Pioneers of Ellis County Joel D. Treadaway Contributed by Jane Bell Smith - Great-granddaughter   Joel D. Treadaway, a successful farmer of Ellis County, was born in 1844 in Floyd County, Georgia, a son of James and Caroline (Birch) Treadaway, natives of North Carolina and Florida.  His grandfather, Thomas Treadaway,  moved from South Carolina to Florida, where James was born, and the family later moved to Georgia. Joel moved with his parents from Georgia to Randolph County, Alabama, where he remained until sixteen years of age. In 1859 he went to Calhoun County, Alabama and and farmed until 1862, when he enlisted, at Cedartown, Georgia, in Company D, under Johnston, Bragg and Hood. He served through the Tennessee and Georgia campaign until the close of the war, after which he returned to Calhoun County.  Mr. Treadaway came to Ellis county January 1, 1886,  first settling at Price's cross-roads for a year and then moved to his present 630-acre farm in Alma. 350 acres are under cultivation with 200 acres of timber land.  In addition he owns 25-30 head of cattle and the same number of horses and mules. In 1869,  Mr. Treadaway married Josephine H. Alexander, a daughter of Matthew and Anna (Borden) Alexander of Cleburne County, Alabama. They had twelve children: James Mathew, Annie Caroline, Fannie Nancy, George Thomas, Joel Birch, Henry Borden, Mattie Hudson, Jack Alexander, and Grady Woodfin.  Three babies died at birth. Mr. Treadaway is a member of the Knights of Honor, and the family are members of the Christian Church. Joel D. Treadaway died in New Orleans, La. in 1906; Josephine Treadaway died in Ellis County in 1916.  Both are buried in the Rice Cemetery, Navarro County, Texas. References: Memorial and Biographical History of Ellis County, Texas; Chicago, Lewis, 1892.   Copyright © 2003-2016, Ellis County TXGenWeb. All Rights Reserved. This page was last modified: Thursday, 01-Jul-2021 13:30:14 MDT