Louis Cass Britton (1851-1932)

Louis Cass Britton
Shared by Ellen Lovicy Waters Britton

Birth

Louis Cass Britton, son of Riley Britton and Julia Strong, was born 15 May 1851 near Golden, in White Pine Township, Barry County, Missouri. (Sources - Family Bible, Census Images, and Death Certificate)

Forefathers

Back in the early days, long before Louis was born, the Britton family lived in what is now Clarke County, Georgia. It is believed that they originally immigrated to Virginia from Wales and may have migrated to North Carolina before settling in Georgia. One thing we do know is that, in about 1805, they moved from Georgia to Missouri, though it was then called the Louisiana Territory. (Source - Relatives' names on petition in 1806, Territorial Papers) This was very soon after the Louisiana purchase.

I read somewhere a few years ago that the landscape in southern Missouri reminded the early settlers of the hill country of Georgia, and this added to its appeal. Many southerners settled here and some also brought their slaves with them. However, most of the slave population was concentrated along the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and few slaves were kept elsewhere in the region. This area was considered, at that time, to be frontier. It became known as the Missouri Territory in 1812, in order to more clearly distinguish it from the state of Louisiana, and was admitted into the union as a slave state in 1821.

Louis' paternal grandmother's family, the Pounds, left England as early as 1635, and lived for many generations in Virginia before migrating to Georgia. Her father, Reuben Pound, was a Patriot in the Revolutionary War, serving in the Georgia Continental Line, and was granted bounty land along the Oconee River in Washington County, Georgia. It is through the line of Reuben's grandmother, Deborah Lewis, that Louis Cass Britton was related to Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Reuben was Meriwether's third cousin.

We know very little about the family of Louis' mother. When tracing back through what was thought to be her parents, William Strong and Ann Binkley, I have not found Native American ancestry. Because of this, I suspect that Louis' mother was adopted.

Background on Louis' Parents

Riley Britton was born in about 1814, during the War of 1812, in an area of the Missouri Territory that later became Crawford County. One or both of his grandfathers were Patriots in the Revolutionary War. (Source - 1779 Pay Rolls, 1784 Roster of the Revolution, 1784 Bounty Survey for 230 acres on Oconee River in Georgia, Reuben Pound) His oldest brother, William, served in the mounted militia there during the War of 1812, being received into the service the year that Riley was born. Riley was a Union Soldier during the War Between the States. (Source - Family tradition, no documents to prove this that I am aware of) Riley had lost his father by the time he was 14 years old. However, his mother lived at least into her seventies. (Source - 1850 Census)

Julia Strong was born in Tennessee in about 1824. (Source - Census records) She was at least half Cherokee and spoke in broken English, and some suspect she was in the Trail of Tears. It has long been a family tradition that Julia was either part or full Cherokee or Choctaw. However, the belief is further substantiated and clarified by a land claim application I recently found, which was filed by Julia's daughter-in-law in Shawnee, Oklahoma. You see, Louis' brother, Perry, remarried after his first wife, Sarah Rachel Cantwell, died unexpectedly. His second wife, Mary Elizabeth Boykin, applied for land in 1902 because of her own Choctaw ancestry. At first glance this may seem to have nothing to do with Julia Strong. However, among the questions asked of Mary were her present husband's name and whether or not he was white, and whether he was of Choctaw descent as well. To these she answered that his name was P. E. Britten, that he was not white, but Indian, and that his grandfather was full blood Cherokee. If she is correct in this assertion, it would surely mean that Julia Strong's father was full blood Cherokee, making Julia half. (Source - Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, 1902)

Riley and Julia were married in Crawford County, Missouri 8 Oct 1840. (Source - Crawford County, Missouri Marriages, Book A, 1829-1855) They had nine children: Vianna/Vienna, Frances "Fanny", Sarah Ann, Georgia Oliver, Louis Cass, Aree or Ira E, Perry Eldridge, Martha and Caroline. (Source - Family Bible and Census Images)

The War Between the States

This conflict broke out when Louis Cass Britton was about 10 years old. His father was a Union soldier. (Source - Bohannon Biographies) His oldest brother, George Oliver, ran away and enlisted at the tender age of 15. Louis' father survived, but George Oliver did not. Sadly, according to military records, he contracted measles and died. It is interesting that, in the inventory of George's personal effects, it was stated that he was 19 years old. (Source - As was common during the war, it appears that he'd lied about his age in order to enlist. Louis was but 12 years old when he lost his teenage brother to the war. They were close enough in age that I'm sure this came as quite a blow. During the war, Louis was the oldest male left at home, so it would have fallen to him to manage the family farm and protect his mother and younger siblings, even at such a tender age, in his father's absence.

