Osborne
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Photo 1907 At Frost, Navarro Co., Texas James Campbell Osborne - Baptist Minister and Elder at the Prairie Grove Baptist Church, Emmett, Navarro Co., TX Texas - b. 16 Oct 1829 - d. 28 Sep 1922 His brother Edwin Augustus (Gus) Young Osborne - visiting from Charlotte, NC, Episcopal Priest wearing his some sort of medals - b. 06 May 1837 - d. 12 Oct 1926 Their brother "Uncle Patty" Osborne Patrick Henry Osborn - b. 04 Sep 1843 - d. unknown ------------------ Excerpts from "the original that is bound in red calf leather with inscription in gold lettering, bearing a photograph of the writer, autographed." The above is in the handwriting of Mary Windor Bryan Osborne. A copy of this manuscript was given to the J. L. Halbert Camp No. 359, SCV for their records as two members of the family were members of Company I, 4th Texas Inf. Hood's Brigade from Navarro County. Commander Stubbs was given permission to submit a copy to the Corsicana Library and here by S. W. (Dub) and Sandra Osborne.
I have extracted what I consider
pertinent to Navarro County. If this is your family and you would
like more information about the complete manuscript please contact
Dub & Sandra Osborne at [email protected]
(88 pages, plus military records and correspondence's pertaining
to Edwin A. Osborne. Wonderful stories of early childhood,
war, education and Priesthood and siblings) Of special
interest from A History of First Presbyterian Church
of Charlotte, NC: Rev. E. A. Osborne was among the honorary
pallbearers for Mrs. "Stonewall" (Mary) Jackson in
Charlotte, NC. She died Thursday, March 25, 1915. Her funeral took
place on Friday, March 26th at the First Presbyterian Church at 5
o'clock. On Saturday, March 27th at 11 o'clock a
Memorial Service was held in First Presbyterian Church. This
meeting was presided over by Rev. E. A. Osborne, Chaplain of the
Mecklenburg Camp of Confederate Veterans.
Writings of Edwin Augustus Young
Osborne, 1914
My Father's Family
Alexander Osborne, my
father's grand-father, was an educated man of high standing. He
was born in New Jersey, in Monmouth County, I think, about 1709
A.D. He came to Rowan County N.C. in, or about 1754 A.D., and
seems to have lived in Salisbury, though he owned lands near what
is now Davidson College, and I think lived there the latter part
of his life, and died there in 1776 - both he and his wife.
Alexander Osborne, colonel of militia,
1768
He was colonel of militia
under Governor Tryon, and for some twenty-five years was Chairman
of the County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions of Rowan County,
of which Adlai, his son, was Clerk. (View
Headstone Photo).
Agnes McWhortor Osborne
The wife of Alexander
Osborne was Agnes McWhortor (or McWhirtor, as the name was
originally spelled.) She was a daughter of Hugh McWhortor, whose
father was, as I am informed, Alexander McWhortor, of Armough,
Ireland, came to the United States about 1730 A.D., and settled at
New Castle, Delaware. His wife was Joan. The said Agnes Osborne
was a sister of the Rev. Alexander McWhortor who was the founder
of Queens College (Note: Queens Museum) at Charlotte, N. C. Her
sister married Ephraim Brevard, one of the signers of the
"so-called" Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. I
say 'so-called", because I sincerely believe that Capt.
Samuel Ashe's theory of that occurrence is thoroughly consistent
and correct.
I honor those brave men for what ever
they did, and they need no honor for what they did not do... (View
Headstone Photo)
Children of Col. Alexander Osborne are
as follows:
1. Adlai Osborne, born July 4, 1744,
was graduated from Princeton university 1768. (View
Headstone Photo(. Married June 30,
1771, Margaret Lloyd daughter of Gen. Thos. Lloyd of Hillsboro,
North Carolina. Died 1814. His first (only) wife, Margaret Lloyd,
was born June 23, 1754, and died Sept. 23, 1830. (View
Headstone Photo) (Note: MS. a bit
confused in arrangement. Think this is right); 2. Rebecca Osborne,
married Nathaniel Ewing; 3. Mary Osborne, married John Nosbit; 4.
Joan Osborne, married Moses Winslow; 5. Margaret Osborne, married
John Robinson...
*****
Children of Col. Adlai Osborne
1. Mary Lloyd Osborne b. Sept. 6,
1774. Married first to John Sharpe. Married second to John Young.
It is said that the Hon. John Sharpe William was descended from
the first marriage. The late John Augustus Young of Charlotte was
a son by the second marriage.
