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The Stalcup Saga (as it pertains to Grayson County, Texas) William
Riley Stalcup was the second Stalcup sibling to sink roots in Grayson
County, Texas. He was the third child in the family and the first of
Moses Stalcup's children to be born in McMinn County, Tennessee. He was
born July 7, 1823 at what would become known as Mouse Creek. The
Stalcup parents both had extended family in Cumberland County, Kentucky
and, indeed, that was where the family had lived prior to the move to
Tennessee. However, the circumstances that led young William to be
there in the mid-l840s is unknown. What is known is that there he met,
courted and married young Miss Perlina Jane Cloyd. Perlina was a native
of Cumberland County and was born there April 8, 1830 to John and Mary
Cloyd.
John Cloyd had established and operated Cloyd's Ferry on the Cumberland River. During the years that William and Perlina were in Cumberland County they presented the world with six sons: William B., James Wallis, John Thomas, Lee Moses, Alonso King and Elias Martin. By 1857 William had set his sights on moving his ever-growing family to the wide open spaces of Texas. In the late 1850s, southeast of Sherman, Grayson County, Texas about 15 to 20 miles, was the growing area known as Kentuckytown. It was a bustling little community at the time and appealed to William and Perlina as the place for their new home. March of 1859 brought the birth of their first daughter, Mary Texana - so named after their new home state. A second daughter, Missouri Belle, joined the family in 1861. During the Civil War period of the 1860s the frontier of Texas was not much more than 100 miles west of Dallas. When the Conscription Acts of 1862 began taking more and more able-bodied men into the Confederate Army, Texas organized and funded troop units whose basic purpose was to protect the lives and property of its own citizens. Camp Stonewall Jackson in Dallas County was the Headquarters in the summer of 1863. Unit rotation gave men with young families an opportunity to keep a watchful eye on their own loved ones. On August 6, 1863 William Stalcup was an early enlistee in Co B, 2nd Regiment Cavalry, Texas State Troops to serve the North Texas Division. Signing on as a Private, William's enlistment was for 6 months and he would serve under Capt. J.W. Bone. He re-enlisted in January 1864 for another 6 months. When the units were reorganized in 1864 William again signed up for an additional 6 months. He became a Corporal in Captain John W. Bone's Unattached Cavalry. Perlina had given birth to the couple's 9th child, Riley Davis, during William's first enrollment in the State Troops. After his return two more children would join the family - daughters Mary Alice and Harriet Evelyn. The early 1870s brought increased economic and political stability to Grayson County as a whole but saw dwindling populations in small communities that were being by-passed by the railroads and/or the coach lines. Kentuckytown was one of these. William relocated his family to the western side of the county near the growing, and sometimes rowdy, community of Whitesboro. William's farm, and eventually his children's, were located outside of the town limits. Over the 20 plus years they were there the Stalcup family always thought of themselves as being "of" or "from" Whitesboro although that is not the same as being "of" or "from" Grayson County. Technically, after 1872, the Stalcups resided in Cooke County, Texas even though they worshiped, were educated, married and, sometimes buried on Grayson County soil. Some of the adult children would "officially'' reside in Grayson County at various times. William Riley Stalcup died February 23,1892. Perlina Jane (Cloyd) Stalcup outlived her husband by about 12 years and died July 30, 1905. They are both buried in Oak Wood Cemetery in Whitesboro, Grayson County, Texas as are four of their children and several grandchildren. The children: William B., born circa 1847 Kentucky - no other confirmed information James Wallis, born January 27, 1849 Kentucky; married (1st) Louisa J. Smith, born November 19, 1868, Grayson County, Texas; 1 daughter was born 1869; the couple divorced circa 1870; married (2nd) Emma Mcllvain, born July 7, 1871, Cooke County, Texas; 7 daughters, 2 sons; lived several places before moving to Whitesboro in the late 1890s and then back to Cooke County after 1900; died October 12, 1917. Emma moved to Garvin County, Oklahoma where she died March 20, 1930. Both James and Emma are buried in Oak Wood Cemetery in Whitesboro, Grayson County, Texas. John Thomas - born circa 1851 Kentucky; married Harriett Stewart April 19, 1871, Grayson County, Texas; 5 known children; resided in Cooke County; died 1884-1900; widow and children moved to Oklahoma. Lee Moses - born December 19,1852 Kentucky; married Sarah Ann Donnell - December 10, 1878 Grayson County, Texas; 2 daughters; moved to Wise County, Texas. Alonso King - born December 5, 1854 Kentucky - no other confirmed information. Elias Martin - born October 22,1856 Kentucky; married (1) Martha Bell Donnell - December 10, 1878 Grayson County, Texas; 3 daughters, I son; moved to Wise County, Texas. Mary Texana - born March 27, 1859 Texas; married (1st) Henry Sloan - January 4, 1877; lived in Cooke County,Texas; 2 daughters, I son; Henry died September 18, 1891; moved to Whitesboro, Grayson County, Texas; married (2nd) Rufus Henry Hickman - December 20, 1890 Grayson, County, Texas; 1 daughter, 3 sons. Rufus and Texana lived out their lives in Whitesboro; Rufus died February 7, 1923; Texana died December 24, 1932; Rufus, Texana and Henry Sloan are all buried Oak Wood Cemetery in Whitesboro, Grayson County, Texas. Missouri Belle - born May 17, 1861 Texas; married Julius Fillmore Lassiter - March 13, 1878 Cooke County, Texas; moved to Wise County, Texas; moved to Whitesboro, Grayson County, Texas; 3 daughters, 2 sons; died October 18, 1908; Julius died March 10, 1929; both buried Oak Wood Cemetery, Whitesboro, Grayson County, Texas. Riley Davis - born October 28, 1863 Texas; married Medora Ann Thompson - January 19, 1888 Whitesboro, Grayson County, Texas; 6 daughters, 3 sons; moved to Knox County, Texas. Martha "Minnie" Alice - born May 17, 1866 Texas; married John David Hart - October 25, 1883 Cooke County, Texas; 4 daughters, 1 son; moved to Ethel, Grayson County, Texas before 1910; Martha died August 24, 1910; John died April 22, 1923; both buried Oak Wood Cemetery, Whitesboro, Grayson County, Texas. Harriett Evelyn - born February 20, 1869 Texas ; married William Michael Moore - May 23, 1888 Cooke County, Texas; 3 daughters, 2 sons; lived in Montague County, Texas; moved to Oklahoma. C. A. Parsons January 16, 2021 Stalcup Index  Biography Index Susan Hawkins © 2024 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |