John Dempsey "Jack" Nash is the only Veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto known to be buried in Kaufman County.  He fought with Capt. Henry Wax Karne's 2nd regiment of Volunteer Cavalry from March 23 - May 28, 1836 -  the same company with Deaf Smith.

From  "Heroes of San Jacinto":

John D. Nash--arrived in Texas in April 1835.  On July 25, 1835, he was granted land in de Zavalla's colony; served in Captain James Cheshire's company in the siege of Bexar in 1835; served in Captain Karnes company from March 23 to May 28, 1836.   (Service record No. 1439)  Mr. Nash was granted land by the San Augustine Co. board and was elected Sheriff of that county in 1850.

Nash was known as "Jack"  his entire life.  He was born 28 Dec 1815 and he grew up in Nashborough, TN, son of Dempsey Nash & Lucy Garrett.  He came to Texas with his older brother, William and family.  They went first to San Augustine and there enlisted to assist in the fight against Mexico for independence.

From "Founders and Patriots of the Republic of Texas, Daughters of the Republic of Texas":

John D. Nash, Capt., married Ellender Addison "Ellen" Hemphill.  
John D. Nash, Captain, served as Captain of a company "raised" for the express purpose of putting down Indian raids.

When Texas began its revolt against Mexico, Nash participated in the Siege of Bexar.  The following spring, Nash fought under Sam Houston when the Texas army defeated General Santa Anna at San Jacinto.  When someone presented the Mexican dictator's horse to Houston as a souvenir, Houston ordered Nash to ride it off the battlefield and asked him to care for it.

On August 30, 1837, in San Augustine, Jack Nash married Ellender "Ellen" Addison Hemphill.  Born 8 Aug 1820 she was the daughter of William Augustus and Lucretia Coleman Hemphill.

Jack & Ellen Nash had the following known children:

1. Oscar Fritz Allen - born 1839, died 1897.
2. Lucretia "Lou" - born 19 Jan 1844, died 28 Jan 1929.
3. Francis Elizabeth "Fannie" - born 1847, died 28 Aug 1890.
4. John Dempsey, Jr. - born 26 Mar 1850, died 9 Apr 1855.
5. Charles (twin) - born 23 Mar 1852, died 23 Aug 1871.
6. Dempsey (twin) - born 23 Mar 1852, died 9 Mar 1871.
7. Horace C - born 1856, died before 1900.
8. Eugene M - born 25 Feb 1860, died 19 Aug 1868 Bastrop Co.

**2 children were born between Oscar and Lucretia, and evidently died as infants.  More on Jack Nash's children at bottom of page.

Jack Nash and Sam Houston became good friends.  It was Nash who presented Houston with the wooden walking stick seen in one of the better-known photographs of Houston.

Sam Houston with Walking Stick given to him by J. D. Nash

In 1850, five years after Texas statehood, Nash won election as Sheriff of San Augustine County.

1850 San Augustine County Census

NASH, John D.	age 34	(m)	Sheriff	TN
Ellen	age 25	(f)		AL
Oscar	age 10	(m)		TX
Lucretia	age  7	(f)		TX
Frances	age  5	(f)		TX
John D.	age 8/12	(m)		TX
Heffington, D.C.	age 40	(m)	Farmer	KY
Jones, John	age 27	(m)	farmer	KY

After serving a single two-year term as Sheriff, Jack moved his family to Bastrop County where his cousin, F. M. Nash, had resided.  F. M. "Michael" Nash had been killed by Indians in 1840, leaving a wife and several children who were struggling to survive.  (See below for more information on Michael Nash's death.)  Jack Nash was hoping the move would not only benefit his immediate family but the widow's family as well.  Jack Nash was a farmer and operated a ferry at a point on the Colorado River about six miles from Bastrop.

By 1854, Jack's ferry on the Colorado River was proving successful.  Anyone traveling from Huntsville to Austin would cross the Colorado on Nash's ferry.  Houston, by this time, was serving in the U.S. Senate and while on his visits from Washington with his constituents he would take advantage of the chance to visit with Jack Nash and family.  Visits at the Nash home were considered pleasant.  Ellen Nash was a good cook, Jack could play the fiddle quite well and was known as an exuberant story teller, as was Houston.  Houston stated later in his life that he always enjoyed his visits with Jack Nash.

In 1855 Jack and Ellen lost their son, John D. Nash Jr., who died of unknown causes and was buried in the Hemphill Cemetery in Bastrop County.

