Pioneer History 
 
 SE County 
 
 CLIFF D. GATES 
 
y/r<.-y^ /./'. 
 
 HENRY A. WISE 
 Statesman and Orator. Born December 3, i!So6; died September 12, 1876. 
 
Pioneer History of Wise County 
 
 From Red Men to Railroads- 
 Twenty Years of Intrepid History 
 
 BY 
 
 CLIFF D. GATES 
 
 Compiled under the auspices of the Wise County 
 Old Settlers' A ssociation 
 
 " Let us search more and more into the Past; let all 
 men explore it, as the true fountain of knowledge; 
 by whose light alone, consciously or unconsciously 
 employed, can the present and the future be inter- 
 preted or guessed at." — Carlyle. 
 
 "A people that take no pride in the noble achieve- 
 ments of remote ancestors will never achieve anything 
 worthy to be remembered with pride by remote 
 descendants." — Macauley. 
 
 DECATUR, TEXAS. 
 1907. 
 

 v^-<^--\- 
 
 LIBRARY ^f CONGRESS 
 \<w C'-o"*."! Rec.fweo 
 
 SEP 14 iy08 
 
 •C0P"» A. * 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1907, by 
 
 Cliff D. Cates 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. 
 
 I 
 
 Press of Nixon-Jones Printing Company- 
 Saint Louis, Mo. 
 
.^ 
 
 -K) 
 
 Reverently dedicated to the Old Settlers of 
 Wise County whose memories and faces I 
 am profoundly gratified to perpetuate. 
 
TEXAS. 
 
 Empire majestic, with thy bead so proud, 
 
 Pillowed on mountain heights of snow and cloud; 
 
 And kingly feet laved by the tepid tide 
 
 Of Aztec waters, sun-kissed, free and wide ! 
 
 Realm of eternal spring and blessedness, 
 
 Of flower's breath, and mock-bird songs that cease 
 
 Not, all the golden months of all the year! 
 
 Land of cerulean sky, low-dipped, and clear! 
 
 Oh, prairies boundless, breeze-tossed, cattle-nipped! 
 
 Oh, hidden streams, translucent and deer-sipped! 
 
 Oh, sweet hills verdant-footed, purple hazed! 
 
 Oh, fields of cotton-snow and golden maize. 
 
 Oh, valleys of low-lying, blue-green wheat. 
 
 Up where the mesa and the cold waves meet! 
 
 What wonder that men's blood leapt forth, to flow 
 
 Chivalric, for thee, at the Alamo? 
 
 Land of my birth, and soul's intensest love! 
 
 Dear is thy soil, thy calm, blue sky, above; ' 
 
 Dear are thy aims to all my eager heart, 
 
 And dear thy people, of myself a part. 
 
 Dear is thy soil? It holds my sacred dead, 
 
 And precious living! Thus, I lift my head. 
 
 And eyes, and heart, across a continent. 
 
 Bearing to thee this holy sentiment, 
 
 This little volume, and its fate, I lay 
 
 Upon thy big heart's largess. Is it "Nay, 
 
 We are too busy, empire-building, child. 
 
 To loiter, dallying with thy blossoms wiUl, 
 
 And pretty little heart-songs. Go thy way; 
 
 We'll hearken to thee on some idler day" ? 
 
 But, friends, some idler day we may be dead, 
 
 And all these words, so comforting, unsaid. 
 
 See, I am speaking to the j)ersonal heart, 
 
 And it is well : no great things ever start 
 
 From cold concretions. Give me one heart's smile, 
 
 And I will win the whole world, after — Awhile. 
 
 — Mrs. Belle Hunt Shortridge 
 
 New York, November 1, 1890. 
 
 (Dedicatory poem to her volume of verses entitled "Lone Star Lights.") 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Preface 9 
 
 Introduction 13 
 
 SECTION ONE. 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 1. The Coining of the First Settlers — First Home and 
 
 Environments 25 
 
 2. Subsequent Arrivals and Localities'Sought . . 32 
 
 3. Gregarious Tendencies Notable in Settlement . . 37 
 
 Chapter II. 
 1. Cactus Hill 39 
 
 Chapter III. 
 1. The Pioneer Store and Merchant . . 46 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 1. Land and Pre-emption Claims 49 
 
 Chapter V. 
 1. The Delaware Indians 51 
 
 Chapter VL 
 
 1. Church and School Beginnings ..... 54 
 
 2. Sand Hill as a Center '. . . . . . .54 
 
 3. Old Swayback 55 
 
 Chapter VH. 
 
 1. Organization of the County 60 
 
 2. First Election and Remarks 63 
 
 (5) 
 
3 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 1. County Seat Contest 69 
 
 2. County Seat Located — Called Taylorsville ... 70 
 
 3. Bishop Lays Out Town of Taylorsville ... 72 
 
 4. Beginning of Decatur . 74 
 
 5. First School, Church and Other Beginnings at De- 
 
 catur 78 
 
 6. Miscellaneous Notes— Pioneer Infant .... 79 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 1. Second Village in County Established — Prairie Point 81 
 
 Chapter X. 
 
 1. Analysis of the Citizenship — Study of the Times and 
 
 Manners — -Problems and Conditions ... 82 
 
 2. Early Markets and Commerce 88 
 
 3. Farming Modes and Conditions 90 
 
 4. Wild Game — Buffalo — Wild Horses — Trained In- 
 
 stinct in Horses 95 
 
 5. Cattle and Hogs, and Conditions 99 
 
 6. Home Life 93 
 
 7. Social Life, Amusements and Pleasures . 103 
 
 Chapter XI. 
 1. Summing Up First Period 108 
 
 SECTION TWO. 
 
 WAR PERIOD. 
 
 Introductory Statement 112 
 
 Chapter I. 
 1. Local Attitude Toward Issues of War . . . . 114 
 
CONTENTS. 7 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 Chapter II. 
 . Military Organization 116 
 
 Chapter III. 
 . Raising Companies for Confederate Service . 120 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 . Changes and Conditions Incident to War . . . 127 
 
 Chapter V. 
 . Conspiracy of the Peace Party 130 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 . A Glance at Decatur in War Time .... 134 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 . Pursuit and Arrest of Deserters 139 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 . Changes in County Administration at End of War . 143 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 . Demonstration of the Union League . . . . 148 
 
 Chapter X. 
 . Conditions Briefly Summed Up 154 
 
 SECTION THREE. 
 
 INDIAN DEPREDATION PERIOD. 
 
 Introduction 157 
 
 1. Sad Death of Brave Young Bill Birdwell . . . 163 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 2. 
 3. 
 4. 
 
 5. 
 
 6. 
 
 7. 
 
 9. 
 10. 
 11. 
 12. 
 13. 
 14. 
 15. 
 16. 
 
 17. 
 
 18. 
 19. 
 
 20. 
 
 Death of Jake Moffiit and Escape of Alonzo Dill 
 
 The Extermination of the Russell Family . 
 
 Big Raid in Which John Bailey and Mrs. Mck were 
 
 Killed 
 
 Massacre and Capture of Babb Family 
 
 Murder of Nick Dawson . 
 
 Captain Ira Long's Hot Engagement 
 
 Death of Conelly and Weatherby and Wounding of 
 
 Clabe Cates .... 
 Captain Earheart's Exploits . 
 Capture of the Ball Boys 
 Killing of Johnson Miller 
 Brave Fight of Frank Coonis 
 Death of George Halsell . 
 
 Pleas Bryant Wounded . 
 
 Capture and Detention of Ran ^>asey 
 
 Captain George Stevens, John Hogg and Jenning 
 Brothers' Fight on the Wichitas 
 
 Raids and Killings in South and Southwest Wise 
 County 
 
 Brief Comments on the Times and Indian Marauding 
 Characteristics 
 
 Epoch-Marking Event in Savage Depredation His- 
 tory — Last Raid in Wise County — ^Assassination of 
 Huff Family 
 
 Result of Huff Massacre — End of Trouble — Summing 
 Up 
 
 PAGE. 
 166 
 
 168 
 
 171 
 174 
 
 178 
 181 
 
 183 
 186 
 188 
 189 
 190 
 191 
 191 
 193 
 
 SECTION FOUR. 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL 
 
 195 
 
 197 
 
 207 
 
 210 
 
 217 
 
 222 
 
 SECTION FIVE. 
 
 MODERN WISE COUNTY 
 
 355 
 
 SECTION SIX. 
 
 ADVERTISEMENTS 387 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Beyond a half century of time has intervened since the drama 
 of settlement was enacted on the pioneer stage of Wise County; 
 The memory of the events are growing dim in the minds of the 
 remaining actors, who themselves are dropping, one by one, 
 behind the scenes, never to return again before the foot-lights 
 of time. Recognition of these somber truths has led to the 
 compilation of the facts introduced in this book. The language 
 used is inartistic, yet the facts themselves are there and must 
 remain. For the errors of composition glaring forth from every 
 page, it would be appropriate to apologize, but such an act 
 would convict the writer of attitudinizing as a professional in 
 the art of composition, a position that is at once waived and 
 disclaimed. It has profoundly gratified me to be the means of 
 the perpetuation of the lives of the pioneer fathers, their loyal 
 acts and doings, into indestructible record, and while the struc- 
 ture is humiliating, it is none the less true that the opportunity 
 to perform so felicitous a service has been responded to with the 
 gratitude that a recognition of the high merit of the general 
 task confers. 
 
 Perhaps more experience in the general details of the kind of 
 work would have resulted in a more satisfactory volume. As 
 respects the details of composition alone. Prof. Arlo Bates' 
 meaning is acutely realized in his statement '' that the fault 
 Qf a great deal of unsatisfactory wi'iting is that the author is 
 endeavoring to inform himself as he composed. He has been 
 feeling his way, and is really ready to begin only when he has 
 finished," based upon which the writer aims, in a measure, to 
 justify the crudities of his work by pleading guiltiness to Prof. 
 Bates' charge. Obviously improvements could be made if the 
 work were begun over and completed again; however, the lack 
 of time makes such impracticable. 
 
 But it would be nurturing hypocrisy to think that the language 
 used has not conveyed some idea of the spirit of the times com- 
 prehended. Truthful conceptions of former experiences and 
 
 (9) 
 
10 PREFACE. 
 
 phases of existence have been interpreted from far more com- 
 plex and indistinguishable mediums than modern, amateur, 
 vulgarizations of the English language. As Mr. Carlyle has 
 said: ''History has been written with quipo-threads, with 
 feather-pictures, with wampum belts, still oftener with earth 
 mounds and monumental stone-heaps — whether as pyramid 
 or cairn," assm'edly from the jumble of incoherent statements 
 to be here encountered, readers can decipher a sufficiently clear 
 realization of the character of the foundation upon which the 
 structure of their present county life is estabhshed. 
 
 From the same message in which was embodied the above 
 quotation from Mr. Carlyle, another is found which expresses 
 a principle adhered to by the writer in the preparation of this 
 record. Relating to the office of historian and the character of 
 fact to be presented, the quotation in full is as follows: " For 
 whereas of old, the charm of history lay chiefly in gratifying 
 our common appetite for the wonderful, for the unknown; and 
 her office was but that of a minstrel and story-teller, she has 
 now further become a school-mistress, and professes to instruct 
 in gratifying." In most of the so-called histories of Texas 
 counties examined in connection with the present labors, em- 
 phasis has been found, too often, to have been placed on the 
 ephemeral or ludicrous phases of the lives of the people repre- 
 sented, a temptation that has not been yielded to in the present 
 instance. The admixture of anecdote with fact tends, as pres- 
 ently viewed, to weaken the latter, which admittedly is the 
 most important; further, could the issue be left to posterity, 
 there would unquestionably be a decision in favor of fact. It 
 will not be here assumed that the lighter sides of life have no 
 relative value; on the contrary they have, and the instances 
 of this character gathered in connection with other matter, 
 but eliminated for certain just reasons, will doubtless be pre- 
 sented in a second volume at a later date. 
 
 While the aim has been to present the substance of the topic 
 investigated, and that truthfully and accurately, it has not been 
 possible, in every instance, to reach this high and well nigh 
 unattainable ideal. From the point of view of the numerous 
 witnesses there will be many misstatements and much garbling 
 
PREFACE. 11 
 
 of fact, upon which account anticipations of criticism abide 
 uncomfortably in the prospect. The hope of any two witnesses 
 seeing the same occurrence in the same Ught has long been 
 annihilated by our courts of justice, and in this book, which 
 focalizes the statements of many, entire harmoniousness in 
 this respect, is not to be contemplated. " The old story of Sir 
 Walter Raleigh's looking from his prison window on some 
 street tumult, which afterwards three witnesses reported in 
 three different ways, himself differing from them all, is still a 
 true lesson for us." — (Carlyle.) Because of this human char- 
 acteristic it is hoped that some of the essence of charity will be 
 combined with the vitriol of criticism in the consideration of 
 this work. 
 
 In the matter of compiling data relating to court and county 
 administration, the task of accumulation has been rendered 
 difficult by the two court-house fires which the county has sus- 
 tained, and which destroyed all the old pioneer books and 
 documents of value. On this account very little of the early 
 transactions of the kind could be presented. 
 
 The few remaining pioneers have lived free, open and un- 
 fettered lives ; in most all instances they have rebelled against 
 being subjected to restricted and narrowing routines, which 
 condition, coupled with the impatience natural to their advanced 
 ages, has rendered the work of securing the treasures of their in- 
 formation, a delicate and subtle task, necessitating in most every 
 case the invoking of patience, diplomacy and tact. It is in justice 
 to say, however, that all have withstood the fire of questioning 
 creditably, and with a degree of willingness manifested that 
 reflected their great interest in and appreciation of the ends to 
 be attained. 
 
 Those who have contributed valuable assistance and material 
 would constitute an elaborate list, all of whom cannot be men- 
 tioned; it remains, however, to name a few whose contributions 
 have been found of especial importance. Mr. Herbert E. 
 Bolton, of the Texas Historical Association, Austin, was instru- 
 mental in piloting the writer over some of the preliminary shoals 
 of the historian's route; the Dallas News kindly loaned copies 
 of its early Texas Almanacs; Col. B. B. Paddock's " History of 
 
12 PREFACE. 
 
 North West Texas " has been of the gi'eatc^t assistance in out- 
 lining the status of affairs in this section of Texas at stated 
 periods, helps which will be found noted in the numerous quota- 
 tions to follow ; the old settlers have demonstrated encouraging 
 enthusiasm all along; Col. G. B. Pickett has been especially 
 approachable and cordial on all occasions; Mr. J. D. ^^'hite has 
 shown a fatherly interest; his keen intellectual grasp and 
 memory of the situation has been of inestimable value. Mr. 
 Charles D. Cates has sat for hours patiently and kindly divulging 
 himself of the comprehensive knowledge so strikingly retained 
 of the whole of the pioneer life. The county press, Avithout 
 exception, has been loyal and helpful; the Wise County Messen- 
 ger, the Decatur News, the enterprising Proctor Bros, of the 
 Bridgeport and Boyd Indexes, the Chico Review and the Alvord 
 Bud,et are all deserving of commendation. 
 
 The writer is further under many obligations to Mrs. Kate 
 Hunt Craddock, of Terrell, Texas; Mrs. Mary G. Shown, of 
 Jacksboro, Texas; Mrs. Juha A. Stewart, of Frederick, 0. T., 
 and Mrs. Susie Newton Long, of Denison, Texas, for many 
 favors. The Executive Committee of the Old Settlers' Associa- 
 tion, Messrs. W. D. Paschall, W. J. Mann, C. V. Terrell, J. G. 
 Gose, H. L. Ward, J. A. Renshaw, T. L. Ball, and T. Perrin, 
 has made the work its own. President John H. Wallace has 
 ably and energetically advised, guided and directed, while the 
 persistent and unflagging friends of the effort have been Messrs. 
 Wallace, Gose, White, Terrell and Charles D. Cates, without 
 whose countless kindly assistances this work in its present shape 
 could not have been evolved. 
 
 The simple lessons to be conveyed from the contemplation of 
 the lives of the pioneers, reflected in these pages, are those of 
 bravery in the face of real danger, persistency in the teeth of 
 great obstacles, and joyousness in the midst of gloom. With 
 Carlyle you are asked to '' look with reverence into the dark, 
 untenanted places of the past, where in formless oblivion, our 
 chief benefactors, with all their sedulous endeavors, hut not wyith 
 the fruit of these, lie entombed. 
 
 Cliff D. Cates. 
 
 Decatur, Texas, October 19th, 1907. 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 Wise County Spawned in the Midst of Alarms and 
 Presages of Alarms. 
 
 The settlement of the territory afterward to become Wise 
 County began in the fall of the year of 1853, when the first 
 prospective white settlers arrived to view the country. From 
 this date until the latter fifties immigration continued to flow 
 in, but in 1858 or 1859, it was stopped on account of a sanguinary 
 occurrence of far-reaching importance which happened within 
 the wilds of what is now Jack Count3^ when outlaw Indians 
 massacred the Mason and Cameron families on Lost Creek. 
 This murder dampened the impulse of immigration, and not 
 until many years were normal conditions of safety such as were 
 conducive to the influx of civilization, restored. 
 
 Following upon this initial act in a bloody drama of twenty 
 years' duration, civil war burst with a fury over the land, lash- 
 ing the nation from its center to its outermost frontiers. Caught 
 between these two destructive forces, the little community of 
 Wise County pined and almost gave up its existence, and twenty 
 years later, when white man's war and red man's war had arisen 
 like black carrion wings from prostrate prey, the lines of progress 
 had receded and a new era of building must be begun again. 
 
 It is needful to obtain a glimpse at the position of these 
 ponderous forces, so fraught with violence to the people, at the 
 time of the beginning of settlement in Wise County. Three 
 hundred years of the dogged disputation of the advancing foot- 
 steps of the white man had made Indian savagery and butchery 
 a nation-old problem. Its final extinguishment occurred a little 
 less than a third of a century ago, and while it was not an ob- 
 stacle to be encountered in this county during the first few 
 years of settlement, yet its great ugly cloud hung sufficiently 
 near to make it a situation for the first incomers to conjure with. 
 
 A certain group of causes had brought a temporary cessation 
 of savage attack on the chain of counties of which Wise was 
 
 (13) 
 
14 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 destined to be a link, and in this ominous pause Wise County 
 was spawned. A few short years of infant repose was granted, 
 and then the swirhng winds of civil war and savage fury burst 
 over her fair dominions, driving many of the elements of her cit- 
 izenship to seek safety outside her borders, and converting the 
 rising labors of the land into defensive efforts on the one hand, 
 and industrial death and stagnation on the other. 
 
 The causes mentioned which operated to stay the savage blade 
 for the time being, will reward any who study them with the 
 con\iction that they were weak and insecure barriers to savage 
 encroachments; furthermore, that it remained only a question of 
 time until murders and depredations \yould be committed in 
 Wise County. 
 
 An analysis of the situation shows the following conditions to 
 be responsible for the reign of peace at this point during the 
 early years of settlement. (1) The fewness of numbers of 
 people, a condition contributing to the allaying of savage resent- 
 ment and jealousy. (2) The direct influence of President 
 Houston's conciliatory policy and the tn^aty of peace negotiated 
 at Bird's Fort, Tarrant County, in 1843. (3) The confinement 
 of many of the warlike tribes on the reservation at Ft. Belknap 
 under guard of United States soldiers. (4) The diversion of 
 the attention of the remaining wild tribes to the Pan HantUe 
 section, where active punitive operations were being pursued 
 against them by Texas Rangers. That these were weak and 
 insecure barriers, was demonstrated in later years when the 
 Indians easily burst through and began their hostile attacks on 
 the people. 
 
 The general political conditions obtaining at the time was the 
 rapid sway which the fanaticism of abolition was gaining in the 
 nation. This anon reached a culmination in the conflict be- 
 tween the North and the South, which, having its beginning 
 contemporaneous with the early years of settlement in Wise 
 County, was the second great obstacle placed in the pathway of 
 the community then on its first walking legs. Since most all 
 observant j^ersons are acquainted with both the causes and the 
 general historical detail of the civil and the Texan Indian ^^"ars, 
 it is not deemed necessary to include any such explanation here. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 15 
 
 Such space as would be allotted to same will be occupied with 
 brief descriptions of other political and industrial questions and 
 movements which were in suspension at the time of the first 
 settlement of Wise County. 
 
 The settlement of the county was begun in that era of develop- 
 ment which followed the annexation of Texas to the Union, 
 when the burdens of an independent republic were shouldered 
 by another power, leaving the energies of the state free to work 
 out its salvation. The state was now rid of the necessity of 
 settling the questions of the state boundaries, the state debt, 
 and of the Indians, and could turn its attention to railroad build- 
 ing, and to the perfection of an educational policy, both great 
 departments having long been neglected. 
 
 Two great lines of railroad now traverse Wise County, yet the 
 first spike in the railroad system of the state which has the 
 greatest railroad mileage of any state in the union was not 
 driven until 1854, contemporaneous with the building of the 
 first home in Wise County. The road was the old Buffalo 
 Bayou, Brazos Valley and Colorado, started at Harrisburg with 
 Austin as the prospective termination. Many landowners in 
 Wise County will recognize the initials of the above names in 
 their abstracts of title, a circumstance brought about from the 
 fact that much of the land granted by the state as a bonus to 
 the promoters of the B. B. B. & C. lay in this county. 
 
 A second line started about this time was the Houston and 
 Texas Central, the first railroad that started its track into the 
 wilds of north Texas. Contemporaneous also with these be- 
 ginnings 'was that of another which the writer yields to the 
 temptation to mention here. This was the Memphis, El Paso 
 and Pacific, one portion of which had actually been surveyed 
 from Texarkana to the " West Fork of the Trinity River in 
 Wise County," a distance of 224| miles. This survey was made 
 in the year 1856, the year Wise County was organized, so it 
 is seen just how many years the famous " East Line " has been 
 in a state of promotion. 
 
 The above passages reflect the larger industrial and political 
 matters of interest obtaining in the state and nation at this date, 
 which became of much significance to Wise Countyians. 
 
16 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUXTY. 
 
 STATE POLITICS. 
 
 The two administrations of Governors Elish M. Pease and 
 Hardin R. Runnells comprehend the period in which the settle- 
 ment and organization of the county was perfected. It was 
 about this time also that men began to be selected for office for 
 the jxjlitical views entertained by them as opposed to the old 
 mode, which was to make selections on the strength of reputa- 
 tion or personal popularity. In 1854 the taint of " Know- 
 nothingism " appeared in the state. "It was a political excres- 
 cence" inimical to foreign immigration and antagonistic to the 
 Roman Catholic Church. After prospering for a whik* the cult 
 waned and died. Governor Henry A. Wise, of \'irginia, the man 
 after whom Wise County was named, achieved great prom- 
 inence as an opponent of ''Knownothingism," and doubtless 
 contributed more than any other statesman to its deserved 
 destruction. Hardin R . Runnells was elected governor in 1855, 
 and his administration was chiefly distinguished by his advice 
 to the state to secede from the Union. 
 
 The imi)ression to be gained from the above resume of con- 
 ditions ap])ertaining at the time of the county's first settlement 
 is one freighted with prophecies of much coming evil for the 
 count}'. The Indians were all but ready to defile upon the 
 peoi)]e, and in the high councils of the state and nation, the rep- 
 resentatives of the people were citing just causes of alarm, 
 fore warnings that civil strife lay not far distant. It was indeed 
 an inoi)iJortune hour to hang the frail fabric of a new community 
 in the whisi)eriiig breez(^s that presaged the advance of a double- 
 funnelled storm. 
 
 But to the hardy pioneer there was nothing before but a 
 smiling landscape, bedecked below with wild flowers and arched 
 above with heavien's smiling blue skies. Here he found the 
 consummation of his dreams, the freedom which his imagina- 
 tion had pictured for him. That ominous cloud resting on the 
 horizon was not to cast a shadow on the sublime prospect that 
 lav before. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 17 
 
 EXTENT OF SETTLEMENT IN CONTIGUOUS COUNTIES PRECEDING 
 AND FOLLOWING SETTLEMENT OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 What is known as the Peters Colony grant exercised more 
 influence in the settlement of North Texas than any other 
 factor. The old settlements of north and northeast Texas had 
 long clung to these sections, and were slow to advance. Even 
 when they had reached out as far as Lamar, Red River, and 
 Fannin Counties, the impulse of westward movement seems to 
 have waned, not to be resumed until the Peters Colon}'' scheme 
 was set on foot. This great grant involved many counties 
 stretching over the north and northwest part of the state, 
 numbered among which was Wise County and others still further 
 west. Settlements in most of these rich counties were due to 
 the direct influence of this grant, but before the tide of immigra- 
 tion had reached Wise County, the contract between the Peters 
 promoters and the state had expired. This left the territory 
 of Wise County to hew out its own destiny, but the wave of 
 immigration which had been set in motion soon rolled over 
 into Wise County, and the first white settler entered ^s a pros- 
 pector here in the fall of 1853. 
 
 The lands covered by the Peters grant were extensively adver- 
 tised in the leading Eastern and Southern papers, so that when 
 the contract with the state had expired, north Texas lands had 
 gained a rising reputation throughout the East and Old South. 
 As soon as the lands again came under the control of the state, 
 very generous inducements began to be ofi'ered in the way of 
 free gifts of land as a means of inducing immigration. It was 
 in response to these inducements that Wise County and others 
 were settled. 
 
 The state census of 1850, quoted below indicates the degree 
 of settlement attained in the counties immediately contiguous 
 to Wise County, before the latter county was entered: 
 
 County. • Population. Acres in Cultivation. 
 
 Dallas 2943 7305 
 
 Grayson 2008 5891 
 
 Cooke 220 433 
 
 Collins 1950 6697 
 
 Denton 641 2131 
 
 Tarrant. 664 1726 
 
 2 
 
18 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 In 1855, according to Mr. Paddock, the frontier line was on 
 the north in Grayson County, thence extended through Denton, 
 Wise, Parker, Palo Pinto, Eastland, Brown, Lanipassas, Burnett, 
 Gillespie, Kendall, Bexar, and south to San Patricio. Because 
 of the beginning of Indian hostilities at this point in the march 
 of innnigration, the above line remained stationary for twenty 
 years. It is thus shown that Wise County occupied a position 
 in the chain of frontier counties that bore the brunt of frontier 
 hardships longer, perhaps, than fell to the lot of any other Texas 
 county. Denton County was organized in 1846, ten years pre- 
 ceding Wise. At that time the county supported three villages, 
 Pilot Point, Denton and Alton, and numberetl five hundred and 
 three souls. A writer of the time describes the county's afflic- 
 tions as follows: ''Bear are plentiful but not profitable, being 
 very destructive to corn and hogs." 
 
 Cooke County was created from Fannin County in 1848, and 
 the town of Gainsville was established about that time. The 
 boundary limits of Cooke County as described at that date are 
 as follows : "Beginning on Red River at N. W. corner of Grayson 
 County, thence S. to N. line of Denton County, thence W. to 
 N. W. corner of Denton County, thence S. thirty miles to S. W. 
 corner of said Denton County, thence W. sixty miles, thence N. 
 to Red River thence down Red River to place of beginning." 
 Within these boundaries which extended to Red River lay 
 the territory of Wise County, which was attached to Cooke 
 County for judicial purposes. The law at that time pro- 
 vided for the division of exterior territory into counties in 
 advance of settlement, and contemplated their being at- 
 tached for judicial and land purposes to the most convenient 
 county or counties. So far as the exercise of local admin- 
 istrative power was concerned, the unorganized county was 
 generally treated as a part of the county to which it was 
 attached. But in matters affecting lands and surveys in Wise 
 County, Cooke County shared her control with Denton County, 
 there being district land offices at both Denton and Gainsville. 
 An air line ran centrally through Wise County from east to west 
 and the northern part of the county lay under the control of 
 the Gainesville office, while the southern portion applied to the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 19 
 
 office at Denton. By her organization in 1856, Wise County 
 withdrew from the authority of both Cook(> and Denton Counties. 
 
 The original pioneer who entered Wise County embarked from 
 Ft. Worth, then a promising little village left behind by the 
 United States garrison which had advanced to Ft. Belknap. 
 Due to the protection afforded by the garrison, quite a com- 
 munity of settlers had congregated in the region, and its central 
 point, the fort, bid fair to become a prosperous town. On 
 vacating the fort buildings, the soldiers turned them over to 
 store keepers, and within a short while several prosperous 
 stores were established. Ft. Worth was the most promising vil- 
 lage in this section when the first white settler left it for Wise 
 County. 
 
 As was stated. Wise County retained her vexatious situation 
 as a frontier county for about twenty years. During this lapse 
 of time the only coinmunity that achieved promising strength 
 to the west of her was the settlement surrounding the fort at 
 Belknap, where protection was afforded by the soldiers. Jack, 
 Clay and Montague Counties were weakly fortified with white 
 citizenship, and at the approach of the war and Indian diffi- 
 culties they became nearly abandoned. 
 
 The above remarks are indicative of the position of Wise 
 County innnediately preceding and following her first settle- 
 ment. 
 
 PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF THE COUNTY. 
 
 No better description of the general and special appearances 
 of the country are obtainable than those which Mr. Paddock has 
 embodied in his history of Northwest Texas, as the observations 
 of two of the earliest settlers of Tarrant County, namely, Captain 
 Ed Terrell and Dr. Carroll M. Peak. Captain Terrell writes of 
 date 1843, and his remarks apply with equal force to Tarrant 
 and Wise Counties. He says: " In those days this country was 
 infested with Indians, and herds of buffalo were all around us. 
 There were more panthers in these parts than I have ever seen 
 either before or since. Antelope without number, wild turkeys 
 in eveiy tree — in fact, in those days this was God's own country." 
 
 Dr. Peak, settling at Ft. Worth in 1853, writes: "With not a 
 
20 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 tree felled, with every shrub and leaf and flower still here, with 
 scarcely a blade of tall grass missing, how grandly did it seem to 
 the visitor." In another place, speaking from his position at 
 Ft. Worth, he says: ''Still northward and circling to the east 
 lay the grand prairie whose grass, long forsaken by the buffalo,* 
 only yielded to the tread of the fleet-footed deer and startled 
 antelope, and whose vast expanse was reUeved only by the 
 graceful windings of Marine Creek, with borders fringed with 
 wooded cliffs and the great elevation of the blue moundt to the 
 far north. On the eastern boundary of this lovely landscape 
 stood the cross timbers, belting the state from Red River and 
 running across the state, was one of the most singular provisions 
 of nature in the midst of a treeless stretch of prairie. Game was 
 very abundant and the streams then abounded in the finest 
 fish of greater variety than can now be obtained." 
 
 Two early visitors to the territory of Wise speak as follows: 
 both came in from an eastern direction which led them to pass 
 over the prairie sections of the county. One says: ''I cannot 
 find words to describe the beauty of this Western country; its 
 gi'andeur antl sublimity are beyond my powers of expression, 
 the valleys alternately none the less attractive, the level 
 land, too, covered with green grass and native blooms so early 
 in the season. No fences of wire, but so much open range for 
 miles." That the natural beauty of the uninhabited domain 
 attracted all beholders is also reflected in the remarks of the 
 second visitor, who spoke as follows: "When I crossed Denton 
 Creek and emerged from the timbers' and gradually ascended 
 the gentle rise out upon the wide-spreading prairies, my eyes 
 beheld a scene of splendor such as nature only can produce in 
 such lavishness, a perfect wilderness of fllowers swaying in the 
 soft breeze as though keeping time to the music of the larks 
 and the tribes of feathered songsters whose notes made the balm}^ 
 air redolent with sweetest music. It was a scene to entrance 
 the artist or charm the enthusiast as he looked upon the beautiful 
 outpouring of nature's God." The traveller states that he grew 
 
 * Buffalo had at that date been driven farther west, 
 t This mound is situated in Denton County. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 SO enraptured in contemplating the scene that he became 
 oblivious of the danger of Indians which threatened him. Both 
 these visitors came to the country during its spring-time glory, 
 as is indicated by their poetical descriptions, and the last quoted 
 visited the country during the days of Indian attack, as is also 
 indicated by his remarks. 
 
 From many sources it is learned that every species of animal 
 and fowl life indigenous to the zone existed here in the greatest 
 profusion, with the one exception of buffalo, which had been 
 driven farther west by hunters prior to the time of entrance of 
 the first white settlers. In the list of animals is included deer, 
 antelope, bear, wolf, panther, wild cat, and all the smaller tribe, 
 together with the fowl kingdom, of which the larger varieties 
 were turkey and prairie chicken ; the numerous smaller varieties 
 of the winged kingdom existed in the greatest abundance. 
 
 TRADITIONAL RECORDS OF LIFE AND ACTIVITY BEFORE 
 
 SETTLEMENT. 
 
 Both traditional and authentic history have becjueathed to 
 us records of a varied and active life occurring on Wise County 
 soil before it became dedicated to the uses of civilization. Phases 
 of it were dramatic and spectacular in the extreme, as will be 
 evidenced by the following remarks: 
 
 The conference of President Houston's commissioner, Joseph 
 C. Eldredge, with the wild tribes in Wise County, as is recorded 
 in John Henry Brown's History of Texas, reads like a page from 
 a work of fiction. Eldredge and two companions were dis- 
 patched on a long and dangerous tour of the Northwest, with a 
 view of acquainting the warring Indians with President Hous- 
 ton's peace proposals. This was in the early forties, a full de- 
 cade before white citizenship began to emerge into the wilds 
 of Wise County. Eldredge's first pause after leaving the old 
 state capital at Washington, was on the banks of the West Fork 
 in Wise County. Here he anticipated calling the delegates of 
 the wild tribes together for a conference, with a view to securing 
 their attendance upon a peace conference arranged to occur at 
 Bird's Fort, in Tarrant County, a few months distant, which was 
 to be attended by President Houston in person. 
 
22 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUXTY. 
 
 To this first camp on the West Fork a band of peaceful Dela- 
 wares had attended Eldredge as guides and interpreters and had 
 consented to go out in search of the wild tribes and invite them 
 to visit the commissioner in order that he might inform them of 
 President Houston's desires. But from some unknown cause 
 the Dela wares rebelled at this point and refused to further prose- 
 cute the plans of the commissioner. According to the historians, 
 this desertion left Eldredge and companions ''stranded in an 
 unknown country, among hostile Indians and far from the habi- 
 tants of civilization," a statement quite significant for Wise 
 Countyians as showing the status of this country in the early 
 forties. The remaining facts of these daring travelers are ob- 
 tainable from the volume mentioned above, and the records 
 upon which the narrative is based are regarded as important 
 historical documents in the departments of the state capitol. 
 
 John Henry Bro\\Ti's second reference to early activity in Wise 
 Count}' deals with an ill-fated rangei- expedition which came to 
 grief here at the hands of hostile Indians, an instance that is 
 further intlicative of the warring spirit of the savages prior to 
 the coming of the white man. 
 
 During David G. Burnett's administration as president of the 
 republic, a ranger expedition made a tour of the southwestern 
 fi'ontier, and when returning down the Colorado River, Lieuten- 
 ant Benthysen and twenty-two com})anions separated from the 
 main group and made a wide detour to the northwest. In the 
 course of their wanderings they came into the territory of Wise 
 County, where they came in conflict with a band of hostile In- 
 dians. Nine of the men, including Lieutenant Miles, were 
 killed, says the historian, and several others wounded. ''Those 
 who survived," concludes the writer, "escaped on foot and after 
 much suffering, halting for two or three days where the city of 
 Dallas now stands, reached the settlements below." 
 
 The above facts are the authentic reports of history. From 
 tradition we get details of another sanguinary occurrence — a 
 hand-to-hand encounter between a savage and two white settlers. 
 Prior to the time when white settlers had reached into Wise 
 County, the Indians made a raid on the settlements on Village 
 Creek, Dallas Count v. The Indians in turn were chased bv 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 the settlers, the pursued and pursuers running in a northwest 
 direction which anon brought them into Wise County. In their 
 flight, and under the hot pursuit, the Indians became badly 
 scattered, and at a point on a hill a few miles east of Decatur, 
 just above where the upper Denton road crosses Cottonwood 
 Creek, a deadly hand-to-hand encounter occurred between a 
 lone Indian and two white men. At this point the Indian saw 
 that he was beaten in the race, so leaping from his horse, he 
 backed against a live oak tree and unsheathed his knife pre- 
 paratory to a determined resistance. The Indian fought grimly 
 for his life, but the outraged white men gave him no quarter. 
 Soon he was killed and scalped and a modicum of revenge for 
 the cruel deeds perpetrated by the savages achieved. The 
 imagination paints a gruesome picture as the mind contem- 
 plates this tragic episode occurring back in those far stilly 
 times when none but the eyes of heaven saw the terrible con- 
 flict waged below between earth's racial brothers. 
 
 Remaining evidiences of early activity are obvious only by in- 
 ference.. The fact that only an occasional stag of the great buffalo 
 tribe was found by the first settlers bespeaks the enterprise and 
 energy of the hunter, who, coming in from the eastern counties, 
 had killed countless numbers and driven the remainder to seek 
 safety at distances further west. Lieut. Van Benthysen's exploit 
 in the county also leads to the conclusion that this section was 
 not unknown to the visitation of the daring ranger forces which 
 came here on punitive expeditions against the red foe of civili- 
 zation. 
 
 However, the highest and most encouraging order of enter- 
 prise remains to be mentioned in conclusion. These were the 
 land-locating labors of the classes who had by one means and 
 another gained certificates of location from the state. Wise 
 County, at that time being public domain, was subject to the 
 various provisions of location and pre-emption which a magnan- 
 imous state, rich in lands but poor in money, had contrived to 
 pay the debts it owed for service in its wars, and as contribu- 
 tions to the promotion of industrial enterprises, principally 
 railroads. 
 
 Numerous large railroad grants were located in Wise County, 
 
24 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 and smaller claims were spread here without number. These 
 were the first real signs of a changing order of events. Civiliza- 
 tion could not be far behind when prairie and forest wastes 
 began to attract the attention of the speculator and prospector. 
 The foregoing paragraphs constitute a recital of a moving 
 and temporary form of life, and unless viewed in the proper light 
 and perspective, a delusive idea as to the true conditions will be 
 received. There was no union, nor cohesion, in all the phases of 
 activity that have been described; there was no stationary life 
 or population and no vestiges of effort to convert the country 
 into a civilized dominion. The events described were widely 
 separated in time and occurrence, and intervening between 
 was the eternal, brooding silence of a lonely and unpeopled land. 
 Upon the latter the sun looked down by day and the moon and 
 stars by night. Its pristine beauty remained undefiled by man 
 and the grimy accoutrements of his civilization. Embalmed 
 in that 
 
 "Sleep that knows not breaking, 
 Morn of toil, nor night of waking." 
 
 it lay awaiting the touch of the minions of development and 
 civilization, but beneath its roses of beauty slumbered the thorns 
 of its adversity — the pricking evidence of nature that she does 
 not surrender her best and fullest without exacting trial, afflic- 
 tion and mortal toil as her compensation. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Coming of the First Settlers — First Home and En- 
 vironment. 
 
 While in a reminiscent mood, ex-Governor Bob Taylor gave 
 utterance to the following expression: ''When I was a bare- 
 footed boy away up among the mountains where nature sings 
 her sweetest song and brawling brooks laugh in the sunshine 
 and dance in the shadows, I used to sit on the banks of the 
 river and watch the caravans of covered wagons creeping like 
 mammoth snails with their shells on their backs, southward to 
 the wilderness of Texas. I did not dream then that the ragged, 
 rosy-cheeked children who crowded under the wagon covers 
 were the prophecies of wealth and power and glory of the great- 
 est empire that was ever born on this continent. But so it was. 
 The caravans landed their precious freight in the wilds of Texas. 
 The blue smoke began to curl upward from the cabins of the 
 pioneers, * * * n^^ little ragged, candy-haired children 
 grew up into a race of the fairest women and the bravest men 
 that the sun in heaven ever shone upon." 
 
 In Governor Taylor's remarks we have a poetic description 
 of two significant events — the abandoning of an "old country" 
 and the settlement of a new. The scenes there depicted were 
 enacted true to life in Wise County. We find the first blue 
 smoke curling upward here in the autumn of the year 1853, 
 but only that of a camp fire, around which were gathered three 
 lonely individuals who had been attracted to the country as 
 prospectors. The actual settlement was delayed until 1854, 
 when the blue smoke began to emerge from the chimney top of 
 a pioneer cabin and the settlement of the county was inaugu- 
 rated. 
 
 Sam Woody was the individual whom fate had selected to 
 stand on the threshold of the county as the advance guard of 
 the thronging civilization to follow. Fate laid her hands upon 
 him in the mountains of his Tennessee home, and directed his 
 
 (25) 
 
26 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY 
 
 footsteps hither to this region where a glorious new communit)'' 
 was to be estabhshed. 
 
 When Woody had reached about the age of twenty-one, the 
 mountains of Tennessee seemed to grow more perpendicular — 
 the valleys narrower and the opportunities for a livelihood 
 scantier, and he became possessed of a restlessness to scale the 
 heights in search of a broader and freer land. His desire took 
 foi-ni in action, ending in his embarking with his wife and 
 
 SAM WOODY. 
 
 MRS. SAM WOODY. 
 
 meager effects on a raft on the Tennessee riv(>r, on which he 
 floated down to the Mississippi and thence down that stream to 
 the Louisiana banks, from where he went across country to 
 Shreveport. His first temporary destination in Texas was in 
 Upshur County, but he did not remain there long, for in 1849 
 the grand onward march to California set in and swept him as 
 far west as the little village of Ft. Worth in Tarrant County. 
 
THE COMING OF THE FIRST SETTLERS. 27 
 
 Fate was gradually drawing him toward the region which he 
 was to enter as the original occupant. He remained in the 
 vicinity of Ft. Worth, an undecided and prospective immigrant 
 for some time — to be exact, until the autumn of 1853, when, in 
 company with two others, Jim Mann and Ben Crews, he ap- 
 proached the Trinity River at Ft. Worth and followed its wind- 
 ing course up stream until he emerged into the then territory 
 of Wise County in its southern pait. Prospecting about, he 
 came upon a beautiful valley, afterwards called Boyd's Valley, 
 about three miles north of the present village of Aurora, and 
 there he located the magnet that had drawn him from his 
 Tennessee mountains to the teeming wilds of the Southwest. 
 This proved to be a level stretch of rich soil surrounded by timber 
 and water, which abounded in game and fish of the greatest 
 •variety. 
 
 At its sight his restlessness grew quiescent, and he knew that 
 he had stumbled upon the fulfillment of his hopes. Returning 
 to Ft. Worth he spent the remainder of the winter in prepara- 
 tion, and in April, 1854, he again approached the Trinity River, 
 this time accompanied by his wife and two sons. Will and Drew, 
 and an Indian guide, and returned to the spot he had selected 
 for a home. When, behold! rising from a fire built close to a 
 lean-to camp structure was the smoke of another pioneer — an 
 invader who had come in and laid the claim of proprietorship 
 over the very spot which had appealed to him on his first journey. 
 
 The new arrival gave the name of Tom McCarroll and Dallas 
 County as the point of his embarkation for this territory. Woody 
 acquiesced in McCarroll's claim and set about to seek a new 
 location. McCarroll proved to be genial and accomodating, and 
 directed Woody to a region further to the north, which he 
 thought to be a fit substitute for the location which, coinci- 
 dentally had enticed the two primary citizens with its attrac- 
 tions. At present this latter spot, a rich and productive farm, 
 is known as the old John Prunty place. 
 
 Guided by McCarroll's directions. Woody went north until he 
 came to the untamed region in question, when he was again 
 pleased by the surroundings. The soil spread out in the valley 
 Was rich, the forests virgin, the environing prairie hilltops 
 
28 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 O ^ 
 
 S ^ 
 
THE COMING OF THE FIRST SETTLERS. 29 
 
 bedecked with flowers and tall waving grass. Down through 
 the valley coursed a creek of ever-flowing water; its banks were 
 deep, perpendicular and precipitous, from which formations it 
 gained its name, Deep Creek. 
 
 Here on the banks of historic old Deep Creek, the first real 
 home, the first house and the first farm in the history of the 
 county were established. 
 
 As soon as possible Woody began to build his house, being 
 assisted in the work by his kinsmen, Jim and John Woody, 
 original settlers of Parker County, who had come over to help 
 hew the logs and place them in position. The house was built 
 solidly of logs, and still stands as a monument to that bygone 
 period. A photograph of same accompanies these remarks. It 
 was a one-room structure, sixteen feet square, in which all the 
 household occui)ations were carried on. At one end a large open 
 fire-place was built with a chimney reaching outside. The 
 house faced south on the public road and a small porch faced in 
 that direction. 
 
 When finished. Woody 's home was the one lone habitation in 
 a wild territory hundreds of miles square which had already 
 begun to attract the attention of Eastern and Southern innni- 
 grants. A few of these began to arrive in the fall of the year, 
 and with them land traffickers, prospectors and investigators. 
 Among them was Senator Robert Tombs, the famous Georgia 
 statesman, who, as a member of the firm of Crawford, Tombs 
 and Catlett, had located many hundred of acres in the 
 territory and came here repeatedly to attend to the interests of 
 the firm. Senator Toombs was a guest in the humble home of 
 Woody for many weeks. As has been said, Mr. Woody 's home 
 was the one abode to which the incoming prospectors could 
 resort for comfort, cheer and protection. On a dreary winter's 
 night, just before Christmas of the first y(»ar (1854), eighteen 
 tired and weary guests lay down to slumber in this sixteen-foot 
 room. Wrapped in their blankets, they lay stretched before a 
 roaring fire, which was fed throughout the night by the genial 
 and hospitable host; here they slept and dreamed of golden 
 conc^uests in a land of fresh opportunities. 
 
30 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Mr. Woody has said of the motives that brought him hither:* 
 "The prettiest sight I ever saw is a new country, where man has 
 never been and which is just as tlie great God of Heaven left it; 
 where every stream is full of fish and every hollow tree is gorged 
 with honey. The wild life and nature at first hand suited me." 
 And describing the early life he says further: '^It was easy to 
 live in those days. Sow five or six acres of wheat and it would 
 often produce 'fifty bushels to the acre; cut it with a cradle, 
 tramp and fan it out, then once or twice a year load up a wagon 
 to which fiv(^ or six steers were hitched, and after a week's trip 
 to Dallas you would have enough flour to give bread to your own 
 family and some to the neighbors for a number of weeks, until 
 it would be the turn of some one else to make the trip. If we 
 had bread enough, game was always plentiful. Hogs would 
 get so fat on acorns they couldn't walk. After marking them 
 we let them run wild, and trained our dogs to run them in 
 whenever we wanted a supply of pork. Now and then we sent 
 a wagon to Shreveport or Houston for coffee and sugar and such 
 groceries, but we did not use sugar much. I paid a dollar for a 
 pint of the first sorgum seed planted in Wise County, and 
 molasses was the commonest kind of "sweetening." When we 
 got tired of game and pork we killed a beef. By swinging a 
 quarter high up to the limb of a tree it would be safe from wild 
 animals and would keep sweet for weeks, and it was a connnon 
 sight in our country to see the woman of the house untying the 
 rope and letting down the meat to cut off enough for dinner." 
 
 Speaking of the Indians at that time he said: " I reckon I 
 didn't know the disposition of the Indians. I was never afraid 
 of them, didn't have sense enough, I guess. I used to trade 
 with them at my house until they got hostile, and for a little 
 corn they would give me the finest buffalo robe or moccasins 
 you ever saw. I only wish I had kept some of those things, 
 they would be worth lots of money now." 
 
 With all the free domain stretched out before him and he 
 alone to partake of it wherever he would, it is rather singular 
 that this pioneer citizen encountered two obstacles that re- 
 
 * Paddocks "History of Northwest Texas." 
 
THE COMING OF THE FIRST SETTLERS. 31 
 
 strictecl his actions in a manner natural only to closely populated 
 territories. In the first place, as has been descril^ed, his original 
 location was pre-empted from under him by another during his 
 absence; in the second place, when on going to run the boundary 
 lines of his second location, he found them conflicting with the 
 line marks of a survey which had been made in the name of 
 Crawford, Toombs and Catlett. It was thus necessary for him 
 to purchase title from the original locators, which he did in 
 l)reference to seeking a third spot on which to pitch his home. 
 It is natural to presume, however, that Senator ToomlDS treated 
 his former host most generously in this transaction. 
 
 In closing this incident the writer is tempted in fancy to 
 stand with Woody at the threshold of this budding community 
 and look back over the more than three hundred years of Ameri- 
 can civilization to the time when our forefathers first set foot 
 on the hallowed soil of the republic, and view their advancing 
 footsteps towards this spot, every stride of which is contested 
 by that savage race which has given way only in the face of 
 Anglo-Saxon courage and determination, until in this the year 
 of 1854, their furthermost western reaches are identified in the 
 personality of Sam )Voody himself. 
 
 Since the expedition of Cabeza de Vaca to Texas in 1835, 
 three centuries and a half of waiting and preparation had been 
 recjuired to make it feasible for Woody to stand here on that 
 April day, the distinguished denizen of the dividing line between 
 an old and a rich civilization to the east and the point where 
 its frazzled edge dips suddenly and is lost in vast primeval 
 forests and uninhabited wastes of prairie. 
 
 It is a moment tense with romance, and I with Woody feel 
 the pressure of it behind and before. Looking behind our 
 position is realized as the forerunners of civilization, and looking 
 before, our hopes spring up as we view the glorious flower of life 
 which is to blossom forth from the germ we are planting here 
 to-day. 
 
 No chronicles of future times of peace should fail to make 
 due record of this romantic moment of germ planting. 
 
32 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 SUBSEQUENT ARRIVALS AND LOCALITIES SOUGHT. 
 
 A few other settler families had straggled in by the time of 
 the waning of summer 1854. John Butler, of whom little can 
 be learned, should be mentioned here as being one of the first 
 of the above class. He chose a place in the eastern part of the 
 county, in the neighborhood of the point where Catlett Creek 
 intersects with Denton Creek, on which he built a log cabin. 
 In July or August, William Calhoun came in with his family 
 
 and pre-empted a location 
 on Oliver Creek. The 
 winter of 1854 and 55 
 seems to have been a pro- 
 pitious time for the begin- 
 ning of an earnest stream 
 of innnigration into the 
 county, for many arrivals 
 are noted in that season. 
 Heading the column in the 
 Deep Creek community 
 were the families of James 
 Brooks and Dr. Standifer, 
 who settled on Walnut 
 Creek, as the first neighbors 
 of Mr. Woody. Upon one 
 of the days prior to Christ- 
 mas of 1854, a child was 
 born in the Brooks family, 
 the first white child born 
 on Wise County soil. The 
 child now flourishes in the 
 matured person of James 
 Brooks, Jr., formerly of Wise County, but at present living 
 in El Paso.* Dr. Standifer had been a surgeon in the U. S. army 
 and established at the post of Ft. Worth, which it is said, Dr. 
 
 JIM BROOKS. 
 
 * Since the above reference to James Brooks as being the first white child 
 horn in Wise County v.^as written, the writer has had communication with 
 
SUBSEQUENT ARRIVALS AND LOCALITIES SOUGHT. 
 
 33 
 
 Standifer was largely instrumental in having selected as an army 
 post. On coming to Wise County he retired from the active 
 practice of medicine, but gave some aid to the sick of his 
 community which constituted him the first physician in the 
 county. 
 
 On Feb. 28, 1855, the probable thirtl birth in the county, 
 occurred to Mr. and Mrs. Woody, a girl afterwards named Betty, 
 and who, in later years, married James Boyd of that numerous 
 and prominent family of the county. Mrs. Boyd now lives with 
 hcY family in Western Texas. 
 
 Following soon after the Brooks' and Standifers' came Stan- 
 hope Paschall and family to become permanent settlers in the 
 conmumity. 
 
 Mr. Manse McCarroll of Tom Greene County, Texas, and Mrs. Lou Duck- 
 worth, of Gibtown. Jack County, Texas, son and daughter of one of the 
 original pioneers, namely Tom McCarroll. From statements made by 
 these two it appears that Mrs. 
 Lou Duckworth, whose maiden 
 name was Louisa Woody McCar- 
 roll, was born in Wise County, 
 Sept. 2nd, 1854, which would 
 place the event of her birth 
 about three months preceding 
 that of James Brooks. Mr. Sam 
 Woody was authority for the 
 l)articulars relating to the birth 
 of Jim Brooks, his statements 
 being very positive. Subsequent 
 discoveries, however, have mysti- 
 fied the situation and it remains 
 doubtful which of these two 
 shares the honor of being the first 
 county born. A photograph of 
 Louisa Woody Duckworth, whose 
 second name was taken from 
 Mr. Sam Woody's mother, who 
 was in attendance at the ac- 
 couchment of Mrs. McCarroll, 
 accompanies these statements. 
 Louisa Woody McCarroll married 
 D. W. Duckworth of Gibtown, 
 Jack County, Texas. 
 3 
 
 MRS. LOU DUCKWORTH. 
 
34 PIONEER HISTORY OF WIS'E COUNTY. 
 
 MUSTER-ROLL OF THE OLD CITIZENSHIP. 
 
 In the following list will be found the names of the majority 
 of arrivals in the county during the years of the settlement 
 period, which ended shortly before the beginning of the Civil 
 War. The list might be described as a scroll of honor on which 
 are inscribed the names of those hardy pioneers who stood 
 steadfastly to the task of working out the problems incident 
 to the first troublous years of the existence of the county. Some 
 names have been necessarily left out, because the intervention 
 of half a century of time has operated to blot them from mem- 
 ory, to which defect the cause of apparent neglect is more clue 
 than to the prompting to ignore. The list was prepared under 
 the'guidance of an Old Settlers' Committee, and is submitted 
 with a conviction of its correctness. The most of the names 
 here presented represent the heads of families, but, much to 
 the general regret, the list does not include the pioneer wives 
 and mothers who bore an equal share of the privations of tlie 
 times, sweetened the bitter hours with their love and sympathy, 
 and refined and elevated the common life with the inspiration 
 of their pure and lofty characters. The exigencies of the situa- 
 tion does not provide their names. The list, accompanied by 
 the locations occupied, follows: 
 
 Dee}:) Creek and Boyd Valley. Sam ^^''oody and sons, \\[\\ and 
 Drew; Ben Crews; Bob Walker; Mat Walker; John Mann 
 and sons, Jim, William, Brice, Henry, John and Andrew; 
 Tom McCarroll; Stanhope Paschall and sons, Dennis, Jack 
 and John; Lawrence Ward, Sr., and sons, Henry, Frank, 
 Lawrence and Will; Richard Bo3'd and sons, Jim, Tom and 
 John; John and Polk Prunty; Ben and Dave Lewcllen; 
 Jim ({age; John Mapes; C. C. Leonard; Ben Earp; 
 
 Oliver Creek. Dr. Thomas Stewart; W. W. Bratly; Parson Bebe; 
 Marion Tefiteller; Wm. Calhoun; Andy Shoemaker and 
 sons, Milton, WiUiam, Lauren, Tom, Jerome and Andy; 
 Riley and Neri Hobson; Darb Pyeatt; John Crutchfield; 
 Sam and Jim Brandenbursi'. 
 
MUSTER-ROLL OF THE OLD CITIZENSHIP. 35 
 
 Holmes Valley. Tom Cogdell; Rev. W. H. H. Bradford; Ben 
 Monroe; Charles Browder; J. S. Standifer; Jim Brooks; 
 Alonzo Dill. 
 
 Walnut Creek Valley. Samuel and Richard Beck; Pleas Bryant; 
 Jim Rucker; Nat, Rans, Clabc, Charlie, Bob, Joe and Dave 
 Cates; Lemuel Cartwright and sons, Charlie, John, George; 
 R. M. Collins; Billie Miller; C. H. Miller. 
 
 Sand Hill. John Roe; J. D. White; Charlie Thompson; Jack 
 Hart, Sr. and Jr. ; Wils, Tom and Steve Hart ; Bob Newman ; 
 W. A. King. 
 
 Lower Walnut Creek. John Curtner, Sr. and Jr.; Earnest Curt- 
 ner; John and William Galley; John Gibbs. 
 
 Aurora. Major Sliinp; Ben and Nick Haney ; John Boyd; John 
 Teague; Judge W. S. Oats; Win. Oats and sons, Mark and 
 John. 
 
 Huif Valley. Wm. Hudson; Tom Geary; Huff and sons, 
 
 ' Matt, Jim, Charles and Budd; Jim Hudson; Joe Dewees. 
 
 Prairie Point {Rhome). Sam Sheets; Tom, Sam and Jim Sheets; 
 
 Elihu Teague; Van Meter; Dave Fulton; John Day 
 
 and sons, Jim and John; Josh King; Green Penington; 
 Nick Dawson; Marion Edwards; Kit Simpson. 
 
 Halsell Valley. Eli Hogue; Henry Martin; Joe Henry Martin; 
 John Williams ; Elections Halsell. 
 
 Sweetwater. John Waggoner; A. Bishop; Ed Blythe; Dock 
 Linclley. 
 
 Upper Catlett. G. B. Pickett; John AV. Hale; Wm. Russell; 
 George, Marsh, Garner, Bill, John, Jim and Joe Birdwell; 
 
 Tom Weatherby; Sylvanous Bean; Grundy Kelly; 
 
 Kelly; Jack Moore; Jim Watson; Jim Rodgers; High 
 Russell; Perry Mills ; Andy and Joe Marshall ; Tom Robin- 
 son; Jim and Tom Scarborough; Archer Fullingim; H. H. 
 Wilton; Bat, John and Sam Millholland; John Wilson; 
 Lijah Hall; Dan Waggoner; Floj^d Smith; S. M. Gose and 
 sons, John, Dave and Coy; Jesse FuHingim; Ely Roberts; 
 Frank Roberts; Elijah Roberts. 
 
36 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Decatur. Robert Wallace; John Wallace; A. B. Fostei*; Hugh 
 Hardwick; Charles Hardwick; Jim Proctor; Wm. Perrin; 
 Dan Howell; Elmore Allen ; T. Perrin; Sam Perrin. 
 
 Sandy Creek. Henry and Tom Jennings. 
 
 Catlett and Sweetwater. John Staley; Lycurgus King; John 
 Butler ; Dr. William Renshaw. 
 
 Denton Creek. J. B. Brandon; Philo Martin. 
 
 Mouth of Catlett. Samuel L. Terrell; Jacob Kellam; Felix 
 Gose. 
 
 Hog-eye Prairie. J. B. Earhart ; Brushy, Dick Reiger. 
 
 Salt Creek. T.E.Camp; Jesse Kmcannon; Dick Holden. 
 
 Hog Branch. George Guinn; Andy Scroggins; Balam Scrog- 
 
 gins ; Moses Followell ; Mackey ; Bob Lewis ; 
 
 Stevens. 
 
 Paradise Prairie and Salt Lake Valley. Toller; John 
 
 Woods; Oliver Reed; Wm. Burress; J. G. Stevens. 
 
 Bridgeport, Dry and Hanf.^ Creek. Alex and Tom Mahaffy, 
 Pierce, Harry and Sam Woodward; W. H. Hunt; George 
 Isbell; Rufus Booth; John and Straud Babb; John Art er- 
 berry; Wm. Anderson. 
 
 Cumby's Prairie. Edward Cumby; Eli Roberts; Gabe Jones; 
 Tom Jones ; George Glass ; Chesley Marlett ; Woodford and 
 Ben Bennett; Dick Couch. 
 
 Crafton. Elias Eden. 
 
 Garretfs Creek. Jak(> Garrett. 
 
 Audubon. D. D. Shirey; Clabe White: Press Walker; Mose, 
 Jim, Carlo and Bab Ball. 
 
 Black Creek. Wade Hudson; Martin and Harmon Cadell; Wil- 
 liam Weatherby; Tinville Cecil; Bob and Alex Lowry; 
 Jess Eads; Jesse and Warren Gage; Tom Allen; Hugh 
 Allen. 
 
GREGARIOUS TENDENCIES NOTABLE IN SETTLEMENT. 37 
 
 Others. J. C. Carpenter; John and Wiley McDanid; Ira 
 Long; Major Holmes; Ceph Woods; Hugh Hardwick; P. 
 P. R. Collom; Glen, Billie and R. K. Halsell: Polk 
 Mathews; Jim Sensibaugh; Dutch Waggoner; Parson 
 Windsor; Cal Mount; Dick Mount; Cal Pritchard; Elias 
 Calhoun ; George Stevens ; John Steadman ; Hezekiah Jones ; 
 Wash Conley ; Tom and Bill Marshall ; Pleas Cartwright ; 
 Anderson, Bill and Wilson Cook. 
 
 GREGARIOUS TENDENCIES NOTABLE IN SETTLEMENT. 
 OTHER REMARKS. 
 
 By the time immigration was well established, three well- 
 defined conununities, composing the major part of the popula- 
 tion, became clearly distinguishable. These were Deep Creek, 
 Sand Hill and Upper Catlett Creek. Numerous independent 
 locations, however, had been made throughout the county, the 
 choice of home sites being largely governed by- the accessibility 
 to water and timber. 
 
 The fact that settlements had been made in most of the creek 
 valleys leading into the cross-timbers from the prairies, beginning 
 with the southern limit of the settled area in the Deep Creek 
 community and ending with the northern limit in the region of 
 Catlett Creek, points to the conclusion that the habit of well- 
 digging had not as yet been formed, and that it was'an industry 
 of doubtful utility. Stock water and grass for grazing con- 
 stituted the chief essentials of the people as keepers of small 
 flocks of sheep and cattle and herds of hogs, and wherever such 
 perquisites were found, settlements were made convenient 
 thereto. 
 
 Western Wise County does not demand special attention here 
 since there seems, at this time, to have been no general tendency 
 towards settlement in that region, the only notable exception 
 being in the genuinely picturesc^ue example of Col. William H. 
 Hunt at Cactus Hill, which was a cattle ranch located on Hunt's 
 Creek, and which is to find full description in a succeeding 
 chapter. 
 
38 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 The gregarious spirit of the pioneers brouglit them together 
 in groups of habitation, the resultant intimacies of which re- 
 flounded in many useful ways. All essentials of a social, relig- 
 ious and educational nature were better effected through this 
 collective system, which as well afforded mutual exchanges of 
 labor and charitable assistance, and mutual protection against 
 conunon foes. It was a time of isolation and loneliness with 
 strong optimistic natures prerequisite to its forbearance, and the 
 intangible factors of faith and hope, springing spotaneously 
 from the collective conmumity, came to succor the individual 
 weak and faint-hearted. 
 
 The three mentioned conununities were recruited from natural 
 •causes. Deep Creek got its adherents from former neighbors 
 of Sam Woody in Eastern Texas and Tarrant and Dallas Counties, 
 Sand Hill, from the drawing power of blood relationship, this 
 community being principally inhabited by a population through- 
 otit which a general kinship prevailed. The originals embarked 
 from Tennessee and other South Central states and all the 
 " kinfolks " which were available to make the change, were 
 prevailed on to follow, resulting in Sand Hill's becoming very 
 nearly a large and happy family. Catlett Creek congregated 
 its forces from the old counti(\s of North and East Texas, princi- 
 pally Hopkins, Red River and Lamar, where this frontier 
 strangely called " Keechi," had gained a rising reputation for 
 richness and fertility. 
 
 Such marks as these can be traced throughout all Wise 
 County's population, both of the pioneer and subseriuent periods. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 Cactus Hill. 
 
 The late Col. R. M. Collins, an eyewitness to the settlement of 
 Wise County has written: " Amongst the advancing squadrons 
 of American civihzation, as a rule, the first to get on the outside 
 and blaze the way is the man with his herds and flocks; then 
 comes the man with the hoe, followed by the Methodist circuit 
 rider, and next to him is the politician." From thence on the 
 lamented Wise County editor described an early political incident 
 in which there was much of a serious and humorous nature. 
 We pause to dwell on that phrase which emphasizes the man 
 with the flocks and herds as the one who " blazes the way for 
 the advancing squadrons of civilization." Referred to Wise 
 County, the statement is substantially confirmed in the example 
 of Col. W. H. Hunt, who, as one of the very first settlers to seek 
 out a location here, brought along his flocks and herds to 
 pasture on the free and luxuriant grasses. Col. Hunt found 
 Western Wise County better suited to his purpose, and there, 
 on the banks of Hunt's Creek he established a most interesting 
 and picturesque home and ranch quarters, the descriptive 
 details of which, it is hoped, will provide an entertaining chapter 
 of this book. The following remarks will be devoted to a de- 
 scription of Cactus Hill itself, with character sketches of Col. 
 Hunt and members of his family reserved for another place. 
 
 The locality was first occupied by Col. Hunt and family in 
 1855 but some time prior to that date he had brought hither a 
 large number of cattle and sheep, and left them in care of cow- 
 boys in his service. Hunt's Creek is a tributary of the West 
 Fork of the Trinity River and the Cactus Hill home was estab- 
 lished on it in the vicinity of the point where the Decatur and 
 Jacksboro road finds a crossing. The house stood to the right 
 of the road, facing south, on a rising prominence which stands 
 out above both the creek and the road, and gives it an unob- 
 structed view of the country for miles around. 
 
 (39) 
 
40 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUXTY. 
 
 CO].. W. H. HI XT. 
 
CACTUS HILL, 
 
 41 
 
 The writer has been enabled to obtain from Mrs. D. J. Gal- 
 braith, of Honey Grove, and Mrs. Kate Hunt Craddock, of Ter- 
 rell, a daughter of Colonel Hunt, certain comprehensive sketches 
 which detail the life and surroundings of this most genuinely 
 picturescjue and romantic feature of early Wise County life; in 
 fact, more connected information has been vouchsafed on this 
 point than attaches to any other phase of the historical matter 
 under consideration. Mesdames Craddock and Galbraith's con- 
 tributions supplemented by those of living pioneers forms the 
 basis of the description of Cactus Hill. 
 
 Possibly the reader is asking at the outset for a brief reference 
 to the part Colonel Hunt played in the history of the period in 
 cjuestion, and also certain allusions to the prominences of his 
 character. He was a man gifted with a genius for leadership; 
 he was broad and charitable in his views ; he was hospitable and 
 sympathetic and endowed with unusual intelligence; a New 
 Yorker by birth and a city-bred man, he was equipped to intro- 
 duce direction and system into his personal affairs and the 
 affairs of others, which he frequently shouldered. His mission 
 in the early history of the county was one of counsel and guid- 
 ance; he provided that broad and rugged leadership so essen- 
 tial to all the local interests in their undeveloped and formative 
 state. He is revered for his hospitable ways at Cactus Hill and 
 remembered for the many benefactions which he conferred on 
 the people. 
 
 Alluding again to Cactus Hill, it may be said that Mrs. Gal- 
 braith visited the scene in the year of 1855, having ridden out 
 on horseback from Bonham in company with Colonel Tom 
 Bean, the noted Texan, and Miss Belle Cordell, Mrs. Hunt's 
 sister. Much of Mrs. Galbraith's description is embodied in 
 these statements. She thus indicates the surroundings: 
 
 "We could stand on Cactus Hill and look for miles in every 
 direction and see the most beautiful scenery, great high hills 
 covered with small live-oak trees and cactus of every variety; 
 the tall mesquite grass thrived in luxuriance, and intermingled 
 with all these lovely decorations were great white stones and 
 countless wild flowers ; there was not a house in sight of Colonel 
 Hunt's." 
 
42 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUXTY. 
 
 In this wild and rugged region sat Cactus Hill, a refined and 
 cultivated home. The house was a large log structure with two 
 rooms and a hall, with a porch in front and rock-floored kitchen 
 and dining room in the rear. The lumber used in the flooring 
 and door and window frames was brought by ox-teams from 
 Jefferson, in eastern Texas, by James Proctor, and the glass 
 panes of the windows were the first introduced into the county. 
 
 The prevailing evidences of culture and taste existed in the 
 well-chosen library, in which were to be found the poetical 
 works of Byron, Tennyson, Milton and Shakespeare, the latter 
 being Colonel Hunt's favorite author. A spindle-legged me- 
 lodeon brought from New York by way of New Orleans to Cactus 
 Hill, was the first instrument of the kind in the country. A 
 tuner often rode out from McKinney to put the melodeon in 
 order. Once in the dining room, the guests found themselves 
 served from the finest of china, which existed in profusion. 
 
 In the landlord's big desk, which occupied one corner of the 
 spacious west room, was kept the postoffice of the neighborhood, 
 to which the neighbors came to receive and send mail. A short 
 distance from the house a large basement was built undc^r a two- 
 roomed structure used for a granary and smoke-house, in which 
 the dairy products were kept cool and fresh. Here also was 
 kept a constant store of luxuries and supplies from the distant 
 markets. Still further to the rear was a large blacksmith shop 
 plentifully equipped with tools to which the neighbors repairc^d 
 for blacksmithing. 
 
 The corrall was one of the best in the country, made of huge 
 logs tightly pinioned with bois d'arc pegs and entered through 
 a massive swinging gate. The fences were ten feet high on three 
 sides, the fourth being formed by a succession of barns and 
 stables. A large "mount" of cow ponies was always on hand, 
 besides which, pride was taken in the ownership of a goodly 
 number of riding and carriage horses. 
 
 Besides the many cattle, a large flock of sheej) was kept 
 constantly recruited to number 3,r)00 on range about the country, 
 the annual wool clip from which was transported in large cara- 
 vans to Jefferson and sold, the caravans returning laden with 
 supplies for the ranch, and also at times bringing back goods 
 
CACTUS HILL. 
 
 43 
 
 and wares for Howell anti Allen's store, which lay on the route. 
 One of the picturesque sights around Cactus Hill was the band 
 of cow-boys in the employment of Colonel Hunt and other 
 ranchmen of the section. No cattleman or wayfarer in that 
 
 PAPPY dad" a character ABOUT CACTUS HILL. 
 
 region ever found himself independent of the hospitality of this 
 household. 
 
 Col. and Mrs. Hunt were both characteristically hospitable, 
 social and charitable. The big open hallway at Cactus Hill was 
 
44 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 indicative of their open-heartetl \vays. Open house ^vas kept in 
 those days, and a chance guest stayed a day, a night, a week, 
 as it pleased him. Everybody who came their way got the 
 "glad hand " on the doorstep, be he friend or stranger. Mrs. 
 Hunt was personally very attractive and entertaining, and her 
 many efforts to bring hai^piness to her guests are facts of tradi- 
 tion. The delicacies and luxuries of her stores were always at 
 the command of the sick and needy, and the volumes of the 
 library were never too precious to be circulated for general 
 reading in the conununity. 
 
 Out of his own resources Col. Hunt built a schoolhouse for 
 the use of his neighbor's children, and herein, though not a 
 churchman, he organized and taught a Sunday school, the first 
 in that part of the county. He also distributed bibles and 
 testaments freely among the pt^ojjle, and even among the Indian 
 tribes. It may be said that he always treated the Indians 
 kindly, which won for him their friendship and esteem and 
 eventuated in their calling him the " White Fath(>r." 
 
 The old s(>ttlers recall with [)l(^asure the hap])y social life 
 which prevailed at Cactus Hill during its i^rime days. The 
 celebratcnl wedding of Miss Belle Cordell, is one of the best 
 rememlx'red events of the time. From Mrs. Galbraith we learn 
 also that the Decatur lawyers had a habit of riding out to the 
 place to spend the days in excursions about the country, and 
 the evenings in backgannnon, euchre and other games. 
 
 Meagerness of space allotment comjjels the ending of allusions 
 to Cactus Hill at this point. Due expression nuist be given, 
 however, to the esteem in which Col. and Mrs. Hunt were held 
 by the frontier compatriots, who looked upon them as noble, 
 generous chai'acters, and as cheering and stinuilating person- 
 alities of a rather sombrous hour. The influence of their benefi- 
 cent lives has been transported to the present time. 
 
 Of Cactus Hill, built in the .wilds of nature's wootls and 
 l)rairies, it is a])i)r()priate to say that its ai)pealing environment 
 generated the g(Miius of poetr}^ in th(> soul of one who went forth 
 to sing sweetly of nature and solitude and of the strength arid 
 pathos of these. Reference is ma<le to Mrs. Belle Hunt Short- 
 ridge, the gifted daughter of Col. and Mrs. Hunt, the first born 
 
CACTUS HILL. 
 
 45 
 
 white child of Western Wise County, who in mature years at- 
 tained wide prominence as a poetess of unusual grace and power. 
 
 -MRS. BKLLK HUNT SHORTKIDGE. 
 
 The poem " Texas " reproduced in the first pages of this volume 
 is from her pen, and a photograph and sketch of her life appears 
 elsewhere. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Pioneer Store and Merchant. 
 
 The influx of population had now reached the stage where it 
 demanded a supply store, and there lived at Old Alton, in 
 Denton County, the man who had interpreted the need and was 
 on the point of supplying the necessity. His name was Daniel 
 Howell, and had been a merchant at the old capital of Denton 
 long enough to desire .a change. He was a shrewd man, of a 
 cautious and calculative disposition as is illustrated by the in- 
 cident about to be described. He wanted to establish a trading 
 post within striking distance of the western settlements, the 
 tide of immigration towards which had revealed to him that at 
 no distant date a county would be organized there and a County 
 Seat selected; that his future interests would be materially 
 enhanced should his store be located on the spot where the 
 new County Seat would be established he remained convinced. 
 But how was he to arrive at the exact center of the probable 
 future county in the face of the fact that the territory had never 
 been traced by a surveyor bent upon rimning county boundary 
 limits, was the baffling problem that confronted him. He reason- 
 ed that the new county would hr created i)ropoii;ionate to the 
 size of those previously formed, and upon this hypothesis he 
 sought the Denton terminus of the imaginary land district 
 line, which has been described as running through Wise County 
 from east to west, dividing th(> land districts of Cooke and 
 Denton from each other, which he followed into Wise County 
 territory until he had come to wher(> he thought a central linc^ 
 running north and south would cross. At this point he decided 
 to place the structure for his store. Tradition points to the 
 fact that he made further precise calculations as to where the 
 north and south line would cross the east and west one, for he 
 is known to have located the exact center of the county which, 
 in times subsequent, has been dc^fiiiitely located a short distance 
 southwest of Decatur. 
 (46) 
 
THE PIONEER STORE AND MERCHANT. 47 
 
 Upon locating the county center in the timber he* paused 
 again to reflect, and concluded that the future county seat would 
 be built on the prairie as nearly to the center as possible. So 
 coming back out of the timber, he had not emerged far when he 
 encountered a large spring flowing up out of a ravine, which 
 formed ^the eastern boundary of a prominent rise. Hereon he 
 decided to place his store-house, a location which made him 
 accessible to the settlement trade, placed him near the center 
 of the county and near at hand to the large ever-flowing spring. 
 
 If an air line should be drawn in Decatur from the Baptist 
 College to the Cotton Oil Mill, the site of Howell's store would 
 rest upon it at a point slightly less than half the distance be- 
 tween the two institutions. More exactly, if the building re- 
 mained intact it would stand a few steps northeast of the resi- 
 dence of Rev. W. C. Carver in south Decatur. The spring ex- 
 isted still farther east at the base of the hill. 
 
 To this store the early citizens came for those commodities 
 which were not raised for consumption on their farms, and also 
 to procure their mail, the only postoffice in the territory being 
 kept at this place, regular weekly trips being made by carrier 
 to Old Alton to bring mail. Crowds congregated there for the 
 transaction of such business of a public and private nature as 
 demanded attention. In these several ways Howell's Store 
 responded to the needs and gained a celebrity which has lasted 
 to the present tim(\ 
 
 Coming along from Old Alton with Mr. Howell was a young 
 man by the name of Elmore Allen, who acted as clerk in the 
 store and who presently assumed an interest in the business; 
 upon which the firm name was changed to Howell and Allen, 
 remaining so until the partnership was dissolved years after in 
 Decatur, where the business was latterly removed. 
 
 The store was sufficient to supply the wants of the people, 
 and no other businesses were planted in the neighborhood of 
 Howell's, and only two other structures were erected there. 
 One of these was a family residence, constructed of logs, which 
 Mr. Howell had built just under the south brink of the high hill 
 which stands directly south of the original location of the store- 
 house. The other was a frame structure sixteen feet square, 
 
48 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 which Henry Martin, a citizen of the territory, raised a few 
 yards west of Howell's store. This house was weatherboarded 
 with four-foot hackberry boards cut in the West Fork bottoms, 
 and shaved with a drawing-knife. It was roofed with two-foot 
 clapboards and floored with cottonwood puncheons. These 
 minute details are given because this building is later on to as- 
 sume historical prominence in the county. Plowell and Allen's 
 business thrived until Taylorsville was established in 1857, to 
 which place it was removed. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 Land and Pre-emption Claims. 
 
 The strongest magnet which attracts immigration to new 
 countries is the availabihty of free lands. From the beginning 
 of white man's rule in this state, magnanimous offerings of land 
 have been extended with the hope of inducing a flow of immigra- 
 tion. Prior to 183G a head right certificate of the first class was 
 granted to each permanent settler in the state arriving before 
 that time. Such a certificate constituted a title to 4,005 54-100 
 acres of land — a gift offering from the state. 
 
 The stream of immigration, however, soon made such ex- 
 travagant gifts impossible, and the cjuantities of free domain to 
 which settlers were entitled were gradually diminished and the 
 price per acre increased. 
 
 The most of the settlements of Wise County were made under 
 the law of February 13, 1854, which granted to the actual settler 
 160 acres, with provisions that, in each instance, a house must 
 be built on the land and occupied for a term of three years, at 
 the expiration of which time the land was to be surveyed by the 
 county or district surveyor and field notes, accompanied by an 
 affidavit of residence for the recjuired time, returned to the gen- 
 eral land office at Austin, whereupon a patent would be made 
 out, signed by the Governor, and sent to the settler or locator. 
 
 The legislatures were constantly modifying and raising the 
 fee charged by the state. First the price was 50 cents per acre; 
 finally -11.00. 
 
 Where previous locations had not been made, all the lands of 
 the county were subject to entry. All the settler had to do was 
 to make his choice, move in, erect a house, and at the end of 
 three years survey the lines and make applications for a patent. 
 There is reported much trafficking and hawking about of worth- 
 less certificates and pre-emption claims during all of the days 
 of settlement. Land sharks and victimizers generally did a 
 thriving business with new-comers as prey, and there was no end 
 to the nefarious practices until the free lands were exhausted. 
 
 (49) 
 
50 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Land sales and trades among the citizcnis were made during 
 these first days on a basis of a range in price from 50c. to SI. 00 
 per acre for improved land with entire sections selling at S300.00. 
 
 During the first years of the settlement of Wise County the 
 counties of the state were arranged into land districts for con- 
 venience in regulating land matters. Ordinarily a few counties 
 composed a district, with the central office located at the most 
 convenient point. To these various districts were attached 
 the unorganized counties for land purposes, anfl to these the 
 latter looked for authorized surveyors and the safeguarding of 
 records. Under this system the unorganized territory of Wise 
 County fell to the equal jurisdiction of Cooke and Denton 
 Counties, the line running centrally through the county from 
 east to west. Thus locations in the southern part of Wise 
 were legalized and surveyed by the Denton office antl those in 
 the north part by the office at Gainsville. The distance of 
 these headquarters from Wise made the necessity of applying to 
 them, in the multitudinous details of land matters, difficult and 
 troublesome, and the settlers here welcomed the clay when by 
 organization this county gained jurisdiction over its own land 
 affairs. The early surveyors were freighted with many responsi- 
 bilities and much labor. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 The Delaware Indians. 
 
 A circumstance more suggestive perhaps than any other of 
 the truly primitive condition of Wise County at the time of its 
 settlement, was the discovery here of a band of aboriginees 
 peacefully inhabiting its' confines and rarely emerging beyond 
 them. What is known of this tribe of Indians. was gained prin- 
 cipally from their own revelations and is of a nature so meagre as 
 to leave their ancestry and prior history shrouded in mystery. 
 Through them it became known that they were a branch of the 
 Delaware tribe, but from, whence they came or what land they 
 had originally occupied was never learned. 
 
 The band found here numbered about 65 men, women and 
 children, and was presided over by two chiefs; an elderly one 
 named Jim Ned, and a younger one named Tom Williams. 
 These English names they doubtless achieved from the settlers 
 themselves. Jim Ned was supreme in command of the tribe, 
 Tom Williams being a sub-chief of a division. When the band 
 was first discovered Jim Ned had the appearance of a man 
 of about fifty years of age, was slightly grey-haired, and of 
 much darker complexion than Tom Williams whose shade of 
 color was more that of a Mongolian. The tribe lived true to 
 their original customs and habits, which were to forage about 
 the country in search of game and fish, the most of the time 
 united, but occasionally separated into two bands which occupied 
 different territories, but pursuing the same ends, hunting and 
 fishing. After they had been separated for some time they 
 would then reunite and seem thoroughly to enjoy the coming 
 together. A district would be occupied until its fish and game 
 supply was diminished, and then a removal would occur to 
 another section. In this way the Indians hunted over every por- 
 tion of the county, but it was observed that their operations 
 were being more and more confined to the western part as if 
 gradually being pushed out of their wonted haunts by the in- 
 
 (51) 
 
52 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUXTY. 
 
 coming settlers. Their relations with the sparse settlers were 
 at all times of a peac(^able and friendly character, and no criminal 
 acts are recordcnl of them, yet in their personal habits thej^ were 
 truly barbaric, upon which account no women could visit their 
 camps with impunity. The tribe is remembered to have first 
 been in camp in the eastern part of the county near Piper's 
 Springs, on Catlett Creek, in 1853. Dr. Renshaw found them 
 there when he came out to make his land locations in that 3^ear. 
 From Piper's Springs they removed to the vicinity of Sand Hill, 
 and established their village near the farm of Lem Cartwright. 
 Next, they moved and camped in what is now the Mus(^ neighbor- 
 hood and from thence on their movements were towards the 
 west with stoppings in Jennings' Valley, on Sandy Creek, and 
 Martin's Valley on the AVest Fork. Their last camp is thought 
 to have been near the Jim Ned Springs, in Jack Count}', from 
 which place they were removed by United States soldiers and 
 confined on the reservation at Ft. Belknap. 
 
 In Wise County the chiefs mingled freely with the settlers 
 and eagerly partook of the supplies of tobacco, food and fabrics 
 that were given them. They also exchanged hides and furs, 
 beads and moccasins with the settlers, receiving such articles 
 of use and others of frivolous value as they needed or admired. 
 Horse trading was also one of their chief accomplishments, and 
 a herd of ponies was constantly kept to enable them to indulge 
 in the practice. 
 
 Their living abodes were constructed of crossed upright poles, 
 over which blankets were thrown for protection. The scjuaw 
 members did all the manual labor about the camp, building the 
 fires, cooking the food, dressing the skins and making the 
 moccasins which were to be sold or traded. 
 
 The establishment of Howell's Store had the effect of (juicken- 
 ing the endeavors of the tribe at providing hides and furs for 
 sale and exchange. Mr. Howell brought large supplies of 
 gaudily colored fabrics and shining trinkets which appealed to 
 the Indian eye and (piickened their endeavors to secure them. 
 They came to the little store to trade, and their presence added 
 that touch of color to the picturesque scene which rendered it 
 typically frontier in aspect. 
 
THE DELAWARE INDIANS. 53 
 
 In coming to market, they rotle single-file with the bucks in 
 the lead and the squaws behind, and if strangers were met they 
 grunted an austere "how," their interpretation of the English 
 ''howdy." Upon arriving, all dismounted, the squaws sat flat 
 on the ground and the bucks did the trading. They bought 
 brown sugar, tobacco, whiskey, blankets and gaudy ginghams 
 and calicoes. They always brought along buckskin robes, furs 
 and moccasins to trade to the store-keepers and to the settlers. 
 
 They were skilled at many games and experts at riding, and 
 shot the arrow with such sureness of aim as to astonish the 
 natives. Shooting matches, foot- and horse-racing always fol- 
 lowed their visits to town. Small coins in forked sticks were 
 put up at distances and the Indians won them by striking with 
 the arrow. Their fleet foot-runners were rarely outdistanced, 
 and their racing ponies were trained to astonishing speed. 
 
 In the tribe was a small boy, nearly white of complexion, 
 whose presence there was a constant source of mystery and sus- 
 picion to the settlers, but with a bow and arrow he was a deadly 
 shot, rarely failing at any target. 
 
 The tribe developed an iniquitous habit ; they would come to 
 Howell's store, thoroughly intoxicate themselves with whiskey, 
 and then retire to the neighboring hills, cover themselves with 
 blankets and lie clown to let the sun absorb the spirits from their 
 bodies by the sweating process. Sometimes they would lie in 
 the blazing sun for two days at a time. 
 
 In 1859 this friendly tribe of Dela wares was removed to Ft. 
 Belknap, to secure them against the murderous designs of the 
 wild tribes, whose enmity had been aroused because of the 
 Delawares' peaceable relations with the whites. Finally they 
 were caught unprotected by an atrocious band of Comanches 
 and exterminated. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Church and School Beginnings — Sand Hill As a Center — 
 "Old Savayback." 
 
 The noig"hboi'hoo(l a few miles south of Decatur in which Sand 
 Hill Church and camp-grounds are located, has been a center of 
 religious and educational activity since the earliest history of 
 the county. During the whole of the preliminary period, a quar- 
 ter of a century of pioneerism, the religious and educational 
 factors antl forces at Sand Hill dominated these sentinients in 
 the county. Thus this ground became a mecca where all re- 
 sorted for woi'ship and for etlucational purposes, and as a 
 stronghold for piety, sanctified to the demands of religion and 
 education, has left the seal of its imj^ress for moral (>levation 
 clearly stamped on the body politic of the county. 
 
 Its proximity to the surrounding settlements contributed to 
 its origin. The i)resent location of the church is not the original 
 one. The church was organized in the home of Jim Brooks, an 
 early citizen to whom reference has been made. In the sum- 
 mer of 1854 the following persons met at Mr. Brooks' to organize 
 the first church body of the territory: Rev. W. H. H. Bradford, 
 Jim Brooks, Thomas Cogdell, Charles Browder, Benjamin Mon- 
 roe, Dr. Standifer, Lemuel Cartwright and Rev. John Roe. 
 
 Rev. Bradford, connnonly called ''Buck," officiated at this 
 early religious ceremony, ordaining and dedicating the church 
 to the doctrines of Wesley, and became its first pastor. Thus 
 the Methodists were the first to unfurl the banner of the Cross 
 in ^Mse County. 
 
 Situated a short distance from Mr. Brooks' home stood a 
 large sand hill from 'neath which a large spring issued, from 
 which natural formation the church took its name — Sand Hill. 
 In the fall of the same year a brush arbor meeting was held east 
 and across the creek from the present Sand Hill camp-grounds, 
 approximate to the home of Lem Cartwright. In 1855 the 
 present Sand Hill communitv had been gejierallv occupied, and 
 (54) 
 
OLD SWAYBACK. 55 
 
 its convenient center became the natural assembling point of 
 the people for miles in all directions. That center was the 
 home of Lem Cartwright above mentioned, and to this home the 
 church was moved in the same year from its original location 
 at Mr. Brooks', some miles to the south. Soon afterward, Mr. 
 Cartwright vacated his home, surrendering it to the people for 
 a church, and built a new house on the hill-ridge to the east. 
 
 "OLD SWAYBACK." 
 
 This was the inception of "Old Swabyack," a building and a 
 church revered in the memory of Wise County pioneers, and the 
 scene of the earliest manifestations of religious enthusiasm and 
 pious enterprise. 
 
 "Old Swayback" stood on the west slant of the prairie hill 
 almost directly east of the present Sand Hill church, and was 
 constructed of home-made boards for covering and green slabs 
 for framing. A long ridge-pole ran along the center of the gable 
 roof as the upper support of the roof boards. Finally the ridge- 
 pole sagged downward at the center, carrying the roof along and 
 leaving the two ends projecting upward, from which peculiar 
 defect the church got its name — "Swayback," affectionately re- 
 ferred to now as "Old Swayback." 
 
 By 1856 the increased citizenshii) demandotl more connnodi- 
 ous church quarters and a meeting of all denominations was 
 held at "Swayback" to confer upon the matter. The conclu- 
 sion to build a new church was arrived at and a committee ap- 
 pointed to locate a place for same, which was done at a spot 
 near the one on which the present church now stands. The 
 groves and contiguous spring were deciding factors in locating 
 thr church, as was also a gift of the land by W. A. Kjng. Here 
 the first building for religious purposes in the county was erected 
 — a log structure twenty feet square with a dirt floor, built by 
 the general help of the community. 
 
 Alternate Sunday services were held in it by the different 
 denominations, though it is not reported that any other church 
 organizations occurred there. Among the early ministers who 
 preached here were: Rev. W. H. H. Bradford, Methodist; John 
 
56 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Roe, Methodist; Rev. J. T. Willis, Baptist; Parson Windsor, 
 Methodist; Rev. Gregory, Cumberland; Wm. Bates, Methodist; 
 Rev. Aikens, Presbyterian; and Rev. Withom. 
 
 The custom of holding annual brush arbor camp-meetings was 
 then begun and has been conducted as a time-honored practice 
 to this day. 
 
 BAPTIST CHURCH ORGANIZED. 
 
 The Baptist Church holds ground with the Methodist as a 
 pioneer church organization, and some of the earliest and most 
 devout preachers were of that denomination. 
 
 The organization took place in the fall of 18.5() in the home 
 of Samuel Perrin, who lived about a mile southwest of the 
 present Decatur. Rev. J. T. Willis, of Denton Creek, officiated 
 at the exercises. Colonel G. B. Pickett being one of the witnesses. 
 Some time after this a small log school house was built by Wm. 
 
 and Samuel Perrin, Rich. Beck and Millholland, near 
 
 where the Decatur and Boyd road crosses the Beck or Brady 
 Branch, and to this place the church was moved and services 
 afterwards held. 
 
 CHURCH ON CATLETT CREEK. 
 
