Our ancestor
JABEZ FITZGERALD, born about 1787 in Tennessee, was the son
of the Garrett Fitzgerald and Jane
Moore. He married Elizabeth, surname unknown,
about 1805 and purchased land in Marion
County, AL, 8 March 1822. Jabez is listed
as a private in Capt. William Russell's
Company of Mounted Spies in the state of TN.
On the company muster and pay roll
he is listed as serving from 4 October 1813
through 4 April 1814. Jabez Fitzgerald
appears on the 1830 Marion County, AL, and
census, as head of household.
We find him in 1836, as Strickland,in his History of
Fannin County 1836-1843, says, Jabez
Fitzgerald, along with his family came overland
through Arkansas and the Cherokee county
to Fort Towsen Landing. There they
crossed the Red River to Jonesboro,which
was in the Mexican province of Texas
located north of the present day Clarksville,TX.
At Jonesboro, he and Mark R. Roberts
joined Daniel Rowlett's party, which
had left Memphis, TN, in the fall of 1835, arriving
in Jonesboro 1 March 1836. Rowlett's
party consisted of John and Edward Stephens,
Daniel Slack, and Richard H. Locke.
This group had engaged the services of Captain
Benjamin Crook of the Steamboat "Rover"
to bring them to Jonesboro. About the last
of March 1836, these pioneers left
Jonesboro headed for the home of Carter B.Clifft on
Bois d'Arc Creek. They arrived
there about the first of April. The women, children,
and slaves remained at the Clifft's
compound, while the men ventured further west on
the river in search of favorable places
to establish their new homes.Jabez Fitzgerald,
and most of the rest of the party,
settled at a location on Red River called Pepper Mill
Creek. This area was later renamed
Tulip Bend, because of the natural bend made by
Red River. Early Fannin County
deed and probate records refer to this community as Lexington. During the
first months, these pioneers were busy building homes, clearing
land, and making the settlement secure.
But from time to time, detachments were sent
out to determine the location and mood
of the Indians in the area.
Several
settlers were killed by the Indians between 1836 and 1843, but more
often renegade bands of Indians made
thieving raids from north of Red River or
Arkansas. On 1 May 1839, a group
of twelve citizens set out in an attempt to recover
some horses stolen the previous night
from Jabez Fitzgerald John R. Garnett (Jabez's son-in-law),John Duncan,
George Duncan, George Dameron,J. C. Dodds, John Davis,
and Isham Davis. The horses were
trailed into the Indian Territory and some almost
to Ft. Smith, AR. Those horses
in Arkansas were in the possession of a Cherokee
Indian, and some were recovered.
As soon as possible, several men from the settlement left for south Texas
to
join the war against Mexico for Texas
Independence. Jabez Fitzgerald, considered
an old man at age 50, did not accompany
the group; but he loaned a man a horse,
which enabled one more man to enter
the fight. For this deed,Jabez Fitzgerald was
later granted an additional Land Certificate
by the Republic of Texas Board of Land Commissioners for
640 acres.
Jabez
Fitzgerald's original claim was on Red River, directly north of Ft.
Inglish, now Bonham, Texas. A Texas
Historical Marker, bearing Jabez's name along
with the others in the Daniel Rowlett
party, stands a Tulip denoting that these seven
men were the original settlers of the
area. Court records in 1838/9 show that Jabez
Fitzgerald and Thomas Jouett were granted
permission to operate a ferry across Red
River near the mouth of the Blue River.
On the Republic of Texas 1840 census, Jabez
is listed in Fannin County as follows:
1 poll, 872 acres, 3 slaves, 1 stud horse, and 1
wooden clock.
Hodges in
her History of Fannin County, refers to a Garrett Fitzgerald, as a brother
to Jabez. They were likely not
brothers. It is believed that Garrett was the son of William,
who was a brother to Jabez. So
this would make Garrett, Jabez's nephew.
This Garrett Fitzgerald along with
a wife named Margaret, is found on early census
records.
By using these census records,
we place this Garrett in the same county in
1830 and 1840 as Jabez. This Garrett
Fitzgerald died in 1859 naming "Elizabeth" as
his widow. So he married at least twice,
it would appear. This Garrett was the father
of John Denison, James, Elizabeth Jane,
and others; but not a Garrett. Jr. There was
a younger Garrett Fitzgerald also found
on the 1830 Marion Co.,AL, census on the
farm next to Jabez Fitzgerald.