Peace was not soon established, even after the war had officially come to an end, 9 May 1865. The years that followed were filled with turmoil, and crime abounded. Bushwackers, southern, pro-Confederate, self-governed bands of guerrilla fighters, as well as other groups such as the pro-Union Jayhawkers, roamed the countryside, burning, stealing and killing. War changes people and I think that, for some, it was difficult to shift back to normal life after so much bloodshed. The cause for which each side fought, still remained in the forefront of peoples' minds.

One instance when the Britton family was touched by such troubles came one day when Louis and his father were away from home. This may have been while his father and older brother were gone during their service for the Union, or else shortly after the war. Ellen Lovicy Waters Britton was the wife of Clarence Custer "Cub" Britton, who remembered Louis well. She recalled hearing about the incident. Some troublesome neighbors arrived at the house and stole all of Julia's furniture. When Louis returned home, possibly from the fields, he found her sitting in an empty house. Imagine his surprise! I can just envision Julia sitting there, shocked and horrified, tears streaming down her face while she looked up at her sons as they walked in the door of the cabin.

Anger was kindled, his protective nature coming to the forefront. Louis intended to see justice prevail, despite his young age. Julia obviously told him which neighbor was at fault, or else they saw the group's tracks, for Louis took his gun, a wagon and one younger brother and headed straight over there to get back their mother's things. I presume that he took with him Aree E, since he was the next oldest. He evidently left one brother, likely Perry Eldridge, there to comfort and protect their mother. It has been said that the brother, whom Louis took with him, was pretty shaken up about approaching the culprits, but he went with Louis, none the less. The three boys would have only been about ages 10, 12, and 14 at the time, assuming that this dreadful event took place right after the war – younger perhaps if the war yet raged, or a tiny bit older if it occurred a few years later.

Louis and the one brother arrived with their wagon and approached the neighbor's house, but did not even knock or give warning. Louis simply opened the door and barged in. He found a white-haired man and some younger men inside. Louis said, “I respect grey hair, but we're going to gather up this furniture and take it back in our wagon. Just keep your seat and make no fuss and no one will be hurt.” They loaded up the furniture and took it back to their relieved mother, without a shot being fired. Louis had obviously been taught well to protect and avenge his mother whenever necessary, and possessed the courage and fortitude to do so, even as a young teenage boy. It is no wonder that he later became a sheriff.

One encounter with the Bushwackers was even more terrifying. It concerned the family of Perry Eldredge Britton's future wife, Sarah Rachel Cantwell. Remember that Perry was Louis' younger brother. They burned Sarah's aunt's house, across the canyon, and left the inhabitants there in their night clothes. The men then threatened to burn their house as well. Thankfully, they did not follow through. This event was recorded on the findagrave memorials for Arlamada Ann "Macy" Bohannon Cantwell ➚ and Sarah Rachel Cantwell Britten ➚.

Right around this same time, Sarah had another hair-raising experience. As the story goes, her father was a blacksmith for the Union Cavalry. One account states that his duties kept him close to home and he was given leave to return to his own bed to sleep at the end of each day. However, my grandmother said that he was always away from home during his service, except for that one night. Either way, when he had retired for the night, wearing only his long-johns, they heard horses approaching the house. Evidently figuring that the men would not harm the females, but would most definitely not have good intentions toward a Union man, he jumped out the window. He then bounded over a fence, but accidentally hooked his toe and fell over into the snow on the other side. There he remained hidden in the shadows, his white underwear blending with the snow, while Jesse and Frank James, and one or two others of the James-Younger Gang, dismounted and entered the house!

They asked Sarah's mother to cook for them, which she frightfully did. They left their guns by the door and ate their fill. Though she was understandably terrified, the men assured her that the women would come to no harm. Sarah's aunt (her mother's sister) was there, in bed, sick with TB during all of this, likely after her own house had been burned. That, and her need of care during the grave illness, would have been why she was there living with her sister. The men did not bother her. They left a silver dollar in payment for each of their meals, for the women's troubles, which was a lot of money at that time! I'm sure these coins very much needed. Before the war the Cantwell family was fixed well with provisions, but afterwards were financially ruined. Jesse James was known for such kindness, a sort of Robin Hood of his time. It was one of the reasons that his gang ran free for so long, according to my father. They acquired the favor of the people, which ensured them meals and places to hide from the law. I am sure this was one incident that Sarah and the others never forgot! This took place in Laclede County, Missouri. It is suspected that Jesse James passed through the region frequently, as he was believed to have had a cousin living just northeast of there in Pulaski County.

