SONS OF DEWITT COLONY TEXAS BAKER. Moses, Isaac, Rachel, John, Margaret. According to Moses Baker (b. 27 Apr 1791) as quoted in The Plum Tree Almanac, Vol 7, No 2, Fall 1989, he with his family of five signed up as a member of the Tennessee-Texas land company's wagon train which brought the family to Gonzales. The wagon train was assembled in HardemanCo, Tennessee and departed from there. According to land records, Moses Baker arrived on 20 Feb 1831 married with a family of five (two daughters and a son) and received a league of land on the west bank of the Guadalupe River between Seguin and New Braunfels in current GuadalupeCo. He also purchased four lots in the west outer town tract of Gonzales in 1834. Probate records verify that Isaac Baker (b. 15 Sep 1814), a Gonzales Ranger and member of the Gonzales Alamo Relief Force who died in the Alamo on 6 Mar 1836, was the son of Moses Baker. Land records indicate that Isaac arrived single in the DeWitt Colony on 13 Aug 1830 where he received title on 14 Jun 1832 to a quarter sitio of land just south of his father's tract on the west bank of the Guadalupe River. It is unclear whether this means that Isaac preceded the family in coming to Texas or there are errors in his land grant records. If his birthdate is correct according to his brother John Baker's journal, he would have been just under 15 years old at the time of arrival. Records indicate that Moses Baker stated that he came originally from Alabama. LawrenceCo Alabama records show a Moses Baker married Elizabeth Starkey on 19 Jun 1825. The signature on the marriage bond appears similar to that of Moses Baker's signature on documents in Gonzales records. If this is DeWitt Colonist Moses Baker, then Elizabeth Starkey would appear to be a second wife and stepmother of the four known children. Except those that concern the estate, there appear to be no records of Moses Baker after the Texas revolution. In some records, Moses Baker is said to have participated in the Battle of San Jacinto, but he may have been confused with Capt. Moseley Baker. His son-in-law Joseph D. Clements was appointed executor of his and Isaac's estate on 29 Jan 1838. Rachel Baker , the oldest daughter of Moses Baker, was born 25 Sep 1813 according to her brother John Baker's journal. She married Joseph D. Clements amid a storm of controversy. Clements, who land records indicate arrived married with a family of 7 on 25 Dec 1829, left a wife and family in Indiana without a divorce. Along with other citizens of Gonzales, Rachel's father was furious and threatened to kill Clements. The alcalde at Gonzales would not marry the couple so they eloped to San Antonio and were married by the priest there. The Clements had five children, Laura Jane (who married Napoleon Conn), Alexander, Isaac B., Augustus, and Joseph before Joseph D. Clements died in March of 1844. Clements will was hotly contested in Gonzales District Court Final Case #468. After Clement's death, Rachel married Rolla M. Davis on 27 Apr 1846. They had one son, Joel Hamilton Davis, and it is speculated that she either died at childbirth, or shortly thereafter since a probate action filed on 27 Jan 1847 showed her as deceased. John Baker (b. 16 Jun 1817), believed to be a son of Moses Baker, purchased 3 outer Gonzales town lots in Nov and Dec of 1834 near those of his father Moses and brother Isaac. John Baker married Elizabeth Dilworth had a son Blackston Dilworth Baker (b. 13 Feb 1847). After the death of Elizabeth, John Baker then married Sarah E. Echols (b. 25 Nov 1837) on 20 Oct 1853. They had children Sarah Malviney Baker (b. 2 Oct 1854) and Mary Jane Baker (b. 12 Dec 1855). John Baker died on 1 Nov 1857 and is buried at Harris Chapel cemetery, six miles north of Belmont to the east 1.5 miles from Hwy 80 in a pasture, near Mary Jane Baker and members of the Eckols family. Descendants of the Echols family of Luling, Texas, have the leather bound journal belonging to John Baker which contained birthdates of family. The journal gave Isaac Baker's birthdate as 15 Sep 1814 noting that he fell in the Alamo fighting in the cause of Texas 6 Mar 1836 at "age 20 years, 6 months and seven days." (If correct, this should have been 21 years, 6 months, 22 days). Margaret (Peggy) Baker was born 6 Jan 1819 in Alabama. She first married Thomas R. Nichols (b. 8 Jan 1815) on 27 Jun 1842. They had one daughter, Louisa Jane Nichols born in 1844. Thomas R. Nichols, brother of diarist James W. Nichols, was a ranger, a participant in the Battle of Plum Creek and the Battle of Salado and was said to have been killed in an Indian battle. After the death of sister Rachel Baker Davis, sister Margaret married widower Rolla Davis. This marriage combined most of the Moses Baker family. At the time