and a bit of their History
By: Max Reed
August 3, 1988
I would like to contribute a few short comments on the Harvey-Copeland-McClain-Honeycut history. My Great-grandparents were Thomas and Catherine (Copeland) Harvey; my grandparents were Finley B. and Laura Francis (Harvey) Nelson; my father Johnney Burlston Reed; and mother is Wanda Gayle (Nelson, Harvey) Reed.
First a few comments on some back issues of Footprints. In Vol. 2, No. 1, Jan-Mar 1988, page 5, Thelma Harvey states that Betty (Harvey) Vowell (my grandmother's sister) stated that Thomas Harvey's great grand-mother was a full blood Cherokee Indian whose name was Helterbrand. Finley Benjamin Nelson's great grandmother was a half (some say full) Blood Cherokee Indian named Mary Hilderbrand. She was born June 2, 1818 and married John Nelson, Finley's grandfather. Unless there is an incredible coincidence here, Aunt Betty was referring to Finley's grandparents not Thomas Harveys. Believe it or not since you have stimulated our interest in genealogy we have come up with pictures of my grandfathers grandfather (including Mary Hilderbrand). A few more years and this would not have been possible.
In the same letter Thelma mentions a blind lady coming to visit Carolyn Copeland McClain. This may have been Margaret Adline McClain daughter of E. Catherine Copeland. Aunt Adline was blind in her later years and lived with my grandmother Laura and Aunt Betty until her death in 1941 (the year I was born).
Don, your grandfather Charlie Harvey played an important part in my background. It seems that he and Finley were frequently putting on skits at the school for entertainment. One day he brought Finley home after school and the rest as they say is history.
A question. In vol. 1, No. 2, page 8, the birth place of William McClain is listed as Texas. In Vol 2, No.1, his birthplace is listed as Illinois. Do you now know which is correct? [William McLain was born in Marion Co, Illinois]
Now to my brief comments. Thomas Harvey and Catherine came to Wise county from Illinois in 1867. Their first child, Sarah Alice was born on the wagon train in Bentonville, Arkansas on October 4, 1867. Other families on the wagon train were McClain, Meads, Daniels, and Christin. (Information from old family records) We do not know where in Illinois they came from but there is very strong suggestion that it was Jefferson Co. The evidence for this is:
The Marion/Jefferson county line runs through the town of Salem. The families came from both sides of the town.1. David McClain and family lived in Jefferson Co., Ill. In August of 1850. (See Footprints Vol. 1, No. 3 pg 27) David McClain's son James married E. Catherine Copeland. David McClain's son Albert married Catherine Copeland's sister Caroline.
2. The first wagon train to settle in Wise County arrived August 17, 1855 and constructed a community called Odessa which is now Newark. This by all accounts was a massive wagon train. Principals on that wagon train were the Dr. James Evan Marshall family and the Nathan Huff family. This wagon train originated in Salem, Marion County, Illinois which is adjacent to Jefferson Co. Nathan Huff was also from Salem. However several members of the Huff family lived in Walnut Hill in Jefferson Co. These Huff's came to Odessa four years later. (Incidently both Marshall and Huff came to Ill from Tennessee). David McClain and at least part of his family were probably on that original wagon train and he was a very good friend of Dr. Marshall. Apparently Catherine was not on that 1855 train since Margaret Adline McClain was born in Ill. In 1857. She could have come with the Huffs in 1859 however. That is why I ask you if you knew for certain whether William Thomas McClain was born in Texas or Ill., in Aug of 1861.
I have written to the Genealogy Society in Jefferson Co. Asking for any evidence of Catherine's marriage, etc., but have not received a response yet.
A few more highlights and then I will quote the entire source for this information (or perhaps mis-information).
In the original Odessa community, Thomas Harvey lived just south of Dr. Marshall's home on Durrett Creek. Half of his land was in Wise County and half in Tarrant County. I have marked on the attached map of Odessa where Thomas lived. In the upper left hand corner is his cattle brand which was the connected T-5.
