Rachel Byington

In memory of our 
mother
Rachel Byington
Born in Westmoreland 
County, Penn
Jan. 5, 1830
Died in 
Corpus Christi, Tex
Oct 23, 1894

Rachel Byington Headstone

Photo Credit: Rosa G. Gonzales

  1. News article, 1883

    Improvement

    Mrs. Byington has purchased two lots this side of the Pavilion, upon which she intends shortly to erect a two-story hotel. It is a good location, but is considered somewhat out of town. When questioned as to the reason for this locality, Mrs. B. stated that is was due to the

    completed Nueces Valley Railroad, w hic she was satisfied would cause that end of town to build up.

    Source: Corpus Christi Caller, Nov 4, 1883, p. 5, col. 4
    Research by:  Msgr. Michael A. Howell
    Transcription by:  Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission

  2. Biography


    Rachel Smith was born in Westmoreland, Pennsylvania on January 5, 1830 to a father from Maryland and a mother from New Jersey.  Records submitted to the LDS church ancestral files indicate that she married Samuel Byington on October 26, 1848 in Peoria, Illinois where many of the early settlers of Corpus Christi lived prior to their arrival in Texas.  The Myers, Cahills, Mannings, Merrimans, and H. L. Kinney all had lived in the Peoria area at one time.  Rachel and Samuel moved to the Banquete area where Samuel had a thriving mercantile business, and there they began to raise a family.  Their plans were dramatically interrupted in 1860 when Samuel died at a hotel while in New Orleans (probably on business to purchase further merchandise) at only 34 years old (Ranchero of Feb. 25, 1860).  He left behind a young widow and 5 children.  Rachel ultimately sold the business in Banquete and moved to Corpus Christi where she purchased property to house her children and run a boarding house.  She sought to expand her business in 1883 when she purchased additional property near the Pavilion (on the northern beach) to erect a new two story hotel in an effort to take advantage of visitors arriving on the newly proposed Nueces Valley Railroad.  The marriage records of Nueces County also report that Rachel Byington married James (W. or N.) Morgan.  The records indicate this wedding took place on January 1, 1862, before Judge H. A. Gilpin (Vol. C page 26).  This may be the same individual who is listed as James Morgan, a clerk, in the 1860 census records of Nueces County (Nueces County p. 287).  He is 40 years old in 1860 and a native of Kentucky.  Historian Dan Kilgore notes that James N. Morgan is listed as Captain of a company in a regiment commanded by Col. Philip Nolan Luckett to be employed for the defense of the Texas coast, beginning 24 October 1861 (see list by Dan Kilgore).  And a “Capt. Morgan†is mentioned in a newspaper article during the war as “of the gallant Corpus Christi company†(Ranchero, 25 December 1862).  It is unclear how the marriage ended—by divorce, annulment, or death.  It is interesting to note that a “Col. Morgan, CSA†is listed among the cemetery burials.  At any rate Rachel returned to the use of “Byington†as her last name (as she is thus listed in the 1870 and 1880 federal census records of Nueces County).  Rachel died October 23, 1894 and was buried in Old Bayview Cemetery near her grandchildren Samuel Fitch, Olive Aurelia Fitch, and Joseph Kavanaugh/Cavanagh.  Her descendents would remain in south Texas scattered from the San Antonio area to the Valley.  Her daughter Avaline Byington-Fitch and husband Capt. John W. Fitch are also buried in this cemetery with the family matriarch who raised five children after being widowed at the age of 27 years old.

    Research and transcription: Michael A. Howell