I first visited the Forrest United Methodist Chapel and Cemetery in the 70s with my mother and father. Mother said the Forrest buried there were her grandmother’s kin. I was there a couple of times later but did not know how these people fit into my family, only that they were kin-folks. After I retired and started looking into my family genealogy in a serious way, one of the first places I looked was Forrest Chapel near Violet Hill, Izard County, Arkansas. I had lots of Collier and Forrest names from my trips to the area court house along with information from grave markers, census records and land records but I was not able get a clear picture of the Forrest Family until I met other Forrest family researchers, namely Andy and Julie Forrest from Washington state, Ted Hill from Oklaoma and Kenneth and Mary Good also from Oklahoma. With information from my records and that so freely shared by these family members, I slowly began to assemble a reasonable representation of my Forrest family heritage.

Washington Thomas [W.T.] Forrest was born July 14, 1815 in Tennessee {grave marker}. According to Ted Hill, from Broken Arrow, OK. His parents appear almost certain to be Thomas and Elizabeth Forrest, who were residents of McNairy County, Tennessee in 1840 and 1850 also family tradition, as retold by the late Otis Forrest [ grandson of W.T. Forrest] of Izard County, Arkansas, tells us that W.T. was married three times and was the father of fourteen children. The first wife probably died before W.T. moved from Tennessee. In 1840 he is listed as head of household in McNairy County, Tennessee. He and his wife are in the age 20 to 30 category, there are two children under five years of age in the home. According to Otis Forrest [born 1889], the second wife was the mother of only two of the children, James Larkin and Jane Edwards. { Edwards probably married name }. James Larkin Forrest’s obituary gave his mother’s name as Sarah. It seems very probably, they married while still in Tennessee and that she died in Mississippi. The 1945 Mississippi State Census list W.T. Forest as head of household and married with 3 males and 3 females in the house. Family tradition and history indicates James Larkin Forrest was born in Tischomingo County , Mississippi, Feb., 1847.
I find W.T. Forrest next on the 1850 Tischomingo County Mississippi Federal Census , along with ( Milica?, can't read 2nd name) sons William and John and daughters Mary and Jane and youngest son James. These names and dates agree with tradition and family history. Another interesting observation is the next door neighbor in Tishomingo County, Mississippi was J. Burton, wife Rebecca and children John and Sarah. J. Burton was born in North Carolina and wife Rebecca was born in Tennessee. Nothing is proven here but it is another connection to the Burton name.
Arkansas Land Records say he owned 40 acres in Craighead County, Arkansas in 1859. One record indicates the land was in Poinsett County, Arkansas. The records also say W.T. Forrest’s oldest son William H. Forrest had two parcels of land totaling 120 acres in Craighead County, Arkansas in 1860.
The third wife Nancy J. Cook married W.T. about 1850 in Arkansas. This is the mother of Sarah Francis Forrest and my great-great grandmother. Nancy J. was born Sept 25, 1828 and died May 23, 1901 and is buried at Forrest Chapel Chapel and Cemetery, in Izard County, Arkansas.
Otis Forrest said that after coming to Arkansas, W.T. Forrest first lived near Jonesboro, Craighead County, Arkansas. He later moved to a larger farm called “Ponders Farm” near Walnut Ridge, in Lawrence County, Arkansas. By 1870 he was a resident of Izard County, in the Conway Township. In 1880, his residence was Lacross Township. {1870 and 1880 census } This change of Townships was a reorganization of Izard county and boundary changes for the townships, and not an actual move.
W.T. was a leader in his community. He was instrumental in organizing a Sunday School in 1876 and the organization was named Forrest Chapel in his honor. A permanent building was constructed in the summer of 1879. The original building was moved and a new church built just north and east on the same property. Forrest Chapel Methodist Church and Cemetery are very much in use today.
Now back to Washington T. Forrest Tennessee connections. He leaves McNairy County, Tennessee and is next found in the Tishomingo County, Mississippi. [1845 State Census.] This is not a big move, as McNairy County, Tennessee is just across the line from Tishomingo County, Mississippi. The 1850 Tishomingo County, Mississippi Federal Census, shows W.T.Forrest age 34 born Tenn. and family; wife [Milica? can’t read name] 18 born Alabama, son William 14, born in Tenn, son John 11, born in Tenn, daughter Mary 9, born in Tenn, daughter Jane 6, born in Mississippi and son James 3, born in Mississippi. This leads me to believe Washington T. moved his family from McNairy County, Tennessee to Tishomingo County, Mississippi sometime near 1841 to 1844.

His parents Thomas b. 1786 and Elizabeth b. 1788 both in North Carolina, were still residents of Tennessee. In the household were Sally age 23, James age 15, and Charles Thomas age 6 { grandson ? } . In Caswell County, North Carolina there is a marriage record for Thomas Forrest and Betsy Burton, December 2, 1809. Betsey is the recognized diminutive of the name Elizabeth and the ages would be reasonable, it may be assumed with a fair amount of certainty, that the McNairy County, Thomas and Elizabeth and Caswell County’s Thomas and Betsey are the same couple. Thomas appears on the 1810 Caswell County Census but not the 1820 and Washington T. was born in 1815, suggesting the family migrated from North Carolina to Tennessee between 1810 and 1815.
The 1812 list of free taxable inhabitants in Humphrey County, Tennessee include Thomas and William Forrest. In the 1820 Perry County Census is Thomas Forrest. {Perry County is just south of Humphrey County, both border the east side of Tennessee River In 1830, Thomas was living in Henderson County { On the west side of the Tennessee River and Perry County}. 1840 and 1850 found then in McNairy County, just west of the Tennessee River and bordering Mississippi. In a period Thomas appeared to have move 4 times. This could have been as new land opened in Indian territory.

Old Rumors, stories, folklore and tales exist in all families and the Forrest family is no exception. There exist a persistent and probably accurate family tradition that Washington T. Forrest and Brig. General Nathan Bedford Forrest were cousins of some degree. As most all Tennessee Forrest who had North Carolina roots were possibly related in some manner, this is probably true. How is the question.
In 1790 and 1800 , there was a William Forrest in Caswell County, North Carolina. He was probably the father of Thomas.
In August 1777 in neighboring Orange County, William Forrest wrote his will. His wife’s name was Lavinia and he named his sons: Shadrack, Gresham, Joel, William and Jesse. This son Shadrack appears to be the same man who is named as great grandfathr of The General, Nathan Bedford. ASSUMING that the son, William, is the Caswell County William and father of Thomas, we have our connection. Washington T. and brother James would have been second cousins once removed of the General. Sarah Frances would have been third cousin, Joseph F. Collier would have been fourth cousin and Sarah Willyne Collier would have been fifth cousin and Thurman Dwight Lane would have been sixth cousin to The General.
If these connections can be proven, a considerable amount of Forrest history from Colonial times can also be provable.