During the War Between the States, Jack's son Oscar served in Co F 17th TX Infantry.  He had 2 cousins, John O. Nash and Cicero E. Nash who also served in that unit.  Cicero died during the war and Oscar named a son, Cicero Ernest Nash, in his cousin's honor.

In the late 1860's Jack went into the Stage business with J. F. "Punch" Nash, another Nash relative, and he also operated a freight business.

On the 1870 census, Jack and son Oscar were listed under the surname NASCH.

Jack Nash had a keen business mind and seemed to have focused on making a prosperous living in his every pursuit.  He clearly understood the importance of transportation which was shown in his ferry business, but when the Houston and Texas Central Railroad laid tracks through upper Bastrop County in 1871, pointed towards Austin, Nash moved his family to a new community called McDade adjacent to the tracks.  He saw the railroad as bringing thirsty and hungry travelers, and freight business to Bastrop County.

1871 was a heart-breaking year for Jack Nash and family.  Ironically both his twin sons died that year, only five months apart.

Colorado Reveille - Bastrop Co TX - 25 March 1871
 DIED -- Dempsey NASH, son of Capt. John D. NASH of this county.  He died at his father's residence on Thurs. night of last week.
On August 23, 1871, Charley Nash died from injuries he sustained in an accident with his horse.

By 1872 Oscar Nash was in business with his father.  Oscar had married Marcia G. McKinney, daughter of Charles and Mary McKinney, on 10 Aug 1862 in Bastrop, and they had 4 children.  But on May 23, 1872, Marcia died.  She was buried in the Hemphill Bend Cemetery.

Also, by 1872 Jack Nash had purchased two wooden buildings on McDade's main road, just across from the railroad tracks.  These structures housed Jack's saloon and stage stop.  When those buildings burned, he built a sturdy rock building that still stands, now the oldest structure in McDade, Texas.

Jack Nash's "Rock Front Saloon" building has a Texas Historical Marker on it:

"Rock Front Saloon, 1870,
Stagecoach Stand, U.S.
Post Office, Early Busi-
ness House, Scene of
Revenge Gunfight, 1883"

In 1873 Jack & Ellen's daughter Fannie married, and their son Oscar married for a second time to Marie Antonio Ploeger, born 1854 and daughter of Dr. Carl Ludwig Henrich and Marie Langhammer, emigrants from Prussia.

Bastrop Advertiser
MARRIED -- At the residence of the bride's father at McDade on Sunday, 8 1/2 o' clock a.m., Dec. 28th, 1873 by Esq. W. L. LAWHORN:  Miss Fannie Nash to Mr. J. W. Kennedy, all of Bastrop County.

Bastrop Advertiser -  July 4, 1874
John D Nash - Merchant
Receiving and Forwarding  -  MacDade, Texas
Will receive merchandise at 10 Cents per package.  Receiving and forwarding of Cotton - 25 Cents per Bale.  Liberal advances made on cotton shipped through my house.  All business entrusted to me will receive my personal attention, and having employed Mr. A. Dumarse, a thorough and exceptional clerk and bookkeeper,  I can guaratee satisfaction in every particular.  I respectfully solicit patronage of my friends and the public generally.
Jno. D. Nash
Bastrop County

"A fire in McDade last night destroyed the saloon of Tom Bishop, the store of Cohen Bros., the house of H. K. Barbee, and the saloon of O. F. Nash.  Fire started, it is supposed by an incendiary, at 2 o'clock a.m. in the back of Bishop's saloon."

These incidents had dire consequences on the Nash family.  Marie Nash, Oscar's wife, was a weak person.  After learning of her sons' involvement in the shooting death and Oscar's business being destroyed, she suffered what was considered a heart seizure at that time.  She did not recover.

Bastrop News  - 5 Mar 1881
DIED - Mrs. Oscar Nash at McDade Sunday night.  Buried in the Bastrop City Cemetery on Monday evening.  Mrs. Nash was the daughter of Mrs. Ploeger of Bastrop.

John Nash and his friend were acquitted in the death of Davis.

On January 25, 1883, Ellen Nash died.  This left Jack with his daughter Lou in his house, with sons Oscar and Horace, and daughter Fannie living nearby in Bastrop County.