The family of Sarah Cantwell's grandfather's nephew, William Bohannon Jr, also had a near run-in with Bushwackers. He was in the Confederate Army, but turned against the Confederacy partway through the war and began fighting for the Union. As a little side note, it was very hard to get salt in the south during the war but, after he joined the Union Army, his wife was able to take their team and wagon to Lebanon, Missouri to buy a barrel of salt, which she then shared with her southern-sympathizer neighbors! Anyway, back to the Bushwackers... The following is a rather interesting tale: “The Bohannons were not a people to trifle with. The Bushwackers were active in the area, and one gang came to the Bohannon homestead. They asked to see the men of the house. The women directed them to a cabin where the men were. Their directions sent the Bushwackers the long way to the cabin. While the Bushwackers were enroute, Frances and Margaret (William Jr.'s wife and sister) ran to the cabin via the shortcut. They told their men that the Bushwackers were coming. The Bushwackers rode up near the cabin; after looking the situation over, they decided they didn't want any part of the Bohannons and rode away.” (Source - Bohannon Biographies)

Anyway, I guess I got a little off topic. Back to Louis Cass Britton and his family... At some point, Louis was a sheriff in Missouri for several years, according to Ellen Lovicy Waters Britton. However, no one seems to know exactly when that was, and I am unclear as to what county he was living in at the time or whether it was before or during his married life. I suspect his days as a lawman took place in Barry or Stone County, as he lived in that area for most of his life.

Marriage and Children

Hannah Catherine Odell
Shared by Ellen Lovicy Waters Britton

Louis fell in love with a neighbor girl named Hannah Catherine Odell, a daughter of Abraham Odell and Cynthia Ann Smith. They were married 1 March 1870, likely near Hartville, Wright County, Missouri.

Hannah was born and raised near Hartville, which also saw its share of troubles during the War Between the States. The county's residents were equally split between Union and Confederate sympathies, making it a hotbed for contention. Half of Hartville, including the courthouse, was burned to the ground by Union soldiers in 1862, when Hannah was 12 or 13 years old. I'm sure she carried the memories of that frightful event, and others like it, for the remainder of her days.

The Odell family had been in this country for a very long time. Hannah's father was from Tennessee. Her paternal grandfather was born in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and fought in the War of 1812. Her great grandfather married a Quaker, was a lieutenant in the Revolutionary War, and later started a settlement at Crosby Creek, which is now in Greene County, Tennessee in 1783. This was not long before Davey Crockett was born in that area. If one traces back even farther, it becomes apparent that Hannah Odell's ancestors fled to America from England in about 1637, after making the mistake of siding with Lady Jane Grey against Mary, Queen of Scots. Interestingly, Hannah's 5th great grandmother, Rebecca Brown Odell, was one of the judges during the Connecticut Witch Trials, which resulted in a woman's hanging in 1653. Others of her family were also very early settlers and many of them were Quakers or Puritans. So, you see, both Louis' and Hannah's heritage traced back to very early American colonists.

For a while after their marriage, Louis and Hannah Britton lived with her parents on their farm near Hartville, Wright County, Missouri. Hannah was a couple of years his senior and, at this time, he was 20 years old and attending school.₆ Because of the war and also their proximity to available pioneer schools, perhaps this was the first chance he'd gotten to get some education. Louis' parents, Riley and Julia, lived on the next farm over, and next to them was Louis' sister Fannie and her family. (Source - 1870 Census)

Their first child, William Isaac “Ike” Britton, was born in Golden, Barry County, Missouri, 28 May 1872. I suppose that they had moved there to try and get a start in farming on their own, but I don't rightly know. It was very close by, anyway. Less than a year later, Louis' father died near Hartville in Wright County. He was in his late 50's, which seems rather young. I don't know the cause of his early death. This would have left two or three children at home for Julia to finish raising on her own, but none of them were real young. Julia appears to have remarried, about three years later, to a man named William Eads. She was referred to as Julia Eads in Riley's estate file. On William's findagrave memorial ➚ it also states that he married Julia after his first wife died. However, I would like to find additional proof.

Louis and Hannah's second child, Marie, was born 14 Nov 1875 and died only two years later, 11 Nov 1877, presumably of illness. By this time they were living in Stone County, Missouri. They had another daughter, Sarah Alice, who was born there April 7th of that year. Next came a son, John, who died as a toddler. He was born 17 Dec 1879 and died 11 Oct 1881.

