FATHER

Andrew Herron

MOTHER

Mary Ann McAllister

WIVES

Lydia W. Warren

Mary Beall

CHILDREN with Lydia Warren

1. Mary Ann Elizabeth Herron 
    b.24 Nov 1832
    m. 24 Dec 1848 Richard Coorpender
    d. 16 Jan 1907

2. Susan H. Herron
    b Abt. 1834
    d. Bef. 3 Jul 1860

3. Parmenia Lamar Herron
    b. 20 Oct 1837
    m. 10 Apr 1860 Mary McKnight
    d. 1 Oct 1916

4. Lydia Warren Herron
    b. 20 Dec 1844
    m/ 8 Dec 1870 George Armistead Works
    d. 21 Jan 1894

CHILDREN with Mary Beall

1. George Francis Herron
    b. Abt. 1847
    d. Aft. 1870

2. Laura V. Herron
    b. Abt. 1849
    d. Aft. 1870

3. Samuel W. Herron
    b. May 1851
    m. 6 May 1875 Havilla Catherine Grant
    d. 1926

4. Olivia Herron
    b. 11 Apr 1853
    m. Charles F Smith
    d. 20 Apr 1936

5. Anna H. Herron
    b. Abt. 1855
    d. Aft. 1870

6. Rebecca Beall Herron
    b. 23 Dec 1858
    d. 16 Oct 1935

Andrew Herron
by Chase Brooke
Sep 2023

According to the 1850 census, Andrew Herron was born about 1805 in Williamson County, TN. (1) He married Lydia Warren on 31 Aug 1831 in Williamson Co.. (2) From Williamson County they moved to Chulahoma, Marshall, Mississippi where Andrew bought some land in 1836. (3)   They had four children with their youngest, Lydia Warren Herron, born on 20 Dec 1844 and his wife, Lydia, died a few days later. (4)  After Lydia died, Andrew married Mary Ann Beall, widow of Wilson W. Whitehead in Lexington, Holms, Co, Miss. (5)
In 1847 Andrew and his wife as guardians of her four children were selling land belonging to the estate of his wife and her children from her first marriage in the amount of $20,000.00 dollars. (6)  By 1857 he and his second wife, Mary Ann, had moved to Seguin, Texas where they built a home on what is now Court Street. (7) He died sometime before 6 Nov 1865 when his estate was administered by his son P. L Herron and the sureties were administered by his daughter Mary Ann and her husband Richard Coorpender. (8) After Andrew died his widow, Mary, moved to Limestone Co., TX. She and her children were listed there in the 1870 census. (9)
Years later, in 1936, in the Slave Narratives, one of their slaves was interviewed.  Maggie Wilson Whitehead was conceived in Blackhawk, MS but born 26 Jul 1857 in Gonzalez Co. TX.  Her parents had been slaves of Wilson Whitehead and after his death, his widow married Andrew Herron.  When they moved to Texas, Maggie says "her folks were brought to Gonzolez Co."  It appears Andrew Herron did not split up the family, but brought them all to his new dwelling place. They were whipped however, if caught trying to learn how to read.   Later in life she became an activist. (10)

Sources

(1) 1850 census Batesville, Panola, MS

(2) Marriage Record

From: "Marriages from Early Tennessee Newspapers 1794-1851" taken from cards at the Tennessee State Library and Archives in Nashville

"Herren, Rev. Andrew Jr. married in August 1831 to Miss Lydia W. Warren daughter of Edward Warren all of Williamson County.  The Western Weekly review - Franklin, Tenn. (Fri., Sept. 2, 1831)"

(3) Marshall County Deeds
FHL film 892431 image 28

(4) In a biography probably written by Roy Herron (found in Seguin Library) the following was taken from the "Minutes of the General Assembly of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of 1850" "Lydia (Warren) Herron died in Holly Springs, Marshall County, MS in December, a few days after her daughter Lydia Warren Herron was born. The infant was taken by her maternal aunt, Martha (Pat) Dabney (Warren) Smith to be reared with her family. The three older children remained with their father. Lydia must, however, have spent at least some of her summers with her father, because the 1850 and 1860 census show her in Andrew's household."

