Red River County Louisiana Archives Biographies.....Elliotts, Anson County, NC ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Carolyn Shank carolynshank@msn.com May 24, 2007, 9:24 pm Author: Carolyn Shank Southward Ho! A Gran'ma's Tale By Carolyn Shank This is a story Gran'ma told: How the Elliotts Came to Louisiana. "Ain't nothin' differen," she'd say. "Butlak you Chil'en, it's one of a kind. It's a wonder. It's OUR story. And it is the story of us all." She'd pull a straw from the broom, and seat herself with a sigh in the big old rocker. (The rocker with a squeak she said was not a squeak, only the squeal of fairies' laughter.) They lived underneath and sometimes she would set us children looking for them. Her knotty old fingers would then reach into her apron pocket for the tiny round snuff can. She'd open it, carefully dip the straw in. Then she'd put a dab under her top lip. "C'mon, git round here and let me tell you 'bout your people. They wuz from Anson County, and Chesterfield, way up in the Carolina's. Then all the cousins would settle down at her feet to hear the story she'd heard from her Gran'ma. It was about her great-grandparents but she still called them Gran'ma and Gran'pa: The Elliott's of Anson. It always started this way. "Gran'ma and Gran'pa Elliott had ten chil'en. They was John W. R., he was the first; James Marshall Thomas; Mary Ann and Sarah Anne Elliott." She counted each one off on her fingers. "Then there was Joseph Copeland Elliott, Henry Pierce Elliott, and Susannah. And the last was Quin Ann, Serapty, Rosannah, who died a baby, and Alice Elliott. Gran'pa's name was Isaac Shepherd Elliott and Gran'ma's was Winny Rogers Elliott. That was all our family then." She'd look around the circle to see what we were thinking, and waggle a finger. "Listen, Chil'en, This was a long, long time ago, afore you was born. Way back 'fore there was cars or even roads. Afore the War, back in the days when they was still slavery." "Back when you wore a hoop skirt?" I loved to tease her thus. "No! I never!" she'd answer drawing herself up indignantly. "But that's the time I mean." Then she'd begin again. "They came to Red River with ten chil'en and a wagonload of friends and neighbors. The first thing they did when they got here was to build a Church. The Holley Springs Church. That's where all my people are buried, and someday I'll be there, too." My Gran'ma was always an Elliott, though she'd married a McDonald from Scotland. And this is the story she told. It is a story of courage and endurance which has always struck home with me and made me feel proud. ISAAC SHEPPARD ELLIOTT, and his wife, WINNY ROGERS, were both born in Dec. 1817 of early Anson pioneers. Isaac was a son of John Elliott, who in 1812 married Elizabeth, widow of Ebenezer Marsh. Winny was the daughter of Thomas and Winny (Collins) Rogers. The Rogers family is ancient. On American shores, it has been traced back to Thomas Rogers, and his son, James, of the Mayflower. In England, it stretches back many centuries into the dark recesses of time. Both the Elliotts and the Rogers called themselves "planters". They, themselves, had followed the land, and moved south from New England. Each family owned large tracts on both side of the North Carolina-South Carolina line. But each had large families, and all the land was already in use. It was not easy for the younger men of such families to find an independent means to a living. As families grew and the land became more and more partitioned, it became less and less profitable to farm. This is what Isaac Elliott, who had several older brothers, came to face in 1836 when he married Winny Rogers. At first, Isaac worked as overseer on his father-in-law's (Thomas Rogers) land in Chesterfield, S.C. But Isaac and Winny were both ambitious and independent. Money was scarce. By 1850, they had ten children, and the Elliotts needed to make their own way in the world. The land was becoming less productive in the Carolinas, and tension was high over the issue of slavery. The black clouds of war loomed on the horizon. It must have seemed to them to be "now or never." They must have frequently discussed this with friends and neighbors, who were also facing hard economic times. But then Isaac heard of a possible opportunity. It seems Zachariah Holley and his wife, Margaret (Sowell), had decided to organize a wagon train South, where