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Fannin County TXGenWeb Sudderth Family

Also see John Sylvester Sudderth & Family, William M. Sudderth & Family William Aldredge Sudderth (son of David Gilbert Sudderth) Please help Identify a Sudderth Family Picture

David Gilbert Sudderth Family

Reprinted with permission from the Sudderth Family. Originally this appeared on p. 166 of the Leonard Centennial Book pub. in 1980

DAVID GILBERT SUDDERTH (1850-1929)

David Gilbert Sudderth was born in Gwinnett County, near Buford, Georgia, which is just a few miles northeast of Atlanta. He was the son of Abraham Sudderth (1824-1908) and Temperance Harris Sudderth (1824-1853). No doubt David

was named for his two uncles, David and Gilbert Harris.

Some of the Harris family migrated to Wood County, Texas, in 1852. In 1853 David Harris returned to Georgia and In- fluenced other members of his family to return to Texas with him. Among them was the family of Abraham (1824-1908) arid his wife, Temperance Harris Sudderth, (1824-1853) and their four children, which consisted of David, his two older sisters and his younger brother, William M. Sudderth.

On the journey to Texas. which was by ox wagon. Temperance Harris Sudderth became ill with malaria fever

and died. She was buried somewhere near the Mississippi River (place unknown). It took three months to take the trip.

The family bought land and settled in Wood County,

Texas. between Quitman and Oak Grove, near the Warlick place.

The members of the Harris family assisted Abraham in caring for the children until he married Nancy Brown (1824-1896), a native Texan,

The family lived in Wood County until after the Civil War, David s father, Abraham, served with the Confederate Army. David and his brother. William M., as youngsters had to toil

the soil and make a living for the family while their father

was serving in the war.

Soon after the war, David and his father walked to Fannih County and bought farms in the Grove Hill Community and moved the family to that location,

David Gilbert Sudderth married Martha Hancock after their move from Wood County. Martha Hancock and her two brothers (orphans) were reared by families in the Grove Hill and Bailey communities. We have no records of their parents or other kin.

David Gilbert Sudderth (1850-1929) and his wife, Martha (1853-1940), had a family of eleven boys and two girls. One

of the girls died when only one year of age.

In 1895 David and Martha moved into the Leonard com

-munity and built a large two story home, Georgian style,

near the Leonard Pool and just about 100 yards from the

MK&T Railroad. This was the location in which their

children grew up and the place we grand-children loved

to visit, There being about 45 of us and of all ages, we

had some enjoyable times while visiting with with them.

As a youngster 1 can remember many members of the

Sudderth family visiting them at this location. I just wish

I had been old enough to remember them and the stories

they had to tell from what they called the Old Country,

Georgia and North Carolina.

Living so close to the railroad, many hoboes would get

off the trains and come to the Sudderth home asking for

food. My Grandmother, Martha, never turned any away.

She would always give them a wash pan, soap and towel

and instruct them to clean their faces. They were then

given a good meal, just like the other members of the family had to eat.

The Leonard Pool was a popular baptizing place for churches for miles around, It seemed that there was one

every Sunday. After they were baptized the women would

go to Grandmother's house to dry off and dress. The men would go to the barn for the same purpose.

David Gilbert (1850-1929) was a farmer and very thrifty, It has been said that at the birth of each child, 13 in all, he bought another 100 acres of land, Several years before his death he divided the land and gave each child a farm.

David was well-liked throughout the country and in most cases was referred to as Uncle Dave or Dave Sudderth

During the early 1900s there were famines and droughts throughout the country. Many of his friends and neighbors came to him for help in the way of money i and feed for their stock. They were never turned down. His barn and granary were usually filled with rent from his renters. No notes or mortgages were negotiated --only a handshake. He seldom

lost anything from these loans.

David Gilbert Sudderth was a Mason, and I have been

told that he made the largest contribution of anyone

when the Masonic Building was erected in Leonard,

The last 10 or 12 years of his life were spent in a wheel

chair, he having suffered a stroke, but he never lost his

sense of humor. He was always jolly and was often pull-

lng some prank or joke on us grandchildren.

