Bullion - Slaughter - You never know where things will lead John Thomas Slaughter, son of Daniel McDonald Slaughter and Sarah Thomas, and his wife, Rachel Catherine Bullion (Bullen,) had several children including: Sarah E. Slaughter, born July 22, 1859 in Washington County, Arkansas, married W.R. Jennings in Burnet County, Texas on June 27, 1878. Soon after the birth of Sarah, the family moved to Travis County, Texas, and then to Burnet County, where a son, John Mack Slaughter, was born on May 29, 1861. John Thomas Slaughter was a private in the Confederate Army, and his wife, Rachel used to tell the story, “While John T. was at war and while she had a small baby at home, the Indians were raiding the small ranches and taking all the animals. She protected her home and animals by using an old gun that was left behind. She had no bullets but filled it with nails and put the powder in it, then tied it to the fork of a tree near the back door and pointed towrd the corrals. One night, she saw several Indians ready to take the gate down and she pulled the string she had tied to the trigger of the gun. The gun went off and the Indians scattered over the hill, one limping. She ran out to see where they had gone, and as she jumped on a log to see further, the log rolled over. The Indian really started to take off then. She took off back to the house, and when she inspected the gun, all the nails that she had put in it proved more than the gun could take, and the barrel was split wide open and could not be used again. “Rachel then got her baby, mounted a horse, and went to stay with neighbors. That same night, the neighbors used bees to keep the Indians away from their cattle.” Another family story was about when “John Thomas went AWOL in order to return home to see his family. The army came searching for him, and he hid out in the woods and Rachel slipped food to him after dark. One night he came out of the woods into the house, and early the next day they saw the soldiers coming. He ran outside to where a dry cow’s hide was stretched over a fence. He crawled between the cow hide, a man came by and gave the hide a kick with his foot, but kept on going without finding John Thomas. John finally did return back to his army unit. On March 4, 1863 in Burnet County, another son was born to John and Rachel. He was named Samuel Houston Slaughter, who married Laura E. Pennell on June 23, 1880 in Burnet County. Another son was born on January 12, 1865, and he was named William Elijah Slaughter, who married Mary A. Taylor on December 11, 1887 at Fredonia in Mason County, Texas, and died May 6, 1939 at Buffalo Gap, in Taylor County, Texas. Next born was Martha Annie Slaughter, born May 10, 1867 in Burnet County, married B.E. Travis on July 1, 1890 at Fredonia, and died on January 13, 1913 at Buffalo Gap. The next born child was a son, Thomas John Slaughter, born February 1, 1869 in Burnet County, married Emma Sheppard in Mason County on June 26, 1887, and he died December 11, 1929 at Temple, Texas. He was a preacher according to the 1920 census of Bell County, and had a son, Thomas John Slaughter, Jr., born about 1907. Son Owen David Slaughter was born in Burnet County on may 3, 1872, and he married Ida P. Martin on Octrober 16, 1893 in Burnet County, and he died in 1922. A daughter, Mary Catherine Slaughter, was born May 1, 1874, and she married a Mr. Bell on June 19, 1890 at Fredonia in Mason County. On May 25, 1876 in Burnet County, a daughter was born, and she was named Priscilla R. Slaughter. She married William Franklin Latham on December 17, 1895 at Fredonia, and she died March 19, 1958. A son, Harvey Carroll Slaughter, was born on September 25, 1878. He married Martha Belle Shipman on September 18, 1899 at Fredonia, and he died June 26, 1947 at El Paso, Texas. A daughter, Grace Love Slaughter, was born April 14, 1885, and she married E. Lee Hill on September 15, 1901 in McDullough County, Texas. She died on June 22, 1962 at Abilene, Taylor County, Texas. John and Rachel then had a son, James Hardie Slaughter, born at Oatmeal in Burnet County on September 22, 1881, and he died there on March 26, 1882. On March 1, 1883, a son, Granville B. Slaughter, was born, and he died a month later on April 3rd at Oatmeal. In 1885, John and Rachel bought a farm in Mason County, near Fredonia, that Rachel’s brother, Joseph Elijah Bullion, had purchased. Elijah in turn bought John’s place in Burnet County. In 1911, they went to visit their daughter Priscilla. John became ill while they were there, and he died in Millersview, Texas. An obituary was printed in the Baptist Progress in June of 1911 by the Rev. S.H. Slaughter, who was John’s son. It reads as follows: “Gone to Rest. John Thomas Slaughter was born February 2, 1838 in Winston County, Mississippi. At the age of thirteen his parents moved to Saline County, Arkansas, remaining there until he was married to Miss Katherine Bullion in 1856. From there they moved to Travis County, Texas. He went to serve his country in the Confederate Army, being in Walker’s Division. In all of his services throughout the war he never received a wound, though the exposure broke his constitution. Walkers Division was in some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. There is another story that involves escaping the carpetbaggers in Travis County right after the war. Still looking for that.......
Posted on: Mon, 01 Dec 2014 04:02:28 +0000