PEPPER Family

10. Holton, Alexander(~1721 - 1782) VA d. MAR 1782 in Fauquier, VA
Pepper ???, Elizabeth(*1710 - )
- m. ABT 1739
----------child: Holton, Elizabeth Ann 'Lady' (1730 - 1820)
----------child: Holton, William Rev (1739 - 1831)
----------child: Holton, Sarah (*1747 - )
----------child: Holton, Alexander Jr (*1747 - )

The father of Alexander Holton was a Colonel in the English army, but his Christian name is not known. Alexander was born on the Atlantic while the family was enroute to America. His mother died on the vessel and his father returned to England, after placing Alexander in the hands of an estimable lady, a fellow passenger. Colonel Holton was the founder of the HOLTON family in America. He was an English Army officer and bachelor of about fifty years of age when he chanced one night to procure lodging at a home near the camp of his command. In the morning he was informed of the birth of a baby girl in the household during the night, and he was invited to see the infant and christen her. Accepting, he remarked jokingly to this effect: "Who knows but this little infant might someday become my wife." This started the romance. Some sixteen years later, the Colonel, being again in the same community, decided to call upon the former hospitable friend. Approaching the house he beheld a beautiful young girl on the porch, who bade him enter. Soon his former host, who introduced the young lady as his daughter, cordially greeted him. Having been hard smitten at first sight the Colonel was highly pleased to ascertain that the object of his newly aroused affection was none other than the child he had christened as an infant. Following courtship, and marriage a year or two later, the couple embarked for America. On board the ship in mid-Atlantic, was born to them a son, whom they named Alexander Holton. But the youthful mother did not survive the remainder of the voyage and was buried at sea. Among the passengers who attempted to console the heart-broken husband and father was the lady to whom he entrusted the boy baby. As for himself, the Colonel took return passage in the next vessel bound for England. (From "Kentucky and Kentuckians" by E. Polk Johnson, 1912, Vol 3, Pg 1556-7)


9. Elizabeth Ann “Lady” Holton (b. 1730 – d. 1820)
b. 1 APR 1730 in VA
d. 6 JUL 1820 in KY
father: Holton, Alexander(~1721 - 1782)
mother: Pepper ???, Elizabeth(*1710 - )


8. Samuel Pepper (b. 1725 – d. 1798) Prince William, VA
*Elizabeth Ann “Lady” Holton (b. 1730 – d. 1820)
m. 1750 VA
----------child: Pepper, John (~1750 - 1816)
----------child: Pepper, Mary (~1752 - )
----------child: Pepper, Ann (~1754 - ) Married to OLDHAM, Richard (see below)
----------child: Pepper, Samuel Jr. (1756 - 1824)
----------child: Pepper, William H. (1759 - 1826)
----------child: Pepper, Frances (1764 - 1845)
----------child: Pepper, Jeremiah (*1766 - )
----------child: Pepper, Jesse (~1767 - 1835)
----------child: Pepper, Elijah Capt. (*1769 - 1831)
Patriotic service during Revolutionary War. He provided 750 pounds of beef for troops in VA. His service accepted by DAR.

Samuel Pepper settled in Prince William County; later lived in Fauquier County and, in 1791, resided in Montgomery County. His home was called "Buffalo Pond". On December 9, 1791, the Virginia Assembly passed an act establishing a ferry across the New River at his land.
Later in life, he moved to Mason County, Ky. He is buried on farm at Minerva.

7. John Samuel Pepper (b. 1750 – d. 1816) VA, Died in Williamston, Anderson, SC
Elizabeth Oldham (b. 1756 – d. 1854)
m. North Carolina
----------child: Pepper, Ruth (~1777 - )
----------child: Pepper, Samuel (1779 - 1845)
----------child: Pepper, William A. (1781 - 1874)
----------child: Pepper, Frances 'Fanny' (1782 - )
----------child: Pepper, Elijah (1788 - 1851)
----------child: Pepper, Mary 'Polly' (~1790 - >1840)
----------child: Pepper, John Jr. (~1793 - <1860)
----------child: Pepper, Jesse (1795 - 1863)
----------child: Pepper, Elisha (1796 - ~1877)
----------child: Pepper, Elizabeth 'Betsy' (~1800 - 1882)

In 1774, a petition was signed in Fauquier County, VA, requesting that the petitioners be permitted to worship as Baptists. At that time (prior to the American Revolution), the official church was the Church of England. Among the signers were a Samuel PEPPER, a John PEPPER, two Richard OLDHAMs (OLDHAM, Richard 'Estill"-husband of Ann Pepper b. 1754), a John OLDHAM, and an Alexander HOLTON.