of the 1850 census, they were living in Belmont, GonzalesCo, Texas with Louisa Jane Nichols, the four Clements boys, Joel Hamilton Davis, and one daughter, Parazide, of their own. Rolla and Margaret Baker Davis had four more children, Josephine Maria, Nathaniel, Ann and Amanda, the last two being twins. From information contributed by descendant Joseph A. Mitchell. BRANCH. Umphries Branch was deeded four lots, two on each side of St. George St. in inner Gonzales town. According to author A.J. Sowell, Humphries and father-in-law John Sowell originally lived in Gonzales, but felt the best land was already taken in the area and sought out their lands near Seguin at the mouth of the Comal River in 1831. Both had labors of land 6 miles below Seguin where Sowells Creek empties into the river. The Branch 24/25 sitio is where the current city of Seguin now stands. Sowell located his league a little south on the bend of the Guadalupe River known as Stuart Bend. According to Sowell nearest neighbors were still Gonzales and no white family lived west of them. The Dickinsons, Bakers, Tomlinsons, Montgomerys and others moved nearby within the year. The Branch family moved onto their league at a spot known as Elm Spring Hill which in 1900 was owned by the Neill family. Branch built the first house in Seguin in 1833 followed by another built by Robert Hall 6 years later. The Branch family left Texas in the Runaway Scrape and apparently never returned. Umphries Branch. Humphries Branch, his wife Rebecca Sowell and her two children were said to be the first pioneer settlers to have lived on the sight of what later became Seguin, Texas. Humphries Branch (also spelled Humphrey and Umphries) married Rachel Rebecca Sowell probably around 1829. Rebecca was the eldest daughter of John Newton and Rachel Carpenter Sowell. Branch was the second husband of Rebecca; she had first married a cousin Newton Sowell Jr. and had two children, a daughter whose name was unknown, born around 1825, and a son William Riley Sowell born December 26,1827 in Boone County, Missouri. The Branch and Sowell families traveled by way of Missouri to DeWitt's Colony and arrived in May, 1830. Humphries Branch was granted a league of land in 1831 by the Mexican government located on the Guadalupe River in what later became Guadalupe County. After living for a short while with the Sowells at the mouth of Sowell's Creek, Humphries Branch moved onto his league and built a house for his family near Walnut Branch (Creek) said at that time to have been "….a rushing torrent fed by a large spring." "Elm Spring Hill," the name Branch gave to his new home, was located near where later Nolte Street met Walnut Branch in the City of Seguin. In 1836 after the fall of the Alamo the Branch and Sowell families fled to the Texas coast. There was testimony in some district court papers by Rebecca's brothers, Asa and Andrew Sowell, that shortly before the battle of San Jacinto, Rebecca with her husband and two children "….boarded the brig Tensaw at Decrow's Point," and never returned to Texas. Rebecca had promised to write when she reached Mobile; however, the Sowells never heard from her again. Around 1850 Asa Sowell received a letter from an uncle who lived in Van Buren County, Arkansas informing the family that Rebecca had died and that her son William R. was living with an uncle in Missouri. Little was known of the Branch family after they left Texas. Some records said they may have settled in Madison County, Illinois. Nothing was known of the daughter. Rebecca's son William R. Sowell later returned to Texas, married and had a family. He died July 20, 1899 at Lynchburg, Texas. Dorcas Baumgartner. (From The History of Gonzales County, Texas. Reprinted by permission of the Gonzales County Historical Commission). DARST. Jacob C. Darst was a member of the Gonzales Old 18 and the Gonzales Alamo Relief Force where he died in Mar 1836. Son David Sterling Hughes Darst was a 15 year old at the time the major events leading to independence began in Gonzales. His memories of Gonzales town and the area at that time were the basis of much detail related in the late 19th and early 20th century including the layout of inner Gonzales town and its structures in 1903. The Darsts owned lots 2 and 3 in block 10 and had a home on the corner of St. Lawrence and St. John Streets, one block northeast of the fort. Jacob Darst also owned lots in outer Gonzales town northwest of the inner town. Jacob Darst was granted a sitio of land in the DeWitt Colony, the league of which was on the east bank of the Guadalupe River just into current GuadalupeCo near the GonzalesCo line. He received a labor which was east of Hallettsville, south of Sweet Home, in LavacaCo adjoining the Silas Morris league..