Abraham Sudderth (1824-1908), father of David,

returned to Georgia just after the Civil War and brought

back an old slave of the family, who refused to leave

when they were freed after the Civil War. He had grown

up in North Carolina with members of the Sudderth

family and then went into Georgia with other members

of the family. David Gilbert and his wife, Martha, built a

small house behind their home,where he remained until

his death. He lived to be over 100years of age. I have

been told that he was fed and treated as a member of the

family. He was buried in the Grove Hill Cemetery,

northeast of Leonard. His name was Jack Sudderth, and

there is a small tombstone at his grave. I think he is the

only black person buried in this cemetery, this being

unusual in those days.

David Gilbert (1850-1929) had his right hand ampu-

tated because of an infection that developed when he

was about 50 years of age. He was so competitive, it is

said that he would perform as much work as anyone,

although handicapped as he was.

Dave Sudderth Home Place

David's father, Abraham (1824-1908) was a very

progressive farmer, and in one case took the old type

sweet potato and improved it to such a state that people

came trom all around the country to get seed potatoes or

slips, It was called the Sudderth Potato.

David's older sister, Sarah R. Sudderth (1844-1869)

married Charles Dement. She died at an early age and

was buried in Wood County.

Clairrisu Elizabeth Sudderth {1848-unknown) married

Jess London and after his death married Lon Tefteller.

William M. Sudderth (1853-1029) married Willie

Linden (1862-189S), then Mary Kate, (last name

unknown. 1870-1918). He raised a large family in the

Grove Hill Community.

Charlotte Jane Sudderth (1855-1953), oldest child of

Abraham and Nancy Brown, married James Shields. She

lived to be over 97 years of age. She died in Leonard,

John H. Sudderth (1858-1947) married a Lacy.They

moved to Ranger, Texas, and the first oil well of the Ranger

oil days was discovered on one of their farms,

Joseph Tucker Sudderth (1860-1901) married Sarah McMahan (1962-unknown). He was the youngest of the

family. The three younger ones were born in Texas.

David Gilbert Sudderth (1850-1929) and his wife, Martha (1853-1940), lived the last years of their lives in a home they bought in Leonard. At the present time this home is the

Taylor Funeral Home.

David and Martha were buried in the Leonard Cemetery.

Of their thirteen children, only one, the youngest Elmer, is

still Iiving. His present home is in Leonard.

This was the first family of Sudderths to migrate to Texas, Many came later and most of them visited in the home of

David and Martha until they decided where they wished to make their future homes. They are scattered throughout

the state.

All Sudderths are related, even though some spell their name differently, The first to arrive in the U. S. from the British Isles spelled their name "Suddarth." Many have changed the original spelling, but in tracing back we are all descendants

of James and William Suddarth, who came to this country before the Revolutionary War. They both served in that war.

The children of David Gilbert and Martha Hancock Sudderth were: William Aldredge Sudderth, born April 16, 1873, died in 1938, married Maud Connelly; Temple Ellen Sudderth, born April 25, 1975, died in 1935, married H. T. Smith', Abraham Avery Sudderth, born March 26 1877, died about 1945, Mar- ried Pearl Allen; Gill Sudderth, born January 18, 1879, died January 20, 1957, married Edna Fleming; James Letcher Sudderth, born January 15, 1881, died February 28, 1957, married Maggie Conriley and later, Carrie Richardson, who

died in 1936, and then Rosa Price; Joseph Asbury Sudderth, born January 23, 1883, Married Neta Suddath.

J. A. "Az" Sudderth

Also David Virgil Sudderth, born December 12, 1885, died January 24, 1963, married Alma White and later Nell Allen; John Wesley Sudderth, born March 1, 1987, died June 4, 1950, married Alice Johnson, who died in 1936, after which

he married Katy Wright; Roy Sudderth, born June 9, 1889,

died September 25, 1951, married Julia Connley, later Goldie Scott: Hattie Sudderth, born May 10, 1891, died at the age

of nine months; Nugent Sudderth, born January 5, 1893.

died April 15, 1934, married Jesse Akins, who is still living;

Jess Sudderth in Leonard

Jess Sudderth, born July 18, 1895, died August 29, 1970, married Viola Browning; Elmer Sudderth, born April 1, 1900, married Earlene Patterson. Elmer and Earlene are now living

in Leonard.

by Joe and B. Sudderth--Grandsons