 The above were the two early enterprises, the third occuring 
 in the upper Catlett Creek community north of Decatur, which 
 had as yet been without church advantages except those afforded 
 by the Sand Hill and the Baptist church. But upon these latter 
 the old settlers attended faithfully. It may be stated, parenthet- 
 ically, that a serious and earnest piety tlistinguished the old set- 
 tlers as a body. It was an hour of loneliness and isolation amidst 
 the danger of which the people recognized the imminent need of 
 divine assistance and guidance, hence their faithful journeyings 
 to the altars for support and consolation. The strength and 
 drawing powei- of Sand Hill lay in its ability to supply that 
 meed of Christian nourishment demanded by the pioneers in their 
 struggle with life. In this way the old shrine at Sand Hill be- 
 came one at which all gathered for sup))lication and to receive 
 the outpourings of spiritual blessings; the holy fount from 
 
SCHOOL BEGINNINGS. 57 
 
 which gushed the waters of life bathed away the general fears 
 and soothed the aching hearts. Small wonder is it that Sand 
 Hill is revered in memory and affection, for there falling foot- 
 steps and drooping spirits have been strengthened and dull eyes 
 brightened, and through the lowering clouds of grief and trouble, 
 have been made to shine the brightening rays of comfort, hope 
 and cheer, presaging a happier to-morrow and a joyous future — 
 the becjueathings of an all-wise and kindly Father. 
 
 The Catlett Creek settlement had their religious beginnings 
 in a service held in the home of Capt. John W. Hale, in the fall 
 of either of the years of 1855 or 56. Rev.Stubblefield,a Method- 
 ist missionary to Sand Hill, was in charge. The following year 
 a two days' brush arbor meeting was held in the timber mid- 
 way between the homes of Col. G. B. Pickett and Capt. Hale, 
 and continued there for many summers. Church services were 
 continued in Capt. Hale's home during the winter for some time. 
 No church house was built in the community before the war, and 
 during that trying period the people went to Decatur to worship, 
 this upon the advice of Rev. Bellamy who had moved into the 
 county. 
 
 Tradition points to Gage's school house, which would now stand 
 in the vicinity of Sycamore, as the first church and schoolhouse 
 built north of Sand Hill and Decatur. This was a union church, 
 built near the home of Jerry Gage, from whom it took its name. 
 In about 1870 the Gose schoolhouse and church was erected 
 on upper Catlett i)roper, at a point north of Decatur, in the 
 immediate vicinity of Major S. M. Gose's home, which furnished 
 school and church facilities for many years 
 
 Reference has been made to the building of a schoolhouse and 
 organizing of a Sunday school in the western part of the county 
 by Col. Hunt. This perhaps was the lone example of religious 
 and educational enterprise in that section for no other is reported 
 for the periotl. The next activity occurs at Decatur, which will 
 be described in another place. 
 
 SCHOOL BEGINNINGS. 
 
 The pioneers very early displayed a recognition of the value 
 of education. The first little school is reported to have been 
 
58 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 started a year before the territory brought itself iimler tlie 
 restraints of organized local government. The first school \vas 
 taught by Eli Hoag in the summer of 1855, but the exact location 
 is in controversy. 
 
 The school was conducted either at " Old Sway back " church 
 or in the house of ^^^ S. Hoag, a brother of Eli Hoag, the jiioneer 
 teacher. The latter dwelling stood on the banks of Walnut 
 Creek, a few miles south of Decatur, and was afterwards 
 torn down and moved to Decatur. This first school was 
 sparsely attended and lasted only for a short season. A 
 second and more successful term was conducted l)y Mr. 
 Bleffins in the summer of 185G, the year of organization, 
 in the little log school house described as having been located 
 on Beck or Brady Branch, near the point of the Boyd and 
 Decatur road crossing, which place is about half a mile south- 
 east of the Baptist College in Decatur. Professor BleflEins was 
 a young and educated Mrginia gentleman who had sought this 
 mild climate in pursuit of health, and was highly equipped for 
 the duties of teaching. A list of a few of the pupils is provided, 
 to-wit: — The children of the Beck family and the following 
 chiklren of the two Perriii families: Jim, Mary, Will, Sabina, 
 Sallie, Mandy, Mahalie and William. AVilliam and Susan Hunt, 
 Charlie and Clabe Cates, Sam, Bartholomew and Simon Mill- 
 hoUand, John, Ben and Nannie Howel. 
 
 The third of the pioneer schools was taught in the fall and 
 winter of 185(), in the church house at Sand Hill, then but 
 recently completed. Professor Wm. Fletcher, another educated 
 Mrginian, who had come out in search of health, conducted this 
 school in a highly efficient manner. Among the pupils who 
 attendetl here were Joe, Lee, Jim, Fronie and Phoebe Crutch- 
 field, the Beck children, the Pleas Byrant children, Clabe and 
 Charlie Cates, Mary and Barnett Pauley, Robert M. Collins, 
 John and Addie Newman, Cisely Ann, Thomas, Will, George 
 and Glenn Halsell, and the Cartwright boys. 
 
 J. D. White, one of the living pioneers, succeeded as teacher of 
 this school in 1857. Pupils attended Mr. White's two terms 
 fi'om both \^'ise and Denton Counties, and some of them in 
 after life attained to position and prominence, noted as follows: 
 
SCHOOL BEGINNINGS.' 59 
 
 Rev. Z. B. Carroll, Baptist minister: Rev. Lafayette Bullard, 
 Presbyterian divine; Bantield Cogdell, a successful citizen of 
 Hill County; Thomas Cogdell, a prominent banker of Grand- 
 bury, Hood County; T. S. Cogdell, a prominent farmer of Hood 
 County, and R. M. Collins, who gained wide })rominence as 
 writer and editor. 
 
 Successful schools are also reported from Deep Creek and 
 Prairie Point. In 1859 or 60, the third Virginian who was to 
 come to Wise County for the restorative climate began a school 
 on Deep Creek, this teacher being Robert Walker. The school 
 was conducted successfully for a number of years, and almost all 
 the children of the Deep Creek community had their educational 
 beginnings there. Among them are mentioned ; Brice and John 
 Mann, Laura and Jim Young, AVill Drew, Joe and Betty Woody, 
 Ripley, Julia and Bettie Standfiekl, Jim Brooks, Will Holmes, 
 Lawrence, Jr., Henry, Mary, Frank, and William Ward, Jim, 
 Martha, Tom, Jess, Emma, John and Pink Boyd, Jim, Charles and 
 George Reed, Frank and Marcellus Broadstreet, Jim Foster, 
 Cephus Woods, Jess Carpenter, Mary, Emma, Ella, Annie and 
 John Holmes, Alfred and William Manning, Jack, Dennis, Mary 
 and Bettie Paschall, AVillis Millholland, Mary and Micajah 
 Britt, Sam Woody, Jr., the Cogdell children, Jasper Armstrong, 
 Wm. Shoemaker, Jess, Jim and Chesly Walker, Mary, Jane and 
 Jim Paschall, John and Mart Houston, Emma and Tom Crews, 
 Francis Cherry and Seg Bradford. 
 
 The Prairie Point School was taught by John S. Morris, and 
 continued with success for a number of years. The schools in 
 the north part of the settlements were not so numerous nor so 
 well attended, due to th(^ sparser population. A school is re- 
 ported to have been taught at a very early date by a Mr. Rod- 
 man, near where the New South Church now stands, and later 
 Benjamin Shrews taught there. Another school is reported 
 from the neighborhood where the Gose school was afterwards 
 built, with Joe Wilson as teacher. These schools furnished* 
 faciUties for the children of Colonel Pickett, J. D. AVhite, J. W. 
 Hale and others of that community. The only school in the 
 western part of the county was located near Colonel Hunt's 
 ranch hous(% and Mrs. Salmon is said to have been the first per- 
 son to teach there. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Organization of the County. 
 
 Rapid passage is now being made over that ix'riod which 
 Colonel Collins has describetl as a time "when every fellow was 
 a law unto himself," the beginning of the end of which reign 
 came with the conclusion of the people "to organize into 
 a body politic and get themselves in shape to sue, to be sued 
 and to contract debts." The territory had now been sparsely 
 occupied for two years, and a general desire for local govern- 
 ment became manifest. Such a desire was i:)recii)itated from 
 numerous causes, the chief one being the existing need of civil 
 measures as safeguards to property, and protection to person; 
 home rule over land matters was a secoml desideratum: Gains- 
 ville and Denton still exercised sovereignty over land matters, 
 including surveys and filings, and these towns were too far away 
 to give convenient service. The total j^opulation was not large, 
 yet of sufficient numbers to justify local government. The 
 original connnunities had filled up and forced the overflow to 
 find habitations elsewhere about the county. All the choice 
 locations, from Ben Haney'son the south, to Pickett's and Hale's 
 on the north, were pre-empted; there were colonies on Oliver 
 and Hunt's Creek, and Jim Proctor lived near the future Decatur; 
 Howell and Allen's remained the only trading post. 
 
 No advancements toward settled agriculture had been made, 
 and none would follow until touched by the developing power of 
 transportation and marketing facilities. The man with herds 
 and flocks remained supreme in the land. Th(> country re- 
 mained in its crude and primary condition; no roads ran any- 
 where and no bridges crossed any creeks. Under these contli- 
 tions the territory was ripe for those measures of organization 
 which would usher in a concentrated effort toward progress and 
 development in all lines and intlustries. At this juncture there 
 appeared a man, a- citizen of the county, who grasped the helm 
 of state and guided it on to the successful culmination of its 
 (60) 
 
ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTY. 61 
 
 hopes. This man was Absalom Bishop, a native of South Caro- 
 hna, but who came to this territory from Hopkins County, 
 Texas, in 1855, and settled on Sweetwater Creek, east from De- 
 catur about foiu' miles. The organization movement found in 
 Colonel Bishop its prime agitator and supporter, the idea doubt- 
 less having originated with him. The writer has attempted 
 elsewhere to do justice in a biographical sketch to this many- 
 sided man, but is frank to confess that the picture there drawn 
 
 COL. BISHOP. 
 
 is dim and hazy to that which nature stores in th(> imagination 
 but denies the power to express. 
 
 With an inner conception he is seen in bright and livid colors, 
 but not to be exteriorly delineated by the weak hand which at 
 present wields the pen. Every phase of life of the pioneer period 
 felt the guiding impetus of this one man, and if to any is to be 
 
62 PIOXEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 accorded the honor of being the Father of Wise County, that 
 (Ustinction falls righteously to the palm of Col. Absalom Bishop. 
 
 In accordance with the provisions of the law governing exterior 
 territory, the territory of Wise County still remained. attached 
 to the Counties of Cook and Denton in the manner heretofore 
 described. Now, upon the intervention of the citizens of this 
 territory, and in further accordance with the provisions regulat- 
 ing the organization of new counties, it became incumbent upon 
 the Chief Justice (County Judge) of Cook County to perfect the 
 organization of the territory under question into Wise County. 
 
 At this juncture in these annals due reference must be made 
 to certain contradictory statements which the writer has en- 
 countered in respect to which one of the counties of Denton 
 and Cook, had control of the measures of organization by virtue 
 of which Wise County became an organized county. There are 
 two contentions in favor of either view. Denton County is 
 favored by special mentioning in the creating act soon to be 
 (juoted, and also by one of the living pioneers who claims that 
 the County Court of Denton County is responsible for the 
 organization of Wise County. On the other hand, the em])hatic 
 assertion of Mr. Charles D. Cates, is to the effect that Wise 
 County was organized under the authority of, and by the officers 
 of, Cook County. Mr. Cates states that he distinctly remembers 
 the exchange of visits and transactions that occurred between 
 Col. Bishop and the other promoters of the movement here, and 
 the officers of Cook County. As clerk imCol. Bishop's store, Mr. 
 Cates was closely associated with the former which justifies his 
 claim to knowledge of Bishop's actions. This view also accords 
 with the provisions of the general statute which, applied to this 
 case, made it the duty of Cook County to prej)are that part of 
 her which had api)lied for organization. But there is no disposi- 
 tion on the part of the writer to arl)itrate this controversy. 
 
 The prei)arations necessary to organization were of two kinds: 
 first, a creating act must be secured fi'om the legislature, which 
 act defined the boundaries and authorized the action; .><ec<)ndly, 
 the territory defined in the act must be divided into convenient 
 precincts for the election of Justices of the Peace and Constables; 
 voting places in each- ])r('cinc( whei'c elections shall be held nuist 
 
FIRST P^LECTION AND REMARKS. 63 
 
 be appointod; elections nuist be cleclaretl one month ahead of 
 
 the date and presiding officers appointed. The first three clauses 
 
 of the Creating Act approved by the legislature, January 23, \y^ 
 
 1850, are here quoted: 
 
 '' Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of 
 Texas, that the territory embraced within the following limits, 
 to-wit: Beginning at the southwest corner of Denton County, 
 thence north with the west boundary line of said county thirty 
 miles, thence west thirty miles, thence south thirty miles, east to 
 place of beginning, shall comprise the County of Wise. 
 
 " Sec. 2. That it shall be, and is hereby made the duty of the 
 Chief Justice of Denton County, to organize the said County of 
 Wise on the first Monday of May next, by ordering an election 
 for county officers, and conducting same in all respects in con- 
 formity to law. 
 
 " Sec. 3. That so soon as the said County of Wise has been 
 organized as aforesaid, and the officers of same ciualified accord- 
 ing to law, they shall enter upon the discharge of their respective 
 offices ; and all courts in and for said county shall be held at the 
 Store House of Daniel Howell, until the county seat of said 
 county shall be permanently located by the citizens thereof." 
 
 The passage of this act was doubtlessly secured by the repre- 
 sentative in the legislature from Cook County. It is affirmed 
 with positiveness that Col. Bishop selected the name which the 
 county should bear, upon which grounds it is assumed that the 
 name chosen was revealed to the introducer of the above act 
 looking to its being embodied in the enacting clauses. 
 
 The name Wise was take-n from that of Honorable Henry A. 
 Wise, of Virginia, a patriot and statesman of the early and 
 middle portions of the last century, to whom a sketch is else- 
 where devoted. 
 
 Thus, by virtue of an act of the Legislature of January, 1856, 
 this heretofore territory became officially recognized as an 
 organized county. 
 
 FIRST ELECTION AND REMARKS. 
 
 \\\ accordance with the command of the creating clause, the 
 election was held on the first Monday in May in 185(), with 
 
64 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Howell's Store as the chief \-oting box. Colonel Bishop was in- 
 fluential in naming the candidates, and also announced himself 
 for the office of C-ounty Clerk. His motive for taking a hand 
 in the county's initial experience in politics was to perfect some 
 remaining policies held in reserve. The first Chief Justice, Wm. 
 S. Gates, was especially friendly to Bishop and his designs. 
 
 GATES FAMILY GROUP. 
 
 Judge W. S. Gates (Wise County First Chief of .lust ice; on Extreme Left; 
 Brawley Gates in Center. 
 
 The following were elected as Wise County's first set of county 
 officials : 
 
 « Wilfiam S. Gates, originally from North Carolina, Chief Jus- 
 tice. 
 
 Absalom Bishop, originally from South Carolina, County Clerk. 
 
 Granger Salmon, originally from New York, District Clerk. 
 
 John W. Hale, originally from Tennessee, Sheriff. 
 
 Robert C. Mount, originally from Tennessee, Assessor and Col- 
 lector. 
 
 John T. Waggoner, originally from Missouri, Treasurer. 
 
 B, B. Haney, George Birdwell, Samuel L. Terrell and J. C. 
 Kincannon, County Commissioners. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 1, James Roberts. 
 
FIRST ELECTION AND REMARKS. 65 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 1, B. P. Earp. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 2, James Davis. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No, 2, F. M. Holden. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 3, S. Bean. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 3, L. S. King. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No, 4, S. L. Terrell. 
 
 Two justices were elected in each precinct, this office in that 
 day being of paramount importance. Samuel L. Terrell, the 
 forbear of that prominent family in Wise County, was elected 
 to two portfolios in the first government. 
 
 Chief Justice Gates, a clear-headed, practical farmer, lived at 
 Aurora; John W. Hale was a trusted citizen of Catlett Creek, 
 as was also John T. Waggoner; R. C. Mount was a staunch 
 citizen, and Granger Salmon was endowed with shrewdness and 
 enterprise. 
 
 The next year, 1857, Colonel Bishop was elected as flotorial 
 representative in the legislature from Wise, Denton, Collin, 
 Cooke and Montague Counties, and upon resigning the clerk's 
 office, W. W. Brady was elected to fill out the term. A spirited 
 political contest was waging at the time of Bishop's resignation 
 from the county office. The contest for the location of the 
 county seat had come up, and Colonel Bishop had taken a fore- 
 most part in it by championing the site whereon Decatur now 
 stands. This aroused against him the opposition of the cham- 
 pions of other places, and when Mr. Brady announced himself as 
 the Bishop candidate for the unexpired term of the clerk's office, 
 the remaining factions endorsed the race of Sam Woodward, of 
 Bridgeport, and a vigorous fight ensued. Mr. Brady was elected 
 and took office August 3, 1857. 
 
 The Chief Justice's office in those days was synonymous with 
 that of the County Judge of the present time, with the excep- 
 tion that no court functions were attached to it. All minor 
 matters of litigation were adjudicated by the Justices of the 
 Peace, and those of weightier degrees of importance were re- 
 ferred to the District Court, of which two sessions a year were 
 held. The title of Chief Justice appears to have been discarded 
 in 1876, when the Hon. J. W. Patterson was elected to the office 
 of County Judge. 
 
66 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUXTY. 
 
 The Sixteenth Judicial District was created by the legislature 
 in 1855, and composed of Wise, Collin, Graj-son, Cooke, Denton, 
 Tarrant, Johnson, Ellis, Parker and Dallas Counties. Nat M. 
 Burford, of Dallas, was appointed to the judgship, and John C. 
 McCoy, also of Dallas, was appointed District Attorney. This 
 court held sessions in Wise County for a week each in March and 
 September. 
 
 In 1860 Wise was detached from the Sixteenth District and 
 placed in the newly organized Twentieth, and still later put in 
 the Seventh. Previous to her organization, and while she re- 
 mained a part of Cooke County, Wise was in the Fourth Sena- 
 torial District, composed of Collin, Grayson, Cooke, Denton and 
 Kaufman Counties, and in the Seventh Representative, com- 
 posed of Denton, Collin and Cooke Counties. 
 
 The following list comprises the officers and members of the 
 succeeding county administrations, beginning with the second 
 set, elected in 1858, and ending with the suspensions which oc- 
 curred in 1865 as a result of the downfall of the Confederacy. 
 
 1858 
 1860 
 1862 
 1864 
 1865 
 
 CHIEF JUSTICE. 
 
 Wm. S. Gates 
 George Isbell 
 F. E. Taylor 
 Lawrence Ward, Sr. 
 Daniel Howell 
 
 COUNTY CLERK. DISTRICT CLERK.! TREASURER. 
 
 I i 
 
 W. W. Brady 
 W. W. Brady 
 W. W. Brady 
 John W. Moore 
 John W. Moore 
 
 iThos. Lester 
 A. B. Foster James C. Rucker 
 
 J. V. Crutchfield 
 A. B. Foster 'j. W. Knight 
 A. B. Foster 'j. W. Knight 
 
 YEAR. 
 
 TAX ASSESSOR AND 
 COLLECTOR. 
 
 SHERIFF. 
 
 SURVEYOR. CORONER. 
 
 1858 
 
 R. C. Mount 
 
 Benj. P. Earp 
 
 John W. Hale Sam'l J. Beck 
 
 1860 
 
 J. D. White 
 
 Robt. G. Gates 
 
 John W. Hale Lein Cartwright 
 
 1862 
 
 J. D. White 
 
 Robt. G. Gates < Sam'l L. Terrell 
 
 
 1864 
 
 J. V. Crutchfield 
 
 G. B. S. Crews Sam'l L. Terrell 
 
 
 1865 
 
 J. V. Crutchfield 
 
 G. B. S. Crews Sam'l L. Terrell 
 
 
FIRST I'^LECTION AND REMARKS. 
 
 67 
 
 Year 1858. 
 Commissioners. 
 P. B. Bryan. Jos. H. Martin. 
 
 R. M. Birdwell. John G. Boyd. 
 
 Justices of Peace. 
 David C. Gates. L. E. Camp. 
 
 James Scarborough. Jacob Garrett. 
 
 L. S. King. John Morris. 
 
 Pearce Wootlward. James R. Wheeler. 
 
 M. J. Britian. P. P. R. Collom. 
 
 Year 1860. 
 Commissioners. 
 J. H. Martin. N. J. Vaughn. 
 
 John Mann. B. B. Haney. 
 
 P. B. Bryan. W. H. Shoemaker, 
 
 Justices of Peace. 
 
 Henry Ward. 
 M. F. Prewett. 
 J; S. Morris. 
 J. D. Robinson. 
 John McCulloch. 
 
 James Scarborough. 
 Thos. Stuart. 
 Robt. Brody. 
 C. B. Ball. 
 Pearce Woodward. 
 J. H. Walker. 
 
 J. H. Walker. 
 W. H. Langston. 
 
 S. M. Gose. 
 T. D. Robinson. 
 J. W. Moore. 
 Jas. A. Watson. 
 M. P. Pruett. 
 P. P. R. Collom. 
 J. J. Crawford. 
 J. F. Morris. 
 
 Year 1862. 
 Commissioners. 
 
 J. G. Boyd. 
 J. Holden. 
 
 Justices of Peace. 
 
 H. E. Stevens. 
 Pearce Woodward. 
 A. M. Birdwell. 
 C. B. Ball. 
 W. F. Murray. 
 Sam Foster. 
 John Brown. 
 
68 pioneer history of wlf^e county. 
 
 Year 18()4. 
 
 Coiumissioners. 
 
 Wilson Cook. L. S. King. 
 
 Pearce Wood ward. Nathan Huff. 
 
 Justices of Peace. 
 
 E. C. Jonos. Jerome Smith. 
 
 Wm. Rice. M. F. Prewett. 
 
 H. E. Stevens. Shepard Neel. 
 
 The following counties were created the same year with Wise 
 County. Traced on the map they mark the frontier line at that 
 time: Atascosa, Bandera, Commanche, Erath, Kerr, Kinney, 
 Young, Lampassas, Llano, Sansaba, Live Oak, Maverick, 
 Uvalde. 
 
 The task of surveying and defining the county bountlary 
 limits fell to the new County administration, and L. E. Camp, 
 Deputy Surveyor of the Denton Land District, was employed 
 to do the work, which was accomplished in due time, and the 
 field notes filed for record in the Clerk's office. On May 23 and 
 24, the center of the county was located and designated as 
 follows: "A black-jack marked C. W. C. 15 M," which point 
 places Decatur one mile north and three miles east of it. 
 
 On Feb. 24, 1857, the W^ise County school lands were located 
 by William Cloud, Deputy Surveyor of the Cooke County Land 
 District, in Haskell County. This was a body of land covering 
 four leagues. The state and county tax at that time was .5()c. 
 on the $100.00 valuation. 
 
CHAPTER MIL 
 
 County-Seat Contest — County-Seat Located — Called 
 Taylorsville. 
 
 decatur the evolution of a dream and a hard fight. 
 
 A half a' century ago this spring (1907), upreared upon the 
 spot where Wise County's superb temple of justice now stands, 
 was a strange and wierd and yet a beautiful sight. Piercing the 
 blue sky was a tall, slender pole, from the top of which flut- 
 tered the stars and stripes, the emblem and the glory of the nation. 
 Beneath it and around it was silence and solitude. The tall, 
 waving, undipped and untrodden grass spread out in every 
 direction, and gay flowers nodded and swayed in the breezes. 
 Frightened to their coverts by so strange a sight, the timid deer 
 and antelope peered forth furtively, and from their neighbor- 
 ing dens and seclusions the wolves wailed a melanchloy saluta- 
 tion. No human habitation was near to catch the whispings 
 of the flag as these were borne out on the breezes, and no human 
 being was present to explain the flag's mysterious presence. 
 But that it was representative of an achievement and symbolical 
 of the victory of a redoutable man, will be revealed in the fol- 
 lowing passages. 
 
 The incident is related to the efforts to locate the county 
 seat, which followed as a necessary sec^uence to the organiza- 
 tion of the county, and made mandatory by the Creating Act, 
 the first three clauses of which, pertaining to the measures of 
 organization, have been quoted. The remaining three clauses, 
 outlining the methods to be followed in locating the county- 
 seat, are here inserted, and read as follows: 
 
 "Section 4. — That so soon as the county shall have been or- 
 ganized as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the Chief Justice 
 and at least two of the County Commissioners, to select two or 
 more places within five miles of the center of said county, to be 
 run for the county-seat of the said county, having due reference 
 to donations that may be offered. 
 
 (6i)) 
 
70 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 "Section 5. — That it shall be the duty of the Chief Justice to 
 order an election to be held, giving at least fifteen days' notice 
 thereof, for the election of the seat of justice of said count}', the 
 name of which shall be Taylorsville. 
 
 "Section 6. — That a majority of the votes polled shall de- 
 termine the location, and in the event that no place receives such 
 a majority in the first election, the Chief Justice shall order a 
 new election, putting in nomination the two places -having re- 
 ceived the highest number of votes in the first election, and the 
 place which may receive the highest number of votes in the 
 second election shall be the lawful county-seat of .said county. 
 And that this act shall take effect from and after its passage." 
 
 When the cjuestion came up for settlement. Colonel Bishop 
 was the first in the field with a preconceived and finely wrought 
 plan to have the eminence whereon Decatur now stands se- 
 lected as the site for the county capital. But before entering 
 upon a description of this spectacular incident in the early life 
 of the county, certain preliminary remarks must be addressed 
 to the elucidation of an important action taken by Bishop at a 
 time prior to the occasion when the county seat question arose 
 for settlement. • Also it is deemed pertinent to enquire into 
 the motives that animated Bishop in his dealing with the ques- 
 tion. 
 
 Looking back over the incidents of this campaign, it stands 
 out luminously clear that Bishop was prompted by an over- 
 powering passion to have the county capital located on the hill- 
 top whereon the town of Decatur now stands. The idea of a 
 beautiful town, built at this point, seems to have taken pos- 
 session of his mind and become a besieging dream. That the 
 idea or the dream had its birth long ])rior to the date when the 
 county seat problem was definitely settled is indicated- by the 
 following circumstance. 
 
 The circumstance referred to is connected with the pre-emp- 
 tion claim which was laitl over the soil of the present site of Deca- 
 tur, by James Proctor, in 1854, and the designs he had in view 
 in making his location at this particular point. It is said that 
 Colonel Bishop was behind Proctor as the advising factor in 
 deciding him to locate where he did, and that Bishop explained 
 
COUNTY SEAT CONTEST. 71 
 
 to Proctor his preconceived plans for the selection of his (Proc- 
 tor's) proposed pre-emption as the future site for the county 
 seat town. Proctor's reward was to be an enhancement of the 
 value of his property, as a result of the location of the town 
 upon it, but it was agreed that Proctor was to donate sixty 
 acres to the county for the town site. 
 
 These preliminary steps were taken by the far-sighted and 
 shrewd Bishop in 1854, three years prior to the contest which 
 came up in 1857, and found Bishop many moves ahead of the 
 other contestants in the race. 
 
 The race was started off by half-a-dozen candidate places, all 
 strongly backed by zealous supporters, which is conclusive that 
 no locality possessed sufficient natural attraction to win the 
 general regard. 
 
 Some of these locations are described as follows: Howell 
 and Allen's Store vicinity, Isbell Springs, a locality about 
 one and a half miles northwest of Decatur, in the neighbor- 
 hood of Mrs. Henry Greathouse's farm; the Finley place, known 
 now as the Jess Carpenter place, which lies east, on the out- 
 skirts of Decatur. The exact geographical center of the county 
 was also put forward. 
 
 But the strongest opposition encountered by Bishop in his 
 fight for the hill on which he had set his heart came from the 
 Deep Creek settlement, whose people, reinforced by those of 
 Halsell Valley and surrounding country, chose a location in 
 Halsell ^^alley and prosecuted a vigorous and earnest cam- 
 paign in its favor. This location lies a mile or so south of 
 Decatur in the vicinity of the old Halsell farm. 
 
 The fight was now on and is described as being of a truly bitter 
 and partisan nature, and clings in the minds of the pioneers as 
 a stirring and dramatic occurrence, replete with animosity and 
 antagonism, and all those violent passions which accrue to a 
 contest wherein rugged, elemental men are placed in opposition 
 to each other. 
 
 Chief among the backers of the Halsell Valley site were Sam 
 Woody and Ben Crews, from the last of whom the contest was 
 to derive a section of its historical name, the remainder spring- 
 ing from that of Colonel Bishop, eventuating in the contest be- 
 
72 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 coming known as the ''Bishop-Crews County Seat Contest," its 
 current designation in the minds of the pioneers. 
 
 Two opposing factions developed from this fight which made 
 their influence felt in all the political battles of the remaining 
 years of the pioneer period. 
 
 The contest now narrowed down to a struggle between the 
 north and south parts of the county, with the Hopkins 
 County delegation supporting Bishop on the one hand, and the 
 citizens of Deep Creek and contiguous settlements supporting 
 Halsell \'alley on the other. 
 
 Finally the vote was cast, and so divided was it that the 
 choice fell, by chance, and unexpectedly, to one of the weaker 
 candidates, with Bishop's hill-to}) a close second. But for- 
 timately for the latter and those who assisted him, certain ir- 
 regularities were discovered in one of the voting boxes, re- 
 sulting in its being thrown out, and leaving the choice to fall 
 victoriously into the hands of Bishop, whereupon, to celebrate 
 his achievement, he raised the stars and stripes to flutter gaily 
 over the soil to which he had anchoretl his hoi:)es and dedicated 
 a long and hotly contested battle. 
 
 Numerous attempts followed to change the decision of the 
 election, but Bishop and his friends, {jersistc^nt and equal to all 
 emergencies, weathered every adverse gale and kei)t the de- 
 cision anchored to its first moorings. 
 
 BISHOP LAYS OUT THE TOWN OF TAYLORSVILLE. 
 
 The hill prominence having been definitely chosen as the place 
 for the county seat, Mr. and Mrs. James Proctor followed by 
 deeding sixty acres of their claim of 100 acres, to the county for 
 the town site. The clause of the deed reciting the consideration 
 reads as follows: "For value and for the consideration of having 
 our land and property increased in value by having the county 
 seat of Wise County located near our residence, have this tlay 
 donated, released and conveyed unto Wm. S. Gates, Justice of 
 Wise County, and his succ(\ssors in office, for the sok^ use and 
 benefit of the county of Wise," etc. These original sixty acres, 
 known as the Proctor addition, have their corners presently 
 
BISHOP LAYS OUT TOWN OF TAYLORSVILLE. iS 
 
 defined in Decatur, as follows: The S. E. corner at the home of 
 D. W. Frazer; the S. W. corner at the residence of Mrs. R. M. 
 Collins; the N. W. corner at the old Blythe place in Northwest 
 Decatur, and the N. E. near J. H. Gates' place in Northeast De- 
 catur. Lines properly connecting these corners would define 
 the original Proctor donation. 
 
 Colonel Bishop now assumed active charge of the details of 
 locating and laying out the town, which wag to rest on the bald 
 hill of the prairie. These labors were in conformance with the 
 designs he had in view, designs which comprehended the evolu- 
 tion of the high prominence into a precise and consistently ar- 
 ranged plat of the town. No haphazard locations and settle- 
 ments such as are common to new towns, were to be made, so 
 long as Bishop's brain surged with dreams and ideas of a more 
 highly perfected result. To his natural endowments of taste 
 and orderly mind. Colonel Bishop brought to the task before 
 him the garnered observations of broad travel and the experi- 
 ence of metropolitan life, which intangibles he worked into the 
 ground plan of the county capital of Wise County. 
 
 The archstone of his idea was the limited level space which 
 constitutes the crest of the hill in question, and which is now 
 the public square at Decatur, which admits an uninterrupted 
 and superb view of all the surrounding country. This he de- 
 signed to form into a square, with the business houses facing 
 from the four sides upon it, and with two main streets radiat- 
 ing from each of its four corners. Some day he ho})ed that a 
 magnificent temple of justice would be raised in the center of 
 his beloved square. 
 
 The details of the plan of laying out were made after the 
 town of McKinney, in Collin County, which town Colonel 
 Bishop had visited and whose plan he admired. 
 
 Now he was about to apply the practical touches to the con- 
 summation of the dream for which he had striven and fought 
 all these years. He gained authority from his friend, Justice 
 Oates, to lay out the town in accordance with his own plans, 
 after which he repaired to his farm on Sweetwater and made a 
 large supply of burr-oak stakes, nicely hewn and painted on 
 one side. With the aid of these, the work of surveying was 
 
74 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 begun. The .scjiiart^ was staked out precisely on top of the hill, 
 and the streets and lots surveyed in conformance with it. All 
 lines were deliberately and carefully made, as is reflected in the 
 present systematic arrangement of the town. 
 
 After the streets aqd lots had been surveyed and plainly 
 marked, the plat was turned over to the county authorities and 
 Colonel Bishop, having realized his ambitions, stepped aside, 
 his next move being to abandon his home on Sweetwater and 
 locate in the new county capital. 
 
 PUBLIC SALE OF LOTS. 
 
 A public sale of lots was soon after held. The business lots 
 around the square brought $100.00 each, with the following as 
 some of the buyers: Howell and Allen, south corner lot of west 
 
 side; Joe Henry Martin, central lot on southwest corner; 
 
 Dean, south corner, south side; Thos. Stewart, central lot, west 
 side; Colonel Bishop, west corner, north side; Colonel W. H. 
 Hunt and Marshall Bird well wer(^ also buyers. 
 
 The county next demanded a courthouse, and being without 
 material to build one, the little buikling heretofore described as 
 having been built by Henry Martin near Howell and Allen's 
 store was bought , moved to Taylorsville and placed on the north- 
 east corner of the public square. This was the first house to adorn 
 the Decatur hill and was Wise County's first temple of justice. 
 
 BEGINNING OF DEC.\TUR. 
 
 Now followetl the real beginning of the town of Decatur (still 
 called Taylorsville). Three houses were begun simultaneously. 
 One of these by Howell and Allen, who saw the necessity of 
 moving their store to the new town-site. As previously noted 
 this firm had bought the south corner lot of the west side of the 
 square upon which they contracted for a two-story business house, 
 the ground floor to be used by them and the upper story as a 
 lodge room by the Masonic fraternity. Henry and Tom Jennings 
 were awarded the contract to build this house. The second of 
 the three houses was designed as a dwelling for Mr. Howell, to 
 stand on tlie lot now occupied by the old Ford Weekly, ^nd 
 
BEGINNING OF DECATUR. 
 
 75 
 
 Johnston warehouse just off the northeast corner of the square. 
 George Stevens was the workman employed upon this building. 
 The third house was begun by Electious Halsell on the south 
 corner of the east side of the square, now occupied by the Terrell 
 building and D. W. Frazer's furniture store. This was to be a 
 log structure with two front rooms, sixteen feet square, with a 
 wide hallway between. vShed and side rooms were attached to 
 the rear and standing detached and still further to the rear was 
 the kitchen, in true ante-bellum style. Mr. Halsell designed the 
 building for a tavern, Decatur's first enterprise of the kind. On 
 this Charles and Joe Gates and W. W. Brady began work. 
 
 It is not reported that a race for first completion was engaged 
 
 AN OLD DECATUR HOME. 
 (J. G. Halsell's Home.) 
 
 in by the workmen employed on these pioneer structures, but 
 at all events the last named building was finished in advance of 
 the others and in consequence became the first house erected on 
 the Decatur townsite. The event was celebrated in true pioneer 
 fashion. Mr. Halsell moved into the tavern and gave it an 
 auspicious opening by entertaining with a dance and supper, 
 which was attended b}^ all the aspiring gallants of the county. 
 
 The four rude structures resting on the crest of the hill, changed 
 its appearance very greatly, but it was to be made to resemble 
 a village still more by the addition of other buildings. One of 
 these was the old Howell and Allen store which was moved off 
 the prairie and stationed on a lot in the middle of the west block 
 
76 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 of the s(iuarc, to be used by Dr. Thomas Stewart as a ch"ug store, 
 known to the people as the "apothecary shop." Dr. Stewart was 
 a native of IlHnois and on coming to Taylorsville, found himself 
 the pioneer ph3\sician of the village. 
 
 Another of these original structures was that erected by 
 Colonel Bishop, who by this time had abandoned Sweetwater 
 and moved to the village where he engaged in selling goods. 
 Colonel Bishop's store was built on the northwest corner of the 
 square where the Jones Dry Goods store now stands. For several 
 years the j^ost office was kept there and continued during the 
 years of the Civil War, with John McDaniel as the postmaster. 
 i^ But th(> first post office of the village was kept in Howell and 
 Allen's, having been retained by the firm as one branch of its 
 business. At this time the mail was still being brought weekly 
 by horseback from Old Alton, in D(mton Count}', and as regu- 
 larly rc^turnetl. Later on the overland mail route was established 
 as well as regular service between Taylorsville and Ft. Worth, 
 also between Taylorsville and Springtown, Denton and Montague. 
 
 The little court room on the northeast corner provided suffi- 
 cient s{)ace for the county's meagre business and left a surplus to 
 be rented. This surplus was occupied temporarily by the store 
 sui)plies of David Cates and P. P. R. Collom, pending the comple- 
 tion for them of a building on the east corner of the south block 
 which they later occupied. Colonel R. M. Collins and Charles D. 
 Cates are named as youthful clerks, the first named being 
 attached to Howell and Allen's ston^ and the latter with Colonel 
 Bishop. 
 
 With these preliminary details accomi)lished the village was 
 established, the event marking the clos(^ of the measures of 
 county organization as well as the beginning of Decatur as a 
 town. The original village was called Taylorsville, a name 
 given it, it is said, by Colonel Bishop, who honored General 
 Zachary Taylor in the naming. This name was retained until 
 January 7, 1858, when Colonel Bishop, as a member of the 
 legislature, secured the adoption of a resolution which officially 
 changed the name from Taylorsville to Decatur, from which 
 date the village became known by the latter designation. A 
 pretty story is told in relation to this circumstance which is 
 
BEGINNING OF DECATUR. 
 
 77 
 
 here described, not as a historical fact, but as a traditional 
 report. It is that Colonel Bishop soug-ht to change the name of 
 the county seat because Zachary Taylor had turned ^Mlig in 
 politics, which views comported not at all with Bishop's, which 
 were radically Democratic. The incident, if true, is illustrative 
 of the strong prejudicial nature of Colonel Bishoj), a trait of 
 mind which ht> is known to have jDossessed. 
 
 The language of the legislature creating the change is as follows : 
 
 "Sec. 1. Be it enacted by 
 the Legislature of the State of 
 Texas, that the name of the 
 town of Taylorsville, in Wise 
 County, be, and the same is 
 hereby changed to that of 
 Decatur, and that all writs 
 and process, records and 
 proceedings of whatever na- 
 ture and kind, returnable or 
 relating to the courts or other 
 tribunals of Wise County, 
 shall be as valid and binding 
 in law and ecjuity, as if no 
 change had been made in the 
 name of the said town. And 
 that this act take effect from 
 its passage." 
 
 The name, Decatur, said 
 by Mrs. Edward Blythe, the 
 surviving daughter of Colonel 
 Bishop, to have been sug- 
 gested to Bishop by Mrs. Bishop, his wife, is derived from that 
 of Commodore Stephen Decatur, the American admiral of the 
 revolutionary period, to whom a sketch is elsewhere devoted. 
 
 Wise County at this period was fortunate in not being incum- 
 bered with a criminal class of any consequence, upon account of 
 which no jail was deemed necessary. At least accounts no 
 special provisions were made for the detention of the breakers of 
 law. Whenever detention became necessarv^ resort was had to 
 
 COMMODORE DECATUR. 
 
78 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 unoccupied Ijuildings wherein prisoners were Ijound and chained 
 to the stout door plates and guartled, if the infractions charged 
 against them merited extreme measures of watchfulness. No 
 jail building was constructed for some time afterwards, and 
 when built, was made a tight frame structure, located on a lot 
 near the present water works. 
 
 FIRST SCHOOL, CHURCH AND OTHER BEGINNINGS AT DECATUR. 
 
 Decatur's i)ioneer school was taught in the little log house that 
 stood on the lot now occupied by the City Hotel. The house had 
 formerly been the dwelling of W. S. Hoag and rested on the 
 banks of Walnut Creek some two miles south from Decatur. In 
 1857 it was torn down and brought to Decatur, where it was 
 made into a dwelling-place for David Cates, following whose 
 death it remained unoccupietl. Here in the fall and winter of 
 1857, Frank Pettit, a young Tennesseean, lately come out, con- 
 ducted a school, having for his pupils the few children of the 
 village. He was succeeded by Mrs. Salmon, a kinswoman of 
 Colonel W. H. Hunt, who had come from England to Cactus Hill 
 and from there to Decatur. Mrs. Salmon was a woman of high 
 culture. Schools in various places were conducted in Decatur 
 during this period, the sessions being confined to empty build- 
 ings and residences. The first school, church and lodge building 
 was built at a later date near where the Methodist Church in 
 Decatur now stands and was large enough to accomodate a 
 large school attendance on the lower floor and the lodge room of 
 the Masonic fraternity above. The various church denomina- 
 tions of the village held alternate services in the building. 
 
 Decatur did not attain to much importance as a school center 
 until following the war. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 
 
 Among the early incidents of the life of the youthful county- 
 seat it is remarked that the first lawyer to arrive and set up shop 
 was a gifted young man from Red River County, Wm. Ellette, 
 by name, who latterly so far ingratiated himself into the general 
 esteem as to be chosen to succeed Colonel Bishop in the legisla- 
 
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES, • 79 
 
 tiire. Quite singular also is it that the town's second luminary 
 of the law, Robert Graham, also of Red River County, was to go 
 to the legislature as the successor of Ellette. 
 
 In addition to Dr. Thomas Stewart, previously described as 
 the pioneer physician, there were two others. Dr. Wm. Renshaw, 
 of Tennessee, and Dr. James Stuart, who soon moved in to be- 
 come permanent residents and practitioners. The village found 
 considerable trouble in distinguishing between the two Dr. 
 Stuarts, when occasion made such desirable, and a solution of 
 the difficulty was found in attaching such descriptive titles to 
 the respective gentlemen as would end in their being discrimi 
 nated, one from the other. Dr. Thomas Stewart was of a sandy 
 complexion and to him was given the name of ''Sorrel" and to 
 Dr. James Stuart, who sported a flowing black beard was given 
 the name of "Black." "Sorrel Doc" and "Black Doc" are now 
 common references in the old settler's talk. 
 
 On October 28, of the year 1859, the first birth of a white 
 child occurred in the village. Mr. and Mrs. Elmore Allen at that 
 time lived in the house now occupied by Charles D. Cates, on 
 East Main Street, and in the southwest corner room of this 
 house Benjamin Franklin Allen was born on the above date. 
 Mr. Allen is at present a popular cashier in the Herring Na- 
 tional Bank of Vernon, to which latter place he removed from 
 Decatur some years ago. He married Miss Stella Cates, daugh- 
 ter of Mr. and Mrs. Clabe Cates, original Wise County citizens. 
 The room in which the pioneer infant of Decatur was born 
 remains unchanged. 
 
80 
 
 PIOXKEK HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY 
 
 BEN F. ALLEN. 
 (First White Child Born in Decatur.) 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Second Village in the County Established — 
 Prairie Point. 
 
 Taylors ville, which in 1857, became Decatur, and Prairie 
 Point remained the principal villages of the county during the 
 period that preceded the war. Outside of these there were no 
 places where supplies could be bought, with the exception of the 
 little store which Samuel L. Terrell kept for awhile on Catlett 
 Creek. 
 
 Prairie Point was the original of the present town of Rhome 
 and was recruited from a neighborhood of Missourians, who by 
 1857, had come in such numbers as to justify a market in their 
 midst. Among the citizens reported living in the vicinity at that 
 date are Samuel Sheets, John Kerr, Ben Haney, Judge W. S. 
 Oats, Thornton Huff, John Boyd, Dr. Marshall, John Morris, 
 Zebediah B. Carroll and Moffat, the latter of whom the Indians 
 afterwards killed. Because the most of these were originally 
 from the state above mentioned the name "Missouri Community" 
 was given to the region. A small store had been set up to supply 
 the needs of the people. 
 
 The land on which Rhome now stands was taken up in the fall 
 of 1857 by Samuel Sheets, who in the spring of 1858 laid out a 
 town and named it Prairie Point. On the day that the platting 
 and surveying was being done a general fight occurred on the 
 scene which prompted one of the wits of the community to sug- 
 gest the name of "Scuffletown" for the new village, but the 
 suggestion met the fate which is commonly meted out to projects 
 which haven't the semblance of practicability about them. 
 
 Samuel Sheets' dwelling stood near where the Decatur and 
 Ft. Worth road and Denton and Weatherford stage route, inter- 
 sected, and was called the "Cross-Roads Tavern," because ac- 
 comodation was provided travelers there. 
 
 Among the first storekeepers were Henry Patton, the grocer, 
 and — Stevens, who ran a drug store. In about 1859 Tom 
 Allen and brother opened another store. Prairie Point was the 
 center of the Wise County Peace Party rebellion, a dramatic in- 
 cident to be later described. 
 
 (81) 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Analysis of the Citizenship — Study of the Times and 
 THE Manners — Problems and Conditions. 
 
 The foregoing descriptions have prepared the way for the gen- 
 eral remarks to be introduced under the above heads. Consti- 
 tuting a discursive connnent on the people, their characteristics, 
 modes and manners and the problems and conditions of the 
 times, the chapter is planned to throw an illuminating light over 
 the most important part of the pioneer life. The remarks here 
 presented are intended to comprehend the full preliminary years 
 of the county history, a lapse of time during which no radical 
 changes occurred in the character of the population nor in the 
 elemental problems to be solved. 
 
 It is true, there followed many stressful years during which 
 violent outside factors and forces interposed a changed order of 
 events which necessitated the formation of new policies and 
 measures, but these on fading away left the people where prima- 
 rily they had stood, with their old selves unaltered antl with no 
 variations having occurred to the equality of the times. An every 
 day life of the people and the character of the people themselves , 
 as were revealed in the actual working out of the settlement of 
 the county is intended to be conveyed by these remarks. The 
 hour is favorable to the purpose. It is a time of dreamy repose 
 and the people and the times fall naturally into poses and con- 
 ditions essential to being viewed in their true situations. 
 
 Speaking generally of the citizenship it will accord with the 
 facts to state that the old South furnished the majority of the 
 population, with the second best represented section lying on 
 what was fast crystalizing into the border between the North and 
 South. North and South Carolina, Cfeorgia, Mississippi and 
 Alabama sent forth sturdy sons, innoculated with pro-slavery 
 views, to set up here institutions patterned after those of the 
 land from which they had departed. The bonUu- states, Tennes- 
 see, Kentucky and Missouri, were also well represented. From 
 the far North, Indiana, Pennsvlvania and New York, had come 
 (82) 
 
ANALYSIS OF THE CITIZENSHIP. 83 
 
 a few to tint the prevailing political atmosphere with unwonted 
 color. Scattered over the country were to be found a small 
 sprinkling of Kansan'sand other middle westerners and still others 
 from the remaining non-slave holding states. These latter were 
 of Northern sympathies and in the great crisis to come, consti- 
 tuted the small minority here which arose to dispute the sway of 
 the local elements of the Confederacy. 
 
 But with the exception of a few slaves, all who came were 
 Americans. Wise County has ever remained singularly free 
 from the infusion of foreign blood into her pure and sturdy 
 American stock. 
 
 Reverting to a more intimate view of the characteristics of the 
 people as these were manifested, the wTiter readily disclaims the 
 power to act in full accordance with the implied responsibility. 
 To do so would be to transcend the whole complex system of 
 human manifestations, an emergency in this instance not to be 
 met; " The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak." 
 
 There were, however, certain well-defined traits and tendencies 
 peculiar to the pioneer individualit3% which attempt will here 
 be made to portray. 
 
 The ideal human character has many shining virtues and 
 attributes, but what one of them is brightest and the most 
 potent for good remains for the recording angels to judge. If 
 there is a virtue that outsplendors, rugged honesty, then the 
 brightest gem in the diadem of the old pioneer is bodimmed. 
 Honesty that not only applies to word of mouth but to every act 
 and deed in which self and others are concerned, is here implied. 
 And docs not this comprehend the virtues of charity, which 
 is understood to be the greatest of all? Rugged honesty, the 
 kind that does not present a rose in which a thorn is hidden. 
 An officially unclassified species of honesty, about which there 
 can be no garnish, nor decoration, no dissimulation. A steely 
 pointed frankness that goes straight to its target, but does not 
 wound because it is not poisoned. 
 
 The exigencies of the times generated this virtue in the 
 bosoms of the pioneers. Among the sparse population, those 
 of doubtful and suspicious characters were easily detected and 
 accorded those extreme measures of correction which small 
 
84 PIOXEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 bodies of honest men coinnionly visit upon betrayers discovered 
 in their ranks. Those who tried to hve contrary to the high 
 standard of morals in the community found themselves swiftly 
 isolated from that freedom of association and general esteem 
 which is not only the yearning of every human breast, but a 
 vital essential to individual happiness. Thus shut out, and 
 with (n^ry hand turned against them, the violaters of the law, 
 both human and divine, found themselv(\^ forced to the necessity 
 of seeking more hospitable climes where their nefarious practices 
 were regarded with a more tolerant degree of consideration. 
 
 It is due to the operation of this code that the criminal record 
 of the pioneer period is of inconsiderable proportions, hardly 
 justifying any comment. A material proof of the general 
 reverence for law and order exists in the failure of the county 
 to .provide a jailhouse for the detention of malefactors, an 
 expediency which was deemed unnecessary. 
 
 The pious nature of the average pioneer has been alluded to, 
 so that a backward glance cast into the gathering dusk of that 
 far time is privileged to alight on numerous of the virtues that 
 shine forth resplendently. Hospitality is discovered existing 
 in its ideal state. That which has been said of the pre-enynent 
 virtue, honesty, can with truthfulness be ascribed to this second 
 crowning (juality of the original settlers — that it was genuine. 
 No people of any age, time or country, has surpassed the people 
 of that era for the degree of sympathy and thoughtfulness which 
 neighbor accorded unto neighbor and citizen unto stranger. 
 The boundless generosity of their hearts stands as a reproach 
 to these latter times of selfishness and greed. 
 
 Botli simplicity and unaffectedness of manner adorned the 
 pioneer character. The speech was direct and the dress plain. 
 The prevalence of these qualiti(\^ countenanced no class dis- 
 tinctions and resulted in all men being esteemed in degrees pro- 
 portionate to the sterling qualities possessed b}^ them. Thus 
 substance remained in ascendency above the seeming, suspended 
 there by the faculty that ''loots thi-ough the show of things 
 to things themselves." • 
 
 Thrift and intelligence constitute two other (jualities which 
 heightened the personal worth of the citizens of this era. Both 
 
ANALYSIS OF THE CITIZENSHIP. 85 
 
 sprang from a restricted environment in which men's wits were 
 sharpened as a means of escape from (hre wajit and impoverish- 
 ment. 
 
 One other prominent trait of character will he mentioned. 
 Described as a turn for practical joking, it might further be 
 elucidated as the humorous sense of the people bursting forth 
 from its fetters. The character of the times provided little in 
 the way of amusement and entertainment, and the people fell 
 upon their own resources instead. Joking and prank-playing 
 were the inevitable accompaniments of whatever else was 
 occurring whenever men gathered together. In the midst of 
 their fortitude and troubles the people evinced a cheerfulness 
 and bravery that brought them to see the bright side of every 
 dark picture. 
 
 Recurring to a thoughtful consideration of the environment and 
 of the people, as each reacted on the other, it is only by guaging 
 the past with the present that a satisfactory idea can be gained 
 of the conditions of the remoter period. And at the outset he 
 that has the task of guaging before him is confronted with the 
 temptation to exaggerate in favor of the by-gone era, which 
 seems to furnish so much that is representative of the best in 
 human nature. Glancing back, one's eyes fall on a big, whole- 
 some and cheery life, with nature in her true and undefiled state 
 as a background. We find a man-making, character-building 
 atmosphere, the parallel of which will not again exist unless new 
 planets are invaded, and new, strange and wild countries are 
 thrown open to settlement. Absorption in its study becomes 
 intensified because of the refreshing appeal made to our human 
 kind love of nature and natural manifestations from all objects 
 endowed with the capacity of expression ; it is absorbing because 
 of its utter contrast to modern modes of living; because of the 
 reality of the life lived ; because of the revelation as to how man 
 would live, uncribbed and unconfined by civilization's later 
 usages, conventions and restrictions; because it shows how far 
 man has departed from plain living and high thinking; lastly, 
 because it was the apotheosis of the simple life. 
 
 It was an experience common to American life ; had been en- 
 acted in every State in adv^ance of civilization, and chronicled 
 
86 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 in every history, but its commonness is gi'owing increasing!}^ 
 rare — yea, has faded away from the earth, and is deserving of 
 being perpetuated in every record in nature liistorical. Some 
 one has suggested that " its passing must be noted with respect 
 and appreciation of what we owe to it." 
 
 Should the hurrying present pause sufficiently long to pass 
 in retrospect the life lived by the forefathers, many inspiring 
 examples would be the reward. Doubtless we should become 
 impressed with the evidences of economy everywhere prevailing. 
 The home and farm stood aloof from all connection with the pro- 
 ducing and providing world beyond, except that unreliable 
 and expensive mode of slow-moving ox team, transportation, 
 from which state of affairs the habit of economy and home 
 production was developed. To live and to enjoy life the people 
 fell upon their own resources in providing the articles necessary 
 to existence which ended in its becoming a purely homespun 
 and home producing age. 
 
 '' Nothing will ever be again as in the old times," says one;* 
 and continuing: "We see men clad in the wool clipped from 
 their own flocks, women wearing the product of their looms; 
 and at once we know their industrial order, their manner of life, 
 and their virtues. The thread from the home spindle is the 
 clue to every passage in their civilization. With great zest the 
 orator shows how in an age of homespun there are flocks of sheep 
 in the pastures, spinning wheels buzzing and looms thwacking in 
 the house, and how food as well as clothing is produced on the 
 farm, with the slight exception that the lads must go on horse- 
 back to mill ; how families thrive in sturtly independence of the 
 world, but united in the closest domestic co-operation and 
 9,ffection; how character grows frugal, austens honest; how 
 common ideals and an approximate ('([uality favor friendly 
 intercourse; how thrift is linked to intelligence and establishes 
 the school; how these sturdy traits culminate in the earnest 
 discharge of duty towards the infinite source of all good in 
 solemn and heart searching worship." 
 
 * L. Anderson, in "The Country Town"; remarks based on an address en- 
 titled "The Age of Homespun" delivered by Horaee Bushnell. 
 
ANALYSIS OF THE CITIZENSHIP. 87 
 
 At this time ccononiit* independence was necessary because 
 of the absence of rail transportation. As revealed in the intro- 
 duction, railroad building in the State was in the infancy of its 
 development, and overland hauling of goods, wares and mer- 
 chandise to the frontier from the ports of entry, an average 
 distance of 200 miles, was too expensive a process to be accorded 
 a place of absolute reliance. Where the produce of the farmers 
 could not be sold, and where merchandise could not stand the 
 high rate of transportation, the people had no recourse but to 
 raise their own raw materials and convert them by hand into 
 useful articles. The settlement in reaching maturity before 
 the time of the railroads thus became a typically homespun 
 civilization. The people attained through sacrifices, self denials, 
 and self resourcefulness, a remarkable strength, capability and 
 dignity of character which should be the envy of the best races 
 of mankind. The women, free from the bondage of fashion 
 and convention, evolved into sane and healthy types of woman- 
 hood, equal to the task of accomplishing their part of the duties 
 of the hour. 
 
 Should other prominent features of the life be sought, the 
 attention would be attracted to the almost constant outdoor 
 living followed by the people. The chief duties of the time 
 fell to the fields and prairies where products were raised and 
 herds attended, and wliere healthy existence was pursued in the 
 face of the extremes of weather. Under such circumstances, 
 the people grew hardy, strong and robust, ate their daily victuals 
 with the keenest of appetites and dreamed in peaceful sleep at 
 night. The constant conflict with nature's brawny and ele- 
 mental forces produced men of giant stature, both of body and 
 of mind. Doubtless the latter lacked something in refinement, 
 but the loss was made up in sheer native force, power and 
 ingenuity. Personal bravery was another concomitant of the 
 character of existence. Forced at all seasons into the teeth of 
 the most tumultuous weather and to contact with the burly 
 dangers or an unsettled environment, indifference to personal 
 safety and life became an ingrained habit, and men dared the 
 lightning and the thund(»rs and slept through storms with 
 sanguine expectations of living to see quieter moments. The 
 
88 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 women grew acciistoniecl to loneliness and to desertion for long- 
 periods, as well as to bravery in meeting with fortitude the 
 many burdensome tasks that fell to their lot. 
 
 Should now the chief characteristics of the old settlers be 
 passed in review as a sunmiing uj) of this chapter, one may first 
 say that he was kind, that he was lovable and generous, and 
 that he was the most affectionate of fathers and husbands ; that 
 his charitableness knew no limitations and his hospitality no 
 subsidence this side of according to all the full outpouring of 
 whatever he had of heart and hand to bestow; that he was a 
 good and loyal citizen and that he loved his country with an 
 affection which caused him to spring to its defense upon all 
 occasions whenever such became necessary; that he was a man 
 of honor whose word was his bond; that he was chivalrous, 
 brave and open-hearted; that he was sympathetic with the 
 unfortunate and downtrodden and tolerant of the weaknesses 
 of his human brothers. In his j)ubli(' capacity he aided the 
 cause of education and the growth of good citizenship; upheld 
 the law and sustaincnl the forces of progress (n'erywhere. His 
 type is fast fading from view, and while among his many sub- 
 stantial virtues, he had others that were weak and unchn'eloped, 
 and while he shared in the imperfections connnon to mankind, 
 yet by reason of certain-original traits of character he was one of 
 the most picturesque and original of the many varieties of })er- 
 sonality which the different phases and periods of American 
 life has produced. On his rugged shoulders the institutions of 
 our latter day civilization are erected; we are the beneficiaries 
 of his brave persistency and obstinate courage; it is the hei'itage 
 of his blood that will perpetuate our society and our morals; let 
 us note his passing with reverence and res])cct. 
 
 E.\RLY .M.\RKET8 .VXD COMMERCE. 
 
 Changing conditions make it possible to sejmrate the early 
 years into two alternate pcn-iods for the pur])ose of in^•estigation. 
 Up until the beginning of the war the markets at Houston, 
 Jefferson and Shreveport were accessible to this frontier, and 
 were the ]wints wluM'e the p(>o))le went for su])plies. P^ut upon 
 
EARLY MARKETS AND COMMERCE. 89 
 
 the beginning of hostilities between the North and South, the 
 ports were blockaded, and no commerce permitted between them 
 and the outer world. The effects of this cutting off of supplies 
 were far-reaching and especially destructive to the settlements 
 on the frontier, ending in bringing about a period of limitation 
 and restriction directly opposed to the condition of freedom and 
 accessibility to supplies which obtained during the earlier years. 
 
 During the first years a system of ox-team freight transporta- 
 tion was kept up between the above bases of supplies and the 
 frontier. The service was virtually abandoned during the war, 
 but was revived again after the war subsitled. An average rate 
 of $3.00 per cwl. was charged by the regular freighters, which, 
 when considered with the many weeks required in going and 
 returning, put a burden on business enterprise under which 
 modern institutions would succumb. 
 
 The gradual extension of the Houston and Texas Central 
 railway into north Texas had the effect of changing the markets 
 from the original ports to the northern terminus of this road 
 wherever that annually happened to be. One year it was at 
 Hempstead, later on it was at Bryan, then at Dallas and McKin- 
 ney, lastly at Denison. The markets having been brought nearer, 
 the freight charges were lessened proportionately. New Orleans 
 was occasionally patronized by the frontier merchants, and 
 whenever this was done the merchandise purchased was shipped 
 ori Red River boats to Shreveport and thence hauled overland. 
 Visits by merchants to markets for buying were made a horse- 
 back twice yearly, like unto the journeys made by merchants of 
 later days, with the exception that none of the ease and comfort 
 of modern times was then to be enjoyed. The route lay over the 
 black land districts of North and Central Texas, which, when 
 softened by much rain became almost impassable to travellers 
 and teamsters. It was not uncommon for heavily loaded wagons 
 to discharge parts of their cargo by the roadside to be returned 
 for at a more favorable time. Because of these conditions, 
 merchants have had- goods and wares scattered from the frontier 
 to Shrevepoi't, soaking in rain and mud. The Red River boats 
 also had a hal)it of sticking in sand bars and snags for days at a 
 time, thus producing other delays. 
 
90 PIONEER HISTORY OF AA^ISE COUNTY. 
 
 The supplies brought on during the earUest days included those 
 articles needed by the people which wei-e not produced by them 
 on the farm, and did not vary in nature. The mode of buying 
 and selHng was typical of the time; very little exchange of money, 
 w^hich was scarce, taking place. Cattle and other stock WTre 
 received in exchange for merchandise and in turn WTre driven 
 to the w^holesale markets and traded for goods in large lots. 
 
 Under these conditions local prices for staple articles ranged 
 about as follow\s: 51t3s. sugar, $1.00; 41bs. green coffee, $1.00; 
 200tbs. salt, $10.00; lOOlbs. flour, $6.00; tea per lb, $1.00; whiskey 
 per gallon, $4.00; calico, 12|c. per yard; yard wide domestic, 25c. 
 per yard; Kentucky jeans, 75c. to $1.00 per yard; brogan shoes, 
 $2.50 per pair; boots, $5.00 to $10.00 per pair; coarse wool hat, 
 $2.50. Famine prices sometimes ])revailed when green coffee 
 would sell at 50c. per lb. and salt $12.00 per cwt. 
 
 Store accounts were usually settled once in twelve months 
 with neither notes nor mortgages taken. It was a time when 
 all were trusted and with few betrayals thereof. Sums of money 
 W'Cre loaned without security and without demands of interest. 
 It remained for a much later date to flemand five per cent, per 
 month interest rates and comprehensive mortgages. 
 
 FARMING MODES AND CONDITIONS — COMMENT. 
 
 A detailed description of the farming conditions of the time 
 would involve an elucidation of the cattle raising business, since 
 the limited farm efforts WTre designed as a support for the latter 
 industry W'hich was paramount. No cash remuneration was 
 sought from crop raising at this stage. This was because there 
 were no approximate markets, and because certain soils, es- 
 pecially the black lands of the prairie, WTre deemed unsuitable 
 for farming purposes. Farming efforts were directed principally 
 to raising sufficient grain for family bread stuffs and grain and 
 forage for domestic work stock. Not until the late sixties did 
 general farming receive any impetus in Wise County; cotton 
 raising during the early years was a thing little dreamed of. 
 
 The primary industries of Wise County had hardly begun to 
 unfold when'two calamitous conditions visitetl tlestruction upon 
 
FARMING MODES AND CONDITIONS. 91 
 
 the county, materially affecting all its chief interests and bringing 
 immigration to a decided' pause. Reference is here made to the 
 drouth of seven years' duration and a pestilential shower of 
 grasshoppers, both combining to produce general havoc. Prior 
 to the inception of these destructive conditions, this country was 
 attracting wide attention as a land flowing with milk and honey, 
 and as affording boundless atlvantages to those seeking inexpen- 
 sive homes. But under the changed conditions prospective 
 comers were turned away and drifted into channels that led 
 elsewhere. 
 
 The crop failure and pest evils added more rigorous hardships 
 to the people already burdened with the countless trials of a 
 frontier existence. As was said the crop failure lasted seven 
 years, beginning about the year 1857, during which time scarcely 
 any corn was raised. vShould the country have been at that time 
 in a state of sole dependence upon crop productions, the frontier 
 would have been depopulated and the settlement of Wise County 
 postponed indefinitely. But very fortunately there were other 
 dependencies, chiefly those supplied by the abundant wild game 
 of the forests, and the home hog herds which fattened on mast, 
 and made a sweet, deliciously flavored meat. Also the people, 
 forced to the experiment, began the raising of small grain, 
 wheat, oats and barley, of which crops enough were raised to 
 provide the family bread. 
 
 But the grain crops in turn barely escaped devastation by the 
 pest of grasshoppers, which during the years of their prevalence, 
 made appearances at the approach of each autunmal season, 
 when they were borne in on the winds of the early " northers." 
 Commonly denominated as " Mormons," they were described as 
 being small of body and brown of color, and when settled on the 
 vegetation, the face of the earth assumed a decided brown tinge. 
 As they came in, the atmosphere would be blackened with them, 
 and the sun almost obscured. Continuing on south, they fell 
 into the Gulf of Mexico, when the tides would wash them ashore 
 in great ridges along the beach. In the spring, the hoppers would 
 depart, but not before devouring the young gardens and nearly 
 destroying the grain crops. When freed of the incubus the latter 
 would spring up and make such indifferent harvests as the reign 
 
92 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 of drouth would porniit, which commonly was sufficient to make 
 breadstuffs. The chickens feetling on the hoppers died of crop- 
 swelling, constituting an additional disaster. 
 
 Upon maturing the grain was cut with rea])-hooks and later 
 on with cradles, either mode being very laborious work. An 
 energetic workman could cut three or four acres a da}'. Thresh- 
 ing was accomplished by the crudest of processes. The grain 
 was either tramped out by horses or oxen or else spread over 
 rail pens and beaten out with poles; the wind was then allowed 
 to blow on it in order to separate the chaff. A flutter mill was 
 finally introduced which ditl the work more tjuickly and with less 
 trouble. Milling was the next step, and no mills existed this 
 sid(» of Mc Kinney, Dallas and Ft. Worth. Ten days were usually 
 reciuired to take a load of grain to mill and return. 
 
 Finally three crude mills were established in the neighborhood 
 of Sand Hill, this after the population had increased to the 
 demand of such conveniences. The mills were put u]3 by Jim 
 Brooks, Jim Browder and John Pauley, and were of original and 
 novel construction, and operated quite as originally. A large 
 wooden wheel, many feet in circumference, was inclined at an 
 angle of forty-five degrees, attached to which were shafts, cogs 
 and smaller wheels, all perfected into a mechanism which ground 
 the grain which was poured into the hopper at a distance. 
 
 Fastened to the upper surface of the large wooden wheel 
 were cleats which aided the ox-teams, the propelling forces of 
 the machinery, in giving impetus to the turning of the wheel. 
 The oxen were trained to stand on \hc rim of th(> wheel nearest 
 to the ground and keej) up a perpetual walking which kept the 
 wheel in constant motion. Twenty-five to forty l)ushels of grain 
 could be reduced daily, a fourth of which went to the miller for 
 toll. About fifteen years later Browder's mill was converted 
 into a cotton gin, the fii-st in the country — capacity, four to five 
 bales daily. 
 
 Ox-teams were the dei)endence in all industrial affairs of the 
 conununity ne(>(ling higher jM'oi)elling i)ow(>r than man alone 
 could i)rovide. Ti'ained to ol;)ey oral .commands from the driver, 
 they took the indicated direction without the necessity of guid- 
 ance bv lines, and being, when thoroughh' broken, lazv and 
 
WILD GAME — BUFFALO — WILD HORSES, ETC. 93 
 
 slow of motion, were persuaded to action by the use of a long 
 whip called a " black-snake," which, in expert hands, could be 
 " cracked " with much deftness over the animals' backs. 
 
 Strange and peculiar to coming generations will be the " gee 
 and haw " of the pioneer period. 
 
 The people derived advantages from the sparsely settled 
 conditions; grass was free and abundant and procurable at all 
 seasons, and the only expense attendant u}Jon stock raising was 
 that arising from salting and herding. The chief efforts of the 
 times were to raise a little corn for bread and to feed the work 
 stock in plowing time, a so to have a little to throw occasionally 
 to the range hogs to keep them gentle. As Samuel Woody 
 summed up the situation : "In those days we sowed a little 
 wheat and corn and raised cattle and hogs, looking out only for 
 meat, bread and whiskey." Possibly the full statement would 
 not apply generally, otherwise is pointed and illuminative. 
 
 The first year's efforts of a new arrival in the county would 
 be directed to clearing a little patch around which a brush f(>nce 
 would be thrown; then would follow the cultivation of a patch 
 of maize and potatoes and other v(^getables. Later on the field 
 would be enlarged and a rail, stake and rider fence, put around it, 
 and probably. the original log dwelling would also be enlarged. 
 The dream of settlement was then completed. 
 
 Fifteen years lapsed before the feasibility of cotton raising 
 was discovered, during which schools were conducted and well 
 attended in all seasons, a sad comment on the present time. 
 
 The first cotton raised is attributenl, by Mr. J. D. White, to 
 
 Broadstreet, who lived in the Pavillard community. 
 
 This was soon after the closing of the war, and the cotton was 
 hauled to Ft. Worth to be ginned. 
 
 , WILD GAME — BUFFALO — WILD HORSES — TRAINED INSTINCT 
 
 IN HORSES. 
 
 These were the good "old days" of plentiful wild game; when 
 deer jumped the field fence and pastured on the wheat; when 
 quail and prairie chicken fed with the chickens in the yard, the 
 prairie fowl strutting and drumming all the while: when the boys 
 
94 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COL'NTY. 
 
 went out before breakfast, and led on by the matutinal noises 
 of the turkey, returned bearing big gobblers for dinner; when the 
 forests teemed with small game ; when antelope in bunches of a 
 hundred pastured on the hill tops and bear slunk heav3'-footed 
 through the wooded bottoms. Besides these a numerous variety 
 of other beasts, both shy and ferocious, were numbered among the 
 wild animal kingdom. Only one original species was absent, the 
 buffalo had gone before. Thirty to sixty miles farther west the 
 settlers found him existing in countless numbers, and it became 
 a custom to make annual himting expeditions into his midst, 
 when large loads of the fresh meat would be brought home to be 
 ''cured" for future use. The disappearance of the buffalo from 
 this county is attributed to the early hunters who came in and 
 killed large numbers before the county was settled. Finally the 
 great tribe was driven higher up on the plains and the only evi- 
 dence the county had of its existence occurred later when the 
 killing industry was fully established and Mexican teamsters 
 began to pass through to Galveston conveying huge caravans of 
 hides to port. 
 
 When the cattle industry had developed and the Indians began 
 to make attacks on the settlements the people became desirous 
 of the complete extermination of the buffalo, for on the one hand, 
 he consumed the grass of the range, and on the other, furnished a 
 sustenance for tho savage. No one raised a hand in the defence 
 of the buffalo, his doom Toeing sealed with the coming of the 
 white race. 
 
 A second picturesque species of tlie untamed kingdom of beasts 
 were the numerous bunches of horses, called mustangs, existing 
 and thriving on the abundant forage. Of all the animals found 
 they were the fleetest of foot and the hardest to capture. Wild 
 horse chasing became an exciting sport generally indulged in. 
 The method of capture was original. The wild bunch rarely left 
 a given range over which they pastured. When chased they 
 circled about this range at full speed until the chasers wer(> tired 
 down and defeated. Upon discovering this habit the people 
 changed their tactics and instead of following at full speed, 
 galloped al)out from })oint to point, taking cross-shoots and cuts 
 and so maneuvering as to keep the wild bunch going at full speed, 
 
CATTLE AND HOGS AND CONDITIONS. 95 
 
 until after two or three days the chased bunch, from sheer ex- 
 liaustion would slacken speed and consent to be controlled. 
 They were then driven into prearranged corralls, saddled and 
 ridden. 
 
 '^Bronco busting" became one of the amusements and arts of 
 the times and a rider who could "stick" his saddle became a 
 celebrity. The horses when captured were of inferior quality, 
 small and scrawny, and incapable of being completely domesti- 
 cated. The early horse stock of the county was tainted with this 
 mustang blood and only within the last decade has its remaining 
 evidences been obliterated. 
 
 During the latter years of savage hostility, a fleet horse became 
 the most prized possession of the people ; their usefulness being 
 based on their ability to carry their riders to a point of safety 
 when being chased by the Indians. It is said that the instinctive 
 sense of the animals became more acute to Indian signs and evi- 
 dences than that of their human masters. In other words they 
 could "smell" the savages and would betray signs of uneasiness 
 when their riders would least anticipate themselves as in the close 
 proximity of the ambuscaded enemy. At such times they would, 
 by well interpreted restless action, clamor for free rein, with 
 which to fleetly vacate the area of danger. All such horses were 
 appropriately named and are yet referred to in terms of affection 
 and endearment. 
 
 CATTLE AND HOGS AND CONDITIONS. 
 
 An erroneous inference has been attached to the live stock sit- 
 uation of the preliminary period. It has been said that cattle by 
 the thousands populated the hills as free property and that men 
 grew rich and opulent merely by gathering and marketing them. 
 Pretty stories are also told of the picturesque wild boar chasing, 
 the campaign being pursued against wild animals found originally 
 inhabiting the woods. Both these inferences 'are wrong. Every 
 hoof of the great later herds had their ownership distributed 
 among the many engaged in the cattle raising business and were 
 the offspring of the few domestic herds brought along by incoming 
 settlers. And the shaggy, wild and ferocious boars were the de- 
 
96 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 scendants of gentle ancestors, the squealing and grunting swine of 
 the home pen, turned wild in the unrestricted ranges of the bot- 
 toms. Neither cattle nor hogs existed before the coming of the 
 white race. When they were introduced they were respectively 
 of the "long-horn" and "razor-back" varieties, which marks of 
 breeding were retained until a later and very recent era intro- 
 duced better qualities. 
 
 The county in its free and unfenced state i)resented an ideal sit- 
 uation for the pursuit of the stock raising industry, which is 
 largely accountable for the eagerness with which it was sought 
 by early settlers. All stock was at liberty to roam whither it 
 would and the pasturage of that date was of an abundance and 
 richness not known at present. Grass grew to the height of a 
 man's head, both on the prairie and in timber, the latter being 
 uninfested with undergrowth. 
 
 Hogs were turned free to forage on the mast and herbs of the 
 bottoms, being occasionaly rounded up and fed to keep them 
 domesticated. Both hogs and cattle were marked and the latter 
 branded as a means of identification; each citizen had a distinc- 
 tive ear mark which he instantly recognized; and he was well 
 acquainted with the marks and brands of his neighbors. Each 
 mark and brand was carefully recorded in the county clerk's 
 office, the book containing same being the most resorted to in the 
 office. 
 
 Hog killing was then done mostly on the range where men 
 would repair with wagons and teams and slaughter the fat, mast- 
 fed swine, which made the sweetest and most delicious of bacon 
 and hams. 
 
 Many of the boars eluded watchfulness and lapsed into a state 
 of ferocious barbarism in the bottoms, whence they were sought 
 out by men and dogs, the sport contributing to one of the highest 
 excitements of the times. 
 
 As was stated of the cattle, the gradually enlarging herds were 
 the outgrowth mostly of the small numbers of prolific cows 
 brought along for domestic purposes. There were a few notable 
 exceptions to this rule; thus W. H. Hunt, Dan Waggoner and 
 others WTre primarily owners of comparatively large numbers 
 which were driven in on the coming of the citizens to the county. 
 
CATTLE AND HOGS AND CONDITIONS. 97 
 
 Both those named occupied extensive ranges in the western part, 
 where foundations for vast fortunes were laid. But it is truthful 
 to state that the great industry had its inception in the 
 little bunches of the farm, whose annual increase multiplied and 
 re-multiplied into countless thousands, until when the years had 
 gone by, an era came when Wise County was one great cattle 
 range and the theatre of operations of a large number of cattle 
 barons. 
 
 These proportions had been reached and the conditions sur- 
 rounding the industry were adapting themselves to a staid and 
 solid foundation, formed of the opening up of accessible markets 
 and a clear comprehension of the problems of the business, when 
 the holocaust of civil war arose to force, within a few months, a 
 complete cessation of all the related enterprise and an early 
 abandonment of the industry. 
 
 But the degree of success attained prior to the beginning of the 
 disaster of war, brought into relief a vivid and stirring life and a 
 numerous company of striking and unicjue personalities, which 
 latter as men confining their operations solely to cattle enter- 
 prises, have long been prominently known to the people. Colonel 
 W. H.'Hunt, with headquarters at Cactus Hill, and Dan Waggo- 
 ner, further east toward Bridgeport, were both strong, individual 
 men, highly successful in business and the leaders and originators 
 of prominence in Western Wise County. On the border of Jack 
 and Wise County Captain J. B. Earhart was a dominating factor 
 and a thoroughly individual man. Samuel, Pierce and Harry 
 Woodward operated in the Bridgeport country as did Joe Henry 
 Martin and Ed Cumby; occupying moving ranges were Colonel 
 G. B. Pickett and Captain John W. Hale with large herds. 
 Later on Thomas and Glenn Halsell assumed in the ranks a place 
 of importance, while on the northwestern edge of the county Eli 
 Linley was known as a cattle man of prominence. Others who 
 engaged either prominently or actively in the business were Bat 
 Millholland, Sylvanous Reed, Wm. G. Russell, John Crutchfield, 
 Wm. Waters, Jim Proctor, Jim Watson, Jack Moore, Marsh 
 Cook, W^m. Perrin, Ben Blanton, John Looman and others. 
 
 Western Wise County, due to peculiar advantages offered by 
 its topography and sparse settlement, was reserved almost ex- 
 
98 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 clusively to cattlemen and their industry . Numerous headquar- 
 ters were established there, the range being apportioned by 
 common consent to prior occupants. Moving cow camps dotted 
 the country and rugged bands of "cow-boys" scoured the country 
 rounding up and branding and preparing for the spring drives. 
 Every cattleman of consecjuence retained an "outfit," consisting 
 of horses and men, the essential labor being to keep the herds 
 confined to convenient range and to ke(^p all marked and branded. 
 
 The rapid increase of the herds, augmented by the smaller con- 
 tributions of the lesser raisers, early forced the necessity of a 
 market and New Orleans was the first experimented with, but 
 the high rate of transportation proved the experiment unprofit- 
 able. Other markets were being reached, however, and the indus- 
 try was in a thriving and promising condition when in ISOl the 
 blight of war fell over the land. 
 
 The effect was immediate and ultimately disastrous. The only 
 market now offered the very few who remained in the business 
 was that of the Confederate Armies, which soon opened up nego- 
 tiations with cattle owners here to supply certain numbers for 
 beef purposes, an unsatisfactory market, since a small minority 
 of the cattle were taken. But enough beeves were shipix'd away 
 from Wise County to draw a statement from Colonel B. B. 
 Paddock in his "History of Northwest Texas," to the effect that 
 Wise County perhaps furnished more beef to the Confetlerate 
 Armies than any other like section in the south or w(>st. 
 
 Sylvanous Reed and W. P. Russell were ai)point(Hl here as 
 agents of the Confederacy to rec(>iv(> antl transport cattk^ to the 
 armies. Em])owered as they were with confiscatory authority, 
 they could take cattle from whom it i)leased them and as many, 
 but in all cases receipts were given which constituted legal claims 
 against the Confederate Treasury . 
 
 Cattle now roamed at will and multiplied over the country. 
 There were no helpers or tenders since all able bodied citizens 
 had been drawn either into the Confederate Army or the local 
 militia, and the industry was left to fare as best it might , marking 
 and branding being out of the question. Consequently at the 
 close of th(^ war countless hundreds of ownerless, unmarked and 
 unbranded cattle existed. 
 
HOME LIFE. 99 
 
 The opportunities now offered for growing instantly and 
 famously rich were abundant. It was an attainable bonanza, 
 only restricted to the need of horses and men to grasp it. He 
 who could bring to his service the greatest number of horses and 
 men obtained the most cattle. "Mavericking" was in its prime 
 and the game lasted until all unidentified cattle were put under 
 proprietorship. By this means many of our best known affluent 
 citizens gained their wealth. Freed from the blight of war the 
 cattle business began again to move forward. Young men re- 
 turning from the war launched into the industry, providing the 
 element necessary to its safe conduct. About this time the 
 Trans-Continental Railroad had built out into Western Kansas, 
 from the terminal points of which buyers came into this country 
 and offeretl profitable prices for beef cattle. This instituted the 
 practice of overland trailing to Kansas, which was kept 
 up many years. Baxter Springs and Abiline are spoken of as 
 points in Kansas w^hich were patronized. Well known trails were 
 beaten out over which thousands of cattle were driven north- 
 ward in spring and suiiimer and sold at an average price of S36.()0 
 to $40.00 per head. 
 
 The old Chisum trail crossing Red Riven- at Red River Station 
 in Montagu^ County and thence up through the Ttn-ritory was a 
 favorite route, but there were othcn's, continual changes being 
 made in order to keep the trails in advance of the moving line of 
 settlements which speedily destroyed pasturage necessary to the 
 passing herds. 
 
 The culmination of this phase of the industry came with the 
 building of railroads approximate to the ranges and the end of 
 this character of cattle business came in Wise County when the 
 enthronging settlers pre-empted the ranges. 
 
 HOME LIFE. 
 
 We have seen that the early environment was such as to greatly 
 tax the resourcefulness of the people. The bases of supply were 
 remote and almost unreachable and the result was something 
 a little short of home dependence. There w(n'e, however, 
 certain articles of farm and household use brought in with a 
 
100 PIONEER HISTOEY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 regularity, which, in this respect, distinguished the period from 
 the restrictions of the war period which followed closely after. 
 But even these few necessary articles, such as sugar, cofiee and 
 one or two others, came at almost prohibitory prices, necessitat- 
 ing occasionally the substitution of cane syrup and parched 
 grains for the staples mentioned. A second burden was the 
 meagre quantity of money in circulation, a condition as pro- 
 ductive of annoyance of this kind as inflexibility of currency 
 produces in financial circles. 
 
 The problem was solved by a plan of home production, which, 
 to us of this age of extravagance, is marvelous for its evidences of 
 thrift, economy and independence. Encomiums could be 
 written exalting the character of life which forced the making 
 of all things consumed on the home place, and its results in 
 training minds and hands and all related faculties. 
 
 Luxuries had no place in the scheme of existence; the people 
 became habituated to the successful conduct of their lives 
 merely by the aid of absolute necessities, and beyond these, 
 nothing else was expected or yearned fyr. It was a plain age 
 subsisting on plain foods and appareled in plain clothes. Through 
 it all contentment breathed in the home; each family resolved 
 itself into a co-operative society, and each member contributed 
 something to the welfare of the whole, and were merry and 
 joyous at their appointed tasks. The mothers, upon whose 
 untiring labor and skilled accomplishments the happiness of 
 the household dei^ended, were trained to thrift and the business 
 of home manufacture, leading busy and useful lives. 
 
 Should now we turn to a glimpse of the inner aspects of the 
 phase of life of which the housewife was the dominant factor, w(> 
 will find her (should she have been a very early arrival) li\'ing in 
 a square one-room house, built of rough hewn boards or logs, 
 more commonly the latter. Probably th(>re will be two rooms 
 with a hall between, and perhaps a shed room attached. No 
 early home got beyond these dimensions. Frame houses were 
 put togetherwith wooden pins, wire nails b(Mng a later invention. 
 
 The floor would be the mother's pride; made of clean sand 
 hauled from the creek, packed down and swept clean. A little 
 later a puncheon floor would be substituted; this was made of 
 
HOME LIFE. 101 
 
 split logs with the split side up. A stick and clay chimney stood 
 at the end of the house and across the jam of the fireplace ran 
 an iron bar from which was supsended a set of pot hooks on 
 which the cooking vessels were hung. Close by stood a large oven 
 for baking purposes. Thorough cooking was accomplished in 
 this way. AVgetables from the garden and wild plants from 
 the bottoms boiled and sinmiered for hours, and when done 
 were highly palatable and appetizing. Corn-pone constituted 
 the weekday bread, flour bread or biscuit, being reserved for 
 Sunday or the visitation of the circuit rider. Despite the great 
 economy with which both flour and meal were used, a shortage 
 would sometmies occur and a ri>course to dried meats would be 
 necessary. Fresh game constituted an important part of the 
 daily diet. Buffalo, bear and deer meat were " cured " or 
 " jerked " by a process of sundry ing which kept it sweet and 
 wholesome for long spaces. 
 
 In the absence of matches special care was taken to keep fire 
 constantly burning on the premises. Coals w^n-e covered with 
 ashes and stumps kept smouldering in the fields. All such pre- 
 cautions would sometimes fail, and then the flint from the gun 
 lock and powder and cotton would be brought into rec}uisition, 
 a spark from the former being struck into the latter. 
 
 Fruits also composed a considerable part of the diet, but only 
 of the wild varieties, no factory prepared or cultivated fruits 
 being obtainable. Plums, persinmions and fox grapes existed in 
 abundance and were worked by the skilled housewives into 
 various articles of foodstuffs, the ])ersimmons especially being 
 subjected to different purposes. Dried in the sun, they made 
 excellent substitutes for dried grapes or raisins; taken from the 
 cane juice in which they were preserved, they made excellent 
 pies, and the beverage made from them was delicious. Dried 
 pumpkins was another reliable dependence for pastry. The 
 soda, soap and starch of the household were ^11 of home pro- 
 duction, the first the product of the evaporated lye- water secured 
 from the ash-hopper ; the next, starch, being made from potatoes, 
 and the soap being the residuum of meat scraps, bones and 
 other constituents boiled down. 
 
 Salt was obtained from the distant markets, but local sources 
 
102 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 of supply were available antl resorted to in cases of faiiiiiie; one 
 such source was in Parker County whei'e the water in a certain 
 well could be evaporated until salt crystals remained; another 
 existed in a western county where, after long periods of dry 
 weather, the water of certain lakes would evaporate and leave 
 a salt deposit, which would be brought to the settlements in 
 wagon loads. 
 
 Axe-handles, plough beams, tables, chairs, cupboards and 
 bedsteads were made by the head of the household from the 
 best timber procurable in the forests, and on sad occasions it 
 was necessary to make coffins before proper burial could occur. 
 
 The home was artificially lighted with home-made tallow 
 candles, made in every home where the proper moulds were in 
 possession; a second means of light being to saturate a woolen 
 string in lard oil and set ablaze. The illumination afforded 
 assistance in reading the Dallas Herald or the Clarksville Stand- 
 ard, the two best-known pioneer papers in circulation. 
 
 The sun was the great time-keeper, few families having a 
 clock. A great degree of accuracy was reached by some in 
 judging time by the position of the sun : to others it was neces- 
 sary to mark the slowly advancing shadow, and note at what 
 point it arrived at certain hours. 
 
 The one absorbing occupation of the women at evening was 
 carding, spinning and weaving the products of the loom into 
 cloth from which clothing was made for the entire family. 
 Small flocks of sheep were kept for the wool product, from 
 which the coarse outer garments were made ; for the finer and 
 softer fabrics cotton was imported and made up, the clothing all 
 being verv serviceable. A peculiar garment of the times was a 
 shoulder blanket for outdoor wear, a woolen cloth with a hole in 
 the center, through which the wearer's lu^ad protruded. Blankets 
 and bed coverings were also woven. 
 
 The men of this era wore quaint garbs whose art of making 
 was learned from the Indians. A substantial costume consisting 
 of coat and trousers was fashioned from buckskin, which, when 
 supplemented with a fawn-skin vest and a coon-skin cap with 
 tail left dangling behind, composetl an attire which made up in 
 durability what was lacking in comfort and elegance. For more 
 
SOCIAL LIFE, AMUSEMENTS AND PLEASURES. 103 
 
 formal occasions a homespun suit was in reserve. For shoes 
 and gloves the settler again resorted to buckskin. 
 
 Cotton growing anticipated the time of gins and factory 
 looms, and it was necessary to pick the lint from the seed by 
 hand, then came the dyeing and weaving process, when the cloth 
 was ready to be made into the finished article. 
 
 While resting from field work at noon, the men employed them- 
 selves at plaiting straw, which the women afterwards sewed 
 into shape for hats. The shoes for the gentler sex were made 
 of heavy cloth uppers to which had been attached strong leather 
 soles, held in shape by wooden pegs of home manufacture. The 
 leather was obtained by an original process of tanning, the 
 hides being obtained from both wild and tame animals. 
 
 After a day's strenuous work the family retired early to beds 
 generously supplied with feathers from the family geese; over 
 the beds were spread elaborate and skilfully pieced covers, the 
 products of " quiltings," one of the most popular social functions 
 of the day. 
 
 SOCIAL LIFE, AMUSEMENTS AND PLEASURES. 
 
 One of the most wholesome traditions of the old settlers is 
 that phase of their strictly social lives which has been bec[ueathed 
 to modern times. The relationship between neighbors and 
 strangers was warm and sympathetic, no aloofness nor chilling 
 reserve obtaining a foothold, and nothing but open-hearted 
 expressions tolerated. A distinguishing social custom, to 
 which the majority was committed and which none dared ques- 
 tion, was the regular system of hospitable visits which the people 
 paid to each other. In the absence of vehicles, the custom was 
 to ride horseback, and when a visit was made, its duration 
 extended over several days, terminated only by household cares 
 or work of the most pressing importance at home. In order to 
 pay friendly calls, the people, should such be necessary, rode 
 half across the county and sometimes into adjacent counties, 
 the long rides training the women to horsemanship and effecting 
 robust physical health. That which was discussed at such 
 friendly gatherings can only be surmised. In the absence of 
 
104 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 newspapers, it may be assumed that all the county happenings 
 were rehashed and new ways of doing things discussed. Such a 
 state of happy familiarity is one of the pleasant retrospects 
 of the living pioneers. 
 
