Minerva (Childress) Hunt (1830-1904)
Daughter of Obediah Childress, Sr.
Obediah Childress, Sr. and his wife Selah had eight children, four sons and
four daughters. The first photo below shows Obediah Childress and wife's
Selah's sixth child, Minerva Childress (1830-1904), and
her marriage family. Front row, l.
to r., daughter Eliza C. (1866-1928), Minerva's husband Pilate Hunt
(1828-1920) and Minerva herself. Back row, l. to r., sons Samuel A.
(1869-1951), John Pilate (1861-1944), Obediah Childress
(1856-1923) and Daniel Peyton "Buck" (1874-1957).
The second photo below features Minerva Childress at a bit younger age with
one of her daughters, likely the same Eliza C. as in the group photo. The
third photo also is of Minerva Childress, but at still a younger age, the photo
presumably taken circa 1865 when Minerva would have been 35 years of age, or
so. The last photo is of Obediah Childress Hunt (1856-1923).
(The above first photograph was copied from a book
written by Hazel Crenshaw Garrett, entitled "Families of Choctaw County,
Mississippi" located in the Jackson, Mississippi
public library. The second and third photos were contributed by a
descendent of the family. The last photograph was contributed by Geraldine
Sharpe, granddaughter of Obediah Childress Hunt.)
Tabitha (Childress) Grayson (1822-1868)
Niece of Obediah Childress, Sr.
Obediah Childress, Sr. had several siblings, and his next
younger brother was named William Childress, Jr. (abt. 1801-1853).
William's second oldest daughter, Tabitha (Childress) Edwards (1822-1868)
was married twice, the second time to Lt. Thomas Wigg Grayson
(1808-1873), who was captain of a ship that played an important role in the
Texas Revolution. At one time, Grayson (below, left) also captained the Yellow
Stone
(below, right), a steamboat that was used to transport Sam Houston and his
troops across the Brazos on their way to the fateful encounter with the Mexican
General, Santa Anna.
(Above copy of a print from the Texas Online
Handbook)
The Yellow Stone
(Written by Mary G. Ramos and first
published in the 1988-1989 Texas Almanac)
Not all the gallant veterans of Texas' fight for independence were humans.
One was a steamboat — a side-wheeler named the Yellow Stone.
The Yellow Stone was built in Louisville, Ky., in 1831 for John Jacob
Astor's American Fur Company. The vessel was 120 feet long, with a 20-foot
beam and a deep (six-foot) draft, constructed to specifications furnished by
Pierre Chouteau Jr., western agent for Astor's fur-trading company, for service
on the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. The boat's crew usually numbered
about 21.
In summer, the Yellow Stone plied the waters of the upper Missouri,
proudly displaying an oversize 12-foot by 18-foot American flag as it hauled
furs, deerskins, buffalo robes and buffalo tongues downstream to market and
returned with trade goods for the Indians. In winter, the Yellow Stone
transported cotton and sugar cane among ports on the lower Mississippi until the
spring thaw. On a normal daylight run, the steamboat would burn 10 cords
of wood, which meant that fuel itself was a considerable amount of its cargo.
Ten cords of oak wood weigh 40 tons, of cottonwood 25 tons. In its
six-and-a-half-year life, the Yellow Stone probably consumed 40,000
trees.
The Yellow Stone's last voyage on the Missouri was in July 1833.
On that ill-fated journey, the crew was stricken with cholera, and all of them
died except the captain and a young, semi-trained pilot named Joe LaBarge.
The next year and a half saw the Yellow Stone churning up the waters of
the Mississippi under a succession of owners. In fall 1835, it was sold to
the firm Thomas Toby and Brother of New Orleans, who had connections in Mexican
Texas and who intended to employ the steamboat in intracoastal trade in the Gulf
of Mexico.
The Yellow Stone Arrives in Texas
The last day of December 1835 saw the Yellow Stone clearing the
port of New Orleans headed for Texas under the command of Capt. Thomas Wigg
Grayson, carrying 47 men of the Mobile Grays, volunteers looking for action in
the Texas Revolution. These adventurous young men found their action: They
all died at Goliad. At that time, the Brazos and Trinity rivers were the
only Texas waterways considered navigable by steamboats, but the Yellow Stone,
intended for use in the deeper waters of the Missouri and the Mississippi, had
trouble even with them. Sandbars, snags and droughts plagued the boat during its
entire career on the Brazos.
