Pg. 386 Robert Lewis Chalk Robert Lewis Chalk, son of William Roscoe Chalk and Frances Omsgy Blackburn, was born August 25, 1841, Maury County, Tennessee. He came to Bell County with his parents in 1851. On November 18, 1861, he enlisted for Civil War service at Belton as a private in Company F, 6th Texas Infantry, under Captain H.E. Bradford. Later, he was promoted to corporal and then to sergent. A regiment was organized at Victoria, with Colonel R.R. Garland in command. In spring 1862 the company marched to Arkansas Post, Arkansas and arrived about September 1. He fought in the Battle of Arkansas Post and was captured January 11, 1863, when the Confederate forces were defeated. He was taken to Camp Butler Prison, near Springfield, Illinois, but escaped and joined the Missouri Volunteers, North Missouri, and was first lieutenant in Captain Marion West's company. After the war, Chalk received a law degree at Lebanon, Tennessee. On August 3, 1870, he married Anne Margaret Butcher in Comanche, Iowas, where she had been born on August 16, 1851. Her family moved there from Randolph County, West Virginia. Her parents were Edward G. Butcher and Sarah Ann Wilson of Virginia. They were descendants of Honorable John Hart, who signed the Declaration of Independence; Sir Warham St. Leger, a member of Virginia House of Burgesses in 1609; and Governor Richard Bennett of Virginia. After their marriage, Robert Lewis Chalk practiced law in Belton for many years. He was a Mason and the family were members of the Methodist Church. Children of this marriage were: Sarah Minna who married William Thomas Scott II, then Harry Hyman; George Otis who married Mary Elizabeth Nunn; Robert Lee; William Edward; and Lelia Blanche who married Robert Lee Dalton. Mrs. Anne Butcher Chalk died December 25, 1891 and her marked grave is in South Belton Cemetery. On January 21, 1897, at Killeen, Chalk married Mrs. Sophia Walker Manning, born January 22, 1862, in Bastrop. After their marriage, Chalk was mayor of Killeen for several years. One daughter, Nora Ethel, was born of this union. She married William Frederick Page. Chalk died July 7, 1914, in San Antonio and his marked grave is in South Belton Cemetery. The second wife, Sophia Manning Chalk, died in Killeen. By her previous marriage she had one daughter, Dell, who married J.M. Gray at Killeen on February 14, 1916. Pgs. 386 - 387 <Picture: "Major Whitfield Chalk served as the first sheriff of Williamson County and in 1848 built the first mill on Salado Creek."> Whitfield Chalk Major Whitfield Chalk, son of William Chalk and Elizabeth Williams, was born April 2, 18ll, Hertford County, North Carolina. After being ordained a minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, he immigrated to Texas in 1833. By 1842 he was a resident of the municipality of Milam. While living here he served as a lieutenant in J.G.W. Fisher's company which repulsed Adrian Woll"s invasion of San Antonio. On October 17, 1842, he enlisted for the Somervell Expedition and was commissioned a major. He was a member of Mier Expedition and was among those captured; however, he escaped with Caleb St. Clair from Mier on the evening the Texans capitulated, December 25, 1842. They hid under stacks of cane and, after terrible hardships, finally returned home. Whitfield was commissioned a major on August 5, 1844, in Second Regiment, First Brigade, Republic of Texas Militia, by General Sam Houston, President of the Republic. While holding this office, Chalk married Mary Fleming on August 9, 1847. For services rendered to the Republic of Texas, Chalk received a grant of 320 acres of land in Milam County. Evidently, after their marriage, the Chalks resided in the western part of Milam County, which was later divided into Williamson and Bell Counties. After Williamson County was created March 13, 1848, Major Chalk became the first sheriff of the new county. Whe the census of 1850 was taken, Whitfield Chalk and family were listed in Milam County, probably in that part which became Bell County on January 22, 1850. He gave his occupation as millwright. He and his brother, Ira, had built the first mill on Salado Creek. The family was living in Bell County in 1860 and he gave his occupation as milling. Later, this family lived in Brenham, Texas, and by 1873 were residents of Lampasas County. He died May 19, 1902, in that county and his wife died there on January 1, 1903. In 1944 the federal government erected a marble marker at his grave commemorating his service in the Mexican War. Major and Mrs. Chalk were the parents of nine children. Page 387 William Roscoe Chalk William Roscoe Chalk, son of William Chalk and Elizabeth Williams, was born August 28, 1816, Hertford County, North Carolina. Elizabeth was the daughter of Rev. William Williams and Catherine Elizabeth Roscoe, who pioneered from Tidewater, Virginia. The Chalks moved from North Carolina to Maury County, Tennessee, when our subject was a child and later he owned 502 acres of land at the head of Cathey's Creek, District No. 1, Tenneessee. Here, he was ordanined a Methodist Episcopal minister. Frances Omsby Blackburn and W.R. Chalk were married September 27, 1838, Maury County, Tennessee. She was born there February 21, 1821, daughter of Captain John Porter Blackburn and Nancy Churchwell. He fought with General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812. She was the granddaughter of Captain Ambrose Blackburn of Revolutionary fame and whose ancestor was Colonel Thomas Blackburn of Rippon Lodge, Virginia, eight miles from Mt. Vernon, where Colonel Blackburn was buried in 1758. Two of his daughters married nephews of Colonel George Washington and are buried at Mt. Vernon by Washington's Tomb. This Chalk family moved to Bell County, Texas, in 1851. In the 1860 census he was listed as a carpenter. During the Civil War he was appointed in 1864 to the Home Guard. In the 1870 census he gave his occupation as farming. W.R. Chalk, a Master Mason, died March 4, 1893 in Belton, Texas and his wife died there on April 25, 1875. Their marked graves are in South Belton Cemetery. Their family included the following children: Robert Lewis; John William Douglas who married Jennie Geneva Bell; Nancy Elizabeth; Virginia Octavene who married William Taylor Lee; Ellis Blackburn who married Mrs. W. Bell; Mary Frances; Valera Katherine; and Florence Itaska who married John David Earnest.