Milvern Harrell (1824 - 1910)

Born 24 Mar 1824 in Troy Lincoln County Missouri, USA

Ancestors

Husband of Malinda Dixie (Pettit) Harrell — married 15 Jun 1849 in Gonzales, Texas

Descendants

Died 10 Aug 1910 at age 86 in Waelder, Gonzales County, Texas, USA

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Biography

Milvern Harrell was born 24 Mar 1824.^[1] He married his second wife, Malinda (Pettit) Harrell, on 21 Jun 1849 in Gonzales, Texas.^[2] He died 10 Aug 1910 and was buried in Waelder, Gonzales, Texas in 1910.^[1]

From Ancestry.com: Milvern Harrell -- The Last Survivor of the Dawson Massacre, Author Unknown, Published in The Waelder Update (February 7, 2006)

[Note: This document has been edited; however, the content of the document has not changed.]

Milvern Harrell, the third child and first son of William and Minerva Woods Harrell, was born on March 24, 1824 in Lincoln County, Missouri. When Milvern was thirteen years old his parents moved to the Republic of Texas following the lead of his grandfather, Zadock Woods. Woods had come to Texas with Stephen F. Austin’s original 300 colonists in 1824.

Throughout the eight month trip, Milvern, already a skilled hunter and woodsman, provided his party with wild game. Upon arriving at their destination on January 9, 1838, they built and established a residence in Bay Prairie, Fayette County. Such settlement was later named Woods Fort in recognition of his its founder, Milvern’s grandfather.

At the age of sixteen, Milvern became involved in the Battle of Plum Creek on August 12, 1840. In September of 1842, Milvern, two of his uncles (Norman and Henry Gonzalvo Woods) and his grandfather (Zadock Woods, who at this point was in his eighties) joined Nicholas M. Dawson to go to the aid of San Antonio after it had been seized by General Adrian Woll, the French leader of a Mexican expeditionary force. Although San Antonio was quickly recaptured in a battle near Salado Creek, the Dawson party, with its 53 members, was surrounded by about 300 Mexican soldiers equipped with cannons on September 18, 1842.

While Henry Gonzalvo Woods was fortunate and escaped capture, Zadock Woods was killed in the ensuing battle while Milvern and Norman were subsequently captured. The battle was later referred to as the Dawson Massacre since 35 of the original 53 Texans were slain by cannon, rifle, saber or lance. Zadock Woods’ remains were later buried in a mass tomb at Monument Hill in La Grange, Texas.

After being held by Mexican forces for several days near San Antonio, Milvern and Norman were transported to Perote Prison in Mexico, where Norman later died. However, Milvern and two other Texans attempted to escape while being transported to Mexico by swimming the Rio Grande River, which unfortunately was swollen with flood waters and was icy cold. Milvern was recaptured and taken on foot to back to Perote Prison, but the other two Texans drowned while trying to cross the river. Milvern was liberated on March 23, 1844 (his twentieth birthday) and returned to Texas.

Milvern then served as a sergeant in Captain Sam Highsmith’s company, Bell’s Frontier Regiment. On May 11, 1848 he enlisted as a Texas Ranger in Fayette County. His company was stationed at Enchanted Rock near Llano, Texas. He was also a first lieutenant under Captain McCullough in a Texas Ranger company which was frequently involved in skirmished with Comanche Indians in Central Texas. For many years he kept a bow and arrow which he took from a Comanche, the only man he ever knew for certain that he had killed.

In 1861 he became a captain in the Hopkinsville Mounted Rangers. During the Civil War, he was commissioned as a teamster and delivered hundreds of heads of cattle to the Confederate Army. It was known that after the Civil War, Milvern organized at least four trail drives in which he purchased in excess of 1,000 head of cattle in Texas for around $1 a head and drove them through Texas and Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas. On the last of these drives he purchased a surrey in Kansas, drove it back to Texas, sold the surrey and purchased a 100-acre ranch near Waelder, Texas.

He was married five times and had 13 children: Sara Jane Berry Hill (no children), Malinda D. Pettit (5 children), Mary Ann Collingsworth (1 child), Sally E. Finch (3 children), and Isabella Elizabeth Hopkins Kendrick (4 children).

It is also known that Milvern became a Mason on October 18, 1851 in the Hopkinsville Masonic Lodge. He also converted to the Christian Church in 1886 after having been raised as a Baptist.