When the Gonzales cannon was demanded by the Mexicans in September, 1835 Jacob Darst was one of the company of eighteen men who defended it. D.S.H. Darst was fifteen years of age when he accompanied his father to Goliad previous to the surrender of Colonel Fannin. It was that same spring when Jacob answered the call of the Alamo and was killed March 6, 1836. The young Darst along with his mother witnessed the burning of Gonzales by General Sam Houston and with other families joined the Runaway Scrape and stopped at the Trinity River. Young Darst and his mother returned to Gonzales in 1839 to begin life again. Mrs. Darst died in 1846. In 1840 he participated in the Battle of Plum Creek and was also with the Texas army at San Antonio when that city was captured by the Mexican army in 1842. In 1845 he married Emeline Zumwalt. They had three children: Imogene who married G.W. Betts; John who was killed, in 1888; and James D. Darst. A granddaughter Ornie married George N. Lamkin and lived in the Harwood community. A great-granddaughter Josephine Lamkin Caperton lived in Luling. His only other known descendants were Josephine Caperton's great niece Shirley Ann Hendricks Springs and her two children, Steven Christopher and Jamie Lee Springs, all of Luling. Darst was a member of the Old School Presbyterian Church, serving for years as ruling elder. In June, 1853 he was one of the co-founders of the Gonzales Inquirer. He served as mayor of Gonzales from 1850-1853, as county treasurer for twelve years and as a trustee of the Gonzales College. His name was listed as a trustee in the first catalogue of the college published for the year 1856-1857. He was the first petitioner to be initiated into the Masonic Lodge after it was organized in Gonzales in 1846. The ceremony was held in the "Little Union Church", the only public meeting place in town. He was also a charter member of the Gonzales Royal Arch Chapter Number 51. In 1847 he joined the Commandery in Austin, later becoming a charter member of the Gonzales Commandery. Darst was one of the first merchants in Gonzales and in 1860 he built a brick home in the town. The grounds covered eighteen acres and were said to be some of the finest in the area. During the Civil War he was appointed District Confederate States deputy marshal until the end of the war when the office was dissolved. He suffered financial losses as many of his friends did as an aftermath of the Civil War and the Reconstruction period. In 1874 he built a mill and gin on East Avenue. It was later known as the Vrazel Gin and was located where the Boysen Food Market stood in 1984. Darst was one of the men instrumental in bringing the railroad branch line to Gonzales August 9, 1882, contributing $500 toward that venture. In later years Darst was the person who verified the location where the first shot for Texas Independence was fired on the banks of the Guadalupe River October 2, 1835. The site was marked by a granite monument commemorating the battle and the men who fought there. He died in Gonzales June 14, 1906 and was buried in the Masonic Cemetery with full Masonic ceremonies. Josephine Lamkin Caperton (From The History of Gonzales County, Texas. Reprinted by permission of the Gonzales County Historical Commission). Darst was listed in the 1850 census of GonzalesCo, Town of Gonzales: Darst, David S.H., 29, m, Merchant, $4,300, Mo; Darst, Emaline, 29, f, Mo; Darst, Imogine, 2, f, Texas. FISHER. Henry Fisher | John Fisher | William Fisher | Samuel Rhoads Fisher. Henry Fisher was a brother to John and William S. Fisher from Virginia. He was the purser on the Texian ship Liberty in 1835 and among the signers of the statement arising from a meeting in Brazoria on 9 Aug 1835 calling for a general convention to "quiet the present excitement and to promote the general interest of Texas." He was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Texian Army by General Council on 10 Mar 1836. From John Henry Brown's Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas (abt 1890). In the revolutionary days of Texas there were three men of prominence bearing the name of Fisher. The first and the earliest immigrant to the country was Samuel Rhoads Fisher of Matagorda. He was a native of