JOHN GOODLOE WARREN
PIERSON
John Goodloe Warren Pierson, b February 15, 1795 in Union County,
Kentucky, d May 7,1849 near Stoneham, Grimes County, Texas - was a son of John
Pierson, born in England, who came to Baltimore, Maryland with his parents at
the age of twelve years, and his wife, Elizabeth Warren - a daughter of John
Goodloe Warren. John Pierson enlisted in the Mary- land Artillery as a teenager,
later joining General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War.
He fought at Valley Forge in Pennsylvania, and in Virginia, and into the
Carolinas - later receiving a pension for his service.
After the American Revolutionary War, John Pierson remained in North
Carolina, where he was married February 6, 1794 in Person County to Elizabeth
Warren. Shortly after the marriage, John and Elizabeth embarked to Kentucky,
where their eldest child was born a year later.
John Goodloe Warren Pierson, named for his maternal grandfather, became a
pioneer and hero of Texas from the days of the Mexican Colonies, the Republic of
Texas, and into the statehood of Texas - leaving indelible marks in Texas and
Falls County for one hundred and fifty years, through his descendants. He was
married three times: On January 15, 1815 in Union County,
Kentucky, he married first to Purity Ruffin Pennington, b December 17, 1799 in
Christian County, Kentucky, d ca 1822 at the age of 23 years - a daughter of
Isaac Pennington. John G. W. and Purity Pierson had three children:
Celia Emeline Pierson, b October 1815 in Kentucky, d 1850 in Houston
County, Texas. She married ca 1829 in Nacogdoches, Texas to Jonathan Cochran
Pool - another Texas pioneer. Emeline died in Houston County ca 1850 -leaving
six children.
John Hogue Pierson (named for his uncle, Benjamin Hogue Pierson), b April
17 , 1817 in Kentucky, d ca 1867 in Falls County, Texas. John Hogue Pierson
married ca 1843 in Grimes County, Texas to Nancy Hutcherson, moving to Falls
County after 1850. He was appointed attorney to settle the land dispute with T.
J. Chambers over the site of the town of Marlin. John Hogue Pierson enlisted in
the Confederate States Army during the Civil War, became ill, and returned home.
Isaac Pennington Pierson, b July 8, 1820 in Kentucky, d January 22, 1843
while riding his father's racehorse.
After the death of Purity Ruffin (Pennington) Pierson, John Goodloe
Warren Pierson, with some relatives and friends, left Kentucky for the Arkansas
Territory about 1825. They settled at a place in Miller County, Arkansas, called
Pecan Point, which later was in Red River County, Texas. John G. W. and his
brother-in-law, Jacob Pennington, endeavored to clean up the morality of the
area by destroying whiskey stills, and were involved in fighting and in many
court actions.
In late 1826, John Goodloe Warren Pierson was married second to Elizabeth
Montgomery, b 1805, d September 15, 1833 - a daughter of William Montgomery, for
whom Montgomery County, Texas was named. That year, John G. W. Pierson was
County Surveyor, and was elected Justice of the Peace in 1828. On March 20,
1828, he wrote to the Governor of Arkansas of the Indian depredations, calling
for military aid.
The family moved in 1829 to Nacogdoches, Texas, where John G. W. was a
surveyor in the Edwards Colony for two years; and in October 1831, he moved his
family to San Felipe and applied for admittance to Austin's Colony on December
5, 1832. He and Elizabeth had two sons born in Nacogdoches - so at this time,
the family consisted of his wife, four sons, and his daughter, Emeline, and her
husband, Jonathan C. Pool. Elizabeth (Montgomery) Pierson had a daughter,
Elizabeth, after whose birth, she died and was buried at Independence, Texas.
The three children of John Goodloe Warren and Elizabeth (Montgomery) Pierson
were:
William Montgomery Pierson, b November 13, 1827 at Pecan Point, Miller
County, Arkansas
- married Matilda Smith after 1850, in Grimes County, Texas. He
has descendants in Falls County, Texas in 1986.
Andrew Van Buren Pierson, b February 15, 1830 in Nacogdoches, Texas -
married Sophronia Smith- a sister of his brother's wife, Matilda Smith. They had
no Issue.
Elizabeth Pierson, b September 15, 1833 at Independence, Texas - married
March 11, 1851 in Grimes County, Texas to Ethelred Tarvor.
Shortly after the death of Elizabeth (Montgomery) Pierson - his second
wife - John Goodloe Warren Pierson was appointed by Sterling Clack Robertson,
Empressario of the Nashville Colony, to be his "true and lawful attorney and
Surveyor General of his colony." Robertson had been waging a legal battle for
two years with Stephen F. Austin, Samuel M. Williams, and the Mexican Government
over the Nashville Colony's contract to settle in Texas. Finally, Augustin de
Viesca, Governor of Coahuila, overturned Austin's claim, and the contract with
Robertson was honored. Pierson began surveying the town site for Sarahville de
Viesca, located at the Falls of the Brazos, laying out the town. He also
surveyed League #1 for himself, and League #3 was granted to a widow, Mrs.
