From William Terrell Lewis' published family history: [Needs formatting]

CHAPTER XIV.

COLONEL RICHARD LEWIS.

D 7. Colonel Richard Lewis, son of John and his wife, Sarah Taliaferro, was born in 1765, in Albemarle county, Virginia. He was upward of six feet high, with light hair, blue eyes and fair complexion. He emigrated to Rutherford county, North Carolina, with his father before the Revolutionary war, and was a saddler by trade. After the close of the Revolutionary war there were but four offices within the gift of the people of the county; three of those offices were conferred upon three of the Lewis brothers, viz.: Major John Lewis was elected Sheriff of the county; Charles Lewis was elected as Representative of the county in the State Legislature, and Colonel Richard Lewis was elected Clerk of the County Court. He was a member of the convention that revised the Constitution of North Carolina. He married Sarah Miller, daughter of General James Miller and his wife, Agnes Miller, in 1789. General Miller and his wife were cousins. They emigrated from Ireland to the United States. He was an officer in the Revolutionary war, and commanded at the siege of Augusta, Ga., as Captain or Colonel, and after the war he represented Rutherford county, North Carolina, as Senator in the State Legislature in 1782, 1784, 1785 and 1787. ( See Wheeler's History of North Carolina.) General Miller raised only two daughters: Sarah, married Colonel Richard Lewis, and the other married James Erwin, of Rutherford county, North Carolina. Richard Lewis and his wife were members of the Methodist-Episcopal church. They finally moved from Rutherford county, North Carolina, and settled near Pendleton, S. C., on Seneca river, where he died in 1831, and she a few years afterward. Their remains were interred at the Stone Church ( Hopewell), near Pendleton, S. C. Colonel Richard Lewis and his wife, Sarah Miller, had nine children, viz.: E 1. Mary Mansfield, married Hon. John McDowell, in 1810. E 2. Lindamira, died single in 1838. E 3. James Overton, married Mary Lawton, in 1822. E 4. Nancy Elvira, married Joseph Van Shanklin, in 1820.

E 5. Richard Marius, died single. E 6. John Earle, died single. E 7. Sarah Ann, married Edwin Reese, in 1834. E 8. Eliza Love, died single, and E 9. Andrew Fielding, married Susan Sloan, in 1840. E 1. Mary Mansfield, born in 1790, in Rutherford county, North Carolina. She was the first graduate from the Salem Academy, Forsythe county, North Carolina. Her father sent to London, England, for a piano, and sent it to Salem for her especial benefit—it being the first piano in this part of the State. She was afterward educated in Raleigh, N. C., and became quite an accomplished lady; was modest and unassuming; was a true patriot, and when the War of 1861 came on she worked early and late making clothes for the soldiers. She was a member of the Methodist church. She died of heart disease in 1872, honored and beloved by all who knew her. She married Hon. John McDowell, of Pleasant Garden, McDowell county, N. C. He was born in 1785, and was a son of General Joseph McDowell, one of the heroes of King's Mountain, and grandson of John McDowell. Joseph McDowell and his wife, Margaret O'Neal, emigrated from Ireland and settled in Winchester, Va., and afterward removed to Burke county, North Carolina. The McDowells were men of ability, and distinguished officers of the Revolutionary war. Charles and Joseph were officers at the battle of King's Mountain, where Ferguson was killed and his army captured. Hon. John McDowell represented Rutherford county, North Carolina in the House of Commons in the State Legislature, in 1820 and 1821. He resided on the north side of Broad river, above Island Ford, in the southern part of Rutherford county, North Carolina, where he died in 1855. They had eleven children, viz.: F 1. Dr. Joseph McDowell, born in 1812; graduated in medicine and was appointed surgeon of the troops sent to remove the Indians from North Carolina and Georgia. He married Louisa Twitty, of Rutherfordton, N. C., and moved to Georgia. They had eight children, viz.: G 1, and G 2, James Albert and Livingston, died young. G 3. Adelia Jane; G 4, John