Ellender Temperance “Tempy” Wallace Jackson

Our story about Ancil McDonald Jackson’s children started when we looked at the lives of his first set of children with Seletia Ann West, daughter of Wade Hampton West. This marriage began the link between these two early Wilson County pioneer families. We looked at the lives of all of their children and now we will look at Ancil’s second family with Ellender Temperence “Tempy” Wallace Powell.

Ellender Temperance Wallace, the second wife of Ancil McDonald Jackson was born on January 19, 1840 in Shelby County, Alabama.  Shelby County is located in central Alabama. Her father, Samuel Allen Wallace, was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee on April 16, 1812.  He married Mary W. Muse in Rutherford County sometime before their first child John Muse Wallace was born on January 13, 1838.  

The family then moved to Shelby County, Alabama where Samuel received a land grant in 1837.  They settled down there for a number of years and their family grew.  The first daughter, Ellender Temperance was born there on January 19, 1840. The next daughter, Martha Matilda “Polly” was born on March 22, 1844, followed by Narcissa Jane who was born December 28, 1847 all in Shelby County, Alabama. The family moved from Alabama to Mississippi sometime between 1846 and the birth of the last daughter Missouri Caroline “Mazie” who was born on August 11, 1848. By 1850, the family had moved on and was located in Panola, Texas on the 1850 census.  Remember Panola and Shelby Counties were where the West family landed after they left Arkansas.

When Ellender’s Mother, Mary Muse died, her father remarried Elizabeth T. Rice Powell, a widow.  Elizabeth was the daughter of Parker Merimuth Rice and Mary Willamina “Polly” Bomar.  Elizabeth Rice was first married to James D. Powell on November 9, 1839 in Campbell County, Georgia.  Interestingly, Campbell County is the same place as James and Jane West lived before moving east to Arkansas about 1830.  You have to wonder if they knew each other back in Georgia.

James and Elizabeth Powell had 5 children.  The first son was Armstead A (Almarine?) Powell who was born about 1840 in Carroll County, Georgia.  Like his father he enlisted as a Private on the side of the Confederacy on February 1, 1862 in the 18^th Texas Regiment.  He was later taken as a Prisoner of War on April 9,1864 at Pleasant Hills, Louisiana.  You can read about the Battle of Pleasant Hill by clicking her. Armstead was released to General Richard Taylor on Apil 20, 1864. The regiment disbanded in 1865.  I believe this is the A.A./Armstead Powell was Ellender Temperance Wallace’s first husband.  Jack Jackson’s book indicated he was the son of E.L. Powell rather than James Powell.  I find a Civil War record for an E.L. Powell who was in Chamber’s Battalion, Texas Reserve Cops Infantry but no information about where this battalion was formed or who was assigned to it.

Samuel Wallace, a widower, and Elizabeth Powell, a widow, married before 1870 and are living in Brazos County, Texas on the 1870 US Census with two of Elizabeth’s younger children from her previous marriage; James 15 and Elizabeth 12.  Their older children had already ventured out on their own.  John Muse Wallace, her older brother, had migrated to Wilson County by 1860 and was living three households down from Ancil McDonald Jackson. 

Beginning on December 24, 1862 he served in the CSA at Fort Davis as a part of Company A of the Texas Mounted Regiment under Captain James E. McCord.  This regiment was charged with protecting the western frontier after the soldiers from the United States were withdrawn when the Civil War began.  After the end of the war he returned to Wilson County and married Sarah on August 23, 1864.  When Seletia Ann West Jackson died on December 20, 1868 leaving Ancil a widower with 5 small children, his neighbor John Wallace may have suggested that Ancil travel back to East Texas with him to meet his sister Ellender, herself a widow.

Regardless of how the couple met Ancil Jackson married Ellender Wallace Powell on December 9, 1869 almost a year after the tragic death of Seletia Ann.  When the couple came home they brought Ellender’s two younger sisters, Missouri Caroline “Mazie” and Martha Matilda “Polly” who lived with the Jacksons and with their brother John Muse Wallace who lived in Sutherland Springs. When Martin West’s wife Polly died in 1876, Martin married her younger sister Mazie in 1877. 

By this time, Ancil was wealthy enough to afford a fine house for his family and they first lived in “Free Timbers” but soon moved to a large ranch on the Cibolo or the Ecleto Creeks. In 1866, the couple bought what was to be known as the Jackson Ranch located one and a half miles north of present day Stockdale. Ellender having grown up in Alabama and Mississippi in the midst of greenery set about to make the Jackson Ranch her vision of home by planting a wide variety of flowers and trees around the house. 

