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Although new towns and communities were beginning to spring up, Texas was virgin land. There were still troubles with Indian raids, besides the other hardships the settlers had to face in order to survive. Through hard work and perseverance of the people, Texas was being settled. |
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In Texas, John F. met and married Leannah "Annie" Server. Annie Server was born around 1835, in the Republic of Texas, to Peter Server Jr. and his wife Millie. John and Annie were married around 1853 in Bell County, Texas. The young couple started their life of farming and a family. Their son, William George (W.G.) McAninch, was born on July 25, 1855. John F.'s son, William G. McAninch, was named after his uncle William G., who was killed in a hunting accident with Elias B. and John F. McAninch in DeSoto County, Mississippi. |
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Annie Server McAninch must have died from childbirth or complications thereafter. John then married Sarah J. McDaniel on September 30, 1858. The ceremony was performed by Rev. David Ross, the father-in-law of his brother Elias B. McAninch. Sarah McDaniel was born in Tennessee in April 1837 to Granger McDaniel and Mary M. Bowen. Sarah and John had four children together. A daughter, Mary Perilee McAninch was born on July 17, 1859, followed by a son, John D. McAninch in 1861. In March of 1863, Isabella McAninch was born, followed by Arabella McAninch two years later on April 17, 1865. |
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One of the tools in researching family history is census records. When the census-taker would come upon a residence, he would record who was on the premises. The 1860 census found John F. McAninch with his wife Sarah and children William G. and Mary P. in Williamson County visiting their friends, the young T. B. Whitely family. Also there was James Server, the brother of his first wife, Annie. This shows the relationship between friends and family. In the 1900 census, again we see this illustrated when Boyd Pearce and Tom McAninch, the grandsons of John F. and Elias Brown McAninch, were visiting together in Bell County, Texas. |
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But troubled times were brewing in the nation over states' rights. When Texas voted to secede from the Union, John F. McAninch followed his adopted state and enlisted in the Confederacy around 1862 or 1863 in Bell County, Texas. The unit John F. volunteered into was Company A of the Baird's Regiment, Texas Cavalry, or the Arizona Brigade, Showalters Rgmt. Wat Gravely was the Captain of Co. A. John F. was reported as being in the state hospital at Brownsville, Texas, in October, 1864. Whether he was sick or wounded is not known. Family history reported that Elias' son William made a trip with an uncle to Brownsville. Was the trip to check on and report the condition of his uncle John? By December, 1864, John was serving with the Quartermaster of the Company G. unit. |
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When the war was over, John F. returned home to his family and friends in Texas. John F. McAninch started farming in the Lampassas County area. The population of Texas grew dramatically as more people moved west to rebuild or start new lives. |
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John F. McAninch was typical of the early settlers in the state of Texas. He came with the hope and vision of the opportunities in Texas. To his hope and vision, he added character and hard work. John F. McAninch built a life with family, friends, and neighbors. John F. McAninch died on June 10, 1913, in Izora, in Lampassas County. Sarah J. McDaniel McAninch died on February 8, 1925, in Lampassas County, Texas. They are both buried in Lampassas County. |
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McAninch Family History NL, Vol. III, No. 3, August 1995, pg. 4 page 1995-25 |
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[original contents (except as noted); change font for online presentation (May 2003)] |