Baxter Polk Cartwright, Sr.

Family/Spouse: Anna Virginia Thomas. Anna was born on 21 Jan 1902; died on 14 Jun 1998; was buried in San Augustine City Cemetery, San Augustine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Baxter Polk Cartwright, Jr. was born on 20 Dec 1924 in Texas; died on 20 Aug 2005; was buried in San Augustine City Cemetery, San Augustine County, Texas.
2. John Matthew Cartwright, Sr. was born on 22 Jul 1930 in San Augustine, San Augustine County, Texas; died on 19 Jan 2019 in San Augustine, San Augustine County, Texas; was buried in San Augustine City Cemetery, San Augustine County, Texas.

Notes:

(Research):

Census Listings:

1900 Census
Texas, San Augustine County, Pr 1, San Augustine City
Enumerated 28 Jun 1900
SD 267 ED 74 Sheet 14B
254-254
Cartwright, John M Head Jan 1863 37 m9 Tx Tx Tn
Cartwright, Emmie Wf W F Nov 1871 28 M 9 1/1 Tx Tx Miss
Cartwright, Holman L Son W M Aug 1898 1 S Tx Tx Tx

1910 Census
Texas, San Augustine County, Pr 2
Enumerated 2 May 1910
SD 2 ED 138 Sheet 7B
135-139
Cartwright, Mathew J Head M W 47 m1 19 Tx Tx Tn Own Income
Cartwright, Emmy Wf F W 37 M1 19 2/2 Tx Tx Tx
Cartwright, Homer L Son M W 11 S Tx Tx Tx
Cartwright, Baster P Son M W 8 S Tx Tx Tx

1920 Census
Texas, San Augustine, JP 1
Enumerated 2 Jan 1920
SD 326 ED 174 Sheet 1A
1-1
Cartwright, John M Head M W 57 m Tx Tx Tn Farmer
Cartwright, Emma Wf F W 28 m Tx Tx Tx
Cartwright, Holman Son W W 21 S Tx Tx Tx
Cartwright, Baxter Son M W 18 S Tx Tx Tx

1930 Census
not located

1940 Census
Texas, San Augustine County, JP 1
Enumerated May 6, 1940
SD 42-2 ED 203-2
HH 49
Cartwright, Emmie Head F W 68 Wd Tx Same House
Cartwright, Baxter Sib N W 38 M Tx Same House Farmer
Cartwright, Anna V Dtr in Law F W 38 m Tx Same House
Cartwright, Baxter P Grandson M W 15 S Tx Same House
Cartwright, Jon M Grandson M W 9 S Tx Same House

John married Emily Massey. Emily was born on 27 Nov 1871 in Fannin County, Texas; died on 20 Oct 1956 in San Augustine County, Texas; was buried in San Augustine City Cemetery, San Augustine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From FindAGrave:

Emily Massey Cartwright is the daughter of Charles Polk Massey and Eliza Jane Jones. Charles Polk Massey is the son of William Smith Massey and Margaret Benigna Polk of San Augustine, TX. Margaret B. Polk parents are John Polk(b.1785) and Elizabeth Ann Polk, both are buried in the Linn Flat Cemetery outside of Nacogdoches, TX. Her grand father was Charles (Civil Charley,) born January 18, 1760, and her grandmother was Margaret (Baxter) Polk.


Name Emily Massey Cartwright
Event Type Death
Event Date 20 Oct 1956
Event Place San Augustine, San Augustine, Texas, United States
Gender Female
Marital Status Widowed
Birth Date 27 Nov 1871
Birthplace Fannin, Texas
Father's Name Chas Polk Massey
Mother's Name Eliza Jones
Certificate Number 55570
GS Film number 2114936
Digital Folder Number 005145191
Informant B P Cartwright
Image Number 00975

Citing this Record:
"Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K33L-CRQ : accessed 01 Dec 2013), Emily Massey Cartwright, 20 Oct 1956; citing certificate number 55570, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2114936.

