Pioneers of Ellis County Captain Carr Forrest Abstracted from A Memorial & Biographical History of Ellis County, (Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago, 1892) Contributed by Jean Caddel   Captain Carr Forrest, successful farmer and merchant of Ellis County, was born in Marshall County, Tenn., Sept. 10, 1826, a son of Jonathan and Susan R. (Patterson) Forrest. His mother was a daughter of Andy Patterson, native of North Carolina who came to Marshall County in 1802.  He served as a captain in the War of 1812 and was also a soldier in the Creek Indian War. There were seven children: : Joseph F.; Carr (subject of this sketch); Matilda P.,( first married A. E. Lane, and after his death, came to Texas where she married F. Vanlear. Now a widow, she lives with her brother, Carr).; Thomas N., ( came to Texas in 1857, and died in Missouri during the CW); Caledonia, (died age fourteen years); America, (married W. N. Brown, and died at Memphis) and Mary J., (died in Texas, age of sixteen years).  Jonothan Forrest died in Mississippi in 1841, and Susan Patterson Forrest died in Texas in 1800, at the age of eighty three years. Carr Forrest came to Ellis County, Texas in 1855,  and first raised sheep, which proved unsuccessful, so he sold out after three years and went into the mercantile business which he sold in 1861. In that year, with Colonel Watson, he raised a company for the CW, being elected Commander with Watson Lieutenant Colonel. They served in  Co. C., 19th Texas Cavalry in Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana, and were with Marmaduke in his raid through Missouri, where,  for six weeks, the saddle was never taken from the horses. They were also in the Red River raid after General Banks. The regiment returned to South Texas, where they disbanded and l returned home. Before the war, Mr. Forrest had increased his acreage to about 1,000 and after his return, continued his farming interests as well as mercantile.. He now (1892) owns 600 acres, 300 acres of which are under  good cultivation.  He was the first to raise alfalfa grass, (now having about twenty acres  in that crop.. Mr. Forrest gave the right of way across his land for the Missouri, Kansas & Texas railroad, and also ten and a half acres for the depot and switch. He was postmaster of the Chambers Creek Post Office in 1857, serving under James Buchanan, and after the war, again took charge of the office, and has continued until the present time. Captain Forrest married Miss Virginia Sims, a daughter of John D. Sims, early pioneer of Texas. Their family consisted of five children: Caledonia (born October 15, 1854, died in January, 1876); Alice, born June 16, 1860, died November, 1861) ; Lee V.,( born June 19, 1862, married G. S. Patterson, of Waxahachie); Thomas C., born July 17, 1864, (is at home) and Sims, born February 11, 1868, died February 22, 1868. Virginia Sims Forrest was born in Mississippi Dec. 11, 1837, and died Feb. 22, 1868. Captain Forrest is a Democratic and a Mason. He has been a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church since 1842.   Copyright © 2005-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:29:55 MDT