Thomas Decker 1735-aft 1795 (1011000)

 This Map of Detroit River and Adjacent Country, was created by John Melish about 1813. 
Thomas Decker lived in Detroit when it was still merely a military base of operations during the Revolutionary War.

Thomas Decker has been tentatively identified as the father of Isaac Decker (1795-1873). The reason for this theory is that Thomas Decker is the only known male who lived in the area of Upper Canada when Isaac was born in 1795. Thomas is likely the earliest progenitor identified so far for our Decker family. The first records found for Thomas Decker are land records that place him in the Detroit River Basin, in what was at the time Upper Canada. He helped to settle the new city of Detroit. Isaac Decker lived in the vicinity of Detroit as well, since he purchased land there in 1831.

Detroit, originally a trading post for trappers, served as a Canadian military base during both the French & Indian War and the Revolutionary War. Thomas Decker served on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War. Butler's Rangers, with whom Thomas Decker served during that war, used the area on the mouth of the Detroit River as a staging ground from which to send troops into the northern colonies of New York, Pennsylvania and what would later be Ohio. Thomas Decker would have been very familiar with the area when he applied for a land grant after the war for his service under the Canadian forces.

Thomas Decker is listed in an early census of the Detroit area:

Thomas Decker

MI

, Wayne County

, Detroit and Area

1791

[Jackson, Ron V., Accelerated Indexing Systems, comp.. Michigan Census, 1827-70 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999.]

Thomas Decker also shows up in records of Upper Canada, as a recipient of a land grant: 

Name: Decker, Thomas

District: Hesse

Year: 1790

Description: re land

Volume: 4

Page(s): 68 [Image 990]

Reference: RG 1 L4

Microfilm: C-14026

Available from Heritage Canadiana

http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_reel_c14026/990?r=0&s=3 

This record reads as follows:

Minutes and Records of the Land Boards Accumulated by the Executive Council Office

John Gordon, states to the boards, that he was originally granted Lot No. 41, that he was allowed by Major Close to exchange it for 96, / which appears by the Schedules / He produces also a certificate Thomas Deckers, who was originally grantee to Lot 96, declaring to have lost the ticket & assigning all right & title to the said Lot —-

Further records from Upper Canada indicate that Thomas Decker received this "ticket", or right to claim land for his service in the British Royal Army during the American Revolutionary War. 

Name: Decker, Thomas

District: Hesse

Year: 1791

Description: List of disbanded Rangers and Loyalists residing at or near Detroit

Volume: 3

Page(s): 374 [Image 582], 378 [Image 589, of Regiment 84], 391 [Image 604]; pgs 314 [Image 516], 319 [image 521] Received Provisions

Reference: RG 1 L4

Microfilm: C-14026

This page begins the list of Butler's Rangers applying for provisions.

This is the rest of the list, Thomas Decker's name appears as sixth on the list.

Thomas Decker (sixth from bottom on the list) is shown here as part of Butler's Rangers. He was employed as a laborer, and was living "In the Settlement" meaning he was living in the town of Detroit.

From all of this we can discern that in the early 1790s Thomas Decker was living in, or very near, the town of Detroit. He had received a certificate for 200 acres of land for his service in the British Royal Army. However, he had traded this land grant, that would have placed him north of Lake Ontario, in favor of a chance to purchase land on the Detroit River as part of a new settlement there. The rest of the images make it clear that he had served as one of Butler’s Rangers. 

Col. John Butler assembled his troops beginning in 1777. They were specifically assigned to coordinate their efforts with local Indian tribes, in efforts to thwart the Rebel Army's incursions into the northern colonies. Their efforts originally were concentrated in upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania, but eventually spread to as far west as Ohio and as far south as Virginia. 

Thomas Decker appears sixth from the bottom on this list.

The Upper Canada historical documents further show that Thomas Decker served in the 84th Regiment during the early stages of the Revolutionary War. The 84th Regiment of Foot came from the area of upstate New York, near Lakes Ontario and Erie. In 1 August 1778, John McDonell, who had been serving in the 84th Foot, was commissioned as a Captain in Butler’s Rangers. It is likely that McDonell managed to transfer men from his former regiment into his new group. Thomas certainly served in both the 84th Foot and Butler's Rangers with John McDonnell. 

A surprising revelation is found in this brief history of the 84th Regiment of Foot in Wikipedia:

"The 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutionaries.^[1] The 84th Regiment was also involved in offensive action in the Thirteen Colonies; including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and what is now Maine, as well as raids upon Lake Champlain and the Mohawk Valley. The regiment consisted of 2,000 men in twenty companies. The 84th Regiment was raised from Scottish soldiers who had served in the Seven Years' War and stayed in North America. As a result, the 84th Regiment had one of the oldest and most experienced officer corps of any regiment in North America.^[2] The Scottish Highland regiments were a key element of the British Army in the American Revolution.^[3] The 84th Regiment was clothed, armed and accoutred the same as the Black Watch, with Lieutenant Colonel Allan Maclean commanding the first battalion and Major General John Small of Strathardle commanding the second.^[4] The two Battalions operated independently of each other and saw little action together."

Wikipedia Article "84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/84th_Regiment_of_Foot_(Royal_Highland_Emigrants)

That the 84th Regiment "was raised from Scottish soldiers who had served in the Seven Year's War" makes it possible that the Decker name came to America by way of Scotland. Thomas Decker may have come to America in order to serve as a Scottish Royal Highland soldier during the French and Indian War. After his service was complete, he settled along with many of the 84th Regiment in the vicinity of Lake Ontario in the colony of New York. When the Revolutionary War began, he served with the loyal 84th again, against the rebellious colonists. 