 Another incident of the social life was the frequency with 
 which families were called upon to provide shelter and enter- 
 tainment for the roving bands of care free cowboys, who at 
 nightfall, sought the nearest habitation of whatever region they 
 happened to occupy, for the social cheer and conversation which 
 followed. The cowboys, perennialy cheery and jovial, were 
 always welcome guests, and more than one settler's fair daughter 
 dated the loss of her heart from visitations of this kind. 
 
 For a quarter of a century Wise County was a theatre of 
 romantic and dramatic action in which there was more of pathos 
 than of play, but there remain traces of enough of the ktter 
 to prove the people possessed of a normal love of pleasure which 
 is reassuring of their sanity and optimism of spirit. Pursuing 
 strenuous lives largely out of doors, a robust kind of sport was 
 essential to their animated natures, and this they found in some 
 practices and diversions which hav{> not been transferred to 
 the present time. 
 
 One of the practices was horse racing which was prosecuted 
 on several well-known tracks in the vicinity of the county seat, 
 and farther out. A well-known track lay over the flat sweep of 
 ground in the north east part of Decatur before houses were 
 erected thereon ; a second existed beyond the Baptist College in 
 the Halsell Valley ; another one was built about a mile southeast 
 of Decatur where now the F. W. & D. Ry. track is built; a well- 
 known fourth track was laid out in Sandy Creek bottom in the 
 neighborhood of the crossing of the Bridgeport road. Many 
 well-known and well-remembered horses tried their speed on 
 these tracks. 
 
 Racing was the. most virile sport of th(^ day, and a large part 
 of the citizenship indulged in it. All days on which large crowds 
 congregated, such as Saturdays, and " first Mondays," or stray 
 sale day, had their regular race meet, a program for which had 
 been prepared beforehand. This schedule promised usually 
 not more than one or two chief events, but once the crowd was 
 
SOCIAL LIFI<:, AMUSEMENTS AND PLEASURES. 105 
 
 on the ground, race after race would be run until the speed 
 qualities of all the aspiring horses of the county would be tested 
 and ascertained. The betting ranged from barlow knives to 
 large sums of money, taking in hogs, cattle, land, and all material 
 possessions on the way. 
 
 The race spirit has long since died out but for many years it 
 retained a hold on the sport loving element of the people, for 
 whom it had undeniable charms. It is not connnendatory of the 
 sport to say that it was provocative of the first man-slaughter 
 that occurred in the history of Decatur. 
 
 Card playing was another indulgence which was not regarded 
 as specifically innnoral l^y a large number of the masculine gender 
 who found the game of poker agreeable for passing away the time. 
 
 These were the days in which the old fashioned barbecues had 
 their inception and when they were most religiously attended. 
 Upon these occasions aspiring orators and office-seekers an- 
 nounced the political views and doctrines then in vogue and 
 which became the faiths and opinions of the hearers. Another 
 inevitable accompaniment of these festivities was dancing. A 
 platform was arranged and the swains danced to their hearts' 
 content by paying a small fee for each set engaged in. The old 
 style square dances were in vogue and the old times like ''Arkan- 
 sas Traveler," "Champagne CharHe," "Bill in the low ground," 
 etc., were the only ones known. The fiddler was noted for his 
 qualities of endurance and was much in demand on these occa- 
 sions. 
 
 Dancing however, was not confined to the barbecues. It was 
 practiced at all celebrations like weddings and other entertain- 
 ments and indulged in in many of the homes where no religious 
 scruples interfered. 
 
 "Play Parties," "Candy Pullings" "Singings" were other 
 forms of pioneer amusement upon which all the gallants of the 
 country attended. Customarily the belle rode behind the beau, 
 who sat upon his best and gentlest horse. At the parties "weav- 
 ily wheat" and "blind man's buff" were favorite games and at 
 the singings the old "do-ra-me" style of singing was engaged in 
 with serious and earnest intent. 
 
 "Quilting" and "house-raising" were two remaining social 
 
106 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 RAN VEASY ("OLD RAN.' 
 
SOCIAL LIFE, AMUSEMENTS AND PLEASURES. 107 
 
 functions which brought the people together in bonds of intimacy 
 and kept a glow of good feeling alive among them. The average 
 pioneer family matle itself a martyr to the comfort and pleasure 
 of its guests, numbers and frequency of visit counting for naught. 
 Self-sacrifice and self-effacement were stoically practiced. Cour- 
 tesy and thoughtfulness were taught the children, and among 
 the remnants of the old home life the effects of this noble training 
 are yet visible. Pen is powerless to describe the profound appeal 
 which is made to the appreciations of those who reverence acts 
 of pure human kindness and love and the bestowal of humble 
 thoughtfulness, such as distinguished the dead of the far period 
 and distinguishes the few living pioneers of the present. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 Summing up First Period. 
 
 The first six years of settleinent were uneventful. No inter- 
 ruption nor obstacles than those inherent in the situation inter- 
 vened to prevent the peaceful solution of the preliminary 
 problems. But at the end of that time a violent change took 
 place, the character and effect of which will constitute the theme 
 of the next section. But before passing to that it is pertinent to 
 glance briefly at the general conditions prevailing at the time the 
 county passed from the state of tranquil repose into one of 
 violence and turbulence. 
 
 In the years 1859 and 1860 which mark the change in condi- 
 tions, life in the county was becoming more varied and abundant; 
 the period of drouth had been successfully weathered and immi- 
 gration resumed; but no roads or bridges had been built and the 
 county still remained almost the outpost of western civilization. 
 
 The statistics of the Texas Almanac for the time will be studied 
 with interest. The population of the surrounding counties was : 
 Cooke, 175; Denton, 1867; Parker, 630; Wise, 357. Land values 
 estimated, $3.00 to $8.00 per acre for improved land and 50 cents 
 to $3.00, unimproved. 
 
 Wise County renditions; 40 negro slaves, valued, $23,230.00; 
 345 horses, $19,800.00; 2792 cattle, $12,460.00. The census 
 gave 370 white people over the age of 18. 
 
 Statistics for 1859: acres land rendered 53,438, $118,965.00; 
 negroes, 75, $47,850.00; horses, 2087, $90,229.00; cattle, 11,860, 
 $74,152.00. miscellaneous, $26,266.00; aggregate, $365,660.00; 
 advalorem tax collected, $460.00; poll tax, $183.00. The figures 
 for this year reveal a rapid augmentation in values. 
 
 The advalorem tax rate of 1858 was 12 J cents; the poll rate 
 50 cents; the average vote 270. 
 
 In 1858 the Overland Southern Pacific Mail Route was estab- 
 lished by the general government. This was a line of stage and 
 mail coaches establishing communication between the east and 
 (108) 
 
SUMMING UP FIRST PERIOD. 109 
 
 • 
 
 the Pacific Coast, and was better known as the Butterfield Stage 
 Line. It furnished the only means of transportation between the 
 east and the west until superseded at a later date by the trans- 
 continental railroads. In passing through Wise County it 
 touched originally at a point above Alvord, but at the instigation 
 of Colonel Hunt and a party of Decaturites, the route was 
 changed so as to pass through Decatur, where it permanently 
 remained until suspended at the commencement of the war. 
 In obedience to the obligation imposed by the government 
 before it would consent to change the route, the county seat 
 authorities opened up a traversible road to the Jack County 
 line and put secure bridges across Sandy Creek and West Fork 
 River. 
 
 Three stage stations, the first at Brandons on Denton Creek, 
 the next at Decatur and the third near old Bridgeport enabled 
 the stages to make easy and convenient progress through the 
 county. The stage was due to arrive at Decatur at midnight 
 where it deposited mail and occasional passengers at Bishop's 
 store, whence exchanges of teams and drivers were made and 
 the stage continued on its route to California. The coach itself 
 was a great lumbering affair, swinging on leather straps from 
 side to side; in all details it was patterned after the old Concord 
 style. When first established the best of horses were used for 
 motive power, but later, when the Indians grew troublesome 
 small, fleet-footed mules were put on all divisions west of Decatur. 
 
 The stage route, with its equipments, was typically [picturesque 
 of the times, providing that feature of western life which has 
 found extensive description in exciting tales of robbery and 
 Indian attack, and whose history is mixed with the romantic 
 legends of the settlement of the ^^^est. 
 
 The approach of a stage to a stand was announced by the 
 sounding of a long note on a bugle. Imagine the sleepy little 
 village of Decatur being aroused from its midnight dreams by 
 the shrill and alarming notes of the bugle coming from the far 
 ravines and hilltops. 
 
 At the very last of this period the county was granted author- 
 ity by the legislature to vote a special tax with which to build a 
 court house. The contract was let to Joe Head in ISfiO or 1861 
 
110 PIONEER HISTORY OF AVISE COUNTY. 
 
 for the erection of a square five room building to be set in the 
 middle of the public plaza at Decatur. The dimensions were 
 forty feet each way with halls running through north. and south, 
 east and west, cutting the lower floor into four corner rooms, the 
 top being arranged entire for a court room. A carpenter and 
 w^oodworkman by the name of Johnson Miller, a bachelor, origi- 
 nally from Michigan, afterwards killed by the Indians, was the 
 principal workman on this, th(^ county's first real temple of 
 justice. 
 
 The lumber for this old building which became so generally 
 
 I 
 
 i i .. ■ ^«= 
 
 WISE COUNTY S FIRST REAL COURT HOUSE. 
 (Built in 1860 or 1861 — Stood in Middle of Public Square.) 
 
 useful and revered, was brought from Wood County at an expense 
 of STO.OO per thousand feet. The heavy frame timber was cut in 
 West Fork bottom. 
 
 The surplus of office room left some to be occupied by lawyers 
 and other concerns. The first photograph gallery was opened up 
 here as well as the first newspaper. 
 
 The old court house became the scene of many spectacular 
 events and incid(>nts and was burned under suspicious circum- 
 stances on the night of November 2()th, 1881. 
 
 The dreamy period of pioneer tranquility oxcv which we have 
 
SUMMING UP FIRST PERIOD. Ill 
 
 been passing was brought to a violent close in the year 1859 by 
 a series of atrocious murtlers connnitted by the Indians in Jack 
 and Parker Counties, crimes perpetrated in regions so close as to 
 send a shudder of excitement and fear careering throughout the 
 confines of Wise County. 
 
 Following on the heels of these came the Civil War in 1S()1, the 
 local phases and application of which will constitute {hv next 
 section of this record. 
 
 As relates to Wise County the War and IntUan depredations 
 were contemporaneous in their beginning, resulting in this 
 county and others of the frontier being brought to live through 
 a prolonged period during which two exterior foes waged a 
 merciless warfare. 
 
 The period during which savage attacks were in vogue out- 
 lasted by many years the few years of the continuation of the 
 Civil War, and for this reason has been reserved for treatment 
 in a section following the description of the local war phases and 
 features, the separation being made in the interest of clarity and 
 fullness of description. 
 
 A clear comprehension of the life of the two following epochs 
 cannot be gained without the imagination being invoked. From 
 hence on life grows lurid and electric, the peaceful hills and vales 
 are waked with the echoing tread of war and invasion and the 
 even tenor is jarred into a revolutionary state, whereunder prior 
 affairs and problems are forgot and issues of giant and terrific 
 proportions arise in their place. Cold type cannot portray the 
 fearful agony of the times which ensued; is impotent as an in- 
 strument to convey in realistic colors the lurid picture which a 
 seemingly unpiteous fate drew on this far background. There- 
 fore let the seeing faculty behind the eyes penetrate into the 
 depths of the cold facts here related and visualize the conditions 
 in all the sad horrors of their truth. 
 
SECTION TWO. 
 
 WAR PERIOD. 
 
 Introductory Statemf.xt. 
 
 The fates designed Wise County to enjoy only half a tlozen 
 years of peaceful life and progress, at the end of which time 
 the smoking and rumbling volcano of political disturbance burst 
 suddenly forth into the fury of war. 
 
 By taking up the trend of general events in the year of 1855, 
 we shall see that Texas, at that date, was sharing in the titanic 
 political struggle then in a state of violent fermentation over 
 the nation. 
 
 Repeated encroachments on the institution of slavery by the 
 abolitionists who dominated Congress, had aroused the people 
 of the South to such degrees of anger as to make war within a 
 few years the inevitable consequence. The Missouri Compromise 
 had been revoked and the Kansas and Nebraska bill of Senator 
 Douglas substituted in its stead. Confirming the right of 
 slave-holders to innnigrate to free territories with the right of 
 slave possession remaining inviolate, the policy had the effect of 
 allaying for a while the fears and excitement of the Southern 
 people. Texas went on record regarding this as a question 
 " fully settled " but evinced further, that any appeal or modifica- 
 tion of the Kansas-Nebraska act would be looked upon by her 
 as "an invasion of the true spirit of the constitution of the 
 United States, as sectional in its character and as a just cause 
 of alarm." 
 
 Thus, at the beginning of the settlement of Wise County, 
 Texas, through her legislature, was citing " just causes of 
 alarm," a circumstance so vast and portentuous as to augur 
 much future evil for the striving new community, which, in- 
 opportun(4v (»nough, had laid its foundations under that micl- 
 (112) " 
 
INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. 113 
 
 century mountain of fire down whose sides was to pour a pro- 
 longed and destructive' flame. Events march on until the 
 seething strife in Kansas and John Brown's raid again rend the 
 country and prize apart the ever-widening chasm between .the 
 North and South. Southern fear of Congress and the continued 
 aggressions of the abolitionists now grew to a state of panic, 
 during which crucial hour in 1859, South Carolina confirmed the 
 right of secession and invited a conference of the remaining 
 Southern States. In Texas, Gen. Sam. Houston, the pacificator, 
 advised against the state's participating in the conference, but 
 was overruled by the secessionists who at the same time declared 
 for organized resistance, if necessary, against northern aggression. 
 
 National feeling was now at the fever point. The disruption 
 of the Democratic party and the election of Lincoln followed in 
 •1860. The North had gained political ascendency over the 
 nation and the South answered by taking steps to secede. 
 Within two months all the states of the South east of the Missis- 
 sippi had cut the tic that bound them to Federal union. Texas, 
 with a delegated convention voicing her desires, followed in 
 1861, and on Fel^ruary 23, of that year, the people endorsed 
 the decision of the convention at the polls. 
 
 In March the votes were counted, and a majority having been 
 found in favor of disunion, the state was declared seceded. 
 
 Inasmuch as the Civil War and the Indian depredations had 
 concurrent beginnings in Wise County, it might have been 
 thought consistent to admit both to simultaneous treatment, 
 but such a plan would result in much undesirable confusion of 
 subject and statement, and is therefore not adopted. It is neces- 
 sary, however, to review in connection with the war events that 
 phase of military action, which is strictly a part of the Indian 
 periotl, l^ut which has connection with the military organiza- 
 tion of the Confederacy by reason of its alignment with the 
 latter, and of the jurisdiction which the Confederate govern- 
 ment held over it. Outside of this particular detail the fol- 
 lowing chapters will ignore the savage incursions which the 
 reader will do well to bear in mind are occurring sinudtaneously 
 with the progress of the war. 
 
 8 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Local Attitude Towards the Issues of the War. 
 
 Considering the scarce population and its freedom and re- 
 moteness from the provocation that brought on the conflict, it 
 is hardly conceivable that any unusual and general degree of 
 martial feeling and spirit was evinced by the people here." No 
 record of any fact or circumstance remains to confirm a contrary 
 opinion. Should the population have been larger, there would 
 without question have been much surging action and manifesta- 
 tion of high loyal spirit. But the sum total of visible action 
 and feeling was diminished in consequence of the paucity of. 
 numbers. There was much individual partiotism displayed, a 
 case in point having been revealed in the first official notice 
 which Wise County took of the War and the issues at stake. 
 This took form in the manner of a mass convention which met 
 at Decatur to deliberate on the (juestion of sending a delegation 
 from the county to the state convention which was to decide the 
 course of the state in the secession movement. 
 
 All the prominent men of the county were at Decatur that day 
 to participate in the meeting, and the people were nuich stirred 
 up over the ends in view. Prominent among the citizens who 
 addressed the meeting were Colonel Bishop and Colonel A. H. 
 Shoemaker, both of whom were what are called "fiery rebels," 
 meaning extroardinarily zealous for the Confederate cause. Each 
 eloquently and persuasively championed the standpoint of the 
 South and urged and implorcnl the convention to send delegates 
 to participate in the state conventions which was known to be 
 committed to the policy of secession. The result was a general 
 concurrence in their views and an ultimate participation in the 
 deliberations of the Convention by Wise County. 
 
 Other instances of individual enthusiasm came to notice after 
 
 the military organization of the state was well under way and 
 
 volunteers had been called for. The clarion call to arms generated 
 
 fighting spirit and patriotic ardor in every breast, as will be re- 
 
 (114) 
 
LOCAL ATTITUDE TOWARD ISSUES OF WAR. 115 
 
 vealed when the rush to join local companies is described. But on 
 the whole Wise County was without those near incitements which 
 aided to precipitate the struggle elsewhere. Her slave population 
 was no appreciable factor and there was no general reliance on 
 that kind of labor in farm work. Consequently the danger that 
 threatened those interests was not so strongly realized nor re- 
 sented here. But she could find common ground with her sister 
 counties of the South in resenting any infringement on that in- 
 violable Southern and Democratic principle — State Rights. Here 
 she clasped hands with them and from the beginning to the end 
 braved the contest. Wise County was impelled to action in the 
 war by the impulses of the heart. The same blood that gave life 
 to the Southern people was the vital element in her own veins. 
 The same traditions and institutions which the people of the 
 South revered were those which she had been taught to love and 
 honor, and the same bewildering swiftness with which the South- 
 ern people arose to defend its institutions found its count(>rpart 
 in the people of Wise County, who were by birth, blood and 
 habitation, Southern people. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Military Organization. 
 
 Following the secession of Texas the Federal troops were with- 
 drawn from the frontier posts, leaving the settlements exposed 
 to Indian attacks and putting an urgent need upon the state to 
 supply the frontier with a larger protective force. Simultaneous- 
 ly the state was called upon to raise a quantum of troops for 
 service in the Confederate Army, said troops being surrendered 
 to the Confederacy as fast as they recruited and organized. 
 Thus on the frontier the state was confronted with a dual state 
 of military necessity, that of defense against invasions by Federal 
 troops and the protection of the frontier from Indian depreda- 
 tion. Both these needs were encompassed b}^ one general mili- 
 tary organization, perfected under the regulations of the Con- 
 federate Army but officered and manned by state volunteers. 
 The state reserved the privilege of retaining a sufficient number 
 of troops on the frontier to guarantee effectual protection to the 
 people there. Colonel Henry E. McCullough was the first Con- 
 federate officer to occupy with the Confederate guards the posts 
 recently abandoned by the Northern troops. The State had 
 authorized the raising of ten cavalry companies which were dis- 
 tributed under Colonel McCullough at posts twenty-five miles 
 apart along the frontier from Red River to the Rio Grande, with 
 a daily routine of scouting from one to the other required. 
 
 This regiment was primarily recruited for protection against 
 the Indians, but being under Confederate jurisdiction was re- 
 quired to perform any service for that authority demanded, with 
 the exception of vacating the frontier. 
 
 Indian attacks at this time were growing numerous and in addi- 
 tion to the above provisions, the governor authorizetl the raising 
 of home militia companies, or minute men, as a home protective 
 guartl, which were also placed under Confederate regulations. 
 These small detachments performed meritorious service in spread- 
 ing alarm, giving chase after Indians and recapturing stolen 
 (110) 
 
MILITARY ORCxANIZATIOX. 117 
 
 stock. They wore in an instant state of n^ailincvss to go where 
 needed, and it is due to their heroic energies that Wise County 
 did not become a slaughtering pen during the long period of 
 Indian warfare. Most all able bodied citizens belonged to these 
 companies, the latter being distributed about the various parts of 
 the county. There was no attempt to keep in assembled order 
 and only an Indian alarm or raitl would bring the individual 
 members to the point of concentration. 
 
 On moonlight nights, the accustomed time of savage incur- 
 sions, the minute companies would patrol the county, going to 
 and fro between beats which system kept the county thoroughly 
 guarded. When the Confederate establishment took command a 
 different mode of procedure was adopted. An arsenal and mili- 
 tary headquarters were established at Decatur and placed in 
 command of an Adjutant in the Confederate service. Each of 
 the militia companies was required to furnish a detail of ten men 
 to serve ten days at the post at Decatur, and the several com- 
 panies, by alternating every ten days managed to keep a force 
 of about 100 men camped about the county seat throughout the 
 war. Some organizers and Captains of local militia were Ben 
 Crews, Deep Creek; Tom Allen, Black Creek; Dick Rieger; 
 George Stevens; J. B. Earhart; Ira Long and Jim Hanks. 
 
 CONFEDERATE STATE MILITARY ORGANIZATION. 
 
 In December, 1861, the Texas Legislature passed a general act, 
 looking to organizing the state forces on a war footing. Thirty- 
 three brigade districts were provided for with a Brigadier-Gen- 
 eral in command in each. Wise County fell in district number one, 
 with Cooke, Denton, Jack, Montague and thirt(X'n other western 
 counties included. Brigadier-General Wm. J. Hudson, with 
 headquarters at Gainesville, was placed in connnand of this 
 district, his staff officers being a Brigade Major, an Adjutant and 
 an Inspector General. 
 
 The troops in each district were divided into companies, 
 battalions, regiments and brigades. The recruiting of compa- 
 nies in the several counties was placed in charge of the Justices of 
 the Peace, who acted as enrolling officers. All citizens eligible 
 
118 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 to military se^rvice were required to accept service either in one 
 of the two defensive forces, the Confederate Army or the home 
 mihtia. 
 
 Organization of companies and election of officers followed. 
 The company captains were required to assemble their companies 
 every two weeks for drill in tactics, i)ending the time of their 
 being ordered into active service. The captains were also autho- 
 rized to compel the enrollment of all persons in their beats sub- 
 ject to military duty. This general plan of organization was 
 followed whenever feasible, but variations therefrom are noted. 
 There was nuich undisciplined material at hand and in most cases 
 the organizing officers proceeded as best they could. Thus we 
 see in Wise County that Captain John W. Hale, a private citizen, 
 and an ex-sheriff, was put in charge of the preliminary organizing 
 measures. As chief enrolling officer he ranked as adjutant and 
 established headquarters at Decatur. 
 
 Following Captain Hale came General Wm. Quaile, the first regu- 
 lar military officer to be sent here to assume command of the 
 post and of the military detachment belonging to it. General 
 Quaile's successors in line were the noted Indian fighter, Buck 
 Berry; General Throckmorton, afterwards elected governor, and 
 at the close of the war. Colonel George B. Pickett, of Wise County, 
 was in command. General Throckmorton ranked higher in the 
 Confederate service than his assignment at Decatur would indi- 
 cate ; Colonel Pickett had also gained high honors and both offi- 
 cials had been retained here for various important purposes, one 
 of which was to gain recruits for the general service. 
 
 Decatur was a genuine military post throughout the war, with 
 much activity in process over the district under its jurisdiction. 
 
 The Howell and Allen Store was converted into an arsenal and 
 headquarters where stores and annnunition were kept and where 
 a military clerk was ensconsed. G(>neral Throckmorton had 
 offices in this building during the year of his assignment at Deca- 
 tur. 
 
 The Confederate scheme of organization called for a war tax 
 assessor and colk^ctor and Charles D. Gates, a clerk in Bishop's 
 store at Decatur, was appointed to this trying position. The 
 district over which he had jurisdiction comprised ten counties, 
 
CONFEDERATE STATE MILITARY ORGANIZATION. 119 
 
 and besides the physical dangers which were encountered, there 
 was another arising from exposure to Indian attacks, and still 
 another from the hatred and animosity of the Union sympathizers 
 who were forced to contribute tax money to the Confederate 
 government. The duties of the office necessitated long, perilous 
 rides into western counties, the most distant one being Wil- 
 barger, and other long trips a-horse-back to the capital at Austin 
 where large sums of money were deposited. 
 1 ■ Incidental to the duties of watchmen of the frontier the home 
 companies were required to perform local Confederate service 
 whenever necessary. For instance it fell to their lot to act as 
 mounted police with obligation to arrest suspicious characters, 
 and those who had deserted the fighting ranks and returned 
 home, as well as to* apprehend those who were fleeing from con- 
 scription service. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Raising Companies for Confederate Service. 
 
 With the call for volunteers the enthusiasm and excitement 
 grew intense, with genuine patriotism and loyalty becoming 
 manifest. Also there was much bluster and swashbuckling on 
 the part of a portion of the younger male generation who looked 
 on the chastisement of the North as hardly more than a break- 
 fast spell. Others of maturer thought deprecated the great crisis 
 and were beset at heart with gloomy forebodings. Colonel 
 Bishop and Captain Shoemaker, the advising factors of the com- 
 munity, in this detail, continued to contribute their stimulating 
 and inspiring suggestions which, when combined with other in- 
 fluences, induced a scramble for enrollment when the opportunity 
 for that act presented itself. 
 
 Captain A. H. Shoemaker led off by raising a company of 104 
 robust young men, all eager to get into service. Following the 
 election of officers in which Captain Shoemaker was appointed to 
 his place and J. D. White, then a prominent young school teacher, 
 was made First Lieutenant, a big barbecue was held at Isbell 
 Springs, near the present Greathouse farm. The company, as the 
 honored guests, attended dressed in such military costumes as 
 could be speedily devised, and bearing such arms as could be 
 raked and scraped in the community. Undoubtedly the members 
 were the fighting heroes of the hour, but on that day they 
 needed reinforcements and furloughs to withstand the bom- 
 bardment of patriotic oratory which was directed at them from 
 the stump. 
 
 The program for the day included the inevitable reading of the 
 Declaration of Indejiendence by Colonel Bishop, a thing which 
 the latter did wherever and whenever he found two or three 
 gathered together. Other events were the parading and drilling 
 of the company and the presentation of a new Confetlei"ate flag. 
 It was an auspicious da}^ when the people had'come together to 
 make public profession of their loyalty to the cause. 
 (120) 
 
RAISING COMPANIES FOR CONFEDERATE SERVICE. 121 
 
 Because the recruiting of Captain Shoemaker's company had 
 anticipated the general organization of the state's forces, there 
 was no place to which the company could be assigned, and the 
 company drifted into gradual tlisbandment, but not until 
 Captain Shoemaker had sought to get into service. 
 
 The second company was raised by Colonel George B. Pickett, 
 in the summer of 1861, and was successful in being received into 
 the general ranks which, by this time had been organized. 
 
 In his most amusing and instructive book, "Chapters from the 
 Unwritten History of the War," Colonel R. M. Collins describes 
 the history of this company from its beginning. The quoted 
 sections of the following statements are from Colonel Collins: 
 "Colonel Pickett came to raise the company and all commenced 
 rushing to and fro getting things in shape to enlist, to go to the 
 wars and get honor, glory and some immortality. The day was set 
 Saturday for the enrolling of names and organization of the com- 
 pany, and in they came on their little finger-tailed, frosty necked, 
 calico, Spanish ponies, all clamoring to get into the Cavalry 
 service." 
 
 A company of 100 men was made up, George B. Pickett was 
 elected captain, Tom Robertson, W. A. King and F. J. Barrett, 
 1st, 2nd and 3rd lieutenants. Of the non-conmiissioned officers 
 Colonel Collins only remembers "a big red-headed fellow named 
 G. W. Rodgers, a school teacher, who was made orderly sergeant." 
 
 "After the organization and lots of Dexter's best had been put 
 under their jackets, the rest of the day was put in in Cavalry 
 movements round and round the public square." 
 
 "While the comi)any was made up of a very nice lot of young 
 men, boys, and middle aged men, it did not strike us as having 
 the appearance of N. Bonaparte's 'Old Guard.' " 
 
 "After the organization of our company, until the order to 
 march was received, all hands were busy getting things in shape 
 to take the field, and the people either from pure patriotism or 
 from fear of the consequences of resistance, opened their doors 
 to the boys. Merchants piled out their clothing, hats, boots and 
 shoes, and men owning herds of horses were willing to give them 
 up, so that it was only a few days until the boys were mounted. 
 The martial spirit seemed to have drowned out all other spirits, 
 
122 PIONEER HISTORY OF. WISE COUNTY. 
 
 except Dexter's best. Music was in the air, every young lady in 
 town and country was warbling 'Bonnie Blue Flag/ 'Dixie' and 
 the 'Secession Wagon' as sweetly as mocking birds." 
 
 "As to arms to fight with, the variety in kind, caliber and 
 equality is beyond our power of description. Some had single 
 barrelled shot guns, some had squirrel-rifles and some had old 
 buck and ball muskets. In one thing only were all armed alike, 
 and that was with big knives. These were made for us by the 
 blacksmiths out of old scythe-blades, ploughshares, cross-cut 
 saws, or anything else that could be had. The blade was from 
 two to three feet in length and ground as sharp as could be. The 
 scabbards for the great knives were, as a rule, made of rawhide 
 with the hairy side out, and were worn on the belt like a sword, 
 and doubtless many trees over in Arkansas, know to this clay the 
 marks of these knives, for we used to mount our ponies and gallop 
 through the thickets, cutting the tops from young pine tr(>es, 
 practising so that we could lift the heads off the Yankees, artisti- 
 cally, as soon as we could catch up with them." 
 
 The names of some of the company follow, others cannot be 
 recalled: Chris Gose, P. P. R. Collum, G. B. Pickett, R. M. Col- 
 lins, W. A. King, Wm. Bryant, Allen Bryant, Add, Dais 
 and Bob Anderson, Wm. Cook, Tom Mount, Frank Cook, 
 Wm. Burress, Tom Prunty, Tom Moffat, Perry and George Mills, 
 Tom Taylor, Tom Cartwright, S. M. Gose, John Waggoner, H. H. 
 Wilton, J. P. Fullingim, George Ross, Lem Cartwright, W. H. H. 
 Bradford, George Cartwright, Frank Miller, Newt Millholland, 
 Wm. Derrick, Jim Hardin, Dick Edmunson, Sol Reed, Scot Reed, 
 Green Penington, Marvin Isbell, Dutch Waggoner, Bob Gaston, 
 Dan Cryar, Tom Barnett, Henry McKinney, Tom Roberson, F. 
 J. Barrett, Wm. and High Anderson, John Thomas, Milton Shoe- 
 maker, G. W. Rodgers, I. W. King, Tom Davenport, Tom Lipsey, 
 Jack Hart, Eph Lux, John Wasson, Dr. Thomas Stuart, Joe Crin- 
 er, Riley Howard, Dick Payne, Fred Mount, ToniGrider, Lee 
 Crutchfield, Henry Mershon, Bill Priddy, Dude, George and H. 
 H. Gaines. 
 
 Captain Ed Blythe raised the third company in 1862. The 
 historical details of this company are unobtainable, but it is 
 known that it contained the requisite number of men, and that 
 
RAISING COMPANIES FOR CONFEDERATE SERVICE. 123 
 
 Thomas Halsell was a Lieutenant; also that the company re- 
 mained in the thick of the fight throughout the war, doing valiant 
 service in Louisiana, where, at Pleasant Grove and Mansfield, it 
 assisted in keeping General Bragg's army from invading Texas. 
 
 The county was rapidly sending men to the front. Besides 
 the regular companies which were being raised and sent away 
 therg were individuals and small squads leaving to join companies 
 under recruit in contiguous counties. The whole of Wise Coun- 
 ty's male population was rapidly getting into service, either ab- 
 sorbed by the home militia or the ranks of the Confederacy. 
 The heart rending anguish and hardships of Wise County mothers 
 and sisters of that period can never be measured or appreciated 
 at their true status. 
 
 The organizations named above had all been recruited from 
 those of eligible age and condition, from the vicinity of the county 
 seat, but in all probability there had come numerous members 
 from the several sections of the county. One whole company 
 was raised in the vicinity of Prairie Point. This, the fourth, of 
 the full regular detachments, which Wise County had contributed 
 to the Confederate cause, was organized through the efforts of 
 ex-sheriff Ben Earp. Captain Charles C. Thompson soon after- 
 wards was elected to connnand this company, and from him the 
 following partial list of names of the old muster-roll is obtained : 
 
 John McClure, cjuarter-master, John Morris, Logue Teague, 
 John Teague, Ben Burdick, Bill Tully, George Ball, Henry Pat- 
 ton, Bill Crews, C. C. Thompson, Sam Woody, Mat Walker, Bill 
 Mann, Jake Mann, — • Broadstreet, Jim Brooks, 3rd Lieutenant, 
 Brice Mann, John Peak, Sam Oats, Nick Haney, Frank Case, 
 Steve Sweeney, Earney Curtner, John Gibbs, Harvey Young- 
 blood, Jim Youngblood, Joe Barnes, Jim Sprowles, Kale Hal- 
 comb, T. D. Stephens, S. M. Stephens, George Guinn, Tom Ver- 
 non, Talse Burress, Mansfield Burress,. Curran Stephens, Cap 
 Stephens, John Montgomery, Ben Jones, "Bloody" Loftus, Bill 
 Weathers, Jim Pointer, BillBlanton, Jim Blanton, Bill Plumley, 
 Press Plumley, Dennis Plumley, John Berry, John Mathews, 
 Tan Miller, George Miller, Abe Thomas, Dink Walker, Bill Shaw, 
 Jim Earp, John Shaw, Tom Smith, Fine Earnest, John Earn- 
 est, Ed Simpson, C. C. Leonard, EHas Pitt and Duck Clampitt. 
 
124 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 At the first election officers were named as follows : Ben Earp, 
 Captain; Jim Earp, 1st Lieutenant; C.C. Thompson, 2nd Lieuten- 
 ant; C.C. Leonard, Orderly Sergeant; Bob Walker, 2nd Sergeant. 
 
 The company repaired to Clarksville, where Captain Earp 
 resigned and returned home, being succeeded by Captain Thomp- 
 son. At Clarksville the company was designated as Company E, 
 and combined with the 23rd Texas Cavalry, which soon marched 
 to Houston. In the fall of 1862, the entire command was ordered 
 into the campaign in Louisiana, where at that time, the Federal 
 forces were attempting to invade Texas. General Bragg was 
 successfully repulsed in many hot encounters, no small part of 
 the defense being done by Company E of the 23rd Texas. Cap- 
 tain Thompson, a brave and doughty Confederate officer, was 
 wounded in the first encounter, but was soon restored to fighting 
 trim. The first fatality occurred in the death of Sam Oats, this, 
 in one of the river battles, while the poorly equipped rebel forces 
 were fighting the Yankee gun boats with their "fists".* 
 
 Although this brave band of Wise County soldiers found 
 plenty of hard fighting in Arkansas and Louisiana, the men 
 were at all times anxious to get across the Mississippi, where the 
 campaign was being fought out on still larger lines. But in the 
 region to which they were confined they acquitted themselves 
 nobly. Many were killed and wounded, many died from sickness 
 and inattention, and not the greater portion returned home at 
 Lee's surrender. 
 
 Returning for a short resume of Colonel Pickett's company we 
 find them on March 1, 1862, with orders to report at Dallas, then 
 after some weeks at McKinney where the 15th Texas cavalry 
 was organized, finally at Clarksville and into Camp McKnight. 
 In the re-organization at Clarksville, Captain Pickett was elected 
 Major of the loth Texas Regiment and Flavious J. Barrett was 
 promoted to the captaincy of the Wise County Company. 
 
 Clarksville at that time was the mobilizing point of the north 
 Texas troops and here an army of 6,000 men had been collected. 
 On April 10, ortlers were received to proceed, via Arkansas, to 
 Corinth, Miss. After a trying journey the large detachment 
 
 * The quotation is from Captain Thompson. 
 
RAISING COMPANIES FOR CONFEDERATE SERVICE. 125 
 
 reached Little Rock and went into camps, where soon an epi- 
 demic of measles broke out, with a supply, according to Colonel 
 Collins, "sufficient to go round." A second reorganization 
 occurred here and Major Pickett was advanced to Lieutenant 
 Colonel; W. C. Burress and R. M. Collins were made lieutenants 
 of the Wise County contingent. Fighting occurred towards 
 Batesville in June. A sharp affray took place at Arkansas Post 
 on January 11, 1S63, and 3000 Confederate troops were forced to 
 surrender to the Federal Army, among them being the Wise 
 County company. Confinement followed later in the Federal de- 
 tention post at Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio, and later at Camp 
 Douglas, Chicago, where two of the company, Allen Bryant and H. 
 H. Wilton died from exposures. The fragments of the little band 
 of patriots were exchanged and sent to the far south-east where 
 they soon joined the Tennessee army and engaged in a number 
 of historic battles. Colonel R. M. Collins, Perry Collum, Jess 
 Fullinghim and Chris Gose are remembered to have campaigned 
 in the south-east. In one of the Cumberland Ridge battles, J. 
 P. Fullinghim had the misfortune to loose an eye, a deplorable 
 consecjuence of the aimless flight of a spent minnie ball. 
 
 Colonel Pickett had not accompanied the troops beyond Little 
 Rock and was thus preserved from capture. While the troops 
 yet remained at Little Rock the Confederate order exempting 
 many of certain ages from further service was issued. These 
 exemptions created a hiatus in the ranks and numerous high 
 officers were detailed to return to their resi^ective homes to ob- 
 tain recruits. Colonel Pickett had returned to Wise Coimty for 
 this purpose, and it was while here that the unfortunate result 
 occurred at Arkansas Post. 
 
 The fifth and last large company was recruited and sent to the 
 front from Decatur by Colonel Pickett, but it has not been possible 
 to secure either a complete or a partial list of the names of the 
 members of this company. 
 
 For an amusing and instructive history in detail of the check- 
 ered career of the next to last mentioned band of patriotic Wise 
 County soldiers in the Civil War, any interested persons are 
 recommended to Colonel R. M. Collins' genuinely entertaining 
 book, the title of which has been given. 
 
126 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Out of a voting population of about 700, upwards of 400 had 
 sought service in the Confederate Army, with only a paltry few 
 left to stand guard against the Indians. Judged according to 
 these arithmetical calculations, it can be seen at a glance what 
 the quality of the bravery and the patriotism of the men and 
 women of the pioneer period really amounted to. And taken in 
 connection with the statement that Wise County furnished a 
 comparatively unequaled number of beef cattle to the Confeder- 
 ate armies, it is seen that Wise County's full share of the burdens 
 of the fateful war were gloriously sustained. All honor to the 
 brave men and women who were responsible for so illustrious an 
 achievement. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Changes and Conditions Incident to War Briefly 
 
 Noted. 
 
 Although this frontier was far removed from the actual track of 
 fighting and, on that account, free from the devastations pecu- 
 liar to that inhuman exhibition, the middle and later stages of 
 the war had not been reached before a revolutionizing reaction 
 set in, bringing all progress to a standstill. A monotonous vac- 
 uity and stillness, superinduced by an almost complete abandon- 
 ment of the border, chiefly characterized the ef!"ects of the huge 
 civil struggle here. 
 
 However far the extremities of the body may lie from the vital 
 organs that give them animation and life, the disaster that dis- 
 turbs the latter produces a corresponding effect in all related 
 parts. Such a figure may illustrate the situation on the frontier 
 as affected by the distant strife. One of the first effects encount- 
 ered was that incidental to the blockading of the Southern ports 
 against commerce upon the sea. Dependent as the frontier was 
 on such ports for a large portion of its essential supplies, the re- 
 sult of the embargoes laid on the source from which they were 
 obtained, superinduced a great scarcity throughout the settle- 
 ments. Essential articles rose in value and in price and some of 
 the more useful ones became unobtainable at any offering. A 
 great hardship was thus visited upon the people from this cause. 
 
 The almost general abandonment resulted from a natural de- 
 sire of a large part of the population to flee the imminence of 
 Indian danger, and largely because all industries had been brought 
 to a standstill with no means of a livelihood remaining. 
 
 Again, the male population was drawn into service, leaving the 
 business and industries of the country unmanned. Thus the 
 frontier from end to end was paralyzed, with no wheels of industry 
 moving and with much of the social structure dismantled. 
 
 "The high tide of settlement and development" had been 
 
 (127) 
 
128 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 reached and the period of recession and retrogression had set in 
 not to be resumed until after the war. 
 
 Referred specifically to Wise County, the middle stages of the 
 war found the farms re-consigned to the care of nature, which 
 force speedily induced a rankorous growth of vegetation and an 
 occupation by howling wild animals. In the few cases where 
 families did not emigrate beyond the boundaries of the county, 
 removals to Decatur were made, for the protection to life, 
 which was there afforded ; but hardly enough of this temporary 
 influx came to materially increase the population of the town. 
 Farm life being regarded dangerous was broken up and many 
 years elapsed before any general return to the industry was made. 
 Most all social customs lapsed into abeyance, its strictly pleas- 
 urable phase being wholly destroyed. No stalwart gallants 
 remained in the county to hand the maidens around and the 
 imagination pictures the latter fondly looking to the end of the 
 hostilities that old relations and happy customs might be 
 resumed. 
 
 Hardships, more rigorous than ever, were entailed on the pro- 
 ducing powers of the community, by reason of the loss of the 
 distant supply, and now more necessary than ever did it become 
 to create all things consumed at home. 
 
 Thus restricted the people were in many ways denied the arti- 
 cles which in this day are common but during those days were 
 listed among the luxuries. 
 
 A schedule of the prices which obtained for staple articles is 
 appended to convey an appreciation of the status of affairs, the 
 quotations being taken from those fixed by a state commission 
 in session Sept. 23, 1863, as follows: 
 
 Wheat, S2.50 per bushel; flour, $15.00 per bbl. (196113.) ; Corn, 
 $1.37 per bushel; barley, $2.00 per bushel; rye, $2.00 per bushel; 
 oats, $1.50 per bushel; rice 25c per lb. ; hams, 35c per lb. ; sugar, 
 brown, 20c per lb.; white clarified sugar, 35c per lb.; salt, 5c per 
 lb.: beef cattle, $35.00 per head. 
 
 Famines in certain necessities often occurred, at which times 
 it would be necessary to resort to unsatisfactory substitutes ; thus 
 parched grain was substituted for colTee, and sorghum for sugar. 
 Numbered among the privations was the loss of mail facilities. 
 
CHANGES AND CONDITIONS INCIDENT TO WAR. 129 
 
 The chief reHanco for quick and regular conveyance of mail had 
 been the Overland Southern Mail Route. This was purely a gov- 
 ernmental enterprise or else the government was sponsor for its 
 existence, and with the breaking of relations between the North 
 and South the mail route was discontinued. The effect was 
 immediately felt and was one of the evidences of the ruthlessness 
 of war. 
 
 Of Decatur it may be said that the town became one inhabited 
 spot in a wilderness of silence and solitude ; the great rich lands 
 and primeval forests spread before her, but no hand turned the 
 plough or raised hoe or ax. Many of the town's little store build- 
 ings became deserted and the bats flew in and built nests. The 
 town presented a sleepy aspect with its few buildings clustered 
 on the hilltop. 
 
 The population at this time was principally made up of refugees 
 from different sections of the county, who, forbearhig to desert 
 the frontier, had huddled themselves at Decatur and presented 
 such defense to the threats of the hour as lay within their power. 
 Outside the few stirring enactments that occurred as direct inci- 
 dents of the war, the only excitements were the occasional Indian 
 depredations which, while in progress, reduced the little post to 
 a condition of panic. But the Indians having passed out, the 
 town lapsed again into its somnolent state not to be aroused until 
 a recurrence of savage activity. 
 
 On the whole the frontier presented a monotonous grind of 
 existence, through -which the people struggletl under the heavy 
 burdens while waiting the hour when the passions of war and 
 red-man's hatred should subside and the tide of affairs had again 
 returned to their normal levels. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Conspiracy of the Peace Party. 
 
 Directly opposed to the peaceful trend of the times was the 
 war like occurrence of the summer of 1862. This was an elabor- 
 ate conspiracy having for its motive the overthrow of the Con- 
 federate authority in this section of the state, and progressively, 
 of the remainder of the state, should the designs have proved 
 successful here, at the place of their inception. 
 
 The name of the organization through which the Confederacy 
 was to be dealt this subtle blow was the Peace Party, and its 
 constituent elements were made up of Union sympathizers and 
 others who, having loyalty for neither side, were dissatisfied with 
 the' war. 
 
 Where and when the plan of the conspiracy had its birth is not 
 known and in so far as can be learned there is no knowledge as 
 to with whom the idea originated. The first wind got of it was 
 in Cooke County, the revelations having come through a 
 citizen who was loyal to the Confederate cause. 
 
 It appears that in a region some miles east of Gainesville there 
 dwelt a large colony of northern sympathizers, from among whom 
 success was met in obtaining secret sui)i)orters to a plan which in 
 general comprehended the reduction of this part of the state 
 preparatory to the coming of a large Federal force from Kansas, 
 by whojn the country would thenceforth b(^ occupied. In detail 
 the plan comprehended the secret organization of forces and the 
 gradual accretion of members against the day w^ien sufficient 
 strcMiglh and power would be evolved to enable the order to arise 
 suddenly everywhere, capture the Confederate stores and forces, 
 and by burning property and deprivation of arms and supplies, 
 reduce the people to such a state of subjection, as to render them 
 powerless to resist the coming of the Fedei-al army which was to 
 complete the designs by marching in and taking general control. 
 
 It was in the alcove mentioned connnunity that the ste]) was 
 taken that brought the movement to its calamitous termination. 
 (130) 
 
CONSPIRACY OF THE PEACE PARTY. 131 
 
 This came about as a result of efforts which were made to secure 
 members to the traitorous order, and as a (Urect result of over- 
 tures which were made to Newton Chance, the Confederate loyal- 
 ist above mentioned, to secure his membership. 
 
 Chance gave no reply to the overtures, but as a loyal Confeder- 
 ate took the first opj^ortunity to tell General Hudson at Gaines- 
 ville what he knew. By that official he was advised to feign an 
 interest in the proceedings and after learning further details to 
 return and report same. Chance did this and General Hudson, 
 in possession of the exposures, immediatety began a crusade 
 against the ortler which resulted in the trial, conviction and sub- 
 sequent hanging of fifty-five of the conspirators who had been 
 proved guilty of leadership in a movement which wa'fe regarded as 
 traitorous, in the highest degree, to the Confederate government. 
 
 The scene of action is now transferred to Wise County, where 
 as revealed by Chance, a second phase of the conspiracy was being 
 developed. His exposures revealed the name of one Dr. McCarby, 
 a man who had formerly been a citizen of the Prairie Point com- 
 munity, this county, but who had subsequently moved "and 
 settled in the region east of Gainesville where the Peace Party 
 was first heard of. McCarty had been deputed to assume organ- 
 izing charge of the Wise County phase of the affair, and judging 
 by the large number of respectable and hitherto imsuspected 
 citizens of the Prairie Point connnunity which he inveigled into 
 the order, he must have been a man possessed of subtle power 
 and cunning. 
 
 General Hudson now undertook to stamp out the conspiracy 
 in Wise County, which had been so successfully accomplished in 
 Cooke. Captain John Hale, commandant at Decatur, was order- 
 ed to arrest the conspirators, whose names had Ixhmi obtained, 
 and luring them to Decatur for trial. The police duty was con- 
 signed to the local Confederate scouting forces and very soon an 
 exciting time was in progress. The excitement was further 
 heightened by the well-known men who were being arrested and 
 brought in for trial. The trial commission was organized with 
 fifty of the best known and qualified men of the county sitting 
 in chambers, over whom Rev. Bellamy, a Methodist presiding 
 elder, presided as chairman. Sheriff Robert G. Gates, who had 
 
132 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 served the county as sheriff or deputy in most of the past 
 county administrations, was in attendance to carry out the man- 
 dates of the commission. 
 
 The trial commissioners occupied the upper story of the Con- 
 federate Arsenal, the office of the latter being on the ground 
 floor. Sentinels were placed about the town, one or two on each 
 road leading therefrom. Mysterious midnight searches, investi- 
 gations and arrests now followed and the county was thrown into 
 a fit of excitement. The trials began with the arrival of the first 
 prisoners and continued until the- question of guilt of all the 
 accused parties was settled. Some were found to have rendered 
 only a perfunctory allegiance to the secret order, and these were 
 ordered detained to be sent later to the Confederate Army. Out 
 of the number tried five were adjudged totally guilty and sen- 
 tenced to capital punishment. The names of these unfortunates 
 were: John Conn, Ira Burdick, Jim McKinn, Parson Maples and 
 — Ward. John Conn had been a member of the Confederate 
 guard sent from Wise County to Gainesville to remain during 
 the trials there. 
 
 At the ending of their respective trials each of these men were 
 conveyed to a tree which stood in the Swan pasture at the west- 
 ern edge of town, and hanged by the neck until dead. 
 
 They were hauled away from the arsenal, sitting on their 
 coffins, in wagons, and it was from the wagons, pulled from under 
 them that they fell to their death. 
 
 Thus ended a series of gruesome scenes and thus was extermi- 
 nated the untimely propaganda of the Peace Party. Having 
 encountered two dire and fateful consequences at its outset, the 
 party vanished from the face of the earth and no further attempts 
 were made to inculcate a hostile faith in this, a Confederate 
 community. 
 
 There remains a word to be said in extenuation of the crimes 
 which the above named men expiated with their lives. It is said 
 that numerous good citizens were inveigled into the Peace Party 
 upon belief in false representations. The propagandists of the 
 order held out the plausible and inoffensive , proposition that 
 their chief aims and designs were to secure an organization in 
 the Intercast of peace and the settlement of the issues that divided 
 
CONSPIRACY OF THE PEACE PARTY. " 133 
 
 the North and South. Such a doctrine found unwary endorsers 
 everywhere, especially did it thrive among those who felt no 
 sincere leanings toward either side, and who were thus desirous 
 that the war would speedily end, let the victory fall where it may. 
 
 The fiends on whom justice could have laid her bitterest repri- 
 sals were the iniquitous disseminators of a specious proposal in 
 order to gain adherents to a bad and traitorous design against the 
 Confederacy. 
 
 The Wise County members of the Peace Party were mostly 
 respectable citizens who had been duped into aligning themselves 
 with a badly misunderstood organization and though it became 
 the requisite duty of the local officials to take sunmiary action, 
 there remains' in the retrospect a sense of tragedy and pathos. 
 
CHAPTER Yl. 
 A Glance at Decatur in War Time. 
 
 A few families who remained at the county seat during the 
 trying period of the war may be named. There were the fam- 
 ilies of A. Bishop, E. A. Blythe, Dr. Thomas Stuart, Captain A. 
 H. Shoemaker, S. M. Gose, Noah Cravens, Dr. J. W. Knight, 
 Chris Gose, W. H. Hunt, G. B. Pickett, J. W. Hale and Jack 
 Moore. These are deserving of special mention, for without ques- 
 tion they played a heroic part in remaining in a position, far on 
 the frontier, with savage attacks pressing them on one side and 
 war's privations and restrictions on the other. 
 
 Colonel Hunt had been forced to abandon Cactus Hill at the 
 approach of Indian hostilities and was now with his family 
 occupying the old Halsell tavern at Decatur. Mr. Halsell had 
 been forced to abandon his hostelry, because, it is presumed, of 
 the lack of patronage, very little travel obtaining in war times. 
 
 Along with Colonel Hunt came Miss Lutitia Wilson, who had 
 been a governess to the Hunt children at Cactus Hill. Miss 
 Wilson started a school in a vacant log dwelling in the northeast 
 part of the town; she also taught a class in music, the town's 
 first of the kind, in the Halsell Tavern, using the old melodeon 
 which had been brought along from the Hunt ranch. Miss Wil- 
 son was graced with culture and refinement, being one of the 
 typical Northern women who are so highly equipped for the 
 teaching profession. She is described as being an extraordinary 
 person of her type and has left her influence indelibly stamped on 
 a few of her former pupils. A few of the latter are recalled as 
 follows: Libby, Lancing, Kate, Belle and Willie Hunt, So- 
 phronia Crutchfield, Rowena Hale (now Mrs. C. D. Gates), Mary 
 Stuart (Mrs. Carpenter-Shown), Byda Howell, Marsh, Jim, Fan- 
 nie and Will Cook, Rufus and Sarah Lindley, Laura, Nannie and 
 ToniLsbell, (the first of the last group is now Mrs. J. M.Tannahill), 
 Mattie and Willie Blythe, James, Greta and Alice Taylor, Mattie 
 and Chock Perrin, and Lucinda Cravens. Miss Wilson was a 
 (134) 
 
A GLANCE AT DECATUR IN WAR TIME. 135 
 
 devout Episcopalian and inveterately began the morning school 
 exercises with prayer. There are numerous persons of this era 
 who came in contact with Miss Wilson who feel themselves pro- 
 foundly indebted to her beneficial influences ; and without doubt 
 such an elevating character was of high value to the community. 
 
 Miss Wilson's school children were direfully affected at the 
 progress of the trials of the Peace Party conspirators and when 
 the doomed men began to be hauled away on their coffins to the 
 scaffold almost a panic ensued. The children also evinced much 
 fear at the sight of the heavily armed sentinels marching soli- 
 tarily about the roads and both facts combined created much 
 disturbance in the little institution. 
 
 Prior to the summer of 1862 the people of Decatur, in the 
 absence of churches or church organizations, had worshipped, 
 when opportunity offered, in empty store buildings and family 
 residences. Such services occurred at no regular intervals and 
 only at such times as itinerant ministers came into the village. 
 In 1862 the first church organization occurred. This was effected 
 through the Methodist denomination, of which church only a few 
 members resided in town. Rev. Bellamy, a presiding elder, at 
 that time living on Black Creek, officiated at the organizing 
 ceremony, attended by the following citizens: Mr. and Mrs. 
 Stephen M. Gose, Mr. and Mrs. A. B. Foster and Sallie and 
 Margaret Foster, Mr. and Mrs. Chris Gose and Mr. and Mrs. 
 Robert Wallace. Stephen Gose was elected class leader. The 
 organization occurred in a vacant store on the south side of the 
 square. No other church organization occurred until after the 
 war. 
 
 During this time patriotic feeling found expression in certain 
 typical war songs. Colonel Hunt's large wool caravans, brought 
 along from Cactus Hill, stood in prominent positions about the 
 public square and on these, in the summer evenings, the school 
 children climbed and vented their souls in song. The following 
 was sung to the tune of ''The Bonnie Bue Flag": 
 
 My homespun dress is plain, I know, 
 
 My hat's palmetto too, 
 But this will show what Southern girls 
 
 For Southern rights will do. 
 
136 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Another, which is perhaps a hoine-niade version of the famous 
 " Secession Wagon," ran as follows: 
 
 " Tennessee and Texas, who can't make up their mind, 
 But we reckon after all we'll have to take them up behind. 
 Our wagon's plenty big enough, 
 
 The running gears are good, 
 It's stuffed with cotton round the sides, 
 
 And made of Southern wood." 
 
 The program usually ended with the acclaim: 
 
 " Hurrali, Hurrah, HvuTah, 
 
 For the home spvm dress that Southern women wear." 
 
 But the crisis which inspired these songs ultimately came to 
 an end, and with it a second period of new life for the Southland. 
 
 The remainder of these remarks reflect the changes that 
 occurred following the cessation of hostilities. 
 
 As soon as the blockades were withdrawn from Southern ports, 
 commerce began to move and industries to thrive. The pall of 
 silence and death arose from the little county seat, and con- 
 siderable business activity became manifest. 
 
 The first merchants to enter business were J. C. Carpenter and 
 Charles D. Cates, who, in 1866, rented the Bishop store building 
 and filled it witli merchandise. The following year the stock was 
 
 Ct^ 
 
 
 i! 
 
 EARLY PICTURE SOUTH SIDE PUBLIC SQUARE, DECATUR. 
 
A GLANCE AT DECATUR IN WAR TIME. 
 
 137 
 
 moved into the Howell and Allen building, after which Carpenter 
 and Gates dissolved partnership. Mr. Gates then bought a 
 place on the south side of the square and formed a partnership 
 with Gephus W. Woods, and continued in business. The second 
 merchant was Eph. Daggett, who opened up in the old Howell 
 and Allen building. He was followed in the fall by Jack Moore, 
 who occupied the Halsell tavern with a stock of goods. The 
 Daggett store then changed hands, Jacob-Marion and Eli Lindley 
 taking charge. Awhile after the war, when conditions had found 
 their normal level, the following firms constituted the town's 
 
 EARLY PICTURE EAST SIDE OF PUBLIC SQUARE, DECATUR. 
 
 permanent business concerns, to-wit: Terrell and Kellam 
 (Samuel L. Terrell and Jacob Kellam), Gollins and Brown (R. M. 
 Gollins and Jack Brown), Gates and AVoods, and Sewell Brown, 
 
 The town's hostelry now existed in the old Howell residence 
 being conducted by Dr. Thomas Stewart. His successors in 
 line were Gapt. Shoemaker, Major Whorton and Gol. Bishop. 
 Amos Grider afterwards opened a hotel on the south side. 
 
 Sam Perrin had received the appointment as postmaster, to 
 whom Mrs. Mary Gose was assistant. The post office was kept 
 in a residence that stood under the hill off the northeast corner 
 of the square. Mrs. Gose only recalls one incident in connection 
 with the office which is that of Heck Miller's habit of calling for 
 
138 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 his mail. He customarily rode up on his horse and desired to 
 know " if there was any mail in the Heck box?" 
 
 Other incidents of the early life was the erection of the town's 
 first stone building by Samuel Terrell on the southeast corner of 
 the sc^uare. On June 20, 1869, the first fire in the history of 
 Decatur occurred, which was the burning of Capt. Tom Stand- 
 field's residence. 
 
 The medium of exchange for the buying and selling of goods 
 continued to be cattle, with which property the county was well 
 supplied. From this date up until the later eighties the county 
 continued almost singly in the stock industry, and through all 
 of these years Decatur remained a frontier out-post and a base of 
 supplies for many far distant ranches. The general condition 
 improved considerably after the close of hostilities, but the town 
 and county were yet to undergo many years of suffering from 
 Indian depredations, and not until the early seventies did 
 absolute freedom and safetv return. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Pursuit and Arrest of Deserters, 
 
 A few days before Lee's surrender at Appomattox Courthouse 
 on April 9, 1865, the force in command of the post at Decatur 
 were thrown into a fever of excitement by the reception of 
 orders to join in the pursuit of a fleeing band of 100 deserters 
 from the Confederate ranks who were en route to the territory 
 of New Mexico. The order came from Gen. Throckmorton, 
 commander of the district, and accompanying it was the infor- 
 mation that a large band of soldiers had deserted the Confederate 
 Army somewhere in East Texas, and with saddle horses and 
 equipments were trying to escape to regions beyond the juris- 
 diction of the Confederate states. 
 
 The end of the war was signalized by many such desertions 
 as is here recorded. It is said that much discouragement pre- 
 vailed in the rebel ranks at the close of the war, due to prolonged 
 fighting, poor equipment and general despair of victory. The 
 odds were seen to be all against the brave fighting bands who 
 hove aloft the rebel flag, and when an opportunity came to throw 
 down their arms many succumbed to the temptation and deserted 
 before the peace articles were signed. Many of these were good, 
 loyal soldiers, who had borne bravely their part in the war. 
 Another reason assigned for the many desertions was the general 
 fear of the rebel soldiers that the cavalry forces would be dis- 
 mounted and their horses retained. To prevent this, desertions 
 were made and regions sought where such would be impossible. 
 
 Col. Diamond and forc(\s of the Red River station were already 
 in pursuit of the deserters in question when the order reached 
 Decatur post to join in. 
 
 Col. G. B. Pickett was in connnand of the Decatur post, and 
 on Saturday, April 2, 18G5, he left in a northwesterly direclfion 
 with a strong company which numbered among others the 
 following members: J. D. White, 1st Lieut.; Bob Gates, John 
 
 (139) 
 
140 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Wasson, Bob Wallace, Dr. J. W. Cartwright (now of Amarillo), 
 W. A. King, M. W. Shoemaker, Tom Robinson, Wm. Hobson, 
 Jim Burton, Sam Brandenburg, Jim Beck and Lee Crutchfield. 
 Other names of the full connnand of perhaps 100 men cannot be 
 recalled. 
 
 These were joined en route by Capt. Earheart and a company 
 of men recruited from Western Wise and Jack Counties. 
 
 Late in the afternoon of Sunday, April 3, the conmiand had 
 reached the Wichita in the Panhandle, having struck the trail 
 of the fleeing deserters before leaving Wise County. The desert- 
 ing force was mounted on fine horses which were kept refreshed 
 and well fed on the abundant grass of the route traveled. L^pon 
 the other hand the pursuing forces were mounted on inf(>rior 
 stock, John Wasson being astride a mule. 
 
 At the foot of a high ridge which separated them from the 
 Wichita River, the command came upon the ashes of fresh camp 
 fires, and thinking themselves well up with the enemy, decided 
 to pause for the night and rest in camp. Supper was prepared, 
 and later the horses staked out and early beds sought. The next 
 morning preparations for an early start were made and a detail 
 went out to bring in the horses. It was before daybreak, and 
 all was calm and serene in the balmy spring air. Presently the 
 clear, musical note of a bugle sounded from the slope of the ridge 
 next the river. The men after the horses hastily returned and 
 reported the occurrence. '' My God," said one, '' I wouldn't 
 have felt any worse if I had heard Gabriel's horn blow." 
 
 The entire camp grew animated at once and a consultation 
 followed. The fact of their being in the immediate vicinity of 
 the enemy was not doubted ; that the two forces had slept through 
 the night with only the ridge between them was plainly evident. 
 
 At sunrise, three of the force, said to be Col. Pickett, Lieut. 
 AYhite and Private Gates, crawled to the top of the ridge and 
 peered forth, and their beliefs of the nearness of the enemy were 
 confirmed. A large camp had been pitched in true military 
 style at the foot of the ridge in a draw. The horses were still 
 grazing at a short distance from the camp, and preparations for 
 breakfast were under way; fires were glowing and there were no 
 
PURSUIT AND ARREST OF DESERTERS. 141 
 
 signs evident that those of the camp dreamed that a large body 
 of pursuers lay over the ridge ready to charge and capture them. 
 
 The presence of the fresh camp fires on the other side of the 
 ridge were now accounted for. The deserters had first struck 
 camp there, but discovering water in the Wichita beyond, had 
 movetl closer to it. The scouts returned from the top of the 
 ridge and reported their observations, and advised a plan of 
 action. 
 
 Col. Diamond, superior in command, was hesitant in making 
 the attack, and advised postponement until a more opportune 
 moment. Col? Pickett then asked and gained permission to 
 carry out the designs he had formed for the surprise and capture 
 of the enemy's camp, after which he called for volunteers. From 
 the many who responded 24 men were chosen. Milton Shoe- 
 maker was placed in the center of the file, and the ascent towards 
 the top of the hill was begun. From this point whip and spur 
 were put to the horses and a swift descent, accompanied by much 
 shouting and yelling, was made on the camp below. Imme- 
 diately there was great consternation among the surprised and 
 astounded deserters who sprang for their rifles, and began firing. 
 
 To the right and left of the camp swept the charging forces, 
 antl in the twinkling of an eye the camp was denuded of its 
 horses which were circled and driven back over the ridge. In 
 the charge Milton Shoemaker's horse was shot from under him, 
 and he quickly mounted one of the enemy's. By this time Col. 
 Diamond and the remainder of the troops had come uj), and the 
 camp of the enemy was surrounded on three sides, with Lieut. 
 White in command of Col. Pickett's company on the north. 
 The deserters, with horses gone, saw their desperate condition, 
 and presented a white flag, the signal of surrender, (bl. Dia- 
 mond went among them and was immediately threatened with 
 death if the horses were not returned. The white flag had been 
 a ruse. Col. Pickett followed Diamond and was met with much 
 flourishing of revolvers and threats. A long parley followed in 
 which the deserters were convinced of the uselessness of defense, 
 whereui)on they surrendered. They began l^urning powder and 
 throwing weapons in the water, after which they were mounted 
 
142 PIONEER JhISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 and marched back to the settlements. Col. Diamond conveyed 
 a part of them away and Col. Pickett took the remainder to the 
 Confetlerate post at Buffalo Springs, leaving them in charge of 
 Confederate officers. 
 
 None remained long in captivity for all gained their liberty 
 with the surrender of Lee, which followed soon after this occur- 
 rence. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Changes in County Administrations at the End 
 OF THE War. 
 
 Following General Lee's surrender a large Federal force, under 
 conmiand of General Gordon Granger, landed at Galveston and pro- 
 ceeded forthwith to occupy the posts at Austin and San Antonio 
 and the garrisons on the frontier. Proclamations were soon issued 
 suspending civil and military authority in Texas and granting 
 slaves their freedom. At about the same time Lincoln's successor 
 in the presidential office, Andrew Johnson, issued an amnesty 
 proclamation which prescribed the conditions and the oath untler 
 which the right of suffrage would be exercised. Andrew J. 
 Hamilton, a Texan, received the appointment as provisional 
 governor, assuming office July 25, 1805. It fell to the latter 's lot to 
 reconstruct the government in Texas, no small part of which was 
 to suspend all county administrations tenured by Southern sym- 
 pathizers and officials and appoint in their places those whose 
 views antl prior actions harmonized with the northern or federal 
 government. 
 
 Beginning with this first suspension in Wise County a long 
 series followed at irregular intervals. For upwards of a period 
 of ten years a conflict progressed between the civil and military 
 arms of the state of Texas, each striving to retain a hold on the 
 government. First one and then the other would gain the 
 supremacy and power, corresponding to which there would be a 
 suspension and re-appointment of county officials throughout 
 the state. 
 
 No positive record has been kept of these changes in this 
 county, and no memory has been able to recall the alterations, 
 so frequently did they occur. 
 
 The first suspension occiu'red in 1S()5 in conformance to Gov- 
 ernor Hamilton's connnand. A list taken from the Secretary of 
 State's department at Austin gives the following names of citizens 
 as having been appointed to the respective Wise County offices 
 set out below : 
 
 (143) 
 
144 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Isaac Plumlee, Chief Justice, appointed Sept. 15, 1865. 
 
 Benj. Shrives, Clerk of Dist. Court, appointed Sept. 15, 1865. 
 
 Granger Sahnon, Clerk County Court, appointed Sept. 15, 1865. 
 
 David Anes, Sheriff, appointed Sept. 15, 1865. 
 
 Wm. Tyler, Assessor antl Collector, appointed Sept. 15, 1865. 
 
 C. B. Ball, Treasurer, appointed Sept. 15, 1865. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 1, Stephen Gose, Ed. C. 
 Jones. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 3, Wm. Rice, L. L. Ward. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 4, Westly Higgins. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 6, John Thompson. 
 
 Justice of the Peace, Precinct No. 8, Wm. Waters. 
 
 Reference to the list of succeeding county officials in the fore- 
 part of the book will reveal the names of the officials who were 
 displaced to make way for the above. It is stated that Isaac 
 Plumlee only nominally held the office of Chief Justice, the 
 authorized official being "Long" Walker, who for some reason 
 or other never occupied the place. On the above fist of what 
 might be termed Republican appointees will be noticed one or 
 two names who were known to be strongly Southern in sympathy. 
 This is explained as the result of harmonious action prevailing 
 between the local and better elements, who, opposed though the}^ 
 were on the great general issues of the war, were united in the 
 smaller matters involving the affairs of Wise County. Such 
 Southerners as belonged to the administration were members by 
 virtue of their eligibility and good character. 
 
 The list above given is the result of a clandestine meeting 
 attended by prominent representatives of both views — moving 
 spirits in the county — who came together on the heels of the in- 
 formation that removals and reappointments would occur, to 
 decide on a set of county officers which would be satisfactoiy to 
 both sides. 
 
 This meeting, held in back end of a store room at Decatur, 
 shows the harmonious relations that existed here at that time 
 between the leading spirits of the northern and southern views. 
 
 After having decided on the names of the prospective admin- 
 istration, the list was conveyed to Austin where Governor Ham- 
 ilton was easily induced to make the appointments. 
 
CHANGES IN COUNTY ADMINISTRATION AT END OF WAR. 145 
 
 The memory of the hving pioneers is clear and decisive as 
 regards the above related facts, but as to the changes which 
 followed in succession, beginning with the removal of the last 
 named set of officers very little can be recalled. 
 
 In the general elections held for the selection of dek^gates to 
 the Constitutional Convention, of 18()(3 the autocratic power and 
 rigid restrictions as regards the right of suf^'rage were revealed. 
 A system of registration was set up in every county which granted 
 a voting certificate to every person who had not in any form or 
 fashion taken part in the war as a loyalist to the Confederate 
 cause. This practically eliminated the entire voting population 
 of the several counties and threw the machinery of the govern- 
 ment entirely within the autocratic control of the representa- 
 tives of the Federal powei-. \'ery few in Wise County could take 
 the oath of anmesty which was necessary to the right of suffrage. 
 
 The Constitutional Convention met and adopted a constitution 
 conformable to the requirements of the United States and referred 
 the same to a vote of the people, the election to take place on 
 June 4. All Southerners being disfranchised, only Repul^licans 
 and northern sympathizers participated. The constitution was 
 adopted. James W. Throckmorton was elected governor in the 
 election for State and county officers, which occurred in unison 
 with the constitutional election. A conflict then occurred be- 
 tween President Johnson and the General Congress, due to which 
 many duly elected Southern governors were removed. Governor 
 Throckmorton among them. 
 
 General Sheridan now took charge and a military form of 
 government was instituted. The iron hand of the autocrat began 
 to be felt everywhere in Texas and Louisiana, over which states 
 General Sheridan reigned. The registration laws were tightened 
 and strengthenetl and moiv rigidly enforced. 
 
 In this way the trend of affairs grew gradually worse until 
 1869, the very worst was inaugurated with th(> election of 
 Edmund J. Davis, the high-handed despot, as governor. 
 
 The writer has already trangressed the proprieties of this 
 record in the narration of the above loosely joined facts, but an 
 impression of the rigorous restrictions which were put in opera- 
 tion here could hardly be conveyed without giving some hint of 
 
 10 . " • 
 
146 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 their source. No furthcn- allusion will hv made to the general 
 situation behind the local, other than to say that Davis was 
 swept out of office by Coke's great election in the latter seven- 
 ties. But before retiring, he (Davis) caused Texas to more 
 resemble a kingdom struggling in the grip of despotism than a 
 land where individual freedom is regarded as an inalienable and 
 inviolable principle. 
 
 Wise County only bore a part of the extreme^ measures of 
 spoliation ; her position on the frontier protecting her from the 
 evils and indignities practised on the more populated counties 
 nearer to the seat of power. 
 
 But in numerous infamous ways she was made to feel that 
 alien hands were steering the helm of state. The first of these 
 came in the notice to suspend her government and other notices 
 came in the many removals and disturbances that followed. 
 
 The people accepted these decrees philosophically and dis- 
 played coolness and deliberation in joining with the local Rejnib- 
 licans in the endeavor to elevate safe men to office. 
 
 The iniquitous registration system itself, which virtually had 
 the effect of robbing the people of their government and placing 
 it in the hands of foreign power, was sufficient cause alone to 
 remind the people that a terrible chaos existed in their govern- 
 mental affairs. 
 
 On the other hand they as a presumably free people were made 
 to endure the presence of a husky squad of soldiers sent to 
 Decatur from Ft. Richardson ostensibly to enforce ortler at the 
 polls, but really as a guard to guarantee that negroes were 
 allowed to vote. 
 
 Should harmony not have prevailed between the citizens and 
 the men elevated to the count}^ offices, a greater disagreement 
 and further trouble would have ensued, but fortunately these 
 men represented the liest class of citizenship to be found in their 
 party; they were friends and neighbors and their official acts 
 usually sought the highest interests of the county. The objec- 
 tionable feature about the situation was the frequency of changes 
 and disruptions and the incidental necessity of readaptations to 
 the rapidly alternating conditions. There could be no settled 
 attitudes under a state so fluctuating in character; one set of 
 
CHANGES IN COUNTY ADMINISTRATION AT END OF WAR. 147 
 
 officials would ix'taiii office say for six nionths, another for a 
 shorter or longer space, but no assurance existed that any set 
 would remain for any definite time. Clearly in the face of so 
 chaotic a state of politics the people were harrassed and hard 
 pressed. 
 
 On the whole it was a time of intimidation and humiliation for 
 that noble body of men and women who had spent their lives in 
 shaping the county from the wilds of barbarism and enduring the 
 great privations and hardships incident to that stupenduous ac- 
 complishment. To be then told to keep hands off was a fate more 
 bitter and intolerable than any hardship heretofore encountered. 
 
 But the hardy common sense of the peo})le came to the res- 
 cue and extricated them from their difficulties. With much 
 wisdom and fortitude they temporized with the evils of the hour, 
 patiently awaiting the day when they would receive their own 
 back into possession. 
 
 With great wisdom and courage, the surging impulses to action 
 through retaliatory measures, were restrained and kept in abey- 
 ance until the election of Governor Coke delivered them from 
 their tyrannies and restored to them their old rights and liberties. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Demonstration of the Union League. 
 
 One other warlike demonstration was to be played out before 
 the antagonisms of war died away. This was tlirectly provoked 
 by the Peace Party trials antl hangings, together with certain 
 grievances held by members of another order, the Union League, 
 against certain citizens and officials mostly residing at Decatur. 
 
 The Peace Party affair had intensified the spirit of hate and 
 opposition between the Federal and Confederate elements in 
 this section, especially in Wise and Cook Counties. Prior to this 
 occurrence there had existed between the opposing forces a 
 passive relationship into which no violent feeling had entered; 
 and doubtless this desirable condition would havc^ endured had 
 not the convictions and hangings aroused the resentment of those 
 who held political views similar to the Peace Party victims. But 
 this sensational occurrence had added fire to the smoldering 
 embers and heightened the bad feeling between the Confederates 
 who, by reason of their superior numbers, had held undisturbed 
 sway, and the northern inclined, of which there was but a 
 sprinkling in the county. 
 
 When the war came to an end .bringing with it the supremacy 
 of the Union cause, the local representatives of the latter in turn 
 became dominant. It was then that the Confederate people 
 were placed on the defensive, which was an attitude little liked 
 by them. This fact alone deepened the widening gulf between 
 the two factions. 
 
 At this juncture the feeling between thv two contending 
 forces had reached an acute and dangerous stage. There were 
 not wanting evidences that a silent, but as yet, undemonstratetl 
 loathing mutually existed, and that any untoward incident was 
 potent to cremate a crisis. 
 
 The people of Confederate sympathies charged numei-ous 
 misdemeanors against some of the individuals of the other side, 
 one of these b(>ino; horse-stealing: it was claimed that horses were 
 (148) 
 
DEMONSTRATION OF THE UNION LEAGUE. 149 
 
 stolen from the settlers and sold to the Federal armies, which 
 practice, coupled with a small system of espionage, were well 
 remembered by the Southerners who, in the face of such recollec- 
 tion, held a grudge against the faction that countenanced such 
 members and practices. 
 
 Lined up with what was known as the Union League, an order 
 purpoting to endorse Northern views, was a motley array of 
 individuals made up of the dregs of society, " bushwhackers," 
 deserters and various other sorts who came out on the winning 
 side at the close of the war. On the other hand there were known 
 to be good and honest men belonging to the ortler who were 
 perhaps over-zealous to see that, so long as the Republican 
 power was supreme, things generally should be conducted 
 according to Republican principles. These respectable men 
 shoukl not be confused with the criminal class who perhaps 
 engrafted themselves onto the order in c{uestion. 
 
 Numbered in the platform of grievances of the Union League 
 were grudges borne against the Confederate District Tax Collector 
 who. had sold, under the hammer, much property, the taxes on 
 which would not be i^aid by the unionist owners. This class in 
 Wise County gained recruits from over the large districts of 
 counties in which War Tax Collector Charles D. Cates had 
 jurisdiction. These all concentrated their tlesigns for revenge 
 on Wise County, which was the home of the collecting officer. 
 Again, speaking generally of this northern order, it is in line to 
 say that there were few members -of it who did not bear some 
 private grievance against the heretofore dominant element in 
 Wise County. Out of all of which there grew a state of affairs 
 in the county that bordered closely upon ambuscade war. The 
 more lawless members of this mysterious organization were 
 subtel and sly of action, and by keeping a system of espionage 
 and petty warfare upon those on whom their sj^ite rested, 
 managed to keep a state of strife and uneasiness thoroughly 
 alive in the county. 
 
 All those officers who took part in the hanging and trial of the 
 Peace members were subjected to many harrassments and were 
 made the objects of dangerous threats aficl on numerous occasions 
 
150 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 were waylaid and fired uj)()n. It was a time of great anxiety 
 for the mothers and sisters of these officials who included the 
 whole body of the local militia and court officers among their 
 numbers. Readers must be advised again that only the ignorant 
 and criminal element were responsible for this mean warfare, the 
 better class contenting themselves with higher measures of 
 retahation. 
 
 Coming together in secret confines in western Wise Coimty, all 
 these disaffectionists resolved themselves into an organization, 
 and styled same the Union League. That particular section 
 offered special advantages for a secret conclave of this kind. 
 Few settlements had been made there and small opposition or 
 observation would be encountered. The opposing faction— 
 the Confederates — against whom their plans would be waged, 
 residetl in the eastern part of the county and at the distant 
 county seat. 
 
 Following shortly after this organization a small but rather 
 weak demonstration was made against the town of Decatur. 
 The clan rode in a body to the town, for what purpose was. not 
 apparent, and finding it by chance pretty well occu])ied with 
 sturdy, defiant looking settlers, turned tail and rode away. But 
 sometime afterwards they returned with reinforcements. On 
 the second occasion the people surrounding Decatur had gained 
 beforehand knowledge of their prospective visit and proceeded 
 to make preparations for their entertainment. There was only 
 a small body of men to defend 'the. town, but to a man they were 
 courageous and ready for the encountcn*. The most of them 
 had seen hard service in the wai* and Indian campaigns, which, 
 added to the many harassments endurcMl at the hands of the 
 meaner element of the specious antl hated Union League, had 
 rendered them eager for an opportunity to vent their feelings. 
 
 In anticipation of the second visit an empty log house near the 
 square was turned intQ a garrison where arms and ammunition 
 were stored. Other places, better than all others, the courthouse, 
 were well fortified. Notic(>s were then sent to all the settlers 
 advising them to be read}'. 
 
 The day for the expected assault arrived, and with it the con- 
 
DEMONSTRATION OF THE UNION LEAGUE. 151 
 
 centration of settlers at the town. Shortly after noon a large 
 body of mounted men were seen to emerge onto the prairie from 
 the timber west of town. They were in disarrayed form, 
 but soon came to a halt, and probably in accordance with some 
 pre-arranged plan, arranged themselves into column formation 
 with two abreast, in which order they defiled into town and onto 
 the square. To the tune of " We'll Hang Jeff Davis on a Sour 
 Apple Tree," the invaders marched around the scjuare, and when 
 arrived at the south entry of the courthouse, came to a stand- 
 still. Two or three of their number then alighted, and mounting 
 the stairs crawled through the hatchway to the flag which 
 fluttered there in the breezes and tore it from its place. They 
 then ran up another flag which they had brought along, and 
 returnetl to their companions below. 
 
 Following this intimidating act, the invaders broke ranks and 
 deployed themselves about town seeking the parties upon whom 
 they would avenge themselves. Robert G. Gates, the sheriff who 
 had tied the death knots on the Peace Party victims, was soon 
 corralled, and one big, burly westerner had cornered his brother, 
 Charles Gates, the tax collector. Some fortunate occurrence 
 knocked aside the rope which was intended for the neck of the 
 ex-sheriff and the non-tax-paying brother was staid off by a 
 show of preparedness. 
 
 During all this time the little band of settlers were measuring 
 up the visitors. To their temporary consternation they beheld 
 200 well-armed enemy, whereas there existed only about 35 
 of their own number. Gourageous as they were, they found 
 themselves heavily outnumbered, and while they had no thought 
 of weakening, still were in grave doubts as to the issue. From 
 all appearance it seemed that the League would successfully 
 carry the day. Forced acquiescence in this view had the effect 
 of intensifying the fury of the settlers, who had for so many 
 weeks been humiliated and intimidated by this same band now 
 collected in such formidable numbers. Their desperation knew 
 no bounds and they were ready to hazard the slinnnest chance 
 to defend their names and honor. 
 
 On the southeast corner of the square stood two store buildings 
 
152 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 with an unoccupied lot between, and back of these some yards, to 
 the south, stood the log garrison in which the settlers had placed 
 their arms. Just off the plank walk, on the square immediately 
 in front of the empty lot, stood a wagon, and it was while the 
 settlers were despairingly reviewing their beleagured situation 
 that an unexpected occurrence took place from the wagon. 
 Quite without preliminary notice a man had lifted himself to 
 this wagon and began to harangue the crowd with a humorous 
 speech. The speaker was Joe Henry Martin, one of the living 
 pioneers, who was venting his spirits? in an aimless and dis- 
 cursive speech, the keynote of which was fun and good humor. 
 
 The crowd, invaders and all, gradually drifted towards the 
 sound of the speaker's voice, until the whole of the transient 
 population was enjoying the merry -entertainment. In order 
 to escape the intense rays of the July sun, the crowd had defiled 
 into the empty lot where the shades of the buildings cooled, 
 while the orator proceeded. 
 
 Suddenly the scene changed from one of humor to real and 
 deadly tragedy. Armed and ready squads of steely-eyed and 
 determines 1 men stood at both the entrance and the exit of the 
 lot in which the insulting invaders were hemmed. 
 
 The entrapped men saw at a glance that the settlers, for it was 
 they who manned the escapes, meant fatal execution should a 
 move on their part be made. Never did eyes reveal more terrible 
 earnestness nor readier intent to visit retribution than did those 
 of the little body of settlers. The invaders sat unmoved and 
 quiet, perhai:)s ])aralyzed by the sudden surprise with which they 
 were taken. 
 
 Ex-Confederate Capt. Charles Thompson, as brave a man as is 
 ever given birth, called to their leader to come out. When he 
 came Capt. Thompson pointedly told him that his men were 
 in a. position, where if they batted their eyes contrar}^ to wishes, 
 
 " more d men would be killed in a minute than a wagon 
 
 could haul away in a day," thereupon advising them to depart. 
 
 Impressed by so sententious and sincere a speech and so 
 critical an environment, the leader returned to his men and 
 counseled immediate departure. This they were allowed to do 
 without molestation. 
 
DEMONSTRATIOxV OF THE UNION LEAGUE. 153 
 
 No return of this kind was ever made to Decatur, and this was 
 the beginning of the end of the Union League, a specious organiza- 
 tion which had for many months exercised petty tyranny over 
 the people of the county. Perhaps the band encountered a 
 degree of manhood at Decatur, with which it liad not reckoned, 
 and in the face of whicli it saw the futihty of further prosecutions 
 of its outlawed actions, pendent upon which it fell into dis- 
 bandment. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Conditions Briefly Summed Up. 
 
 Upon the close of the hostihties ''the pall of industrial death 
 hiuig everywhere," but the beginnings of retleniption are shown 
 with the meeting of the first Legislature. This met in 18()G and 
 granted many incorporating rights to business enterprises and 
 schools which had applied. No new counties, however, asked 
 for permission to organize which is significant as applied to con- 
 ditions on the frontier. The Legislature was also busy with 
 numerous immigration schemes and much railroad building 
 activity was reflected therefrom. 
 
 Wise County had now been settled beyond ten years. The 
 following general statistics will indicate the effects which four 
 years of war and Indian scourge had visited upon this section of 
 the state, as well as from a local standpoint. The fragmentary 
 notes are taken from the Texas Almanac of 1867. Of the town 
 of Sherman it states : 
 
 "Sherman is a small town with two churches and one fine 
 school established and supported by the Odd Fellows." 
 
 Li Jack County the population had decreased from 1688 in 
 1860 to 1000. Montague from 890 to 849. Montague was the 
 extreme frontier county and laments as follows: "We stand as 
 a breakwater for the protection of the State against the Indians, 
 have done so for years. We will be forced to give up the frontier 
 unless sustained. Sustain us and we will protect you." 
 
 Stock raisers had begun to move into Clay County in about 
 1858, but now "have almost all left on account of the Indians." 
 
 The population of Wise County for the year was about 400. 
 Not a mill was left in the county, the nearest being in contiguous 
 counties. A Decatur correspondent writing to the Dallas Herakl 
 in the spring of 1867 says, "The town of Decatur is the point 
 where the Overland Mail touched as it passed through Wise 
 County. Now that peace has been established, the people of 
 North Texas desire the re-establishment of the Overland Mail." 
 (154) 
 
CONDITIONS BRIEFLY SUMMED UP. 155 
 
 The destroying of the mail facilities came with the downfall of 
 the Confederacy and the (efforts at re-establishment were slow 
 and discouraging. Mail continued to be brought from Denton to 
 Decatur, the carrier charging ten cents an item for his services, 
 this in addition to the regular postage. 
 
 In 180() proposals for mail routes were published : to run from 
 Meridian to Decatur, via Weatherford and Veal's Station ; Denton 
 to Decatur ; Decatur to Prairie Point ; Decatur to Bc^lknap via 
 Antelope and Jacksboro. 
 
 A useful improvement at this juncture was the building of a 
 telegraph line by the governuKnit which connected all the fronti(u* 
 garrisons. The line touched at Decatur where an office was 
 maintained. This line was instrumental in partially holding the 
 Indians in check, as forewarning comnnmications of their ad- 
 vance could be had. 
 
 A vigorous protest is registered at this period against that 
 inhibitory measure of the government which prevented armed 
 resistance to Indian attacks and depredations. All parties col- 
 lected in numbers beyond three and bearing arms were arrested 
 if found by Federal police. This was one of the iniquituous 
 measures aimed at holding the people in the grip of the rapidly 
 alternating provisional governments over which the Federal 
 authority exercised power and contro.l A more severe and un- 
 just condition could not have been imposed upon a defenseless 
 people. The government's contention was that sufficient 
 defense and protection was guaranteed by the Federal troops 
 which had succeeded to the occupation of the frontier posts 
 upon the surrender and withdrawal of the Confederate forces. 
 But the situation was a duplication of that which had obtained 
 previous to the departure of the Federal troops at the inception 
 of the war. 
 
 The Indians in small murderous bands dodgetl between the 
 large unwieldy bodies of troops and perpetrated fiendish out- 
 rages upon the people. Most efTectually preventing this had been 
 the small bodies of home guards and the Confederate Rangers, 
 the latter sweeping in regular and effective patrols up and down 
 the settlement line, keeping the savage at bay. 
 
 But now bv Federal direction the frontier settlements were 
 
156 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 denuded of all such capable troops and the home guards espec- 
 ially interdicted from assembling in any kind of defense to the 
 merciless foe. The government troops, concentrated in large, 
 slow moving bodies at widely separated posts, served to present 
 but small opposition to savage marauding, leaving the people 
 exposed to murderous attacks and without the legal right to 
 join themselves together for protection. Such a species of negli- 
 gence will long remain a blot upon the fair escutcheon of the 
 general government. 
 
 Thus at the close of the civil hostilities, while other sections 
 were striding toward restoration of normal conditions, the chain 
 of frontier counties, of which Wise was an important link, re- 
 mained in a death struggle with a long and unhappy decade 
 perquisite to its uncertain termination. In the following section 
 the essential character of the Indian warfare will have treatment. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 Indian Depredation Period. 
 
 "The first great racial struggle began when the Caucasian 
 began to take America from the Indians." (Paddock.) 
 
 "It is doubtful whether any state in the union has suffered 
 more continuously and more severely from the Indians than has 
 Texas — from its earliest days they have been a constant menace 
 to all efforts at civilization and permanent habitation. The name 
 Apache and Comanche have become synonyms for ferocity, 
 bloodthirstiness and the worst traits of savagery, and for years 
 the tribes of that race harried the frontier and carried their war- 
 fare even to the heart of the settlements. The history of Indian 
 warfare and outrages in Texas would fiH volumes." (Paddock, 
 "History of Northwest Texas"). 
 
 A contributor to the Texas Historical Quarterly describes the 
 various tribes as follows: "The native tribes of Texas consisted 
 of two classes, the argricultural and the nomadic — twelve of the 
 agricultural class belonged to the Caddo family and inhabited 
 that part of the state lying east of the Brazos river, while the 
 range of the class that depended upon the chase for subsistence 
 was found in the western portion. The Caddos were more ad- 
 vanced toward civilization than any tribes north of Mexico, 
 living in villages of good tents, wearing dress and ornaments and 
 cultivating the ground, producing crops of corn, melons, pump- 
 kins, etc., which they providently stored for winter use. 
 
 The nomadic tribes of Texas were the Karankawas, Lipans, 
 Tonkawas, Kiowas, Apaches and Comanches. The Franciscan 
 missionaries who had labored in Texas during the preceding cen- 
 tury to civilize the more interesting and kindly disposed agri- 
 cultural tribes had not been neglectful of these ferocious denizens 
 of the province and had established missions for some of them. 
 The Karankawas at this period had entirely disappeared. The 
 Lipans ranged from the Brazos to the Mexican frontier along the 
 foot of the mountains. The Karankawas ranged between the 
 
 (157) 
 
158 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Brazos and the Nueces from the coast as far inward as the upper 
 Colorado. The Apaches, whose village was at Bandera Pass, 
 were a ferocious tribe that devastated the southwestern frontier 
 from its earliest settlement by the Spaniards. After annexation, 
 on account of the protection given their habitual range by the 
 United States forts, they had fallen back into New Mexico. The 
 Kiowas claimed the Pan Handle of Texas for their range. The 
 numerous and powerful Comanches were in three divisions, and 
 the band which was the dreaded foe of the Texas frontier was 
 the southern Comanches, for whom the Comanche reserve on the 
 Clear Fork of the Brazos was established." 
 
 The red races were the original occupants of Texas. They 
 began to defend their country against encroachments of the whites 
 when the latter race began to colonize the state along the coast 
 region. Gradually and slowly the white settlements extended 
 northward and westward, the Indians disputing every step. 
 Beginning with the inception of the last century and lasting until 
 the early seventies, Texas became a vast contest ground, the 
 regions involved extending from the southern coast to the Pan 
 Handle of the state. After fifty years^of warfare the hated insti- 
 tutions and civilization of the whites had projected west into the 
 territoiy of Wise County and for twenty-five years more this and 
 contiguous counties must settle with the Indians for the land 
 they would call their own. 
 
