Aaron Myers arrived in Texas when it was still a wilderness
“Aaron Myers...Kentucky, Indiana and Texas” tells stories about the Myers family in the early days when Texas was a wilderness. Aaron Myers was born 17 Mar. 1796 in Montgomery County, Kentucky. On 16 Mar 1816, he married Mary “Polly” Dean, born 14 Feb 1800. They had eleven children: Elizabeth, Gibson, Hannah, Sarah, Mary Jane, Margaret, Julianne, twins Camei Stevenson and Benjamin Franklin, Saliney, and Riley G. Myers. After Polly died in 1847, Aaron married “ Mademoiselle” Myers on 29 Apr 1849. She died in 1854. They had no children. Other records show a name as “Made Mavelle Bar” In the marriage records and Mademoiselle” in a later deed.
Aaron’s marriage to a third wife, Mary Elizabeth, was not recorded in the family Bible, but the births of three children were. They were Rebecca, Lucretia and Leander Myers. Aaron died on 02 Nov 1870 in Davis (Cass) County, Texas. Aaron Myers was listed on the tax rolls of Montgomery
Aaron Myers was listed on the tax rolls of Montgomery County; Kentucky 1817 through 1825, and vas listed on the 1820 census ere. In November 1825, he bought land in Putnam County, Indiana. The 1830 and 1840 census puts him in Putnam County, TN 1842, the Myers family moved to Red River County, Texas (now Cass County). In 1846, Aaron was on the Cass County poll list.
Legend is that the trip from Indiana to Texas was made by river boat. Today it is hard to imagine being able to go across the country by river, but many rivers were navigable in those days that are not today. Perhaps they went westward to the Wabash River which was then part of the Erie Canal system. They would have reached the Ohio River at Evansville, Indiana and from there it would have been down the Ohio to the Mississippi, down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Red River, then upstream to Jefferson which was a thriving port city in those days.
Married daughter Hannah and her husband, William Woolverton, also made the trip with their baby boy, James, born in Indiana in 1841. Records show they settled in the Bryans Mill area (then Red River County) in the Republic of Texas). Aaron received a Pre-emption Grant for 144 acres of land in 1857, at which time he offered proof he had lived on the land for three years, but it is believed he’d lived there much longer than that.
Aaron was the first settler to live on this land. It was a primitive, wild area when he came there. There was virgin timber which had to be cleared to make way for the cabin, the com fields, that wonderful orchard with the “Myers Apples,” grazing land and cotton fields. Indians were never a serious problem n Cass County, but wild animals were.
Many family stories have been handed down, one of which was about their church meetings. The Methodists in the community had not yet had time to build their church building, so they took turns having meetings in their homes. One particular night, prayer meeting was being held at
One particular night, prayer meeting was being held at the Myers home. Suddenly, the folks heard a loud ruckus outside...the squealing of pigs, loud and frantic. It sounded like every pig was squealing at once at the top of its lungs. The meeting came to a haft while all the men jumped up and rushed outside with their rifles. They were just in time to see a black bear jump out of the pig pen Apparently the pigs had made enough noise to scare the bear off before he harmed any of them. There appears to have been hard times for the family in
There appears to have been hard times for the family in the 1850s with much sickness and deaths Daughter Elizabeth Crawley died in 1854, Aaron’s second wife died in 1856, and. daughter Mary Jane Hancock’s husband apparently died before the 1860 Census.
When Aaron Myers died in Cass County in 1870, he left his house and land to his wife, Mary Elizabeth, and the three younger children. This is understandable since the children of his first marriage were older and presumably settled on farms of their own.
These and many other stories: including the American pioneer generation of the Myers family and their emigration from Germany; stories of Aaron’s sons who served in the army (Gibson in the Army of the Republic of Texas and Riley in the Confederate Cavalry), are found in the book, “Aaron Myers...Kentucky, Indiana and Texas,” by Louise Cook. This book is being donated by Martha Dell McCoy and will soon be placed Atlanta Public Library’s Genealogy Section. Look for it!