Red River County, TX - Biography - Richard F. Giddens *********************************************************** Submitted by: Jim Giddens Date: Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tx/redriver/redrivtoc.htm *********************************************************** Richard Franklin Giddens was born Dec 4, 1798 in Wilkes County, N.C. He moved with his family to Ky in 1810 and to Illinois about 1820. There he served as a First Sergeant in the Black Hawk War of 1831-1832 before he came to Red River County Texas in 1833 and established the Concord Community. He gave land for and established with others, the Concord Baptist Church in 1844 and was elected deacon. Historians say this was the first Baptist Church in north Texas. The first pastor of the church was Willis M Pickett that came from Ky and was ordained at Concord. For this purpose the church called a presbytery that included Bro. Benjamin Clark. Bro Pickett went on to become the first pastor of First Baptist Churches in Clarksville and in Paris. Copies of the Concord Church minutes show Bro Richard F. Giddens made the motion to establish a Sunday School at Concord in 1853. His father, Reuben Giddens, was a elder of a Baptist Church in Vermilion Co. ILL and followed his sons to Red River County in 1840 at the age of about 65. Concord is also credited with having the first grist mill in this part of Texas. People came from as far as 100 miles to have their corn and wheat ground. It also had a cotton gin and a blacksmith shop. Richard F and Jane Walker Giddens had 13 children, with 9 living to adulthood. Their 6th child John was the first to be born in Texas. He was born May 18, 1834 in Red River County before Texas won its independence from Mexico. John Giddens died as a Confederate soldier in Aberdeen, Miss. on July 11, 1862. He served in the 27th Regiment Texas Calvary (Whitfield's 1st Texas Legion). He was married to Sarah J Stiles, daughter of John Stiles. Another son of Richard F Giddens died in battle as a Confederate soldier. He served in the Confederate McCord's Frontier Regiment, Texas Cavalry, Company D. He was Lt. James Richard Giddens, born Feb 21, 1829 in Illinois, and was buried on the banks of the Concho River on the John Chisum Ranch 9 days after receiving his wounds on Jan 6,1865 during the Battle of Dove Creek on the Indian frontier. The Chisum Ranch was about 90 miles from the battle site in the area of what is now San Angelo, Tx. Francis Marion Giddens was a great grandson of Richard F Giddens. Marion Giddens taught in several rural schools of Red River County from about 1900 to 1920 including Cherry and Hopewell. It is written in the book, Gateway to Texas, that the first old Hopewell school, before it burned, was on the land of Marion Giddens. Two of Marion's sons, Robert Wesley Giddens and George Mac Giddens still lived in Red River County in 2002. Richard F Giddens died Nov 20, 1870. He and his wife are buried at Concord Cemetery which is northeast of Clarksville about 7 miles. The oldest marker in Concord Cemetery is Joseph R Giddens that died at age of 2 years on Aug. 12, 1847. As of the year 2002, 9 different generations of this Giddens family have been buried in Red River County in not less than 4 different cemeteries. Reuben Giddens died in 1853 or 1854 and was buried on his headright land that over 20 years later became the site of Lone Star Cemetery. Two of the other cemeteries are Stone's Chapel and Lane's Chapel Cemeteries. There are still many descendents of this family living in the area of River County in the year 2003. ref include: Gateway To Texas, History of Red River Valley Baptist Association Author of Red River Dust E.W. Bowers Concord minutes many different county records.