AM Shannon Biographical Notes - Online Archive of Terry's Texas Rangers

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Alexander May Shannon

May 7, 1839 - October 28, 1906

Born in Evansville, AR on May 7, 1839.
Immigrated with family to TX in 1853.
First settled in Johnson County then moved to Karnes County, TX.
He began teaching in 1859.
Became a Mason in 1860.

Mustered in with Company C at Houston, TX on September 12, 1861.
Elected 1st Lieutenant.
Commanded the company in latter part of April 1862.
Promoted to Captain in October 1862.
Commanded company by August 1862.
Promoted to temporary acting Lieutenant Colonel in early 1864.
Present in July 1864.
Commanding "Special Scouts and Secret Service" by July 1864; group later known as "Shannon's Scouts."
Promoted to Colonel on February 8, 1865.
S. S. Johnson indicates he was detailed to escort President Davis west to continue the war effort (Jones Roster).
Member of Terry Lodge, Regimental Masonic Chapter.

After the war, partnered in an insurance business with Genl. J. B. Hood in New Orleans, LA.
In 1872 he married Clara Viola Scott.
In 1880 he worked as a government contractor on the south jetty at Galveston, TX.
In 1890 he was made General Manager of the Galveston & Western Railwy.
Served as Galveston Postmaster, October 20, 1893 to February 17, 1898.
Died in Galveston, TX on October 28, 1906. (Sidney Johnson states date of death was October 20.)

Also Identified As:
	Alexander Malachi Shannon
Family Members & Researcher Contacts:

Parents:
	Granville Billingsley Shannon son of Joseph Shannon & Mary Daley Billingsley b. May 4, 1801 in Logan or Warren County, KY m. Unity W. Williams d. January 14, 1873 in Washington County, AL Unity W. Williams b.March 28, 1810 m. Granville B. Shannon d. April 26, 1898
Siblings:
	John S. Shannon b. 1827 George W. Shannon b. December 23, 1829 Mary Jane Shannon b. Joseph F. Shannon b. March 24, 1830 William Henry Shannon, Co. C b. d. October 7, 1863 Martha Shannon b. April 15, 1837 Elmyra Shannon b. Finis "Fine" M. Shannon b. November 8, 1842 Mark Dewitt Shannon b. 14 Feb 1847 Samuel S. B. Shannon b. January 4, 1852 Lillo B. Shannon b. February 19, 1854 Laura Shannon b. June 5, 1857 Maurice Kosciusko Shannon b.
Spouse(s):
	Clara Viola Scott daughter of Maj. William Bibb Scott & Betty Hunter Murphy b. August 3, 1847 m. February 21, 1872 in Galveston, TX
Children:
	Clara May Shannon b. March 7, 1873 in Galveston, TX m. D. Allison Templeton d. November 6, 1907 Alexander May Shannon, Jr. b. ~ 1875 m. Marie Weaver m. Helen Bettie Scott Shannon b. ~ May 18 1878 m. Hudson P. Ellis d. August 24, 1927 Laura Johnston Shannon b. November 11, 1879 m. Dallas J. Mathews Granvile Scott Shannon b. ~ 1881 m. Julie Lilo Beatrice Shannon b. August 14, 1883 d. September 1884 James Alfred Shannon b. ~1885 m. Dana Sproul Conway Mclean Shannon b. ~ 1887 m. Ida Bell
Gravesite:
	Galveston Episcopal Cemetery.

1840 Census - State, County, Town, Page, (image)
	Head of Houshold

1850 Census - State, County, Town, Page, Dwelling, Family, (image)
	Name	Age	Sex	Color	Occupation	Real Estate	Nativity	Student?	Illiterate?

1860 Census - State, County, Town, Page, Dwelling, Family, (image)
	Name	Age	Sex	Race	Occupation	Real Estate	Personal Estate	Nativity	Student?	Literate?

John Shannon, 22, in Evansville, AR

1860 Census - TX, Johnson County, Alvarado PO, Page 473, Dwelling 200, Family 506, (image 73/96)
	Name	Age	Sex	Race	Occupation	Real Estate	Personal Estate	Nativity	Student?	Literate?
	G. P. Shannon	59	M		Farmer	1500	1885	KY
	Unity Shannon	50	F		Housewife			TN
	Emma Shannon	15	F		Domestic			AR
	Mark Shannon	13	M					AR
	Morris Shannon	11	M					AR
	Sam Shannon	8	M					AR
	Lillo Shannon	6	M					AR
	Margarett Latta	4	F					AR
	Ella Latta	1	F					TX

1870 Census - State, County, Town, Page, Dwelling, Family, (image)
	Name	Age	Sex	Race	Occupation	Real Estate	Personal Estate	Nativity	Parentage	Student?	Literate?

