Life History

Notes

• William Greenberry Briscoe
  Birth 16 May 1824 in Apple Grove, Morgan, Alabama
  Death 22 May 1903 in Frederick, Tillman, Oklahoma
  Parents:
  James W Briscoe
  Birth 1804 in Charlotte, Virginia
  Death 1 Dec 1862 in Sevier, Arkansas
  Mary Polly Dossey
  Birth 1807 in Franklin, Tennessee
  Death 1851 in Madison, Sevier, Arkansas
  Spouse Sarah Sallie Ralls
  Birth 13 Mar 1827 in Obion, Tennessee
  Death 26 Jun 1888 in Llano, Llano, Texas
  --  Anderson2, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/26932610/person/1952805351
  
  "James W. Briscoe was a Justice of the Peace in Alabama and Sevier Co., Arkansas where he moved in 1837. His son, William Greenberry Briscoe married Sarah Roll there Janauary 11, 1844. ... After the death of his father on December 1, 1861, William G. and his family moved to Groesbeck, Limestone Co., Texas, and later to Robertson County, Texas, where Briscoe built the first gin in the county. His wife Sallie died in 1880. He came to Tillman, Oklahoma in 1904 etc"
  --  "James Warren Briscoe," http://briscoe.eu/James_w_briscoe/james_w_briscoe.htm
  
  Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
  Wm Briscoe
  Age 19, Birth Year abt 1825
  Residence Sevier, Arkansas
  Spouse's Name Sarah Rolls
  Spouse's Age 17
  Spouse's Residence Sevier, Arkansas
  Marriage 13 Mar 1844 Sevier County
  
  1850 Federal Census, Sevier County, Arkansas, 11 November, Madison Township, page 422 (scan 211B), Hse/Fam #347
  William Briscoe 26 M Farmer $No Valuation Real Estate b Alabama [b abt 1824]
  Sally Briscoe 23 F b Tennessee [b abt 1827]
  Mary Briscoe 6 b Arkansas [b abt 1844]
  James Briscoe 5 M b Arkansas [b abt 1845]
  Martha Briscoe 4 b Arkansas [b abt 1846]
  - page 423 -
  Thomas Briscoe 2 M b Arkansas [b abt 1848]
  Charles Briscoe 0 M b Arkansas [b abt 1850]
  
  1860 Federal Census, Polk County, Arkansas, 26 July, Sulphur Springs, PO Shetucket, page 87 (scan 681), Hse #603, Fam #598
  Wm G Bescoe (Briscoe) 36 M Farmer $700 Real Estate $400 Personal born Ala [b abt 1824]
  Sally Bescoe 33 F born Tenn Cannot read or write [b abt 1827]
  Mary E Bescoe 15 F born AR [b abt 1845]
  James Bescoe 14 M born AR [b abt 1846]
  Thomas Bescoe 11 M born AR [b abt 1849]
  Charles Bescoe 10 M born AR [b abt 1850]
  Franklin Bescoe 9 M born AR [b abt 1851]
  Sarah Bescoe 7 F born AR [b abt 1853]
  Adaline Bescoe 7 M born AR [b abt 1853]
  William Bescoe 5 M born AR [b abt 1855]
  George Bescoe 3 M born AR [b abt 1857]
  John Bescoe 1 M born AR [b abt 1859]
  
  William and his family have not been found in the 1870 census.
  
  1880 Federal Census, Robertson County, Texas, 14 June, District 143, Bald Prairie, page 14B, Hse #110, Fam #111
  Briscoe, William  W M 56 Head Farmer AL VA AL [b abt 1824]
  Briscoe, Sallie  W F 53 Wife Keeping House Tenn SC SC [b abt 1827]
  Briscoe, Mary C  W F 36 Dau Ark Ala Tenn
  Briscoe, Edmond W  W M 16 Son Working on Farm Ark Ala Tenn [b abt 1864]
  Briscoe, Joseph L  W M 13 Son Working on Farm Tex Ala Tenn [b abt 1867]
  Briscoe, Henry C  W M 12 Son Working on Farm Tex Ala Tenn
  Carroll, James F  W M 10 Grandson Working on Farm Texas -- Ark
  Carroll, Clarissa A  W F 8 Texas -- Ark
  
  The birth states and ages of the children tells us about when they moved from Arkansas to Texas.  The last two sons Joseph and Henry were only a year apart in age.  They moved to Texas about 1867 or early 1868.
  
  The history cited above reports that William established the first gin in Robertson County, Texas.  We are told in historical records that the gin, located in the new county seat of Calvert, was already the biggest gin in the world in the 1870s.  In the 1880 census, William's family was enumerated in Bald Prairie area of Robertson County, Texas.  The birth states of the children reported in that census tell us that William moved his family to Texas in about 1865 or 1866.  Trains started stopping on the new line in 1869.
  
