Daniel Haston’s daughter, Catherine, married John Austin in about 1819. John’s first wife, Rachel, had recently died. Catherine inherited seven of Rachel’s children, immediately becoming a busy step-mother.
Over the next 23 years, Catherine gave birth to six children of her own–three girls and three boys. Even though they have generally been overlooked or forgotten, we need to realize and remember these children were grandchildren of Daniel Haston.
In the next article, I will introduce you to Daniel’s three Austin grandsons. But, ladies first. I want to introduce you to Daniel’s three Austin granddaughters.
Emmeline Austin (Doyle)
November 15, 1822 – Emmeline Austin, daughter of John and Catherine, was born in White County, TN, on November 15, 1822. On January 31, 1844, Emmeline married Downs B. (Brewster) Doyle, a planter (farmer). Downs was born in White County, TN, on September 10, 1817. Apparently, the newlywed couple moved to Bossier, Louisiana, very soon after their marriage, where they joined members of Downs’s family.
White County, TN residents, Simon Rogers Doyle (son of Simon Doyle) and Nancy White (daughter of John White, Sr. of White County, TN) moved to Bossier, LA, from White County sometime in the 1840s, but all of their children were born in Tennessee. Simon R. Doyle, Esq. was the coroner for White County, but resigned this position on July 5, 1841. I assume this was a step in the process of moving his family to Louisiana. Simon Rogers Doyle and Downs Brewster Doyle were first cousins; their fathers were brothers.
Downs and Emmeline were living in Bossier Parish at the time of the 1850 census, and their oldest child, age six, was born in Louisiana. Dossier Parish was one of the best cotton divisions of Louisiana.
The 1850 census indicates Emmeline was born in Georgia, which is inaccurate. And her recorded age of 22 is also inaccurate, but future censuses correct both. Notice that Emmeline named her second daughter Susan, perhaps a continuation of that name in Catherine Haston Austin’s family.
Downs became a prominent citizen in his parish. In 1847, he acquired 320 acres from the Bureau of Land Management (159.97 and 159.55). By 1872, he was a “police juror” for his district. In Louisiana, a police juror was an elected official who served as a member of the parish’s governing body, like a county commissioner in other states. Even the town where they lived was named “Doyline” for the Doyle families!
In 1880, Emmeline was living with her husband and their family (five daughters and three sons) in the 3rd Ward of Webster Parish, Louisiana. Webster Parish, east of and adjacent to Bossier Parish, was formed in 1871 out of Bossier and a couple of other parishes.
Emmeline had 13 children during their marriage. She died on February 13, 1902, and is buried in Doyline Cemetery in Webster Parish, LA.
Susan Austin (Duncan)
February 13, 1829 – Susan Austin, daughter of John and Catherine, was born on this date. She married John J. Duncan on November 1, 1855. Rev. William Jared, who performed their wedding ceremony, was a popular Methodist circuit-riding and camp meeting preacher in White County and the surrounding area.
In 1860, John J. and Susan Austin Duncan were living in District 12 of White County, John J.’s home district. His occupation was “County Officer.”* Even though they had been married for about five years, they had no children.
A Civil War Confederate document states he was a Clerk of the Circuit Court in White County when he enlisted.
In mid-1860, Susan’s husband was sued by George W. Gibbs* of Sparta, TN, for a breach of contract. The case was tried in the Tennessee 5th Circuit Court at Sparta, TN (where John J. Duncan was the court clerk), but was appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
*George W. Gibbs was a prominent lawyer in Sparta. He served as a State senator and General in the War of 1812, as well as the first president of the Union Bank of Tennessee at Nashville, and the founder of Union City, TN. The locally famous Confederate General George Gibbs Dibrell of White County was a nephew and namesake of George W. Gibbs.
On September 21, 1857, John J. Duncan agreed to purchase 1,175 acres on the top of Cumberland Mountain in White County, for one dollar per acre. Gibbs accused Duncan of failing to pay for the purchase. But Duncan claimed the deal was void due to fraud because Gibbs had not provided a sufficient description of the land. The State Supreme Court sided with Duncan. But the $1-per-acre mountain land was probably part of Gibb’s Cumberland Mountain land, which later became a major coal producer.
On December 9, 1861, John J. Duncan enlisted for 12 months in Company D of the Tennessee 1st Infantry Battalion (Colms’) at Sparta, TN. Captain David Snodgrass was his enlistment agent.
There are 12 pages in his Confederate files, detailing his medical history during the war, eventually leading to his dismissal for health reasons. Here is some of the information from his records.
In January of 1862, he was “sent home on sick furlough from Camp Weekly [near Nashville].” He “had a cough and was spitting up blood.”
May and June, 1863: “Absent at home on sick furlough from [Confederate hospital at] Lauderdale Springs, Miss.”
In 1870, he was a farmer on a 90-acre farm,[i] which must have been difficult given his hemoptysis, which was triggered by the slightest fatigue. Susan and John, apparently, were still childless.
John J. Duncan died on September 2, 1873, and Susan Austin Duncan died six years later, on June 6, 1879, as a result of convulsions. They are buried side-by-side in the Old Bon Air Cemetery in the Bon Air community of White County, Tennessee.
Bird Austin
February 18, 1831 – Bird Austin, a daughter of John and Catherine, only lived two and a half years. She died on July 17, 1833, and is buried next to Catherine in the Austin Cemetery.
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