It is said that Frank arrived in the United States with his parents about the
time of the American Revolution. Family legend has it that he was living in
his parents home with a brother and sister when his parents were killed by the British. Frank escaped and his brother escaped but his sister Margaret was kidnapped and never heard from again. Another story has Margaret also
escaping and being taken by another family. Never-the-less, the house was
burned and the children seperated.
Sometime prior to 1784 Francis was among a group led into Kentucky by Daniel
Boone. The first Nixon family found recorded in Kentucky were in a group from Virginia, who settled along Gilbert's Creek in Madison County, Kentucky. This group, made up of the William Young, Johnston, Hampton, Falconer, Nixon, and Chester families, built a stockade known as Gilbert's Creek Station. Later the same year, 1781, they established the Gilbert's Creek Baptist Church, the first church founded in Kentucky.
The first deeds of land recorded to Nixons in Kentucky are Andrew Nixon of
Delaware, Janathan Nixon, Henry Nixon, and William Nixon of Virginia. Francis Marion Nixon reached Kentucky at age 14 or 15 and lived there 17 years, where he was a frontiersman and hunter. Madison County was formed in 1785 from Lincoln Ounty while still a part of Virginia. It was the 6th county in Kentucky and named for Virginia statesman, James Madison, 4th President of the United States. It is located on the southeastern edge of the Bluegrass region of Kentucky where the knobs mark the boundary between the rolling Bluegrass and the hilly Cumberland Plateau
Frank has been described as a man of small stature (120 pounds) but possessing good running ability. His speed as a runner is said to have gotten him out of a few scrapes with indians.
Frank married Catherine Elliott February 24, 1798 in Madison County Kentucky.
The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev. Thomas Berry. Consent was given by guardian John Payne. (Assume this was Catherine's guardian).
At the start of the War of 1812, Frank, then 46, joined the Army and moved
his family to Tennessee where his fourth son was born July 4, 1813. This son
was named Andrew Jackson Nixon after the famous Tennessee General Andrew
Jackson.
After the War of 1812 Frank and Catherine moved to Alabama, 1816. Here their
last three sons were born. They remained here until 1828 or 1829 when the
Francis Marion Nixon family moved to Tennessee. Elliott remained in Alabama.
Lorenzo Dow Nixon married Sarah Parker and moved to Fort Parker, Texas with
the Parker family.
"Limestone County was created by an act of the Alabama Territorial General
Assembly on 1818 Feb. 6. It was formed from land comprising Elk County that
was created on May 24, 1817. Limestone County is west of Madison County,
north of the Tennessee River, and east of the western boundary line of range
six, west of the basis meridian of the county. An act of the state General
Assembly on 1821 Nov. 27 gave to the county all of the land belonging to
Lauderdale County, in the fork of the Tennessee and Elk Rivers, east of range
six. Today Limestone County is bounded on the north by the State of Tennessee,
on the east by Madison County, on the south by Morgan and Lawrence
counties, and on the west by Lauderdale County. The name of the county comes
from the creek which flows through it, whose bed is of hard limestone. Athens
was chosen as the county seat in 1819. Other towns of note are Belle Mina,
Elkmont, Capshaw and Mooresville."
Authority:
Owen, Thomas McAdory. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1921.
Frank and Catherine removed to the locations listed below:
: Rowan Co. North Carolina (date unknown)
1800: Madison Co. Kentucky
1817: Shelby Co. Tennessee
1818 - 1827: Madison and Limestone Counties Alabama
1830: Shelby Co. Tennessee
1840: Morgan Co. Missouri
1850: Praire Township Franklin Co. Arkansas (Lived alone with Catherine)
1860: Six Mile Township Franklin Co. Arkansas
The Madison County, Kentucky tax lists indicate that Francis Nixon first appeared on the tax rolls in August of 1799 (page 9) and last appeared June 28, 1806 (page 28). The Madison County tax list information is provided below:
August 1799 Page 8
June 4, 1800
September 5, 1801 page 19
October 1802 page 21
June 5, 1803 page 24
March 26, 1804 Page 29
May 6, 1805 page 28
June 28, 1806 page 28
While residing in Limestone County, Alabama Frank choose a very novel way of
decorating his primitive cabin on Swam Creek south of the present day Athens.
