Elizabeth (Bacon) Pickett (1812 - 1900)

Born 27 Mar 1812 in Jonesborough, Washington, Tennessee, United States

Ancestors

Wife of David Stevens — married 21 Jul 1831 in Washington, Tennessee, United States

Descendants

Died 30 Jan 1900 at age 87 in Elmore City, Garvin, Oklahoma, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Jayne Pyle [send private message]

Biography

Elizabeth Bacon was born in 1812. She passed away in 1900. She first married David Stevens and had 5 kids: John Dillingham Stevens, Hannah Elizabeth Stevens, Mary Jane Stevens, Louisa Eveline Stevens, and William Henry Steven . After her first husband died, she married David Pickett and had a son, George Caswell Pickett.

Sources

• Jayne Pyle Family Records - iTennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002/i. Nashville, TN, USA: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Microfilm. Elizabeth Bacon and David Stevens bought a marriage license on 19 July 1831 and they married on 21 July 1831. We see both dates, but July 21 was the marriage date.

• Stevens Family Records ---As stated in the notes, Elizabeth was the “daughter of Charles and Wrathie Bacon” of Jonesboro, Tennessee.

Family history notes scribed by Leona Jewel Griffin Crouch (1909-1992)

Elizabeth Bacon was born on March 27, 1812 [1] in Tennessee, USA. She is the 3rd of 8 children born to Charles Bacon (1788-1847) and Uratha Hale (1788-1829). Elizabeth's parents are confirmed in family history notes scribed by Leona Jewel Griffin Crouch (1909-1992) (see Note 1). As stated in the notes, Elizabeth was the “daughter of Charles and Wrathie Bacon” of Jonesboro, Tennessee [2].

Elizabeth Bacon married David Stevens (1810-1844) on July 21, 1831 in Washington Co., Tennessee. After their marriage, Elizabeth and David resided in Jonesboro, Washington County, Tennessee where their first three children, John Dillingham Stevens, Hannah Eliza Stevens & Mary Jane Stevens were born. As stated by Mary Jane [3] and corroborated by the 1840 Census in Prairie, Madison County, Arkansas, the family of 5 moved to Arkansas at about that time. There, Elizabeth and David had two more children, Louisa Eveline Stevens and William Henry Stevens [3].

According to Crouch, David Stevens “died of typhoid fever” [2] in mid 1840s - corroborated by the fact that David appeared on the Madison County, Arkansas Tax records of 1841 through 1844, but not on the Tax Record of 1845. Therefore, it is assumed that he died before 1845. Crouch's records also state that "Elizabeth lived as a widow for some years before marrying a Dr. [David] Pickett," and that Dr. Pickett "lived two years after the marriage" then he died also [2]. Elizabeth gave birth to a son, Caswell Pickett, in 1848 - shown to be 2 years old on the 1850 census in Prairie, Madison County, Arkansas, although Caswell's headstone shows he was born in 1850.

Both of Elizabeth's husbands died before the census of 1850. There are no marriage or death records of Elizabeth’s husbands in Madison County, because it is assumed that all records were most likely lost in courthouse fires before 1901. See additional details on the memorial for David Stevens.

On every subsequent census record, including the census of 1850 in Prairie, Madison County, Arkansas, Elizabeth appears as “Elizabeth Pickett” and no husband is shown. Also on the 1850 census, all 5 of her older children are incorrectly reported with the last name “Pickett,” instead of "Stevens." Except for Caswell, the children shown as “Picketts” all had to be the children of David Stevens because their names, sex and birth years are consistent with the known children of David and Elizabeth.

In 1860, Elizabeth and 3 of her children, Louisa, William and Caswell, reported for the US census in Flat Creek, Barry County, Missouri. On that census, Louisa and William are correctly reported with the last name “Stevens.” Elizabeth’s 3 older children were not on that census because they were of age and had left home as indicated below:

• John Dillingham Stevens (the oldest sibling) may have been on his way to California, which is where he resided in 1867 and married Mary Ann McClean.

• Hannah Eliza Stevens (2nd sibling) married James St. John in 1863 and moved to Indiana before 1870.

• Mary Jane Stevens (3rd sibling) was in Texas to eventually marry Hezekiah Griffin in 1861 in Gainesville, Texas.

According to Crouch, during the Civil War, Elizabeth and her daughter Louisa lived together in Missouri; most likely William and Caswell lived with them. At that time, Elizabeth was the widow of [David] Pickett. After the Civil War began, the fate of Elizabeth and David’s younger children was as follows:

• Louisa Eveline Stevens (4th sibling) married Jonathan Joseph McGlothlin in 1862 in Barry County, Missouri (See Note 2).

• William Henry Stevens (5th sibling) joined the Union Army during the Civil War. (See note 3)

On the 1880 Census in Wise County, Texas, Elizabeth Pickett is shown living with her son Caswell Pickett and Caswell’s wife and daughter - Mary Jane and Eva. The 1880 Census also shows that Elizabeth’s son William Henry Stevens, married Rowenia Lacy and they lived with their two children, Eliza & John David, in Wise County as well.

