From Cousin Dr. Gary H. Darden
Mystery is solved: that’s Eugenia Andrews Flewellen (1840-1923), who was the youngest child of John Day Andrews (1795-1882) and Eugenia Price (1805-1876). They had two daughters, and Eugenia had two daughters by her first husband, William Winston Tilghman (1798-1829). These two daughters were Barbara Overton (1823-1857) and Elizabeth (1825-1876).
With the death of William Tilgham in 1829, Eugenia in 1830 remarried the overseer on her large plantation in Hanover County, Virginia. Her marriage to John Day Andrews caused a scandal and her father Thomas Price, Jr. never reconciled to this marriage of unequals. She and John had their first of two daughters, Samuella, in 1835. Subsequently, John made two trips to Texas in 1836 and 1837 to set up a business venture and explore moving to the new Republic of Texas.
In late 1838, John and Eugenia sold the 600 acres of their Virginia plantation and, along with her two daughters from her first marriage (now adopted by John), sailed from Baltimore to settle in Houston, the newly established frontier capital of the Republic of Texas. They took a ship with building supplies for a proper house. It is in this new house at 410 Austin Street that Eugenia gave birth to her fourth daughter (second with John) in 1840. This is the Eugenia Andrews Flewellen in the portrait in question.
John Day Andrews proved himself well, indeed reinvented himself, in the Texas Republic, becoming Houston’s fifth mayor, 1841-1842. He was asked by Sam Houston to become secretary of the treasury for the Republic of Texas, an honor he declined. He was close friends with Sam Houston, who rented a home from John. He amassed significant real estate holdings in Houston and in farmland outside the city. Part of this land is where those mineral rights in Waller County come from.
See John Day Andrews bio link:
http://spotsylvaniamemory.blogspot.com/2019/01/john-day-andrews.html?m=1
All of us here are descended from Eugenia and William Tilgham’s second daughter, Elizabeth Tilghman (1825-1876), whose second marriage (after widowed to a Daniel Culp, married 1844-1852) was to a Scottish immigrant from Kelso, John Dickinson (1820-1871).
Their daughter was Nancy “Nannie” Tilghman Dickinson (1862-1888), who married George Aldridge Clark (1855-1925). Nannie had 3 children, all in Houston:
1) Elizabeth “Bessie” Clark Helm (1884-1966), from whom I’m descended.
2) Aldridge Clark (1886, died soon after childbirth)
3) Nancy Howard (1888-1977), from whom you all are descended. Their mother died of complications from her birth.
This is where Eugenia Andrews Fluellen comes into the picture. Upon the death of her neice, Nannie Clark, the 48-year-old Eugenia took charge of her great nieces, the “Clark sisters” as they were known. Eugenia’s son and daughter-in-law adopted newborn Nancy Howard, hence her name becoming Flewellen, while Eugenia raised then 4-year-old Elizabeth Helm at the family home at 410 Austin Street. The two sisters had lunch every Sunday with their father George Clark at Eugenia’s home. He lived at a residential hotel and socialized at the City Club, according to my grandmother. He started one of the first fire insurance firms in Houston. He also drank a fair amount according to my grandmother, and this fueled my great grandmother’s ardent support for Prohibition. Luckily, none of her descendants shared that view!
Eugenia also took charge of their education, with Elizabeth “Bessie” sent off to Agnes Scott in Atlanta, while Nancy went off to Hollins in Roanoke, Virginia. They were two-year finishing schools for girls at the time. Today they are four year colleges.
The Clark sisters were married in a double wedding, if I recall correctly, in Summer 1908 in the family house at 410 Austin Street.
At this point Bessie Clark Helm moved to Dallas, while Nancy Clark Howard remained in Houston. Each sister’s first born was named Eugenia in honor of the woman who took charge of their lives upon the death of their mother. So that portrait in question likrlikely meant a lot to Nancy Clark Howard.
Eugenia Andrews Fluellen was born at the family house at 410 Austin Street in 1840 and died in that house in 1923. Upon her death much of the contents of that house went to the Clark sisters, but your Eugenia Howard Hunt (1910-1990/91?) and my Eugenia Helm Ince (1909-2007) inherited her wedding “coin” silverware ordered from F.W. Cooper in New York (sterling silver adopted in US by 1860s) by her father John Day Andrews when she married the widowed doctor, Robert Turner Flewellen, in 1860.
I have that coin flatware and coin holloware from my grandmother Eugenia Helm Ince, while your Eugenia Howard Hunt received the coin tea set, which Eugenia who teaches at Westpoint now has. I had mine tested and cleaned here in NYC where I live, and the silversmith said it’s exceptional quality Antebellum coin silver. The flatware is known as the “Olive” pattern and the holloware is known as the “Medallion” pattern. I presume the teaset is “Medallion” pattern like the other holloware pieces.
The attached photos are as follows:
John Dickinson (1820-1876), seated with hand rested against face. Scottish born.
Elizabeth Tilghman Dickinson (1825-1876), seated in black dress. Virginia born. Older half sister of Eugenia Andrews Flewellen in portrait in question.
Nancy “Nannie” Tilghman Dickinson Clark (1862-1888), headshot in white blouse, daughter of Elizabeth & John Dickinson, neice of Eugenia.
George Aldridge Clark (1855-1925), in suit with hand on his hip, husband to Nannie above.
Nannie Dickinson Clark with her firstborn Elizabeth “Bessie” Clark (my great grandmother).
House at 410 Austin Street, first built in Greek Revival style in 1839 by John Day Andrews and restyled Italianate in 1870s. Eugenia and her family moved back into the house in the 1870s to care for her aging and nearly blind father, John Day Andrews. She inherited this house and its contents when her father died in 1882. The torn photo shows its latter Italianate design.
I have several pieces of furniture that was in this house. Both Bessie Helm and Nancy Howard got their bedroom furniture from this house, and when I was at Eugenia Howard Hunt’s funeral in Austin (Jan 1990 or 1991?), my grandmother Eugenia Helm Ince pointed out the pieces from the 410 Austin Street home of the Eugenia they called “Grandmother” (albeit she was their mother’s great aunt). Eugenia Hunt had a painted four-poster bed from this house. It had been painted because of a house fire, my gradmother said. There were also chairs and tables, etc. There was an empire hexagon top mahogany parlor table from same furniture set as an empire mahogany game table I have. The Clark sisters divided this all up when Eugenia Andrews Flewellen died in 1923. They also divided up some farm land.
The house was inherited by Nancy Clark Howard and it sat empty after Eugenia died. The house on a full square city block was sold and demolished in Oct 1937, I believe, and made front page news in Houston because of its historic nature. It was, I think, the last freestanding house left in what was the original center of town from the Republic of Texas days. Malcolm’s mother Robin was on the front page along with the house photo.
If you read this far, congratulations, and you can see why I am a university history professor!
I hope everyone is safe and well, and that our paths cross soon enough.
Best regards, Gary Darden
Gary H. Darden, Ph.D.Associate Professor of History ChsirChair, DepartDepartment of Social Sciences & History FairleFairleigh Dickinson University