Submitted by
Kay Cunningham
Surnames: CAPPS, ADAMS, OAKES, NEAL, WHEELER, FULLER
Francis W. Capps
Francis
W. Capps, b ca 1806 in Tennessee, d ca 1865 in Marlin Falls County, Texas. He
was married twice - his first wife (name unknown), died in Alabama, where two
sons were born:
John Q. Capps, b
ca 1826 in Alabama-married in 1850 in Texas to Rebecca Adams, b 1835 in
Kentucky. James A. Capps, b ca 1827 in Alabama, d in Falls County - was married
ca 1852 to America Oakes, b 1835 in Tennessee, d before 1870 in Falls County - a
daughter of Charles and Susan (Neal) Oakes, and had four children: Letitia, b
1853, Charles F., b 1855, John, b 1862, and William Oakes Capps, b 1866. James
A. Capps served in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War.
Francis W. Capps
married second, ca 1839, to Mary America (maiden name unknown), b ca 1820 in
Tennessee. When they moved to Texas in 1841 with their one-year-old daughter,
born in Mississippi, they settled on Blue Ridge (present-day Stranger, in Falls
County), where they bought 320 acres of land, and resided there and farmed until
they moved to Marlin.
After the new
county of Falls was created in 1850, Francis W. Capps was active in its
development. On March 31, 1851, he and Ashley Stephen Marlin (a son of John
Marlin) were appointed election judges for a second election. Three men from the
Blue Ridge area (Stranger) were appointed to select lots for churches in the
town of Marlin; and Francis W. Capps selected a lot one block south on Williams
Street for the Methodist Church; Larkin Rogers selected a site one block west of
the courthouse square for a Presbyterian Church on present-day Fortune and Perry
Streets; and Reverend Zachariah Nehemiah Morrell selected a site on Craik
Street, one block north of the courthouse square, for the Baptist Church.
When town lots
went on sale, Capps purchased 1/2 acre of land, which included Adams’ Spring at
the foot of Ward Hill - adjoining the property of Dr. Allensworth Adams. The two
men established the Adams -Capps Hotel, probably the first such establishment in
the town. Adams later sold his property to J. W. Perkins, and moved back to
Robertson County.
By April 1853,
Francis W. Capps was serving as a Commissioner of Falls County, and he and a
son, John Q. Capps, were appointed “Patrolers’ for a three-month term. At this
same meeting, it was decided that the County Court would rescind its sale of ‘/2
acre of land to Capps because they wanted to own Adams’s Spring to furnish water
for the town. Capps was ordered to choose another ‘/2 acre as a substitute, and
it is believed that he lived on Capps Street, which was named for him. Yet
another decision affecting Francis W. Capps was made in that April 1853 meeting
of the County Court. It was ordered that an allowance up to $1,145, out of state
funds, be made to F. W. Capps to build a jail.
A year later,
June 1854, Capps, Allen H. Morrell (son of Reverend Z. N. Morrell), and James
Long were ordered to draft a plan and contract for building a bridge across Big
Creek on the Marlin-Springfield road, by way of Blue Ridge (Stranger). This
bridge became known as “Parson’s Bridge” (so-named for John Parsons, who owned
land in that area), and was the landmark used in surveying school district in
Falls County for 100 years.
Francis W. Capps
served as a County Commissioner until 1856, when he was elected the third Chief
Justice of Falls County - serving through the Civil Tar to 1864.
The children of
Francis W. Capps and his second wife, Mary America, were:
Marilla
Elizabeth Capps, b 1840 in Mississippi -married December 28, 1854 to James W.
Wheeler.
Lola Letitia
Capps, b 1842 in Texas - married March 27, 1862 in Falls County, Texas to Dr.
David G. Adams, b 1830 in Missouri.
William Capps, b
1844 in Texas - was unmarried in 1870.
Jennett Capps, b
1846 in Texas - married September 28, 1869 in Falls County, Texas to William
Fuller, b 1828 in South Carolina, and purchased a farm in the Alto Springs area
of East Falls County, which they later sold.
George W. Capps,
b 1848 in Texas - married in 1870 to A. J. (only initials were used). They were
residing with George’s widowed mother when the 1870 Census was recorded.
Martha Ella
Capps, b 1853 in Texas.
Francis M.
Capps, b 1855 in Texas.
Thomas J. Capps,
b 1857 in Texas.
David G. Capps,
b 1859, died before 1870.
Judge Francis W.
Capps died in Marlin during his tenure as Chief Justice, and William R. Reagan
was appointed to complete his term. Judge Capps served during the infancy of the
State School System, only to have its progress halted by the Civil War. He was a
true pioneer and patriot of Falls County. His second wife, Mary America, died in
1877. The site of their burial has not been located.
CORRECTION
Dr. Allensworth
Adams
Author: Maxine
Bowling Friedly
Date: 21 May
2000
Surnames: Adams,
French
In Reply to:
Frances W. Capps
Dr. Adams was my
Gr Gr Grandfather who later returned to Kentucky. He was born 16 Feb 1813 in KY
and died in 1885 in Rockcastle Co., KY.
He married 4 Dec
1845 Elizabeth French. (we are not sure if they married in Texas) His daughter,
my Gr Grandmother Armsted Ann Adams, was born at Marlin, Texas, 11 Aug 1849.
Some of his other children were born in Texas also. I would like information
about the book from which the article was taken.
Thanks for
posting it.
Copyright Permission granted to Theresa
Carhart for printing these bio of these
Falls County Families to this Web page "Families of
Falls County",
Compiled and Edited by the Falls County Historical Commission, page 67, column 1
Member of Falls County Historical Commission