In 1880, the family was living in White Pine Twp, Barry County, Missouri and Louis was farming. He was able to read and write, but Hannah could only read. Living on the farm next to theirs was Louis' married brother, Perry. It was in White Pine Twp that Louis and Hannah were blessed with another daughter, Parilee, on the 12th of November that same year. Stella was born four years later, 19 Oct 1884. By 16 September 1877, they were back in Stone County, at which time their youngest, Cora Florence, was born. At this time they were living near Baxter. Evidently, they were not opposed to moving around a fair bit if needed. Such was fairly common in that era. Sometimes several years of crop failure spurred families to move, though there could have been any number of other reasons. It is also possible that boundary lines simply changed, and they had not relocated as many times as it appears.

Louis' Brother

In about 1892, Louis' brother Perry moved his family to the Oklahoma Territory by covered wagon. Perry is credited with constructing the first building in Shawnee, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. Though the area was reserved for the Indians after the War Between the States, Texas ranchers had begun driving their cattle through in the 1870's, along what was called the West Shawnee Trail. In 1889, some of the land was opened up for white settlers and a land race took place at noon, 22 September 1891. I don't know if Perry participated in that race and then returned for his families, or if he only came after the fact. Toward the end of 1894, the Choctaw Railroad was slated to come through Shawnee, and it soon became a thriving, bustling community. Please refer to the City of Shawnee History ➚ for additional information. Perry was one of the ones who helped build that railroad. I tell this because Louis eventually ended up in that area as well, although I'm not sure whether he was there as early as Perry. I get the idea that they both went there, and then Louis came back to Missouri, and again returned toward the end of his life.

More on Life in Missouri

In 1900, Louis was farming in Williams Township, Stone County, Missouri. Living with him and Hannah were their three daughters, Parilee, Stella, and Cora, as well as Louis' sister, Fannie. They also had a live-in farmhand hired to help out. By 1910, they were still there and it appears, from who their neighbors were, that they had remained on the same piece of property. Their daughter, Stella, still lived with them and was unmarried at the age of 25. Evidently she'd had a son out of wedlock and was not real young when she finally married. The 4 year old grandson, Vernie Blue or Bilyue, who lived with them, was probably her son. He was born in Missouri. Louis' sister, Fannie, was also still there, now widowed. The next farm over was run by Louis' and Hannah's daughter, Cora, and her husband, Emery Frances Kincade.

The Death of Louis' Wife

Louis' dear wife, Hannah, passed away at 9 a.m. on the 15th June, 1919 at the age of 69 in Williams Township, probably on the family farm. The doctor from Shell Knob, Missouri stated on Hannah's death certificate that she suffered from senility and extensive paralyses, so I would guess that she'd had a stroke. Louis, as the informant on her death certificate, signed his name as L C Britton and stated that his address was Nauvoo, Missouri. Nauvoo was in Stone County, about 6 miles southwest of Baxter, Missouri and less than a mile from Arkansas' northern border. It appears that he remained on the farm for a while, at least until 1920. At that time, Cora and Parilee lived nearby with their families. Still living with Louis, was Stella and her son, Vernie. Fannie now owned her own property next door, or perhaps Louis had built her a house in his yard.

Louis Moved to Oklahoma

Sometime around 1924 or before, Louis went to Oklahoma. He was living with his daughter, Cora, and her family. Clarence Custer "Cub" Britton, his grandson, was also there. He is said to have known Louis and remembered him well. Stella had brought her son and was visiting there also. It sounds like this was the year that Stella's son (likely the above mentioned Vernie Bilyue) met his untimely death. It seems that he and two other boys had stolen some tire patching at the general store and then run off. A drunk sheriff commanded them to stop, but they did not. So, he shot at them. Though the two other boys escaped harm, Stella's son was shot in the head. My grandfather, “Cub” Britton, came upon his cousin and saw him laying in a pool of blood. As he approached the fallen boy, the sheriff told him to stop, but he ignored the order. Instead, he dragged his cousin into the shade of the brush. Before he could be brought home to be cared for, he perished. When Louis learned of the incident, he was intent on shooting the sheriff for killing the young boy. However, a friend urged him to let it go saying, “Don't do it Louis. You will only get yourself into trouble.” Louis, reluctantly I'm sure, saw the wisdom in friend's words and did not pursue the man. This account was given by Cub's wife, Ellen.

