When he was three years of age, in 1833, the family moved across the Cumberland River into Jackson County, Tennessee. He grew to manhood on his father's farm near Celina, Tennessee. On October 30, 1851 he married Burnetta Fowler, born April 19, 1837 in Jackson County, Tennessee.

The will of Varney Andrews, proved in Probate Court, June 19, 1879, named Edwin Jones Andrews and Alvin Rufus Andrews, executors “of my last will and testament." The will provided for the sale of lands of the estate and an equal division to all surviving sons and daughters, except William Andrews who was not mentioned, after specific bequests were paid.

County Judge S. D. Steedman, by formal action June 19, 1879, appointed J. B. Morgan, and A. M. Bryant to view and appraise the property belonging to the estate of Varney Andrews, deceased, and report their action to the court. (Ref: Sheet 4, Volume I, pages 543, 544 and 545, Probate Minutes, Grayson County, Texas.)

According to court records of Grayson County, the executors never made an accounting of their stewardship to the court. Efforts were made to bring the executors into court and have them make a report of their actions. Two court orders were issued to this end. A court order recorded in Book M, Probate Minutes, page 314, read as follows:

"Estate of Varney Andrews, December 13, 1882, E. J. & A. R.
Andrews, executors.

"It is ordered by the Court that E. J. & A. R. Andrews, Executors of the Estate of Varney Andrews, deceased, be cited to appear at the January Term, 1883 and file report showing the condition of the estate."

A similar entry, appeared in Book M, page 361, and read as follows: "Estate of Varney Andrews, Decd. 1—17—1883."

"It is ordered by the Court that E. J. & A. R. Andrews, Executors be cited to appear at the March term, 1883, of this Court and file a report showing the condition of the estate, and show cause why inventory has not been filed.

Neither the record books, nor the Docket file which contained the original will of Varney Andrews, nor any records of Court action contained further mention of any action taken by the court, and there was no indication that the Executors ever filed answer to these court orders, or ever filed an inventory report, or made any other accounting of the estate.

JAMES RAY ANDREWS:

These circumstances may explain an apparent coolness which appeared to exist between the family of E.J. Andrews and the families of the brothers and sisters, all of whom except the
Dr. R. C. Andrews family lived in Sherman or Grayson county when I was a boy. I lived with my family in Sherman from 1900 to 1910, as a young teen age boy. I never saw my grand aunts Mary King and Nancy Arterberry both of whom lived in Grayson County with their families until their deaths. I remember seeing my grand uncle Mark Henry Andrews on the streets of Sherman, a town of about 5,000 people, one time, and never anywhere else. I never saw his wife or any other member of his family until about 1915 when his son Henry Leon Andrews (who died in Los Angeles in 1952) came to Amarillo, Texas, where I was then living.

At the outbreak of the War between the States, Edwin Jones Andrews joined a regiment organized by Judge J. M. Hurt of Grayson County. He was at scenes of action in the early days of the war and was a First Lieut. in Burnet's Battalion at Port Hudson on the lower Mississippi River during the bombardment of that place by Admiral Farragut’s fleet. Naval Lieut. George Dewey, later to become Admiral Dewey, and famous for his command in Manilla Harbor, “You may fire when ready, Gridley,” was forced to take to the water when his ship was set on fire by Confederate gunfire.

Edwin Jones Andrews served throughout the war under the over—all command of General Samuel Bell Maxey, whose father, General Rice Maxey, was the brother of Edwin Jones Andrews' maternal grandfather, William Maxey). During the war years, his wife until her death in 1862, and his children lived at Plano, Texas, at the home of her sister Martha Fowler Oglesby, wife of L. W. Oglesby, who brought his family to Texas in 1859 from Jackson County, Tennessee. The home in which they all lived throughout the War Between the States was still standing in 1960, unoccupied, and of course in poor condition.

A letter written by L. W. Oglesby, dated May 2, 1858, from Plano, Texas, to Alvin Rufus Andrews in Celina, Tenn., contained the information that "E. J. Andrews and family left Celina, Tenn., on April 8, 1858, on the move to Texas."

The manner of this move was unusual even for that day and age. A steam powered river boat was chartered and all the household goods, equipment of every kind including a steam powered saw mill, and all the persons of the Edwin Jones Andrews family and the L. Butler family, and all the servants of both families were loaded on board. The boat
took off on the Cumberland River for the trip to Grayson County, Texas. The route of travel after leaving the Cumberland River, was via the Tennessee, the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers and finally up the Red River. The landing took place about where Denison, Texas is now located.

Edwin Jones Andrews operated the saw mill in Grayson County for a short period and then set up farming operations two miles east of Howe, Grayson County, Texas.

Following the closing of the War Between the States in 1865 he resumed operation of the farm and not until 1868 did his young family of children have a mother in the home. They were critical years for the young children. It is quite certain that none of the children received formal schooling during the four years of the war. There can be no doubt that their Aunt, Martha Fowler Oglesby, did everything she could to teach them the basic courses, while they were with her at Plano. After their father returned from the war and the family reassembled at the farm home, the responsibility for their schooling fell upon him. From all I was ever able to learn, he was totally unequipped to face up to such a responsibility. Since the farm operation was likewise beyond his capacity, he probably could not think about schooling for his children. In any event, none of the five surviving children received more than a smattering of formal education, unless it was Laura, the only daughter.

In 1868 he married Mary Elizabeth Abernathy, who was born in Giles County, Tennessee, in 1838, daughter of Richard Abernathy, son of Jessee Abernathy and Alice, daughter of Alexander Tarpley. Mary Elizabeth Abernathy became step daughter of Mrs. Sally Frye Abernathy, who owned a farm near Springfield, Mo. There were two other step—children, Frank and Cattie. In 1861 Mrs. Abernathy married Charles Carlton who was born in Eythorne, County Kent, England August 25, 1821. Charles Carlton was the son of Charles and Mary Coveney Carlton. Charles, the son came to America early in the 19th century, and being a highly skilled mechanical engineer, superintended the construction of a railroad from New Orleans to Lake Pontchartrain.