Oldham, Richard 'Estill' Jr. (1745 - 1834)
b. 1 MAR 1744/1745 in Prince William, VA
d. 20 APR 1834 in Estill, KY
father: Oldham, Richard 3(~1704 - ~1785)
mother: Basye, Elizabeth(*1714 - )

Became "Sr." after moving to KY in order to distinguish from his nephew. Later records show him as "Estill" Richard Oldham. He signed a petition in 1774 in Fauquier Co., VA to be allowed to worship as a Baptist. Same petition was signed by Samuel Pepper, his father-in-law and by John Pepper, his brother-in-law (double), (being brother of his wife and husband of his sister, Elizabeth.) He enlisted three times during Revolutionary War and served in his brother, Capt. John Oldham's company under Col. Moore and Gen. Butler from Caswell Co., NC. Fought at Cowpens and Guilford Courthouse. Was pvt. in NC and Maj. after moving to KY.

John PEPPER recorded three deeds to property in Caswell County, NC prior to 1780. One of the deeds stated that John was from Guilford County. He was on the tax rolls of St. David's District of Caswell County in 1777 with an estate valued at 110 pounds. He had a land grant to 500 acres on Stoney Creek in Caswell County dated 1 Oct 1778.

Description of the properties indicated that the adjoining landowners were OLDHAMs. Family records of the OLDHAM family reveal that Richard OLDHAM married Ann PEPPER and that Elizabeth OLDHAM married "Mr. Pepper in North Carolina". John is the only PEPPER found to be living near the OLDHAMs, and Elizabeth PEPPER is listed on the 1850 census for Anderson County, SC in the household of Ruth BENNETT. This seems to provide sufficient evidence that it was our John that married Elizabeth OLDHAM. John sold his NC property in the early 1780s and was in the Pendleton District of SC in 1790. He was a charter member of the Big Springs Primitive Baptist Church near Williamston, now in Anderson County, SC. He is said to have given the property for the church, which is borne out by the quit claims signed by his children in the 1830s. His will was signed 25 Jan 1816 and proved 4 Mar 1816. It is recorded in Will Book A, page 186, in Anderson County, SC. The Battles of Cowpens, Guilford Courthouse, King's Mountain, Camden, and other battles of the Revolutionary War, took place while John was living in the Caswell/Guilford area of NC. Most of the OLDHAMs, who were his brothers-in-law and neighbors, are found in the official records as having participated in some of these battles. There had been much speculation about John's military record, but it was not until late in 1980 that a connection was established. A letter to Miss Nina Pepper from Mrs. Lavada Smith, Route 2, Smithdale, MS 39664, provided the following news: "This info has been accepted by DAR. They passed the John Pepper War Record from NC and refused the record from SC, which I had previously sent in, therefore, since 6 Nov 1978 I have been searching for our John Pepper. The info I am giving you was accepted by DAR so the line has been established. Our John Pepper has a record recorded in a manuscript Volume in the custody of the State Archives of NC dated 3 Oct 1785, Certificate No. 25, a pay voucher certificate to John Pepper for 18 pounds and 4 shillings for service during the Revolution, dated 29th day of Sept. 1783. They accepted this and that completed my two years of searching. I think they are correct. Note that Samuel was born 19 May 1779 in NC, his wife Ann Harper was born in NC, Ruth Pepper was born in 1776 in NC, so would think that after the War they moved to SC and that John served from State of NC, not SC. If there are members of the Pepper family who would like to use John Pepper as a supplement, they are welcome to use my National No. 620262. When you check your records I think you have most of what I have given you except that they took the John Pepper from NC."

