Bios: Will & Martha Lucky, Winn Parish, LA Submitted by: Lyn Collins ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** TIPS FOR SEARCHING RECORDS ON THE INTERNET Netscape & Ms Explorer users: If searching for a particular surname, locality or date while going through the records in the archives or anywhere....try these few steps: 1. Go to the top of the report you are searching. 2. Click on EDIT at the top of your screen. 3. Next click on FIND in the edit menu. 4. When the square pops up, enter what you are looking for in the FIND WHAT ___________blank. 5. Click on DIRECTION __DOWN. 6. And last click on FIND NEXT and continue to click on FIND NEXT until you reach the end of the report. This should highlight the item that you indicated in "find what" every place it appears in the report. You must continue to click on FIND NEXT till you reach the end of the report to see all of the locations of the item indicated. THE WILL AND MARTHA LUCKY STORY by Marshall J Hough In the early 1850's William and Martha Lucky joined that restless group of Southerners moving west to settle new land. They were moving from Alabama to the newly established parish of Winn in north central Louisiana. Making the move with Will and Martha were all of their sons and daughters and their families, except for the oldest son Francis Valentine and his family. Will would claim 40 acres of bounty land with script that he had been issued as a result of his service in the US Army as a private in Captain Water's Company, Alabama Militia, in the Seminole Indian War of 1836. Will was 34 years old at this time, and he and Martha had 5 children. He enlisted on March 1st and was discharged by Surgeon's certificate on April 26, 1836. He would get an additional 120 acres in 1853 which he assigned to Daniel Walker, who also purchased the original 40 acres that Will received. Will applied for more bounty land in 1855. The hill area where the Lucky's settled was covered with virgin long-leaf pine. The soils in this area were primarily deep, sandy loam soils of low fertility, hard to clear, easy to work, but subject to heavy soil erosion on the slopes. They were best suited to a subsistence type of farming. Under this system, the open, cultivated land was used to produce food for the family and feed for the family work animals. A cash crop, such as cotton, was grown on a few acres to provide money with which to purchase the necessities that could not be provided locally. Cotton and wool, both produced on the farm, were used for spinning and weaving the cloth used in the family's clothes. Nearby Dugdemona river bottom and its numerous, smaller tributaries were covered with a variety of hardwood trees that provided wood for the fireplace and mast for ducks, deer, squirrels and hogs that the settlers depended on for a large part of their protein food. The long-leaf pine forest the Lucky's found in northwest Winn parish were clear of underbrush due to frequent burnings going back to Indian days and visibility was excellent. There were good stands of pinehill bluestem and other grasses, and forbes, growing on the floor of these forests. These plants provided an excellent source of forage for range cattle and horses during the summer months. For winter grazing, native bamboo or switchcane, found in abundance under the hardwood forest provided the winter grazing for the cattle. The wild hogs were earmarked to establish ownership and then after fattening on the hardwood mast each winter were killed, butchered and the meat was salted down, then smoked and used as the main source of protein by the settlers each year. The Lucky family no doubt accustomed themselves to this kind of lifestyle in northwest Winn parish. Lucky family bible records show that Will and Martha were the parents of 7 boys and 6 girls. All were living at the time of the move west with the possible exception of the older son, Francis Valentine. He married Mary Blocker on February 11 1847 and the birth of a daughter, Emily Elizabeth, was duly noted in the family bible on April 17 1849. No further entries in the family bible were made for this family. They may have remained in Alabama or may have gone to Texas with the J T martin family and stayed, instead of returning to Louisiana along with the Martin's. Emily Lucky, Will and Martha's oldest daughter, married James T Martin in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on February 5, 1849, and son Lorenzo was born in Alabama in 1850. The Martin's moved into Texas when they first moved west where their son, Moses was born in 1857. The Martins' moved back to Winn parish in 1861 where James Martin died on November 21 1861. He was buried in what is now known as the Martin Lucky Cemetery on Lick Hill in Winn parish. This 55 foot high circular hill is surrounded by a circle of barren salt licks which together with the hills make up the surface structure of the Price Salt dome, a very busy place where salt was being produced in large quantities during the Civil War. George Washington Lucky, the author's great grandfather, and the second son