A Little From the Nerren side of the Family Tree...

My Granny Wallace was a Nerren before she married. Her Great Grand Father was Elam Albritton. That makes him my third Great Grandfather.

 Elam was born in Simpson, Miss on February 2, 1843 to James and Charity. The 1850 U.S census shows the family in Houston, Tx. Elam is 7. James is 50 and Charity is 44. There are 4 other people ages 17, 12, 5 and 2 listed in the household. Some are brothers and sisters, perhaps the older one is an uncle. It's hard to tell with this kind of thing. 

The next thing we find out out about Elam is that he is a private in the 7th Texas Calvary  7th Regiment Mounted Volunteers Confederate States of America serving from 1861-1865. That would have made him age 18 at enlistment. This Regiment formed in the summer of 1861 and was made up of men from San Antonio, Palestine, and Angelina County. They began as part of the Army of New Mexico and soon transferred to the Trans Mississippi Department. They participated in about 17 engagements including the Battle of Mansfield, La. Not too long ago we toured that battle field and I had no idea I was walking the same ground an ancestor once did.  Another notable battle was Cox's Plantation where a small Confederate force routed a larger Union force. A little research indicates 430 Union dead and 33 Confederates killed. The 7th may have born the brunt of this for the Rebels as the Regimental record lists 6 killed 35 missing and 34 wounded. While the official end of the war was May 9th 1865 the 7th did not surrender until June 2nd. 

The next official document that allows us to track Elam is the 1870 census. He's in Angelina County, he's a farmer with a value of $550. The post office is listed as Pennington and he is married to Marie whose maiden name was Massingill and they have a one year old, Andrew. Things are a little murky here. Some places list the wife as Mary, an easy mix up from Marie on and old scratchy hand written document. It seems that about 1875 Mary or Marie was no more and Elam is Married to Ruth Massingill. They seem to have one son and daughter between 1875 and 1889.   Elam passed away on Jan. 22nd, 1910.  Here's his stone in the Mckindree Cemetery.

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It seems that about 1824 Ruth fell on hard times and applied for a Confederate widows pension at the Angelina Country courthouse. Here's the document:

If you read this document two friends B.F.Nerren, (probably a relative) and C.A. Rush swear that "We were in the same regiment and all together all the time. We were in Company D and Elam was in company E. We knew him to be a good solider and a good citizen after the war up to the time of his death." It's signed by these men and the facts of the companies and their names show up on the regiment roster. It's also signed by Judge J.T. Maroney and the tax assessor collector Jack Nerren, probably another relative. I guess Ruth needed this pension because they certify her homestead value as "none." Seems that Confederate pensions were still being awarded up until 1955.   

So we have found out a lot of things about old Elam but questions still remain. Who were Mary and Ruth, both with the Massingill surname? What happened? What about the Confederate service ? He does not seem to have been a slave owner but just a poor boy in a rich man's war. There are certainly Nerrens, Massingills and Albrittions who are still around. Maybe we will one day find out. 

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