Alfred Marion Truitt Sr. ¹⁵⁰⁶

  General Notes:

TRUIT, Major A. M. (F1059) (1817-1864) and Brother/Sisters by Thomas J. Taylor Pages 853-854 Major Alfred M. Truit, James and Sarah Hall Truit's oldest son, was the great member of the family and Shelby County's most outstanding soldier. Alfred served in the military forces of North Carolina in moving some Indian tribes to the West. This was the Cherokee War of 1837-38 and this was the reason Sheriff Lew Allen put him in command of the Sheriff Forces during the Regulators and Moderators War. He recruited two companies of volunteers for Hays Regiment in 1846 for the Mexican War. Alfred served as a major in the regiment and was in a number of important battles, including Veracruz and Cerro Cordo. He had mercantile businesses at Willow Grove (located four miles west of Joaquin, Texas) and Old Buena Vista, as well as accumulating large tracts of land. In 1856 he contracted to clean out Sabine River from Logansport to Orange. His brother, J. H. Truit, was overseer of the job which was done by Negro slaves recruited from plantations in Louisiana. On April 12, 1862, Alfred enlisted as a Captain in the A. M. Truit Company, Randal's Regiment of the Texas Lancers, Confederate Army, and served in this capacity until promoted to the rank of brigadier in the quartermaster where he served until he resigned in 1863 on account of health. He had contracted lung problems during the war and died about a year after he resigned or in 1864. A. M. Truit married Susan E. Todd of Shelbyville and they had four children - two sons and two daughters. The sons were Jack (John H.) and Jim (James W.) and both were attorneys and founders of the Center Champion that was established in 1877. The daughters married Morris and Johnston. The descendants of A. M. Truit are now living. A. M. Truit and wife, Susan, are buried in the Truit Cemetery. Andrew Jackson Truit, second son of James and Sarah Truit, was born in 1819 in North Carolina and moved with the family to Texas. He had an active role in the Moderator Forces during the Regulators and Moderators War and it is said that in 1844 he killed one of the first men (Howell HUDSON - buried in Jackson Cemetery) in battle during the struggle at Cedar Yard (located a few miles south of Tenaha, Texas). Later he made the Gold Rush of 1849 to California. After he returned from California, he moved to West Texas and the family lost contact with him. Truitt, State Senator James and Sarah Hall (F1061) by Thomas J. Taylor page 855-856 Tradition says that Levi Truit came from England to Swannenoa, North Carolina and married Susannah MORGAN, who came to Maryland from Scotland; then to Buncombe County, North Carolina. It is believed that she was the daughter of James MORGAN, who was a brother of a famous Baptist preacher, Reverend Perminter MORGAN. This family of MORGANS resided in Guilford and Rutherford counties, North Carolina about 1775. Levi Truit (approx. 1770-1831) of Buncombe and Macon counties, North Carolina married Susannah MORGAN. Their children were, James; 2 sons; Jeremiah (the grandfather of the famous Baptist preacher, Reverend George W. Truett); Alford Levi, Jr.; Sarah; Thomas Isaac; John Wesley and Solomon (26 Dec 1809-28 and Dec 1859). The Truit family left North Carolina in the fall of 1838 and entered Texas on March 3, 1839, at Pendleton Ferry. All during the period of traveling Mrs. Sarah Truit was not only helping with her children but was pregnant with child. Most of the trip was made by boat as they traveled on the Tennessee River and came down the Mississippi River, then up the Red River to Natchitoches, moving overland with the ox teams they had brought along. They lived on a rented place in San Augustine County in 1839 where James M. Truit was born on June 24, 1839. Later they moved to the Ashton Community in Shelby County late that year. They lived in Aston until the Fall of 1840, and bought the place surrounding the present Truit Cemetery from a Mr. Crane. They resided there until both James and Sarah Hall died. Truit, Joshua H. Sr. (F1062) by Thomas J. Taylor Page 856 Joshua Hall Truit (1829-1916) was the third son of James and Sarah Hall Truit. He was born in North Carolina, as were all the other members of the James Truit family, except his youngest brother, J. M. Truit, who was born in San Augustine County, Texas on June 24, 1839. J. H. Truit served in the Moderators in the unpleasant civil war in Shelby County in 1843 and 1844. His brother, A. M. Truitt, was designated to take charge of the Sheriff Forces (the Moderators) and they were engaged in two minor battles. One battle was at Old Cedar Yards (Flat Fork area between Center and Tenaha) where Andrew Jackson Truit killed one of the first men (Mr. Howell HUDSON) of the war. The body was hauled away on a slide to the present Jackson Cemetery as his mother lived near the spot where he was buried. It was the first grave in that cemetery. Another battle was fought in the canebrakes near Shelbyville. Truit, James Alfred (F1063) by Frances Lee Truitt Wesley Page 856-857 photograph on 856 text on 857 James Alfred Truitt, my great great grandfather came to Texas with his wife, Sarah Hall, daughter of Joshua Hall and Sarah SELLERS of Burke Co., North Carolina. James, was the oldest son of Levi and Susanna MORGAN Truit. James and his family came to Texas with most of the trip made by water and Mrs. Truit expecting her tenth child. They arrived in San Augustine County, Texas, on March 3, 1839, and then moved to Shelby County in 1840, living there the rest of their lives.

These items from the Shelby County (TX) Historical Society. "History of Shelby County, Texas" (1988) by Shelby County Historical Society ,published by Curtis Media Corporation, Dallas, Texas, copyright 1988, at The Fort Worth Public Library, ISBN: 0-88107-115-3 GEN 976.4 Shelby H Family Section ¹⁵⁰⁶

  Life Events:

1. Military: Cherokee War, 1837-1838, North Carolina, USA. ¹⁵⁰⁶ Moved Indians to the West

2. Military: Mexican War (Major: Hays Regiment), 1846. ¹⁵⁰⁶

3. Occupation: Mercantile Business Owner: Shelby County, Texas, USA. ¹⁵⁰⁶ Located at Willow Grove (located four miles west of Joaquin, Texas) and Old Buena Vista.

4. Military: Civil War, 1862-1863. ¹⁵⁰⁶ On April 12, 1862, Alfred enlisted as a Captain in the A. M. Truit Company, Randal's Regiment of the Texas Lancers, Confederate Army, and served in this capacity until promoted to the rank of brigadier in the quartermaster where he served until he resigned in 1863 on account of health.

Alfred married Susan Johanna Elenora Todd about 1844 in Shelby County, Texas, USA.¹⁵⁰⁶ (Susan Johanna Elenora Todd was born in 1820 in Georgia, USA,¹⁵⁰⁶ died on 5 Jul 1865 in Shelby County, Texas, USA ¹⁵⁰⁶ and was buried in Truitt Cemetery (Joaquin, Shelby, Texas, USA) ¹⁶¹².)