Whitaker, Madison G., 1811-1893

Texas state legislator and resident of Nacogdoches.

Madison G. Whitaker was born April 4, 1811, and moved to Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1835. He enlisted in the Texas army in October 1835 and fought in the Battle of San Jacinto. Whitaker served two terms as a state senator, was a member of the Masons, a member and officer in the Texas Veterans Association, and a trustee of Nacogdoches University. Whitaker married Henrietta M. Fitts on Aug. 25, 1842. They had 8 children including a daughter, Mattie Olivia Whitaker (1852-1929). He died Jan. 23, 1893. Sam W. McKneely or McNeely was born in 1813 in Louisiana. He came to Texas in 1835 and enlisted in the army of Bexar Dec. 9, 1835. He fought at the Battle of San Jacinto and remained in the army until Dec. 19, 1836. McKneely was a member of the Masons and present at the first meeting of the Texas Veterans Association in 1873. McKneely married three times. His first two wives were sisters, Thracian and Hannah Lavinia Dickson. Lavinia died Sept. 1876. Mattie Olivia Whitaker became his third wife. It is likely that in 1882 McKneely and Mattie moved from Texarkana, Arkansas, to Louisiana where he died in Point Coupe Parish in 1888.

Madison G. Whitaker, longtime resident of Nacogdoches, Texas, was born April 4, 1811, to John and Nancy Whitaker in Lincoln County, Tennessee. In 1835 he joined his half-brother William in Nacogdoches. Whitaker enlisted in Capt. Thomas J. Rusk's company in October 1835 and marched to San Antonio de Bexar. He refused a commission as second lieutenant in the revolutionary army November 28, 1835, and returned to Nacogdoches. In March 1836 he enlisted as a private in the Nacogdoches Volunteer Company and fought in the Battle of San Jacinto under Sidney Sherman. He was discharged June 6, 1836.

Whitaker probably fought in the Cherokee War of 1839 under General Kelsey H. Douglass. Whitaker served two terms as a senator in the Texas State Legislature (1853-1856). He was a lifelong member of the Masons, a charter member and officer in the Texas Veterans Association, and a trustee of Nacogdoches University.

Whitaker married Henrietta M. Fitts on August 25, 1842. They had 8 children including a daughter, Mattie Olivia Whitaker (1852-1929). He died January 23, 1893 and is buried in Old North Church Cemetery north of Nacogdoches.

Sam W. McKneely [McNeely] was born in 1813 in Louisiana. He came to Texas in 1835 and enlisted in the army at Bexar December 9, 1835. He fought at the Battle of San Jacinto and remained in the army until his discharge on December 19, 1836. McKneely was a member of the Masons and present at the first meeting of the Texas Veterans Association in 1873.

McKneely married three times. His first two wives were sisters, Thracian and Hannah Lavinia Dickson. Lavinia died September 1876. Mattie Olivia Whitaker, daughter of Madison G. Whitaker, became his third wife. It is likely that in 1882 McKneely and Mattie moved from Texarkana, Arkansas, to Louisiana where he died in Point Coupe parish in 1888.