In the book The Lure and Lore of Limestone County, published for the Limestone County Historical Society, R.A. McClellan was quoted as saying "He {Francis Marion Nixon} stuffed the entrails of a bear which he had killed and draped these adornments around the inner walls of his house. To relieve the
dun-colored monotony of these ornaments he interspersed them with nice pods of of red pepper."
This book also states "Frank also showed his individuality in the names which
he choose for his children. They were Alexander the Great, John Coffee,
Lorenzo Dow, General Jackson, George Washington, and James Monroe Liberty
Independence."
The following is from Abstracts of The Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Rowan County, North Carolina, 1763 - 1774 Vol. III, Page 146:
"8 Aug 1786.
FRANCIS NIXON, a base born Child begot on SARAH BURCH, bound to DAVID WILL until 21 to learn the Trade of Wheelwright. the Master to Comply with the law. "
Journey to California
Squaw Creek Cemetery - Hilltop, Gillespie County, Texas Address:
Directions: from Hilltop take RR 648 NW 6.2 miles; then south on Squaw Creek Rd. .5 miles; then west on Nixon Cemetery Rd. approx. .7 miles
Historical Marker #: 5171010117 Year Dedicated: 1992
Squaw Creek Cemetery - On their way west from Arkansas to California about 1856, the family of Francis Marion Nixon and his wife, Catherine Elliot, was forced to detour south from the North Texas Plains to this area to obtain water and forage for their livestock. After first camping on a hill near the Mason/Gillespie County line, thereafter referred to as Nixon Point, they settled in this section of Gillespie County during the 1860s. The Nixon's son, Andrew Jackson Nixon, and his wife, Lurana Wooten, built their home in this vicinity and with their fourteen children formed the nucleus of the community of Squaw Creek. Marriages by their descendants added the names Baethge, Ratto, Strackbein, Mund, Faught, and Gibson to the extended Nixon family line. The Squaw Creek Cemetery grounds were a part of a 110-acre conveyance from A. J. Nixon to his brother-in-law, Henry Strackbeing, in 1872. The first recorded interment is that of Elizabeth Gibson in 1873. The first legal mention of the cemetery occurs in a deed executed by Adolph Strackbein in 1914. Of the approximately 60 interments here, most are members of the extended Nixon family. The burials include those of American Civil War and World War I veterans.
Decimal degrees: N 30.437835 W -99.044584
Degrees, minutes: N 30 26.270 W 099 02.675
UTM: Zone 14, Easting 495719, Northing 3367303
Additional information about the journey:
They were accompanied by the Light, Ratto and New families, set out in a wagon train for California. Lack of water for their stock on the Texas plains forced them to halt. Turning South to Mason and Gillespie counties, TX, the family established Nixon Point, a peak on the Beaver Creek, as a landmark in October, 1856. Taking refuge from the Indians in old forts in Mason and Menard counties, they were able to keep alive and maintain their small herd of cattle. Additional information in Pioneers in God's Hills, Published by Gillespie County Historical Society, Fredericksburg, TX.
Francis Marion Nixon, Sr. married Catherine Elliott 24-Feb-1798, in Madison County, KY. They had the following children: Elliott H., John Coffee, Lorenzo Dow, Almedia, Andrew Jackson, George Washington Clemington, Augustine Catherine, Francis Marion, James Monroe Liberty Independence, America May and Amanda.
*******************************************************
NOTE added 10-25-17 by Ron Nixon: Many Nixon researchers have mistakenly indicated the father and mother of Francis Marion Nixon to be Col. John Nixon and Lucy Percy respectively. Thomas John Nixon was married to Lucy Percy and they had a daughter named Frances that has often been confused with our male Francis Marion Nixon. If you are one of these researchers, please correct your records or provide source(s) for your information. After 40 years of research I have been unable to determine his father's name, or if he was even a Nixon. DNA test on myself and distant Nixon cousins, from separate lines of Francis Marion Nixon children, have failed to link to any other Nixon line prior to Francis. In fact, the most dominant surname(s) connecting his descendants is: Brown and Jones. Orphan's court records only indicate his mother - Sarah Burch. No father indicated. Thank you for your kind consideration. Ron Nixon
***********************************************************
time of the American Revolution. Family legend has it that he was living in
his parents home with a brother and sister when his parents were killed by the British. Frank escaped and his brother escaped but his sister Margaret was kidnapped and never heard from again. Another story has Margaret also
escaping and being taken by another family. Never-the-less, the house was
burned and the children seperated.