Notes:

At the age of 16, Columbus and two other local boys were sent to the Kentucky Military Institute near Frankfort. They traveled by steamboat down the Red River and up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Louisville, and then by train, the first they had seen, to Frankfort. Homesick, but conscious of his duty, Columbus missed no classes and worked very hard to please his parents. Upperclassman Moses A. Broocks wrote this his father that Columbus was 'one of the finest and healthiest looking' cadets." (Henson and Parmelee, pp. 171 -172). He had to return to San Augustine in 1855 due to poor health. He later attended Cumberland Unversity in Lebanon, Tennesse, with his brother Meck. Poor health continued to afflict Cumby the rest of his life. At the onset of the Civil War, he remained home with his young family, not enlisting in the C.S.A. with his brothers Meck and Lon (ibid, p. 200)

In the summer of 1861 Mosquito-borne fevers troubled San Augustine..."Columbus was so sick that he spoke of dying to his father before his slow recovery. Sallie, his wife, also had two chills but seemed to be better; Matthew probably did not know that she was expecting her third child. Other neighbors were very ill and some were dying." (ibid, pp. 206-207). The ledger books of his father, Matthew Cartwright, show that a number of payments of $50 or more were made to pay men to serves as Columbus's substitutes in the Confederate army, a practice that was later forbidden. (ibid, p. 216) In 1864, fearful that the Union forces would advance into Texas, Columbus joined Gen. Major's cavalry below Natchitoches by April 24. His brother Meck, who had been on sick leave since October 1863 rejoined as well. The brothers were among the Confederates who followed the retreating Union boats along the river banks. Eventually Cumby's old kidney ailment sent him to the rear. He returned to duty near Opelousas on May 31. By the end of July 1864 he was home on a furlough he had bought for $38. His health remained bad, and his leave was extended until November. (ibid, pp 235-236).

During the 1880's, Columbus formed a business partnership with two of his sons, Robert and John Matthew, both of whom had moved to Mt. Calm in Hill County, to raise fine horses. Columbus remained most of the time in San Augustine, maintaining a race track where he trained his favorite animals. Beginning in 1884 he bought throughbreds and was listed in the AMERICAN STUD BOOK and TURF, FIELD AND FARM (ibid, pp. 298-299). Once the overachiever of the family, Columbus had learned over the years that his kidney ailment could be controlled by simple quiet living, and raising racehorses and other livestock in San Augustine suited him. He remained behind as the rest of his siblings moved to westward to Terrell. (p. 308).

(Research):

Census Listings:

1860 Census
Texas, San Augustine County, San Augustine District
Enumerated 5 July 1860
Page 6
35-35
C. C. Cartwright 23 M Farmer 3000 9730 Tx
Sarah H Cartwright 19 F Tenn
Matthew Cartwright Jr. 2 M Tx
Robert L Cartwright 1 M Tx

1870 Census
Texas, San Augustine County, PO San Augustine
Enumerated 6 July 1870
Page 20
122-122
Cartwright, C. 32 M W Farmer 2000 1000 Tx
Cartwright, Sarah M 29 F W Keeps House Tenn
Cartwright, R. L 10 M W At School Tx
Cartwright, Mathew 8 M W Tx
Cartwright, C Jr 23 M W Tx
Cartwright, Americus 6/12 M W Tx Dec
Harper, Porter 25 M M Works on Farm Tenn
Harper, Milpey? 30 F B cook Tenn
Harper, Jessey? 9 M M Tx
Harper, Martha 2 F M Tx

Columbus married Sarah "Sally" Amanda Lane on 24 Jun 1858 in Tennessee. Sarah (daughter of Robert Lane and America "Meck" Holman) was born on 24 May 1841 in Tennessee; died on 18 Feb 1895 in San Augustine County, Texas; was buried in San Augustine City Cemetery, San Augustine County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
During an extended visit with the Akin's in McMinnville, Tennessee, Columbus fell in love with his sixteen year old cousin, Sarah "Sallie" Lane, who had recently completed studies at Mary Sharp College.

Notes:

He began clerking and keeping books for his father's store in 1831, and in 1832 they formed a partnership, "Matthew Cartwright & Co." Each contributed $2,000 to the business. The store prospered. (Noble, pages 80 - 81).

