 22121
Collection: Texas Deaths, 1890-1976

Notes:

John Bennett Boddie's SOUTHSIDE VIRGINIA FAMILY, Volume 1, states that Mr. Cartwright was a First Lt., C.S.A. in the Third Texas Cavalry and fought in the Missouri Campaign, later serving in General Major's brigade in Louisiana and Texas. His date of death was shown by Boddie as 11 Aug 1873, which matches the photo of his headstone on FindAGrave.

As had his older brother, Cumby, Meck attended the Kentucky Military Institute in Frankfort. In 1856 he had trouble with a reoccuring infection in his left eye...which eventually led to the loss of they eye. He later attended Cumberland Unversity in Lebanon, Tennesse, also with his brother Cumby. (Henson and Parmelee, p.179-183). He finished his studies in 1859 and returned home to clerk for the Burrus and Cartwright store. (ibid, p. 193).

On May 25, 1861, Meck, his brother Lon "and twenty other volunteers rode to Shelby County, where Captain Short lived, to enlist...Short's company left in June to rendezvous near Dallas, where along with other East Texas units, they were sworn into Col. Elkana Greer's mounted regiment....(and) eventually were designated as the Third Texas Cavalry, and Short's company became Company E." (ibid, p. 200). Upon reorganization of the regiment on May 8, 1862, Meck Cartwright became second lieutenant of Company E, chosen by the majority of the forty-seven members voting. (ibid, p. 215) Meck requested and received a medical discharge in August, 1862 due to his missing left eye and a more recent impairment to his hearing. (ibid, p. 217). He rejoined the Texas Third Cavalry in 1863...and became a forage master. (ibid, p. 229) later returning home on sick leave, and later still joining General Major's Cavalry (ibid, p. 235). In May, 1864, he ceased duty as a cavalryman and was promoted to courier dispatcher at General Major's headquarters. (ibid, p. 236).

In 1873, he died at a hotel in Carthage, while travelling on business. For some time he had suffered from various ailments, including jaundice, for which he took calomel or blue pills, both which contained mercury. He also used liquor to mitigate the pain, and on August 11, the doctor pronounced him as dead of black jaundice. (ibid, p. 287). When his widow some years later moved to Terrell, Texas, to join Meck's siblings, she had his body reinterred with those of his parents and siblings. (ibid, p. 308).


(Research):
Census Listings:

Texas, San Augustine County, PO San Augustine
Enumerated 6 July 1870
Page 20
121-121
Cartwright, A 52 F W Keep House 343291 15529 Tenn
Cartwright, M 14 M W At School Tx
Cartwright, A. P. 30 M W Merchant Tx
Cartwright, Ophelia 23 F W Tx
Cartwright, Mathew Jr 7/12 M W Tx
Jones, Tom 20 M B Svt Tx
Burl, Elvira 15 F B Svt Tx
Sexton, Qunn? 10 F B Tx

Americus married Margaret Ophelia Smith on 11 Feb 1869 in Jefferson, Marion County, Texas. Margaret was born on 14 Jan 1845 in San Augustine County, Texas; died on 11 Jan 1939 in Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Shown in John B. Boddie's SOUTHSIDE VIRGINIA FAMILIES, Volume 1, as a daughter of Dr. Charles James Smith and Annie Adeline Tomlinson. Dr. Smith attended medical school in Lexington, KY and moved to Mississippi, then to Texas where he practiced medicine unitl his death at the advanced age of eighty five. The Smith's children were Eliza Jane, m. William CROUCH, Cordelia m. Rufus PRICE; Addison; Conway; m. Libby Shays; Margaret Opehelia, m. A P Cartwright; Charles Figures, and John Smith, Jr.

Henson and Parmelee note that her mother died soon after her birth, and she was raised by her older siblings, in 1860 living in Jefferson with her brother and his wife. (Henson and Parmelee, THE CARTWRIGHTS OF SAN AUGUSTINE, p. 272). Meck died at a relatively young age, and after her father died in December 1886, she joined her two oldest children, Matthew Charles and Annie in Georgetown, Texas, where both were students at Southwestern University. Teenage son Meck accompanied her to attend high school in Georgetown. They later moved to Waco, in order for Matthew Charles to attend business college. Shortly after Matthew graduated, and the other two children completed their school term in June 1890, the entire family moved to Terrell. (ibid, p. 304). Her three married children eventually built houses next door to each other on Griffith Avenue, and Ophelia lived with her daughter Meck, and Meck's banker husband, Walter P. Allen, until her death in 1939. (ibid, p. 311).