David McClain returned to Illinois at some unknown time. He returned to Odessa about 1867. I suggest this was the same wagon train on which Catherine and Thomas came to Wise Co., although she could have been there before. (Thomas Harvey had definitely lived there prior to the 1867 wagon train, see below).
On his return to Odessa David McClain lived in Dr. Marshall's house adjoining Thomas Harvey's property. Dr. Marshall had made a permanent move to the Fort (Ft. Worth) due to the intensity of the Indian raids on Odessa. He never returned to live in Odessa. I will now quote in full the source material since it should be of interest to many.
- 1. Nathaniel, September 3, 1833
- 2. Harvey H., January 13, 1836 (presumably James Harvey who married Catherine Copeland)
- 3. Nancy, June 17, 1838
- 4. Marrion, December 19, 1841
- 5. Wiley, September 14, 1843
- 6. Levi, September 22, 1846
- 7. Albert, September 6, 1849 (he married Caroline Copeland)
- 8. Mahulda, November 13, 1852
- 9. Lucindy, October 20, 1855
- 10. Margaret A., October 10, 1857
- 11. Sarah E., November 18, 1860
(Newark, its Heritage and Landmarks, E.B. Pegues)
"David McLain, highly esteemed and venerable pioneer citizen of Southern Wise County, came here in an ox-wagon, possible in company with Dr. James E. Marshall and others. He is reputed to be the man who cut the first tree in the area in which he settled. He located first about three miles west of the present town of Newark, on what was later known as the Bob Pope farm.
"Becoming homesick for scenes of his childhood he returned to Marion County, Illinois but the attraction of the pioneer life in Wise County was deeply imbedded in his mind and he returned in 1866 (my theory is it was 1867) to cast his lot with those settlers who were struggling against the odds of keeping the village of Odessa alive despite the troublesome Indians.
"He took up his abode in the log house vacated by his old friend Dr. James E. Marshall who had moved to the fort...Fort Worth, Tarrant County, to help with sick soldiers. (Other sources state because of the Indian raiders.).
"Mr. McLain was a wainwright, making wagons for many of the settlers in this area.
"He was born December 25, 1814, in Scotland [we have since found this to be in error], and was married to Manerva Wiggenton who was born December 11, 1816, in Illinois. To this union was born eleven children:
"Nathaniel (Nat), Marrion and Levi volunteered for service in the conflict between the States, in which struggle Nathaniel and Marrion, both heads of families, lost their lives. Levi returned and lived with his family on a farm about two miles north of old Odessa. He then moved to Montague County where he served the County as Sheriff for several years. He was buried in that county.
"Wiley served in Co., B., 1st Frontier Protection Guard, Wise County Company.....deleting an Indian story here.....
"Wiley McLain lived most of his life in the old Odessa area and lies buried beside his wife, Sally, in old Indian Creek Cemetery.
"One daughter, Mahulda, is also buried at Indian Creek. The youngest daughter, Sarah (Sally), who married George Johnston, is buried beside her husband at Dido Cemetery.
"David McLain moved away, but returned for a visit with his daughter and family, the John Harvey's where he sickened and died August 21, 1885, and was buried in Indian Creek Cemetery beside his wife who had preceded him in death, October 14, 1875.
"One month after interment, the funeral of David McLain was held at the home of his daughter where he died.
"His descendants including grand children, great grand-children and great-great grandchildren still live in the Newark area.
This next material was apparently submitted to Mrs. Pegues by Homer and/or Louis Harvey since they are the only Harvey's mentioned in the acknowledgments. It contains several errors.
HIS EXPERIENCES WITH INDIANS
"Born in Missouri (I've never heard anything but Tennessee), it is believed that he came to Texas with the covered wagon caravan that arrived here on Durrett Creek, August 17, 1855. He preempted an acreage adjoining that of Dr. James E. Marshall on the south. Half of Mr. Harvey's preemption lay in Wise Count and the remainder in Tarrant County.
