Why Would He Do It?

I've had a great time over the past couple of weeks researching my ggg-grandfather, William E. Probert.  The best information I have so far, is that he immigrated from Wales.  There is a debate as to whether or not he has "Irish" roots. In the process, I found out that the name "Probert" in the Welsh tradition frequently means "son of Robert."  Reminds me of my Jones maiden name, which often meant "son of John."

William and his wife Mary had five children.  The first, Thomas, was born in 1824 and the last, William, was born in 1835.  Three girls, Nancy, Mary Ann, and Sarah Elizabeth, were born in the middle, with Sarah only living for 18 months.

Picture of a Civil War Fife Major
Photo Credit: http://www.ohiocivilwar150.org/

My 2012 sensibilities do not allow me to comprehend why William E. Probert, the head of the family, would leave his family in the spring of 1836, to be a "Fife Major" in the War for Texas Independence. His wife, Mary, would somehow have to manage with a newborn and three other children on her own. So here are some facts:

• At the time of William's departure from Lexington, he was 46 years old.
• He was working as a tailor. 
• I don't know how dangerous it was to be a "fife major".
• I can only speculate about his motives, but maybe he wanted adventure and the hope for land should they succeed.

Thankfully, the State of Texas appears to have wonderful archives.  I was able to go to their site and search items saved from the "Republic of Texas."  Imagine my excitement when a search on "Probert" turned up several documents that discussed William's service in the War for Texas Independence.

https://www.tsl.state.tx.us/apps/arc/repclaims/

For William, just getting to Texas proved to be a challenge. According to this document:

Said Probert came with us to New Orleans and was left there in consequence of sickness. Came on to the Army in Captain Sovereign's company and then joined our company which was his (original?).

He made a commitment for six months of service and received an Honorable Discharge. What was most interesting to me was that the record included a personal description of W. E. Probert.

Transcription: To all whom it may concern, know ye that W.E. Probert, Fife Major of Captain Love's Company of Volunteers 1st Regiment 1st Brigade was enrolled on the 4th day of June one thousand eight hundred and thirty-six to serve six months and is hereby discharged from the Army of Texas. Said Probert is five foot six and a half inches high, forty-six years of age, complexion fair, gray eyes, occupation when enrolled Jailor. Given this day of December 1836.

So now I know he only committed to six months of service. I guess his wife, Mary, could survive that commitment if the rewards for service were enticing enough.  That is, if he returned home.  But the evidence doesn't suggest that . . .

War of Texas Independence

Recently I revisited a family line that I'd left dormant for a while. I offered to try to help my cousin, Barbara Pharo, document members of her family that would qualify for the Hamilton County Century Families lineage recognition.  Thomas H. Probert is our common gg-grandfather.

Gathering the required documents led me to try to "prove" that William E. Probert is his father.  We have substantial evidence, but nothing that would yet qualify as "proof."

What an adventure! I searched for the Probert surname on the kentuckiana digital library site. This site has many digitized Kentucky newspapers.  One of the results puzzled me.

Kentucky Gazette, Lexington, Kentucky, July 25, 1836

The first shock was seeing W.E. Probert, my ggg-grandfather, on a list dating back to 1836. The second surprise was reading that the list was for Texas Emigrants:  "The following are the names of those Texas emigrants, under the command of Col. Wilson, who left New Orleans for Texas." What?

I "remember the Alamo", but I was at a loss as to why 100+ Lexingtonians would volunteer for service in the War for Texas Independence.  And so a new area of research opened up. For those of you who, like me, are not entirely up on your Texas history, here is a brief timeline:

• 1821 - Mexico gains independence from Mexico.

• 1821-34 There is increasing tension between the citizens of Mexico and the ever-increasing anglo population.

• 1834 - General Santa Anna, dictator of Mexico, changes laws to the detriment of immigrants.

• 1835-36 Texans declare independence from Mexico.

• 1836 - Texans sign a peace treaty with Mexico and establish the "Republic of Texas." Sam Houston becomes the first president of the Republic.

• 1845 - United States President Polk signs papers allowing the Republic of Texas to be annexed to the United States.

• 1861 - Texas joins the Confederate States of America.

• 1866 - Texas rejoins the United States following the end of the Civil War.

I had questions.  The answers surprised me.  

Next post: What I learned about W.E. Probert's service in the War of Texas Independence.