Isabella Rawlins Attebery

   A cursory look at my family tree shows that my ancestors were mostly farmers, warriors and preachers. Recently I have been researching those who had fought in the American Civil War and/or were influenced by it. Of course for each “nth” greatgrandfather there was an nth greatgrandmother, but very few records other than the dates and places of births, marriages and deaths can be found to describe the lives of my women ancestors. I am very fortunate to have known all my grandparents. My grandfathers both died in their early 70s and both grandmothers lived into their 90s; I remember them very well. I also have been able to learn some about my greatgrandmothers, but beyond that the records are sparse. Here is what I have found about my 2nd greatgrandmother, Isabella Rawlins Attebery.

   John Mason Rawlings left London and arrived in Massachusetts in 1770. He was dedicated to the English king and opposed the colonial revolution. Apparently he and his family moved to North Carolina as the revolution began, and he was jailed (at least) for his allegiance to the king. Others in the family dropped the “g” and ever since have used the name Rawlins. As many other families did, each generation of the Rawlins worked their way west through Kentucky and Illinois. Isabella Rawlins, my greatgreatgrandmother (2nd greatgrandmother), was born in 1830 in Greene County, Illinois. Her parents were William Martin Rawlins, Sr, and Euphamie Martin who were second cousins - this was very common on the frontier and my own family tree shows how Rawlins, Atteberys, Martins and Andersons intermarried. 

   The Rawlins family in particular was an important part of the Restoration Movement within Christianity. In the early 1800s in the young United States a number of ministers and others within the Protestant churches (especially Presbyterians and Baptists) wanted to strip away the “high church” structure, and rely only on the biblical example of worship and structure. One example is that many (but not all) of the Restoration ministers would not allow pianos in church because there was no mention of pianos in the bible. In any case, some of the most important figures in the Restoration Movement were Barton W. Stone, and the father and son Thomas and Alexander Campbell. Isabella’s father William Martin Rawlins, Sr, her uncle Roderick Rawlins, and her brother William Martin Rawlins, Jr were ministers who were devout followers and students of Stone and the Campbells. The Rawlins moved from Illinois to Dallas County, Texas, in 1844 to spread the word of the Restoration. They were part of the foundation of Disciples of Christ, and both the Christian Churches and the independent churches of Christ, and Texas Christian University (TCU).

   Isabella was barely 15 when she left Greene County. Stephen Attebery, who was 10 years older, probably knew her as she grew up in the family of preachers, and he left Greene County shortly after her - the Mexican War was underway and he had just joined the First Illinois Regiment. When he was discharged from duty after his service he headed for the Rawlins home in Dallas County and married Isabella in 1847 when she was 17. They lived near the town of Lancaster (now a suburb of Dallas) and became successful ranchers. She bore 12 children, and 6 died in infancy. She lived in a man’s world: her father, uncle, and brother were preachers who had no place for women in church offices and women were certainly not allowed to vote. As far as I have found, Stephen worked hard to support his wife and children but I have no way of knowing if Isabella had an equal partnership with her husband. She died in 1877 at the age of 47.