Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2026 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== USGenNet Data Repository Notice: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ============================================================================= Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. ============================================================================= Texas Coastal Pioneers of Chambers County As Compliled in 1952 by Varuna Hartmann Lawrence Royal Pub. Co., Dallas, TX The Gulf Coast Pioneers of Texas Authentic Reports Gathered from Many Reliable Sources. (Many things cannot be verified as the old Record Book burned in the fire that destroyed the old Court House at Wallisville, then County seat of Chambers county 1875 or '76) Have talked with many of those who had lived in these bygone days, and in whose word there was no question, concerning the things given here. Varua Hartmann (Mrs. A. B.) Lawrence ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 59] CAPTAIN LABETT: He was an old man who lived a short distance from AUNT MARY and UNCLE JOE KILGORE when they first were married. They were kind to him, and he became very fond of their little boy WILLIE. When he died he left a will leaving everything he owned, mostly land, to WILLIE. No one knew where he was from. LAWRENCE FAMILY: Statement concerning the name of the LAWRENCE family of Lawrence’s Island, wife of JOSEPH LAWRENCE 1st of Westchester County, New York: It was during the early days of my connection with the family of JOSEPH LAWRENCE 2nd that he, my father-in-law, told me this about his Grandmother, MARY HANEY, a widow with one child HENRIETTA (but called HARRIET) when she married FISHER. I wrote the statement down, for every one knew whatever he told was true. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 60] It is said the CHARLES LAWRENCE family has an old Bible that lists HENRIETTA (or HARRIET) as HARRIET FISHER but that is not correct, possibly put in by some one who did not know that MARY HANEY had this little girl before she married FISHER. MARY HANEY FISHER and her FISHER husband had a daughter, ANN, and left a small son, JERRYMIAH CONRAD, that the two girls "raised" after their mother’s death. DANIEL LAWRENCE also said that their mother was a HANEY and not a FISHER. (Signed) Varuna Lawrence When the War of 1812 was being fought along the Canadian Border there lived a man named LAWRENCE in Westchester County, New York He was not a rich man, had a farm and a family of seven boys. His wife, a step-mother to his children, rebuked a teen-aged boy named JOSEPH, who during the night, ran away and joined the American Army. He was in the Battle of Lundys Lane where his knee was broken, then in the storming of Queenston Heights his cheek bone was broken down by the butt of an enemy’s gun. He stayed with the Army and after the War was over he came to Texas and married HENRIETTA HANEY. HENRIETTA HANEY was always called HARRIET. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p.61] HARRIET’S mother, MARY HANEY, had lost her husband and had married a man named FISHER by whom she had a daughter named ANN, and a son named JEREMIAH CONRAD. HARRIET was called HARRIET FISHER, and some still believe she was a FISHER. When MARY HANEY FISHER died she left her little son to her daughters, HARRIET and ANN, to care for and as "AUNT ANN" STUBBS often said, ‘Me and Sister HARRIET raised Brother JERRY." JOSEPH LAWRENCE and HARRIET HANEY LAWRENCE lived on what was known as Lawrence’s Island as this land was cut off from the mainland by a wide marsh and numerous bayous on the west and on the east by the Trinity River. After the Battle of San Jacinto, SANTA ANNA was brought to LAWRENCE’S for a night on the way to the Fort or Mexican Post, where he was put in the jail by the victorious Texans. When the supper was served to SANTA ANNA he refused the honey that was used by the pioneers to sweeten their coffee and sent one of his men out to the pack-mules for sugar. That was the first sugar that little 4-year-old JOSEPH LAWRENCE 2nd had ever seen. JOSEPH LAWRENCE 1st and his wife HENRIETTA (HARRIET) LAWRENCE had six children, namely: ROBERT who married JOSEPHINE CLARK; JOSEPH who married ELIZABETH BARROW; MARTHA who married BAPTISTE DUGAT; DANIEL who married CELINA BLANCHETTE; HENRIETTA (BABE) married SOL BARROW 2nd; SOLOMON FREEMAN (BUD) married JULIA RHEA. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 62] After the Mother’s death, the Father married again and a child, ALBERT, was born to his wife. Then he, the Father of the family died. The two oldest sons bought off their step-mother and took over the family of younger children, except ALBERT who was taken by his Mother when she left the Island. ROBERT and JOSEPH hired a teacher for the children and looked after the welfare of those in their care. The youngest was "BUD" who was frail at first, but they finally reared him to manhood. ROBERT LAWRENCE married and they lived in the old home where many years later they passed on. ROBERT and JOSEPHINE CLARK LAWRENCE had two children, their little girl EMMA JOSEPHINE died when small. Their son, CHARLES HENRY married EMILY STUBBS. Their children were: BERTIE, died when small; EMMA JOSEPHINE, who married JOSEPH (SEEPH) WILBURN; EDNA, who married DEMPSEY REEVES; LOUISE, who married ROBERT SMITH; ROBERT, who married MARY GREEN; CHARLES, who married VIOLET BARROW; JOSEPH who married MRS. CORA HENRY; FLOURNOY, who married GLADYS FISHER HARRIET HANEY’S second child, JOSEPH LAWRENCE, married ELIZABETH BARROW. They had three children; JOSEPH EDMOND, who married CANORA S. HARTMAN; AMOS B. LAWRENCE, who married VARUNA A. HARTMANN; and one daughter, JULIA HENRIETT, who married MICHAEL CASEY. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 63] HARRIET HANEY’S 3rd child, MARTHA LAWRENCE, married BAPTISTE DUGAT. They had two children, both girls: MARCELITE married EULARIA MACKEY; LUCINDA married GEORGE E. TRUSCOTT. The TRUSCOTT’S had several children, moved to Knox County and founded town of Truscott. MARCELITE and EULARIA had many children; seven lived to be. grown, namely: FREEMAN, who married OLGA STUBBS; MARTHA, who married AMOS FISHER: MARY ALICE, who married DANIEL GRANT; EMMA JOSEPHINE, who married CLAUDE WILLIAMS; CLEVELAND died a young man: WELDER married ? HARRIET HANEY’S 4th child, DANIEL JEREMIAH, married CELINA BLANCHETTE. They had eight children to live: HENRIETTA, who married ALBERT BARBER; CORNELIA, who married JOSH BARBER; ADA JOSEPHINE, who married JAMES DUTTON; CAROLINE JULIA, who married JOHN ILFREY; ROBERT BAPTISTE, who married BARNEY MILAM; ELLA AMANDA, who married THOMAS McLEAN; CHARLES EDWARD, who married IRA DAVIS; SYLVESTER HALLIE, who married JOE BARROW. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p.64] When the youngest child was about 4 years old CELINA died in childbirth. DANIEL then married again to MRS. ADALEASA HARTMAN. They had two children, a girl FRANKIE DANIEL who married LEON SMITH, and JOSEPH FREEMAN who died in childhood. HARRIET HANEY’S 5th child HENRIETTA (called BABE) married SOLOMON BARROW 2nd. Their 10 children were: ROBERT, who married, LILLIE BARBER; SARAH, who married JOE DUGAT; SOLLOMON (SOLLY), who married LEONA CAREY; DANIEL, who married RUBY BARBER; JOSEPH, who married Sylvester Lawrence; JEANETTE (BETTIE), who married NICK HADDON; CHARLES, who married MINNIE CARMODY; JOSEPHINE, who married CHARLEY WILBURN; MONROE, who married BETH SMITH. MORRIS who died unmarried. HARRIET HANEY’S 6th child, SOLOMON FREEMAN married JULIA RHEA. Their children were: BESSIE, who married HENRY PRUETT; LUCY, who married W. D. HADEN; GEORGIA, who married PRICE PRUETT; HARDY, who married BETTY MILAM; LIZZIE, who married JOE STROUS; DANIEL, who married WILLIE ?; MORGAN, who married MINNIE MAY ??: VIRGINIA, who married WARREN CROCKER; PRESTON MAGRUDER, who married ZENIA ?; ZOE, who married OSEE FISHER. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 65] The descendants of JOSEPH LAWRENCE and his wife ELIZABETH were: EDMOND, AMOS and JULIA. EDMOND’S children were: ETHEL who died at the age of 4 years; DELL EVELYN who married DR. WILLIAM CLAIBOURNE BROWNE, a well known physician of Dallas. (DR. BROWNE and DELL had one child, MARGIE, who had been married three or four times, is now MRS. O’DANIEL. This lady had a son first, BILLY JORDAN; then a daughter MARGIE DELL MCMANUS, now in her teens. MRS. O’DANIELS has a small child now, Ex-Governor O’DANIELS grandchild); LEROY JOSEPH, who married EMMA WILLIAMS (their children were Joe - who now lives in Houston - GEORGE EDMOND, and MARGIE DELL). JOSEPH and ELIZABETH LAWRENCE’S second son, AMOS B. LAWRENCE, and his wife VARUNA HARTMAN LAWRENCE had eight children: CECIL VANCE, who married MARTHA BYRD PARKER, no children, he is deceased; MAMIE FAY, who married WILL SELLMAN and later married HERBERT MARX, no children; VALDA ELLA, who married CARL WERTZ, no children - divorced; PEARL GWEN, who never married, a trained nurse; ELVA ADA who married WYATTE BUSCH, has 2 sons, KIRK and ADRIAN BUSCH; LILLAH ROSAMOND, married CLAUDE W. SMITH and has one son, CLAUDE JR.; JOSEPH FENTON who married ILA CORA FISHER (both deceased), they had one child ILA JOY who married DAVID OLIVER. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 66] A. BELMONT, who married STELLA GEBEAUR, they had 2 children, GWENLYN who married O’NEIL LOFTIS, and DOROTHY GRACE who married JOHN GLENNEY. (A. BELMONT then married LENA WILLIAMS. No children, divorced. A. BELMONT then married DOLORES VANDER STAY. Have 2 boys). The daughter of JOSEPH and ELIZABETH LAWRENCE, JULIE HENRIETTA, married MIKE CASEY, had 6 children: ELTON D. who married AGNES FISHER, no children; NORMAN, who is an invalid, never married; BASIL who married HAZEL ? ; ORA GLENN who married IVY ILFREY now deceased, 1 child; DROUETTE who married TROY ENDERLY (7?) , 2 children; ERMA JOYCE who married JOHNNIE LESLIE, has 1 child. ===============================================================================