(Research):

Census Listings:

1900 Census
Texas, Kaufman County, City of Terrell
Enumerated 21 Jun 1900
SD 6 ED 75 Sheet 34 B
657-667
Cartwright, Ophelia Head W F Aug 1845 54 Wd 3/3 Tx Va Miss
Allen, America P Daug W F Feb 1874 26 Md 6 3/3 Tx Tx Tx
Allen, Walter P S-in-law W M Jan 1870 30 m 6 Tx Ala Tenn Cashier Bank
Allen, Pauline Gdtr W F Jany 1895 5 S Tx Tx Tx
Allen, Ophelia Gdtr W F Jun 1897 2 S Tx Tx Tx
Allen, Walter P Gson W M Oct 1898 1 S Tx Tx Tx
Kennedy, Hetty Servant B F Dec 1869 30 Wd 0 Tx Tx Tx
Francis, Hally Servant B F JNun 1883 16 S Tx Tx Tx

Notes:

Married:
Upon hearing of her brother's pending marriage plans, Anna Cartwright wrote her sister Mary "I cannot believe Meck is going to be married until the cermony has already been performed."

Notes:

He began clerking and keeping books for his father's store in 1831, and in 1832 they formed a partnership, "Matthew Cartwright & Co." Each contributed $2,000 to the business. The store prospered. (Noble, pages 80 - 81).

In his August 30, 2007 column in the San Augustine Tribune, Harry Noble writes that Matthew was the richest man in San Augustine and the sixth wealthiest in the State of Texas in his era. In 1860, he owned so much land scattered across the state that as he traveled on his big sorrel horse "Red Buck," it was said that no matter where he was, that he could spend the night on his own land.

Noble went on to write that Matthew exhibited maturity at an early age. When he was 14, his father sent him to the unsettled frontier of Texas with one servant to clear land John had acquired two years earlier. John also gave his son power of attorney at age 18 and sent him to Tennessee and Mississippi to settle family affairs.

At the age of 21, Matthew traveled to Wilson County where he enrolled in a local college...late in 1829 Matthew rejoined his father in Texas who was then operating a family farm, cotton gin and store.

Matthew's paid $900 in 1849 for the two-story Isaac Campbell home on Main Street. The New England style home had been built by Augustus Phelps, a master carpenter, in 1839. The palatial dwelling was still standing in San Augustine, and is owned by Matthew's direct descendants, as of 2007. Never a large slaveholder, Matthew's slaves were all employed inside or around the house, taking care of the livestock, firewood, garden and orchard.

The home was purchased by Americus "Meck" H. Cartwright and his wife, Minnie Clementine Sublett in 1898, after Amanda was forced by ill health to move in with her son Lon, and remained in the hands of Meck and Minnie's descendants. (Henson and Parmelee, p. 302).

At the time of the 1850 census Matthew's land alone was worth $165,000, and he had only seven slaves, considerably lower than most other wealthy families. The 1850 slave schedule listed the number of male and female slaves, as well as their ages, but not their names. Matthew Cartwright's bible, however, shows them as Nancy, b. 1810 and her four children, Dick, b. 1836, Emeline b. 1838, Virtue b. 1840 and Walker, b. 1846. It also lists Jane, b. 1830 and her daughter, Harriet, b. 1849.

In 1860, Matthew's occupation was listed as "land trader" and it was estimated that his real estate was worth $500,000 and personal property near $75,000, with 13 slaves. Henson and Parmelee point out by way of contrast that brother-in-law and "planter" William Garrett had a $171,651 estate, including 132 slaves, and that "Farmer-Merchant" Iredell D. Thomas had $166,000 in accumulated wealth, and 52 slaves. (Henson and Parmelee, p. 191).

After the war, the president Andrew Johnson issued an amnesty proclamation restoring citizenship to those who would pledge future loyalty to the United States; however, those holding high military or civil offices in the Confederate government, as well as those with taxable property valued over $20,000, would have to petition him directly for individual pardons. Matthew, the pragmatic businessman, wanted to get his special pardon as soon as possible so that he could resume his activities and protect his property. He took his amnesty oath on August 28, 1865 in the Caddo Parish District Court and received a copy to carry with him in order to conduct business. He later recorded this in the San Augustine District Courty. (ibid, pp. 239-243). Unlike many of their neighbors, the Cartwrights survived the Civil War without the loss or maiming of a son. The emancipation of their few household slaves was not an economic loss comparable to those suffered by neighbor planters who possessed numerous field hands. And by carefully guarding their gold and silver reserves, as well as utilizing his long business experience to carefully buy, sell and barter during the war, the family was able to resume business activities relatively unhampered. (ibid, p. 247).