of Will and Martha, married Sarah C Tidmore in April 1851 in Greene CO AL. They were in Louisiana receiving mail from the Pine Ridge Post Office in 1860. George's 22 year old brother, John Colllins Lucky, was living with him at this time. While in Alabama, George and Sarah lived near Sarah's father, Jeremiah Tidmore, and her grandfather, John Tidmore, the son of an American Revolutionary War soldier from SC. George and Sarah moved to Winn Parish in 1859, just prior to the civil War. Not much is known about the early years of the Lucky family in Winn parish. The burning of the Winn Parish Courthouse in the late 1800's destroyed valuable clues as to where they lived. One lone entry in the Natchitoches Parish courthouse records a legal transaction in 1855 in which Martha renounces her legal rights to Ciller, an 11 year old slave girl, so that Will can sell her to Joseph Ezernac. A Civil War confederate map of that area of Winn parish shows a W Lucky living on a small farm on the Calvin-Friendship Road, exactly one mile southeast of the place Will Lucy sold to Daniel Walker. This is the 80 acres that son Alfred and son-in-law, James Irvin homesteaded. Another Lucky family is shown on a farm in the Pine Ridge community. This may be the farm that George Lucky and family lived on during the Civil War. A Martin (no first name or inintial given) farm is shown in section 25 where the Price Salt Dome is located. John L Sullivan of Winnfield has the original land patent signed by President James Buchanan that Will received for the first 40 acres dated Sept 1 1860. Sullivan also has a copy of the 120 acre transaction patent that Will sold to Daniel Walker. The home site for this 150 acres of land is located at the intersection of the Calvin-Friendship Road and the Monroe Natchitoches Road. The old houose served as a station for the stagecoaches and is still standing. Sullivan records indicate that Will first built a log house nearby and this house was replaced by the present house after Daniel Walker purchased the place. Martha Britt Lucky, the fourth daughter and the eighth child, met and married a young Mississippi born farm boy soon after coming to LA. His name was James Straughn. Martha was 17 and James was 23 when they married. By the time R D Wall, the 1860 census enumerator, visited their home they were the parents of sons Benjamin Franklin, age 2, and George Washington, 6 months. They were living near James' mother, Susan. Alfred Lucky, the third son of Will and Martha, married Martha Rowe, the daughter of a pioneer family living in that general area of Winn Parish. They were living on the land that Alfred and James Irvin homesteaded. they were the parents of a son, George C, 6 months when the 1860 enumerator came around. Will and Martha's second daughter and fourth child, Sarah Elizabeth, married James Irvin in Alabama in 1850 and son, George, age 4, and daughters, Martha, age 10 and Susannah, age 7, when they came to Louisisan in 1859. The family name is spelled Ervin by the 1870 enumerator and Irvin in the family records and the 1880 census. Mary Jane Lucky, the third daughter and the fifth child, married Solomon Collins, a Mississippi native she met soon after coming to Louisiana. They were married in 1855 and were the parents of two sons, Daniel , age 2, and George W., age 4, at census taking time in 1860. The War Period The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 when southern artillery fired on Fort Sumter, the fort built to protect Charleston and occupied by loyal troops. The war came at a time when the sons and son-in-laws of Will and Martha were at an age when most were eligible for war service. Of the males, only Will was too old, and son, Robert, too young for military service before the war was over. It was as if Will and Martha had planned their family so that most would be eligible for service in the Civil War. John Collins and Levin McLeod Lucky, single sons of Will and Martha, were called into service and were assigned to the 12 LA Infantry Regiment in Aug 1861. There were two companies of the the 12the LA Infantry Regiment troops from Winn Parish, but the Lucky brothers were assigned to a Jackson Parish unit, as were a number of other Winn Parish men from the the northern part of the parish. The unit was called the Jackson Sharpe Shooters and were commanded by LT W P Gaar, a Winn parish native. John Lucky enrolled in the 12 LA Infantry Regiment in Monroe, LA on August 12 and went north to Kentucky with his regiment, being assigned the duty to defend the forts along the Mississippi River. His military records show that John was discharged from the Army on Oct 17 1861 at Columbus, Kentucky, almost exactly two months after he had enlisted. His body was buried in Lucky Martin cemetery and his date of death was given as Oct 5 1861. It seems that John had died of disease, the most comon cause of death in that war, and his body was embalmed and shipped home for burial. His tombstone, made locally, was decorated with a carved fourragere or braided cord with tassels on each end around the