Sometime prior to 1784 Francis was among a group led into Kentucky by Daniel
Boone. The first Nixon family found recorded in Kentucky were in a group from Virginia, who settled along Gilbert's Creek in Madison County, Kentucky. This group, made up of the William Young, Johnston, Hampton, Falconer, Nixon, and Chester families, built a stockade known as Gilbert's Creek Station. Later the same year, 1781, they established the Gilbert's Creek Baptist Church, the first church founded in Kentucky.
The first deeds of land recorded to Nixons in Kentucky are Andrew Nixon of
Delaware, Janathan Nixon, Henry Nixon, and William Nixon of Virginia. Francis Marion Nixon reached Kentucky at age 14 or 15 and lived there 17 years, where he was a frontiersman and hunter. Madison County was formed in 1785 from Lincoln Ounty while still a part of Virginia. It was the 6th county in Kentucky and named for Virginia statesman, James Madison, 4th President of the United States. It is located on the southeastern edge of the Bluegrass region of Kentucky where the knobs mark the boundary between the rolling Bluegrass and the hilly Cumberland Plateau
Frank has been described as a man of small stature (120 pounds) but possessing good running ability. His speed as a runner is said to have gotten him out of a few scrapes with indians.
Frank married Catherine Elliott February 24, 1798 in Madison County Kentucky.
The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev. Thomas Berry. Consent was given by guardian John Payne. (Assume this was Catherine's guardian).
At the start of the War of 1812, Frank, then 46, joined the Army and moved
his family to Tennessee where his fourth son was born July 4, 1813. This son
was named Andrew Jackson Nixon after the famous Tennessee General Andrew
Jackson.
After the War of 1812 Frank and Catherine moved to Alabama, 1816. Here their
last three sons were born. They remained here until 1828 or 1829 when the
Francis Marion Nixon family moved to Tennessee. Elliott remained in Alabama.
Lorenzo Dow Nixon married Sarah Parker and moved to Fort Parker, Texas with
the Parker family.
"Limestone County was created by an act of the Alabama Territorial General
Assembly on 1818 Feb. 6. It was formed from land comprising Elk County that
was created on May 24, 1817. Limestone County is west of Madison County,
north of the Tennessee River, and east of the western boundary line of range
six, west of the basis meridian of the county. An act of the state General
Assembly on 1821 Nov. 27 gave to the county all of the land belonging to
Lauderdale County, in the fork of the Tennessee and Elk Rivers, east of range
six. Today Limestone County is bounded on the north by the State of Tennessee,
on the east by Madison County, on the south by Morgan and Lawrence
counties, and on the west by Lauderdale County. The name of the county comes
from the creek which flows through it, whose bed is of hard limestone. Athens
was chosen as the county seat in 1819. Other towns of note are Belle Mina,
Elkmont, Capshaw and Mooresville."
Authority:
Owen, Thomas McAdory. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1921.
Frank and Catherine removed to the locations listed below:
: Rowan Co. North Carolina (date unknown)
1800: Madison Co. Kentucky
1817: Shelby Co. Tennessee
1818 - 1827: Madison and Limestone Counties Alabama
1830: Shelby Co. Tennessee
1840: Morgan Co. Missouri
1850: Praire Township Franklin Co. Arkansas (Lived alone with Catherine)
1860: Six Mile Township Franklin Co. Arkansas
The Madison County, Kentucky tax lists indicate that Francis Nixon first appeared on the tax rolls in August of 1799 (page 9) and last appeared June 28, 1806 (page 28). The Madison County tax list information is provided below:
August 1799 Page 8
June 4, 1800
September 5, 1801 page 19
October 1802 page 21
June 5, 1803 page 24
March 26, 1804 Page 29
May 6, 1805 page 28
June 28, 1806 page 28
While residing in Limestone County, Alabama Frank choose a very novel way of
decorating his primitive cabin on Swam Creek south of the present day Athens.
