Catherine Cynthia Overton
Born 1790 in Perquimans County North Carolina and died September 1, 1867 in Williamson County Texas.

I was born Catherine Cynthia Overton in Perquimans County North Carolina to Willis and Sophia Overton in 1790.   Perquimans had been the home for Englishmen for over 100 years by the time I entered this world. It was not far from the east coast and near Virginia .  It was well settled and industrious.  

          My sister Alicia and I were very close.  In fact, we married brothers.  I married Vinson Avery and she married Frederick Avery Jr.  Vinson was a sailor by trade.  Vinson and I had one son whom we named Willis in honor of my father.  While little Willis was still an infant, Vinson died and was buried at sea. 

          Not long after the death of my husband, a group of neighbors formed a wagontrain and headed for Tennessee .  With my infant son, I joined along wishing to be near my sister and brother-in-law.  We settled at Harpeth Creek in Davidson County Tennessee.  It was there that I met and married William McCutcheon in early 1812.  On Christmas day of that year I gave birth to my second son whom we name William after his father.  Mr. McCutcheon and I were not very compatible.  Our differences grew to such an extent that remaining married was not something either of us desired.  So, the wheels were set in motion to dissolve the marriage. 

          About this same time there was talk from some of the group who had traveled from NC to TN to move on to Missouri .  When the time came for the wagontrain to depart, I packed my things, loaded my two sons, and headed for Missouri .  My sister and brother-in-law had already left for Missouri with a previous wagontrain and word was that they had found a place to settle.  Alicia and Frederick welcomed my sons and me.

          By 1820 we were well settled in in Lincoln County Mo.   And I had met and married my third husband.  Gordon C. Jennings was a kind and respectable man.  He was single and without children.  He was a loving father to my two sons.  In all, I bore him 4 children, Abigail, Joseph, Catherine, and Samuel.  There were years of contentment in Missouri as our family and our wealth grew. Then there was talk of free land in Texas . 

          Steven F. Austin had applied and received his 3rd grant for a settlement of 100 families. He had previously advertised for settlers and there had been talk then of pulling up stakes and leaving for Texas .  Josiah Wilbarger had returned to Lincoln County MO after living in Texas for several years.  He was instrumental in persuading others to join him in Texas .  In late summer, several of the men made plans to file claims in Texas- Willis, who was already married, and William, joined the group. They left in August 1832. The trip took 3 months. The men got their land and my sons' land was in Little Colony near Mena.  They began preparing their new places. Until they could plant in the spring, they cleared their land and built cabins. 

          Meanwhile, those of us who had remained in MO,  found ourselves preparing to travel to a new home once again.  I had mixed emotions about the trip because I would be leaving my sister and moving far away.  Frederick had passed away and she had no children.  I would be leaving Alicia alone but her life was there and she did not want to leave. On December 3 1833 , my husband and I along with our children reached Little Colony with a wagontrain of other MO friends and family.     

          We had traveled through Arkansas , then from Nacogdoches to Mena later known as Bastrop .  We requested and received land in the same area as our sons land.  This area was as settled as could be expected for living in the wilderness.  Both Willis and William had completed their cabins.  William, still being single, gave us his cabin until such time as they could get ours built. 

          Many of the families who had traveled with us from Missouri were our family and friends, they became our new neighbors.  My son Willis had married Elzina Weeks in Missouri .  Her sister, Malinda, married Jesse Barker and his sister Margaret married Josiah Wilbarger.  Margaret and Jesse's father was Lemon Barker.  All of the original  families and now their offsprings had left NC for TN then MO and now TX. 

          Many a night we would hear the blood-curdling war whoop of the Indians. They were a constant menace, stealing our stock, and killing the residents.  Captain Jesse Billingsly organized a company of "Mina Volunteers"  for the purpose of putting down Indian attacks. Willis and William were members of this organization.  

          In 1835 my son William took a wife.  She was Elizabeth Jane Harrell, raised by her Uncle Jacob who was a blacksmith at Webberville after the death of her parents.  The Harrell family had arrived in Texas the same year as we had.  Jacob was a great hunter, fisherman, and storyteller.  It is no wonder that my son William found himself in the company of Jacob Harrell.  Who then introduced his niece to him. 

          We had been in Texas only a few years when Mexico began to give trouble.  They had a new president who set himself up as a dictator.  Texans were not inclined to be dictated to and discontent was growing among them.  The action by Texans of refusing to return the cannon at Gonzales was seen as a challenge to the Mexican authority and war was on.  The Texans were getting together to form an army.  The year before Willis, William, and Gordon had all volunteered under Captain Billingsly to protect our new land. Now, Gordon had signed up under Col. William B. Travis and followed the call to protect San Antonio de Bexar and its citizens.  I only know what I have been told about his death.  He was there in the Alamo when Santa Anna attacked.  He was a cannoner.  Gordon and the others died bravely fighting for the freedom of Texans. 

          As news traveled back to the settlements, fear overtook the ones at home.  We didn't want to believe that our family and friends had been killed.  But the realization of it all came about when Sam Houston's men reported that we were all in danger.  Santa Anna had sent his men to remove all Texans from their land.  I loaded my children and daughters-in-law in the wagon and headed down the Camino Real.  As others were doing, I headed for the Sabine River and Louisiana.  It was 46 days later that news came to us that Santa Anna had been defeated.  Some of us began the return to our homes to rebuild our lives and morn our losses.  Many having lost everything but their land some returned to their former states.

          After the return to Texas we began our lives again.  We had lost everything but we were prepared to start over.  We never forgot the trials we had endured in obtaining freedom for Texas.  My sons and daughters continued to add to their families, all of them remained in Texas.  I would live near some of my family for the remainder of my life.  My life ended on September 1, 1867 at the home of my son, William McCutcheon.  

Written by Faye Bean Elder as a letter from Catherine relating some of  the events of her life.