 The Indian question becomes of significance to the people of 
 Wise County from the date of the arrival of the first white set- 
 tlers here. 
 
 T(\xas had joined the Union a few years before Wise County 
 had joined Texas as an organized entity. Prior to that time the 
 Republic had dealt with the Indian problem. Now, in pursuance 
 of the agreement of admission the United States government 
 took charge of the Indian affairs and proceeded to handle them 
 after the style followed on other frontiers. At that time all this 
 section, including Wise County, was a vast Indian camp, a 
 menace to innnigration and settlement. 
 
 The United States established two posts, garrisoned with sol- 
 diers, one in Hill County and the other at Ft. Worth, this in the 
 later forties. White settlers began innnediately to How in and 
 
INTRODUCTION. . 159 
 
 the regions around the posts were filled up. The posts, in order 
 to keep in advance of settlements, were then advanced west- 
 ward; one was established on the Brazos in Young County, and 
 called Ft. Belknap, the other was placed on the Clear Fork of the 
 Brazos, in what is now Jones County, and named Ft. Phantom 
 Hill. The Indians were being crowded further west and intimi- 
 dated by armed white force. They resented with the inaugura- 
 tion of an intermittent warfare, depredations and killings. 
 
 Settlements began in Wise County at this time. Ranger 
 forces were then occupying the attention of the Indians in the 
 Pan Handle, but in the course of half a dozen years the Indians 
 raided and murdered citizens in the counties adjoining Wise on 
 the west. Comj^laints against the inefficiency of the slow-moving 
 Federal troops were being made. The State of Texas came to the 
 rescue with the inauguration of a grand scheme which looked to 
 the pacification and civilization of the warring tribes, an enter- 
 prise to be co-operated in by the national government. 
 
 In 1853 the State of Texas set apart 55,728 acres of public 
 domain in the vicinity of the above mentioned posts to be used 
 by the United States as a reserve whereon schools and farms 
 were to be established for the schooling and training of the 
 Indians. Numerous tribes of rebellious Indians were placed 
 thereon; others became unmanageable and remained at large. 
 For a few years the government made sincere efforts to inculcate 
 the arts of white civilization into the conceptions of the savage 
 tribes, but on the whole the experiment was a grand failure.^ 
 The outlaw tribes from without broke through and depredated 
 upon the white settlements and certain renegade Indians stole 
 away from the reserves and committed like depredations. The 
 policy soon came into disrepute and the people demanded the 
 breaking up of the agencies and the removal of the Indians 
 further away. 
 
 The slow action of the government further heightened the 
 incendiary feelings of the people. The Indians grew bolder and 
 committed atrocious crimes in neighboring counties to Wise. 
 Finally they murdered Bill Holden on Salt Creek, Young County, 
 and the circumstances were so brutal that the people became 
 
160 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 inflamed antl uprose, marching against the reserves with war- 
 like demonstrations. 
 
 The details of this instance are recorded in the following 
 chapter, but it is to be generally remarked here that the presence 
 of the outraged citizens to the number of hundreds about the 
 agencies had the effect of persuading the government to abandon 
 the reserve policy at Ft. Belknap and to remove the Indians from 
 the occupation of Texas soil. This was done in 18()0. Gen. 
 Thomas of the regular army forcibly removed the Indians and 
 established them upon the old reservation at Ft. Sill in the 
 Indian Territory. 
 
 The effect was far from salutary as respects the peace and 
 safety of Wise County. The Indians now became more violent 
 than ever, and in their incursions, penetrated as far south as 
 Denton, Parker and Tarrant Counties, sweeping Wise County 
 with a bitter fire as they scurried across. Thence they would 
 return to their safe harbors in the territory. 
 
 Wise County's afflictions became doubled. Civil war l^roke 
 out coincidental with the afflictions of savage rapine and butchery. 
 The war period has been described. It remains now to cite some 
 of the essential details of the prolonged period of savage attack, 
 during which Wise County sacrificed much of the innocent blood 
 of her men, women and children; also to describe the course of 
 events that brought the great troublous period to a close. 
 
SECTION THREE. 
 
 Indian Depredation Period. 
 
 "Nowhere has the contest between the Indian and the American been 
 waged more stubbornly than in the state of Texas; nowhere has tiie barba- 
 rian surrendered his happy hunting grounds with greater rehictance and 
 with greater cost to the white man. Tlie annals of the Indian troubles would 
 fill a library." — -(Paddock — History, N. Texas). 
 
 CHAPTER ONE. 
 
 It is estimated that beyond four scores of people sacrificed 
 their lives to savage fiendishness and brutality during the 
 twenty years of predatory warfare, on this county. Details of 
 the more important of these murders, captures and assassina- 
 tions have been secured and are here given. Due to a combina- 
 tion of circumstances the nature of which has been indicated in 
 preceding remarks, Wise County had enjoyed a few blissful 
 ye^rs of freedom from anxiety and attack during which rapid 
 strides towards substantial settlement had been made. Never- 
 theless, it is true that savage murder and depredation was of 
 frecjuent occurrence during these years at remoter points on the 
 frontier. 
 
 But here the people had been lulled into a peaceful and in- 
 apprehensive state, and were in a fair condition to be markedly 
 shocked at the brutal and initial crime committed in a region 
 so near as to jeopardize their future welfare and safety. 
 
 This crime occurn^d in Lost Valley, in the western i)art of Jack 
 County, on Camerons Creek, in 1859. Two families, the Masons 
 and the Cam(n-ons, were annihilated with the exception of one 
 or two members who were captured. 
 
 The details of this shocking crime were brought by runner to 
 Wise County and to Sand Hill camp grounds where the majority 
 
 '^ (161) 
 
162 pionep:r history of wise county. 
 
 of the people had assembled for worship. Expectedly a crisis 
 was precipitated. It was like pressing a button at some remote 
 point which set the machinery of this particular section of the 
 frontier into electrical action. The families at Sand Hill scurried 
 to their homes. The curtain had risen upon the opening scene 
 of a lurid drama of twenty years' duration, and the people must 
 prepare as spectators and defenders. 
 
 Other hair-raising crimes followed in Parker, Jack and Palo 
 Pinto Counties. Savage mauraudings were encroaching upon 
 Wise County, and it was only a cjuestion of time until their 
 fiendish operations would be extended into its confines. With 
 the murder of Bill Holden on Salt Creek, Young County, the 
 enraged feeling of the people reached a decided climax. What 
 action they took is recorded in the introduction to this section, 
 where it is recited that the Indians were forcibh' removed from 
 the reservation in the vicinit}' of Ft. Belknap to a second reserva- 
 tion in the Indian Territory. 
 
 William Weatherby, Sr., of Denton Creek, Wise County, was 
 a brother-in-law of Bill Holden, and was the ])(n-son who found 
 Hold(>n where the Indians had secreted his body after murdering 
 him. Briefly recited, the circumstances are as follows: Dick 
 Holden, father of Bill Holden, and family, and William Weather- 
 by, had removed from AMse County and settled on Salt Creek, 
 Young County, in about 1858. Sometime afterwards the Indians 
 suddenly descended upon the premises and drove off all the horses 
 and stock. The morning following the raid Bill Holden went by 
 foot to a neighbor's, six miles distant northwesterly, to secure 
 the loan of a horse. Late in the afternoon, gim firing was heard 
 in the direction from which he was expecttnl to return, but 
 slight attention was paid to so common an occurrence. The 
 following morning William Weatherby went out hunting and 
 returned afoot leading his horse, which was weighted with 
 antelope and turkey. The second morning the family of Bill 
 Holden grew appr(>hensive about the latter's continued absence, 
 and a search was instituted. About a mile northwest of the 
 house, in the direction of the shots of the preceding afternoon, 
 blood and arrows were found littering the ground. Soon after- 
 wards William Weatherby, Sr., found Holden dead in a cave. 
 
SAD DEATH OF BRAVE YOUNG BILL BIKDWELL. 1G3 
 
 On Weatherby's hunt the day previous, he had paused for a 
 short rest over this eave. Holden was scalped, naked and shot 
 full of arrows. 
 
 The crime was vehemently laid at the door of the reserve 
 Indians and as vigorously denied by the agency officials as well 
 as the Indians, who charged the imconfined tribes with the act. 
 However, Holden's personal effects were soon after found in the 
 possession of the reserve Indians, and Weatherby and others 
 were called to the agency to identify them. Whik^ there the 
 accused Indians protested innocence and explained their posses- 
 sion of Holden's pistol by negotiating the following affidavit, 
 to- wit: "This is to certify that this is the pistol that old 
 Pinohochie took from the body of a Kickapoo Indian." The 
 Kickapoos were of the wild unconfined tribes. 
 
 But the settlers of the surrounding counties believed no such 
 stuff'. They rose en masse. As Judge W. W. Brady, of Wise 
 Coimty, wrote in his memorandum: " Forbearance had ceased 
 to be a virtue ; we had patiently borne the loss of our property, 
 but now to see our citizens murdered by the government pets 
 was more than Texas blood could stand." 
 
 The point of concentration of the citizens was at Cactus Hill, 
 Wise County. Gen. John R. Baylor took command. Col. Hunt 
 and Judge Brady and other Wise Countyians were concerned 
 in the rebellion. The final result was the removal of the Indians 
 as before mentioned. The effect was far from salutary. From 
 their stronghold in the territory the Indians began a murderous 
 onslaught upon the Texas frontier, with Wise County as one of 
 the principal points of attack. The following pages will, in part, 
 describe the savage warfare wagetl against Wise County from 
 about the years 1860 until the culmination of troubles in 1874. 
 
 SAD DEATH OF BRAVE YOUNG BILL BIRDWELL. 
 
 At the abandonment of the frontier garrisons by the Federal 
 forces at the beginning of the war, the State of Texas organized 
 a frontier guard of ranger troops and stationed them along the 
 line of exposed counties. Several Wise Countyians, including 
 Will Weatherby, Sr., Bill Birdwell and others, were members 
 
164 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 • 
 
 of one of these companies stationed at the old Buffalo Springs 
 fort in Cla}^ County. Weatherby and Birdwell were intrepid 
 Indian fighters, the latter being a mere boy eighteen years of 
 age. 
 
 On a dreary winter's day in 18(31, when the air was filled with 
 freezing rain and ice, Lieut. Lindsay, with a squad which in- 
 cluded Weatherby and Birdwell, were scouting in a vicinity ten 
 miles distant from the fort, in hourly expectation of meeting the 
 Indians, encounters with whom were ever imminent probabilities. 
 Approaching a strip of timber a dead cow was found where she 
 had been killed. Immediately Weatherby was over her and 
 cutting an opening in her side, he thrust in his hand, when he 
 turned to the Lieutenant and reported the interior to be yet 
 warm. This plainly revealed that the animal had been dead but 
 a short while. At the same instant a deadly fusilade of shots 
 was turned on the group from a covert a short distance away. 
 Confusion reigned for a moment and then young Birdwell gallant- 
 ly spurred his horse forward into the very teeth of the firing. 
 Weatherby and a few others closed up more cautiously. Bird- 
 well's horse fell dead with a crash, pinioning the young man's leg 
 under his body. The painted savages now leaped forward with 
 fiendish yells and thrust their bayonets into Birdwell's trapped 
 form killing him instantly. 
 
 ^^'eatherby, Henry ^Mlson and Bill Lawrc^nce fired manfulh' 
 from a defense of trees behind which they stood at a distance 
 of perhaps thirty yards; the other troopers had not come up. 
 Weatherby, who was in advance, found his firearm working 
 badly; at the same time he was shouting encouragement to 
 his companions, not having time to look back to observe that 
 only three of them were opposing forty Indians. This was soon 
 discovered and the three wheeled to retreat. As they did so, 
 Bill Lawrence was pierced in the back-* with an arrow. This was 
 not allowed, however, to prevent the three from joining their 
 companions at a place of safety on the road. Here the painful 
 operation of removing the arrow from Lawrence's back was 
 begun. Tlie metal point had struck the bony spinal column 
 and split into two jagged fragments which curled up into the 
 flesh. With no instruments at hand the onlv means of removing 
 
SAD DEATH OF BRAVE YOUNG BILL BIRDWELL. 165 
 
 the arrow was by sheer pulUng. Weatherby grasped hoki of 
 the stem with bullet molds and jerked the points through the 
 torn and bleeding flesh, considerable of the latter coming out 
 also. 
 
 Binding the wound with handkerchiefs the best they could, 
 the squad proceeded to Buffalo Springs, from where they were 
 ordered to the Wichitas to intercept the Indians as they passed 
 out. At this order Weatherby rebelled, saying that he intended 
 to obtain young Birdwell's body and return with it to the boy's 
 father, Garner Bi^dwell, in Wise County. A wordy encounter 
 with the company ofhcers followed. Weatherby indignantly 
 wished to know if the body of the brave young fighter was to be 
 left for the wolves to devour. He called volunteers to assist, 
 and they came. At night they approached the corrals and were 
 threatened with shooting by the sentinel. This difficulty over- 
 come, a wagon and team was secured and the lonely drive to the 
 wilds for the dead body was begun. The owls hooted and some 
 members of the company faltered, thinking of Indians. Weather- 
 by and J. B. Riddle finally reached the corpse, carefully loaded 
 it into the wagon and started on the long thive to Wise County. 
 Coming first to Decatur the body was safely deposited in Garner 
 Birdwell's home, a few miles distant north, the next afternoon. 
 The next day the men returned with the team to Buffalo Springs. 
 
 FUTILE BUT BRILLIANT RIDE FOR SAFETY OF MISS SALLIE BOWMAN. 
 
 At the close of the war there lived a family by the name of 
 Bowman in a picturesciue valley on Deep C;"eek. Besides being 
 a farmer the head of the house was a physician by profession; 
 he also owned a large bunch of fine horses which, miraculously 
 enough, he had brought safely through the trying period of war. 
 These latter had been consigned to the careful judgment and 
 expert horsemanship of Miss Sallie Bowman, a courageous young 
 daughter about eighteen years of age. The young lady ranged 
 her herd about the valley, and sometimes, when it was considered 
 safe to do so, ventured onto the higher prairies for the better 
 grass. She usually rode a fleet animal, being at all times appre- 
 hensive of being chased by the Indians. On the tlay of the 
 occurrence about to be described, March 7, 1808, Miss Bowman 
 was mounted on a horse of high speed tiualities, and she felt, no 
 
1(56 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 doubt, perfectly confident that she could outdistance any j^ur- 
 suing savages. On this day she had ventured with her herd a 
 mile and a c^uarter from her home, and fresh tracks later dis- 
 covered on both sides of a creek, made by her own horse and 
 those of the Indians, indicated that the creek had been the 
 starting point of her pursuit by the Indians. Presumably the 
 latter had come upon her from the opposite side of the creek, 
 while she was watering her horse. Down the bank towards her 
 dashed the redskins, and she, wild with fright, wheeled and 
 turned her fleet horse's head in the directly of home. Over 
 'the prairies sped the frenzied girl turning now and then to gaze 
 on the rapidly gaining demons whom she knew would give 
 no quarter. A fallen treetop lay athwart the way, a clear leap 
 of twenty feet would be reciuired to bound it ; yet over it without 
 disturbing a leaf went the animal ; on and on went the mad dash 
 for life; wide chasms were spanned without a pause, hills were 
 climbed and valk^ys skimmed over, but all in vain. 
 
 The deplorable climax came within view of the home of a 
 neighbor named Jones. Mrs. Jones stepped into the yard and 
 viewed a scene which froze her to the spot. Three giant, red 
 demons were bearing down upon a defenseless girl fleeing for her 
 life. Two treacherous arms were thrust forward, two gun 
 reports rent the air, and Sallie Bowman reeled in her saddle and 
 rolled to the grountl, dead. Two bullets were in her back, fired 
 at such close range as to set fire to her clothing. Two of the 
 Indians kept on after the horse, which, within a few yards, 
 would have reached home. The fine bunch of horses which had 
 been so faithfully guarded by the young girl were taken into 
 captivity. Sallie Bowman lies buried in Deep Creek Cemetery, 
 her grave marked with a monument contributed in late years by 
 the citizens of Deep Creek. 
 
 DEATH OF .lAKK MOFFLT AND ESCAPE OF ALONZO DILL. 
 
 No narrower escape from death in the days of Indian dangers 
 are recorded than that of Alonzo Dill, descendant of pioneer 
 days, now a citizen of Decatur. 
 
 In ISf).") Mr. Dill lived with his father in the vicinitv of old 
 
DEATH OF JAKE MOFFUT AND ESCAPE OF ALONZO DILL. 167 
 
 Prairie Point, now the town of Rhome. One of his cUities was to 
 look after the horses and at the time of the following occurrence 
 he was riding at some distance from his home beyond West Fork 
 in the wake of a herd of horses. Casually looking up he was sur- 
 prised to see himself being flanked by a band of about 15 Indians. 
 His only thought was to get beyond the range of danger as rapidly 
 as possible. Turning, he started for the river which he had to 
 cross, his destination being home, which stood about three 
 quarters of a mile away. 
 
 With a blood-curdling yell the savages sprang forward on his 
 trail. It was one of the most intensely serious moments of Dill's 
 life. The Indians had had the advantage of a close start ; he was 
 in their midst before their proximity was discovered. But now 
 in the flight for safety he urged his horse forward with all the 
 energy and persuasion he possessed. Arrows were flying all 
 about him, some of them lodging in dangerous places. Coming 
 to the river bank he virtually threw his horse down this, but as 
 he went over, a deadly concentration of arrows burnt the air 
 about him. Only a short interval elapsed between his crossing 
 the river and that of his murderous pursuers. The long stretch 
 ahead beyond the river now gave the Indians a clear sweep at 
 him and up they rode furiously. 
 
 Within three hundred yards of the house Dill's opportunity of 
 escape hung low in the scale of chances. But at this point the 
 Indians came to an abrupt halt and seemed to want to tiu'n tail 
 and run. The cause of their perturbation was outlined in the 
 yard of the home to which Dill was desperately fleeing. Dill's 
 grim fathcn- stood there with the polished barrel of a Winchester 
 rifle glinting in the sunlight, calmly waiting for a shot. The 
 cowardly Indians retreated, but in an endeavor to waste the 
 ammimition of the defender of the home they made several false 
 charges, all of which proved futile of their aim. Their cunning 
 tactics were known and no ammunition was wasted upon them. 
 Finally they withdrew. Dill reached home with an arrow sticking 
 in his hat, another in the pommel of his saddle, and still another 
 in the back part of his saddle. Examining the point where he 
 crossed the river six arrows were found sticking in a nearby tree. 
 
 The Indians proceeded down the river and within a half-hour 
 
168 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 after the above occurrence intercepted a man named Jake M(jffut 
 at the old Tulley crossing and murderefl and scalped him. 
 
 Further down the country, on Indian Creek, two -men by the 
 names of Smith and Wright were traveling in a northeast direc- 
 tion going from Weatherford to Denton. The Indians came upon 
 these and a desperate battle ensued, in which Wright lost his 
 life and Smith received an arrow in his face which he was com- 
 pelled to carry until he had reached Denton and assistance could 
 be obtain(Hl in taking the poisonous weapon from the wound. 
 
 After perpetrating these fiendish crimes and terrorizing the 
 entire country until the whole people were in a border state of 
 panic the i-ed-devils changed the course of their progress and 
 returned to their safe reservations. 
 
 THE EXTERMINATION OF THE RUSSELL FAMILY. 
 
 The extermination of the Russell family in August, 1868, at 
 their home on Martin's Prairie, about three miles southwest of 
 Chico, is pointed to as one of the most atrocious massacres ever 
 committed on the frontier. 
 
 Mrs. Polly Russell was a widow with four chiklren. The 
 youngest was a boy about ten years of age, the next a boy of 
 seventeen, the third, Martha Russell, a girl in her teens, and 
 lastly. Bean Russell, a young man. 
 
 On the day of this terrible affair Mrs. Russell was helplessly 
 surrounded by the three youngest children, Bean Russell, the 
 young man, being employed at the government saw-mill on 
 Sandy Creek, some miles distant to the east. Although the ever 
 imminent danger of Indian attack was realized and guarded 
 against in the best possible ways, yet this family must earn its 
 living from the soil and must perforce remain ui)on the exposed 
 farm to achieve that worthy purpose, meanwhile trusting to a 
 kindly providence for safety and protection. 
 
 Situated a short distance from the house was a dense cane 
 patch and herein at some time in the forenoon, possibly before 
 day, a large band of Indians, estimated at about sixty, had 
 secreted themselves. 
 
 Later investigation of the })atch revealed such ciuantiti(\s of 
 
THE EXTERMINATION OF THE RUSSELL FAMILY. 169 
 
 chewed cane as to indicate that the Indians had spied on the 
 premises for many hours jirevious to the moment of their attack. 
 
 Imagine these cowardly demons leering forth from their coverts 
 ready to spring forth upon this unprotected woman and children 
 at the first instant of assurance that no man was on the place to 
 intercept their fiendish designs. As they dodged about the cane 
 one or more of them were seen by some member of the house- 
 hold and Harvey Russell, the 17-year-old boy, opened fire on' 
 them with a Winchester rifle. The number of exploded shells 
 lying around proved that he had kept up a rapid fusilade for 
 some time, a proceeding that tended to the rapid exhaustion of 
 his annnunition. But the boy's brave stand was of no avail, for 
 anon the savages were swarming about the house and yard, 
 exclaiming and yelling hideously and (executing all kinds of 
 wierd gyrations after the true barbaric fashion. 
 
 The inmates of the home recoiled with rigid fear, turning wan, 
 terror-struck faces upon their murderers. The hellish work was 
 now begun and no sacred nor valuable article was left untouched. 
 First the mother and the two boys were assassinated, the girl's 
 life being spared, she to be held in captivity for ransom. The 
 window frames and panes were wrecked, all articles of furniture 
 broken up and the featherbeds ripped open and their contents 
 scattered to the winds. 
 
 No description can convey the horror of the scene that met 
 Bean Russell's gaze when he returned that evening at sun down 
 from his day's labor at the mill. First he encountered his little 
 brother, Jinmiie Russell, deatl in the yard where the hogs had 
 bruised and gnashetl the body. Across the threshold of the 
 door he found the lacerated form of his mother, lying in pools of 
 her own blood. Blood was scattered everywhere; small foot- 
 prints of crimson, made by the little boy, covered the floor. But 
 the sister and brother Harvey were not to be found. Sadly the 
 young man closed the door on the desolated, wrecked and ruined 
 home, and set his footsteps towards the mill. The following 
 day he returned with a party of men to bury the dead. Upon 
 further search Harvey Russell was found dead under the bed, 
 but the sister was still missing. During the following ten days 
 the young man was crazed with the desire to find his sister, 
 
170 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 feeling a certain sense of apprehension that she hatl been mur- 
 dered and left on the way for the wolves to devour. A j^arty of 
 men from Decatur started on the trail with him in the direction 
 which the Indians had departed. Reaching a point about three 
 miles from home, a terrible and gruesome scene was encountered; 
 all that was mortal of Martha Russell now lay in a heap of bones 
 and a tlisjointed frame from which the wild beasts had torn the 
 flesh. Close at hand lay the bonnet which the girl had worn 
 at the time of her capturcv Evidently the Indians had accom- 
 plished their fiendish i)urpose, following w^hich they had killed 
 the girl, an act closing the sad drama of the Russell family. 
 
 Leaving Russell's, the Indians departed in an easterly direction 
 towards the home of another settler, Dick Couch. When some 
 distance from the latter place they met little Dick Couch, who 
 was returning from an errand to one of the families of the 
 neighborhood. Little Dick took instant flight and the Indians 
 gave hard chase. The boy reached home in the van of the 
 Indians and slid under a wagon near the house just as an old 
 chief reached down to seize him. So ])ent was the chief on his 
 quest that his horse collided with the wagon, which brought from 
 him a series of ]:)rotesting grunts and exclamations. Doul^tless 
 he would have j^roceeded to capture the lad had not, at that 
 instant, his attention b(H'n attracted to some warning signals 
 coming from the tlirection of the yard. Looking up he saw old 
 Dick Couch, known to be a dead shot, menacing him with a 
 rifle. The old chief thought the better part of valor was to 
 flee, which he instantly did. Couch saved his anununition, which 
 w^as a scarce article, but he would have stored some in a greasy 
 savage had not the latter determined suddenly that his maraud- 
 ing expedition was at an end. 
 
 After a few efforts to intimidate the Couch househokl, all of 
 which proved of no avail, the cowartUy miu'derers of defenseless 
 women and children, 'and the braves who fought only from 
 ambush, again departed in an east(M'ly direction. They were 
 next heard of as camjxHl in J. D. White's field on Upper Catlett. 
 Here they destroyed considerable corn and melons, whence 
 they jiroceeded on iirto Denton County, where, after collecting 
 
BIG RAID — KILLING OF JOHN BAILEY AND MRS. VICK. 171 
 
 a large iiiiniber of horses they returned to their safe retreats in 
 the Territory. 
 
 THE BIG RAID IN WHICH JOHN BAILEY AND MRS. VICK WERE KILLED. 
 
 Mr. J. D. White has contributed an article to a local paper 
 descriptive in part of the raid of October, 1868, which, if measured 
 by the number of Indians engaged, the number of people killed 
 and injured, and the number of stock captured antl driven off, 
 makes it one of the most extensive expeditions of plunder and 
 pillage ever endured by Wise and Denton Counties. 
 
 Mr. White does not take up the narrative until the Indians in 
 their progress through the country from west to east, had reached 
 a point opposite to and north of his home on Catlett Creek, 
 where their doings form the basis of his article. A few hours 
 previous to the occurrence which Mr. White describes, and 
 some time after the Indians had emerged into Wise County, 
 they ascended a rise in the prairie overlooking the farm of Jim 
 Ball in the north part of the county. The month was October, 
 and John Bailey and AVill Ball were in the field gathering corn. 
 Upon the instant of their being seen by the large band of Indians, 
 said to be about 200, the latter executed a bold charge down the 
 hill towards the men. At the right moment as the Indians came 
 up, Bailey opened fire and a chief toppled from his saddle 
 dead, but the remaining Indians rushed on and killed Bailey and 
 put their clutches on the young Ball bo}^ but he, by a vigorous 
 wrench, freed himself and dashed toward the cow-lot with the 
 Indians in hot pursuit. Reaching the lot fence. Ball defended 
 himself behind it, the progress of the Indians being balked by 
 another man. Will Clark, who, barricaded behind the fence, 
 poured deadly fire through the cracks. 
 
 Shortly after this Mrs. \^ick was murdered, her home lying in 
 the vicinity of the route taken by the inhuman retlskins. 
 
 The next few paragraphs are notes taken from Mr. White's 
 narrative describing Mrs. Vick's death. Having occasion 
 to journey a short distance up the creek west from his home, 
 Mr. White had stopped under a grape vine to secure some fruit. 
 While leisurely standing there, he heard a noise and looked 
 
172 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 around to see two redskins running a calf in his direction. Tiu'n- 
 ing his horse east and galloping up on a hill, he beheld the band 
 of 200 Indians standing in " regular cavalry double line "' about 
 a quarter of a mile distant. At once he knew his position to be 
 perilous and did not doubt having been seen, so he atlopted a 
 ruse that worked effectively. Waving his hat as if others were 
 coming up behind him he slowly advanced towards the Indians, 
 but all the while edging towards a point from which he could 
 make the dash for home. 
 
 He was occupied in this strategic movement sufficiently long 
 to enable him to observe the movements of the Indians. He had 
 hardly begun the pseudo-attack when a full dressed Indian, 
 apparently a chief, made a complete circuit of the band scream- 
 ing out something which Mr. White little understood, stopping 
 short about twenty yards in advance of the main line. Then 
 three warriors, well mounted, left the main body and rode down 
 the hill in the direction of Mrs. Mck's home, which was situated 
 west from the scene under description. Presently Mr. White 
 heard the sharp crack of a Winchester, followed immediately 
 by a scream of distress. A few steps further of advance and Mr. 
 White thought the ])sychological moment for his departure had 
 arrived, and he turned and spurred his horse in the direction 
 of his home and unprotected wife and children. \'ery soon he 
 had the latter and the Salmons, a neighboring family consisting 
 of mother and son, safely secured across Catlett Creek. 
 
 As soon as it was safe to do so Mr. White and Granger Salmon 
 rode over to Mr. Mck's house and foimd that the three Indians 
 who had separated from the main band in sight of Mr. White, 
 had stealthily advanced ujjon the \'ick home and shot Mrs. Mck 
 in the back while she was stooping over a washtub. 
 
 The next warlike demonstration of this terrorizing body of 
 braves was on the hill which overlooked the home of Jackson J. 
 Conelly. Here another ruse was adopted by the intimidatixl 
 citizens, which doubtless saved them their lives and scalps. 
 Mr. Conelly was the only man on the place at the time, but there 
 were several women and children. A second weakness of the 
 defensive resources existed in the fact that only one load of 
 ammunition for the single gun of the place was possessed. But 
 
BIG RAID — KILLING OF JOHN BAILEY AND MRS. VICK. 173 
 
 the Indians did not know this and they were ignorant that the 
 yard full of menacing, swashbuckhng men below were really 
 women. But this was the exact truth. On realizing the 
 danger of the situation, Mr. Conelly ordered all the women 
 on the place in men's apparel, and to indicate their preparedness 
 by brandishing hoes, broomhandles and sticks as if they were 
 deadly weapons. The 200 Indians rode away, outwitted by 
 the l^rain of one white man. By this time the news of the 
 killings and of the presence of this unusually large number of 
 Indians in the county had reached the little village of Decatur, 
 and thrown its inhabitants into a furore of excitement and fear. 
 Decatur during those years, was nothing more than a small 
 head-c}uarters habitation for the various persons engaged in the 
 cattle business. At the time of this raid the majority of 
 the cattlemen were absent with cattle on a drive into Kansas. 
 The women and children left behind at Decatur had been 
 consigned to the care of Providence, and to the one or two 
 merchants then keeping store there. One of the latter was 
 Chas. D. Gates, who describes a great state of panic among the 
 fear-stricken women at the time of this occurrence. Two 
 hundred savages murdering and pillaging four miles north of town 
 and momentarily expected to make an assault, was placing too 
 high a premium upon the sum total of courage and fortitude. 
 Mr. Gates, Gapt. Ed. Blythe and one or two others calmed and 
 soothed as much as possible, but the situation in truth was 
 threatening. Late in the afternoon the courthouse was fortified 
 with all the arms available so that a defense could be made 
 against any night attack. On the other hand the women were 
 advised to concentrate and spend the night, some in the court- 
 house and others at Bishop's Tavern, a suggestion which met 
 with their hearty approval, and in accordance with which they 
 acted. A dreary night of anxiety and alarm was spent. From 
 sunset to dawn guards swept the moonlit horizons with keen 
 gaze, expecting at any moment that some point would become 
 blackenetl by the armed band of terrorizing braves making an 
 approach to the village. Women cjuaked in fear and children 
 wailed in the darkness, but day dawned smiling and bright, and 
 with it came peace antl quiet. The dusky cloud of assassinators 
 
174 PIOXEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 had passed on into Denton County leaving the harassed landscape 
 of Wise County to lapse again into its tranquil state. 
 
 In Denton County several niore murders were committed and 
 a clash with an armed band of citizens ensued. Participants 
 on both sides were killed but the Indians escajjed to the territory 
 taking with them 800 head of horses collected along the route 
 through Denton and Wise Counties. 
 
 M.\SSACRE AXI) CAPTURE OF THE BABB FAMILY. 
 
 The murder and the capture of the members of the above- 
 named family was an event of the greatest and most sensational 
 proportions of the period of Indian attack, and has gained his- 
 torical prominence in all the books which treat of the phase of 
 Texas history of which this occurrence is a part. 
 
 The details surrounding the massacre and capture are as 
 follows: In September, 18()0, John Babb lived with his family 
 on a ranch about twelve miles west of Decatur, between Bridge- 
 port and Chico. Bedsides the parents there were four children, 
 Margie, an infant ; Dot, a boy, eight or nine years old ; Cassabianca, 
 a young girl, and Court, an older boy. Making her home with 
 the family also was a Mrs. Roberts, a youthful widow of very 
 fair features. On the day of the fateful occurnuice all these 
 were at home with the exception of the father, who was absent 
 on duties in Arkansas, and Court, the oldest boy. 
 
 Before reaching the Babb home in the afternoon, the Indians 
 had spent the forenoon in terrorizing the people of the route 
 over which they had i^asscnl, which began in Wise County 
 beyond and west of Bridgeport and terminatcnl on the noi1 Invest 
 border where they passed Out after the Babb massacre. There 
 were only a few Indians in the Imnd, but their fatal accomi^lish- 
 ments on this depredation substantiates the claim that a small 
 body inflicted more frightful consequences than a larger and 
 more unwieldy and slow-moving body. Soon after entering 
 Wise County the savages met a negro teamster, and proceeded 
 to make him their first victim. Furlhei- on they came across 
 a man by the name of Armstrong, and gave him a wild chase 
 for his life. Reaching the vicinity of the home of one of the 
 
MASSACRE AND CAPTURE OF THE BABB FAMILY. 175 
 
 Woodward brothers, they had an encounter with George 
 Buchanan, and speared a girl, Lona Buchanan, while she was 
 drawing water from a well, though she was not killed. Reach- 
 ing Mr. Floytl's home, they came near capturing a boy while he 
 was about some duty at the corn crib. He saved his life by 
 reaching the house aheatl of his pursuers. 
 
 Two travelers from Decatur to Jack County — Lee Dean and 
 Ase Henson — reached the Sandy Creek crossing just as the 
 Indians came upon the' spot. The Indians charged immediately, 
 and the men retraced their steps, post haste, to the point of 
 departure. 
 
 On Thorn Prairie the Indians next encountered a party of 
 cattlemen, among whom were Ben Blanton, Lansing Hunt and 
 Glenn Halsell. The fight was postponed until the home of 
 Dick Couch was reached. This place was in the vicinity of 
 Thorn Prairie and was used as a place of retreat by the cow-boys 
 who expected assistance from another party of cowboys who 
 were branding cattle in the Couch pen. In a very little while 
 the Indians boldly assaulted the Couch premises and were 
 repulsed. They were apparently bent on taking Blanton's 
 horse, which they had seen was a very fine one. Old Dick 
 Couch's long range rifle came again into service in these repeated 
 charges by the redskins, keeping them at bay. While the men 
 were barricaded in the house the Indians suddenly emerged 
 afoot from a cluniji of timl3er and with great swiftness and nuich 
 yelling and whooping drove the horses away from the corralls 
 into captivity. At this juncture Ben Blanton stole away 
 unnoticed and started to Decatur for re-inforcements. 
 
 After capturing the horses the Indians departed. A few 
 hours later Blanton returned to Couch's with the Decatur posse, 
 and the departing trail of the Indians w^as taken up and followed, 
 Halsell, Blanton and others going along. Sheriff" Bob Gates, 
 by chance on duty in the vicinity at the time, also joined the 
 posse in pursuit of the Indians. 
 
 The trail led straight towards the Babb home, and three miles 
 of traveling brought the imrty to this place. All was silent 
 al)Out the house, but the evidences of plunder and pillage were 
 everywhere visible. Apparently the ruin of the Russell family 
 
176 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUXTY. 
 
 had been duplicated. The feathers from the beds scattered about 
 the yard resembled snow. The household effects had been piled 
 in a heap and burned. The men looked into the house and a piti- 
 ful scene met their gaze. Mrs. Babb lay with her throat cut from 
 ear to ear; the blood had streamed out over the body, and the 
 infant child, in its efforts to imbibe nourishment, had dyed 
 itself in the crimson stain. The other members of the family 
 were nowhere to be found and the logical conclusion \A'as that 
 they had been taken captive. 
 
 The men were beside themselves with anger and the desire 
 of revenge. The child was transferred to the home of a neigh- 
 bor, the Andersons, and the trail of the Indians again taken up. 
 Far out on the Wichitas the jaded horses gave out and the party 
 was forced to return, not having made preparations for an ex- 
 tended journey. The cunning, fiendish, (juick-striking savages 
 had perpetrated their hellish work and escaped with a swiftness 
 that made pursuit almost a foolish undertaking. 
 
 The details of that which occurred when the Intlians bon* down 
 on the Babb home were learned later from Mrs. Roberts who 
 was taken into captivity. The two children, Dot and Bank 
 (Cassabianca) were found in the yard and immediately 
 taken in charge. At the sight of the Indians, Mrs. Roberts had 
 sought safety in the loft above the room; Mrs. Babb had re- 
 mained to make a h(n"oic fight for her children, during which the 
 gaping tleath wound in her throat was inflicted. At the striking 
 of this blow, Mrs. Roberts hatl screamed, which revealed her 
 wlun-eabouts to the Indians, who immediately laid their strong 
 hands upon her. After sacking the house, Mrs. Roberts and 
 the two children were put upon horses and cari'ied away. Mrs. 
 Roberts' very attractive features no doubt actuated the Indians 
 with the idea of retaining rather than killing and leaving her 
 behind. 
 
 Arriving in the vicinity of Red River, Mrs. Roberts made an 
 unsuccessful attempt at escape which separated her from the 
 Babb chiklren; her recapture was accomplished by a second 
 band of Indians. The Babb children remained with the Indians 
 about a year, when, through the agency of the celebrated negro, 
 
MASSACRE AND CAPTURE OF THE BABB FAMILY. 177 
 
 Britt, they were purcha^^od upon the payment of a large number 
 of horses. 
 
 In Mr. Hilory Bedford's vokmie, "Texas IncUan Troubles". 
 Colonel George Pickett, of Wise County, one of the first on the 
 scene after the murder of the Babb family, tells of Mrs. Roberts' 
 experiences and final escape from the Indians as follows: ''The 
 beauty of this young woman had, no doubt, saved her life. At 
 the massacre the Indians had stolen one of Babb's fine race- 
 horses, and upon him the widow was placed and led away to 
 the Indian Territory. Twenty miles beyond Red River they 
 stopped and arranged for this accomplished young woman to 
 marry their chief two moons later. So they placed her in charge, 
 to be kept during that period. Under this guard she was sepa- 
 rated from the main camp. One night when the moon was full- 
 orbed to shine all night, antl no clouds to obscure its brilliancy, 
 she saw that Babb's fine race-horse had been staked out near 
 her tent. When the old squaw was sound asleep, she slipped 
 away to the horse, and, placing a rope around his nose for a 
 bridle, sprang astride his back and galloped away unnoticed. 
 After a twenty-mile ride she reached Red River and, to her 
 dismay, observed that its waters were very high. By the light 
 of the moon she could see the drift logs and trash floating down 
 the stream, and with fear gazed upon the turbulent water. The 
 horse pressed forward, impatient of being held in check, and 
 desirous, it seemed, of crossing to the other side. She con- 
 templated death as the most probable result if she undertook 
 the task, but remembered that hesitation meant worse than 
 death, for she would be compelled to marry that dusky demon 
 The rein slackened and in plunged horse and rider. Time 
 passed slowly to her as the waters rolled and tumbled about, 
 and the fast drifting logs passed on either side, but the horse 
 was one of great power and nerve, and finally reached the other 
 bank in safety. Rising on the Texas side from what had seemed 
 like a watery grave, they were safe from the hand of the cruel 
 foe. Out they sped through the river bottom and up across 
 the hills to a large prairie. Fatigued by the ride and excite- 
 ment of the journey, she stopped her noble horse and tied him 
 to a small tree, and lay down to take a much needed rest, just 
 
 12 
 
178 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 as the day was beginning to dawn. Near midday she was 
 awakened by the tramping of horses' feet near, and, springing 
 up, found herself surrounded by another band of Indians. Her 
 flight had ended in a second capture, this time by Comanches. 
 They placed her on a horse and took her far away from the 
 settlements near the head of Red River, to their Indian village. 
 Again she was doomed to marry a chief, and again was placed 
 in the hands of an old squaw; but the marriage this time was 
 to be three moons away. A cultured and refined woman was 
 doomed to marry a savage. She was a remarkable woman 
 whom, though far away from her Texas home and friends, never 
 lost hope nor courage, unbearable as was her captivity. An- 
 other opportunity to escape at last came. Again at night on 
 the same horse, she made her escape, and to elude her cruel 
 masters, galloped away in the opposite direction from her home. 
 Fortunate was she this time, for she found the trail of a wagon 
 train next day, which she followed rapidly, at last overtaking 
 the train of freight wagons. With these freighters she journeyed 
 to Fort Supply, where she became accjuainted with a Kansas 
 family whom she accompanied to their Kansas liome. She was 
 afterward married to a prosperous stockman. She raised a 
 large family, and still lives, loved and respected by a large circle 
 of friends." 
 
 THE MURDER OF NICK DAWSON. 
 
 The details of the following description of the murder of \ick 
 Dawson are derived from Mr. H. G. Bedford's book, entitled, 
 "Texas Indian Troubles," and from the statement of living 
 pioneers who are ac(iuainte(l witli the facts. 
 
 Nick Dawson was a well-known citizen living in the southeast 
 part of th(^ county, near the ])resent town of Rhome, and for a 
 number of years was the chief sui)port of his widowed mother 
 and several brothers and sisters, but at the time of his death he 
 was living to himself, the other membei's of his family being his 
 wife and a Choctaw Indian l)oy whom he had taken to raise. 
 
 Dawson ranched out on the liigh prairies in a locality through 
 which the Indians customarily passed in their circular sweeps 
 
THE MURDER OF NICK DAWSON. 179 
 
 through the county. He had become accustomed to Indian 
 attacks, and his body bore marks of many dangerous encounters 
 with the terrorizing fiends of the frontier. So bravely had he 
 acted out his part on the manifokl occasions when it had been 
 necessary for the settlers to offer united defense to the country, 
 that he became generally respected and admired. His death 
 was deeply deploretl by all the frontier citizens who today recall 
 the circumstance as one of the most celebrated of the times. 
 
 The killing occurred in regions contiguous to Morris Branch, 
 where Dawson had gone in search of a fine marc turned loose 
 on the range. The only witnesses to the outrage were the 
 murderous perpetrators themselves and the unfortunate victim, 
 a fact which makes conclusions in regard thereto more specu- 
 lative than specifically correct. But notwithstanding this, a 
 pretty well-defined idea of that which occurred has been generally 
 accepted as the true facts. 
 
 It appears that, in his search for the mare, Dawson had 
 descended into the low valley which formed the basin about 
 the head of Morris Branch. In a bunch of thickly-set timber 
 and briers at a distance he discovered what he took to be a body 
 of cowmen on horses, and naturally he rode toward them, hoping 
 to learn news of his mare. But when a few yards off" from the 
 grove he discovered the men to be Indians, about forty five in 
 number, and within a few moments he was speeding across the 
 prairie in the opposite direction, with the Indians coming like 
 mad on his trail. Dawson was riding a horse noted for his running 
 ciualities, and the distance covered in the wild chase was some- 
 thing like three miles, at the termination of which the savages 
 closed in upon him, shot him to death, scalped him and butchered 
 his body in a most horrible manner. 
 
 In the chase the Indians are thought to have adopted the 
 tactics which they resorted to in every experience of this kind, 
 tactics, it may well be said, from which a pursued victim rarely, 
 if ever, escaped, and which perhaps accounted for Dawson's 
 tleath, even though mounted as he was on a horse the superior 
 of any the Indians rode. 
 
 At the beginning of the run the Indians separated into a 
 wide flying colunm, the extreme ends of which bore down on 
 
180 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Dawson, depriving him of the advantage of eirciiitoiis routes 
 and forcing him across defiles and to the ascent of grades which 
 exliausted the energies of his horse and stole from him his 
 precious tim(\ At the end of so cunning a policy, when Daw- 
 son's horse had fagged, the red-faces ran upon him and com- 
 mitted their hellish barbarism. 
 
 That night the C'hoctaw boy, who was devoted to his guardian, 
 sprang up in bed and cried out, "Uncle Nick is killed and the 
 Indians have scalped him." Sure enough, the next day he was 
 found bearing the marks which had so strangely appeared to 
 the boy in his shadowy presentiment. 
 
 AVith the coming of night the Indians stole an unusually large 
 number of horses, and created such excitement throughout the 
 county that a large force of citizens united to intercept their 
 advance as they were leaving the country. A fight and recap- 
 ture of the horses took place very early the following morning 
 near the old Conelly place, a few miles north of Decatiu*. In 
 this fight, besides a large number of others, the following en- 
 gaged: Captain George Stevens, Jess Fullingim, Tom and Henry 
 Jennings, Carlo Ball, Dick Reiger, John Wallace, Jim Reiger, 
 Choc Perrin, Charley Jones, Bob and Jeff Wallace, Bill Carroll, 
 Hub Earp, George and Hugh Kelly. John Gose, Sr., and John 
 Smith. 
 
 These men and others got together during the night, camping 
 at a large i)lum thicket near the Conelly place. At about sun- 
 rise the Indians were seen approaching the ambuscade that had 
 been prejmrcHl for them; on the way they had to pass by the 
 house and field of Charlie Jones, wh(M-e they got down and took 
 some green corn from the i)atch. A little further on out, 
 on the high hill, they killed a hog and were in the act of partak- 
 ing of this meat when they were boldly charged by the armed 
 band of citizens: The Indians ran down the hill to the west, 
 and turned loose a fusillade of shots at the pursuing white men, 
 who, undeterred, came on at a headlong rush. In the charge 
 George Kelley rc'ceived a ball thi'ough the foot which also broke 
 his horse's leg. 
 
 At the base of the hill the Indians separated and entered the 
 timber, fleeing in all directions, "and after dodging several 
 
CAPT. IRA long's HOT ENGAGEMENT. 181 
 
 charges, finally escaped, going northwest. Durhig the fighting 
 when the Indians scattered, the men likewise separated into 
 individual groups and chased whatever number of Indians ap- 
 peared before them. John Wallace and Dick Reiger detached 
 one and gave him a strenuous mile and a half chase, when the 
 Indian eluded them in the timber just at the moment when 
 Reiger collided with a tree with such force as to disable him. 
 Jess Fullingim also got a big chief hedged away from his band, 
 and was having a merry time with him when the Indian sud- 
 denly realized his isolated position and made a desperate 
 dash for freedom, in which he was successful. 
 
 During the fighting a medicine bag was shot off one of the 
 Indians, which in the earlier part of the fray was seen to be 
 strapped to him. The bag was made of buckskin and painted 
 a bright red. Its contents revealed many bandages and weeds 
 and herbs of various kinds, denoting its contemplated use in 
 cases of injury. 
 
 The white men believed that they succeeded in wounding, if 
 not killing, some of these Indians, but so carefully did the latter 
 guard these facts that there was no way of learning the truth. 
 Among the horses recovered, about 130 head in all, was the horse 
 which Nick Dawson had ridden at the time of his death, also 
 the mare 'for which he had gone in search. Besides these, there 
 were other effects belonging to the unfortunate settler, his 
 saddle, spurs, bridle, articles of his clothing, etc. 
 
 This ambuscatle of the Indians by the settlers proved to be 
 very successful and perhaps had a deterrent influence when ' 
 subseciuent raids were being contemplated. 
 
 CAPT. IRA long's HOT ENGAGEMENT. 
 
 In 1874 the legislature of Texas, in n^sponse to the clamor of 
 the outraged citizenship of the frontier, authorized the organiza- 
 tion and equipment of an unusually large number of ranger com- 
 panies for service in the section exposed to Intlian attack. 
 
 Capt. George Stevens, of Wise County, was awarded a com- 
 mission to raise a company which he did by securing the member- 
 ship of a large number of Wise County men. Among these was 
 
182 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Capt. Ira Long, who was elected Second Lieutenant of the com- 
 pany. 
 
 On June 19, of the above year, Capt. Stevens and 75 men 
 moved out further in the van of settlements, going into camp 
 on the Brazos River. After spending further time at Ft. Murray 
 and at Flint Creek, Jack County, Capt. Long was detached from 
 Stevens' company and placed in command of Major John B. 
 Jones' escort, with which he traveled as far south as Kerr County. 
 Major Jones was superior in connnand of the frontier forces. 
 After some time had elapsed, Capt. Long came back up the line 
 and was placed in command of the Stevens company, Capt. 
 Stevens having been relieved. 
 
 In the spring of 1875, Major Jones visited Capt. Long's com- 
 pany in camp at Rains Springs in the lower end of Lost Valley, 
 Jack County, and while he was present at the camp a runner 
 notified the command .that a ranch four miles away, belonging 
 to Jim Loving, had been raided, and the horses driven off by the 
 Indians. Maj. Jones and Capt. Long took each a scout of ten 
 men and started on the trail. Because of an epidemic of 
 measles in the camp it was thought expedient to separate the 
 men into two groups,' which prevented the unexposed or unaffect- 
 ed men from being contaminated with the disease. The two 
 scouts w^re thus riding at some distance apart with Capt. Long 
 and Major Jones between them, when at some distance off a 
 man was observed standing under a tree. The two officers turned 
 their glasses upon him, at which the man seemed to take fright 
 and disappeared into the woods. Capt. Long alighted to examine 
 the tracks, and while he was on the ground some members of 
 the scout shouted the alarm of Indians. The captain speedil}- 
 remounted and both scouts set off in rapid pursuit of the Indians, 
 afterwards discovered to number seven. A chase of three miles 
 ensued, the men firing upon the redskins as soon as they had 
 come within pistol range. Capt. Long, if not leading the colunm, 
 was well towards the front, and fired the first shot, which brought 
 one of the bi-aves tumbling to the ground. This Indian had 
 turned upon Capt. Long an instant before he was fatally pierced 
 with a Inillet. Six Indians were now left and destined to be 
 exterminated by the flving band of intre))id rangers. 
 
DEATH OF CONELLY AND WEATHERBY, ETC. 183 
 
 Being now close pushed the savages formed rapidly into a 
 " horse shoe circle," and prepared to make a stand for their lives. 
 Straight into the ambuscade dashed Capt. Long at the head of 
 his men, while the Indians were delivering a withering fire from 
 their Winchesters. One of them having been unhorsed, was on 
 the ground, deliberately aiming and firing. A leaden messenger 
 cleaved the brain of the Captain's horse and down came horse 
 and rider. Some swift moments were occupied by Capt. Long 
 in regaining his feet and reloading his gun, during which, the 
 savage was advancing upon him and firing with a pistol. With 
 another shot, however, at such close range, he might have killed 
 the Captain, but at this crisis when the Indian had approach- 
 ed within four feet, Captain Long delivered a well-directed 
 shot which put the savage out of existence. The Captain 
 was remounted and continued in the chase, which resulted in 
 the killing of six of the seven Indians which originally had be- 
 gun the engagement. 
 
 Capt. Longtook the scalp of the first Indian killed in the fight, 
 the one he had shot himself. He also made a collection of other 
 articles of savage dress and presented them to Gov. Richard 
 Coke, and these are now retained as relics in the Capitol at 
 Austin. 
 
 THE DEATH OF CONELLY AND WEATHERBY AiND THE WOUNDING 
 OF CLABE CATES. 
 
 Mr. Clabe Cates, of Decatur, was one of the first men from 
 Wise County to enlist in the frontier protection service after 
 the Federal garrisons had been withdrawn and the Confederate 
 force installed. 
 
 On May 7, 18(51, Mr. Cates, accompanied l)y Tip Conelly and 
 Tom Weatherby, of Wise County, went to Camp Cooper, in 
 Young County, and enlisted in the ranger service, being assigned 
 to Col. Buck Berry's conmiand. In September a scout of twenty 
 men, including Cates, Conelly and Weatherby, were in camp 
 on Si)ring Creek near what now would be Round Timber in 
 Clay County, engagetl in guarding the frontier line from Red 
 River to Camp Cooper. 
 
184 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 One day a supply train of wagons came through guarded by 
 ten men of Company H, and on return, when these men were 
 within twelve miles of the Spring Creek camp, they were attacketl 
 by a band of about eighty Kiowa and Comanche Indians, and 
 harassed for a distance of about ten miles, which brought them 
 within two miles of the above named camp. Here the Indians 
 stopped knowing of the existence of the camp so near to which 
 they had dared to come. During this ten-mile fight the coura- 
 geous little band of ten had been able to save itself from total 
 extermination only by standing boldly to arms at every forward 
 sweep of the intimidating savages. Backward they slowly 
 retreated to within two miles of the camp where the Indians 
 abandoned the chase. During the fighting Jim McGee, of Tar- 
 rant County, was wounded, and died that night in Camp at 
 Spring Creek where the men had sought protection. Six other 
 men had been wounded and several horses killed. Some of 
 the Indians were killed and wounded, but how many was not 
 known. 
 
 In a few days Col. Berry came to the camp with re-inforce- 
 ments and the command of 42 men departed for a forty days' 
 campaign in the Pan Handle. After about twelve miles of 
 traveling the Little Wichita River was reached and the men 
 were once again attacked by the same band of Indians, though 
 this was a mild encounter. 
 
 At about noon some trouble was had with the packmuk^s, a 
 wild mule had bucked his pack, and fiVe men were detailed to 
 drop behind and remedy the trouble. Two miles more were 
 traversed by the main body and the men left behind not coming 
 up, four others, Clabe Cates, Tip Conelly and Tom Weather by, 
 of Wise County, and Gib Morris, of Cooke County, were sent 
 back in search. 
 
 These men reached the point where the first party had stopped 
 to attend the nmle and were circling about the locality trying to 
 find the ti'ail by which the first group had departed. Presently 
 some frightened antelope appeared running on a high hill about 
 300 yards to the west, and .the searching party, thinking the 
 antelope wer(> fleeing from the five companions thought to be 
 just beyond the hill, startetl in that direction, when to their 
 
DEATH OF CONELLY AND WEATHERBY, ETC. 185 
 
 great amazom(^nt the eminenee suddenly became dark with 
 a great band of IntUans. 
 
 At the sight of the white men the Inthans came tearing down 
 the hill bent upon capture and murder. The rangers turned 
 the other w^ay and put steel to their horses. A spattering of 
 shots and arrows whizzed about them, and in a little while Conelly 
 and Weatherby ha(l been killed, Gates and Morris running on 
 towards the river. 
 
 The Indians paused for an instant at the corpses of the two 
 dead men, and then continued wiklly after Gates and Morris. 
 The latter was riding a good horse and escaped safely, but Gates' 
 steed was very fat and slowed down in the race. Just at the 
 bluffs of the river the Indians ran close enough to him to shoot 
 an arrow^ into his head just above the left ear. Now they were 
 upon him with raised spears to thrust him through. But at 
 this critical moment he saved himself by presenting his gun. 
 On antl on the deadly race continued. With every muscle and 
 nerve taut. Gates rode for life. He spurred speed into his 
 animal that seemed not to be in him. But all his efforts seemed 
 destinetl to avail him no escape nor advantage. He must 
 sacrifice his life to savage cruelty and barbarism. '^uc\\ was 
 the dismal trend of his thoughts when in another moment more 
 he raised his eyes to behold Gol. Berry and men coming to the 
 rescue. Morris had reached the men and brought them back! 
 
 Gates' great gladness was swiftly cut short. Blood had 
 crimsoned his face over, and his long frontiersman hair was 
 sailing about in the wind. The men mistook him for an Indian 
 and were about to fire when he halloetl to them to stop, which 
 they did, but not before they had given him a second terrible 
 fright. 
 
 The Indians had already stopped and dismounted for an in- 
 stant to catch breath, but the oncoming rangers put them in 
 saddle again, and a fifteen mile flight for their own safety lay 
 before them. 
 
 On the way they were closely pressed, some of them were shot, 
 and many of them dropped baggage, horses, saddles, biidles and 
 othqr equipments along the route. But finally they escaped 
 and the men returned to the burial of the two comrades, Weather- 
 
186 PIOXf:ER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 by and Conelly. They found them s(*al])ed and naked and 
 brutally butchered. Digging graves on the spot they put them 
 away in the best manner possible, and continued in their danger- 
 ous work. 
 
 Gates rode thirty miles with the spike sticking in his head, 
 the switch having been broken off by one of the rangers who 
 had come to his rescue. His horse being fagged and he him- 
 self wounded and bleeding, he joined the pack train until he 
 could reach Ft. Cooper, from where he came home to Decatur 
 on a twelve days' fiu'lough. On returning to his Company the 
 command was discharged, but immediately sworn into the 
 Confederate Army, in which service Mr. Cates remained until 
 the end of the war. 
 
 * C.\PTAIN EARHART's EXPLOITS. 
 
 Captain J. B. Earhart, father of Lif. Earhart, of Lubbock 
 County, Mrs. Joe Henry Martin, of Chico, and Mrs. Julia F. 
 Halsell, of Decatur and others, was one of the most sul^stantial 
 citizens and most effective peace officers of his section of the 
 country. For a number of years he conducted a prosperous 
 ranch on Hog Eye Prairie, just over the line in Jack County, 
 and also for a period of years was the active captain of a militia 
 company that did effective service in saving that section from 
 more than common harrassment by the Indians. 
 
 The summer following the war was a time when the local 
 indiisti'ies were in a state of revival. The cattle business was 
 again growing profitable and with this went an increase of values 
 of all other property. Horses being necessary in the cattle 
 business, wcrv scarce and highly prized, and unusual j^recautions 
 were taken at this time to save them from caiJture by the Indians. 
 
 One summer night in 1865 Capt. Earhart and two hands — 
 Jim Hardin and Jess, a negro — went out a distance of about 
 three hundred yards from the house to stake out the cow horses 
 for the night's grazing. There were rumors of the presence of 
 Indians in the country and Capt. Earhart had decided to stand 
 guard that night over the horses. The field in which the horses 
 were to be staked lay across the ci-eek north of the house, and 
 
CAPTAIN EARHART's EXPLOITS. 187 
 
 was surrounded by a high stake and ridered fence. After 
 attending to the horses the negro Jess was placed on the south- 
 west corner of the field to guard the approaches from that 
 direction. Capt. Earhart and Jim Hardin took station at a 
 point on the north string of fence. By agreement it was arranged 
 that Hardin should stand first guard, where upon Capt. Earhart 
 turned his attention to arranging his bed for the few hours of sleep 
 before him. While he was spreading and patting down the 
 quilts his attention was attracted to two dark objects appearing 
 now and then at the corners of the fence, very stealthily ap- 
 proaching the spot where he stood. He gazed thus for some 
 time speculating on what the approaching objects could be, 
 when apparently he arrived at a satisfying conclusion, for, 
 raising his guil, without a word of warning to Hardin, he turned 
 loose both barrels of his old musket, each one of which contained 
 twenty-four buckshot, into the midst of the crawling forms. At 
 the report of the gun one of the objects rolled over and straight- 
 ened out, the other broke through the fence and ran towards 
 the staked horses. Presently Jim Hardin looked and saw two 
 Indians riding away on one horse. Capt. Earhart had decided 
 that the forms coming towards him were Indians bent on getting 
 his horses, and subsequent revelations proved his decision correct. 
 
 Following this act of the drama, the negro, Jess, was called 
 and the Indian was dragged to the house, where much excite- 
 ment and anxiety had been occasioned by the gun report. The 
 Indian had a quiver, bow and arrows, and was wearing an old 
 over-shirt, moccasins and leggings, and, strangest of all, his hair 
 was cui'ly, which led to the belief that he was a white man. His 
 general features, however, were those of an Indian. Nc^xt 
 morning before breakfast this rar(^ victim was scalped and the 
 body carried away and buried. A thrifty neighbor woman 
 asked the captain why he didn't make soap of the Indian. "The 
 red devil was too poor," replied the jovial frontiersman Some 
 months after this occurrence the bones of the dead Indian be- 
 came exhumed and scattered, and it is report(>d by the Earhart 
 family that there seemed to be enough of them to litter the 
 world, so gruesome and depressing was the sight. 
 
 Finally Captain Earhart left Hog Eye Prairie and moved 
 
188 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 down near the present town of Chico, in Wise County. He still 
 continued a large cattle owner, and as a consequence kept a 
 large company of hands about his ranch. One day these were 
 all away on business, leaving only Captain Earhart and his 
 family on the premises. A short distance away a bunch of 
 horses were grazing, when, without the slightest advance warn- 
 ing, they were suddenly surrounded by Indians and taken into 
 captivity. Captain Earhart had two good guns on the place, and 
 with one of these he began to fire at the savages. His daughter, 
 who is now Mrs. Joe Henry Martin, of Chico, stood at his 
 side with the other gun, and as fast as one would be emptied 
 she would reload and hand it back. Under this arrangement 
 Captain Earhart was so rapid and effective in his firing that the 
 Indians abandoned the horses and sought safety in flight. Such 
 instances as this of daring and coolness were of common occur- 
 rence during those years of trouble, when the very spirit of the 
 times tended to cultivate individual bravery in the people who 
 were enforced to endure the afflictions of the hour. 
 
 CAPTURE OF THE BALL BOYS. 
 
 From Carlo Ball, a veteran of the old times recently returned 
 for a visit to Decatur from his home in thc^ Pan Handle. tlu> ff)l- 
 lowing brief facts concerning the cai)ture of his Ijrother and 
 cousin in the fall of 1866 from near the home of Mosc Ball, a 
 few miles north of Decatur, were learned. 
 
 The two boys captured were Jim and )Mllie Ball, the first 
 about nine years old and the latter about eight. Little Jim had 
 been sent on an errand to a n(>ighbor's house, Press Walker, 
 about a mile away, to borrow a hand saw. On the way over 
 he stopped at the home of a relative and induced Willie Ball to 
 accompany him. While both were on the road, seven Kiowa 
 Indians suddenly i)oun('e(l upon them and bore them off in the 
 direction of th(> reservation. Cai'lo Ball was cow-hunting in 
 the Black (^reek country when the news of the ca]:)ture of his 
 relatives reached him, and he inunediately went to the locality 
 of capture and set out over the trail alone in pursuit. The 
 capture occurred about ten o'clock in the morning and Mr. Ball 
 
KILLING OF JOHNSON MILLER. 189 
 
 followed the trail until dark, when at the line of Jack and Wise 
 Counties he turned back. On the route he saw in mud at the 
 edge of a pool of water the imprints of the hands of the two 
 boys, where they had stopped to tlriiik. 
 
 The boys remained in captivity about a year, and when res- 
 cued, told some of the incidents of the capture and journey. 
 Following three days of successive traveling they were blind- 
 folded and separated, a different group of Indians taking each 
 one, the final destination being Council Grove, Kansas, where, 
 when found, the government had bought Jim and placed him 
 in school. Later, Willie was secured from another tribe by a 
 neighbor of the Balls and an uncle of the boys who, on the same 
 journey, obtained Jim and several other captives. 
 
 Mr. Green, the neighbor, had made a long search of the differ- 
 ent reservations before the two Ball boys were located. Having 
 reached home they displayed no desire to return to a future 
 life with the Indians. 
 
 KILLING OF JOHNSON MILLER. 
 
 Johnson Miller was a bachelor between forty-five and fifty 
 years of age. He had come into the county from Michigan, and 
 was a skillful workman in wood, an occupation of much useful- 
 ners in pioneer days. He had been employed at assisting to 
 build the court house, doubtless doing the major part of the 
 work. At the time of his murder he was at work in West Fork 
 bottom getting out timber for making wagons, furniture, etc., 
 but had been called that day to Decatur, March 25, 1866, to 
 make a coffin for Mrs. Hardwick, who had died. 
 
 Bob Sensibaugh and Browder were at work with him 
 
 in the bottoms and the doomed man had ridden Sensibaugh's 
 fine horse to town, expecting to return upon completion of his 
 task. 
 
 He had been quite careless about exposing himself to Indian 
 attack and had been frequently admonished of th(> danger, but 
 his reply had usually been of a frivolous nature. 
 
 On his return to the camp on West Fork this day, he was 
 chased by the Indians, overtaken, murdered and scalped, and 
 
190 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 his clothing hung up in a tree, all within a mile or so of the camp. 
 The Indians took his horse which, as was said, was a good one. 
 Miller was rather a mysterious character, but was hard work- 
 ing and economical and is believed to have left a quantity of 
 money biu'ied somewhere in this vicinity. 
 
 BRAVE FIGHT OF FRANK COONIS. 
 
 One (lay during a i)eriod when the Indians had been ^'ery 
 active, Frank Coonis left his father-in-law's home near Green- 
 wood, and started to Hickory Plains, where he had been informed 
 a white citizen had recaptured some stolen horses from the 
 Indians. Coonis and his father-in-law had lost some horses 
 the day before and he made the trip to Hickory Plains, thinking 
 possibly some of the recaptured horses belonged to him. 
 
 Next morning he had not returned and the neighbors grew 
 suspicious, wagging their heads over Coonis' probable fate. 
 
 Wm. Weatherby, Sr., Ishmael Copeland, Jim Cooly and 
 
 Montgomery started in search. Along the route the buzzards 
 circled over the carcasses of horses killed by Indians on a re- 
 cent raid through the country. Arriving in the vicinity of the 
 old Keep ranch house, which had been empty for two years, 
 Weatherby was moved to ride by and look in at the windows. 
 His attention had been attracted to the buzzards slowly wheeling 
 about th(^ house. Here he encountered a gruesome sight. 
 Lying with his head resting on his coat was Coonis, with a great 
 ugly wound in his neck and blood spattered about the floor. 
 The window casings showed bloody imprints of hands as did 
 also the parts of the neck about the death wound, indicating 
 that changing holds of the casing and neck alternately with his 
 hands, Coonis had fought the Indians a couragc^ous fight from 
 the window. The shells in the chambers of his two pistols were 
 all fired, with the exception of one, which was snapped. 
 Evidently he had bravely defended himself, but with what 
 damage to the Indians no one knew. 
 
 Weatherby crawled upon the corncrib and signaled to his 
 companions to come and assist in the tlisi)osition of their dead 
 neighbor's body. 
 
PLEAS BRYANT WOUNDED. 191 
 
 DEATH OF GEORGE HALSELL. 
 
 The death of George Halsell occurred in Clay County in 1868. 
 Accompanied by Pete Hardin and others, Halsell was in the 
 employ of Pickett and AVaggoner, cattlemen of Wise County. 
 
 The Indians had been harassing the cow camp for several 
 days, when one day Hardin and Halsell were caught away and 
 given a hard chase. Coming to a crossing of a creek, at which 
 point the Indians were nearly upon them, Hardin dismounted 
 and hastily secreted himself in some brush. He hatl hardly got 
 in position when a big Indian dismounted near him and took 
 deliberate aim and fired at George Halsell, who by this time was 
 ascending the opposite bank. The shot took effect immediately, 
 bringing instant death. Hardin lay quietly in the thicket with 
 his pistol cocked on its only two loads, while the Indians tramped 
 about in the brush in search of him. He remained here for 
 perhaps a day and night, hiding in the brush and trees. 
 
 The body of George Halsell was brought to Wise County by 
 Charlie Thompson and others, who volunteered to go after it. 
 
 PLEAS BRYANT WOUNDED. 
 
 The following brief statement is formed of Captain Charlie 
 Thompson's and Charles D. Cates' descrpition of the engage- 
 ment which resulted in the wounding of Pleas Bryant : 
 
 Quite late one night three young men, Charlie Cates, Charlie 
 Thompson and Jim Beck, were returning to their home, a few 
 miles south of Decatur, from a party given at the home of 
 James Proctor, who lived then just on the east edge of the town. 
 Reaching a point a little way from Proctor's, the group parted, 
 Cates and Beck continuing on south to their homes in Walnut 
 Creek Valley, and Thompson turning to the right to go to Mr. 
 Hardwick's, with which family he lived. 
 
 Just as Thompson reached the edge of the timber and while 
 riding leisurely in the night, musing over the lovely pioneer 
 girls from whom he had but recently separated, he suddenly 
 emerged into a large bunch of horses standing stock still and 
 showing no sign of fright at his presence. 
 
192 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 He made some kind of noise, and as he did so a most unex- 
 pected transformation took place. On the back of e^'ery horse 
 a dastardly savage appeared, and in a moment more, Captain 
 Thompson had yielded the quiet dreamings and musings of 
 the night and was dashing post haste through the timl)er, with 
 a bunch of yelling savages at his heels. 
 
 Knowing perfectly the trails through the timber, he soon 
 eluded his chasers antl passetl on to the Hardwick home, where 
 he placed Mrs. Hardwick and the two chiklren, Frank and 
 Charlie, in a cellar beneath the floor for safety. Then he set 
 out to alarm the neighborhood. While going rapidly from 
 home to home, his mind was in a state of great excitement, 
 which enabled him to vividly recall his sudden encounter with 
 the Indians, and the celerity with which the latter swayed to 
 their saddles from their bent and hidden positions at the sides 
 of the horses. 
 
 Further down in the valley he overtook Cates and Beck, who, 
 learning the news of the Indians, set out down the prairie 
 country towards Oliver Creek, informing each settler whose 
 home was passed. 
 
 The Indians passtnl down toward this creek and picketl 
 up about 300 horses. Out on the prairie they circled to 
 the north and took a course out of the county, that led them 
 by the town of Decatur, whence they changed to a northwest 
 direction. 
 
 vSome time before sunrise a crowd had concentrated at De- 
 catur and were soon out upon the trail, in an effort to retake 
 the captured stock antl kill as many Indians as possible. 
 
 By hard riding the Indians were overtaken just this side of 
 Cumby's Prairie, about twenty miles northwest of Decatur. 
 Here the Indians, upon discovering that they were being fol- 
 lowed, ambuscaded themselves in a dry hollow and prepared- 
 to defend themselves and stolen property. The band of Indians 
 numbered about forty-five, whereas a very much smaller num- 
 ber of citizens were to fight them. The Indians had taken 
 advantage of their forewarning, and when the settlers came up, 
 were in a position from which they could not be dislodged, 
 without great cost to the white men. Nevertheless thev were 
 
PLEAS BRYANT WOUNDED. 193 
 
 boldly charged. During the onrush Milton Shoemaker's horse 
 was shot from under him, and Pleas Bryant received a ball in 
 his thigh. Great confusion ensued, but soon the settlers dis- 
 covered the ^ odds to be greatly against them and withdrew, 
 leaving the Indians to pass out, apparently unharmed, carrying 
 a large number of stolen stock with them. 
 
 CAPTURE AND DETENTION OF RAN VEASY. 
 
 The brighter side of life of the middle pioneer period is in- 
 definably associated with the subject of this sketch. " Old 
 Ran's " name and " fiddlin' " personality generates glad retro- 
 spective visions of the stately reel and the delirious " do-se-do " 
 of the old-time back country " square dance." Accomplished 
 as a "fiddler" of the most enlivening dance music, he has been 
 the tlynamo of many frolicsome occasions, if not the essential 
 personality of almost all the festal celebrations of the period 
 through which he has lived to a {^resent venerable age. 
 
 Some know that in politics he is an old time Jefferson Demo- 
 crat; also that he served as a body guard to (len. Cabell through 
 the Civil War, being political convictions, by the way, and 
 character of service, that endear his memory to Southerners. 
 But there are others who do not know that upon a fresh, rosy, 
 morning in April, 1868, Ran, then a strong young man, was 
 suddenly })ounce(l u|)on by the Indians and carried away into 
 captivity. 
 
 The old colored veteran lived at that time on the line of 
 Montague and Wise Counties, as an employe on a ranch and 
 farm. About sunrise of the afore-mentioned morning, Ran 
 and a white man w(>nt out a short distance from the house to 
 unhobble and bring in the work horses. On the way out they 
 had to pass by a clump of thickly grown timber, but nothing 
 unusual showed about this this morning. 
 
 Reaching the horses Ran was down untying a hobble rope, 
 when, on casually looking around he saw twenty Indians emerge 
 from the timber which stood a few yards off, and come towards 
 them. Ran told the white boy to grasp a post oak stick lying 
 near and brandish it in order to simulate a gun play. As for 
 
 13 
 
194 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 himself he threatened the savages with his Winchester which 
 he had at hand. The white boy answered by jumping off a 
 bkiff into a ravine and fleeing. The Indians came on up, some- 
 thing in their demeanor causing Ran not to fire upon them. 
 Reaching him a chief gruntingiy encjuired if " he would shoot 
 em much," and made movements towards taking the horses. 
 Ran resented the movements by again threatening with his gun 
 which caused the redskins to hesitate and draw aside for a 
 mumbled conversation. Ran's fate was settled at this council 
 of war, for returning to the spot the Indians circled him and the 
 horses with a buckskin rope and proceeded to make all captive. 
 
 Ran was strapped astride a horse and placed under guard when 
 the journey began. For three days and nights the direction of 
 progress lay due north until the captive was brought to what 
 he now believes was Medicine Lodge, Kansas. 
 
 On the journey he suffered severely, the lashes binding him 
 to the saddle cutting into the flesh, and the muscles growing sore 
 from confinement to one position. He was given very little 
 water, but he states that at one point on the route the Indians 
 thrust the ground with their spears and water gushed forth 
 abundantly. Here a buffalo paunch was filled, from which 
 Ran later endeavored to drink, l)ut he had hardly raised the 
 pouch to his mouth, when a big burly chief dealt him a stunning 
 blow behind the ear. Reviving, he became furiously angry at 
 such brutal treatment, but knew his better part was to remain 
 unresistful. For food the party had fresh killed buffalo meat; 
 this was cut in thin strips, wrapped round the end of a stick and 
 broiled, then eatcni without salt. There was plenty of this for 
 the whole camp. 
 
 Ran remained with the Indians about three months, confined 
 all the while to the great Indian Milage in the vicinity of Medi- 
 cine Lodge. White traders did a flourishing business with the In- 
 dians while he was there. They brought trinkets and supplies 
 of all kinds to trade for moccasins, Ix-ads and property stolen 
 from the settlements of Texas. 
 
 After captivity of three months Ran's freedom w^as siH-urcnl 
 through the negotiations of Negro Britt, a famous character 
 in the Indian history of this section. 
 
CAPT. GEORGE STEVENS' FIGHT ON THE WICHITAS. 195 
 
 Britt caiiie to the reservation ostensibly to take up his resi- 
 dence with the Indians. But his real purpose was to find the 
 whereabouts of his wife and children whom the Indians had 
 captured in Texas some time before. He brought along nunier- 
 our ponies, some of which had been turned over to him by Ran 
 Veasy's friends in Texas to secure Ran's release. 
 
 The terms of freedom were decided upon and Ran was placed 
 on a very poor animal and permitted to depart. At first the 
 Indians denied him his gun, but just before he started, Chief 
 Big Tree came to him and handed him the wx^apon. At Ft. 
 Arbuckle he met his Texas friends who brought him back to 
 Texas. 
 
 CAPT. GEORGE STEVENS, JOHN HOGG, AND THE JENNINGS 
 brothers' fight on THE WICHITAS. 
 
 One hot sunmier during the early seventies, when Capt. 
 George Stevens was in conmiand of the ranger forces in Wise 
 County, three mysterious Indians were discovered prowling 
 through the regions in the northwest part of the county. Capt. 
 Stevens set himself to watch these Indians taking with him a small 
 number of his men. Among these were Tom and Henry Jen- 
 nings, John W. Hogg (of Decatur), Dave Manning, Archer 
 Watson, John Gose, Sr., Jim McCord and E. R. Stevens. The 
 Indians turned and left the country going in the direction of 
 Buffalo Springs, the men following. 
 
 A distance of some se^^enty-five miles had been traversed, 
 when one of the Jennings boys was taken ill, and it became 
 necessary to contemplate the abandonment of the trail and 
 returning home. This consultation occurred about seven miles 
 beyond Buffalo Springs on the head of the east fork of the Little 
 Wichita River, and just at the moment the men had decided 
 to return home, three Indians were observed to come out boldly 
 on a neighboring hill and stand watching the men. 
 
 One of the Jennings spoke of a probable strategy on the part 
 of the Indians, saying doubtless there were more Indians beyond 
 the hill. But the intrepid Stevens gave the order to charge, 
 and at the three Indians the men went. A short distance had 
 
196 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 been covered when sudtlenly a larger number of Indians joined 
 their three companions. The men now halted and, seeing 
 themselves outnumbered, retired into a grove of timber lying 
 near at hantl, alongside a small dry canon running up the slope, 
 where they hoped to gain protection. Hardly hatl they gotten 
 their places when with terrible and fiendish yells and rattling 
 of shields, the band of Indians, numbering near forty, came tear- 
 ing down the hill towards them, shooting into the brush all the 
 while and creating unearthly noises. 
 
 Ai^parently their object was to frighten the men from the 
 timber into the open, when they would be slaughtered, but the 
 men, knowing the Indians' bluf!"ing tactics, retained their 
 places anil returned such a fire as to hold the Indians aloof from 
 the timber. 
 
 After having separated and charged around the grove the 
 redskins passed on below and reunited, then circled and returned 
 to the hilltop. Here, within sountl of the beleagured men, a chief 
 addressed the Indians. John Hogg asked Tom Jennings if 
 he knew what the chief was saying. Jcnmings answered " No, 
 but I know what they are going to do; they are going to run 
 over us if they can." Capt. Stevens and Jennings then coun- 
 seled coolness, deliberation and steady aim. The men realized 
 their precarious situation and decided to sell out their lives as 
 dearly as possible. 
 
 At this juncture three Indians departed from the main group 
 and went back over the hill, but presently returned, bringing up 
 a still larger number of their tribe. The hill was now black with 
 Indians, numbering perhaps 100. and ^he little band of whites 
 in the timber, who saw all, was now ])ainfully conscious that only 
 the greatest bravery and daring would save them their lives. 
 
 More speechmaking now occurred on the hill, and pres(^ntly, 
 when all was in readiness, the whole band of Indians swooped 
 down on the grove, yelling and shooting until the atmosphere 
 vibrated with a tempest of noises. The same tactics were 
 pursued as before, but this time it was seen that sentinels had 
 been dropped all round the hedged-in men, which convinced ihv 
 latter that while the cowardly fiends were afraid to enter the 
 thicket they had adopted means to prevent their escape. 
 
RAIDS AND KILLINGS — SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST WISE COUNTY. 197 
 
 Until long in the middle of the afternoon the Indians made 
 assault after assault, every one of which was repulsed by the 
 nervy little band of whites. The Indians seemed to despair 
 of ever being able to frighten the men from cover and began 
 to draw away for the invention of new tactics. 
 
 At one of these unguarded moments, previously solemnly 
 decided upon by the men, the latter abandoned all their equip- 
 ments and horses and crawled away afoot into the little dry 
 branch, taking only guns and ammunition, and strangely enough, 
 if the Indians saw them they did not try to stop the movement, 
 leading the men to think that they were afraid to come within 
 shooting distance. 
 
 Capt. Stevens who had, as usual, exposed himself, was wounded 
 in the hip and in the hand, and the ball from one of these 
 wounds lodged in one of his boots. The men found great 
 difficulty in escaping down the little ravirie, it being neces- 
 sary for two of them to support Capt. Stevens all the way. 
 But miraculously enough, all did escape, traveling afoot all 
 afternoon and all night until they came to Joseph Marlett's, 
 on the head of Sandy Creek, Wise County. Here a doctor was 
 brought from Decatur to attend Capt. Stevens. The long walk 
 under so many trials had almost completely exhausted the 
 energies of the men and rendered them so footsore and blistered 
 that they were in a precarious condition for many days. 
 
 In late years Capt. Stevens and Mr. Hogg were awarded fine 
 guns by the State Legislature in recognition of their bravery 
 in this fight. 
 
 RAIDS AND KILLINGS IN SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST WISE 
 COUNTY. 
 
 Some of the earliest settlements made in the county were 
 those extending throughout the fertile regions of the south and 
 southwest Wise County in the valleys of Salt and Garret's 
 Creeks and West Fork River. The people were strong, original 
 stock, with well equipped farms and large bunches of good horses 
 and cattle. These settlements in Wise County, though sparse, 
 extended from Paradise Prairie on the northwest, to the con- 
 
198 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 junction of Denton, Tarrant and ^^'is(' Counties on the south- 
 west. Through this region extended the rich valleys before 
 mentioned and herein among the few but prosperous settlers 
 the Indians found a foraging ground which tempted them to 
 repeated attack, murder and pillage. 
 
 They began raiding and driving of!" the stock at about the 
 commencement of the war. This soon brought on clashes with 
 the settlers, and the Indians retaliated by inaugurating a mur- 
 derous warfare, which extended over a period of several years 
 and cost the settlements the lives of numerous of their best and 
 bravest defenders. Jim Hanks' Militia Company of the Salt 
 Creek region, and Ben Crews' company of Deep Creek, did all 
 in their power to hold the Indians at bay, but in the face of the 
 overpowering number of the latter and their stealth and subtle 
 warfare, the minute companies were powerless to prevent the 
 occasional murders and stealings committed. Some of the 
 pioneers and descendants now living in those communities are 
 Galley Stevens, J. K. Reed, Mrs. Adrena Wood, W. J. Mann, 
 Paradise; J. K. P. Mathews, Soney Thomas, Opal; P. F. Lewis, 
 Tom Geary, Newark; Mark Gates, Jim Hudson, Major Slimp, 
 C. C. Leonard, Rhome; Andrew Mann, Jack and Dennis Pas- 
 chall, and members of Boyd family, Boyd. From these the 
 writer has obtained the following descriptions which constitute 
 the essential points of the Indian depi'cMlations in these sec- 
 tions. 
 
 About the first killing and ca))ture occurring in that direction 
 following the outbreak of the Indians, was ])erpetrated at the 
 foot of Skeins Peak at the head of Salt Creek on the line of 
 Parker and Wise County. Jim McKinney was returning with 
 his wife and four children from a visit in Wise County to their 
 home in Parker County. They were travelling in an ox wagon, 
 and when reaching Skeins Peak were suddenly assaulted by a 
 murderous band of Indians, who had either been lying in wait 
 for, or following, them. McKinney and his wife and two chil- 
 dren were shot to death and scalped, a little boy escaped into 
 a branch, and the next, a little girl, was captured, carried seven or 
 eio'ht miles to Osteen branch, and nuirdcM'ed, her dead bodv 
 
RAIDS AND KILLINGS — SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST WISE COUNTY. 199 
 
 being found next clay by a party of scouts who were following 
 the trail of the Indians. 
 
 One Sabbath day in the summer of 1803 a band of twenty-five 
 Indians encountered a man named Long on the road in a region 
 approximate to the present town of Paradise, close to what 
 was known as the \'ernon place. Long was killed and scalped, 
 after which the Indians passed to the Vernon place, and finding 
 three little children playing about the premises began to pour into 
 their midst a hot fire of poisonous arrows. All the victims were 
 wounded, and it is thought that one of them died later from the 
 severe injuries. The same day the Indians ran onto a -man 
 named Buck Reynolds near the Jesse Kincannon farm and 
 shot him .twice in the back with arrows, while he was fleeing 
 toward Kincannon 's for safety. Wm. Kincannon heard the 
 noise and ran out with a gun and frightened the Indians away. 
 Stock stolen on this raid included a fine thresher team taken 
 from Galley Stevens. 
 
 Mrs. Adrena Woods, of Paradise, the widowed wife of Ab 
 Wood, relates an exciting experience through which she and her 
 husband passed during the raid of the Indians in which little 
 Jesse Burress was cruelly murdered. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Wood had repaired to a plum thicket and were 
 tranquilly picking fruit in the spring sunshine when, without 
 warning, the redskins appeared on the spot and sequestered 
 their horses, after which they peered around in the bushes, 
 hoping to find and murder the riders. Mr. and Mrs. AVood 
 affrightedly observed their actions from a cou})le of "hog wal- 
 lows" wherein they had quickly secreted their bodies. Not 
 finding them, the Indians turned and rode away, but it was a 
 harrowing experience for the plum gatherers, made all the more 
 so by the fact that the "hog wallows" contained water. ' 
 
 The Indians went on out in a northwest direction toward the 
 home of Talse Burress, who lived about a mile northwest of 
 Paradise Prairie. When about 200 yards this side of the house, 
 
200 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 between the latter and a little community graveyard, the In- 
 dians came upon Jesse Burress, a small boy, while he was pick- 
 ing berries. Very quickly and very brutally they shot and 
 scalped the little boy, after which they passed out of the county. 
 
 Press Perkins met a sad and solitary death. He lived on 
 Salt Creek, about four miles south of the present town of Cotton- 
 dale; he was married and about 35 years old. The last seen of 
 him in life was when he started out in the morning to round up 
 and bring in the ox-team. The next seen of him he was dead, 
 his body filled with bullets and arrows, on the spot where John 
 Looman and others of Waggoner's cow-hands found him. The 
 Indians were coming into the county on this raid, having passed 
 Galley Stevens' place, where they took a fine mare, with sixty 
 feet of buffalo-hide lariat tied to her neck. 
 
 These brief sketches point to one fatal and unerring conclu- 
 sion, which is that the Indians never lost an ()i)portunity to kill 
 and murder the people of this section. During these long and 
 unhappy years no settler nor any member of his family dared 
 to place their bodies in exposed places for an instant's time. 
 Think of the terrible effects of this constant fear and api)re- 
 hension on the heroic people who s^taid here to endure it all. 
 Think how strong must have been their hearts, how muscular 
 their bodies and how resolute their power of will. Think of 
 them as the foundation of Wise County and the riddle of our 
 present |)ride and growth is answ(M'ed. 
 
 0. H. P. Reed, one of the very early settlers in the ParacUse 
 country, lived on Rush Creek during the time of Indian danger. 
 His son, J. K. Reed, of Paradise, related a thrilling episode which 
 occurred at his father's plac(>. Johmiie Reed, a boy about 17, 
 
RAIDS AND KILLINGS — SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST WISE COUNTY. 201 
 
 had gone a distance of perhaps 400 yards from the house to 
 lariat some horses beyond a skirt of timber which fronted the 
 house. Another httle brother crawled up high on a stack of 
 old wheels in the corner of the yard to watch his brother, and 
 while he was there he saw the Indians charge Johnnie while he 
 was tying the horses, and at the same time he saw Johnnie 
 start toward the house on a dead run with a big Indian at his 
 heels. 
 
 The little watcher screamed for a larger brother in the house, 
 who was crippled, but the latter hobbled out with a gun in hand 
 and took in the situation at once. Seeing the boy and the 
 Indian coming up the path toward the house, he placed the gun 
 in the fork of a dead tree and leveled it straight down the path 
 toward the Indian. The latter was intensely occupied and had 
 not observed this occurrence. On he came, gaining on the 
 wildly frightened boy at every step. He was a big, greasy- 
 looking buck, and was about to nab the boy when he looked up 
 and saw the deadly gun bearing down on him. His stop was 
 so sudden that he disturbed several square feet of earth, and 
 his surprise was so great that he could not suppress a great yell 
 of fright. Johnnie came on to the house, panting for breath, 
 the Indian went the opposite direction post-haste. 
 
 The first raid made in the extreme south })art of the county 
 occurred in 1863, and for some strange reason no more depretla- 
 tions were perpetrated there until after the war. But when 
 the Indians resumed operations, they came thick and fast and 
 in all seasons; almost every light of the moon for a number of 
 years brought with it an Indian depredation. . 
 
 The first fight after the war occurred in the winter of 1865. 
 Thirty-two Indians were first seen above Springtown, Parker 
 County, after which they came over into Wise County. About 
 sundown they went into the field of Mrs. Lydia Gore and drove 
 out some horses. Several neighbors had collected to follow 
 and attack them. Shortly after dark the men had a mild en- 
 counter with the Indians, but withdrew because of the dark- 
 
202 PIONEP]R HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 ness. A heavy snow fell after dark, and the Indians camped 
 for the night. The next morning they left, and were followed 
 as far as Sandy Creek, west of Decatur, where the trail was 
 abandoned. Captain George Stevens soon got on the trail of 
 these Indians, and it is stated that his scouts found the bodies 
 of three dead Indians, supposed to have been wounded in the 
 fight in the south part of the county. Some of the settlers men- 
 tioned as having participated in the chase and fight are Frank 
 Hoklen, negro Sang, Sol Hines, John Stack, T. J. Norville, Sam 
 Copeland, Uriah Perkins, John Morris, Lycurgus Tackett, John 
 Hill, Jack and Andy Gore, Jim Curley, Polk Mathews, Jack 
 Smith, Elmore Black well. 
 
 On Sunday, March 4, 1866, the citizen^^ of the settlement of 
 which Opal is now the center had collected at the home of 
 Anderson Smith for the piu'pose of religious worship. Parson 
 Vernon was the prc^acher, and a large crowd of people had con- 
 gregated. The minister had taken the stand, and for some time 
 had been preaching, when a breathless rider named Brown 
 dashed upon the ciuiet scene with a pack of Indians at his heels. 
 Brown was on his way to church and was chargcnl b}'' the In- 
 dians, whom he outran to Smith's. The Indians had camped 
 the previous night at Earp's crossing, eight miles nortli of 
 Smith's. 
 
 The Indians ran Brown up to the very doors of the house, 
 and of coin-se his sudden appearance under circumstances so 
 exciting precipitated a mild panic. Men began to pour out of 
 the house and run to their horses. As soon as their minds were 
 cleared of confusion they arranged their defensive arms, and 
 with one accord, started off in hot pursuit of the Indians, who 
 fled in a northern direction. The chase lasted for about a mile, 
 when the Indians, numbering about eight in the band, suddenly 
 halted in a swag and began to form to receive the attack. The 
 halting of the Indians found the men on a high rise south of the 
 point at which the Indians had stopped. Seeing the Indians 
 extending wings in i)reparation for battle, the men stopped, 
 
RAIDS AND KILLINGS — SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST WISE COUNTY. 203 
 
 and observing that the Indians were maneuvering to .siirrovind 
 them, two or three men, heatled by Jim Kearly, charged one 
 of the wings, and at the same time all the settlers opened fire on 
 the enemy. The Indians fought in a kintl of circular retreat 
 until the white men had been worked into their fore. A settler 
 by the name of Jim Sanders had already been shot and killed. 
 The fight had now changed into a series of running assaults and 
 retreats, both sides moving all the while toward the north. 
 Another settler, John Mathews, received two arrows in the 
 shoulder, while the neck of one of the Indians' horses had been 
 creased b}^ a settler's bullet, which put the Indian afoot. The 
 men poured a hot fire after him but he very swiftly overtook 
 his comrades and was remounted. In the thick of the fight 
 two settlers, Polk Mathews and a man named Gore, ran their 
 horses together in a violent collision which threw Mathews to 
 the ground, and while afoot a dog- wood switch arrow, projected 
 by the Indians, penetrated the side of his head. The point was 
 not metaled, and John Andrews had no trouble in removing it 
 in the same fashion that Polk had before taken two from John's 
 shoulder. 
 
