Of Freedmen Travelers from Kingstree, SC to Marlin, TX in 1867

In January 1867, 435 freedmen, women and children left Kingstree, South Carolina to travel by train, ship, and train again to land in Marlin/ Falls County, Texas, where they hoped to build a better life for themselves and their families. On July 11, 2026, a monument will be installed at the Falls County Courthouse to memorialize the name of every traveler who made this brave journey.

Descendants of the Shaw family, Sharon Styles and Angela Shaw Ross, are on a mission to reveal as many family connections as possible ahead of the ceremony, through genealogical tools and research. They would be happy to help you build your family tree, especially if you have deep roots in Falls County. If you recognize any of the names on this list as your ancestors, or think a name sounds familiar and might be a relation, please contact Sharon, Sharon.kay@sbcglobal.net, or Angela, honey_be_2001@yahoo. com.

Janice Cooper Paro Cooper Henry Cooper Hester Cooper Paro Cooper Jr Sara Cooper Para Cooper Tim Cooper Cain Cooper John Cooper Adam Cooper Jannie Cooper Phoebe Gaskin Norris Gaskin Paul McCutchen Louisa McCutchen George McCutchen Celia McCutchen August McCutchen Abner McCutchen Prince McCutchen Thomas Fisher Mary Fisher John Fisher Tomas Jones John Ingram Francis Embry