The Infamous Christmas Day Shootout in McDade

On Christmas Day, 1883, there was a shootout on the main street in McDade which was done in retaliation for the hanging of three men several months before by a vigilante group.  Killed were cousins of the Nash family named Beatty.  Participants used the Nash buildings as cover and many Nash men saw the shootings.  Oscar and Horace Nash were called to testify at the hearings and trial which began January 14, 1884.  This incident was said to have been a sign at just how uncivilized Bastrop County was for the times.

In 1883, Oscar Nash married for a third time to a widow named Theresa Brettner.

It was during this time, after Ellen's death and with unrest within the town, and with old age and failing health catching up to Jack, that he decided to move to more civilized surroundings.  He and daughter Lucretia, who had never married, moved to Kaufman in 1889 to be near Nash relatives - descendants of his brother William and sister Lucretia Crouch - and to get away from the memories in McDade.

On 28 Aug 1890, Jack's daughter Fannie died in Bastrop County.  Although feeble he managed to travel there from Kaufman for the funeral.

In 1897 Oscar Nash died and was buried next to his second wife Marie at Fairview Cemetery, per his request.

Lou Nash and Her Portrait of Sam Houston

According to Nash family lore Lucretia "Lou" Nash, Jack's daughter, painted a portrait of Sam Houston while he was on one of his visits to their home in Bastrop County.  This would have been in the 1850's, as at the time Houston was a Senator.  Lou was a reputed artist and evidence shows that she asked to paint Houston while he was holding the walking stick given him by her father.

   Lucretia's niece, Marcia Nash Miller - Oscar's daughter - wrote a letter which states,

"Aunt Lou Nash painted a picture of Sam Houston when he
was in her home visiting.  He had the walking cane in his hand,
I can remember that very plainly."

   Lucretia apparently kept the painting, and did not give it to Houston, because Marcia recalled having seen the portrait before Lucretia and Jack moved to Kaufman Texas, but not afterwards.  She stated:

"I don't know what ever became of the picture and the cane. 
I did not see it when we visited her." (in Kaufman)

   Possibly the painting stayed in Bastrop County, with other family members, yet there is still a chance Lucretia died with it in their possession and that it was placed where Marcia would not have seen it.

Lucretia Nash - circa 1900 in Kaufman

Lucretia Nash never married and is buried next to her father.

Kaufman Sun - July 1, 1898 - Friday
"Jack Nash died at his home one mile south of Kaufman Wednesday.  Buried in the city cemetery yesterday.  He was born in Williamson County Tennessee on December 28, 1815.  Came to Texas between 1832 - 1834 locating in San Augustine County; moved to Bastrop County and lived there twelve years {sic} until he moved to Kaufman.  He was a veteran of the Texas revolution and one of the heroes of the Battle at San Jacinto."

Click here to see another obituary found in the Dallas Morning News, July 1, 1898

Bastrop Advertiser
DEATH OF CAPT. NASH
  "A telegram was received by Mrs George Miller Monday, from Kaufman, to the effect that her grand-father, Captain Jack Nash, was severly ill and thought to be rapidly sinking.  On Thursday another telegram was received conveying the sad intelligence that he died at 2 o'clock Wednesday afternoon and would be buried at Kaufman Thursday.
   Capt. Nash had just returned from Louisiana where he had been to make another effort to obtain the release of his grandson, Kid Nash, and was taken sick while in Louisiana and brought home.  He was about 81 years of age at the time of death.  Deceased was a resident of Bastrop County for many years, living on the farm owned by Mr. T J Smith, at Nash's Ferry, 6 miles above Bastrop, and going from there to McDade, which was his home til a few years ago.  He was well known in the State and many friends will react to his death with sympathy.  Died June 29th, 1898."

Jack Nash's Tombstone - Kaufman City Cemetery

A Dark Side to Jack Nash's Family

Jack's grandson, Cicero Ernest Nash - son of Oscar - was an outlaw known as 'Kid Nash'.  On 20 Dec 1892 in Shreveport, Caddo Parish, Louisiana, Kid Nash and his partner, Elmo Barnett, robbed and killed a man named John McCarty - a man they had known in Bastrop County.  The two were on the run for many months but were finally caught and taken to Shreveport to stand trial.  On 15 Sep 1894, Kid Nash was found guilty for the crime he committed.

  After Kid Nash's verdict, Jack Nash was taken to Shreveport by Lucretia to plead for his grandson's life on several occasions for nearly four years.  He was hoping his reputation could spare his grandson's life.  The trips were hard on Jack - part by train and part by overland stage - and it left him weak and ill and despondent.  Ironically, the trips proved to have been made in vain as Kid Nash was hung for his crime not long after Jack's death.

