Are You Up to Following Your Ancestors’ Examples?
February 2024
If you are a parent, you probably know the feeling of wanting to create a better world for your children than the one you inherited. As parents, most of us strive to be good role models to our children in hopes of enabling them to become self-sufficient adults who contribute meaningfully to society and live successful lives. You likely invest considerable time, energy, and resources for your offspring to become all you dream they can be.
But have you ever considered what your ancestors may have hoped for you? Are you living up to all they dreamed you could be? Are you worthy of all the time, energy, and resources they invested to make the world a better place for you than it was for them?
It took many generations to lay the foundations upon which your inherited homeland was established. The nation in which you live and all that you have become was not accomplished by you alone. A great many before you toiled and died with hope in their hearts for a better world for you, their progeny. Are you living up to the heritage bestowed through your DNA?
Admittedly, it’s only been in this past decade that I’ve tried to learn more about my own ancestry. Discovering more about my great-grandparents, and the greats before them has been a humbling experience. I’ve come to realize that without the incredible sacrifices that many, if not all of them made over generations, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today—living a comfortable lifestyle that I take too much for granted. I‘ve truly been blessed, thanks to all their hard-fought battles and contributions to building and defending our nation.
I wasn’t even aware of one of my ancestors until the day I received an automated email from Family Search notifying me of new information about my 4th great-grandfather, George Alexander Pattillo (1796-1871)—a surname I’d never heard of. I instantly assumed that Pattillo was of Spanish origin, given MyHeritage DNA tests showed I have 8% Iberian ancestry. But au contraire!
I quickly discovered this 4th great-grandfather of mine was born in Greene County, Georgia, and his grandfather and namesake had come to America in 1740 from Dundee, Scotland. The original surname was spelled Patulloch (meaning “foot of the lake”) but at some point had been changed to correspond to the French pronunciation (Pa-til-ow), from whence the family had migrated during the early 1100s.
Thanks to Family Search, I learned my 4th great-grandfather, George Alexander Pattillo, was instrumental in the founding of the state of Texas. Here’s a brief timeline of his life:
Served as a Private in the War of 1812 in Captain Wm Patrick’s Company, Georgia Militia (12 October 1814 to 20 February 1815). Fought in the Battle of New Orleans.
1819 - Married Sarah Ann Allen in Greensburg, Louisiana.
1830 - Moved to Jefferson County, Texas as a farmer and rancher. One of his sons, Daniel Allen Pattillo, became the first white boy born in what ultimately became Orange County, TX.
1832 - Built his home called Four Oaks Ranch on a high bluff facing the river on the route between New Orleans and Beaumont.
Served on the local Committee of Correspondence created by the Convention of 1832.
1835 - Served on the General Council of the Provisional Government established by the Consultation of 1835.
1836 - Fought as a Private in Captain Hardin’s Company of volunteers in the Texas Revolution (the War of Texas Independence).
Commissioned by Texas President David G. Burnet to direct the formation of Jefferson County.
1838-39 - Served as Justice of the Peace for the new county.
1840 - Served as Postmaster of the settlement of Pattillo’s Station (early-day Beaumont).
1841-42 - Served in the Congress of the Republic of Texas, as a Representative of Jefferson County in the House, and as Senator for Jefferson and Jasper Counties. He actively supported annexation to the United States.
1845 - Texas became the 28th state on December 29.
1846 - Served as a Texas Foot Rifleman in the Mexican American War.
1852 - Elected as first judge and later Chief Justice of the newly formed Orange County (created from Jefferson County).
An article written about him by a friend, T.J. Russell—published October 14, 1905 in the Beaumont Enterprise newspaper, Pioneer Reminiscences of Jefferson County—described him this way:
So far no history has been written of the condition of the county as it effected the lives of those early pioneers of this empire state, the many privations that had to be endured by both the men and women, and the children that grew up without schools, without preaching such as their parents had been accustomed to in the old states. What we now call social society for many years there was none…. The settlers would travel in an ox wagon or on horseback ten or twenty miles to see a neighbor. And go armed to defend themselves against hostile Indians and highway robbers. There were no mills here then to grind corn, and … if a person was taken sick, there was no doctor to attend.
Now, among those hardy pioneers who ventured here with his family in the early days, and who afterwards became a worthy public character and was often honored by the people after a civil government was organized and carried into effect, was George A. Pattillo—many of whose descendants are now living in Texas, and noted among our best citizens and are representative of all that is good and worthy in social good order….
