Adam never used the moniker "Red" during his lifetime but was assignedt he name by record keepers and historians in DeWitt Colony, TX, todisti nguish him from his prominent and younger first cousin "Black"Adam Zum walt, Jr. The tag "Sr" was probably adopted by him for thesame reason s ince he had no sons named Adam.
As of 1/10/2005 his family Bible is in the hands of descendant ZelmaRi chardson of Austin, TX.
Residences & events:
1819 Femme Osage and Darst's Bottom, MO. He owned property in bothar eas, as did brother Andrew.
1828 TX. This was the date of arrival according to daughter,Elizabet h and other family members who related the following:
"Adam Zumwalt's family came from Missouri to Gonzales in 1828 being ap art of DeWitt's colony. They came by boat and landed in MatagordaBay. W hile the men were unloading the boat, the women and childrenwalked alo ng the beach gathering luscious dewberries which they foundunder a blu ff bank. They looked up and saw several Indians in warpaint and feath ers looking down a them. They ran to the boat, butwhen they got there s he (who?) was not with them. She had faintedand the men had to carry h er to the boat."
5/20/1829 was the date of arrival as recorded on land grant records ofG onzales, Gonzales Co, TX.
From Zelma at Find a Grave:
"An affidavit made by Green DeWitt, Jan.28,1830, stated that on May29, 1829 Adam and Nancy and their seven children arrived at whatbecame Gon zales. On Aug. 10, 1831 he petitioned the MexicanCommissioner Jose Ant onio Navarro for a labor of land, 177 acres, asa member of DwWitt Colo ny, plus the land necessary to complete theleague of land,4428 acres."
From TX land records:
"Honorable Commissioner: I, Adam Zumwalt, a native of the Unitedstate s of the North, the formalities of the law permitting, appearbefore yo u and say that having been admitted by the Empresario, Greende Witt, t o settle the lands of his Colony as the Law ofColonizatition of the St ate prescribes and as appears on thiscertificate which I duly enclose, b eing as I am married and havingseven children, two boys, and up until t he present time not havingthe title of possession to the tract that co rresponds to me as asettler, by the present petition I entreat that yo u may put me inpossession of one labor, although it only contains 712, 400 varas,which is the quantity I have known it to be, and which is lo caledadjacent to the Commons of the Town on the Guadalupe River, reser vingfor myself the rite as stock raiser to ask, by another petition, f orthe 24 labors of pasture land on the San Marcos River about one league above this Town; in acceding thereto, you shall give me justice."D ated and signed by Adam.
The tract was surveyed by Byrd Lockhart and described as "situated int he proximity on the northeast side of the Guadalupe....north to thebou ndary of the town tract....following the meanders of the Riverupward t o the place where it began."
11/15/1831 Adam again petitioned for title to land, this time for hisl eague of 4428 acres:
"Honorable Commissioner: I, Adam Zumwalt, a native of the UnitedState s of the North, by this second petition, and by means of theformalitie s of the law make know to you that you having seen fit toacceed to a p etition I made, dated the 10th of last month of August,asking for a fr action of a labor of arable land which, as a farmer inthis enterprise o f Citizen Green de my due, in consideration of mylarge family and the r easons which I presented on that date, asappears on the witnessed docu ment in my possession; I, by thispetition as a breeder of stock, ask y ou please to put me inpossession of a superficies of 24,000,000 varas w hich I lack tocomplete the league and which are entirely vacant on the n ortheastbank of the San Marcos River adjacent to the boundary line of t heland of the Town and about six miles above this Town; in acceeding therto you will do me justice." Dated and signed by Adam..
By 3/1836 St James St, facing the Municipal Plaza, Gonzales, TX. Hisr esidence there was one of the "32 prominent structures of thevillage" b uilt in the inner part of the village proper. The houseserved as a bo arding house/hotel and the kitchen supplied arestaurant .
2/29/1836 In the face of the Battle of the Alamo, many families fromS an Antonio and outlying areas sought refuge in Gonzales. Relatives,El izabeth Zumwalt Kent and family moved in with Adam, the childrentold o f of sleeping on the floor where they could hear the big gunsof the se ige all the way from San Antonio.
3/13/1836 Following the fall of the Alamo, General Sam Houston putAda m and David Burkett in charge of evacuating families, includinghis own , in front of the Mexican Army, heading east toward the SabineRiver in w hat is now known as the Runaway Scrape. The entire townwas then torch ed, leaving only Adam's kitchen and the smokehouse ofanother resident s tanding.
6/6 - 9/6/1836 A short stint in the Federalist Army of the Republicof T exas would earn a labor of land for Adam.
Following the death of son-in-law, Samuel McCoy, daughter Mahala askedA dam to apply for guardianship of her children, which he did and wasgra nted. He was released from guardianship on 9/29/1841 when the newstep -father took over the responsibility.
1837 - 1838 They returned to rebuild their homes and lives amid theru bble, putting up tents and temporary structures where the houseonce st ood. Local history said he provided housing and meals forseveral retu rning settlers while they rebuilt their homesteads andbusinesses. It w as probably about this time the family began to spendconsiderable time d eveloping the farm and ranch on their league northof town on the San M arcos.
1837 Gonzales Co Tax Rolls included the names of Adam Sr and Jr aswel l as David Burket.
1838 That tax list included Adam Sr and Jr, Adam for Samuel McCoy,And rew Zumwalt, and David Burket.
4/2/1838 Joseph Smith of Gonzales Co posted a $700 bond to insuretitl e of 379 acres, which was part of his headright league assignedto Adam .
