James James
James William Thomas Aaron
Hetta Joel John
Samuel Polly
Aaron Redus b. Jan 18, 1787, Chester County, Pennsylvania, (son of James A. Redus and Sarah "Sally" Chaffin) m. Feb 27, 1816,in Grayson County, Virginia, Lucy Ann Oglesby, b. Mar 11, 1798, Fluvanna County, Virginia, (daughter of Ware Oglesby and Elizabeth Dancy Cole) d. Mar 8, 1856, Aberdeenm, Mississippi, buried: Union Presbyterian Cemetery. Aaron died Jan 23,1858, Aberdeen, Mississippi, buried: Union Presbyterian Cemetery. Children: i Elizabeth Oglesby Redus b. Apr 6, 1817. ii Sarah Chaffin Redus b. May 14, 1818. iii Mary Louise Redus b. Jun 30, 1820. iv Silbernia Redus b. Mar 12, 1823. v Augustus Franklin Redus b. Apr 28, 1824. vi Caroline Minerva Redus b. Jan 3, 1825, Athens, Alabama, d. Aug 31, 1853, Aberdeen, Mississippi, buried: Union Presbyterian Cemetery. vii James Ware Redus b. Sep 23, 1826. viii Luther Warren Redus b. Sep 28, 1827. ix Thomas Jefferson Redus b. Apr 9, 1831, Athens, Alabama, d. Aug 16, 1854, Shreveport, Louisiana. x Martha A. Redus b. May 22, 1832, Athens, Alabama, d. Jul 24, 1853, Monroe County, Mississippi, buried: Union Presbyterian Cemetery. xi John Redus b. Dec 25, 1833. xii William Redus b. Oct 20, 1835. xiii George Washington Redus b. Jul 5, 1837.
Old Union Cemetery and Aaron Redus Cemetery Plot
AARON REDUS
Mr. Editor, permit me to occupy a small place in your column to record the death of Aaron Redus, Esq., a worthy and aged citizen of Monroe County, Mississippi, who died on the 23rd. of July 1858 after a protracted illness from a bronchial infection. Mr. Redus was born in the state of Pennsylvania on the 18th. of January 1778, and was consequently 80 years, six months and five days old at the time of his death. He was principally raised in Virginia where he married. Leaving Virginia, he next settled in Indiana, and afterwards moved to Alabama where he resided for thirty years; but being lured by the inviting and productive soil of Ms and desiring to seek a home for his large family where the earth yielded a richer and more abundant harvest for the husbandman, he was again induced to sunder the ties of friendship that had long been existing between neighbors and friends, and he is next seen with his force felling the forest that led men to the place where now stands the lonely mansion from which husband, wife, sons, daughters once happy and united, have been borne to the solemn confines of the tomb. How sad the reflections must be to the few remaining brothers and sisters when they cast their minds back a few years, before death's relentless hand had laid it ponderous weight upon father and mother, Augustus, Thomas, Siberina, Caroline and Martha, and the thought is too melancholy. The last illness of Mr. Redus was almost entirely without pain, and he seldom if ever complained. Like the noiseless wave of the ocean he quietly sunk into the great busom of eternity to await the voice of the archangel who shall summon all who are in their graves to come forth at the great day of accounts, "when the secrets of all hearts shall be made known". He had been a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church for thirty years, and from his consistent orderly walk we have reason to believe that he had reaped the reward of the righteous. He had never held any post of distinction, but was a man of no ordinary mind. He was a philosopher and mechanic by nature, as two articles written by him on the ATLANTIC GULF STREAM and the CONSTRUCTION OF THE WAGON clearly demostrate. It was the privilidge of this writer to read these articles some time since furnished by the deceased, and he was forcibly struck with his philosophical reasoning in the former and mechanical skill in the latter. But the hand and pen that committed these ideas to paper and thus transmitted to posterity in an enduring form now he cold and motionless. As he launched his feeble bark out upon the boundless and fathomless sea of eternity, the last echo that resounded back across the gloomy waters was "I am almost one and oh am I happy!" May the sod that enshrines him be sanctified by many a tear of affection.
Aberdeen, Mississippi
August 4,1858
TOM SULLIVAN
Tom Sullivan was a Negro man that was very much apart of the Redus family. As a slave, he was owned by two generations of Redus' and after emancipation he continued to be an important friend of the family. Tom was born April 10, 1824, in Logan County, Kentucky and lived to be 113 years old. Those years were full of excitement as well as toil.
"My mother was named Henrietta Washington. She belonged to George Washington. Just before he died, when she was nine and a half years old, he set her free and told Miss Sally, his step-daughter, to be my mother's guardian."
"When my mother was grown she married a colored man by the name of Sullivan, and myself and three other children were born while she was under Miss Sally's charge."
"Miss Sally married a man who wanted to get her money. He told a man to kill her by driving over a stump when she was riding in a buggy, but the fall only broke her thigh."
While she was recovering some men stole the Sullivan family. It was common practice for unscrupulous white men to capture freed slaves and sell them down the river.
Tom was five years old when he was kidnaped. The white men droved around in two or three states and finally went to Mississippi and hid the family for two years.
