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Freestone County, Texas Biographies Biography of Chief Justice Nelson Tarver (1806-1890, buried Cemiterio dos Americanos in São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil) 1806 - about 1890 Chief Justice Nelson Tarver

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Nelson Tarver, a son of Thomas N. Tarver 1770-1833, was born in the Northampton County area of North Carolina about 1806. Nelson's family migrated to Tennessee between 1809-1810. Nelson's had 5 sisters and 2 brothers, all of whom were born in North Carolina except for the youngest brother Milton Smith who was born about 1810 while the family lived in Wilson County, Tennessee.

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On December 17, 1827, Nelson Tarver was married to Parthena Hall Mason (daughter of Abram Mason and Margaret Curry, bondsman - Abner B. Currey) in Rutherford, Tennessee. To this marriage were born Susannah, Thomas, Green Smith, Mary Ann (wife of Francis Marion Truitt), Sarah Elizabeth, William Brooks, John Wesley, Rebecca Mason, Martha Curry (wife of James M. Watson), and Nancy Jane.

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Nelson served as Justice in Gibson County Tennessee in 1841 where he and his family lived from around 1830, about the time that his father and siblings migrated to Kentucky except for Milton who traveled with Nelson. Nelson is recorded in the 1830 Sheriff's List, the 1830 Gibson County Census, and the county's tax list for 1834 and 1835.

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He and his family moved to Chickasaw County Mississippi about 1846 where he owned land totaling 319.7 acres. His beloved Parthena passed from this life on December 20 1846 while the family lived in Mississippi.

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Sometime between 1847 and 1848 Nelson and his family are said to have traveled by wagon train to Texas crossing the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, MS. By 1850 Nelson and his children Green Smith, Mary Ann, William B, John W. Martha C., and Nancy J. were in the area of Limestone County, Texas that was to become Freestone County the following year of 1851. Nelson was elected and served as the first Chief Justice of Freestone County 1851-1852. In the election results that carried his signature, Nelson reported his son-in-law F.M. Truitt being elected to office "F. M. Truitt Assessor and Collector by receiving 48 votes" the election was held on January 6, 1851, and certified by Nelson Tarver Chief Justice for Freestone County on February 21, 1851. Nelson is recorded as one of the original petitioners of the Pine Bluff Masonic Lodge which was later absorbed into the Fairfield Lodge where he was recorded as a member. Nelson also held a land patent in Freestone county for 640 acres issued November 6, 1851.

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Nelson remarried on February 11, 1852, to Sarah E. Carroll (daughter of Abner Carroll and Ann Kirkendoff) by Andrew Davis a Methodist minister in Fairfield, Freestone County, Texas. With Sarah, the family grew by four. Their children were Abner D. 1852 and James Y. 1853 born in Freestone County, Benjamin F 1855 born in Hill County, and Louisa O 1857 born in Henderson County.

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In 1854 Nelson Tarver with John P. Philpot, Joe Tyus, and John Karner solicited J.A. Carroll, a relative of his wife Sarah, to the appointment of Deputy Surveyor of the Denton Land District after he assisted Tyus on an earlier survey expedition in the Brazos River region.

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The families moved yet again about 1855 to Hill County and are recorded as living in Peoria, Texas, and attending the Peoria Methodist Church, which was the second church to form in Hill County in 1855. Nelson was the patentee of 320 acres in Hill County on November 8, 1856, from James Hannah. All but the four children with Sarah remained in Hill County and Freestone County for a time. Mary Ann Tarver Truitt and Nancy Jane Tarver moved to Hill County from Freestone after Francis Marion Truitt died of pneumonia on 23 Nov 1862 in Vaiden, Mississippi during the Civil War. He was buried in the Vaiden Cemetery, Vaiden Mississippi. Green Smith died before 1860, William Brooks later became the 6th County Clerk of Hill County serving from 1866-69, John Wesley stayed in Hill County until after 1880 when he moved to the Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory living there until 1901 when he returned to Hill County Texas where he lived until his death in 1902, Martha Curry remained in Hill County until after 1870 moving to Palo Pinto County with her husband James M. Watson.

