Compiled by Carol Sue Gibbs
Matagorda County TXGenWeb
From Sept. 24 History Page
Matagorda Cemetery at the times of their deaths, but no record exists to verify the assumption.
Sadly, Catherine was soon to have their third baby and Nannie Frances Selkirk Waldman was born May 20, 1852.
At the birth of her third child, it was then Catherine who was left with four step-children, 12, 9, 7 and 4 as well as her three, 2, 17 months and newborn. Guardians were appointed for all of the children.
Catherine married again on May 18, 1854 to her rancher neighbor, Henry B. Mitchell. He was born November 22, 1815 in New York.
He applied for one third league of land on March 1, 1838 and declared he came to the Republic of Texas in 1835, but did not serve in the Army.
The 1850 census lists him as a single man and a steam boatman. Before their marriage, they signed and recorded an instrument they had drawn up showing their separate property.
The Mitchells went to court on June 5, 1854 to gain guardianship of her three daughters.
The Henry B. Mitchell family lived in the former home of Judge Matthew Talbot.
It was still standing in Matagorda in 1988 and was known as the Phillips home.
Henry and Catherine welcomed their first child, Elizabeth Angeline, on February 9, 1855.
In 1859, Josephine Waldman, daughter of Francis and Louisa, became ill and died on July 7th at the age of sixteen.
DIED – Josephine Waldman
At the residence of W. T. S. Compton, in this place, on the 7th inst., of congestive chill, Miss Josephine Waldmann, age 16 years and 7 months.—Matagorda Gazette, Saturday, July 9, 1859
The year brought both sorrow and joy as the Mitchells welcomed a son, Henry Barton, on August 17, 1859. Their third child, Julia Catherine was born September 13, 1861.
The management of Francis Waldman’s estate continued for many years after his death as evidenced by the notice in the newspaper in 1860.
I WILL SELL BY PUBLIC SALE, within a limited period, (if not disposed of by private sale,) from 300 to 500 head of choice stock cattle; the same being the property of the Estate of F. Waldemann, deceased—Those desiring to purchase will call on John W. McCamley, Executor.—Matagorda Gazette, February 8, 1860
Francis Waldman’s only son, Charles, joined the Matagorda Guards on October 4, 1861 which became Company D Sixth Texas Infantry.
He was in Capt. E.A. Peareson’s Company and mustered in at Camp Henry E. McCulloch in Matagorda County.
At age 18, being called to active service, he wrote a will on September 25, 1861, leaving his possessions to his sisters and half-sisters in the event he did not return, and marched off to war.
He was captured at Fort Hindman, Arkansas Post, Arkansas on January 11, 1863 and sent as a prisoner of war to Camp Butler, Springfield, Illinois.
At some point he was released and on November 29, 1864, he was killed by a shell at the Battle of Spring Hill. Unfortunately there was a need for the will to be probated which involved William Prissick and D.E.E. Braman.
Many of the Spring Hill casualties buried in shallow graves where they fell and marked only with wooden crosses.
In 1866, a group of ladies led by Martha E. Bonn located graves of 39 soldiers and had them moved to Spring Hill Cemetery. Apparently the graves were marked with the wooden crosses and their actual locations were lost over time.
In 2014, the Nathaniel Cheairs Camp, Sons of Confederate Veterans, Spring Hill, Tennessee, marked 25 of the graves with new Confederate markers.
The research took over a year to find family members to provide information and sign the requests.
A dedication was held on August 23, 2014 and Charles Waldman was honored with an In Memory marker since the actual location of his grave was unknown.
While the family worried about the welfare of Charles fighting far away from Matagorda, another loss was suffered at home in the death of Henry B. Mitchell.
On April 6, 1864, Henry B. Mitchell “being at this time in great sickness but of sound mind,” wrote his last will and testament leaving his possessions to his children with his wife as manager of the estate.
He died the next day, April 7th and once again, Catherine was a widow with three young children, 9, 4 and 2.
Death struck the family again less than two years later when six-year-old Henry Barton Mitchell died of typhoid fever on January 7, 1866.
The burial places of Henry B. and Julia Catherine Waldman Mitchell are unknown as well as Julia’s date of death.
It was not uncommon for families to lose members by illness or age, but these two families had losses due to illness, weather, murder and military action.
The daughters of both families married men in the Matagorda County area and their information is as follows.
Children of Francis & Louisa Engelke Waldman
1. Julia Waldman (September 11, 1839 Matagorda – July 2, 1926 Junction, Kimble County, Texas; married June 27, 1864 to Gerald Weekley (April 17, 1837 – July 26, 1891); buried Smiley Masonic Cemetery, Smiley, Gonzales County, Texas
2. Josephine Waldman (December 13, 1841 Matagorda – July 7, 1859 Matagorda County)
3. Charles Waldman (November 28, 1843 Matagorda – November 29, 1864 Spring Hill, Maury County, Tennessee); burial Spring Hill Cemetery, Spring Hill, Maury County, Tennessee
4. Louisa Henrietta Waldman (November 15, 1846 Matagorda – November 25, 1895 Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama; married February 7, 1867 in Matagorda County to Asa Evans Stratton Jr. (January 13, 1844 – April 26, 1921); buried Oakwood Cemetery, Montgomery, Alabama
Children of Francis & Julia Catherine Breaning/Brenning
5. Isabel Wilhelmina Waldman (June 22, 1849 Matagorda – April 12, 1918 Texarkana, Bowie County, Texas; married August 19, 1869 in Matagorda to William Jennings Godsey (December 18, 1839 – September 27, 1922); buried Rose Hill Cemetery, Texarkana, Bowie County, Texas
6. Annie Forrester Waldman (December 21, 1850 Matagorda – November 13, 1922); married February 16, 1876 in Matagorda to William Woodson King (May 1853 – September 15, 1932); buried Mission Burial Park South, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
7. Nannie Frances Selkirk Waldman (May 20, 1852 Matagorda – May 25, 1910 Bryan, Brazos County, Texas) married September 5, 1876 in Matagorda to Erin Earnest Bryan (August 24, 1852 – April 14, 1910); buried Gulf Prairie Cemetery, Jones Creek, Brazoria County, Texas
Children of Henry B.
& Julia Catherine Breaning
Baptized at Christ Church June 20, 1864
1. Elizabeth Angeline Mitchell (February 9, 1855 Matagorda – October 12, 1931 San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas) married June 14, 1875 in Matagorda to John Thomas Ives (c1847 Texas – January 15, 1925 San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas); buried Alamo Masonic Cemetery, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
2. Henry Barton Mitchell (August 17, 1859 – January 7, 1866) Died of typhoid fever
3. Julia Catherine Mitchell (September 13, 1861 Matagorda – June 25, 1948 Austin, Travis County, Texas) married December 6, 1893 in Johnson County, Texas to Holcomb Lightfoot Preston (May 8, 1863 – October 3, 1944); buried Oakwood Cemetery Annex, Austin, Travis County, Texas