Although her husband Isaac Van Zandt is probably better known, Frances Cooke Lipscomb Van Zandt’s pioneer story is interesting. She was born March 4, 1816 to William Lipscomb and Ann Day Cooke Lipscomb. Isaac was born July 10, 1813 in Franklin, Tennessee to Mary Margaret Isaacs Van Zandt and Jacob Van Zandt. Isaac’s ancestry was Dutch, but both his grandfathers had participated in the Revolutionary War.
Acknowledging Frances’ 90th birthday, she and her daughter Ida gave a newspaper interview in which they provided more details about Frances’ life in the early days on the frontier of Texas. Frances was married to Isaac Van Zandt in Franklin County, Tennessee on December 18, 1833 when she was 17 and he was 20 years old and working as a merchant in the family store. Around two years later, the couple decided to make their home in Coffeeville, Mississippi along with their daughter Louisa and son Khleber. Life was good, but only for a short time until 1837 when there was a widespread economic depression, leading Isaac to close his business. Isaac studied law and was admitted to the Mississippi bar. Then in 1838, the family decided to move to the Republic of Texas and set out to make the journey by wagon. They got as far as the Louisiana-Texas border before running low on funds. Isaac and the family stopped at an abandoned garrison known as Camp Sabine, formerly a post of the United States Army, located east of the Sabine River. There they remained for the rest of that year before moving on to northeast Texas.
After a short time in the community called Elysian Fields, they made their new home in a one room log cabin in what is now Harrison County. Times were harsh and food was scarce. Frances told of Isaac once leaving her to travel 10 miles on horseback to try and purchase a bushel of corn. She expected him to be gone a week or ten days, but Isaac returned four weeks later on foot, leading his horse which carried the corn. He had absolutely no money left, but they had a little food. She noted that occasionally travelers would stop on their way and spend time at their home. At first she was apprehensive, but later grew to welcome the company. She also recalled being happy even when a group of wild hogs temporarily took up residence around the house.
On one occasion while Isaac was away, she heard unexpected noises in the cabin and thought that she was about to be attacked by renegades or bandits. It turned out to be only an owl that had inadvertently gotten trapped in the house and was trying to get free. Around that same time, they were once again running low on food and were down to some butter beans. She saved the speckled beans to eat, she said, and the white beans to plant. Soon afterward, a close neighbor offered her a bushel of potatoes per day if she would help her harvest her potato crop. Her “pay” was five bushels of potatoes which they ate on for weeks. She recalled getting sick during their weeks of eating nothing but potatoes. Their lodging had no chimney so they cooked outside, even as winter began to arrive. She recalled that they ate with their plates on their laps until once when they had some company. She said her first “dinner” table was fashioned from the tailgate of their old wagon. Early the next January (1840), their second son Isaac L. was born. Frances called him their first Native Texan. She remembered that their supply of meat at that time consisted of one rabbit and half of an opossum.
Isaac was called back to Mississippi on business the next March. Frances noted that he left wearing a pair of red leather shoes that he had made himself. He was away until the following June. After they had been in Texas one year, Isaac was elected to the Texas congress. He served as a representative of Harrison County from 1840 – 1842.
The family was able to build a home on their property. Isaac donated land to form a town to serve as the county seat. They named the new town site Marshall in honor of John Marshall, who was then Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Their second daughter Frances was born in 1842. Around the months leading up to the transition from independent republic to statehood, he was appointed by Sam Houston to be a diplomatic representative (with the official title of Chargé d’Affaires) to the United States, requiring the family to briefly reside in Washington where their third daughter Ida was born in 1844. Isaac, along with James Pinckney Henderson (1st Governor of Texas), helped to draft the Annexation Treaty admitting Texas to the Union.
The family returned to Texas. As Texas prepared for statehood, Isaac was asked to participate in the convention to frame the first state constitution, along with Henderson and others. Near the end Henderson’s term as Governor, Isaac began a drive to succeed him in that office. He was in Houston campaigning when he contracted yellow fever leading to his death at the age of 34 at a local hotel on October 11, 1847. His remains were returned to Marshall where he was buried in what is now Greenwood Cemetery. The following year, Van Zandt County was formed out of Henderson County and named in his honor.
The couple had one more child, Isaac Van Zandt, Jr. born in 1846 who died in 1847. Frances was left to raise her family, consisting of the three daughters and two sons. She later adopted Willie L. Anderson, born in 1857, who lived to be 17. The circumstances of his birth, adoption, early life and death are unknown.
Their oldest daughter Louisa (1834 – 1924) married Jeremiah M. Clough who was killed early in the Civil War. Khleber Miller (1836 – 1930), the oldest son, survived the war and went on to be a lawyer, businessman and politician primarily in Fort Worth. Isaac Lycergus (1840 – 1935), a medical doctor, served in the medical bureau of Confederate Army and returned to Fort Worth. Isaac L. is the great grandfather of the late musician Townes Van Zandt. Frances (1842 – 1935), married Dr. Elias James Beall, a medical doctor. Ida (1844 – 1937) married James Jones Jarvis, of Fort Worth. Isaac, Isaac, Jr., Louisa and Willie are all buried in the Van Zandt family cemetery in Marshall which became Greenwood Cemetery. Most of the Van Zandt family mentioned above and many other relatives are buried in Fort Worth’s Oakwood Cemetery.
Frances died at the age of 93 on April 8, 1909. Her obituary refers to Frances’ unusual requests. In her will and personal instructions, she was said to request that her family and friends not wear black mourning clothes or express grief. She preferred to have a simple burial, a minimal ceremony and be remembered in other ways. Frances is also buried at Oakwood Cemetery.
The family home site and surrounding land was donated in 1912 to the College of Marshall, now known as East Texas Baptist University which has an affiliation with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Isaac and Frances were members of the denomination called Primitive Baptist but were long time supporters of other Baptist entities.
Acknowledgement: Thanks to Sarah Reveley for introducing me to Frances; Sources: various newspaper archives and online genealogy websites.
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