In the book The Lure and Lore of Limestone County, published for the Limestone County Historical Society, R.A. McClellan was quoted as saying "He {Francis Marion Nixon} stuffed the entrails of a bear which he had killed and draped these adornments around the inner walls of his house. To relieve the
dun-colored monotony of these ornaments he interspersed them with nice pods of of red pepper."
This book also states "Frank also showed his individuality in the names which
he choose for his children. They were Alexander the Great, John Coffee,
Lorenzo Dow, General Jackson, George Washington, and James Monroe Liberty
Independence."
The following is from Abstracts of The Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Rowan County, North Carolina, 1763 - 1774 Vol. III, Page 146:
"8 Aug 1786.
FRANCIS NIXON, a base born Child begot on SARAH BURCH, bound to DAVID WILL until 21 to learn the Trade of Wheelwright. the Master to Comply with the law. "
Journey to California
Squaw Creek Cemetery - Hilltop, Gillespie County, Texas Address:
Directions: from Hilltop take RR 648 NW 6.2 miles; then south on Squaw Creek Rd. .5 miles; then west on Nixon Cemetery Rd. approx. .7 miles
Historical Marker #: 5171010117 Year Dedicated: 1992
Squaw Creek Cemetery - On their way west from Arkansas to California about 1856, the family of Francis Marion Nixon and his wife, Catherine Elliot, was forced to detour south from the North Texas Plains to this area to obtain water and forage for their livestock. After first camping on a hill near the Mason/Gillespie County line, thereafter referred to as Nixon Point, they settled in this section of Gillespie County during the 1860s. The Nixon's son, Andrew Jackson Nixon, and his wife, Lurana Wooten, built their home in this vicinity and with their fourteen children formed the nucleus of the community of Squaw Creek. Marriages by their descendants added the names Baethge, Ratto, Strackbein, Mund, Faught, and Gibson to the extended Nixon family line. The Squaw Creek Cemetery grounds were a part of a 110-acre conveyance from A. J. Nixon to his brother-in-law, Henry Strackbeing, in 1872. The first recorded interment is that of Elizabeth Gibson in 1873. The first legal mention of the cemetery occurs in a deed executed by Adolph Strackbein in 1914. Of the approximately 60 interments here, most are members of the extended Nixon family. The burials include those of American Civil War and World War I veterans.
Decimal degrees: N 30.437835 W -99.044584
Degrees, minutes: N 30 26.270 W 099 02.675
UTM: Zone 14, Easting 495719, Northing 3367303
Additional information about the journey:
They were accompanied by the Light, Ratto and New families, set out in a wagon train for California. Lack of water for their stock on the Texas plains forced them to halt. Turning South to Mason and Gillespie counties, TX, the family established Nixon Point, a peak on the Beaver Creek, as a landmark in October, 1856. Taking refuge from the Indians in old forts in Mason and Menard counties, they were able to keep alive and maintain their small herd of cattle. Additional information in Pioneers in God's Hills, Published by Gillespie County Historical Society, Fredericksburg, TX.
Francis Marion Nixon, Sr. married Catherine Elliott 24-Feb-1798, in Madison County, KY. They had the following children: Elliott H., John Coffee, Lorenzo Dow, Almedia, Andrew Jackson, George Washington Clemington, Augustine Catherine, Francis Marion, James Monroe Liberty Independence, America May and Amanda.
*******************************************************
NOTE added 10-25-17 by Ron Nixon: Many Nixon researchers have mistakenly indicated the father and mother of Francis Marion Nixon to be Col. John Nixon and Lucy Percy respectively. Thomas John Nixon was married to Lucy Percy and they had a daughter named Frances that has often been confused with our male Francis Marion Nixon. If you are one of these researchers, please correct your records or provide source(s) for your information. After 40 years of research I have been unable to determine his father's name, or if he was even a Nixon. DNA test on myself and distant Nixon cousins, from separate lines of Francis Marion Nixon children, have failed to link to any other Nixon line prior to Francis. In fact, the most dominant surname(s) connecting his descendants is: Brown and Jones. Orphan's court records only indicate his mother - Sarah Burch. No father indicated. Thank you for your kind consideration. Ron Nixon
***********************************************************
It is said that Frank arrived in the United States with his parents about the
time of the American Revolution. Family legend has it that he was living in
his parents home with a brother and sister when his parents were killed by the British. Frank escaped and his brother escaped but his sister Margaret was kidnapped and never heard from again. Another story has Margaret also
escaping and being taken by another family. Never-the-less, the house was
burned and the children seperated.
