Freestone County, Texas Reunions Mexia Daily News - August 1, 2006 edition Reunion of Limestone area pioneer family to be held August 11-13 On August 13th, family members and friends of the Tom Ferrell family will gather in Mexia to celebrate the life of their family By Barbara Minze-Editor Robert A. Glenn lives in Dalworthington Gardens near Arlington. For many years he has been curious about his ancestors, especially his grandfather and grandmother, Tom and Beatrice Ferrell, who were longtime residents of Freestone and Limestone County. With help from many others, his mission has been accomplished, and the ancestors of Tom and Beatrice will gather in Mexia on August 13th for a reunion at the Alexander Chapel Primitive Baptist Church and then the unveiling of a pink granite marker that has been placed at the unmarked gravesite of the Ferrells at the Mexia Memorial Cemetery. We have visited several times with Glenn by telephone, and he told us much about this pioneer family. He said that his research into the history of the large family would never have been possible without the help of Edward and Shirley Moore, owners of the Moore Angelic Funeral Home in Teague, as they helped locate the gravesites. The monument to be unveiled on this special Sunday came from the efforts of Kathy Stubbs of Blair-Stubbs Monuments in Mexia, and Glenn told us the workmanship and design is excellent. Many in this area may remember Tom and Beatrice Livingston Ferrell, who lived in a small home located at 1116 Commerce Street in Mexia for many years. Tom was a farmer, who often hired out to large land owners to help harvest the cotton, beans, berries, peaches and other crops produced in the area. He also worked for the Eubanks Hardware Store in downtown Mexia, Tom grew up in the Kirvin and Rocky Branch areas with his parents, later settling in Wortham, Texas. It was in 1939 that he moved his family to Mexia, became a member and a trustee at the Alexander Chapel Primitive Baptist Church. This church had been first established by the brother of his mother, Isabella Alexander. Today, Tom’s name remains inscribed on the old church cornerstone. In 1913 Tom Ferrell married Beatrice Livingston, the daughter of Will and Sarah Livingston of Kirvin, Texas. She was a beautiful young woman, only nineteen years old at the time. She was known as a devoted housewife and mother. In a span of 23 years, 15 children were born to Tom and Beatrice. With children to support, Tom and Beatrice lived a busy life and when they died they left a host of children, grandchildren, and then great-grandchildren. It was not until their death, that Glenn and several other members of the family realized that it was time to restore and reconnect the family roots. He says it has been a difficult search, but doing it has provided many truths about the genealogy of the family that had not been previously known. The research provided information that the first Ferrell family was formed by William Hodges Ferrell, a white man and Louise Cleveland, a black woman, both of Fairfield. William Hodges Ferrell was the son of Benjamin P. Ferrell, a Baptist preacher in Fairfield. Louise was the oldest daughter of Jerry and Matilda Cleveland, two former slaves from Alabama. By all accounts, Glenn said that it appeared that the white Ferrell family migrated to Texas around 1850, settling in Fairfield. Evidence surfaced that Jerry and Matilda were probably slaves owned by the white Ferrell family from Alabama. An account of slave ownership of 1860 indicates that Benjamin Ferrell was the owner of 15 slaves, but there are no property records to show the purchase of slaves in Texas during this time. 1n 1870, just five years after the Emancipation Proclamation, the census puts these two families together on the same track of land in Fairfield. Five children were born to William Hodges Ferrell and Louise Cleveland between 1865 and 1875. Chronologically, they were George Washington Ferrell, Leona Ferrell, Johnnie Ferrell, Eliza Ferrell and Benjamin Ferrell. It was George, the oldest son where the story of the Mexia Ferrell family begins, according to the account of grandson, Robert Glenn.. George Ferrell married Phoebe Cox of Freestone County and their first child was Tom. Tom’s mother, Phoebe, died during the birth of a second child. Isabella Alexander was the midwife to Phoebe at the time, and it was later learned that Isabella was the midwife of hundreds of local women during those years. Being a personal friend to Phoebe, Isabella Alexander promised to take care of two year-old Tom. George Ferrell soon married Isabella Alexander and they raised Tom until he was 14 years old before having children of her own. They had five children of their own, most of whom left Texas at an early age to settle in California. George and Isabella lived in the Rocky Branch area until Isabell died in 1932 and George moved to Houston. He died in 1941 and both are now buried in the Rocky Branch Cemetery. It was not until 2001 that the family of Tom and Beatrice Ferrell’s family embarked on the task to reconnect the lives of the Ferrell family. It was a difficult one as there were so many members of the family scattered all over the country. It has been estimated that there were more than 75 grandchildren, so the committee went to work to find many of these, especially some of those living in California. Now, in the year 2006, the family will host a reunion of the clan, beginning in Arlington, Texas at J. P. Stovall Park. A talent show and memorial service will be held on Saturday at the amphitheatre at Veterans Park. On Sunday, the family will arrive in Mexia, where they will join in the services at the Alexander Chapel Primitive Baptist Church. [Picture of Church, photo of Tom, and photo of Beatrice. The captions of the pictures are below:] Shown is the Alexander Chapel Primitive Baptist Church, where in 1939 Tom Ferrell joined this church and his name was carved into the cornerstone of the church, where he served as a trustee for many years. Tom Ferrell died in 1955 in Mexia, and his wife, Beatrice, later in Dallas. They were buried in unmarked graves in the Mexia Memorial Cemetery. A grandson, Robert A. Glenn, has spent several years researching family roots of his grandparents. On August 13, family and friends will gather in Mexia to unveil a pink granite marker that has been placed at the gravesite of Tom and Beatrice. See related story.