Here is an excerpt from a chapter “Life on a Texas Ranch” from the book “The Rising and Setting of the Lone Star Republic” published by Ancil and Ellender’s daughter Mattie Jackson who became a school teacher.  This chapter was written by Ancil and Seletia’s oldest daughter Frances Mahala “Fanny” Jackson Lee describing their home. 

“ They had a two-room house built of pine lumber that was shipped from Florida and hauled in wagons from old Indianola, a distance of more than one hundred miles.  Besides this large front room with a shed room and a south porch, they built about fifty feet away, another two-room house.  This was built of Post Oak lumber. The largest of these rooms fifteen by twenty feet was used for both a kitchen and a dining room.  The smaller adjoining room was used for a smoke-house.  In this was kept a year’s supply of meat.  About one hundred feet beyond the kitchen, a third two-room house was built; this house had a south porch and was made of post oak lumber.  Father usually kept the large room of this house filled with un-ginned cotton; during the summer months, and we called it the cotton-house. During the winter months, it was often converted into a bedroom for the boys, but sometimes it was occupied by a family.  About one hundred yards from these buildings was a group of corn cribs, in which the corn crops were stored.  This plan of building was used by almost all pioneer settlers, to prevent a total loss by fire.

To children of today a two-room house may seem very small for a family of eleven children, but in my father’s house, there was always room for more.  They never turned a traveler away and they gave a home to more than a score of people during their life at this place.

This residence was almost surrounded by trees; on the north and west by live oak trees; on the south and in front of the house were planted three English Mulberry trees.  In a few years, these trees shaded the whole front yard.  Mother was a great lover of flowers and with the help of the children, she had a very beautiful yard.  In addition to the flower beds, she had roses, crepe myrtles, lilac, salt-cedar, magnolia, and many other old fashioned shrubs and trees.”

There are many, many more details about the Jackson Ranch in this book so if you want to learn more, the book can be viewed at the Texas State Library and Archives in Austin (Call #917.64.J136).

After a few short years, Ancil and “Tempy” as she was called in later years, began their family.  They had six more children who survived infancy:  Missouri Carolina “Carrie” (1872-1932), Martha Melissa “Mattie” (1872-1955), Laura (1874-1945), Ancil McDonald “Bud” (1876-1927), Phenecy “Necy” (1879-1955), and Narcissia “Narcy” (1883-1964).  The couple also had two more babies who did not survive infancy.

Despite the family’s wealth and position of respect in the community, Ancil began drinking and gambling in his later years.  So much so that Tempy divorced him on June 7, 1895 supposedly to keep him from squandering all of their property and leave the children with nothing.  Jackson family history says that this is what caused his daughter, Mattie’s fanatical anti-liquor stance.  

Both sets of children from both Seletia and Tempy got along well.  All of Seletia’s children called Tempy, “Mother” as indeed she was for some of the younger ones, the only mother they ever knew.  So they were likely devastated when Ellender died on June 3, 1890 at age 56.   She is supposed to be buried in the Stockdale City Cemetery but perhaps in an unmarked grave.  I have searched for a headstone many times without success.  I did find stones for her infant daughters who did not survive.  Ancil is also buried in the cemetery and does have a head stone that has been placed there in more recent years.

After her Mother’s death, it was Mattie who had received her teaching certificate four years before who remained at home to care for the younger children and their aging father, helped by her brother Ancil Jr. “Bud”.  Ancil died on July 2, 1904 and Jackson family lore says that all of his children from both Seletia and Tempy with the exception of Susan Maria “Sudie” were at his bedside when he passed.  He had famously disowned Sudie years before because she married a Mexican man.  So that was the end of that generation of Jacksons.

We will pick up our story now with the lives of Ellender’s children to explore how they prospered after their childhood “On a Texas Ranch”.  Stay tuned…

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• Tagged: A.A.Powell, Almarine Powell, Amstead A. Powell, Ancil McDonald Jackson, Ancil McDonald Jackson Jr. "Bud" "Bud", Elizabeth T Rice Powell, Ellender Temperance Wallace Jackson, Frances Mahala "Fannie" Jackson Lee, James D Powell, John Muse Wallace, Laura Jackson, Martha Matilda "Polly" Wallace, Mary W. Muse, Mary Willamina "Polly" Bomar, Matha Melissa "Mattie" Jackson, Mattie Jackson, Missouri Caroline "Mazie" Wallace, Missouri Carolinea "Carrie" Jackson, Narcissia "Narcy" Jackson, Paker Merimuth Rice, Phenecy "Necy" Jackson, Samuel Allen Wallace, Seletia Ann West, Susan Maria Jackson