  "One of the earliest settlers was Joseph Harlan, who received a land grant in 1837.  The town’s namesake, Robert Calvert, established a plantation here around 1850.  The Texas Central Railway laid tracks to Calvert in 1868 with the trains arriving the next year.  Population was drawn from the communities of Sterling and Owensville and in time, Calvert replaced Owensville as the Robertson County seat of government.  A post office was granted that same year (1868) and Calvert prospered as a cotton shipping point. In the 1870s the town reportedly had the largest cotton gin in the world."
  --  "Calvert, Texas," TexasEscapes, http://www.texasescapes.com/CentralTexasTownsSouth/Calvert-Texas.htm
  
  If William was the one who put in the first gin there, he set right to it early on.  This was already a big cotton area, as noted in the article below.  Already in 1871 the gin there was the largest in the world.
  
  Sue says that this was the first gin in the country.  I suspect she had a typo, meaning the first gin int he county.  Perhaps William established the first gin in Robertson County, Texas.  Wikipedia notes that by 1878, Calvert had several gins.
  
  "The earliest known white settler in the area was Joseph Harlan, whose 1837 land grant laid five miles south of what is now the City of Calvert. In 1850 Robert Calvert, for whom the town was named, established a plantation west of the town. ... By 1878, Calvert was a thriving community with 52 businesses. ... The community remained a major cotton center with many gins, cotton compresses, and cottonseed oil mills, until 1899 when the town was damaged by floods."
  --  "Calvert, Texas," Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvert,_Texas
  
  William Greenberry Briscoe
  Birth 16 May 1824 Apple Grove, Morgan County, Alabama, USA
  Death 22 Jul 1908 (aged 84) Frederick, Tillman County, Oklahoma, USA
  Burial Frederick Memorial Cemetery, Frederick, Tillman County, Oklahoma
  Spouse Sarah Ralls Briscoe 1827-1888
  Children:
  Nancy Adaline Briscoe Dove 1851-1918
  Benjamin Franklin Briscoe 1854-1929
  William Briscoe 1855-1901
  George M Briscoe 1857-1939
  Edmond Willis Briscoe 1861-1939
  Joseph Alonzo Briscoe 1866-1945
  Henry Clark Briscoe 1869-1948
  Created by Paula Feb 20, 2009
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #34036621, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34036621
  
  Posted with the memorial is a short obituary cut from a local paper.  Part of it is missing.  The readable part is transcribed here.
  
  Obituary of W G Briscoe
  W G Briscoe, aged 84, died at his home in Frederick, July 22, 1908, and was buried at the Frederick Cemetery July 22nd. Funeral services were conducted at the grave by Pastor John W Jennings at 3 pm.  The deceased ....  --  Obituary of W G Briscoe, The Frederik Enterprise, Frederick, Tillman County, Oklahoma, 23 July 1908

Sources

• 1. 1880 Federal Census, Robertson County, Texas
  • 14 June, District 143, Bald Prairie, page 14B, Hse #110, Fam #111
• 2. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 3. Obituaries from Oklahoma
• 4. Arkansas, County Marriages Index, 1837-1957
• 5. Ancestry Trees
  • Anderson2, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/26932610/person/1952805351
• 6. 1860 Federal Census, Polk County, Arkansas
  • 26 July, Sulphur Springs, PO Shetucket, page 87 (scan 681), Hse #603, Fam #598
• 7. Briscoe Family Genealogy
• 8. New York City, Deaths, 1892-1902
  • Certificate #42267
• 9. 1850 Federal Census, Sevier County, Arkansas
  • 11 November, Madison Township, page 211B, Hse/Fam #347
• 10. 1850 Federal Census, Sevier County, Arkansas
  • 11 November, Madison Township, page 423 (scan 212A), Hse/Fam #347
• 11. 1900 Federal Census, Milam County, Texas
  • 7 June, Justice Precinct 5, District 77, page 9A, Hse/Fam #120
• 12. Wikitree
• 13. Texas, County Marriage Records, 1817-1965
• 14. 1910 Federal Census, Tillman County, Oklahoma
  • 9 May, Richland Township, District 255, page 15B, Hse #287, Fam #293
• 15. 1930 Federal Census, Tillman County, Oklahoma
  • 14 April, Frederick Ward 1, District 5, page 106A, 111 North 13th St, Hse #211, Fam #246
• 16. 1900 Federal Census, Bosque County, Texas
  • 14 June, Justice Precinct 4, District 7, page 6B, Hse #101, Fam #103
• 17. 1920 Federal Census, Tillman County, Oklahoma
  • 31 January, Richland Township, District 182, page 17B, Hse #152, Fam #169
• 18. 1900 Federal Census, Llano County, Texas
  • 12 June, Justice Precinct 4, District 128, page 4B, Hse #77, Fam #78