James Walter Barclay and Virginia Ann America (Foster) Barclay

James Walter Barclay and Virginia Ann America (Foster) Barclay

Family Group Sheet submitted May, 1999
by Sandra Hargrove whose husband is double descended from James and Virginia Foster Barclay
 
 

Made their home at Harmony, Woodville Area, Tyler County, Texas
(See the Narrative paper by Teddy L Barclay Ed. D. following the family sheet)

Husband: James Walter Barclay Sr

Born: 11 Feb 1816 at: , , TN

Christened: at:=20

Died: 14 Dec 1873 at: , Tyler, TX

Buried: Dec 1873 at: Hartmill Cem. Tyler Co., TX

Father: Walter Barclay

Mother: Elizabeth Mc Queen

Married: 16 Apr 1841 Place: , Liberty Co, TX
 
 

Wife: Virginia Ann Foster Barclay

Born: 9 Feb 1827 at: , Monroe?, GA

Christened: at:=20

Died: 15 Oct 1867 at: , Tyler, TX

Buried: Oct 1867 at: Hartmill Cem. Tyler Co., TX

Father: William Lewis Foster

Mother: Jane Lawson
 
 

Children:

1 F Jane Elizabeth Barclay

Born: 16 Feb 1842 at: Woodville, Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 12 May 1918 at: , Tyler, TX

Buried: May 1918 at: Hartmill Cem. Tyler Co., TX

Spouse: Charles Washington Bullock Capt.

Marr. Date: 11 Jan 1866, Woodville, Tyler Co, TX

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2 F Avarilla Barclay

Born: 4 Oct 1843 at: , Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 8 Jul 1922 at: , Tyler, TX

Buried: Jul 1922 at: Hartmill Cem. Tyler Co., TX

Spouse: Landon James Risinger

Marr. Date: 3 Jan 1859, , Tyler Co, TX

Spouse: James Allen Hodges

Marr. Date: 16 Oct 1888, Woodville, Tyler, TX

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3 F Mary Lewis Barclay

Born: 7 Sep 1845 at: , Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 13 Apr 1933 at: , Tyler, TX

Buried: Apr 1933 at: Hartmill Cem. Tyler Co., TX

Spouse: Thomas Boston Beaty

Marr. Date: 11 Oct 1860, , Tyler Co, TX

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4 F Sarah Anderson Barclay

Born: 24 Jun 1847 at: , Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 9 Sep 1936 at: , Tyler, TX

Buried: Sep 1936 at: Lindsey Cemetery, Tyler County, =

TX

Spouse: James Oliver Lindsey

Marr. Date: 21 Oct 1869, Woodville, Tyler Co, TX

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5 M James Walter Barclay Jr

Born: 5 Jul 1849 at: , Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 23 Dec 1907 at: , Tyler, TX

Buried: Dec 1907 at: Hartmill Cem. Tyler Co., TX

Spouse: Nancy L. Catherine Kincaid

Marr. Date: 22 Dec 1870, Woodville, Tyler Co, TX

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6 F Tennessee Ann Barclay

Born: 22 Mar 1851 at: , Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 1935 at: Warren, Tyler, TX

Buried: 1935 at: Allison Cem., Tyler, TX

Spouse: William B Allison

Marr. Date: 31 Oct 1872, , Tyler Co, TX

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7 M John Mc Barclay

Born: 17 Jan 1853 at: , , TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 22 Feb 1907 at: Warren, Tyler, TX

Buried: Feb 1907 at: Hartmill Cem. Tyler Co., TX

Spouse: Eliza Thompkins

Marr. Date: 5 Mar 1893, Tyler County, TX

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8 M Napoleon Bonapart Barclay

Born: 6 Dec 1854 at: Woodville, Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 6 Nov 1936 at: Silsbee, Hardin, TX

Buried: 7 Nov 1936 at: Hartmill Cem. Tyler Co., TX

Spouse: Martha Isabell Boyd

Marr. Date: 18 Mar 1880, , Tyler Co, TX

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9 F Eliza America "Annet" Barclay

Born: 17 Jan 1857 at: , Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 8 May 1884 at: , Tyler, TX

Buried: May 1884 at: Hartmill Cem. Tyler Co., TX

Spouse: James Leroy Anderson Sr

Marr. Date: 31 Dec 1874, , Tyler Co, TX

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10 F Phoebe Arizona Izora Barclay

Born: 13 Apr 1859 at: , Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 9 Nov 1947 at: Warren, Tyler, TX

