Samuel Houston, Jr. 1776 – 1865: 4th Great Grandfather
Samuel Jr. farmed in this area his entire life, dying in Iredell County in 1865. In 1803, Samuel Jr. married Sarah “Sally” Simonton.
Her father, William Simonton (our 5th great grandfather), had been an early settler of Fourth Creek. In Colonial times William was the Constable of the Crown’s Court in this District, and his brother, Robert Simonton, was the Magistrate. However, William was not a loyalist and throughout the Revolutionary War he served as a Processioner (like a land surveyor) and Juror for the State of N.C (See William Simonton history on this website).
It is most likely that Samuel, Jr. farmed his father’s property, with his father, until his father’s death and assisted his mother with the land until her demise in 1832. Samuel Sr.’s land was to be sold when Jane died and the proceeds divided among his heirs. We see Samuel Jr. purchasing 80 acres for himself in 1816. He lived on this land for the remainder of his life.
Samuel Jr. and Sally Simonton Houston had seven children: Franklin P., twins Jane and Mary, Agnes, William, Samuel Theodore, and Sarah. Samuel Jr. and Sally were married for 33 years. She died in 1836. Sometime between 1836 and 1853, Samuel Jr. married a woman named Eliza. Her last name is unknown. Samuel Jr. died in 1865 at the age of 89. He left his property to Eliza for the remainder of her life and then willed that his acreage (at that time – 65 acres) be given to twin daughters, Mary and Jane, who never married.