John Bate Berry

John Bate Berry, often known as Bate Berry, son of Betsy (Smothers) and John Berry, was born in Indiana on May 8, 1813, the oldest of three sons of this marriage. His mother died soon after the birth of her third child, Joseph Berry. John Berry and his three sons moved to Texas in 1826 with the intention of settling in Robertson's colony, but instead settled for a while near the mouth of Buffalo Bayou in what is now Harris County. Bate received a grant of a league of land on April 7, 1831, in Austin's colony on the east side of the Colorado River adjoining Ira Ingram's grant. He served as a private for fifty days in the Permanent Volunteer Company of Texas Militia in Capt. Robert McAlpin Williamson's company of Col. John Henry Moore's battalion, from July 26 to September 13, 1835. On February 28, 1836, he and his brother Andrew Jackson Berry joined the Texas army as privates, and although Andrew Jackson fought in the battle of San Jacinto, Bate, it has been reported, was among those detailed on April 21, 1836, to guard the baggage train and the camp of the sick opposite Harrisburg and did not take part in the battle. It seems that on February 28, 1836, Bate was appointed to drive a team and served until June 1, 1836, and thus was a part of the baggage train itself at the time of the battle. He was discharged from Capt. Jesse Billingsley's service on the latter date, after which he served as a private in Capt. William W. Hill's company from July 3 to October 3, 1836. He enrolled for three months in the ranging service of Texas on January 6, 1838, but he served only until February 20, when he was discharged. Bate and Andrew Jackson Berry both fought under Col. Edward Burleson in the battle of Plum Creek on August 12, 1840, against the Comanches. Bate and Joseph Berry each received land grants in Robertson's colony.

After the capture of San Antonio in September 1842 by Gen. Adrián Woll, Bate joined Capt. William P. Rutledge's company of Jackson County, on October 17, 1842. The company was transferred to the command of Capt. Jerome B. Robertson on November 15, and to that of Capt. Charles K. Reese on December 19, when Robertson's company returned home from the Rio Grande with Gen. Alexander Somervell. Joseph and Bate had enrolled in the Brazoria company under Capt. John Shelby McNeill for the Somervell expedition, and when Somervell started for home from the Rio Grande on December 19, 1842, he, too, transferred to Reese's company. Thus both brothers became members of the Mier expedition. Joseph was killed in the battle of Mier, and Bate was captured and imprisoned in Mexico until September 16, 1844. During the Mexican War he served in Col. John C. Hays's regiment as a scout under Capt. Creed Taylor for Gen. Zachary Taylor in northern Mexico, and on one occasion was strongly admonished by General Taylor to discontinue his practice of scalping Mexican soldiers whom he had killed in battle.

After the Mexican War Berry received a first-class headright certificate and selected his land in Williamson County, where he resided until the end of the Civil War. Shortly thereafter, probably influenced by his brother-in-law, James Bradberry (husband of Bate's half-sister, Elizabeth), he moved to the upper Llano valley. He settled on the river two miles above the mouth of Red Creek in Kimble County. There he built a log house surrounded by a stockade of tall pickets to afford protection from the Indians and raised cattle. Some five or six miles to the southwest, on Gentry Creek in Kimble County, lived the Raleigh Gentry family, including Nancy Frazier Gentry, widow of William Gentry (son of Raleigh Gentry), who was killed during the Civil War, and her young son. After John Bate and Nancy agreed to be married they rode horseback to Fredericksburg, a distance of sixty miles, where they were married on March 9, 1867. In 1871 they moved to Willow Creek in Mason County, where, on March 2, 1878, Bate purchased 160 acres of land from Gustav Schleicher and, on December 28, 1881, bought from William Koock three acres of land a mile or so west of Mason at a settlement known as Koockville. In those days Berry was often involved in helping to defend the frontier against Indians. In Mason County he farmed and ranched until his death at his home near Koockville, on December 20, 1891. Berry was a devout member of the Church of Christ. He was buried in the Grit Cemetery in Mason County. His wife died in 1928 at the age of eighty-three and was buried beside him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

https://library.uta.edu/usmexicowar/item?bio_id=36&nation=US&ofst=3...:

John Berry May 8, 1813 - December 20, 1891

Topic - Battle of Monterrey

Born in Indiana, John “Bate” Berry immigrated to Texas with his father and two younger brothers in 1826. In February of 1836, Bate and his brother Andrew Jackson Berry joined the Texas army. Andrew Berry fought in the battle of San Jacinto, John Berry was detailed to guard the baggage train and did not participate in the battle. The brothers joined Colonel Edward Burleson’s ranger company in 1840, taking part in the Battle of Plum Creek on August 12 against Comanche Indians. They also joined the 1842 Somervell-Mier Expedition, in which a younger brother, Joseph Berry was killed. Bate Berry would spend the next two years imprisoned in Mexico.

