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Squyres Family

The Squyres family was one of Angelina County's first Anglo families, arriving before 1840. Most of the family lived on the periphery of Burke, but several lived in Burke and Pine Valley and intermarried with pioneer families.

The Squyres originated in Catahoula Parish, Louisiana and settled at Burris Prairie (near Bald Hill south of Homer) near the Burris/Burrous family with whom they are associated by marriage.

William and Joseph Squyres

The Squyres of Angelina County descend from William P. (1773) and Anne Squyres through their son Joseph P. Squyres (1801-1840). Joseph Squyres married Mary Carrell about 1820 in Catahoula Pa., Louisiana and had children Eliza Louisa (1821); William M. (1823); John S. (1825); Allen M. (1826); Wilson (1828); Amanda.(1832); Louisa Ann (1832); James Lewis (1834); Sam Houston (1838); and Alfred Salem (1840).

Four children of Joseph has been identified with the Burke area: Eliza, James, Amanda, and Allen.

Allen M. Squyres

It appears that most of the Burke area Squyres descend from Allen, who was the only Squyres listed in Angelina County in 1850.

Allen married Evaline Vincent in 1847 in Angelina County, and they had children Melvina Jane (1849); Joseph Wilson (1851); Rebecca Ann (1853); Mary Elizabeth (1855); William Archibald (1857); John Allen (1859); James Henry (1861); Martha Lucretia Lou (1865); Samuel Robert (1868); Jesse Monroe (1871); Mahala Adeline (1873); and Arena Davilla (1874). Allen Squyres lived near Homer until 1870 (family genealogy show them at Fairview in 1849) when he was listed in the census near Isaac Ryan, who lived at Pine Valley. In 1880 he lived only two residences away from Sterling Arrington and 13 residences from Daniel McCall, both Burke pioneers, possibly suggesting that he had relocated to Pine Valley. Allen and Evaline are both buried at Prairie Grove Cemetery east of Diboll.

Rebecca Ann Squyres (1853-1936), daughter of Allen and Evaline Vincent Squyres married John Wesley Ryan, son of Ryan Chapel co-founder John Ira Ryan. She is buried at Ryan Chapel Cemetery.

Allen and Evaline's daughter Mary Elizabeth married Jonathan Wilkins, and she is buried at Ryan Chapel Cemetery.

The author's great-grand aunt Arzy Johnson, married Sterling Squyres (1886), son of Samuel Robert (1868) and Theodocia Havard Squyres, and they lived mainly at Beulah. Sterling was the brother of Joseph Wilson Squyres (1851), who lived at Burke in 1910. Both Samuel and Joseph were sons of Allen Squyres. Paul Squyres, son of Sterling and Arzy Squyres briefly lived at Burke in the 1950s, but he spent most of his life at Beulah.

Joseph Wilson Squyres (1851) married Nancy Rozilla McVey (1854) and their children included Perry F. (1889); and Allen J. (1885).

James Lewis Squyres

Allen's brother James Lewis Squyres married Mary Ashworth in 1858. Mary was the daughter of James and Mary Perkins Ashworth who lived at Pine Valley near what became Ryan Chapel Church.

In 1860 James and Mary were not shown in the Angelina County Census. In 1870, however, James and Mary lived adjacent Henry Wright, the first pastor of Ryan Chapel Methodist Church, and two residences from James and Mary Ashworth. They had children Alice (1859) and Houston (1862). No records for James and Mary exist in Angelina County after 1870. Since some of the Ashworths and related familied moved west with the cattle business, perhaps James and Mary did also.

Amanda Squyres

Amanda Squyres, daughter of Joseph Squyres and sister of Allen and James Squyres married Nathaniel Massingill and is buried at Ryan Chapel Cemetery.

Eliza Squyres

Eliza Squyres married Sam Houston Burris and was the ancestor to the Burrous family of Burke.

The Squyres family listed their occupation in the early Angelina County censuses as "farming", but is probable that they were engaged in the cattle business to a great degree. They came from Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, the same parish as other East Texas cattle raising families. The Burris family was also from the same parish, and one of the early Burrises listed his occupation as "stock keeper". James Squyres married into the Ashworth famlly, one of the pioneer cattle families of Texas and Angelina County. Several of the modern descendants of Sterling Squyres were active cattle buyers and traders in the mid-20th Century.

© 2006-24 Burke History Project
M. Lee Murrah, Editor
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