Sometime prior to 1784 Francis was among a group led into Kentucky by Daniel
Boone. The first Nixon family found recorded in Kentucky were in a group from Virginia, who settled along Gilbert's Creek in Madison County, Kentucky. This group, made up of the William Young, Johnston, Hampton, Falconer, Nixon, and Chester families, built a stockade known as Gilbert's Creek Station. Later the same year, 1781, they established the Gilbert's Creek Baptist Church, the first church founded in Kentucky.
The first deeds of land recorded to Nixons in Kentucky are Andrew Nixon of
Delaware, Janathan Nixon, Henry Nixon, and William Nixon of Virginia. Francis Marion Nixon reached Kentucky at age 14 or 15 and lived there 17 years, where he was a frontiersman and hunter. Madison County was formed in 1785 from Lincoln Ounty while still a part of Virginia. It was the 6th county in Kentucky and named for Virginia statesman, James Madison, 4th President of the United States. It is located on the southeastern edge of the Bluegrass region of Kentucky where the knobs mark the boundary between the rolling Bluegrass and the hilly Cumberland Plateau
Frank has been described as a man of small stature (120 pounds) but possessing good running ability. His speed as a runner is said to have gotten him out of a few scrapes with indians.
Frank married Catherine Elliott February 24, 1798 in Madison County Kentucky.
The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev. Thomas Berry. Consent was given by guardian John Payne. (Assume this was Catherine's guardian).
At the start of the War of 1812, Frank, then 46, joined the Army and moved
his family to Tennessee where his fourth son was born July 4, 1813. This son
was named Andrew Jackson Nixon after the famous Tennessee General Andrew
Jackson.
After the War of 1812 Frank and Catherine moved to Alabama, 1816. Here their
last three sons were born. They remained here until 1828 or 1829 when the
Francis Marion Nixon family moved to Tennessee. Elliott remained in Alabama.
Lorenzo Dow Nixon married Sarah Parker and moved to Fort Parker, Texas with
the Parker family.
"Limestone County was created by an act of the Alabama Territorial General
Assembly on 1818 Feb. 6. It was formed from land comprising Elk County that
was created on May 24, 1817. Limestone County is west of Madison County,
north of the Tennessee River, and east of the western boundary line of range
six, west of the basis meridian of the county. An act of the state General
Assembly on 1821 Nov. 27 gave to the county all of the land belonging to
Lauderdale County, in the fork of the Tennessee and Elk Rivers, east of range
six. Today Limestone County is bounded on the north by the State of Tennessee,
on the east by Madison County, on the south by Morgan and Lawrence
counties, and on the west by Lauderdale County. The name of the county comes
from the creek which flows through it, whose bed is of hard limestone. Athens
was chosen as the county seat in 1819. Other towns of note are Belle Mina,
Elkmont, Capshaw and Mooresville."
Authority:
Owen, Thomas McAdory. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1921.
Frank and Catherine removed to the locations listed below:
: Rowan Co. North Carolina (date unknown)
1800: Madison Co. Kentucky
1817: Shelby Co. Tennessee
1818 - 1827: Madison and Limestone Counties Alabama
1830: Shelby Co. Tennessee
1840: Morgan Co. Missouri
1850: Praire Township Franklin Co. Arkansas (Lived alone with Catherine)
1860: Six Mile Township Franklin Co. Arkansas
The Madison County, Kentucky tax lists indicate that Francis Nixon first appeared on the tax rolls in August of 1799 (page 9) and last appeared June 28, 1806 (page 28). The Madison County tax list information is provided below:
August 1799 Page 8
June 4, 1800
September 5, 1801 page 19
October 1802 page 21
June 5, 1803 page 24
March 26, 1804 Page 29
May 6, 1805 page 28
June 28, 1806 page 28
While residing in Limestone County, Alabama Frank choose a very novel way of
decorating his primitive cabin on Swam Creek south of the present day Athens.