Buried: Nov 1947 at: Hartmill Cem. Tyler Co., TX

Spouse: Thomas Beaty Bevil

Marr. Date: 12 Feb 1880, Woodville, Tyler Co, TX

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11 M William Foster Barclay

Born: 16 Jun 1861 at: Woodville, Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 14 May 1904 at: Warren, Tyler, TX

Buried: May 1904 at: Allison Cemetery Tyler County, =

TX

Spouse: Ida Phillips

Marr. Date: 23 Dec 1886, , Tyler Co, TX

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12 M Charles Bullock Barclay

Born: 26 Aug 1866 at: , Tyler, TX

Christened: at:=20

Died: 26 Jul 1943 at: , Trinity, TX

Buried: Jul 1943 at: Glendale, Trinity, TX

Spouse: Donna Dunmon

Marr. Date: 30 Jun 1897, , Polk, TX

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Last Modified: 12 May 1999

………. the James Barclay Story
Compiled by Teddy Barclay Pope, Ed. D. and Dennis LaVerne Pope
October 1, 1999

Introduction

The purpose of this paper is to compile information about James Barclay as a Tribute to him, using the various sources available. The contents of these sources, and some of the other papers by other earlier writers, has been made into a composite paper. It may provide a historical item of interest to students of the history of Tyler County and Texas, and a research aid to researchers of the Barclays and other related families. An effort has been made to include the names of many settler citizens and clues for research for writers who may follow. Some less pertinent details have been included as an effort to preserve them. It is the hope of this writer that someone might some day write a historical novel about this Barclay family. A picture of James Barclay may be seen in the court room of the Tyler County Court House.

Disclaimer: The effort of a reasonably prudent researcher has been made to authenticate the content of this paper. In some cases it has been necessary to reach consensus and compromise about what took place. Examples of such compromise have to do with items about the villages of the Alabama Indians, since it is not within the memory of the current generation and they no longer speak the earlier language. Since they were not literate in English at the time of their life in east Texas nearly two hundred years ago, and their dealings with James Barclay, they do not have records. The content of this paper is not guaranteed in any way.

Other examples have to do with different boundaries of counties. At the time of the arrival of the Barclays, and others, to what became Texas. At the time, it was still part of Mexico and the Atoscosita area. Later, it was named the Menard district. Still later, when Texas joined the United States, it was divided into counties. The records used in these cases were the writings of other earlier researchers, and those secured from the Sam Houston Texas Archives at Liberty, Texas and the Tyler County records. Records about the Barclay family members exist in the county records of Tyler County. An example of a pertinent record is the summons to court regarding William Barclay, who died around 1847. This summons included the names of all of the living sisters and brothers, or their immediate descendants. No mention was made in that summons of sister Louisa Barclay Jennings, who may have died without children.

The last section of this paper deals with some of the other kin and friends of James Barclay who were mentioned in the paper. These include; William Anderson Barclay, Sam Houston, Harmon Frazer, and Charles Bullock.

Persons doing family research may feel reasonably comfortable in using this paper as a reference. It they are in disagreement with parts of it, they should leave that part out of their research. If they have addition information that would be appropriate to add in a later revision, please contact the writer by email or in another way. This writer took on the self assigned paper as a project, because no one more qualified or closely related was able to do so at the time. The last duplicated and distributed materials about this family were more than forty years old, so it seemed time to update and compile the James Barclay materials.

James Barclay

James Barclay was born in 1816 in TN and died in 1871 in Woodville, Texas, in Tyler County. He is buried at Hart Mill Cemetery. He came with his family as a young man to East Texas. The family included eight brothers and three sisters that ranged in age from around 30 years of age when they settled in East Texas, to the youngest, who were small children under five years of age. The family also included the wives and children of the older sons, Robert and Anderson. Most of them lived first at Wolf Creek in the Town Bluff area. Later they spread out in Tyler County, and as an adult James lived in what became the Woodville area. His farm was in the Harmony settlement. There, he and his wife raised their family. He was a major contributor to public service and the development of Tyler County.

James Barclay's father was Walter Barclay, who was born in 1774 in Rowan County, North Carolina and died in 1858 in Tyler County, Texas. Walter Barclay was buried in Hart Mill Cemetery. He was the grandson of Robert Barkley born in 1716 to 1723 est. and Leah (maybe Madison first choice, maybe Todd second choice) Barkley of Rowan County, NC. This family was written up extensively in other papers by this writer online and off. They are available through the Sam Houston Archives at Liberty, Texas, and the library of the University of Texas as well as 15 other libraries on floppy disc and various software.

