James McLaughlin

1782-1838

The earliest ancestor I have found in this line was the immigrant, James McLaughlin. He was born about 1782 in Ireland .

In about 1810, James and his brother William came to the United States and landed in Louisiana . I do not know their parents names, or where in Ireland they lived.

About four years after they arrived in Louisiana , James McLaughlin married Lucy Marie Carr in about 1814. Lucy was born in 1798 in St. Martin Parrish , Louisiana . She was the daughter of Joseph Carr who was born in Jamaica on August 6, 1752 and Nancy White who was born in North Carolina in about 1740. Nancy was the daughter of John White of North Carolina and Sarah Gambell of Virginia . Joseph was the son of Hugo Carr and Marguerite Halfar, this couple were married in Jamaica on November 4, 1747 .

John White was the son of James Taylor White who was born in 1710 in Virginia and Elizabeth Powe who died before June 20, 1767 . Sarah Gambell was the daughter of Henry Gambell and Mary Davenport who were both born in Virginia .

When Nancy White married Joseph Carr, she brought three children from her first marriage.

The following was translated from French and must be one of the earliest pre-nuptial agreements ever written. It is dated February 24, 1794 and concerns the marriage of Joseph Carr and Nancy White.

At the army post of Atakupas, on the twenty-fourth day of the month of February of the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four, before us Don Francisco Cajo y Luogo, lieutenant in the permanent regiment of Louisiana and civil and military commander of the said place, in the presence of two witnesses to help us in the absence of a notary public, there being none in this territory, have appeared on the one hand Mr. Joseph Carr, native of Jamaica, of age and legitimate son of Hugo Carr and Marguerite Halfas, and the widow Ann (Nancy) Wit (White), or age and legitimate daughter of Jean (John) Wit (White) and Sara (Sarah) Cambel, native of Carolina, thus authorized by consent of the said father, on the other hand. And the said parties, of their own free will and choice, and in the best possible form, also in presence of their witnesses, that in on the side of the bridegroom, Mr. Louis Dantilly Bertin and Antoine Martinez, and on the side of the bride, Mr. Guillaume White and Mr. Jesse White, her brothers, - also present and residing at this place; being intent on taking each other by law, by name and by the sacrament of marriage according to the Protestant rite, both contracting parties make the following solemn agreements and covenants.

The community property of the said husband and wife will be drawn up according to the law and customs of Spain ; even though this territory would change dominion or that the parties would go and reside in other lands with their customs.

The said husband and wife are not responsible for each other’s debts incurred before the marriage. If there are any, they will be settled by the one who will have contracted them and from his or her property.

In case of legal separation each party will take back that which he or she will have brought into the marriage. If there has been an increase it will be divided by common consent.

The said husband and wife take each other and their estate duties, real estate and personal estate, which are to befall them or to be forfeited by them. The husband with the property of one thousand (illegible) in bank notes which belong to him, according to the knowledge of his friends. As to the property of the said bride it consist in an amount of two hundred and seventy-five pintos and two great reals as her half of her community property with Mr. David Herman (Harman), her first husband, which is indicated in the deeds of apportionment dated the second day of the month of November of the year one thousand seven hundred ninety-two. And because of the good and sincere affection that said husband and wife have for each other, they decide and consent this day that incase of death without legitimate child of this marriage, the surviving one of the two and his heirs will possess in perpetuity the estate of the deceased, with the clause and condition that if the survivor marries again that agreement will be cancelled and that the estate of the deceased will go to the blood line after an inventory made by the authority of this army post who, without any opposition from anyone, will have the right to bring the estate of the first deceased back to the blood line, for the profit of his heirs, renouncing anything contrary to this disposition.

Written and agreed in the commander’s residence, in good faith, with the consent of said parties, parents and friends, which parties and parents, having signed after us, here above mentioned commander, as also Mr. Ramon de Cordoval and Charles Potier, legal witnesses to this matrimonial contract.

Francisco Cajo y Luongo        Joseph Carr

Nancy White                          William White

John White                              Ramon de Cordoval

Louis Dantilly Bertin                Antonio Martinez

Nancy White’s first husband was David Harman, whom she married on May 21, 1787 , and he died in 1792. Nancy married the second time to Joseph Carr on February 24, 1794 in St. Martinsville , Louisiana . After the death of her second husband, Joseph Carr, Nancy married a third time to George Burrell. Her fourth and last marriage was to Jacob Hampshire on June 8, 1823 . She had children with all her husbands except Mr. Hampshire.

The children of Nancy Carr and her various husbands:

With David Harman:

Ann Harman, born about 1788 and married William Harris

John Harman, born May 1790, died about 1874 in Orange , Texas

Sarah “Celeste” Harman, born May 1792, married on October 2, 1827 to Absolam Gray in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana .

With Joseph Carr:

Lucy Carr born April 16, 1797 , who married James McLaughlin. Lucy would marry a second time, after the death of James, to Samuel Leeper (Leiper) in 1837. She is direct ancestor.