He is listed as head of the household, aged 20-30, with
a wife, and a son under the age of
five. This Garrett Fitzgerald, who is our ancestor,
also came to Texas. He and his
family are found on the 1850 Fannin County census
as G. Fitzgerald aged 43/45 born in
TN, wife Nancy aged 40, born in SC; W. P. male
aged 20 born in AL, along with other
children born after 1830. Jabez named Garrett
Fitzgerald as a son in his will dated
1841/1843. It is confusing to have two Garrett
Fitzgeralds from Marion County, AL,
arrive in the Republic of Texas about the same
time, but even more confusing in that
the younger Garrett was referred to as Garrett,
Jr. when he was not the son of the
older Garrett. But it was not uncommon at that
time one to be called "junior" to distinguish
him from his older relative, which was
done in this case.
All ten children
of Jabez and Elizabeth Fitzgerald accompanied them to Texas,
or soon followed. Patrick, a
young single man, died 5 March 1836, soon after his
arrival in Texas. Jabez filed
a land claim on Patrick's behalf, as heir to Patrick's
estate, and was granted one-third league
of land in Cooke County, TX, as Patrick's
headright.
Garrett Fitzgerald,
an older son born about 1806, left his wife and children
in Alabama when he came to Texas in
1836. His family joined him in Texas in
1844. William R., a son, married
Nancy A., likely Boswell. Three of Jabez's older
children are listed by name in his
will. They were Garrett, William R. and Margaret
Baker. Thomas Jenkins, William
Sadler, and John R. Garnett are listed
as sons-in-law. Sarah Fitzgerald
was married to William Sadler, and Margaret to
James Baker. The daughter who
married Thomas Jenkins is yet unknown. In his
will, Jabez named his three minor children:
John, James T. and Rachel B. Rachel
later married a man named Pace.
John must have died without issue before 1855,
as he, or his heirs,are not mentioned
in the settlement of Jabez's estate.
John R. Garnett, administrator of Jabez's will, was a son-in-law. We are
not
sure which Fitzgerald daughter was
his wife. His wife is listed as Margaret on the
1850 census, but Margaret Fitzgerald
is known to have married James Baker.
Perhaps Margaret Fitzgerald married
Garnett second, or John R. Garnett had a
second wife who just happened to be
named Margaret. The Dallas News reported
the worst flood seen in years along
the Red River near the end of 1842 or the
beginning of 1843. The paper,
explaining that word of the damages was just reaching
Dallas, dated about 5 January 1843
said, "The flood's destructive influence carried
away the distillery of Mr.Jabez Fitzgerald."
This flood happened shortly before Jabez's
death. Jabez Fitzgerald had only about
seven years in Texas before his death soon
after 19 March 1843, which is when
he added a codicil to his will. During those seven
years, Jabez fought Indians, filed
land claims, cleared land, built a home, operated
a river ferry, planted crops, raised
livestock, ran a whiskey still, and made a will.
BIRTH: History of Fannin County, TX, by Floy C. Hodge 1966 p 177
MARR: Estimation based on birth of first child; 1830 Marion
Co., AL, census
DEATH: Jabez Fitzgerald's codicil to will, Fannin Co., TX, 19 March
1843
RESEARCH LOG: Deed Book J, Land Deeds
of Jefferson County, TN, printed record
P 230 #220; 1830 Marion County, AL,
census; Jabez Fitzgerald's will, dated 1841,
codicil added 1843, Fannin County,
Texas; A History of Fannin County,TX, 1966, by
Floy Candall Hodge p 177 (Note: She
confuses much, but is correct about Jabez's
birth and death dates and that he joined
Dr. Daniel Rowlett's party fromTN to Texas
in 1836.); History of Fannin County,
Texas, 1836-1843, by Rex Wallace Strickland from Southwestern Historical
Quarterly, 1930,PP 84-91, 116-117; The Lamar Papers. Vol. IV,
p 218; Willow Wild Cemetery, Bonham,
TX; Obituaries for William Patrick and Emily Belle (Downing) Fitzgerald;
Fannin County Probate Records 1836-1843,LDS Library ,Microfilm #1293839;
Republic of Texas 1840 Census; LDS Library Microfilm #1293839, #1293840,
1293841, #1293842, Fannin County, TX, Probate Records, Books A, B,C, D,
E. F., G.; TN Gazette 24 Oct. 1804;
Land Records Vol. 3 p 177 Huntsville, AL, #1297, 8 March 1822; Lora Tindall's
Texas First Families (Certificate& Narrative) on Jabez Fitzgerald 1846-1996;Texas
Historical Marker standing in Fannin County near Tulip
Bend; Jabez Fitzgerald's War of 1812
Records from National Archives
XXX56XXX
(1787-1843)
Compiled by:
Lora B. Tindall
Grayson
County TXGenWeb
