Leonidas "Lon" Cartwright

Notes:

Obituary

The death of Leonidas Cartwright, Sr., at Terrell, Tex., on February 25, 1922, removed one of the most influential citizens of that community, a leader in movements for the public good. He was born at San Augustine, Tex., November 27, 1842, the third son of Matthew and Amanda Holman Cartwright. His grandfather, John Cartwright, was one of the pioneers of that section, going there from Tennessee in 1819, and the place where he located became, in 1831, the site of the present town of San Augustine.

Leonidas Cartwright was educated there and at the Military Institute at Bastrop, and when the war came on he and his brother, A. P. Cartwright, enlisted in May, 1861, in Company E, 3rd Texas Cavalry. When this regiment was reorganized in 1862 it became part of Ross's Brigade, and in 1864 this command took part in the Atlanta campaign under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. During this campaign he was selected as one of a hundred picked men from this brigade, as scouts under Lieutenant Taylor, to operate in the rear of Sherman's army, getting valuable information, tearing up railroad tracks and bridges, etc., to interrupt his lines of communication; and it was in this department of the Confederate army that he was mustered out after a service of four years.

He was married to Miss Ludie Ingram in December, 1868, and engaged in farming until 1870, when his father died and he assumed the extensive land business of the latter, and carried it on with marked success until 1894. He opened up a ranch in Cooke County, Tex., and another in Taylor County, and he took great interest and pride in the raising of fine horses and cattle. He located in Terrell in 1895. Four sons and five daughters survive him. He had long been a member of the Methodist Church.

SOURCE: Confederate Veteran Magazine, August, 1922.
www.confederatevets.com

Henson and Parmelee note that in the early 1880's, Lon wanted to move to the boomtown of Terrell, where traveling by train to oversee his ranches would be easier. Hoping to persuade his reluctant mother, he bought a large residential block on Griffin Avenue in Terrell and divided the property with Matthew. (Henson and Parmelee, THE CARTWRIGHTS OF SAN AUGUSTINE, p. 295). Intrigued by the success of his older brother, Cumby, with racing stock, Lon also invested in thoroughbreds, much to the diguist of their youngest brother, Matthew. The ever practical Matthew chided his mentor for risking money on exotic horses when mules were the real money makers. "Mules are a staple article," Matthew wrote, "and will command money; horses can scarcely be bartered for trash." (ibid, p 299). As his mother refused to leave San Augustine, however, Lon and his family remained in San Augustine until after her death in 1894. They built a custom Queen Anne style home on the lot they owned on Griffith Avenue, which was finished in April 1895.

(Research):

Census Listings:

1880 Census
Texas, San Augustine County, San Augustine
Page 4D SD 1 ED 80
Enumerated 7 and 8 day of June 1880
24-24
Cartwright, L. W M 38 (head) Land Business TX TN TN
Cartwright, Ludie W F 30 wife Keeps house GA GA GA
Cartwright, Amanda W F 9 daughter at School TX TX GA
Cartwright, Anna B. W F 6 daughter at school TX TX GA
Cartwright, Leonidas W M 4 son at home TX TX GA
Cartwright, Amanda W F 62 Mother Widowed at home TN TN TN
Mays Sally B F 38 Servant Cook Ga Ga Ga
Dixon Aron B M 23 Servant Laborer Miss Ala Ala

1900 Census
Texas, Kaufman County, City of Terrell, Ward 3
Enumerated 21 Jun 1900
SD 6 ED 75 Sheet 35B
676-687
Cartwright, Leonidas Head W M Nov 1842 57 M 31 Tx Tenn Tenn Capatalist
Cartwright, Ludie Wf W F Feby 1850 50 m 31 9/9 Ga SC SC
Cartwright, Leonidas Son W M APr 1876 24 S Tx Tx Geo Stock Man (live)
Cartwright, James I Son W M Apr 1879 21 S Tx Tx Geo Live Stock Man
Cartwright, Columbus Son W M Oct 1887 17 S Tx Tx Geo At School
Cartwright, Ludie Dau W F July 1885 14 S Tx Tx Geo At School
Cartwright, Mary L Dau W F Oct 1887 12 S Tx Tx Geo At School
Cartwright, Grover C Son W M Dec 1889 10 S Tx Tx Tx At School
Cartwright, Velma Dau W F Oct 1892 7 S Tx Tx Geo
Paine, Thomas Servant B M Apr 1857 43 Wd Tx Tx Tx Hostler
Stephens, James Servant B M Mch 1876 24 Wd 1 Tx Tx Tx Carriage Drivcr
Stephens, Roxie Servant B F Feby 1878 22 M 1 0 La La La Cook
677-688
Cartwright, Matthew and Mary and Family