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Between late 1856 and 1857, Nelson with Sarah and the children moved to Henderson County. He and his brother Milton Smith and nephew Thomas M are recorded as members of the Walnut Creek Methodist Church. He and his family are recorded in the 1860 census in Henderson County living next door to his brother Milton. Nelson and Sarah had their mark and brand registered with Henderson County, Sarah on November 15, 1857, and Nelson on December 12, 1857. In 1861 Nelson had a Bill for Relief before the 9th Texas Senate that was passed by 1862. Nelson and Sarah stayed in this area until after 1865 when the Civil War ended.

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On January 25, 1867, the family, Nelson, Sarah, and their four children departed from Texas at Galveston on an English ship the brig "Derby" with the Frank McMullan and the Confederate exiles that migrated to the State of São Paulo, Brazil. The journey hit hard times when the ship ran aground in Cuba from the winds of an early hurricane in 1867. Nelson is recorded in the New York Times February of 1867 as being one of the passengers and is referred to as Judge Tarver of Freestone, Texas". The shipwrecked passengers were picked up by the steamer "Mariposa" and taken to New York where they arrived on March 26, 1867, to await the arrival of a transport streamer to Brazil to where they would finish their sea voyage to their new home. They sailed from New York on the steamship "North America" of the Brazil line departing on April 22, 1867, arriving in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil on May 20, 1867. Nelson and his family are recorded in the Census of November 9, 1867, of the McMullan Colony. They are reported as settling first in the Juquiá River settlement near Iguape, São Paulo, Brazil moving then to Santa Barbara D'Oeste, São Paulo after the first settlement failed. Graves for Louisa Tarver MacAlpine, Benjamin F Tarver, and some members of their families can be found in the Campo Cemetery near Americana, São Paulo, Brazil. Descendants of Nelson Tarver are still found to this day in the United States and Brazil.

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A History of Hill County, Texas 1836 - 1956 by Ellis Bailey The Early Settlers Life in Texas and the Organization of Hill County by A.Y. Kirkpatrick The Elusive Eden, Frank McMullan's Confederate Colony in Brazil by William Clark Griggs 1830 U.S. Census Gibson County Tennessee 1840 U.S. Census Gibson County Tennessee U.S. Land Records for Chickasaw County Mississippi 1846 and 1847 Texas Land Records Patents for Freestone and Hill County. 1850 U.S. Census Limestone County Texas 1860 U.S. Census Henderson County Texas 1867 Census for McMullan Colony, The Elusive Eden, Frank McMullan's Confederate Colony in Brazil by William Clark Griggs Freestone County Election Records for 1851 Freestone County Texas Records Freestone County Clerk. Senate Journal of the Ninth Legislature of the State of Texas November 4, 1861 - January 14, 1862, Freestone County Marriage Records Book A page 205. The Hall Records. Genealogical and Biographical by Richard S. Miller Newburg, W. VA. 1886 North American Immigration to Brazil - Tombstone Records of the "Campo Cemetery" by Betty Antunes De Oliveira 1978 Texas Confederate military records for Francis Marion, Truitt National Archives. Texas Confederate military records for John W. Tarver, National Archives. Texas Confederate military records for James M. Tarver, National Archives. Texas Confederate military records for W. B. Tarver, National Archives. Texas Confederate military records for Thomas M. Tarver, National Archives. Texas Confederate military records for G. Y. Tarver, National Archives. Vaiden Cemetery Records, findagrave.com. New York Times published Feb 18, 1867. Encyclopedia of the New West published 1881 Henderson County Marks and Brands 1850-1860 and 1860-1870. Email from Daniel Carr De Muzio, Camp Commander, SCV Camp 1653 "Os Confederados" Porto Felis, SP, Brazil Texas Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865 Broadfoot Publishing 1997 Tarver Family History a letter by Jewel Tarver Rose 1974 Letter from "Aunt Cora" to Jewel Tarver Cora Ileta Tarver Beall 1937 Will of Thomas Tarver, Will Book A, Page 170. Hickman County Courthouse, Clinton, Hickman County, Kentucky

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Nelson Tarver Family:

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Nelson Tarver Born: 1806 Northampton County, North Carolina Died: 1890 Santa Barbara D'Oeste, Sao Paulo, Brazil Parents: Thomas N. Tarver born 1770 in North Carolina, died 1833 in Hickman County, Kentucky Susannah (maiden name unknown) born 1770, died 1833 in Hickman County, Kentucky

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Spouse: Parthena Hall Mason Born: 22 July 1801 in Williamson County, Tennessee Died: 20 Dec 1846 in Mississippi. Married December 17, 1827, Rutherford County, Tennessee

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Spouse: Sarah Elizabeth Carroll Born: 1830 in South Carolina Died: Unknown date in Sao Paulo Brazil. Married February 11, 1852, in Freestone County, Texas

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Children of Nelson Tarver and Parthena Hall Mason

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Susannah Tarver: Born: about 1828 no report on death date other than had died before 1890. No marriage record was found at this time.