 During all this fight the Indians were laboring desperately to 
 evade the repeated attacks of the settlers, and were fighting 
 and running all the while. The settlers were now anxious 
 about the death of Sanders and the injuries of the wounded, 
 and drew away from the assault. The Indians took the oppor- 
 tunity to flee the countiy. A depreciated number of theiu 
 passed out by Waggoner's ranch, which is substantive of the 
 settlers' claim that one or more of the Indians had been fatally 
 wounded in the fight. 
 
 The death of Alvin Clark in this section of the county was 
 deplored as one of the sad occurrences of the period of troubles. 
 Young Clark was generally well liked and was known to be one 
 of the most courageous men in the community. His death oc- 
 curred in June, 1866, and was as follows : 
 
 A band of fifteen or twenty Indians passed down the region 
 parallel with the Parker and Wise County line, going west. 
 
204 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 They came to Dry Branch in Garret Valley, where they found 
 Mrs. Frank Hoklon, Mrs. Mary Kirby and negro Sang's mother 
 doing' the family washing. Near at hand were some horses, 
 and the Indians took these and passed on. A little further on 
 the following citizens joined in an attempt to overtake the 
 Indians and recapture the horses: Alvin and Tom Clark, Tom 
 Howard, Jim Keasly, Frank Holden, negro Sang and others. 
 The Indians ran by J. B. Thomas' farm, and here, cutting oats 
 in the field, was another party of citizens who joined in the chase. 
 These were Bob Thompson, Andy and Jack Gore, Louis Hutchin- 
 son, Lige Keeling, J. B. Thomas and Soney Thomas. In about 
 a mile and a half the men gained on the Indians and the latter 
 stopped for fight in a black-jack grove swag in the flat woods 
 country, near the corner of Ben Gilland's field. At the com- 
 mencement of the fight Alvin Clark jumped from his horse for 
 better shooting; at the same time it occurred to the settlers 
 that the Indians had chosen an advantageous position from 
 which it would be fatal to attempt to drive them, whereupon 
 they withdrc^w to await more favorable surroundings. Alvin 
 Clark had becni detained on account of the unmanageableness 
 of his horse, and it was while trying to control his steed that the 
 Indians charged him. By this time he had mounted and fled 
 down a fence row, entirely cut off from his comrades. Two 
 Indians were at his horse's heels shooting with gun and l^ow. 
 Finally Clark reeled from his saddle and fell dead. He had 
 already dropped his gun and pistol, having emptied both in the 
 fight. He was shot seven times, with four arrows and three 
 balls. Very quickly the Indians scalped their victim, then fled 
 in a northwest direction. A short distance away they ran into 
 a bunch of cowboys and began shooting and running immedi- 
 ately. In this second melee George Buckhanan, one of the 
 cowboys, was wounded, but afterwards recovered. The In- 
 dians made rapid progress until they had tleparted the country. 
 
 No single exciting act culletl from the scenes of the most 
 realistic clrama could be more thrilling than the following true 
 
RAIDS AND KILLINGS — SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST WISE COUNTY. 205 
 
 occurrence, which the writer attempts to describe in language 
 befitting the occasion. Pioneer citizen J. B. Thomas' farm lay 
 over the line of Parker and Wise Counties in the community of 
 which the present village of Opal is the center. On November 
 3, 1800, threshing was in progress on this farm, the merry hum 
 of the machine and the occasional shouts of the workers being 
 the only noises to break the stillness. J. B. Thomas and his 
 son, Soney Thomas, were on the stack pitching bundles to the 
 feeder when they happened to glance across the field to see six 
 Indians stealthily lay down the fence, come inside and approach 
 the horses which the men had turned loose to graze in the field. 
 Thomas and his son immediately gave the alarm and the elder 
 Thomas slid off the stack, grasped the pistol of Jack Gore, one 
 of the helpers, and started toward the Indians afoot. The other 
 men quickly mounted horses about the thresher and set off 
 after the Intlians, who had by this time tlriven the horses through 
 the gap in the fence. Those in piu'suit were Jack and Andy 
 Gore, Brice Mann, John and Bill Mathews, Soney Thomas and 
 the latter's father. After passing through the gap the horses 
 set for J. B. Thomas' home, a distance of three-quarters 
 of a mile, the Indians pursuing and the men dashing after the 
 Indians. In order to reach the house the horses traversed a 
 circuitous route, and the Indians, in maneuvering to head off 
 their course, worked around so far in the rear as to come up 
 some distance behind the men. The latter were still going in 
 the direction of the house when they came upon Uncle Johnnie 
 Montgomery, an aged citizen of Parker County, to whom they 
 quickly explained the object of their haste, imploring him to 
 join them and ride to the house for safety. Uncle Johnnie was 
 seventy-five years of age and was mounted on a very fine horse 
 which he had just taken of!" the grass. Apparently he was more 
 conscious of the danger of running his horse than he was of the 
 danger to himself from Indian attack. Anyhow, he refused to 
 accelerate his speed and jogged on toward the house alone. In 
 a twinkling the Indians were upon him, shooting and yelling 
 and brandishing arms. Uncle Johnnie now set off rapidly 
 toward the house, but he had made the start too late. He was 
 shot through the back, the ball penetrating the heart. His 
 
206 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 horse dashed on up to the yard gate and the rider reeled and fell 
 dead at the fence. The horses had reached the lot, but when 
 the men and Indians ran up, which was about the same time, 
 they took fright and ran away again. The Indians, seeing them 
 leave, followed and succeeded after all in capturing them. .The 
 men were occupied with the dead man who had fallen at their 
 feet. This all happened in less time than it takes to tell it. 
 The men could have doubtless done more effective work if the 
 successive movements had not been so quick and electrical. As 
 it was, they were flushed out of a quiet scene and on to a swift 
 and tragic climax before their senses could be roused to proper 
 action. 
 
 IncUan raids continued in this section of the county 
 during all the period of troubles, but the following is recalled 
 as about the last depredation, in which an unusually large 
 number of Indians participated. In July, 18G6, several 
 hundred Comanches entered the county, first being observed 
 in a region five miles northwest of Springtown. In Parker 
 they massacred a settler by the name of Briscoe, and his 
 wife and four children, after which they robbed and plun- 
 dered the house. Then they passed on to Lycurgus Tackett's 
 and plundered his home, the women and children having 
 escaped to the brush. Further on, at Uncle Johnnie Mont- 
 gomery's, they stole the horse oft' of which he had previously 
 been killed. Shortly after noon they entered Wise County, 
 passing a place where Soney Thomas and Andy and James 
 Elkins were hunting horses. The boys fled to placets of 
 safety. -Soney Thomas ran to the Blackwell house, to which 
 the Indians came soon after. Thomas th(>n ran to the Mathews 
 home, and here the Indians came also in full force. Upwards 
 of fifty of the I'elatives and neighbors had collected here for a 
 social gathering, and many had left their horses tied at the fence. 
 ^^'hen the Indians appeared on the scene, great confusion fol- 
 lowed, the children screamed and the women trembled. The 
 Indians ran uj) and seized several horses. Some of the men 
 started to retake the horses when the Intlians began shooting. 
 
BRIEF COMMENTS ON THE TIMES AND INDIAN MARAUDING. 207 
 
 After getting the stock, the redskins passed out. About 200 
 yards away they stopped, and probably 100 turned back. The 
 people of the household thought their time had come, but that 
 which had enticed the fiends to return was a large sugar-cane 
 patch, w^iich they entered and helped themselves, after which 
 they left the country, greatly to the relief of the imprisoned 
 citizens. 
 
 A FEW BRIEF COMMENTS ON THE TIMES AND INDIAN MARAUD- 
 ING CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 The freedom and openness of pioneer life began to vanish with 
 the initiation of hostilities between the North and South. The 
 bantls of restriction tightened as Indian warfare grew fiercer 
 and more bold. The people were now forced into the observ- 
 ance of a narrow routine, out of which they went at the cost of 
 their lives. Their daily occupations were retarded ami rendered 
 extremely difhcult, while social intercourse was carried on under 
 the most trying circumstances. The people could not now come 
 and go as they willed, and were harassed with the ever immi- 
 nent need of watchfulness and defense. Men became the stal- 
 wart guardians of their homes and loved ones; their silent atti- 
 tudes and stern, serious faces, with the ever-ready Winchester 
 clasped for defense, making pictures worthy of being fashioned 
 in bronze. 
 
 The deadly weight of responsibility falling upon pioneer 
 manhood, centering in the protection of wives, mothers and 
 children, made the home life a beautiful and entrancing picture 
 to contemplate. Standing between their families and death, 
 men grew stalwart in character and increasingly affectionate 
 in imjnvlse. Forced to a life approximate to the threshold, men 
 came under the refining influences of women and children and 
 grew in love and tenderness thereby. Exterior danger strength- 
 ened his arm and heart, while enforced contact with intimate 
 softening influences swelled his soul; the result was an en- 
 nobled character and an elevated type of man. Mark the 
 l^ioneer remaining with us, and these characteristics will he 
 plainly obvious. 
 
208 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Everywhere in the homes and in the fields it was a time of 
 great dread aiul apprehension. Men plowed in the fields with 
 arms buckled to their bodies, not tlaring to leave them even at 
 the farther end of the rows; and as they trod the furrows a 
 watchful eye was ever cast in the direction of home, anticipating 
 that at any moment despairing screams would call them to the 
 prevention of one of those dastardly crimes visited by the sneak- 
 ing savage on defenseless women and children. Mothers kept 
 their children huddled at the door-step, denying them the free 
 range of the adjoining fields and timber. Too many sudden 
 captures of children strolling away from home had intervened 
 for the little ones to be granted the freedom which their youthful 
 impulses craved. 
 
 So great was the tension of the times that any unusual and 
 weird noise was sufficient to i^recipitate alarm and fright. A 
 bellowing bull in the woods by throwing a rasping note into his 
 clarion voice could rouse a househokl into a state of palpitating 
 fear or start a lone rider in the woods careering for safety. Any 
 citizen who would not go constantly armed was looked upon 
 by his more prudent brothers with suspicion and it was a man- 
 date of tlie times that every settler carry defensive weapons. 
 Those beautiful lights of the moon, so pleasurable in this g(>ntle 
 time of peace, were periods of the sublimest suffering to tjic 
 pioneers, for all those bright occasions were darkly shadowed 
 by the fear of the visits of the Indians, who invariably chose 
 them for their time of descent upon the settlements. The great 
 glimmering calcium poured forth its rays on many a sad and 
 realistic drama (>nact(>d by its aid and under the influence of its 
 existence. 
 
 Trained as are our imaginations and broad as is our knowl- 
 edge of history, we of this gentle hour can entertain no concep- 
 tion adequate to the appreciation of the degree of anguish and 
 suffering which our fathers and mothers experienced during 
 these dragging years of danger and pain. 
 
 Advertence to a page of description and notes of savage char- 
 acteristics and marauding practices will be apjDropriate at this 
 juncture. 
 
 The tribes mostly addicted to depretlating here were the 
 
BRIEF COMMENTS ON THE TIMES AND INDIAN MARAUDING. 209 
 
 Comanches, Kiowas, Cacldos and certain others, but the first 
 named were the most brutal and most dreaded. They came in 
 small and largo bands, in all seasons of the year, but always 
 during the full brilliance of the moon; the latter agency assist- 
 ing them to locate live stock and to see their way of rapid escape 
 out of the country when pursued. On many occasions they 
 came afoot, bringing a few worthless ponies used as pack ani- 
 mals. After they had stolen enough horses to mount them- 
 selves, these pack animals were abandoned on the trail. So 
 sparse were the settlements that the Indians could advance well 
 into the heart of them without being observed. If arriving in 
 the day time, secluded places would be sought for hiding until 
 the sleeping shadows of night made a cover for their nefarious 
 work. Many a citizen whose daily occupation led his way un- 
 warily by a band of ambuscaded Indians has paid the penalty 
 with his life. The redskins were very partial to sugar-cane, 
 melons, fruit and green corn, and often left evidences of their 
 stolen visits in the patches or orchards of the settlers. 
 
 By virtue of former occupancy, the Indians were intimately 
 acquainted with the topography of the country and were thus 
 not hindered by unfamiliarity on their visits. They possibly 
 knew more of the country than the settlers themselves, having 
 led a roving life over it for so many years. This advantage 
 gave them many favorable points in their fiendish warfare. 
 
 The Indians rarely attacked at night, knowing the tlarkness 
 placed the odds against them in possible encounters with the 
 pioneer marksmen. They shot arrows with unerring aim and 
 great force, the arrow sometimes passing through the body of 
 the victim. After they began to exchange horses and Indian 
 ware with ruthless speculators for guns, they became a more 
 disastrous foe than ever. Their fiendish delight was to murder 
 white men and take their scalps for trophies, and their object in 
 taking women and children into captivity was to hold them for 
 ransom. A beautiful woman captive would be spared by them 
 because of the excitation of their barbarous lusts. An aged or 
 irregularly featured woman would be murdered. 
 
 The Indians were strangers to pity, controlled by the instincts 
 of beastliness, and were dirty, greasy and sullen. The cruelty 
 
210 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 of their warfare on the people of this section is unsurpassed in 
 any history of any country. 
 
 EPOCH-MARKING EVENT IN SAVAGE DEPREDATION HISTORY LAST 
 
 RAID IN WISE COUNTY — ASSASSINATION OF THE HUFF 
 FAMILY. 
 
 Changing events centering around the early seventies indicate 
 that the pressure of the white civilization on the frontier was on 
 the eve of surging beyond the boundaries which the red man 
 had established and guardetl with fiendish retahation for so 
 many years. A decade of prostration and apathy had brought 
 renewed strength to the frontier, and its people arose with new 
 courage and energy to confront the foe who for so long had 
 been the victor. 
 
 There is no evidence that the Indian warfare had abated in 
 the least; in fact as the years retreated from the early years of 
 the war, danger from the Indian gradually grew in volume and 
 proportion until it became by far the most momentous question 
 of the forward settlements. But in 1870 and thereabout, the 
 Anglo spirit was again manifesting itself ; it arose from a slum- 
 brous period to challenge the sway of an inferior race who, for 
 some incomprehensible reason, had been permitted to tyrannize 
 and dominate. But just at this juncture a very significant 
 series of events were in a state of transpiration which in their 
 final results aided materially in bringing ultimate peace to the 
 harried land. 
 
 Early in the spi'ing of 1871, Captain Julian Fields', of Mans- 
 field, Tarrant County, started a wagon-train, drawn by thirty- 
 six fine mules, from Jacksboro to Ft . Griffin , in Shackleford County, 
 to convey a consignment of flour, which he agreed to deliver to 
 the United. States forces per terms of contract. Nine miles from 
 the present town of Graham in Young County, on Salt Creek 
 prairie, the train was assaulted by about loO Kiowa Indians, 
 led by their chiefs, Satanta, Satank and Big Tree, and all the 
 teamsters but two were nuu-d(M'ed, the fine wagons burned and 
 the valuable Missouri mules taken into captivity to the reserva- 
 tion at Ft. Sill. 
 
EPOCH-MARKING EVENT IN SAVAGE DEPREDATION HISTORY. 211 
 
 Not many hours before this sanguinary occurrence, General 
 W. T. Sherman had passed over the spot, going from fort to 
 fort on a tour of inspection. He was at or near Ft. Richardson, 
 Jacksboro, when the Salt Creek massacre occurred. General 
 Sherman and the general government's attention had been often 
 attracted to the terrible Indian atrocities here on the frontier, 
 but guided by prejudicial reports from Northern newspapers 
 demanding mercy for the Indian and actuated by that state of 
 indifference that occurs beyond the radius and realization of 
 danger, the government had taken only perfunctory steps to 
 render assistance. 
 
 Because of this state of affairs, General Sherman's proximity 
 to the latest terrible affair was a portentuous circumstance for 
 the frontier. He immediately set about to make an investiga- 
 tion and dispatched General Mclvinzie to the vicinity of the 
 murder for the verification of the details, and ordained a court 
 of influential pioneer citizens at Jacksboro, who thoroughly laid 
 before him the afflictions of the frontier. 
 
 General Sherman passed on to Ft. Sill, and while there obtained 
 through the Indian agent, Tatum, the names of the tribes and 
 individuals who had connnitted the atrocious Salt Creek deed. 
 These latter had returned from the scene of their crime and 
 boasted as to how the crime was committed. The chiefs above 
 referred to were now ordered under arrest by General Sherman 
 and returned to Jacksboro for civil trial. Judge Chas. Soward, 
 of Decatur, presided at the trial and assessed the punishment 
 made necessary by the verdict of guilty returned by the jury, 
 at death by hanging. The writer has not space to mention the 
 spectacular events of this noted trial, and only the part it bears 
 in the ending of the Indian troubles is to l^e dwelt upon. Fur- 
 ther details will l^e found in Josiah Wilbarger's History, as well 
 as in Mr. Bedford's volume eutitletl, "Te>:as Indian Troubles." 
 The sentences of death })assetl against the chiefs were afterward 
 connnuted to life imprisonment and the}^ were confined in the 
 penitentiary. This proceeding was concurred in by Judge 
 Soward and Indian Agent Tatum, who both recommended 
 commutation to Governor E. J. Davis, being convinced that 
 
212 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUXTY. 
 
 confinement would have more salutary effects on the wild tribes 
 than capital punishment. 
 
 Judge Soward has prepared a statement for the present writer 
 which has not been reproduced in either of the books referred 
 to. The statement deals with the sequel to the above trials 
 and convictions and sets forth the agreement reached by the 
 Governor of Texas, the agent representing the United States, 
 and the Indians, as .well as being substantiative of the profoundly 
 beneficial results of the trial which led to the conviction of the 
 chiefs. 
 
 SEQUEL OF THE TRIAL AND CONVICTION OF SATANTA AND BIG 
 
 TREE, AT JACKSBORO, JULY 8, 1871, BY JUDGE 
 
 CHARLES SOWARD, OF DECATUR. 
 
 ''The punishment of these Indians having been commuted 
 by the Governor of Texas from death to imprisonment for life, 
 they were conveyed by the sheriff of Jack County to the peni- 
 tentiary at Huntsville, Texas, in a covered wagon accompanied 
 by a guard of United States cavalry, furnished by Colonel Mc- 
 Kinzie of the Sixth U. S. Cavalry. After remaining in the 
 penitentiary for some time, a treaty was made between the 
 United States authorities and the Indian tribes located on the 
 Ft. Sill reservation, which was joined in by the Governor of 
 Texas, whereby all of the Indians were to be considered on parole 
 and were to answer to roll call ovcvy morning. Under this 
 agreement the Governor of Texas agreed to return Satanta and 
 Big Tree to the reservation and they were to remain on ])arole. 
 It was further provided that if any such Indians should fail to 
 answer to roll call or thereby violate their parole, such, except- 
 ing Satanta antl Big Tree, should be arrested by the United 
 States authorities and conveyed to San Augustine, Florida, and 
 that in case Satanta or Big Tree, or either of them, violated their 
 parole they should be by such authority arrested and returned 
 to the penitentiary of Texas. 
 
 After this treaty was made and Satanta and Big Tree were 
 released uj^on the Sill reservation, there was one big raid made 
 by a ninnl^er of these Indians into Texas; this was some time 
 
SEQUEL OF THE TRIAL AND CONVICTION OF SATANTA, ETC. 213 
 
 in 1874, and it was in tliis raid that the Huff family, of Wise 
 County, were murdered. Upon tlie return of these renegade 
 Indians to the reservation they were all arrested per terms of 
 the treaty before mentioned, and in all 135 were sent to San 
 Augustine, Florida. Satanta, who violated his parole, was re- 
 turned to the penitentiary of Texas and soon thereafter com- 
 mitted suicide by throwing himself from the balcony in the peni- 
 tentiary. 
 
 This put an end to the Indian raids in Texas. Big Tree did 
 not violate his parole, and is now living ujjon a ranch not far 
 from Lawton, Oklahoma. He has reformed and is a ''Christ 
 man" now, so that trial and conviction resultetl in putting a 
 stop to Indian raids in Texas." 
 
 The statement of Judge Soward explains the steps that were 
 being taken by the civil and military arms to bring the outlawed 
 tribes under submission. These indeed were effective and far- 
 reaching in importance, but additional discouragement to 
 savage invasions were now being presented by the inthronging 
 settlers who pushed in in the face of warfare and added their 
 strength to the defensive efforts of the people. 
 
 Certain letters have come into the hands of the writer from 
 which quotations are made which point to improvements which 
 were going forward in the moral and industrial tone of the 
 frontier. 
 
 In January, 1870, a Decatur citizen writes that there have 
 been no Indians in the county for three months and ''most of 
 our citizens who moved away are moving back again. The 
 county, although on the borders, is establishing three good 
 schools, at Prairie Point, on Deep Creek and at Decatur." A 
 traveler in the county the following year speaks of Boyd's Mill 
 in the south part, a town having been located soon after the war, 
 as now "having a postoffice, steam mill, and two dry goods 
 stores." "While there," continues this observer, "I was in- 
 formed of a new town that had sprung up two miles away and 
 rode by. On the roadside is a handsome new store, kept by 
 Mounts and Stevens, while Young and Woods are constructing 
 another neat dry goods house. This place we propose to christen 
 'Aurora.'" A Decatur citizen, writing to the Denton Monitor 
 
214 PIONEER HISTORY OF AVISE COUNTY. 
 
 in March, 1869, says, among other things: "Since the Indian 
 troubles ended our citizens who moved from the county and 
 those who moved to town during the fall and winter for safety, 
 have returned to their homes and gone to work. They are repair- 
 ing and enlarging their farms and houses, planting orchards, 
 etc. Mechanics, too, have' gone to work and our merchants 
 have caught the spirit of the times. Our Charlie, of the enter- 
 prising firm of Gates and Woods, went over with Bob Collins 
 and Billy Mounts when they went 'glimmering' to buy a new 
 and heavy stock of goods. * * * While others are awake, 
 Captain Shoemaker will have some nice things to please our 
 eyes and lighten our pockets. [Captain Shoemaker kept a tav- 
 ern.] The Seminary at this place under the control of the ex- 
 cellent Professor J. D. White, is destined to be one of the fixed 
 institutions of the county. Since the Indian troubles ceased, 
 towns of which we little dreamed twelve months ago are spring- 
 ing up." 
 
 The above conununication is thought to have been penned by 
 Colonel G. B. Pickett. 
 
 Captain Thomas L. Stanfield, now a veteran attorney of 
 Terrell, Texas, in those days a youthful legal light of the (iounty 
 seat, was at this time intervening in the behalf of the citizens 
 for the re-establishment of the much-needed mail lines. The 
 mail continued to be brought from Denton. A line was wanted 
 from Ft. Worth via Decatur to Montague and Gainsville, in 
 order to supply mail facilities to the growing settlements and 
 towns in the north and south parts of the county. In one of 
 his letters to Congi-essman John C. Conner, beseeching the aifl 
 of the latter in efforts to secure mail routes, Captain Stanfic^ld 
 adds the following significant postscrij)! : "Wise County is filling 
 up rapidly with Mississippi, Louisiana and Georgia Democrats. 
 Bully for Wise County, don't you say so?" Perhaps it would 
 not have been well for the Republican postmaster general to 
 have seen this latter confession, inasmuch as the writer thereof 
 was supplicating his department for assistance. 
 
 The above excerpts are conclusive that in about the year 1870 
 the people of Wise County had relaxed to the supposition that 
 the black cloud of Intlian danger had ])asse(l. They are also 
 
SEQUEL OF THE TRIAL AND CONVICTION OF SATANTA, ETC. 215 
 
 conclusive that the social and industrial interests were swelling 
 and progressing toward newer and brighter prosperit3^ Immi- 
 grants were pouring in, new settlements starting up and countless 
 acres of virgin soil being upturned for planting. 
 
 Outside a few insignificant stealing raids perpetrated by the 
 Indians, these wholesome conditions continued until August, 
 1874, when like lightning out of a clear sky, the Indians perpe- 
 trated one of the most horrible crimes ever committed in the 
 county. It was their manner of bidding a horrible adieu to 
 the people, for never again did they return for maurauding 
 purposes. This memorable last raid in Wise County is given in 
 detail by Mr. J. D. White in an article contributed to the Wise 
 County Messenger; also by Mr. Bedford in his volume and orally 
 to the writer by Mr. John Wasson and others. There are some 
 differences in smaller details in the statements of these authori- 
 ties, who all are a unit on general features. 
 
 In the band were about thirty Comanche Indians.* Passing 
 down Sandy Creek from a northwest direction, they left the cross 
 timbers and came onto the prairie near the Newman place, some 
 four or five miles southeast of Decatur. This was at night and 
 the moon was shining brightly. During the night they swept 
 over the regions of Oliver, Sweetwater and Catlett Creeks, and 
 at about daylight or shortly after, crossed that creek into the 
 neighborhood of John W. Hogg's farm and turned up the divide 
 between Catlett and Black Creeks, going northwest, carrying a 
 large number of horses belonging to settlers and Denton and 
 Tarrant County stockmen. These latter ranged their stock in 
 Wise County. 
 
 The news of the presence of the Indians began to circulate 
 before day, and already a crowd of ten had started in pursuit 
 from D(^catur. A party of Denton and Tarrant stockmen were 
 coming from another direction and Mr. White and his neighbor 
 had started before breakfast, these latter overtaking the party 
 from Decatur within a few miles. Of these last persons, Mr. 
 
 * Judge Sow.ard places the number in excess of this, but it is presumable 
 that the Wise County band was one small division of the larger number 
 which left the reservation. 
 
216 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 White can only recall Henry and Tom Jennings, Wni. Hodges, 
 Beavers, Pierce Stevens and John Wasson. 
 
 It was now only a few miles to Sandy Creek, the route lying 
 through one of the new settlements that had sprung up. The 
 men spurred up, occasionally seeing the dust ahead stirred 
 by the stolen horses. Mr. White says here: "After they had 
 gone a few more miles we -found that they had checked up, 
 and we supposed that they had stopped to give us a fight, l)ut 
 having arrived at the point, we found that they had stopped for 
 a far more dastardly purpose." Before the pursuers stood the 
 crude frontier home of the Huff family, the unchinked cracks 
 between the logs testifying to its newness, as well as the sense 
 of security felt by its occupants. 
 
 The Huff family consisted of Mr. Huff, the father, Sam Huff, 
 a son, the wife and two grown daughters, Molly and Palestine. 
 Mr. White continues: "Mr. Huff" and son were away from home; 
 when we reached the house we found the mother lying partly 
 under the floor where she had no doubt attempted to hide. 
 One of the daughters lay near the door on the outside ; the other 
 was out about twenty yards from the house. The daughters 
 had evidently tried to save themselves by flight . All were dead 
 and scalped and otherwise horribly mutilated. The shock of 
 this terrible crime halted our men but a moment. Well do I 
 remember the heroic look of Henry Jennings and the fire in his 
 eyes as he pointed forward and exclaimed, "We must catch 
 them before they get to Sandy; come on, boys." The men 
 spurred forward to Sandy Creek and discovered the Indians in 
 ambush on the opposite bank in a dense bottom filled with 
 timber and briars. They stopped on the deep, perpendicular 
 bank of the creek which they could not descend to get across. 
 They turned loose a round of shot into the thicket, but saw 
 nothing or heard nothing. Then they crossed the creek below 
 this point and opposed the Indians from the other side. A 
 few redskins came to the edge of the thicket and fired at the 
 men, the latter holding their positions and returning the fire. 
 While this firing was in progress the remainder of the Indians 
 were preparing to leave. The shooting party of Indians disap- 
 
RESULT OF THE HUFF MASSACRE. 217 
 
 peared, and the entire band of Indians sneaked down the creek 
 bed and escaped on choice horses. 
 
 The horses were now driven out of the thicket and counted; 
 about 400 were found, a large number of which were turned over 
 to the Denton and Tarrant County men who came up after the 
 fight. 
 
 After the encounter the men returned to the Huff house and 
 buried the three unfortunate women in one wagon bed, this 
 being the only convenience found at the time. Some time later 
 a party of neighbors and citizens from Decatur uncovered the 
 remains and gave them burial in separate graves. 
 
 RESULT OF THE HUFF MASSACRE — END OF TROUBLES — 
 SUMMING UP. 
 
 The system of discipline and watchfulness described by Judge 
 Soward as having been adopted by virtue of the general treaty 
 entered into between the government and the Indians, wherein 
 the chiefs were to be given their liberty and the tribesmen to 
 manifest their daily presence on the reservation by answering 
 to roll call, was facilitated and made possible by the vigorous 
 and effective campaign prosecuted against the Indians by Gen- 
 eral McKinzie, who, following the Salt Creek massacre, marched 
 against the Indians in their strongholds in the Pan Handle and 
 administered such effective punishment as to convince them of 
 the strength and seriousness of the Federal i^ower. 
 
 General McKinzie, a man highly commended by writers of 
 the period, forced the Indians into a state of subjection by 
 capturing their prized horses and killing .them before their eyes, 
 after which they were driven onto the reservation at Ft. Sill. 
 The Indians were then sufficiently humbled and subdued to 
 enter into the above agreement described by Judge Soward. 
 
 As referred specifically to Wise County, the savages kept the 
 peace for a year or so, and the people had partially returned to 
 a normal sense of comfort and safety, when, like an electrical 
 shock, they were again precipitated into an abyss of gloom by 
 the foul murder of the Huff women. 
 
 But the few months of repose and freedom from attack pre- 
 
218 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 ceeding this occurrence had brought renewed strength and 
 courage to the invaUd community. Intelligence of the safe and 
 peaceful conditions here, traveling abroad, had influenced a 
 rapid inthronging of new settlers and the return of many who 
 had fled at the approach of danger. The new, and the 
 strengthened and encouraged old now joined arms and prepared 
 to wage a robust and determined warfare against the cowardly 
 foe. There was to be no further flight from danger, no further 
 pause of arms, no indifference, and no (juarter given, but in their 
 stead a relentless and bloody retahatioh and defense. 
 
 Simultaneously with this growth of confidence and courage, 
 the two government forces enlarged and intensified their efforts 
 at restraint and punishment. Following the Huff murder, the 
 Federal power exacted a full expiation of the penalty provided 
 in the aforementioned treaty, resulting in the banishment and 
 confinement of the guilty Indians as described by Judge So ward. 
 The state encouraged and equipped its flying ranger forces and 
 so stationed them about the frontier as to make watchfulness 
 and interception of the Indians most thorough and complete. 
 
 Mr. Paddock states that "the effective and active campaign 
 of the regulars and rangers forced the Indians to gilence on their 
 reservations in the territory or to roam further away from civil- 
 ization on the uninhabited plains with the buffalo;" and "in 
 1874 the state sent a battalion of rangers to assist the regular 
 troops in repelling the incursions of the savages; this was one 
 of the moves which brought the long and harassing game be- 
 tween the red man and the white man to a close. The last In- 
 dian war-whoop was still vivid in memory when the welcome 
 whistle of the locomotive pierced the frontier- country and an- 
 nounced forever civilized dominion." 
 
 In the latter connection Mr. Bedford ri'flects the rejuvenated 
 feeling ol^taining after the abatement of the savage warfare. 
 He says: "I well remember how every one who had been living 
 about us in such terrible dread, when this end had been accom- 
 plished by McKinzie, took new courage, and ranch property 
 soon doubled and trebled in value. People who had abandoned 
 their homes soon returned to them, and in the short space of a 
 few years prosperity, as a wave, swept all along our whole 
 
RESULT OF THE HUFF MASSACRE. 219 
 
 frontier, and those who had liorne with such patience and 
 fortitude the privations and trials of this terrible ordeal felt 
 most its invigorating influence, and many of them are today 
 living in comfort and enjoying the peace and pleasures purchased 
 by their suffering, as well as by the blood and tears of many 
 noble people who had fallen victims to arrows, lances, scalping 
 knives and other cruelties of these red demons." 
 
 The Indian menace passed like a horrid dream in the night. 
 The suffocating weight lifted from its jjrey and the prostrate 
 form of the country lapsetl into that soft sleep following pro- 
 longed and exhaustive efforts at vigilance and defense. Wise 
 County, torn, crippled, shredded, ransacked, by nearly twenty 
 years of civil w^ar and barbarian devastation, breathed now the 
 first few breaths that come as the faint returning signs of restora- 
 tion to life. But ere long, such was the resourcefulness of the 
 land and people that the breath of life grew more rapid and the 
 pulse-beats more strong and turgid. Industries revived, life 
 grew tranc^uil and normal, and the people, without fear or re- 
 striction of any kind, began to participate in the full enjoyments 
 of their sphere and station in life. 
 
 " Oh! these were hours when thrilling joys repaid 
 
 A long, long course of darkness, doubts, and fears — 
 The heartsick faintness of the hope delayed, 
 
 The waste, the woe, the bloodshed and the tears. 
 That tracked with terror twenty rolling years." 
 
 — Scott: Lord of the Inles. 
 
 The foregoing chapters reflect the twenty years of tempestuous 
 life through which Wise County passed. It is now 1874 and the 
 year of the culmination of all her trials and afflictions inherent 
 in the pioneer state. The peculiar nature of the events in 
 suspension at this date resolve the latter into one which marks 
 the transformation of the county from a state of virgin crudity 
 to one bearing the distinguishing features of civilization's be- 
 ginnings*. Here pioneerism fades gradually in modernism. Let 
 us have a brief resume of the country's troubles and changing 
 epochs: first, the difficulty of subjugating the raw land; next, 
 inherent pioneer hardships; thirdly, prolonged drouth and insect 
 
220 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 pests; fourth, the withering touch of civil war; fifth, the ter- 
 rible blight of Indian rapacity and carnage of many years' dura- 
 tion. The last of these spent its force in 1874 — since that date 
 the county has had to deal with factors and forces of no such 
 violence as characterized any of the severest of the above cata- 
 logue of afflictions. Contrary wise, its later existence has grown 
 smoothly and constantly toward peace and development. 
 
 The sixth great evil operating with deterrent force against the 
 development of the county up to this date was the sub-division 
 of the county into large tracts and bodies of land, held in pos- 
 session by outside citizens and political and railroad corpora- 
 tions. By virtue of the act of the legislature granting large 
 tracts of the public domain to the individual counties for school 
 purposes, Wise County was entered previous to the time of her 
 becoming an organized county and nearly three-fourths of her 
 territory filed upon to be held until the legislature granted such 
 counties authority to convert same into bonds or money. 
 
 The legislature withheld this authority for years and thus 
 three-fourths of Wise County lands were unavailable for settle- 
 ment. The large railroad surveys, principal of which, perhaps, 
 was the B. B. B. & Co., the original venture of the kintl in the 
 state, remained solidified against division. Colonel W. H. Hunt 
 retained possession over almost the whole of western Wise 
 County, which holdings, upon being entangled in legal proceed- 
 ings, were withdrawn from settlement. But along in the early 
 seventies these restrictions melted away. Upon gaining au- 
 thority from the legislature, the counties holding school lands 
 here, some of which were Cooke, Grayson, Bell, Hunt and 
 Matagorda, and many others, hastened to put their lands on 
 the market, at the same time advertising their offerings, which 
 induced the rapid innnigration which is another of the significant 
 occurrences distinguishing this particular time. Then it was 
 that the "Mississippi, (xeorgia and Alabama Democrats" began 
 to pour in. Such lands as described were obtainable on t(M-ms 
 of $3.00 per acre upon payment of one-tenth of the principal at 
 purchase, and one-tenth and interest annually until the debt was 
 liquidated. 
 
 A period distinguished by pioneer har(lshi]:»s, di'outh. i)ests, 
 
RESULT OF THE HUFF MASSACRE. 221 
 
 war, Indian troubles antl land difficulties all came to a happy 
 conclusion in about the year 1874, the era being still further 
 brightened by the defeat. of the despot Davis and the election 
 of the good, brave Coke to the governorship of Texas. 
 
 Thus most auspiciously ended the true pioneer troubles of 
 Wise County, and bravely had a small band of her patriotic 
 citizens stood shoulder to shoulder together to ward off the foe, 
 who, hurling defiance in every conceivable form, remained only 
 to surrender and give way to an irresistible race — the sturdy, 
 honest, brave, rugged pioneer mothers and fathers of Wise 
 County. 
 
SECTION P^ U R 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 "History is tlio essence of iimuiiKTable Biograpliies ". Carlyle. 
 
 The following sketches and photographs represent a majority 
 of the pioneer people of Wise County who attained to distinc- 
 tion and places of prominence in the affairs of the pioneer county. 
 A sprinkling of their descendants is also included. There are 
 some well-known subjects who have not been included in this 
 honored company — this because it has been found inconv(>nient 
 to obtain the essential facts of their Uves. 
 
 The aim of the compiler has been to perpetliat(> the memory 
 of the citizens who befriended the county throughout th(> period 
 of its greatest struggles; a second aim has been to transmit to 
 posterity the noble examples of their lives and a record of the 
 resplendent virtues which they represented. 
 
 The space to be allotted is limited and the list of those to be 
 portrayed is long ; it is therefore in the interest of economy that 
 only the essential facts are given. But that these worthy faces 
 and brief facts may cling in the minds of those who contemplate 
 these pages is the object of their being placed here. 
 
 ABSALOM BISHOP. 
 
 The successive events of Colonel Absalom Bishop's life l)egan 
 on May 4, 1804, when he was born in Pendleton District, So'uth 
 Carolina. He came from rugged farnun- stock, having a mixture 
 of Scotch, Irish and Welsii blood in his veins. He was married 
 to Mary Tippen, born in the same district, January 25, 1808, 
 and to the union six children were born, the last surviving 
 member being Mrs. Edward Blythe, who died in \Mse County 
 (222) 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 223 
 
 May 28, 1907. Of the family in Wise County there only remain 
 now the two sons of Mrs. Blythe, Ed and Bob. 
 
 Colonel Bishop's early life was spent in merchandising in 
 Spring Place and other {)laces in the State of Georgia. Here 
 he also became active in politics, and in 1837 entered the Semi- 
 nole ^Yav in Florida. He went in as a captain of militia, and it 
 is perhaps due to promotions that the title of Colonel was 
 gained. Some- experiences are related of him in this campaign: 
 one is that he, with nine of his men, (^ptured and confined 
 seventy-five outlaw Indians; another is that he intercepted and 
 held the noted writer of the song, "Home, Sweet Home," John 
 Howard Payne, who for some unexplained reason, aj)i)eared 
 on the fronti(n- of Florida at a time when the government was 
 detaining all unknown or suspicious characters. Payne in his 
 memoirs afterwartls referred to Bishop as the "Smooth and 
 silky Absalom." 
 
 Colonel Bishop was very activ(> in that phase of politics which 
 surrounded the enforced removal of the Indians of (leorgia to 
 reservations, and during the v(ny earliest inception of slavery 
 agitation made the acquaintance of Robert Tombs and other 
 leading pro-slavery agitators. His later manifestations of fiery 
 rebelism in Texas may be ascribed to these early influenc(^s. In 
 politics he finally became so radical as to necessitate his removal 
 from Georgia, and he is then found seeking a residence in the 
 North for a number of years. At Washington city he spent 
 some time prosecuting certain cases for Georgia land claimants, 
 and later on is living in New York city, engaged in the business 
 of a jeweler and the manufacturing of gold pens. For three and 
 a half years he lived here and then removed to Rochester, New 
 York, where he formed a partnership with Codding, who is ac- 
 counted with having invented the fountain j)en. Bishop and 
 Codding were awarded a beautiful silver medal by the New York 
 State Agricultural Society for the exhibition of a "case of su- 
 perior new fountain pens." 
 
 Colonel Bishop's residence in the centers of civilization was 
 doubtless a probationaiy one resulting in the realization of his 
 ])redilection for frontier life. Accordingly he came to Hopkins 
 County, Texas, in 18r)2, and for three years conducted a saw- 
 
224 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 mill. In 1855 ho joined the first comers to Wise County, arriv- 
 ing and settling on Sweetwater Creek with the Blythe family 
 in that year. At this point the narrative of Colonel Bishop's 
 life is taken up and concluded in the foregoing pages, with the 
 exception of the date of his death, which occurred at the resi- 
 dence of Colonel J. W. Booth, whither he had been brought from 
 his farm, in Decatur, on November 30, 1883. Mrs. Bishop died 
 January 29, 1879. As Colonel Bishop's portrait reflects, he 
 was rugged and masterful. His mental and physical courage 
 and determination was exhibited on countless occasions. Im- 
 mediately on arriving in Wise County, he set about to bring the 
 territory into organized existence and never rested short of the 
 accomplishment of his task. He also looked on the prairie- 
 topped eminence resting near the center of the county, and 
 decided that it was the place for the county seat. The long, hot 
 war waged in its behalf has been described. 
 
 By common consent, Bishop "ran things" as these were re- 
 lated to the organization of the county and the location of 
 the county capital. By all considerations of justice, he is en- 
 titled to be named the county's best friend and the Father of 
 Decatur. 
 
 Colonel Bishop had settled in Decatur by the time the issues 
 of civil strife became manifest. True to his former teachings, 
 he became the fuming, sputtering fuse of rebellion that ignited 
 all combustible materials within his reach. He was a fiery 
 Southern loyalist and egged on the enthusiasm of defense in 
 Wise County. He fervently addressed the county secession 
 convention and was doubtless one of the direct causes of the 
 volunteering for service of such an unusual number of young 
 men from a spars(>ly settled frontier county. When the war 
 began he was in business on the northwest corner of the sciuare 
 in Decatur, and as a means of displaying openly his sentiments 
 he had a large Confederate flag {minted in bright colors across 
 his store front. When Lee surrendered and the country was 
 filled with Federal guards and soldiers, it became necessary to 
 obliterate this emblem of rebel glory. Doubtless it was one of 
 the saddest days of Bishop's life when he went to paint out, 
 cover up and hide the Southern flag. One application of paint 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 225 
 
 refused to conceal the outlines, and another and still another 
 was required. Like the Southern armies and the virtues of the 
 Southern cause, more than one drubbing was required to van- 
 tjuish them from the contemplation of men. 
 
 Colonel Bishop's broad experience and metropolitan training 
 peculiarly fitted him for the task of converting a raw territory 
 into an organized form of government, as well as for assisting 
 to mold the rough elements of a frontier life into the shapings 
 of civilization, and we who delight in present attainments glance 
 backward to him for their genesis. 
 
 WILLIAM HUDSON HUNT. 
 
 Like Bishop in one respect, the sul^ject of this sketch brought 
 with him to Wise County the garnered experiences of broad con- 
 tact with life, and in addition thereto a collegiate training which 
 enabled him to observe with a systematic and trained mind, all 
 the large issues and transactions with which he had come in 
 contact. 
 
 William Hudson Hunt was born in Ithaca, N. Y., the first day 
 of May, 1815. His father, Horace W. Hunt, was for many years 
 a resident of New York city, where he was a co-laborer in the 
 American Bible House. The Hunt line of ancestry runs back 
 to the sixteenth century, and springs directly from what is 
 known as the Northampton line which is inclusive of some of 
 the most exceptional personages of the realm of English art and 
 culture, notably, Leigh Hunt, the poet, Holman Hunt, the great 
 artist, and Richard W. Hunt, the artist-architect. Throughout 
 his life on the frontier of Texas, Wm. Hudson Hunt displayed 
 the evidences of these rich heritages. Endowed with high intel- 
 lect and consequent original action of mind, he is found at the age 
 of twenty-one, a college graduate, breaking loose from the old 
 moorings of civilization and adventurously striking into the little 
 known and dangerous wilds of the southwest. Only brief glimpses 
 of his successive fields of action can here be given. In 1830 he 
 
226 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 came to Texas, threw in with the armies of the Repubhc and en- 
 tered the Mexican War under Commission from President Lamar 
 as Lieutenant-Colonel. Emerging therefrom he was appointed 
 surveyor to the government by virtue of which office he gained 
 broad experience in land affairs. His adventurous spirit led 
 him to join the ill-fated Santa Fe expedition, an experience that 
 enlarged his observation of the Southwest, and fortified his 
 courage. Later on he was associated with the Peters coloni- 
 zation scheme which brought him into contact with Northern 
 Texas and its conditions. He had not yet entered the field of 
 private promotion, and was yet to serve the State in another 
 capacity. This was to act as a member of the Commission which 
 selected the location whereon was built the present capitol build- 
 ing of Texas. Following this, he was engaged with Col. Tom 
 Bean, the famous Texan, in surveying all the vast extent of 
 University lands. 
 
 Col. Hunt then became an original promoter. His experience 
 had ripened and his knowledge of Texas affairs had grown. He 
 began by inaugurating a mail route between north Texas and 
 the capital at Austin. He then turned his attention to land 
 location and allied enterprises, and in association with John D. 
 Black, became the largest land-holder in Texas. Still later, this 
 firm came into possession of almost the whole of Western Wise 
 County. 
 
 In 1850 Col. Hunt resided in Bonham, Fannin County, and 
 there married Catherine Cordelle, of Red River County, an 
 attractive young woman, 18 years of age, and the daughter of 
 a Tennessean of the old slave regime. Before removal from 
 Bonham, two children were born, Lansing and Elizabeth. In 
 1855 Col. Hunt came with his family and settled on his lands 
 in the western part of Wise County, established a headquarters 
 ranch and named the home Cactus Hill, a habitation that 
 became historical in the annals of Wise County. In this home 
 the remainder of the children were born, namely: William H. 
 Hunt, Jr., Belle and Kate. Belle married Capt. S. A. Shortridge 
 and became known nationally as a poetess of rare attainments. 
 Kate, as Mrs. Kate Hunt Craddock, of Terrell, Texas, scintillates 
 before the State as a brilliant writer and raconteur. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 227 
 
 Colonel Hunt filled a large niche in the pioneer life of Wise 
 County, probably exercising an influence that few others attained. 
 His expansive training with large affairs equipped him with the 
 astuteness and wisdom perquisite to a counsellor, and his 
 magnanimity of spirit freely led him to the use of his talents in 
 measures of beneficence and good. His memory is as well revered 
 for his unbounded hospitality, a trait that his estimable wife 
 shared equally with him. Mrs. Hunt was a charming and 
 sympathetic woman. She became inured to the dangers of 
 frontier life, and being possessed with natural cheerfulness, 
 succeeded in communicating these spirits to all about her. To 
 many she will be remembered as one of the resplendent stars of 
 that twilight period. 
 
 The home was one of cultivation and refinement. The 
 children were carefully reared and a governess was constantly 
 present to instruct in the arts and sciences. Col. Hunt's hold- 
 ings in land and cattle became very great. He was regarded as 
 one of the great cattle barons of this section. But with the 
 beginning of the war and the subsequent Indian outbreak, his 
 misfortunes began. First followed the death of his estimable 
 wife, which, in addition to exterior trouble, forced the abandon- 
 ment of Cactus Hill. The family refugeed to Decatur and re- 
 mained for awhile. Finally, Col. Hunt received a fatal injur}^ 
 in a runaway accident between Decatur and Bridgeport, which 
 culminated in his death. The children were taken by their 
 uncle, Sylvanus Reid, to Bonham, where their education was 
 continued. 
 
 Through the untoward events and incidents of the war, and 
 an untimely visit which Col. Hunt made to his father in New 
 York at the national crisis, and subsequently his untimely death, 
 a large part of his hoklings were sacrificed — lost to his children 
 through the violation of a trust and the cupidity of others who 
 saw with prophetic eye also the future value of these lands. 
 
 Col. Hunt lies buried in the family graveyard at Cactus Hill, 
 where repose the remains of the lamented Belle Hunt Shortridge 
 and others deceased of the family. 
 
228 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUXTY. 
 
 MRS. BELLE HUNT SHORTRIDGE. 
 
 (contributed.) 
 
 Belle Hunt, the late Mrs. Samuel A. Shortridge, was born at 
 Cactus Hill, Wise County, Texas. She was the daughter of 
 Wni. Hudson Hunt, a pioneer of Texas, who was connnissioned 
 and served as lieutenant-colonel in the war with Mexico. Later 
 he was widely known as locator of lands, and as a progressive 
 citizen of the State. He was descended from the Northampton 
 line of Hunts, Englantl. Belle Hunt inherited from this distin- 
 guished lineage the artistic and literary talent that brought her 
 into general and favorable notice as poet and authoress. De- 
 prived of both parents in early childhood, she was tenderly 
 reared by her guardian, Sylvanus Reed, of Bonham, Texas, 
 where at Carlcton College, she attended school until she entered 
 the Academy of the Visitation, St. Louis, from which institution 
 she was graduated with first honors at seventeen years of age. 
 Shortly afterwards she was married to Capt. Samuel A. Short- 
 ridge, of St. Louis, in which city they resided until Captain 
 Shortridge located permanently at Terrell. Belle Hunt was a 
 versatile and prolific writer, when the brief time allotted to her 
 is considered. With laudable ambition she went to New York 
 (LS90) in the Intercast of her literary labor, where in a remarkably 
 short time, her articles were accepted and pul^lisluHl by the 
 leading papers, journals and magazines of the city. Mrs. 
 Shortridge wrote especially well for children, her " Jingles " 
 (Modern Mother Goose) attracted wide attention in the columns 
 of the Sunday World. These pleasing rhymes will be published 
 shortly in book form, together with a story in prose (now in 
 complete manuscript) also for children. A collection* of new 
 poems and " Circumstance," a novel, the scene of which is 
 located in Austin, Texas, will ho pulilished later. 
 
 Besides the miscellaneous articles that have appeared from 
 time to time in the best publications, Belle Hunt published 
 through Belford's of New York, a collection of poems entitled 
 " Lon(> Star Lights," 189L The dedication of this little volume 
 has been widely coi)i(Ml, and was made the subject of fifty ex- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 229 
 
 quisite water colors by Miss , of Dallas. The poem, 
 
 '' Peach Blossom Time/' in same volume," was set to music and 
 published by her talented friend, Mrs. George W. Voiers, of 
 Forney, Texas. It was James Gordon Bennett who said of this 
 poem: " Nothing more exquisite is to be found in the English 
 language." " Held in Trust," a novel by Belle Hunt, was 
 published in 1892. Dispassionate critics pronounced it a pleas- 
 ing story — freshj clean and sweet as a breeze from a Texas prairie. 
 A memoir of Belle Hunt is now in preparation — a sort of auto- 
 biographical sketch of her literary work and mechanical methods, 
 compiled from her journals and letters, by her sister, Mrs. Kate 
 Hunt Craddock. The book will be illustrated, and for a frontis- 
 piece the late portrait by Hen wood will be engraved. Since the 
 death of Mrs. Shortridge many sketches of her life and work 
 have appeared in prominent publications, but this memoir will 
 presumably be more complete and interesting than anything 
 that has yet been published. Mrs. Shortridge's remains were 
 interred in the family burying ground at Cactus Hill, Wise 
 County. 
 
 HENRY ALEXANDER WISE. 
 
 Governor Henry A. Wise was a Virginian, born December 3rd, 
 1806,atDrummondstown, Accomac County. Brilliant at college 
 and marvelously eloquent in debate, he became a cantlidate for 
 Congress in 1833. From thence on his entire career was merged 
 in politics and statescraft. He was in Congress from 1835 to 
 1843 serving his party, the Whigs. He it was who uttered the 
 famous sentiment: "The union of the Whigs for the sake of 
 the Union." Governor Wise supported President Tyler 
 heartily in his plans for the annexation of Texas, and 
 led the small majority favorable to Tyler's views. After a 
 period of ill-health he entered politics again, becoming the chief 
 prosecutor of the doctrine of '' Know-Nothingism," and a candi- 
 date for the governorship to which office he was elected. The 
 record made in his brilliant arraignment of " Know-Nothingism " 
 in the early fifties is accountable for the naming the county of 
 
230 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Wise, after him. Governor Wise was not an original secessionist, 
 but fought through the Civil War as a Confederate Brigadier 
 and Major-General, being highly eulogized by General Fitzhugh 
 Lee. He died September 12, 1876, beloved, honored and re- 
 spected. 
 
 COMMODORE STEPHEN DECATUR. 
 
 Stephen Decatm* was the most conspicuous figure in the 
 naval history of the United States for the hundred years between 
 Paul Jones and Farragut. In at least three of our early wars 
 Connnodore Decatiu' was the resplendent hin-o of at least a half- 
 dozen undertakings, any one of which would have given a fair 
 claim to immortality. More than any other captain of his time 
 his name is cherished by his countrymen ; for he represented to 
 a greater degree than any of his contemporaries those fine 
 qualities which a pardonable national vanity inclines us to con- 
 sider peculiarly American. 
 
 He was born at Sinepuxent, Worcester County, Md., January 
 5, 1779, arose to position in the navy by. promotions from suc- 
 cessive stations of service, and was killed in 1820 in a duel with 
 Commodore James Barron. Loyalty to the stars and stripes 
 was the breath of his life. He was the hero of many gallant 
 victories fought in different parts of the world underneath the 
 American flag. 
 
 He lies buried in St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia. 
 
 CAPTAIN GEORGE W. STEVENS. 
 
 There are few men among the pioneer clan who did not at 
 one time or other take part in the defense of the country against 
 the Indians, yet there are a few who showed a stronger predi- 
 lection for fighting than others. Captain Stevens was one of this 
 latter grouping. Born in Lowns County, Alabama, July 12, 1830, 
 he emigrated to Wise County in 1855 with the Jennings family, 
 and showed from the beginning of savage encroachments an in- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 231 
 
 herent yearning to stand between the defenseless people and 
 the red fiends who menaced their lives. 
 
 It has been found practically impossible to gain much 
 truthful information regarding the minuter details of the various 
 encounters which Captain Stevens is known to have had with 
 the bloody race whose career of crime he did so much to 
 check and abate. Mr. John W. Hogg recites the battle on the 
 Wichitas described in the 
 foregoing pages which is 
 the one escapade any living 
 witness can recall with 
 authority. Yet it is estab- 
 lished by well-founded tradi- 
 tion that Captain Stevens 
 was for m a n y years the 
 sleuthful watch-hound of 
 the frontier, and that on 
 numerous occasions he dem- 
 onstrated great personal 
 daring by thrusting himself 
 into the midst of the sav- 
 age foe and inflicting serious 
 damage upon them. His 
 popularity as a defender no 
 doubt has been or was 
 largely achieved through his 
 constant preparedness and 
 wilHngness to drop whatever 
 private affair with which he 
 
 was engaged, and go without hesitancy to whatever portion 
 of the country needed his services. In the course of this 
 character of loyal and brave servitude many close contacts 
 with the Indians ensued; it is known that upon one occasion 
 he killed an Indian in a hand-to-hand encounter, but the 
 details of this as well as other traditionally established incidents 
 of the kind have been lost in the buried records of the past. As 
 is well known, the Indians never fought openly and were cowards 
 when bravely charged by a small number of entrapped white 
 
 CAPTAIN G. W. STEVENS. 
 
232 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 men, and it is due to this fatal racial weakness of their own that 
 they were unsuccessful in completely slaughtering the elements 
 of the straggling settlements which had the temerity to plant 
 their habitats in what was conceded to be an Indian-infested 
 country. It was because of this weakness that Captain Stevens, 
 ever ready and ever willing with a small number of men, was 
 able to save to Wise County both its citizenship and material 
 wealth, all of which lay constantly exposed to the covetousness 
 and revenge of the savage tribes. Mr. Hilory Bedford, in his 
 book entitled, ''Texas Indian Troubles," refers to the last fight 
 in Jack County in which Captain Stevens was engaged and in 
 Which Billy Glass, a Wise County boy, was killed. In July, 
 1874, about 400 Indians made a circuit into Tarrant and Parker 
 Counties and back into Jack County, where they were followed 
 by a small number of rangers. In Lost Valley the men by vote 
 decided to abandon the trail, at which juncture Captain Stevens 
 volunteered to continue the chase. Mr. Bedford says: "While 
 going into camp, Captain George Stevens told them that they 
 could have whipped all the redskins that could have gotten to- 
 gether. This rather reflected on Captain Boyd's bravery, and 
 Boyd told Stevens that he would take men and go and make the 
 attack; but Stevens said no, that he would take forty men and 
 whip them himself. Lieutenant Boyd very kindly and pa- 
 tiently warned Captain Stevens that the Indians were well 
 armed and well mounted and very strong in numbers; never- 
 theless it was only a few minutes until Stevens was off for the 
 scene of battle." Billy Glass, a neighbor boy of Stevens' in 
 Wise County, volunteered to go with Stevens and could not be 
 restrained. Stevens' men reached the supposed ambush of the 
 Indians and were immediately ordered by the Captain to charge 
 the place which was a rough canyon in the l^rcvaks. Th(> Indians 
 began to pour in from every side. "The men were forced to 
 retreat down the canyon to Cameron's Creek, carrying with them 
 young Bailey and young Glass, who had both been killed in the 
 first round fired by the Indians. Several other men were wound- 
 ed and sixteen horses were killed. The brave Captain Stevens 
 made all the resistance possible against such odds, and thus 
 prevented the redskins from scalping his killed and wounded 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 233 
 
 men. Captain Stevens and his men were retreating and fighting 
 when a force of United States troops came to their rescue, where- 
 upon the Indians retreated." 
 
 Captain Stevens was a member and guiding officer of numer- 
 ous of the county home guard cojnpanies, and after the war 
 organized a full company of 84 men in Wise County, which did 
 effective service on the frontier. He served a term or two as 
 sheriff of Wise County, and made an efficient officer. He was 
 twice married; in 1852 to Miss Martha McDonald, who died in 
 1858. In about 1860 he married Miss Nancy Buchanan, and 
 by both unions had eleven children. His remaining three sons; 
 Ambrose and Jack, now live in west Texas, and Pierce in Ari- 
 zona. Captain Stevens died in the early eighties and is buried 
 in Flat Rock Cemetery. 
 
 CAPTAIN IRA LONG. 
 
 Captain Ira Long was born in Indiana, May 27, 1842, but 
 was raised in northwest Missouri, to which section his father 
 moved. In 1861 he entered the Confederate army and was in 
 several close engagements, in which he was twice wounded. On 
 September 15, 1864, he was married, and has been a resident of 
 Wise County since that date. The year following the war 
 was the date of the earnest inception of Indian troubles, and at 
 that time Captain George Stevens and Captain Long were com- 
 missioned to raise a ranger company, of which Captain Long was 
 elected first lieutenant, and later succeeded to the captaincy. 
 The history of the company's operations in part is described in 
 foregoing pages and in the biographical sketch of Captain 
 Stevens. After Lieutenant Long was made captain of the 
 company he was moved to Ft. Mason to operate against 
 noted outlaws, such as Scott, Cooly, John Beard, Gladden and 
 others with whom he had great trouble. He was then moved 
 to Hackberry Springs to continue his operations against out- 
 laws and the Apache Indians, during which time he arrested 
 some desperate characters, among whom was the noted outlaw. 
 
234 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Sam Hare. After six years' service, in 1880 he resigned and 
 returned home. Cajjtain Long has for many years been one 
 
 of the most substantial and 
 esteemed citizens of the 
 county; is a man of strong 
 mind and redo u I) t a b 1 e 
 character, and an upright 
 Christian man. He resides at 
 present a few miles south of 
 Decatur on his farm, which 
 he very successfully conducts, 
 but manifests an interest in 
 all the enterprises that affect 
 the county. He is a sterling 
 member of Ben McCulloch 
 Camp, Confederate Veterans, 
 and a member of the manag- 
 ing connnittee of the annual 
 reunions. He treasures in his 
 possession a collection of 
 Indian armor and dress 
 which he took from a savage 
 killed l)y him in honorable 
 battle. He also cherishes a 
 letter from Major John B. Jones, which contains an official re- 
 port of the battl(> in which Captain Long killed the Indian and 
 which also connnends Captain Long as'a man of coolness, bravery 
 and courage. ki, 
 
 C.\PTAIN IHA LONG. 
 
 W. W. BRADY. 
 
 Judge William W. Brady served eighteen consecutive years 
 as county clerk of Wise County, and four years as county judge, 
 a tenure of positions of trust hardly approached in the county's 
 history by a second person. He was born November 25, 1831, 
 in Indiana County, Pennsylvania. His father's name was James 
 Y. Brady, his mother's name being Sarah Ricketts Brady. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 235 
 
 He came to Wise County in 1855 from Illinois, to which state 
 he had gone in early manhood for the benefit of his health. 
 He was induced to come to Texas by the presence here of his 
 sister, Mrs. Dr. Thomas Stewart. He was married to Harriet 
 R. Bryan, of Wise County, a daughter of James C. Bryan, of 
 Bradley County, Tennessee, but at that time living in Wise 
 
 County. Mrs. Brady was 
 
 JUDGE W. W. BRADY. 
 
 MRS. W. W. BRADY. 
 
 born in McMillan County, Tennessee, in 1840, and after sixty-six 
 years of life, all of which was passed in Wise County, died in 
 1889.* Judge and Mrs. Brady reared eight children, whose 
 names and the names of the persons to whom they were mar- 
 ried appear as follows: 
 
 Emma F. Brady, married to John R. Davenport. Mrs. Daven- 
 port was born in the town of Decatur, June 20, 1860, perhaps 
 the second child born there. She was rocked in the same cradle 
 that was used for th<> first infant, Benjamin F. Allen. 
 
236 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 William Walter marned Lottie Mar. 
 
 James Allen " Luclie Tharp. 
 
 Henry Elmore " Mae Rucker. 
 
 Sarah Angeline " Robert Hill. 
 
 Eva Rieketts " Wm. Hill. 
 
 Bertha Gulledge " John Hargrove. 
 
 . Arthur Houston '' Eula Jarr(^ll. 
 
 Judge Brady throughout his life was a conscientious student 
 and attained to considerable i)roficiency as a writer. A diary 
 kept by him describing pioneer events and occurrences makes 
 very interesting reading. He was never without a dictionary, 
 •and it is said that he could spell and define every word in that 
 book. Because of these accomplishments he was known to 
 some of his friends as "Spelling Bill." In his youth he was a 
 carpenter and built a fine house for his father before leaving 
 home. He was one of the highly useful citizens of the pioneer 
 period. 
 
 H. E. BRADY 
 
 The subject of this sketch, Henry Elmore Brady, is now 
 the occupant of the County Office which his father. Judge W. W. 
 Brady, lu4d for a longer term than any predecessor or follower 
 held any other office of the County government. He was born 
 about one mile south of Decatur, April 17, 1867, and since the 
 days of his early youth has constantly been employed in 
 positions of trust and responsibility. His attainments as an 
 expert office man and responsible officer have been won by 
 years of hard work and persistent devotion to duty. In his 
 boyhood he was a bright student in the successive pioneer 
 schools, and recalls with retrospective pleasure his student 
 days under the professorship of Dr. John A. Embry. 
 
 For some years Mr. Brady has been associated with the local 
 militia company, at first in subordinate position, but lastly as 
 Captain of the Company. He is said to be one of the best 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 237 
 
 tacticians and disciplinary officers in Texas, and enjoys the 
 confidence and high esteem of the superior officers at all 
 State encampments of the military guard. During the Spanish- 
 American War he served as First Lieutenant of Co. H, 3rd 
 Reg. U. S. Volunteers, and acted as Regimental Adjutant. 
 
 H. E. BRADY. 
 
 In November, 1894, Captain Brady was married to Miss 
 Mae Rucker, daughter of Uncle Jim Rucker, of Decatur. As 
 Clerk of the County he is both efficient and accommodating, 
 and has popularized himself with the peoi:)le of the County. 
 
 SAM WOODY. 
 
 The entrance into Wise County and the subseciuent life of the 
 original pioneer has be(>n elsewhere described, and it only re- 
 mains now to allude to the essential facts in the history of Mr. 
 
238 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Woody and that of his large and interesting family. He was 
 born in Tennessee, May 24, .1826, and spent his youth in the 
 Tennessee mountains. On October 19, 1848, he was married 
 in the community where he lived to Emeline Breazeale, born 
 April 18, 1833. A biographer in Mr. Paddock's history states 
 that " up to his nineteenth year Mr. Woody had never be(>n more 
 than five miles from home, and of the great world about him, 
 and the customs of men he knew absolutely nothing. Then came 
 an opportunity to go on a boat down the Tennessee, and during 
 the next year or so he hatl a series of experiences which, when 
 narrated in his own expressive and picturesque language, has 
 all the interest that attaches to those who fare forth from the 
 small known into the great unknown world about them, and 
 which have furnished themes for heroics and epics from the 
 beginning of literature. In this time he found that he was able 
 to earn more money than he had ever dreamed possible while 
 at home, and he returned to the family imbued with a higher 
 sense of his own worth and ability and a fixed determination to 
 betake himself and his people to a country where all might have 
 better opportunities. He set himself to paying ofi the debts 
 of his father, who was a blacksmith, and as soon as that was 
 effected, he put all the family on a flat-boat and sent them down 
 the river to a land of more promise. He himself remained at 
 the old home for a time in order to get sufficient financial start 
 for his next great move." 
 
 Mr. Woody arrived in Texas in March, 1850, and in the spring 
 of 1854 pioneered his way into A^'ise County to become its first 
 permanent settler. Since that time his life has been an open 
 book to the people of this section. He enjoys the distinction 
 of being a natural humorist and optimist, traits which have won 
 for him a cel(>brity over this section of Texas. Mr. Woody is the 
 central one of a group of five brothers. He has two brothers 
 aged respectively 94 and 83, he himself is 80, and the two next are 
 79 and 09. Without being told no one could believe that Mr. 
 Woody is an octogeniarian. His face is round, his cheeks ruddy, 
 his eyes bright and full, and his hearty laugh and quick, sprightly 
 motions give no hint of the biu'den of years which time has 
 imposed upon him. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 239 
 
 Mr. Woody has raised a stalwart family, some of his sons hav- 
 ing become men of great business eniergy and integrity, who 
 enjoy a wide acquaintance over North Texas. The names of 
 his children, the dates of their birth and the persons to whom 
 they were married are as follows: 
 
 W. M. Woody, 
 T. D. Woody, 
 Elizabeth Woody, 
 Eliza Woody, 
 John J. W^oody, 
 Jesse M. Woody, 
 Emma Woody, 
 
 born Aug. 8, 1850, married Julia Tinsley. 
 
 born Oct. 20, 1852, married Martha Boyd, 
 
 born Feb. 28, 1855, married J. F. Boyd!^ 
 born Nov. 8, 1857, married A. S. Badger, 
 
 born Feb. 27, 1862, marrietl Willie Lillard. 
 
 born Feb. 27, 1864, married Areva Baits, 
 born Feb. 5, 1866, married Wm. Austin. 
 
 CARLO BALL.— THOMAS L. BALL. 
 
 During his years of residence in Wise County the subject 
 sketch stood for rugged, honest citizenship. He did not 
 to lead politically or socially, 
 but was content to be a plain 
 citizen, the kind that re- 
 sponds to every demand that 
 good c i t i z e n s h i p imposes. 
 The highest encomium that 
 can be placed on a man is, 
 not that he is learned and 
 cultured nor accomplished, 
 but that he is honest. This, 
 in truth, can be said of Carlo 
 Ball. He was born in [Ken- 
 tucky in 1834, came to Hop- 
 kins County, Texas, in 1851, 
 and in the fall of 1854, came 
 to Wise County when the 
 number of families here could 
 be counted very nearly on one 
 hand. He assumed his part 
 bravely in all the fortudinous 
 circumstances that environed carlo ball. 
 
 of this 
 aspire 
 
240 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 the pioneer citizens, and through it all succeeded in rearing 
 and educating a large family who have become an honor to 
 their parents and county. Mr. Ball is the son of Moses Ball 
 and wife whose photographs are reproduced in this section. 
 They, too, were original settlers of the steadfast kind. At an 
 early date. Carlo Ball married Clarinda, the oldest daughter 
 of Jackson J. Conelly, who, with his wife, came very early to 
 this frontier and remained until their tleaths. Staunch, true 
 friends of the coimtry and its best interests. They also wnv the 
 parents of Tip Conelly, whose life was sacrificed to the Indians 
 in the engagement in which Tom Weatherby was killed and 
 Clabe Cates shot in the head with an arrow. Mr. Conelly and 
 Mr. Ball built the first flouring mill erected in Wise County, 
 this just off the Gainsville road al^out H miles northeast of 
 Decatur, contiguous to the old homi^place of Mr. Ball. To ob- 
 tain the machinery Mr. Conelly made a trip to New York State 
 and had it shipped to Louisiana, from where it was hauled over- 
 land to Wise County. Mr. and Mrs. Conelly had several daugh- 
 ters and on(» son, all of whom were married and whose names 
 are : Mrs. Carlo Ball, Mrs. Napoleon Stone, Mrs. Joshua Shreves, 
 Mrs. R. A. Boyd, Mrs. W. H. Cook. The son, Jose J. Conelly, 
 married a Ball. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Moses Ball also reared a large family of children 
 who are intcn'mingled by marriage with some of the best-known 
 citizens of ^^'ise County. Their names are presently: Carlo 
 Ball, Mrs. ^^'m. C^arroll, Mrs. Joseph Marlett, Mrs. Fred Elson, 
 Mrs. Wm. Dixon, Mrs. Ed Ray, Mrs. Joe Brown, Jim Ball 
 deceased, Mrs. Dick Reeger, deceased. Carlo Ball is now 
 a resident of the Pan Handle of Texas, but as his repre- 
 sentative in Wise County he has left l^ehind a son, Thomas La- 
 fayette Ball, who stantls for all those sterling ([ualitirs exhil)ited 
 in the father. Thomas L. Ball was born on the old Ball place 
 near Decatur, September 24, 1874, and was mainly educated 
 in the public school of Decatur, which he rc^ligiously attended 
 for a number of years, or until he had mastered the rudiments 
 of a practical education. At about the age of 26 he taught a 
 term of school at Flat Rock Schoolhouse, and then retm'ned 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 241 
 
 himself to school at Decatur. During the interim of his school 
 sessions he did hard physical labor on the farm. By conviction 
 and heritage he is a Republican in political belief, and in 1902 
 became a candidate for postmaster at Decatur. He was success- 
 ful in being appointed and took office March 11, 1902. On 
 February 27, 1906, he was reappointed for a second term. 
 Beyond all question Mr. Ball has made one of the most capable 
 
 :\IR. MOSES BALL. 
 
 MRS. MOSES BALL. 
 
 and accommodating officers ever charged with the duties of 
 handling the mail at Decatur, and in addition thereto he has won 
 the gratitude of the community by being instrumental in having 
 established the system of rural mail delivery here. He has 
 been hai)pily married to Miss Stanley, daughter of one of the 
 substantial farmers of Wise County. 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 COL. GEORGE B. PICKETT. 
 
 The biographer records a most interesting character in detail- 
 ing the life of Col. George Bible Pickett. He touched the life of- 
 the frontier at many points and participated in more varied 
 experiences than fall to the lot of the majority of his human 
 brothers. Born July 9, 1832, at Owensboro, Ky . , he came with his 
 
 father's family to Red River 
 County and spent the period 
 of his youth since 1842 there. 
 In September, 1850, Col. 
 
 COL. V,. \i. PICKETT. 
 
 MRS. G. B. PICKETT. 
 
 Pickett was married to Cordelia Scarborough, a daughter of a 
 pioneer settler in Red River County. His father, Rev. Willis 
 M. Pickett, was a Baptist minister, and probably preached one 
 of the first sermons in Red River County on coming there in 
 1842. He also organized churches and engaged in the work of 
 the ministry over North Texas. 
 
 At the age of 21, and in August, 1854, Col. Pickett made a 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL, 243 
 
 prospecting trip to Wise County. He started in company with 
 a group of prospective settlers, of which he was the youngest 
 member. Reaching Denton County, the country grew wild and 
 dangerous in appearance, and all but Col. Pickett turned back. 
 He came on, crossed Wise County, and visited Hunt's ranch in the 
 western part. On his adventurous return, he ran amuck of a 
 band of Indians encamped on Denton Creek, and had some 
 perilous experiences during the night of his detention in their 
 midst. However, he was allowed to proceed the following 
 morning without serious consequences. Col. Pickett then moved 
 to Wise County to live, bringing Mrs. Pickett. They bought 
 the claim of Jim Rogers, about four miles north of Decatur, 
 which they occupied for some time. They then moved to their 
 present abode, which is about a mile southeast of the original 
 homesite. Col. and Mrs. Pickett have reared a large family, 
 the first-born being Mary, who was married to Milton 
 W. Shoemaker, of Decatur; the next, Bettie, married to Thos. 
 J. McMurray, of Decatur; one son, Augustus, married Maggie 
 Fullingim; two other daughters, Elizabeth and Electra, are at 
 home. Since his entrance into the County Col. Pickett has 
 entered seriously into many phases of the county life. Originally 
 he was owner of a great hertl of cattle; when the war came up, 
 he raised a full company of volunteers whose history has been 
 given in preceding pages; his activity in behalf of ciuietude in 
 the county at the close of the war won him the enmity of the 
 elements responsible for the disquietude, and his life for a number 
 of years was rendered vexatious and uncomfortable. He served 
 the county two terms as County Judge and five terms as repre- 
 sentative in the legislature, leaving his stamp upon much 
 permanent and beneficial legislation. He was the author of the 
 bill which authorized the organization of the ranger forces which 
 tended in great part to subdue the Indians after their years of 
 ravages. Some one spoke truly of him when he was described 
 as being " a forceful public speaker, pleasing in address, pictur- 
 esque in language, full of solid fact and anecdote, courtly and 
 chivalrous." 
 
244 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 SAMUEL L. TERRELL.— C. V. TERRELL.— 
 JOHN J. TERRELL. 
 
 The family which bears the above name has long been promi- 
 nent in the soeial, political and business hfe of this county. Mr, 
 Terrell, the forebear, was born in Franklin County, Mississippi, 
 November 13, 1829, in which county he lived until he went with 
 his parents to Pulaski County, Arkansas, when he was about six 
 
 vearsof age. In the schools 
 
 of his native county and 
 in those of Little Rock he 
 received proficient training 
 in the fundamentals of an 
 education, and afterwards 
 taught two terms in Point 
 Coupee Parish, Louisiana, 
 one before his marriage and 
 one following that event, 
 which occurred in Pulaski 
 County, Arkansas, in 1852, 
 when he took to wife Miss 
 Emily C. Kellam. After 
 closing his school in Louis- 
 iana, Mr. Terrell returned to 
 Arkansas, where he busied 
 himself in closing the details 
 of his wife's estate. In 1854 
 he came to Texas and settled 
 in U^pshur County on Sulphur 
 Creek, where he contlucted 
 another school for one term. He had made a prospective trip 
 to this frontier, which ended in his decision to locate here, and 
 in November, 1854, he returned to Wise County, accompanied 
 by his wife and his wife's brother, Jacob Kellam, to become a 
 permanent settler. For one dollar per acre Mr. Terrell purchased 
 the claim of a Mr. tomstock, in the neighborhood of Denton 
 Creek, in the east part of the county; hereon he erected a six- 
 
 JOHN J. TERRELL. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL, 
 
 245 
 
 teen-foot-sqiiare log cabin, necessity forcing the family for some 
 time to do without either wftidows or door shutters to the 
 house, such conveniences being unobtainable in the county. 
 Upon the organization of the county in LSofj, Mr. Terrell was 
 selected as one of the first county commissioners, and was also 
 elected justice of the peace for his precinct. At the beginning 
 of Indian hostilities he removed with his family to Decatur, 
 which at the time boasted of but about six families. Mr. Terrell 
 for a number of years conducted a merchandise establishment, 
 and when Decatur began to grow erected the first stone building 
 built in the town. Mrs. Terrell was born in Pulaski County, 
 Arkansas, November 20, 1832. On her father's side she is 
 directly descended from the family 
 of which the famous statesman, 
 John C. Calhoun, was also a des- 
 cendant. 
 
 Mr. Terrell has been dead a num- 
 ber of years, but Mrs. Terrell re- 
 mains hale and hearty, one of the 
 pioneer mothers descended from 
 those tempestuous times. . She re- 
 calls many exciting incidents and 
 occurrences which space limits for- 
 bid describing here. During the 
 days of Indian troubles her home 
 in Decatur was one of the special 
 retreats of outsiders seeking refuge 
 and safety. She can recall vividly 
 having seen Indians in her own 
 barn late at night preparing to take 
 away her horses, and this in the 
 
 village of Decatur. In connection with other Indian experiences 
 she remembers making the winding-sheets for the burial of 
 the murdered Huff women ; also she it was who dressed the 
 scalp of the savage killetl by Captain Hill's company of 
 rangers in the Keep house fight. Mr. and Mj-s. Terrell reared 
 an interesting and accomplished family of children, whose es- 
 sential individual facts of history are as follows: L. P. Terrell, 
 
 MRS. S. L. TERRELL. 
 
246 PIONEER HISTORY OF AVISE COUNTY. 
 
 the oldest, was twice married; first to Carrie Scarborough; 
 secondly and following her death, to Emma Watson. John J. 
 Terrell, the present land commissioner of Texas, was married to 
 Jennie Sanders. Malinda Bell was married to Lute Renshaw; 
 Charles Wn-non Terrell, ex-state senator and present county 
 judge, marrietl Etta May; Jacob Preston married first Sallie 
 Lanier, following whose death he married Sallie Phillips; Mary 
 Elizabeth was married to Stephen A. Lillard; Fannie Ida was 
 married to Walter Cooper; Lillie Rowena was married to Dr. 
 D. H. Payne; Laura Emma was married to J. Foster Lillard 
 and Will Eugene Terrell married Mae Lillard. 
 
 Charles Wrnon Terrell, the third son of Mr. and Mrs. S. L. 
 Terrell, is a native son of Wise County, having been born twelve 
 miles east of Decatur, May 2, ISGL His early schooling was 
 received at Decatur, the schools best remembered by him be- 
 ing those of Professor McConnell, Mr. J. D. White's and Dr. 
 John A. Embry, as well as Parson Haynes'. As a young man 
 Judge Terrell was averse to confinement as clerk in his father's 
 store and chose freighting and outdoor work instead, which is 
 largely accountabl(> for the superb physical strength and sturdi- 
 ness of form and carriage which he })resently enjoys. As a lad 
 he loitered quite frequently about the court house, his father's 
 residence being near at hand, and her(\ while listening to the 
 legal debates and oratory of the lawyei-s he conceived the am- 
 bition to become a lawyer, which led to his beginning legal 
 studies in LS84 under the firm of Carswell & Fuller. He was also 
 influenced in the choice of a i:)rofession by his elder brother, 
 John J. Terrell, who, with much foresight, saw ahead the oppor- 
 tunities for young men of trained skill and cultivated intellect. 
 At the end of his student course Judge Terrell was granted 
 license to practice at the bar, by Judge F. E. Finer. He was 
 immediately placed in the race for city attornc^y by his 
 friends. In 1892 lie was elected county attorn(>y and 
 served four years, during the first year of which, or in 1893, he 
 was niarried to Miss Etta May, at the tim(> an efficient and ad- 
 mired teacher in the public school. Her home was at Cameron, 
 Texas. As county attorney Mr. Terrell made an enviable rec- 
 ord, religiouslv devoting himself to his duties and quitting with 
 
•BIOGRAPHICAL. 247 
 
 an accumulation of experience, ability and reputation that ended 
 in his being elected as the senatorial representative from the 
 Thirty-first District, which comprised Denton, Wise and Mon- 
 tague Counties. In the senate Judge Terrell was a close stu- 
 dent of men and affairs as he has ever been in all the relations 
 of life into which he has entered. He was also instrumental in 
 achieving much beneficial legislation, and is responsible for the 
 location of the North Texas Normal College at Denton. He 
 served a full term in the senate and retired to private practice, 
 but again entered the arena of politics in 1906, when he was 
 selected as the judge of Wise County. 
 
 Judge Terrell is a sterling, sincere, straightforward type of 
 man, loves his home, loves his country and loves his people; in 
 fact, patriotism and loyalty are his chief characteristics. He 
 is possessed of a strong sense of duty and is inherently firm and 
 unalterable in whatever course or policy he thinks is right. 
 Withal he is possessed of a cautious business sense and during 
 the tenure of his present office Wise County will be honestly, 
 efficiently and progressively governed. 
 
 The career of Hon. John J. Terrell, second son and second in 
 line of birth of the children of Samuel L. and Mijs. Terrell, and 
 present land connnissioner of Texas, is regarded with pride by 
 his fellow citizens of Wise County, who have viewed his climb 
 from obscurity to the lofty altitudes of state position and state- 
 wide reputation. Th"s sentiment of pride is heightened by the 
 fact of Mr. Terrell's Wise County nativity, he having been born 
 here January 28, 1857, in a log cabin, newly built by his father, 
 near the eastern boundary of the county, in the vicinity of the 
 mouth of Catlett Creek. 
 
 Mr. Terrell began life in Wise County eJishrouded in the mist 
 and cloud of frontier deprivation and isolation, an environment 
 that has contributed to the darkening of many a talented life 
 through the sheer denial of opportunity and outlet. Some men, 
 however, illuminate their own path ; such a man is Mr. Terrell. 
 He began an early, manly fight against the environing shadows, 
 
248 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 spreading a light about himself in which he worked straight up- 
 ward to one of the highest and most responsible positions in 
 the gift of a great state. Limitations of space forbid minute 
 details of Mr. Terrell's Wise County career. He was early 
 honored here with the positions of surveyor and district clerk, 
 which in combination with private enterprises and real estate 
 transactions kept him energetically employed for a number of 
 years. Then in 1887, through Hon. R. M. Hall, land commis- 
 sioner of Texas, he was extended an opportunity to go up higher, 
 and accepted. Mr. Hall appointed him surveyor and classifier 
 of state public school lands, which led subsequently to his clerk- 
 ship in the land office at Austin and ultimately to his election 
 as land commissioner. 
 
 Mr. Terrell married May 13, 1887, Miss Jennie Sanders, who 
 was born near Nashville, Tennessee, August 28, 1865. Mrs. 
 Terrell is a beautiful and accomplished woman of original 
 pioneer stock of Tennessee, but has been a resident of 
 Texas since the age of nine years. To Mr. and Mrs. Terrell have 
 been born four children, three of whom are living, as follows: 
 Oscar Otis, born at Decatur; Minnie, Myrtle and Jennie Jewell, 
 born at Austin. 
 
 The following bi-icf resume of Mr. Terrell's official career is 
 the contribution of Hon. James T. Robison, chief clerk of the 
 General Land Office, Austin. 
 
 ''He was elected commissioner of the General Land Office of 
 Texas, November, 1902, and assumed the duties of that very 
 important and responsible office January 10, 1903. He was 
 twice re-elected, the last time over active oj)i)osition, and though 
 his third term, received in the Democratic primary over his op- 
 ponent the largest majority ever given one Democrat over 
 another in the history of the state. Though he is strongly urged 
 to again ask re-election, he declines to accept further ])()litical 
 favors. For twelve years i)rior to Mr. Terrell's election he had 
 been an employe of the land office, during which time he had 
 been promoted by every successive connnissioner, s(>rving the 
 last four years as chief clerk. Such was Mr. Terrell's compre- 
 hension of the puri)Ose for which the public lands were dedicated 
 and his knowledge of its provisions, under the guise of law, that 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 249 
 
 he assumed the difficult and laborious task of correcting the 
 evil through the legislature. Though failure was his first re- 
 ward, his two years' conduct of the office, in the interest of the 
 school fund for which the land had been set apart, instead of in 
 the interest of those wanting to speculate upon the land, was 
 such that his views became popular and were enacted into the 
 law of 1905. This law put sales upon the business basis of ad- 
 vertising the land in the broadest possible way and of selling 
 to the one who would pay the most for it. Notwithstanding 
 the best lands had theretofore been sold, yet under this law the 
 land sold during the first year brought to the school fund in 
 round numbers, $5,000,000.00 more than the same quantity of 
 better land had theretofore brought. His land policy has come 
 to stay. The Supreme Court of this state, in a decision in a 
 land case (see Estes vs. Terrell, 15th Texas Court Reporter, page 
 445) , had to say : ' The policy of selling the school lands to the 
 highest bidder is a wise one, ' The public has the most explicit 
 confidence in Mr. Terrell's personal and official integrity. While 
 of a modest bearing and quiet demeanor, he is fearless in his 
 advocacy of the moral side of all public questions', and submits 
 to the dictation of no one. The belief that truth will triumph 
 is a part of his very nature. Though Mr. Terrell is firm in his 
 manner, yet he is kind and generous, and every one of the 
 eighty-five employes who have from the first until now served 
 under him in the land office love him." 
 
 STANHOPE PASCHALL.— J. T. PASCHALL.— 
 W. D. PASCHALL. 
 
 Stanhope Paschall was one of the very earliest arrivals in 
 Wise County, coming in 1855 and settling on Deep Creek, one of 
 the oldest and most prominent communities of the time. He 
 was born in Dixon County, Tennessee, in 1824, December 28th ; 
 before leaving Tennessee, he married Miss Martha Duke. The 
 date of his arrival in Upshur County, Texas, was 1853, from 
 which county he came to Wise. Records of Mr. Paschall's high 
 usefulness to the community as an artisan in wood and iron are 
 
250 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 left in an old day-book retained by his sons, which exhibits the 
 thrift and energy of his nature and his meritorious transactions 
 with the pioneer people. 
 
 Mr. Paschall has bequeathed two sons to present day Wise 
 County life who have been instrumental in its material upbuild- 
 ing. These are J. T. and W. D. Paschall, who, by their high 
 characters as men have not only honored themselves and 
 
 the section in which they 
 
 live, but have conferred 
 special credit upon the 
 pioneer parents who bore 
 them. 
 
 J. T. Paschall is an estim- 
 able farmer of the Deep Creek 
 section. He was born in 
 Dixon County, Tennessee, 
 December 13, 1849, came to 
 Wise County with his father, 
 and in 1875 married Josie 
 (Joodger, to which union 
 eight children — four boys 
 and four girls — were born. 
 Vs'. D. Paschall is number- 
 ed amongst the best known 
 and most influential farmers 
 and business men of Wise 
 County. He is a native son 
 of Wise County, having been 
 born on th(> old Deep Creek 
 farm, December 2(), 1857, th(> 
 year of the establishment of the county seat and the year 
 following the organization of the county. On January 20, 
 188(), Mr. Paschall married Miss Fannie Belle Stamps, and 
 they have had five chiklren, three of whom are living, 
 represented in one boy and two girls, the former being 
 18 years of age. Mr. Paschall is comfortably located within 
 four miles of the town of Boyd. He is one of the county's leaders 
 in every movement that tends to affect the condition of the 
 
 STANHOPE PASCHALL. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 251 
 
 farmer. Ho is a fluent writer, and his eontril)utions to the 
 county })ress, touching upon local problems, evince a widespread 
 interest. He is connected prominently with one of the large 
 farmers' insurance organizations, and in him the farmers have 
 deservedly reposed unlimited trust and confidence. 
 
 ANDREW J. MANN. 
 
 The old community on Deep Creek has produced some of 
 the highest types of citizenship that ever went forth from any 
 country or section. The 
 
 community life there has 
 seemingly tended toward 
 the generation of strong, 
 true qualities of manhood 
 in all the pioneer sons who 
 have been bred in it. A. J. 
 Mann is a typical repre- 
 sentative of that expe- 
 rience, and stands forth 
 to-day one of the capable, 
 trusted farmers and busi- 
 ness men of Wise County. 
 Mr. Mann was born in 
 Upshur County, Texas, 
 January 5, 1851, the son of 
 John Mann and the youngest 
 of thirteen children. In 1858 
 he came to Deep Creek, Wise 
 County, and with the excep- 
 tion of seven years spent in 
 Arizona and New^ Mexico, 
 has been a resident of the 
 
 county since that date. June 29, 1882 he was married to Delia 
 Whorton, the daughter of a citizen of Oliver Creek, and to them 
 have been born six children. The oldest, Charlie, is married 
 and lives in New Mexico; Frank, the next, is in school at Waco; 
 
 A. J. MANN. 
 
252 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 the third son, Grover, is married and lives on the old farm on 
 Deep Creek. The youngest children, Lela, Whorton and Burch, 
 remain with their parents who presently reside at Decatur. 
 
 Mr. Mann is the trusted president of one of the county farmers' 
 insurance companies. 
 
 LAWRENCE L. WARD.— HENRY L. WARD.— 
 J. LAWRENCE WARD. 
 
 Henry L. and Rev. J. Lawrenc(^ Ward, the sons of Lawrence 
 L. Ward, have attained to positions of lorominence in the church 
 and commercial realms of Texas. Their father was a native of 
 Elbert County, Ga., born April 3, 1829, married Lucy A. 
 Marshall, of Chambers County, Ala., and located on Deep 
 Creek, Wise County, in the year of 1858. The wife was born 
 December 18, 1835. 
 
 ■ 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 .^ 
 
 
 
 St 
 
 
 L.^.„ 
 
 ^y 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 
 ^ — J 
 
 mfSt 
 
 
 ^^^k^H| 
 
 LM^_^flB| 
 
 
 mJ\ ^^^^^^H 
 
 1 
 
 MR. L. ].. WARD. 
 
