Please read this very interesting collection of historical accounts (attached below) from Fred Downs posted on the Rootsweb Bastrop County, TX Query Forum. We have been trying for years to figure out where Nancy "Arledge" fits in--this theory that she was the daughter of Nathaniel and Jane Armstrong ALDRIDGE makes a lot of sense. Can someone from that branch confirm that Nathaniel and Jane had a daughter Nancy Margaret b 1793? She is not listed on the tree I received from Thurman Aldridge for that family. Vivian, are you still on the list? Thanks! Pam ************************************* Pam Wilson wilsonpam@mindspring.com Marietta, GA List Administrator, EFSS-L (Early Families in Southern States), HOLBERT-L and LAWLER-L through Rootsweb.com Associate list administrator, Arledge/Aldridge list (arledge@tx3.com): to join, go to http://www.tx3.com/~arledge/subscr.htm Coordinator, Arledge Family History Project http://www.geocities.com/wilson_pam/ Arledge Family History database on Rootsweb's WorldConnect: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=wilsonpam > Date: > Mon, 30 Apr 2001 13:01:17 -0600 > From: > Fred Downs <muddauber@worldnet.att.net> > Source: GC-Bastrop County, Tx Query Forum > URL: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Tx/Bastrop/11495 > Subject: GOTCHER Massacre > > > Surname: GOTCHER, BOREN > ------------------------- > > My GG grandparents were Julia Ann GOTCHER b. 1833 Clay Co., MO, d. 1859 > Collin Co., TX, bd. Old Richards Cemetery, Blue Ridge, Collin Co., TX, > marr. 25 Aug 1853 Collin Co., TX to John BOREN b. 9 Jul 1823 AR, d. 1892 > Collin Co., TX, bd. Old Richards Cemetery, Blue Ridge, Collin Co., TX. > Julia Ann's parents were William Alfred GOTCHER b. 4 Aug 1806 TN, d. 12 > Jun 1883 Farmersville, Collin Co., TX, bd. Farmersville, Collin Co., TX, > marr. abt. 1828 Franklin Co., AL to Mary (Polly) HAVENS b. 1809 Franklin > Co., TN, d. 1883 Farmersville, Collin Co., TX, bd. Farmersville, Collin > Co., TX. > I have not yet found a connection to James GOTCHER Sr. b. 1787 AL but I > am sure there is one. > > ------------------------------------------------------------ > ------------------------------------------------------------ > > The Gotcher Massacre > This is an excerpt from A History of the James Gotcher Family by David > O Emison. Mr. Emison was often in the company of his grandfather, Riley > Carrol Gotcher. Riley Carrol's father was William Riley Gotcher who was > kidnapped by a group of Comanches in 1837. Mr. Emison recorded the account > told him by his grandfather. I am indebted to Mr. Emison for allowing me > to reprint this portion of his book. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Following Texas Independence in April 1836, one of the sons (of James Gotcher), > Samuel Gotcher, enlisted in the Texas Rangers and served under the command > of Captain Billingsley. Samuel obtained his land grant from Texas which > was due him, having been of age and a single man when he immigrated to > Texas. Single men were granted one third of a league of land as their headright. > The one third league given to Samuel was Certificate No. 50 and was located > in the downtown area of Austin, Texas. > > The present Capitol building rests on the Samuel Gotcher land grant. The > approximate north-south center line of the grant is Congress Street in > Austin, and extended south to the Colorado River. It is the same land that > Great-Grandfather William Riley (Gotcher) later inherited. > > In November 1836, Samuel returned to his home in Bastrop. (Bastrop on that > day denoted a very large area, generally encompassing present Bastrop, > Lee, Williamson, and part of Travis County). The following March 1837, > was the date of the tragic event in the story of the family of James Gotcher. > > The family was in their home on Rabbs Creek in present Lee County. The > home was located on a hill about 400 yards east of Rabbs Creek and 100 > yards north of the Gotcher Trace. Their now widowed daughter Jane Crawford, > and her baby girl, Margaret Elizabeth were living in their household also. > Mrs. Gotcher, Jane, her baby, William Riley and James, Jr., were at the > homesite. Mr. Gotcher and his oldest sons being Samuel and Nathaniel were > in the forest preparing firewood. Jane and William Riley went to a small > creek nearby to get water for the family use. Comanche Indians were then > approaching the Gotcher home and when Jane and Riley saw them, they immediately > attempted to return and warn Mrs. Gotcher. However, the Indians captured > them both and Mrs. Gotcher heard them. She then very bravely defended her > home and her loved ones inside as best she could. Before she fell dead, > her body pierced by many arrows, she had shot and killed five of the attackers. > Mr. Gotcher and his sons, hearing the shots, quickly ran to defend their > loved ones, however, they were all quickly killed. Jane struggled to free > herself that she might comfort one of her dying brothers nearby, but her > captors would not permit. > > The Indians scalped Mrs. Gotcher. She had long beautiful hair which they > placed on a pole for their ceremonial. The survivors, Jane, her daughter > Margaret Elizabeth, James Jr, and William Riley were forced to participate > in the Indian ceremonial dance around their mother's scalp. Immediately > afterwards the captives were forced to leave with the Indians. Besides > the survivors, horses, hogs, and salt were the only things the Indians > took from the Gotcher home. Before the day ended, some settlers took chase > to the Indians, unaware of the Gotchers being among them. The settlers > soon lost track and had to return to their homes. That night, the Indians > ate the hogs they had taken and became violently ill from fresh pork and > their hard ride from the settlers. > > Three days after the tragedy, Colonel Edward Burleson came upon the Gotcher > home and found the terrible scene. He buried them directly across the Gotcher > Trace from their home. A Texas State Historical Marker has been placed > on the burial site. Colonel Burleson buried the Indians which Mrs. Gotcher > killed near a very large oak tree between the homesite and the family graves. > > For the survivors, life was completely miserable on the trail. Their food > consisted of whatever could be found, or a morsel occasionally tossed them > by an Indian. William Riley remembered having some skunk to eat. Jane learned > to prepare a broth made from acorns. The Indians treated them with extreme > cruelty, and on one occasion tried to kill Jane's daughter. Being a baby, > no doubt hungry and weary, she cried very much. This annoyed the Indians. > One of them took her and threw her into a stream of water to drown. Jane > immediately retrieved her and the Indian moved to take the baby again. > Jane hit him over the head with a stick of wood. The Indian leader observed > this and intervened. He gave Jane her baby, admired her bravery and told > her that her baby would not receive such treatment again. > > Onward in a northerly direction the party went, with the Indians on ponies > and the Gotchers on foot. Jane obviously was a remarkable person to keep > her daughter and two brothers alive. At night they were closely guarded > or tied securely to prevent their escape. It was near the present Oklahoma > border that escape did occur only to be captured again. The Comanche party > encountered another party of Indians and a skirmish between them began. > During the skirmish Jane with her daughter and her brothers did escape > only to be captured by the other party of Indians who were Choctaws and > who resided in Oklahoma. The Choctaws took the little family of Gotchers > to their camps in the Arbuckle Mountain area of Oklahoma. > > During this period of Texas history, it was very common for Indians to > take captives to the Red River area of Texas where they were able to trade > them for their desired bounty to other Indians, or to white traders at > trading posts. It is believed that this was the Comanche's intent as they > approached the Red River area and encountered the Choctaw party. No doubt > the captured family was considered by the Indians to represent very attractive > trading possibilities. > > The Choctaws were not cruel to the family. They were required to work for > them as servants and they were closely guarded to prevent escape. It became > William Riley's chore to keep the camp fires burning. The village chief > would wake him with the exclamation "Sosh-comma-rye-ah", being their language > for "get wood on that fire!" Quite obviously William Riley was a fearless > and actually a wild lad who at first was in disfavor with the Choctaws. > In their games that he was forced to participate in, he was usually the > winner. One