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Thomas Tarver: Born: 1829 died in childhood before 1839 in Tennessee

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Green Smith Tarver: Born: about 1830 in Tennessee Died: in Texas between 1856-57.

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Mary Ann Tarver: Born: 1833 Tennessee Died: 15 Feb 1924 in Hill County, Texas. Married Francis Marion Truitt Born: 1829 in Alabama Died: 23 Nov 1862 in Vaiden Mississippi. Married about 1850 in Limestone/Freestone County Texas.

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Children of F.M. Truitt and Mary Ann Tarver: Sarah P. Truitt, Green Smith, William Henry Truitt, and Mary S. Truitt.

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Note for Mary Ann Tarver: 1850 Census has Francis M. Truitt listed as a female in the house of Nelson and Margaret A. Tarver as being born 1833. A letter from Jewel Rose Tarver stated the F.M. Truitt was Mary Ann but research has proven that the census recorder put the incorrect sex for F.M. Truitt and that Margaret A. was actually Mary Ann Tarver and that the census was taken before F.M. and Mary A were married in 1850.

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Sarah Elizabeth Tarver: Born: 1835 in Tennessee Died: 1836

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William Brooks Tarver: Born: 07 Dec 1836 Gibson County, Tennessee Died: 22 Feb 1918 Carter, Oklahoma. Married Nancy Geraldine Turner Born: 31 Oct 1842 in Texas, Died: 18 Oct 1918 Carter, Oklahoma. Children of William Brooks Tarver and Nancy Turner: Jimmie Turner Tarver and Ann Tarver

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John Wesley Tarver: Born: about 1838 in Gibson County, Tennessee Died: 8 Mar 1902 in Hill County, Texas Married Hulda Jane Williams Born: about 1841 in Missouri Died about 1877 in Hill County, Texas. Marriage performed about 1860. Married Mrs. Sarah F. Lively Born: 1854 in Macon County, Georgia Died: 23 April 1936 in Hooker, Texas County, Oklahoma Marriage date: May 30, 1880, Hill County, Texas Children of John W Tarver and Hulda J Williams: John Edward Tarver, Mary Emma Tarver, Cora Ileta Tarver, Francis Nelson Tarver, Carra Bell Tarver, Thomas Luther Tarver, and Marion Tarver. Children of John W. Tarver and Sarah F. Lively: John W. Tarver, Florence Tarver, and Willie Beatrice Tarver.

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Rebecca Mason Tarver: Born: 1839 Died: 1839 in Tennessee

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Martha Curry Tarver: Born: 30 Mar 1842 in Gibson County, Tennessee Died: 4 Jun 1898 Santo, Palo Pinto County, Texas Married firstly: William Henry Sullivan in 1858 and had two sons, John Wesley Sullivan, 1859-1939 and William Henry Sullivan 1861-1948. Her husband died and she married James M. Watson Born: about 1825 in South Carolina Died: 1882 Palo Pinto County, Texas Children of Martha Curry Tarver and James M. Watson: Nancy P. Watson, Francis Brooks Watson, James M Watson, Robert Butler Watson, Edward Tarver Watson, Marion A. Watson Notes for Martha Curry Tarver: Reported by family to be first married to a Sullivan but no records of that marriage have been found. [see notes above on Martha Curry Sullivan] Hall Family record misstates Martha Curry as being the wife of William B. Tarver as census Texas records and family records provide evidence that she is a sister.

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Nancy Jane Tarver: Born: about 1843 in Tennessee Died: 1888 in Hill, Texas, USA

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Children of Nelson Tarver and Sarah E. Carroll:

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Abner D Tarver: Born: about 1852 Freestone County Texas Died:

Unknown Married Lilly Carr in São Paulo Brazil.