1880 Census - TX, Galveston County, Galveston, Page 193, Dwelling, Family, (image) t

Name

Race

Sex

Age

Rel.

Mar. St.

Occupation

Health

Education

Nativity

Father's Nativity

Mother's Nativity

A. M. Schannon

Self

Commision

Clara B. Schannon

wife

Keeping House

Clara Schannon

dau

At Home

Alex Hary Schannon

son

At Home

Bettie Q. Schannon

dau

At Home

Laura J. Schannon

dau

Bettie H. Scoll

mother in law

Percy Bird

other

Cook

1900 Census - State, County, Town, Page, Street Address, Dwelling, Family, (image)

Name

Rel.

Race

Sex

D.O.B.

Age

Mar. info.

Children

Nativity

Father's Nativity

Mother's Nativity

Citizenship

Occupation

Education

Home Ownership

Related Links:
	Galveston News Extra - July 5, 1861 W. H. Shannon Letter, dated September 26, 1861 W. H. Shannon Letter, dated December 10, 1861 B. F. Batchelor Letter, dated January 5, 1862 A. M. Shannon Letter, dated August 26, 1862 F. Shannon Letter, dated October 9, 1862 B. F. Batchelor Letter, dated October 29, 1862 R. F. Bunting Letter, November 25, 1862 "Achievements of the Thirty Rangers," Galveston Weekly News, March 8, 1865. Claiborne's History of Terry's Texas Rangers (Part 2), New Birmingham Times 1891 "Death of Judge Gustave Cook," Confederate Veteran, August 1897 , p. 418. "Last Deeds of the Coleman Scouts," Confederate Veteran, February 1901, p. 59. "The Terry Brothers," Dallas Morning News, 1901 - Col. Shannon's recollections. "Terry's Texas Rangers," Confederate Veteran, May 1902, p. 208. (Reunion) "Cavalry Service Under Gen. Wheeler," Confederate Veteran, August 1903, p. 353-4. "'Fighting' Kilpatrick's Escape," Confederate Veteran, December 1904, P. 588-9. Seeking Information on Shannons, Confederate Veteran, May 1906 (p. 235) Obituary for Col. A. M. Shannon, Confederate Veteran, v. 15, February 1907, p. 84. Texans Who Wore the Gray: A. M. Shannon T.S. Burney, Groesbeck Journal, "The Famous Terry Rangers," November 25, 1909. T. S. Burney, Groesbeck Journal, "The Famous Terry Rangers," November 25, 1909 (Part 2). T. S. Burney, Groesbeck Journal, "Shannon's Scouts," December 9, 1909. T. S. Burney, Groesbeck Journal, "Some Texas Rangers," December 30, 1909 (Part 2). T. S.Burney, Groesbeck Journal, "Some Texas Rangers," January [13], 1910 (Part 4). "One of Terry's Texas Rangers," by R. L. Dunman, Confederate Veteran, March 1923, p. 102 (offsite) Civil War Times Illustrated January 1983 "With Tears in Their Eyes" (offsite) Rice University, Woodson Research Center: Shannon-Scott Family Papers (offsite) Texas Civil War Colonels (offsite) A. M. Shannon (offsite) Postmasters/Post Offices List Glossary of Galveston County 1846 - 1930 (offsite) Descendants of Thomas Shannon (offsite) Wortham Family Cards: Alexander May Shannon (offsite) Linda Moser's West Family Update 5 July 2001 gedcom (offsite) Bill Marshall's Marshall Family gedcom (offsite) Jimmy Kerr's Jimmy Kerr's Genealogy gedcom (offsite) FamilySearch Individual Record: Alexander Malachi Shannon
Sources:
	Claiborne, John M. Muster Roll of Terry's Texas Rangers; With Historical Remarks. Galveston: Self Published, 1882. Johnson, Sidney S. Texans Who Wore the Gray. Tyler, Texas, 1907. Jones, Andrew M. Annotated Roster of Terry's Texas Rangers, the 8th Texas Cavalry. Unpublished Research. Scott, Paul R. Eighth Texas Cavalry, CSA. Arlington: The University of Texas at Arlington, July 1977. Unpublished MA Thesis.
Research Links:
	(offsite) RootsWeb Message Boards (surname: Shannon) (offsite) Genealogy.com Genealogy Forum (surname: Shannon) (offsite) TXGenWeb Project (Karnes County, TX) (offsite) RootsWeb Message Boards (Karnes County, TX) (offsite) Genealogy.com Genealogy Forum (Karnes County, TX)

This page contains our biographical notes. These notes are continually updated as new or more reliable information becomes available. It should not be assumed that our notes are wholly complete or accurate. They are shared here in order to provide a starting place from which to begin researching a specific individual. If you have additional or conflicting information we urge you to contact us that this resource may continue to grow and develop.