COUCH-L Archives

Archiver > COUCH > 1998-06 > 0898031280


From: "Cheryl Baker" <>
Subject: Re: [COUCH-L] COUCH, Lewis
Date: Tue, 16 Jun 1998 14:08:00 -0700


Hi John,

Thank you so much for your offer! Unfortunately, I don't have an awful
lot on Lewis, having just found his name about a month ago! For a long
time, the only name we knew was Cerro Gorda's. We do have a little history
for Lewis, that has been passed down from relatives, so we are not sure how
much is accurate. To begin with, we were told that he ran the Butterfield
Overland Stageline, between St. Louis and Ft. Smith, AR, before 1864. We
would love to be able to access records on that, but haven't had any luck.
We were also told that he served in the Mexican War under Scott (from New
Orleans), and was wounded in the Battle of Cerro Gorda @ Vera Cruz. He was
supposed to be a First Lt. of the Calvary and then commissioned a Major. I
thought that maybe the archives would have his military record on file
someplace. And last, we were told last month, that he was full blood
Cherokee. Now, we are not sure how reliable this information is, as it came
from my great uncle, who is 86. My grandmother, his sister, said she hadn't
heard that, and it seemed unlikely, however, she has no basis for her
information, especially since she was the youngest child and not had much to
do with the genealogy research. My uncle said that his father was an
outcast because he was a half-breed. I don't know if that would be anything
you could research or not.

We believe that Lewis (spelling could be Louis) was born about 1825 in
SC. He possibly had a brother named James, according to the 1850 Tippah Co.
Mississippi census. He married Martha/Mary Ann Wallace (Wallis, Wallas)
from Tennessee. We know that they moved to Arkansas sometime before the
1860 AR census, as he shows up there in Saline Co. They had 3 children,
Josiah Calvin, Margaret P., and Cerro Gorda(my gg-grandmother). Lewis died
sometime between 1863-1865 somewhere north of Little Rock. We don't know
where he was buried.

I know this isn't a lot to go on. This has been a tough line to trace
from the beginning. I found Lewis' name by pure accident, going through the
Arkansas Census' that Bill has online at the webpage, and found a child
named Censogorda. As Cerro Gorda is such an unusual name, I was positive
that I had found the right Couch family. I really appreciate your kind
offer, and we (my mother and I) would be glad to pay you for your help. I
look forward to any information you find.

Cheryl

>-----Original Message-----
>From: John L. Couch <>

>Dear Cheryl,
>I go to the national archive rather frequently. I could do a little
>lookup for you. Please email me as much info as you can on what you
>need looked up.
>John L. Couch
>PS I am descended from Andrew Couch - John Couch- William Couch-
>John W. Couch - George O. Couch - me which starts in Crawford CTY.
>I remember seeing the name Cerro Gordo in the book by Eno on Crawford
>CTY.
>

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