Leonidas married Lucella "Ludie" Ingram on 17 Dec 1868 in Sexton, Sabine County, Texas. Lucella (daughter of Capt. William Ingram and Ann Bryan) was born on 17 Feb 1850 in Randolph County, Georgia; died on 24 Dec 1908 in Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
They were married after a a four-year courtship. They moved to the rural home of her deceased parents, farming in partnership with her brother-in-law Dr. Gustavus Hendrick, husband of Ann Ingram. The arrangement led to a quarrel that was settled in court in December 1869, with Lon forced to buy her property for $8,100 (Henson and Parmelee, p. 267). In August, 1870, Lon and Ludie returned to San Augustine from the old Ingram farm in Sexton to help Amanda settle her husband's estate. (ibid, p. 279), moving back to Sexton after they settled Matthew's estate, and back to San Augustine once again in July 1873, when they exchanged properties with Jimmie and Mary Ingram. (ibid, p. 283).

1. Amanda "Mantie" Holman Cartwright was born on 19 Mar 1871 in San Augustine County, Texas; died on 18 Mar 1957 in Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas.
2. Annie B. Cartwright was born on 2 Jul 1873 in San Augustine County, Texas; died on 20 Mar 1947 in Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas.
3. Leonidas Cartwright, II was born on 27 Apr 1876 in San Augustine County, Texas; died on 15 May 1944 in Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas.
4. James Ingram Cartwright was born on 16 Apr 1879 in San Augustine County, Texas; died on 26 Jul 1960 in Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas.
5. Columbus William Cartwright was born on 10 Oct 1882 in San Augustine County, Texas; died on 30 Apr 1957 in Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas.
6. Ludie Cartwright was born on 30 Jul 1885 in San Augustine County, Texas; died on 13 Feb 1970 in Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas.
7. Mary Lillian Cartwright was born in Oct 1887 in San Augustine County, Texas; died about 1984.
8. Grover Cleveland Cartwright was born on 13 Dec 1889 in San Augustine County, Texas; died on 1 Dec 1962 in Gainesville, Cooke County, Texas.
9. Velma Cartwright was born on 8 Oct 1892 in Texas; died on 11 Apr 1975 in Beaumont, Jefferson County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas.

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).

Notes:

John was the only son of Matthew (1754-1812) and Mary "Polly" Grimmer Cartwright (1761-1824), although he had five sisters. He was a grandson of John Cartwright (1728-1780) and Sarah Miller.

Harry Noble wrote a twenty page biography of him in his book, TEXAS TRAILBLAZERS (pages 70 - 90). He noted that much additional material can be found in the first five chapters of Margaret Swett Henson and Deolece Parmelee's volume THE CARTWRIGHTS OF SAN AUGUSTINE (Texas State Historical Association, Austin, 1993).

Margaret Henson, in her preface of her book about the Cartwright Family, writes that Emily Griffith Roberts, the wife a John Cartwright's great-grandson, privately published a two-volume genealogy about the family in 1939 and 1948. The volumes included research and many documents concerning the Roberts, Griffiths, Cartwrights and other interrelated families. A committee of descendants later employed Mrs. Deolece Parmelee to explore the collections of papers scattered in private hands, along with some archived at the Eugene C. Barker Texas History Center, and to prepare a more complete history. Parmelee made photocopies and typescripts, arranged them in a usable order, and eventually compiled a 450 page typescript. This was largely the basis for Henson's 1993 book.

Noble wrote that when John Cartwright was five years old his parents sold their farm in North Carolina and moved westward across the mountains into Tennessee. There they purchased two hundred acres on Drake's Lick Creek in Sumner County. John spent his childhood in Tennessee. He would continue a pilgrimage that would cover approximately 800 miles and involve at least five moves, but when completed thirty-three years later, he would be in Texas--his home for the remainder of his life. Texas would also be the home for several generations of his descendants.

While in Wilson County, Tennessee, John was a merchant, an occupation he would continue for the rest of his life. By 1818 he was having trouble collecting certain debts. His attorney, a new resident in Lebanon, Tennessee, was Sam Houston....the two men were detstined to meet again--the next time in San Augustine, Texas. (Noble, page 71)

John later moved his family to Mississippi, and "caught 'Texas fever' when the new Mexican government...stabilized...with a constitution resembling that of the United States." He began the last leg of his pilgrimage in early 1825...(taking) his family down the Mississippi River to New Orleans by steamboat and then across the Gulf and up the Red River. Leaving the river at Natchitoches, the family traveled by wagons overland past Fort Jessup to James Gaines ferry. John picked his homesite about five miles east of the Ayish Bayou close to the banks of springs near Palo Gacho Creek. The area was vacant, not a settler anywhere near, "...although the house of a previous owner remained in the vicinity." John's thirty-three year odyssey was over, ending on the banks of the Palo Gacho Creek in Texas and Coahuila, Mexico. What a mosiac of people John found in the Ayish Bayou region when he arrived. Most were hard working farmers or businessmen of modest means, but some were unscruplous drifters, already at odds with the law. (Noble, page 72)

John and his family can be found on the 1835 Sabine District census. Their were 11 slaves in their home, from ages 12 to 39. There were also 4 children born to their slaves.