9/30/1838 Smith sold land that was on Peach Creek about 10 miles easto f Gonzales to Adam.
1839 The tax list that year included Adam, Adam Sr, Adam Sr for LaneM cCoy, and Andrew McCoy.
1846 Lavaca Co, TX. Was it this Adam on that tax list? Along withAd nrew, Gabriel, Isaac, Nancy, and Thomas Zumwalt?
9/9/1847 Adam transferred 320 acres of the previous entry todaughter, E maline House.
1/11/1841 The town minutes noted that Adam was denied a petition tocu t as much rail timber on the town tract as had been appropriatedfrom h is league to build a fence on the town tract.
6/11/1841 Adam deeded a 320 acre tract on the northeast bank of theSa n Marcos to daughter, Caroline Burnham. The land was part of hisheadr ight league.
9/6/1842 Gonzales, TX. He bought lots 1, 2, 4, and 5 in block 31just e ast of Military Square at a public sale for $57.
10/2/1843 He transferred 329 acres of his headright league on theeast b ank of the San Marcos to daughter, Mahala Crawford. The tractwas boun ded on the south by Caroline's land.
4/24/1846 Son, Jesse, was the next to receive real estate. He got600 a cres on the northeast bank of the San Marcos adjoining the towntract o f Gonzales on the north and the river on the lower corner,which includ ed part or all of Adam's labor of land.
7/28/1846 Adam deeded 600 acres each to : William, Harvy, Nancy, andE maline Darst.
5/17/1847 He sold lots 1 and 2 of the town block to Felix Chenaultfor $ 60, a real profit compared to the buy price.
6/12/1849 Daughter, Caroline Burnham, received another "inheritance"f rom her father, a labor of land that Adam had received for armyservic e. It was located on Peach Creek about 15 miles east ofGonzales.
11/16/1849 He sold the block of 4 town lots where his boarding houseo nce stood to WV Collins for $4000. That block would later house thePl aza hotel and restaurant business, very fitting.
11/10/1850 Guadalupe River Twp, Gonzales Co, TX. At census time thef amily was living on their league near the Old Slayden Community inthe G uadalupe River District. Adam was 60 years old, had property =$2000, b ut no occupation was listed. Wife Elizabeth was 50 andchildren in the h ouse were Jesse, 25; Wm, 16; Henry (actuallyHarvey), 12; and Nancy, 10 . The census says Adam, Elizabeth and the2 older boys were born in KY w hile the rest were born in TX.Daughter Caroline and William Burnham w ere 2 doors down the road.
His will, dated 1845, "attests to his meticulous attention todetails."
"Republic of Texas, Gonzales County. I, Adam Zumwalt, Senr. of saidco unty, being of sound mind, but infirm & feeble in health, do make &ord ain this to be my last will & testament.
I give to my wife all my work oxen & Horses except two colts, and onet hird of the balance of my Stock; also all my household & Kitchenfurni ture & farming utensils, tools, etc. Also one half of a debtdue by W. J . Riddle, the other half belongs to my son Jesse. I wllgive to her al l my Negro property during her lifetime, and the use &enjoyment of my r esidence, either to cultivate or rent out to aid herin making a suppor t.
I give & bequeath to each of my Six children herein named to wit,Jesse , Emaline, John, William, Harvey & Nancy an equal Share of allthe Leag ue of land on which I now reside, except what has been deededoff by me , to be given off to them as they respectively become ofage; Jesse to h ave the privilege of selecting his share either on theupper or lower l ine.
I give to each of my Daughters Mahala & Caroline (to each of whom Ihav e already given 320 acres), a sufficiency out of my patented Landsto m ake their Shares of Land equal to the shares of the six childrenhereto fore named--
To my other children not already named I give & bequeath all thebalanc e of my unpatented lands, they paying all further expenses ofclearing t hem out.
I give to my daughter Emaline & son Harvey, each one of the coltsherto fore reserved.
I give to my two sons Jesse & John the privilege of selling all thecor n now on hand, except a sufficiency to support my family untilanother c rop is made & appropriate the money to their own use.
After giving my wife one third of my stock, I desire that the balanceb e sold if necessary to pay my just debts, which consist so far as Inow r emember of the following to wit, the note of twelve dollars toC. Brach es, given by Mr. Burnham, which am to pay-one note toThreadgill & Jame s, for Thirty one dollars balance of four dollars toD.C. Vanderlip whe n the suit of W.W. Smith is decided after which Iwish the remainder of m y stock equally divided among all my children.
I wish my Town property consisting of Eight lots, and my Laboradjoinin g Town tract, to be sold by my Executor at such time as he inhis Judge ment may deem most advisable to a good sale within fiveyears, and the P roceeds equally divided among all my children; anduntil it is sold I w ant it rented out & the profit divided among all.
In the bequests of this will, I desire the children of my daughterMaha la to receive the portion to which she would be entitled ifliving.
I desire my young children all to live with their mother until theyres pectively become of age & that she have the raising control &managemen t of them in the same manner I would have myself were Iliving.
I appoint my son Jesse the Executor of this my last will & testament,a nd it is my desire that no further action be had on this wlll in thePr obate Court, than its proof & registration.
It is my further will that my Negro property after the death of mywife s hall be sold & the proceeds equally divided among all mychildren, & sh ould there be any other property or debts due me notheretofore mention ed, I desire it to be divided among all mychildren.
In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand & Seal this 3rd dayof F ebruay 1845. Signed & Sealed in presence of D.S.H. Darst andWilliam E. J ones."
Jesse later resigned as Executor and brother-in-law David Darstreplace d him.
The cemetery is on his original grant of land near the old Slaydencomm unity.