The Yellow Stone and the Runaway Scrape
On March 31, 1836, the Yellow Stone inadvertently stumbled into
Texas history. Now under the command of Capt. John E. Ross, the vessel was
taking on a load of cotton at Jared Groce's landing in present-day Waller County
about 20 miles up the Brazos from San Felipe.
The Alamo had fallen on March 6. Even before that, settlers had begun leaving
their homes to escape the advancing Mexican army. After Sam Houston learned of
the crushing defeat at the San Antonio mission, he, himself, left Gonzales and
"advanced to the rear" toward the Colorado River with the Texas army,
urging civilians along the way to flee. The trickle of refugees became a
deluge; the mass exodus was called the Runaway Scrape.
Houston's retreat brought him to Groce's landing on March 31 facing a Brazos
River swollen by spring rains. Desperate to cross, he commandeered the Yellow
Stone to ferry men, horses and equipment to the opposite bank. Capt.
Ross stacked his cargo of cotton bales in such a way as to protect the boat's
boilers and pilothouse from snipers in case of hostilities. On April 12,
Capt. Ross, finally satisfied with the cotton armor and the load of fuel,
ferried Houston and his men across the river. Two days later, Ross guided
the steamboat, under a full head of steam, on a wild, bumpy ride down river past
a Mexican army encampment at Fort Bend. One over-eager Mexican soldier
even tried in vain to lasso the smokestacks, the only parts of the
superstructure peeking out from the tops of the cotton bales.
Capt. Ross proceeded to Galveston, picking up refugees along the way.
On the island, he found President Burnet, many other government officials and a
large number of refugees. After the Texans' victory, the Yellow Stone
transported Burnet and other officials to the battleground at San Jacinto at the
request of Secretary of War Thomas J. Rusk. At Buffalo Bayou, the steamboat
played host not only to Sam Houston, who needed medical treatment for a wounded
ankle, but also to Gen. Santa Anna, 47 of his officers and other Mexican
soldiers. About 80 prisoners were taken to Galveston for
incarceration. It is said that Burnet, never a fan of Houston's, refused
to let Houston board the boat. But Capt. Ross would not budge until
Houston was brought on board.
A Mexican officer, writing of the voyage later, found it curious that, as the
Yellow Stone passed the San Jacinto battleground, the Texas troops on
board lined the rail and presented arms, accompanied by a solemn military
drumbeat. "What was their object?" he wondered.
Errand-runner for the Republic
In the months that followed, the steamboat ran more errands for the
army and the government of the new nation. Capt. Thomas Wigg Grayson, once
more in command, advertised in the Telegraph and Texas Register of Oct.
19, 1836, offering $3 a cord for wood along the route between Quintana and
Washington-on-the-Brazos. It is not known whether the steamboat ever
resumed regular Brazos runs. Its is also not known whether the owners were
ever able to collect the money owed by the government of the fledgling
nation. Bills were sent to the Texas government several times. Sam
Houston himself urged the Congress to authorize payment for the services of the Yellow
Stone. But there is no firm evidence that the bills were ever paid.
The Yellow Stone was once again thrust into the Texas limelight when
Stephen F. Austin died on Dec. 27, 1836, at the age of 43. The steamboat
was summoned to Columbia to pick up the entourage and transport it a few miles
downstream to Peach Point Plantation, home of Austin's sister and her husband,
Emily and James F. Perry. Austin was interred in the plantation's burial
ground, the Gulf Prairie Cemetery. Austin's body was later re-interred in the
Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
Hauling freight and a few passengers around the Gulf occupied the steamboat's
next several months. The vessel made two or three runs up Buffalo Bayou to
the new village called Houston, but the steamer was too long to turn around in
the bayou without first backing into White Oak Bayou -- a tricky maneuver.
In spring of 1837, the sturdy side-wheeler transported to Houston a printing
press meant for the Telegraph and Texas Register. Gail Borden Jr.,
the developer of condensed milk and part-owner of the paper, accompanied the
press.
The Yellow Stone made a few more deliveries in the Galveston area;
after that, there is no further evidence of its existence. Some historians
think the steamboat literally dropped from sight: They believe that it hit
a snag and sank in Buffalo Bayou. The last scrap of documentation is a bill to
the Texas navy department dated June 2, 1837 -- one last attempt to get paid for
services rendered. What is generally accepted to be the bell of the Yellow
Stone is on display at the Alamo complex.
One thing is certain, however: The Yellow Stone earned an important
place in the history of Texas.
Click
here to go to the Childress/Mathis Family Tree data on Roots Web for notes
on the above individuals.
More Childress Ancestor Photos:
For additions, corrections or comments, please send an e-mail to Patrick
Childress
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