The Decker name does not seem to be Scottish in origin. Most of the Deckers in America probably came here from the Netherlands, settling in the northern colonies when they were still part of New Amsterdam. It is possible that the Decker family may have fled to Scotland from the Netherlands, or the Flemish region of Belgium, during the late 1500s, at the time when many Protestants were fleeing religious persecution for their faith. It is known that many of these people emigrated during the late 1500s, some coming to England or Scotland. The Deckers may have been part of that migration. 

Much more research needs to be done to consolidate or refute these findings. I would welcome any comments that might lead to correcting or expanding upon this information.

Isaac Cryle Decker 1829-1873 (10110)

One of the original holders of this portrait identified this as Isaac Decker Sr., however there are clues that show it unlikely that this is the case. This man is holding a leather portfolio filled with rifle cartridges. Since these type of cartridges were not used until, at least, the Civil War, this photograph must be of a man who was still rather young in the 1860s. Since Isaac Sr. would have been 65 years old by 1860, it seems unlikely that this is him. Indeed, a portrait of him from about 1870 shows him as a grizzled old man. It is more likely that it is his son Isaac Cryle Decker, who would have been thirty-one in 1860.

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Isaac Cryle Decker was the fifth child of Isaac Decker Sr. and his first wife, Deborah. Family Search gives Isaac's birth date as February 18, 1829 and death date as Between 1874 - 1876, but I'm uncertain of their sources for this information. Census data confirms the year of birth (1829) and gives his birthplace as "Upper Canada." This did not mean that he was born in the northernmost reaches of the Canadian border. The phrase "Upper Canada" was used by early Americans to designate an area along the "upper" (or western) portion of the St. Lawrence River. This included the area around the northern borders of Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. The "upper" portion being "up river" from the lower (or eastern) portion, was what made early settlers call the southernmost part of the modern Province of Ontario "Upper Canada."

Isaac may have indeed been born in Ontario, Canada, however it is also possible that he was born in Michigan, near Detroit. Lizzie Decker (his daughter), in the 1900 Census, said that her father was born in Michigan.  Isaac Decker Sr., Isaac Cryle Decker's father, purchased a couple of large tracts of land in Michigan in the early 1830s, so he may have been a resident in the state prior to 1830, when Isaac Cryle Decker was born. Since Michigan was a Territory at this period of time (from 1805 to 1837), not yet a state, and had been within British jurisdiction, it may still have been considered as part of Upper Canada.

Isaac Cryle Decker moved to Texas with his family about the time his father had qualified for a league of land (4,228 acres) in Ben Milam's colony on 17 Mar 1835 (present day Travis County). A few years later, due to trouble with Indian attacks, Isaac Sr. sold his Milam County land, and was granted a labor of land (177 acres) in Montgomery County, Texas.  One can only imagine the terror that drove the family to abandon their newly built home and move to a more populous area, but it must have been a hard decision to make.

Isaac Cryle Decker can be found in the 1850 Census living with his father and his step-mother (Isaac Sr.'s second wife Ann), in Montgomery County, TX. Though he is listed in his father's household, he has $600 worth of acreage of his own.  He also shows up on the tax lists for Montgomery County from 1850 through 1873 when there is a break in the tax list. His family lived in the vicinity of Tillis Prairie, in Decker Prairie which his father founded. Decker Prairie is now an unincorporated rural district of homes, with an elementary school, and community center, and it still retains the pioneer family's name. The old cemetery where Isaac Decker Sr. and his family are buried is still intact.

1850 Census: Isaac C. Decker, in his father's household, Montgomery County, GA.

Isaac married Rachel Elizabeth Sanders, daughter of Claiborne B. and Nancy (Holder) Sanders, in Montgomery County TX on 26 Dec 1855. They were married by Lemly Clepper, a justice of the peace.

They had the following children:

1) Almira Elizabeth Decker b. 10 Jan 1857 Montgomery TX, d. 1 Nov 1913 Brownwood, Brown, TX; m. James Andrew Gilley 3 Feb 1875 Waller, TX

2) Ophelia Jane Decker b. 20 Sep 1859 Montgomery, TX; d. 15 May 1939 Hageman, Chaves, NM; m. Andrew Austin Andrus.

A quote from the 1974 Decker Prairie Year Book states that 'This family lived in Decker Prairie for awhile but possibly moved "back north" in later years.'  The fact that the couple do not appear in the 1860 Federal Census in Montgomery County might explain the speculation. However, we know from Montgomery County tax lists that they lived in the area from 1850 through 1873, since Isaac C. Decker is listed as a neighbor to his father up to his father's death. We also know that Isaac and Lizzie were in Texas for the Civil War.

Isaac was not only in Texas during the Civil War, he enlisted in the Confederate Cavalry on 14 May 1862, as a Sergeant in Waller's Regiment, Company D, 13th Battalion. He served until the end of the war.

