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THE JOHN NERREN STORY:
John Nerren met the Mooney family in Tennessee where he married their oldest daughter Elizabeth Mooney. Together these families traveled into Mississippi and like thousands of others, they heard the news of Texas becoming a state, so when it did, they headed for Texas. The first trip, only John Nerren and his oldest boys, along with brother-in-laws, Thomas and his wife, Charles H. and his family; and Barton his wife and child were among the many who came and sought to obtain land in Texas. By 1850 thousands of folks stormed Texas in hopes for a better life. Texas however, wasn't as welcoming as some had been led to believe. It was wild, untamed and rough living. Many lost family members early on, has many had attempted to clear the land and plant, build and develop. Angelina County was a thick forest rich with game and nuts and berries. One could live in these woods and want for little more than shelter from the weather and medicine for the bites, cuts and dangers that lurked in those woods. John Nerren and the Mooney families choose their land in Nacogdoches and Angelina Counties. By 1850 John had returned to Mississippi for his family while the others remained in Texas working for that first crop which was to get them through that first year. In the same year 1850, John's family arrived in Angelina County but John was not to be seen again. Along with his death was that of Charles H. Mooney. It is not known if they might have dead together in some accident or not but their deaths are certainly around the same time, leaving both women widows with children in a untamed and rough country. What must have been the thoughts of these women who faced such challenges. Many might have returned to their parents or other family members to could provide the safer place to raise their children. I suppose having some of the older boys grown was a comfort, but the day today life couldn't have been easy. Elizabeth would manage and this Nerren family would remain in these woods. They would be educated, build, create, develop and for generations would add a great service to the building of Angelina County. Most were common farmers assisting their neighbors and community, others would serve as law officers and such. Some hauled a great many trees out of those woods while others worked in the sawmills or drove trucks of timber to other parts. I suppose you could say they have worked in about all fields in the county at one time or another. Little is seen of the Mooney family, as many others, they moved on into other parts of our country. But the Nerren family remained asa rock that couldn't be moved. They endured the test of time and remained. Today they have been in this county for a 150 years.
The Nerren Family of Angelina County[1]
Little is known about Elizabeth Mooney Nerren. Fannie Nerren McCoy said that she remembered going with her grandmother to Marion's Ferry to sell food items to those who were traveling in order to make money. Elizabeth died after 1875. Elizabeth was the daughter of William Mooney b. 1785 in Virginia and died after 1860 in Mississippi and Lucinda Hayes b. between 1785-1790 in Virginia and d. before 1839. William and Lucinda m. 5 Oct 1906 in Grainger County, Tennessee. Several of Elizabeth's siblings moved to Angelina or Nacogdoches County about the same time that she and John moved. My great-great grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Nerren said that he was about 10 years old when his family moved from Yalobusha County, Mississippi to Texas. See John Nerren for a list of their 11 children.
Thank you to Scott Ledbetter for creating WikiTree profile Mooney-470 through the import of Ledbetter01.ged on Jun 8, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Scott and others.
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Featured National Park champion connections: Elizabeth is 15 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 22 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 16 degrees from George Catlin, 11 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 22 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 17 degrees from George Grinnell, 26 degrees from Anton Kröller, 18 degrees from Stephen Mather, 24 degrees from Kara McKean, 14 degrees from John Muir, 17 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 23 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.