county names – Texas History Notebook

Isaac Parker, Legislator

Isaac Duke Parker was a son of John and Sarah White Parker. He was born in Georgia on April 7, 1793 and came to Texas as an adult with his family, finally settling in a stockade fort near the current town of Groesbeck in the early 1830s. The circumstances of the raid are probably familiar to many. To summarize, the Parker family consisted of about two dozen people and there were numerous others living in the compound. Many names are similar, adding to the confusion, but below is a rough listing of the family members and close relatives in or near the fort at the time of the attack:

John Parker (“Elder John Parker”) – a widower
Silas Mercer Parker, Sr. – husband of Lucinda Duty Parker
Lucinda Duty Parker – wife of Silas Mercer Parker, Sr.
James W. Parker – son of Silas, Sr. and Lucinda
Cynthia Ann Parker – daughter of Silas, Sr. and Lucinda
John Richard Parker – son of Silas, Sr. and Lucinda
Silas Mercer Parker Jr. – son of Silas, Sr. and Lucinda
Orlena Parker – daughter of Silas, Sr. and Lucinda
Sarah Pinson Duty (“Granny Parker”) – mother of Lucinda and Clara Elizabeth
Clara Elizabeth Duty Kellogg – sister of Lucinda and recently widowed
Benjamin Franklin W. Parker – brother of Elder John
Isaac Parker – brother of Elder John
Sarah Parker Nixon – daughter of James William
Lorenzo Dow Nixon – husband of Sarah Parker Nixon
Luther Martin Thomas (“L. T. M.”) Plummer – husband of Rachel
Rachel Parker Plummer – wife of Luther, daughter of James William Parker
James Pratt Plummer – son of Luther and Rachel
James William Parker – father of Rachel
Abigail Parker – sister of Elder John
Daniel Parker – brother of Elder John
Martha “Patsy” Dixon Parker – wife of Daniel

Philip Nolan, Namesake of Nolan County

Philip Nolan was an early mustanger and filibusterer in the area that became Texas when it was under the control of Spain. In historical terms, and in contrast to the current political usage, “filibusterer” referred to a person or group who made unauthorized ventures or expeditions into areas controlled by others. The term originated from Spanish/Dutch words referring to a pirate or a freebooter. The individuals’ filibustering intentions could include a desire to seek income or financial gain by taking resources, a goal of establishing settlements and also to attempt to overcome the prevailing government’s control over the territory.

James Kerr

James Augusta Kerr was one of the more interesting people in the early days of Texas. He was born September 24, 1790 in Boyle County, Kentucky to Reverend James Kerr II (1749 – 1811) and Patience Wells Kerr (1759 – 1799). He was the seventh child and second son of the couple’s ten children born over a twenty year period from 1777 to 1797. The father, James, was a farmer and a Baptist minister, more accurately described as a circuit riding preacher. A descendant, James Kerr Crain, writes that Patience, the youngest of a large group of children, had eloped with her husband to be after her parents objected to the relationship, but the union lasted until her untimely death. The mother, Patience, died in 1799 after taking ill on a horseback trip to visit one of their older children. Her husband preached the funeral, which was said to be the first Protestant sermon preached in the sparsely populated Upper Louisiana Territory. Rev. Kerr married a widow by the name of Phoebe Bonham one year after the death of Patience. The family moved to St. Charles County, Missouri in 1808 and Rev. Kerr passed away there in 1811.

Henri Castro

Henri Castro (sometimes called Compte Henri De Castro de Boxar) was living in Paris, France at the time he arranged in 1842 to secure a land grant from Republic of Texas president Sam Houston. His first grant proposal was to bring 200 families to Texas the following year. He was not able to fulfill this agreement. A second effort was more successful. Castro’s ambitious agreement was to bring 600 families from Alsace in France to settle in Texas.

Green DeWitt and the DeWitt Colony

Green C. DeWitt was born to Walter John DeWitt and Sarah Ann Holliday DeWitt on February 12, 1787 in Lincoln County, Kentucky. Walter John DeWitt is referred to as a Revolutionary War veteran. Not a great deal is known about the Walter John DeWitt family but they are presumed to have made their living as farmers. Green’s paternal grandfather DeWitt was born in New York, was of Dutch heritage, and his wife, Catherine Pierette Depuy de Brissac, appears to have been of French heritage.