Barclay's mother was Elizabeth McQueen Barclay, who was born Feb 11, 1790, in Madison County, Kentucky. She died 1863 in Woodville, Texas, Tyler County. She was buried at Hart Mill Cemetery. Elizabeth McQueen was the daughter of John McQueen and Nancy Crews, and the great granddaughter of Dugal McQueen who came to America in 1716 as a prisoner of war. Dugal McQueen was a Jacobite warrior on the Island of Sky, which is off the mainland of Scotland. He was in a battle with the English in an attempt to unseat one king and put another on the throne. Elizabeth was the sister of Milton McQueen who was married to Susan Simmons. She was the sister of David McQueen, who came to east Texas but died when he went back on a business trip. She was the sister of Jane McQueen Bean, who also came to east Texas. She was a cousin to the Squire Cruse family. Three books have been written about the McQueen and Crew families by Dona Hechler Porter.

It is noted that the spelling of the Barclay family named varied. The will of Robert Barkley of Rowan County NC used the spelling Barkly. In Kentucky brother Robert and Walter were using the spelling Barkley. In Alabama the spelling used was Barkley, but in church minutes, Elizabeth was referred to as Betsy Bartley and Walter as Brother Bartley. It is certain these were Walter and Elizabeth McQueen Barkley, as the McQueen brothers and sisters of Elizabeth were also mentioned. That church may have been Broiling Fork Baptist Church. On the roll of the Texas Army the Barclay brothers names were spelled Barkley. Later, in Texas, the Barkley family of Walter and Elizabeth McQueen Barkley used the spelling Barclay.

James Barclay's brothers and their spouses were; Robert b. 1805 d. est 1845 who married Sarah McKinsey, Anderson b. est 1806 who married Sarah Prather, John b. 1814 TN who married Louisa Jane Priutt b. 1829 TN d. 1881, David b. 1820 who married Jane Enloe (went to Falls CO.), William d. 1847 who was unmarried at the time of his death which was during the US War with Mexico, Jeremiah -Todd b. 1825 d.1850, who married Elizabeth Rigsby, Milton b. est 1830, who was unmarried at the time of his death. James' sisters and their spouses were: Mary b.1818 ALA who married James Beven b.1816 KY, Louisa J. b.1828 ALA who married Humley Jennings b. 1828 MD, and Nancy Barclay b. Ala. who married John Deason. (All of these Barkleys who were living at the time were summons to court in relation to the death of brother William who died in Mexico. This is the document that varifies the siblings).

Within a few months of moving to Texas, in July of 1836, James Barclay enlisted in the independence cause of Texas. This was evidenced by his record of military service in the AOR (Army of the Republic) service, for which his heirs received a pension. (note: this service was after the Battle of San Jacinto, which was April 21, 1836. Some fighting continue with Mexicans and Indians until Texas joined the union in 1846 and the following U. S. War with Mexico).

James Barclay married his wife, Virginia Ann America Foster, around 1840. She was born. 2/1/1827 and died in 1867 in Tyler County, Texas. She was buried at Hart Mill Cemetery. His wife's parents were Jane Lawson Foster, born 1790 in Georgia and William Lewis Foster of Georgia. These Fosters were distantly related to the Foster family of Virginia, Virginia Foster's younger sister by seven years, Martha Jane Foster, married Walter Barclay b. 1831, son of Robert Barclay, (after Martha Jane's death, Walter married Mary J Mahaffey). James Barclay's eldest brother. Mary Foster Rigsby, known as Aunt Polly, b. 1816 in Georgia, was the mother of Elizabeth Rigsby, the wife of James Barclay's younger brother Jeremiah Todd Barclay. There is a web paper online about the Lawson, Foster, and Rigsby families by Margaret Barclay of Waco. (There were as many as five Foster women who married into the Barclay family. Some of them may have been aunts and neices rather than all of the same generation).

Barclay and his wife, Virginia Ann America Foster, made their home in the Harmony area of Tyler County, near Woodville, Texas. Their home stands today, having had continuous occupancy by descendants. During their marriage, James was sometimes away from home for long periods of time. His wife and family were assisted by the Negro hands and the friendly Alabama Indians who help protect them from the elements, wild animals and the less friendly Cherokee and other Indians in the area. More than once, the Negro hands and Indians carried them across the river and hid them in a dugout that had been prepared for that purpose, should the need arise. There was a room in the Barclay house especially for the Indians that was unfurnished for family use. This was used as an office for James in his dealings with the Indians who came to see him. They camped under the big tree on the hill behind the house when they came there to visit and to hunt.