Philadelphia, and a man of education, who came about 1830. He was a leader in local affairs, holding municipal position, and the husband and father of one of the most intelligent and refined families in a community distinguished for refinement and intelligence. Capt. Rhoads Fisher of Austin is the junior of his two sons. He represented Matagorda in the convention of 1836, and signed the Declaration of Independence; and on the installation of Gen. Houston as President of the Republic in October, 1836, he appointed Mr. Fisher Secretary of the Navy. In 1838 he lost his life in an unfortunate personal difficulty, greatly lamented by the country. His memory was honored by the high character of his family. William S. Fisher, the subject of this chapter, was a brother of John and, like himself, a native of Virginia. He was also a man of finished education and remarkable intelligence and one of the tallest men in the country. As a conversationalist he was captivating, ever governed by a keen sense of propriety and respect for others---hence a man commanding, esteem wherever lie appeared. His first experience as a soldier was in the fight with the Indians on the San Marcos, in the spring of 1835 sixteen men against the seventy Indians who had murdered and robbed the French traders west of Gonzales, in which the Indians were repulsed, with a loss of nine warriors. His first appearance in public life was as a member of the first revolutionary convention (commonly called the Consultation) in November, 1835. He was also a volunteer in the first resistance to the Mexicans at Gonzales and in the march upon San Antonio in October. [William Fisher was the President of the Gonzales Committee of Safety and Correspondence in summer 1835 according to archival correspondence. In that capacity, he appealed to Col. S.F. Austin in San Felipe for reinforcements on 3 Oct 1835 after the confrontation at Gonzales. He signed the Declaration of the People of Texas at the consultation of Nov 1835 in San Felipe. On 2 Mar 1836 in his capacity as customs collector at Velasco, he impounded vessels bearing African slaves and asked Provisional Governor Smith for instructions their disposition. On 13 Mar 1836 from Velasco, he informed his brother John Fisher that he will resign because he cannot carry out his duties to his satisfaction. On 2 Apr 1836, he sat on a court martial at headquarters on the Brazos in which several private soldiers were tried for desertion and neglect of duty.] In the campaign of 1836, he was early in the field, and commanded one of the most gallant companies on the field of San Jacinto [Company I, First Regiment of Texas Volunteers], in which he won the admiration of his comrades. He remained in the army till late in the year, when he was called into the Cabinet of President Houston to succeed Gen. Rusk as Secretary of War, thereby becoming a colleague of Governor Henry Smith, Stephen F. Austin and S. Rhoads Fisher in the same Cabinet, soon to announce the death of Austin in the following order:
[Fisher represented Gonzales in the House of Representatives of the First Congress of the Republic and chief recruiting officer for the Regular Army of the Republic in Dec 1838] The services of Col. Fisher were such that when provision was made for a regular army by the Congress of 1838-9, he was made Lieutenant-Colonel of the only permanent regiment, of which the veteran Burleson was made Colonel. In this capacity he commanded the troops engaged in the Council House fight with the Comanches on the 19th of March, 1840, and rendered other important services to the frontier [Fisher participated in the Cherokee campaign in summer of 1839]; but in the summer of 1840 he resigned to become a Colonel in the Mexican Revolutionary Federalist army in the short-lived Republic of the Rio Grande [in support of Col. Antonio Canales]. But the betrayal of Jordan and his command at Saltillo, in October of the same year, followed by the latter's successful retreat to the Rio Grande---an achievement which has been likened to that of Xenophon was followed by the disbandment of the Federal forces and the triumph of Centralism, upon which Col. Fisher and his three hundred American followers returned to Texas. His next appearance