Charles C. Stibbens,
the only soldier of the Battle of San Jacinto to be buried in Collin County,
was born 14 May 1810 in
Maryland. He was literate with an excellent command
of the English language and an eloquent penmanship, evident in his many
surviving letters. He and his wife lived in Magnolia, Anderson County,
Texas, before moving to Collin County in September 1870. He received a great
deal of land located in Anderson County from the Texas General Land Office (GLO)
due to his military connection. His wife received two parcels of land
located in SE Collin County from the GLO for the same military connection.
MILITARY
Stibbens arrived in Texas
with the first volunteer company which he himself had organized and financed
to support the Lone Star Republic. He was a soldier in the Texas
Revolution at the commencement at Gonzales in 1835. Documents show he served
until the first day of January 1837. Charles C. Stibbens and his volunteers
formed the First Volunteers, Company "I." His service record, number
496 shows he was in Major Leander Smith's company at muster on 5 April 1836.
Furthermore, he served from 20 April to 22 June 1836 in Captain William S.
Fisher's company of Velasco Blues at San Jacinto. On the muster roll of Company I, First Regiment of Volunteers under
the command of Col. Millard. Charles's name is number 22. His name is
engraved on the original 1939 bronze plaque at the San Jacinto Monument. His
name also appears in, The Honor Roll of the Battle, A Complete List of
Participants and Personnel on Detached Service, page 6.
ANDERSON COUNTY
The census records show his
residence for the twenty-seven years Charles as Anderson County. The area
where he lived later became a major landing for flatboats and steamers on
the Trinity River, where cotton and other products were shipped by a
four-day trip to Galveston to be exchanged for flour, salt and sugar. Focus
on social life was around Haygood's Tavern where board and lodging for a man
and two horses cost $2 a day. After the trains replaced the riverboats, the
bustling towns lwere passed by and soon withered away. An irony of the
transition was that one of the last steamers to pass through in 1872,
carried rails for the tracks being laid through nearby Palestine.
I personally visited the old
landing in 1984 and again in 1988. There is absolutely no sign of the
activity that was once common place. There were no traces that I could see
of a human ever having been there. I found it difficult to visualize the
excitement caused by the steamboats or flatboats laden with cargo on the now
shallow waterway. Actually, I found it quite peaceful. The sound of the
water moving over the rocks in the stream set the stage for the many birds
singing in the adjacent woods. The rustling leaves of the cotton wood trees
was soothing. The landing itself was just a clearing in the woods. The
pathway from the road to the landing had not been taken over by large trees
or brush. This may be because it is sometimes used as a fishing hole. I
can't say for sure. There were no fishermen to disturb the catfish in the
stream on my visits. It had become a part of nature and our past heritage.
MARRIAGES
The county records show Charles
was married twice. His first marriage was to Julie Ann Frost. After her
death, Charles Stibbens married Elizabeth Creekman, was much happier and
more fruitful. They reared several children, all proud of their father and
proud of Texas. As was the custom, Charles taught his sons to care for the
property and the farm animals. He also taught them the shoemaker trade.
Each son became proficient at this fine craft and passed it on to their
sons.
During this period, the
marauding Indians in their part of East Texas were wild and dangerous. The
military was always on patrol to try to quell their attacks. The military
also had to be constantly on the watch for roving bands of renegade soldiers
on their way to Mexico during and after the Civil War. The family
continuously had to exercise caution. However, none of this seemed to halt
the normal development of the Stibbens family in Anderson County.
ST. PAUL,
COLLIN COUNTY, BECKONS
As they became older and their
children were growing into adults, Charles and Elizabeth decided to sell the
property and move to Collin County to be closer to friends and
other family members during Charles's later years. He was suffering from
arthritis and arteriosclerosis. Conversely, Elizabeth was always a strong,
healthy person and still of childbearing age. She had just given birth to
Ed a year before their decision to move.
The family gives other reasons
for the move. The railroad had been completed in Palestine by that time. It
had bypassed Magnolia and the town was hurting economically. As is often
the case, the railroad took the business away from the steamboats and
flatboats hauling cargo on the river. Magnolia, a port economically
dependent on the river trade, began to decline. They felt this decline would
limit the advantages available to their children in the future. In addition,
her stepfather's roots were situated in Collin County.
The story goes that her
stepfather told Charles and Elizabeth of the availability of rich farmland
in the North Central Texas County of Collin along the East Fork of the
Trinity River in the town of St. Paul. Charles, being know for his
spirit of adventure, decided to relocate his family one final time. For
whatever reason they made this move, security and protection for his adored
family during his advancing years must have been foremost. Fear of Indian
attacks in this area was slight. This area was not far from the fast growing
city of Dallas. The move seemed to have potential. Another plus was the
location in the Bible Belt of St. Paul situated on the banks of his beloved
Trinity River. The community was blessed with several lay preachers making
it appealing to the Baptist, Methodist and Catholic families.