In his August 30, 2007 column in the San Augustine Tribune, Harry Noble writes that Matthew was the richest man in San Augustine and the sixth wealthiest in the State of Texas in his era. In 1860, he owned so much land scattered across the state that as he traveled on his big sorrel horse "Red Buck," it was said that no matter where he was, that he could spend the night on his own land.

Noble went on to write that Matthew exhibited maturity at an early age. When he was 14, his father sent him to the unsettled frontier of Texas with one servant to clear land John had acquired two years earlier. John also gave his son power of attorney at age 18 and sent him to Tennessee and Mississippi to settle family affairs.

At the age of 21, Matthew traveled to Wilson County where he enrolled in a local college...late in 1829 Matthew rejoined his father in Texas who was then operating a family farm, cotton gin and store.

Matthew's paid $900 in 1849 for the two-story Isaac Campbell home on Main Street. The New England style home had been built by Augustus Phelps, a master carpenter, in 1839. The palatial dwelling was still standing in San Augustine, and is owned by Matthew's direct descendants, as of 2007. Never a large slaveholder, Matthew's slaves were all employed inside or around the house, taking care of the livestock, firewood, garden and orchard.

The home was purchased by Americus "Meck" H. Cartwright and his wife, Minnie Clementine Sublett in 1898, after Amanda was forced by ill health to move in with her son Lon, and remained in the hands of Meck and Minnie's descendants. (Henson and Parmelee, p. 302).

At the time of the 1850 census Matthew's land alone was worth $165,000, and he had only seven slaves, considerably lower than most other wealthy families. The 1850 slave schedule listed the number of male and female slaves, as well as their ages, but not their names. Matthew Cartwright's bible, however, shows them as Nancy, b. 1810 and her four children, Dick, b. 1836, Emeline b. 1838, Virtue b. 1840 and Walker, b. 1846. It also lists Jane, b. 1830 and her daughter, Harriet, b. 1849.

In 1860, Matthew's occupation was listed as "land trader" and it was estimated that his real estate was worth $500,000 and personal property near $75,000, with 13 slaves. Henson and Parmelee point out by way of contrast that brother-in-law and "planter" William Garrett had a $171,651 estate, including 132 slaves, and that "Farmer-Merchant" Iredell D. Thomas had $166,000 in accumulated wealth, and 52 slaves. (Henson and Parmelee, p. 191).

After the war, the president Andrew Johnson issued an amnesty proclamation restoring citizenship to those who would pledge future loyalty to the United States; however, those holding high military or civil offices in the Confederate government, as well as those with taxable property valued over $20,000, would have to petition him directly for individual pardons. Matthew, the pragmatic businessman, wanted to get his special pardon as soon as possible so that he could resume his activities and protect his property. He took his amnesty oath on August 28, 1865 in the Caddo Parish District Court and received a copy to carry with him in order to conduct business. He later recorded this in the San Augustine District Courty. (ibid, pp. 239-243). Unlike many of their neighbors, the Cartwrights survived the Civil War without the loss or maiming of a son. The emancipation of their few household slaves was not an economic loss comparable to those suffered by neighbor planters who possessed numerous field hands. And by carefully guarding their gold and silver reserves, as well as utilizing his long business experience to carefully buy, sell and barter during the war, the family was able to resume business activities relatively unhampered. (ibid, p. 247).

His funeral notice card read:

The friends and acquantances of
MATTHEW CARTWRIGHT, Sr.
are respectfully invited to attend his funeral tomorrow
morning at 10 o'clock, A.M. He will be buried with Masonic
honors, at this late residence in the town of San Augustine.
SAN AUGUSTINE, TEXAS, April 2, 1870

Amanda chose a burial plot several hundred feet east of the house.

No copy of the obituary that surely ran in the San Augustine paper can be found. The San Antonio Daily Express carried a brief obituary on May 1: "DIED at his home in San Augustine, first day of April, Matthew Cartwright, one of the pioneers of Texas, and one of the largest, if not the largest, land holder in the state." (ibid, p. 275).

When the inventory of his estate was compiled, it was shown that he owned 298 parcels of land in 56 counties, totalling 361,632 acres with a value of $356,304. Amanda inherited one-half as his widow, and the rest was to be divided equally among his six children.