After their marriage at Springfield, a school, which Carlton had established, had to be suspended because of the chaos which followed the outbreak of the War between the States. The entire household, (about 25 of them including Mrs. Sally Frye Carlton’s servants) reached Texas in November 1861. in 1862 Carlton established a school in Dallas, Texas, using the second floor of a blacksmith shop for a school room. Using a loom made of scrap material by her husband. Mrs. Carlton made the clothing required by the entire household and had enough to spare to obtain by barter coffee, sugar and other food stuffs otherwise unobtainable.

In 1865 Carlton established a school near Kentuckytown, in Grayson County, near the Edwin Jones Andrews farm home. In 1867 he was pursuaded to establish a school at Bonham, Texas, which he operated the remained of his life. (Ref: The Life and Influence of Charles Carlton, by Kenneth M. Hay.)

In 1890 the Edwin Jones Andrews farm in Grayson County was disposed of and the family moved to Western Texas. After a few years, all of the family, except Patrick Henry Andrews, returned to Grayson County.

Edwin Jones Andrews died at Sherman, Grayson County, in 1900.


Bernetta Fowler was the first wife of Edwin Jones Andrews and passed away in 1862, while he was serving in the First Texas Sharpshooters. They married on 30 Oct 1851 in Jackson Co., Tennessee. Edwin Jones Andrews and Burnetta Fowler had six children:

Eugene Rollin
Harvey Wilson
Laura
Samuel Varney
Patrick Henry, and
Martha Oglesby Burnetta.

In 1868, he married his second wife, Mary Elizabeth Abernathy. Edwin Jones Andrews and Mary Elizabeth Abernathey had four children:

Frank A. Andrews
Charles Carleton Andrews
Mark Edwin Andrews, and
James Richard Andrews.

A number of the brothers of Edwin Jones Andrews served in the 9th Texas Infantry Division and fought in the west in almost every engagement from Shiloh until the end ofteh war. Edwin Jones Andrews (32 years old and with six children was enrolled in the First Texas Sharpshooters (Burnet's Battalion), in August, 1862. He was apparently elected as a 1st Lieutenant of Comapny D and served for the remainder of the War. The First Texas Sharpbshooters were originally organized to join the 9th Texas Infantry, which had already moved into Tennessee and Mississippi. However, the First Texas Sharpshooters were redirected and participated in engagements at Jackson, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama. Sometime in 1863, they made their way back across the Mississippi, and were assigned to Samuel Bell Maxey's command in the Indian Territory (Oklahoma), until the war ended.

There is a late 19th century publication for Grayson County, Texas, which listed many of the county residents, with a short biography. It listed Edwin Jones Andrews as owner of a farm near Howe, Texas and also as an agent for a lumber company in nearby Sherman, Texas. It states that he was a good Christian, respected by all who knew him. He died in 1900. His grandson, born in 1910, recalled seeing one picture of Edwin Jones Andrews. He said that he was wearing a necklace with an indian symbol similar to what became known as the swastika. Since he enrolled in the First Texas Sharpshooters in August, 1862, which was the same month the Condfederate draft was introduced in Texas, he may not have been as much of a firebrand as his younger brother, Dr. Richard Andrews, who was active in the secession movement in Grayson County.


Name: M. E. Andrews
Residence: Denison, Grayson, Texas
Birth date: 1838
Birth place: Tennessee, United States
Relationship to head-of-household: Wife
Spouse name: E. J. Andrews
Spouse birth place: Kentucky, United States
Father birth place: Virginia, United States
Mother birth place: Tennessee, United States
Race or color (expanded): White
Ethnicity: American
Gender: Female
Marital status: Married
Age: 42 years
Occupation: House Keeping

Children:
H. M. Andrews
Charley C. Andrews
Frank A. Andrews
Jones M. Andrews
Mark E. Andrews
P. N. Andrews
James R. Andrews
NARA film number: T9-1306
Page: 197
Page letter: A
Entry number: 941
Film number: 1255306
Collection: 1880 United States Census

Texas CSA Pension Applications

New Applicant
Spouse County CSA Unit
Andrews, Mollie E. Edwin J. Andrews Grayson Co. Texas Co. Company D. Burnett's Battalion, 1st Texas Sharpshooters

Other Info: Widow's Pension # 15282, filed 29 July 1909, approved August 31, 1909 - married Edwin J. Andrews on 21 April 1868 at Bonham, Fannin County, Texas - age at time of application: 71 - born in Giles County, Tennessee; resided in State of Texas: 50 years - resided at present address: about 40 years, Sherman, Texas - husband's full name: Edwin J. Andrews - date of his death: July 17, 1900 - how long did your husband serve: from Spring of 1862 to the close of the war - branch of service: Infantry - about a year before the close of the war he was transferred into Ordinance Dept. - From: War Department, The Adjutant General's Office August 21, 1909 - The records shown that Edwin J. Andrews, 1st lieutenant, Company D, 1st (Burnett's) Battalion Texas Sharpshooters, Confederate States Army, enlisted August 1, 1862. On the last roll of the company on file, dated October 31, 1863, he is reported present. No later record of him has been found. APPLICATION FOR MORTUARY WARRANT: The said pensioner Mrs. Mollie Andrews died on the 24th day of May 1926 in the town of Sherman County of Grayson, Texas. The pensioner died in the home of J. R. Andrews, who was related to the pensioner as son....Certificate of Physican death due to Labor Pneumonia.