2. Margaret McWhorter, born Osborne b.
April 7, 1776. Married Robert Davidson of Macklenburg County NC, a
wealthy farmer. Both lived to an old age, died without children,
and are buried in their family graveyard. (Note: 15 mi. from
Charlotte, Beattys Ford Road, near the Catawba River)
3. Thomas Alexander Osborne b.
Feb. 14, 1778. He was a teacher, spent many years in East
Tennessee, and if married, I never heard of the fact. He died
comparatively young.
4. Edwin Jay Osborne b. March 1,
1780. He was a lawyer. Married Miss Harriet walker of Wilmington,
NC, lived in Alabama, and died young. He was the father of the
Hon. James Walker Osborne of Charlotte, also the father of
Mrs. Harriet C. Moore, wife of Alexander Duncan Moore of
Wilmington, and of Egbert Osborne late of Tennessee, and I
think another daughter who married a Mr. Frank, of New York City
(Note: Julie and Charlotte, who m. a Holman. J.O.)
5. Adlai Laurens Osborne b.
October 19, 1782.
6. Spruce McCay Osborne b. Dec. 14,
1784. Graduated from Chapel Hill (Note: the University) and was an
M.D. Was killed at the Massacre of Fort Mimms, Alabama (Note:
18113) He was a surgeon in the U.S. Army.
7. Ephriam Brevard Osborne b.
Feb. 20, 1786. Married Nancy Smith of VA, and died in Texas May
23, 1876, buried in Hill County Texas.
8. Nancy Cecelia Osborne b. April
21, 1788, married J. Smith Byers, a farmer of Iredell County, NC.
9. Eliza Tabitha Osborne b. Feb
7, 1790. Married Alexander Hogan. They left no issue.
10. Panthia Lemir_ b. Dec. 1, 1793.
She married David C. Houston. They lived and died in Maringo Co.,
AL, had several children - a son whose name was Adlai, - a
daughter, Lottie, who married Holman.
11. Franklin Washington Osborne b.
Jan 1, 1795. Died in AL. Left no children so far as I have ever
been informed...
*****
My father [Ephriam
Brevard Osborne] was a physician. I think he studied medicine
in Charleston, SC though I know but little of his early history. I
had often heard him speak of the home at "Belmont" (the
old red house near Davidson) which was standing when I came to
this state...
He was in the Indian War
in Alabama and was in Fort Mimms in the Massacre, and was
mentioned in the account of that terrible catastrophe as
Lieutenant Osborne, and was one of the very few to escape. I have
heard him describe the occurrences. He said that when all hopes of
making any successful defense against the Indians, "we
quickly filled the Fort through the open gate, which could
not be closed on account of mud which had been washed against it
by rain of the night before, he or someone else, seized an axe and
cut away a few of the pickets which enclosed the Fort, in the rear
next to the river, and picking up a little girl who was crying
with fright, he lashed her on his back, fled through the opening,
swam the river, and made his escape with the child. He carried his
precious burden some distance till he found a place of safety, and
left her in the hands of kind people who took care of her. She
grew to womanhood, and I think married and reared a family.
This story I have heard
my father tell when I was a boy too young to inquire into the
particulars of her name and history.
My father was also in the
U.S. Army at the Battle of New Orleans. I have heard him tell of
the breast-works of cotton bales and of the dense fog that
enveloped the whole earth so that a man could hardly be seen fifty
yards away.
Orders were given for the
men to hold their fire until the enemy was plainly visible and
within good range, and of the dreadful havoc and confusion that
ensued when the enemy received the first volley on that fateful
morning, in January.
My father and mother were
married in the year of 1818, in Alabama. They spent the first few
years in Maringo County in, or near, Huntsville. Afterwards, they
moved to Lawrence County seat, Moulton, where I was born, and
where he practiced medicine for a number of years.
In 1847 my father started
with his family for Western Texas, but for some reason, he landed
at Pine Bluffs, Arkansas, and settled in Jefferson County, where
he continued until 1855, when he again started for Texas...
It was
in the year 1855 when my father sold his small possessions in
Arkansas and moved to Texas. It was early in the year when we
arrived in Hill County, Texas, near the eastern boundary of the
county, on the west side of Richland Creek. We traveled by private
conveyance camping out on the way and sleeping in tents. The
weather was fine all the way and the journey was pleasant. When we
arrived at our destination, we set up our tents and lived in them
until temporary structures could be erected, which was hastily
done and we were sheltered for the time. Much was to be done and
the time was short for we must open a farm and be prepared to
plant it in the spring which opened early in that part of the
country. The land was rich open prairie and the sod must be turned
in time to plant. This was done and a small field was planted that
spring, but the summer was dry and little was made that year...It
was a fine section of the country where we settled in Texas. The
soil was rich, and very soon a good class of settlers began to
come in; and in a few short years there was a good community built
up...
