Oliver Loving’s Family, Part 1

Oliver Loving was born in Hopkins County, Kentucky on December 4, 1812 to Joseph Loving (1786 – 1842) and Susannah Mary Bourland Loving (1788 – 1850). Joseph and Susannah were married in Kentucky around 1806. They had many children, most of whom remained in Kentucky, but Oliver and at least three of his siblings moved to Texas. Joseph and Susannah remained in Kentucky until their deaths.

Of the Texas siblings of Oliver, there were two sisters. Evaline (or Evangeline Jane) Loving married a man named Ellis Littlepage. The couple had a large family and mostly lived in rural Hood County. Ellis was described as a stock raiser in 1860. Both are thought to have died around 1875. The second sister was Derinda Loving. Derinda married a man named Felix Grundy Miller. This couple also had a large family and lived in or around Delta County, north of Sulphur Springs and near where Cooper Lake is now located. Felix and Derinda came to Texas in 1845, also from Hopkins County, Kentucky. Derinda died in 1873 and Felix followed her in death in death in 1880. The third sibling was a brother named James Loving who had moved around 1843 to what became eastern Dallas County. James had married Margaret Morgan in 1839 back in Kentucky. The couple had at least seven children, all but two of whom were born in Texas. James and his family lived there until he was killed in 1869 by a horse thief. The thief, said to be a man named Parker, committed suicide rather than face the consequences of his actions. James’ wife, Margaret Morgan survived him another eight years and died in 1877. Oliver Loving had married Margaret’s older sister, Susannah Doggett Morgan, in 1833.

Upon coming to Texas, Oliver had first settled to the northwest of James in the Plano area. He had come to the location with an unnamed brother in law, settling in Peters Colony. Oliver and his wife Susannah had married while they were still in Kentucky. In the 1850 census, the couple and seven children were living in Collin County, Texas. At that time, Oliver was thirty-eight, Susan was forty, and their children ranged from age two to age sixteen. The two youngest children had been born in Texas and the rest had been born in Kentucky. Between 1850 and 1860, they had moved further west to the Palo Pinto area. There Oliver was raising cattle and was also doing some freighting. It was during this period that he is believed to have made his first trail drives, to sell his own cattle and those of some of his neighbors. His first cattle drives appear to have been north to the markets in Kansas.

By the time the 1860 census was taken they were established in Palo Pinto County. Their family consisted of Oliver, Susannah and five of their children with ages that ranged from seven to seventeen. Some of their older children had set up families of their own. From around 1860 until his death, Oliver either ran or partnered in cattle drives to Colorado and points in between except for some drives during the Civil War to furnish cattle to the Confederate forces. He did not serve in the Confederate Army during the war. The circumstances of his death are well known. He was on a cattle drive with Charles Goodnight and had gone ahead of the herd when he was wounded by Comanche warriors. Loving was taken to Fort Sumner, New Mexico where he survived for some time before finally succumbing to an infection. Loving was temporarily buried at Fort Sumner, but later was reinterred in Parker County.

Concerning the return of Loving’s remains to Texas, the popular account once was that Charles Goodnight and a few others had personally transported Loving’s body back to Texas. Other accounts had Goodnight making the arrangements and Oliver’s son Joe Loving actually transporting the body back to Texas. Still another account has Joe Loving, two members of the Hittson family and a brother in law, John Millsap, making the trip. However it was accomplished, Loving was reinterred at Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford, Texas on March 4, 1868.

Oliver and Susannah Loving had nine children:

• Sarah Irvin Loving – born February 4, 1834. Married John “Jack” Flint February 17, 1853. John was a cattleman. Sarah died December 27, 1915 and is buried in Graham, Texas. John died April 1, 1886 and is also buried in Graham, Texas.
• James Carroll Loving – born June 6, 1836. Married Mary Ellen Willett January 15, 1857. James was a cattle rancher and one of the founders of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association. James was elected first secretary of the group and held that post for twenty-seven years. James died November 24, 1902 and is buried in Weatherford, Texas. Mary Ellen survived him another twenty-four years. She died August 6, 1926 and is also buried in Weatherford, Texas.
• William Willis Loving – born May 29, 1838. Married Corinthia Ann Durkee on September 15, 1858. William was a cattleman and was known to have participated in cattle drives when he was still a youth. William was twenty-three years old when he died on August 29, 1861 of unknown causes. Corinthia later married Andrew Jackson Hill whose first wife had also died in 1861. Corinthia died in 1907 and Andrew Hill had predeceased her in 1901. Both Corintha and Andrew are buried in Tyler, Texas.
• Susan Mary Loving – born August 24, 1840. Susan married Dr. David Ford on June 25, 1856 who died February 6, 1866 of unknown causes. She then married Charles Elliott Rivers on December 5, 1870 who died in 1871, six weeks after having been wounded in an Indian attack. She finally married Maxwell “Mack” Brown Roach on September 1, 1874. Mack Roach was a longtime county official in Parker County, serving as County Surveyor for many years. Mack died May 6, 1886. Susan followed him in death on March 6, 1915. Both are buried in Weatherford, Texas.
• Jane Eveline Loving – born March 16, 1843. Married Orteus Wood Keeler on September 24, 1862. The couple resided in Fort Worth, Texas for a number of years. Mr. Keeler, born in New York, was a teacher by profession and is also mentioned in connection with an entity known as the Loving Publishing Company, incorporated in 1883 by George B. Loving and others. Professor Keeler, as he was sometimes called, died on December 7, 1888. Jane Eveline survived him another thirteen years and died on May 26, 1901. Both are buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth, Texas.
• Joseph Bourland Loving – born January 24, 1846. Married Sarah Isabelle Millsap on March 19, 1868. Joe was a cattleman and is the person mentioned above as having transported his father’s body from Fort Sumner, New Mexico to Weatherford, Texas for final interment. Sarah died September 30, 1919 in Rotan, Fisher County, Texas. Joe died October 11, 1921. Both are buried in Rotan, Texas.
• Annie Mariah Loving – born January 19, 1848. Married Isaac Newton Roach on April 6, 1866. I. N. Roach is usually noted to have been a long time judge in Parker County. He died September 21, 1902 and Annie Mariah survived him until her own death November 2, 1928. Both are buried in Weatherford, Texas.
• George Barnett Loving – born June 10, 1850. Married Helen Mary Shepherd December 9, 1869. George was known as a cattleman for several decades. He began a career in publishing by establishing the Texas Live Stock Journal. He then began publishing the Fort Worth Gazette in 1882. He later purchased the Fort Worth Daily Mail and was one of the incorporators of the Loving Publishing Company mentioned above. In his later years he acted as a broker in the sales of ranch land and cattle. He died February 19, 1903 after a long illness. His wife Helen survived him until her own death November 2, 1926. George is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Fort Worth and Helen is buried in El Paso, Texas.
• Margaret Louise Loving – born August 27, 1853. Married J. Thomas Wilson on May 14, 1868. Tom Wilson was sheriff of Palo Pinto County and was killed in a shooting in Austin, Texas on January 24, 1879. Margaret then married Dr. Charles Byron Raines. Dr. Raines passed away on February 4, 1912 and is buried in Mineral Wells, Texas. Margaret died on February 27, 1920 and is buried in Weatherford, Texas.

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