Somehow, Elizabeth, William and Caswell, must have relocated again, because all three are buried next to each other in the Elmore City Cemetery in Garvin County, Oklahoma - over 100 miles north of Wise County, Texas. Caswell is buried to the left of his mother and the headstone for William Henry Stevens & his wife Rowenia can be seen in the left background of the above photo of Elizabeth's headstone.

The children of David Stevens and Elizabeth Bacon are buried at the following locations:

- John Dillingham Stevens - Hartley Cemetery, Lake Co, CA - Hannah Eliza Stevens St. John - Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, IN - Mary Jane Stevens Griffin - Tomerlin Cemetery, Medina Co, TX - Louisa Eveline Stevens Anderson - Rush Springs Cemetery, Grady Co, OK - William Henry Stevens – Elmore City, Garvin Co, OK

All totaled, Elizabeth and her family traveled over 1,400 miles moving from Tennessee, to Arkansas, to Missouri, to Texas and finally to Oklahoma. _____________________________________________________ Notes:

1. Leona Jewel Griffin Crouch (1909-1992) or "Crouch" is the granddaughter of Mary Jane Stevens and the great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Bacon. Crouch grew up in the same household with her grandmother; and during that time, Mary Jane revealed many family history stories and other family information to her granddaughter, which Crouch recorded in notes about the ancestry of her grandmother. It is very likely that Mary Jane revealed the names of her parents, as Elizabeth Bacon and David Stevens, as well as the names of her grandparents, as Charles Bacon and Uratha Hale, to the young Crouch.

2. According to his great-granddaughter, Barbara (McGlothlin) Owens [4], before the marriage, Jonathan “Joe” McGlothlin had enlisted in the Southern Army. The marriage occurred on 6 Feb 1862 in Barry County, Missouri. Two weeks later, after making ample provisions for his wife including leaving her with $1000 in Gold, Joe left his wife on 19 Feb 1862 and returned to his duties in the Confederate Army. During the war Joe McGlothlin was wounded six times, and once left for dead from his wounds. Word got back to Louisa that her husband was deceased. Thinking she was a widow, Louisa married William Herd in Barry County on 6 Jan 1864. Somehow Joe survived his wounds and found out Louisa was married to a Yankee soldier named Herd - so the story goes. When the war ended in 1865, Joe was in Shreveport, LA. Instead of going home to Missouri to solve his marital problem, Joe went to Salado in Bell County, Texas. Two of his sisters had fled Barry County during the war and were living in Salado. In 1868, Joe returned to Missouri to confront his wife and her new husband. Legally, Joe/Jonathan and Louisa were still married. No details are known about this meeting, but afterwards, Joe returned to Salado, Texas and waited three years, but didn't hear from Louisa [4]. During that time, Louisa's marriage to Herd must have failed or been annulled because she later married William F. Anderson in 1870 in Lawrence, Missouri. By then, Joe had met another woman and wanted to marry her. So, in April 1871, Joe filed for a divorce from Louisa - recorded at the Bell County, Texas, Courthouse in Belton. The divorce was granted 20 October 1871; then Joe remarried also. Louisa and William Anderson eventually moved to Rush Springs, Oklahoma, while Joe and his new wife resided in Salado, TX. Interestingly, during the Civil War Joe served in the Confederate Army while William Anderson was a Sergeant Major in the Union Army.

3. William Henry Stevens was 17 years old when the Civil War started. According to Crouch, “he tried to join the Southern Army, but the general refused him admission on account of his age. William had a dream that he must leave and join the Northern Army or be killed by Southern Army men. (The Southern men thought the Stevens men were in sympathy with the North.) So William left and joined the Northern Army. Afterwards, the Southern men did come, searched the house and premises, and destroyed everything. William fought in a Civil War battle at Fayetteville, AR, but was not injured. [2]" He lived to be past 94 years and died in Paul's Valley Oklahoma.

_____________________________________________________ References/Sources:

1. Photograph of Elizabeth Bacon’s Headstone. 2. Crouch, Leona Jewel Griffin (1909-1992), “Stevens Family History Notes.” 3. Hardeman, W.B., “Trials and Tribulations on the Frontier.” Frontier Times Monthly, Bandera, Texas, November 1926, Vol. 4, No.2, p9-11. Retrieved from https://www.frontiertimesmagazine.com/ 4. Emails from Barbara Owens to Don Herring dated 12/27/2017 through 1/16/2018.

_____________________________________________________ Written by her Great-Great-Grandson, Don Herring

Special thanks to Jane O'Ferrall Moss, a 3rd great-granddaughter of Elizabeth Bacon, for sharing a transcript of notes taken in a 1983 interview of Leona Jewel Griffin Crouch regarding her Stevens Family History notes.

A very special thanks is also extended to Patsy Jan Cox Stevens for her collaborative efforts devoted to researching the history of this family. Patsy's husband is a descendent of Henry Ward Stevens, Elizabeth Bacon's brother-in-law.

Please feel free to notify Don Herring at Findagrave.com Memorial # 48531255, if you dispute any of the information in this bio or if you have additional or more up to date information regarding persons described in this memorial.