At the time of the 1870 census, Amanda reported owning real estate worth $343,281, and personal property valued at $75,529, which ultimately placed the Cartwright estate as the fourth-largest in Texas, following those of Richard King in South Texas and Galveston Merchants, J. J. Hendley and George Sealy. (ibid, pp. 278-279).



(Research):
Census Listings:

1860 Census
Texas, San Augustine County
61-61
Cartwright, Mathew 52 M Land Trader 500,000 75,000 TN
Cartwright, Mandy 42 F TN
Cartwright, A.P. 20 M TX
Cartwright, Leonidas 17 M TX
Cartwright, Anna 15 F TX
Cartwright, Mary 14 F TX
Cartwright, Mathew, Jr. 4 M TX

Matthew married Amanda "Mandy" Holman on 18 Oct 1836 in San Augustine County, Texas. Amanda (daughter of Col. Isaac Holman and Anne Wigglesworth) was born on 24 Jul 1817 in Shelbyville, Bedford County, Tennessee; died on 26 Jun 1894 in San Augustine County, Texas; was buried in Oakland Memorial Park Cemetery, Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

In both 1870 and 1880. Amanda Cartwright was living in a household with her son Leonidas "Lon" and his family.

Amanda died in Lon's home at age seventy-seven. The family gathered for her funeral and, as she had wished after almost a quarter century of widowhood, she was buried next to Matthew in the little private graveyard east of her old house. Lon composed suitable facts about her life on a sheet of paper entitled "In Memoriam" for use of the minister. Besides providing her birthdate, parents' names, date of arrival in San Augustine, and marriage dated, and noting the loss of one of her six children, Lon added, "She was one of the Kindest of Mothers and devoted wife, a faithful Christian, charitable to all in need and beloved by all who know her. She had joined the Methodist Church in 1858, and, he added, she had been a faithful and consistent member...Two weeks later, Lon, who once wrote poetry for Ludie, wrote six stanzas praising motherhood. (Henson and Parmelee, p. 305).



(Research):
Census Listings:

1870 Census
Texas, San Augustine County, PO San Augustine
Enumerated 6 July 1870
Page 20
121-121
Cartwright, A 52 F W Keep House 343291 15529 Tenn
Cartwright, M 14 M W At School Tx
Cartwright, A. P. 30 M W Merchant Tx
Cartwright, Ophelia 23 F W Tx
Cartwright, Mathew Jr 7/12 M W Tx
Jones, Tom 20 M B Svt Tx
Burl, Elvira 15 F B Svt Tx
Sexton, Qunn? 10 F B Tx

Notes:

Married:
In "The Cartwrights of San Augustine,' a transcription of a stilted, formal note written by Matthew Cartwright to his future bride reads as follows:

Miss Amanda Holman,

Please allow me to address you for the first time with the most profound respect. I admire your person, your addrss and appearance....I have come to the conclusion that of all other objects met with in this life...you are the one. Therefore I now address you for the purpose of requesting permission to pay my suit on that of which is the most importance to me and I hope not indifferent to you. Please reply as soon as convenient and relieve the suspense of one who is desiorous to unite his fate and happiness in life with yours.
Your obedient servant,
Matthew Cartwright

Amanda soon accepted Matthew's proposal, scheduling the ceremony for Octobe 18, 1836. Some months prior to the wedding she bought seven yards of French muslin and two bonnest at Matthew's store, and later pink silk and gauze ribbon, all suitable for a wedding.

The couple was married nearly thirty-five years before Matthew's death, and Amanda survived him for nearly twenty-five additional years. They were buried side by side in a small family plot near their home in San Augustine. Youngest son Matthew later made arrangements to have his parents reinterred in Terrell, Texas, with a suitable marker, in September 1896. (Henson and Paremelee, p. 308).

Robert married America "Meck" Holman on 27 Jun 1837 in Texas. America (daughter of Col. Isaac Holman and Anne Wigglesworth) was born on 22 Oct 1822 in Tennessee; died on 6 Feb 1892. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Meck had lost her husband in 1849 and have lived with the Barksdales until her remarriage to merchant J. C. Akin. (Henson and Parmelee, p. 176).

Notes:

Married:
Henson and Paremelee also show them as the parents of William H., James B., and Robert T. Lane.