 .MRS. I.. L. WARD. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 253 
 
 The father, Lawrence L. Ward, was one of the efficient repre- 
 sentative citizens of his time. For a number of years he was 
 honored with the office of Justice of the Peace of his precinct, a 
 very responsible position in the early days of the county. Later 
 on Mr. Ward served the county as its Chief Justice, the office of 
 County Judge in the first years of the county organization. 
 When Indian troubles became rife Mr. Ward aligned himself with 
 the Deep Creek militia company, was elected its First Lieutenant, 
 and in this capacity served many years as the defender of the 
 county. His children had the beginnings of their education 
 on Deep Creek under the able tutorship of Robert Walker. The 
 children of Lawrence Ward, Sr., and wife are Mary, who married 
 Mark Oates, of Rhome; Henry L., married Miss May Trewhitt; 
 Laura J. and John G., who died in early youth; Wm. E., married 
 Miss Clementine Paschall; J. F. married Miss Lizzie Whiteside; 
 J. L., married Miss Jennie Beard; Ella, married J. D. Ballard; 
 Lindsay died in infancy. 
 
 Henry L. Ward was born November 9, 1854, near Gilmer, 
 Upshur County, Texas. When about three years of age he was 
 brought to Deep Creek, AVise County, where his early boyhood 
 was spent. Mr. Ward's ascent into the business world has been 
 won step by step. At the age of 20 he joined Capt. George 
 Stevens' ranger company and served for a while on the frontier, 
 following which he went into the store of J. K. Ezell, at Aurora, 
 as clerk. He folio wTd general trading, principally in cattle, 
 until 1884, when he was elected County Clerk of Wise County. 
 His marriage followed in 1885 at Aurora. After two terms as 
 County Clerk, Mr. Ward removed to Springtown, Parker County, 
 •and joined his brother, J. L. Ward, in a general mercantile busi- 
 ness which was conducted under the name of Ward Bros, until 
 1901, when Mr. Ward removed to Decatur. His children are: 
 Maud, married to Dr. J. F. Ford, of Decatur; Grady, a young 
 man at school, and Frank, aged 10 years. As a business man 
 and citizen Mr. Ward enjoys the confidence and esteem of all 
 who know him, wiiich includes most of the people of the 
 county. He is an indefatigable worker in many good causes, 
 being closely identifietl with the management of the Baptist 
 College and of the affairs of the Baptist Church. His business 
 
254 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 judgment is safe and true, the energetic application of which 
 has led him to the accretion of considerable material means. 
 He is investigative, cautious and thoughtful, and represents the 
 very highest type of citizenship, otherwise personified in religious 
 devotion to duty in secular life and devotion to religious duty 
 in spiritual life. 
 
 Rev. J. Lawrence \\^ard has recently been called to a larger 
 field of usefulness in the Baptist Church affairs of the State, 
 which is the corresponding secretaryship of the Texas Baptist 
 Educational Commission, headcjuarters at Waco. To this 
 responsible position he went from the place of President of 
 Decatur Baptist College, an office he had filled with profound 
 credit to himself and growth and success to the school. Mr. 
 Ward's early life was spent on Deep Creek, this county. He 
 was born there and hewed out his early career in positions under 
 its wholesome, pure influences. When a young man he took a 
 clerkship in a store at Aurora, in which village he was married 
 about this time. He then served two other terms as a clerk at 
 Rhome and Decatur, when he opened a store at Springtown, 
 Parker County. Mr. Ward was successful in business, but 
 retired and studied for the ministry at Baylor College. The 
 pastorate of the Baptist Church at Decatur followed his gradua- 
 tion, which position yielded to his acceptation of the Presidency 
 of the College. Analogous to his brother, Henry L. Ward, he 
 is highly regarded by the people of this section. Besides being 
 both devout and intellectual he has evinced strong demonstrated 
 qualities of executiveness. He has merited the great respect 
 and friendship of the people of \Mse County, and will doul)tless 
 achieve like relations in the broader field to which he has gone. 
 
 MRS. MARGARET MANN.— W. J. MANN. 
 
 r Mrs. Margaret Mann is the surviving wife of James Mann, who 
 entered the county with Sam Woody as original prospector in 
 1853. At this writing Mrs. Mann is 73 years of age, 53 years 
 of which have been spent in Wise County. She is one of the 
 citizens who knows what a frontier life means, having indulged 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 255 
 
 to the full in its hardships and joys. She feels that she has been 
 
 one of the humble instruments in the hands of an all-wise 
 
 Providence for the upbuilding and development of the County 
 
 of Wise. Mrs. Mann is a native Tennessean, born there in 
 
 Roan County, and removed to Texas on the date aforementioned. 
 
 In coming to this territory she came with her husband via 
 
 Parker County, being guided by an Indian, the interpreter of 
 
 the fort at Ft. Worth. This was in April, 1854, and Mrs. Mann 
 
 only remembers one family in the 
 
 county at the time, this being Tom 
 
 McCarroll's. Mr. Woody was at 
 
 that time engaged in building his 
 
 log house. Mrs. Mann is the mother 
 
 of 11 children, eight of whom are 
 
 living, as follows: W. J. Mann, lives 
 
 in Wise County ; George Mann, Wise 
 
 County; Mary Ferguson, Wise 
 
 County; Mrs. Nannie Simpson, Wise 
 
 County; Mrs. Fannie Swift, Hall 
 
 County; Mrs. AUie Eddins, Wise 
 
 County; Robert Mann, Oklahoma; 
 
 Tom Mann, Paradise. 
 
 W. J. Mann was born-in Tarrant 
 County, Texas, March 8, 1854, and 
 was brought to Wise County in his 
 infancy. His father, James Mann, 
 settled the old Holmes place in the 
 
 neighborhood of Deep Creek, so that W. J. grew up under the 
 nurture and inspiration of that section. He recalls many tem- 
 pestuous experiences of boyhood and young-manhood. He has 
 been upon the trail of the Indian, rode the open in the wake of 
 cattle, farmed and tilled in the fields. He grew strong, rugged and 
 sensible in contact with these burly elements; also he grew into 
 a man of pronounced strength and integrity of character. In 
 the year of 1880 he married Miss Mattie Perkins, following 
 whose death he later married Miss Loutie Lindsey. By both 
 unions Mr. Mann has reared eleven children, whose names are 
 
 MRS. MARGARET MANN, 
 
256 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 as follows: Lee, the oldest, who married Miss Miranda Gibbons, 
 and who is a popular and progressive merchant at Paradise; 
 Lynn, assistant-postmaster at Decatur; and the following who 
 are at home: Jim, Charlie, Allie, Bessie, Nell, Dick Coke, John 
 Patterson Burleson, Harry Harrison and Thomas Drew. During 
 Cleveland's first administration Mr. Mann served Wise County 
 two terms as sheriff, and the county never had a better one in 
 that capacity. At present he lives on his farm south of Paradise, 
 and is one of the substantial and intelligent men of influence in 
 all county and neighborhood affairs. 
 
 ROBERT H. WALLACE.— JOHN H. WALLACE. 
 
 Robert H. Wallace was born in Oglethorpe County, Georgia, 
 August 16, 1818, and spent his early youth in that state and in 
 Tennessee. In the latter state in 1848 he marrierl Hulda M. 
 Hardwick, and afterwards removed to Arkansas, where, in Ben- 
 ton County he resided until 1857, when he brought his family 
 to Wise County, their future home. Arriving in Wise Coimty, 
 Mr. Wallace took by pre-emption the tract of land now known 
 as the Halsell place, on the southwest outskirts of Decatur. 
 Here he raised a large family, the names of the children being 
 in succession — 
 
 Arabella. 
 
 Cynthy J. — married Gum Rhoades. 
 
 John H. — born in Benton County, Arkansas, August 12, 1854. 
 
 C. M. Wallace. 
 
 Emma Wallace — married Louis Calvert of Oklahoma. 
 
 Mary Wallace — married Anderson Acres. 
 
 W\ F. Wallace — married Ida Foss, Washington. 
 
 Mr. Wallace died in 1873. He is remembered as a good, strong 
 man and citizen of his times, and as an active member of the 
 local militia companies during the war and Indian troubles. 
 
 John H. Wallace and Mrs. Gum Rhoades are the only two 
 children of the elder ^^'allace now living in Wise County. Both 
 
BIOLOGICAL. 257 
 
 are generally well liked for the many good qualities possessed 
 by them. Mr. Wallace for a number of years has taken a lead- 
 ing part in the various affairs that affect his conununity and 
 county. He made one of the most systematic and businesslike 
 commissioners the county has been honored with. During his 
 tenure of the office of connnissioner, the county began the erec- 
 tion of the beautiful courthouse at the county seat, and it was 
 largely through Mr. Wallace's taste, direction and influence that 
 this structure was reared as presently proportioned. To him 
 was assigned the task of representing th(> county during the 
 building of the courthouse", during which time he was persistently 
 on duty, carefully watching that all construction and improve- 
 ments were made in accordance with contract. Mr. Wallace 
 now lives on his farm about four miles northwest of Decatur, 
 but he keeps constantly in touch with the current affairs of the 
 county and public generally. He is progressive and enterprising 
 and enjoys the high confidence of all who know him. Doubt- 
 less no county citizen appreciates the responsibilities of citizen- 
 ship more than he, nor performs them more willingly. Since its 
 organization Mr. Wallace has been the president of the Wise 
 County Old Settlers' Association, and by his efforts and those of his 
 associates and executive committeemen has succeeded in resur- 
 recting the old settlers from their place of neglect and thrust- 
 ing them forward into the appreciation of the later generations. 
 
 Mr. Wallace was a typical pioneer boy, sharing in all the joys 
 and hardships of the time, and recalls many experiences. Among 
 them is the recollection of the memorable night when as a guard 
 over his father's horses he shot an Indian who was attempting 
 to reach the stable to steal them. He was sitting inside the 
 house at the time and fired out of an open window; the Indian 
 jumped and yelled, l)ut escaped in the timber, leaving stains of 
 blood behind. 
 
 Mr. Wallace has been twice married, first in 1877 to Hopie 
 Calvert, who died in November, 1893. On December 30, 1896, 
 Mr. Wallace was married to Mattie E. Killough. To both 
 unions seven children have been born. Mr. Wallace has been a 
 citizen of Wise County since 1857. 
 
 "17 
 
258 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF AVISE COUNTY 
 
 DR. THOMAS STEWART.— MRS. JULIA STEWART.— 
 J. C. CARPENTER. 
 
 Mrs. Julia A. Stewart, aged 84 years, one of the oldest citizens 
 living to represent the pioneer period, with bright and undimin- 
 ished mind contributes a 
 sketch of the 
 
 self and 
 
 life of her- 
 husband during 
 
 DR. THOMAS STEWART. 
 
 MRS. JULIA A. STEWART. 
 
 the early days of the county, which deserves to be whoU}- rcjjro- 
 duced here, but is abridged in the interest of economy of space. 
 The following excerj)ts are taken fi'om Mrs. Stmvart's contri- 
 bution. 
 
 Dr. Thomas A. Stewart was boin September 14, 1822, in In- 
 diana County, Pennsylvania. He was an early emigrant to the 
 state of Illinois, and in LS.j.j was one of the first arrivals in ^^'isc 
 County. Dr. Stewart married Julia A.* Brady, sister of Judge 
 W. W. Brady, of Wise County, February 8, 1842. :\lrs. Stewart 
 was born June 21, 1828. Mrs. Stewart thus descril)es the 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 259 
 
 emergence of her party into Texas: "We crossed the Red River 
 December 24, 1855. AYith us were W. W. Brady and our five 
 children. When we drove out of Red River bottom we were 
 struck with awe and admiration at the vast plains and the 
 varied landscape, with the scattered fields of fall-sown grain 
 green and beautiful. It seemed to us we had landed in Para- 
 dise when we compared the country with frozen, bleak Illinois." 
 
 Parker County was the planned destination, but after crossing 
 Wise County and observing its advantages, Dr. Stewart decided 
 to locate here. Mrs. Stewart says: "In West Fork bottom the 
 wild rye was knee-deep and so green and pretty." 
 
 Roving about the trackless forests, the party came upon Ben 
 Crews, who directed them to a suitable camp on Deep Creek, 
 and after some time spent there, a location was made on Oliver 
 Creek, where lands were purchased and a home started. Mrs. 
 Stewart says : "We found the largest-hearted and most generous 
 people here in Texas we had ever met in life." Her interesting 
 description of the character of life lived must give way to more 
 essential facts found further on in her notes. At the beginning 
 of Indian troubles Dr. Stewart grew discouraged and planned 
 to return to Illinois, a move which Mrs. Stewart successfully 
 pleaded against. Cattle were then bought and a ranch started 
 on Sandy Creek, resulting in Dr. Stewart becoming quite 
 wealthy, but a fortune which was afterward sacrificed to savages 
 and thieves. The Sand Hill community then became their 
 home for a number of years, but in 1867 the family moved to 
 Kansas, thence to Colorado, and from there to California and 
 Oregon, finally back to Texas. 
 
 Dr. Stewart was a pioneer physician in Wise County. He 
 went at the call of duty with pill-bags behind and Winchester 
 before. He was a great hunter and it was also necessary to 
 watch for Indians. He was a man of more than ordinary intel- 
 ligence and enjoyed the respect and confidence of the people antl 
 was for years one of the leading physicians. Being of adventurous 
 temperament, he had gone to California in the gold excitement 
 of 1849. At the approach of the Civil War he enlisted as sur- 
 geon on Colonel Sweet's staff, but later became exempt for being 
 over the re(|uired age. He soon joined the frontier service and 
 
260 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 was assigned to Captain Ward's company, following which he 
 moved his family to Buffalo Springs. After some years' service 
 he returned to Decatur and lived until his removal to Kansas. 
 The latter years of his life were passed in Oregon. Stricken 
 with an incurable disease, he returnetl to Decatur, and in June, 
 1899, died in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Mary G. Shown, 
 surrounded by friends and relatives. He lies buried in Sand Hill 
 Cemetery. Dr. Stewart is survived by his wife, Mrs. Julia A. 
 Stewart, and the following children: Mrs. Mary G. Shown, 
 Jacksboro; Mrs. S. C. Cargill, Davidson, Oklahoma; Mrs. M. E. 
 Brown, Markley, Texas; Thomas L. Stewart, California. 
 
 Mrs. Stewart closes her notes as follows: "I lived much on 
 the frontier; have helped many that came in to find homes; I 
 took them in and cared for their families without charge; I 
 only asked them to do likewise for those who came to them as 
 they came to me. I am now 84 years old. I have worked hard 
 and have no earthly goods — nothing to clog my wings when 
 God calls me to go up higher. \Mse County pioneers, I hope to 
 meet vou all in heaven." 
 
 J. C. CARPENTER. 
 
 A man that had a broad acquaintance and many sincere 
 friends over this section was Jesse C. Carpenter, who married 
 Mary Stewart, daughter of Dr. Thomas and Mrs. Stewart, in 
 Butler County, Kansas, December 26, 1867. Mr. Carpenter was 
 a native of North Carolina, in Surrey County, in which state he 
 was born January 16, 1841. Until the date of his death he was 
 one of the foremost citizens of Wise County and a very active 
 and successful cattleman and business man. On the night of 
 August 25, 1898, he was struck antl killed by lightning while 
 engaged in unloading a train of cattle at Decatur, ^^'riting 
 of the fatal occurrence and the man, some one truthfully said 
 of him, the excerpt being reproduced from a local pai)er as 
 follows: "Mr. Carpenter emigrated from North Carolina while 
 vet a young man, and located in Wise County in 1868. His 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 2(31 
 
 education was quite limited, but what he lacked in knowledge 
 of books was amply made up in native ability. He was a live, 
 restless business man, prompt in keeping all his promises and 
 engagements. His purse, heart and hantl were always open to 
 his friends and those in trouble. And while the writer of this 
 has been intimately associated with Mr. Carpenter socially and 
 in business matters for the last thirty years, would not write 
 
 MR. J. C. CAIIPEXTER. 
 
 MRS. J. C. CARPENTER-SHOWX, 
 
 him down as being perfect. Yet his faults were few and the 
 noble traits in his character were such that those who knew 
 him best were disposed to count his failings virtues. He was 
 true to friends and his country." 
 
 A few years ago Mrs. Carpenter was married to Mr. Doc 
 Shown, and now lives in Jacksboro, Texas. She is one of the 
 intelligent, noble women remaining to us from that period. The 
 children of Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter are Bob and Jess, and Dottie 
 who married W. H. Port wood. 
 
262 PIONEER HISTORY OF AVISE COUXTY, 
 
 T. PERRIN. 
 
 Tenioleoii Perrin was born in Rock Castle County, Kentucky, 
 October 16, 1852, and was brought to Texas and Wise County 
 by his father, Wni. Perrin, when he was about two years old. 
 Mr. Perrin is quiet and unassuming by nature, but is one of the 
 best of friends when once his friendship has been won. He is a 
 member of one of the best known and best respected families of 
 the pioneer days — a family that has always stood by Wise County 
 in all her troubles and misfortunes. Mr. Perrin is a member of 
 the executive committee of the Old Settlers' Association and has 
 always shown a willingness to do his part in every instance. He 
 was married in 1882 to Jennie Sensibaugh, a member of another 
 old settler family, and five children have been born to them, the 
 oldest being now 18. Mr. and Mrs. Perrin are comfortably 
 located on a farm south of Decatur. 
 
 DR. WM. RENSHAW.— J. A. RENSHAW.— L. RENSHAW. 
 
 The name Renshaw is interwoven with the successive stages 
 of development of this county, beginning in 1859, and is still in 
 continuance. In the latter year Dr. Wm. Renshaw^ arrived here 
 with his family from White Coimty, Tennessee. He was born, 
 however, in Illinois, in the town of Decatur, Sangamon County, 
 March 9, 1822. He afterwards emigrated to. W^arren County, 
 Tennessee, where he read medicine under his future wife's uncle, 
 and on December 23, 1847, he married Sarah A\'orthington. 
 Dr. Renshaw then settled in White County and lived some years 
 practicing his profession. He also served one or two terms in 
 the Tennessee legislature. In 1853, before any settlements had 
 been made in Wise County, Dr. Renshaw made an adventurous 
 trip to this section, and through the assistance of the Cooke 
 County land office, laid a locating certificate over a large and 
 rich body of land in Catlett Creek bottom some miles east of 
 Decatur. In 1859 Dr. Renshaw brought out his family over- 
 land in wagons and established a home on his land, the place 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 263 
 
 beconiiiio; known historically later on as the Renshaw place. 
 Dr. Renshaw remained here until about 1870, when he moved 
 his family to Decatur, where ultimately he was interested in a 
 drug store business. He died May 20, 1887. 
 
 Mrs. Sarah Renshaw was born in Warren County, Tennessee, 
 October 1(), 1826. She lived a long life in Decatur antl vicinity, 
 raised a large family of children and was esteemed to be one of 
 
 DR. WM. RENSHAW. 
 
 MRS. DR. WM. RENSHAW 
 
 the best and most Christian-like women that ever came to the 
 county. Throughout her life she was a devoted member of 
 the Baptist C-hurch and lived daily in as near accordance with its 
 principles and teachings as she knew how. She was gathered 
 to her final and deserved rest August 16, 1904. 
 
 No citizen contributed more to the progress, health and happi- 
 ness of the pioneer communities than Dr. Renshaw. He was a 
 broadly intelligent man, a splendid physician and active and 
 
264 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 persistent in his calling, his territory of practice extending 
 from as far east as Denton County to Jack County on the west. 
 To Dr. and Mrs. Renshaw were born the following children: 
 J. A., married Lizzie Perrin; Lucius, married MalindaBell Terrell; 
 Mary Emma, died young; Eva Dorinda, married John W. Hogg; 
 Alice, married John Ray; Hattie, married R. H. Beall. 
 All the above were born in Sparta, Tennessee. The following 
 are Wise County children : Charles Franklin, married Rhoda 
 PinkstafT; Eugenia Bell, married James Wright; Sarah 
 Josephine, married Judge W. H. Bullock; William S., married 
 Luna Kenny ; John B., married Anna Calhoun and liv(>s in Cali- 
 fornia. The two oldest sons of Dr. and Mrs. Renshaw, J. A. 
 and Lucius, have clung to the old inheritance on Catlett Creek 
 and have gradually bought up and extended their possessions 
 until they own a considerable portion of the region, besides 
 numerous horses and cattle. They are wide-awake, enterpris- 
 ing, shrewd and careful business men and farmers. They also 
 enjoy the confidence of the people, as men of the highest integ- 
 rity, honor and character, which heightens their worth and 
 value as citizens. 
 
 J. A. or Add Renshaw was born in Sparta', AMiite County, 
 Tennessee, October 21, 1848, married March 23, 1869, Lizzie 
 Perrin, daughter of Samuel Perrin. Their children are as fol- 
 lows: Lucius, died young; Ella, -married S. Hoyl; Will, married 
 Anna McCaskey; Gordon, married Larue Sandusky; Ethel, at 
 home; Edgar, married Alice Arnett; Sally, Holley, Charlie and 
 Gladys, at home. 
 
 Lute Renshaw was born Sei)tember 18, 1850, in Sparta, White 
 County, Tennessee; married February 17, 1875, Malinda Belle 
 Teri'ell, daughter of Samuel L. Terrell of Decatiu-. Their 
 children are: La Fayette, married Jennie Neel, lives in Rhome; 
 Eula, teacher in Decatur High School; AlUe, Bessie, Sam, Lutie, 
 John, Bascomb, Horace and Ralph, at home. 
 
 HENRY AND TOM JENNINGS. 
 
 Henry and Tom Jennings retain a hold upon the affections of 
 all those in Wise County who became informed of the brave and 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 265 
 
 gallant manner in which these two, in connection with others, 
 defended the county during the hours when it was being at- 
 tacked by savage Indians. There was never a fight or a chase, 
 never a night's sentinel, but that one or both of the Jennings' 
 were concerned therein . 
 Both were close companions 
 of Captain George Stevens 
 in his many forays with the 
 human beasts that preyed 
 upon the people of AVise 
 County. They were born 
 in Lowns County, Alabama, 
 June 22, 1830, and October 
 8, 1827, the first date Ixnng 
 the birth of Tom and the 
 latter of Henry. Tom Jen- 
 nings married Emeline Fin- 
 ley and to them five chil- 
 dren were born. Henry Jen- 
 nings married Emeline John- 
 son in the State of Arkan- 
 sas, and to them no chil- 
 dren were born. Henry Jen- 
 nings last year passed over 
 the great divide to again be- 
 come a traveler in a new 
 
 country, but a far happier one than his domicile on the frontier 
 of Wise County. Tom lives quietly about six miles northwest 
 of Decatur, still hearty and in the enjoyment of life. Both 
 have made worthy citizens and have shed a lustre on the citi- 
 zenship of which they were a part when their l)lood ran warm 
 and active. 
 
 MR. .\ND MRS. TOM JENNINGS. 
 
 JOHN A. WASSON. 
 
 John A. Wasson has been a citizen of Wise County since 1859. 
 He is 61 years of age, having been born March 14, 1846, and is 
 one of the best preserved men in Wise County. His life has 
 
266 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 largely been spent in the ()|)on, which has cnal^lod him to drink 
 deep draughts of God's enlivening ozone and to retain vigor 
 and strength as a consequence. Mr. Wasson's early youth was 
 spent in Missouri and Kansas. He then came to Wise Count}' 
 and followed farming and cattle driving. The most of his life 
 has been spent in stock dealing of one kind and another, though 
 in later years he lias ujion numerous occasions made the town 
 of Decatur an excellent peace officer. He was married March 
 20, 1867, to Mrs. Allen Bryant, of ^'an Zandt County, and to 
 them was born one child, Josie by name, who on reaching 
 womanhood married S. P. Smith, a prominent business man of 
 Decatur. During the war Mr. Wasson was twice enlisted in the 
 service of the Confederacy, going away the first time with Cap- 
 tain Pickett's Comjmny. At the termination of the war he was 
 serving in defense of the frontier in a ranger company. 
 
 R. M. COLLINS. 
 
 The subject of this sketch became well known to the |)ioneers 
 and the subsequent ]ieriod as its ablest writer and editor, he be- 
 ing looked upon for many years as the leader of discussion and 
 thought on political and allied c[uestions. He was also gifted 
 with L'ish wit and the heavenly capacity for seeing the gleam of 
 sunshine that accompanies every dark cloud. Mr. Collins was 
 born in Bradley County, Tennessee, January 20, 183S; came to 
 Wise County at a very early date, and married May 7, 1868, Miss 
 Margaret A. Reed, at Denton, Texas. Mrs. Collins was born in 
 Camden County, Tennessee, September 1, 1849. To them the 
 following children were born: Effie, born in Denton, married 
 T. E. Ponder; Richard E. Collins, joint editor and proprietor of 
 the Wise County Messenger, Decatur; Jessie M., marrietl E. P. 
 Gibson; Buck, lives at Cleburne; Frances, at home. 
 
 Mr. Collins' prolonged and tempestuous experiences in the 
 Civil War as a member of the first company that embarked 
 from Wise County, are described in his genuinely interesting 
 and amusing book entitled, "Chapters from the LTn written His- 
 tory of the War, "excerpts from which have been made in the 
 
HIOCUAPHICAL. 
 
 207 
 
 foregoing pages. His more intimate history is described by his 
 hfe-long friend, Charles D. Gates, in a newpaper article con- 
 tributed at the time of Colonel Collins' death in San Antonio, 
 about nine years ago. The following are notes made from that 
 article : 
 
 Mr. Collins was of poor parentage, who died when he was but 
 a- child. He was bound out under the then existing laws to 
 John Lane, who emigrated to Texas in 1852. Mr. Lane brought 
 
 Bob Collins with him and 
 settled in Smith County, and 
 some time afterwards tiled. 
 Bob, then a young man, 
 then came to Wise County 
 with Pleas Brj-ant, who 
 settled in the valley near 
 Sand Hill. Mr. Collins then 
 obtained what little educa- 
 tion he had in the Sand Hill 
 schools, being one year under 
 the guidance of Mr. J. D. 
 White, who, in the goodness 
 of his soul and the interest 
 of struggling young man- 
 hood, gave him his tuition 
 free. He then came to De- 
 catur and clerketl for Howell 
 & Allen, the first store of 
 Decatur, retaining this posi- 
 tion until the beginning of 
 the war, when he entered as 
 a private and remained throughout its duration , coming out as 
 first lieutenant. After the war he was a merchant botl\ at De- 
 catur and Denton. Later on, he was a hotel and newspaper 
 man, having been (nlitor and proprietor of the Decatur Post 
 and Denton Monitor. In his later years he was traveling cor- 
 respondent for the Texas Live Stock Journal, in which capacity 
 he took sick and died at San Antonio, December 10, 1898. 
 Mr. Cates said: "Collins towered away above the ordinary in 
 
 K. M. COLLINS. 
 
268 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 native ability, antl had not his early education been so woefully 
 neglected, he would have been an intellectual giant. He be- 
 longed to the Masonic, I. O. O. F., Knights of Pythias, W. 0. W. 
 and Knights of Honor fraternities, and was a member of the 
 M. E. Church. In youth he struggletl in obscurity, made a 
 good citizen in life, and died honorable. I have trod the path 
 of life side by side with one of the most noble men I ever knew." 
 
 THOMAS S. COGDELL. 
 
 The family of the above name left Wise County during the 
 days of civil war strife back in the early sixties, but up to that 
 time had been numbered with the best known and most respected 
 citizens of the county. The old pioneers will be interested in 
 the following essential facts of the Cogdell family history: 
 
 Thos. S. Cogdell, the forebear, was born in Sampson County, 
 North Carolina, in March, 1809, his ancestors being originally 
 from Ireland. The young man spent [)art of his youth in 
 Tennessee, but in 1834 was living in Farmington, Tishomingo 
 County, Mississippi, where he worked as a wood workman and 
 blacksmith. In 1842 in the same county he married Pamelia 
 F. Brown, after which he moved to Platte County, Missouri, 
 where the oldest child was born ; thence in 1845 or '46 to near 
 Shelbyville, Tennessee. In 1848 Mr. Cogdell brought his family 
 to Cass County, Texas, thence to Dallas County in 1852, and to 
 Wise County in 1854, settling on what is now known as the 
 Holmes place, seven or eight miles southeast of Decatur. 
 
 Mrs. Cogdell was born in Lawrence County, Alabama, in about 
 1824. She was proficiently educated, and began and pursued 
 the education of her first children herself. Mr. Cogdell was 
 almost uneducated, but a man of fine connnon sense and native 
 ability. Mrs. Cogdell came from an old Scotch Covenanter 
 family which bore an extreme hatred for AVesleyanism. Mr. 
 Cogdell, being a devout and zealous Methodist and remaining 
 so all his life, found it necessary to remove his wife from the 
 influence of her father before he could proceed with matrimonial 
 intentions. Both were strong, independent characters and 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 209 
 
 neither ever forgot their old rehgious procUvities. Their re- 
 spective famiUcs were also opposed in politics, one l)eing old line 
 Whigs, the other Jacksonian Democratic. Those were honest 
 days, when people fought for their principles. In Wise County 
 this family was in the thick of the most severe of frontier hard- 
 ships, but are reme'mbered to have withstood them bravely and 
 with fortitude. In 1865 the family moved to Dallas County, 
 
 THOS. S. COGDELL 
 
 MRS. THOS. S. COGDELL. 
 
 where Mrs. Cogdell died in March, 1865. Mr. CogdcU died in 
 1871. Six children came with them to Wise County, namely: 
 Alf B., now an aged and respected citizen of Itasca, Hill County. 
 As a young man Alf B. went from Wise county in the Ci\'il War 
 and his record in successive battles and campaigns reflect upon 
 him jH-ofound credit. Mrs. Armenia Ballew, Bos(|ueville; Mrs. 
 Emily F. Rogers, Waco; Daniel C, Granbury. Mr. Dan Cogdell 
 has lived in Hood County twenty years, and is a wealthy and 
 influential citizen; he is president of the First National Bank of 
 
270 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Granbury and largely interested in land and cattle. He also has 
 a large family: Mrs. Laura Dawson, Houston; Mrs. Russell, 
 died at Llano, Texas. The following were born in Wise County : 
 John W., died early ; Thos. S., Jr., who now lives in Hood County, 
 being a substantial farmer and cattle owner, and highly regarded 
 for his upright character. He has only himself and wife in his 
 family; James 0., now in Waco; Charles died during the Civil 
 War. 
 
 LEMUEL AND NANCY CARTWRIGHT.— DR.'J. W. CART- 
 WRIGHT AND C. A. CARTWRIGHT. 
 
 Uncle Ltnn. Cartwright can almost be truthfully described 
 as the pioneer of Methodism in Wise County, for he it was, before 
 
 UNCLE LEM CAHTWHIGHT. 
 
 -MRS. NANCY CAHTWHKiHT. 
 
 any churches could be built, surn^ndered his home to the first 
 church congregation organized in Wise County. " Old Sway- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 271 
 
 back," described in previous chapters, was the Cartwright home 
 befon^ it became the first church. Many hallowed associations 
 cling around " Old Sway back," and in identification with them 
 will ever remain the name of Cartwright. 
 
 Lemuel Cartwright was born in Bradley County, Tennessee, 
 November 28, 1818. His father and mother died in his in- 
 fancy, and he was raised an orphan boy. In 1838 he married 
 Nancy Mounts, who was a native of Bradley County. They 
 came to Texas as early as 1847, and lived in Rusk County, from 
 whence they came to Wise County among the earliest of pioneers. 
 The names of their children are in succession as follows : George, 
 Tom, John W. James, Charlie, Allen, Dock, Lee, and Mary. The 
 fourth son, Charlie, now lives in Wise County, and is a prominent 
 and respected farmer. He is a man of the highest integrit}^ 
 is continuously found identified with all good movements, and 
 a worthy descendant of the worthy parents who bore him. 
 Mr. Cartwright is another of the valued members of the Old 
 Settlers' Association and a useful committeeman. He was 
 born October 27, 1850, in Rusk County. Came to Wise County 
 in 1854, married, in 1877, Miss Susan B. Gentry. In 1876 he was 
 a member of Capt. Ira Long's Ranger company. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Cartwright have raised nine children. Mrs. Cartwright died in 
 1903, and is buried at Sand Hill. 
 
 Dr. John W. Cartwright, the third son of Mr. and Mrs. Lemuel 
 Cartwright, was one of the l)est known and most influential 
 Wise County citizens up to the time of his removal to the Pan 
 Handle. The early incidents of his life condensed are as follows: 
 Born in Carroll County, Georgia, in 1845, came to Smith County, 
 Texas, in 1846, and to Wise County in 1854. Enlisted in 1864 
 under Major Quaile, Captain Pickett's company for defense of 
 Wise County against Indians. Entered school in Jacksonville, 
 Texas, at close of war. Returned to Wise County in 1867 and 
 taught a session of school at Sand Hill. Returned to school at 
 Alvarado in 18()8, and at Mansfield later. Began reading 
 medicine in 1869 under Dr. A. K. Middleton, Johnson's Station, 
 Tarrant County. Taught second school in Wise County in 1870. 
 Entered Medical College, Louisville, Ky., in 1870. Commenced 
 
PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 the practice of medicine in State of Illinois, because, as Dr. 
 Cartwright says, his tuition and board had consumed his money. 
 Returned to Louisville College in 1873 and graduated. In 1875 
 he returned to Texas and married Miss Allie Stephens, of Ft. 
 ^^'orth. Dr. and Mrs. Cartwright located in Illinois where the 
 l^ractice of medicine was resumed for several years, or until 
 1877, when they returned to Decatur to live. Ten years later 
 
 Dr. Cartwright moved to 
 within a few miles of* Ama- 
 rillo in the Pan Handle. His 
 territory of practice extend- 
 ed in vYvvy direction a hun- 
 dred or more miles. Dr. 
 Cartwright says that he re- 
 turned to Decatur from Illi- 
 nois " to be with the same 
 good people of my boyhood 
 days who had been so ready 
 and willing to aid me in my 
 struggles for an education. 
 Such people as these, like 
 Moses, will continue to live 
 oil and ()n,and whenCabriel 
 shall blow his horn, will come 
 forward with willing hands 
 to continue their good 
 work." 
 
 Dr. Cartwright retir(\l from 
 the ])ractice of medicine and 
 located in Aniarilio. His ranch lands on which he first locatcnl 
 increased in value and augmented his nutans quite considerably. 
 Seven of th(» nine children born to Dr. and Mrs. Cartwright are 
 living, named as follows: Chas. L., with wife and three children, 
 live at Dalhart, for three years Methodist minister at that place; 
 •Myrtle, married David A. Park, of Canyon City, Texas; Ernest 
 A. Cartwright, True and Johnnie, and two little boys, Hubert 
 and Rolla, are at home. 
 
 DR. 
 
 W. C.VRTWRIGHT. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 273 
 
 CAPT. CHARLIE C. THOMPSON. 
 
 A typical pioneer is personified in the subject of tliis 
 sketch. Ever he has been lirave, liardy and chivalrous 
 and gallant, a compound of the qualities which go to 
 make an ideal citizen of the frontier. Mr. Thompson is also 
 rugged and independent in his views, and accepts political 
 doctrine only as it accords with his standards of eijuity. Born 
 in Ray County, Tennessee, 
 May 12, 1834, he abandon-, 
 ed a good home with his 
 father, who was a leading 
 physician, and in 1858 , 
 came to Wise County where 
 he has shared in its hard- 
 ships and difficulties, and 
 aided it towards its present 
 place of eminence. On May 
 5, 1870, Capt. Thompson 
 married Miss Alice Beason, 
 who has stood side by side 
 with him through his jo}^-; 
 and cares. To them has 
 been born three children, 
 two of whom are married. 
 They are Myra, married B. 
 B. Sellars, now at Ft. Worth, 
 and son of Capt. M. D. Sel- 
 lars, of Decatur; Charlie 
 Alice, married Clyde McMur- 
 
 ray, son of Hon. T. J. McMurray, of Decatur: Miss Jessie 
 Thompson remains at home. Capt. Thompson comes from 
 an influential family in Tennessee, and Mrs. Thompson is 
 directly related to one of the best known of Texas educators, 
 who bears her maiden name. Capt. Thompson's record in the 
 Confederate service has been elsewhere describetl. They live 
 comfortably five miles south of Decatur. 
 
 18 
 
 C. C. THOMPSON. 
 
274 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUXTY. 
 
 W. A. KING. 
 
 When the forty-niners were going to California, William A. 
 King, with a company of travelers came to Texas. He was 
 born in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, August 22, 1827, about 
 16 miles from Tuscaloosa. In the year of 1840 he was living 
 in the State of Mississippi, from which State he came to 
 Texas in 1849. His first rendezvous was in Hopkins and Lamar 
 
 (\junties, and it was 18()0 
 
 before he reached Wise 
 County as a permanent 
 settler. On April 27, 1848, 
 in Tishomingo County, Mis- 
 sissippi, Mr. King had mar- 
 ried Arena J. Burton, who 
 accompanied him to Texas 
 in the above year. Tisho- 
 mingo County is now known 
 as Prentiss County. InAA'ise 
 County Mr. King settlednear 
 the old Sand Hill camp 
 ground, and lived there many 
 years, becoming identified as 
 one of the moving spirits in 
 the connnunity. It is as one 
 of the old group of Sand Hill 
 citizens that he is best re- 
 memb(M-ed. Mr. King served 
 for many months in the fron- 
 tier ranger service, traveling 
 dui'ing the time over a greater part of the wild and unorganized 
 territory to the west of Wise County. He accomplished his part 
 in all the duties of th(> hour and remains a hale and hearty 
 old j)ioneer, beloved and respected by all who know him. His 
 childr(>n are: Savilla, wife of J. W. Young; Mollie, widowed 
 wife of Tom J. Jarrell; George, of Bowie, Texas; Belle, married 
 C. A. Saunders, of Decatur, and Gus, who married Hattie B. 
 Gentry, and is a prominent stockman of Clay County, Texas. 
 
 W. \. KING. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 275 
 
 J. D. AVHITE. 
 
 The subject of this sketch was born in Greenville, Ford County, 
 Illinois, June 5, 1831, and was educated in the common schools 
 of that county and th(^ CJreenville Academy. Among his school- 
 mates was Robert G. Ingersoll, whom Mr. White recalls as a very 
 studious and elociuent young scholar. Mr. White also recalls 
 having heard Abraham Lincoln speak on numerous occasions, 
 both Ingersoll and Lincoln making lasting impressions on his 
 
 J. D. WHITE. 
 
 MRS. J. D. WHITE. 
 
 youthful mind. Mr. White came to Texas at the age of 19, 
 settled in Dallas County and taught school until fall of 1852. He 
 then went to Southwest Texas and joined Capt. H. Clay Davis' 
 company of Texas Rangers which had been commissioned by 
 Governor P. H. Bell and stationed at Rio Grande City, in 
 Starr County, on the lower Rio Grande Riven-. The Com- 
 
2/b PIOXEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 pany ranged from Brownsville to Laredo and particii)ated in 
 a number of hard fought battles both with Indians and roving 
 bands of outlaw Mexicans. After being mustered out of service, 
 Mr. AMiite came back to Dallas County and taught another 
 school, and in 185(3 came to Wise County, where he has since 
 resided. One of the best known schools and one of the most 
 successful in ultimate results was that which Mr. White taught 
 for two or three sessions at Sand Hill. In 1858 Mr. White was 
 elected assessor and collector of taxes for ^^lse County, which 
 office he retained two terms, ^^'hen the war came up he joined 
 the frontier forces and participated in many of the defensive 
 operations against the Indians. After the war he held the office 
 of Comity School Superintendent for a year, and was then elected 
 County Commissioner and re-elected, serving in all six years. 
 He saw the beginning of Indian troubles of ^^'ise County as well 
 as the ending, having fought in the memorable last fight which 
 the savages waged against the county. This was the Huff family 
 massacre, the particulars of which have been describetl. Mr. 
 White has always been a Democrat and active in politics. He 
 is a man of strong intellect, quick to detect falseness and deceit, 
 and instantaneous to accord praise and commendation wherever 
 such is due. He is representativ(> of a high type of intelligence, 
 dutiful and active in his relations to the progress and upbuilding 
 of the county and a courageous defender of the truth and up- 
 holder of the right. He is one of the revered, strong, shrewd, 
 old gentlemen of the pioneer days, and may be filly describefl 
 as one of Wise County's grand old men. 
 
 Mr. White was married to Mary Perriii, daughter of Samuel 
 and (^aroline Perrin, early citizens of the county. She was born 
 in Kentucky, came to Collin County in 1852, and to Wise County 
 in 1854. She was a pupil in the first county school and a member 
 of the first organized Haptist church. Mr. and Mrs. White's 
 children are as follows: Dr. Frank S. White, of Terrell, one of 
 the foremost physicians of Texas and ex-superintendent of the 
 North Texas Insane Asylum; James P. White, Oklahoma; John 
 T. White, at home; Wm. D. White, \Mse County; Gofi' White, 
 in Texas Ranger service, Austin; Miss May White, at home; 
 Mrs. Roe Shoemaker, Bridgeport. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 277 
 
 MR. AND MRS. JAMES A. PROCTOR. 
 
 The illustration of the family group aceonnjainMiig this sketch 
 reprosoiits in the foreground Mi', and Mrs. J. A. Proctor, the hrst 
 two persons who were married in Wise County, and in the back- 
 ground their children. Mr. Proctor and his wife, who was Mary 
 Hunt, were bound in wedlock January 3, 1856, a f(nv months 
 prior to the organization of the county. Both Mr. and Mrs. 
 
 PROCTfJR GROUP. 
 
 Mh. and Mrs. Jamf.s A. Proctor Seated in the FoREf;ROUND. 
 
 Proctor came originally from Rock Castle County, Kentuck}-. 
 where both were born July 3, 1829, and June 28, 1838, resjx'c- 
 tively. Both came to Texas and to Dallas County in the fall of 
 1853 with the family of Wni. Perrin, Mrs. Proctor or Mary 
 Hunt being the daughter of Mrs. Perrin by a former husbancl. 
 The entire party then moved to Wise County, arriving here a 
 day before Christmas, 1854. Pre-emptions were taken up just 
 
2/8 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 on the outskirts of Decatur, southeast of town. At the instiga- 
 tion of Colonel Bishop Mr. Proctor then changed his location to 
 the IGO acres on which the most of the town of Decatur is built, 
 said land being afterwards donated by Mr, Proctor to the countj^ 
 for the purpose of having the county-seat established thereon. 
 This was in the fall of 1855, preceding the organization of the 
 county in the sunnner of 1856. Mr. and Mrs. Proctor lived on 
 this pre-emption three years, the log cabin residence standing 
 just southeast of the F. W. & D. C. Railway station and across 
 the track. Mr. Proctor afterwards lived on Sweetwater Creek, 
 then on the Greathouse farm; he then moved back to Decatur 
 for a while, and in 1875 moved to old Bridgeport, where he pres- 
 ently resides. 
 
 From the foregoing not(^s it is ob\'ious that Cupid began the 
 preparations for this original wedding far back in Rock Castle 
 County, Kentucky, continued them on the long journey to 
 Texas, strengthened them in Dallas County, and brought them 
 to culmination in Wise. The marriage took place at the home 
 of Ben Haney at Old Aurora, a distance of fifteen miles from the 
 home of the principals, to reach which place they traveled on 
 horseback. Ben Haney was an authorized official acting under 
 Cooke County, who at that time had charge of Wise County 
 territory affairs. The day of the wedding was pretty and 
 bright, but followed upon a long spell of cold, bleak weath(>r. 
 ^Yhen the principals arrived they found Mr. Haney absent and 
 remained at his home throughout the day. At dusk he returned, 
 and by candle-light the nuptials were solemnized. They then 
 returned to their crude cabin at Decatur and began the battle of 
 hfe. Mr. Proctor remains in fairly good health for one of his 
 age, but, sad to say, Mrs. Proctor does not enjoy such good 
 health. Their children are as represented in the photogi-aph: 
 Mrs. Lucy Gale, Medill, Indian Territory; Mrs. Laura Wood, Chico, 
 Texas; Mrs. Mollie Gray, W. D. Proctor, Bridgeport; J. C. Proc- 
 tor, Corneta, Texas; J. R. Proctor, Crowell, Texas; Mrs. James 
 Stanfield, Ada, Indian Territory; Mrs. Ella Sellinger, Bridge- 
 port. Texas; Mrs. Maud Hutchinson. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 279 
 
 WILLIAM A. MILLER. 
 
 In later years the truly original and picturesque subject of 
 this sketch became generally known as Uncle Billy Miller, one 
 of the j oiliest, most generous and optimistic old men that stepped 
 down from the pioneer days to the rustling, bustling present— 
 
 WILLIAM A. MILLER. 
 
 MRS. WILLIAINI A. MILLER. 
 
 a present that was strange to him, yet one which he enjoyed 
 with all the heartiness of his ebullient nature. 
 
 \Vm. Alfred Miller was born in Hopkins County, Kentucky, 
 in 1817, and before he left that state for Texas, married Mildred 
 B. Hughes, who was a faithful helpmeet to him through all his 
 days. Mr. Miller came to Burleson County, Texas, in the fall 
 of 1853. After three years he returned to Williamson County, 
 Illinois, thence back to Burleson County in 1857. Mr. Miller 
 th(>n came on a mule to prospect in Wise County, which resulted 
 
280 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 in his location here in 1859. Mr. Miller first settled the Lockard 
 place south of Decatur; finally he moved to his Sweetwater place, 
 where he lived at the time of his death in August, 1900. Mrs. 
 Miller died two months later, October, 1900. Born to the union 
 was a large family of children, as follows: Sallie, married James 
 Allen, of Wise County, both being now dead; Frank; Kittie, 
 who married Chas. More, a prominent business man, miller and 
 respected citizen of Wise County for many j^ears, both Ixung 
 now dead; C. H. Miller, born January 13, 1849, Hopkins County, 
 Kentucky, married Sarah E. Stacks, of Ellis County, July 7, 
 1870. Ten children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Miller, 
 as follows: Teola, married W. T. Tull, now deceased; Charlie 
 M., married, lives in Ft. Worth, Texas; Jake, Dallas, Texas; 
 Albert, Ft. Worth, Texas; Robert H. and Lizzie May, children, 
 at home. Mr. Miller has served faithfully and efficiently as a 
 barber in Decatur for many years; is also a successful inventor 
 and an upright and respected citizen. 
 
 Jim F. Miller lives in Clay County; Eliza, born in Bur-leson 
 County, Texas, married S. W. Telghman, a prominent builder 
 and contractor, and substantial citizen of Decatur; to the latter 
 union have been born Minnie, married and living in Omaha, 
 Nebraska; Bob, married and living at Decatur; Dan and Will. 
 
 The next daughter of Wm. A. Miller, Mola, is now Mrs. J. H. 
 Smith, living in California. 
 
 RICHARD W. BOYD. 
 
 The family of this name has been one of the solid, representa- 
 tive and substantial families of Wise County since the early days 
 of settlement, l^ncle Dick, as he was familiarly known, was 
 one of the best citizens Wise County ever produced, and his 
 sons and daughters are numbennl among the (]ui(^t, dignified, 
 thoroughly honorable and upright citizens of the county, the 
 sons being progressive business men in their respective callings, 
 and the daughters esteemed and faithful wives antl mothf^rs. 
 R. AV. Boyd was born in Coweta County, Georgia, May 20, 1825; 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 281 
 
 Mary A. Marshall, his wif(% was born in the same county May 9, 
 1833. They were married April 12, 1848; moved to Upshur 
 County, Texas, near (Jilmer, in 1851, and in April, 18()(), came 
 to Wise County and settletl near Aurora. Mr. Boyd partici- 
 pated actively in guarding the county against Indians during 
 the time of their depredations, upon which account he was j)re- 
 vented from entering the war. The names of th(>:r children, 
 
 R. W. BOVI). 
 
 MRS. R. W. BOYD. 
 
 dates of th(>ir l)irth and to whom th(»y were man-led are here 
 
 given ; also their present place of residence : 
 
 James F. Boyd, born September 1, 1850; married Betty Woody 
 
 ("Uncle Sam's" daughter), in 1869, Seminole, Texas. 
 Martha E. Boyd, born June 17, 1852; married T. D. Woody in 
 
 1869, Fredrick, Oklahoma. 
 H. T. Boyd, born August 31, 1855; married Ada Elliott in 1877, 
 
 Bovd, Texas. 
 
282 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Jessie A. Boyd, born January 29, 1858; married Woody Rowlett 
 
 in 1878, near Boyd, Texas. 
 Emma J. Boyd, born January 21, 1860; married Amos Finch in 
 
 1875, dead. 
 J. E. Boyd, born January 14, 1862; married Denie J. Rogers in 
 
 1886, Decatur. 
 R. P. Boyd, born April 24, 1866; married Hattie Stephens in 
 
 1897, Boyd. 
 Orrey C. Boyd, born March 7, 1869; married G. A. Arrington in 
 
 1892, Boyd. 
 Laura L. Boyd, })orii September 26, 1871; married R. H. Frahn 
 
 in 1895, Boyd. 
 S. M. Boyd, born July 20, 1874 (unmarried), Boyd. 
 
 J. M. HOLMES. 
 
 Major John M. Holmes had a varied career as a young man, 
 which on coming to Wise County enabled him to identify him- 
 self with the class of progressive citizens who stood for eveiy- 
 thing high in the social, commercial and political activities of 
 the times. He is remembered as a man of gentle manners, pos- 
 sessed of exalted ideals and pronounced strength of character. 
 He was born in West Tennessee January 26, 1818, the son of 
 Phineas and Rachel Holmes. When old enough, he engaged in 
 selling dry goods, went to Bentonville, Arkansas, in 1830, and 
 in 1849 was married to Miss S. E. Hardwick, daughter of John 
 W. and Jane Hardwick, who was originally of Jackson County, 
 Georgia, where, in 1823, Mrs. Holmes was born. Mr. Holmes 
 lived two years in Palestine, Texas, then in Arkansas until the 
 death of his mother in 1860. He and his brother, William, 
 then engaged in business at Muskogee, Indian Territory. Mr. 
 Holmes came to Wise County, bought and settled on the 
 Cogdell place in 1863, engaging in farming and stock raising 
 until his death. Like many others. Major Holmes served in 
 defense of the frontier instead of in the Confederate ranks. 
 He died October 27, 1884. Seven children were born to Major 
 and Mrs. Holmes as follows j Mary S., born February 22, 1853, 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 283 
 
 married W. P. Russell, of WiscK^ounty; A^'ill H., born January 
 31, 1855, married Lena Harrison, 1878; Enmia J., born October, 
 185G, married J. S. Brooks; Ella, born May 5, 1858, married 
 
 J. M. HOLMES. 
 
 E. Riley; Annie K., born October 18, 1860, died May 7, 1892; 
 John M., Jr., born March (5, 1862, married Eva Knight; James 
 M., born January 17, 186(5, died January 7, 1874. 
 
 W. P. RUSSELL. 
 
 W. P. Russell has been a Texan since he was six weeks of age. 
 He was born in Illinois, March 22, 1842, and was brought to 
 Lamar County, Texas, by his parents a few weeks afterwards. 
 
284 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 In the latter county and in Hopkins hv lived until 'the year 
 of 1856, when with his uncle, High Russell, he came as one of 
 the earhest pioneer citizens to Wise County. His uncle was the 
 first lawyer who ever settled in Wise County, but when he came 
 here thei'e was no legal business to attend to, so he scuttled a 
 short distance north of Decatur. W. P. Russell did not long 
 
 remain with his uncle. He 
 went to th(> west partof^^'ise 
 County and employetl him- 
 self to Daniel Waggoner as a 
 cattle-tlriver, remaining with 
 him twenty long and tempes- 
 tuous years. Dm-ing this 
 time he camped and scout- 
 ed, and hunted cattle over 
 most of this section of Texas 
 and during the days of In- 
 dian warfare participated in 
 many chases after thv In- 
 dians and in some fights, lie 
 was among the band of cow- 
 boys whom the Indians 
 charged after killing Alvin 
 (^lark near the south line 
 of the county. (Jeorge Bu- 
 chanan was shot Jnit not 
 s(>riously wounded in the 
 sul)se(|uent charge. Mr. Rus- 
 sell went on numerous long drives to Kansas and Colorado 
 markets aftei' those states b(>came noted as cattle markets. At 
 the ai)iH-oach of the war, he and others made a trij) to Colorado, 
 intending to n^turn by the Overland Stage Route. While he 
 was away this ser\ice was stoi)])ed l)y the exigencies of war. 
 and Mr. Russell and companions were compelled to make a 
 detour to St. Louis, thence to New Orleans down the Mississi])i)i 
 River, back up to Shrevepoil l)y Red River, thence overland 
 to reach home. 
 
 Mr. Russell saw many jjhases of tlie oi)en, rugged i)ioneer life 
 
 W. p. HPSSELL. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 285 
 
 wliik' a cattleman, but after Mr. Waggoner moved the hulk of 
 his cattle to the Wichitas he decided to cjuit such an active life. 
 He married and bought the old Browder place, living there for 
 three 5^ears. For seventeen years Mr. Russell has been the 
 successful superintendent of the county farm, and will doubtless 
 remain there for some time to come. In November, 1872, he 
 was married to Mary S. Holmes, daughter of Major and Mrs. 
 Holmes, and to them have been born three children, the oldest 
 of whom, Catherine, is the wife of \V. L. Davis, who is associated 
 with Mr. Russell in a grocery business. Miss Lena and Glenn 
 are the two other children. 
 
 DR. THOS. R. ALLEN. 
 
 Dr. Thos. R. Allen honored Wise County with many long 
 years of high and useful citizenship. He is the son of an early 
 immigrant to Texas, Richard F. Allen, who came from Missouri 
 in 1847 and settled in Den- 
 ton County. Dr. Allen 
 himself was born in Missouri 
 October 23, 1846, and was 
 hardly a year old when his 
 father brought him to Den- 
 ton County. His father 
 died in 1850, and in 1855 
 his mother married Jess 
 Eads, who moved with his 
 family to the north part of 
 Wise County in 1859. Dr. 
 Allen, though a young man, 
 reached Wise County in time 
 to volunteer as one of her 
 soldiers in the Confederacy. 
 He served for a while and 
 was let out by virtue of the 
 conscription act. Dr. Allen 
 returned home, but re- 
 enlisted, joining Shoemaker's DR. THOS. R. ALLEN. 
 
286 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 company, state troops, being transferred in 1864 to the Confederate 
 army, Colonel Beard's regiment, which was later on captured and 
 its members made prisoners of war. Dr. Allen was a prisoner of 
 war when Kirby Smith surrendered. Besides his Confederate 
 service, Dr. Allen had raised a company of home militia, 
 which rendered much assistance in keeping the Indians 
 at bay in Wise County. After returning from the war. Dr. 
 Allen filled th(» following county offices: Justice* of the peace, 
 precinct No. 2; tax assessor; county commissioner and county 
 sheriff for two terms. From 1888 to 1891, when he graduated, 
 Dr. Allen attended the St. Louis College of Physicians and Sur- 
 geons and became a leading physician at Greenwood, Wise 
 County, subsec{uently becoming a leading physician at Justin, 
 Denton County, his present place of residence. At the present 
 time he is president of the Greenwood College Co., also of the 
 Penington College Co. at Justin. 
 
 JOHN W. HOGG. 
 
 The essential events in the life of John A\'. Hogg are as 
 follows: He is the son of General Joseph L. Hogg, and was 
 born in Rusk, Cherokee County, Texas, March 20, 1848, the 
 first white child born in that old eastern Texas town. His 
 father. General Hogg, was a native of Georgia, who emigrated 
 to Texas in 1839, and became identified with the early Texan 
 Republic in numerous distinguished ways. General Hogg's first 
 home was at Nacogdoches, afterwards at Rusk. From the 
 latter place he went to represent his district in one of the early 
 Congresses. Upon the convention of the first Texas Legislature* 
 in 1846, General Hogg took a seat as the senatorial representa- 
 tive of his district. When the war canu* up in 1861 he was 
 appointed a brigadier-general in the Confederate service by 
 President Davis, and in May, 1862, died at Corinth, Miss., 
 in connnand of his brigade. The names of General Hogg's 
 children are as follows: John W. Hogg, of Decatur, Wise 
 County; Thomas E. Hogg, formerly of Denton, Texas; James 
 S. Hogg, the (*minent Governor and statesman of Texas; 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 28^ 
 
 Mrs. M. F. Davis, of Guadalajara, Mexico; Mrs. Julia A. Fer- 
 guson, Denton, now deceased. Mr. John W. Hogg came to 
 Wise County, April 11, 1871, and soon became associated with 
 Capt. George W. Stevens, then sheriff of the county, as deputy 
 sheriff. Mr. Hogg then served a term as assessor of the county, 
 following which he was elected to the office of sheriff. An inter- 
 mission of two years followed when he was elected to fill the 
 office of county clerk in 
 
 which he served one term. 
 On December 26, 1872, Mr. 
 Hogg was married to Miss 
 Eva Renshaw, daughter of 
 Dr. Wm. Renshaw, after 
 which he moved five miles 
 east of Decatur to his farm, 
 where he resided until the 
 fall of 1891, when he moved 
 to Decatur to take charge of 
 the Decatur post-office for 
 two terms, his appointment 
 as post-master coming from 
 President Cleveland. He con- 
 tinued to look after his farm 
 and local interests until 1905, 
 when he sold his farm, fol- 
 lowing which he improved 
 his beautiful home in De- 
 catur. Personally, Mr. Hogg 
 i^ a man of heavy stature; 
 
 he is a man of strong intellect and decidetl views ; he has served 
 three terms as an alderman of Decatur and has taken a patriotic 
 interest in the material affairs of the town. His mental quali- 
 ties are conmianding, much above the average, and had his 
 environment been different would doubtless have adorned places 
 of eminence in enuilation of the career of his distinguished 
 lamented brother. Governor James S. Hogg, whom he pro- 
 nouncedly resembles, -in the forceful qualities of his intellect 
 and character. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
 
 J. W. HOGG. 
 
288 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Hogg, as follows: W'liiia, niamcd to Dr. C. B. Simmons, a fore- 
 most physician of Decatur; Eugenia, married to Furman Great- 
 house, of Decatur, and Miss Maud, an accomplished teacher in 
 tlie Decatur Hiiih School. 
 
 A. B. FOSTER. 
 
 One of the strougest characteristics noticeable about the 
 i-enmants of the early citizens of ^^'ise County is the striking 
 affection which they bear. one another. The subject of this 
 
 sketch, A. 
 B. Foster, 
 although 
 deceased, is 
 still referred 
 to in terms 
 of endear- 
 ment a n d 
 in appreci- 
 ation of his 
 standing as 
 a man wor- 
 thy of the 
 1 o V e an d 
 g r e a t r c- 
 spect of his 
 compatriots. He was born in Wythe County, \'irginia, August 2, 
 1815, was raised in Franklin County, Tenn., where, on June 28, 
 1838, he was married to Emily A. Hardwick, of that prominent 
 family in East Tennessee. Mrs. Foster came originally from a 
 county in Georgia, the date of her birth being February 4, 1821. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Foster moved from Tcnniessee to Benton County, 
 Ark., in 1843, where a number of their children were born. 
 April 28, 1858, they arrived in Decatur and located one mile 
 west of town on the Jacksboro road. Mr. Foster died February 
 27, 1895, succeeded by the death of Mrs. Foster, August 4, 1902. 
 
 MR. .\ND MRS. A. B. FOSTER. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 289 
 
 This family bore their part of the incidental hardships bravely, 
 and for a number of years preceding his death Mr. Foster had 
 ably and efficiently acted as deputy county clerk. The children 
 of the union are: Margaret Jane, James Thomas, Celina Eveline, 
 Martha Isabella, Mary Amelia, Elizabeth, Hugh Montgomery, 
 the latter being the generally esteemed Mont. Foster, now acting 
 as deputy county clerk. 
 
 A. H. SHOEMAKER. 
 
 The writer pauses to reflect upon the character and personality 
 of tljis rugged Christian soldier as he knew him before the 19th 
 of November, when he passed into the long beckoning arms of the 
 
 immortal life. It is seen 
 that all that Captain 
 Shoe m a k e r stood for 
 
 CAPT. A. H. SHOEMAKER. 
 
 MRS. A. H. SHOEMAKER. 
 
 cannot be comprehended within the limitations of the allotted 
 space, but a few brief comments published at the time of his 
 death by his pastor, Rev. T. H. Morris, will serve to convey 
 
 19 
 
290 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 some glimpse of the man and his personaUty. Rev. Morris said: 
 " There are a few pictures that will ever live in the writer's 
 memory; one is this noble old Christian hero as I first knew him. 
 His tall, symmetrical figure, lofty brow, eagle eyes, flowing hair 
 and beard as white as snow, saintly expression and commanding 
 appearance marked him at once as a king among men, one of 
 Nature's noblemen. Some have thought that thus must have 
 looked Abraham; Moses, Elijah. This strong, tender, resolute, 
 noble, true, rugged character carried the mind back to the age 
 of the patriarchs instinctively — you saw at once that here was a 
 man, one that could say yes or no, and mean it, and having said 
 it, could throw the whole weight of a great personality on the 
 side he thought right. To see him in his home as tender as a 
 woman ; to see him in the battle for right, as bold and aggressive 
 as a lion, showed a combination rare and great. When he spake 
 men listened. Wisdom and virtue crowned his speech." 
 
 No truer picture could be drawn of Capt. Shoemaker, who was 
 numbered among the strongest and most original of early Wise 
 County citizens. Yet one other illustration describes character- 
 istically this rugged man. Hon. John J. Terrell states that Capt. 
 Shoemaker was one time asked what rule he followed to do so 
 successfully the things he attempted to do. " By the rule of 
 do it," with much emphasis on the last two words, returned the 
 Captain. 
 
 Captain Shoemaker left behind very little of the records of 
 his early Ufe,but he lived in north and east Texas .before he came 
 very early to Wise County. He was married to Malinda Lastly, 
 of Franklin County, Missouri, who survives him, and who is now 
 with her daughter, Mrs. W. S. Snyder, of Roswell, N. M. Capt. 
 and Mrs. Shoemaker reared a large famih^ of children who have 
 become well known in the social and business life of this section. 
 They are: Artemisa, married Wm. Warden; Milton W., married 
 Mary Pickett, daughter of Col. G. B. Pickett; Andrew, married 
 Lou Maines; Wm. Jefferson died in youth; Thomas C, married 
 Mrs. Ruth Loyd Hussey ; Lauren, married Callie McGill; Jerome, 
 deceased; Malinda, married Wm. Spear; Florence, married W. S. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 291 
 
 WM. PERRIN. 
 
 Wni. Perrin was born in Kentucky, November 19, 1846, re- 
 moved with his parents to Collin County, Texas, in 1852, 
 and to Wise County in 1854. 
 Throughout his youth he 
 worked the farm in crop 
 time and attended school in 
 winter, but received little 
 education. Early in life he 
 t u r n e d his attention , to 
 stock-raising and trading, 
 and has amassed a consider- 
 able fortune. During his 
 early manhood in Wise 
 County, he participated in 
 many fights with the In- 
 dians; for instance, with 
 Judge Brady at Buffalo 
 Springs, and the raid in 
 which Pleas Bryan was 
 wounded; also in both the 
 pursuits that followed the 
 massacre of the Babb family 
 and the murder of Milton 
 Perkins, and others. Mr. 
 
 Perrin is now living in Dickens County, Texas, still engaged 
 in the cattle business. He owns a large body of land and is 
 known far and near for his frugality and thrift; also his big- 
 hearted hospitality. 
 
 WM. PERRIN. 
 
 ELECTIOUS HALSELL. 
 
 The family of the above name is historically associated with 
 the social and commercial traditions of north and north-west 
 Texas, and the Indian Territory, and is perhaps as well known 
 to the people of the above sections as any other representative 
 
292 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 family residing therein. The forebear was Elections Halsell, a 
 native of Kentncky, born January 28, 1816. He moved to 
 Alabama and married Miss E. J. Mays, originally of South 
 Carolina, in which state she was born February 20, 1818. The 
 most of the Halsell children, who attained to wealth and prom- 
 inence on the removal of the family to Texas at a very early 
 
 date, were born in the State 
 of Alabama. The children 
 named in succession are : 
 James Thompson Halsell, 
 f a m i 1 i a r 1 y k n o w n as 
 "Thomps," the father of 
 the well-known younger 
 members of this branch of 
 the family, who were Harry 
 H. Halsell, Oscar Halsell, 
 Forrest Halsell, Mrs. Gus 
 Whitehead and Mrs. D. E. 
 Walcott, the first and last 
 of whom are now (\steemed 
 citizens of Decatur. Oscar 
 and Forrest Halsell are citi- 
 zens of Oklahoma and Clay 
 County, Texas, respectively, 
 and Mrs. Whitehead is dead. 
 The next in succession of 
 the children of Electious 
 Halsell is Syclly Ann, who 
 married Daniel Waggoner, of Wise County; the third son was 
 John Glenn, familiarly and widely known as Glenn Halsell; 
 George W., killed by Indians in spring of 1866; W. E. Halsell; 
 Ida, the wife of Dr. Jim Einbry, of Bowie, Texas; R. K. 
 Halsell, well-known citizen of Decatur; Ella, the wife of W. T. 
 Waggoner, of Ft. Worth, Texas, and Edward, who resides in 
 the Indian Territory. The three children last-named were born 
 in Wise County. 
 
 Electious Halsell came to Wise from Collin County a year or 
 two preceding the county organization. He opened up the well- 
 
 ELECTIOUS HALSELL. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL 
 
 293 
 
 known Halsell place a short distance south of Decatur. In 1857, 
 when Decatur was established, he moved to town and began the 
 conduct of a tavern on the southeast corner of the square, the 
 
 OLD HALSELL HOME. 
 
 building occupied being the first constructed house in the town. 
 Elections Halsell died in August, 1867, his wife in July, 1870. 
 
 J. G. HALSELL. 
 
 The son of Elections Halsell, the pioneer tavern keeper of 
 Decatur, born in Alabama, May 15, 1845, an early comer to 
 Wise County, a youthful fighter for wealth and station, married 
 Julia F. Earhart, November 15, 1866, arose to station, wealth and 
 prominence in after life, died in California, March 16, 1886, in 
 brief are the successive events in the career of J. G. Halsell, 
 one of the best known citizens of northwest Texas at the time of 
 his untimely taking off. 
 
 The life of Glenn Halsell is replete with interest for the young 
 man on the eve of entering the battle of life. He began poor, 
 and by his owti efforts, industry and economy, arose to a place 
 of first prominence in the financial history of Texas. At the 
 
294 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 same time he preserved his manhood and integrity which he 
 left as a heritage to his wife and interesting family of cliildren. 
 
 In early youth Mr. Halsell went on the ranches of western 
 Wise County as a common cow hand; he worked hard and per- 
 sistently, saved his earnings, invested them in occasional year- 
 lings and small lots of land. After a while he married, and his 
 choice of a wife proved indeed fortunate. Instead of demand- 
 ing an expensive home she heroically accepted what was at hand, 
 
 J. G. HALSELL. 
 
 MRS. JULIA F. HALSELL. 
 
 which was, to say the least, crutle and uncomfortable. Both 
 then strived, worked and saved; their accumulations grew, and 
 finally Mr. Halsell cut loose from his old employer and moved 
 his cattle to the grazing grounds on the Wichitas, where he bi'gan 
 his phenomenal success as a cattleman. Thirteen years later 
 (1883) he sold out his cattle for $375,000, which princely sum 
 represented the reward of a plucky and successful battle of life. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 295 
 
 The following year Mr. Halsell's health failed and he went to 
 Southern California with hopes of being restored. The dread 
 malady of consumption, however, had fastened its grasp upon 
 him, and in 188() claimed him as its victim. 
 
 Mr. Halsell had established a beautiful home on the outskirts 
 of Decatur on the old pre-emption which he had acquired as a 
 young man. Here he reared a bright and interesting family of 
 children who were carefully trained and guided, socially and 
 religiously, by the worthy and efficient help-meet who had long 
 been his chief est supi^ort. 
 
 Personally, Mr. Halsell was a shrewd, careful and painstaking 
 man; he was gifted with more than ordinary intellect, which con- 
 tributed to his possession striking foresight and judgment. In 
 an active career of twenty years he hatl acheived a fortune of 
 $500,000. Just before leaving for California he resigned the 
 presidency of the First National Bank of Decatur, an institution 
 in which he was principal stockholder. He is survived by his 
 wife and all of his children. Mrs. Halsell is loved and respected 
 by all who know her. She has had a difficult course to follow 
 since the tleath of her husband. The management of the large 
 estate fell heavily on her shoulders, as did the responsibility of 
 the proper training of her children. She has acquitted herself 
 nobly antl well, and is deserving of the high place she holds in the 
 estimation of her family and in the social and church circles of 
 Decatur and north Texas. The children of Mr. and Mrs. J. G. 
 Halsell are as follows: Annie E., wife of Judge W. T. Sinnnons, 
 of Ft, Worth; Maud, wife of J. E. Mitchell, a leading jeweler of 
 Ft. Worth; Ferdinand, married Rosa Lea Archer, Ft. Worth; 
 Glenn, wife of T. B. Yarbrough, a prominent banker. Ft. Worth; 
 Josephine, wife of John R. Halsell, cattleman, Ft. Worth. 
 
 DANIEL WAGGONER.— W. T. WAGGONER. 
 
 Far back in the pioneer days of Wise County a young man 
 left Hopkins County and came here with all his earthly pos- 
 sessions invested in the little bunch of cattle and horses he drove 
 before him, and the negro boy slave that helped him drive. 
 
296 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 The cattle numbered 242 head, the horses 6 head, and the boy 
 was worth perhaps .1400.00. Thus was the start of Daniel 
 Waggoner in life. Entire volumes have been devoted to the 
 achievements of men whose careers and attainments in life were 
 not more important than that of Mr. ^Yaggoner, and only a 
 glimpse at the essential events in the career of the latter can here 
 be imprinted. 
 
 Daniel Waggoner was born in Lincoln County, Tcnn., July 7, 
 1828. He was the son of Solomon and Elizabeth Waggoner, the 
 
 "^f^ 
 
 D. WAGGONER. 
 
 former of whom was a native of South Carolina, where he was 
 born in 1804; the mother was a Tennessean, born in Lincoln 
 County in 1808. The parents came to Hopkins County, Texas, 
 in 1848, bringing young Daniel and the remainder of the children 
 and all effects. In Hopkins County the elder Waggoner became 
 a farmer and cattle-raiser, and an extensive dealer in horses, 
 cattle, hogs and negro slaves, and it is logical to assume that 
 Daniel Waggoner received his youthful impulses from the 
 transactions and successful trading career of his father, which 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 297 
 
 afterwards he converted into the activities that won him such 
 distinguished success in similar occupations. His mother was 
 a Miss Elizabeth McGaugh, and came from a strong, practical 
 family. The Waggoners also were descended from substantial 
 origin, the ancestral blood being mixed with German, which 
 accounts for the qualities of thrift and economy exhibited in 
 the subject of this sketch as well as in his father. 
 
 Until about 21 years of age Daniel Waggoner lived in Hopkins 
 and Red River Counties. He had married Nancy Moore, 
 daughter of Wm. Moore, and to them one son had been born, 
 named William Thomas Waggoner. At the above age he came 
 to Wise County, then in its wildest and most unsettled state. 
 Here he began to learn the lessons of life from the book of 
 Nature, about the only education he received. He also began 
 to lay the foundation for the colossal fortune afterwards achieved. 
 He located originally about two miles from Decatur, but after- 
 wards bought a ranch and about 200 head of cattle from George 
 Isbell, in western Wise County, in the vicinity of Cactus Hill. 
 This small first purchase was gradually enlarged until finally 
 the Waggoner brand became the most numerous of the section, 
 which was the stronghold of the largest cattlemen in this section 
 of Texas. The acres of land increased also until a vast ranch 
 spread out, providing grazing ground for the thousands of head 
 of stock. This successful experiment passed through the trying 
 periods of war and Indian trouble, and doubtless would not have 
 withstood the attacks had not a strong and efficient man been 
 constantly at the helm guiding and directing. Thousands of 
 cattle were sacrificed, however, to Indians, outlaws and thieves, 
 and Mr. Waggoner's life became one of restless activity in pro- 
 tecting the vast property which he controlled. During this 
 adventurous time he escaped many attempts upon his life by 
 Indians and outlaws, and it was due to these harrowing expe- 
 riences and the constant necessity for watchfulness that his 
 faculties became trained antl acute, and his wonderful insight 
 into human motive became developed. Finally the possessions 
 of cattle became so great that wider opportunities must be sought. 
 The scene of operations was changed to the Pan Handle of 
 Texas and Oklahoma, where a half-million acres of land were 
 
298 ' PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 leased and thousands bought. The ninnber of head of cattle 
 grew stupendous, the total possessions represented in money 
 being estimated at the date of Mr. Waggoner's death, September 
 5, 1902, at from $5,000,000 to 17,000,000. Mr. Waggoner died 
 at Colorado Springs, perhaps the strongest man in Texas finan- 
 cially. The firm of D. Waggoner & Son, composed of Daniel 
 Waggoner and son, W. T., or Tom, who for several years pre- 
 ceding the death of his father, was the active manager of the 
 vast cattle, land and banking business, was and remains one of 
 the strongest institutions of the kind in the Southwest. 
 
 Mr. Waggoner lived at Decatur, a town which, with its people, 
 he always loved and who reciprocated the aiTection. Away back 
 in the pioneer days, to be exact, on January 6, 1859, he had 
 married Cyclly Ann Halsell, daughter of Elections Halsell, his 
 first wife having died. Mrs. Waggoner survives her distinguished 
 husband and now lives at Ft. Worth, to which place she removed 
 within recent years. She is universally beloved by all who know 
 her, a regard that she has won by virtue of her kind, considerate 
 and gentle ways and manners. 
 
 W. T. Waggoner spent his youth in Wise County antl in the 
 Pan Handle where he w^as early associatetl with his father's 
 immense enterprises and where he laid the foundation of his 
 education in the practical af!"airs of life. He was married in 1877 
 to Miss Ella Halsell, youngest daughter of Electious Halsell, of 
 Wise County. To them three children have been born: Guy, 
 the oldest, is married and lives at Ft. AVorth ; a daughter, Electra, 
 married A. B. Whorton, of Ft. Worth; the third child is Paul, 
 who is now at school in Tennessee. Mr. and Mrs. Waggoner 
 reside at Ft. Worth, to which {)lace they removed from Decatur 
 in 1906. Owing to his father's advanced years Mr. Waggoner 
 had assumed the active management of the vast business enter- 
 prises of the firm several years before the death of his father. 
 The policy of management has been little departed from with 
 the exception that the branch of cotton-ginning and oil mill in- 
 dustry has been largely abandoned. Th(> several gins and 
 mills have been sold, and the funds and attention devoted to 
 the banking and cattle business, the industries with which the 
 Waggoners have been associated since the early history of Texas. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 299 
 
 Mr. Waggoner has lately entered the financial field in a large way, 
 having organized the Waggoner Bank & Trust Co of Ft. ^^"orth, 
 one of the strongest and best managed institutions of the State. 
 
 W. T. WAGGONER. 
 
 Mr. Waggoner is regarded as one of the ablest and most forceful 
 personalities in the financial and business world of Texas. 
 
 J. B. EARHART. 
 
 Capt. J. B. Earhart's exploits as a frontiersman have been 
 alluded to in former chapters of this book. It serves now to 
 cite the date and place of his birth and give the names of his chil- 
 
300 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 dren, all of whom have been closely identified with the past 
 history of Wise County. He came originally from Penn- 
 sylvania, where he was born in 1812. In his veins flowed the 
 thrifty blood of Dutch ancestry. His forebears were Viginians, 
 and it was a branch of these that settled the exact location on 
 which the national capitol at Washington is built. Capt. 
 Earhart spent his youth in Pennsylvania and Ohio, in one of 
 
 CAPT. J. B. EARHART. 
 
 MRS. J. B. EARHART. 
 
 which States he early married a Miss Ehza Ann Gordon, who lived 
 but a short while. Later on Capt. Earhart came to Arkansas, 
 and in Franklin County was re-married to Mrs. Mary A. Penn, 
 the widowed daughter of Wm. Quesenbury, in the early 
 forties. He then moved to the Choctaw Nation, Indian Terri- 
 tory, and for several years was engaged at various occupations. 
 In 1843 he furnished supplies to the garrison- at Ft. Wichita; in 
 1845 he was an Intlian trailer at Preston Bend. He then returned 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 301 
 
 to Colbert Station, and until 1850 operated a ferry system. In 
 1850 Capt. Earhart settled on Iron Ore Creek in Grayson County, 
 Texas, where he conducted a steam grist and saw-mill until 1852. 
 In 1856 he moved to Hog Eye Prairie, Jack County, Texas, hav- 
 ing traded his mill and farm for a stock of cattle. He became 
 a leading stockman, ranger-captain and citizen of the section 
 lying along the line of Jack and Wise Counties. The ranger 
 company of which he was chief officer performed invaluable 
 service in defending Wise and Jack Counties against the incur- 
 sions of Indians and outlaws. He lived on the extreme edge 
 of the exposed frontier, and his large family of children were at 
 all times exposed to the deteriorating influences of an isolated, 
 crude environment, but it is due to their original strength that 
 they grew up to be sterhng, substantial and honorable citizens 
 of the country. The children of Capt. and Mrs. Earhart are: 
 Eliza Ann, wife of Jos. Henry Martin, of Chico, Wise County; 
 E. P. Earhart, of Lubbock County; Mrs. Juha F. Halsell, of 
 Decatur; William Q. and Samuel F. Earhart, both deceased; 
 Joe Ellen Earhart, wife of L. P. Bea Vert, Durant, I. T., and 
 T. 0. Earhart, Lubbock County. 
 
 JOHN W. HALE. 
 
 In the year of 1824 Josiah Curtis Hale was journeying from 
 Kentucky to Texas when the exigency of the situation necessi- 
 tated stopping for a time at Bolivar, Tenn., where, on December 
 24th, his wife dehvered to him a son. Captain John W. Hale, 
 the subject of this sketch. The Hales continued their residence 
 in Tennessee for two or three years, when they came as pioneer 
 citizens to the Republic of Texas, receiving as their reward a 
 league and labor of land in Red River County. 
 
 Capt. Hale's ancestry dates back to that well known family 
 of New Elngland, members of which are distributed throughout 
 that portion of the Union. His mother was Rhoda Gregory, of 
 Kentucky. The earliest years of his life were spent in north and 
 east Texas. In 1849 a family of Fullingims came to Red River 
 
302 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 County from Alabama, and on November 29, of that year, John 
 W. Hale was married to Mary Elizabeth Fullingim, the fifth 
 child and first daughter of the Fullingim family, which numbered 
 seventeen children. After marrying, Capt. Hale left his father 
 and lived in Hopkins County three years. He then came to 
 Wise County, arriving here July 13, 1854, and settled four miles 
 north of Dc^catur, where he resided many years. Upon the 
 
 CAPT. JOHN W. HALE. 
 
 MRS. JOHN W. HALE. 
 
 organization of the County in 1856 he was elected first sheriff, 
 and he was subsequently elected the county's first surveyor, 
 continuing in office for a number of years. By these means he 
 early became identified in the leadership of the county affairs, 
 a position he retained until his death in Decatur, June 17, 1885. 
 He was foremost in the organization of military affairs in Wise 
 County at the inception of the Civil War; he was made chief 
 enrolling officer and placed in preliminary charge of the post and 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 303 
 
 arsenal at Decatur, from which relation he gained the title he 
 bore. He was always a thoughtful, high-minded citizen and a 
 staunch Democrat, and was sent to serve one term in the Legis- 
 lature. His knowledge of surveying and intimate acquaintance 
 with land affairs led him to engage in the real estate and abstract 
 business, occupations in which he was engaged at the time of his 
 death. He was also largely interested in Western lands, having 
 laid certificates of location over many thousands of acres in 
 western counties for himself and others. By systematic atten- 
 tion to business he acquired considerable property holdings in 
 Wise and adjoining counties. He died beloved and respected 
 by all, and was interred under the ceremonies of the Masonic 
 lodge of which he was a faithful and zealous member. Capt. 
 Hale is survived by his wife, born in Morgan County, Ga., July 
 25, 1824. She came with him as one of the very first citizens 
 to the county, and has borne the full brunt of all the pioneer 
 hardships which continued until their removal to Decatur in 
 1873. Capt. and Mrs. Hale were prime supports of the M. E. 
 Church in its infancy and later history in this vicinity. They 
 had one daughter, Rowena by name, who was married to Charles 
 D. Cates, of Decatur. 
 
 J. P. FULLINGIM.— MRS. VIRGINIA FULLINGIM.— MRS. 
 
 MARTHA WILTON.— DR. GEORGE C. WILTON. 
 
 LISBY L. WADE. 
 
 Those bearing the above names are representatives of various 
 branches of one of the best known families who were identified 
 in various capacities with the early and later history of the 
 county. The family of Henry Fullingim, the forebear, originated 
 in the State of Georgia, where little is known of the antecedents 
 or prior history of the branch. Of the mother, who was Martha 
 Wade, and subsequent wife of Henry Fullingim, more is known. 
 She was a member of a prominent and wealthy family of 
 slave-holders, which lived according to the luxurious style of her 
 class, and was largely identified with the political and social 
 affairs of their section. Henry and Martha Fullingim were the 
 
304 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 parents of seventeen chiklren, the most of whom were pioneers 
 of ^^'ise County. The family first moved to Alabama, then came 
 to Red River and Hopkins County, Texas, where the father died. 
 The children and mother then gradually emigrated to Wise 
 County. The children in succession were: William, Peyton, 
 Asbury, Fletcher, Mary, Frances, Martha, Edward, Archer, 
 Antoinette, Henry, Jeanette, Raymond, twins diefl in youth. 
 
 DR. GEORGE WILTON. 
 
 LISBY WADE. 
 
 Cornelia and Jesse. Three of these only remain. They are: 
 Mary, the surviving wife of Capt. J. W. Hale: Antoinette, the 
 surviving wife of Martin Stuart, and Jesse P. Fullingiin,a prom- 
 minent citizen of Wise County. 
 
 Mrs. Martha Wilton died in 1905. She was married to H. 
 H. Wilton, of the Dominion of Canada in 1856, and three children 
 were born to them. These are: Dr. Henry Wilton, of Nocona, 
 Texas; Dr. George C. Wilton, of Ryan, I. T., and Mrs. P. J. Wade, 
 of Oak Grove comnmnity. Wise County. Aunt Martha, as she 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 305 
 
 was familiarly known, was one of the splendid, grand old women 
 of her time. She died, and was mourned by a large concourse 
 of friends and relatives. Her husband died in a Federal prison 
 at Chicago during the Civil War, where he was confined as a 
 captured soldier of the Confederate Army. Archer Fullingim, 
 the sixth son of Henry Fullingim, married Virginia Morris in 
 Parker County, Texas, in 1858, lived through the early settle- 
 ment of Wise County, and reared a large family, dying in 1883. 
 The children of this union, named as follows, are sterling, honest 
 and progressive citizens of the county : Jeanette, married W. P. 
 Roberts, of Bridgeport; Alfred, married Mahalie Ball; Rowen, 
 married Jennie Godwin, deceased; Mary, Martha, Maggie, 
 wife of Augustus Pickett, Jarrett (Shirk), and Frances. Mrs. 
 Archer Fullingim survives her husband. Jesse P. Fullingim, 
 the youngest of the seventeen children of Henry Fullingim, 
 came to Wise County with the vanguard of early immigrants. 
 He was born in Benton County, Alabama, December 24, 
 1842. In 1869, following his prolonged service in the 
 Confederate Army, he was married to Annie Donald, of Lewis- 
 ville, Denton County, Texas. For many years his home 
 in Wise County was seven miles north of Decatur, but he now 
 resides in a beautiful new home just outside and north of 
 the town of Decatur. Mr. Fullingim is referred to many times 
 in the foregoing pages as connected with the war and Indian 
 depredation history of the county. In 18G2 he enlisted in Co. B, 
 Fifteenth Texas Cavalry, Sweet's Regiment, Granbury's Brigade, 
 Cleburne's Division, and served throughout the war. He was 
 captured at Arkansas Post, detained in prison and finally trans- 
 ferred. He lost an eye in a later battle in Tennessee. Mr. 
 Fullingim is a leader in the business and political affairs of the 
 county; a zealous Methodist and a supporter of all good move- 
 ments. Mr. and Mrs. Fullingim have three children as follows: 
 Dr. M. D. Fullingim, of Argyle; Mrs. C. C. Chance, of Oklahoma, 
 and Mrs. P. L. Wade, of Decatur, Texas. 
 
 Dr. George C. Wilton, the second son of H. H. and Martha 
 Wilton, now of Ryan, I. T., is one of those successful practi- 
 tioners of Wise County pioneer ])lood who triumphed over 
 early educational difficulties and made a name and reputation 
 
 20 
 
306 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 for himself. He was born in Lamar County, Texas, March 1, 
 1859, came to Wise County with his parents in 1860, setthng 
 five miles north of Decatur. He attributes his present position 
 to the strong good sense and will power of his mother, who, 
 left a widow, battled her way through countless difficulties and 
 brought her children up strong, capable and useful. Dr. Wilton 
 finished his defective education in Decatur in 1881 ; the next 
 year he was elected county surveyor, holding office until 1886; 
 in 1883 he was married to Miss F. E. Taylor. In 1889 Dr. 
 ^Mlton attended a medical school in St. Louis, and in 1890 
 located at Ryan, where he has been a close student and success- 
 ful practitioner of his profession. The children of Dr. and Mrs. 
 AVilton are: MaUd, one of the leading druggists of Ryan; Ona, 
 died in infancy, and Rowan, now progressing in the Ryan High 
 School. 
 
 Lisby L. Wade, of Ryan, Okla., is the oldest son of Mr. and 
 Mrs. P. L. Wade, of Oak Grove community. Wise County. Mrs. 
 Wade is a daughter of Mrs. H. H. Wilton, deceased. Thus, the 
 subject of the sketch, Lisby L. Wade, is a descendent of the 
 truest and best of pioneer people. He was born and reared in 
 Wise County about five miles north of Decatur. Having secured 
 a primary education in the primaiy schools of his ccunmunity, 
 he entered, in 1898, the High School at Decatur, from which he 
 graduated. He then received collegiate training in the Ft. 
 Worth and Georgetown universities. After teaching school at 
 various points in his native county, he moved to Oklahoma in 
 1906, and was elected superintendent of the High School at Ryan, 
 a position which he discharged with such ability as to win for him 
 a reconmiendation to the office of superintendent of public 
 instruction of Jefferson County, to which place he aspired. In 
 the election of 1907 he was chosen for this office. My. Wade 
 has reached his imusually advanced position for one of his age 
 by virtue of sheer force of character and indomitable will. 
 Every stej) of his ])rogress grew out of his own initiative and 
 latent impulse. That hv is destined to achieve for himself 
 an enviable place in the educational and legal history of Okla- 
 homa is the i(l(>a that his Wise County friends take pride in 
 nurturing. Mr. Wade is now laying the ground work for sub- 
 sequent advancement in the legal profession. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 307 
 
 C. D. GATES.— D. C. GATES.— R. G. GATES. 
 
 The three above named, together with their sister, Mrs. P. P. R. 
 Gollom,are the children of Gharles Gates, who died in Tennessee, 
 at the age of 45, and Narcissa Gates, famiUarly known as 
 Aunt "Giss," a sterhng inhabitant of the prolonged period of 
 pioneer life. The children were left without a father during 
 
 CATES GROUP. 
 
 (Four Generations.) 
 
 D. Clabe Gates, Mis. Ben F. Allen and child B. F., Jr., Mrs. Narcissa Cates 
 (•' Aunt Ciss "), Aged 84 at Death. 
 
 their early youth, and were forced in povert}'^ to battle for sub- 
 sistence among the barren hills of East Tennessee. 
 
 Gharles Gates, Sr., and Narcissa were born on the French 
 Brood river, in upper East Tennessee, in 1804 and 1808 re- 
 spectively, and spent most of their lives in Bradley County. 
 
308 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 The husband was active as trader and speculator, accumulating 
 some property which was afterwards lost to him. His death 
 followed, and the double blow fell hard on the widow and 
 eight children, who managed too eke out a miserable existence 
 on a farm. In the fall of 1854 the family came overland to 
 Collin C'ounty, Texas, and the next year came on to Wise 
 County, settling three miles south of Decatur, where the hard 
 battle of life was renewed. 
 Charles D. Cates was born January 7, 1839, near Cleveland, 
 
 CHARLES D. CATES. 
 
 MRS. CHARLES D. CATES. 
 
 Bradley County, Tennessee. His father died during the sixth 
 year of his age, and the first fifteen years of his life were en- 
 gaged in the struggle above described. Opportunities for 
 achieving the rudiments of an education hardly existed, and 
 throughout his life this blessing, by virtue of the keenest ad- 
 verse circumstances, was denied him. Arriving ' in Wise County 
 in 1855 he assisted his mother in opening up a farm ; he then 
 came to Decatur on the location of that town in 1857, and 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 309 
 
 entered the store of his brother and brother-in-law, Dave Gates 
 and P. P. R. Collom, staying there until his brother's health 
 failed. He then took his brother to Matagorda Bay, and find- 
 ing no relief for him returned to Wise County, where his brother 
 died. Mr. Gates then entered the firm of Bishop & Blythe for 
 three years, at the end of which time he was appointed War Tax 
 Gollector in the Confederate service, his district extending over 
 ten large counties, his office ranking as Golonel. This ad- 
 venturous service, bringing him in contact with various danger- 
 ous experiences and situations, strengthened and developed 
 him and he retired at the entl of the war, fully capable of 
 
 MR. AND MRS. P. P. R. COLLOM AND DAUGHTER 
 OLLIE. 
 
 striking out for himself. At the end of the war he engaged in 
 the mercantile business with J. G. Carpenter, buying goods and 
 selling'them for cattle, which were driven to New Orleans and 
 Kansas markets. He was next associated one year each with 
 Major Wharton and Judge W. W. Brady, after which he formed 
 a co-partnership with Gephus W. Woods, under the firm name 
 of Gates & Woods, conducting a general mercantile business for 
 eight years, terminating in the death of Mr. Woods. After 
 eight more years of mercantile life Mr. Gates grew tired and 
 
310 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 sold out. During the latter part of his business life he had 
 become a trader and speculator in other lines, principally real 
 estate and stock. He accumulated considerable property — gen- 
 erally owned from one to five farms, and at one time owned 
 a ranch of 12,000 acres in West Texas, stocked with 250 head 
 of hoi'ses. 
 