(5) Death certificate of Rebecca Beall Herron indicating her mother was Mary Ann Beall
Moss Rebecca Herron
born 23 Dec 1858 TX
died: 16 Oct 1935
father: Andrew Herron born in TN
mother: Mary Ann Beall born in Miss
Informant Mrs. C. F. Tierman

(6) Holmes County Deeds
FHL film 879464 image 115
Guardians of Elizabeth, Martha, James and Mary Whitehead

(7) House built in Seguin, Texas   Andrew and his son, Parmenia, built this house on Elm Grove in Seguin, TX around 1850. From "Early Texas Homes" by Bracken and Redway, "The quarter mile drive leading to the Herron home is lined with old mesquite trees, gnarled and bent, folding their slender foliage overhead. They provide a lovely welcome to the house which is itself remarkably beautiful in many ways. The mellowing effects of age and care may be seen in the satin-like surface of the black walnut used for the interior strip. There is a pleasingly proportional mantel, and wide-board window and door facing are admirable made. An other feature is the fine stairway in the entrance hall, the rail of walnut has delicately tapered spindles three fourth of the height of the average person mounting the stairs." Originally there were 6 rooms and a root cellar. There were two large rooms with fireplaces on each side of the entry way with the lovely staircase, and two bedrooms with fireplaces upstairs on either side of the landing. Cooking was done outside." The house was sold in 1867 to Captain F. A. Vaughan. The address is  906 Court, Seguin, TX Andrew Herron House "South (front) elevation of Parson Andrew Herron House, 906 West Court Street in Seguin.  Photo taken May 11, 1936. Photograph show front of the sandstone two-story that was built in 1854 by Parson Andrew Herron, a pioneer Presbyterian minister. (UTSA Special Collections)

(8) Guadalupe County Texas Deeds    Family Search film 1035054

(9) 1870 census Limestone TX

(10) Maggie Whitehead Matthews 

.Menn, Alfred E. Travis County, Texas, District No. 9,
September 16, 1937
Slave Narratives
"Maggie Whitehead Matthews, 80, was born a slave on July 26, 1857, on the Rev. P. Herron cotton plantation at Gonzales, Gonzales County. Maggie's father, Jim, and mother, Tempe, belonged to the Wilson Whiteheads of Blackhawk County, Mississippi. When Wilson Whitehead died his widow, Mary Anne, married Rev. Herron, who brought one hundred and sixty slaves to Texas. This occurred in the same year in which Maggie was born, 1857. Maggie's parents had thirteen children, and Maggie believes she is the last of the children still living. Her mother died at the age of one hundred and eleven years. Maggie has never been to school but she bought a blue back speller and taught herself to read, she is unable to write she says. When she was nineteen years old she married her first husband, Spencer Phillips. They had seven children, of whom only one, Sarah Edwards, still is living. Her second husband was Ben Matthews. They had no children, but Ben was her favorite husband and she has retained his name to this day, despite the fact that her third husband's name was Tom Richards. They had no children. Maggie now resieds with her daughter, Sarah.

