Beverly Dandridge Acress and Susannah Margaret Bowman, Union Parish, LA
submitted by: Tim Hudson


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BEVERLY DANDRIDGE ACREE & SUSANNAH MARGARET BOWMAN

Beverly Dandridge Acree was born between about 1790 and 1795 in Hanover County Virginia,
the son of William Acree. His father apparently left Virginia about 1797 and moved to
Spartanburg District South Carolina, where in 1813 he gave land to Dandridge. They must have
sold this property soon afterwards, for by 1817 Dandridge was living in Rutherford County
Tennessee. He married Susannah Margaret Bowman there in that year. She was born in 1796,
Washington County Maryland and was the daughter of Daniel Bowman and Susannah Margaret
Horn; she was baptized in the Lutheran Church. Daniel Bowman had served in the American
Revolution and he also served as an elector in the Electoral College that elected President Andrew
Jackson. According to his Revolutionary War pension application, Daniel Bowman personally
knew Andrew Jackson. Bowman's parents were John and Catherine Bowman; they had arrived in
North America in 1720 from Prussia.

Dandridge and Susan Bowman Acree lived in Rutherford County Tennessee for a few years
following their marriage. In 1818, Dandridge's father William Acree made his will and left all his
property to Dandridge. It appears that he died in 1818 or 1819, for an elderly female was living
with Dandridge and Susan in 1820 who appears to be Dandridge's widowed mother.

In 1822 Dandridge and Susan moved from Rutherford County to Madison County. They bought a
large farm and they resided there for twelve years. In 1834, they sold the Madison County
Tennessee farm and moved to northern Ouachita Parish Louisiana. Dandridge bought a farm near
the present-day community of Point in 1835 and 1836. This area became southeastern Union
Parish Louisiana in 1839. Dandridge's farm was near the D'Arbonne Bayou, the main mode of
travel in Union Parish at that time.

North Louisiana was sparsely settled in the 1830s. Southern Union Parish was called the Piney
Woods or the Piney Hills due to the large number of pine trees and the rolling hills. There were
virtually no roads through Union Parish this early, so when the new parish was created in 1839,
work was immediately begun to build roads and bridges. Dandridge Acree was assigned to work
on one of the first roads that the police jury ordered built in June of 1839 (in Louisiana, parishes
are governed by elected bodies called "police juries"). A year later, the police jury appointed
Dandridge as one of the commissioners to receive bids for building a bridge across a creek near
his farm.

In 1841 Dandridge Acree was elected to serve on the Union Parish Police Jury, and he served in
this capacity until his death in July 1844. During his tenure, he was absent from only one meeting
of the  police jury. Since he lived 20 miles from the courthouse in Farmerville and most sessions
lasted several days, this was a serious commitment.

Dandridge Acree died on 30 July 1844 at his home in Union Parish LA. Susannah Margaret
Bowman Acree was apparently alive in 1840, but she predeceased Dandridge. All Acrees in Union
Parish descend from Dandridge, as do most of the Turners and Hudsons.

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Sources:
I wrote this brief biography based upon my own personal research into the Acree family, utilizing
in particular these sources:
+++ the court records of Spartanburg Co SC
+++ the court records of Rutherford and Madison Counties, TN
+++ the court records of Union Parish LA
+++ US census records
+++ National Archives records
+++ family Bible records