The children and the spouses of the children of James Barclay and Virginia Ann Foster were; Jane Elizabeth b. 1841 who married Charles Washington Bullock, (whose first wife was Isabella Scott Bullock, mother of several Bullock children, including; Emily Bullock and Winfield Scott Bullock) Arvarilla b. 1893 d. 1932 married Landon Risinger (casualty of the Civil War), and James Hodge, Mary Lewis b. 1845 d. 1933 married Thomas Boston Beaty, Sara Anderson b. 1847 d.1936 married James Lindsay, James Walter Jr. b. 1850 d.1907 married Katherine Kincaid, Tennessee Ann b. 1851 d 1935 married William Allison, John M. b. 1851 d. 1905, Napoleon Bonapart b. 1856 d. 1936 married Marta Estell, Eliza America "Annet" b 1857 d. 1888 married James Leroy Anderson Sr , Arizona Phoebe 1859 d. 194 ? married Thomas Beaty Bevel, William F b. 1861 d. 1904 married Ida Phillips and Charles Bullock Barclay b. 1866 married Dona Durham.

Attention is drawn to the need for research on the descendants of each of the children of James Barclay and Elizabeth McQueen Barclay. Encouragement is given to family researchers to summarize their findings into web pages for online enjoyment and historical interest of others with Tyler County roots, as well as placement of paper copies in the appropriate libraries and archives.

Others who lived on the James Barclay Place at Harmony settlement during his lifetime were; James Barclay's parents, Walter Barclay and Elizabeth McQueen Barclay and their youngest son, in a separate house. The son of James Barclay's brother Jeremiah Todd Barclay and Elizabeth Rigsby, whose father was killed when he was an infant, lived at least part of the time on James' farm from the time he was about ten years old until he was old enough to leave home at around sixteen years of age. His story is told below in the section of this paper called other kin and friends of James Barclay.

In 1930, there were an estimated 800 descendants of the Barclay family in East Texas.

James Barclay is one of the first white men to step foot in the part of the Menard district that was later to become Tyler County. He was the agent to the Alabama, Coushatta, and Muskagee Indians, and considered by the Alabamas to be their white father. He supported himself and his family with the earnings from his farm, game, and the occasional capture of wild mustang. He was a pioneer settler in Tyler County and a founding father. His contribution to public service to Tyler County included; tax assessor and collector, sheriff, county judge and congressman. His contribution to the Republic of Texas was as a soldier in the Army of the Republic (AOR) and the informal agent of the Alabama at the request of Sam Houston. His service to the State of Texas included being a member of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas appointed agent to the Indians of Polk and Tyler County. (Appointed by Governor Reynolds).

Barclay introduced the legislation in congress that established the reservation for theAlabama Indians on the property called the Jim Barclay Village in Polk County. It is near Wood Creek and Bear Creek, half way between the east Texas cities of Woodville in Tyler County, and Livingston in Polk County. It is near the later Big Sandy school district and Mid Way area..

One version of Barclay's service in congress was that during the session when the vote came for Texas secession, and joining the Confederacy, which led to Texas being at war with the United States in the war between the states, called the Civil War, Barclay stood against secession with Governor Sam Houston, the former US Senator and former President of the Republic of Texas. James Barclay and only a handful of others voted against secession. Sam Houston's stand against secession was not over the issue of slavery. It was because it would mean that Texas would be at war with the United States of America. Texas could not possibly win such a war, and it would cost Texan lives. Since James Barclay would not sign the oath to the Confederacy, he, and the handful of others who voted against cessession, resigned their offices. That day, James Barclay left Austin headed for home and Tyler County. James Barclay did not lose the goodwill of his friends and neighbors over the issue of secession and his resignation from the office of congressman, although Tyler County was ninty-nine percent for secession. (this service needs more research as to the timing of Barclay's terms and the events that took place during that time).

Two of James Barclay's sons-in-laws served in the Civil War. Capt. Charles Bullock, who married Elizabeth Jane Barclay after the death of his first wife, and daughter Arvilla's husband, Landon Risinger, who lost his life in that war. Many of James Barclay's nephews served in the war between the states and are listed online on the records of the Texas Archives and easily identifiable under the name of Barclay. There were other nephews who had Barclay mothers who served in the Civil War. These included the three sons of his sister, Nancy Barclay Deason, who had died. The Deason-Barclay sons who were killed were John Jr., Walter and Robert Deason .

James Barclay was re-elected by his constituency to another term later in the Texas Congress He served as agent to the Alabama and other Indians and farmed his homeplace until shortly before his death in 1871. He is buried in Tyler County, Texas, at Hart Mill Cemetery. He was preceded in death by his wife Virginia Ann America Foster Barclay and his father and mother, Walter Barclay and Elizabeth McQueen Barclay, who are also buried at Hart Mill Cemetery.