Lewis; G 5, Josephine, died young; G 6, William; G 7, Margaret, married Rev. Jesse Siler, a Presbyterian minister, and lives in Shelby, N. C. They have one son: H 1, Arnold Miller, lives in Augusta. F 2, and F 3, Sarah and Richard, son and daughter of John McDowell, died young. F 4. Mary Ann McDowell, was born in Rutherford county, North Carolina, in 1819; was educated at Salem Academy, in Forsythe county, North Carolina. She married Rev. William Asberry Gamewell, a Methodist minister of South Carolina Conference. They raised six children, viz.: G 1. Sarah Ann, born in 1841; married Dr. Daniel De Saussure, of Camden, S. C., where they now reside. They had four children, viz.: H 1, Daniel; H 2, Mary M., died; H 3, Sallie, married William Parish, and H 4, Fannie Martin. G 2. Mary W. Gamewell, is a school-teacher. G 3. Joseph McD. Gamewell, was a Confederate soldier, and is now in New Jersey. He married his cousin, Abbie Gamewell. They have three children, viz.: H 1, John Asberry; H 2, Mary Ann, and H 3, Minnie. G 4. Martha E. B. Gamewell, is a teacher in Convers College, Spartanburg, S. C. G 5. Joseph A. Gamewell, was a Confederate soldier. He graduated at Wafford College, Spartanburg, S. C., where he is now {1891) Professor of Languages. He married his cousin, Julia McDowell, and has two children, viz.: H 1, Joseph McD., and H 2, Mary Lily. (There is an error as to the two Josephs.) G 6. Susan A. Gamewell, lost her eyesight from measles. Rev. Wm. Asberry Gamewell was a very able and practicable preacher, and was much beloved by all who knew him. He died in Spartanburg county, South Carolina, in 1869, when the following obituary notice appeared in the Carolina Spartan: REV. W. A. GAMEWELL. About thirty-five years ago this pure and useful minister of God began the labors of the itinerancy in the Methodist church, on the Spartanburg circuit. At about 3 o'clock p. M. of the 30th ult., his work was finished and "he rests from his labors." His funeral was preached the next day by Rev. W. Smith, D. D., in the Methodist church. The seats of the church were filled to their utmost capacity and the galleries were crowded by the colored friends of the deceased, indicating the universal esteem in which he was held by the entire community. We have never known a man whose loss will be so universally deplored by all who knew him, both saints and sinners. He possessed to a degree, which we have never observed in any other person, that innate quality of attractiveness which compelled the respect and captivated the affection of everybody with whom he came in contact. We have heard men, who seemed to hold in derision and contempt the religion he professed and so beautifully exemplified in all his life and conversation, speak of him in terms of the highest respect, and even affection. And yet he was faithful in reproving sinners and bold in the denunciation of all manner of wickedness. Intellectually, he did not rank as high as some of his compeers in the ministry. He had cultivated none of the mere accomplishments of pulpit oratory—made no sort of effort at display; but he was blessed with a large share of strong common sense, a sound judgment, a clear, logical mind, and, above all, a fervent spirit. The secret of his wonderful power and influence in the pulpit and out of it, we think, is this: he veas always in earnest. Entirely forgetting himself, his mind, soul and body were unreservedly devoted to the great work he had undertaken. And yet with all his zeal he was very free from the excesses of enthusiasm. We have seen him in the midst of the highest religious excitement, when his whole being seemed aglow with holy joy, and yet we have never known him to do or say anything which the severest critic could pronounce an impropriety. He was an indefatigable laborer. He seemed to have no time for anything outside the duties of his high vocation. And never did he cease to labor until disease had so far completed its fearful work as to produce complete physical prostration. His body now rests in our village graveyard—his spirit is reveling in the full fruition of the joy it had so long anticipated by faith, and to us is left the light of his example and the