After attaining manhood, he migrated to the state of Louisiana, where on March 9, 1819, he married Miss Sarah Allen…. The exact date of his arrival in Texas is not known, though it is known that he was in what is now Orange County previous to 1829. He settled near Terry Station…and afterwards located his headright league there, title to which was issued to him by the Mexican government June 7, 1835, as a colonist in Zavallass colony [NOTE regarding Headrights: in order to encourage settlement in the new Republic of Texas, immigrants were granted land by the government. The amount of acreage issued was based on the time period in which an immigrant arrived in Texas]. He and his family continued to live there, engaged in farming and stock raising until about 1855, when he sold the plantation and bought a place on the east bank of the Neches River…. known as Pattillo’s Bluff.
The subject of this sketch took an active part in public affairs and was at a time in the early days an Alcaldo [Mayor] in the municipalidad de Libertad, which municipality included Orange County. He was a member of congress of the republic from this district; also chief justice of the county of Jefferson, and after organization of Orange County in 1854 he served as chief justice of that county….
In 1836 he, in company with others started to join General Houston’s army, which was then falling back before President Santa Anna, and got near enough to hear the sound of the cannon at the Battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836, and arrived on the battlefield in the morning after the fight….
In his domestic life he was a good husband and father, raising up his children to be esteemed citizens. Pattillo and his good wife were numerously blessed with a family of fifteen children, consisting of five daughters and ten sons….
Judge Pattillo was married three times during his long and eventful life. After the death of his first wife, who was the mother of his fifteen children, he married Mrs. Sarah Moseley… December 18, 1859. After her death he married Mrs. Sarah A. Garrard…1868, who survived him several years.
Judge Pattillo was a man of more than ordinary ability and the peer of any other man in Eastern Texas but was not an active politician and office seeker. He preferred home life and was honored and respected by all who knew him. He was what would be called socially “a gentleman of the old school” ….
Four of his sons fought in the Confederate army and made honorable records. The writer made his acquaintance in 1869 and formed a warm friendship with him, which continued to his death. He was a man whose history should be more fully written and one of whom it can be truthfully said that the country in which he lived was the better by reason of his life, influence, and example therein.
Requiescat in pace.
One item of discovery I found most inspiring was that my 4th great-grandfather was a co-signer of the following letter posted in the National Intelligencer, 26 March 1836:
TO THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS
Council Hall, San Felipe De Austin
February 13, 1836
War, with its most terrific attendants and consequences, is rolling its horrors upon us! The enemy with great force is within our borders, and Texas sleeping amidst surrounding dangers. The arch enemy of Liberty, Santa Ana, prompted by vindictive fury, leads the onset; death, violation, and extermination are determined against us. The following letter speaks a language not to be misunderstood, and clearly shows the alarming situation of the country, and the necessity for prompt and efficient action. If we would save our country from the threatened destruction, our wives and daughters from the vilest pollution, and our families and ourselves from massacre, Freemen of Texas—now is the hour! Let no consideration prevent you from coming boldly forth to the rescue! Our brethren from the United States are, by hundreds in the field, leading the vanguard for our defence; and shall we look to others alone for that protection from danger so alarming? No, TEXIANS! Shoulder your rifles, join our PATRIOTIC FRIENDS, and, by one united and well-directed effort, teach the Tyrant of Mexico, and his hirelings, that the sons of the BRAVE PATRIOTS of ’76 are invincible in the cause of FREEDOM and the RIGHTS OF MAN.
D.C. BARRETT, Chairman
J.D. CLEMENTS,
ALEX. THOMPSON,
G. A. PATTILLO,
JOHN McMULLEN,
JOHN MALONE
Considering the situation we now face today at the Texas border, my ancestral heritage has suddenly become all the more meaningful to me.
I have also come to more fully appreciate where my passion and dedication to the purpose of patriotism comes from. That said, I have a long way to go to earn the recognition and respect my 4th great-grandfather earned for himself. None-the-less, by his storied example this familial standard-bearer has inspired me to strive ever onward toward greater accomplishment.
Never shrink, never fear, never quit. There is much yet to be done.
I hope that you, too, will now be inspired to learn more about your own ancestral heritage. You just might discover even more inspiration within your own lineage—from the challenges they faced and conquered to the legacy they left to you, upon which you may now build your own admirable legacy to bequeath to those who come after you.
Then someday, when all your battles have been fought and are far behind you, may you not only requiescat in pace, but may the country in which you lived be the better by reason of your life, influence, and example.
May the good Lord bless you, now in the days ahead. May you be all you were destined to be and more—thanks to the legacy left to you by your ancestors.