James Barclay and the Alabama Indians

Note by TLBP 7/20/1999

.When the pioneers first came to the Menard district, the Alabama Indians had at least four more villages in addition to the area that eventually became their reservation. There is extensive information about these villages and the trace and trail used between them and on to the Spanish Trail. The Indian villages included; the Peach Tree village in the Chester area, which was the largest, another south of Chester called the Cain Village, one south of Woodville on the Wheat survey near Little and Big Cypress Creeks, another village that was called the Rock Villiage, and the Jim Barclay village.

The Indian Villages had huts for homes and were clustered by family groups. Family groups would share a large garden. They had livestock that was fenced in to protect it from their white neighbors. The larger villages covered several miles. Besides their villages, small groups of men would go on hunting trips for several days many miles from their villages. One village had a horse racing track. Another had a dance hall. Another had a ball park.

These areas were used by the Alabamas for their villages as early as 1807. Some were also used by the Cherokee Indians. The Indians were nomads. They moved around because of the seasons, weather, available game and their association with the other half of their tribe, the Coushattas of Lousiana. They moved back and forth between east Texas and Louisana, specifically, the area north of New Orleans.

Taken from the Texas History Online Project,
a joint endeavor by the University of Texas Library
and the Texas Historical Association

Taken from the writings of Howard N. Martin, Judge Josiah Wheat and others

BARCLAY, JAMES (1816-1871). James Barclay, legislator, county official, and Indian agent, was born in Tennessee on February 11, 1816, the son of Walter and Elizabeth (McQueen) Barclay. In 1826 he came to Texas with his father and brother, but they all returned to Tennessee the same year. In February 1836 the family settled permanently in Texas. On April 16, 1841, Barclay married Virginia Ann Foster; they eventually had twelve children. Barclay was one of the earliest settlers in what is now Tyler County. In 1852 he bought land in the John Wheat survey that included a village of the Alabama Indians. These Indians had begun moving southward about 1840 from their Fenced-In Villageqv in northwestern Tyler County to a location on Cypress Creek. The Alabamas referred to this village as Jim Barclay Villageqv and continued to live there after 1852 with Barclay's permission.

After the organization of Tyler County in 1846, Barclay served in many of the county's elective positions. He was elected the first tax assessor-collector; in 1850 he was elected sheriff; and he was the county's chief justice during terms that began in 1856 and 1858. On February 3, 1854, Barclay and Samuel Rowe were appointed commissioners to purchase a tract of land for an Alabama Indian reservation in Polk County. This land is now a part of the Alabama-Coushatta Indian Reservation. On May 12, 1858, Governor H. R. Runnelsqv officially appointed Barclay agent for the Alabama, Coushatta, and Pakana Muskogee Indians. From November 7, 1859, to February 13, 1860, he served as the Tyler County representative in the Texas legislature. He returned to the legislature in December 1863 to represent Tyler and Hardin counties and served on several legislative committees, including Indian Affairs. During the administration of Governor Pendleton Murrah,qv Barclay served a second term as agent for the Polk County Indians, from November 9, 1864, until he was replaced on August 29, 1865, by A. J. Harrison, an appointee of provisional governor A. J. Hamilton.qv

Barclay continued to operate his large plantation and to participate in civic affairs until his death at his Tyler County home on November 14, 1871. He was buried in the Hart Cemetery, three miles south of Woodville.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Members of the Legislature of the State of Texas from 1846 to 1939 (Austin: Texas Legislature, 1939). J. E. and Josiah Wheat, "The Early Days of Tyler County," Tyler County Dogwood Festival Program, 1963. James E. and Josiah Wheat, "Tyler County and the Texas Republic," Tyler County Dogwood Festival Program, 1967. Dorman H. Winfrey and James M. Day, eds., Texas Indian Papers (4 vols., Austin: Texas State Library, 1959-61; rpt., 5 vols., Austin: Pemberton Press, 1966).

Howard N. Martin
 
 

Seven Generations Have Resided in 'Old Home Place'

Tyler County Lifestyle,

January, 1999 p. 13

By Deanna Tubb

In 1842, Tyler County was a much different place than it is now. For one thing it was called Menard District and was a part of the Republic of Texas. Town Bluff was really the only town nearby.

The Alabama-Coushatta Indians split their time between Peach Tree Village in Chester and a place they called Fenced In Village on Big Cypress Creek. The winters were spent camping in Peach Tree Village, while Fenced in Village was the summer camp. It was on the spot that overlooks Fenced In Village that Indian agent James Barclay built his home. This site has one of the most picturesque views in all of Tyler County.