(To prove this, if he officially filed the preemption papers, there will be a record in Austin. Most of the settlements of Wise County were made under the law of February 13, 1854, which granted to the actual settler 160 acres, with provisions that a house must be built on the land and occupied for a term of three years. After three years the land was to be surveyed by the county or district surveyor. Field notes, accompanied by an affidavit of residence for the required time, was to be returned to the general land office at Austin, whereupon a patent would be made out, signed by the Governor, and sent to the settler or locator. The price was 50 cents per acre. (Cates-History of Wise County.)).
"He married Dianna Honeycut. No definite dates can be given on this family record wince the census records have been unavailable. Their children were Katherine, Martha, John, Tom, who died young, Alice, Charlie, Laura and Betty. (Of course Dianna was his first wife. My grandmother Laura (Harvey) Nelson use to tell of how her father destroyed his wagon to make Dianna a coffin, there being no other source of lumber in the area. Catherine was of course his second wife, their children being Alice, Charlie, Laura and Betty.) [These four were listed above]
"With a wife and seven children to support (it would have been three at this time) Mr. Harvey did not share the patriotic attitude of some of his neighbors when a state of war existed between the North and South. Letting other men volunteer their services, he chose to stay at home with his family. (My Grandmother would often tell this ball-and-chain story. She always introduced the story by stating her father was adamantly opposed to slavery and although most of their neighbors were of the souther persuasion, he steadfastly refused to serve the cause of the confederacy) To evade conscription, he pretended to be deaf and dumb when the officials came for him. His shenanigan worked for that time, but his deceit was finally discovered and he was taken into the service. He was being used as a guard in the army. This duty he reasoned, was a useless function compared to his duty to his large family. Therefore, he took advantage of the first opportunity to desert and return to his home. But again he was picked up and returned to camp. This time the army took the precaution to prevent further desertion by placing him in ball-and-chain. Despite his disloyalty, he had loyal friends who helped him dispose of the encumbrances which he threw in the West Fork of the Trinity River on his way back to his family. He was given a dishonorable discharge and allowed to remain with his family. (Texas entered the war on February 23, 1861, the war ended April 1865. Therefore Thomas Harvey was in Wise County before 1861.)
"Mr. Harvey had many unpleasant encounters with Comanches. On one occasion he was in the timber cutting a supply of fire wood. His gun, which was his constant companion, had been emptied and before he could reload it a band of fifteen Indians on horses appeared. His adaptability at working shenanigans was a great advantage in this predicament. The Indians were unaware he held an empty gun when he raised it in defiance. With this bold stand he held the Indians back for what seemed an eternity, but in reality was only one hour and thirty minutes, before two of his neighbors came riding by with loaded guns and frightened the Indians away.
"Another time a band of Indians appeared suddenly in his yard. He stood at the door with his head sticking out, his gun barrel pointed directly at the marauders. The Indians decided to leave.
"A third encounter occurred one day when he and his son, John were out riding. A band of Comanches, also on horses, overtook them at the head of Indian Creek. Father and son gave their horses the spur, the Indians in hot pursuit. The Harveys were riding westward and when they reached the West Fork of the Trinity River near the settlement of Body the pursuers decided it safer for them to abandon the chase. (This sounds like a version of the Huffs account below.).
"Mrs. Harvey had a most distasteful, terrifying experience one day when her husband was away from home. When she saw a band of twelve Indians riding toward her log cabin she hastily gathered the children together and hid in the corn field nearby. The Indians went in the house ransacking it. She watched disgustedly when the intruders came out with the beautiful coverlets she had lovingly made and had packed away, one each as an heirloom for her children. She could hardly contain her abhorrence, wanting to cry out in protest, but dared not, when they spread the quilts on the wet ground, sprawled themselves out thereon and took a nap in the warm spring sunshine. When they had rested sufficiently they gathered up the prized coverlets and spread them across the backs of their horses, mounted and road away with them. However, before their departure the Indians went to the horse lot and stole the family's favorite horse, Old Smoky, who was a racer. In exactly a year Old Smoky came wandering home, poor as a rail. How terrible had been his experience, how insufferable his treatment, or how much territory he had to cover to return to his beloved master, no one knows.
