In Short Mountain, AR, in 1880, Hercules and Elizabeth still had their last son, 17 year old William, living at home. In addition, Cornelia, then a young widow, and her son, Charles, were living with her parents once again.
Also, there was a 3 year old granddaughter named Lola Hardeman in the home. I've researched this child and found that Cornelia's sister, Orrianna (many spellings) Agee, married James Foster Hardeman on 30 December 1875 in Johnson County, Arkansas, not far from Logan County. I suspect Orrianna died, perhaps when Lola was born in 1876, for there is no record of either Orianna or James Foster Hardeman in 1880 (only little Lola, living with her grandparents). The widowed father and Lola are found however, in 1900, residing in Indian Territory, partners in a hotel business with Mr. Hardeman's brother.
Also found living next to Hercules' household in 1880 was daughter Lizzie (Sarah Elizabeth), aged 23, married 31 Oct. 1877 in Logan, Arkansas, to William T. Young. They had a baby daughter, Ima.
Son Junius had moved to Aransas, TX by 1880. He’s found living with his wife Mildred and baby daughter Maggie, and very near Picket Terry, a son of Mary James Agee Terry, so one would conclude that the families must have kept in touch and Junius chose to move to the area, perhaps on the advice of his cousin (father’s cousin?) Picket. Junius was working as a “miller” at that time.
Hercules Joseph Agee (Hercules III) died 17 Jan 1886 and was buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Paris, Logan County, Arkansas.
Unfortunately, the 1890 US census was burned. The loss of this census makes for some difficult tracking during these years, but doubled efforts have been made to find records to take it's place, like city directories, where available, and the like. Some states were just starting to keep records around the turn of the century, so it's a hit and miss situation. Texas vital records, for instance, were not officially recorded until after 1903, and then only sporadically by some counties for several years more. Arkansas is even later, around 1914.
Cornelia Francis Agee Gowin may have come to Texas and resided with her own siblings, but it's possible that she joined members of the Gowin family who were in Texas by this time also. Wayne Gowin's widowed mother had moved to Navarro, Texas, by 1880, with her younger son, Lafayette Gowin. The whereabouts of the various relatives of Cornelia are significant in understanding how she might have met and married Sam Patton. The Patton family was beginning to scatter by this time, but had been centered in the town of Red Oak, Ellis County, Texas, just south of Dallas. They had been large land-owners, not only in Ellis County but in other areas of the state as well, and Sam's father, James, had died in 1874, leaving much of the management of these land holdings to Sam. More on this later, but keep in mind the proximity of Cornelia's family. Lafayette Gowin was married in the same nearby county of Bosque, two years earlier than Sam Patton and "Mrs. C. F. Gowin" were married there. More than half of Wayne Gowin's siblings moved to TX, most to the cluster of counties surrounding Dallas.
Lizzie Agee Young and William Agee, Cornelia's younger siblings, along with their families, moved to Jones County, Texas, which is about 150 miles to the west of Dallas. It is next to Haskell County, mentioned by Col. Beck as the destination of the families when they moved from Arkansas. Perhaps they lived in Haskell for a time after arriving in TX. The Young family is found on census from 1900 to 1930 in Jones County, TX. By the way, 1930 is the last census available for research at this time. William Agee and family are found in Jones County from 1910 to 1930.
It seems appropriate now to bring in the Pattons.