John Marion Couch and William Marion Couch
COUCH, JOHN MARION - By great great-granddaughter Patricia Couch Grimes
John Marion COUCH was born on July 29, 1832 in Spartansburg, S. Carolina to the parentage of Matthew and Louisa Couch. John had sisters: Mary, Frances, Juliana, Clarinda (married Joseph Abner Yarberry) and Sarah (married Boone Zumwalt). He had brothers Thomas and Matthew Harrison (married Bethira Angelina Smith).
John married Mary Jane KEY on February 10, 1850 in Cass County, Georgia. He was 17 and she was 15 and they resided with John's parents, Matthew & Louisa.
John and Mary Jane were living in Arkansas at the start of the Civil War and he enlisted in Company D, 33rd Arkansas Infantry and because he was a blacksmith and worked with iron and wood, was sent to the Confederate Shop in Arkadelphia, Ark. He was transferred when the Army moved the shop to Marshall, Texas in 1863. At the end of the war, John moved his family back to Arkansas for 10 months and planned a move to Texas. The family, along with John's brother, Matthew Harrison, moved through Marion and Harrison Counties until they reached Upshur County and decided they would remain there. He built a home in 1868 close to the highest elevation of Camp County which later became known as "Couch Mountain". John worked a water-powered grist mill and farmed the land.
John and Mary Jane had 9 children:
1. John Washington Couch b: 4-21-1852 in Georgia (married Rhoda Ellen Rumsey)
2. William Marion Couch b: 8-23-1854 in Georgia (married 1st Laruh Alice Williams 2nd Alice Barton)
3. Julia Ann b: 12-27-1856 (married James Madison Huse)
4. Mary May ("Missie") b: June 1862 (married John Franklin Sorrells)
5. Samuel Harrison b: January 1866 Arkansas (married 1st Fannie King 2nd Lula Bell Howell)
6. Louisa Ella b: 6-29-1868,Upshur Co, Tex. (married John F Ray)
7. Nancy Caroline ("Callie") b: 6-17-1870, Upshur Co, Tex.(married Albert Pike Sutton)
8. David Pinkney b: 4-18-1872, Upshur County, Tex. d: 12-9-1887, age 15.
9. Emma Delilah b: 12-23-1875, Upshur County, Tex. (married John Carey Heidle)
John Marion Couch died 4-27-1891, age 58, in Upshur County and was buried at Lafayette Cemetery. His son, David Pinkney had been buried there years earlier. After John's death, his widow, Mary Jane and children William, Julia, Missie, Callie and Samuel moved to Kaufman County, Texas. Mary Jane lived (with her daughter Callie) in Kaufman County until her death in 1901.
John Washington Couch who married Rhoda (Rodie) Ellen Rumsey remained in Upshur/Camp County and raised his family.Louisa Ella who married John F Ray moved to Cass Co, Tex and raised her family.
COUCH, WILLIAM MARION - By great-granddaughterPatricia Couch Grimes
William Marion COUCH was born August 23, 1854 in Cass County, Georgia to the parentage of John Marion COUCH and Mary Jane KEY. William's siblings were John Washington, Julia Ann, Mary May, Samuel Harrison, Louisa Ella, Nancy Caroline, David Pinkney and Emma Delilah.
William moved with his family to Arkansas where his father enlisted in Company D 33rd Arkansas Infantry and worked in the Confederate Shop in Arkadelphia. William's stories included talking about taking "dinner" to his father in the shop. The Confederate Shop was moved from Arkadelphia to Marshall, Texas in 1863 and William's father was transferred. William moved with his mother and siblings to Marshall, Texas. After the war, the family moved back to Arkansas for 10 months before heading to Texas.
The family was living in Upshur/Camp County Texas by 1868 when William was in his early teens. He married Laruh Alice Williams in 1880 and they had 4 children: George Marion b: 1881, Sarah Jane b: 1883, James Harrison b: 1886 and Maggie May b: 1887.
Laruh Alice died in August 1890 and is buried at Riley's Chapel Cemetery. William moved his four young children to Kaufman County, Texas in 1893. His siblings Julia, Missie, Samuel, Nancy and Emma also moved to Kaufman County with their families. His brother John Washington who married Rhoda Ellen Rumsey remained in Upshur/Camp and raised their children. His sister, Louisa moved to Cass Co, Tex and raised her family.
William married second to Alice Barton on 4-24-1895 and they had two children: Lillie Annie b: 1896 and Martin Homer b: 1899. Sadly, William would bury his second wife in 1901, the same year he buried his mother.
William was a successful farmer and known throughout Kaufman and that part of Texas. He was a kind and generous man, as seen on the 1920 census where at 65 years old, his 2 grown daughters are living with him along with 6 grandchildren and his grown son, Martin Homer.
William had a great faith in God and was a long time active member of the Sunset Baptist Church in Kaufman County. He died at the age of 80 in Elmo, Kaufman County, Texas and is buried at Wilson Chapel Cemetery.
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