The Reunion of Ox Horns (Mack Family), Livingston Parish, La. File submitted by Carolyn R. Taylor carotaylor1@juno.com ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** In 1849 the MACK family arrived in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. They had traveled from Alabama and were on their way somewhere else. Possibly they were on their way to grazing land in Texas. They came by ox drawn wagon and the ox is said to have broken it's leg (or it's neck) in Livingston Parish, possibly in the vicinity of the Mack Cemetery No. 1. It was decided to settle where they were, and not buy another oxen and continue the trek west. January 7, 1999, the horns of the oxen were together again, def- initely the first time in over sixty years, possibly the first time in over one hundred and twenty-five years, and one hundred and fifty years after that ox died. John Bishop Mack, the oldest son of John Christopher Mack to make the trip from Alabama and settle in Louisiana, was said to have arrived in Livingston Parish on February 15, 1849. In the 1850 census for Livingston Parish, John and Mary MAC (Mack) have a one year old girl in their house- hold named Amanda A. who was the only one of the children shown as born in Louisiana. We don't know that John Bishop traveled to Louisiana with his father, but it seems likely. We also don't know if others in the party may have gone on to the intended des- tination of the entire group. One of the horns is now owned by Fulton Mack, Jr. of Jefferson County, Tx. It is carved with the initials: J C for John Christopher Mack (1795 - 1875) G C M for George Christopher Mack (1832 - 1887) W H M for William Hudson Mack (1857 - 1927) A F M for Arthur Fulton Mack (1895 - 1951) John Christopher Mack was the head of the family, George Christopher Mack was his son and a younger brother of John Bishop Mack, William Hudson was George's oldest son who inherited the home place in Pine Grove, St. Helena Parish, La. When William Hudson Mack died, sect- ions of the property were written of pieces of paper and placed in a hat. His children drew from the hat to determine which section they would inherit. Earl Christopher Mack, third son and second oldest living son of William Hudson inherited the piece with the house and everything on it. A few years later, a younger brother, Arthur Fulton was there visiting and saw the old ox horn laying in the yard where dogs had been chewing on it. He asked for it, his brother gave it to him, and he carried it home with him to Texas. It is now owned by his only son. The other horn evidently came down through the family of John Bishop Mack (1828 - 1899). It is thought that Christopher Columbus Mack (1851 - 1931), oldest son of John Bishop, had possession of it be- cause it was inherited by his youngest son and has the initials of two of his other sons on it. They were: J P M for John Plummer Mack (1889 - 1963) J L M for Joseph Labon Mack (1885 - 1959) The youngest son was Columbus Cornelius Mack (1894 - 1979), and the horn is now owned by his son Fred Mack of Livingston Parish, La. Also carved on the horn, other than the initials above, is a vine with leaves and a deer. THE FIRST MACK FAMILY IN LIVINGSTON PARISH This is what we know, and think we know, about the first Mack family in Livingston Parish. John Christopher Mack was born 29 Aug. 1795 (in Rhode Island per some of the passed down family stories) in Connecticut per the 1850 Liv- ingston Par., La. census. This family did not get counted in the 1860 or 1870 Louisiana census. In the 1850 census, his wife Mary was shown as being 41, thus born about 1809. Their tombstone, placed in the Mack Cemetery No. 1 in 1974, has his birth and death years as 1795 & 1869 and hers as 1808 & 1868. A written cemetery record of the Mack Cemetery provided to my family about 30 odd years ago gives his death year as 1875, 80 years of age, and his wife's (Mary E. or Mary Jane RUSSELL) dates were given as born 1800 and died 1864. Since John C. Mack was still living to be one of the signers of their daughter Cynthia's