In 1846, John Berry enlisted in the Mounted Texas Rifles, serving as a scout for General Zachary Taylor’s Army of Occupation in northern Mexico. Some Texas volunteers were believed to have used the conflict to exact revenge for earlier conflicts with Mexico. John Berry was reprimanded by General Taylor for taking scalps from Mexican soldiers killed in action.

After the war, John Bate Berry moved to Koockville, Texas where he farmed and ranched until his death on 20 December 1891. He is buried in the Grit Cemetery in Mason County.

Bibliography

Dixon, Sam Houston and Louis Wiltz Kemp The Heroes of San Jacinto Houston, Tex., Anson Jones Press, 1932. Fisher, Ovie Clark. The Texas Heritage of the Fishers and the Clarks (Salado, Texas: Anson Jones Press, 1963).
------------------------------

From rootsweb:

Bate [took] part in the siege of San Antonio, the Battle of San Jacinto, the Plum Creek Fight, the Mier Expedition where he w as a prisoner of war for 21 months, and served in the Civil War.

He was a hero of the Texas revolution. He served under many men including Captains Ralph Williamson, Seth Billingsley, John G. Mc Geehee, William Hill, John Lynch, Edward Burleson and Sam Houston. He was with Sam Houston following the Battle of the Alamo in the march across Texas and the San Jacinto defeat of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, along with Andrew Jackson Berry and Cornelius Devore who was just sixteen.

A census report in 1870 shows he lived in Kinble and owned six horses, twenty milk cows, 600 cattle and 20 hogs. He also raised hunting dogs.

Bate was "a devout Christian". He was "a terror on the battlefield" but in private life was "loved and respected by his friends and neighbors. He was "peaceable, kindly man, beholden of much compassion."

He helped to raise his step-son John and William Clark a nephew.

On his tombstone in Grit Cemetery, Mason County, Texas is the inscription, "Born in 1845--He died as he lived--a Christian. In 1977 the Texas Historical Commission had a bronze plaque made commemorating the life and deeds of John Bate Berry.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Birth: May 8, 1813 Ohio County Kentucky, USA Death: Dec. 20, 1891 Koockville Mason County Texas, USA

1 of 3 sons of John Berry and Betsy Smeathers, dau of Capt William Smeathers Mem #113766278 and Mary Winters. His middle name was from his mother Betsy's oldest brother, John Bate Smeathers Sr Mem #53359637 John was known by 'Bate or Batie', his dad John and his Uncle John Smeathers Sr were both in the 1812 Mounted Spy Unit of his grandad Capt Smeathers so were familiar with one another fairly well, thus probably why Bate's dad named him for his Uncle John.

1880 Census Prec 1 Mason Texas lst born son of John/Betsy John Bate BERRY Self M M W 67 KY Farmer Fa:KY Mo:KY Nancy Elizabeth BERRY Wife F M W 35 TX [Frazier-Gentry-widow of Wm Gentry when John Bate marr her] Occ: Keeps house Fa:TN Mo:TN John William GENTRY Step Son M W 17 TX [son of Nancy Frazier Gentry's lst husb]Occ: Works Farm Fa: TX Mo: TX William CLARK Nephew M W 14 TX Occ:Works Farm Fa: TX Mo: TX

John Bate Berry had equipment and built roads and such even built all roads around Carlsbad.