was as a Captain in the Somervell Expedition to the Rio Grande in the autumn of 1842. The history of that campaign is more or less familiar to the public. There were seven hundred men. From Laredo two hundred of them, under Capts. Jerome B. and E. S. C. Robertson, returned home. At the mouth of the Salado river, opposite Guerrero, another division occurred. Two hundred of the men (of whom I was one) returned home with and under the orders of Gen. Somervell. The remaining three hundred reorganized into a regiment and elected Col. Fisher as their commander. They moved down the river, crossed over and entered Mier, three miles west of it, on the Arroyo Alcantra, leaving forty of their number as a guard on the east bank of the river. They entered the town at twilight on the 25th of December, amid a blaze of cannon and small arms, in the hands of twenty-seven hundred Mexicans, commanded by Gen. Pedro de Ampudia, and for nineteen hours fought one of the most desperate battles in American annals-fought till they had killed and wounded more than double their own number, and till their ammunition was so far exhausted as to render further resistance hopeless. Then they capitulated, to become the famed Mier prisoners, or the Prisoners of Perote; to rise upon their guard in the interior of Mexico and escape to the mountains---there to wander without food or water till their tongues were swollen and their strength exhausted, to become an easy prey to their pursuers---then to be marched back to the scene of their rescue, at the hacienda of Salado, and there, under the order of Santa Anna, each one blind-folded, to draw in the lottery of Life or Death, from a covered jar in which were seventeen black and a hundred and fifty-three white beans. Every black bean drawn consigned the drawer to death---one-tenth of the whole to be shot for an act which commanded the admiration of every true soldier in Europe and America, not omitting those in Mexico, for Gen. Mexia refused to execute the inhuman edict and resigned his commission. But another took his place and the seventeen men were murdered. The entire imprisonment of the survivors (some of whom being, in advance, were not in the rescue and therefore not in the drawing) covered a period of twenty-two months. They were then released and reached home about the close of 1844. In 1845 Col. Fisher married a lady of great worth, but soon afterwards died in Galveston. Neither he nor his brother John left a child to bear his name, but the county of Fisher is understood to be a common memorial to them and S. Rhoads Fisher. GIBSON/GIPSON. DeWitt Colony regional records refer to multiple families Gibson and Gipson and in cases both spellings refer to the same individuals or families. Land records indicate that a James Gibson arrived in the DeWitt Colony married on 1 Aug 1830. He received a prime labor of land just southeast of Gonzales town on the Guadalupe River in the Burket-Zumwalt-Dewitt tract between tracts granted to Samuel Highsmith and Esther Berry. He received title to a league of land on the current border of Gonzales and Fayette counties on 12 Jun 1832. James Gibson was a participant in the confrontation with the Mexican government at Velasco in 1832, a voter in the Feb 1835 election for delegates to the 3rd Texas Independence Consultation in San Felipe and in Mar 1836 signed along with Horace Eggleston an appraisal document for a horse belonging to Dolphin Floyd to be used in the Texian military service. James Gipson was granted relief on tax payments on a town lot by the Gonzales Town Council in 1840 and representated the county court in Jan 1841 when he petitioned to purchase the corporation's interest in the court house. A James Gipson participated in the Battle of Plum Creek in Aug 1840 in GuadalupeCo. In Mar 1831, James Gibson, thought to be the one above, married Eliza Cottle, daughter of Isaac and Mary Ann Williams Cottle. Eliza was the former wife of cousin and subsequent Alamo casualty, George Washington Cottle, they were married in Gonzales Nov 1830. In Oct 1834 a bond was filed between James Gibson, Eliza Cottle and George Washington Cottle declaring "for certain reasons" the 1830 bond between George and Eliza Cottle to be null and void forever. The