Bounty Land was being granted for the Mexican War. On April 7, 1854 Isaac purchased the Military bounty land warrant of Charles N. Garrett. Garrett had been a private in Capt. Muckleroy's Company. The bounty was for 40 acres in Natchitoches, La. On the same day, Isaac spent $51.60 to purchase another 40 acres adjacent. They began to prepare for the long trek South. When the day to leave finally came, Gran'ma told: "Winny stood looking about the empty cabin with tearful eyes. "Now come on Mother," Isaac said. "We got to move on ahead, for the chil'en. It's what your Momma and Daddy did. It's what we gotta do. You'll see them all again one day." He gave a little tug, and she moved on out to the wagons. The long journey began. It involved travel overland by wagon to west corner of Arkansas, where the Red River turns abruptly south into Louisiana. Then by flatboat down the Red River. The Red River, so called because of the red clay farmland of its watershed, empties into the Atchafalaya and Mississippi Rivers. It rises in the Texas Panhandle and flows east along the border of Texas and Oklahoma and then turns south. It's total length is 1,360 miles. The river was unnavigable in the early 19th Century. It had been blocked by a "Great Raft" of fallen trees over 160 miles long. The logjam had finally been cleared in 1839 by Capt. Henry Miller Shreve. It had now became navigable for small craft as far as Natchitoches, the parish in which they planned to farm the rich alluvial land. At last, the group began to load their bedsteads, mattresses, foodstuffs, utensils and tools aboard the wagons. They rounded up their precious stock, crowded the children and slaves into the wagons, and began their trip into the wilderness of North Louisiana. The first part of the trip was the hardest. "That wagon jolted so much," Gran'ma said, "the milk turned to butter. Wet and cold, or too hot. It was so dusty at the end of a day, wasn't no way to tell the Coloreds from the whites. The only thing to see was teeth. The chil'en squalled all day: "When we gonna eat? I'm hungry... and the women asked the men: "how much further?" "Then the sky opened up and it rained. It rained so much and the mud was so thick the wheels on the wagon got stuck. The men had to get out and chop down a tree to pry the wagons out. Ever'body got sick. But it was too late to turn back, so they just kept on going. Sides' there was nothing to go back to. They'd all sold out. They carried ever'thing they owned." They traveled on, feeling every inch of it, especially Winny, who was pregnant with the 11th child. The last part of the trek was easier, once they got all the cattle, wagons, children, wives, a few slaves, and farmers aboard the flatboat. They had a few close calls, I imagine. But nothing worse than seeing a water moccasin swimming along or an afternoon thunderstorm or two. Louisana is noted for both. It is almost always warm and humid. Until, at last, they'd arrived at the pretty little city of Natchitoches. Natchitoches is the oldest city in Louisiana, and it carries the Spanish influence: wrought iron balconies, colonnaded store fronts, and brick lined streets. It is a tiny New Orleans. Natchitoches was also the home of one of the largest slave-holders in the State, the Prudhommes. But the travellers still had a good ways to go overland. When they finally reached the land they had purchased, it was uncleared wilderness. Upon arrival, shelter became a primary concern. Isaac and the men built his family a cabin of split logs with a mud chimney. This cabin stood on the Elliott land until 1938, when it was torn down by a new owner. After housing everyone, they set about to build that church. It was to serve, as well, as a community meeting place and school for the community. Zachariah Holley had donated five acres of land for the Holley Springs Church, and a cemetery. The first marriage in the church was George Adcock to Mary Ann Holley. The church, too, was split log. It stood until 1948, when it was replaced with a new church. The cemetery, today almost full, has ever since been the traditional burying grounds of the Elliotts, and the Holleys, as well as others whose ancestors were on the original wagon train South. The slaves who accompanied these families, then buried on the edge of the cemetery, are now close to the center. But before either church or cemetery had been completed, the Elliotts