Our Many Branches
"the only thing permanent in life is, FAMILY"
Caldwell Branch
Caldwell Branch
The Caldwell branch of our family was forcibly driven from North Carolina to Oklahoma. This migration was known historically as the "Trail of Tears". The Trail of Tears began in October of 1838 and ended in March of 1839. Thousands of Cherokee Nation and African Americans were forced to walk with bare feet through the dead of winter to Oklahoma which was over 1,100 miles. It is believed that the ancestors of Madison Caldwell were among the survivors of this death march into Oklahoma.
Madison Caldwell (1851) was a full-blooded Cherokee, but his Cherokee name is not known. His father choose the name Caldwell for the family. Madison Caldwell, who was also known as Matt, moved from Oklahoma to Jefferson, Cass County, Texas. There he met and married Sylvia Virginia Stubblefield a full blooded African woman. Not much is known about Sylvia except that she was very small in stature, dark skinned and brave enough to flee enslavement.
Having no schools in the area for Black children, Matt decided to sell land for the Cypress School to be built. The Cypress School, for primer through the sixth grade, was a one-room schoolhouse, which still stands across the street from the Arkadelphia Baptist Church. The church itself was found by Matt around 1903. The Arkadelphia Baptist Church is 119 years old as of 2021.
The Caldwell's have several connections with my Tyson branch, the first being that of the marriage between Mary Jane Tyson-Gipson (1876-1979), my 1st cousin 3x removed and Ausborn Caldwell. Mary Jane was the daughter of George Gipson (1853-1915) and Mollie Dunn-Tyson (1850-1943). Ausborn Caldwell (1877-1964) was the son of Madison Caldwell and Sylvia Stubblefield.
Another Caldwell/Tyson connection is that of Artency Tyson-Gipson (1888-1967), the younger sister of Mary Jane. Artency married Eli Caldwell (1884-1957) the brother of Ausborn. So, brothers Ausborn and Eli, married sisters Mary Jane and Artency.
Children of Madison and Sylvia Caldwell
Pilman (1875)
Ausborn (1876)
Tholoman (1880)
Clisston (1882)
Eli (1885)
Benjamin (1886)