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James Y Tarver: Born: about 1853 Freestone County Texas Died:

Unknown

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Benjamin F Tarver: Born: about 1855 Hill County Texas Died: 30 Jan 1913 Santa Barbara D'Oeste, São Paulo, Brazil Married: Maria Getrudes Pinheiro Born: about 1860 Died: 29 Dec 1949 Santa Barbara D'Oeste, São Paulo, Brazil Children: Reported to have had 11 children.

Benjamin Franklin Tarver and his wife Maria Gertludes and their children lived on a large farm in what is now Vila Mariana Jardim Paulista. where there is also the company of Zuculo.

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Louisa O Tarver: Born: about 1857 Henderson County Texas Died: 19 Sept 1926 Santa Barbara D'Oeste, São Paulo, Brazil Married: Napoleon Bonaparte MacAlpine Born: 1844 Alabama Died: 1 Sept 1921 Santa Barbara D'Oeste, São Paulo, Brazil Children found: Elizabeth MacAlpine, John Edwin MacAlpine, Robert Watson MacAlpine

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Civil War Veteran Unit Parent John W. Tarver 12th Texas Infantry - Co K son of Nelson Tarver James M. Tarver 12th Texas Infantry - Co A son of Milton S. Tarver Francis Marion Truitt Waul's Legion - Co F son-in-law of Nelson Tarver William B. Tarver 12th Texas Infantry - Co K son of Nelson Tarver Thomas M. Tarver 9th Texas Infantry - Co E son of Milton S. Tarver George Y. Tarver 12th Texas Infantry - Co K son of Milton S. Tarver

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Notes: Thomas M Tarver first served in the Confederate Army then was captured and held as a Prisoner of War. After the war was over he served for a time as a union soldier his headstone is a Union Army Marker showing him as a Corporal in the 6th United States Volunteer Infantry Co. A.

Researchers: Dan Ellis and Linda Harris

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Sources for Nelson Tarver and family: Rutherford County Marriage Records. Rutherford County Archives Citation WPA, Marriage Record Book 1804-1837

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A History of Hill County, Texas 1836 - 1956 by Ellis Bailey The Early Settlers Life in Texas and the Organization of Hill County by A.Y. Kirkpatrick The Elusive Eden, Frank McMullan's Confederate Colony in Brazil by William Clark Griggs 1830 U.S. Census Gibson County Tennessee 1840 U.S. Census Gibson County Tennessee U.S. Land Records for Chickasaw County Mississippi 1846 and 1847 Texas Land Records Patents for Freestone and Hill County. 1850 U.S. Census Limestone County Texas 1860 U.S. Census Henderson County Texas 1867 Census for McMullan Colony, The Elusive Eden, Frank McMullan's Confederate Colony in Brazil by William Clark Griggs Freestone County Election Records for 1851 Freestone County Texas Records Freestone County Clerk. Senate Journal of the Ninth Legislature of the State of Texas November 4, 1861 - January 14, 1862, Freestone County Marriage Records Book A page 205. The Hall Records. Genealogical and Biographical by Richard S. Miller Newburg, W. VA. 1886 North American Immigration to Brazil - Tombstone Records of the "Campo Cemetery" by Betty Antunes De Oliveira 1978 Texas Confederate military records for Francis Marion, Truitt National Archives. Texas Confederate military records for John W. Tarver, National Archives. Texas Confederate military records for James M. Tarver, National Archives. Texas Confederate military records for W. B. Tarver, National Archives. Texas Confederate military records for Thomas M. Tarver, National Archives. Texas Confederate military records for G. Y. Tarver, National Archives. Vaiden Cemetery Records, findagrave.com. New York Times published Feb 18, 1867. Encyclopedia of the New West published 1881 Henderson County Marks and Brands 1850-1860 and 1860-1870. Email from Daniel Carr De Muzio, Camp Commander, SCV Camp 1653 "Os Confederados" Porto Felis, SP, Brazil Texas Confederate Soldiers 1861-1865 Broadfoot Publishing 1997 Tarver Family History a letter by Jewel Tarver Rose 1974 Letter from "Aunt Cora" to Jewel Tarver Cora Ileta Tarver Beall 1937 Will of Thomas Tarver, Will Book A, Page 170. Hickman County Courthouse, Clinton, Hickman County, Kentucky