U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865

Name:

Isaac Decker

Side:

Confederate

Regiment State/Origin:

Texas

Regiment Name:

Waller's Reg't Texas Cavalry

Regiment Name Expanded:

Waller's Regiment, Texas Cavalry

Company:

D

Rank In:

Sergeant

Rank In Expanded:

Sergeant

Rank Out:

Sergeant

Rank Out Expanded:

Sergeant

Film Number:

M227 roll 9

[National Park Service. U.S. Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865 ]

History has been rewritten to reflect only the Union side of the Civil War. If you read the Wikipedia article, for example, it fails completely to reflect the southern side at all. They have insisted the war was about ending slavery. That was only a small part of what the war was about, and for most soldiers (both North and South) was not significant at all. Indeed, the emancipation of slaves was not even made an explicit part of the war effort until the Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on 1st January 1863.

The North was largely an industrial economy, which gave them an advantage in liquid assets. They were also more populous, which gave them an advantage in votes in congress and for the presidency. When congress met to decide issues involving all states, the North had become dominant in every major issue. The South began to feel that they were being unfairly taxed to support causes that benefitted only the North. It was a situation of taxation without representation. The North continued to increase taxes on land, crippling the Southern economy, in order to build infrastructure in the North. The situation was rife for contention. The South decided that the only way that they could maintain their rights of representation in congress was to secede from the union and form their own nation. This was the real initiating cause of the Civil War.

In the March 1862 edition of the Houston Tri-Weekly Telegraph Waller published the following plea for good men to join the fight:

“Regiment of Mounted Men for three years or the war, were at home on horseback, who ride like cowboys, who hit the bull’s eye with a rifle or pistol, and go anywhere and stand anything like a regular Ranger.  Recruits are requested to bring their Arms when they have suitable Guns, Pistols, etc. . . . They are also requested to bring their Horses . . .

Texians your homes and hearthstones are now threatened from the North.  You are called to the rescue . . . Come now, come at once, come to the rescue and let us win our liberties by our valor.  Here is a service that Texians delight in.  This Regiment like the brave Rangers of Terry’s [8th Texas Cavalry] will be assigned duty in the teeth of danger. Come with me, and I will lead you right when your habits and disposition will enable you to make the best fight in your power.”

Waller was warning men that their "homes and hearthstones" were threatened by a northern invasion. The Union Army was threatening to invade Texas by way of Arkansas and Louisiana which they were in the process of conquering. Isaac C. Decker was among the men who answered the call. An army was invading his homeland, and threatening the peace of his family. Isaac owned no slaves, and did not fight for the cause of keeping slavery. He was fighting for the right of his state to determine their own future. He readily signed up for Waller's regiment.

The history of the 13th Battalion tells us that they traveled into Arkansas early in 1862, where they set up camp and built defensive earthworks near the Arkansas River to keep Union forces at bay, but after many weeks the Union forces failed to materialize and the battalion moved south into Louisiana.  Waller's Regiment had reached Louisiana by July 20th, here they made camp at a sugar mill near the Mississippi River, and began to make a general nuisance of themselves by burning a schooner and its cargo, and another boat stranded near Algiers. They continued to scour the countryside, intercepting Union provisions.

It was on 7 Sep 1862 that they had their first encounter with the Union army at Bonnet Carre. Things went badly for the Confederate Cavalry there; and, along with most of the other men, Isaac lost his horse and was forced to regroup with the rest of the battalion several miles away. The following is a voucher reflecting that Isaac lost his horse and his gun, as well as other equipment, in that retreat.

Union Major General Benjamin Butler became angry at reports of the depredations that were being caused by Confederate forces. He became determined to put an end to it. However, the event that finally galvanized him into action actually had nothing to do with Waller's Regiment. It was an attack on the 8th Vermont Infantry, that was the responsibility of Confederate General John Pratt, who was in charge of the Louisiana militia. Pratt had ignored a white flag of truce, and attacked the Vermont Regiment, taking many prisoners. 

General Butler mistakenly attributed this cowardly act to the Texans, instead of the Louisiana militia. He was so angry at this injustice that he decided to launch an attack directed specifically at Waller's Regiment, in order to put them permanently out of commission. Over four battalions of Union troops were assembled near Carrollton on September 8th, 1862 to begin the assault. The Confederates were outmanned six to one, and the Union army also included two battalions of artillery of which the Confederates had none. The result was a disaster for Waller's men.

William Craig, a Confederate soldier with Waller’s Regiment, wrote the following:

“They saw the boats leave Carrollton about 1 o’clock at night and they supposed they were coming up to give us a fight and they hurried with the greatest dispatch to inform Col. Waller of the fact and reached camp about daylight.  The whole command was formed in a few moments and we were marched into a cane field and here we waited until the boats had moved on us and then the transports landed their men . . . While marching on, their guard fired on our advance and killed three men . . . but they were hid in the cane and our men could not fire . . . [We] pushed on but could not find ground sufficient to form in line of battle mounted so all were dismounted and then every forth man had to hold horses.  We then marched about 100 yards and all were stationed along side of the road awaiting an attack . . . then they opened on us with their Battery & Minnies and Waller gave the order to fall back to our horses amid Shells &balls!  We retreated down the canal and here we come to the Swamp and Col. Waller finding it impossible to take our horses into the swamp, commanded all to leave their horses and take it afoot.  Some led their horses in two or three miles but finding that they could go no further left them.  By this time the command was very much scattered and in all directions.  Col. Waller . . . Major Boone and almost all of the Captains had squads all day in getting through the swamps and some arrived at the station about noon and another squad arrived about sundown.  All wet and hungry and remarkably tired.  Some came in with no shoes on, no hats and some with hardly any clothes.”