Narcissa (Cartwright) Slatter, who became his third wife in 1835.
John Goodloe Warren Pierson was elected and served as a delegate to the
General Consultation at San Felipe in November 1835, where he was appointed as
Secretary of the Council. On February 13, 1836, he was appointed aide-de-camp
for the Texas Army, procuring equipment and men for military service. On June 3,
1836, he moved his family from Viesca to High Point in Grimes County, where they
were safer, and they continued to live there until after 1850 when some of his
children returned to Falls County, to the early land grant. Pierson served as
Captain of the Cavalry for the Republic of Texas in Grimes County, while
farming, operating a store, and raising livestock and fine horses, for which he
built a race track.
When trouble again erupted with Mexico over the Rio Grande River as the
border between the Republic of Texas and Mexico, in 1842, John Goodloe Warren
Pierson raised a company of volunteers and was Captain of twenty-seven men. They
joined the other companies with over 300 men, proceeding to Mier, Mexico on
December 22, 1842. The battle that ensued left many wounded, some escaped, and
one hundred and seventy-six taken prisoners. Santa Anna, who had been released
and had returned to Mexico, ordered that one in ten be shot -
determining the victims by the drawing of black and white beans, resulting in
the execution of the seventeen men who drew the black beans. The others were
marched to Santiago, Mexico City, to prison, where Pierson became ill and was
unable to be transferred to the Perote Prison near Vera Cruz with the others.
Prior to the release of the entire surviving group on September 16, 1844, he had
joined them in Perote. After nearly two years of confinement, Pierson returned
to Grimes County, where he learned that his son, Isaac Pennington Pierson, had
died the previous year.
John Goodloe Warren Pierson and his third wife, Narcissa (Cartwright),
had three sons before his death in 1849:
Willaford Cartwright Pierson, b December 18, 1836 in Grimes County,
Texas, d January 9,1846 in Grimes County.
Benjamin Almary Pierson, b May 18, 1840 in Grimes County, Texas, d
January 31, 1905 in Falls County, Texas and buried in Cedar Springs Cemetery. He
was a merchant in Cedar Springs. In 1879, he married Mary Isabella Jones, b
August 26, 1842, d August 12, 1900.
Edmund G. Pierson, b May 8, 1847 in Grimes County, Texas (two years
before the death of his father), d March 21, 1929 in Marlin, Falls County,
Texas. He was living with his uncle, John Hogue Pierson, in 1860 in Falls
County. In 1865, he was married to Lucy Gray, and they had two children before
her death. In 1874, Edmund married second to Martha Emma Montgomery, b July
31,1855 - a daughter of John Montgomery of Canada, and his wife, Maria, a native
of England. Edmund and Martha Emma (Montgomery) Pierson were the parents of nine
children, two dying in youth. Edmund carried on the profession of Surveyor in
Falls County - preserving many of his father's records, which were contributed
to the State Archives by his daughter, Maurine Pierson. Martha Emma (Montgomery)
Pierson died in Marlin, Texas on May 16, 1930, and many descendants of this
family still reside in Falls County.
After the death of John Goodloe Warren Pierson, Narcissa (Cartwright)
Slatter Pierson married thirdly on February 27, 1851 to Thomas Roberts, b
October 17, 1817 in Tennessee, d January 17, 1874 at Cedar Springs, Falls
County, Texas. Narcissa, b March 16, 1817, d January 5, 1897 - and both are
buried in Cedar Springs Cemetery in their family plot where her son, Benjamin, a
daughter, Matilda (Roberts) Glass- wife of E. R. P. Glass, are also buried.
Thomas and Narcissa Roberts had three children: Susan Roberts, b 1852, who
married John W. M. Powers of Falls County; Thomas Roberts, Jr., b
ca 1853; and Matilda Roberts, b 1857.
When John Gooloe Warren Pierson’s estate was probated (he had not Will),
he owned 20,000 acres of land in three counties, had a large personal estate,
and was due back-pay for his military service and imprisonment. In 1852, a sum of $2,273.00 was finally
approved by the State, and paid to his heirs.
In the true tradition of Texas, John Goodloe Warren Pierson was a
trustworthy, respected leader, who served this state above and beyond that of an
ordinary man. His life was a
legend.
Copyright Permission granted to Theresa Carhart for printing the biographies of
these Falls County Families to this Web page.
"Families of Falls County", Compiled and Edited by the Falls County Historical
Commission, page 357 column 1 and 2 and page 358 column 1 and 2.
Member of Falls County Historical Commission.