In the book The Lure and Lore of Limestone County, published for the Limestone County Historical Society, R.A. McClellan was quoted as saying "He {Francis Marion Nixon} stuffed the entrails of a bear which he had killed and draped these adornments around the inner walls of his house. To relieve the
dun-colored monotony of these ornaments he interspersed them with nice pods of of red pepper."
This book also states "Frank also showed his individuality in the names which
he choose for his children. They were Alexander the Great, John Coffee,
Lorenzo Dow, General Jackson, George Washington, and James Monroe Liberty
Independence."
The following is from Abstracts of The Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Rowan County, North Carolina, 1763 - 1774 Vol. III, Page 146:
"8 Aug 1786.
FRANCIS NIXON, a base born Child begot on SARAH BURCH, bound to DAVID WILL until 21 to learn the Trade of Wheelwright. the Master to Comply with the law. "
Journey to California
Squaw Creek Cemetery - Hilltop, Gillespie County, Texas Address:
Directions: from Hilltop take RR 648 NW 6.2 miles; then south on Squaw Creek Rd. .5 miles; then west on Nixon Cemetery Rd. approx. .7 miles
Historical Marker #: 5171010117 Year Dedicated: 1992
Squaw Creek Cemetery - On their way west from Arkansas to California about 1856, the family of Francis Marion Nixon and his wife, Catherine Elliot, was forced to detour south from the North Texas Plains to this area to obtain water and forage for their livestock. After first camping on a hill near the Mason/Gillespie County line, thereafter referred to as Nixon Point, they settled in this section of Gillespie County during the 1860s. The Nixon's son, Andrew Jackson Nixon, and his wife, Lurana Wooten, built their home in this vicinity and with their fourteen children formed the nucleus of the community of Squaw Creek. Marriages by their descendants added the names Baethge, Ratto, Strackbein, Mund, Faught, and Gibson to the extended Nixon family line. The Squaw Creek Cemetery grounds were a part of a 110-acre conveyance from A. J. Nixon to his brother-in-law, Henry Strackbeing, in 1872. The first recorded interment is that of Elizabeth Gibson in 1873. The first legal mention of the cemetery occurs in a deed executed by Adolph Strackbein in 1914. Of the approximately 60 interments here, most are members of the extended Nixon family. The burials include those of American Civil War and World War I veterans.
Decimal degrees: N 30.437835 W -99.044584
Degrees, minutes: N 30 26.270 W 099 02.675
UTM: Zone 14, Easting 495719, Northing 3367303
Additional information about the journey:
They were accompanied by the Light, Ratto and New families, set out in a wagon train for California. Lack of water for their stock on the Texas plains forced them to halt. Turning South to Mason and Gillespie counties, TX, the family established Nixon Point, a peak on the Beaver Creek, as a landmark in October, 1856. Taking refuge from the Indians in old forts in Mason and Menard counties, they were able to keep alive and maintain their small herd of cattle. Additional information in Pioneers in God's Hills, Published by Gillespie County Historical Society, Fredericksburg, TX.
Francis Marion Nixon, Sr. married Catherine Elliott 24-Feb-1798, in Madison County, KY. They had the following children: Elliott H., John Coffee, Lorenzo Dow, Almedia, Andrew Jackson, George Washington Clemington, Augustine Catherine, Francis Marion, James Monroe Liberty Independence, America May and Amanda.
*******************************************************
NOTE added 10-25-17 by Ron Nixon: Many Nixon researchers have mistakenly indicated the father and mother of Francis Marion Nixon to be Col. John Nixon and Lucy Percy respectively. Thomas John Nixon was married to Lucy Percy and they had a daughter named Frances that has often been confused with our male Francis Marion Nixon. If you are one of these researchers, please correct your records or provide source(s) for your information. After 40 years of research I have been unable to determine his father's name, or if he was even a Nixon. DNA test on myself and distant Nixon cousins, from separate lines of Francis Marion Nixon children, have failed to link to any other Nixon line prior to Francis. In fact, the most dominant surname(s) connecting his descendants is: Brown and Jones. Orphan's court records only indicate his mother - Sarah Burch. No father indicated. Thank you for your kind consideration. Ron Nixon
***********************************************************
time of the American Revolution. Family legend has it that he was living in
his parents home with a brother and sister when his parents were killed by the British. Frank escaped and his brother escaped but his sister Margaret was kidnapped and never heard from again. Another story has Margaret also
escaping and being taken by another family. Never-the-less, the house was
burned and the children seperated.
