John A. Flower

Judging from entries in the Warwickshire Parish Register, it seems likely that the John Flower(s) described on several public member trees in ancestry as born in Warwickshire, England came from Bourton-on-Dunsmore Parish in Warwickshire, England. It is also apparent that the predominate surname in Warwickshire, England is “Flower” rather than “Flowers”. One of the sons of Gideon Flower – perhaps is oldest son – was John A. Flower(s). He was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. US Census records suggest he was born between May 11, 1820 and July 14, 1820 in England; however, his cemetery record has recorded his birth date as August 30, 1818. He married his first wife, Nancy Renfro, in Madison County, Illinois in 1842. He and Nancy spent some time in the vicinity of Des Moines, Iowa before he came to Texas. Our direct ancestor, Almarinda Bennett, was his second wife; it appears they married June 9, 1859 in McLennan County, Texas. He was a farmer; he owned land near the small town of West, in McLennan County, Texas. US Census records suggest he died in McLennan County, Texas sometime between June 17, 1880 and June 1, 1900; his cemetery record states that he died in that County on November 17, 1890. John and Amanda were buried in White Rock Cemetery in McLennan County, Texas. Speculating on the absence of information regarding John's first wife, Nancy Flower, and their son Thomas Flower, they may have succumbed to the yellow fever epidemic that had taken the lives of thousands nationwide during the years of 1850 to 1855; this might serve to explain the lack of death records. “In this century [the 1800s], the American cities along the Gulf of Mexico were the ones mainly visited [by the epidemic]. New Orleans had epidemic outbreaks from 1800 to 1878, and in one year alone, in 1853, 8,101 out of 29,020 patients died. Mobile, Houston, Galveston, Pensacola, Key West, etc., were attacked. We will not mention the total number of visits suffered by New York, New Jersey, Boston, Savannah, Norfolk, where in 1855 yellow fever killed 2,000 persons. Charleston had five big outbreaks, of which the one in 1866 took 4,565 lives. In Memphis, Tennessee, scourged no less than five times, the epidemic killed 5,150 citizens in 1879 out of a total of 17,600 cases.” Lacking further information, we are left to speculate what this epidemic must have been like – traveling only about 280 miles north of Memphis along the Mississippi River – in St. Louis, Missouri. Madison County, Illinois is only 33 miles north from St. Louis; Davenport, Iowa is another 300 miles further up the Mississippi River; Des Moines is 350 miles up the Des Moines River. Being that yellow fever was transmitted by both mosquitoes and people, it is very likely that St. Louis was also inundated by this epidemic; Davenport and Des Moines may have been affected as well. John found himself faced with a golden opportunity and a great loss at the same time; he had obtained a relatively sizable inheritance just six to ten years prior, but his wife and his son may have recently passed away. Since our John did not own land, the offer of free land – 130 acres, no less – and a fresh start in Texas must have been mighty tempting – an offer too good to pass up.