William Carr, born February 22, 1800 , died March 17, 1874 . He married Nancy Lee in 1819. He married a second time to Charlene (or Charlotte) Holst Ender.

With George Burrell:

Robert Burrell, born about 1802, died February 18, 1858 . He married Susan Clark on February 18, 1822 .

David Burrell, his birth date is unknown, married Caroline White, daughter of Matthew G. White. David died about 1856 in Liberty County , Texas .

My direct ancestors, James McLaughlin and Lucy Marie Carr were married in 1817; they lived in St. Martin Parrish , Louisiana for about five years, having two children, William and Stanton .

On January 13, 1821 in St Martin Parish, Louisiana District Court (Item #551), Lucy Carr (alias) Lucy McLaughlin filed for divorce from James McLaughlin.

To the Honorable Seth Lewis, Judge of the District court in and for the Parish of St. Martin.

The petition of Lucy Carr, alias Lucy McLaughlin, wife of James McLaughlin of the Parish of St. Martin with respect, represents that about seven years ago, she was lawfully married to James McLaughlin & that for some time, she derived from the marriage connection, the happiness she had in view in forming it.

But your Petitioner begs leave to state that for three or four years past, Mr. McLaughlin has given himself up to continuous dissipation:

•  That a constant and habitual state of intoxication, has rendered him morose & quarrelsome – that he has often insulted, beat and abused your petitioner.

•  That his whole conduct, his excesses, vile treatment, and outrages are such as to render the life of your petitioner, as the wife of McLaughlin, wretched and insupportable.

•  Your petitioner further represents that she has three small children [Elizabeth b: ca 1816, William b: ca 1818 & Stanton b: ca 1820] by Mr. McLaughlin, the oldest of which is only five years old, that they are at present and have been for sometime past, wholly supported by the labor and exertions of your petitioner.

•  That your petitioner has been obliged to abandon the house of her husband, and take up a temporary residence with her brother, where herself and children now are.

•  That your petitioner and her marriage with Mr. McLaughlin and since various articles of paraphernalia property from her mother, among which were hogs, five gentle cows & calves, besides other cattle, a part of which has been squandered and dissipated by her husband, that a tract of land of four (illegible) front with the ordinary depth, lying upon the Grass Isle (illegible) in said Parish of St. Martin bounded above by William Carr & below by Levi Campbell, was purchased by Mr. McLaughlin since your petitioner’s marriage with him, which was paid for by your petitioner’s mother, though the deed may have been given directly to her husband and that the price of the land was (illegible) upon the amount coming to your petitioner out of her deceased father’s estate.

•  That Mr. McLaughlin has already, contrary to the expectations and request of your petitioner, sold many articles belonging exclusively to her, among which is a yoke of work oxen, worth eighty dollars and that Mr. James McLaughlin threatens to sell the land as soon as he can find a purchaser.

•  These provisions considered, your petitioner therefore prays that the Mr. James McLaughlin may be duly cited to appear before your Honorable Court to answer to the foregoing petition, and that your petitioner may be legally separated, as well in property as in bed & board from him, and that all her matrimonial rights may be restored.

•  She also prays that the house of her brother, William Carr may be assigned as her domicile during the continuation of this suit and that she may be permitted to retain in her possession her three children.

•  Your petitioner further prays that the Mr. James McLaughlin may provisionally & definitively be inhibited & enjoined from intimidating or interfering with your petitioner or her children or her property that he may be officially inhibited and enjoined from selling the tracts of land & that on the final hearing of this case the written title of the same, if any, that Mr. McLaughlin has deeded to insure to the benefit of your petitioner & that she may be restored to the property & (illegible) of the same

•  Your petitioner prays that the defendant may pay the cost of this suit & also she prays for what other relief as equity & justice demand.

John Brownson

Attorney for the Petitioner

Personally appeared before me, the undersigned authority, Lucy Carr, alias Lucy McLaughlin, and made oath that the facts set forth in the foregoing Petition as of her own knowledge are true & that this states as of the knowledge of others, she believes to be true.

Lucy (x her mark) McLaughlin

B. Martel, Justice of the Peace for the Parish of St. Martin , Louisiana

December 19, 1820

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Filed in the court January 13, 1821

This divorce petition was obviously withdrawn, because in about 1822, James and his brother William left Louisiana with their wives and children, and moved west into the Republic of Mexico . They settled on the Trinity River in what is now Liberty County , Texas . Liberty County is in the extreme southeast portion of Texas .

James and Lucy would have three additional children; Emily, Elizabeth and David while living in this area.

In the summer of 1821, Stephen Austin, at the invitation of the Mexican government, explored parts of Texas with the intent of establishing a colony of Americans in Mexico . The area that Austin decided was best suited for his colony, was south of the Camino Real, and between the Colorado and the Brazos . This is in the area where the McLaughlin brothers were already living.

When Austin returned to Louisiana to advertise for settlers, he found around a hundred letters awaiting him at Natchitoches . The word was already out: Land and Texas , and the price of foreign citizenship seemed no obstacle in the applicant’s way.

