Jacob Routh was born in Dandridge, Jefferson County, Tennessee on December 22, 1818. Dandridge, the home of Douglas Lake, is billed as the second oldest city in the state. The Routh's descended from the Huguenots who had become Quakers by religious persuasion.
After the death of his father in 1841, Jacob and his brother Joseph operated the farm and grist mill, raising horses and hogs to pay off the bills that their father left. In the off seasons the brothers took turns selling Currier & Ives prints, picture frames, shoes, and feathers. In 1845, Jacob built a house for his mother on the Dumplin Creek Farm. It was sold in 1851.
Jacob heard the "Go West Young Man" call and headed to Texas October 2, 1851. The entourage included his mother, sister Elizabeth, brother Joseph, nine year old slave Thomas. They were accompanied by Robert Fleming Campbell's family, wife Mary Ann, infant son, and six children from a previous marriage, plus an elderly slave named Aggy and another slave of whom I don't have a name. Squire Campbell, a planter, lost all of his crops in 1850 due to a flood and felt that Texas would be a better place to live. Both families headed west together. They arrived at their destination 45 days later.
Jacob bought a thousand acres of land on Spring Creek paying $2.00 an acre, and built a house near present day Renner Road and Central in Richardson. While Robert built a house near where Campbell Road and Central Expressway intersect. Routh Road in Dallas is also named after Jacob.
Jacob and Lodemia produced nine children from their marriage. His daughter Clara said this about her father in a letter, " Father was a man of great hospitality and home was seldom without guests, sometimes friends, but often people who were passing though the country and wanted a place to stay. He took delight in experimenting with fruits, flowers, and vegetables, not minding work, or expense. He was very affectionate and devoted to his family. Father was a great believer in education and progress in all things."
Jacob Routh passed away April 30, 1879 of Tuberculosis at the age of 61. A Pioneer who helped to make this world a better place to live in.
Sources:
The Jacob Routh Papers, Uniiversity of Texas at Austin
Historic Richardson by Gwyn Gillespie
Findagrave.com
A couple of errors in this. They did not bring a 9 yr old slave Thomas with them from Tennessee. Thomas wasn't even born. He was only 9 years old at Emancipation. The Routh daughters were quite fond of Thomas and taught him to read and write. You can find Thomas' own comments about the Routh family and their kindness towards him for many years. The story is complicated since basically Jacob Routh was accused by the community of being an abolitionist and his life was threatened. He allowed other family's slaves to be buried in his cemetery and he insisted on welcoming slaves into his church, not necessarily a popular sentiment. Rumors are that he was a stop on the underground railroad. After the war, he sponsored several ex-slaves (not his) to become certified ministers and to start their own churches.Are you in some way related to him?
ReplyDeleteAlso, the Rouths didn't descend from Huguenots. The Rouths were a Norman family, de Surdeval, who came with the Norman Conquest to England in the 11th century. This predates the Huguenots' emergence in France by several centuries. The Rouths were Quakers when they immigrated to America.
ReplyDeleteI am related to James Campbell, he is my 6th great grandfather, whose son was Robert Fleming Campbell.
ReplyDelete