"When I was a girl my name was Maggie Whitehead. I was bred (my mammy was pregnant) in Blackhawk County, Mississippi and den my folks was brought on to Gonzales, Gonzales County, Texas. I was told dat I was bawn on de same night dat we got dere, on July 26, 1857. Dat means dat I'm now eighty years old, and I've seen many a year, much hard times, and plenty of devilment, I sure have.
"Wilson Whitehead was de mawster dat owned my parents back in Mississippi. My folks told me dat he sure was a good man. He treated folks right. When Mawster Whitehead died, his wife, Mistress Mary Ann, met and married da Parson Herron. She met him when he was pastor of a church, I think.
"It was dis Parson Herron dat brought my folks on down here to Texas. He den got a laghe cotton plantation at Gonzales. He brought some one hunnert and sixy odd slaves to Texas. De Herrons had five chillun.
"Mummy's name was Tempe Whitehead. She had thirteen chillun. I am do only one of 'em livin', I think. I did have a brothaw up in Little Rock, Arkansas. I kain't even remembah de names of my brothaws and sistahs no mo'e.
"My mummy was a low, heavy-bodied woman. She was a midwife de biggest paht of de time. Whenever de neighbors wanted her, she was sent over to wait on 'em. I don't know whether she got paid or not. Dey always took her to her job and got her again when she was through. Mummy died twenty seben years ago on last November 25. She was buried on a Thanksgivin' day. She was one hunnert and ten years and eight months old.
"She was a good midwife. Sometimes she had to help in de fields, though. We lived in a little log cabin on de Herron place. Frances was my oldest sistah and she done most of de cookin' fo'us chillun. A certain amount of food was give to us each week, and it had to last us dat time. We'd git a bushel of dis and a bushel of dat. Dat sure had to lst us fo' de week.
"Father was Jim Whitehead. He was a tall, broad man, and he was part Cherokee Injun. Fathaw was called a extra-good blacksmith on de Herron plantation. He could make a key, or a plowshare, or anything else dat had to be made by hand. He was might good at shoein' hosses and later in life he worked on de stage lines and shoed all of de hosses. Dem hosses on de stage line never did know whut it was to go in a easy trot, 'cause dey was made to lope all of de time. I was small at dat time and I never did git to ride in a stage coach, but we could always see 'em, 'cause de passed right by de Herron place. We heard how a lot of time de folks in de stage coaches was held up and robbed. De little white chillun would read about it and den git to talkin' about it.
"After freedom fathaw had his own blacksmith shop in Lockhart, down in Caldwell County. He got paid fo' his work now. He'd made de iron paht of a plow and chaghe a dollah fo' it. Den we moved on down to St. Mary's Bay, near Corpus Christi. A white man by de name of Chambers got him to run a blacksmith shop down dere. We den moved around quite a bit and den we come on up to Austin. But fathaw never come wid us 'cause he died up in Little Rock, Arkansas. Dat's a long time ago, a long time befo' mummy died.
"When we was kids durin' slavery we'd go out and play ring games and make speeches. De little white chillun would learn us our speeches and den we'd say 'em to one another.
"But we never was showed our A. B. C.'s. We couldn't even be caught readin'. Jes' to be caught lookin' at a clean sheet of paper was enough to git a scoldin', but to look at a piece of paper dat had writin' on it and if we made lak we knowed whut was wrote on it we sure got a whoopin' fo' it. I couldn't read at dat time but many was de time dat I was caught lookin' at a piece of paper wid writin' on it and I got a whoopin' fo' it. I had told 'em dat I could read whut was on it.
"I haven't been to school one day in my life. De only time dat I was in a schoolhouse was when my parents was invited to a closin'day pahty at a school. I enjoyed de pahty very much, but I jes' never went to school. I learned to be a good speller, 'cause fo' twenty cents I bought me one of dem blue back spellers. Dere was many a time dat I could out spell de folks whut had sent to school. Dey was small words but I could spell 'em. I never did learn how to write though. Many was de time dat I wished I could write, 'cause I wanted to write about my life. I've lived a long time and seen a lot of devilment, yo' know.
"About six months befo' freedom Parson Herron died, his boys den took care of de big plantation. We was den willed to Ferdinand and Mattie Rogan at Lockhard. Mattie had been a whitehead of Mississippi. Mistress Mattie is de one dat told me how old I am. She had her mothaw's Bible, dat had all of her slaves' names in it. It was Mawster Rogan dat told us on June 19, 1865 dat we was free.
"I remembah den how our first Nineteenth was celebrated on June 19, 1866, and de song we sang was
De Blue Bonnet Flag
Hurrah fo' de Blue Bonnet Flag
Hurrah fo' de home spun dresses'
Dat de colored wimmen wear;
Yes I'm a radical girl
And Glory in de name -
Hurrah fo' de home-spun dresses
Dat de colored wimmen wear.
"I was nineteen years old when I got married de first time. My husband's name was Spencer Phillips. We got married down in Gonzales County. We had seben chillun. Sarah, de girl dat has been takin' care of me fo' so many years now, do only one living'. Spencer fahmed most of de time and many was de time dat I went out into de fields and picked my four hunnert pounds of cotton a day. When we picked cotton fo' other folks we got about fifty cents a hunnert pounds. Some of de folks give us our sacks and some of 'em made us furnish our own. De slaves used baskets to pick in durin' slavery time. I kin remebah how old Uncle Mose used to make dem baskets. He made de baskets from de split-wood of the wild chinaberry trees.
"My second husband was Bet Matthews. He was a fahmer too. We was married in New Braunsfel. We never had no chillun. I liked Ben best of alll my husbands. I keep his name till dis day.
"Tom Richard was my third husband. We got married down in Lockhart. Tom was a fahmer. I didn't have no chillun wid him. Den I had to separate from Tom 'cause he was so cruel to me. I stayed wid Sarah from dat time on. She de only child at I got livin' "

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