Jasper Native Sought Fortune in Texas

By John Harvey

Some time ago I received a letter from Mrs. Julia Hine of San Antonio, Texas.  Her inquiry concerned her great great grandparents, John and Sallie (Phillips) Stroud.

The Strouds lived in Jasper Cou9nty and had two sons, Ethan and Beden .  Ethan married Nancy Trammell of Jasper County.  They had six children, one of whom was James Campbell Stroud, born in Jasper County on May 21 1823.  Mrs. Hine is interested in tracing any information on John Stroud's, Philips's, and the Ethan Stroud's.  She is also interested in the Campbell connections and thinks that they may have been grandparents of Ethan Stroud of Nancy (Trammell) Stroud.

Until I received Mrs. Hine's letter, the only connection with the Stroud name that I knew of was the sign just off the Square pointing out Forsyth street towards the community of Strouds.  A check through the early records revealed that there were members of the Stroud family in two area of Jasper County.  Evidently, the family homestead was on the Ocmulgee River between Hillsboro and Gladesville as the names are more numerous in that area.

There was also a Stroud family living in the Maxwell - Hopewell Church area.  The records show that a large number of the Phillips' lived in this area.  Records show that two Campbell families were in the county.  One lived in Monticello and the other in the Piedmont Section.  The Campbell family living at Piedmont moved to Alabama in the 1840's and is probably the family Mrs. Hine is interested in.  Early jury lists and the census of 1820 list Trammells who were probably members of Nancy's family.

From Mrs. Hine's letter we get the story of James Campbell Stroud's life and an adventurous one it was.

Ethan A. Stroud moved from Georgia to Chalmers County, Alabama and from there to Texas.  He was in Texas as early as 1842.

The Strouds, Ethan and Beden were both active in the affairs of the Texas Republic.  Ethan Stroud was appointed as a commissioner to treat with the Indians in July 1842.  Beden served as a Senator of the Republic.  Ethan Stroud died August 1846 and is buried near Burr Oak Springs, Texas.

James Campbell Stroud, born in Jasper County, moved with his parents first to Chalmers County, Alabama and from there to Texas.  At the age of 18 in 1841 he left home, going to Arkansas where he got a job as a horse wrangler driving to sell in Mexico.

A short time later he met a young girl from Illinois who was visiting her sister, the wife of an army officer.  Her name was Elizabeth Trammell.  They were married and a year later a daughter was born and Stroud with his new responsibilities decided to go into business for himself.  He moved to Weatherford, Texas, where he put up a blacksmith shop.

At that time, there were only two other houses in the community.  Because of frequent Indian raids, James decided to move to a larger community.  He went to Waxahachie, Texas where he opened a store.  In the next few years, two more daughters and a son were born and the family moved to Lockhart, Texas.

On August 24 1861, James Campbell Stroud joined Company B, 4th Regiment, Texas Confederate Calvary under the command of Capt. A. J. Scarborough.  This regiment was sent on an expedition to Arizona and later joined to a regiment under Gen. George Sibbley.  The regiment fought a battle with the Mexicans at Marietta, N. M., where most of the men were killed and the rest taken prisoner.  James received wounds in both legs.

An old Mexican who hated his command-officer and whom James had befriended, helped James and a friend, C. Hugile, to escape from the prison camp on a raft down the river.  They waded ashore at a small fort near Mesilla, Texas.  They remained there in a small hospital for nearly a year under the command of Col. A. M. Lee.

They were next given horses and ordered back to their old Regiment which was stationed at San Antonio.  They rode to El Paso where they sold the horses for food, then walked to San Antonio.  James was sent home to Lockhart where he signed on to drive the overland stage called, "Jeddo Stage".  This line ran from Lockhart to Austin, Texas.

Driving this stage, James soon became disabled and was sent back to the army hospital at Gonzales, Texas.  While there he served as hospital steward.  In January 1864, a letter was written asking that James be transferred back to his old company as James was a skilled and reliable smithy and was needed in the cavalry.  In February 1864, Col. Lea, the hospital administrator, wrote asking that he be allowed to stay there as he was very greatly needed at the hospital.

In 1865, James was honorably discharged from the cavalry as disabled.  James returned to his family in Lockhart, there three more boys and one more daughter were born.  A few years later the Strouds moved to Bigfoot, Texas and there his wife, Elizabeth, died in 1898.  A short time later, James moved to Devine, Texas.

During these years his legs often gave him pain, so he made his own liniment called "Stroud's Liniment".  This liniment was patented and was sold all over the United States.

On March 25 1922, James Campbell Stroud died at Devine Texas.  He was buried beside his wife in Bigfoot, Texas, He was 99 years old.

Additional Comments:
Transcribed by Suzanne Forte (suzanneforte@bellsouth.net) April 2005,  from copies of articles contained in the Monticello News. There articles were prepared by Mr. 
John Harvey and published in this newspaper during the 1970's and 1980's time frame. Some were under the title "Jasper Reflections", others "Bicentennial Bits".
Permission has been granted by Mr. Harvey for use of these very valuable and informative articles.

Copies of articles provided by Benny Hawthorne.