had already buried four more of their own. All died during a smallpox epidemic. Winny, only 36, died 22 Nov. 1856, according to the Family Bible. She followed closely their three children: Quin Ann, two; Joseph Copeland Elliott, eleven; and Mary Elizabeth Elliott, 15. The four were buried on the Elliott homestead, the cemetery then not having been laid out. Isaac Elliott lived on until 21 May 1895 and is buried with his other children, grandchildren and great grandchildren at Holley Springs. The Elliotts tried to keep in touch with the families back home in the Carolinas through writing letters. Most of these letters have long since ceased to exist. Only one has survived: It is from Isaac's nephew, Sampson Hough, the son of Isaac's sister, Lavinia Elliott and Joseph Hough. Another of his sisters, Nancy (b.1812), married James West, in Anson. The "Aunt Polly" of the letter is probably Mary Ann, wife of Robert Elliott, dec'd, a Great Aunt. Chesterfield Dist So. Ca. Sept. the 18th 1860 Dear Uncle, I once more seat myself to drop you a few lines by way of writing which will inform you that I am well. Hoping these lines may reach you and family are enjoying the same blessing of life. I rec. yours in due time and was truly glad to hear that you wer all well & at the same time sorry to hear of such lite crops out their. Crops her generaly speaking are very sorry. Particular up land. We had a drowth of about six weeks write in the worst time it could have come. Some places about they did not suffer much. Out about the courthouse and Cherau they suffered a great deal more than I did. I am told their corn finally died and fel down. I think next year wil be the hardest year we have had in sometime. there is hardly any person in my knowing that’s making any corn for sale and there is lots wil have to buy if they can get it. It wil have to be brought up on the cars from some other source or people wil suffer. I think I wil make about as much as I made last year. I ought to have made a great deal more. I run to plows this year, and only one last. I think I wil make about three bales cotton. Cotton is better accordin than corn, though it isn't near as good as it was last year. I think Mother wil make about enough to do her. Uncle Isaac: Mother has joined the Baptist church. she was baptised last friday the 14th of this month. their have been a greate many revivals out hear this year, both Methodist and baptist. they had a protracted meeting at fork Creek Church a week or so ago and some 125 joined. Just about everyone in the settlement joined. Scarely any left, now and then a scatterin' one. L.W.R Blair has sold nearly all his negroes and is going to sell his lands. King Lowell has bought some of it. he is to pay 3,000 for what he got. I expect he is going to sell out and put this money out at interest. He mised a crop this year, said it would take 3,000 dollars worth of corn to make a crop next year. I have heard such bad accounts all out in the western states. I have declined selling out yet a while. I expect to make a crop hear again next year. Land will hardly get any cheaper, and if the railroad come, land will rise. It is to run from bishopville up by Lancaster to Charlotte, if they get a charter from the legislature. I expect they will go to work this winter. It is thought it wil run some whear between her and Mother's. Ike's wife has another daughter some 2 or 3 weeks old. I suppose you have heard of the death of Aunt Polly as John has written to you since then. Tell John not to think hard of me for not writing to him this time. Tel him I will write before long. Tel James to write. It seems as he has quit writing me altogeather. Tel him I should like to hear from him as often as convenient. Give my respects to all the family. Write soon. No more at present. yours truly Sampson Hough To Mr. Isaac Ellliott Iverson P.O., La. It was not long after Isaac received this letter, that Louisana seceded from the Union. It was Jan. 26, 1861. In the Nov. 1860 election the state had voted three to one against secession. Most of the landowners were yeoman farmers and did not own slaves. However, the election of Abraham Lincoln, who represented a radical northern Republican party, tipped the scales the other way. When the state's secession convention met in Baton Rouge in January 1861, sentiment had changed radically. Louisiana became the sixth state to secede. Control of vital ports on the Mississippi along the borders of Louisiana became vital for both sides. By November 1861 the state had enrolled more than 23,000 Confederate troops. In Red River, as elsewhere, sentiment was high against those who did not answer the call. Patrols roamed the countryside searching for malingerers. Two of Isaac's young neighbors who had hidden themselves in a barn to escape being pressed into service had been hunted down and shot. Isaac and Winny Elliott's eldest, John William, 26, hastened to marry his sweetheart, M. E. DeLoach, before he was mustered in as 3rd Corporal in Co. B, 11th Battalion of the Louisiana Infantry. But John never saw battle. Only five months later on Oct. 5, 1862, he died of measles at Camp Delhi, La. His was the first burial in the Holley Springs Church, in (now) Coushatta, La. Both Isaac and his second son, James Marshall Thomas Elliott ("Jim"), then 23, served in the Confederacy. Isaac was in Co. B. Maddox Regt. of the Louisiana Reserves. Jim was mustered into the 11th Louisiana B Co Battalion. Both were captured. Jim was captured aboard the Queen of the West at the Battle of Grand Lake, La., and taken prisoner. The Queen of the West was a Yankee gunboat which had been captured by the Confederacy. Its Captain, Charles Ellet, and crew had escaped. The Queen was a wooden steamer which had been strengthened with a steel prow. She carried an 80 pound rifled Parrott gun on her main deck. On the gun deck was mounted one twelve pound and three 12-pound brass howitzers. At Grand Lake, she was recaptured by the North. She participated in the Battle of Vicksburg and eventually was destroyed in battle. The war ended and both Isaac and his son, Jim, came home. After the war, Jim Elliott established a mail route in the Coushatta area. He was appointed Parish Assessor by Gov. P.A. Wiltz. He served as a deputy sheriff in 1876, and was elected Sheriff of Red River on April 16, 1884. He married Martha Collins, the daughter of Elizabeth (Long) and George Washington Collins. He was re-elected in 1886 and again in 1888, making a total three terms. Jim's son, William, was to go on to become sheriff, too. There's more to the story, of course. It goes on and on into the 21st Century. Each new part is a tribute to the courage, faith, and perseverance of the Elliotts, and all the other families, who have each contributed a story of their own. This is our American heritage. It is a part of our national consciousness. As Gran'ma always used to say when she ended her story: "We oughta be proud Americans. We made a lot of butter to git where we are. An' while we were at it, we made ourselves into the best people in the world." ## Isaac Sheppard Elliott (24 Dec 1817, Anson, N.C. -31 May 1895, Coushatta, Red River, La.) Buried at Holley Springs Church. Winifred Rogers Elliott (Dec. 1817, Anson, N.C. - 22 Nov. 1856, Coushatta, Red River, La.) John W. R. Elliott (1837, Anson, N.C. - 5 Oct. 1862, Coushatta, Red River, La.) Bur. Holley Springs Church James Marshall Thomas Elliott (15 Feb. 1839, Anson, N.C. - 30 April 1902, Coushatta, Red River, La.) Bur. Holley Springs Church Mary Ann Elizabeth Elliott (June 1840, Chesterfield, S.C. - Nov, 1856, Coushatta, Red River, La. Sarah A. Elliott (5 May 1842, Jefferson, S.C. - 12 June 1933, Coushatta, Red River, La.) Bur. Holley Springs Church. Joseph Copeland Elliott (1845, Chesterfield, S.C. - Nov. 1856, Coushatta, Red River, La.) Henry Pierce Elliott (16 Sept. 1846 Jefferson, S. C. -Coushatta, Red River, La.) Quin Ann Elliott (23 Jan. 1849 Chesterfield, S.C.- Nov. 1856, Coushatta, Red River, La.) Rosana Elliott (28 Dec. 1850, Chesterfield, S.C. - 1853, place unknown) Serapty Ann Elliott (4 Apr 1851, Chesterfield, S.C. -5 Oct. 1921 Coushatta, Red River, La.) Bur. Holley Springs Church. Alice S. E. Elliott (19 Apr. 1854, place unknown - Bienville, La.) Sources: Elliott Family Bible Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Northwest Louisiana Holley Hill Cemetery records Confederate Military records Deeds, Marriage and Probate Records, Red River Parish and Natchitoches Parish, La. Louisiana Homestead Record U.S. Censuses of 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880 Numerous correspondents "Gran'ma" File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/redriver/bios/elliotts119gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/lafiles/ File size: 18.8 Kb