Barclay had come to Texas from Tennessee in a covered wagon with the rest of his family. He arrived in Woodville in 1836 with his parents and settled first at Wolf Creek. Before being appointed Indian agent by Sam Houston, Barclay served as the sheriff of Menard District. Later in his life he held the offices of tax assessor, tax collector, county judge, state representative, and commissioner. To say he was a leader in Tyler County would be an understatement.

When Barclay had picked the spot for his home place, he hired Isaac Gant from the nearby Gant Community to build it. Gant, along with a crew of Indians, harvested many large yellow pine trees with which to build the house. The logs were then hand hewn to 18 inches and split, then dovetailed, so that they would fit together perfectly.

Gant must have been an excellent craftsman, because the Barclay home is still standing. It is the oldest house in Tyler County that has been continually occupied by the same family. The present resident, Mrs. Herman Risinger, Sr., is the widow of James Barclay's great grandson. Other Barclay descendants, beginning with James' daughter Averilla, have occupied the home for seven generations.

The house is a masterpiece of primitive architecture. The original structure consisted of four rooms with a dog trot hall. Additions have been made, but all have been done without disrupting the look or the spirit of the home. It was perched upon the hill at just the right angle to catch Eastern breezes. One side of the dog trot hall served as living quarters for Barclay and his wife Virginia Foster Barclay. The other side housed Barclay's office.

As an Indian agent, Barclay had many responsibilities. Indian agents were civil officers who were responsible for executing Indian laws and treaties as well as keeping the peace between the Indians and their white neighbors. These agents served as a sort of liaison between the government and the Indians. Indian agents had to be somewhat special. Since their control over the Indians was theoretical as best, they relied on their personalities and powers of persuasion to do their jobs. Most good Indian agents were loved and respected by the Indians, and Barclay was no exception.

During the life of James Barclay, Sam Houston and other statesmen were guests at the dog trot house. Many Indian children played on the porch, probably with the Barclay children. A wooden bench still on the porch today is carved with a game board. The children would play a game called fox and geese with kernels of corn and the design carved into the bench, while their parents talked business with Barclay.

The porch itself is somewhat of a marvel. It too, is made entirely of hand hewn logs. One log stretches the entire length the 30 foot porch, serving as a cross beam for the top of the porch.

The house is located on what used to be called the Alabama-Coushatta Trail or the Spanish Trail. This was a very important thoroughfare for those traveling to Hardin County. Not too far from the Barclay home lies the site of the Indian ball park.

The Indian ballpark was a large clearing where the tribe would gather and play a game involving a long stick and a ball made of leather or other skins, similar to lacrosse. Sadly, vandals have wrecked the ball park in recent years.

After Barclay's death, his daughter Averilla, Mrs. Landon Risinger, occupied the house. Barclay is buried in Tyler County in the Hart Mill Cemetery, off First Tower road. The house has come to be known as the Barclay-Risinger home.

When Mrs. Herman Risinger, Sr. moved into the old home place, she had big ideas. The new bride was a city girl, but quickly became accustomed to the realities of country living. For eight years, the couple lived in the house with no electricity, drawing water from the well. They were instrumental in bringing electric power to the outlying areas of Tyler County.

Over the years the home has been featured in many newspaper and magazine articles, and television news specials. There are two plaques affixed to the front of the home. The first is from the Texas Historical Commission, designating the house as an historical landmark. The second was placed by the John champion Chapter of the National Society of Colonial Dames, 17th Century of Bellaire, Texas. One of James Barclay's great-great granddaughters is a member of the society. The members of the organization researched the history of the home and put a short version of it on the plaque. This honor was bestowed upon the dwelling in 1996 in a ceremony that was attended by many area dignitaries, including county Judge Jerome Owens and Chief Oscala Clayton Clestine.

Many descendants of James Barclay call Tyler County home. They live and work here and have a great love for their community. Roots run deep in Tyler County.

A plaque recently placed on the old home place reads the James Barclay Place, 1842. hand-hewn Pine. Oldest home in county. Built by area's first Indian agent, an appointee of President Sam Houston.