"In 1880, when an Indian claim loss was passed, Mr. Harvey filed a suit for damages, and finally was repaid ten years later.
"Mr. Thomas Harvey moved to Bonham, Texas, where he passed away August 4, 1900. He was laid to rest in the Brown Cemetery there. One of his grandsons, Homer Harvey still is a resident of Newark."
The following was written in 1923 for the Farm News. I assume the Farm News was published somewhere in the area.
C.H. Huff was the son of James R. Huff (b. Feb 23, 1830). James R. was the son on Nathan and Rachel Huff shown on the map as Tom Harvey's neighbor in the original Odessa settlement. C.H. Huff's mother was the former Louise Andrews. So 'Uncle' was just a nick name of Tom Harvey. Since Tommy Harvey was 14, this incident would have occurred about 1869, after he and Catherine returned from Ill. Since Tommy died at 14, his death must have been shortly after this incident. Salt Lake Valley is mentioned in Cates, Pioneer History of Wise County, but no location is given. My grandmother use to say that her father "ran a salt mine". Therefore this trip to Salt Lake Valley was probably not a casual one.
I have tried to locate Salt Lake Valley and believe I have done so. In Cates, Pioneer History of Wise County page 36 you will find a Muster-Roll of The Old Citizenship. There you will find:
Toller; John Woods; Oliver Reed; Wm. Burress; J.G. Stevens.
In History of Wise County-A Link with our Past. Vol 1. Page 461 is the history of J.G. Stevens. It states the community of Draco was centered near his farm. Therefore Draco must have been in or near Salt Lake Valley. On the front cover of the above reference you will find a map of the historical markers in Wise County. Draco is number 23 stating "Draco; small village before 1900." I have enclosed this map and marked the location 2 miles west of Draco which must have been near Thomas Harvey's home at that time. I have also drawn an arc at a ten mile radius from Newark which is the distance C.H. Huff said he moved to the Northwest. The two areas are the same. Also Dianna Honeycut is buried in Paradise Prairie Cemetery. I have also marked on the map where Thomas Harvey lived in 1876 when my grandmother Laura Francis was born.
After writing this brief letter I make an exciting discovery. Taking the History of Wise County Vol 1 to the office to xerox the map I happened to flip to page 154. There, a barely readable survey map of Newark is depicted. Looking at the bottom you can read with some effort, "Thomas Harvey Survey AB:450". This means the patent together with field notes and survey should be on record in Austin!!!! I'll send you a copy as soon as I can get them.
October 21, 1988
The reference for the Thomas Harvey and David McLain articles, is NEWARK ITS HERITAGE AND LANDMARKS, by Etta Bearden Pegues.
Margaret Adaline McLain is buried in Long Branch Cemetery west of Nocona. She is buried next to my mothers sister Vera LaDona Nelson who died May 17, 1899 (b. March 3, 1899). Aunt Adaline's tombstone gives her birth date as December 12, 1857. I don't know where you got the marriage date for James and Catharine, possibly it is wrong. On the other hand the tombstone could be wrong as you noted concerning the tombstone of Thomas Harvey. I recall the discussions around my grandmothers dining table about putting a tombstone on his grave in the 1950's. The tombstone was finally placed sometime in the 1950's by Thomas David Harvey, son of John Washington Harvey, over half a century after Thomas Harvey's death!
Concerning the statement "Their children were Katherine, Martha, John, Tom, who died young, Alice, Charlie, Laura and Betty". In my opinion this is merely a muddling of the facts by that author. But of course again, I could be wrong.
As soon as I can write it up, I have a number of new discoveries on Thomas Harvey and relations. His location in 1860 (not Texas!), the families of his half brothers Jake and Pleas, possibly his step-mothers name, possibly the mother and brothers of Diana Honeycut, the family of the Thomas Harvey in Liberty Kansas, the day Thomas Harvey moved onto his Newark land, the court proceedings of a lawsuit against Thomas Harvey and C. H. Huff, and indications that Thomas Harvey's father died between 1848 and 1860 and may there fore be located in the 1850 census.
Please place in the Subject Line:
WEBPAGE-HISTORY
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