April 14, 2015 - The William Carroll Crawford Chapter of The Daughters of the Republic of Texas presents 'Our Republic of Texas Patriots and Citizens.'
Benjamin Franklin Adams
Benjamin Franklin Adams was born in 1820 to Henry and Elizabeth Rochelle Adams in South Carolina. He arrived in Texas in 1835, and entered the army of Texas on November 1, 1836, and served until August 7, 1837. Benjamin received a Travis Bounty for that service in the Army of Texas and a First Class Headright Certificate for his early citizenship. While in the Army of Texas he served as a member of the Company of Mount Vernon, Ohio Volunteers temporarily attached to the 1st permanent Regiment of Volunteers under the leadership of Colonel Rogers and Captain Charles Coleridge at Camp Independence.
Benjamin Franklin married Brazilia Holt in Shelby County about 1840. Brazilia was the daughter of John Holt and Elizabeth Ruff Holt, whose ancestors were Prussian immigrants. In 1841 Benjamin served in a minuteman unit of the Texas Rangers in Robertson County led by Captain Eli Chandler. During 1841 the Ranger Company made seven ranges in search of Indian raiders.
Adams returned to Shelby County and was included in the early 1846 Shelby County Tax list. Freemason Records for the Sam Houston Lodge #32 in Shelbyville showed Benjamin Franklin Adams joined the lodge on October 28, 1848 as an enlisted apprentice. The record also lists him as dying in 1860.
Benjamin Franklin and Brazilia had three children; Mary Elizabeth (ca. 1841), John Franklin (1842), and Thomas C. (1845) who were born in the Republic of Texas. Jessie C. (ca 1847-48), Sarah Adora (1848), Calhoun (1850), William M. (1854), Preston (1857) Benjamin Franklin, Jr.(1859) were born in the state of Texas.
Family stories tell of Benjamin Franklin Adams being accidently killed while serving in the Confederate States Army in the vicinity of Vicksburg Mississippi. He was said to be buried in the Vicksburg area. A memorial headstone was placed by the family for Benjamin Franklin in the Adams Family Cemetery where his wife Brazilia is buried among countless other family members. Adams Cemetery listings from the Shelby County Historical Society web site provides a death date of 04/24/1860 for Benjamin Franklin Adams.
The historic Adams Cemetery is located south of Shelbyville and contains several burials from the 1800’s. Direct descendants of Benjamin Franklin Adams are eligible to apply for membership in The Daughters of the Republic of Texas or The Sons of the Republic of Texas organizations. For information contact Maggie Casto at 936-248-3361.
Sources:
- History of Shelby County, Texas Published 2002 by Shelby County Historical Society.
- Freemasonry in Shelby County, Texas 1846-1900 Published in 1965 by J.B. Sanders
- http://www.shelbycountytexashistory.net/Shelby/cem_pics/cem_adams.htm
- WCC DRT chapter records