Conclusion

James Barclay and his wife Virginia Ann Foster, his brothers and their wives, and sisters and their husbands, were members of the Walter Barclay and Elizabeth McQueen Barclay family, one of the earliest families in east Texas, settling first at Wolf Creek near Town Bluff in the Dam B Jasper area and the Atoscasita area that included the Menard district that became Tyler County. His legacy lives in his many descendants, his home that stands today, and the presence of the Alabama Indians who reside on their own reservation less than twenty miles from his home in Harmony settlement. Some of the cohorts of James Barclay were; 3)Harmon Frazier, 4)Dave Lindsey, Ben Ross, 5)Charles Bullock, Josiah Wheat and John Wheat, his brothers; Anderson, Robert, William, David, John, Jeremiah Todd and Milton Barclay, his uncle, Milton McQueen and his cousins, the sons of Milton McQueen, and his brothers- in- law; James Beven, Humley Jenning, and John Deason and his mother's cousin Squire Cruse's sons.

Other Kin and Friends of James Barclay

William Anderson Barclay
Nephew

Also raised near the farm of Judge Barclay was James' nephew, William Anderson Barclay, the son of James Barclay's younger brother, Jeremiah Todd b. 1825, and Elizabeth Rigsby. Elizabeth Rigsby was the niece of James Barclay's wife Virginia Foster and the wife of James' brother Robert Barclay's son, Walter, Martha Foster. The Foster women's mother was a Lawson. Jeremiah Todd Barclay was shot dead on election day in 1850, leaving his widow, seventeen year old Elizabeth Rigsby Barclay and infant son, William. When William was a child of about ten years of age, his mother remarried, and he caught a wagon train headed to Tyler County. Uncle James received a message that his nephew was at the regular stop, and that if he wanted to come and get him, he could, or if he did not want to, another man on the wagon train was willing to take him further west and pay for his passage as a bond. (from the papers of Falls County history and news clippings of the scrapbook of the historian of the Barclay community.

When W.A. Barclay was sixteen years of age he left to go look for Mr. Hanks who had killed his father fifteen years before. Judge Barclay gave him a mule to ride and a Bible to guide him, and WA eventually ended up in the area of Falls county. He had a plantation of 3,500 acres and he founded a town. The citizens honored their number one citizen by naming the town Barclay, Texas. Descendants of this family lived in the area that became Temple, Waco and Marlin, Texas. The story of W.A. Barclay may be found on the Texas History Online Project, sponsored by the University of Texas and the Texas Historical Society.

 Sam Houston

 The Barclay family had been acquainted with Sam Houston in Tennessee before they came to Texas and were warm friends with him afterward. As President of the Republic of Texas and later as US Senator and then Governor, Sam Houston visited James Barclay at his home.

There was a heartbreaking breach between James Barclay's friend Sam Houston, and the people of Texas, over Texas' secession from the Union. That breach was eventually healed before Sam Houston's death. Another bitter disappointment had occurred earlier for Sam Houston when Houston was in Washington on the business of Texas.

The Cherokee Indians were defeated in a battle led by their 83 year old chief, over the issue of relocation. About one hundred Cherokee braves were killed in the battle near Alto. The remaining Cherokee, composed mainly of women, children, and the elderly, left Texas on foot and went to the area north of the Red River. That action was called volunteer relocation. M. B. Lamar, who was the second president of the Republic of Texas, had run on a platform of extermination of hostile Indians and relocation of friendly Indians. The Cherokee, one of the five civilized tribes in Texas, were Sam Houston's special friends. They were referred to by Lamar as Sam Houston's pet Indians. Sam Houston, thinking that Texas was big enough for everyone, was accused of wanting to create an Indian Empire in Texas.

 Harmon Frazer

 A Tyler County pioneer, friend, neighbor and founding father was Harmon Frazer, b.1791 in SC. Frazer's father was William Frazer and his mother was Dicey Dover Frazer. Frazer served informally as laison to his neighbors in the Shiloh area, the Cherokee Indians, Sam Houston's special Indian friends who sometimes lived on the west side of Tyler County. The Cherokee Indians were near Billums Creek, so named after their chief, Chief Billums. Harmon Frazier married his first wife, Martha Frazer, in 1816. They had six children at the time of the 1835 census in the settlement of San Augustine. Those children, and the ages they were on the census are as follows; William B., son age 18, Alexander L., son age 16, Carlin C., daughter age14, Martha A., daughter age 12, George M., son aged 7, Tennessee J., daughter aged 5. Mrs. Frazer died of yellow fever when they vacated their property and went into Polk County because of a Cherokee fright at their farm. The Cherokee Indians got into Harmon Frazer's liquor stores and acted up.

Frazer married his second wife, Mrs. Nancy Durden Pool in 1843. She was b. 1818 AL d. 1875 TCT She was the mother of Josh W b.1838, William b. 1840 and Mary Pool b.1842, all three born in Texas. Harmon Frazer and Nancy Durden Pool Frazer raised a family of children that included Harmon's children still at home, Nancy's Pool children and their children together, Charles Westley b. 1846 d. 1860, and Charles' twin Mthelia Melvin b. 1846 d. 1860 who married Jno Fortenberry , and Robert L Frazer also a twin b. 1849 d. 1869 and any others born after the census of 1850.

Harmon Frazer was one of the earliest settlers in east Texas, in San Augustine settlement and then in the Menard district and then Tyler County. He was a leader in the Shiloh area and active in the Methodist Church at Mt Hope. He raised two families, the first with his first wife Martha Frazier, and the second with his second wife, Nancy Durden Pool Frazer. He also helped Nancy Frazer raise her Pool children from her first marriage.

Dave Lindsey

Dave Lindsey was the brother of "Doc" James Oliver Lindsey, who married James Barclay's daughter, Sarah Anderson Barclay b. 1847 d. 1936. Dave Linsey was a early school teacher in Tyler County. He assisted James Barclay when he escorted the Chiefs and a delegation of men of the Alabama Indian Tribe to pick of a location for the home Texas had in mind for them under the Indian Relocation policy in the area that became Oklahoma, called Indian Territory. It is hoped that more information will be learned about Dave Lindsey.

Charles Washington Bullock

Tyler County founding father, friend and neighbor was Charles Washington Bullock of the Wood Creek area. Bullock was born in 1824 in MS, and died in Tyler County in 1902.

There were at least three grown men named Bullock in east Texas by 1835 before Independence. They may or may not have been kin of Charles W. Bullock b. 1824. These Bullocks are listed below, and a description of their contributions, for the purpose of distinquishing them from Charles W. Bullock.

Uriah Irwin Bullock, b. 1808, d. 1854, the son of Batson Bullock and Comfort Turner Bullock, of Georgia. In 1835 he heard of the cause of Texas Independence and helped organize the Georgia Volunteers and advanced it his personal fortune. The battalion was organized at Refegerio in February of 1836, and most of them were killed in the massacre at Goliad. Bullock was not with the battalion, having been left behind, bedridden, at Velasco. After the war was over, Bullock returned to Georgia, financially impoverished and in debt. He married Sarah Cox around 1840 and they had five children.

James Whitis Bullock was born in NC in 1788. He came to Texas from Louisana. His first wife was Nancy Horton and they had eleven children. James and Nancy are listed on the Texas Census of the San Augustine settlement of 167 people as being aged 40 and 32 respectively. They had these children living with them at the time of the census; Juluis, age 16, Mariah A., age15, Susan N., age 13, torn document, age 9, James Dicksen, age seven, Sarah, age 4, Charles A., age 1 and 9 months. His second wife was Sylvia Brunet. Colonel Bullock, a commanding officer in the Texas War for Independence, led the first battle with Mexican Troops at Nacogdoches, in 1832. Later, he gathered an army in east Texas and took them to the battle of the Bexar in San Antonio in December of 1835. It was at the same location where the battle of the Alamo took place a few months later, in March of 1836. There were some Tyler County soldiers under Bullock's command. One of them was James Barclay's brother, Anderson Barclay.

Another Bullock in east Texas on the census of 1850 in San Antonio was David Bullock, age 30, a carpenter. He was unmarried.

Charles Washington Bullock was nine years younger than James Barclay, about the same age as James' young brother Jeremiah Todd Barclay. Bullock is named as one of the men who accompanied Barclay to the Indian territories when they escorted a delegation of the Alabama Indians there to select the home that Texas had intended for them under the Indian Relocation Act. James Barclay and his wife Virginia Foster Barclay named one of their sons after Charles W. Bullock. That son was Charles Bullock Barclay.

When Texas joined the Confederacy, Charles W Bullock was appointed Captain of a regiment of east Texas men, including nineteen men of the Alabama Indian tribe, Company G, Twenty-fourth Texas Cavalry Regiment (Second Lancers), C.S.A. Captain Bullock had a distinguished Civil War military career that is described elsewhere. While he was away at war, his wife, Isabella Scott Bullock, died Isabella Scott was born in 1820 in probably MS and died in est. 1863 in TCT. She was the mother of Bullock's children Emily Bullock, born after the census of 1850 who married John George, and Winfield Scott Bullock, who was born in 1847 and married Jane Herrington in 1879. His children lived in the home of another family in Bullock's absence, after their mother's death.

After the Civil War, Bullock returned to his home in Tyler County, and in 1865 he married James Barclay and Virginia Foster's eldest daughter, Jane Elizabeth Barclay. They raised a family in Tyler County, Texas.

The End


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