Hamilton Douglass and Mary (Gill) Douglas
By Shirley Douglas Webb © 1999

When Hamilton Douglass and his wife, Mary (Gill) Douglass, made the move to North Central Texas in 1859, it was to find land and acquire property of their own. For years they had farmed on land in Virginia and in Tennessee...just getting by, borrowing money for crops by mortgaging such things as household goods and horses or cattle. Now, they had a chance to own land, so they pulled up stakes once again to move west.

Hamilton Douglass was born in Virginia. No record of his parents can be found so we assume he had to fend for himself at an early age. While living in Halifax County, VA., he met and married Mary A. Gill, daughter of Peter Gill and Celia (Organ) Gill. Their marriage ceremony was performed by Reverend David Street with Mary's father, Peter, serving as bondsman.

Hamilton became the overseer for David Logan, a property owner in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Mary's uncles, Raleigh Organ, Cornelius Organ, Simpson Organ, Robert Organ and Ennis Organ, went to Wilson County, Tennessee, in 1810. Hamilton and Mary began saving to make a move to Tennessee, also, when they heard of the good land and opportunities there.

It was about 1834 when they were able to make that Tennessee journey. Hamilton worked as a brickmason as well as a farmer in Wilson County. But they still didn't have enough saved to buy land. Their children were growing and helped their father with his farming. Hamilton yearned for his own property. When he heard of friends and neighbors in Wilson County who were planning a move to Collin County, Texas, he wanted to go, too, so he began making his plans.

By 1859, Hamilton, his wife Mary, their four sons John, Elijah, Hamilton, Jr., and Raleigh, plus a granddaughter, Caledonia Forbis, were able to make the trip to Texas. This was just before the Civil War began. Not long after their arrival in Texas, John, Elijah & Hamilton, Jr., signed up to serve with the Texas Confederate Troops. Raleigh was too young so he stayed home to help his parents.

After the Civil War ended, times were pretty good for the Douglass family. The sons married local girls, many of whom were from families they had known back in Tennessee. John and Elijah bought property in Grayson County where they settled to raise their families. Hamilton, Sr. and Jr., farmed in Collin County until Ham, Jr., married and moved to Hamilton County, Texas.

Raleigh worked in Grayson County as a blacksmith and then lived in Collin County near the Grayson County line. He married Charles Emma Lewis in the spring of 1872. Later that same year, the family was saddened when Hamilton, their hard-working father, died and was buried at Forbis Cemetery. His small tombstone still stands today.

At the end of the Civil War, the Douglass name changed to being spelled with just one "s" instead of two. Several Douglas families in Collin County and surrounding areas dropped the double "s" at the same time. No one knows why. Hamilton Douglass, Jr., kept the double "s" spelling longer than his brothers but his sons changed it to the single "s" spelling.

Descendants of this family live in Grayson County today and also throughout Texas and Oklahoma.

Sources: Forbis Cemetery Inscriptions, Collin Co, TX; Marriage Records for Halifax Co, Va; Deed Records for Pittsylvania Co, Va, and Wilson Co, TN; Census Records for 1830 Va, 1840 & 1850 TN; 1860 & 1870 TX.
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Mary A Gill

Mary A. Gill was the firstborn in the large family of Peter Gill and Celia Organ. Her mother's brothers seem to have had the most influence on her life. She and her husband, Hamilton Douglass, eventually moved to Wilson County, Tennessee, where 5 of her maternal uncles had settled in 1810.

Mary bore 10 children but 3 of those died in infancy while the family was still in Virginia. She was proud of her sons who grew into responsible family men and who raised large families of their own. Her daughter, Sarah, died soon after giving birth to a daughter, Caledonia Forbis, and Mary and Hamilton raised this baby as their own.

The move to Texas meant property of their own for the first time for Mary and Hamilton. It also brought Caledonia, the granddaughter, to adulthood when she could marry and have her own family. After Hamilton died, Mary lived with her devoted granddaughter, and made sure she was mentioned in her Will.

In her Will, Mary left her sons the property she and Hamilton had acquired She left her granddaughter, "Donia", a cow and a calf plus several personal items. Donia's husband, James Hanna, was the Administrator of Mary's estate. How proud she and Hamilton were that they could leave something of value to their sons.

Mary Gill Douglass was buried in the Douglas Family Cemetery, called "Hackberry Cemetery" which was located off a small dirt road in a field of large trees. Her small tombstone stands today among those of her son, Elijah, and his family. A life that began in Virginia and made the trip across the country to start anew in Texas, was completed among those she loved, her sons and her granddaughter.

Sources: Marriage Records of Halifax Co, VA; Census Records 1850 TN, 1860, 1870 & 1880 TX; Will of Mary Douglass, probated in Grayson Co, TX; Cemetery Inscriptions, Hackberry Cemetery, Grayson Co, TX.

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