Jack's daughter, Lou, never married and cared for her father before his death.  She was the last of Jack's children to pass on.

“Miss Lou Nash, 85, of Kaufman Buried”
Dallas Morning News
30 January 1929 Part 1 Page Seven

INFO ON JACK NASH'S KNOWN GRANDCHILDREN

OSCAR FRITZ ALLEN NASH
       Married #1 Marcia G McKinney - 1862
      KNOWN CHILDREN with MARCIA

1. John D Nash born 1864
2. Charles M Nash born 1866
3. Halley Nash born 1868
4. Cicero Ernest "Kid" Nash born 1870
5. William Dempsey Nash born 1872

       Married #2 Marie Antonio Ploeger - 1873
      KNOWN CHILDREN with Marie:

6. Augustus Ploeger Nash born 1874
7. Mary Eleanor "Nell" Nash born 1876
8. Marcia Nash born 20 Oct 1877

       Married #3 - Theresa Bretner - 1883
      KNOWN CHILDREN with Theresa

9. Eugene Nash
10. Vida Nash

HORACE C NASH
       Married - Lillian Linwood "Lilly"  Billingsley
      KNOWN CHILDREN with Lilly

1. William Nash
2. Daisey Nash
3. Herbert Nash

FRANCES ELIZABETH "FANNIE" NASH
       Married John Wilson Kennedy - 28 Dec 1873
      KNOWN CHILDREN with John Wilson:

1. Mary Ellen Kennedy born 23 Jul 1880, died 13 Dec 196
2. Fannie "Peek" Kennedy born 1882
3. Edna Kennedy born 1884
4. John Wilson Kennedy, Jr. born 1888

HEMPHILL BEND CEMETERY - Bastrop Co TX

FAIRVIEW CEMETERY - Bastrop, Texas

INFORMATION ON MICHAEL NASH, COUSIN TO JACK NASH

About two months after this, Michael Nash was killed by the Indians in Bastrop County.  Mr. Nash immigrated to Texas about the year 1830, and settled in or near the town of Columbus.  He remained there until after the War with Mexico, and then moved to the town of Bastrop, where he followed the carpenter's trade.  He was a great hunter, and his fondness for the sport eventually cost him very dearly.  On Saturday, the first day of September, 1840, Nash took his gun and went out on one of his usual hunts.  After he had gone several miles he succeeded in killing a deer, which he butchered and tied behind his saddle.  He then started home, and as he was about crossing a creek he was fired upon by some Indians who were concealed in a thicket nearby.  Nash failing to return home that night, the alarm was given, and early the next morning a party went out to search for him, and found his body where the Indians had killed him.  His scalp had been taken; the buzzards had picked out his eyes, and his body was so mangled by wolves or by the Indians that it was with difficulty his friends could identify him.  He left a wife and five children.

VETERANS of the BATTLE of SAN JACINTO

2nd Regiment Volunteers Cavalry / Spy Company

Officers
Henry Wax Karnes - captain
James R. Cook -  first lieutenant
Walter P. Lane - second lieutenant
Robert Kemp Goodloe - sergeant
Members of the Company
Horatio Alexander Alsbury, Young Perry Alsbury, Thomas Blackwell, Isaac Watts Burton, John Coker, James P. Davis, George M. Deadrick, Jacob Duncan, J. D. Elliot, Dr. Lemuel Gustine, Abraham W. Hill, William Payne Lane, Jospeh Lawrence, D. McKay, Noel Mixon, John D. Nash, John Neal, W. J. C. Pierce, E. R. Rainwater, Dimer W. Reaves, Fielding Secrest, Washington Secrest, Benjamin Fort Smith, Erastus "Deaf" Smith, William Burrell Sweeney, Shelby C. Turnage, James Wells, Devereaux J. Woodlief, R. O. W. McManus

Volunteers-Destruction Vince's Bridge
Young Perry Alsbury, John Coker, John Garner, Moses Lapham, E. R. Rainwater, Denmore Reaves

Volunteers-Hunt for Santa Anna
Horatio Alexander Alsbury, Elisha Clapp, W. J. C. Pierce, John Robbins, Thomas Robbins, William S. Taylor, Thomas House, Shelby C. Turnage, 8 unidentified