treasure of his memory. The world has lost one of its purest characters; the State one of its most useful citizens; Christianity one of its brightest ornaments, and the church one of its most efficient and beloved ministers. Spartanburg, S. C, Thursday, November 4, 1869. F 5. Dr. Jas. Overton McDowell, son of Mary and John, was born in 1822. He graduated in medicine and located at Auburn, Ala., where he married Mariah Wynn, by whom he had four children, viz.: G 1 and G 2, died young; G 3, Thomas A., resides at Fort Worth, Tex., and is a commercial traveler; G 4, Augustus G., is married and doing business in Dallas, Tex. After the death of Mariah, his first wife, he married Jacquilin Wynn, a sister of his first wife. F 6. Nancy, daughter of Mary and John McDowell, born 1824: lied unmarried in 1885. F 7 and F 8. Myra E. L. and her twin sister, Martha Moffett, were born in 1827. F 7. Myra E. L., married, in 1850, Colonel Champion T. N. Davis, a lawyer by profession. He was a Colonel of the 16th Regiment of North Carolina troops during the Confederate war, and was killed at the battle of Seven Pines. Myra E. L., his wife, died in 1853, leaving only one daughter, viz.: G 1, Mary Susan, who married Jas. A. Torney, a law}rer of Rutherford county, North Carolina. They have six children, viz.: H 1, Albert C.; H 2, Lewis B.; H 3, Frances J.; H 4, Mary M.; H 5, Myra E., and H 6, James A. F 8. Martha Moffett, daughter of Dr. J. O. McDowell, married Dr. Geo. W. Michal in 1860. They have two children, viz.: G 1, Mary M., and G 2, John McD., who married Mary Lenoir, a granddaughter of General Wm. Lenoir, in 1889. They had one son, viz.: H 1, Thomas, whose post-office is Hickory, Catawba county, N. C. F 9. John Lewis McDowell, was born in 1829; was a farmer and lived at his father's old homestead. He was a Colonel of the 34th North Carolina Regiment during the Confederate war. His hat, coat and canteen were shot through by the enemies' bullets, yet he escaped unhurt. He married Sophia Kelly, of South Carolina, by whom he had five children, viz.: G 1, Augustus S., is in Dallas, Tex.; G 2, Frances E.; G 3, Wm. K.; G 4, John H, and G 5, Elizabeth S. John Lewis McDowell died in 1890 and his wife in 1889 in Rutherford county, North Carolina. F 10. Sarah Taliaferro McDowell, was born in 1833, and resides, unmarried, in Rutherford county, North Carolina. E 2. Lindamira Lewis, daughter of Colonel Richard, was born about 1795, and died single near Pendleton Village, S. C., about the year 1838. She was a very pious and exemplary member of the Episcopal church. Several days before her death she lay in a state of insensibility or trance. At length she recovered from her apathetic stupor in which she had lain, and conversed freely with her friends and relatives. She informed them that she had visited both hell and heaven, and portrayed to them the transcendent beauties of the ethereal world and the honors of the infernal regions. She turned to her brother John and remarked that "she was about to leave this world and for him to prepare himself to meet his God, that he would soon follow her, and expired after giving indubitable evidence of her bright hope of her consummate bliss beyond the grave. Her brother John survived her only a few months. E 3. James Overton Lewis, son of Colonel Richard, was born about 1797; married Mary Lawton, a very amiable and worthy lady of Pendleton Village, S. C. J. O. Lewis represented his county in the State Legislature, and died finally near Walhalla, Oconee county, S. C., in 1872. He raised eleven children, viz.: F 1. Sarah, married Dr. Wm. B. Cherry, of Athens, Ga., and has children, viz.: G 1, Mary Lorton, born 1851; G 2, Samuel, born 1854; G 3, Fannie Lewis, born 1856, etc. E 4. Ann Elvira Lewis, daughter of Colonel Richard, was born about 1799, in Rutherford county, North Carolina. She married Joseph Van Shanklin, a lawyer by profession, of Pendleton Village, S. C., where she died in 1859. J. V. Shanklin, her husband, died at the same place in 1862. They raised three children, viz.: F 1. Rev. Joseph Augustus F 2. Captain Julius Lewis, and F 3. Edward Henry. F 1. Rev. Joseph Augustus Shanklin, was born about 1826; was a graduate