6. Elisha Pepper (b. 1796 – d. 1877) Anderson District, Pendleton, SC
Jane Clark (b. 1801 – d. 1862)
m. 1820 in Greenville, SC

Elisha Pepper died in Tallapoosa, AL
This is the line from which Congressman Claude D. Pepper (D-FL) descends. The information about Elisha's son, Arthur Clark Pepper, was mainly obtained from a book by Gladys Fiederlein, Wichita Falls, TX. Much of the balance from L.T.Pepper, Wetumpka, AL and Pat Benson, Henderson, TX.

5. Arthur Clark Pepper (b. 1836 – d. 1891) Pike, GA
Sarah Elizabeth “Sallie” Findly (b. 1849 – d. 1931) Coosa, AL
m. February 28, 1867 in Coosa, AL
Arthur served in Co. B, 34th Alabama Infantry during the Civil War. He was captured 16 Dec 1864 near Nashville, TN and was paroled 2 May 1865. In early 1869 family traveled in a covered wagon drawn by oxen from Coosa Co., AL to Rusk Co., TX. The trip took six weeks.
----------child: Pepper, Robert Emmet (1868 - 1948)
----------child: Pepper, Franklyn R. (1869 - 1874)
----------child: Pepper, Maggie L. (1871 - 1873)
----------child: Pepper, Lola Montez (1874 - 1961)
----------child: Pepper, Effie Eugenia (1876 - 1966)
----------child: Pepper, Gilchrist Shaw (1878 - 1940)
----------child: Pepper, Arthur Columbus (1881 - 1942)
----------child: Pepper, Joseph E. Johnston (1883 - 1969)
----------child: Pepper, Oscar Miller (1886 - 1965)
----------child: Pepper, Eason Milner (1886 - 1972)
----------child: Pepper, Homer Findley (1889 - 1937)
----------child: Pepper, Elizabeth Clark (1891 - 1974)
NOTE: Rusk County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. Originally a part of Nacogdoches County, Rusk was established as its own county by the Congress of the Republic of Texas on January 16, 1843. Its seat is Henderson and it is part of the Longview Metropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Longview–Marshall Combined Statistical Area. Rusk County is named for Thomas Jefferson Rusk, a secretary of war of the Republic of Texas.

4. Arthur Columbus Pepper (b. 1881 – d. 1942) Black Jack, Rusk CO, TX
Hattie Virginia Prather (b. 1886 – d. 1971)
m. December 21, 1904 – Henderson, Rusk CO, TX
----------child: Pepper, Verna Ross (1906 - 1929)
----------child: Pepper, Alton Burnett (1907 - 1968)
----------child: Pepper, William Clifford (1911 - )
----------child: Pepper, Everett Eugene (1912 - 1995)
----------child: Pepper, Mable Catherine (1917 - )

Henderson, Texas. Rusk County Courthouse, [ca. 1878-1879] rendering by F. E. Ruffini for the proposed structure.

3. Alton Burnett Pepper (b. 1907 – d. 1968) Black Jack, Rusk CO, TX
Iva Lee Anderson (b. 1910 – d. _______) Boss, Coleman CO, TX
m. September 21, 1927 – Wichita Falls, Texas
----------child: Pepper, Mable Louise (1928)
----------child: Pepper, Dortha Maxine (1930)
----------child: Pepper, Patsy Ruth (1932)
----------child: Pepper, Joy Faye (1934)
----------child: Pepper, Alton Carroll (1936)
----------child: Pepper, Nelda Fern (1938)
----------child: Pepper, Garland Dale (1940)
----------child: Pepper, Sharon Lee (1943)
----------child: Pepper, Helen Lavonne (1945)
----------child: Pepper, Howard Brock (1949)
----------child: Pepper, Connie Jo (1950)
----------child: Pepper, Debra Kaye (1951)
----------child: Pepper, Lillie Dianne (1953)

Boss, Coleman CO., Texas


2. Nelda Fern Pepper (b. 1938 d. 2009) Thornberry, Clay CO, TX
Bobby Jon Christmas (b. 1935 – d. 2009) Montrose, Ashley CO, AR
m. May 2, 1960 – Grace Community, Dermott, Arkansas

Thornberry, Texas
Thornberry is at the intersection of Farm roads 2393 and 171, in northwestern Clay County. It was established in 1890 by settlers from Illinois and originally called Illinois Colony. Within a few years of its founding, however, it was renamed Thornberry, after Amos Thornberry, a leading settler and dedicated orchardist who introduced large-scale orchard-based agriculture into the county. By 1891 the community had a post office, although it lasted only until 1908. A proposed rail line linking Thornberry to Wichita Falls was never completed. The population was listed as twenty throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Four rated businesses operated locally in the mid-1930s, two in the late 1940s. From the late 1950s, when the community had three businesses, to 2000, when it had none, Thornberry reported a population of sixty.


