Recently Jot Gunter of Paul's Valley passed away. Jot and his wife Lajuana helped me early on to determine his line and that of Jesse Lemuel Gunter born in NC as best they could.
 

Jot did not know his grandmother's given name or surname. His grandfather, Jesse Lemuel Gunter, was married first to Rachel Garrett, then to Emma Carter, and finally to Adell Lena Bass.

Jot only knew the given names of Emma and Adell. Emma Carter was a problem but Rachel was the one that I was after. Her records were burned up at the Wood County Court House and that made finding out who

she was very difficult. Rachel's name was forgotten by all her descendants. Her daughter Anna is lost. Her son Henry never married and he was a forgotten 'trail dusty cowboy'. Her daughter Rosa is my research line. Rachel's son Jot was Jot of Paul's Valley's father.
 

It turns out that forgotten cowboy Henry L. Gunter died in Shreveport and on his death certificate was his mother's name. Rachel Garrett. I searched for ten years for her and did a lot of postings to see what I could catch. Then Henry of Houston told me about the Henry Gunter death certificate he had from LA and sent me a copy. Henry of Houston lived near Katy, TX like my son at the time, and Henry was descended from Jesse Lemuel Gunter's brother Isaac 'IKE' Gunter born in the Carolinas. Ike died in Wood County, TX when he was thrown from his buckboard.
 

Nothing about Rachel was easy. However, I traced her to Mary Pyle and then onto Sir Edmond Harwell born about 1567 in Worcester, England. He died about 1620 in Campbell County, Virginia. So he was Rachel's immigrant ancestor from England named Harwell.
 

One of Edmond's ancestors was John Harwell, researched by Thomas Harwell originally, that was born in 1295 and died in 1301 in England. His ancestor was Thomas attle Halle born about 1235 and that died in England

in 1275. This line goes back to 1182 A.D as attle.

Not bad for a forgotten cowboy with no kids and his mother, Rachel Garrett, that was married for only a few years to Jesse Lemuel Gunter. There are only two known lines from Rachel. One is Ben Phelps, grandson of Rachel and Jesse Lemuel Gunter through their daughter Rosa, and the other line is through Jot Gunter of Paul's Valley's line through his father Jot Gunter Sr., born to Rachel. Daughter Anna Gunter was "married to a 'Mann' with a son named Jack Mann'" but I never found may record of her or Jack anywhere in any documents in Texas. Mann was all the Gunter descendants like Winnie Gunter Guthrie and Lajuana Hatman Gunter knew. Rosa's other surviving children had no kids of their own. Otto Phelps lived in New Orleans and had an adopted son. Ward Phelps died in Stockton, CA with no issue.
 

As you can see, it pays to look at everyone in a family and not to give up. Someone out there has one little piece you need to break the log jam. Unlike the Jot, Wm, and Addison Gunter researchers, I researched every single brother of Jesse Lemuel Gunter born in 1843 in NC. Joseph Harper Hamilton Gunter's two wives and kids have also been researched back to GA. Researching every year of the Wood and Cooke County tax records shows that Jesse and Harper also had large land holdings, not just the famous Jot, William, and Addison Gunters. Based on the approximate death date for Rachel and the location of Jesse Lemuel Gunter at tax time, I believe now that Rachel was not buried in McComb or Gunter, TX, in Grayson County but at the Captain William Washington and Lt. Addison Yancy Gunter ranch in Cooke County in an unmarked grave in the Gunter Cemetery.
 

Jesse's wife, Adell Lena Bass, died in Austin at the Woman's Confederate Home after a three year stay and then was buried in Waxahachie, TX. She married Jesse on December 21st, 1886 in Ellis County. Emma Carter

married Jesse Lemuel Gunter in Fannin County, TX on Jan 10, 1875. Emma Carter was not traceable. Rachel E. Garrett married Jesse about 1864 and Anna was born in 1865.
 

