In Memoriam
Eli Ware was a young school teacher from Spartanburg, South Carolina, born abt 1812, who migrated to to Texas in the late 1830s. Eli purchased his first tract of land in 1842 in Rusk County, Texas. The county records were destroyed by fire with only indexes left.
Eli Ware taught school for several years after settling in Rusk County, even before it was a county. He believed that an education for the children was important and would give them a way to improve their lives. For abt four months of the year he taught in a small one room schoolhouse. The rest of the year students were needed as farm hands on the family farms. The site for the school was given by Judge S. J. Hendrick's father, and was west of the old Trammell's Trace and a couple of miles from Hendrick's Lake.
Eli Ware was industrious. He gradually bought land until he acquired about 8000 acres. He built a log house and cleared some of his land preparing for a larger home in the future. He also started a tannery which provided a good income.
Eli Ware married a young woman of substance, Elizabeth "Betty" Hinton Vinson abt 1849.
They had two children:
1. Sallie Phillip Ware: Feb 1, 1853 Rusk Co, TX - Oct 9, 1923 Henderson, Rusk Co, TX. Sallie Ware became the 2nd wife of widower David "Webster" Flanagan, called "The General", son of James W. Flanagan. They had seven children together.
2. John Allen Ware: Apr 6, 1856 Ruck Co, TX - Sep 10, 1904 Gregg Co, TX. Marr Horace Bell Flanagan on Mar 11, 1889. She was a daughter of David "Webster" Flanagan, called "The General" and 1st wife Elizabeth Graham. They became the parents of seven children.
Eli Ware died on Aug 8, 1858. He was buried on his homeplace, with a simple stone headstone. The Ware Cemetery has only two graves. The graves are set in the midst of a thicket of pine trees and are covered with weeds and may no longer be visible through 160 years of weathering and neglect. It is important to honor the memory of Eli Ware as an early pioneer who paved the way as an educator to teach and influence young lives despite the hardships of the times in the 1800s.
James W. Flanagan's 2nd wife, the former Elizabeth Lane, died Dec 23, 1858, in Rusk County, leaving him with four young sons to care for. James Flanagan and Elizabeth [Vinson] Ware married abt 1859.
Much of Eli Ware's land came into the Flanagan family through James Flanagan's marriage to Elizabeth Ware. These were busy years for the Flanagan family with James Flanagan's business interests and political endeavors.
During the Civil War years James retired from political life, being did not want Texas to secede from the Union. He was a close friend to Sam Houston who retired to his home in Huntsville, disappointed and discouraged by the State of Texas going with the Confederacy.
Being at his farm in Longview, living a somewhat quieter life, James W. Flanagan still had business pursuits. Having taken charge of Ware tannery after his marriage to Sallie [Vinson] Ware he furnished very large quantities of leather to the quarter-master's Division of the Confederate government, from which they had shoes made for the soldiers.
He established Flanagan's Mill during this period.
A few years after the Civil War ended James W. Flanagan was elected Lt. Governor in 1869 under Edmund J. Davis. He was a U.S. Senator from Mar 30, 1870 - Mar 3, 1875 for the State of Texas. After his term was up he retired to their farm in Longview, Texas.
Overall they had a good life together. Betty cared for their children and and maintained their home life. Their tragedy was the death of their only child together, a son they named Yates Flanagan, who died at age 18.
Family links:
Spouse:
Elizabeth Hinton Vinson Ware Flanagan (1828 - 1882)
Children:
Sallie Phillip Ware Flanagan (1853 - 1923)*
John Allen Ware (1856 - 1904)*
Inscription:
Sacred to the memory of Eli Ware, a native of
Spartanburg, South Carolina. Died August 8, 1858.
Burial:
Ware Cemetery
Rusk County
Texas, USA
This was published in 2012. The Family has evidently had Mr. Ware Moved to Henderson Rusk County Cemetary
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