Pioneers of Ellis County A. J. Baxter   Abstracted from The Memorial and Biographical History of Ellis County, Texas. Lewis Publishing Co. Chicago. 1892. A. J. Baxter, presently  [1892] the Treasurer of Ellis County, was born in 1841 in Duck River, Hickman County, Tenn., the ninth in a family of twelve children of Andrew and Violet Baxter. . His paternal grandfather emigrated from Scotland to America and settled in South Carolina.and his maternal ancestors were English. In 1861, he enlisted in Co. M, 1st Tennessee Artillery in Gen. Walthal's Division,  and served gallantly throughout the War, serving on the Mississippi River and in the battles battles of New Madrid and Fort Pillow.  He was wounded and lost his left arm at the siege of Atlanta. . After the end of the War, he was a student for two years at a college in Marion, Alabama. He later moved to Pontotoc Co. Miss., where, in 1871, he was elected County Treasurer, an office he held for two years.  After a time spent in farming, he moved to Arkansas where he worked as a grocery store salesman and was in the butcher business. He returned to Mississippi before  moving to Ellis County, Texas, where he taught school, having had past experience in that occupation. In 1872 Mr. Baxter married Miss R. Maudlin of Mississippi, and they had six children; five still living [1892]. Musa May, V. A., T. Ethel, D. E. and C. H. The family are members of the Presbyterian Church. In 1886, he was unsuccessful in his run for the office of County Treasurer, however, two years later, he was elected to that office, and again in 1890. He was a capable, efficient and courteous officer, and the affairs of Ellis County could not be entrusted to worthier hands.   Copyright © 2005-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:29:48 MDT