Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Another News Article about the Heroic Escape of the DeLemeron family.

Here is another newspaper article about the heroic escape of the DeLemeron family from the Confederates around Gainesville.  This article was printed in the San Francisco Bulletin on 30 Sep 1863 and was entitled "Letter from St. Louis," with a subtitle of "Refugees from Texas and Arkansas."  It varies from the previously posted newspaper article, in that this article gives the given name for Joel DeLemeron's wife, which is Sarah Frances, and the full name of the man who helped her, Edward York. 
As stated in a previous post, Joel Francis DeLemeron was tried for treason against the Confederate Government a month after the Hangings. His "crime of treason" involved helping a few of the wives whose husbands were involved with the peace party (Ware and Boyles.)  He was sentenced to life in prison.



Transcription of above news article:

Refugees from Texas and Arkansas

A party of some 25 or 30 men, women and children, arrived here the other night, over the Pacific railroad, from Rolla and Springfield, having journeyed to the latter place on foot and in wagons from Texas and Arkansas.  The families were driven from their homes by the rebels.  Among the way-worn wanderers was a Mrs. Sarah Frances DeLimerind, with a young child, from Gainesville, Cook County, Texas.  Her story is eventful and affecting, comprising the following statements:

Her husband Jacob F., was born in St. Louis, and she in Morgan county, Illinois.  They were married in Texas 8 years ago.  On the occurrence of the war, he was a Unionist, and accordingly was hated inveterately.  47 men, who thought and felt like him, were hung, two men shot, and he was sentenced to the penitentiary for treason.  His wife “took an appeal” in the case, and furnished him with an augur and a saw, with which he broke jail.  They were then going to seize and punish her, having threatened to hang her for effecting his release, but she one night left the town with her child, and set out for the far away north.  Jacob had advised her to do so, saying he should go to Mexico, and thence try to get North by sea.  She “run off” one of her horses to Collier county, Texas, and had it sold for $61 Confederate money, which form her only means for traveling.  The rest of her property was taken by the rebels.  It consisted of horses, mules, wagons, etc. and $900 in gold.  The woman engaged to drive a wagon for Edward York, a Union man, who was also going North, and she fulfilled her contract.  He stopped below Rolla, while she came on with the party named to St. Louis.  She is an intelligent and apparently a very reliable woman.  She states that hundreds of Unionists in Texas are “out in the woods,” and praying and waiting for the coming of the Federal army.


BlogNote: With a name like DeLemeron, it not surprising that there are many different spellings: DeLamirande, DeLemeron, DeLimerind, DelaMirand.  We have decided to go with the spelling in Diamond's Account of the Hangings and the McCaslin Book, which is DeLemeron.

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