In order for the colonist to receive their land grants it was necessary for them to swear an oath of allegiance to Spain . (After Mexico received independence from Spain the oath was changed to reflect an allegiance to Mexico .) This seemed like a small price to pay for vast amounts of land. To those families who wished to engage in farming they were given one labor (177 acres) and for any family who planned to raise stock, they were given one sitio or legua (about 4,428 acres).

Austin ’s first settlers, although only 297 land grants were made, were called the “Old Three Hundred.” These families were able to choose some of the best farming land in Texas . Not all of them prospered or survived, but out of this group came the first Anglo planter-gentry in the province. Most of these people came as farmers from the United States , but a substantial number arrived as men of means.

James and William McLaughlin, who were already living in Texas , became part of the second Austin colony and settled near the mouth of the Brazos River in what was then Milam County . This area would later be part of Falls County . Each of them received a grant of 340 acres from Austin . When James joined the Austin Colony he was forty-nine years of age and his wife Lucy was age thirty-three.

In the early records found in the Texas State Archives there is one dated April 7, 1828 which contains a registry of families in Stephen F. Austin’s Colonies that include:

Vol 1, Page 10

Wm McLaughlin, “(living) at the crossing of Town Road on Buffalo Bayou above Pine Point”.

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In another document dated July 18, 1831 I find:

Vol 1, Page 31

James McLaughlin, “(he is) 49 years of age, Lucy Kerr (sic) my wife, 33 years of age, 4 males, 1 female children moved from Trinity”.

In May 1834 a town was laid out on the west bank of the Brazos River at the falls of the river, in what is now Falls County , Texas . This town was called Nashville , but it no longer exists. Only two families were living there at the time; James McLaughlin and Dr. Robert Davidson.

On July 25, 1835 , James McLaughlin volunteered to join the Texican Army as an Indian Fighter. He served for fifty-three days with two horses on an Indian expedition under the command of Col. J.H. Moore.

After his discharged, from this service, he received $44.16 in salary and was granted 320 acres of land under patent number 939-15 (1832-1869), which is found in Volume 15. This land is in addition to the 340 acres he received previously from Stephen F. Austin. This was granted on September 4, 1835 . He patented (claimed) this land in Milam County . At the time of this patent, Milam County extended from south Texas all the way to the Red River to the north. However, it is believe this land was located to the north of Austin , Texas in the present day Washington County .

On March 2, 1836 , Texas declared its independence from Mexico and James and his brother William McLaughlin left their homes and proceeded through Liberty County and joined Captain William H. Logan on April 10, 1836 (about one month after the fall of the Alamo ) who was assembling a company of Texans on the Brazos River .

James and William marched with Captain Logan to Harrisburg , Texas where they joined Sam Houston and his army of about 1,000 tired, hungry men, many who had not eaten an adequate meal in weeks.

At four o’clock on the afternoon of the 21 st of April 1836 , Sam Houston gave the order to form an army of 783 men and proceed about three miles to the east of the confluence of the Buffalo Bayou and San Jacinto River where the Battle of San Jacinto was fought. It was this battle that won Texas her independence from Mexico .

James and William McLaughlin did not participate in the actual battle, for they were left in camp that day because they were both ill. The document that lists the members of Captain Logan’s company and their duty status on that fateful day can be found in a document in the Sam Houston Regional Library, Liberty County , Texas . A copy of this document is reprinted below. You will note in the upper right section of the document the names of James & William McLaughlin with the notation: “at camp unwell.”

Even though they didn’t participate in the battle, they were eligible to receive their equal share of the spoils taken in battle with 43 other members of Captain Logon’s company. The bounty captured at the battle that was shared by the all members amounted to $223 in cash, and $142.12 in goods. This original of this document which list all the names of the men who shared in these spoils, is framed in the Sam Houston Regional Library, Liberty , Texas .

On May 8, 1836 James McLaughlin was honorably discharged from the service of his country and his assignment with Captain Logan. The reason for his discharge was listed as “advanced age and infirmity.” James was 54 years old.

A “Donation Grant” was given to any soldier who provided “special service” during the Texas Revolution by fighting in battles like the Siege of Bexam, Goliad, The Alamo, and San Jacinto . For James McLaughlin’s service during the Battle of San Jacinto he was given Donation Grant number 3336 for 640 acres from the Secretary of War on May 12, 1838 for his service to Texas during the period April 10 to November 14, 1836 . Lest we forget that James was in camp “sick” during the battle.

These grants, sometimes called bounty warrants, were transferable, could be sold, bartered, exchanged, and willed just like other negotiable instruments. James died without exercising his right to this grant and his two surviving children would apply for this land forty years later. The original grant papers for this land had been lost over the years, and a replacement was issued on November 29, 1878 . The certificate number was #35/130 and is pictured below.

In about 1838/39, James McLaughlin is thought to have died while living in Milam County , Texas , but his grave has never been located.