outside border of the stone. The capital letters C F S were carved on the top of the stone. A man with a long rifle across his shoulder and wearing a wide brimmed hat, sitting astride a galloping horse, was carved on the face of the stone below the letters C F S. His name and date of birth and death were carved into the stone below the horseman. Price Salt Dome was a beehive of activity during the Civil War. As many as 1500 to 2000 men, including many slaves that had been moved from south and central LA cotton and sugar plantations to the area, were all engaged in digging wells, collecting the salty water and boiling it down to salt. Streams of wagons were busy moving the salt out to points all over the south. There is no doubt that the Lucky families at home during the war were drawn into the salt making business in some way. Salt was in short supply in the Confederacy due to the blockade and salt was bringing a fabulous price, but I have not been able to document the Lucky's part in saltmaking. Levin M Lucky was captured by Yankee troops at the Battle of Baker's Creek, or Champion Hill, if you prefer. His unit was heavily engaged in this battle. He was first sent to Memphis, Tennesssee by his captors, then to Fort Delaware, Delaware, and finally to Point Lookout, Maryland in Sept of 1863. His records state that he died of anemia and dropsy of the lungs on Oct 22 1863 in Hammond General Hospital. He was described as being 21 years of age, blue eyes, black hair, dark complexion and 5'5" in height. He was the second Lucky son who died as a result of the war. He actually was 19 years of age at this time, having been born on Jan 22 1844. On April 16 1862 the confederate Congress passed legislation providing for the conscription of all able bodied males (white) between 18 and 35 years of age, with few exceptions. As a result of this legislation, George W and Alfred Lucky, and James F Straughn, were subject to military service. They rode the stage to Monroe and enlisted in company K 28th (Grays)LA Infantry Regiment on May 17 1862. All three men were leaving wives and children at home. George was 29 at this time and the father of 5 children. James was 26 and the father of 2 children. Alfred the youngest member of the trio was 23 and the father of 2 sons, the youngest being only 2 months old. Alfred would never see his family again. Company K of the 28th Infantry was a Winn Parish unit that saw a great deal of fighting in the bayou country of south Louisiana and in the Battle of Mansfield, and acquited itself with great bravery. The last written entry on Alfred A Lucky is in the Lucky bible showing that Alfred "departed this life" on July 6 1862, less than two months after enlisting in the army. This seems to be another death by disease. Since there is no tombstone in the Lucky graveyard for him, his body must have been buried at the place of death. His date of enlistment is the only military record left on Alfred. His two children, George C born on Nov 2 1859 and John W born on March 7 1862, were living with William in the 1870 census. Martha Rowe Lucky, their mother, is missing from the census and presumed dead. George Lucky, possibly due to his age, was put on detached duty as a butcher in the commissary department. He was discharged fromt he service on June 12 1865. He was getting his mail at the Coushatta Chute Post Office at the time of 1870 census and was living in Nathcitoches parish near Ashland. He was still in Nathcitoches for the 1880 census. He moved to the Lucky community in Bienville parish where he operated a store until he died in 1883. George was described as having gray eyes, light hair, ruddy complexion and being 5'8" in height on his military enlistment papers. Alfred was described as being 5'8" tall with gray eyes, light hair and dark complexioned. Both men signed their name with a bold legible stroke of the pen. George, and his wife, Sara Elizabeth are buried in Mill Creek Methodist Cemetery near Saline LA. George's last name on the tombstone is spelled L U C K E Y whereas, Sarah's name is spelled the usual way, L U C K Y . I have found the name spelled Luckey, Lucky and Lucey in the military records. George died Sept 23 1882 and Sarah Elizabeth died on Jan 7 1914, thirty one years later. Solomon Collins, husband of May Jane Lucky, enlisted in Company G of the 28th Louisisana Infantry Regiment on May 14, 1862 in Monroe. His military records list him as being captured near Nathcitoches on April 2 , 1864. This was the day that General Bank's Army arrived in Natchitoches. Solomon must have been injured in the fighting that day. He was moved to New Orleans by boat, no doubt, and was in and out of a federal hopital several times before dying on July 30 1864 at age 29. He was the first and only son-in-law to die in the war. Solomon was the father of two more children, William, born in 1862, and Martha, born in 1864. Margaret Ann Lucky married Samuel Vance in 1864, and daughter, Susan Lavenia, was born in 1866. Samuel was in Company H 6th Louisisan Cavalry. He was listed as a prisoner of war for an unkown