reasons for such action were not given and were never determined. Eliza Cottle had one child Melzenia (b. abt 1832) with George Washington Cottle. The Gibson marriage resulted in children Samuel, Amanda (m. Benjamin Lane), Marion, James B. and Sara Jane Eliza (m. Vates D. Light), and Rachel. Eliza died sometime after 1860. The Eliza Gipson family was living in Gonzales town proper when listed in the 1850 census of GonzalesCo, TX: Gipson, Eliza, 36, f, $2,500, MO.; Gipson, Malzina, 18, f, Texas; Gipson, Samuel, 10, m, LA; Gipson, Amanda, 6, f, LA; Gipson, Marion, 3, f, IL; Gipson, James B., 1, m, IL. Eliza Gipson was assigned guardianship of the minor heirs of James Gipson which were listed as Rachel and James Gibson. It is noteworthy that Samuel and Amanda are listed as born in Louisiana and Marion and James B. as born in Illinois indicating that the family moved considerably. James Gibson apparently died or left the family before the 1850 census. Eliza married for the third time, James Bird, and then had fourth and fifth marriages with John Z. Headstream and Lorenzo D. Cottle, respectively. A James and Sarah Gipson came to Texas from Kentucky in 1839 who were the parents of Bathsheba Gipson who married Miles Squier Bennet, son of DeWitt Colony pioneer Valentine Bennet. Bathsheba Gipson married Miles Bennet in the home of her parents on 20 Feb 1845 in MontgomeryCo, TX as related in his Bennet's diary:
The relationship of this James Gipson family to the other James Gipson/Gibsons in the area records is not clear, however, James Gipson, father-in-law of Miles Bennet, and an Archibald Gipson were brothers as related by Miles S. Bennet in his description of events surrounding The Battle of Salado and pursuit of the retreating Mexican army:
Bennet noted the care offered by the James Gipson family in general to those in need:
An article about the McCoy family in the History of Gonzales County Texas states that an Archibald Gibson/Gipson married Elizabeth McCoy Williams in GonzalesCo, TX. Elizabeth McCoy was the daughter of Joseph Hill and Catherine Clark McCoy, very early DeWitt Colonist who arrived before 1828 from Missouri with patriarch John "Devil" McCoy and family. She first married DeWitt Colonists Christopher Williams who arrived single in the colony in 1831 and received a quarter sitio grant on the Gonzales-FayetteCo line next to James Gibson. This marriage record has not been found in the Gonzales archives by family researchers. Archibald Gipson is listed on the Gonzales taxrolls of 1837and 1838. In addition to the above from the writings of Miles Bennet, Archibald Gibson/Gipson appears frequently in descriptions of the Battle of Plum Creek and The Battle of Salado as one who was at the forefront of action and wounded in both encounters (see descriptions by Robert Hall, Nathan Burkett and Rufus Perry. The Gibson/Gipson family. A synthesis of information provided by Shannon Clyde (Copyright 1998 Shannon Clyde. All rights reserved. Information used by permission). James and Archibald Gipson Jr. of the DeWitt Colony were brothers, the sons of Archibald (1758-1855) and Basheba Cole (1758-1855) Gibson. Archibald Gibson Sr. was born in PittsylvaniaCo, VA and died 13 Feb 1855 in Jamestown, BooneCo, IN, and according to descendants of Scotch-Irish origin. The couple had children Enoch, Hiram, Owen, Zachariah, Martin, James, Sarah, Ezekial, Jesse, Nathaniel, Charity, Archibald Jr. and William. James Gibson was born in either MadisonCo, KY in 1794 and died in GonzalesCo 1 Jan 1855. He married Sarah Davis 18 Nov 1819 in FloydCo, KY. Sarah Davis died in GoliadCo, TX Jun 1879. Son Archibald Gibson Jr. was born in WilkesCo, NC abt 1799 and died in 1881 in GonzalesCo. James Gibson came to Texas about 1829 and received a land grant. Archibald apparently immigrated to the DeWitt Colony area at or after the war of independence in Apr 1836. Family stories related by descendant Jules Gipson, second great grandson of James Gibson, passed to him by his grandfather, John Ray Gipson in DeWittCo, relate the following about the Gipsons. James Gipson left his wife in Indiana, came to Texas and took an Indian woman as a wife while in Texas. James and his wife Sarah and seven children arrived in Texas via