In another account of the skirmish, a letter printed in the Bellville Countryman [Vol. 3, No. 12, Ed. 1] Saturday, October 18, 1862, William P. Jackson wrote that there were two gunboats in the river beside them “keeping opposite to us, watching our movements. This boat had two masts, on the foremost stood a man with a spyglass so that he could see all our movements and count our number…Boom came the shells all over us—bursting some fifteen or twenty inches above our heads;—doing us no damage, however, but scaring us pretty badly, and our horses worse…We now arrived at a large ditch near the swamp, which we immediately crossed and were then ordered to dismount, and one man hold eight horses.”

They walked down the ditch and through the sugar cane, before halting and assembling in preparation for a charge by the enemy line. Jackson continues, “Col. Waller walked out where he could see them, and said: ‘Boys, that line is two miles long.’ Just at this time some one came up and told him they were out-flanking, and getting between him and the swamp. He then ordered us to get to horses. Just as we started they commenced firing at us with four pieces of artillery."

A more official account was published in the Tri-Weekly Telegraph (Houston, TX) [Vol. 28, No. 81, Ed. 1] Monday, September 22, 1862:

The Boutt Station Fight: Narrow Escape of Waller’s Command

“On Sunday, 7th inst., we went to Boutt Station and took possession; but finding no water for our horses, we returned up the river about five miles, to a sugar plantation, where we seized two schooners, loaded with sugar and molasses which we burned. On Monday, the 8th, at daylight, there appeared four transports and the man-of-war Brooklyn, about four miles below, coming up. We saddled up and returned into the sugar field, where we waited until two of the transports landed below us, and the other two at once came on up and landed about two miles above us, and put off about 1500 infantry, and two batteries of artillery, which at once formed and came forward into the cane-field just above us. We struck down nearer the swamp, and attempted to move up the river, when suddenly our advance was fired upon, killing three or four men. We then retreated to the rear of the sugar field, and between it and the swamp. the Brooklyn was shelling us heavily the whole time. We first formed on horseback, but found the ground unsuited for cavalry charge,—We then left our horses and went forward on foot, when the enemy suddenly fired on us from ambush, attacking both flanks with shells, grape, canister and musketry. We stood our ground firmly, expecting the enemy to advance, until we observed a force striking between us and the swamp, with the intention of surrounding us; and at the same time discovered the number of the enemy to be much greater than we at first thought—1200 or 1500 more moving upon us from the transports which had landed below. Major Boone at once ordered a retreat to the swamp, which most of us reached, with our horses, under heavy fire. After getting into the swamp, Major Boone and Col. Waller concluded that the only alternative was to surrender, or leave our horses and try to make our escape through the swamp on foot. We chose the latter; and after some delay, during which time we were shelled incessantly, we started on our way through the swamp. On Tuesday, the 9th, near night, after terrible suffering, we reached the camp, on Bayou Desalmarede, with only 140 men, since which one 50 others have arrived at Thibodaux. Our whole number which went into the fight was about 250 men. The enemy had about 3,000 infantry and artillery, and 500 cavalry. Some of our missing may yet turn up. T. Hensly, A. Q. M.”

The Union troops pursued the Confederates, coming across about 300 horses mired up to their bellies in mud. Some of them had fallen in trying to extricate themselves, and had been empaled by Cypress knees growing out of the mud. The Union soldiers continued to pursue, shooting at the retreating men until they had captured the few who were within their firing range, but they soon realized that it was useless to continue further.

Waller's Regiment regrouped, and camped. After careful consideration, Waller allowed one man from each company to return to Texas in order to gather weapons and horses to resupply the men. In the meantime, most of the regiment were ferried about in cane carts from camp to camp. The Union soldiers began to call them the "cane cart company," adding to their humiliation. Waller's Battalion was effectively taken out of the fighting for the rest of the year, while they waited to be resupplied.

A severe early winter took its toll on the troops through illness late in 1862, typhoid fever, pneumonia, and tuberculosis broke out in epidemic proportions among the weakened troops, and two men died from exposure in the blasting winter chill. Fortunately, new supplies reached them before they had lost many men. These supplies included tents, blankets and warm clothing as well as fresh food. The rest of the winter was milder as well, so that they were able to get through without further losses. 

By Spring, the 13th Battalion was equipped and ready to join the fighting. They were anxious to overcome the enemy, to prove that what happened at Bonnet Carre had been merely a temporary setback. In April of 1863 they were ordered to engage the Union forces to offer relief to Vicksburg, which was under siege. In order to do so, they would storm Fort Buchanan where enemy supplies were being delivered.

They had to cross a lake, twelve miles long, in flimsy skiffs, then slog through several more miles of waist deep swamp during the middle of the night, before reaching the enemy. The following clipping gives an account of the storming of the enemy encampment:

Dallas Herald. (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 11, No. 33, Ed. 1 Wednesday, July 15, 1863.

Their reputation made good, they continued to encounter the Union army north of Vicksburg and skirmished with them at Bunch's Bend, where they captured many prisoners as well as supply wagons. On 9 June 1863, they encountered the Union army again at Lake Providence, but the battle was indecisive. 

This map shows location of the Battle of Pleasant Hill in Louisiana. Just above it is Mansfield, where the battle had been waged the previous day. [Map from Johnson, Robert Underwood, and Clarence Clough Buel. Battles and leaders of the Civil War. Vol. IV. New York: The Century Co., 1888.]