Sometime prior to 1784 Francis was among a group led into Kentucky by Daniel
Boone. The first Nixon family found recorded in Kentucky were in a group from Virginia, who settled along Gilbert's Creek in Madison County, Kentucky. This group, made up of the William Young, Johnston, Hampton, Falconer, Nixon, and Chester families, built a stockade known as Gilbert's Creek Station. Later the same year, 1781, they established the Gilbert's Creek Baptist Church, the first church founded in Kentucky.
The first deeds of land recorded to Nixons in Kentucky are Andrew Nixon of
Delaware, Janathan Nixon, Henry Nixon, and William Nixon of Virginia. Francis Marion Nixon reached Kentucky at age 14 or 15 and lived there 17 years, where he was a frontiersman and hunter. Madison County was formed in 1785 from Lincoln Ounty while still a part of Virginia. It was the 6th county in Kentucky and named for Virginia statesman, James Madison, 4th President of the United States. It is located on the southeastern edge of the Bluegrass region of Kentucky where the knobs mark the boundary between the rolling Bluegrass and the hilly Cumberland Plateau
Frank has been described as a man of small stature (120 pounds) but possessing good running ability. His speed as a runner is said to have gotten him out of a few scrapes with indians.
Frank married Catherine Elliott February 24, 1798 in Madison County Kentucky.
The marriage ceremony was performed by Rev. Thomas Berry. Consent was given by guardian John Payne. (Assume this was Catherine's guardian).
At the start of the War of 1812, Frank, then 46, joined the Army and moved
his family to Tennessee where his fourth son was born July 4, 1813. This son
was named Andrew Jackson Nixon after the famous Tennessee General Andrew
Jackson.
After the War of 1812 Frank and Catherine moved to Alabama, 1816. Here their
last three sons were born. They remained here until 1828 or 1829 when the
Francis Marion Nixon family moved to Tennessee. Elliott remained in Alabama.
Lorenzo Dow Nixon married Sarah Parker and moved to Fort Parker, Texas with
the Parker family.
"Limestone County was created by an act of the Alabama Territorial General
Assembly on 1818 Feb. 6. It was formed from land comprising Elk County that
was created on May 24, 1817. Limestone County is west of Madison County,
north of the Tennessee River, and east of the western boundary line of range
six, west of the basis meridian of the county. An act of the state General
Assembly on 1821 Nov. 27 gave to the county all of the land belonging to
Lauderdale County, in the fork of the Tennessee and Elk Rivers, east of range
six. Today Limestone County is bounded on the north by the State of Tennessee,
on the east by Madison County, on the south by Morgan and Lawrence
counties, and on the west by Lauderdale County. The name of the county comes
from the creek which flows through it, whose bed is of hard limestone. Athens
was chosen as the county seat in 1819. Other towns of note are Belle Mina,
Elkmont, Capshaw and Mooresville."
Authority:
Owen, Thomas McAdory. History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. Chicago: S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1921.
Frank and Catherine removed to the locations listed below:
: Rowan Co. North Carolina (date unknown)
1800: Madison Co. Kentucky
1817: Shelby Co. Tennessee
1818 - 1827: Madison and Limestone Counties Alabama
1830: Shelby Co. Tennessee
1840: Morgan Co. Missouri
1850: Praire Township Franklin Co. Arkansas (Lived alone with Catherine)
1860: Six Mile Township Franklin Co. Arkansas
The Madison County, Kentucky tax lists indicate that Francis Nixon first appeared on the tax rolls in August of 1799 (page 9) and last appeared June 28, 1806 (page 28). The Madison County tax list information is provided below:
August 1799 Page 8
June 4, 1800
September 5, 1801 page 19
October 1802 page 21
June 5, 1803 page 24
March 26, 1804 Page 29
May 6, 1805 page 28
June 28, 1806 page 28
While residing in Limestone County, Alabama Frank choose a very novel way of
decorating his primitive cabin on Swam Creek south of the present day Athens.