of the University of Virginia. He was an Episcopal minister, and Rector of St. Peter's church at Charleston, S. C. He died of yellow fever in Charleston, and was buried at St. Peter's church. He married Catharine Ann, daughter of Henry M. Sadler, of Jacksonville, Fla. He had by her five children, viz.: G 1, Catharine Ann; G 2, Edwin Albertie, died; G 3, Mary Lewis; G 4, Lila; G 5, Joseph Augustus. After the death of Rev. J. A. Shanklin, his widow married Rev. J. H. Elliott, of Charleston, S. C., now of Georgia. F 2. Mary Lewis, daughter of James Overton, married Dr. Beverly Allen Henry, of Ruckersville, Elbert county, Ga. He was raised and educated by his aunt,'Mrs. Mildred Allen, who afterward married John Frederick Gray, of Louisville, Miss. The names of their offspring are: G 1, Beverly Allen, died; G 2, Overton Lewis; G 3, Lucy, etc. F 3. Dr. Thomas L. Lewis, son of James Overton, married Miss Eliza Maxwell, daughter of John Maxwell. Their children's names are: G 1, Elizabeth Earle, born 1849; G 2, Mary T.; G 3, Mattie D.; G 4, Julia K.; G 5, Emily W., etc. F 4. Captain Richard L., son of James O. Lewis, belonged to Captain Kilpatrick's company. He served in the Civil war of 1861, '62, '63, '64 and '65. Went in as a private, Company B, 4th South Carolina Regiment; was elected 3d Lieutenant in the P. S. S. Jenkins Brigade, Longstreet's Corps; served four years with the same company; was in all the principal battles—commencing with the first Manassas, July 21, 1861; was in all the battles around Richmond; was in second Manassas, Antietam; with Longstreet through East Tennessee; through the Wilderness, etc., until the surrender. In one of the battles around Richmond he had thirty-two men under his command when he went into the battle—he came out with only one; the balance were all killed, wounded or taken prisoners. During the campaign through Tennessee his rations were four ears of corn per day. He suffered from hunger, half-clothed, wounded and in prison. The following incident, copied from the Richmond Sentinel, was published in the Mobile Register, October 17, 1863: Our cavalry boys occasionally play off a Yankee trick which makes the wooden-nutmeg heroes open their eyes. Not long ago two youngsters—Channing Smith and Richard Lewis, of the Black Horse scouts, got some intimation that a band of sutlers were coming up the Warrenton turnpike from Alexandria, and determined to nab them if possible. While lying in wait for their expected prey five newsboys came jogging merrily along, whistling for lack of thought. Our two grey-coats charged them boldly, when they surrendered at discretion. The proposal was made to them, that if they would assist in capturing the sutlers their horses should be returned to them; and, true to their Yankee instinct they accepted it. Presently, on came nine sutlers armed to the teeth; the seven charged on them and led them off, unresisting captives, into an adjoining wood, where they were disarmed, and after a little parley our boys sold them one of their own wagons to carry them back from the Old Virginia shore. About this stage of the proceedings, a gentleman came up with the party. One of the sutlers said: "I suppose you have come to see how nine fools have been taken in by seven of your men." Five of the seven were Yankees. "Who are you? said the sutlers to the newsboys." "Yankees," replied they. The newsboys received back their horses, the sutlers mounted their empty wagon, and our boys brought their spoils safe through to Dixie, and, it is said, realized $20,000 by the operation. After the close of the war he was nominated by Hon. Wyatt Aikin, M. C., and appointed Post-master at Central, Pickens county, S. C. He married Miss Sue Gaines, of Pickens county, South Carolina, but left no posterity. He died of apoplexy at Central, S. C., in April, 1890, aged about sixty years. F 5. Frances, daughter of James O. Lewis, married in 1857, E. A. Tate. F 6. R. Fielding, son of James O. Lewis. F 7. John E., was a member of Captain Kilpatrick's company in the Confederate war and was one of the Captain's body-guards. He married Florence Boatright, of Columbia, S. C. F 8. Lucy. F 9. James Clarkson, belonged to