Friend of Davy Crockett or FOD...

 

Next time you see some catfishing photos posted on this blog or you can simply click on the catfish tag below and notice the orange cap Cathy wears while on the lake. It has the famous Davy Crockett quote, "you may go to hell and I may go to Texas." She has kind of a fan girl thing going for him.

 In hindsight we know that Texas turned into a terrible mess for old Davy but we are left with a courageous historical story that is probably part fact and part myth. Cathy got worried that maybe Crockett was not such a nice guy as many historical figures sometimes seem to be in it for their own benefit. So she did some research and turns out he was an ok guy who stood up for the indigenous people's rights, stood up against Andrew Jackson in politics when history shows was not such a nice guy despite saving New Orleans from the British and as this newspaper clipping proves Crockett was a friend to my 4th great grandfather George Massingill.

You can read the clipping which is said to have appeared in newspapers across Texas in 1883. George seemed to be a pretty nice guy also even though my research shows he served under Jackson (I'm not a fan) in a unit of wagon guards and road builders in the War of 1812. He was at the battle of Mobile Bay and "probably the Battle of New Orleans" is the best I can find out. 

I don't know if he was at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, an Indian fight led by Jackson that occurred in 1814, the year before New Orleans. I hope not as this adventure, conducted on intelligence that the Indians were siding with the British turned out to be an opportunity to take land from the people living there to be occupied by landowners who moved in the imported people they owned to farm cotton.  

I don't think Crockett was at this battle and I don't know for certain about George but Sam Houston was there, Jackson was there as were some of the Wileys on my mom's side of the family. Makes me wonder if the average guy new what all was involved in these war strategies. 

Enough speculation though and back to George Massingill. Somehow George avoided Crockett's Texas trip but by 1837 having divorced Hannah Gann (yes, I'm related to Ganns and he still owns the court the legal filing fee of $12.90) he married Polly and they arrived in Nacogdoches with 10 kids on a wagon train. They were rewarded land in the Shawnee Bottoms area which is still kind of a remote place from town in these times but soon moved to Angelina County. 

George died in 1884 and is buried in the McKindree Cemetery off Highway 103 East probably 5 miles from my house.  

George Massigill is on my Granny Wallace's side of the family. Massigills married Albrittons who married Nerrens who married Wallace's. I don't know how long the Albrittons been in the area but the Nerrens have been in Angelina County since the 1840s.   

     

I have not been in any famous battles or I doubt that anyone I know will have an enduring legacy like Davy Crockett so I guess maybe my ancestors will recall I wore a mask during Covid 19. It's been the best I could do.

I still enjoy a trip to the Alamo and may enjoy it more in the future given these newfound facts. Cathy, in Davy Crockett fan girl mode says she knew there was something about me.