John Bate Berry, often known as Bate Berry, son of Betsy Smeathers and John Berry Sr. was born May 8 1813 Ohio Co KY, the oldest of three sons of this marriage. His mother died soon after the birth of her third child, 1818, Joseph Berry Indiana. John Berry Sr and his three sons moved to Texas in 1826 with the intention of settling in Robertson's colony, but instead settled for a while near the mouth of Buffalo Bayou in what is now Harris County. Bate received a grant of a league of land April 7 1831 in Austin's colony on the east side of the Colorado River adjoining Ira Ingram's grant. He served as a private for fifty days in the Permanent Volunteer Company of Texas Militia in Capt. Robert McAlpin Williamson's company of Col. John Henry Moore's battalion, from July 26 to Sep 13 1835. On Feb. 28, 1836, he and his brother Andrew Jackson Berry joined the Texas army as privates, and although Andrew Jackson fought in the Battle of San Jacinto, Bate, it has been reported, was among those detailed April 21 1836 to guard the baggage train and the camp of the sick opposite Harrisburg and did not take part in the battle. It seems on Feb 28 1836, Bate was appointed to drive a team and served until June 1 1836, and thus was a part of the baggage train itself at the time of the battle. He was discharged from Capt. Jesse Billingsley's service on the latter date, after which he served as a private in Capt. William W. Hill's company from July 3 to Oct 3 1836. He enrolled for three months in the ranging service of Texas on Jan 5 1838, but he served only until Feb 20, when he was discharged. Bate and Andrew Jackson Berry both fought under Col. Edward Burleson in the battle of Plum Creek on Aug 12 1840, against the Comanche. Bate and Joseph Berry each received land grants in Robertson's colony. After the capture of San Antonio in Sept 1842 by Gen. Adrian Woll, Bate joined Capt. William P. Rutledge's company of Jackson County Oct 17 1842. The company was transferred to the command of Capt. Jerome B. Robertson Nov 15 and to that of Capt. Charles K. Reese on Dec 19 when Robertson's company returned home from the Rio Grande with Gen. Alexander Somervell. Joseph and Bate had enrolled in the Brazoria company under Capt. John Shelby McNeill for the Somervell expedition, and when Somervell started for home from the Rio Grande Dec 19 1842, he, too, transferred to Reese's company. Thus both brothers became members of the Mier expedition. Joseph was killed in the battle of Mier, and Bate was captured and imprisoned in Mexico until Sept 16 1844. During the Mexican War he served in Col. John C. Hays' regiment as a scout under Capt. Creed Taylor for Gen. Zachary Taylor in northern Mexico, and on one occasion was strongly admonished by General Taylor to discontinue his practice of scalping Mexican Soldiers whom he had killed in battle. After the Mexican War Berry received a first-class headright certificate and selected his land in Williamson County, where he resided until the end of the Civil War. Shortly thereafter, probably influenced by his brother-in-law, James Bradberry (husband of Bate's half-sister, Elizabeth), he moved to the upper Llano Valley. He settled on the river two miles above the mouth of Red Creek in Kimble County. There he built a log house surrounded by a stockade of tall pickets to afford protection from the Indians and raised cattle. Some five or six miles to the southwest, on Gentry Creek in Kimble County, lived the Raleigh Gentry family, including Nancy Frazier Gentry, widow of William Gentry (son of Raleigh Gentry), who was killed during the Civil War, and her young son. After John Bate and Nancy agreed to be married, they rode horseback to Fredericksburg, a distance of sixty miles, where they were married Mar 9 1867. In 1871 they moved to Willow Creek in Mason County, where Mar 2 1878, Bate purchased 160 acres of land from Gustav Schleicher and Dec 28 1881 bought from William Koock three acres of land a mile or so west of Mason at a settlement known as Koockville. In those days Berry was often involved in helping to defend the frontier against Indians.

"John Wm Gentry-son of Nancy Frazier Gentry Berry and stepson of John Bate Berry B 1862 Kimble Co TX D 1903 Kimble Co TX Bur Gentry Creek Cem Kimble Co TX md Nancy Nichols, children: John Bate Gentry, Walter, William, Bertha, Mollie, Cora, Lora & Lola [twins], Frank. John William Gentry was Mason TX Constable. 1903 he was found in back of a bar & had been hit over the head/died shortly. His son's Walter & John Bate Gentry tried to find the murderer all their lives."

With all contributions to that co/state by Bate Berry and Gentry family, restoring Bate's cabin, still standing is something descendants have wanted to get done. This is same house John Wm Gentry was raised and where John Bate Berry died.

John Wm Gentry-John Bate Berry's stepson thought highly enough of him that his step son named his own lst son after his step father as John Bate Gentry.

In Mason County Bate farmed and ranched until his death at his home near Koockville Dec 20 1891. Berry was a devout member of the Church of Christ. He was buried in the Grit Cemetery in Mason County. His wife died 1928 at the age of eighty-three and was buried beside him. Description: Fought at the Battle of San Jacinto

Family links:

Parents:

 John Berry (1786 - 1866)

 Betsy Smeathers Berry (1791 - 1818)

Spouse:

 Nancy Ann Elizabeth Frazier Gentry Berry (1845 - 1928)*

Siblings:

 John Bate Berry (1813 - 1891)

 Andrew Jackson Berry (1816 - 1899)*

 Joseph Berry (1818 - 1842)*

 Elizabeth Berry Bradberry (1820 - 1859)**

 Hannah Berry Hughes (1823 - 1863)**

 Margaret Berry Chadwick (1825 - 1866)**

 Polly Mary Berry Compton (1832 - 1902)**

 John Berry (1836 - 1921)**

 Jane Berry Rumsey (1839 - 1883)**

 Catherine Ann Berry Jackson (1842 - 1929)**

 Virginia Devore Berry Murphy (1855 - 1906)**

 Patrick Henry Berry (1855 - 1860)**

 George Washington Berry (1857 - ____)**

• Calculated relationship
  • Half-sibling

Inscription: He died as he lived - a Christian.

Burial: Grit Cemetery Grit Mason County Texas, USA

Edit Virtual Cemetery info [?]

Maintained by: Find A Grave Originally Created by: A.E. Collins Record added: Oct 21, 2006 Find A Grave Memorial# 16267305 http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=16267305