Submitted
by: Edith Peters Stone
COVER PAGE OF PETERS FAMILY HISTORY
COVER PAGE OF PETERS FAMILY HISTORY
PICTURE OF RIAL BIRKES AND FAMILY SARAH
(SALLY) BUCKLES BIRKES HEADSTONE BIRKES, RIAL BIRKES – BUCKLES Surnames: BIRKES, BUCKLES, PETERS, ALLEN, ETHERIDGE, ROBINSON,
TOMLINSON, STALLWORTH, COX, COPELAND, BUSBY, MASTERS & CHANDLER Rial Birkes was born in Georgia in 1811. He
moved to Illinois; there he married Sarah Buckles, born in Illinois in 1810.
Records show that they lived in Mt. Pulaski Township, Logan County, in 1833 and
Lake Pork Township in 1836. In about 1853 they moved to Missouri, the next year
into Arkansas and the following year, about 1855, they made their final move
into Texas, settling in the western part of Falls County near the community of
Durango, where they spent their remaining years. Rial Birkes was a farmer,
stockman, and hunter. Rial Birkes died in 1867 and was buried at
Carolina Cemetery. One son, Andrew, age 11, died in 1863 and was also buried at
Carolina. It is believed that his wife was also buried at Carolina beside her
husband and son, but there is no grave marker. Rial and Sarah Birkes were the parents of
thirteen children, all born in Illinois, before they made their long trek to
Texas. Betsy Ann, born January, 1831 (no other
information) John, born November 11, 1831, died September
15, 1833. Riley, born October, 1832, died December,
1832. Mary (Polly), born October 27, 1833, married
William A. Peters, died June 28, 1911 at Lott, buried at Union Cemetery near
Durango (See Peters - Birkes). William (Billy) C., born 1835, died 1907,
was buried at Union Cemetery by his wife Lucinda. They had several children;
the 1880 Falls County census lists W.F. 17 years, Belle 14, Gertrude 12, Joseph
10, Jerry 9, Dondson 6, and Lisher 1, all born in Texas. His wife Lucinda was
born in Illinois. Abraham, born 1837 (no other information). Emily, born 1839, married Franklin G. Pool
in 1856 in Falls County, died 1861. Their three children were raised by her
parents when Frank served in the Confederate Army: Victoria Emeline, born 1857,
died 1913, married to Charles T. Allen, buried at Clover Hill Cemetery, Lott.
Warren P. Pool, born 1859, died 1880, and William A. Pool, born 1861, died
1882. Sarah Ellen, born 1840, married W. G.
Etheridge in Falls County. He was an elected county official and a well known
Church of Christ minister. Their children were: Josie (Mrs. M. D. Williams), Sarah (Mrs. O.
L. Butcher), Lovela (Mrs. T.W. Robinson), Cain Etheridge, Elizabeth (Mrs.
R.E.L. Tomlinson), Rilla (Mrs. M. Stallworth), Lena (Mrs. Charles A. Cox,
Bennie (Mrs. Albert Perry Tomlinson), and John B. Etheridge. Margaret Jane, born August 15, 1842, died
September 10, 1909, married to William Copeland, no children. Jeremiah (Jerry), born 1844, died 1923,
married Elzinia Busby, born 1854, died 1919. Their children were: Emma
(1878-1958) Merritt, Maggie (1880-1960) Williams, David Rial Birkes (1883 -
1965), Tom Birkes (1886 - 1956), Dee Birks (1890 - 1971), Lou (1893 - 1956)
Blasingham, and Dennis Birkes (1896 - 1974). Abigail, born 1847, married Robert M.
Masters in 1868 in Texas. They had several children, all of whom died young,
except Josie who married Lee Chandler of Chilton community. Rial, born 1848 (no other information). Andrew, born 1852, died 1863, buried at
Carolina Cemetery. Billy Birkes told that soon after he came to
Texas, late one afternoon he heard a noise. He stepped outside his cabin which
was somewhere between the Busby community and Durango, and saw a black bear and
panther in a fierce battle with one another as they rolled down the hill. He
quickly got his gun so that he could end the fight when they got closer. But he
did not need to, for when they reached the bottom of the hill, they were both
dead. This a true story handed down by family
members and tells that there were bears and panthers in Falls County in the
early years. *** Additional info from Jerry
A. Masters. However she died at or near
the birth of son Andrew in 1852 at Mt. Pulusa, Illinois and is buried in
The Steenbergen Cemetery at Mt. Puluska. See attachment. Andrew and Rial share
the same tombstone at the Carolina Cem. Rial and Sally had the following
children that died early and are buried next to Sally: John (1829-1833); Riley
(1833-1833); Abraham (1836-1851); Rial Jr. (1847-d.? infant). The Steenbergen Cem.
is very large and one of the best maintained I have ever seen. I was told that
a lady buried there left a very large trust to be used for upkeep and maintenance. The picture of the
tombstone was taken in 1991 and has since been repaired. The boy in the
picture is our son Casey Masters. I am also related to
the Busby, Chandler, Derr, Fields, Flowers, Keirsey, Kimbler, and
Lambert families.
Picture taken in 1991
The Steenbergen Cemetery at Mt. Puluska, Illinois
Submitted by Jerry A. Masters
I am a G. G. Grandson of Rial
Birkes (Birks) and noticed that the Bio. on Rial in the Falls Co.
page said that some people believed that Rial's wife, Sarah
(Sally) Buckles was buried at the Carolina Cemetery.
