| Birth Date: Nov. 2, 1846 | Birth Date Dec. 7, 1851 | |
| Death Date: Feb. 4, 1906 | Death Date: Apr. 30, 1901 |
Rank; Private NAR 4-1-65, 5-17-65 Joseph Herd Lewis was born 2 November 1846 in Webster Parish, Louisiana and lived there at the time of the Civil War. Family legend tells of his being a messenger boy or mail carrier in the war - at the age of fifteen. After the war, he married Lavina Elizabeth McCarty.His father, John M. Lewis, was a descendent of General Andrew Lewis, friend of George Washington, and of Revolutionary war fame. The old published lineage book of the Lewis Family (owned by Carl Lewis), ends its story in Perryville, Winston County, Mississippi on 1893. His mother was Mildred W. Herd.
Carl Lewis is the son of Mr. & Mrs. J. H. Lewis, who came to Crosby County in its early days, settling north of Emma, where they farmed and raised cattle. Olin, Robert and Carl were the Lewis boys, and Mrs. Keister and Mrs. Ike Reagan were the girls. All are deceased except Carl and his wife, Ruth. Their son, Billy, is a gifted musician and composer.
A measles epidemic took both the parents. The history of the family is recorded for Carl in an old letter from his sister. It describes the hardships of the war years in Louisiana and the later hazards of frontier life in Texas. Carl was a child when his parents died in February 1906. They are buried in the Emma Cemetery. The headstones of J. H. Lewis reads: Born November 2, 1846; died February 4, 1906. A flat Civil War memorial stone will be placed at the foot of the grave by his son, Carl, who has been with the Security State Bank and Trust Company as cashier and stock-holder for long years.
Informant: Carl Lewis of Ralls, TX.
Submitted by Ralls Historical Museum
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Crosby County TXGenWeb Project
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