1. Bart Brock Christmas (b. 1970) Shepard Air Force Base, Wichita Falls, TX

TAYLOR Family

11. John Taylor (b. 1616 – d. 1680)

10. Thomas Taylor (b. 1637 – 1674)

9. John Taylor (b. 1658 – d. 1725)

8. Arthur Taylor (b. 1700 – d.1765)

7. Drury Taylor (b. 1760 – d. 1808)

6. Simeon Taylor (b. 1783 – d.1862)

5. William Horne Taylor (b. 1827 d. 1896)
Almeda Melvina Powell (Wife 1), m. January 6, 1853, deceased
Elvira Oslin Griffith (Wife 2) m. November 5, 1865, deceased
Sarah Elizabeth Jarrell (Wife 3)

4.Clarence Oscar Taylor – “Daddy Taylor”
Margaret “Maggie” Viola Watson – “Mammy Taylor”

3. Emma Taylor Christmas (b. 1906 – d. 2005)
Louis Matthew Christmas (b. 1903 – d. 1952)

2. Bobby Jon Christmas (b. 1935 – d. 2009)
Nelda Fern Pepper (b. 1938 – d. 2009) m. May 20, 1960

1. Bart Brock Christmas (b. 1970)

On November 22, 1637 emigrant John Taylor received 50 acres on the Pagan River in what is now Smithfield, Virginia (opposite Arthur Smith).

The emigrant trail continued in July 1745 when John Taylor’s great-grandson Arthur Taylor bought land in what is now Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Later Arthur Taylor received land grants from Lord Granville in Edgecombe County (later to become Nash County). That eventually totaled 2700 acres. Arthur built a Plantation Home near the Tar River, which he left in his will to his youngest son Drury Taylor (1760-1808).

The Will of Arthur Taylor is as follows:

ARTHUR TAYLOR of St. Mary’s Parish, 9 Aug 1765
“…being sick and weak of body…”

MARTHA DEW, Daughter
Negro Sam

BENJAMIN, Son
The labor of my Negro Bett for his lifetime, and at his death this Negro shall belong to him and his heirs

JAMES, Son
Rifle, etc

JOHN TAYLOR, Grandson
Land on the Southside of the Tar River on Green’s path, containing 160 acres.

SAMUEL TAYLOR, Grandson
Negro Bob

WILSON TAYLOR, Son
Land on the south side of the Tar River at the mouth of the Wolf Trap Branch and adj. John’s Meadow and Bailey’s Path and containing 400 acres
Negro Tom

DRURY TAYLOR, Son
Plantation where I now live containing 80 acres, also a tract of 370 acres lying below the mouth if the Wolf Trap Branch on the south side of the Tar River adj.
NOTE: Property belong to my son Drury must not be sold but kept for him while he is small, and I desire that LAZARUS POPE may have care of the child until my son WILSON is of age to take care of him

WILSON, Son
Negro Joseph

PRISSILA, Daughter
Bed
Negro Hanna

ANN, Daughter
Negro Frank

KITT, Son
Land on the north side of the Tar River known as BATTS Plantation as low as the Long Branch, and containing 500 acres/
Negro Jeney.

SALLY, Daughter
Negro Rachel

MOLLEY, Daughter
Negro Lucy

JOHN, Son
Negro Cloe
Cattle

I wish Jacob Strickland have taken care of my children KITT and SALLEY and their estates.
EX: sons BENJAMIN and JOHN
WIT: EDWARD MOORE, LAZARUS POPE, GALE BRYANT




Of Drury Taylor’s seven sons, Simeon became the next member to travel to new areas. In July 1808 following the death of his father (Drury) in February, the newly married Simeon packed his wagons and by August 1809 hw was living in Washington County Georgia where he resided for the next 10 years.

