[basham.ged]
By Waylon West as told to George Lee - told Waylan by Barbara Jane We
st a nd Nadine Luringer (a Suggs) Jacob West, my great grandfather was a f
ull b lood cherokee who was found in the barn of George West in AR on t
he TX bor der about 1834 and by 1840 they had moved to Shelby Co., TX Jac
ob at th at time was 11-13 years of age when he was found. Jacob stay
ed on at the f arm and "George" eventually adopted him and gave him the na
me Jacob. It w as presumed that Jacob spent the night in the barn with oth
er Cheroke es on their way to the Indian Territories. When the others le
ft they eith er forgot him or just left him sleeping.
George had a daughter names Mary Jane and Jacob later married Mary Ja
ne w ho was his adopted half sister (so she was Mary Jane West West). I w
as doi ng research in Washington DC and found Jacob and Mary Jane in the 1
850 cen sus which the first census for TX. Any info prior to that wou
ld ha ve to be from Spanish and Mexican land grants and census taken by Me
xico.
The census was taken October 3, 1850 page 524, Panola Co. TX. They we
re n ot under West, but were sharecropping and lived on the farm of Abrah
am Woo d; therefore they are included in the Wood family, which was fami
ly 203.
I was told he was the son of George and Harriet West of AR who mov
ed to Pa nola Co. Their children were Hamp, Mart, Jack, Jim, Phil, Harrie
t, Missour i, Leeta and Mary Jane.
They est. Jacob was born in 1823. He died April 18, 1898 and Mary Jan
e, h is wife, was born in 1825 and died July 19,1900. Their children we
re Willi am Crawford (Bud), Wade Hampton (Rat), Johnny, George Washingto
n, Jake, B enny, James Thomas, Joseph LAwrence, Danny, Mary and Ment
ie in theat orde r. James Thomas and Wade Hampton married sisters (Eliza A
nn Suggs and Cath ryn Jane Suggs daughters of John Louis Suggs and Barba
ra Allen Anderson).