Longstreet's company through Tennessee; was wounded and taken prisoner in 1861. F 10. James Overton, married Miss Martha R. Sharpe, of Pendleton, S. C. She is a granddaughter of Rob. Y. Hayne, ex-Governor of South Carolina, and a descendant of the Pickneys and Laurences, of South Carolina. His post-office is No. 1511 Ross avenue, Dallas, Tex. F 2. Julius Shanklin, son of J. V., was born in 1829. In 185" he represented Anderson county, South Carolina, in the State Legislature. During the Confederate war he was elected Captain of a company in the 4th Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers. F 3. E. Henry, son of J. v. Shanklin, married in 1867, Jenny, the daughter of Dr. William Robinson, of Pendleton, S. C., and is a farmer living near Pendleton, S. C. E 6. John E. Lewis, son of Colonel Richard, was born about 1801, and died a bachelor, in 1840. E 7. Sarah Ann, daughter of Colonel Richard Lewis, was born about 1806, in Rutherford county, North Carolina. She was a woman of medium size, with blue eyes and auburn hair. In 1834 she married Edwin Reese, a merchant at Pendleton, S. C., who was a son of George Reese. They finally settled in Auburn, Ala., where they both died—she in 1865, and he in 1877. They were both members of the Presbyterian church. They raised seven children, viz.: F 1. Ann Eliza, married A. B. Croft, in 1855, and died at West Point, Ga., in 1874. F 2. Richard Lewis, was a soldier in the Confederate war; married Carrie Light foot, in 1868; is a member of the Baptist church, and resides near Evanston, Fla. F 3. John Lewis, was a soldier in the Confederate war. He married Emma Pope, in 1865; was a member of the Presbyterian church, and died in Callahan county, Texas, in 1882. F 4. Sarah Miller, married W. E. Smith, in 1864. Their postoffice is Opelika, Ala. F 5. Mary Eleanora, is a member of the Presbyterian church; post-office, Auburn, Ala. F 6. Carolina Alabama, is a Presbyterian; post-office, West Point, Troup, Ga. F 7. Margaret Miriam, first married Professor E. 2 Thornton, in 1878. Her second marriage was to G. W. Barnett, in 1882. Their post-office is Montgomery, Ala. F 1. Anna E. Croft left two children, viz.: G1, George Richard, married Lola Blitch, in 1886, and G 2, Annie M., married William B. Boyd, in 1885. F 2. Richard L. Reese has four children, viz.: G 1, Edwin; G 2, Clyde; G 3, Maggie, and G 4, John. F 3. John Reese left five children, viz.: G 1, Maud, married William Robinson, in 1888; G 2, Pope; G 3, Pauline; G 4, Eugenia, and G 5, Earle. E 9. Andrew Fielding Lewis, son of Colonel Richard, born about 1808; married Susan M. Sloan, daughter of David Sloan and his wife, Miss Nancy Trimmier, daughter of Obadiah Trimmier. He resides at his father's old homestead near Pendleton Village, S. C. He is about six feet in stature, with blue eyes and dark auburn hair. In 1858 he was elected a member of the South Carolina Legislature. The following are the names of his ten children, viz.: F 1. Richard, was born near Pendleton Village, in Anderson county, S. ft, about 1846. The following notice is copied from the Weekly Constitution, Atlanta, Ga., Tuesday, January 12, 1892. SUICIDE OF RICHARD LEWIS.

             [Special.] 

Richard Lewis, Master of Equity and Judge of Probate of Oconee county, committed suicide in his office at Walhalla to-day, by shooting himself through the heart with a pistol. Judge Lewis has held the two offices above-mentioned for many years, and was one of the popular men in the county. He entered the Confederate Army when but fifteen years old, and at sixteen was promoted to lieutenant for bravery on the field. In Colonel Walker's South Carolina Infantry, Bratton's Brigade, Longstreet's Corps, he lost a leg, and was otherwise terribly wounded. Continuous suffering and prostration of the nervous system is the supposed cause of his suicide. Columbia, S. C., January 4, 1892. F 2. David Sloan, died in the Confederate Army. F 3. John E. F 4. William, accidentally shot and killed himself. F 5. Sue A. F 6. Sally M. F 7. James Overton. F 8. Andrew Fielding. F 9. Emma Elford, died in 1859, and F 10. Barnard Bee.

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Nov 12 2016, 21:34:10 UTC