August 1819- Simeon, his wife and three sons moved to Twigg County, Georgia. The family lived there for the next 6 years.

December 1825, Simeon Taylor’s family and their seven children had now moved to what was then known as the crossroads of Georgia, Houston County. He bought land there and this is where William Horne Taylor was born at Lot #121 in the 13th district of Houston County Georgia on November 27, 1827.

Simeon Taylor bought and sold land in Houston County. IN his will Simeon left his wife Amelia 2 slaves: Negro Albert 46 years old & Negro Harriet 42 years old. All of the Taylor children were literate.

December 26, 1826 Simeon Taylor was appointment along with four other men as Trustees for the “poor School Fund” in Houston County (this fund was an annual appropriation by the legislature to pay for the tuition of pupils who attended “Field Schools”. These schools were for pupils whose parents could not afford to send them to academies, seminaries or college.

William Horne Taylor probably attended one of these “Old Field Schools” which were so called because the schoolhouse usually stood in an old clearing. It was built of logs, no heat in winter; a one room building with boys and girls from approximately 6 to teens sitting in the same room and taught by one teacher. They sat on rough hewn logs and studied out oud. The school usually lasted about 3 months a year and the patrons paid based on the pupils. Supplies included a Webster’s Blue Back Spelling Book, a Reader, and a Smith’s Arithmetic to learn the 3 R’s.

William Horne Taylor married his first wife, Almeda Melvina Powell on January 6, 1853 in Dooly County, Georgia. The ceremony was performed by Justice of the Peace Robert O. Holton.

William Horne Taylor and his brother John Horne Taylor bought land in Dooly County, Georgia. On January 20, 1854, William Stephen Taylor was born in Dooly County, Georgia. The land as later resold to their brother Simon Lawrence Taylor. William Horne Taylor and family moved back to Houston County and were living there by August 20, 1858 when second son John Riley Taylor was born. Their third son Arthur Madison Taylor was also born in Houston County on August 30, 1860.

On the 1860 census Simeon Taylor was 77 years old. He and his wife Amelia living at the house of their oldest son Drewry Williams Taylor which was not far from their old homeplace just east of the town of Elko in Houston County, Georgia.



William Horne Taylor moved in 1861. By May 1861 he and his wife and 3 children (ages 6 yrs, 2 yrs, and an infant) joined a wagon train heading west. Their destination was found in the Petersburg township in Ashley County, Arkansas (before Crossett, AR was incorporated). They settled on an 80-acre tract situated on the eastern half of the NW quarter of Section 23 in TWP 19, South range 9W.

Call to Confederate Duty
William Horne Taylor was a member of the Petersburg Masonic Lodge and he eventually became a Master Mason. The young family were not long settled when the call to confederate duty was present and William H. Taylor traveled with his friends “Holman” and “Wimberley”. He traveled to the county seat at Hamburg to enlist.

May 10, 1862: William Horne Taylor enlisted in the Army of the Confederate States of America (CSA), Company G, 29th Arkansas Infantry/ also known as 1st Arkansas Infantry). He then spent some time at a hospital in Little Rock, AR (possibly for Physical) and was called for a rendezvous with his unit for training at Lewisville, Arkansas on the Red River.

December 7, 1862: the 29th Arkansas Infantry fought in the Battle of Prairie Grove near Fayetteville, Arkansas. William was injured in the combat. He was sent to a hospital in a private home at Cane Ridge, Arkansas and three months later on February 9, 1863, he continued to recover from his injuries.

By July 4, 1863, he was back on duty when the 29th Infantry participated in the Battle of Helena (in Helena, Arkansas). Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication between the leaders, William was among many men who were captured by the Union Army and transported on the Steamer “Silver Moon” up the Mississippi River to the Union Prison at Alton, Illinois. They were received on July 9, 1863.

August 24, 1863: Outbreak of pestilence reported at the prison and William Horne Taylor was stated to be “dead from smallpox”. He actually recovered enough to live in deplorable conditions there until he was transferred to the “Andersonville” of the North- “FORT DELAWARE”. Fort Delaware on Peapatch Island is located in the state of Delaware.

April 4, 1864: William Horne Taylor was received

March 7, 1865: William Horne Taylor released as part of a Prisoner exchange. He, along with “Holman” and “Wimberley” were transported down the Delaware River to a Receiving Hospital #9 in Richmond, VA.

March 9, 1865: William Horne Taylor, along with his 2 friends were freed.
March/April 1865: William Horne Taylor and 2 friends walked from Richmond, Virginia to Ashley County, Arkansas.

Homecoming
After a lengthy absence, most of it in Union Prisons, William returned to his adopted homeland to find Arkansas in chaos and his wife Almeda and son Arthur Madison deceased.

November 5, 1865, William Horne Taylor married Elvira (Oslin) Griffith at the courthouse in Hamburg, AR. Elvira was also a Georgia transplant, as well as a civil war widow. Her first husband (Lewis A. Griffith) had been in William’s regiment. Elvira brought two daughters into the marriage, Emma 8 years old and Ella 6 years old. William brought three sons, William Stephen 11 years old, John Riley 7 years old, Charles Odom 2 years old.

Two additional children were born to the couple of William Horne and Elvira:
October 13, 1866 Jesse Oslin Taylor arrived and on April 11, 1869 Carrie Julie Taylor.

In 1869 William Horne became a member of the Meridian Masonic Lodge No. 214 near Hickory Grove in Ashley County and in April 1869, both He and his wife Elvira were among 16 people who began a home study and later became the Meridian Baptist Church. William was a Deacon listed in the founding documents written by Meridian Church in order to join the Bartholomew Baptist Association. At the time, William Horne Taylor was the recording clerk / secretary.



ON the 1870 Census, William Horne Taylor’s property is listed in Marie Saline Township. He is Farming, Elvira is keeping house and William Stephen and Emma are in school.

“Daddy Taylor”
On October 13th, 1871, Clarence Oscar Taylor was born and when he was just a month old, his mother Elvira Oslin Griffith Taylor past away at 35 years of age. Mrs. Holman, a neighbor and Civil War friend weaned her older baby so that she could nurse Clarence Oscar due to being an infant.

On March 18, 1873 William Horne Taylor married his third wife Sarah Elizabeth Jarrell. The same George H. Wimberley who had officiated at his previous wedding to Elvira eight years previously was now officiating the new marriage as well.

Sarah E. Jarrell was born in Louisiana and was 24 years old at the time of her marriage. William Horne was 46 years old.

February 8, 1874, a son Leonard is born to the couple and on November 26, 1876 a second son Henry is born. On August 27, 1880 fraternal twins Sudy and Drewry are born.

Late in 1880 the Taylor family consisted of eight children living at home as well as a 16 year old farm laborer named Catherine Belcher from Louisiana and a 27 year old black female hireling named Ella Cup from Mississippi with her 2 year old daughter Della Cup.

When the twins were 4 years old on January 5, 1885 their last child Sarah Amelia Taylor was born.

After 25 years in Ashley County, William Horne Taylor sold his property to Mr. Holtoff and the family moved to Drew County, Arkansas.

New Beginnings
William Horne Taylor purchased 80 acres of land on the western half of the NW corner of Section 16, TWP 13 South, Range 5 west in the Enon-Cominto District just outside of Monticello, Arkansas near the Seven Devils Swamp.

According to Drew County Courthouse records William Horne Taylor grew corn and cotton and Sarah Taylor was a homemaker. William farmed until the end of his life. He was independent until the close of his life. Sarah Jarrell Taylor died during childbirth in 1891 at age 42. In 1891 and 1892, William Horne Taylor mortgaged his land to Mr. Shewmake for supplies and he listed his assets as a sorrel horse named “Charlie” 12 years old and 15 hands high and a black Mare named “Minnie” about 4 years old and 14 hands high.

Last days
His final mortgage was dated on February 1895 and on it William Taylor listed his sorrel horse “Charlie” and four heads of cattle. A year later on February 18, 1896, William Horne Taylor passed away.

His final note was marked “satisfied in full” on December 17, 1897. His son Clarence Oscar Taylor, otherwise known as “Daddy Taylor” bought the old home-place which was located “past the deer camp by the seven devils swamp”.