Memorials › Elijah P. Bratton

Elijah P. Bratton

19 Nov 1831 – 5 Apr 1884

Birth19 Nov 1831
Death5 Apr 1884
CemeteryElm Grove Cemetery
Anna , Collin County , Texas , USA
Added byGail Bogle on 27 May 2022
FaGhttps://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6719807

Bio

SUMMARY: Elijah Patton Bratton was born in the Carolinas. As a teen he was orphaned and lived in Tippah County Mississippi with his siblings. Leaving all his siblings behind in MS, as a young man in his 20s he moved to Collin County, Texas. On the Texas frontier Elijah would fight as a Texas Ranger in the Indian wars, and later as a Confederate soldier with both Texas and Mississippi regiments. After the Civil War he helped found Elm Grove Presbyterian Church. He died at age 52 nine months after his wife, when "a little horse threw him," leaving nine orphaned children ages 3-21. DETAILED BIO: Elijah's parents, Thomas M. Bratton and Mary Wallace, are presumed to both be descendants of early Irish Presbyterian settlers in what is now York County, South Carolina, but at one time was part of North Carolina. Starting around 1766 there were five Bratton men, probably brothers, who owned land on the waters of Fishing Creek and Turkey Creek in York County, and one of those Brattons may be Elijah's grandfather. An antebellum house built on a Bratton homestead there still exists, on what is known as Historic Brattonsville. See https://newacquisitionmilitia.com/the-early-history-of-the-bratton-family/ Sometime around the 1840s, Elijah, his two sisters and three brothers move from SC to Tippah County, MS. It is believed both of the parents died before or else shortly after the move to MS. One of Elijah's maternal aunts, Catherine Coombs, also moves to Tippah County as well. Elijah and his orphaned siblings appear together, in one household on the 1850 Tippah County MS census as follows: Thomas E[spey] Bratton farmer age 22 born NC Eliza Ann 24 NC [marries Absalom Stuart/Stewart] Elijah P 19 NC Isabella C[aroline] 15 NC [marries Ebenezer Titus Wier] James M 13 NC [dies 1862 Confederate POW?] Joseph M 11 NC [marries CC Gray] Sarah F 1 MS [Eliza's 1st daughter, father unknownDisabled, dies after 1880 census] About 1854 Elijah arrives with the first settlers in Collin County TX, traveling from Tippah County MS in covered wagons. A few years later, Elijah is listed on the 1857 Collin County tax records, owning 1 horse and 1 cattle, no land, total value $80. In the following two years he enlists, twice, as a Mounted Texas Ranger under Colonel James Bourland. Colonel Bourland mustered 300- 400 men in Gainesville, Cooke Cty TX, and led them in expeditions against what the newspapers described as "hostile bands of Indians" who were crossing the Red River to commit "depravities and thefts". After fighting in the Indian wars, Elijah next appears on the 1860 Collin County TX census, living as a farm laborer with the Jesse KH Pace family. [Note: Elijah's eldest son Thomas J. will eventually marry one of the granddaughters of Jesse KH Pace, Mattie]. On 8 Feb 1861 in Grayson County TX Elijah age 29 marries Lucinda E. Fields age 16. A year after his marriage Elijah enlists with the Confederate Army, first with the Texas Cavalry in McKinney, mustering at Fort Washita (near Durant in Bryan County OK). His Civil War file describes him as 5 foot 10 inches tall, 130 pounds, dark hair, blue eyes, dark complexion, and with a horse valued at $110 and rigging worth $30. Interestingly enough, after serving a year with the Texas regiment in the Confederacy, Elijah returns east to enlist with the Confederacy again. But this time he is joining companies/regiments comprised of men from his previous home of Tippah County, MS, including at least one of his brothers (Joseph M Bratton) and a first cousin (William Wallace Coombs (dies 15 Dec 1861, memorial #9143418). The dairy of Captain John H Buchanan of the O'Conner Rifles of Tippah County, MS, formed in 1861, mentions an E P Bratton joining them while mustering in Virginia, in Feb 1862, arriving in 6 inches of snow. That company went on to fight at Gettysburg and Buchanan was involved in Pickett's charge. The J. M. Bratton who dies at Gettysburg may have been Elijah's younger brother James. After the Civil War he returns to Texas, where "E P Bratton" appears regularly on tax lists for Collin County or adjoining Grayson County. The 1870 Grayson County tax list shows him as owning 100 acres, 3 horses, and 2 cattle for a total value of $283. In 1874 Elijah P. Bratton is one of the 19 original covenant signers for the Elm Grove Presbyterian Church in Collin County, Texas. The church has since been demolished, but the cemetery remains with a historical plaque mentioning the Bratton founders. According to the church records, Elijah was ordained as a deacon in 1879 and stopped serving as same only at his death. Elijah and wife and children appear on the 1880 Grayson County census. On the ag census for that same year he is listed as owning 90 acres, 40 tilled and 50 untilled, total value with livestock $900. After his death his estate is assessed as 87 1/2 acres value of $500.

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