game involved sticks in the hand of each player within a marked > off area on the ground. Players would be required to be within the "ring" > and attempt to hit the other player or cause him to leave the ring. An > opposing player would ward off the other player's attack with his stick. > William Riley became an undisputed winner, and even injured an Indian lad. > Many in the camp were opposed to his action and his obvious superiority > over the Indian lads and were annoyed by his presence. However, the chief > was attracted to William Riley, admired his bravery and skill. With his > influence, the chief won the acceptance of all the acceptance of all the > Indians for William Riley and although he was a captive, he became one > of them. On one occasion, the chief kept him hidden for several days in > a buffalo hide to protect him from the village people. > > In January 1838, the Choctaw chief and his party took the family to Coffee's > trading post on the Red River to negotiate a trade with the whites or some > other Indians. Colonel Coffee was the owner of the trading post and he > and his wife, "Aunt" Sophia Coffee resided in the post. When the Indians > approached the post with their captives, "Aunt" Sophia saw the pitiful > little family and pleaded with the Colonel to negotiate for their release. > Charles Spaulding was also in the post and was there in search of the family. > He and Colonel Coffee traded with the Indians for their captives. Many > stories have been given as to the actual trading items, but no doubt the > family brought a handsome amount of goods, trinkets, and usual items desired > by Indians. > > Charles Spaulding was very attracted to Jane and after a short romance, > married her on February 1, 1838. Charles and Jane with the children then > left for Bastrop. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Another retelling of this tale is Indian Depredations in Texas: Reliable > Accounts of Battles, Wars, Adventures, ... by JW Wilbarger. That version > erroneously lists Lemuel Crawford, Jane's husband, as being killed in the > Gotcher massacre. In January 1836, Lemuel joined with a group of volunteers > headed for the Alamo and there Lemuel died with his fellow volunteers on > March 6, 1836. His name is listed on the monument outside the Alamo. > > This version of the story makes for lively reading, and there is an illustration > of Jane rescuing her infant daughter, Margaret from "a watery grave." Mr. > Wilbarger reports that the barter for the release of the Gotcher family > consisted of "four hundred yards of calico, a large number of blankets, > a quantity of beads and some other articles." > > The recounting in Volume 1 of A Comprehensive history of Texas edited by > Dudley G. Wooten states that the tribe was Caddoan, rather than Comanche. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The massacre of the Gotcher family occurred in March 1837 near Serbin, > Lee Co., Texas. Father Jamer Sr., sons Samuel and Nathaniel, and mother, > Nancy, were all killed by a band of Comanches at their home on Rabbs Creek. > Three of the children and a grandchild were taken as slaves by the Indians. > > Lee County, Tx Query Forum > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > GOTCHER, GOACHER, GOTIER > > Posted by Barbara Gotcher on Sat, 21 Mar 1998 > > Surnames: > > James Gotcher (Goacher or Gotier)and his family emmigrated to Texas from > Alabama between 1825 and 1834. Him and his son are listed in Stephen F. > Austin's Register of Families Vol. II in 1834. The family first settled > in San Felipe de Austin, then Rabb's Creek in present day Lee County, and > finally Pin Oak Creek. James was selected in 1830 to build a road to connect > San Felipe and Mina (the present day town of Bastrop). This was known as > Goacher or Gotier's Trace. James and two of his sons- Samuel and Nathaniel > received land from the Ayuntamiento. > > In 1837, most of the family was killed in an Indian attack on their farm. > A married daughter, Jane Crawford, her baby, and two small brothers, James > Jr. and William Riley, were the only survivors and were taken captive by > the Indians. After about two years, they were ransomed by a trading agent > on the Red River. Charles Spalding escorted them back to Texas. Jane and > Charles were married and raised a large family. They lived on the farm > where the raid occurred. > > William