Alexander Wilson Upshaw and Zilleann Frances Barron, Union Parish, LA
submitted by: Tim Hudson

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ALEXANDER WILSON UPSHAW & ZILLEANN FRANCES BARRON

Alexander Wilson Upshaw was born about 1826 in Walton Co GA, the son of Richard Upshaw
and Rebecca Elder. Little is known about his early life as his father left very few records. It
appears they lived in Walton County until about 1840, and sometime between 1840 and 1850
Richard Upshaw died. By 1850 Rebecca Elder Upshaw and her younger children were living in
Butler Co AL near Leroy Upshaw, Jr., who was either her brother-in-law or her husband's uncle.

Alexander Wilson Upshaw married Zilleann Frances Barron in 1847, in either Macon or
Tallapoosa Co AL. She was born in Jones Co GA in 1824, the daughter of Henry Barron and
Sarah Callaway. Her family had lived in Jones, Monroe, and Upson Cos. GA until 1833, when
they moved to Alabama. In 1848 Henry Barron moved his family to Tallapoosa Co AL and
Alexander and Zilleann lived with them. In early 1852, Henry and Sarah Barron sold their farm in
Tallapoosa County and moved to Union Par LA. Alexander Wilson bought a portion of Henry's
farm in 1853, located in the Camp Creek community, on Cornie Bayou a few miles south of
Spearsville.

Alexander Wilson Upshaw joined the Confederate Army in the spring of 1863 and his unit
participated in the Battles of Grand Gulf and Port Gibson, Mississippi in May, 1863. He was
present during the siege of Vicksburg and surrendered with Confederate forces on 4 July 1863.
His brothers William Elisha and Jonathan W. Upshaw both joined the same company and were
sent east in 1861. Elisha survived the war, but Jonathan was impaled with a sword by a Yankee
cavalryman in a South Carolina battle in July 1862. He lived for several weeks afterwards, cared
for by a local family until he died.

A. W. Upshaw was a Primitive Baptist, and a deacon of New Hope Primitive Baptist Church in
Spearsville, Louisiana. He is the earliest recorded member of that church; he was a member of it
as early as 1856, although almost certainly his father-in-law Henry Barron was one of the
founding members. The surviving minutes show that Upshaw served the church as moderator
during the 1870s on occasions in which there was no minister present.

Ironically, both A. W. Upshaw and Z. F. Barron Upshaw used both of their given names
interchangeably throughout their lives, known at various times as "Alexander W. Upshaw",
"Wilson A. Upshaw", "Zilleann F. Upshaw", and "Frances Z. Upshaw".

Alexander Wilson Upshaw died 11 Feb 1883. Zilleann Frances Barron Upshaw continued to live
on their farm and she maintained a household until the mid-1890s. No record of her date of death
has been located. She was alive in 1895, but was dead by 1899.


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Sources:
I wrote this brief biography based upon my own personal research into the Upshaw family,
utilizing the court records of Union Parish LA, US census records, National Archives materials,
church records, and family Bible records.