Lewis Solomon Neatherlin and Elizabeth Mabry Neatherlin, GA>MS>TX

In tracing the marriages of children born to William Neatherlin and Rachel Fenner, I found that Louis (Lewis) Solomon Neatherlin, likely their oldest child, married Elizabeth Mabry. The marriage took place in Hinds County, Mississippi on February 3, 1831, when Elizabeth was just four months away from her 16th birthday. Born on June 9, 1815, Elizabeth was the daughter of Dr. James Thomas Mabry and Hattie Walker Mabry, and like Solomon, she had migrated with her parents from Georgia to Mississippi.

By 1840, some Neatherlin family members had already left Southwest Mississippi for Louisiana and Texas.  But Mississippi state census information recorded in 1841 and 1845 show Solomon Netherland was still a resident of the state, having been enumerated in Newton County. Names of other members of Solomon's family at that time are unavailable, since only male adults appeared on these census records.

According to the U.S. Census recorded in 1850, Solomon and Elizabeth Neatherlin were living in Walker County (County Seat is Huntsville) Texas.  Enumerated on the census as "Sol," he was 48 years old, born in Tennessee, and was living in the household with his wife, Elizabeth and six children.  The children's names, ages, and places of birth were:

Lewis, 18 y/o

Mary, 16 y/o

James, 13 y/o

Sarah, 8 y/o

Franklin, 4 y/o

Melicia, 2 y/o

In 1860, Solomon and "Eliza" Neatherlin were enumerated on the U. S. Census recorded in Williamson County (Georgetown) Texas.  Solomon was shown to be 57 years old, with a place of birth identified as "Tenn."  Eliza's age was 57, and her birthplace was shown to have been "Georgia."  Living with Solomon and Eliza were six children:

William W., age 14, MS

Malisia A., age 12, MS

Lydia C., age 9, TX

Manerva S., age 7, TX

Rachel F., age 4, TX

Martha, age 1, TX

Enumerated in the household next door to Solomon and Eliza was another Neatherlin family headed by L. W. Neatherlin, age 28.  It seems certain that L.W. Neatherlin is "Lewis," the 18 year old living in Solomon's household and shown on the 1850 U. S. Census. Also included in the household headed by L. W. Neatherlin is Mary, age 23, born in Alabama. Three children, Alice, 4 years old, Frances, aged 6 months, and Thomas Neatherlin, lived in that same household. Texas was shown as the birthplace for all three children.  Thomas Neatherlin's birthplace and presence in this household is somewhat of a mystery.  He was not listed on the 1850 U. S. Census as a child in Solomon's household, and he is too old to be the son of Lewis (L.W.) and Mary Neatherlin. Possibly, Thomas belongs to another Neatherlin family living elsewhere.

Elizabeth died in 1863, and Solomon died three years after his remarriage in 1865. As pioneers of Williamson County, Texas, Elizabeth and Solomon have been immortalized in photos of early settlers of that county.  A photograph of the couple taken before 1862 can be seen on display at The Williamson Museum in Georgetown, Texas, or by visiting the museum's website.

Descendants of Solomon and Elizabeth now number in the thousands and are spread throughout the country. If you would like to read more about the impact some of their descendants made on the histories of New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, please visit Neatherlin Family Website.

References:  
Ancestry.com, Mississippi State and Territorial Census Collection, 1792 - 1866; Accessed on September 9, 2010
Ancestry.com, U. S. Federal Census Collection, 1850 and 1860; Accessed on September 9, 2010
Website for The Williamson Museum - Accessed on September 9, 2010