Smith County, Texas

Robert Ebenezer Gaston was born October 14, 1851 in Winston County, MS. He was the third son and child of Ebenezer GASTON and Margaret Caroline FOX. Ebenezer and Margaret were married December 17,1844 in Winston County. MS, and had seven children: John William GASTON, Finis Ewing GASTON, Robert Ebenezer GASTON, Nathan Alexander GASTON, Margaret GASTON, Joseph Fleming GASTON, and Jeff Davis GASTON.

The family moved to nearby Oktibbeha County, MS before 1860. Robert's mother, Margaret Caroline Fox Gaston, died December 27, 1862. She was buried with her parents at Old Baptist Cemetery in Winston County, MS. Ebenezer Gaston was remarried to Agnes FOX because a motherly help was needed with the children.

When Robert E. Gaston was 22, he moved to Tyler, Smith County, TX. At age 23, he married Carrie M. BALDWIN on April 21, 1875 at the home of her parents, Dr. Aaron and Caroline BALDWIN near Enterprise, Clarke Co. MS. Carrie was born April 9, 1855, in Marego County, AL. Robert took his new wife back to his home in Tyler, Smith County, TX.

Robert was a traveling auditor for Texas & St Louis Railroad (T & St L RR). He sometimes took his family with him when he did auditing jobs for the railroad. In 1880, when the Census was recorded, Robert and his family were living in Camp County, TX because Robert had some auditing to do in that area.

According to the "1882 Tyler Directory", Robert Gaston and family were living on North College Street near downtown Tyler. His brother Dr. Finis Ewing GASTON, a dentist, was living on North Bois d'Arc, also near downtown Tyler. The directory lists that Robert was working with T & St L RR at the time.

Robert and Carrie were members of the Marvin Methodist Church. Robert was listed as a steward for the church in the church's 1892 member's directory. On May 9, 1896, the board of Marvin Methodist elected Robert E. Gaston to be trustee of the mortgage to help reduce the financial debt of the new church. Through his efforts, the debt was somewhat reduced.

Robert became a merchant in downtown Tyler some time before 1900. His mother-in-law, Caroline M Baldwin was living with the family at the time. His two brothers, Dr. Finis Ewing Gaston and Joseph Fleming Gaston, were also living in Tyler. By 1910, Robert was a bank cashier. He and Carrie lived on West Erwin St. and their home was a boarding house for people who worked in downtown Tyler.

Children of Robert E.Gaston and Carrie M. Baldwin:

1. Grace Caroline GASTON was born in 1877 in Tyler. She died at the age of two in 1879. She is buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler, TX. There is a photo of Grace in the Gaston Family Bible titled "Our Darling Grace".
2. Fannie Mae GASTON, born April 5, 1880, died on February 15, 1959. She married Henry L. GOLSAN, Jr. on February 7, 1900, at Marvin Methodist Church in Tyler, TX. Her second marriage was to J. E. MACON of Dallas. She is also buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler, TX.
3. Robert Lee GASTON, Robert and Carrie's first son, was born December 20, 1883 in Tyler. He married Sallie Josephine WOOD on January 6, 1920. Sallie was born August 26, 1881 and died July 18, 1825. His second marriage was to Nina VALLIANT on July 28, 1926. Nina was born February 11, 1898 and died July 9, 1959. Lee, as he was called, was a clothing merchant in downtown Tyler. He also owned the Gaston Buick dealership on West Erwin, next to the Gaston's home. Lee died on his 71st birthday, December 20, 1954. Robert Lee, Sallie and Nina are all buried at Rose Hill Cemetery.
4. Percy Fox GASTON was born September 12, 1885 in Tyler. He died March 29, 1963 from a heart attack. He married Celia COFFIN on April 7, 1907 in Tyler. Celia was born November 15, 1885 near Swain, TX. She died April 30, 1980 in Tyler. Percy and Celia are both buried at Rose Hill Cemetery. Percy was in the grocery business. He last store was Gaston Grocery on Rusk and College during WWII.
5. Sadie GASTON was born December 5, 1888 in Tyler and died November 5, 1976 also in Tyler. She married Van D. LIGGETT on July 7, 1909 and is also buried at Rose Hill Cemetery.

Robert E. Gaston died on August 14, 1931 and his bride, Carrie, died July 15, 1943. They are both buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler, Smith Co. TX. Pictures

Gaston Family Record, 1750-1855, found in the Smith County TXGenWeb Archives

R. E. Gaston Family Bible

Smith County Federal Census Images -

• 1900-096-10b -
• 1910-67-08a -
• 1920-081-06a

Cemetery Records of Smith County, Texas, Vol 1, Oakwood and Rose Hill Cemeteries
(Tyler, TX: East Texas Genealogical Society, 1981)

Smith County Marriage Records, Book II - 1900-1926 (Tyler, TX: East Texas Genealogical Society, 1999)

The second family who lived in Tyler was the Robert Ebenezer Gaston family. He was married to Carrie Baldwin and they had four children as follows:

1. Mrs. Fannie Mae Macon. No children. She died in Tyler Rest Home.
2. Lee Gaston and wife, who had one daughter,
   1. Mrs. Evelyn Gaston Pair, who now lives in Tyler. She and her husband, Roy Pair have one adopted daughter.
3. Percy Gaston, deceased, operated an unusual grocery store with the help of his wife, who is still living at Hearthstone in Tyler. They had one son,
   1. Bob Gaston who married Dorothy Harden of Terrell. He is with Air Line Depot at Pounds Field.
4. Mrs. Sadie Liggett, Deceased, whose husband, Van Liggett predeceased her in death. They had one daughter,
   1. Mrs. Carol Liggett Barrett, who now lives in Tyler after traveling all over the world with her husband, John LaFayette Barrett, who was in foreign services of the State Department; was retired as Lieutenant Colonel. He is now deceased, buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler. They had two children.

All of the original family of Robert Ebenezer and family are now deceased.