Joshua Hopkins Speights

1819 - 1889  (69 years)

• Name	Joshua Hopkins Speights  [1, 2, 3]
  Born	7 Dec 1819	Macon, Bibb County, Georgia   [3, 4]
  Gender	Male
  Died	25 Aug 1889	Sabine County, Texas   [3, 4]
  Buried	Speights Cemetery, Sabine County, Texas   [3, 4]
  Notes	"Joshua Speights was very prominent in early Sabine County history, founding, together with Hampton Pratt, the first store in Hemphill. He also served as Chief Justice of Sabine County and as Senator in the Texas Legislature." (White and Toole) SABINE COUNTY REPORTER 19 October 1994, Page 5 Oil Painting of Judge Speights is donated to county museum The Sabine county Museum and the Virgie Speights Memorial Library has received a gift from Mr. and Mrs. James C. Vanderbilt of an oil painting of Judge Joshua H. Speights. James, a great-grandson of Judge Speights,painted the portrait from a black and white copy of a picture taken of the Judge found in the archives of the Texas Legislature in Austin. Joshua, a citizen of the Republic of Texas, served Sabine County in District #22, State Legislature 1853-1854, and 1859-1860, and also served as Judge of Sabine County 1877-1882. he was also a merchant, lawyer, physician, and farmer though not at the same time. James and Marguerite Vanderbilt have been patrons of the museum and library from the beginning. They have given gifts of family heirlooms, valuable books and many mementos honoring Joshua H. Speights, his mother Rebbecca Hopkins Speights, and their descendants and relatives. James Vanderbilt spent a year studying and working for the British National Gallery in London, England. He retired form the Navy after World War II as a Lt. Commander. His hobbies are many but oil painting is his first love. The Sabine County museum is very proud to have the portriat and is open Wednesday and Fridays and by appointment to visitors. SABINE COUNTY REPORTER 27 March 2002, Page 9 SRT honors Vanderbilt with memorial On Saturday, Oct. 13, 2001, the Sabine District Chapter #33 of Sons of the Republic of Texas (SRT), dedicated an SRT memorial medallion at the grave of James C. Vanderbilt, deceased member of the chapter. The unveiling ceremony of the historic marker was held at the Ft. Jesup National Park and Cemetery near Many, LA, in Sabine Parish. Sabine County Sheriff's Department proved the firing of the military salutes fo the occasion and the Sabine Parish Sheriff's Department provided an escort to the cemetery. Vanderbilt was born April 15, 1915 in Ft. Jesup, LA. He was named at birth "Voyght Willard Boswell" and later changed his name to match his professional name as an artist. James C. Vanderbilt was the great-grandson of Joshua Hopkins Speights, who came to Sabine County in approximately 1841. He was a professional artist and a veteran of World War II, serving in the U.S. Navy. Vanderbilt was a strong patron of the arts and was dedicated to preserving our history and culture. He was a key person in the founding of the Virgie Speights Memorial Library and Museum in Hemphill. He and his wife donated many gifts to enhance and maintain the Library and Old Jail Buildin Vanderbilt was a tireless worker and patron of the Sonoma Depot Museum in Sonoma, CA, where he lived for many years. His paintings and art illustrations for the movie industry, plus his gifts to preserve history will be enjoyed by future generations. This is believed to be the first medallion dedicated outside of Texas.....Recognition of descendants and acceptance of the marker was conducted by Bill Speights. Speights and J.E. Gooch unveiled the marker. From the SSDI: JAMES C VANDERBILT 15 Apr 1915 11 May 1998 (V) 95476 (Sonoma, Sonoma, CA) (none specified) 550-28-5822 California
  Person ID	I959	Strong Family Tree
  Last Modified	17 Aug 2014

  
  

  Father	William Myrick Speights,   b. 23 Jan 1787, Virginia ,   d. 23 Oct 1842, Mississippi  (Age 55 years)
  Mother	Rebecca Hopkins,   b. Abt 1796, South Carolina ,   d. 4 Oct 1857, Texas  (Age ~ 61 years)
  Married	17 Dec 1817	Virginia   [2, 3]
  Family ID	F699	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	Esther C. Leece,   b. 5 Apr 1835, Louisiana ,   d. 7 Aug 1867, Sabine County, Texas  (Age 32 years)
  Married	8 Mar 1854	Sabine County, Texas   [1, 2]
  Children	1. William Leece Speights,   b. 10 Dec 1855, Sabine County, Texas ,   d. 7 Mar 1936, Louisiana  (Age 80 years)   2. Mary "Mollie" Rebecca Speights,   b. 12 Jun 1856, Sabine County, Texas ,   d. 15 Sep 1886, Logansport, DeSoto Parish, Louisiana  (Age 30 years)   3. Susan "Sudie" Sarah Speights,   b. 19 Nov 1859, Sabine County, Texas ,   d. 10 Aug 1946, Bastrop, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana  (Age 86 years)   4. Howell C. Speights,   b. Abt 1860, Sabine County, Texas ,   d. 9 Oct 1868  (Age ~ 8 years)   5. Joshua Hopkins Speights, Jr.,   b. 24 Sep 1861, Sabine County, Texas ,   d. 10 Sep 1910, Carthage, Panola County, Texas  (Age 48 years)   6. Rose Ellen Speights,   b. Abt 1865, Sabine County, Texas ,   d. Yes, date unknown
  Last Modified	8 Oct 2009
  Family ID	F701	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 2	Sarah "Sallie" Jane Youngblood,   b. 1 Sep 1840, Louisiana ,   d. 25 Aug 1899, Sabine County, Texas  (Age 58 years)
  Married	Bef 1870
  Children	1. Kate Blanche Speights,   b. 1 Jul 1871, Texas ,   d. 2 Mar 1899, Sabine County, Texas  (Age 27 years)
  Last Modified	8 Oct 2009
  Family ID	F702	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Event Map		Born - 7 Dec 1819 - Macon, Bibb County, Georgia Married - 8 Mar 1854 - Sabine County, Texas Died - 25 Aug 1889 - Sabine County, Texas Buried - - Speights Cemetery, Sabine County, Texas  = Link to Google Earth
  Pin Legend	: Address       : Location       : City/Town       : County/Shire       : State/Province       : Country       : Not Set

  
  

• Photos

  Speights, Joshua Hopkins, Texas State Representative B. 1819 Georgia D. 1889 Texas He was a Texas State Representative and later Sabine County Judge

  
  

• Sources

  [S349] Schluter & Toole, "1850 Sabine County, Texas Census with Added Family Information and Corrections" c. 1979. [S461] White & Toole, "Sabine County Historical Sketches and Genealogical Records" c. 1972. [S58] McCary, Kay P. "Speights Cemetery, Sabine County, Texas" Cemetery Index ; http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txsabine/burials/. [S667] RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project, (The WorldConnect Project is a set of tools, which allow users to upload, modify, link, and display their family trees as a means to share their genealogy with other researchers. The program used to day has a genealogy of its own. RootsWeb announced the launch of the World Connect Project on November 10, 1999 after staff members and users submitted 5.5 million records during a four-week beta-testing period. The WorldConnect Project continues to grow, and as of January 2004 had more than 312 million records. GEDCOM is an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunications. It is a file format developed by the Family History Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). It provides a flexible and uniform format for exchanging computerized genealogical data, and allows you to share files with other researchers who may not use the same genealogy program.), Parker, Brenda (brenda@dphospitality.com) "Beaman-Parker Fa mily Genealogy" Ver. Feb 9 09:31:07 2004 ; http://wc.roots web.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=bbparker (Reliability: 3).