So who was the first Gunter son of Lemuel Gunter and Rebecca Williams to explore moving to Texas? If was Abner Gunter in 1850, not Johnathan 'Jot' Gunter born in GA. Abner was a pioneer of Wood County and of

Cooke County. Abner was a clerk and co-merchant in the Gunter merchantile business in TX. Abner married TERESSA JANE VARNER in 1855 and she died May 19, 1856. Next Abner married PHOEBE G. MABRY.

Phoebe's mother in the 1860 census was LYNNEA LINEA STALLINGS. Abner died before 1860 but Phoebe died after 1860.
 

The only proven children of Lemuel Gunter and Rebecca (Williams) Gunter and the CSA sons were: Captain William Washington Gunter 1825, Abner Y. Gunter 1829, Joseph 'Harper' Hamilton Gunter 1831, Lt. Addison Yancey Gunter 1833, Pvt. Isaac J. Gunter 1835, Lestus Gunter 1838 (lost), Suble/Suble/Schbert 1840--aka S.C., Pvt. Jesse Lemuel Gunter 1843, Pvt. Johnathan 'Jot' Gunter 1845, and Martha Ann Gunter (Mrs John Childers) 1848.
 

Daughters-in-law and sons-in-law were: Roasmond F. Geer, Rosa Ligon, Teressa Jane Varner, Phoebe G. Mabry, Elizabeth Mosely, Mary E. [McCraw] Cole, Elizabeth 'Bettie' Ligon, Sarah R. Lakey, Sarah Frances 'Frank' Cobb (impossible to trace), Rachel E. Garrett, Emma Carter, Adell Lena Bass, Roxanna L. Ford, and John Wesley Childers. All these ladies and their families have been researched by Paul Beauregard in depth. These detailed records have been shared with extensive Gunter line researchers in TX and their Gunter database.
 

R.I.P. all and dedicated to Jot Gunter Jr., his wife Lajuana Hatman, and

his cousin Ben Phelps that Jot helped raise after Ben's mother Rosa

Gunter died.

HTH,

Paul Beauregard

Greensburg, PA

Uncle of JOT Gunter  Sr. born in Grayson County, TX 1871 ; Lived in Paul's Valley, OK.

 

In Oklahoma City at Fairlawn Cemetery is the wife of the great. uncle of Jot GUNTER Sr. born in Grayson County, TX in 1871.  Jot was the son of

Jesse Lemuel Gunter b. 1843 NC and Rachel Garrett b. 1848 GA.  Jot 1871 moved to Paul's Valley, OK after living in Cooke County, TX.  This

gt.uncle of Jot's was Doctor William J. GUNTER born ca 1810 in NC.  He moved to Wood County Texas at the same time as Lemuel GUNTER 1802 and Rebecca WILLIAMS all from NC.  Lemuel Gunter went first to Heard County, GA by 1850 and moved to Wood County in 1855 to join their son Abner Gunter who was already living there since 1852.  After W. J Gunter died, his wife and a few of the kids moved to Oklahoma City by 1900. 

Here's who I think were the distant ancestors of these Gunters in OKC

and Paul's Valley, OK.

 

Eleanor Shuford was the wife of Doctor William J. Gunter, born ca 1810, NC.  He died in Ellis County, TX in about 1874-1875.  He was the brother

of Lemuel Gunter born ca 1802, NC that married Rebecca Williams in Guilford County, NC on July 3, 1824.  This is proven by examining the

census in Wood County, TX in 1860, the records in NC on W. J. Gunter, NC marriage records in the IGI and on WC, and tracing him through the tax

records in Wood and Ellis Counties.  He never went to Cooke County, Texas with Wm, Addison, Jesse Lemuel, Ike J., or Joseph Hamilton

"Harper" Gunter.  He went to Ellis County instead. 

This means Dr. Gunter was also the son of militia Captain William Gunter born ca 1780 and Margaret Jones.  The Captain was proven, research, and published by Kay Gunn.  Margaret JONES was the daughter of Javis/Jarvie Jones.  Ditto Kay's work. 

I have traced all the family and in-laws of Lemuel and Rebecca after Heard Co., GA, 1850.  I traced this Dr. Gunter's landholdings/tax

listings and found he overlapped with my research line of Jesse Lemuel Gunter born 1843, NC too much.  It was clear that he was either the

brother of Lemuel Gunter and a son of Captain Gunter, or he was a cousin of a brother of Captain William GUNTER.  It appears the former is the

case; born 1802 versus 1810 and not born in 1774 to 1784. 