There were no further encounters that year, and the men finally settled into winter quarters. In the following spring they had their worst encounter yet with the Union forces at the battles of Mansfield on 8 April and Pleasant Hill on 9 April in 1864. The Union forces retreated, and the Confederates followed them north to Jenkin's Ferry where they engaged them in battle again. Things went badly for the Confederate forces there, but the battle was indecisive. This was the final battle that the 13th participated in. They were stationed again in Louisiana and Arkansas where they were involved in building bridges and patrolling river routes, before returning to Texas. The entire battalion was on leave just before the war ended.

Isaac went back to his farm, and continued to live on Decker's Prairie until his death. He appears in the 1870 Census in Montgomery County, Texas.

Isaac C. Decker in 1870 Census, Montgomery County, TX

I have yet to locate a cemetery record, obituary or probate records to confirm his death date, but former researchers have his death in Sep of 1873. There may be a grave marker for him in Decker's cemetery that has yet to be transcribed. If he did die in 1873, he was still quite young at the time, at just 44 years of age.

Isaac Decker 1795-1873 (101100)

Isaac Decker, probably taken about 1870.

Isaac Decker was a Texas pioneer, being one of the original settlers in Travis County and then Montgomery County, Texas. Isaac's Travis County land holding is now a suburb of the city of Austin. Because of this local celebrity, there is much information about Isaac on-line, some of it mere speculation and so useful only in guiding future research. This speculation is chiefly about his origins, since there is much good information available about him once he arrived in Texas.

Isaac Decker's parentage has been a matter of some speculation. Early researchers suggested that Isaac's father may have been named Thomas, based on the fact that this is the name of Isaac's firstborn son. Early settlers often followed this common practice of naming the first-born son after the child's paternal grandfather. Such naming patterns are often useful for guiding research. In the absence of other evidence this may be meaningless; however, if there is corroborating evidence, this becomes another piece of evidence that points to Thomas Decker as a possible father. In order to trace Isaac's father, we must understand where he was born.





Given Isaac's claims about his origins, we know that he was born in Upper Canada near Detroit, on the Detroit River. The Detroit River flows from Lake Saint Clair to Lake Eire and now constitutes the border between Michigan in the United States and Ontario, Canada. In the 1850 Federal Census, Isaac said that he was born in "Upper Canada", but in his application to the Spanish government for a land grant he said he was "a native of the Michigan Territory."


Upper Canada was the name given to the south-western half of the Saint Lawrence River. The river flows from its origin at eastern Lake Ontario, to its mouth at the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean. The flow of a river, and not its ordinal direction (north, south, east or west), determines upriver and downriver. Therefore, the "upper" part of a river is always its origin, and the "lower" part is always its mouth. This fact determined that early settlers north of the river would call the settlements near the mouth of the Saint Lawrence "Lower Canada," and the settlements near Lake Ontario "Upper Canada."

By 1805, Michigan Territory was part of the United States, but prior to that the British claimed it as part of their jurisdiction. This was the case in the 1790s, when Isaac was born in the Detroit area of Michigan. Therefore, when Isaac was born his family lived in Upper Canada. In 1835, when Isaac was applying for a land grant, the area was then known as Michigan Territory. Therefore, there is no contradiction in his claims, but merely changes in jurisdiction.

With Isaac's birthplace determined, it becomes possible to search for the presence of other Deckers in the area at the time of Isaac's birth. A survey of both Upper Canada and Michigan Territory records has so far revealed the presence of only one Decker in the vicinity of the Detroit River. That man was named Thomas Decker. At this point, it seems likely that this Thomas Decker is the father of Isaac Decker. More research needs to be done, in both land and probate records, to consolidate this finding. See the blog for Thomas Decker for the latest information on him and his connection to Isaac. 

The dates that have been claimed for Isaac's birth are an example of the contradictory information that exists for him. His grave marker gives his birth as 6 October 1795; however, since this marker was not placed until many years after his death, it cannot be used as a primary source. It is yet unclear where they got this information. Perhaps an early cemetery survey had dates from his original marker.

Information that Isaac gave about his birth in record sources is inconsistent. In the 1850 through 1870 Federal Census records Isaac claimed to be 55, 58 [could have intended 68] and then 78 years old. This would make him born about 1795, 1802 [would be 1792 if 68 years old] or 1792. On his application for a land grant in 1834 Isaac claimed to be 38 years old, so born about 1796. Most researchers use the 1795 date for his birth.

Isaac wrote, on his land application, that he came to Texas from Michigan in 1834. Yet, his eldest daughter claimed to have been born in New York about 1821, and his son Isaac Cryle (b. abt 1829) claimed to be born in Upper Canada like his father. This would mean that Isaac must have lived in New York when he met his first wife, Deborah, and moved or moved back to Michigan before 1829.

I believe that Isaac's family, both his extended family and his nuclear family, probably originated in New York. My reasoning on this combines the data giving the daughter's birth in New York, and the fact that there is a Christler family who were neighbors to the Deckers in Columbia County, New York at an early date (as early as 1790). Given that Isaac & Deborah named a son Chisler Decker, it is likely that there is a familial relationship with the Chrisler family. Since we have yet to determine Deborah's maiden name, there is a remote possibility that her maiden name may have been Chrisler.

Some researchers have given Deborah's birth date as March 14, 1801. Her grave marker is the likely source for this information, though that has yet to be determined. Isaac and Deborah must have married about 1820, since their oldest known child was born in 1821.