Milvern Harrell died on August 10, 1910 at the age of 86 at his home five miles north of Waelder. Milvern, Isabella and their children were buried in the Waelder Cemetery. Milvern spent the last part of his life in Waelder and the surrounding counties – and was the last survivor of the Dawson Massacre.

Census

1850 United States Census, Peach Creek, Gonzales, Texas, Milbern Harrell (Milbern Hassell), male, age 26, birth year 1824, birthplace Missouri, household members: Milvern Harrell age 26, Leander Harrell age 24, Joseph Berry age 21, Malinda Harrell age 18.

1870 United States Census, Precinct 3, Gonzales, Texas, Milvern Harral (Harrell), age 45, birth year 1825, birthplace Missouri, white, male, occupation: farmer, household members: Milvern Harrell age 45, Sarah Harrell age 23, Mary E. Harrell age 16, Martha Harrell age 14, Alice Harrell age 11, Anna L. Harrell age 8, Edward Harrell age 6, Taylor Harrell age 4. Melvern Harrell.

1880 United States Census, Precinct 6, Caldwell, Texas, Millburn (Milvern) Harrell, age 50, birth date abt. 1830, birthplace Missouri, white, male, head, married, spouse's name: Isabella E. Harrell, Father's birthplace Ohio, Mother's birthplace Vermont, occupation: farmer, household members: Milvern Harrell age 50, Isabella E. Harrrell age 38, Cordelia Harrell age 13, Taylor D. Harrell age 12, Edward M. Harrell age 11, Anna L. Harrell age 10, Jesse H. Harrell age 6, Oscar R. Harrell age 4, Montraville D. Harrell age 11 months.

1900 United States Census, Justice Precinct 8, Caldwell, Texas, Milburme Herrall (Milvern Harrell), age 76, birth date 03/1824, birthplace Missouri, white, male, head, married, spouse's name: Ada A. Herrall, marriage year 1872, years married 28, Father's birthplace Ohio, Mother's birthplace Vermont, occupation: farmer, household members: Milvern Harrell age 76, Ada A. Herrall age 56, Mont D. Herrall age 20, Cora Hopkins age 9,

1910 United States Census, Justice Precinct 8, Caldwell, Texas, Milvern Harrell, age 86, birth year 1824, birthplace Missouri, white, male, head, married, spouse's name: Elizabeth Harrell, Father's birthplace Ohio, Mother's birthplace Vermont, household members: Milvern Harrell age 86, Elizabeth Harrelll age 68, Oscar R. Harrell age 34, Laura Harrell age 27, Cora C. Hopkins age 19, Ramon J. Harrell age 10, Ruby W. Harrell age 7.

Texas, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1820-1890, Milburn Harrell, Fayette County, Texas, year: 1844, database: Texas Tax List Index, 1840-1849.

Tax Assessments

1850 - Gonzales County, Texas

2 Horses^[3]

1867 - Gonzales County, Texas

35 Horses, 25 Cattle^[4]

1872 - Gonzales County, Texas

155 Acres, 4 Horses, 40 Cattle^[5]

From Find A Grave website bio: Son of William and Minerva Woods Harrell, Husband 1st of Sarah Jane Berry Hall *(1824-1847) married 1844, second of Malinda Dixie Pettit, third of Mary Ann Collingsworth, fourth of Sarah E. Finch (1847-1871) married 1864, fifth of Isabella Elizabeth Kendrick Hopkins (1841-1929).

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Find A Grave Memorial # 20699045 URL https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=20699045&ref=acom
2. ↑ "Texas Marriages, 1837-1973," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FX37-XHM : 5 December 2014), Milbern Harrell and Malinda D. Pettit, 21 Jun 1849; citing , Gonzales, Texas, , reference 2:2CQKJ6F; FHL microfilm 1,310,949.
3. ↑ "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ85-BXKP : 25 May 2014), Milvern Harrell, 1850.
4. ↑ "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ85-19P8 : 25 May 2014), Milvern Harrell, 1867.
5. ↑ "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ85-18D8 : 25 May 2014), Milvern Harrell, 1872.

• Roots web - HARRELL-L Archives

• http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/19thcentury/articles/dawsonmassacre.aspx

Ancestry.com:

1850, 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1910 United States Census.

Texas, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1820-1890.

Find A Grave website: Memorial #20699045.