Pioneers of Ellis County I. F. Gideon   Source: Memorial and Biographical History of Ellis County, Texas. Lewis Pub. Co. Chicago. 1892 I. F. Gideon was born in [Cherokee County?] Texas,  April 21, 1884, a son of Judge L. H. Gideon, an early settler of this State.  L. H. Gideon was a large land owner, and  an early merchant of Milford, being in business there in 1858.   He sold his store a short time before the War and  acquired a mill,  doing milling for the soldiers' families. After War's end,  he turned to farming, and died in 1879 on his homestead. While living in Cherokee County [Texas] he served as the first County Judge, a position he filled with distinction and credit.  He married Miss Sarah A. McFadden, (daughter of William McFadden, a native of Virginia, who died in Mississippi). They had eight children, William A., (deaf and dumb, married a mute); Almira E., (m. V. E. Berdine,  lived Brazoria County, Texas); Joseph P., ( miner in California); Van W., ( farmer of Henderson County [Texas]; Lelia A., (m/1 Samuel Craig; m/2  J. P. Weathers, Ellis County farmer); Agnes C.,  (m. W. J. Lemmons, a Methodist minister Hubbard City); and Mary B., (m. T. O. Wells, farmer Ellis County) I. F. Gideon  was ten years old when the family moved to Ellis County and was fortunate to receive a good education.  When only 17, he enlisted in the CSA, serving under several commanding officers ( Capt. Frost, Captain Homesley, Captain Prince, Colonel McCulloch, and Colonel Buchel) . The first year he served on the frontier of Texas, and afterward on the coast of Texas and Louisiana. He was in several battles; including Bank's raid on Red River, and was at Brownsville, Texas,  when the War ended. Returning home, Gideon worked as a freighter for two years and in 1883 bought a cotton gin, which he has continued to operate. He received fifty acres of land from his father, subsequentlhy buying out the heirs, and now owns the entire homestead - 800 acres -  230 of which are cultivated by tenants. Gideon never married and lives with his mother, now  sixty-nine years of age. Both parents were members of the Methodist Church.   Copyright © 2005-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:29:57 MDT