Another anomaly in this long list is the date that Isaac arrived in Texas. Though he claimed, in his land application, to have arrived in Texas in 1834, it is possible that Isaac came to Texas as early as 1826, and finally moved his family to Texas in 1834. There is a Texas Tax List which names Isaac Decker as a resident in Bastrop County, Township Austin, Mixicounty Territory at that time. Since Austin is where our Isaac got his first land grant, it is likely that this is him.

Texas Census, 1820-90

Name:	Isaac Decker
State:	TX
County:	Bastrop County
Township:	Austin, Mexicounty Territory
Year:	1826
Database:	TX Tax List Index, 1820-1829

In February of 1835, Isaac applied for a league of land (4,428.4 acres) in Stephen F. Austin’s colony. His application must have been denied, because within a month he would apply again.

Upper Colony. Applies for league back of Hornsby, Duty & Gilleland [From Application of Marlene Fae (Lacey) Parker - Early Settlers of Montgomery County, Texas, page 18] 

We learn from this land application, and from later census records, that Isaac was a cobbler [shoe and boot maker]. Family tradition says that he was a Saddler as well, and used the tannic acid acquired from the leaves of the Red Oak trees that grew along Spring Creek in order to dye the leather red. We also learn from the application that Isaac's first wife was named Deborah:

Stephen F. Austin’s Register of Families by Villiame Williams

Memorandum of Applications for Land in Austin’ Colony

Names: Isaac Decker    

Where from: Michigan     

Date of Arrival Dec 15 1834 

Date of Application; 28 Feb 1835 

Family & age: married, 38 yrs; Children 3 males 2 females

Occupation: Boot & Shoe Maker 

Deborah his wife    34 yrs.

In March of 1835, Isaac and Deborah Decker applied for a land grant the second time with Milam’s colony. Benjamin Rush Milam had also received a contract from the Mexican government to settle three hundred families on the land between the Guadalupe River on the south and the Colorado river on the north. Isaac's application for this land grant was addressed to the State of Coahuila, Mexico, and was written 17 Mar 1835. At that point of time, he had already found a plot of land for which he was applying--on Williamson Creek. 

Bluebells in bloom in central Texas, showing the
beauty and fertility of the land. This will help explain
why Isaac decided to move his family to Texas.

In his letter of approval, the commissioner described Isaac's portion as "a league of land [4,428.4 acres], situated on the west bank of the Colorado River, opposite the city of Austin, commencing at the mouth of Spring creek on the bank of said river..." [Quoted from a law suit published in The Texas Democrat (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 2, No. 8, Ed. 1, Saturday, February 27, 1847]. The commissioner's letter goes on to describe the borders of the property in great detail, even to tracing five crossings of Williamson Creek in its meanderings across the south border.

Here is a map showing that original grant; the darkened area in the center shows Isaac Decker's land grant location, with the pink area across the river showing where a small tract had been set aside for the city of Austin (over time Austin, of course, grew to encompass Isaac's land):

Survey for Isaac Decker's original League of Land.

Within a few short years, Isaac had left this land. It is not known exactly why he did this. One researcher has speculated that it was because of harassment from Indians in the area. It is also possible that this was too much land to handle for a man with so many small children at home. 

Land applicants who had obtained a headright land grant, as Isaac had done, were entitled to one League of grazing quality land and one Labor of farm quality land. Leagues and Labors were units of Spanish land measurement, based on their basic unit of land measurement, the vara (meaning “pole”). The Anglo settlers had agreed with the Mexican government to standardize the vara at 33 1/3 inches. A League was 25 million square varas, or 4,428.4 acres. A Labor was 1 million square varas, or 177.1 acres. Isaac had obtained his League of land in the vicinity of the city of Austin. Now, he applied for his Labor of land.

On the 1st of March 1838 Isaac obtained a certificate from the Board of Land Commissioners in Montgomery County, which would allow him to obtain land there. The certificate reads as follows:

Certificate No. 248 "This is to certify that Isaac Decker has appeared before the Board of Land Commissioners for the County of Montgomery  and has owed according to Law, that he arrived in this County in 1834 and that he is a man of family, and entitled to one labor of land upon the condition of paying at the rate of Three 50/100 dollars for every labor of Irrigable land, Two 50/100 dollars for every labor of Temporal or arable land and one 20/100 dollar for every labor of Pasture land which may be contained in the survey secured to him by this certificate.

"Given under our hands this the 1st March 1838. 

-attest

-B. Goodrich

-Clk"

[There is a section at the bottom of this certificate that has broken off, so everything below the date, which comprises the first part of this signature and accompanying information, is missing, as indicated by the hyphens.]