All the family was sold to Aaron Redus: except Tom's father who was sold to Aaron Redus' son-in-law. Even though Tom had been born a free man, now at the age of seven he was a slave. For the next nine years Tom worked on the cotton plantation in Monroe County, Mississippi.
When Aaron Redus died in 1858, all his estate both real and personal was sold and the heirs divided the estate. Tom was placed "on the block" and sold to William Redus, son of Aaron.
The Redus brothers, John, William, and George prepared to go to Texas where John had started a ranch. They took a steamboat from Mobile to New Orleans and on to Galveston. Passengers on the boat were quite surprised to see a slave outfitted with a shotgun and pistol. To this William replied, "Sure, I armed him. He belongs to me. Do you think I want some damned Indian to kill him! "
The Redus brother proceeded to establish a large cattle ranch in Medina County. In 1861, the brothers joined the Confederate army and left their ranches under the supervision of Tom. Tom fed and branded the cattle and sold the crops during the war.
After the war, Tom was a free man. John Redus gave each of the slaves a portion of land for the faithful service they provided during his absence. During Reconstruction Negroes were placed in public offices. Tom became the first deputy sheriff of Medina County.
But ranching and farming was Tom's main interest. He bought 162 acres of cotton land. Tom had several cowboys working for him. He contracted with local ranchers to round up cattle on the open range for shipping. Tom's other interest was horses. A number of times he went north to New York, Maine, and Massachusetts selling horses for other men.
In the spring of 1869, Tom and a negro boy were out herding cattle for John Redus. A neighbor, Mr. Claud Montgomery, came riding by fast being pursued by Comanche Indians. The men took cover in the house. The Comanches took ten Spanish cow ponies worth $35 each. After the Indians left, the men gathered a group of ranchers together to trail the Indians. The men found two men lying dead by their wagons, killed by arrows. They continued following the Indians but finally decided to turn back after trailing the Indians for twenty five miles.
When John Redus was Justice of the Peace, Tom was his constable. It was while he was constable that he brought beer and whiskey for King Fisher the noted outlaw who was imprisoned in the Castroville jail. King Fisher had pursued some Mexican cattle thieves across the Rio Grande and brought back the heads of three of them.
During the 1870's, Tom had a U.S. mail contract. He carried the mail between Pearsall and Frio Town.
In 1901 at the age of 76, Tom was a cook and waiter in Pearsall. He lived in Pearsall until he was well passed his hundredth birthday.
In 1931, the Redus family held a reunion at the Brackenridge Park in San Antonio. When the family portrait was taken Tom was placed in the center beside Sallie Redus, surrounded by five generations of Reduses. During his lifetime Tom had six children. Finally Tom decided to go live with his grandson, Walter Ely, in Eagle Pass. When Tom was 111 years old, reporters asked him his secret to long life. Tom replied, "I guess it was just drinking good whiskey and taking care of myself." He explained that "taking care of himself' meant never drinking enough whiskey to get into trouble. "The man who drinks and eats in moderation and stays peaceful will live a long time.
Tom Sullivan was 113 years old when he died in 1937.
THOMAS JEFFERSON REDUS, ninth child of Aaron Redus and LUCY ANN OGLESBY, was born in Athens, Alabama, April 9, 1831. He died August 16, 1854 in Shreveport, Caddo County, Louisana. He left home in Aberdeen, Mississippi when he was about 18 years old and moved to Shreveport, Louisana. The 1850 Federal Census shows him living in Caddo Parish with Roscoe C. Oglesby in household no. 166. R.C. Oglesby was likely related to Thomas Jefferson Redus's mother ( Elizabeth Oglesby Redus. R.C. Oglesby was Tom's protege and business advisor, as he had signed notes for some of Tom's business ventures, and was named a conservator of his estate after Tom's death. No doubt Tom was developing into a prominent business man. He was owner of a two story brick building facing the comer of Texas and Commerce St. ( Lot 9, Block 50, and Lot 9, block 60 ). He also owned 162 acres of land in De Sota Parish (Near Mansfield, Louisiana. Thomas Jefferson Redus died October 16, 1854 of Yellow Fever (according to a letter from a first cousin). It is possible tuberculosis may have caused his death as it was widespread throughout his family. In any event, he died without a will so the Judge of the 18th. Judicial District in Caddo County, Louisiana appointed Roscoe Oglesby the Curator of Tom's estate. His brother, Luther Warren Redus, who lived across the Louisiana border in east Texas, appeared in Court in Caddo County, Louisiana, and furnished the names of Tom's heirs. The property was sold for a little over 17,000. And the proceeds after court costs were given to the heirs. Included in the settlement was a portrait of Thomas Jefferson Redus valued at $ 100. which was to be given to his father Aaron. This very large and beautiful portrait was given to Aaron Redus, and was in turn passed down to Mary Louise Redus Crawford (Tom's sister). A relative of Mary Louise Redus Crawford wrote us a letter in 1955 in which she remembered her Grandmother having a large picture of uncle Thomas Redus. She says that Thomas Jefferson Redus was never married. My wife and I visited the Caddo County courthouse in Shreveport, Louisiana and obtained numerous court records relating to his property. We were unable to find where he is buried. The untimely death of Tom ended a promising career. His estate valued at $17,000 in the mid 1850's was considerable for a young man his age (23 at the time of his death).