texas revolution – Texas History Notebook

Edward Wingate and Edward Taylor Wingate

Two men with similar names are connected to the massacre at Goliad. Edward Wingate (1780 – 1836) and Edward Taylor Wingate (1802 – 1868). From time to time they have been confused with one another, yet according to online genealogy records, they were two different individuals and were unrelated. Each man appears to have been married and had a family.

Samuel Rhoads Fisher

Samuel Rhoads Fisher was born on December 31, 1794 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Samuel Wharton Fisher and Elizabeth Rhoads Fisher, a family with Quaker ties. He resided for a number of years in Philadelphia. Fisher was married to the former Ann Pleasants on September 2, 1818. Children of the couple include Samuel W. born in 1819 in Missouri, Ann Nancy Fisher born in Philadelphia in 1823 followed by Samuel R. Fisher, Jr. born in Texas in 1833.

William Gordon Cooke, Namesake of Cooke County

William Gordon Cooke is considered a hero of the Texas Revolution. He was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia on March 26, 1808 to Adam G. Cooke and Martha Riddell Cooke, both of whom were Irish natives. William was the youngest of their three children. A daughter, Jane Oliver Cooke, died at sea around 1792, as the couple was on their voyage to America. Their first son James was born in Virginia and William was the youngest. James became a doctor. After completing his formal education, William moved to New Orleans where he was engaged in the drug business. There he became associated with the New Orleans Greys.

Elizabeth Patton Crockett

Elizabeth Patton Crocket was born in Buncombe County, North Carolina on May 22, 1788 to Robert Patton and Rebecca Cathey Patton. Robert is believed to have been born in Northern Ireland or was the child of someone born there while Rebecca was a North Carolina native. Elizabeth was the fourth of seven children born to the couple. One of her brothers was named George Patton, but from all accounts, she is no relation to the later World War II general of that name.

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