His Quiver Was Full

This entry is part of Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks;

Week #45 Rich Man

   If wealth can be measured in offspring, William Marshall Parten was a very rich man, having had a great number of children in his lifetime.  He passed away at the age seventy-three years, ten months and sixteen days[1] having had twenty-two children along the way. At the time of his death, his oldest child was fifty-three and his youngest had just turned three; a difference of fifty years.

     William Marshall Parten was born 08 March 1848 in Sneedville, Hancock County, Tennessee[2]. He was the son of William Parten and Mahalia Wilburn[3].  The 1850 census shows William living with his parents and six siblings[4]. He had a total of ten siblings. By 1860, his father had passed away leaving behind a large family. They were living on Brier Creek near Sneedville in Hancock County, Tennessee[5].

     As the rumors of war drew close, William was reaching maturity and soon found himself engulfed in battle. He served in the Confederate Army in Lillard’s 3^rd Mounted Tennessee Volunteers[6]. On 3 July 1863, at the age of fifteen, William Marshall Parten was captured during the siege of Vicksburg[7]. He was paroled a week later and sent home[8].

   Sometime before 1868, William Parten married Sarah Rhea[9], daughter of John Elijah Rhea, Jr. and Lucy Anderson. William’s first four children were born to this union; Mary Elizabeth, James Monroe, Martha Matilda and William Marshall, Jr.[10] [11]

     Tragedy struck this family in September 1879 when Sarah Rhea Parten died of a gunshot wound[12]. It was not an uncommon thing in Sneedville to have a family member killed in this manner. Feuding was an ongoing occurrence in Hancock County and more specifically, Sneedville area, during this time. The Greene – Jones War was a major feud that was second only to the Hatfield and McCoy feud.  The New York Sun published an article in 1891 about the small Appalachian town of Sneedville and its history of violence, feuding and moonshine. [13]

   Shortly after the death of his wife, William Marshall Parten remarried and left for Texas. He is shown in the 1880 census, less than a year of his wife’s death, in Ellis County, Texas with his new wife, Mary Givens and three of his children[14]. He left his oldest daughter behind in Tennessee, with his first wife’s mother, Lucy Anderson Rhea.  Below is a letter written by Mary Elizabeth to her brother James Monroe several years later.

  Mary Elizabeth Parten-Scarce                                 James Monroe (Jim) Parten

Dear Brother and Family

I take this time to write you a few lines after so long a time. We are all well at this time and I hope you all the same. I sure was glad to see my Bud, Will once more. Hope I will have the opportunity of pulling your hair soon. Will has got a fine woman I think. Jim, you don’t know how bad I felt when they all started for Texas and left me alone in Teny. Guess you all are having a jolly old time. Minne’s tongue is longer than mine but I would like to be with you to look on. I will close. Write soon a long letter for I sure do enjoy reading letters from my long lost Buds.   

Bye Bye,

Mary Scarce               

 Tate, Tennessee

*** Letter dated 19 August 1896 – Envelope postmarked 20 August 1896, Tate, Tennessee; Postage 2 cents.

There was an addition to his family, shown in the 1880 census, other than his new wife; another child, Alice, who was born 12 November 1878[15]. It is not clear if this child was his biological daughter or if she was his stepdaughter, but he did raise her from a very young age regardless.

      William Marshall Parten settled with his new family when he purchased 100 acres of land between Ennis and Waxahachie, Ellis County, Texas[16]. Two of his brothers and their families also moved to Texas settling in the Nash community. They purchased land adjacent to Williams and raised their families.

    Over the next eighteen years, eight more children were born; George 1881, Evey 1884, Wiley 1886, Bessie 1888, Eulysses Grant 1891, Cleo 1893, Mamie 1896 and Ernest 1899.[17]  

At the age of fifty-two, William Marshall Parten finds himself widowed once again when his second wife, Mary was killed due to a runaway horse and buggy accident.[18]  Finding himself in need of a wife to help take care of his small children, William travels back to Tennessee to seek a bride.  He marries a third time to Sarah Elizabeth Givens, age twenty.  William Marshall returns to Texas with his young bride and continues to build his family.

(William Marshall Parten and third wife Sarah Givens)

   To this third union, nine more children are born; Ocie Thomas 1901, Ina Elen 1903, Lewis Faires 1905, Rosa Loneera 1907, Thornton 1908, Joe Ervin 1910, Jannie Ethyl 1912, Edith Elizabeth 1914, Lennie Lee 1917 and Quentin Theodore 1918[19] [20].  By the time William’s last child was born, he also had over two dozen grandchildren and at least one great grandchild.  His quiver was indeed full!!

“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.”

Psalm 127:3-5 NIV

---

[1] Texas Department of State Health Services; Austin Texas, USA; Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982; Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2013; Provo, UT, USA; Ancestry.com

[2] ibid

[3] ibid

[4] 1850 United States Federal Census; Subdivision 33, Hancock, Tennessee; Roll: M432_881; Page: 41A; Ancestry.com, 2009; Provo, UT, USA

[5] 1860 United States Federal Census; Brier Creek District, Hancock, Tennessee; Page 25 Dwelling 174 Family 159; Ancestry.com, 2009; Provo, UT, USA

[6] Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Tennessee; National Archive NARA; Publication Number M268; Record Group 109; Roll 0127; State of Tennessee; Fold3 ; http://fold3.com:9292/image/70085639

[7] Ibid

[8] ibid

[9] 1870 United States Federal Census; Sneedville, Tennessee, District 6;Roll M593_1533 Page 40A; Family History Library Film 553032; Ancestry.com; Provo, Utah, USA

[10] Ibid

[11] 1880 United States Federal Census; Precinct 1, Ellis, Texas; Roll 1301 Family History Library Film 1255301, page 377C, ED 045; Ancestry.com; Provo, Utah, USA

[12] U.S. Federal Census Mortality Schedules, 1850-1885; Census Year 1880; Sixth and Seventh Civil District, Hancock, Tennessee, USA; Enumeration District 92; Line 22;  Death Date: Sep 1879; Cause of Death: Gunshot Wound Ancestry.com; Provo, Utah, USA

[13] Hancock County: Moonshine Feuds & Melungeons; http://historicalmelungeons.com/hancock_county___moonshine_feuds___malungeons.html; Accessed 2019-11-08

[14] 1880 United States Federal Census; Precinct 1, Ellis, Texas; Roll 1301 Family History Library Film 1255301, page 377C, ED 045; Ancestry.com; Provo, Utah, USA

[15] U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1700s-Current; Ancestry.com; 2012; Provo, UT, USA

[16] Ellis County, Texas Deed Records; Ellis County, Texas; Volume 4 Page 517; January 25, 1881 and Volume 37 page 552; October 6, 1886

[17] 1900 United States Federal Census; Ellis County, Texas; Justice Precinct 1; Sheet 5, Dwelling 75; Ancestry.com;2004;  Provo, Utah, USA

[18] Parten Family History; Compiled by Linda Parten Rudasill (great-granddaughter of William Marshall Parten); Possession of Teresa Stafford Penny; 555 LCR 401, Groesbeck, Texas

[19] 1910 United States Federal Census; Ellis County, Texas; Justice Precinct 1; Roll T624_1549; Page 7A; Enumeration District 115 Image 739; Ancestry.com; Provo, Utah, USA

[20] 1920 United States Federal Census; Ellis County, Texas; Justice Precinct 1; Roll T625_1800; Page 6A; Enumeration District 117 Image 125; Ancestry.com; Provo, Utah, USA