Lynch family research notes

The parents or siblings of George Lynch are not known.  He was born circa 1838, just after Texas had won its independence from Mexico, in rural Grimes county, Texas near Nolansville, which would later become Navasota.  A 13 year old John Lynch, a possible sibling born about the same time and place as George, is on the 1850 census in Grimes county living with the Ephram Fuqua family, but no clues were found to identify George's family. 1

George Lynch married Cyllanae Hargrave July 4, 1860 in Harris county, Texas2, possibly Hockley (her given name recorded various ways, including Selina and Plomonia), but on a deed dated March 20, 1871, she signed her name "Cyllanae Lynch". 3

Two 1850 censuses give women with names similar to Cyllanae, one whose parents are Levi and Lucienne Hargrave and the other's parents are Joseph Hargrave & Missouri (Cobbs) Hargrave.  To confuse the researcher, both families are from Louisiana and the daughters are the same age as Cyllanae.  See the Hargrave family research notes.

Two months after their marriage, George and Cyllanae Lynch are found living in Lynchburg, Texas as recorded on the 1860 census working as a clerk.  Lynchburg, Texas is located about 15 miles due east of Houston.  It was founded by Nathaniel Lynch in 1822 when he put a ferry there to cross the San Jacinto river.  Nathaniel died in early 1837, a year before George Lynch was born, but the Lynch descendants continued to operate the ferry through 1848.  Was George Lynch related to that family?

1860 census, TX, Harris, Lynchburg, pct 15, Sept. 10, HH 536/432
G. W. LYNCH, 20, M, clerk, $1500, TX
C. LYNCH, 17, F, LA

A newspaper reported that "Mr. Lynch's only sister was the wife of our highly esteemed citizen J. Eberly." 4 — No evidence has been found of any siblings of George Lynch, and no evidence has been found of an Eberly-Lynch marriage, but his wife's sister, Virginia Ann Hargrave, married Jerome Eberly and another sister, Virginia Hargrave, later married a brother of Jerome, William H. Eberly.  See the Eberly family research notes and Hargrave family research notes..

1870 census - George & Plomonia Lynch are living in Courtney, Grimes county, Texas (recorded as "Coatney") which is located in the SW corner of Grimes county, just above Waller county.  (The census location is erroneously shown at FamilySearch.org as "Texas, Concord, Essex, Vermont, USA").

1870, TX, Grimes, Coatney P.O., p 144, July 28
HH 1313
LYNCH, George, 32, M, W, farmer, TX
LYNCH, Plomonia, 27, F, W, keeping house, LA
LYNCH, Caroline, 9, F, W, TX
LYNCH, Lusenia, 4, F, W, TX
LYNCH, Marion, 3, M, W, TX
LYNCH, Joseph, 1, M, W, TX

Sometime after 1870, George moved his family to a farm on Spring Creek in extreme southern Waller county and next door to the Musco Boulware family with whom he had several serious altercations.  Cyllanae died about August 1878 and left George with eight children, ranging in age from Carrie (17) to the infant Hayes (3 weeks).  The next month, the evening of September 13, 1878, George was shot outside his home and his home was set ablaze, killing all his children.

Four years before the murders, in 1874, one of his wife's sisters, Mariah Hargrave, married James Lewis Boulware, a son of Musco Boulware.

After the murder of his children, George went to Hockley, in Grimes county, to heal, staying with a brother-in-law, probably Jerome Eberly, whose wife Virginia was a sister to Lynch's wife.  Reuben Boulware, a son of Musco, was suspected of the crime but never charged.

The next year, 1879, another sister of his wife, Frances C. "Fanny" Hargrave, married William H. Eberly, a brother to Jerome.

Later in 1879, October 13, Frank Hargrave, a brother of the Hargrave women, shot and killed Musco Boulware, a son of the elder Musco, allegedly in a dispute over a horse race.

So, George W. Lynch, husband of Cyllanae Hargrave, saw two his wife's sisters marry Eberly brothers and one of her brothers killed one of his neighbors, Musco Boulware.

By June, 1880, George Lynch had moved to Colorado to mine for gold where he is found on the 1880 census in Lake county, Colorado. 5

1880 census, CO, Lake, ed 89, June 27, HH 345/355
SAILES, John W, W, M, 24, single, mining, TX, NY, MS
LYNCH, Geo W, W, M, 39, single, mining, TN, TN, MO
SAILES, Henry, W, M, 27, married, mining, TX, NY, MS
MERRILL, John, W, M, 25, single, mining, MA, MA, MA
SMITH, Frank, W, M, 27, single, mining, MI, PA, PA
BROTHERS, Robt, W, M, 29, single, mining, MA, VT, VT
Harvin, Frank, W, M, 22, single, mining,, AL, AL, AL

July 3, 1881 – Sheriff C. M. Noble of Harris county, inquired about Geo. W. Lynch who had been convicted of murder of Beuford in Leadville, CO.  The Galveston Daily News, Sunday, July 3, 1881. 6

July 18, 1881 – George Lynch given life sentence for murder of Charles Lyles at Leadville, CO.  The Galveston Daily News, Sunday, July 10, 1881 7 | Brenham Weekly Banner, (Brenham, TX) Thursday, August 11, 1881 8.  He was incarcerated in Colorado penitentiary June 19, 1881.  9

He was pardoned by Governor Davis Waite April 25, 1893.  10

Nothing further has been conclusively found about George Lynch but, after 1900, a George Lynch was found in New Mexico and in south Texas listed as mining consultants.  There was no evidence of the identity of this person.

A Search of Land & Tax records for George Lynch proved unsuccessful but there were Texas Land Grant records for people with the Lynch surname.

Footnotes

Newspaper articles may be read at Timeline of News Reports.