My father was a
Presbyterian. He had led a restless, roving life, and at times was
given to dissipation.
For many years before his death he was content to
live a quiet life and was a constant reader of the Holy
Scriptures and a firm believer in the Gospel. He was considered
a good physician and was fond of literature and spent a great
deal of time in reading. He was also fond of gardening and
horticulture. Wherever he lived he planted fruit trees and a
garden until he came to Texas. He was then nearly seventy years
of age and showed no tendency to carry on that line of industry
any longer.
My father was a man of fine physical appearance and
build; - his height about five feet ten inches, broad square
shoulders, large bones, and weighing about 165 pounds. He was
almost a blond, with fine blue-gray eyes, light hair, broad
forehead, a Roman noes, fine manly voice and cultured mind. He
wrote a bold well-formed hand and kept his accounts well.
His death was a gentle falling asleep, without
pain, and in the hope of salvation. A plain marble slab marks
his resting place on the west side of White Rock Creek, in Hill
County, Texas, near Salem Church. [just across the western
border of Navarro County]
My mother, Nancy Smith, daughter of John Smith of
Westmoreland County, Virginia, was born Oct. 15, 1801. I find a
record which says she was born in Amhurst County. Her father's
people came from Bavaria, Germany, to New York, in the early
history of that state.
There were several brothers, I think five, all of
whom perished by the Indians, except her Grandfather, whose name
was Abraham. He, or at least his son, John, came to Virginia at
an early period and settled. John Smith, my mother's father,
married a Miss Whitehead of Virginia and they had born to them a
large family...
Her appearance as she was in early life before
middle age is indelibly impressed upon my memory. She was about
medium size, a fair, or bright brunette, with a rich suite of
black hair, lithe figure, soft, dark - almost black eyes, a
straight nose and smooth skin. Her figure was erect and her
movements quick but graceful, and her voice soft and gentle and
never loud - though sometimes she spoke in positive tones. This
was rare, but the more impressive on that account. She often
sang hymns, and I well remember some of those hymns and their
tunes, and the melodious voice that sung them. She was pious and
devoted to her children, and gave up her life to their care
absolutely.
Rising early and working late in discharging her
domestic duties, to make them comfortable and happy, and always
with a perfectly contented and cheerful spirit. Her health was
good as a rule. She ate but little, and cared nothing for
excitement, though she loved horseback riding and sat a horse
beautifully. She continued this exercise until she was about
seventy years old, and was fond of a spirited horse when she was
young.
Children of Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Osborne
Edwin A. list the children of his
parents and dedicates part of their histories later on. I am
inserting the Navarro County family members history in the list to
save space. Stubbs
1. John Adlai Osborne b. Oct. 2,
1819, died in infancy.
2. Spruce Pickens Osborne b. July
9, 1821, died in infancy
3. Franklin Henry Washington Osborne
b. Feb. 1823, died Sept. 5, 1846.
4. Mary Lloyd Osborne b. June 27,
1826, died about 1840 or 41 or 42.
5. James Campbell Osborne b. Dec.
26, 1829, lives near Frost, Texas (Navarro County)
James was a Baptist
Minister in Emmett, TX. He is the Great Grandfather of S. W.
"Dub" Osborne. Dub was a WWII Veteran and member of
the Terry's Texas Rangers Camp 1937, SCV
6. William Houge St.Pierre Osborne b.
1831. Died in the town of Greenville, Texas Sept. 1911.
7. Permelia Ware, born 1833. Married
Richard B. Smith her cousin, who was a son of Abraham Smith. She
died in Texas about 1906.
8. Ephriam Lee Davidson Osborne b.
Dec. 4, 1834. Died in Bradley Co. AR, June 30, 1858.
9. Edwin Augustus Young Osborne b.
May 6, 1837 (Note: died Oct. 12, 1926) (Note: the author of this
autobiography, J.O)
10. Thomas Alexander Osborne b.
Dec. 4, 1839. Died in the Southern Army...Feb. 22, 1862. (A noble,
generous and lovely young man and a brave soldier) (Note: called
Sandy, J.O.)
He was commonly called
Sandy. I have not mentioned him before, and have not much to say
of him now though I would gladly linger long and tenderly on over
incident of his quiet and innocent life. He was some four years
younger than myself - a very quite, unobtrusive nature, and yet
very brave, truthful and independent. He suffered with malaria
while we were in Arkansas, and also with a severe spell of
pneumonia which impaired his constitution and retarded his growth.