In the book The Lure and Lore of Limestone County, published for the Limestone County Historical Society, R.A. McClellan was quoted as saying "He {Francis Marion Nixon} stuffed the entrails of a bear which he had killed and draped these adornments around the inner walls of his house. To relieve the
dun-colored monotony of these ornaments he interspersed them with nice pods of of red pepper."
This book also states "Frank also showed his individuality in the names which
he choose for his children. They were Alexander the Great, John Coffee,
Lorenzo Dow, General Jackson, George Washington, and James Monroe Liberty
Independence."
The following is from Abstracts of The Minutes of the Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions, Rowan County, North Carolina, 1763 - 1774 Vol. III, Page 146:
"8 Aug 1786.
FRANCIS NIXON, a base born Child begot on SARAH BURCH, bound to DAVID WILL until 21 to learn the Trade of Wheelwright. the Master to Comply with the law. "
Journey to California
Squaw Creek Cemetery - Hilltop, Gillespie County, Texas Address:
Directions: from Hilltop take RR 648 NW 6.2 miles; then south on Squaw Creek Rd. .5 miles; then west on Nixon Cemetery Rd. approx. .7 miles
Historical Marker #: 5171010117 Year Dedicated: 1992
Squaw Creek Cemetery - On their way west from Arkansas to California about 1856, the family of Francis Marion Nixon and his wife, Catherine Elliot, was forced to detour south from the North Texas Plains to this area to obtain water and forage for their livestock. After first camping on a hill near the Mason/Gillespie County line, thereafter referred to as Nixon Point, they settled in this section of Gillespie County during the 1860s. The Nixon's son, Andrew Jackson Nixon, and his wife, Lurana Wooten, built their home in this vicinity and with their fourteen children formed the nucleus of the community of Squaw Creek. Marriages by their descendants added the names Baethge, Ratto, Strackbein, Mund, Faught, and Gibson to the extended Nixon family line. The Squaw Creek Cemetery grounds were a part of a 110-acre conveyance from A. J. Nixon to his brother-in-law, Henry Strackbeing, in 1872. The first recorded interment is that of Elizabeth Gibson in 1873. The first legal mention of the cemetery occurs in a deed executed by Adolph Strackbein in 1914. Of the approximately 60 interments here, most are members of the extended Nixon family. The burials include those of American Civil War and World War I veterans.
Decimal degrees: N 30.437835 W -99.044584
Degrees, minutes: N 30 26.270 W 099 02.675
UTM: Zone 14, Easting 495719, Northing 3367303
Additional information about the journey:
They were accompanied by the Light, Ratto and New families, set out in a wagon train for California. Lack of water for their stock on the Texas plains forced them to halt. Turning South to Mason and Gillespie counties, TX, the family established Nixon Point, a peak on the Beaver Creek, as a landmark in October, 1856. Taking refuge from the Indians in old forts in Mason and Menard counties, they were able to keep alive and maintain their small herd of cattle. Additional information in Pioneers in God's Hills, Published by Gillespie County Historical Society, Fredericksburg, TX.
Francis Marion Nixon, Sr. married Catherine Elliott 24-Feb-1798, in Madison County, KY. They had the following children: Elliott H., John Coffee, Lorenzo Dow, Almedia, Andrew Jackson, George Washington Clemington, Augustine Catherine, Francis Marion, James Monroe Liberty Independence, America May and Amanda.
*******************************************************
NOTE added 10-25-17 by Ron Nixon: Many Nixon researchers have mistakenly indicated the father and mother of Francis Marion Nixon to be Col. John Nixon and Lucy Percy respectively. Thomas John Nixon was married to Lucy Percy and they had a daughter named Frances that has often been confused with our male Francis Marion Nixon. If you are one of these researchers, please correct your records or provide source(s) for your information. After 40 years of research I have been unable to determine his father's name, or if he was even a Nixon. DNA test on myself and distant Nixon cousins, from separate lines of Francis Marion Nixon children, have failed to link to any other Nixon line prior to Francis. In fact, the most dominant surname(s) connecting his descendants is: Brown and Jones. Orphan's court records only indicate his mother - Sarah Burch. No father indicated. Thank you for your kind consideration. Ron Nixon
***********************************************************
Family Members
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
