Submitted by George and Peggy
Ackerman
© 2005
George Samuel Link was born near Gallatin, TN. (Sumner County) on December 13, 1873. He was the youngest son of David Lowman Link (b. 1828) and Nancy Emmaline Henry (b. 1840). His older brothers were James C. (b. 1862), John Wiley (b. 1865), and William H. (b. 1869). (Obit of George S. Link. Use your back option key to return to Descendants of David Lowman Link.)
David Lowman Link was the son of David Link (1795-1875) and Hannah Mowery (1795-?) who were married in Augusta County, VA in 1817. David and Hannah had seven known children, David Lowman being the fifth born. It is not known when Hannah died, but by 1850 David had moved to Sumner County, TN, where he married Rebecca Kirby, probably a widow. David, age 55, and Rebecca, age 47, were counted in District 18 of Sumner County in the 1850 census. No children were then living with them.
David Lowman Link (age 32) and his wife Nancy E. (age 27) were listed in the 1860 Robertson County, TN census. Also listed in this household were G. K. Link (age 36), Mary E. Richman (age 12), and F. F. Link (age 5). Both David L. and G. K. (presumably his brother, George K.) were described as merchants, and both men claimed Virginia as their birth state. Nancy E. is further identified on Rootsweb pages as Nancy Emmaline Henry.
In 1870, David L. Link and Nancy were in Macon County, TN. Their children were listed in the census as James C. (age 8), John (age 4), and William H. (less than 1).
In 1880, David L. Link and Nancy E. were in Navarro County, TX (which is southeast of Dallas with Corsicana as the county seat). They had four sons: James C. (age 18), John W. (age 15), William H (age 11), and George (age 6). All the children were said to be born in TN.
The 1890 census is missing for all states due to a fire in Washington, D. C. But, from John Wiley Link's biography, we know that he studied law at Baylor University and was admitted to the bar in 1888. He married Ihna Imola Holland in 1891, having joined the law firm of Holland and Holland in Amarillo. She was the daughter of Judge Joseph A. Holland.
The 1900 census yields no listing for David Lowman Link and wife Nancy. But, all four sons remained in Texas. Three of the sons (James, Will, and George) were in Jones County, which is northwest of Abilene. They were listed as farmers. John Wiley was in Orange County in 1900, the Holland and Holland firm having moved to Orange in 1895. In 1900, John Wiley became the mayor of Orange, which is just east of Beaumont and almost to the Louisiana line. He and Ihna then had three daughters, Ura, Imola, and Dora.
The 1900 census for Jones County, TX shows James (Jim) Link and wife Hattie, married for five years, and with no children. Will Link and wife Dora had been married six years and had one daughter, Eula. George S. Link and wife I. M. (?) had been married one year. Most probably, his wife was Ida Norella Holland, sister of Ihna, John Wiley's wife.
The 1910 census shows that Will remained in Jones County with wife Dora and children Eula and Harold. John W. and family were still in Orange County. George S. had moved to Dickens County in West Texas, and his brother James (Jim) had moved to adjacent Stonewall County. George's first wife had died in the early 1900s, and his 8 year old daughter, Dahlia, was living with Jim and Hattie, who apparently still had no children of their own. In 1906, George married Willie Wyatt, daughter of W. R. Wyatt and Cornelia Callaway of Lincoln and Cleveland Counties in Arkansas. She was then working in Stamford, Texas for the Baker-Bryant Company. They established their first home in Rule, Texas, where their son, George S. Link was born in 1907. The family moved to Spur in Dickens County in 1910. When Spur was incorporated in 1911, George S. Link became the first mayor. He was one of the founders of the Bryant-Link chain of stores.
Shortly after the 1910 census was taken, John W. Link and family moved to Houston, and he developed the Montrose area. In 1912, he formed and became president of Link Oil Company.
By 1920, Will Link had moved to Stonewall County, near his brothers Jim and George. All three had farming interests in this West Texas area, and George also continued his affiliation with the Bryant-Link Company. John W. continued with business interests in the Houston area. He became vice president and general manager of the Kirby Lumber Company in 1921. In 1926, he became the first chairman of the board of American General Insurance Company. And, in 1929, he became president of the Dr. Pepper Company.
John Wiley Link died in 1933 in Houston. George S. Link died in 1951 in Spur. His wife Willie died in 1969. Jim Link died before 1951 and Will Link after 1951. Will's wife had died before 1930, and he was living with his brother Jim and wife Hattie at the time of that census.
As for the children of the Link brothers who moved to Texas before 1880, less is known. George S. Link, Jr., as noted, was born in 1907. He died in 1968 and is buried in Spur. His half-sister Dahlia is also buried there. Her marker states that she was born in 1901 and died in 1949. Her husband was J. Carl Brian.
Will's son, Harry (H. V.), his wife Sarah, and their son Billie (age 2) were living in Stonewall County in 1930. Will also had three daughters (Eula, Dora, and Emmaline). J. W. Link, Jr., wife Helen Wicks, and daughter Patricia were living in Houston in 1930. Other known children of John Wiley Link were Ura, Imola, Dora, and Harold.
Moving backwards, David Link (1795-1875), the father of David Lowman Link, was the son of Johannes Nicolaus Link (or Linck). This patriarch of the Virginia/Tennessee Links was born in Breitenbach, Germany on Nov. 17, 1748. He was a Hessian soldier who fought with the British in the Revolutionary War. He was captured at the Battle of Saratoga but escaped around Charlottesville, VA. After the war, he settled in Augusta County, VA, and married Anna Margaretha Eisceken on Aug 19, 1779. There is no record that this couple ever left Virginia, but at least two of their sons (William and David) came to middle Tennessee. William, the oldest son (1780-1857), is said to have come to Tennessee in 1828. He was counted in the 1850 Sumner census as a wagonmaker. He and his wife, Saloma Grim, had seven children. Three of their sons, Jacob (b. 1802), David (b. 1803), and William (b. 1804) either came to TN with their parents or moved there soon after. All three were born in Virginia.
As noted earlier, David Link, the brother of William (1780-1857) and the father of David Lowman Link, first shows up in the Sumner County, TN census in 1850, the same year that he married Rebecca Kirby, clearly his second wife. David Link and his first wife, Hannah Mowery, are said to have had seven children, the first born in 1818 and the last in 1832, all in Augusta County, VA. Besides David Lowman Link, at least one other son, George Kellor Link, appears to have come to the Sumner/Robertson area since the two are listed in the same household in Robertson County in 1860, both as merchants.
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