His complexion and hair were those of a fair brunet with delicate
features, straight nose and dark brown eyes. My daughter, Mary
Lloyd Clarkson reminds me of him constantly, both in features and
expression, and somewhat in disposition.
When I left him in Texas
to come to North Carolina he was 19 years of age, but was a mere
boy in size and appearance. When I next saw him he was a soldier
in Virginia, CSA, a member of (Capt. Winkler's) company of the 4th
Regt. of Texas Volunteers. This was in July, 1861. He had grown
somewhat taller, but his face was as sweet and fresh as a 16 year
old boy, and his voice seemed much the same as when I left him in
Texas. He and my brother Patrick (below) were together in the
same tent with other young men whom I knew before I left
Texas.
I can never forget my
anguish for those two dear boys, my younger brothers, in their
gray uniforms, which were entirely too large, and with arms as
Confederate soldiers, all to heavy for them. Of course I was proud
of them, but I thought of their delicate faces and of the terrible
dangers, hardships and suffering they would have to endure, and of
the anxiety of our aged mother at home in Texas.
I was then captain of a
splendid corps of Irdell County, NC and wanted my two brothers to
be transferred to my company, so that I might look after them and
help them. But the dear fellows preferred to stay with their
companies and their captain who seemed to be much attached to
them. So I had to leave them. This was the summer of 1861.
I did not see them again
until winter in camp at or near Manassas Junction, VA, and they
were and both well and had become used to soldier and camp life
and seemed happy. But soon the measles, that scourge of the
Southern army, broke out and they were its victims. Patrick gave
way completely and was sent home. Sandy was able to continue in
the army but was never well again. The Texas regiments were sent
to the eastern part of Virginia, and I heard no more of my brother
until February, 1862, when I received a letter telling me that my
brother Sandy was very ill in camp near Dumfries, VA. I procured a
short furlough and went at once to him. I found him a complete
wreck - pneumonia in both lungs, what would now be called
tuberculosis, unable to get out of his tent and evidently in a
rapid decline and near his end. I stayed with him as long as my
furlough would permit and then left him, hoping to return soon.
But before I could come back his spirit had flown and his body was
buried. Alas: Such a war.
I have rarely, if ever,
known a lovelier character than my brother Sandy's. His figure at
19 was below the average height and his face and gentle voice,
with very bright eyes which kindled and scintillated in
conversation. He was impulsive, brave, thoroughly truthful, and
generous almost to a fault. Without having made a public
profession of religion so far as I am aware, I think he was a
Christian in character, sentiment and conduct. His generous and
affectionate disposition endeared him to the family at home, and
made him popular with friends.
11. Patrick Henry Osborne b.
Sept. 4, 1843. Lives with brother James near Frost, Texas.
He was some six years
younger than myself. As a child he was bright, intelligent and
active, but somewhat irritable and discontented. Still, he was
affectionate, and I was devotedly fond of him, and we were thrown
together until he was 12 or 14 years old. After that I was away
from home a great deal at work or at school, and saw little of
him. Still my love for him was warm and devoted, and continues so
until this day. My brother Patrick showed no disposition to be
pious as he was growing up, but his morals were good, though fond
of company that was somewhat rollicking in habits.
He married young, and
settled down to make a living for his family and seemed to have
been doing fairly well, until there came into the community a band
of fanatics professing entire sanctification, or holiness. He,
being ignorant and not instructed in the Gospel, was taken in by
them. They professed to have all things in common, so my brother
broke up his establishment, sold what he had, and went off with
them taking his wife and little children with him. Soon the
company broke up and everything was lost and my brother stranded
with a young and helpless family. He struggled hard to meet the
situation, but the reaction was terrible, and for many years he
was at sea, and wandered far before he found his proper barring.
Meanwhile, his wife died, and the children grew up and found
occupations in different parts of the West, and he finally drifted
back to Hill county and has been with our older brother, James,
near Emmett. (Frost, Texas being the post office) He will be 71
years of age September 1914, and seems to be of some assistance to
my brother James where he is making his home.
12. Elbert Knox Polk Osborne b.
Aug 3, 1845. Died in Birmingham, AL May 23, 1896. Buried in my lot
in Elmwood Cemetery, Charlotte, NC. He was a remarkably
intelligent and prominent man, but all his life of feeble
constitution.
Notes:
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Navarro County TXGenWeb
© Copyright
March, 2009
Edward L. Williams & Barbara
Knox