 At an early date he conceived the idea of buikling a toll 
 bridge across the West Fork river at old Bridgeport, which he 
 did at a cost of -$6,000.00. At one end of the bridge he put up 
 a store and built a saw and grist mill with cotton gin attach- 
 ments. He then laid out the town of old Bridgeport, and on 
 having a well dug discovered the Bridgeport vein of coal. The 
 present Wise County Coal Company was organized and char- 
 tered, an institution in which he presently retains an interest. 
 Mr. Cates became identified with Indian Depredation Claims in 
 1878. He sued the U.S. Government for about $300,000 in behalf 
 of himself and pioneer neighbors, and after about ten years of 
 litigation succeeded in collecting the most of this amount. On 
 March 12, 1868, Mr. Cates was married to Rowena T. Hale, the 
 only daughter of Capt. John W. Hale. Preparatory to his mar- 
 riage he had bought a small home in Decatur, in which he 
 located the same year, and in which all his children were born. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cates lived in this house for 39 years, enlarging 
 the house as the family grew, Mrs. Cates was born in Red 
 River County, September 17, 1850 at a village called Halesboro. 
 She was brought to the frontier of Wise Count}' when about 
 three years of age, and has spent her life here. The living 
 children of Mr. and Mrs. Charles D. Cates are Charles C, Jr., 
 married Lorena Kimbrough, resides in Dallas, Texas; John H. 
 Cates, married Opal Kenny, resides in Decatur; Cliff D. Cates, 
 Ada N. Cates, Archie B. Cates and Mary E. Cates, of Decatur. 
 Mr. and Mrs. Cates presently reside in a modern home on their 
 farm, three miles north of Decatur. 
 
 The conspicuous part played by D. C. (Clabe) Cates in the 
 ranger service of the State has been heretofore referred to. He 
 was born in Bradley County, Tennessee, February 5, 1842. His 
 early life was greatly restricted, akin to that described as ap- 
 pertaining to his brother, Charles D. Cates. On coming to 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 311 
 
 Wise County he was in later years absorbed in a manly defense 
 of the people against the encroachments of the Indians, follow- 
 ing which he was inducted into the Confederate service, in 
 which he fought throughout the war, his most valliant defense 
 being to assist -the First Texas Cavalry in keeping General 
 Banks from entering Texas with large Federal forces. 
 
 Mr. Cates joined the Confederate army while on the frontier. 
 His company was ordered to San Antonio and made a part of 
 the First Texas Cavalry. 
 Reorganization followed at 
 Brownsville and Fort Rin- 
 gold on the Mexican fron- 
 tier, and the regiment was 
 then sent to watch Banks, 
 who was trying to enter 
 Texas from the sea coast. 
 Banks was foiled in several 
 such attempts ; he then de- 
 parted antl tried to return 
 through Louisiana. The 
 great battles of Mansfield 
 and Peach Tree Hill, and 
 others, were then fought, 
 in all of which Banks was 
 routed. Mr. Cates took part 
 in all these fights and others 
 of the great war, and re- 
 turned home only when 
 peace was declared. He 
 became a pioneer merchant, 
 
 farmer and land owner, and esteemed citizen. In November, 
 1867, he was married to Mrs. W. H. Portwood, of Hopkins 
 County, Texas, and has reared a large and interesting family of 
 children. Mrs. Cates, whose girlhood name was Elizabeth 
 Lindly, was born in Dade County, Kentucky, February Kith, 
 1841. Her father's name was Eli Lindly, of Hopkins County, 
 Kentuck}'. He came to Hopkins County, Texas, at an early 
 date and established a ranch and grew to be wealthy in cattle 
 
 MRS. D. C. CATES. 
 
312 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 and lands. He was also one of the early wealthy ranchmen of 
 Wise and Jack Counties. On her mother's side Mrs. Gates is a 
 descendant of the Crisps, in which group was numbered Senator 
 Crisp of Missouri, and Speaker Crisp of Georgia. In her youth 
 Mrs. Gates attended the old McKinzie Institute in East Texas, 
 and Sylvan Academy at Dangerfield, Texas. In 1856 she was 
 married to Capt. W. H. Portwood, who was wounded in the 
 Civil War and died from the effects. To this union two chil- 
 dren were born, W. H. Port- 
 wood, a wealthy cattle- 
 man of Baylor County, 
 who married Dotty, 
 (laughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
 J. C. Carpenter, and Beulah 
 Portwood , who married 
 Clabe Lindly. Mrs. Gates 
 came to Wise County in 
 1866, and in 1867 was mar- 
 ried to D. C. Gates, and to 
 them have been born six 
 children, as follows : Estella 
 J., married to Ben. F. 
 Allen, \^ernon, Texas; G. 
 Mack Gates, of Fort Worth, 
 married Ethel Jones, of De- 
 catur; Charles Orville, mar- 
 ried, wife deceased; Joseph 
 M., a student of medicine; 
 PJthel, wife of Dr. A. B. 
 Leeds, of Chickasha, Ok.; 
 Finer Gates, at home. Mr. 
 and Mrs. D. G. Gates presently reside in Decatur, where they 
 have large property interests. 
 
 The numerous references to the name of Robert G. Gates in 
 the foregoing pages indicate the important part played by him 
 in the settlement of Wise County. He acted as the county's 
 Sheriff for eleven successive years, taking a place in the 'second 
 administration and retaining it until after the war. He was 
 
 ROBT. G. CATES. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 313 
 
 born in McMinn County, Tenn., January 8th, 1836. The pov- 
 erty and distress of his youth were akin to those described in 
 connection with his brothers, Charles D. and D. Clabe Cates. 
 Robert Cates being the older brother naturally bore a large 
 share of the burdens and responsibilities of the family, both in 
 Tennessee and Texas. From Collin County he came in advance 
 of the family to seek out a location, and afterwards worked 
 zealously to get the home established. He was enabled to ob- 
 tain very little education, but his sharp conflicts with nature 
 and men have developed him into a man of unusual shrewd- 
 ness and strength of intellect. In his early scoutings about 
 the county as sheriff he dared the Indians and defied the 
 elements, and grew to be a stalwart defender of the county 
 and prosecuter of criminals. He is a successful trader and 
 dealer in live stock ; has reared and provided comforts for a 
 large family, and presently resides on one of the best farms in 
 Wise County, about three miles south of Decatur. At a very 
 early date Mr. Cates was married to Miss Elizabeth Taylor, 
 daughter of Judge Frank Taylor, one of the early Chief Justices 
 of Wise County. The names of their children are: Frank, mar- 
 ried Lucy Ewing; Clabe, deceased; William, married Florence 
 Davis, recently elected first Sheriff of Stephens County, Ok.; 
 Perry, married Edith Evans; Joe, married Lillian Gentry, de- 
 ceased; Bobbie, deceased; Ella, wife of Charles Davis, Wise 
 County; Dick, married Minnie Evans; Ed, married Eva Caver; 
 Bob, married Anna Davis. 
 
 MAJOR S. M. GOSE AND SONS. 
 
 Struggling through adverse circumstances of the bitterest 
 nature, and yet retaining a hold on honor, uprightness and Chris- 
 tian virtues, is the history of the family bearing the above 
 name. Implanted in the pioneer community at an early date, 
 and contributing to its moral and civic elevation at every step 
 of its hard })rogress through all the slow-marching years, the 
 Gose name is ineffacably linked with all movements of benefi- 
 
314 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 cence tending toward upraised community life and individual 
 worth and efficiency. Out of the hardships of years, tempered 
 and steeled by the troublous passage, has come a bright array 
 of sons and daughters to honor the forebear, themselves so im- 
 measurably worthy in their days of youth and action. 
 
 The paternal forebear of this family, Major S. M. Gose, was a 
 native of Indiana, born January 27, 1S24. He was of strong 
 German extraction, and a descendant of one of the first 
 families of Virginia, the native county in the latter State being 
 Wythe. At an early date in his careei" Major Gose migrated to 
 Sullivan County, Missouri, and started life as a farmer. On 
 November 8, 1849, he was married in Sullivan County to Mary 
 F.Gerking, who also was of German extraction, and a native of 
 Kentucl^y, having been born near Louisville, May 30, 1836. 
 Several years of residence in Missouri followed, and then in the 
 year of 1859 Major Gose came to Texas, settling in Denton 
 County, near the Wise county hne. In March, 18()1, he came 
 
 MAJOR S. M. GOSE. 
 
 MRS. S. M. GOSE. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 315 
 
 over into Wise, and located permanently at the county capital, 
 Decatur. Major Gose lived through the trying period of the 
 war here, serving the local constituency in many useful ways. 
 He followed the trade of blacksmithing and hammered out 
 many of the arms for the local Confederate volunteers. After 
 awhile his native ability and integrity was recognized, and he 
 was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace, a place of trust 
 held by him for a period of twelve to fourteen years — off and 
 on. It was during the tempestuous times of war that Major 
 and Mrs. Gose led in the movement to organize a Methodist 
 Church, a circumstance alluded to in previous pages. The home 
 of the Goses became the rendezvous of Methodist authority and 
 action, and its hosts may be properly styled the parents of 
 Methodism in Decatin-. 
 
 On September 26, 1871, Major Gose moved with his family 
 to a farm four miles north of Decatur, on Catlett creek. Soon 
 afterwards, assisted by others, he began the erection of the first 
 real school-house built north of Decatur, which was named the 
 Gose school-house. Many pioneer boys received the rudiments 
 of an education here. Gose camp-grounds became known for 
 twenty years afterwards. Major Gose died January 14, 1877, a 
 worthy, honored and esteemed citizen. He is survived by his 
 wife, who came to Decatur years ago, and is now the town's 
 oldest citizen. She is known for her many j^ious, Christian vir- 
 tues, and noble and gentle womanly qualities. She remains 
 also a stalwart supporter of all the ramificatons of Methodism. 
 
 Major and Mrs. Gose reared ten sons and tlaughters, alluded 
 to as follows: 
 
 Martha, married J. D. Harding, deceased; Mrs. Harding re- 
 sides in Decatur, a worthy. Christian woman, and the mother 
 of a large family. 
 
 Henrietta, wife of James Perrin, of near Sycamore, Wise 
 County. Mr. Perrin is the son of the pioneer, Samuel Perrin. 
 Born in Lincoln County, Kentucky, March 14, 1838; he settled 
 in Wise County with his parents in 18.54. During the Civil 
 War and years of Indian troubles, he was a State ranger, 
 located for some time at old Buffalo Springs. Finally his com- 
 pany was absorbed into the Confederate service, and he 
 
316 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 mained guarding the frontier throughout the strife, head- 
 quarters at Fort Belknap, Young County. He was married 
 April 13, 1870, and has lived almost continuously in Wise 
 County as a prosperous and enterprising farmer and stock raiser. 
 He has a large and respected family of children. 
 
 W. D. Gose attained to prominence in the business, political 
 and financial realms of Wise County. Familiarly known as 
 "Dave," he became beloved by all who knew him for the ster- 
 ling qualities he possessed. For four years, 1878 to 1882, he 
 served Wise County as District Clerk, studied law and was ad- 
 mitted to practice in about 1882. Retiring from practice in 
 1893, he had accumulated considerable means and business sa- 
 gacity, and was elected vice-President of the First National 
 Bank, a position held up to within a short time preceding his 
 death, January 18, 1898. Mr. Gose married Lizzie Outler, 
 whose lamented death preceded his by a few months, the date 
 being September 14, 1897. 
 
 DR. .1. C. GOSE. 
 
 MRS. J. C. GOSE. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 317 
 
 Dr. J. C. Gose, the second son of Major and Mrs. S. M. Gose, 
 better known to Wise County people as "Coy" Gose, resides now 
 at Kruni, Denton County, Texas, where for a number of years 
 he has been a leathng citizen and prominent and successful phy- 
 sician. His tempestuous, adverse boyhood days were spent in 
 Wise County. His birth occurred near Milan, Missouri, April 
 30, 1858. In the early subscription schools of Decatur, he re- 
 ceived his preliminary training, which preceded several years' 
 hard work on the farm, when he returned again to school at 
 Decatur. Dr. Gose then began to teach school, his first one 
 in the community where his parents lived and where he had 
 worked on the farm — at the Gose school-house. His battle up- 
 ward was a sturdy, incessant fight; the difficulties he overcame 
 were numerous and discouraging, and his later success is a tes- 
 timonial to his inherent manhood and courage. During his 
 days as teacher he began the study of medicine, following the 
 course attentively until he was graduated, in 1893, from the 
 College of Physicians and Surgeons, at St. Louis. October 23, 
 1884, Dr. Gose was married to Annie Lee Chance, who, as his 
 life's partner, has been a true helpmeet. One child only has 
 been born to them, Sly an Paul, by name, who now^ is married 
 and lives at Krum. 
 
 Judge John G. Gose, of Decatur, fifth of the children of Major 
 and Mrs. S.M. Gose, has been a resident of this immediate com- 
 munity throughout the whole of his life with the exception of 
 six months of infancy spent in Denton County, in the extreme 
 western part of which he was born September 29, 1860. At six 
 months' of age he was brought by his parents to reside in De- 
 catur; his childhood was spent in the old county capital, and 
 since reaching mature age his activities and endeavors have been 
 identified with the county's life at large. No man, doubtless, 
 has a larger acquaintance in the county, and no retired or incum- 
 bent public official is looked upon with higher approval for the 
 course pursued in public office than Judge Gose. His life has 
 been a struggle upward from the deprivation of pioneer boy- 
 hood, every step of which has been won by sheer inherent 
 ability and resource. The first twenty years of his boyhood 
 and young manhood was spent in Decatur, and upon his 
 
318 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 father's farm, on Catlett Creek. Then ho began Hfe as a clerk 
 in Decatur. This was in 1881. In 1883 he was married to 
 Minnie Gate, formerly of Sevier County, Tennessee, a most ex- 
 cellent and accomplished young woman, and graduate of Car- 
 son-Newman College, Jefferson, Tennessee. Mrs. Gose is pop- 
 ular with her acquaintances, kindly and sympathetic in her re- 
 lations with friends, and decidedly gifted intellectually. Some 
 time after his marriage Judge Gose began the study of law 
 
 and was admitted to a long 
 
 course of profitable practice 
 in 1893. The following year 
 he was chosen unanimously 
 as City Attorney, and at the 
 same time began to build 
 uj) a profitable business, 
 both as real estate and 
 loan agent, and as an at- 
 torney. In 1902 he made 
 the race unopposed for 
 County Judge, being elected 
 and re-elected for a second 
 term without opposition. As 
 County Judge he made a 
 popular and efficient officer, 
 and as ex-officio Superin- 
 tendent of County Instruc- 
 tion achieved a cordiality 
 with the teachers hardl}^ 
 equaled before or surpassed 
 since. His record in these 
 allied positions is an enviable one. Judge Gose's other public 
 activities have been manifested in such positions as President 
 of the Public School Board, Steward of the Methodist Church, 
 Executive officer of the Old Settlers' Association, and in various 
 capacities of like nature. In whatever he attempts he becomes 
 enthusiastic to a marked degree ; he is popular and well liked 
 by his townsmen, open and generous in all his dealings, antl 
 a servitor of (exceeding usefulness in many capacities. Six 
 
 DR. J. M. GOSE. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 319 
 
 children have been born to Judge and Mrs. Gose, five of 
 whom are living: they are Birdie, wife of Roy Gililland, of 
 Fort Worth; Emory, a student of electrical science in Wash- 
 ington, D. C; Harry, Orlena and Frances. Judge and Mrs. 
 Gose reside at Consuelo, a beautiful country home near Decatur. 
 
 The sixth and seventh children of Major and Mrs. Gose are 
 Mary, wife of T. J. Waggoner, of Wichita Falls, and Maggie, wife 
 of J. A. Harvey, of Alvord. 
 
 Dr. Joe M.Gose.of Alvord, a successful practicing physician, 
 was eighth in line of birth. He was born on the Catlett Creek 
 farm, January 26, 1867, and remained there until manhood. On 
 February 17, 1889, he was married to Lela Fox, whose untimely 
 death occurred at Alvord, February 27th of this year. Dr. 
 Gose graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
 at St. Louis, in 1893, and located in Alvord the same year. 
 He followed up his medical studies by taking a post-graduate 
 course at Chicago, in 1905. Like his brothers he has won his 
 present success in the battle with life in the face of adverse cir- 
 cumstances. He is quiet and gentlemanly in manner, faithful in 
 his profession, and generally popular with the people of his 
 town and community. 
 
 The two youngest of the Gose family of children are Stephen 
 M. and Cora, the latter the wife of J. L. Sellars, a capable 
 farmer and blooded stock raiser of this vicinity. Stephen M. 
 was married to Allie Jarrell, January 27, 1896, she of a pioneer 
 family. No young married couple is more popular in sub- 
 stantial circles than Mr. and Mrs. Steve Gose. They live in a 
 modern home on the outskirts of Decatur, and have two 
 children. 
 
 J. A. WATSON. 
 
 Born in Tennessee, and settling in Wise County in 1854, Mr. 
 Watson has been known for his quiet and inoffensive citizen- 
 ship since the county life was started. He was one of the first 
 to emigrate here, and has remained throughout, faithful to 
 his duties to his county, his people and his kindly Father 
 
320 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
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BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 321 
 
 above. He has reared and instructed a large family of chil- 
 dren, who now are married and living away from home. 
 During the youthful days 
 of the county Mr. Watson 
 was married to one of the 
 pioneer daughters, who was 
 unfortunately overtaken by 
 death. He was again mar- 
 ried and at present lives on 
 one of the best farms in 
 Wise County, a few miles 
 east of Decatur. His 
 children are: Nancy Ellen, 
 married to William A. Ful- 
 lingim; Mary Emma mar- 
 ried to L. P. Terrell; Mar- 
 garet Elizabeth, married to 
 JohnF. McMurtry; JohnT., 
 married Dorothy Fowler; 
 James Loving, married Eli- 
 zabeth A. Bailey; Edwin 
 B., married Mae Cook. 
 
 J. A. WATSON. 
 
 MR. AND MRS. JOE HENRY MARTIN. 
 
 Some men achieve popularity over antl above their fellows 
 because of the possession, or exhibition of certain unusual 
 traitsof character. Such an unusual character is Mr. Joe Henry 
 Martin. He has grown now to considerable age, but the merry 
 gleam in his eye, perennially present, has not departed. 
 Uncle Joe measured up to the true requirements in the accjuittal 
 of the pioneer responsibilities of citizenship, but always took 
 time to investigate every prospect and situation for the fun 
 there was in it. He faced the somber storms of pioneer days 
 with the spirit of the ancient, who fiddled while Rome was 
 burning — by all odds a merry and jovial one. There never 
 
322 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 were any limits to his generosity, nor his wiUingness to assist a 
 friend, and from the unstinted employment of these traits he is 
 known and affectionately admired by all. He was born in 
 Kentucky. January 1, 1828; served in the Mexican War in 
 1846; went to California in 1850, and settled in Wise County 
 
 MR. JOE HENRY MARTIN, 
 
 MRS. JOE HENRY MARTIN. 
 
 in 1855. On February 6, 1801, in Jack County, Texas, he was 
 married to Eliza Earhart, daughter of Capt. J. B. Earhart. 
 They now reside at Chico, Wise County. Mrs. Martin is one of 
 the splendid and beloved women remaining to us from pioneer 
 times. 
 
BRIEF ALLUSIONS TO PROMINENT CITIZENS, BOTH 
 
 OF THE PIONEER PERIOD AND THAT 
 
 IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING. 
 
 It was planned to devote comprehensive sketches to the indi- 
 viduals alluded to in the following brief paragraphs, but the 
 foregoing material has so unexpectedly encroached on the lim- 
 itations of space as to necessitate abridgement of the following 
 matter. The subjects treated, however, are importantly inden- 
 tified with the social and political history of the county, and 
 are deserving of equal representation with all others. 
 
 RICHARD T. RIEGER 
 
 was a native of Missouri, born January 16, 1829. Married Jane 
 Manilia Cagle (first wife) October 20, 1852. Mrs. Rieger died 
 
 November 11, 1864. On 
 November 29, 1865, Mr. 
 Rieger married Annie P. 
 Ball, who survived her hus- 
 band many years, the date 
 of her death being Septem- 
 ber 12, 1906. Mr. Rieger 
 died at the age of 58. He 
 was prominent as the leader 
 of one of the home militia 
 companies, otherwise per- 
 forming well his part in all 
 the affairs of the times. 
 Two children resulted from 
 the first union, named Jim 
 and Artemisa Rieger. Seven 
 chikh-en were born to the 
 second union, as follows: 
 Manilia, married Hiram W. 
 Smith; Sar^h L., married 
 Tom H. Greer; Emily Ter- 
 .(323) 
 
 R. T. RIEGER. 
 
324 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 rell, married J. D. Robison; Richard A., married Laura Jarrell; 
 Joseph died young; Jackson J., married Clayton Bennett; OlHe 
 M. married Austin Golden. 
 
 RUFUS LINDLY 
 
 has been a citizen of Wise County since 18G1, coming here that 
 year with his step-father, B. W. Millholland. The latter settled 
 the Carlo Ball place 1| miles north of Decatur. From 1868 to 
 1872 Mr. Lindly lived in the San Antonio section of the State, 
 but was forced to return to Wise County on account of Indian 
 troubles. He was married January 24, 1886, to Virginia Gate, 
 daughter of David Gate, born and raised at Grapevine, Tarrant 
 County. One child, a daughter, Miss Grace, has been born to 
 them. Mr, Lindly is a kindly, genial gentleman, and the pop- 
 ular keejjer of the City Hotel, Decatur. 
 
 JOHN W. PRUNTY 
 
 was born Mj^rch 6, 1833, in Henry County, Virginia; came to 
 Wise County in 1859, and bought the original Tom McCarrol 
 pre-emption, near Aurora, on Blue creek. Mr. Prunty was 
 married the first time to Mary Anthony, by whom he had 
 seven children, viz.: Thomas W., -married D'Etta Fullerton; 
 Sudie, married W. L. Neel; Mattie, died in youth; Modena, 
 married D. C. Greer; John V., married Minnie Dixon; the latter 
 is Dr. John V. Prunty, a prominent practicing dentist at De- 
 catur; Ben, married Fannie Gill; R. H., married Annie Pybas. 
 Mr. Prunty was married the second time to Mrs. Louisa A. 
 Oldham, originally of Virginia, but siibsequently of El Reno, 
 Oklahoma. 
 
 JAMES C. RUCKER 
 
 has seen Texas territory in its pioneer state throughout the ex- 
 tent of the frontier, from Red river to San Antonio. He is, 
 besides, a Mexican War veteran, having volunteei'ed from Ten- 
 nessee, in 1847. For six months of the Civil strife he was a 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 325 
 
 Confederate soldier, then was transferred to the frontier pro- 
 tection guard. He was born in McMinn County, Tennessee, 
 August 30, 1830, the son of Mordica Rucker; came to Texas in 
 1850, and to Wise County in 1855. September 8, 1849, he first 
 married \^irginia McDonald, in McMinn County, Tennessee, to 
 which union the following children were born: Joseph L. 
 Rucker, born in Smith County, Texas, November 11, 1850, de- 
 ceased; Mary Alice, married James Fullerton; William Hamil- 
 ton and Sophie. Mr. Rucker permanently located in the Sand 
 Hill community in 1862 ; his first wife having died he re-mar- 
 ried Christian Slater, of Wise County. To them have been 
 born Laura Bell, married Jack Bavouset, Dallas, Texas; 
 Ada, married Mack Dickson, Dawson, Texas; Fannie, married 
 Montville Newcomer, Bandero County; May, married Capt. 
 H. E. Brady, Wise County. 
 
 MRS. D. D. SHIREY. 
 "Aunt Polly". 
 
 MRS. M. A. SHIREY, 
 
 (Aunt Polly) was born in South 
 Carolina, in 1819. Settled in Wise 
 County with her husband in 1854. 
 She was and is noted for her old- 
 fashioned Southern hospitality, and 
 loves to tell of feeding at her ''re- 
 volving table" such guests as Sena- 
 tor Robert Tombs, of Georgia; 
 (Jovcrnor Throckmorton, General 
 John R. Baylor and Judge Everts. 
 She still lives at her comfortable 
 home at Audabon, loved and hon- 
 ored bv all who know her. 
 
320 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
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BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 327 
 
 JOHN T. WAGGONER 
 
 was bom in Cole County, Missouri, February 7, 1831. Came 
 with his parents to Red River. County, in fall of 1838, living 
 there and in Hopkins County eighteen years. Came to Wise 
 County in 1854, settling two miles northwest of Decatur. 
 After occupying other locations, Mr. Waggoner . emigrated to 
 Denton County, staying nine years, but returned to Wise 
 County in October, 1876. He did good service for the lost cause 
 in Hopp's Regiment, bore his part well in all pioneer difficul- 
 ties and obstacles, and raised a large family to perpetuate 
 his name. His death occurred in recent years. 
 
 CHARLES AND MRS. PERRIN. 
 
 The wi'iter is pleased to present a photograph of those worthy, 
 old-time citizens, Uncle Charles and Mrs. Perrin, who became 
 
 MR. CHAS. PERRIN. 
 
 MRS. CHAS. PERRIN. 
 
328 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 residents of Wise Comity in 1858. Uncle Charles died Decem- 
 ber 8, 1906, but is survived by his wife, now 77 years of age. 
 Ten children were born to them; have grown to adult age and 
 now reside in Oklahoma and Texas, the two most familiarly 
 known in Wise Countv being Ab. and Miss Mattie Perrin. 
 
 WILLIAM C. Wh]ATHERBY. 
 
 Considerable mention of Mr. Weatherby has been made in 
 previous chapters. It now remains to cite the essential, brief 
 
 facts of history. He was 
 
 born November 6, 1834, in 
 Putnam County, Georgia; 
 came with his parents to 
 Rush County at ten years of 
 age, and to Wise County in 
 1856. In 1857 or 1858 he 
 was married to Mai'garet 
 Jane Holden, and has raised 
 the following children: 
 Clarinda Jane, Sarah Eliza- 
 beth, James Thomas, Georgia 
 Ann, WilHam Minor, Maud 
 Cordelia, Charles Elmore. 
 Mrs. Weatherby died De- 
 ceber 2, 1896. 'Mr. Weath- 
 erby, in his old age, is com- 
 fortably surrounded on his 
 many acres on Denton creek, 
 in the Greenwood commun- 
 ity. Uncle Bill, as he was 
 familliarly known, was one 
 of the most gallant rangers and frontiersmen of this section ; he 
 also aided in the surveying of the boundary line of Wise County, 
 killing upwards of fifty deer on the route around. 
 
 WM. C. WI':.\THERBY. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 329 
 
 ELIJAH T. McDANIEL 
 
 came originally from Franklin County, Tennessee, to Wise 
 County, early in March, 1855. In Dallas County, Arkansas, he 
 married Asmoth Trammel, and to them five children were born, 
 viz.: John, Wiley, Granville, Mary Ann and Cordelia, the births 
 of the three remaining ones occurring in Wise County. The 
 names of the latter are Alfred, Isabel and Eliza Jane. Mrs. 
 McDaniel survives her husband, being aged now eighty years. 
 She lives with her son, Wiley McDaniel, near Greenwood, this 
 county. No two remaining pioneer citizens are better known 
 than John and Wiley McDaniel. Both are comfortably located 
 on rich farms in North Wise County, and both have raised 
 large families. They are two foremost citizens of their com- 
 munities. 
 
 CAMPBELL BURNS 
 BEARD 
 
 came to Decatur in the early 
 days of the town's rush and 
 growth, an inspiring youth in 
 his last years of minority. 
 From youth to manhood, and 
 on past the meridian, his life 
 has been bound up with that 
 of his town, one of the inter- 
 esting characters of the 
 place. 
 
 In January, 1873, Mr. Beard 
 accepted the advice of Horace 
 Greeley and left Charlotte, 
 N.C., for the West. He was 
 then 19 years of age, and for 
 two years had been a shipping 
 clerk in a large wholesale 
 house at Charlotte. He 
 
 C. B. BEARD. 
 
330 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 landed at Galveston with no definite destination in view, and 
 there met Charles D. Gates, of Decatur, who was in Galves- 
 ton to buy goods. Mr. Beard came overland home with Mr. 
 Gates and entered the latter's store, remaining three years as 
 clerk. He then entered the grocery business for himself. The 
 profits for five years, and finally the capital, was consumed by 
 an enemy which victimized him by its dazzling smile and 
 refreshing draught, and he sought relief in the H. Great- 
 house & Co. bank. Until 1883 he remained here and with the 
 bank's successor, the First National Bank, as book-keeper, 
 when he again entered the grocery business. His old enemy 
 was still his friend and his business was finally strangled. Mr. 
 Beard was next engaged in the real estate business, fol- 
 lowing which he acted as book-keeper for the Mississippi store, 
 and then became a book-keeper again in the First National 
 Bank. About this time it dawned on him that he was 
 about to be bound and gagged by his old enemy and he 
 cut the tie, took a new lease on life and new hope for the 
 future and returned to fresh, vigorous and temperate life. He 
 remained with the bank until 1904, when he resigned to enter 
 the grocery business. Mr. Beard is peculiarly adapted to the 
 latter business and is successful. He has a fine sense of dis- 
 crimination, which enables him to select only the best quality 
 of goods which can be obtained and sold at reasonable prices, 
 and his store has become one of the popular institutions of the 
 town. 
 
 Mr. Beard is the son of James B. Beard, a life-long merchant 
 of North Carolina, a Democratic office-holder under Cleveland 's 
 and Arthur's administrations, and an Episcopalian in faith. His 
 mother was,, before her marriage, Mary Campbell Bryce, 
 daughter of Peter Bryce, a Scotsman, and cotton factor of 
 Columbia, S. C. His marriage occurred September 27, 1876, 
 when he took as his bride Ella Greathouse, the only daughter of 
 the late Col. Henry Greathouse, of Decatur. Mrs. Beard was born 
 at Yreka, Calf., February 21, 1859, and came to Decatur with 
 her father at the age of 12. The union resulted in six children, 
 as follows: Nellie, wife of Mayor Will A. Miller, Jr., Amarillo, 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 331 
 
 Texas; James Burns, of Federick, Ok.; William H., with father 
 in the firm; Harry L., Horace B. and Campbell B. 
 
 DR. J. A. EMBRY AND EARLY SCHOOL. 
 
 In connection with this sketch is the reproduction of a photo- 
 graph representing a group of students of an early school taught 
 
 FORMER PUPILS OF DR. J. A. EMBRY S SCHOOL. 
 
 First Row, Right to Left: Mrs. George Neilson, Mrs. R. H. Beall, 
 Dr. John A. Embry, Mrs. L. Renshaw. 
 Second Row: Mrs. S. A. Lillard, Mrs. C. B. Beard, Mrs. J. W. Patterson, 
 Mrs. C. A. Saunders, Mrs. J. R. Davenport, Miss Mattie Perrin. 
 
 in Decatur by Dr. John A. Embry, who, himself, is a subject 
 in the picture. Drs. John and Jim Embry came to Wise County 
 from Calhoun County, Miss., the place of their birth, in 187L 
 Dr. John Embry taught numerous early schools in Decatur,- and 
 from 1879 until 1882 conducted the large school in the building 
 
332 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY "OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 which stood on the lot where the present Methodist Church is 
 located. The acconnpanying picture group, representing some 
 of the foremost citizens of Decatur, was made from students 
 of the late school, who hold in affectionate esteem their kind, 
 patient and efficient former instructor. Dr. Embry graduated 
 from the Medical University of St. Louis in 1881, and for a 
 quarter of a century has been a foremost physician of this sec- 
 tion. In adtlition thereto he has been a friend to humanity 
 and a high-minded, philanthropic citizen — -charitable to all and 
 loved b}^ all. 
 
 C. C. LEONARD. 
 
 C. C. Leonard, an old time citizen of the county, and at 
 present living in the vicinit.}" of Rhome, was born in old Tisho- 
 mingo County, Mississippi, 
 June 24, 1837, but spent the 
 early years of his life in 
 Marshall County, Tennessee, 
 to which section his parents 
 removed. When Mr. Leon- 
 ard was fifteen years of age 
 his parents again moved to 
 Jackson County, Arkansas, 
 where, December 18, 1856, 
 the subject of our sketch 
 was married to Mary A- 
 Rags dale, of Jackson 
 County. Mr. Leonard came 
 to \Vis(^ County in the spring 
 of 18()() and located where 
 the town of Boyd now 
 stands. His beloved wife 
 died July 7, 1801, and the 
 next spring Mr. Leonard 
 entered the Confederate 
 army, joining B, P. Earps 
 
 C. C. LKONAHD. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 333 
 
 Co. E., with which he was assigned to the 23r(l Texas Cavahy, 
 Gould's Regiment. He was made Orderly Sergeant of the com- 
 pany, remaining in service three yearsand one month, and 
 engaged in campaigns in Louisiana and Texas. After the close 
 of the war, August 12, 1866, Mr. Leonard was married to Mary 
 J. Lewis, of Wise County, and in 1868 settled the place on 
 which he now lives. He is one of the county's loyal and 
 conservative citizens, and has taken part in all forward move- 
 ments. For fifteen consecutive years he acted as Justice of 
 the Peace of his precinct and as tax assessor ; he also served ably 
 as a county commissioner in 1891 and 1892. Mr. and Mrs. 
 Leonard's children are as follows; Mary J. Pinkard, by the 
 first wife, lives with her parents; W. J. Leonard, Rhome; S. L., 
 lives at Bowie; Laura, married to Harry Moore, Lampasas; 
 Susie, married to Homer Watkins, Rhome; Allie, married to 
 J. G. Robison, near Rhome; Emma, married to A. N. Rives, 
 Rhome ; Kate, Ella, Ora and Bob at home. 
 
 M. W. SHOEMAKER. 
 
 Li the early days of Decatur's history, there was much activity 
 upon the part of her leading citizens in the promotion of enter- 
 prises which contemplated the town's future growth and pros- 
 perity, and no movement of this kind was ever carried to success- 
 ful culmination without Milton W. Shoemaker's personal force 
 being identified with it. Mr. Shoemaker was one of the several 
 sons of Capt. A. H. Shoemaker, who came with his family from 
 Missouri to Ohver Creek, Wise County, in 1859, and to Decatur 
 in 1867. M. W. Shoemaker was born in Missouri, July 1, 1845, 
 and had just passed his majority when his father located in the 
 Wise County capital. He came to Decatur jyst at the time 
 when the village was recovering from the prostrations of civil 
 war, and when enterprising, original men were needed to restore 
 the country to normal conditions. From thence to the date of 
 his death he was a leading spirit in every undertaking that 
 involved the town and country's best interest. On December 
 21, 1871, Mr. Shoemaker was married to Miss Mollie Pickett, 
 
334 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 
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BIOGRAPHICAL. 335 
 
 daughter of Col. and Mrs. G. B. Pickett, whose birth occurred in 
 Red River County, Texas, January 10, 1854, and who, coming to 
 Wise County at a very early date, has spent the most of her life 
 here as one of the community's admired and respected citizens. 
 Four children were born to the union, the eldest being Hardie, 
 the second Barnie, and Warren and DoUie. The death of the 
 last occurred at the age of three, while the sad demise of Warren 
 is a truly deplorable event of recent date. Mr. and Mrs. Shoe- 
 maker belong to that small minority of our present citizenship 
 who have seen Decatur and Wise County at their worst and best. 
 
 LOUIS PAVILLARD, 
 our old and esteemed French pioneer, was born in Canton 
 Deverd, Switzerland, Europe, in January, 1832. This village is 
 located near the town of Louisanne, the place where Gibbon, 
 the famous historian, spent his studious years before writing the 
 immortal history of the ''DecHne and Fall of Rome." Louis 
 Pavillard spent six years in the city of Paris before coming to 
 America, his occupation being that of a servitor of a printer's 
 club. He adventured into Wise County in 1859, after having 
 toured the Western States. He was twice married; first, to 
 Jane Harris, upon whose death to Elizabeth Broadstreet. Uncle 
 Louis is well supplied with material means, lives in the Anne- 
 ville community, where he has raised nine children. 
 
 DR. MARTIN CADDELL 
 is the son of Wm. Caddell, who married Diana Pittman, in 
 Kentucky. He was born in Scotland County, Mo., January 9, 
 1834. Came with his family to Lamar County, Texas, first, and 
 at the age of 23 to Wise County, in the year 1856. Dr. 
 Caddell settled on Black Creek, and later moved to Greenwood, 
 where after a course of study he began the practice of medicine. 
 Harmon Caddell, a Well-known Wise County citizen, recently 
 deceased, came to Dr. Caddell in 1858, remaining until married. 
 In 1855 Dr. Caddell married Martha Strickland in Canton, 
 Texas, whom he now survives. Nine children were born to the 
 union as follows: Elias, Dora, Ellen, Jim, Florence, Ida, Delia, 
 Mart, Lilhe.— 
 
336 
 
 pioxep:r history of wise county. 
 
 CAPT. TOM L. STANFIELD — A PIONEER CITIZEN 
 
 OF WISE COUNTY NOW OF TERRELL, 
 
 TEXAS. 
 
 JOHN S. GILILLAND 
 
 came into Wise County in what may be defined as the last year 
 of the pioneer period, which was 1874, the year of the Huff 
 family massacre by the Indians. He came to Decatur from Ar- 
 kansas, but lived formerly in Collin County, Texas, to which 
 county he came from Missouri, the state of his birth. He was 
 born at Old Bailey's landing, on the Mississippi river, the place 
 then being called Lincoln, the date being January 31, 1845. 
 His father, A. J. Gililland, was a blacksmith, and was twice 
 married, having four children by each union. John S. was the 
 second son of the first group. His father came to Collin County 
 in 1853, locating on David's Ridge, west of McKinney, near the 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 337 
 
 Dallas and Preston roads. In 1867, at the age of 10, John S. en- 
 listed in Co. D., 6th Texas cavalry, afterwards Ross' regiment, the 
 first volunteer organization to leave Collin County. Later on he 
 was exempted from service on account of his youth, but returned 
 to Collin County and rejoined Throckmorton's company. He then 
 participated in campaigns in Arkansas and Louisiana. In June, 
 1863, he was taken prisoner at Butler, La., and confined at New 
 Orleans for eight months, when he escajjed under the most 
 thrilling and dramatic circumstances. He rejoined his company 
 the day following the Pleasant Hill fight in Louisiana. He then 
 obtained a furlough and came home. His father had in the 
 meantime moved to Grayson County. Mi-. Gililland then spent 
 eight years in Arkansas, in Washington County, in which State 
 he married Jane Kinnebrough in February, 18()6. In 1874 he 
 came to Decatur, locating on the eastern edge of town, and two 
 years later opened a blacksmith and woodworking shop, which 
 occupation he has followed continuously and successfully since. 
 At an early period he served Decatur a term or two as city 
 marshall. He is a quiet, unpretentious gentleman, a conscien- 
 tious and persistent workman, and a first-class citizen, being 
 admired and respected by all. Mr. and Mrs. Gililland have 
 reared a bright, healthy family of children, now all married 
 and prosperous, named as follows: Jim, the oldest son, of Com- 
 manche County, Ok.; Aimer, of Roan's Prairie, Texas; Porter, 
 La Grange, Texas; Minnie, wife of Conductor White, C. R. I. 
 & P. Ry.; Walter, associated with his father at Decatur; Roy, 
 of Fort Worth. 
 
 JUDGE W. H. BULLOCK, 
 
 while not precisely a pioneer of Wise County, has the honor of 
 being the first white child born in the city of Sherman, Gray- 
 son county, Texas. This occurred November 11, 1850, the date 
 being co-incidental with the establishment of Sherman as a town 
 by Dr. R. L. Bullock, who was Judge Bullock's father. Judge 
 Bullock's mother was a McCrory, of a Mississippi family, her 
 
 22 
 
338 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
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BIOGRAPHICAL. 339 
 
 name being Elizabeth. The marriage of Dr. R. L. Bullock and 
 Elizabeth McCrory occurred at Bonham, Texas, in 1848. 
 Judge Bullock spent his boyhood and early youth at Sherman. 
 In 1858 he visited the State of Missouri, remaining until 1861. 
 In 1860-61 he attended school at Harrisonville; the master of 
 the school being the present U. S. Senator Steven B. Elkins, of 
 West Virginia. The noted outlaws, the Younger boys, attended 
 the school at the same time. Judge Bullock came back to 
 Texas and began to read law in the office of Throckmorton and 
 Brown, the first being Governor Throckmorton and the latter 
 T. J. Brown, Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas. 
 
 Judge Bullock came to Wise County April 10, 1875, and 
 has been one of the foremost practicing attorneys and judiciaries 
 of this section since that time. He served six years as county 
 judge, and has been several times selected as special district 
 judge in the absence of the regular official. He was married 
 September 8, 1879, toSallie J. Renshaw, daughter of Dr. and Mrs. 
 Wm. Renshaw, who has borne him nine children, six of whom 
 are living, named as follows: Randolph, at Fort Worth; Wil- 
 liam, Eugene, Irene, Margaret and Lucille, at home. 
 
 ALBERT DEVEREUX, 
 
 son of Julian S. Devcreux, who settled in Montgomery county 
 on entering the Lone Star State a young man, was born in 
 Rusk county, Texas, December 15, 1848. Mr. Devereux's life 
 was a rural one until he came to Wise County. He attended 
 McKenzie College, near Clarksville, Texas, and was also a stu- 
 dent of Gilmer High School. It was under the tutelage of Mor- 
 gan H. Looney that he acquired the principles of surveying, 
 which have proven so valuable to him in his life's work. Mr. 
 Devereux has occuj^ied the most of his time since coming 
 to Texas as a locater and dealer in Texas lands, beginning 
 with a small tract which he bought on Deep creek for a 
 home when he first came to Wise county. On February 11, 
 1869, before he had reached his majority, he was married to 
 Miss EUzabeth A. Stamps, of Rusk county. From 1877 to 1881 
 
340 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY 
 
 Mr. Devereux was county surveyor of Wise county and proved 
 himself an efficient officer and reliable engineer. In 1900 he was 
 again elected to the office of surveyor and has been twice re- 
 
 A. DEVEREUX. 
 
 elected to the same position. Mr. Devereux is not only an ideal 
 citizen and an excellent officer, but he is well known as a Dem- 
 ocrat and a member of the Masonic fi-aternity. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 341 
 
 MR. AND MRS. STEVENS. 
 
 A. S. BADGER 
 was born in Wabash County, Indiana, July 2, 1849, the son of 
 Reason Badger, a farmer of the county. In search of fresh op- 
 portunities Mr. Badger came to Wise County in the year 1870, 
 being accompanied by four other young men, who were seek- 
 ing their fortunes in the Southwest. Mr. Badger located on 
 Deep creek, and there became acquainted with Eliza J. Woody, 
 daughter of Samuel Woody, to whom he was married in April, 
 1872. Mr. Badger now lives about three miles north of De- 
 catur on a good farm, and surrounded by the comforts of life. 
 He is a progressive, honest and intelligent citizen, and esteemed 
 highly by all who kiK)w him. His children are: Annie, mar- 
 ried Charles Myers, Decatur; Ollie married Charles Rol- 
 lins, Pecos County, Texas; Mildred, married Leonard Bre- 
 zeal; Emma, married J. K. Stewart, California; Willie, wife 
 of Carlo Ball, Jr., Ochiltree, Texas; Alvin, Reta, Marion, Jessie, 
 Leo and Pearl. 
 
342 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COrXTY. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 343 
 
 JAMES W. B. REYNOLDS 
 
 settled on Garrett's Creek, southwest Wise County, in 1857. 
 He was a Tennesseean by birth; his home in Wise County was 
 situated near what is known as "Tyler Water" or Draco. 
 Among his neighbors were the Kincannons, Perkins, Henry 
 Wood and others. He and his family, consisting of a wife and 
 three children, whose names were F. W., Sylvester and Mat 
 A. J. Reynolds, (the latter now the wife of D. P. Newsome, of 
 Boonville), were well satisfied until the Civil War commenced, 
 w^hen, like hundreds of brave men, the father enlisted in the 
 service of his adopted State, leaving his family in charge of the 
 oldest boy. The boy Sylvester was soon after wounded by the 
 Indians, who caught him absent from home on a mission for 
 the family. The family then escaped to Parker County and re- 
 mained until the end of danger. It has been said of Mr. Rey- 
 nolds that he was one of nature's noblemen, brave and gen- 
 erous to a fault, and constantly exerted himself to elevate 
 the life around him, and the life of the county in general. 
 
 THE WISE COUNTY OLD SETTLERS' ASSOCIATION. 
 
 The above association w^as organized July 27, 1904, and is 
 composed of the living citizens of the pioneer period of the 
 county's existence, together with their descendants. The chief 
 purpose has been to perpetuate old associations, friendships 
 and traditions, and to advance the claims of the pioneer people 
 and times to modern recognition. To accomplish these results 
 annual reunions of the old elements are held, and the present 
 volume has been prepared and circulated. A movement has 
 also been started to erect a monument to the memoiy and 
 services of Capt. George W. Stevens, a brave defender of Wise 
 County during the Indian troubles. The following officers now 
 have executive charge of the affairs of the Old Settlers' 
 Association : 
 
344 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE WISE COLXTY OLD SETTLERS ASSOCIATK )X. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 345 
 
 EXECUTivK committep: wise county old settlers association. 
 
346 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 John H. Wallace, President. 
 
 Cliff. D. Gates, Secretary. 
 
 W. J. Mann, Sergeant-at-Arms. 
 
 John Wasson, Assistant-Sergeant-at-Arms. 
 
 Executive Committee: 
 
 John G. Gose, 
 Henry L. Ward, 
 Dennis Paschall, 
 C. V. Terrell, 
 
 T. Perrin, 
 Add Renshaw, 
 T. L. Ball, 
 C. A. Cartwright. 
 
 . T. J. GARY. 
 
 No such original biographical sketch was ever prepared as that 
 which the old veteran of pioneer days, Thos. J. Gary, of south 
 
 Wise County, has handed 
 in for present uses. It is 
 usually the custom to over- 
 haul and re-write such 
 matter, -. but so genuinely 
 interesting is Mr. Gary's 
 statements that they will 
 be printed almost as they 
 were received. Thos. J. 
 Gary was born in Madison 
 County, Mississippi, Oc- 
 tober 2, 1835, but was 
 principally raised in Car- 
 roll County. He crossed 
 the plains to California in 
 1857, and came back to 
 Wise County, Texas, March 
 3, 1860. In 1862 he volun- 
 teered in the Confederate 
 service, serving in Waller's 
 T. J. GARY. Battalion, General Tom 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. . 347 
 
 Green's Brigade, also lost many nights' sleep guarding his own 
 and neighbors' stock from the Indians. 
 
 Mr. Gary married at Birdville, Tarrant County, Texas, 
 January 30, 1862, the maiden name of his wife being Sue Brown. 
 Seven children were born to the union, four being raised to 
 maturity. They are as follows: Marvel Gary, of Chico, Cali- 
 fornia; Willie Gary, the youngest, lives with his parents; Louisa, 
 married J. B. Massie, of Angelina County, Texas; Belle, married 
 J. M. Scott, of Duncan, Oklahoma. Mr. Gary has kept account 
 of the number of trips he has made to the county seat, which 
 is eighty-eight, forty-four times being for jury service. Of him- 
 self Mr. Gary says: " I have had as good a time as any man 
 in Texas. I kept fifteen fine hounds and made the deer, fox 
 and wolves skeedaddle. I lived through all the cattle-stealing 
 and never was a bill found against me. The reason was I never 
 stole any cattle, and I am proud of it. I surely can look any man 
 in the eye and say ' I done it,' or ' I didn't do it.' I still keep 
 my old Indian gun and old fiddle and still play 'Billy in the Low 
 Ground.' I am living in my seventy-third year, and in good 
 health, and can still knock the back-step. I have been a Master 
 Mason in good standing over fifty years and an Odd Fellow nine 
 or ten years." 
 
 Surely Mr. Gary has lived a life that he can reflect on bravely 
 as he has done in the above paragraph. He is one of Wise 
 County's most loved pioneer citizens. 
 
 JUDGE J. W. PATTERSON. 
 
 From a farm boy in Trigg County, Kentucky, struggling to 
 attain the rudiments of a legal education, to a governor's pos- 
 sibility and sound judicial achievements in Texas, is the Ufe his- 
 tory of Judge J. W. Patterson, who, for nearly five consecutive 
 terms has been elected to the judgeship of the 43rd Judicial Dis- 
 trict, comprising Wise, Jack and Parker Counties. 
 
 Judge Patterson was born in Trigg County, Kentucky, No- 
 vember 18, 1847. He attended the common schools of his 
 community, and read legal books while he labored on the farm, 
 
348 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 He then went to Cadiz, his County town, and pursued studies 
 and was admitted to the bar. In 1874, he struck out for him- 
 self. So far every hck that had moukled him into the fashion 
 of a man of strength and ability had been hammered by him- 
 self, and in striking out for himself he was still exhibiting the 
 characteristics of strength and independence that had distin- 
 guish(Hl his upward struggle. He came to Gainesville, Texas , and 
 
 stayed three months . He then 
 came to Wise County, the date 
 being July, 1874, and })itted 
 his professional attainments 
 against all opposing forces in 
 the renewed struggle for suc- 
 cess. Two years later, in 
 1876, his ability and honesty 
 were recognized in his elec- 
 tion to the office of County 
 Judge, he being the first offi- 
 cial to bear that title. Be- 
 ginning with 1878, he*- served 
 two terms as County Attorney, 
 upon the expiration of which 
 he was sent to the 18th Texas 
 Legislature as the representa- 
 tive from Wise Count y . 
 Judge Patterson then retired 
 to private practice for several 
 years, during which he was 
 associated with the old law 
 hrnis oF L()vc\i()y, Dickson & Patterson, and later Crane & 
 Patterson. In 18S8 he was elevated to the District Judgeship, 
 which he has filled with great distinction and honor to himself 
 and district. 
 
 Judge Patterson has achieved that success in life to which all 
 men aspire. His course has been a gradual evolution of his 
 powers and faculties from early manhood. Beginning in 
 straightened and narrowed circumstances, he has, by self- 
 endeavors, gradually broadened the horizon of his environments, 
 
 JUDGE ,1. W. PATTERSON. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 349 
 
 until he is free to exercise all the rights and privileges of unre- 
 stricted manhood and citizenship, a condition that is synony- 
 mous with deep and broad success. He has revealed himself 
 as a man of honest, rugged strength, and as a judicial of absolute 
 fairness and candor, which are the foundation ston(\s of his 
 popularity with the people. This is one of the chief elements of 
 his success, and one of the facts that accounts for his l^eing oft- 
 mentioned as a fit man for the Governor's chair of Texas, or as 
 a Congressional possibility. His attainments in life are worthy 
 of the study and emulation of all apsiring youths. Judge 
 Patterson was married November 24, 1881, to Miss Nannie 
 Baker, and to the union six children have been born, named as 
 follows: James Venor; Mozelle (now Mrs. W. C. Carver); 
 Ernestine; Marie; Walker, and Anita. 
 
 JACK BROWN. 
 
 The following sketch of 
 Jack Brown, an esteemed 
 and venerated pioneer citi- 
 zen, has been contributed by 
 one who knew him well. 
 
 ''Elbert Jack Brown was 
 born, August 16, 1835, in 
 Elbert County , Georgia. 
 He joined the Baptist 
 Church at the age of eigh- 
 teen, and remained a zeal- 
 ous , consistent m ember 
 until his death, which oc- 
 curred, April 29, 1899. 
 Fearless and uncompromis- 
 ing in supporting what he 
 deemed right, Mr. Brown en- 
 tered the Confederate serv- 
 ice in 1861, and there made 
 a conspicuous record for 
 bravery, but like a t r u e 
 
 .JACK BROWN. 
 
350 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 patriot, accepted defeat and became a strong lover of the Union. 
 At the time of his death he was captain of the Albert Sydney 
 Johnson Camp of Confederate \^eterans. 
 
 In his younger days Mr; Brown practised law, but during his 
 residence in Texas devoted most of his time to farming and stock- 
 raising. He moved to Texas in 1858, and spent the larger part 
 of his life in Wise County on his farm east of Greenwood. Mr. 
 Brown was married June 24th, 1874, to Purity C. Dailey, of 
 Dallas County, and of this union there remain two children, 
 Mary Fannie, the wife of E. L. Warren, of Greenwood, and 
 Elbert Blanton, who was married, February 12, 1903, to Maud 
 0. Best, of Wise County. 
 
 P. F. LEWIS. 
 
 Pleasant Franklin Lewis, third son of Robert and Sarah Lewis, 
 is"a native of Marion County, Illinois, and according to his state- 
 ment, "hit Wise County on a jennettc, August 17, 1855." This 
 very early arrival makes Mr. Lewis one of the oldest of Wise 
 
 County citizens. He came to 
 Wise County with Dr. James 
 Marshall, who began his 
 (•(lucation, but home duties 
 l)re vented satisfactory prog- 
 ress. At the beginning of 
 the war Mr. Lewis joined Co. 
 E., 10th Texas Infantry, and 
 s(Tved throughout the long 
 civil strife. January 1 1 , 1863, 
 he was captured, in associa- 
 tion with others, and confin- 
 ed for two months at Camp 
 Douglass, Illinois, and then 
 exchanged and sent to the 
 Southeastern States. Sub- 
 sequently he was twice 
 p. F. LEWIS. ■ wounded at Chickamauga 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 351 
 
 where latterly he was elected Second Sergeant of the Com- 
 pany. Mr. Lewis was again wounded at New Hope, but came 
 out in command of the Company in that fight. He was cap- 
 tured again near Atlanta in July, where one of his captors told 
 him that he fought well but on the wrong side. He was impris- 
 oned at Camp Chase, Ohio, and released from there, June 11, 
 1865, and reached home on Hog Branch, Wise County, July 9. Mr. 
 Lewis was married to Miss Hannah E. Kidd, of Dallas County, 
 in July 1866. He recalls the following persons to have been 
 living in South Wise County when he came: Mr. Moss; J. J. 
 Hudson; Rev. Moffett; L. D. Burnett; G. W. Knight, Sr.; Ben. 
 and Pleas. Haney; Wm. Oates; Giles McKey; Mr. Gardner; John 
 and Bill McClennan; John Sellars; Mr. Coacoe; James Mann; 
 Ben Arp; Doc. Brooks; Jack Hart; Mr. Lawley; Anderson Smith. 
 Mr. Lewis at present lives in the neighborhood of New Ark, 
 is a frequent contributor to the press, is loyal to the old Confeder- 
 ates and the old settlers, and a strong advocate of good county 
 roads. Moreover he was among the first to suggest the need of 
 a pioneer history of Wise County. 
 
 J. L. CRAWFORD. 
 
 The subject of this sketch is one of the sterling representa- 
 tives of Bridgeport commercial life, and a leading and influential 
 force in all the affairs of the farmers of his connnunity. He was 
 born in East Tennessee, July 7, 1849, and settled in the timber 
 south of Bridgeport, Wise County, January 10, 1877, where he 
 opened up a farm. From the very start Mr. Crawford began 
 to demonstrate a strong public-spirited nature. Seeing the need 
 of church instrumentalities in his community, he and five others 
 set about to build a church house. Rev. Gatis, a Methodist 
 divine, then preached the first sermon. But at present, on the 
 spot where the old church stood, a beautiful new building now 
 stands, and a thriving community known as Pleasant Grove 
 surrounds it. Mr. Crawford was soon interested in other public 
 affairs, and has come to be identified with every public enter- 
 prise that has marked the development of Wise County. It 
 
352 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 is a source of satisfaction to him to sco the beautiful homes, the 
 raih'oads, the thriving towns, churches, schools, rural mail ser- 
 vice and telephones in most every home, and he is agreeably 
 surprised that the transformation has been brought about in 
 such short time. 
 
 When a young man Mr. Crawford joined the Democratic 
 party, believing that the best reforms in government could be 
 secured through the enac- 
 tion of democratic measures 
 and i^rinciples. He cast his 
 first vote for B. Gratz Brown 
 for Governor of Missouri, 
 and has always been active 
 in politics. He has been 
 honored by his party. He 
 has acted as County Com- 
 missioner, served as post- 
 master under President 
 Cleveland, and represented 
 Wise County in the 25th 
 and 2()th Legislatures. 
 While serving in the latter 
 capacity he was the author 
 of some important bills, and 
 as chairman of the Mining 
 and Minerals Connnittee, 
 wrote the first l)ill intro- 
 duced in a Texas Legisla- 
 ture looking to the protec- 
 tion and safety of coal miners. Mr. Crawford is a member of the 
 Baptist Church, and is identified with the Masonic, Odd Fellows 
 and W. (). W. lodges, and is a leading factor in the Farmers' 
 Union organization of Wise County. He has lately acquired a 
 comfortable home in Bridgei)ort, and expects to spend the 
 remainder of his days in helloing to keep Wise County up to 
 her present state of high civilization. When the summons comes 
 to pass to an eternal existences he ex})ects to strike hands with 
 many of the old settlers of Wise County, and to know them 
 
 .1. L. CHAWFOHI). 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 353 
 
 from the scars inflicted as incidents of the conflict and develop- 
 ment of a frontier country. 
 
 It has been suggested that a few of the faithful and respect- 
 able darkies of the earl/ period should have the essential facts 
 of their lives represented here. Some of them were true to 
 their pioneer masters and employers, and came to be regarded 
 with a deep and friendly interest. 
 
 RANDOLP VEASEY, 
 
 known better as "Ran," ''Old Ran," and ''Uncle Ran." was 
 perhaps the best known colored citizen of the times, a popu- 
 larity due to his efficiency as a fiddler of inspiring dance music, 
 and faithfulness as a slave and citizen. He places the date of 
 his birth in 1827, July 10th, in Merriweather County, Georgia. 
 He came to Drew County, Arkansas, as a young man; entered 
 the Civil War with his master, and later in the conflict became 
 body-guard to General Cabell. At the end of the war he came 
 to O'Neal's Station, Montague County, with his white friends, 
 and finally gravitated into Wise County, where he remains a 
 respected old citizen. 
 
 TOM AND "AUNT" JANIE JOHNSON 
 
 were two other kind and respectable colored characters of this 
 period. Janie Crutchfield was born the first colored child in 
 Colin County, in 1845. She was brought to Wise County by 
 the Crutchfielcls in 1856, in which family she served as house 
 girl. In 1865 she was married to Tom Johnson. The latter 
 was born in Independence, Missouri, in 1843. Came to Wise 
 County during the war and was employed by Major Holmes, 
 
 23 
 
354 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY 
 
 TOM JOHNSON. 
 
 JANIE JOHNSON. 
 
 where he'^lived until he married and bought a place. He died a 
 respectable colored citizen December 31, 1891, leaving an estate 
 valued at $5,000 to his wife. 
 
SECTION FIVE. 
 
 MO'DERN WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Wise County, from Texas Almanac, 1904. 
 
 The area of Wise County is 9,000 square miles. The county 
 is in the second tier south of Red river, lying at the foot of 
 the Panhandle of Texas. Decatur, the county seat, is 40 miles 
 northwest of Fort Worth, on the Fort Worth & Denver City 
 Railway, having a population of about 2,000. 
 
 Population of county in 1900, 27,116. Property assessment 
 1907, $9,008,205. Two-thirds of the area of this county is occupied 
 with a belt of wood land known as the Upper Cross timbers, con- 
 sisting of several varieties of oak, including post, pin, burr, water 
 and red oak, while along the streams that penetrate this woodland 
 region there is usually a large growth of black walnut, pecan, 
 cotton-wood and elm of the several kinds, and on the uplands 
 grow the low, heavy-topped post oak and blackjack. The 
 general elevation is about 1,250 feet above the sea level, and 
 the surface is for the most part undulating, but there are con- 
 siderable areas of broken and hilly country. The ampleness of 
 the elevation and the purity of the drinking water combine to 
 produce a gratifying condition of general good health throughout 
 all the seasons. Water is found in abundance at depths ranging 
 from 50 to 150 feet, with possibilities for obtaining it along the 
 creek valleys at a depth of 25 or 30 feet. Rainfall for several 
 years has averaged 29.47 inches. The prairie soils in the east- 
 ern third are given over to stock farming and grain growing, 
 the soil being in most part a tenacious black waxy, esteemed 
 alike for its durability, fertility and drouth-resisting properties. 
 The wheat crop produced on this black soil ranges from 15 
 to 25 bushels, oats 40 to 100 bushels. It is also productive of 
 corn and cotton, but is inferior in this respect to the sandy 
 soils of the western part of the county. In the western part 
 the different varities of sandy land present admirable opportu- 
 
 (355) 
 
356 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 nities for the diversification of crops. The dark brownish allu- 
 vium of the creek valleys compares favorably with the black 
 lands for wheat and oats, while the lighter sands of the uplands 
 is greatly productive of all the staple crops of Texas, which 
 
 PRESENT WISE COl NTV COURTHOUSE 
 
 Whose exterior walls are built of red granite; the entire building cast $140,000.00. 
 stands in the center of the public s(iuare at Decatur and admittedly is one 
 of the hatidsoiuest uichitectuiul ediliccs in the State. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL. 
 
 357 
 
 are corn, cotton, wheat, oats, rye, barley, sorghum, Kaffir corn, 
 milo maize and melons, fruits and vegetables in wonderful 
 abundance. There is no question about the sandy clay sub- 
 soiled lands of this county being well adapted to the growing of 
 the finest varieties and best qualities of the staple fruits that 
 are grown in Texas. Stock farming, especially hog raising, is 
 coming into prominence. The pasture lands of the eastern 
 section range in price from $G to $8 per acre. These lands 
 are grass-covered hills, unfit for farming. • Well improved 
 lands in the sandy timbered section are selling for Si 2.50 to 
 $25 per acre, and 
 S20 to $40 prevails 
 for the best black 
 lands of the prairie. 
 During the winter, 
 wheat and oat fields 
 provide abundant 
 grazing, and in 
 many instances 
 ver}^ little of other 
 kinds of food is re- 
 quired. The grow- 
 ing of alfalfa has 
 been experimented 
 with and found to 
 flourish, especially 
 on the creek bot- 
 tom soils. The 
 
 county has two lines of railways, the Fort Worth & Denver 
 City and the Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf, both passing 
 diagonally across the county from southeast to northwest. 
 Upon both lines are found the flourishing little towns of 
 the county, which are Decatur, Bridgeport, Alvord, Chico, 
 Boyd, Rhome, Paradise, Park Springs and Newark. Inland 
 towns and villages are Greenwood, Pella, Audubon, Crafton, 
 Willowpoint, Boonville, Cottondale, Slidell, Garvin, Dan and 
 Brumlow, situated in populous sections of the county. 
 Building stone of brown and gray sandstone, and blue and 
 
 SECOND COURTHOUSE OF WISE COUNTY 
 
 Built in 1883, .-it cost of $50,000; burned on the 
 
 night of .Tanunry 12, 1895. It stood on the 
 
 Northwest Corner of the Public Square. 
 
358 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 gray limestone exists in great quantities and of superior quality. 
 A coal bed has been developed at Bridgeport and the coal is 
 in use as fuel, the output being consumed by the Rock Island 
 railway and the industrial plants in Oklahoma. These beds 
 are very extensive and the lay of the stratum, as far as has 
 been opened, indicates unusual facilities for taking out the 
 coal. The stratum is found at a depth of 60 feet. At Decatur 
 is located the Decatur Baptist College for boys and girls. This 
 
 STREET SCENE IN DECATUR DURING COTTON SEASON. 
 
 college is connected with the Baylor schools of Texas. Good 
 schools are also found at Paradise, Boyd, Bridgeport, Chico, 
 Greenwood and Alvord. The scholastic population is about 
 6,500, composed almost entirely of whites. — Cliff D. Cates, 
 Decatur. 
 
 PROMINENT CITIZENS OF THE PRESENT. 
 
 The following few pages will be devoted to brief sketches of 
 some of the prominent citizens of present day Wise County. 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY. 359 
 
 The personalities which will be alluded to are generally well- 
 known throughout the county, but it will be interesting and 
 instructive to note some of the essential facts and character- 
 istics of their lives. The fact of their descriptive presence here 
 is indicative of their high standing in the respective communi- 
 ties of their adoption, for in this department it would not have 
 been consistent with the aims of this book to deal with any 
 but the best of the elements of our citizenship. These are men 
 who are in part responsible for the latter growth and prosperity 
 of Wise County. In their separate fields of labor they have 
 performed their part well. On the enduring foundation of 
 county life laid by the Pioneers they have assisted to build a 
 beautiful and symmetrical superstructure which is the pride 
 and glory of all true citizens of the county. 
 
 A. D. ROGERS. 
 
 There is striking analogy between a storm of wind and rain 
 which clears the atmosphere of impurities and a rugged ele- 
 mental man, endowed with independent thought and action, 
 who drives before him that indifference and apathy which is so 
 dangerous to the political life of the country. A. D. Rogers is 
 an independent force in the political and industrial life of Wise 
 County. He is valuable because he keeps men 's minds stirred 
 to action, to thought along the lines of their political and in- 
 dustrial salvation. 
 
 Mr. Rogers attacks that illiteracy, sloth and negligence which 
 goes to make undesirable citizenship. In every instance his 
 views are not harmonious with those of the people, the common 
 people, among whom he labors for their betterment, which is 
 a testimonial to the sincerity of his attitudes. But along fun- 
 damental and general lines Mr. Rogers' sympathies are with the 
 entire people, and he is constantly engaged in a battle for the 
 elevation of the social, political and industrial interests of the 
 constituency among which he delights to live. 
 
 There is a picturesque fearlessness about the man we have 
 come to briefly study — a fearlessness that fascinates and 
 
360 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 A. D. ROGERS. 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY. 361 
 
 attracts — a quality of magnetism that fixes our attention 
 whether we will or no. It is that species of boldness that 
 dares to stand in the brilliance of the lime-light, undaunted by 
 criticism, hisses and jeers, and which draws forth the latent 
 admirat on of every man for the attribute of human courage 
 which every man does not possess. 
 
 Modern political philosophy bristles with adjurations to all 
 men to stand up openly and frankly for what is right in politics, 
 religion and e very-day living; but mankind, as modernly con- 
 stituted, is prone to balk in compliance with such precepts. 
 This for numerous reasons. First, because mankind is inher- 
 ently lazy; secondly, because it is naturally conservative, and, 
 lastly, because of its extreme modesty and backwardness. Out 
 of these promptings come the criticism and deriding of those 
 bold characters who have listened to the small voice of con- 
 science and struck out openly for a courageous voyage of the 
 seas of public life. It is because of these promptings that 
 the subject of our sketch has been criticised, but it is because of 
 his possession of the courage of his convictions that he will con- 
 tinue to churn the slovenly waters of our local politics that 
 the cream of good things may finally crystalize on top. 
 
 Mr. Rogers was born in Pontotoc County, Miss., March 12th, 
 1866. His father was a Confederate soldier and died a short 
 time prior to the birth of his son. His mother was Jennie 
 Allen, of Georgia, who died when Mr. Rogers was six years old. 
 Sixteen years of the latter's life was spent on a farm, and his 
 few years of schooling were received in country institutions 
 and at Lebanon, Tenn. His acuteness and knowledge of the 
 world has been gained since by self endeavors. His young 
 manhood was spent in various occupations, in clerkships at 
 Louisville, Ky., and as a traveling salesman. On October, 1st, 
 1889, Mr. Rogers was married to Miss Lila Stone, of Verona, 
 Miss., a daughter of Rev. J. B. Stone, who for twenty years 
 was Presiding Elder in the North Miss. M. E. Conference. 
 Next followed a residence of some years at Jackson, Miss., 
 where the cotton business employed Mr. Rogers' attention. In 
 1894 he was on the eve of prospecting in the island of Cuba, 
 when he was called to San Antonio, Texas, to engage in the 
 
362 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 insurance business. Later on lie was transferrred to Fort 
 Worth and given a district managersiiip. His business occa- 
 sionally called him to Decatur, and he begun to like the people 
 and the town, and latterly the people of the county, which 
 led to his casting his lot with them in January, 1896. For 
 awhile he followed clerking and merchandising, but in 1898, 
 after a remarkable race, he was elected County Treasurer, a 
 position he continued to hold successfully and satisfactorily for 
 four years. Of late years Mr. Rogers has traveled for the 
 wholesale firm of Henry Sonneborn & Co. of Baltimore, from 
 whom it is said he receives a large annual salary, and to whom 
 he gives four months of the year. The remainder of the time 
 Mr. Rogers devotes to his rather large property interests in 
 Decatur and vicinity. He has an interesting family of seven 
 children, named as follows: Christine, Eloise: Shelton, Mary, 
 Corinne, Jess and A. D. Jr. 
 
 BEN SHORT. 
 
 In choosing her first county superintendent of instruction, 
 Wise County, through her court of commissioners, selected a 
 man who, by virtue of prior struggles and successes, had at- 
 tained honorably to those qualifications necessary to the able 
 and efficient conduct of the office. Detailed briefly, the succes- 
 sive experiences in the career of Supt. Ben Short which have 
 ■equipped him highly for the arduous labors of his high office, are 
 as follows: 
 
 Born where Roanoke, Denton County, now stantls, June 27, 
 1874 ; attended school there a few months; came to Chico, Wise 
 County, with parents in fall of 1882, and attended school in the 
 old stone building across the creek; next moved with parents 
 to Oliver Creek, southeast of Decatur, and attended country 
 schools at distances of three and one-half and five miles, work- 
 ing on farm and ranch during vacation. Next entered Sam 
 Hou-ton Normal College for two sessions, graduating in 1898, 
 following which he attended Baylor University at Waco one 
 term. His teaching career then conmienced at Grub Hill, where 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY. 
 
 363 
 
 he remained two years, then a] year each at Sweetwater and 
 Paradise followed. Mr. Short then succeeded to three years as 
 principal of the Decatur High School, after which he was 
 duly elected by the board of trustees as superintendent of 
 this school, a position he retained two years and from which 
 he succeeded to the place of county 
 superintendent of public instruction. 
 Superintendent Short has come up 
 through the country schools ; he knows 
 their needs, ambitions and qualifica- 
 tions. He knows men, as he has met 
 them in all relations as representa- 
 tives and guardians of education. He 
 knows, too, the requisites and needs 
 of the larger educational institutions 
 of the towns by virtue of his years 
 of close identity with them. He is 
 studious of all large matters of edu- 
 cation, has never missed a county in- 
 stitute or state association when health 
 
 permitted attendance; is a man of high ideals and practical, 
 thoughtful ability and is destined in the eyes of his closest 
 observers and friends to perform hi*gh, meritorious service for 
 the educational interests of the schools of Wise County, and 
 to become, if he not already is, an able educational leader of 
 the county. 
 
 BEN SHORT. 
 
 C. C. JONES. 
 
 The face on this page is that of C. C. Jones, one of Wise 
 County's foremost business men, and the organizer of the well- 
 known and popular Jones Dry Goods Company establishments 
 at Decatur and Bridgeport. Mr. Jones is a Southerner to the 
 manner born, being the son of Eason Jones, planter, of 
 Haywood County, Tennessee. He was born in Brownsville 
 of the above county antl state, March 25, 1849, and received 
 a preliminary training in merchandising in his home town in 
 
364 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 the days of his youth. In certain other ways, notably as the 
 proprietor of a grocery store for ten years and as a travehng 
 salesman, Mr. Jones gained the knowledge and experience 
 that has contributed to his modern success as a merchant. At 
 the age of twenty-three he married Miss Anna Turner, daughter 
 of John W. Turner, planter, of Denmark, Tennessee, who 
 was killed as a Confederate soldier while with General Forrest. 
 
 Mr. Jones came straight to 
 Wise County from Tennessee 
 in 1889 and he and his 
 large and interesting family 
 have been identified in a 
 large way with the commer- 
 cial, social and political in- 
 terests of the county since 
 that date. 
 
 Personally Mr. Jones is of 
 that type of man who in- 
 gratiates himself into the 
 good esteem of his fellow 
 citizens, per force of many 
 attractive and aggressive 
 qualities. He is affable, 
 genial, kindly antl humor- 
 ous, and pronouncedly De- 
 mocratic in polit ics . H(^ con- 
 cerns himself with all 
 economical and connnercial 
 affairs that involve the de- 
 velopment and progress of the county, and is regarded as one 
 of the safest and most substantial of leaders and advisers. He 
 stands for good citizenship, good roads, high morals in politics 
 and a generally elevated community and commercial life. Lastly, 
 he is inherently sociable and is a most pleasing and facile 
 speaker and orator. Th(> large dry goods emporium at Bridge- 
 I)ort is managetl by Lawrence Jones, the bright and enterpris- 
 ing son of the subject of this sketch. The business at Decatur 
 is conducted in a manner highly successful by Mr. Jones himself. 
 
 C. C. JONES. 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY. 
 
 365 
 
 L. W. TYLER. 
 
 Should a large per cent of the publishers of country news- 
 papers in this section speak frankly of the publications which 
 they have patterned after in the typographical arrangement of 
 their own sheets, the Decatur Neivs, published by L. W. Tyler, 
 at Decatur, would come in for a large share of eulogy and 
 praise. That Mr. Tyler is an artist in the arrangement of type 
 and in the details of press- 
 work is a fact that lies on 
 the tongue of every person 
 who has come to be ac- 
 c^uainted with the Decatur 
 Neivs, and with the clean 
 and excellent printing of 
 the News job office. 
 
 Lamotte W. Tyler was 
 born in the town of Eaton, 
 Madison County, New 
 York. He learned the 
 printer's trade when a 
 youth in the town of Cox- 
 sachie,on the Hudson, New 
 York. He came to Aurora, 
 Wise County, in 1877, to as- 
 sume charge of a drug and 
 grocery business, which had 
 been c o n d u c t e d by a 
 
 brother who had grown ill at his post. His brother's death 
 followed, and the business was conducted by Mr. Tyler until 
 November, 1881, when he bought a newspaper plant and started 
 the Aurora Neivs. He returned to New York and married Miss 
 Alice Cheritre, whose life and death is well remembered by 
 Decatur citizens. About twenty years ago, Mr. Tyler came to 
 Decatur and started the Decatur News, which has been con- 
 ducted in the interests of the varied life of the conununity 
 without change since that date. Subsequently Mr. Tyler was 
 
 L. W. TYLER. 
 
366 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 married to Miss Ruth Colgan, a most excellent young lady of 
 Linneus, Mo., whose residence in Decatur has been marked by 
 the cultivation of generous friendships and the perpetuation of 
 her qualities of refined and winsome womanhood. Personally, 
 Mr. Tyler is of a strikingly friendly disposition when once known. 
 He has a cultivated musical ear, which impels his attendance 
 upon the musical interest and affairs of the town. As an editor 
 he seldom writes unless he has something forcible and sensible 
 to say, and this is said without waste of words or circumlocution. 
 He loves the town of Decatur and her people, and wields the 
 influence of his popular paper in behalf of their interests. Both 
 himself and wife are closely identified with the social and church 
 work of Decatur, and represent in themselves the highest type 
 of the best citizenship of the place. 
 
 FRANK J. FORD. 
 
 Frank J. Ford is the eldest son of Dr. and Mrs. J. F. Ford. 
 He was born at Lewisville, in Denton County, February 14, 1875, 
 and moved to Decatur with his parents when he was a lad of 
 only nine years. His father, Dr. J. F. Ford, was for many years 
 a practicing physician in this town and was a soldier of the 
 Southern Confederacy. Frank was educated in the public 
 school of Decatur, and at Baylor University of Waco. He 
 studied law and was admitted to the bar in June, 1895. In 1896, 
 when he was only 21 years of age, he was elected city attorney of 
 Decatur, and in November, 1900, was elected county attorney, 
 and served two terms. He was married to Miss Rebecca Kenny, 
 a daugther of Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Kenny, on April 20, 1900. 
 
 Frank is a 32d degree Mason, Past Chancellor of the K. of P. 
 lodge of Decatur, and a member of the I. 0. 0. F. He was born 
 and reared a Democrat, and has always been a leader in the 
 councils of his party. He has served three terms as chairman 
 of the Democratic Executive Committee of Wise County, and 
 is at present serving in that capacity. He is also a prominent 
 member of the Decatur bar and for a number of years has enjoyed 
 a lucrative practice. 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY. 
 
 367 
 
 FRANK J. FORD AND SON CLARENCE, 
 
 REV. J. B. TIDWELL. 
 
 President Decatur Baptist College. 
 
 Rev. J. B. Tidwell, who is now president of the Decatur 
 Baptist College, acquired his education at Blooming Grove 
 Academy, Howard College and Baylor University. In 1891 he 
 entered Blooming Grove Academy, graduating from there two 
 years later. He entered Howard College, of Birmingham, Ala., 
 
368 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 from which institution he graduated with honor in 1898. In 
 1893 Baylor University conferred the degree of Master of Arts 
 
 REV. J. B. TIDWELL. 
 
 on him, and he is now a correspondent student of Chicago 
 University. 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY. 369 
 
 Rev. Tidwell is one of the best instructors in the State. His 
 pupils have distinguished themselves in other institutions, and 
 his many years of experience place him in the front rank of public 
 educators. 
 
 DECATUR BAPTIST COLLEGE. 
 
 No town in North Texas is so well situated for the location of 
 a college as Decatur. It has an elevation that is sufficient to 
 afford a perfect and natural drainage, and the pure water and 
 delightful climate of this country makes this one of the most 
 healthful towns in the State. Decatur being a small town, there 
 are not those distracting influences that are met with in the larger 
 towns and cities. The moral and religious influences of the town' 
 are splendid, its inhabitants are refined and cultured, and its 
 citizens are all loyal to the interests of the college. Those who 
 located the school showed their wisdom in selecting Decatur 
 as the site for Decatur Baptist College. 
 
 The institution was established in 1892, when the three asso- 
 ciations of Wise, Montague and Red Fork Counties, acting 
 through a central board of trustees, launched the North West 
 Texas Baptist College. The school was established with Dr. 
 A. J. Emerson, a former president of Howard Payne College, as 
 president. Since Dr. Emerson's resignation the school has had 
 two other presidents, B. F. Giles and J. L. Ward. The school 
 prospered under the management of Dr. Giles, who was president 
 from 1898 to 1900. In 1900 Rev. J. L. Ward was elected presi- 
 dent, and the name of the institution was changed to Decatur 
 Baptist College. Under the direction of Rev. Ward, the school 
 has had unparalleled prosperity for the past seven years. The 
 attendance has increased from 150 to 250 this year. The school 
 now has three modern buildings with an aggregate value of 
 $60,000. 
 
 In May of this year, Rev. J. L. Ward resigned his position as 
 president of the College in order to take the work of traveling 
 secretary of the Baptist Educational Commission of Texas. 
 A special meeting of the board of trustees was called to select 
 
 24 
 
370 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 his successor, and Rev. J. B. Tidwell, who had been the teacher 
 of Greek and Latin in the college for seven years, was elected to 
 the presidency. 
 
 The main building is large and imposing, three-story stone 
 building. It contains a commodious chapel, large and well 
 ventilated recitation rooms, offices and society halls. Neel 
 Hall is a two-story building of thirty-two rooms and is used as 
 the home for young men. The new stone and brick dormitory 
 for young ladies contains fifty well finished rooms, and is one 
 of the nicest and most conveniently arranged homos for young 
 ladies in the state. 
 
 The college has aimed to make its work of the most thorough 
 kind and the success with which its graduates have met, and 
 especially those attending other institutions, has proven the 
 claim of the college, that in college life the student must have 
 thoroughness and that constant application to hard work, and 
 that alone, will bring this. The work is therefore of such a kind 
 that a student who is unwilling to work hard, and that all the 
 time, need not enter. It has been the constant aim of this college 
 also to be a distinct moral and religious force. Every student is 
 therefore not only required to do faithful classroom work, but 
 must maintain a good moral standing, and must study the 
 bible in one of the bible classes. 
 
 The following is the expense for a nine months' term : Tuition, 
 board and incidentals, $164.50; with elocution, $182.50; with 
 music, $218.50; with music and elocution, $230.50. In the 
 preparatory department it is $9.00 in each case. For information 
 write Rev. J. B. Tidwell, president, Decatur, Texas. 
 
 W. L. DALLAS. 
 
 One of the rarest of Inmian traits is the quality of concentra- 
 tion. We seldom see ftien predisposed to follow one given call- 
 ing or occupation throughout the entire history of their lives. 
 Men fly away at a tangent, grow tired of what they are doing, 
 and allow themselves to be lured away into other channels 
 which, more often than not, culminates in wreckage to their life's 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY, 
 
 371 
 
 boat. But when we do find a stayer in a given line he is at 
 once admired, and an investigation will prove that if he is not 
 financially successful he has mastered the intricate and com- 
 plex details of his trade, which is an accomplishment of rare 
 and high value. With these words we describe the life history 
 of W. L. Dallas, of Decatur, a man whose mastery of the com- 
 plicated details of the grocery business stands undisputed. For 
 eighteen busy years Mr. 
 Dallas has been behind the r" 
 counter and at the helm 
 of one grocery business 
 after another in Decatur 
 until at present he is align- 
 ed with the substantial 
 firm of Russell & Dallas. 
 For a stretch of eleven 
 years he lost only seven 
 days away from business, 
 and then when his father's 
 death forced his absence. 
 
 Thus by enterprise and 
 pertinacity, Mr. Dallas has 
 risen from the obscure po- 
 sition of an apprentice to 
 one of the foremost posi- 
 tions in the business ranks 
 of Wise County. 
 
 Briefly recited, his his- 
 tory is as follows: Born 
 at Java, Neshoba Co., Mis- 
 sissippi, July 24, 1862. Served an apprenticeship when a boy with 
 a firm in Meridian, Mississippi, who gave him papers of recommen- 
 dation which secured him a position with Ullman & Co., gro- 
 cers in Decatur, Texas, in 1889. Came to Wise County in 
 1881; taught school six years, after which he came to Decatur 
 and remained with Ullman & Co. eleven years. In 1891 he was 
 married to Miss Kate Russell, the daughter of a pioneer, to which 
 union two children have been born — Alma May and Russell 
 
 W. L. DALLAS. 
 
372 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Prentiss. Mrs. Dallas is popular socially, and one of the town's 
 leaders in church work. The business spirit of the firm of Rus- 
 sell & Dallas reflects the energy of its proprietors. Goods and 
 produce are turned rapidly, therefore stocks are constantly 
 replenished with fresh, crisp receipts. Business is done on an 
 honest, courteous basis, consequently the firm is a popular 
 trading resort in Decatur. 
 
 GAPT. M. D. SELLARS. 
 Gaptain M. D. Sellars has resided in Decatur since 1883. 
 He came originally from Moniteau County, Mo., where he was 
 born, March 4, 1846. At the age of 13, Capt. Sellars moved to 
 Benton Gounty, Arkansas, with his parents, and two years later, 
 when he was 15, joined the Confederate service, aligning himself 
 
 with General Ben McCul- 
 loch's Texas Ranger force, 
 then operating in Northern 
 Arkansas. He remained 
 throughout the war, seeing 
 service in Arkansas, Mis- 
 souri, Louisiana, and Mis- 
 sissippi. In 1878 he mar- 
 ried Miss Laura Pearson at 
 Fayetteville, Ark., after 
 which he became a mer- 
 chant at Bloomfield. 
 
 Capt. Sellars came to 
 Decatur in poor circum- 
 stances, but by honesty, 
 industry and economy, has 
 grown successful, being 
 now the oldest grocery mer- 
 chant in Decatur. He has 
 remained loyal to the 
 memory of the Confederate 
 cause, and is the moving 
 spirit of that order in this community. He is a generous- 
 hearted citizen and highly respected C'hristian gentleman. One 
 
 CAPT. M. D. SELLARS. 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY 
 
 373 
 
 of his chief est characteristics is cheerfulness, and this quahty he 
 succeeds in communicating to all who come in contact with 
 him, both socially and in a business way. He is therefore 
 popular with the majority of people and especially with that 
 class who admire a man who proves able to see the lining of 
 every dark cloud, especially when roseate views are shut out 
 from their own vision. 
 
 No history of Capt. Sellars, however brief, would be com- 
 plete unless inclusive of allusions to the great enterprise, energy 
 and leadership he has demonstrated in organizing the annual 
 reunions of the Confederate veterans in Joe Wheeler Parli. It 
 will be sufficient to say, however, that the people of Wise 
 County are largely indebted to Capt. Sellars for their three 
 days' annual fun-making and holiday on this occasion. 
 
 Capt. Sellars at present conducts a successful grocery business 
 on East Main Street, Decatur. 
 
 WASH DAVIS. 
 
 Wash Davis is genial, 
 kindly and accommodating, 
 which, in addition to his 
 qualities of scrupulousness 
 and high personal integrity, 
 admit him to the trust and 
 confidence of the people of 
 Wise County. His tenure of 
 the office of tax-assessor 
 years ago and his present 
 tenure of the county treas- 
 urer's office has been all 
 that an able, honest citizen 
 could make it, and never 
 a word of reproach is uttered 
 against the man nor his me- 
 thod of conducting the busi- 
 ness of these branches. Mr. 
 Davis was born in Gibson 
 
 WASH DAVIS. 
 
374 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 > 
 
 d 
 
 CO 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY. 375 
 
 County, Tennessee, June 22, 1858; came to Tarrant County, 
 Texas, in 1877, and to Wise County in 1881, locating near Alvord. 
 He was elected county assessor in 1890, serving four years, 
 and in 1906 he was elected county treasurer and will doubt- 
 less be re-elected. He has been a highly useful citizen, having 
 taught Alvord's first school in the summer of 1883. He 
 was married to Miss Lucy Boyce at Pinesville, Louisiana, in 1890. 
 Any branch of Wise County's official business is safe in the 
 hands of such noble, upright men as Wash Davis has proven 
 to be. 
 
 BEN Mcculloch camp. 
 
 No. 30, u. c. V. 
 
 In 1886 the soldiers of the South who had survived the con- 
 flicts of the Civil War, living in Wise County, met at Decatur 
 and organized the Ben McCulloch Camp, No. 30, of the United 
 Confederate Veterans of America. This band of Southern heroes 
 had no purpose of renewing the spirit of the war, or espousing 
 again the fortunes of a lost cause; but in order that they might 
 keep a true history of the war and hand down to the rising 
 generation a correct record of the deeds performed by the sons 
 of the Southland, they banded themselves together in a perma- 
 nent organization. When the camp w^as organized there were 
 more than a hundred of the boys who had worn the gray during 
 the trying scenes of the sixties. The roll of members contained 
 such names as Dr. J. F. Ford, Colonel G. B. Pickett, J. A. Penn, 
 W. P. Russell, Captains M. D. Sellers, Will A. Miller, Ira Long, 
 and scores of other venerable soldiers of the South. Captain 
 Will A. Miller was elected as the first Adjutant of the camp, 
 which office he held until January, 1896, when Captain M. D. 
 Sellars, a sketch of whose life is given in this edition, was elected 
 to succeed him. Dr. J. F. Ford was also elected as first Com- 
 mander of the camp, and held the office as long as the camp 
 could persuade him to keep it. 
 
 From the time the camp was organized in 1886 until the 
 present time, these Sons of the Confederacy have been assem- 
 
376 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 bling themselves together in pubhc meetings once every month, 
 to discuss matters of general interest to the camp and to them- 
 selves, to consider anything that would be for the betterment 
 of the U. C. V, organization of America, and to look after and 
 provide for the indigent soldiers and their widows in as chari- 
 table a manner as possible. 
 
 DR. W. B. PALMER. 
 Dr. W. B. Palmer, of Audubon, Wise County, was born in 
 Rutherford County, Tennessee, March 12, 1849. Was the oldest 
 son of G. P. and Martha Palmer; the family consisted of four 
 girls and an equal number of boys, all of whom are dead ex- 
 cept J. F. Palmer, of Graham, Oklahoma, and Dr. Palmer. 
 When a boy the latter attended school at Milton, Tennessee, 
 later attended Hanna Highland College at Virvilla, Tennessee, 
 under Professor William Looney. In 1868 he moved to Benton 
 County, Ark., and attended school at the Baptist College at 
 Springdalc, Arkansas, under Professor L. R. Barnes. Here he 
 was a classmate of Rev. Edward Newton, late of Chico, Wise 
 County, Texas. Dr. Palmer was married in 1875 to Miss Bettie 
 McCoy, of Elm Springs, Arkansas. In 1877 he moved to John- 
 son County, Texas, and taught school three years at Greenbrier. 
 In 1881 he came to Wise County and taught the public school 
 
 at Foster three years, after which 
 he attended the medical depart- 
 ment at Vanderbilt University, and 
 graduated as a physician in 1886, 
 after which he practiced his pro- 
 fession at Audubon, his present 
 place of residence. In 1892 he lost 
 the wife of his youth, leaving two 
 daughters, Maggie and Laura. In 
 1894 hcjwas married to Mrs.Lenora 
 ^ an Zant, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
 Jake Shipman of Bella, Wise 
 County. 
 