Port Lavaca. A daughter, Rachel was born in Texas. James Gipson died in 1855 in Gonzales while his father and mother also died in 1855 in Indiana. James Gipson had a son named Thomas Jefferson Gipson which was Archibald Gipson's neighbor in the 1850 census. James Gipson also named a son, Archibald Gibson, after his father and brother. One of James' daughters married a Putman and they settled in and around Bernie, Texas where their descendents can still be found. James died intestate and the court assigned administration of the estate to Jesse Pilland, a son-in-law. Daughter Rachel was awarded 1/9 of the estate and the other children awarded part of the estate have not been indentified. After James Gipson's death, most of the family migrated to Montana and became scattered throughout the West and Northwest. According to descendant Mr. Jules Gipson, Archibald Gipson Jr. was a colorful character. One story goes that on a Saturday after he got paid, Arch got drunk and passed out under a tree, two little girls plastered his beard, of which he was very proud for its curls, in chicken shit. When he came to, he switched the girls bare legs with cow nettle. Archibald's employer was not happy about this incident and Archibald went to Texas with brother James while he was on a trip to Indiana. He related that Arch Gipson's wife is mentioned in the history books in stories of the Putman children kidnappings. Archibald Gipson was referred to by descendants as "a mean old son of a bitch." On the Rio Hondo, as a member of Hays' Rangers, Arch Gipson participated in the charge against the artillery of General Woll's rear guard and was shot in the eye and a cheekbone was shattered by a musket ball. The wound bothered Archibald over the years and he apparently left Texas at one point and "went back East to see if something could be done" with his eye. Archibald never forgave the Mexican race for the wound he received fighting them in attempts to take back the Republic of Texas in the 1840's. Archibald was a freighter, driving his wagon filled with supplies between Gonzales and other Texas towns. He would approach oncoming wagons and if the driver were a Mexican, Arch would turn and flick his bullwhip sometimes around the driver's neck. With a jerk, he would unseat the driver from his wagon. Archibald became a Mason while the family was living near Indianapolis. He once attended a gathering of old veterans from the Texian Army. At one point, a rather large old comrade in arms slapped Arch on the back and stated "Why Arch Gipson, I would have thought you were long dead and buried by now. Good to see you." Archibald also met General Sam Houston at the gathering. According to descendants, Archibald was still living at 76 years of age in 1875. According to current descendant Gipson, Archibald had two sons, John Lee Gibson and Tolliver, but he was unaware of a Richard Gibson, who is listed in Archibald's family in the 1850 census, and knew of no daughters. Tolliver Gipson's family settled around around Bastrop, Texas and he probably died abt 1915-1920. The Gipson family hold an annual reunion, usually on the last Saturday in September at the Blanco County Fair Grounds. A James Gipson family lived in DeWittCo and is listed in the 1850 census of the county as: James Gipson, 50, M, Farmer Virginia; Sarah Gipson, 50, F, Virginia; Jo Gipson, 18, M, Farmer, Indiana; James Gipson, 16, M, Farmer, IL; Mary Gipson, 14, Iowa; Rachel Gipson, 10, F, Texas. A James L. Gibson married in 1865 widow Emily Busby Brown from the William Solomon Busby family of DeWittCo:
SONS
OF DEWITT COLONY TEXAS |
David Sterling Hughes Darst. David Sterling Hughes
Darst was born in Montgomery County, Missouri August 3, 1821, the son of Jacob C. Darst
(December 22, 1793 Tennessee). He arrived in Gonzales with his parents January 8, 1831
from Missouri. Darst's father Jacob who married Margaret C. Hughes October 3, 1820 was the
son of David Darst. Two of David's nine children, Jacob and Abraham, went to Texas with
their parents. Abraham married Tabitha Calloway, granddaughter of Daniel Boone, and
settled in Brazoria County. Jacob settled in Gonzales in DeWitt's colony. He was granted
in 1831 twenty-four labors of land located on the north side of the