Samuel Washington Lindley, OLD DANVILLE, TEXAS

Samuel Washington Lindley, OLD DANVILLE, TEXAS

SAMUEL WASHINGTON LINDLEY

Note: The burial place of Samuel Washington Lindley is unmarked. Some of his descendants believe that he is buried either in this cemetery or in the Waverly Cemetery. Samuel's fourth and last wife, Martha Allphin, is buried in Allphin Cemetery, outside of Madisonville, TX. In any event, the following biography, submitted by a descendant, Richard J. Lindley, Jr., is a memorial to the life of Samuel Washington Lindley. His son, James Lindley, and many descendants are buried in this cemetery.

Samuel Washington Lindley was born in Anderson Co., South Carolina in 1788 to John and Sarah (Pyle) Lindley. After his father's death in 1790, his widowed mother moved Samuel and her family to Christian Co., Kentucky where, according to their records, he married Mary "Polly" Hall (d/o John) on June 5, 1809. Together with at least three of his brothers, Samuel and his wife, Polly, moved to Illinois and settled in Moultrie County where she gave birth to a daughter, Sarah. Polly died in 1810 from the effects of childbirth.

Samuel W. Lindley then married Elizabeth Whitley, the daughter of a neighboring family in Illinois, who was the mother of his next twelve children. He became a member of the Illinois Militia and fought in the only battle of The War of 1812 that occurred on Illinois soil during the Fort Wisconsin Campaign. He became friends with other militiamen during his service, many of which became political figures during and after the Illinois' attempt to gain statehood. One of these friends was Governor John Reynolds who wrote Lindley's letter of recommendation to the Republic of Mexico for his becoming a settler in Texas (Spanish Archives TX G.L.O., Vol. R & MC, pp. 21, 22).

In 1833, Samuel came to Texas with his wife, Elizabeth, and at least ten of their children born in Illinois. He was granted a league and labor of land on the present boundary of Montgomery and Walker Counties, where he founded the town of Danville, acquired additional land and became a well known planter and cattleman.

During their life together in Texas, they had a daughter, Mahala (b. 1833 and w/o Elijah C. Tolbert) and a son, Elijah (b. 1835) who married Eliza Tolbert Kelton (a widow and sister of Mahala's husband).

His eldest son, Jonathan Lndley (b. 1814), joined with fellow Texians under Ben Milam to defeat General Cos in the Battle of San Antonio in the fall of 1835. He returned to San Antonio around March 1, 1836, to help defend Texas from the Mexican Army led by Santa Anna. Jonathan was killed in the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. His father, Samuel, became the administrator of his estate and received a Bounty Land Grant from the Republic for his service and sacrifice to the cause of freedom.

Samuel's wife, Elizabeth, died in 1838. In 1839, Samuel married a widow, Margaret Elizabeth Collard Tolbert, and in 1840, they had a daughter, Amanda Marie (w/o W. Thomas Martin). Following the death of Margaret Elizabeth, Samuel married Martha Alphin in 1845 (no issue).

Samuel Washington Lindley died intestate in 1859. The probate and settlement of his estate evolved into a legal dispute between his children and his fourth wife, wherein the children prevailed with their petition (Montgomery Co. Probate Records, Vol. 11, pp 47 - 51). Sarah (w/o Thomas Steel of McLennan Co., TX) the daughter of Samuel and Polly, his first wife, was included as one of his heirs, together with the children by Elizabeth. His last child, Amanda Marie, did not participate in the estate distribution.

The other children of Samuel W. and Elizabeth Lindley were Barsheba (b. 1811, d. 1885), wife of John Sadler; Mary Polly (b. 1812, d. 1893), wife of Hiram Little; Elizabeth (b. 1815), wife of Lemuel Miller Collard; William (b. 1817, d. 1870) husband of Martha Jane Hostetter; Martha "Patsy" (b. 1821) wife of (1) John J. Crowson (2) Anthony Gibson; Samuel Washington, Jr. (b. 1823); Rachel (b. 1827, d. 1916), wife of Benjamin F. Kelton; John (. b. 1829, d. 1911), husband of Eliza Ann Martin; and James (b. 1831, d. 1895 and progenitor of this writer), husband of Mary L. Irvine, daughter of Benjamin F. and Mary Davis (Bellesfelt) Irvine, citizens of The Republic of Texas.

Contact Richard at Richard James Lindley, Jr.

Return to Burial List Return to Danville-Shepard Hill Cemetery Contact me at Karen Lawless

Created January 5, 2005