In the 1840 tax list, he is given as one of the original grantees of land in Montgomery County TX, and giving the source file of his original grant as League L, Section 66, Abstract 166. There is also a survey on file for Isaac dated November 1839. This must have been lost, because a copy of it was registered in 1841. This copy has crumbled with age and has many missing pieces:

"Survey for Isaac Decker of one Labor of Land--Situated North of Spring Creek about 18 miles 40 degrees E. of Montgomery Boarder[border] North of & adjoining a Survey made for Thom's Breece, South of & adjoining a Survey made for JP(?) Davy. East of  & adjoining a survey made for Thos D(?) Strawberry, Being the qantity of Land to which he is entitled by virtue of Certificate No. 248 issued to him by the Board of Land Commissioners for the County of Montgomery on the first day of March A. D. 1838. Beginning at Thos K(?) Breece N. E. corner a Black Jack 40 ins. Dia. Mkd D. Thence North 500 [looks like us or vs] to a Stake pointers Mkd D. being also the S. E. corner of H. Davy's survey. Thence West 2000 [vs?] with the South bouandary of Davy's survey, to his S. W. Corner, a Stake pointer Mkd [missing section] boundary line of Thos J Strawberry survey [missing section] South 500 vs to a stake, from which a Red Oak 15 ins dia Mkd D [word obscured by small missing section] N. 36 degrees E 46 vs? dst. Thence East 2000 vs to the place of Beginning Containing One Labor of Arable Land. Sam Bowers & Wm Booth C. C. [Chain Carriers] Surveyed November 1839 by Henry Trott Co. Surveyor

I [missing piece] H. Bringhurst, have copied [missing section] above Survey from the original field notes [missing section] late Henry Trott, and under oath of my office believe it to be a correct Survey. Geo Birmghurst Co. Survy. Harris Co.

"Houston Apr 21st 1841

"Houston 1841
"Received from Isaac Decker Two 50/100 Dollars the amount of Government dues on the above Survey [last piece missing]"

Isaac Decker's survey for land in Montgomery County, Texas.

The month after Isaac had obtained his certificate for land in Montgomery County, he sold his original Milam grant. On June 18, 1838, there is a deed on record in which Isaac Decker sold his original league of land to David Browning and Daniel Browning.

Deborah and Isaac Decker had the following children:
1) Eliza Marie Decker b. 28 Dec 1821 NY, d. 28 Jan 1880 Montgomery TX; m. (1) Daniel Lacey 24 Dec 1840 Montgomery TX, (2) Charles Weaver 24 Sep 1846 Montgomery TX.
2) Thomas Decker b. 1 Aug 1823 NY, d. 4 Jan 1842 Montgomery TX
3) Eli Decker b. 8 Aug 1823, d. 8 Aug 1825
4) Levi Decker b. 8 Aug 1825 d. 17 Aug 1825
5) Isaac Cryle Decker b. 18 Feb 1829 Ontario, Canada, d. Sep 1873 Montgomery TX; m. Rachel Elizabeth Sanders 26 Dec 1855 Montgomery TX
6) Bedina Jane Decker b. 23 Feb 1832 Michigan, d. Unknown
7) Christler Decker b. 23 Feb 1832 Michigan, d. Bef. 25 Sep 1873; m. Mary Ann E. Lewis 22 Nov 1870 Montgomery TX
8) Deborah Ann Decker b. 21 Apr 1836 Milam, TX, d. Sep 1836 TX
9) Lucinda Decker b. 12 Apr 1838 TX, d. 5 Feb 1916 TX; m. (1) J. E. Close 21 Nov 1855 Montgomery TX, (2) A. A. Johnson 8 Jun 1881 Montgomery TX

Some of the children's information has been confirmed, but most of this information comes from the work of other researchers. 

A second Texas Census for 1840 shows them living in Montgomery County. In 1841, Isaac joined with some neighbors in a new venture. They purchased some acreage near where they lived on Spring Creek, on which they hoped to establish a new town called Greenville. They styled themselves town Commissioners, and hoped to develop the area in which they lived into a thriving marketplace. However, the fact that there is no modern city named Greenville on Spring Creek in Montgomery County tells us that their hopes were never brought to fruition. Here is a newspaper article in which they were advertising for purchasers:

Telegraph and Texas Register (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 6, No. 34, Ed. 1, Wednesday, July 21, 1841, Sequence: 3 | The Portal to Texas History

In January 23, 1849 Isaac married Ann J. Hunter in Polk County, Texas [Bk A p. 23 Polk County TX]. She was born Abt. 1817 in Kentucky, and died before November 1854 (when Isaac remarried) in Montgomery County, Texas. She was a widow, whose maiden name was probably Harrell. The had the following children:
1) Victoria D. Decker b. 15 May 1850 Montgomery County, Texas, d. 17 Aug 1920 Tom Ball County, TX m. Montgomery Coe
2) Minerva Decker b. bef. 1854, d. unknown
3) Elizabeth Decker b. bef. 1854, d. unknown

There is an 1850 Slave Schedule, for Montgomery County, Texas, that says Isaac Decker had two slaves: one black woman 52 and an 18 year old  black man. The 1850 Federal Census shows Isaac, his new wife, Ann, and several of his children in Montgomery County, where he also appears for Texas State Census of that year.

The Federal Census records reflect the evolving family:

1850 United States Federal Census

Name:	Isaac Decker
Age:	55
Birth Year:	abt 1795
Birthplace:	Canada
Home in 1850:	Montgomery, Texas
Gender:	Male
Family Number:	209
Household Members:	Name Age Isaac Decker 55 Ann J Decker 33 Isaac C Decker 21 Kisler Decker 18 Jane Decker 18 Lucinda Decker 11 Edmund Douglas 12 John Douglas 10 George Douglas 8 Mary Ann Douglas 5 Victoria Decker 0 Charles Shingles 45 Wilson Johnson 20

Wedding picture of Isaac Decker and his third wife, Alcey, taken in 1854.

