Biography: JAMES CALVIN GILSTRAP, a person who performed marriages in Itawamba County, Mississippi Compiled for USGenweb Project by Willard R. Carter ; Additional notes source: Linda Essary. ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. ************************************************************************ Father: John Gilstrap (239) (1772-1841) Mother: Catherine "Kate" Grey/Gray? (240) (1783-1853) Birth: 13 Apr 1814 Pulaski, Georgia. Marriage: 15 Nov 1839 Caroline W. Bibb [1] (156) ( -1847); Jasper, Georga. Son: 06 Nov 1840 James Bryan Gilstrap (174) (1840-1850); Mantachie, Itawamba,MS. Son: __ ___ 1842 John Rufus Gilstrap (7)(1842-1925); Mantachie, Itawamba, MS [2] Daughter: __ ___ 1845 Lousia Catherine Gilstrap (8) (1845- ); Mantachie, Itawamba, MS. Son: __ ___ 1847 Calvin Jerome Gilstrap (9) (1847-1917); Mantachie, Itawamba, MS[3],[4] Death of first wife: 03 Aug 1847 Death of Caroline at the family home, Mantachie, Itawamba, MS (Her grave marker is the oldest in Rizing Star Cemetery, Mantachie,Itawamba Co. MS. The cemetery was originaly the Gilstrap family cemetery). Death of son: James Bryan died of fever. He is buried next to his mother in Rising Star Cemetery. Event-Misc: from 1848-1857 Itawamba, Mississippi James was a Justice of the Peace and performed marriages between 21 July 1848 and 9 July 1857. Source: Marriage books 3 & 5; Itawamba County, Fulton,MS Marriage:13 Dec 1848 Nancy Pauline Jackson (6) (1830-1908); At the residence of JC Gilstrap, Mantachie, Itawamba County, MS.[5],[6] Event-Misc: 19 Jul 1849 The Baptist Church of Christ at Mantachie Creek, Mantachie, Itawamba, MS (James and Nancy were admitted to membership by experience, July 19 and 21, 1849. My source is a hand written copy from the church meeting book).[7] Event-Misc: fr 1850-1852 West Fulton Post Office, Mantachie, Itawamba, Mississippi (James was Post Master at West Fulton Post Office from Sept. 10, 1850 to Nov. 1, 1852 (Source: Itawamba Settlers Summer 1994 Vol XIV #2 Pg 82). Daughter: 12 Aug 1850 Mary Louisa Gilstrap (10) (1850- ); Mantachie, Itawamba, MS.[8] Daughter: __ ___ 1851 Emily F. Gilstrap (171) (1851-1940); Mantachie, Itawamba, MS. Daughter: __ ___ 1853 Sarah Tranquilla Gilstrap (11) (1853-1903); Mantachie, Itawamba, MS. Son: __ ___ 1855 Henry Madison Gilstrap (12) (1855-1922); Mantachie, Itawamba, MS. Daughter: __ ___ 1857 Amanda A. Gilstrap (13)(1857- ); Mantachie, Itawamba, MS. Event-Misc: __ ___ 1858 Second Senate District,Miss (State Senator. Served from 1858 to 1867. Interrupted by military service 1863 to 1865). Son: __ ___ 1862 Baxton Bragg Gilstrap (14) (1862-1865); Mantachie, Itawamba, MS. Milit-Beg: 31 Jul 1863 Browns Mill, Itawamba,Mississippi (Military Captain, C.S.A. Formed cavalry company. Attached to Co. F. Ham's Regiment, 1st. Battalion, Mississippi Cavalry).[9],[10] Milit-End: __ ___ 1865 (He was wounded during the war and never recovered).[11] Son: 24 Apr 1866 Walter Grey Gilstrap (4)(1866-1909); Mantachie, Itawamba, MS. Son: __ ___ 1868 Clifford Fleetwood Gilstrap (15) (1868-1937); Texas. Death: 11 Feb 1871 At his home, Granger, Williamson, Texas (Date given on his wife's application for a Confederate pension. (No.7081).[12] Sources: [1]:Early American Marriages, Atlantic South Region in no series (n.p.:Ancestry, Inc., 1996). [2]:A Soldier's Application for a Pension for Calving J. Gilstrap. No. 23713 Allowed 1 Dec, 1913, 1 Dec 193, State of Texas., Civil War Confederat veterens., Pension No. 23713. Allowed 1 Dec 1913, W.R. Carter-family files and heirlooms. [3]:1860 Federal Census, Itawamba County, Mississippi, W.R. Carter-family files and heirlooms. [4]:Pension Application CJ Gilstrap, CJ states his age as 66 in 1913, in his pension application. [5]:Federal Census, Cumminsvile P.O., 1850, Itawamba County, Miss. [6]:Marriage Book 3, Itawamba County, Mississippi, n.d., W.R. Carter- family files and heirlooms. [7]:Minutes of The Baptist Church of Christ at Mantachie Creek, n.d., W.R. Carter-family files and heirlooms. [8]:Federal Census, Cumminsvile P.O., Her name appears on the 1850 & 1860 census. On one her middle initial is given as 'T' and on the other as 'L'. [9]:Xerox of MS. 9383010. Miss. State Ar chives and Records, Jackson, Miss., n.d., W.R. Carter-family files and heirlooms. 10]:Confederate Pension Application Mrs. N.P. Gilstrap, 1900, W.R. Carter-family files and heirlooms. [11]:ibid. [12]:Death notice of Reverend Walter Gray Gilstrap.(Son of James Calvin Gilstrap), n.d., 'Walter Gray Gilstrap was born April 24, 1866 Mississippi. Moved with parents to Texas in 1870. One year later his father (James Calvin Gilstrap) died.' Information for the epitaph taken from church records and statements by Walter and other family members. Probably accurate as to dates and events., W.R. Carter-family files and heirlooms. [13] 1841 Itawamba County State Census Section 3,Itawamba County, Mississippi State Census Note from Itawamba GenWeb Archives: Linda Essary says that the marriage of James Calvin Gilstrap was to Caroline W. Betts, not Bibb. She notes, "The marriage was recorded as that of Carolne H. Bibb in "37,000 Early GA Marriages" by Maddox and Carter, p. 119. She has a copy of the record, but failed to record the number/letter of the book. She says that looking at the original it is easy to see how one who was unfamiliar with the marriage would interpret it as Bibb instead of Betts. She adds: "That James Calvin Gilstrap was married to CarolineW. Betts is proven by the will of her father James Betts, Pontotoc Co., MS Probate Book 20, p. 293-303. Also a son of hers was living with James Betts on a census." Linda adds, "Caroline W. Betts Gilstrap was born 17 Apr 1822 in Jasper Co., GA and d. 3 Aug. 1847, buried in Center Star Cemetery, Itawamba Co., MS."