JENKINS BROWN IRWIN

The following bio was taken from page 255 of the book entitled "Rusk County History" compiled and edited and used with permission of the Rusk County Historical Commission.

Transcribed by Shirley Koym

Submitted by Gloria Brimley Mayfield, Cemeteries of Texas

Jenkins Brown Irwin, Confederate Scout, Company B, 4^th Alabama Regiment Cavalry, was captured near Paint Rock, Alabama and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio. When he was released after the War Between the States, he married Lucinda A. Nicholson on September 18, 1866 in Moulton, Alabama, and they came to Texas (with a wagon train from that area) on their honeymoon. Twin ponies raised by Jenk were Trixie and Dixie. Trixie was taken by the Yankees when he was captured, but Dixie was safe with Lucinda. My grandmother Lucinda rode Dixie to Texas. Incredible as it seems, she swam Dixie across the Mississippi River.

Another settler, Grandmother Galloway, had a jersey cow tied to her wagon, and each night the entire group shared with her the "Galloway gravy" made with the rich milk.

The group came to the Laneville-Glenfawn area. Among them were Irwins, Harpers, Wares, and Galloways.

Later some of them moved to Coryelle County, where my father Samuel Edgar Irwin was born in 1876. Later, they moved back to Rusk County, near Reklaw.

Descendants who lived in the Jacksonville-Henderson-Nacogdoches area were: Cora Irwin (Mrs. Aaron McKnight); Samuel Edgar Irwin, who married Lola Cawthorn, then Minnie Christopher; twins, Oscar and Arthur (who married Mae Richey); Alice (Mrs. Lynn Jones), and Cindy (Mrs. Jim Crawford).

My father, Samuel Edgar Irwin, attended school at Glenfawn, probably around 1887. A teacher, Mr. Livesay, had students plant trees on Arbor Day. My father spent all of his recess and lunch period bringing leaf mold from a fence corner, incurring laughter from classmates. However, his tree lived and Mr. Jim Galloway reported it was still there fifty years later.

Students used slates and slate pencils. There were Friday afternoon spelling bees. They spelled by syllables as in – "Constantinople –C-o-n—con-s-t-a-n—stan—t-i—ti—n-o—no—p-l-e—ple—Constantinople." There was also the study of logic from a book beginning with a picture of cats and questions asking the color of certain combinations of the cats.

Grandmother Irwin gave violin lessons to her children from a traveling music teacher out of Henderson. Ed listened to his older sister and played the violin "by ear," which angered the teacher so much that he would not accept him as a student. So Ed played by ear, most "fiddle-music," but also violin when he wished, as well as any instrument that he picked up – accordion, piano, organ, jews-harp, xylophone.

As a young man (before 1900) my father, Ed, sang with different groups, including Sharp McNeil. Before 1930, our family attended a Sacred Harp Singing somewhere south of Henderson.

Submitted by: Jewel Irwin Shankles