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Melton Omar Rodgers & Nancy Arrowood
R.M. Thompson-Rodgers
In the early 1850's many wagon trains were making their way West to the California Gold
Rush. The usual route from North Carolina was through Georgia, Mississippi, Texas, etc.
One of these groups included the Arrowood and Rodgers
families.
William Joseph and Elizabeth Anderson-Arrowood
had been born in North Carolina and married there in 1824. They and their eleven children
were on this train. One daughter. Nancy. b 1830, married Melton Omar Rodgers. b 1828, in
Georgia on the trip.
When the group reached Milam County, Texas, it is believed same of the oxen died; and so,
unable to replace them, the families stayed. Billy Arrowood was a blacksmith and he was
murdered by an unknown assailant at his shop in 1854. Elizabeth moved on to Coryell County
with her children, and she had one more daughter a short time after her husband died.
Melton and Nancy Rodgers settled "out on the mountain" just east of the new town
of Gatesville. There they had four children and tragedy struck again. While fighting a
grass fire around their cabin in 1859, Melton was overcome by smoke and died. He and his
wife were charter members of First Baptist Church in Gatesville, which was organized in
1856. Their youngest child was named Elizabeth. b 1858. Nancy subsequently remarried -- a
man named Drew -- and had four more children.
Another family making their way west came from South Carolina. Robert Marion Thompson b
1815, and his wife. Melinda Crocker. b 1822, came from Spartenberg. SC. He was the third
generation Robert Thompson and his grandfather was from Ireland, b 1776. Melinda's father
Addisan Crocker immigrated from England. They had five sons. The fourth was another Robert
Marion, born in Alabama, 1855. This family lived in Louisiana and east Texas before the
young R M moved to Coryell County in 1874, where he had acquired a homestead near Ft
Gates. There he met Elizabeth Roders [sic] whom he married in 1875.
To this union were born 12 children. nine of whom grew to adulthood. The mother was a good
seamstress who sewed for the neighbors as well as her own family. The father and several
at the sons became Masons.
Elizabeth died in 1901, leaving children ages 3 to 25. Her 7 year old, also named
Elizabeth, but called Betty is my mother. Ironically, her married name is Rogers (no '
d" in the middle) which makes much confusion in the family papers. Also there were 6
generations of Robert Marion Thompsons and many girls named Elizabeth. The father passed
away in 1918 There were 9 children. 44 grandchildren and at least 76 great-grandchildren.
-- Neta Jean Rogers Floyd, granddaughter.
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