period of time and was paroled in Nathcitoches on June 7 1865. I have been unable to locate any record on the family after the war. James Irvin (or Ervin), husband of daughter Sarah Elizabeth, enlisted in Company C 25th Regiment of Engineers on March 18 1862 at Monroe Louisiana and was promoted to 4th corporal. His last military entry lists him as "absent-sick". He could have been discharged for health reasons at this time, or other records on him destroyed, as were most of the Confederate records after the war. James was not on the 1870 census with his family. His wife, Sarah Elizabeth was then listed as living in the Pine Ridge Community as head of the family. She had 6 daughters and 2 sons living with her at this time. The youngest child was two years old. Thus another son-in-law was gone from the family records in the 1860's and presumed dead. James Straughn (or Strawn or Straughan) seems to have adapted well to military life. He was promoted to the r nk of sergeant by vote of his fellow soldiers. He was captured at Yellow Bayou, Louisiana on May 18 1864 following the Battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, and numerous other skirmishes along the Red River, as the federal forces retreated to South Louisiana. By the time he was discharged from the service on June 10 1865 at Natchitoches he had been promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. In the 1880 census he was livng in the southwestern section of Winn parish with 7 children. Some members of this family moved into Grant parish and were successful. One member was superintendent of schools around the turn of the century. In 1869, Pency Lavennia Lucky, the youngest daughter, married Joseph Brewton, a young man who grew up in the same general area where the Lucky's were living. Joseph joined the 28th (Grays) Infantry division, Company K., in January of 1865. In a letter to his family in the Pine Ridge Community, Spring 1865 Sergeant Marshall Walker reported that Joseph Brewton enlisted in his unit in February 1865. Joseph was paroled in Natchitoches on June 7 1865. Joseph and Pency settled in the same area of Winn parish where they grew up. There is a community called Brewton's Mill on the Calvin-Friendship road in northwestern Winn parish which suggests that Joseph operated a mill of some type at that location. The deep, sandy soils in this area provide numerous springs along the streams that drain the area. This year around source of water would have been a real asset to a mill operator using water power. Several Brewton families who descended from Joseph and Pency lived in Winn Parish and Natchitoches Parish. This couple named their two sons, Levin and John after two of her brothers who were lost in the Civil War, and a daughter, Martha for her mother. William Lewis Lucky, the fifth son and ninth child, born to Will and Martha was single and living at home when the war started. He enlisted on September 1 1862 at Lynchburg Virginia, perhaps for the second time, in Robinsion's Company of the 1st Louisiana Calvary. He later transferred to Captain Miller's Independent company of Mountain Rifles, Louisisana with the rank of sergeant. No further military records were found on William. He made it back home and was living with widowed sister, Sarah Elizabeth Irvin, at the time of the 1870 census in Winn Parish. He was still single and living with brother, Robert, in Bienville parish in the 1890 census. He bought and sold land in Winn parirsh in the 1890's. He married Louisa Jackson on September 28 1890. I found no other census records on this family in Louisiana. He may have moved to Texas with Robert and other members of his family after the turn of the century. A son of his may be buried in the Good Hope Cemetery in Anacoco, Louisiana. A William L Lucky, born in 1895 and died in 1934, is buried in the Good Hope Cemetery. Will's youngest son, Robert, was too young for military service but old enough to do farm work and help his father with the livestock during the war years. He was still single and living with his father in 1870. He married Samantha Jane Walker in 1875, moved to Bienville parish in the Lucky Community and was living there at the time of the 1880 census with wife, Jane, and sons, Francis Edwin, George Lewis, Posey Napoleon, and brother, Will. They were the parents of 7 boys and 3 girls all born in Louisiana, except son, Cole. Robert moved his family to the Dekalb-New Boston area about 1898 and back to Louisisana in 1917. Robert and Tracy Lucky of Natchitoches are sons of Posey Napoleon. Descendeants of Robert and Jane Lucky number in the dozens and are scattered widely over the south and southwestern part of the United States. George and Sarah Lucy were the parents of William Posey and Lewis their two sons, and daughters, Martha Elizabeth, Margaret Louvenia and Mary Jane. Martha Elizabeth married Joseph Pullig. Irby Knotts, for many years the Clerk of Court in Natachitoches parish, and brother Douglas, are descended from this line. Margaret Louvenia married Marion Rutledge Joyner, nown by the name of "Gin" Joyner. They settled in Ashland where "Gin" was postmaster. He also operated a general store, cotton gin, and a number of farms. Descendants of this line were: Ben and Bob Joyner sons of Dr. Sam Joyner of Ashland; Leslie, Leo Doss and Marshall Hough from Noble, Louisiana, sons of Sarah Elizabeth Joyner Hough; Troy, James, Hubert, Margaret and Ruby Joyner, sons and daughters of Henry Joyner; O B Mobley of Shreveport, grandson of Dr. Sam Joyner; Marion R Sally, Oma B and Tenny Lou Lay, son and daughters of Lou Joyner Lay; and Edwina and Elanore, daughters of Mary J (May) Joyner Walker. There were also sons John and Tillman, with large families. Mary Jane Lucky married William A Lawrence Joyner and they settled in Bienville parish near Castor. William became a successful farmer and raised a very large family. Both are buried in the Ebenezer Cemetery located between Ashland and Castor. Many descendants of this family are still living in Bienville parish. William Posey Lucky married Sally Bridger, daughter of John and Sarah E Bridger. Sally was half sister of "Gin" Joyner and Lawrence Joyner. Three members of Joyner-Bridger family married three member of the George Lucky family. Posey, and his younger brother, Lewis J operated a large genrral store in Bienville, Louisiana. Bienville was a large farming community in the parish around the turn of the century. They were successful merchants for many years. There are many descendatns of this energetic and successful family scattered over the United States. The children of Posey and Sally were all offered a college education. Sally Lucky knew that an education was a valuable asset for young people starting out in life, so she secretly saved back enough gold coins to assure her children a college edutaion when the time came. Mose Campbell married Mattie Lucky, daughter of Posey and Sally Bridger Lucky. They were the parents of Rupert Campbell who founded the Pioneer Bank in Shreveport and Ira L Campbell, merchant, banker and farmer of Coushatta, Louisiana. Mattie died at a young age and Ira and Rupert were reared by their father and a loving stepmother. Rupert's son E R Campbell Sr. is the father of Dr Ira Campbell of Natchitoches and Mrs Herman Taylor D Q Lucky of Shreveport is a descendant of Posey and Sally Bridger Lucky. Lewis J Lucky married Annie Harris and settled in Bienville. A large family was born to this couple and are widely scattered over the United States. Some descendants are living in Jonesboro and Arcadia, Louisiana. Martha Collins Lucky, after suffering the loss of 3 sons and 2 son-in-laws, and probably a daughter-in-law, during the Civil War, passed from this earth on July 11 1867. Her years in Winn parish knew much grief. She must have longed for the better days she knew in Alabama. She is buried in the old Lucky-Martin Cemetery on Lick Hill in Winn Parish. Her grave is marked by a stone native to that area and shaped by the same stone artist who carved all of the other markers in that cemetery. Martha's stone has a Masonic emblem above hands clapsed together in a handshake, with her name, date of birth and death carved into the face of the stone. Martha died at age 59, a relatively long life for a woman in that day and age. In the 1870 census of Winn Parish, Will was listed as head of the household, and widowed daughter, Mary Jane Collins, and three children were members of the household. Will's youngest son, Robert, Alfred's two sons George and John, and grandaughter Sarah J Ervin (Irvin), were listed as members of the household. Mary Martin, and sons, Lorenzo and Mark were living next door to Will. Sarah Elizabeth Ervin (Irvin) with 6 daughters, 2 sons and her unmarried brother, William, were living in the nearby community of Pine Ridge. Will's daughter, Pency, was married to Joseph Brewton and living nearby. Daughter, Martha, and husband James Straughn, were living nearby with sons, Benjamin, George and John, and also daughters Martha and Susan, and James' mother Susan. Their daughter Susan was born that year. George Lucky and wife Sarah were living in Natchitoches parish with their daughters, now married, and both sons still at home in the 1870 census. By the 1890 census, all Lucky's by name, except William Jr, were livng in Bienville Parish near the community of Lucky or the nearby town of Bienville. Will Lucky died January 31 1870 at the age of 68, an age quite old for that family. He is buried in the Martin-Lucky Cemetery by the side of his wife, Martha, and near son, John, and son-in-law, James T Martin. Soon after Will's death most of the Lucky men moved to nearby parishes of Natchitoches and Bienville. The community of Lucky in Bienville parish was named after the Lucky's living there. George' sons, Posey and Lewis, became very successful merchants in the town of Bienville. George's 3 daughters married merchants and farmers in Natchitoches and Bienville parish. Robert, Will's younges son, remained a farmer, and eventually moved to the Dekalb-New Boston area of Texas with most of this family coming back to Louisiana in 1917 as noted earlier.