By 1854, Isaac had become a widower again, left with more young children to raise. He did not wait long to marry again this time. On the 10th of November 1854, Isaac married Alcey Jane Alston in Harris County, Texas. She was born about 1827, and died before 1864 in Montgomery County TX.

They had the following children:

1) Lucy Ann Decker b. 1855 Montgomery County, Texas, d. unknown
2) Aletha Decker b. 1856 Montgomery County, Texas, d. unknown
3) Wellington Decker b. 16 July 1857 Montgomery County, Texas, d. unknown
4) Lord Nelson Decker b. 16 Jul 1857 Montgomery County, Texas, d. 29 Feb 1920 Montgomery County, Texas
5) Julia Decker b. 1860 Montgomery County, Texas, d. unknown

In the 1860 Federal Census, Isaac was mis-transcribed as J. Decker, but he is found with some of his children in Montgomery County, Texas:

1860 United States Federal Census

Name:	J Decker
Age in 1860:	58
Birth Year:	abt 1802
Birthplace:	Canada
Home in 1860:	Montgomery, Texas
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Montgomery
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age J Decker 58 V Decker 10 E Decker 7 S Morris 35

Alcey and Isaac had an unhappy union. In 1864 Isaac filed for a divorce:

However, the divorce was never successfully completed, because Alcey also died young. She may have died shortly after Julia was born, but we know she died by the fall of 1864, because the divorce proceedings ended due to her death:

Five years later, Isaac Decker married Susan Eubank on May 15, 1869 in Montgomery County, Texas. She was born about 1835 in Alabama, and died August 15, 1917 in Curry County, New Mexico. Isaac and Susan had the following children:

1) John Decker b. 11 Oct 1864 Texas, d. abt 1907 Texas
2) Ellen Decker b. 1871 Texas, d. Unknown
3) Ida Decker b. 1874 Texas, d. Unknown

Isaac is believed to have had 22 children with his four wives. Four of these children died as infants. Among these children, he likely had two sets of twins with his first wife, Deborah, and another set of twins with his fourth, Susan Eubank. I have found marriage records to confirm the marriages for all but Deborah, and Deborah's name was mentioned on the land application. So, all four marriages have been confirmed.

In the 1870 Federal Census, Isaac can be found with his new wife, and several of his children, living in Tillis Prairie, Montgomery County, Texas:
1870 United States Federal Census

Name:	Isaac Decker
Age in 1870:	78
Birth Year:	abt 1792
Birthplace:	Canada
Home in 1870:	Tillis Prairie Precinct, Montgomery, Texas
Race:	White
Gender:	Male
Post Office:	Danville
Value of real estate:	View image
Household Members:	Name Age Isaac Decker 78 Susan Decker 25 Lucy Decker 14 Julia Decker 10 Jack Decker 6 Virginia Decker 12 Whittington Decker 11 Amy Decker 2 Mary Jane Decker 33

As can be seen from the image, the 1870 Federal Census also confirms that he was a shoe maker, and that he owned $2,000 worth of land and $200 worth of personal property.

Up to a few years before his death, he continued to build his holdings and tried to see that his family would be well provided for after he was gone. In 1869 he bought 177 more acres of land in Montgomery County:

Texas, Land Title Abstracts,1700-2008

Grantee:	Isaac Decker
Certificate:	248
Patentee:	Isaac Decker
Patent Date:	6 Apr 1869
Acres:	177
District:	Montgomery
County:	Montgomery
File:	263
Patent #:	24
Patent Volume:	18
Class:	Harris 1st.

Isaac's will names only his youngest son, John (b. 1864), who was to inherit the bulk of the estate. However, the older children had already been provided for, or had predeceased their father, so it is understandable that he would want to provide for the one who would be left without support. Isaac mentions his other children in his will, but does not name them:

"I, Isaac Decker of the County of Montgomery and State of Texas do and publish this my last will and testament hereby Revokeing and making void all former wills by me at any time made. First I direct that my body be decently intered in my own buring ground And I Direct that enough of My unimproved lands be sold to Pay all of my Debts And I also direct that all my Property after My debts as payed Shal belong to My beloved Wife and My beloved Son John Decker all of my Cattle My Horses Hogs Wagons Buggys all farming utencils and all and every kind of Property by me owned I do hereby will to My Beloved wife and the said above Mentioned beloved Child I also direct that one dollar shal be given out of the ...of the Sale of any of my unimproved lands to Each and to Every of my children and that shal be their part to all intence and perpusis of all my estate.

In witness where of I have here unto Set my hand and seal this the 27 day of December A.D. 1869. /s/ Isaac Decker

Don in the presents of us who have sined it in the presents of each other.

J. H. (his mark) Hamlin, J. A. (his mark) Gatlin, /s/ Jacob Meyers."

The precise day of his death is not known, however the month and year of his death were mentioned in a guardianship record. This is a court record in which the guardianship of Isaac Decker's grandson, son of his deceased son Chrisler, was being determined. While petitioning to continue as William Decker's guardian, Wilburn Furguson deposes that Isaac Decker had died in Dec of 1873:

Black Box Documents, Montgomery County TX Probate
FHL 976.4153 P2mct v. 4 #603 Decker, William Minor
9 Feb 1874 Wilburn Furguson petitions for guardianship of Wm. Decker by virtue of agreement w/Isaac Decker states Isaac died ___ Dec 1873.

He was interred, as he directed, on his own property, surrounded by his family. His descendants, at a later date, had a fancy new tombstone erected, to honor their pioneer ancestor.