William C . Sutphen and Sarah Wilson Oxsheer
William C. Sutphen was born February 19, 1835 in Tennessee, the eldest son of John S. Sutphen and Matilda Crisman. He came to Texas with his family in 1850, at the age of 15.
He married Sarah Wilson Oxsheer on September or November 13, 1857 in Nacogdoches County, Texas at the home of Sarah's parents.
Sarah was born June 21, 1829 in Indiana, daughter of George Oxsheer and Jane Walker.
When William's mother died in 1860, he petitioned for guardianship of his 9 minor siblings. He and Sarah already had one child and another on the way. By the end of 1860, they were caring for 11 children, and had only been married 3 years.
Also part of the household were Abe and Viney Sutphen, slaves that had been brought to Texas from Tennessee.
William joined the Confederate army in 1861 as a Private in the17th Dismounted Cavalry Regiment (Moore's Reg.) Company H. Sarah was pregnant with their third child when he left.
William died of measles on June 23, 1862 in Little Rock, Arkansas, while serving the Confederacy in the Civil War.
There are letters written by William to Sarah during the war. One letter tells Sarah of her brother's death from measles, and mentions that the measles are starting to break out on him. He died soon after the letter was written. Read the Sutphen Civil War Letters.
Sarah died on April 6, 1916, and was buried in the Iatan Cemetery in Mitchell County, Texas. The town of Iatan no longer exists, but the cemetery remains.
Only one of William and Sarah's three children, George Ellmore Sutphen, survived to adulthood. Both John S. and William A. Sutphen died in childhood and were buried in Greenwood Cemetery, Nacogdoches County, Texas.
See the Greenwood Cemetery markers on the Cemeteries page.
From a letter to Curtis Sutphen from Mayme Sutphen Vanecek:
"William C. Sutphen, eldest son of John and Matilda Sutphen, petitioned for guardianship of minor brothers and sisters and their estate after the death of his parents. After William's death, Sarah W., his wife, and Uncle Abe (a slave brought from Tennessee by John Sutphen) took care of these minor children and raised them to adulthood. This dear woman helped to raise children of nine different families! Sarar W. Oxsheer Sutphen died on 6 April, 1916, bur. Iatan Cemetery at Iatan, Texas.This small town in west Texas has been consumed by a freeway; I had difficulty finding the cemetery. How pleased I was to find "Aunt Sarah" in a well-kept cemetery and with a beautiful tombstone placed there by her only son, George Elmore, and her many grandchildren. Rest, dear one, from your labor of love to the many children who had your guidance when they needed it in their young years."