Riley married Rhoda Hancock at McLennon County in 1855. They lived > in Coryell County then moved to Brown County near May Texas. They had five > sons. John Harvey, Joel Alexander,Riley Carroll, Samuel Nathaniel, and > Charles Lloyd. Charles Lloyd was my husband's great-grandfather. > > I need information about the family before they came to Texas. After the > raid James' estate was mentioned in the minutes of the Mina Court in the > regular term for May 1837 and a special term for May 8, 1837. I can find > no settlement of the estate of James, Samuel or Nathaniel. I can not understand > why this family is not mentioned among the first settlers of Texas. I also > need a list of names of the people buried in the Goacher Cementery in Lee > County. I have been told that the cementery is on the farm where the Indian > raid occurred. Any help would be greatly appreciated. > atly appreciated. > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > The Handbook of Texas Online is a joint project of The General Libraries > at the University of Texas at Austin and the Texas State Historical Association. > > GOTIER, JAMES (?-1837). James Gotier (Goacher, Goucher, Gotcher), a native > of Alabama, settled on Rabbs Creek in southern Lee County, Texas. In 1831 > or 1832, under the authority of the ayuntamientoqv of San Felipe, he built > a trail, later called Gotier's Trace,qv from Bastrop to San Felipe. In > 1835 he moved his family to Bastrop County, where he planted cotton and > raised cattle. He is said to have built the first house in the county. > The Gotier family was attacked by Indians in 1837. Gotier, his wife, son-in-law, > and two sons were killed, but his daughter and her two children were taken > captive and later released. > > BIBLIOGRAPHY: Frank Brown, Annals of Travis County and the City of Austin > (MS, Frank Brown Papers, Barker Texas History Center, University of Texas > at Austin). Kenneth Kesselus, History of Bastrop County, Texas, Before > Statehood (Austin: Jenkins, 1986). William Henry Korges, Bastrop County, > Texas: Historical and Educational Development (M.A. thesis, University > of Texas, 1933). J. W. Wilbarger, Indian Depredations in Texas (Austin: > Hutchings, 1889; rpt., Austin: State House, 1985). > > The following individuals are related (*) to the Gotchers and/or (==) > interested in the family. > > *David Emerson 19110 Candletrail Dr., Spring, TX. 77388 > > *Brenda Jackson 3720 Ransom, San Angelo, Tx 76903 (915) 653-7391 (Linda > spoke with her and she is happy to hear from anyone) > > ==Larry Repper 130 E. Reed, La Grange Tx 78945(409) 968-6339 He is a member > of Oak Historical Assn. > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Gotcher Family Genealogy Forum > > Re: James Gotcher, Jr > Posted by: Madelyn Wearden Aaland Date: October 20, 1999 at 22:50:24 > In Reply to: Re: James Gotcher, Jr by Clyde Gotcher of 129 > > Well, this is what happens when you're writing several messages in a row > about some of the same people to different addresses. You are quite right. > Jane Gotcher Crawford's second husband was Charles Spalding. Her grand-daughter > Mary Jane Timoney's second husband was Sterle Stroud. > I received information from my great-grandmother - Margaret Ann Bundrant, > Mary Jane's daughter - that her foremother was Mary Nancy Arledge who married > James Gotcher. However, the Aldridge/Aldredge/ Arledge researchers can't > place Mary Nancy. My cousin Vivian Quinn, a descendant of Mary Nancy and > Charles Spalding, has been in touch with Francis Aldridge. It is their > belief that "Mary Nancy Arledge" was "Nancy Margaret Aldridge." And certainly > the names and dates match. > Nancy Margaret Aldridge was the daughter of Nathaniel Benjamin Aldridge > Jr. and Jane Armstrong of North Carolina. She was born in 1793 in South > Carolina. > I have very much enjoyed the book "Albion's Seed" which discusses emigration > patterns from Great Britain. There is also a good discussion of common > naming patterns.( At the moment, the author's name escapes me; I will forward > it to you ASAP.) It does seem significant that two of the Gotcher children > were named Nathaniel and Jane. Until further information surfaces, I am > accepting Nancy Margaret Aldridge. In geneology, it seems that even the > stuff written in stone may be arguable. I believe the historical marker > in Texas refers to Goucher? >