With the spirit of adventure and
determination still so much a part of his persona, he approached Elizabeth
about selling their land and shoe shop and starting over in Collin County in
the fall. Being a loving wife, confident of her husband as an efficient
provider and protector of her and their children, Elizabeth agreed to the
three day journey by wagon to St. Paul.
VETERAN'S PENSION
There was one very important
matter he must attend to before he left Magnolia. Just before the move to
Collin County, he applied for the pension that the Legislature awarded to
military veterans of the Republic of Texas. He informed the Pension Bureau
of his impending move to St. Paul in Collin County in the fall and asked
that his certificate be sent to McKinney, the county seat. Stibbens was
granted the pension but unfortunately the certificate was mistakenly sent to
Anderson County. After much correspondence between Charles and the
Comptroller his pension problems were rectified. However, Charles received
this annual pension until his death on 31 March 1879 at St. Paul, Collin
County, Texas, but not without continuous problems!
NEIGHBORS
They arrived in St. Paul the latter part of 1870. Immediately
they were welcomed by their new friends and neighbors. Mike Boylan became a
close friend and often visited their home. He would soon become a part of
their family. William and Elizabeth would become closer friends than Charles
or William would ever expect. The F.M. Brooks family were trusted friends.
Andrew Hays Burns and his wife, Lucinda lived nearby. Their children would
later marry Charles and Elizabeth Elizabeth's descendants: As would the
descendants of Andy's nephew, Equilla Joshua Burns and his wife, Mary
Elizabeth Swain. William W. and Nancy Ann Farmer Burns would also become
friends and future relatives. Nancy's parents, Leroy and Nancy Farmer were
close neighbors and friends. By Christmas the Stibbens family all felt
quite secure in their new and final home with their friends. Christmas is
always more enjoyable when celebrated with family and close friends.
STIBBENS HOMESTEAD
Fortunately for their descendants, Charles and Elizabeth chose
to purchase land in St. Paul which to this day is easily located. The river
at that location is part of Lake Lavon. They purchased high land. When the
Corps of Engineers acquired land in the East Fork river bottoms for Lake
Lavon, their land was too high to be under water. Their homestead selection
was a sixty acre section of prairie and timber land that comprised the 640
acres. No other land was acquired by Charles and Elizabeth before Charles's
death. Likewise, no land was sold. It was here on this land where they lived
and died. This land remained in the family until 1930.
There is no known veteran of the
Battle of San Jacinto buried in Collin County other than Charles C. Stibbens.
This fact was derived by the author's personal search of the biographies
compiled by Dixon and Kemp in their book, The Heroes of San Jacinto.
Charles C. Stibbens is the only soldier stipulated in their book as dying in
Collin County. In addition, neither the Registrar's records of the San
Jacinto Descendants nor the files of the San Jacinto Archives reveal a San
Jacinto veteran buried in Collin County. The records of the Collin County
Historical Society likewise show no proof of a veteran buried within the
county.
ST. PAUL CATHOLIC CHURCH AND CEMETERY
The religious denomination of
Charles C. and Elizabeth Stibbens is unknown. No record of their attending
St. Paul or the Galveston Diocese was ever found. Their closest friends were
both Protestant and Catholic. However, all of their children were members of
the St. Paul Catholic Church. Their attendance records have been verified.
St. Paul was operated as a
mission by the Diocese of Galveston after its inception in 1847. The
Galveston Diocese was composed of all the State of Texas east of the
Colorado River.
The Stibbens family spent their
first Christmas in Collin County in this Church. It later became the place
most of their children were married. St. Paul Catholic Church and buried in
St. Paul Catholic Cemetery. The church, according to Sister Lois Bannon,
deceased, of the Dallas Catholic Archives, was established as a mission in
1847 by local Irish farmers in the community. St. Paul was the first
catholic church to be formed in either Collin or Dallas Counties. It
predates by thirty-four years the establishment of the Dallas Diocese. In
the beginning, the parishioners met in each others homes in the St. Paul
community. There was no building, but the idea of the church was
formed!
DRT MEDALLIONS AND TEXAS HISTORICAL
MARKER
Charles grave was marked on 22
September 1990 with the Daughters of the Republic of Texas
medallions for Veteran of the Republic of Texas and Citizen of the Republic
of Texas by his great-great granddaughter, Brenda Kellow, also the author
of the book, Charles C. Stibbens, Soldier of the Battle of San Jacinto,
Citizen of the Republic of Texas. On 7 November 1992, at a special
ceremony, the Stibbens descendants gathered to celebrate the Texas
Historical Marker placed at Stibbens’ grave which was researched and
acquired by Brenda Kellow.
Surname Index
Recommended citation:
"Charles
Stibbens",
Collin County, Texas
History and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of Plano Libraries, Inc.,
<http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13, 2004 ].