On August 21, 1840, with the assistance of San Augustine attorney William W. Frizell, Cartwright made his will. In it he gave the 885 acre homesite on Palo Gacho to his two minor sons, Clinton and Richard. He also gave his wife an interest in the homesite and placed the restriction that it couldn't be sold until after her death. Additionally, he gave her all monies due him by debt. He then distributed the remaining assets to various family members. (Noble, 89) John Cartwright died on July 18, 1841, and (his son-in-law William) Garrett, along with Mary, Cartwright's widow, were appointed executors of Cartwright's estate. Their selections was confirmed the following month. With assistance from Matthew Cartwright, Garrett then compiled an inventory of the estate. It was valued at $72,800. (Noble)

In the book, The Cartwrights of San Augustine, it was noted that elder sons, Matthew and Robert, challenged the will, likely on the grounds that the document was not in keeping with the community property laws adopted by the Republic of Texas in January 1840, and because John had exceeded his testamentary powers in the distribution of his property to his children. Mary Cartwright immediately renounced her executorship in order to contest John's will so as to "receive in common with my children such portions of said estate as we are by law entitled to." The family reached a settlement in January 1842. (Henson and Parmelee, pp. 119-120).

John married Mary E. "Polly" Crutchfield on 21 Jan 1807 in Wilson County, Tennessee. Mary was born on 26 Oct 1787 in Virginia; died on 17 Jun 1848 in San Augustine County, Texas; was buried in Cartwright Cemetery, San Augustine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The daughter of George and Dicey Hoskins Crutchfield. George Crutchfield, her father, was a veteran of the revolutionary war. (Noble, page 71). Her family moved from Virginia into Kentucky, and later moved south into Tennessee. (Henson & Parmelee, page 4). On the 1880 census, son George indicates his mother was born in Virginia. "The Cartwrights of San Augustine" indicated that she grew up in Smith County, Tennessee, and that her four sisters and three brothers mostly remained in Smith County for the rest of their lifes.

Mary suffered from recurring malaria since at least 1847, and died ten days after son Clinton succumbed to the same disease. In twenty-two months, the three surviving Cartwright brothers has lost two sisters, a brother and their mother. (Hemson and Parmelee, pp. 153-154).

Notes:

Isaac was a veteran of the War of 1812 where he earned the title of Colonel. An attorney by profession, he was attracted to politics. He was elected to the Kentucky legistlature in 1810 and again in 1816. In 1818, he moved his family to Lincoln County, Tennessee, where he immersed himself in public affairs, running for the Tennessee assembly in 1823, and later serving as state senator. A credit squeeze in Tennessee put the Holman family in a financial bind, and the family decided to move to Texas. Sons William W. and James S. made the trip first, arriving in San Augustine in October 1834. (Noble, page 111). Isaac arrived in December with his two younger sons. In March, 1835, his wife and daughters followed. The entire family became citizens of the Redlands. Isaac died only eight months after his arrival in San Augustine. (Harry Noble) In "The Cartwrights of San Augustine" it was written that the family brought 20 slaves with them to Texas. (Henson & Parmelee, p. 84)

Isaac married Anne Wigglesworth on 25 Dec 1800 in Kentucky. Anne was born on 14 Sep 1783; died on 22 Jul 1841 in San Augustine County, Texas; was buried in Holman Cemetery, Sabine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Henson and Parmelee, in their book "The Cartwrights of San Augustine," wrote that Anne, along with her teenage daughters, Amanda, America and Elvira, journeyed "from Lincoln County, Tennessee via Nashville, Natchez, and Natchitoches in only fifteen days, a remarkably short time, having connected with steamboats at all three places by mere minutes. In Natchitoches a drove of horses from Arkansas had just arrived and they bought three for only $180. The colonel had been Sandford, his youngest son, to Tennessee to escort his mothers and sisters, but he had unknowingly passed them on the river. From this brief account, it is clear that Anne Wigglesworth Homas was an unusually self-reliant woman, unafraid to travel alone over unfamiliar territory. She and her three teenage daughters were relatively safe on board the steamboats, but the journey from Natchitoches seems unusual. The ladies most have been accompanied by loyal servants who could hitch the horses to their vehicles and act as an escort past Fort Jesup and through the Sabine Bottom. (pp. 84-85). Aldophus Sterne in Nacogdoches noted that a number of pope suffered from fever and died during the month [of July 1841, when both John Cartwright and Anne Wigglesworth Holman died]. While no local people identified the sickness that summer, it may have been yellow fever. Two men who left Nacogdoches in September died of the dread disease as soon as they reached Vicksburg. (p. 117).

Notes:

Married:
Shown as marrying in Woodford County, Kentucky by some. Henson and Parmelee instead cite their marriage as taking place in Harrison County.