Other Tidbits from Those Who Knew Him

Louis was very fond of his young grandchildren and called them all by the nickname of Toots. Cute as it is in its own right, it is important to know in the little stories that follow. In Louis' old age, his eye sight got very poor. My grandmother, Ellen, told of several incidents where this proved to be a problem for him. The following are some things she remembered being told about Louis, probably by her husband, Cub:

"Lewis Cass Britton was Homer's granddad. [Homer was Cub's brother.] When Dad [William Isaac 'Ike' Britton, Cub's father and Louis' son] and his family moved to Oklahoma, Uncle Perry [Louis' brother] was living with Aunt Fanny [sister of Louis and Perry]. His wife had died and her husband was gone, too. She was very childish then. (Nina has, or did have, a scrapbook that had been Aunt Fanny's). Aunt Fanny died while they lived in Oklahoma. After that, Uncle Perry seemed to have lived alone. Lewis Cass lived with Aunt Cora [his daughter] and Uncle Emery [her husband, Emery Frances Kincaid] and their family. When Cub or Homer or any of them went any place, they went right by the corner of Uncle Emery's yard. When Granddad [Louis] would hear them coming, he would get his hat and go out to go with them, wherever they were going. He liked to ride fast and would ask, "Is this as fast as it will go, Toots?" He called all of the grand kids "Toots." Granddad's sight got poor and he would make some funny mistakes on account of that, like one day he was in a store and when aiming to go outside, went into the big show window. Another time he was in town with Uncle Emery and Aunt Cora, and got some candy for the kids. He went out and got into the wrong car, reached back with the sack of candy and said, "Here, Toots, do you want some candy?" then looked around to see a strange woman and kids in the back seat. He left! Things like that seemed to really embarrass him.

"One time when Granddad was visiting Dad (Ike) and his family on the eastern slope [in Colorado], he got to going over to visit Grandma Guthrie [probably Homer's mother-in-law]. Once when he was over there he backed up and turned the slop bucket over and spilled it. (I don't know whether he ever went back to see her or not.)

When Granddad would get mad, he would sulk for days. One of the times they told about was once when grandma [Hannah Catherine Odell] was scrubbing the floor, she set the sloop bucket up on the end of the cook table to have it out of the way. Granddad came in for a drink, picked up the dipper and took a big swig before he discovered the difference. Another time was when he started into the corncrib. The top of the door was low, and Granddad was tall. He hit his forehead on the top of the door opening, made some exclamation, backed up, and did it again. Once when dad was a kid, Granddad was nailing shakes on the roof, with Dad carrying them up to him. Just as Dad got his head above the edge of the roof, Granddad hit his finger with the hammer. Dad left fast before he would laugh. The very next trip up the ladder with the shingles, the same thing happened. That time Dad laughed before he could get down out of sight. Granddad threw the hammer at him and said, "Laugh, you little devil, you!"

"When Brittons lived in Oklahoma they knew Granddad and Uncle Perry and liked them really well. Uncle Perry was not talkative, or didn't think the kids interested in such, or assumed they knew about his family. I don't know how many kids he had."

His Death

Louis died 6 August 1932 in Chouteau, Mayes Co, Oklahoma at the age of 81 and was buried in the Alberty Cemetery, Sportsman Acres, there in Mayes County.

Sources:

1 – Writings of Ellen Lovicy Waters Britton, family historian and wife of Louis and Hannah's grandson Clarence Custer “Cub” Britton, who remembered Louis well

2 – Findagrave Memorial of Arlamada Ann “Macy” Bohannon Cantwell ➚

3 – Findagrave Memorial of Sarah Rachel Cantwell Britten ➚

4 – Perry Eldridge Britten Family Tree

5 – Bohannon Biographies

6 – 1870 US Federal Census: Near Hartville Post Office, Wright County, Missouri (living with Hannah and her parents and siblings)

7 – 1880 US Federal Census: White River Twp, Barry County, Missouri (living with his wife, Hannah, and two children William Isaac and Sarah Alice)

8 – 1900 US Federal Census: Williams Twp, Stone County, Missouri (living with his wife Hannah, their daughters Parilee, Stella and Cora, a farmhand named John Deaton, and Louis' sister, Fannie)

9 – 1910 US Federal Census: Williams Twp, Stone County, Missouri (living with his wife Hannah, their daughter Stella, his sisters Fannie, and his grandson Vernie Blue.  Daughter Cora lived next door with her family)

10 – 1920 US Federal Census: Williams Twp, Stone County, Missouri (living with his daughter Stella, grandson Vernie Blyeu, and sister Fannie.  Two farms away was his daughter Parilee and her family.)

11 – 1930 US Federal Census: Ruth Twp, Stone County, Missouri (living in the home of his daughter Stella, her husband Sherman Lynes, and their son Kenneth Lynes)

12 – City of Shawnee History ➚

13 – Past and Present of Wright County, Missouri (for the part about the area being split down the middle in its loyalties and Hartville being burned – need to find that spot and insert

14 - Territorial Papers of Louisiana

15 - Department of the Interior, Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes, 1902