His funeral notice card read:

The friends and acquantances of
MATTHEW CARTWRIGHT, Sr.
are respectfully invited to attend his funeral tomorrow
morning at 10 o'clock, A.M. He will be buried with Masonic
honors, at this late residence in the town of San Augustine.
SAN AUGUSTINE, TEXAS, April 2, 1870

Amanda chose a burial plot several hundred feet east of the house.

No copy of the obituary that surely ran in the San Augustine paper can be found. The San Antonio Daily Express carried a brief obituary on May 1: "DIED at his home in San Augustine, first day of April, Matthew Cartwright, one of the pioneers of Texas, and one of the largest, if not the largest, land holder in the state." (ibid, p. 275).

When the inventory of his estate was compiled, it was shown that he owned 298 parcels of land in 56 counties, totalling 361,632 acres with a value of $356,304. Amanda inherited one-half as his widow, and the rest was to be divided equally among his six children.

At the time of the 1870 census, Amanda reported owning real estate worth $343,281, and personal property valued at $75,529, which ultimately placed the Cartwright estate as the fourth-largest in Texas, following those of Richard King in South Texas and Galveston Merchants, J. J. Hendley and George Sealy. (ibid, pp. 278-279).



(Research):
Census Listings:

1860 Census
Texas, San Augustine County
61-61
Cartwright, Mathew 52 M Land Trader 500,000 75,000 TN
Cartwright, Mandy 42 F TN
Cartwright, A.P. 20 M TX
Cartwright, Leonidas 17 M TX
Cartwright, Anna 15 F TX
Cartwright, Mary 14 F TX
Cartwright, Mathew, Jr. 4 M TX

Matthew married Amanda "Mandy" Holman on 18 Oct 1836 in San Augustine County, Texas. Amanda (daughter of Col. Isaac Holman and Anne Wigglesworth) was born on 24 Jul 1817 in Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee; died on 26 Jun 1894 in San Augustine County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

In both 1870 and 1880. Amanda Cartwright was living in a household with her son Leonidas "Lon" and his family.

Amanda died in Lon's home at age seventy-seven. The family gathered for her funeral and, as she had wished after almost a quarter century of widowhood, she was buried next to Matthew in the little private graveyard east of her old house. Lon composed suitable facts about her life on a sheet of paper entitled "In Memoriam" for use of the minister. Besides providing her birthdate, parents' names, date of arrival in San Augustine, and marriage dated, and noting the loss of one of her six children, Lon added, "She was one of the Kindest of Mothers and devoted wife, a faithful Christian, charitable to all in need and beloved by all who know her. She had joined the Methodist Church in 1858, and, he added, she had been a faithful and consistent member...Two weeks later, Lon, who once wrote poetry for Ludie, wrote six stanzas praising motherhood. (Henson and Parmelee, p. 305).



(Research):
Census Listings:

1870 Census
Texas, San Augustine County, PO San Augustine
Enumerated 6 July 1870
Page 20
121-121
Cartwright, A 52 F W Keep House 343291 15529 Tenn
Cartwright, M 14 M W At School Tx
Cartwright, A. P. 30 M W Merchant Tx
Cartwright, Ophelia 23 F W Tx
Cartwright, Mathew Jr 7/12 M W Tx
Jones, Tom 20 M B Svt Tx
Burl, Elvira 15 F B Svt Tx
Sexton, Qunn? 10 F B Tx

Notes:

Married:
In "The Cartwrights of San Augustine,' a transcription of a stilted, formal note written by Matthew Cartwright to his future bride reads as follows:

Miss Amanda Holman,

Please allow me to address you for the first time with the most profound respect. I admire your person, your addrss and appearance....I have come to the conclusion that of all other objects met with in this life...you are the one. Therefore I now address you for the purpose of requesting permission to pay my suit on that of which is the most importance to me and I hope not indifferent to you. Please reply as soon as convenient and relieve the suspense of one who is desiorous to unite his fate and happiness in life with yours.
Your obedient servant,
Matthew Cartwright

Amanda soon accepted Matthew's proposal, scheduling the ceremony for Octobe 18, 1836. Some months prior to the wedding she bought seven yards of French muslin and two bonnest at Matthew's store, and later pink silk and gauze ribbon, all suitable for a wedding.

The couple was married nearly thirty-five years before Matthew's death, and Amanda survived him for nearly twenty-five additional years. They were buried side by side in a small family plot near their home in San Augustine. Youngest son Matthew later made arrangements to have his parents reinterred in Terrell, Texas, with a suitable marker, in September 1896. (Henson and Paremelee, p. 308).