By Jessica Gorman
In recent weeks, we’ve taken a look at two early settlers of Webster Parish, Richard Fields and Chichester Chaplin. Chaplin was a participant in the Fredonia Rebellion in Texas and there is a strong possibility that Fields was, too. Richard Fields, one of the earliest settlers of this area, may have been a Choctaw leader who was killed as a result of the rebellion. Chaplin lived here for a period of time in the aftermath of the rebellion.
It is likely that it was here that Chichester Chaplin was married to the daughter of Martin Parmer, another major player in the Fredonia Rebellion. While that first attempt to declare independence from Mexico failed, Parmer was later pardoned, returned to Texas, and became a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. Martin Parmer died in Jasper County, Texas in 1850.
It has been difficult to pin down the exact whereabouts of Martin Parmer before his pardon and return to Texas. It is believed that he was in Louisiana. His daughter, married to Chichester Chaplin, lived here and a William Parmer, relationship unproven, is recorded as a resident of Claiborne Parish in 1830.This is, at best, nothing more than circumstantial evidence. However, a Jasper County land record revealed a potential connection between Parmer and other early settlers of our area who also moved to Jasper County.
Friend McMahon was a Methodist minister. The McMahons moved from Arkansas to Claiborne Parish around the time of its creation in 1828. They lived here for most of a decade before moving to Jasper County, Texas in early 1836. They would have been neighbors of Martin Parmer, and like him, the McMahons also participated in the Texas Revolution. They weren’t the only Claiborne Parish residents to make this move to Jasper County.
Adam Stewart and his family are believed to be the first to settle the site of Minden. In July 1835, Stewart sold this property to Charles Veeder, founder of Minden, and development of the town began. The Stewarts moved to Jasper County. Adam’s wife was Margaret, daughter of Friend McMahon.
Realizing the intersections of the lives of these people makes me wonder several things. Did other participants of the Fredonia Rebellion live here? Was there a larger migration out of this area to Texas? What other connections exist that we may have overlooked?
So, why even write about any of this? Sometimes, when you read about our early history it can be easy to feel like there were just some people scattered around living in the wilderness. They were just here and we don’t always think much beyond that. But, there is often much more to their stories than we realize at first glance. Our history does not exist in a bubble. It is connected to other, bigger history. These connections give us clues to tell a more complete story. By sharing this little bit of information, someone else may recognize a familiar name, a familiar place, something that may lead us toward new revelations about the people who lived our local history.
(Jessica Gorman is Executive Director of the Dorcheat Historical Association Museum, Webster Parish Historian, and an avid genealogist.)