Lemuel Gunter born in ca 1802, NC died most likely in Wood County, TX; after 1873; and probably lived near some place called forks Sabine

(sic). There is no way he and his father, Lemuel 1802, are both buried in Alice, TX, as some claim on ancestry.  Only Jesse Lemuel Gunter,

C.S.A. and Indian War ranger under Captain John Hobbs, is proven to be buried at Alice, TX with his daughter Rosa Gunter and grand.daughter Jettie. 

Unlike some others claim, it was proven that Rebecca Williams lived with her only biological daughter Martha ANN Gunter and Martha's husband,

John W. Childers in Cooke, TX in 1880.  So Rebecca did not die before 1880 like Lemuel did.

 

The first Gunter to live in Wood County, TX was the son-in-law of the first settler of Wood County.  That settler was Martin Varner.  Abner Y.

Gunter lived in Wood County in 1852 and maybe as early as 1851.  That's how he met the Varner's daughter that he first married. That's how

Lemuel Gunter of Heard County and Dr. William J Gunter of NC knew about Wood County.  They were related to each other and to Abner Gunter.

 

Who was the part owner in the Gunter merchant business in Quitman, TX? Pioneering brother Abner GUNTER.  When did the Gunter brothers, Wm, Jesse Lemuel, and Harper first own land in Cooke County?  Tax records show a surprising 1867.  Also in Cooke County at that time was future

father-in-law Dr. Samuel Seth Ligon who is listed in 1862.

 

Who were the forgotten and "poor" Gunter land owners?  Jesse Lemuel Gunter, Joseph 'Harper' Hamilton Gunter, and Isaac J. Gunter.  For

example, in 1867 in Cooke County, Jesse Lemuel Gunter owned 855 acres, had 50 horses, and has a net value of $3000.  Also listed were Harper

Gunter, 0? acres, 10 horses, $550 and W. W. Gunter with 0? acres, 2 horses, and $335.  So the Gunters were looking at Cooke County much

earlier than 1869.  Wm. W., Addison Y., and Jot (born GA) were not the only ones with large land holdings.  Ike owned 272 acres in Cooke in

1873.  Harper owned 1360 acres in Cooke Co. in 1873.  In 1879, W. W. owned 3618 acres, Harper had 1414 acres, and John W. Childers had 419.5

acres.  Jesse Lemuel owned 174 acres in 1892 in Ellis Co.  By 1893 Jesse had 227 acres in Ellis County.

 

In 1856, Dr. W. J. Gunter owned 320 acres in Wood County and later owned 32 acres in Ellis County just before he died.  In 1856, Lemuel Gunter

1802 NC owned 320 acres and J. H. Gunter owned 519.8 acres.  In 1855, Abner Gunter owned 320 acres from Jane Beem and these same acres are

owned by Lemuel Gunter in 1856.  In 1855,  W. J., A. Y., and W. W. Gunter are listed.  So these families were in Wood County in 1855.

 

In 1867, S. S. Ligon/Lygon owned 1236 acres apparently next to the Gunter brothers in Cooke County.

 

Why did Jot Gunter 1871, the son of Jesse Lemuel Gunter, go to Paul's Valley?  Why did Eleanor Shuford Gunter and her kids go to OKC?  In

1867-1868 Jot Senior's father Jesse Lemuel Gunter was a Ranger for Texas.  William, Addison, Jules, Jesse, Harper Gunter and Mr. Midkiff

chased Indians into Indian Territory (OK) because some 100 horses were stolen.  It appears that this chase or another one was how these two

Gunter families knew about the land in OK above Cooke County by 1900. William Henry Childers does not say when his Uncle Harper's Indian chase took place but they got all the horses back.  The ca 1868 "depredation"case and first claim for damages was settled about 1888 because the

Midkiff horses were apparently all lost.  Gunter papers page 621.

 

P. Beauregard

Greensburg, PA