succession 18 Sept. 1870, I think it is more likely that the dates given in the written cemetery record are correct. It is said that some of the children were born in Mobile, Alabama. I found the John C. Mack family in Dallas Co., AL for the 1830 census. Both the oldest male and the oldest female were stroked as between the ages of 30 & 40, there were nine children in the home: 1 male & 1 female 10-15, 2 males & 1 female 5-10, and 2 males & 2 females 0-5. If Mary Jane was born in 1800, and the older children were closer to 10 than to 15, it is possible they were her children. For the 1840 census, the John Mack Family was in Lowndes Co., AL. The southeast corner of Dallas Co. had become Lowndes Co. by that time. The oldest male was stroked as 40-50 and the oldest female was stroked as 30-40. Both census years considered together would seem to indicate that the birth year of 1800 is correct for Mary. There were five children in the home: 2 males 10-15, 1 male & 1 female 5-10 and 1 female 0-5. A family group sheet given to my father many years ago gave the child- ren of John C. Mack as: 1. John Bishop, b. 5 Mar. 1828 AL, m. 28 Jul. 1848, d. 25 Dec. 1899 spouse: Sarah DRISKELL 2. George W., b. abt. 1833 AL, d. 1888 3. Mary J., b. abt. 1835 AL, m. Perry WATTS 4. Caroline, b. abt. 1837 AL, m. Calvin DURBIN 5. Ezra, b.?, AL 6. Cynthia, b. abt. 1843 AL, m. Poke JONES 7. Robert Warren, b. 25 Mar. 1847 AL, d. 7 Nov. 1900 8. Amanda, b. abt. 1849 AL 9. William, b. ? AL 10. Sophronia, b. LA, m. Scott THOMPSON With my own research and the research of other Mack descendants, this is what I now believe about the family of John Christopher and Mary Jane Mack: 1. John Bishop Mack, b. 5 Mar. 1828 AL, d. 25 Dec. 1899 LA m. 28 Jul. 1848 AL, Sarah DRISCOL or DRISKELL (7 known children) 2. Ezra R. Mack, b. abt. 1830 AL, m. abt. 1849, d. 1864 TN (family records) E.R. Mack, AL 25th Inf. Co. K "The Roster of Confederate Soldiers" Another Mack researcher found on the Internet, Ezra R. Mack, a vol- unteer from Coffee Co., AL serving in Tennessee. I believe it was he that was listed in the 1850 Coffee Co. AL census as Cyra R. Mack with wife Charlott and son (5/12) George, and in the 1860 Coffee Co., AL census as Israel R. Mack with wife Charity and children George 10, William 8, Polly 4, and Allen 2. I also believe his wife Charlott or Charity was a daughter of Allen and Frances DRISKELL who were living next door in the 1850 census and nearby in the 1860 census, and that she was probably related to Sarah DRISKELL, wife of John Bishop Mack. 3. George Christopher Mack, b. 13 Sept. 1832 AL, d. 15 Sept. 1987, La. m. 16 Oct. 1856 La., Elvira Ann "Etta" WHITE (7 known children) 4. Mary Jane Mack, b. abt. 1835 AL, d. bef. 1868 LA, m. Commodore Perry WATTS, she may have been the mother of Anna (b. abt. 1855) living with he and his second wife Louisiana LOFLIN in the 1870 census. 5. Caroline Mack, b. abt. 1837 AL, d. abt. 1875 LA, m. bef. 1855 Calvin DURBIN (5, possibly 6, children) 6. William Mack, b. abt. 1841 AL, d. 1864 Vicksburg in Civil War 7. Cynthia Mack, b. abt. 1843, Mobile, AL, d. abt. Aug. 1870, m. 7 Jan 1868 James John Poke JONES (1 son raised by John Bishop Mack) 8. Robert Warren Mack, b. 25 Mar. 1847 Mobile, AL, d. 7 Nov. 1900, m. 13 Aug. 1867 Sarah Jane MOSELY (8 known children) 9. Amanda A. Mack, b. abt. 1849 Livingston, LA We don't know if Amanda survived to have a family or not.) 10. Sophronia Mack, b. abt. 1840 LA, d. 1865, m. Scott THOMPSON this information per family records. The only Scott Thompson we've found in the area was Winfield Scott Thompson, son of Thomas Thompson and Alcenith WATSON, he was born about 1848. So, I think it may be that Sophronia was born after the 1850 census and was married and had died by the time she was fifteen years of age. This would account for all the children in the 1840 census, plus the ones born after. John Bishop, and possibly Ezra (if he was born before the 1830 census was taken), are the only ones identified from the 1830 census. Who were the others, and what became of them? ***********