 By industry and economy he has 
 made a success of his chosen profes. 
 DR. w. B. p.\LMER. siou, is ouc of the highly respecte 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY 
 
 377 
 
 citizens of his section, a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian 
 Church and a leading Mason of that order in Wise County. He 
 is spending his busy but contented days with his family, his wife 
 and three daughters, Maggie, Laura and Cora Van Zant, at a 
 beautiful home called Gynndome, near Audubon. 
 
 W. P. ROBERTS. 
 
 W. P. Roberts of Bridgeport, better known to Wise County 
 people as Perry Roberts, is another of those sterling, indus- 
 trious citizens who came to Wise County at an early time with 
 practically nothing to start 
 
 with, but who, by hard work 
 and frugality has surrounded 
 himself with comforts and 
 plenty, reared a respectable 
 family and forced his way 
 into the good esteem of all 
 who know him. He was born 
 in Randolph County, Ala- 
 bama, July 21, 1851. At 
 twenty years of age he came 
 with his father to Johnson 
 County, Texas, locating. near 
 Alvarado. Then in 1879 
 Mr. Roberts moved to Cooke 
 County and staid two years, 
 after which he came to Wise 
 on November 26, 1881, settl- 
 ing onOsteen Branch, north 
 of Paradise, where he lived 
 until 1884. After this date Mr. 
 Roberts' home was in Plea- 
 sant VaHey Community, about five miles southwest of Bridge- 
 port, where he accumulated considerable property and came to 
 be a substantial citizen. In later years, off and on, Mr. Rob- 
 erts had been a successful merchant at Bridgeport, and resides 
 there now, conducting a popular grocery store. 
 
 MR. AND MRS. W. P. ROBERTS. 
 
378 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Mr. Roberts has been twice married, first to Miss Ann McDonald 
 in Johnson County in 1873, then in 1893, following her death, to 
 Jeanette Fullingim, daughter of Archer Fullingim, a pioneer 
 citizen of Wise County. Mr. Roberts came into Decatur the 
 day after the old courthouse in the center of the scjuare burned, 
 which was November 26, 1881, a fact that has been instrumental 
 in establishing the exact date of the burning of this building 
 for the purposes of this record. 
 
 G. F. Mccracken. 
 
 G. F. McCracken, commonh^ known as Dee, belongs to that 
 class of sterling men who left the old States and came into Texas 
 with nothing to call their own but a willingness to work and 
 
 to save, and a strong phys- 
 
 ical body to put their yearn- 
 ings into action. Dee 
 McCracken settled on Wal- 
 nut Creek, Wise County, in 
 1883, with 25 cents in his 
 pocket. His necessities forced 
 him to till other people's 
 land, and he became a renter 
 on E. Curtner's place in the 
 Anneville community. To- 
 day he is a foremost farmer 
 and live-stock breeder, not 
 alone of Wise County, but of 
 Texas. His pre-eminence as 
 a breeder of thorough-bred 
 Poland-China hogs being de- 
 monstrated at the Dallas fair, 
 where on more than one occa- 
 sion he won some of the 
 most valuable prizes offered. 
 His fame as a raiser of game 
 chickens is co-extensive with the nation, having shipped, as he 
 has, fighting cocks into every state of the Union. Mr. McCracken's 
 
 G. F. McCracken. 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY, 
 
 379 
 
 accomplishments along these lines speak favorably for his pos- 
 session of force and intellectuality, ciualities which are essential 
 to the breeding of high class animals which he produces. His 
 sales also indicate that he is a man of business shrewdness and 
 sagacity. He lives at present in a large new home a few miles 
 north of Decatur, where he has every convenience for the rais- 
 ing of thoroughbred stock. Mr. McCracken is 42 years old, 
 having been born in Newburn, Dyer County, Tennessee, 
 December 15, 18(35. He celebrated the ending of the famous 
 1886-87 drouth in Wise County by marrying Miss Brittle Faith, 
 daughter of B. W. Faith, a foremost citizen. To this union 
 have been born seven children, the eldest child being 18, the 
 vounsest about two. 
 
 CARL FAITH. 
 
 Studiously attentive to the 
 business of his ofRce and cour- 
 teously considerate of all re- 
 quests for favors and infor- 
 mation of which his branch 
 is custodian, is the record of 
 Carl Faith in the office of 
 district clerk of Wise County. 
 He has been there now since 
 1900, four consecutive terms, 
 and so capably has he per- 
 formed his duties that there 
 is no apparent disposition to 
 displace him. Mr. Faith was 
 born in Davis County, Ken- 
 tucky, June 2, 1876, but has 
 l^een raised in Wise County, 
 having been brought here by 
 his parents when two (years 
 of age. He is the son of B. 
 W. Faith, who has been long 
 
 CARL FAITH. 
 
380 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 known as a prominent Wise County farmer and citizen. One 
 of the characteristics of Mr. Faith's office work is neatness; 
 some others are legibility and cleanhness, conditions which are 
 revealed upon an examination of the books and documents of 
 this office. These facts are indicative of the use of carefulness 
 and system in the routine work which goes on there and are 
 conditions deplorably absent in very many of the county offices 
 of the State. Doubtless Mr. Faith at any time can place his 
 hand on any document or book that is desired, which is a great 
 source of pleasure and convenience to all who have business with 
 the department. Mr. Faith is married and resides at Decatur. 
 His wife was Miss Ora Turney, daughter of Dr. J. W. Turney, of 
 Robt. Lea, Texas, whom he married July 30, 1905. 
 
 C. B. GUNN. 
 
 C. B. Gunn is a native of Georgia. He was born in Warren 
 County, that state, December, 18(34. He early moved to Mississ- 
 ippi where he lived until he was 20 years of age. In his 20th 
 year Mr. Gunn assumed the responsibilities of life for himself, 
 and came to Texas, where he was soon afterwards married to 
 Miss Sarah E. Vance. He lived at Cottondale ten years, tluring 
 which time he farmed four years and sold drugs six years. In 
 1894 Mr. Gunn was elected tax collector of Wise County. He 
 then moved to Decatur and served his second term as collector. 
 When his second term expired, he went into the drug business 
 with J. P. Hayter, and for several years this firm transacted a 
 retail drug business. Later Mr. Gunn entered business by him- 
 self. He has been as successful in business and has made as 
 many friends as a business man as he did in public life. The 
 people of Decatur and Wise County have learned to trust him 
 as a man of perfect integrity and exceptional business ability. 
 Mr. Gunn is an example of what an honest, upright and ])erse- 
 vering boy can make of himself when he is determined to face 
 the world for himself and meet every issue fair and square. 
 There is not a better citizen in Wise County than C. B. Gunn. 
 He stands for civic righteousness as well as purity of morals and 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY. 
 
 381 
 
 faithfulness in Christian duty. For 20 years he has been an 
 active member of the Missionary Baptist Church, and he has al- 
 ways been engaged in every enterprise to advance the interest of 
 his denomination and the cause of Christianity in general. He is 
 at present superintendent of the Baptist Sunday School of the 
 Decatur Baptist Church, and a member of the board of trustees 
 of Decatur College. He is also an Odd Fellow and a Mason. 
 
 His drug store is a popular resort for all who need drug sun- 
 dries, paints, oils, etc. In addition he conducts a soda fountain; 
 also he does the bulk of trade in school books and supplies, and 
 in magazines, newspapers and periodicals. 
 
 JNO. M. BRANCH. 
 
 When a man is a good 
 man personally, he cannot 
 be otherwise than a good 
 official. The man who al- 
 ways does his duty as a 
 citizen will always do right 
 as an official. 
 
 There is not a man oc- 
 cupying an official position 
 in Wise County that has 
 more friends or any better 
 official record than has John 
 M. Branch, our efficient 
 sheriff. Mr. Branch has re- 
 sided in Wise County for 
 thirty years, and is well- 
 known as a man of sterling 
 qualities. He is intensely 
 loyal to his friends, and 
 no man is more ready to 
 accommodate his friends 
 than Mr. Branch. But he 
 
 does not allow personal feelings to influence him in any way 
 when it comes to the performance of his duty. 
 
 As a citizen, Mr. Branch has always stood as high as the 
 
 SHERIFF JOHN M. BRANCH. 
 
382 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 highest and no one has a thing to say against him, either as 
 an officer or citizen. The voters of Wise County did not make 
 a mistake when they selected Mr. Branch as their clioice. The 
 people's interests are always first in his mind, self being a 
 secondary consideration. He is a native of Texas, being born 
 in Bellview, Rusk County, Texas, September 13, 1807. He 
 was married to Miss Lenora Kelley, of Wise County, March 14, 
 1903. 
 
 SAM FAITH. 
 The grand old state of Kentucky has done much in the way 
 of contributing her citizens to the commonwealth of Texas. This 
 
 state has sent thousands of 
 her choicest citizens into our 
 fair domain who have be- 
 come the warp and woof 
 of our civilization. The 
 "Cane and Turkey" state 
 has certainly clone its part 
 by Wise County. Among 
 the scores of capable citizens 
 of Wise County who hail 
 from this proud state, are 
 Sam and Carl Faith, the sons 
 of B. W. Faith, who now 
 lives two and one-half miles 
 north of Decatur. 
 
 Sam Faith was onh' five 
 years of age when he 'left 
 the blue grass regions and 
 came to Texas with his 
 father. Since the 12th day 
 of February, 1878, he has 
 lived in Texas, and the many 
 friends which he has are a testimony of what his life has been. 
 Mr. Faith knows Wise County like a book, and there are few 
 people who have been in the county any length of time that 
 he does not know and number among his friends. 
 
 SAM FAITH. 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY. 
 
 383 
 
 For a number of years he has served as deputy sheriff of this 
 county, and has estabhshed a reputation for enforcing law that 
 has made him respected by law-breakers everywhere. He has 
 been deputy sheriff under Tom McClure, John Cearley, and 
 is now serving as deputy for our efficient sheriff, John Branch. 
 We are proud that Wise County has such peace officers as Sam 
 Faith, John Branch and Buck Riley to enforce its laws. 
 
 HUGH D. SPENCER. 
 
 Hugh D. Spencer is a son 
 of our honored fellow-towns- 
 man, Judge R. F. Spencer, 
 who was county judge of 
 Wise County from 1894 to 
 1896. Mr. Spencer is a native 
 of Burksville, Kentucky. He 
 came to Decatur some seven- 
 teen years ago and entered 
 the public school of the city. 
 He received his education in 
 the public school and at the 
 Baptist College. He studied 
 law and was admitted to the 
 bar in June, 1897. 
 
 Though Mr. Spencer has 
 only been practicing law ten 
 years he has held a number 
 of positions of trust in this 
 county. He has served one 
 term as city attorney, two 
 terms as justice of the peace 
 
 of Precinct No. 1, and is now serving his second term as 
 county attorney. The continuous trust that the people have 
 placed in him is evidence of his true worth. Mr. Spencer is an 
 upright citizen in the private walks of life, and as a public 
 official he has a record that is absolutely above reproach. He 
 
 HUGH D. SPENCER. 
 
384 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 is a Democrat of the true Jeffersonian timber and he believes 
 in the enforcement of law in the strictest sense. The people of 
 Wise County have had few officers that have been as attentive 
 to the interests of the people and that have enforced the laws 
 of the state without fear or favor as has Mr. Spencer. The 
 writer believes that without paying Mr. Spencer an undue 
 compliment, he has made one of the best attorneys Wise County 
 ever had. 
 
 JOHN H. MORRIS. 
 
 During Civil War days artisans like blacksmiths and wood- 
 workmen were exempted from service in the armies because of a 
 recognition of their vital usefulness to the communities in which 
 they lived and worked. No higher compliment was ever paid 
 to this worthy class of men who in every age and clime have 
 contributetl their valued labors to the cause of material civiliza- 
 tion. We have in our community a man who, since 1884, has 
 worked steadily, honestly and efficiently, at his trade of black- 
 smithing, and he has not only succeeded financially but has 
 built himself a reputation for good citizenship among his fellow 
 townsmen of Decatur. We refer to John H. Morris. Mr. 
 Morris' shop has long been located on West Main street, where 
 he can be found when any character of woodworking or black- 
 smithing is needed. 
 
 D. W. COOPER. 
 
 David W. Cooper, present tax assessor of Wise County, is 
 a native of Tennessee, born in Gibson County of that state, July 
 23, 1851. Like the majority of self-made men, he was raised 
 on a farm and had a hard struggle to procure a meagre 
 amount of education. Until he was thirty years of age he 
 spent his time in working on the farm, teaching school and 
 studying for the career before him. January 7, 1875, he was 
 married to Miss Maggie Flowers, whose death occurred in Wise 
 County after Mr. Cooper moved to this state. He came here 
 
MODERN WISE COUNTY 
 
 3S5 
 
 because his health failed, in 1883, and settled at Chico, where 
 he again resumed farming and teaching. He taught the Prairie 
 Point School ten successive years and the Glasgow School eight 
 years. January 9, 1904, Mr. Cooper was married to Mrs. Ida 
 Adair, of Chico, the present place of their residence. He is now 
 serving his secontl term as 
 tax assessor, and no man 
 has made a more deter- 
 mined, honest and sincere 
 official effort in behalf of 
 his constituency. The 
 enormous increase in the 
 total values of taxation 
 during his two tenures is 
 due both to the natural in- 
 crease of property values 
 and to Mr. Cooper's energy 
 and enterprise in securing 
 comprehensive assessments. 
 Mr. Cooper is personally a 
 lovable man, possessed of 
 good and noble qualities. 
 Besides, fie is a staid and 
 substantial citizen and a 
 Christian gentleman; takes 
 part in the higher affairs of 
 the conmiunity and contrib- 
 utes the strength of his honest might to the progress and 
 upbuilding of the county in general. To a great degree he 
 possesses those qualifications of intrinsic merit which makes it 
 fortunate for any county to have such a man in her places of 
 trust and responsibility. 
 
 D. W. COOPER. 
 
 DAVE MARTIN. 
 
 The career of Dave S. Martin is illustrative of the beneficence 
 and success in life which follows on industry, frugality and 
 honesty. It is said that many men have high aims in life, but 
 
386 ■ PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 few are good shots, which is as if to say that many men intend 
 to do well in a given line, but fly away at a tangent before the 
 goal is reached. Mr. Martin set out early in life imbued with 
 the purpose of making himself comfortable and independent. 
 He has reached that goal now when he is in his prime and his 
 road henceforth will be no rougher than he cares to make it. 
 All along the route he has been cheered by the joy that comes 
 from hon(>st labor and enthusiasm that looks forward to rosy 
 results. Mr. Martin is a native Texan, born in Collin County, 
 November 27, 1858. His youth was spent there, and there he 
 married, the date being August 25, 1884, the lady of his choice. 
 Miss Lovie Willis, of the community. Mrs. Martin is a 
 native of Itiwamba County, Mississippi. Bhe has steered close 
 to the side of her husband through all his successful struggle, 
 and now rejoices with him in the happy accomplishment. 
 
 After some years of leasing and renting, Mr. Martin started 
 the town of Sedalia, in Collin County, by establishing a store 
 from which the village grew. After five years of mercantile life 
 he came to Denton County in 1893, and two years later moved 
 over into Wise County. For several years Mr. Mai'iin has 
 owned a large pasture six miles northeast of Slidell, which is 
 well stocked with cattle and horses. He presently resides in 
 Decatur, where he moved this year to place his cRildrcn in 
 school. He is a member of the firm of Martin & Williams, who 
 own a large barn and deal in mules and other stock. 
 
 Mr. and Mrs. Martin are substantial atlditions to the social and 
 business life of Decatur. The names of their children are Elbert, 
 Lake, Ennard, Willie, Irvin, Charlie, Tillie, Ned and Opal. 
 
SECTION SIX 
 
 ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 MAN AND SIMMONS, DRUGGISTS. 
 
 Some philosopher has said in effect that every institution is 
 the lengthened shadow of some man. It follows that any- 
 given institution of success must reflect the qualities of a man 
 whose genius and force has made it what it is. We have in 
 Decatur the drug business of Man and Simmons, a successful 
 institution that reflects the shadow of the men behind it, who 
 are Mr. Walter Man and Dr. Charles B. Simmons. The latter 
 devotes his time to his profession, leaving Mr. Man to be the 
 presiding genius of the business, though he is ably supported 
 by Mr. Floyd Kenney, a trusted and efficient employee of 
 years' standing. The accommodating nature, the precision and 
 the high expertness of Mr. Man in the complexities of the drug 
 business are proverbial in Decatur and community, and have 
 attracted and built up a trade for Man and Simmons that is 
 a source of constant gratification to the proprietors, and the sub- 
 ject of admiring comment by the long list of new and old patrons 
 of the firm. Mr. Man has doubtless applied himself closer for a 
 longer time to the mastery of the drug business than any man in 
 this section, and the prescriptions, and the materials and 
 goods he turns out bear the stamp of genuineness to- such a 
 degree that the act of questioning them has long since fallen 
 into disuse. It is because of this scrupulousness, attention to 
 the minutest details of the business, that the firm has obtained 
 a place of individual distinction among the buying public of 
 Decatur and community. It is a distinction that seeks to be 
 kind, helpful and considerate and which never fails to attract 
 the casual customer and bring him again and again to this 
 store for his purchases in the drug line. Besides, every article 
 that belongs to the list of fresh, pure drug sundries, this firm 
 specializes in jewelry, toilet articles, soaps and perfumeiy, 
 paints, (the famous S. W. P. fine), oil, varnishes, window 
 glass, cigars and tobacco, proprietary and patent medicines. 
 South side square. 
 
 (387) 
 
388 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 D. E. WALCOTT. 
 
 D. E. Walcott, who rec(»ntly opened a general store on the 
 southwest corner of the square, is well known to the residents of 
 Decatur and surrounding country. Mr. Walcott resided in 
 Decatur several years ago, but went to Boyd in the latter part 
 of the 9()'s and engaged in the mercantile business at that j^laco. 
 
 D. E. WALCOTT SUPPLY STORE. 
 
 He has by persistent effort and close buying, made a success, 
 and no one is more worthy than is he. Mr. Walcott is a good 
 business man and looks out for his own interests, but he is not 
 so blinded by selfishness as a great many men are, that he does 
 not have the time to help further any cause that is to the 
 interests of the town and county in which he resides. You will 
 always find D. E. Walcott reatly when it comes to advancing 
 the interests of the farmers especially. Mr. Walcott is pro- 
 
ADVEUTISEMENTS. 
 
 389 
 
 priotor of the only store in Decatur that sells everything. He 
 not only sells everything, but buys everything, and the farmer 
 can always find a market for his products at Walcott's Supply 
 Store, and he will always receive the highest market price for 
 same. The Supply Store makes a specialty of up-to-date cloth- 
 ing, dry goods and gents' furnishings. The grocery stock is one 
 of the newest and cleanest in the city. The celebrated John 
 Deere Buggies and new Moline wagons are handled exclusively 
 by Mr. Walcott, and the prices on these vehicles are always 
 right. 'The price is the thing," is the motto of the Supply 
 Storo, and they live up to theii* motto. 
 
 M. L. ROBERTSON S MARKET. 
 
 M. L. ROBERTSON'S MARKET. 
 
 ''Where do you buy your meat?" asked a newcomer to De- 
 catur of his next door neighbor. "At M. L. Robertson's" was 
 the an.swer, "and I'll tell you why. He always keeps a clean, 
 tidy market, and his meats are always the best that can be ob- 
 t.'iine<l in the Decatur mai'ket." This statement expresses the 
 
390 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 sentiment of the discriminating housewives of Decatur. Mr. 
 Robertson does keep as tidy a shop as one will see anywhere, 
 and he takes pains to provide his customers nothing but the 
 choicest meats. Mr. Robertson does his own slaughtering, and 
 his buyers have instructions to buy no animal that will not dress 
 out good tender meat. He pays the highest price for butchers' 
 stuff the year round, and the farmers for miles around have 
 felt the effect of his liberal purchasing policy, ^'ery few of them 
 will part with an animal that is ready for the butcher's block 
 without first seeing Mr. Robertson or one of his representatives. 
 Mr. Robertson is a pleasant gentleman personally and employs 
 only courteous assistants. You can send your child to this 
 market with the assurance that it will be treated just as nicely 
 and receive just as good meat as you would yourself. Always 
 buy your meat from Robertson, and when you have a fat animal 
 to sell, phone him and get his price before you sell. 
 
 FORD & THOMASON, 
 
 Druggists. 
 
 • The building lot in the center of the west side of the pu])lic 
 square whereon stands the drug store of Ford & Thoinason has 
 been known immemorially as a place where Decatur druggists 
 have conducted a business. Decatur's first drug store, the old 
 "Apothecary Shop" of Dr. Stewart referred to in the foregoing 
 record, was established where Ford & Thomason now stands. 
 The oldest born Decatur citizen cannot recall a time when a 
 drug store was not being conducted at this stand ; as a conse- 
 quence the place has gained a reputation and the citizens of 
 this community instinctively turn to this location when the 
 need of medicines and other articles carried by modern drug- 
 gists is uppermost in the mind. For many years the Ford & 
 Thomason store was conducted by the popular John W. Sparrow, 
 who popularized the institution immensely. Mr. Sparrow's 
 successor was the genial John P. Haj^er, whose long reign of 
 successful business was marked by a constant increase in the 
 number and (luality of the store's customers. The stand then 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 391 
 
 Decatur Land Loan 
 and Abstract Co. 
 
 (incorporatkd) 
 
 ^^ DECATUR, TEXAS -^^ 
 
 MR. J. P. HAYTER is President and Manager of the Company. 
 R. L. THOMPSON, Secretary. F. J. FORD, Attorney 
 
 Mr. Hayter organized the company 
 after retiring from the conduct of a 
 drug business for several successful years. 
 As a business man he is enterprising 
 
 and able 
 
 His company does a general land 
 business, lists and sells land, makes 
 abstracts and negotiates loans. Country 
 and city property for sale and exchange, 
 deeds written and acknowledgments 
 taken. Prospective land buyers shown 
 about the country. Let the company 
 know your wants 
 
 Office: MILLER BUILDING 
 
 JUST OFF SOUTHWEST CORNER SQUARE 
 
392 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 came into the hands of Dr. John Ford and Gordon Thomason. 
 The latter was associated with Mr. Hayter and helped in the 
 success of the business before he became its joint proprietor. 
 Dr. John Ford is the son of Dr. J. F. Ford, the lamented and 
 beloved citizen and physician who died in recent years. Ford 
 & Thomason are destined to augment the success of the busi- 
 ness which the firm now controls. Each member possesses the 
 inherent business qualifications necessary to the growth of a 
 large enterprise. Their prescription numbers exceed those of 
 any other drug store in this section. This is a testimonial to 
 the purity of the drugs used and the carefulness exercised in 
 compounding physicians' prescriptions. A chief branch of their 
 business is the handUng of wall paper, paints, oils and glass,- 
 and besides their large stock of drug sundries, they conduct the 
 largest and best patronized cold drink fountain in the town. 
 Ford & Thomason are numbered among the stable, up-to-date 
 institutions of Decatur. 
 
 W. D. PASCHALL'S REMINISENCE READ AT OLD 
 SETTLERS' RE-UNION, JXJLY, 1906. 
 
 I discovered Wise County almost fifty years ago, a few months 
 after its organization — I did not get here as early as my parents 
 did — they had preceded me two years. Because of the fact that 
 I was not one of the early settlers there are incidents connected 
 with the first settlement of the county about which my recollec- 
 tion is not clear. It is a debatable question as to just how far 
 back to date one's advent into the county to entitle one to wear 
 the credentials " Old Settler." Now, until this disputed point 
 is settled I will assume that any time prior to the discovery of 
 Uncle Sam Woody on the head waters of Deep Creek, including 
 the time they were trying to capture him, and a few years after 
 that memorable event, would entitle one to membership in that 
 body. 
 
 You know tradition has it that when the first white man brav- 
 ing the perils incident to the journey reached this far west, the- 
 man since known as Sam Woody was found in a wild state, 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 393 
 
 Peninger, Helm 
 and Dillehay 
 
 Hardware, Machinery, 
 Implements, Furniture 
 
 Oar Three Floors and Warehouse are filled to capacity 
 
 with the variety of wares and implements 
 
 that make up the several 
 
 branches of our 
 
 business 
 
 IVE SELL 
 
 Shelf Hardware, Stoves, Glass and Queens- 
 ware, Wagons and Buggies, Farm lmple= 
 ments. Furniture, Carpets, Coffins and 
 Undertakers' Supplies, Windmills and 
 Piping. 
 
 We also conduct a Tin Shop and Saddlery and Harness Shop. 
 We are prepared to equip the household from the cradle to the 
 grave. Our Shelf Hardware and Furniture is bright, new and 
 clean. We want to do business with you and will not fail if you 
 will call and inspect our goods and prices. 
 
 NORTHEAST CORNER EAST SIDE SaUARE 
 DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
394 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 wearing not even a name, but as the timber was dense in parts 
 of that country where the capture occurred tliey named him 
 " Woody " from the surroundings. Tradition further says that 
 he subsisted on such food as nature provided and drank creek 
 water. 
 
 Now, as I said in the outset, my recollection is not good on 
 events that occurred about that time, antl so I could not vouch 
 for the truthfulness of this mythical story — ^I have always 
 doubted some parts of it, but not that part relating to drinking 
 from a creek, for the oklest inhabitant cannot recall when he 
 refused a drink from anything. I can remember when he had 
 to take it straight, for in those days there was a patent right 
 upon the process of manufacturing sugar, so that we could not 
 make it in this country. The fact is, I was large enough to eat 
 three pounds of sugar at one sitting before I knew such a luxury 
 existed. All the sweetening we had in those halcyon days was "long 
 sweetening" — of course it is unnecessary to explain the mean- 
 ing of that term to the proverbial old settler, for to him the mean- 
 ing is clear and the taste, like the measles, lingers with him yet. 
 
 But molasses making! How memory recalls that time. It 
 was the event of events, the paramount occurrence in the life 
 of every boy. To drive the old horse round and round, to listen 
 to the screaking of the old wooden rollers that refused to be 
 quieted, to eat foam from the tub; this was glory enough for one 
 lifetime. And such molasses, barring color and taste, has not 
 been etjualled. This was " long sweetening." In those days 
 all families did not have coffee. We had a substitute for coffee 
 in parched wheat, okra berries, etc., and a cup of that beverage 
 steaming hot, primed with a spoonful of long sweetening, was 
 not dangerous to look upon. Now, some inquisitive person 
 might want to know if we had anything else to eat. To be sure — 
 we had meat in abundance. If our fathc^r hand't a hog to his 
 name he usually had a wild hog claim, and this was sufficient 
 for practical jjurposes. The fact that bread was sometimes 
 scarce caused no worry. There was some anxiety among us 
 children when on Sunday mornings and other rare occasions, 
 we hatl biscuit that wouldn't hold out. 
 
 Now, chills and fever were among the other troubles we chil- 
 
ADVERTISMENTS. 395 
 
 THE NICKEL STORE 
 
 SOUTHEAST CORNER SQUARE 
 CONDUCTED BY J £ BAITES 
 
 Following Indicates Variety of our Stock 
 
 Shelf Hardware, Cutlery of all kinds, 
 Tinware, Granite and Glassware, 
 Chinaware, Mechanics' Tools, Stoves, 
 Dry Goods and Notions, Laces and 
 Ribbons, Stationery and School Sup- 
 plies, Pictures and Art Goods. 
 
 We do not ask big profits but we want fast sales. We put the 
 quality and prices of our goods by those of any other firm. 
 
 dren sometimes endured in that happy past, but for these simple 
 ailments the remedy was at command, and even now I sometimes 
 wonder if we have progressed beyond balmony, shuck and fodder 
 tea, and other simple remedies that nature provided and which 
 we were compelled to use in the treatment of those diseases. 
 At least nothing has been produced that could beat them very 
 far for taste. I well remember when at our house we as regularly 
 gathered a sack of balmony as we gathered our little crop, and my 
 recollection is that this was administered steaming hot and in 
 broken doses to us children. 
 
 What I have mentioned were the necessaries of life. We 
 were not altogether without some of its luxuries. Polk-salad 
 and lambs quarter were known to the inhabitants then, and wild 
 onions grew prolifically on the prairie. For pies we had wild 
 plums, grapes and sheep sorrell. Of course sheep sorrell was 
 served only on rare occasions. It is best served that way, and 
 I might add, the rarer the occasion the better off you are. 
 
 I am trying to relate some things as they occured some forty 
 
396 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 or fifty years ago, from a boy's recollection of them. I hav(> no 
 Indian experiences to tell. I am glad I didn't scalp any Indians 
 in those days and have always apjjreciated the fact that they 
 didn't scalp me. I have never been offended by the fact that 
 while they were calling in my neighborhood, they didn't leave 
 their card at our house. 
 
 Of course boys had their imaginary troubles in those davs, but 
 when I think of them noAv they were nominal and hardly to be 
 classified undcn- that name. Now, I might mention the seventh 
 day head combing — I designate it that way because it usually 
 occured on Saturday. Our combs" were built from a cow's horn 
 heated, flattened out, and teeth sawed with a hand saw. Of 
 course such an imi)lenient of warfare only caught the larger 
 game; the others run at large until they reached maturity. 
 Boys didn't give as much attention then as now to the tonsorial 
 l)art of their make-up, hence our locks were often badly locked, 
 very long, sunburned, and inclined to turn up at the ends, and 
 I distinctly recall the suffering tliat fell to my lot when it came 
 my time to be combed. Had to take it by turns, and usually the 
 job was over with in time for us to gather broom weeds and 
 sweep the yards for Sunday so that our big sister's beau woukhi't 
 get grass burrs in his fc^et. 
 
 But let me tell you that in my oi)inion the boys reared on the 
 frontier were the hapi)iest mortals under the sun. Our parents, 
 God bless their precious memoi'ies, may have suf^"ei-(>d great 
 anxiety on our account — and wv know that they did — but those 
 dark days of struggle and })rivalion were strangers to us. ^^'e 
 thought the whole world was living like we were, and were foolish 
 if not hai)py. If our father made us one pair of shoes and got 
 them done by Christmas, that was as early as we expected them. 
 If we didn't get them at all we were not much disappointed 1, and 
 shoes or no shoes, it was woe to the grass burr that came in 
 contract Wxthal)oy's foot. If we owned sheej) and the spinning 
 wheel and loom were ])ut to work, we usually had our new suit 
 by that time, and the boy who had a coat the nearest like Jacob's 
 of old, and a pair of the loudest screaking shoes, was the most 
 ])opular among the girls and the most envied by the boys. 
 
 A very dark cloud came ov(>r the haj'>piness of us boys about 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 397 
 
 HORNBACK, 
 SAUNDERS 
 AND \A/ADE 
 
 Aim to carry a full stock of everything in the 
 
 Grocery 5Line 
 
 Constantly strive to keep the best 
 brands of fresh goods on hand 
 
 Highest Prices Paid for Country Produce 
 
 Our Mottoes 
 
 TO SELL CHEAP FOR CASH 
 FULL WEIGHTS 
 SQUARE DEAL TO ALL 
 
 CANNED GOODS OF ALL KINDS 
 
 BULK COFFEES IMPORTED TEAS 
 
 SEASONABLE PRODUCE 
 
 of all obtainable varieties in stock 
 
 We cater to the best trade. Phone us and we will do the re&t 
 NORTHEAST CORNER SQUARE 
 
 DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
398 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 once a year when soap making time came round. Some people 
 contend that if a thing is full it can be no fuller — that it will not 
 admit of further comparison, but I learned early in life that this 
 is not true, because those old ash hoppers our mothers made 
 out of three foot boards could hold all the ashes from a 3x5 fire- 
 place through the winter, and when there was room for no more 
 it would take twenty buckets of water per day for six days, or 
 about thr(H' hundred and sixty gallons, to start it running. Of 
 course the time and the quantity could be reduced some by 
 l)unching holes down almost to the bottom of the hopper. But 
 where this device was resorted to, the lye was not so good, and 
 the boy's back usually made up the difference. Think of a boy 
 having to draw that much water every day from a sixty-foot well 
 with an old windlass that was ec^uaji to a gatling gun if it got loose 
 from him, or carry it a quarter of a mile from the spring. I have 
 often thought since then what a blessing it would have been to 
 me if ash hoppers and windmills could have been invented at the 
 'same time. 
 
 The mode of punishment i)ractis(Ml tlien Iw our parents was 
 similar to what it is now. The biblical injunction about "sparing 
 the rod and spoiling the child " was known to them, and if there 
 was any difference it was in favor of the rod. I have always 
 believed that our parents adhered very strictly to that doctrine. 
 Now, at our schools it was different. They also believed in the 
 principle laid down by Solomon, but they also believed in other 
 things. You don't hear of a boy nowadays having to stand out 
 in the middle of the floor on one foot until he gets so tired he 
 forgets h(> has a foot, or stand for hours as I have done with my 
 nose thrust into a crack in the rawhide plank of the old Deep 
 Creek schoolhouse. Bob Walker was ,my first teacher and the 
 originator of this mode of punishment. He would stand the 
 boys on a b(>nch against the wall, each onc^ with his nos(> stuck 
 into a crack of the house, and it was woe to the boy whose 
 curiosity prompted him to withdraw that nose before his time 
 was up. 
 
 But the little troubles that we had in those days are not 
 worthy to be compared to the vanity and vexation of spirit of 
 an uprto-date boy. Did you ever think of the trials a boy must 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 399 
 
 pass through now in even keeping his wardrobe intact. His 
 socks alone arc enough to burden one mind. It takes twenty-five 
 pairs a year and no two pairs flowered alike! It takes at least 
 four pairs of patent leather Sunday shoes, high, low and medium 
 quartered, and each with a different shaped toe; it takes two 
 dozen shirts, each different from the others, and a tie to match 
 each; it takes riding gloves, driving gloves, and dress gloves, 
 and various and sundry other articles. Now, imagine if you 
 can the consternation in the Deep Creek settlement forty-five 
 years ago if a boy thus equipped had suddenly landed in our 
 midst. Barnum's great " What is it? " could not have created 
 greater curiosity, and I believe that Uncle Sam even would have 
 changed his range. 
 
 In the early days my father ran a wood shop at our old home, 
 and about my first work was driving an old sorrel horse to the 
 lathe that turned out the various articles for the people , such as 
 wagon hubs and spokes, bed posts, spinning wheels, etc. The 
 Indians came along one night and borrowed the horse and forgot 
 
 D. W. F R A Z E R 
 
 FURNITURE ±^ UNDERTAKING 
 
 LARCEST IN DECATUR 
 
 QUA.LITV REIGNS SVPUEMK IN 
 MV BUSINESS. STRONO, HONEST, 
 I>El»ENl)zVBI.E CiOOnS KEPT IN 
 STOCK AT UEASONAltl.l-: 1»UICES. 
 
 CALL, AND INVESTIGA.TE. GOODS TO SUIT 
 
 ALL THE SEASONS. 
 
 "^'^o'/^ru^.'"'"' Decatur, Texas 
 
400 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 to return him. I have often regretted the day when that old 
 lathe had to go out of business. 
 
 I have here one of my father's old account books during the 
 time of which I have just spoken, and to show the needs of the 
 people in those days and how conditions have changed, and to 
 recall to these old settlers here the names of men possibly for- 
 gotten, I will read from that book. 
 
 But, my friends, time, that remorseless destroyer of all things, 
 has yellowed these pages and dimmed the writing so that it is 
 scarcely disc(n'nible, and from the list of almost a hundred 
 names within its folds, who were then mostly in the prime and 
 strength of young manhood, the majority have long since passed 
 over the great divide. Some have long ago abandoned hope of mak- 
 ing this country a fit dwelling place and left it, but few of those 
 who were here then are now with us, and it has been to add some- 
 thing to their enjoyment that I read from these pages. And 
 in conclusion I want to pay my tribute of grateful remembrance 
 to a class of our pioneer citizenship that I believe have not 
 received their meed of praise — I mean the physicians of that 
 time. I mention Drs. Renshaw, Standifer, and the Stuarts. For 
 years in a country infested by hostile Indians, through winter's 
 cold and summer's heat, the distance was never too great nor the 
 night too dark for them to mount a Texas pony and visit the 
 sick. I say all hail to their memory. The hardships they en- 
 dured through those troublous times only eternity can reveal. 
 I believe that we, the descendants of pioneer settlers of Wise 
 County, should in some way perpetuate the memories, not only 
 of these men who were leaders in protecting us from Indian 
 depredations, but of those good men who wore out the best 
 years of their lives in caring for the health of our people. Since 
 we cannot build these monuments of marble, I am glad a history 
 of those times and of those pioneers is being prepared whereby 
 their deeds of heroism and self-sacrifice will be preserved to us 
 and our children. But few of those linger with us to-day, and 
 tJiey have almost reached the foot of the hill on the shadowy 
 side. Not many gatherings like this shall pass until it will not 
 be " Old Settlers' " day at the re-union, but a day for their 
 children and grand children to come together in love and in 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 401 
 
 E,cherd says: 
 
 "I must sell goods and lots of them to come out — my 
 profits are small." 
 
 ALSO 
 
 "// you once come into my store and price my goods 
 you will not leave without buying because you will be con- 
 vinced that I sell sood goods ridiculously cheap.'' 
 
 J.M. ECHERD 
 
 Dealer in 
 
 New and Second Hand Furniture, 
 Household Equipments and 
 Hardware, Stoves, Car- 
 pets and Mattings 
 
 EXCHANGES MADE BARGAINS FOR ALL 
 
 OFF NORTHEAST CORNER SQUARE 
 
 DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
 26 
 
402 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 gratitude to the Giver of all good, that when He got ready to 
 give Wise County to the white man for a habitation, He sent 
 along the best material the wide world has ever produced. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM ACCOUNT BOOK. 
 
 Thomas Isbell, Dr. — 
 
 To making one wagon bed -SS . 00 
 
 To repairing running works of wagon 4 . 00 
 
 John Reagan, Dr. — 
 
 To (2) bolsters 10.00 
 
 To setting two tires 5 . 00 
 
 Mary McCright, Dr. — 
 To hooping four wheels 8 . 00 
 
 Peter Witsell, Dr.— 
 
 To repairing wagon 4 . 00 
 
 Madison Walker, Dr. — 
 
 To (2) pairs lasts 2.00 
 
 To making one pair shoes 2 . 50 
 
 Mrs. Long, Dr. — 
 To stocking plow 8 . 00 
 
 Smith McCall, Dr.— 
 
 To one coffin 12.00 
 
 John Mann, Dr. — 
 
 To repairing plow stock 2 . 50 
 
 To stocking j)low 2 . 00 
 
 To one pair lasts 1 . 00 
 
 To one single-tree 25 
 
 To making one pair shoes 50 
 
 To repairing spinning wheel 1-25 
 
 To repairing cradle ' 2 . 75 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 403 
 
 CITY HOTEL 
 
 R. J. L I N D L E Y, Proprietor 
 
 DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
 $1.00 Per Day Meals 25 Cents 
 
 NICE ROOMS, CAREFUL AND CLEAN ATTENTION 
 
 GOOD FOOD, WELL COOKED AND A PLENTY 
 
 YOUR PATRONAGE SOLICITED 
 
 EXTRACT FROM ACCOUNT BOOK. — CON T 
 
 R. W. Boyd, Dr.— 
 
 To work on wagon $1 . 00 
 
 To repairing spinning-wheel 1 . 00 
 
 To one pair lasts 1 . 00 
 
 To three straight lasts 1 . 50 
 
 To making augur handle 50 
 
 To stocking scythe 3.00 
 
 To filing saw 50 
 
 T. J. Pruntij, Dr.— 
 
 To one tongue and- rounds 15 . 00 
 
 To one axle-tree and (2) bolsters 15.00 
 
 Credit on this Account — 
 
 By three yards domestic 1 . 50 
 
 By cash paid 5 . 00 
 
 By one rasp 2 . 00 
 
 By 26 ft. tobacco 24.00 
 
 By 20 gr. c^uinine 2 . 00 
 
404 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM ACCOUNT BOOK. — CON't 
 
 Louis Pavillard, Dr. — 
 
 To repairing scythe stock SI . 00 
 
 To repairing plow stock 1 . 00 
 
 Samuel Woody, Dr. — 
 
 To making wagon 31 . 00 
 
 To repairing spinning wheel 1 . 00 
 
 To making axle-tree 1 . 75 
 
 To work on wagon 5 . 00 
 
 George Guinn, Dr. — 
 To (1) spinning wheel $5.00 
 
 Mary Russell, Dr. — 
 
 To repairing wheel rim 2 . 00 
 
 To making winding blades 50 
 
 John C. Paschal, Dr. — 
 
 To heading barrel 50 
 
 C. J. Browder, Dr. — 
 
 To making one bedstead 8 . 00 
 
 To making coffin 10.00 
 
 To one straight last 50 
 
 Joseph Hood, Dr. — 
 
 To filling wheel 4 . 75 
 
 Dr. Knight, Dr. — 
 To repairing buggy 50 . 00 
 
 R. W. Boyd, Dr.^ 
 
 To making axe handle 50 
 
 To setting tires 3 . 00 
 
 To makino' axle-tree 2 . 00 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 405 
 
 THE MISSISSIPPI STORE 
 
 General Dry Goods 
 
 "THE PLACE TO OET NEW GOODS" 
 
 We handle exclusively the following reputable brands: 
 
 EDWIN CLAPP, AND HAMILTON-BROWN SHOES. 
 SPERO MICHAEL AND SONS CLOTHING. 
 OX BREECHES. 
 
 STAR AND BEAVER BRAND HATS. 
 EXCLUSIVE MILLINERY. 
 
 We sold your father and mother. We have been here for years. We 
 want to sell you. Satisfaction in every department or your money back . 
 Can you ask more. 
 
 The Mississippi Store 
 
 S. A. LILLARD, Proprietor. 
 Northeast Corner Square. DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
 Lillard and Go. 'riSf 
 
 Decatur's Oldest 
 
 Hardware and Implement Store 
 
 Stock full and complete in every de- 
 partment, ranging from shelf-hard- 
 ware to machinery and implements of 
 all kinds. Studebaker Wagons — the 
 best. Anchor Buggies. Harness and 
 Saddles, home manufacture, therefore 
 the best. : : : : : 
 
 Twenty Years' successful business experience enables 
 
 Lillard and Co. 
 
 to fulfill your wants whatever they may be. 
 
406 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 EXTRACT FROM ACCOUNT BOOK. — CON T 
 
 To making wagon tongue $ 2 . 00 
 
 To making handle 50 
 
 To making two straight lasts 1 .00 
 
 To making plow handles 1 . 00 
 
 To repairing sifter 50 
 
 To repairing cradle 50 
 
 To one coffin 2. 50 
 
 To work on sugar mill 2 . 50 
 
 To work on saw 40 
 
 Credit acct., two sides leather G . 12 
 
 L. L. Ward^ 
 To work on wagon 1 . 00 
 
 N . H. Johnson — 
 
 Repairing fiddle $0 . 75 
 
 A. Bishop — 
 To making one set buggy wheels 30 . 00 
 
 NAMES THAT APPEAR ON ACCOUNT BOOK. 
 
 Thomas Isbell, John Reagan, Sam Woody, Peter Whitsel, John 
 Brown, Dr. Bowman, Wm. Perrin, Madison Walker, J. C. 
 Paschal, John Mann, G. I. Webb, M. P. Paschal, Smith McCall, 
 R. W. Boyd, T. J. Prunty, Louis Pavillard, John Teague, Austin 
 Dill, George Guinn, Mary Russell, Mary McCright, C. J. Browder, 
 Thomas Crider, Benjamin Cloier, John Thetford, John Taylor, 
 G. B. S. Crews, Joseph Hood, Samuel Gibbs, Jas. Looty, A. H. 
 Reagan, Jess Standifer, Jas. Mann, Crews & Hardwick, W. S. 
 Gates, Jas. Rucker, John W. Prunty, Thomas Rodman, Garner 
 Bird well, John Tyler, Barkley Bradfortl, George Bird well, G. W. 
 Belcher, Andy Scroggins, Silas Rogers, W". C. Bloomer, Whit 
 Fain, Dr. Knight, Kenneth Bain, Ephram Locks, L. Hancock, 
 James Tarkington, Rev. Witham, John Boyd, C. P. Jones, 
 Milton Holmes, R. B. Walker, A. Birk, Wm. Lipsey, Joshua 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 407 
 
 King, Jas. Broadstreet, Jas. Witten, Harvey Pesterfield, N. R. 
 Etter, Benjamin Lewelyn, Nathan Sweet, Jas. Burton, Galley 
 Stevens, L. L. Ward, J. B. Riddle, Earny Cutner, J. A. Gilley, 
 J. L. McCall, W. W. Britt, Lycurgus Smith, Wm. Bradford, 
 W. W. 0. Standfield, Frederick Mershon, Chas. Nichols, Henry 
 Bramlett, A. Bishop. 
 
 REGISTRATION AT THE OLD SETTLERS REUNIONS. 
 
 Upon the occasion of the Old Settlers' Reunions, hekl each 
 summer in Joe Wheeler's Park, a book is kept for the registration 
 of names of old settler guests. The following names, post 
 offices and date of coming to Wise County, have been recorded: 
 
 C. E. Brown, Bridgeport 1855 
 
 J. J. Woody, Ft. Worth 1862 
 
 Wm. Perrin, Dickens 1854 
 
 Mrs. E. P. Killough, Hobart, Ok 1871 
 
 SAM MCMILLAN 
 
 BARBER at Hecks old Stand 
 
 SOUTH SIDE OF SQUARE 
 
 ATERS to the barbering trade of Decatur and com- 
 munity, proposing always to perform high class 
 work at usual prices. Prompt and courteous treatment 
 to all. Let McMillan do your shaving, haircutting, 
 shampooing, etc., and depend on him and his. capable 
 assistants to do the work easily, smoothly and stylishly. 
 
408 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 REGISTRATION AT THE OLD SETTLERS REUNIONS. — CON T 
 
 Mrs. S. J. Standifer, Rocky, Ok 1871 
 
 R. A. Rieger, Decatur 1873 
 
 J. A. Proctor, Bridgeport 1854 
 
 Mrs. T. J. McMurray, Decatur 1860 
 
 Mrs. E. C. Terrell, Decatur 1854 
 
 Mrs. Savilla Young, Decatur 1860 
 
 Mrs. Jennie Perrin, Decatur 1860 
 
 Mrs. A. S. Badger, Decatur 1870 
 
 Mrs. Eliza Badger, Decatur 1856 
 
 T. V. Myers, Alvord 1869 
 
 Mrs. T. V. Myers, Alvord 1865 
 
 D. S. Hunt, Paradise 1881 
 
 W. M. Gates, Duncan, Ok 1865 
 
 Felix Gose, Decatur 1862 
 
 G. A. Andrews, Decatur 1861 
 
 J. G. Stevens, Decatur 1856 
 
 J. C. Gose, Krum 1861 
 
 Mrs. J, C. Gose, Krum 1880 
 
 W. F. Perrin, Sayers, Ok 1854 
 
 G. W. Perrin, Tulsa, Ok 1854 
 
 Mrs. C. C. Burton, Decatur 1876 
 
 N. R. Etter, Decatur 1866 
 
 Mrs. N. R. Etter, Decatur 1866 
 
 J. F. Parsons, Blanket 1866 
 
 B. E. Kincannon, Boonville 1855 
 
 C. F. Kincannon, Paradise 1855 
 
 J. P. Parsons, Brown wood .' 1860 
 
 N. J. Parsons, Alvord 1860 
 
 J. S. Parsons, Blanket 1860 
 
 G. W. Knight, Rhome 
 
 J. E. Ross, Bovd 1873 . 
 
 G. H. O'Neal, Alvord 1873 
 
 J. H. Stokes, Decatur 1870 
 
 Elijah Roberts, Decatur ' 1857 
 
 Jim Burton, Decatur 1862 
 
 J. C. Dickinson, Decatur 1880 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 409 
 
 W. T. WAGGONER, President 
 
 T. B. YARBROUGH, V.-President 
 W. L. RUSH, Cashier 
 
 E. P. GIBSON, Asst. Cashier 
 
 J. A. SIMMONS, Asst. Cashier 
 
 Organized 1883 Number 2940 
 
 FIRST 
 
 NATIONAL 
 
 BANK 
 
 decatur, texas 
 
 Capital - - $50,00000 
 Surplus Fund - - 50,000.00 
 
 DIRECTORS 
 
 W. T. WAGGONER T. B. YARBROUGH 
 
 MRS. SICILY A.WAGGONER SAM BELLAH 
 
 J. P. HAYTER 
 
 One of Wise County's Oldest and Strongest Institutions. 
 Banking facilities of all kinds afforded 
 
410 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 REGISTRATION AT THE OLD SETTLERS REUNIONS. — CON't 
 
 W. N. Holm, Newark 1859 
 
 Tom Geary, Newark 18G0 
 
 Harris Andrews, Little Elm 1861 
 
 J. R. Andrews, Grady, Ok 1801 
 
 J. N. Bogg, — 1875 
 
 J. E.. McCraw, Newark 1875 
 
 C. Kincannon, Paradise 1875 
 
 C. C. Burton, Decatur 1862 
 
 W. P. Gilliland, Bridgeport 1860 
 
 S. L. Atkins, Boyd 1869 
 
 Mrs. S. A. Knight, Boyd 1858 
 
 Mrs. J. D. White, Decatur 1855 
 
 Mrs. John Waggoner, Decatur 1855 
 
 Mrs. Mary F. Gose, Decatur 1862 
 
 J. M. Burton, Decatur 1862 
 
 H. T..Boyd, Boyd 1859 
 
 Mrs. Mary Browder, Luna, Ok 1862 
 
 James Perrin, Decatur 1854 
 
 M. L. Crenshaw, Decatur 1871 
 
 P. D. Gates, Duncan, Ok 1867 
 
 J. L. Ward, Waco 1866 
 
 Mrs. M. L. Crenshaw, Decatur 1871 
 
 Chas. Hardwick, Decatur 1872 
 
 Mrs. Chas. D. Gates, Decatur 1855 
 
 Mrs. Mary E. Hale, Decatur 1855 
 
 H. H. Huff, Bowie 1855 
 
 C. G. Leonard, Rhome 1860 
 
 Mrs. M. J. Leonard, Rhome 185(5 
 
 Mrs. M. L. Huff, Bowie 18()1 
 
 J. D. Manning, Chico 1869 
 
 Mrs. Orey Arringlon, Boyd 1869 
 
 M. Burris, Lindon, Ok 1855 
 
 J. P. Fullingim, Decatur.' 1860 
 
 Mrs. W. M. Rhodes, Decatur 1857 
 
 M. H. Cook, Decatur 1856 
 
 T. AV. Prunty, Boyd 1865 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 411 
 
 NATIONAL 
 
 BANK 
 
 OF 
 
 I DECATUR 
 
 TEXAS 
 
 CAPITAL STOCK, $60,000.00! 
 SURPLUS, $25,000.00! 
 
 Capably and Efficiently 
 Managed 
 
 A Secure Place for 
 Deposits 
 
 Prompt and Courteous 
 Attention Given to 
 Patrons 
 
412 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 REGISTRATION AT THE OLD SETTLERS REUNIONS. — CON't 
 
 J. A. Watson, Decatur. . .• 1856 
 
 Mrs J. A. Watson, Decatur 1869 
 
 W. L. Calhoun, Rhonesboro, Tex 1855 
 
 T. Perrin, Decatur 1854 
 
 T. J. Waggoner, Wichita Falls 1861 
 
 W. D. Paschall, Decatur 1857 
 
 C. A. Cartwright, Decatur 1854 
 
 J. E. Boyett, Chico 1883 
 
 H. R. Fullingim, Decatur 1865 
 
 G. B. Pickett, Decatur 1854 
 
 W. J. Mann, Paradise 1854 
 
 T. E. Miller, Paradise 1854 
 
 C. H. Miller, Decatur 1860 
 
 J. H. Wallace, Decatur 1857 
 
 W. P. Russell, Decatur 1856 
 
 Mrs. M. E. Blewett, Decatur 1861 
 
 J. K. Reed, Paradise 1859 
 
 C. L. Smith, Decatur 1857 
 
 W. A. King, Decatur 1854 
 
 Mrs. M. J. Jarrell, Decatur 1854 
 
 G. W. Mann, Balsora 1857 
 
 T. L. Jennings, Alvord 1855 
 
 W. H. Jennings, Alvord 1855 
 
 Mrs. S. E. Holmes, Decatur 1862 
 
 Mrs. F. M. Holmes, Decatur 1864 
 
 Levi Swinford, Saginaw 1859 
 
 J. D. White, Decatur 1856 
 
 Mrs. M. A. Harding, Decatur 1859 
 
 Mrs. D. P. Newsome, Boonsville 1857 
 
 D. P. Newsome, Boonsville 1872 
 
 C. I. Crockett, Hastings, Ok 
 
 S. J. B. Walker, Bridgeport 1878 
 
 O. S. Lattimore, Ft. Worth 1881 
 
 S. A. Lillard, Decatur 1882 
 
 J. A. Renshaw, Decatur 1859 
 
 Rufus Booth, Chico ; 1859 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 413 
 
 J. A. EMBRY 
 
 C. H. KNOX r. F. FORD 
 
 Embry^ 
 
 Knox 
 
 & Ford 
 
 PHYSICIANS and 
 
 SURGEONS 
 
 DECATUR 
 
 - 
 
 - - TEXAS 
 
 REGISTRATION AT THE OLD SETTLERS REUNIONS. — CON T 
 
 J. T. Beatty, Alvord 1876 
 
 D. S. Shaw, Rhome 1870 
 
 Jasper Lynch, Paradise 1876 
 
 Mrs. Jasper Lynch, Paradise 1876 
 
 N. Runnells, Greenwood 1874 
 
 J. R. Davenport, Decatur 1876 
 
 H. E. Brady, Decatur 1867 
 
 C. C. Thompson, Decatur 1858 
 
 Mrs. C. C. Thompson, Decatur 1868 
 
 John J. Terrell, Austin 1857 
 
 J. A. Vandiver, Greenwood 1871 
 
 Mrs. D. H. Payne, Decatur 1870 
 
 Mrs. L. Renshaw, Decatur 1859 
 
 Mrs. S. A. Lillaj-d, Decatur 1866 
 
 Dr. D. H. Payne, Decatur 1889 
 
 R. F. Goode, Bridgeport 1882 
 
 H. J. Owen, Hill Co 1855 
 
414 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 REGISTRATION AT THE OLD SETTLERS REUNIONS. — CON't 
 
 C. B. Ball, Nogal 1854 
 
 Mrs. C. B. Ball, Nogal 1855 
 
 B. F. Helm, Decatur 1859 
 
 J. W. Balthrop, Slidell 1877 
 
 J. W. Wood, Paradise 1866 
 
 T. W. Rowlett, Alvord 1874 
 
 G. D. Howell, Decatur 1869 
 
 L. Renshaw, Decatur 1859 
 
 R. W. Nobles, Decatur 1874 
 
 D. M. Watson, Decatur 
 
 B. C. Huddleston, Paradise 1879 
 
 Mrs. Kate Hunt Craddock, Tern^ll 1855 
 
 L. D. Farrington, Audubon 1873 
 
 E. T. Barnett, Paradise 1879 
 
 C. C. Clifton, Greenwood : 1875 
 
 J. G. Gose, Decatur 1860 
 
 S. M. Gose, Decatur. , 1870 
 
 A. D. Dill, Decatur 1854 
 
 D. F. George, Bowie 1873 
 
 Mrs. L. P. Terrell, Decatur 1862 
 
 W. A. Fullingim, Snyder, Ok 1860 
 
 Love Watson, Decatur 1871 
 
 Mrs, Love Watson, Decatur 1871 
 
 J. Y. Jones, Decatur 1871 
 
 Geo. French, Decatur 1871 
 
 Bunch Fullingim, Snyder. Ok 1873 
 
 J. H. Tadlock, Chico 1876 
 
 C. W. Stevens, Chico 1877 
 
 J. E. Finley, Bowie 1870 
 
 Mrs. Lizzie Renshaw, Decatur 1854 
 
 Mrs. Mary Gose Waggoner, Decatur 1865 
 
 Mrs. Maggie Gose Harvey, Alvord 1865 
 
 W. C. Weatherby, Decatur 1856 
 
 Mrs. Sallie Bradshaw, Decatur 1856 
 
 Mrs. Julia F. Halsell, Decatur 1856 
 
 J. W. Cartwrio-ht, Amarillo 1854 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 41i 
 
 REGISTRATION AT THE OLD SETTLERS REUNIONS. — CON't 
 
 L. Owen 1880 
 
 L. B. Renshaw, Decatur 1876 
 
 C. C. Mitchum, Decatur 1884 
 
 A. J. Mann, Decatur 1858 
 
 W. H. Brown, Decatur, 1873 
 
 J. C. Hines, Decatur 1874 
 
 J. H. Brown, Decatur 1873 
 
 Mrs. A. J. Mann, Decatur 1871 
 
 R. P. Bonnifield 1876 
 
 Mrs. C. E. Brown 1879 
 
 D. W. McCright •. . . i860 
 
 T. A. Banks ' 1863 
 
 B. F. Majors 1872 
 
 C. B. SIMMONS L. H. REEVES 
 
 2)v8, Simmons &. IReeves 
 
 OFFICE OVER FIRST NATL. BANK 
 
 DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
416 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 SURVIVING WISE COUNTY PIONEER. 
 
 (the following BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH WAS PREPARED FOR THE 
 " PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY." 
 
 EX-COUNTY TREASURER BRAWLEY H. GATES, 
 OF m'kINNEY, TEXAS. 
 
 The above is the picture of Brawley H. Oates, of McKinney, 
 Texas, former county treasurer of Collin County, and one of 
 
 Wise County's earliest sett- 
 lers still surviving. 
 
 Mr. Oates was born in 
 Murray County, Georgia, 
 April ^4, 1839. Came to 
 Texas in 1844 with his 
 father, who made his home 
 in Cass County for ten 
 years, when he moved to 
 Cooke Territory, now Wise 
 County, in the fall of 1854. 
 Mr. Oates was then only 
 fifteen years of age when 
 his father removed to what 
 is now Wise County, and 
 camped in a post oak 
 grove. Logs were . cut and 
 speedily erected into a log 
 house, covered with clap- 
 boards riven by their own 
 hands and floored with 
 pun('h(X)ns h(nvn from logs 
 with an axe instead of lumber sawed smoothly with the later 
 mported and more modern saw mill. Not a nail was used in 
 Mie house. This early pioneer log home contained only one 
 toom, which answeretl for all purposes of its sturdy occupants — 
 r 
 
 BRAWLEY OATES. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS 417 
 
 Fire, Life, Accident, Lightning, Tornado, Live Stocic 
 
 RELIABLE INSURANCE 
 
 WE represent a number of the Oldest and Best insur- 
 ance companies in the world and devote our whole 
 time to this business. Insure your property with us and 
 it will be safely protected. 
 
 We insure everything, Mercantile Stocks and Build- 
 ings, Dwellings and contents (town or country). Public 
 Buildings, Gins, Mills and Elevators against loss by fire, 
 lightning or tornado. 
 
 We write Life and Live Stock Insurance. We want 
 your business; see us before insuring elsewhere. It might 
 pay you. 
 
 BOYD & RAGSDALE :: decatur, texas 
 
 kitchen, dining room, bedroom and parlor. The next building 
 to go up was a log pen used as a smokehouse and storage room. 
 
 The elder Oates had brought to Wise County, with his family 
 and few other effects, forty head or razor back hogs. These 
 hardy swine of a then common variety, but now an almost ex- 
 tinct species of hogs, ranged at will among the post oaks, and 
 by the month of February were fat enough for fine meat without 
 having been fed a grain of corn. Hunting was the chief occupa- 
 tion of young Mr. Oates, who indulged his skill both for the in- 
 herent love of the sport and from stern necessity to assist his 
 parents in providing for a large and growing family. Deer, 
 antelope and wild turkey abounded. Soon Brawley was sent to 
 Collin County with an ox-team for bread-stuff, as there was then 
 no grist mill closer than McKinney. In emergencies, Mr. Oates' 
 father had a little " Armstrong" steel mill fastened up on a 
 sapling by which small quantities of meal could be ground in the 
 same manner that coffee is ground in the old-fashioned coffee 
 mill. The pantry once supplied with the product of this crude 
 mill, his mother was then prepared in style for baking the famous 
 
 27 
 
418 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 "Johnny Cake," upon which many a canthdato, who had to 
 travel a wide and sparsely settled scope of country, appeased his 
 hunger, and around the festal board of the ever hospitable Gates' 
 home, he swapped jokes with the host as they partook of their 
 frugal meal. Among the candidates who visited his father's 
 home in quest of votes in those early days, Mr. Gates now recalls 
 the names of Judge Everts, Billy Weaver, and others. This 
 judicial district then spread out from Lamar and Hopkins 
 Counties on the east to the wild Indian habitations on the west 
 of Wise and which territory included Wise County. Among the 
 early settlers of Wise County, Mr. Gates recalls the names of 
 Ben B. Haney, his brother-in-law, who is reputed to have been 
 the first actual white settler of Wise County; Sam Woody, 
 Tom McCarroll, Ben Crews, W. S. Gates, his father, and others. 
 
 His recollection of the first officers of the county is: W. S. 
 Gates, chief justice, corresponding to our present office of county 
 judge; W. W. Brady, county clerk; Granger Salmon, district 
 clerk; Ben Earp, sheriff; Ben B. Haney, commissioner; John 
 Hale, surveyor; Col. Abb Bishop, representative. J. D. ^^^lite 
 and Joe Henry Martin were also among the first set of Wise 
 County officers. Gen Gaines was then the only practising 
 lawyer who lived in Wise County. 
 
 In those early days Wise County was considered the extreme 
 western Texas frontier and depended largely for protection from 
 the marauding bands of Comanche Indians upon the Texas 
 Rangers. Young Brawley Gates naturally turned to the Ranger 
 service in the vigor of his youth and love for the saddle, the gun 
 and adventure. He was a fine shot, skilled in woodcraft, and a 
 crafty scout. His first experience as a ranger was under " Black 
 Doc " Stewart. His next service was in the Wise County State 
 Rangers, which company organized at old Prairie Point, now 
 Rhome, Texas, the oldest town in Wise County. The company 
 was made up of a captain, two lieutenants and forty-five enlisted 
 men. Ben Earp was captain, Ben Crews first lieutenant, and the 
 subject of this sketch second lieutenant. Each officer was 
 supposed to take fifteen men out to rang(> at a time. These 
 scouting parties were usually out from ten to twenty days at a 
 time. However, as Lieutenant Gates was the only single man 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 419 
 
 The RED STORE 
 
 Decatur Texas 
 
 DRY GOODS 
 CLOTHING 
 and SHOES 
 
 THE popularity of this store is easily explained when we tell 
 you our business methods. 
 
 We buy for fifteen big cash stores and pay cash for all our goods, 
 and buying in such quantities and paying cash we secure low 
 prices that cannot be secured by smaller stores. 
 
 We in turn sell for cash, and as we buy our goods cheaper and run 
 no risks whatever, we can afford and do sell cheaper than 
 credit stores who have to charge larger profits in order to 
 make up for their credit losses. 
 
 If you live a considerable distance it will mean a big saving to 
 you to come to Decatur and buy your large bills from us. 
 We constantly receive new and up-to-date goods and keep a 
 good assortment, and our prices are always the lowest. 
 
 ^ SPOT CASH 
 
 ONE PRICE TO ALL. COURTEOUS TREATMENT. 
 
 J.J.PERKINS, - DECATUR, TEX. PERKINS BROS., KAUFMAN.TEX 
 
 Perkins Dry Goods Co., Sulphur Spgs., Tex. Perkins Bros. - - Commerce, Tex 
 
 Perkins Dry Goods Co., Vernon, Tex. Perkins Bros. - - - Athens, Tex 
 
 Perkins Bros. & Co., Jacksboro, Tex. Perkins Bros. - - Greenville, Tex 
 
 Perkins Bros. & Co. - - Quanah, Tex. Perkins Dry Goods Co., Winsboro, Tex 
 
 Perkins Bros. & Co. - - Altus, Okla. Perkins Dry Goods Co., Terrell, Tex 
 
 Perkins Bros. - - - - Gilmer, Tex. Perkins Dry Goods Co., Alvarado, Tex 
 S. B. Perkins Co., Denton, Tex 
 
420 PIONEER HISTOKY OF AVISE COUNTY. 
 
 of three officers, he frequently volunteered to take the turn of 
 the other officers who could then remain at home with their 
 families more. He continued in the ranger service until the 
 breaking out of the great Civil War, when he enlisted in the 
 Confederacy. In the rising passions culminating in that great 
 ■conflict between the states, the ranger service seemed entirely 
 too tame for the gallant lieutenant, who, with other Wise County 
 comrades, went over to Denton and enlisted in Co. A, 14th Texas 
 Cavalry. Company A marched to Dallas, thence with its regi- 
 ment to Little Rock, Arkansas, where they dismounted. Went 
 down Arkansas river by boat to its mouth, thence up the Father 
 of Waters to Memphis, where they took the cars en-route to 
 Corinth, with Shiloh as their ultimate destination, ^^^ile en- 
 route, the engineer, the only railroader on the train, and who 
 also proved to be a Yankee sympathizer, wrecked the train by 
 throwing open the throttle on top of a long grade, then stepping 
 off the tender and sending his train, heavil}- loaded with its 
 human freight, on a wild five-mile dash down a grade and crash- 
 ing into a preceding train. Both trains were wrecked and a 
 number of lives were sacrificed. Mr. Gates held a lieutenant's 
 conmiission. After some fighting and skirmishing around 
 Corinth, Lieutenant Gates took seriously sick and was sent 
 home. It was nearly a year before he recovered his shattered 
 health, and then again he re-entered the ranks of the Rangers 
 ■on the West Texas frontier and did valiant service in protecting 
 the women, children and homes of the absent confederate 
 soldiers from harm b}' the lawless elements, as well as the Indians, 
 naturally infesting a new and wild country like West Texas in 
 that turbulent period of civil strife. As late as the fall of 18G5, 
 Indians killed a man within a mile of Lieut. Gates' home, by the 
 name of Parson Moffitt. About the same time they killed another 
 man named Smith four or five miles further on. The latter 
 victim and a companion were en route to Weatherford, and 
 stopped at the home of Dave Reed, father of Mrs. Brawley 
 Oates, and ate dinner. That evening Smith was killed by the 
 Indians and his companion wounded by an arrow in the face. 
 The wounded man turned back, next day again ate dinner at 
 
advertis?:ments. 421 
 
 Cicero Smitb 
 Xiimber Co. 
 
 2?ecatur, Uexas 
 
 
 Headquarters for 
 
 Building 
 Materials 
 
 of All Kinds 
 
 M 
 
 OUR MOTTO 
 
 Good Grades, Moderate Prices and Courteous Treatement 
 
 Let us Figure on your Lumber Bill 
 
422 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 the home of Mrs. Oates' parents, and in a few days also died from 
 blood poisoning resulting from his wound. 
 
 Brawley H. Oates and Miss Manerva Reed were married at 
 Old Prairie Point, November 11, 1863. Mrs. Reed's parents 
 settled in Wise County three or four years after the Oates family 
 came there. In 1866, Mr. and Mrs. Oates, in company with the 
 latter's parents and brother-in-law. Bob Gaston, all moved to 
 Collin County, which has since been their home. After coming 
 to Collin, Mr. Oates lived near Lucas for ten years and then 
 moved to McKinney, living at his present home for more than 
 thirty-one years. 
 
 In 1883 Mr. Oates was elected city marshal of McKinney, and 
 later served as deputy sheriff under Sheriffs Scott Phillips and 
 J. L. Moulden. He was a brave, conscientious and fearless 
 officer. It was while deputy under Sheriff" Moulden that Mr. 
 Oates came near receiving a fatal wound while in the discharge 
 of his official duty. On March 21, 1893, while endeavoring to 
 effect the capture of Will Hobbs, wanted for the murder of the 
 Sheriff of Cock County, Tennessee, who had fled to Texas, the 
 desperado shot Deputy Oates in the thigh and wounded him 
 so severely that he has since been almost a helpless cripple. The 
 following year, Mr. Oates was elected county treasurer of Collin 
 County, the duties of which position of trust and honor he filk^l 
 with efficiency and fidelity to the county and his constituency. 
 
 The children of Mr. and'Mrs. Oates are: Mrs. A. S. Bullock, 
 of Haskell; Will D. and Ben H. Oates, both of McKinney; Mrs. 
 C. D. Hayes, of Wylie; H. D. Oates, of Oklahoma City; Com. 
 Oates of San Antonio, Reed Oates, Misses Frankie and Ruby, 
 all still living at home with their parents. 
 
 Parents of Brawley Oates. 
 
 William Sloan Oates, father of the subject of this sketch, was 
 born in Lincoln County, North Carolina, in the year 1833. 
 Married Miss Sarah Smith in 1823. Movetl to Georgia in 1823 
 and to Texas in 1844, as above stated, living in Cass County for 
 ten years, then moving to Wise County in 1854. He settled in 
 the southeastern portion of \Mse C'ounty within a mije and a half 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 423 
 
 NORTHERN 
 TEXAS 
 TRACTION CO 
 
 The Great Electric Line 
 Operating Forty Fast 
 Clean Electric Cars 
 Daily Between 
 
 FORT WORTH 
 
 AND 
 
 DALLAS 
 
 These cars always depart and arrive 
 on schedule time. Pass all the leading 
 Hotels and Depots in both Cities and 
 make all connections. 
 Cars leave Fort Worth and Dallas 
 every hour, and on the hour from 6 
 A. M. to 11 P. M. included. 
 
 LOW RATES 
 QUICK TIME 
 
 NO DUST 
 SMOKE 
 CINDERS 
 
 Questioning your privilege, answering 
 our delight; and for further information 
 address 
 
 W. C. FORBESS 
 
 General Passenger Agent 
 FORT WORTH, TEXAS 
 
 Note: — The Record Special leaves Fort Worth at 4;20 A. M., arrives 
 at Dallas at 5:20 A. M., making all steam road connections out 
 of Dallas. 
 
424 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 of the present town of Rhome. He settled on a stream of water 
 that is still known as Oates' Branch, a tributary to the West 
 Fork of Trinity River. W. S. Oates was an old line democrat. 
 He served several terms as sheriff of Murray County, Georgia. 
 Served two terms as justice of the peace in Cass County, Texas, 
 and was the first chief justice or county judge of Wise County. 
 He was a farmer and stock raiser by occupation, and a staunch 
 member of the Baptist Church. In the fall of 1864, he moved 
 to Limestone County. He died in 1877 at Mt. Calm, Hill County, 
 at the age of 74, and lies buried by the side of his wife in Mt. 
 Calm cemetery. 
 
 PIONEER LIFE IN WISE COUNTY. 
 
 BY JOHN E. BOYD, DECATUR. 
 
 According to the best information at hand, the first settle- 
 ments in Wise County by white men, were made in the year 1854. 
 It was somewhere near this period of the county's history, so says 
 tradition, that L^ncle Sam Woody was discovered running wild 
 upon the head waters of Deep Creek. Prior to this date, so far 
 as is known, the country only served as a rendezvous for wild 
 beasts, and a hunting ground for the uncivilized Comanche 
 Indians. The Indian resented the encroachments of the white 
 man upon his domain, and strongly protested against it, but 
 without avail. Because of his wild and savage nature, he was 
 doomed to be relegated to a more remote and less attractive 
 territory for his hunting ground, and surrender this fair land 
 to a more civilized and progressive people, who would pride 
 themselves in the development of its latent resources, and make 
 it blossom as the rose. 
 
 As a result of the white man's venture in the West, the Indian 
 became very hostile and warlike, and declared vengeance 
 against him. The problem of life and a livlihood on the frontier 
 became a serious one, because of the dangers and privations 
 that confronted the settlers. While the gro^\1:h and develop- 
 ment of the country was yet in its infancy, the war between the 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 425 
 
 The Oldest Settler 
 
 cannot remember -of ever having seen 
 or heard of a more convenient, safe 
 and economical method of carrying 
 funds than by Wells Fargo & Go's 
 self- identifying Travelers Money Orders. 
 The Orders are paid in all countries 
 of the World without identification, 
 and if lost or stolen the amount is 
 refunded. For information apply to 
 
 Wells Fargo & Company 
 
426 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 states broke out, greatly retarding the progress of the pioneers, 
 and adding much to their ah'eady uncomfortable situation. 
 But they were brave, and loyal to their purpose, and were not 
 to be daunted by any such obstacles. Less courageous hearts 
 would have fainted and given up the fight. For many years the 
 country was subject to periodical raids from these bloody-handed 
 Comanches, and they came among us for the specific purpose 
 of pillage, plunder and murder, often destroying property, such 
 as they could not convey out of the country. At such times 
 excitement often ran to a fever heat among the people. Tho 
 child as I was, well do I remember the thrill of horror that came 
 over me when the warning word: " The Indians are in," was 
 hurriedly passed from neighbor to ncughbor. When it was 
 known that they were skulking in the country, it was a custom 
 of the settlers to conceal their best horses at night in a near-by 
 thicket to prevent them from being killed or stolen. But these 
 sturdy heroes — for such they were, as truly as were Bowie and 
 Travis of Alamo fame — counted themselves equal to any emer- 
 gency. With their trusty rifle ever by their side, they stood 
 their ground and bravely defended their country and their 
 homes, even to the laying down of life itself. Many were the 
 instances where the humble pioneer fell victim to the treachery 
 of these heartless savages, the most noted of which were the 
 Huff and Babb families, who were butchered and murdered in 
 their homes as though they were so many wild beasts. 
 
 On occasions when the Indians were thus raiding the country, 
 the settlers would often band together, a])point a leader, and 
 go in pursuit of them, recover their stolen property, and chase 
 the marauders out of the country. Captains George Stevens 
 and Ira Long were the most i)rominent among such leaders, and 
 in this way Hindered their country an invaluable service. 
 
 These early settlers knew nothing of the comforts and con- 
 veniences that favored the long settled and well established 
 countries. There were just a few squatters nestling here and 
 there in their improvised shelters, caring for their flocks and 
 herds, and in a small way, tilling the soil with such crude imple- 
 ments as were at hand. In this th(>y were laying well (doubtless 
 better than they knew) the foundation for their future homes. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS . 
 
 427 
 
 OKTMIT 
 
 ^nh 
 
 is our business and has been now for twenty-five years 
 past. We have always taken a deep interest in our busi- 
 ness and endeavored to keep abreast of the times and 
 advancement in our Hne. 
 
 If you want a picture frame come to us, for we have 
 them from 15 cents to $5.00 each. A 16x20 frame and 
 glass as low as 65 cents. 
 
 If you want a photo of yourself or family come to 
 us, for we have photos from 6 for 50 cents to |18.00 a 
 dozen. 
 
 If you want a picture copied or enlarged bring 
 it to us, for we make you an enlarged portrait from 
 |1.50 for 16x20 and up. Pass these picture agents up, 
 for we guarantee to give you better work and save you 
 money. Our work in Black and White or in colors for 
 same money. 
 
 YOURS 
 
 FOR 
 
 SATISFACTION 
 
 Studios 
 
 Bu99(?ll f{rt Co. 
 
 DECATUR and THURBER, TEXAS 
 
 P. S. — If we can't please you, then you can't be pleased. 
 
428 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 and obeying that scriptural injunction to earn their bread by 
 the sweat of their brow. 
 
 It was hundreds of miles to the terminus of the nearest rail- 
 road headed this way. Jefferson, Texas, and Shreveport, La., 
 were our nearest markets, and our only means for the transporta- 
 tion of the products of the country to these markets for exchange, 
 was by way of the old time ox wagon. This means was neces- 
 sarily slow and tedious. There were no bridges over the streams 
 of our country, and the freighter or traveler was often subject 
 to vexatious delays because of swollen streams. It frequently 
 required months to complete such trips to market and return. 
 These freight wagons were often drawn by as many as from 
 six to eight yoke of oxen. 
 
 It is said that we now have three systems for the rapid trans- 
 mission of news over the country — ^the telegraph, telephone 
 and tel-a- woman, all of which have proven very efficient methods. 
 
 The latter, however, was the only one of these three systems in 
 use in pioneer days, the telegraph and telepohne being almost 
 unheard of, and a thing incredible. 
 
 The cooking stove and sewing machine, now considered in- 
 dispensible adjuncts to the well equipped modern home, was 
 wholly unknown to the pioneer housewife. The corn cake and 
 pumpkin pies, the hog and hominy, were baked in ovens around 
 the family fireside. The sewing was necessarily by hand with 
 the ordinar}^ needle. 
 
 Where we now have coal oil lamps, electric lights, etc., to 
 illuminate our homes at night, the tallow candle or platted 
 string with one end in a cup of grease, furnished the light for the 
 occupant of the pioneer cabin. Matches were a rare convenience. 
 Often the settlers were compelled to resort to the flint rock, 
 powder and cotton method of striking fire. 
 
 Of the pantry supplies, sugar and coffee were two items that 
 were often short for months at a time. Sugar in our coffee was 
 a luxury in which we rarely ever indulged. Occasionally on 
 Sunday mornings our mothers would so indulge us. ^^'^len 
 coffee could not be obtained, roasted wheat was the favorite 
 substitute. 
 
 These early Wise Countyans were an industrious, frugal, 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS . 
 
 429 
 
 We make the following brands: "OUR BEST," "SATIN" 
 and "RED STAR," in extra high patent. Our high 
 patent brands are: "PEARL" and "BLUE BAND." No 
 flour yields such pure, sweet, appetizing rolls, bread and 
 biscuits as the flours made in our mill. It is made from 
 the choicest all soft wheat by a special process that in- 
 sures the retention of the gluten and phosphates— the 
 real nutriments of the wheat. Makes more and better 
 bread than any other flour. 
 
 Try our "RED ROOSTER" mixed feed. Blended in 
 uniformly exact proportions for stock and dairy use. 
 Blended so perfectly that the full benefit of each grade of 
 feed in just the right proportion is obtained, and better 
 than is possible if mixed by hand. Red Rooster feed 
 produces rich milk. 
 
 Moore Milling Co. 
 
 Decatur, Texas 
 
 ^^^ 
 ^ 
 
 
430 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 common-sense people ; plain and simple in their manner of dress, 
 neatness and comfort being the purpose in view, with no effort 
 at show or display. Theirs was a day of linsey dresses for the 
 women and girls; homespun jeans for the men, hickory shirts 
 and copperas breeches for the boys — the breeches often being 
 conspicuous by their absence with the boys. These materials 
 were the products of the old-fashioned loom and spinning wheel 
 so much in vogue during and after the war, and their quaUty 
 demonstrated beyond question the skill and industry of our 
 mothers and sisters in manipulating these machines, and in 
 providing for the necessities of the home. 
 
 Brogan shoes, manufactured by our fathers on rainy days, 
 were our principal foot wear, and a coon skin cap or other home- 
 made article often ornamented the other extremity of our 
 anatomy. 
 
 In the absence of schools or colleges of importance, the educa- 
 tion of the people was necessarily limited, and of a primary 
 character. The public school system had not yet been inaugu- 
 rated, and the arts and sciences found no place in the curriculum 
 of the pioneer pedagogue. He usually graduated his pupils 
 by teaching them to read, write and spell, and to work a few 
 " sums " in arithmetic. A log cabin, with a puncheon floor, 
 at some cross road, or perhaps a shanty constructed of our native 
 oak lumber, sufficed for a school building. The seats were hewn 
 out of logs, with pegs in each end to elevate to a proper height 
 for comfortable sitting. The teacher rarely ever introduced 
 the study of geography into his school, so it was seldom ever 
 necessary to test him in advance of employment, as to whether 
 he taught the " roimd or flat system " as to the shape of the 
 earth, or whether he was sufficiently advanced as to be 'able to 
 teach eith(>r or both systems, according to the wish of the patron. 
 He was usually a very strict disciplinarian. His favorite modes 
 of punishment were the free use of the dog wood switch, to place 
 the offender astride the back of a bench, or to stand him up 
 facing the wall, with his nose in a crack. On one occasion in a 
 school where I attended, the last-named mode of punishment 
 had been prescribed for a pupil who had transgressed the rules, 
 and he was penitently serving out his sentence when he was 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 431 
 
 RUSSELL & DALLAS, Grocers 
 
 Extend cheerful greetings to tlie citizens of Decatur and Wise County, in- 
 vitine, them to call and inspect their mammoth stock of new and up-to-date 
 groceiies. We guard the essentials of success. Treat you courteously, sell 
 you honest goods at cheap prices, accord you the most liberal of treatment 
 consistent with the survival of our business 
 
 THE BEST BRANDS 
 THE FRESHEST GOODS 
 
 ALL THE STAPLES OF THE GROCERY LINE 
 THE CHEAPEST PRICES 
 
 RUSSELL & DALLAS — FIRM AND EMPLOYES. 
 
 Bottom Row (left to right) — Louis M.Myer, FredH. Rea, W.L.Dallas, 
 Glenn Russell. 
 
 Top Row — J. N. Borum, E. A. Allen, Miss Mineola Harding, P. B. 
 Montgomery, Chas. Stokes. 
 
432 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 obsen^d to suddenly withdraw his nose from the aperture in 
 the wall. The teacher gruffly enquired: "Charley, why did 
 you do that?" The humble reply was: " 'Fesser, I smelt a 
 rat." The answer was satisfactory, and Charley was excused. 
 
 A very important part of the education obtained in those days 
 was of a practical nature, being acquired in the school of exper- 
 rience, and well this kind of education serves its purpose, not 
 only in pioneer days, but in all ages and under all circumstances, 
 it is essential to success. The country being almost wholly 
 dependent upon its own resources for the necessities of life, 
 naturally developed within our fathers a spirit of industry, 
 economy and independence. These characteristics were instilled 
 into every fibre of their being, and became a part of their life. 
 They were loyal to every interest of the country as they saw it, 
 and vied with each other in their hospitality. The latch strings 
 to their doors were always on the outside to the stranger or 
 traveler, and they were careful to inculcate these wholesome 
 principles upon the minds and hearts of their sons and daughters, 
 many of whom are among us to-day, with their families and 
 homes, filling places of usefulness and honor in the various walks 
 of life. 
 
 To be sure Wise County had its quota of " undesirable citizens." 
 The drinker and gambler, the horse racer and debaucher, were 
 among us to the detriment of the morals of the country. Being 
 far removed from telegraphs and railroads, a few desperate 
 characters, fugitives from justice, naturally drifted within our 
 borders, but this character of citizen was the exception and not 
 the rule. 
 
 Digressing from the subject with the hope of getting a lesson 
 that will be helpful to us all, and going back to the better element 
 of our citizenship, the present generation would do well to study 
 the customs and practices of these early settlers, and to imitate 
 their good example in simple, unpretentious and economical 
 living. If you have prospered and are living in ease and af- 
 fluence, with a stately dwelling for your home; if you can ride 
 in an automobile and sport a diamond ring, or tour the country 
 in a palace car behind the lightning steam horse, don't allow 
 yourself to become '' puffed up." Rather humble yourself and 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 433 
 
 be grateful, remembering that it was the sacrifices made by our 
 venerable fathers before us that laid the foundation for your 
 prosperity. They were happy and contented in a humble cabin 
 for their dwelling place, and when they went to market, or 
 attended church on the Sabbath day to worship the God that 
 ■cared for and protected them through those perilous days, they 
 were content to wend their way to such places in an ox wagon, 
 and do we honor them less for their humble and simple life? It 
 is no crime to be wealthy. On the contrary the duty devolves 
 upon us to earn all the money we can by honorable and legitimate 
 means. Money is a great power for good or for evil. Hence its 
 accumulation brings with it great responsibilities. It therefore 
 behooves us to be careful and considerate as to how we use the 
 money the Lord has entrusted to our care, let it be much or little, 
 for in the end we will be required to give an account of our 
 stewardship. 
 
 The pioneer preacher was early on the ground to minister to 
 the spiritual needs of the country, and well he performed his 
 unselfish labors. Wthout hope of rew^ard this side of eternity. 
 
 Dr. D. H. Payne 
 
 DENTIST 
 
 DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
 28 
 
434 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 he devoted his life to the cause of humanity-, calling men and 
 women to a higher and better life, and admonishing them to 
 flee the wrath to come, and prepare to meet their God in peace 
 at the judgment, which is surely and swiftly coming to all 
 mankind. Among the faithful in this class who deserve special 
 mention are Uncle Billy Bratlford and W. J. Gregory. Of these 
 noble characters, the latter still lingers with us, but is ripe for the 
 harvest, while the former has gone to his reward, but '' their 
 works do follow them." 
 
 Now, as I close this connnunication, realizing that my task 
 has been poorly performed, I take a retrospective view of the 
 eventful past. For a few brief moments, in my imagination, I 
 return to the place of my childhood home, where, with an un- 
 broken family circle, I spent so many happy days beneath the 
 parental roof. Where are the members of that beloved house- 
 hold to-day? The nestlings have flown. Some of them, together 
 with our venerable father, have gone the way of all the earth — 
 to that land from whence no traveler returns. Our dear mother 
 still lingers on this side of eternity's shores, waiting for the 
 summons to " come up higher." As I view again those happy 
 childhood scenes, and contemplate the many changes time has 
 wrought, a sadness takes possession of my soul — a sadness 
 almost akin to joy, if such be possible. Many of the faces so 
 familiar to us in the long ago, we will behold no more. They 
 have emigrated, let us hope, to a more congenial clime, where 
 partings, afflictions and disappointments can never come. Their 
 bodies are resting beneath the sod. Peace to their ashes. Joy 
 to their departcnl spirits. 
 
 To my friends who may chance to scan these lines, whether 
 you be pioneer or otherwise, my experience here, doubtless finds 
 its counterpart in your life. As a final word, I would invoke a 
 heavenly benediction to rest upon you. May the choicest bless- 
 ings of our All Wise Father abide with you, and let us give thanks 
 unto Him to-day, that our lots were cast in a land of peace and 
 plenty, and among such a great and good people, and that by His 
 kind providence we are still sojourners on time's side of eternity. 
 Encouraged by the progr(>ss already made, let us take up with 
 renewed zeal the good work begun by our fathers under such 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 435 
 
 Graduate from Kansas City 
 
 
 
 Ten years in the practice 
 
 JOHN 
 
 V. 
 
 PRUNTY 
 
 
 
 Dentist 
 
 
 
 All work guaranteed to give 
 perfect satisfaction 
 
 
 
 Office on South Side Sq. 
 DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
 unfavorable environments, and carry it on to its glorious con- 
 summation. Let us stand uncompromisingly for the living 
 principles that tend to build character and uplift humanity, 
 remembering that we are builders, not only for time, but for 
 eternity, and thus make Wise County an ideal place of abode, 
 because of its morality, Christianity, and the consequent high 
 character of its citizenship. For such is our mission upon the 
 earth. 
 
 DECATUR, WISE COUNTY, TEXAS. 
 
 BELLE HUNT SHORTRIDGE. 
 July 2,3, 1899. 
 
 Once more to the big-hearted land of my birth, 
 
 Once more to the valleys and hills. 
 Once more to the mist on the blue mountain's peak, 
 
 And the sound of the fresh flowing rills ! 
 
436 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 Once more to the breezes, as soft as the Ups 
 
 Of those that we love ! Once again 
 To the kingdom of Nature, the Temple of God, 
 
 Where freedom and fearlessness reign! 
 0, blue peaks majestic, so near, yet so far. 
 
 Up close to the warmth of God's smile. 
 In the path of the stars, and the calm heavenly ways 
 
 That the storm-tossed wanderer beguile! 
 Oh, peaceful and restful thy solemn dim heights, 
 
 With the sky bending over serene ! 
 Oh, cooling and dewy thy shadowy side? 
 
 With the deep flowing rivers between ! 
 I long for a season of rest on thy heart; 
 
 I yearn for a surcease of pain, 
 Begot of the pitiful struggle of life, 
 
 And the gall of ambition's rude chain. 
 I want to climb up till my head is awhirl. 
 
 And mj^ limbs are atreml^le and weak 
 With the effort of climbing, and then to lie down 
 
 And wait for an angel to seek 
 And to find and comfort me, saying: " Sleep on. 
 
 Wayward child of ambition. Be still, 
 Drink the dews of forget fulness, lotus and ease; 
 
 And the rest on this far-away hill." 
 I am tired of philosophies, science and art ; 
 
 I am sick to the soul of desire ; 
 I want to be idle in body and mind. 
 
 Never more to regret or aspire. 
 I am tired of l^ooks and of people — so tired ! — 
 
 And of church bells, and bonnets, and " calls " 
 I want to do nothing more conventional 
 
 Than a leaf when it withers and falls. 
 I want to lie tlown in the lush, tcnider grass, 
 
 ^^lth my head on my arms, and my eyes 
 Uplifted to nothingness, tranquil and vague, 
 
 In the soft china l)lue of these skies. 
 I want to count pebbles, hunt bird nests and flowers 
 
 And wade in some rockv-bed stream; 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 437 
 
 I want to do nothing for hours upon hours 
 
 But vegetate, shunber and dream. 
 Oh, life is a sorrowful thing at its best 
 
 To those who are keen to its pain, 
 Whose nerves are attuned to a sensitive key, 
 
 To suffer and suffer again ; 
 Never deaf to the sound of an every-day sigh. 
 
 Never dull to the sight of a tear ; 
 Awake to the deep undercurrent of woe 
 
 That sobs in the century's ear, 
 As the pilgrims of life tread the old beaten track, 
 
 And are patient to stumble and fall 
 By the wayside — or, what is more pitiful still. 
 
 Never know that they stumble at all. 
 But would we go back — we who suffer, but know - 
 
 To the old bliss of ignorance? aye. 
 To the dull, gross, bucolic, unthrilling, unmoved 
 
 Unfeeling existence? Not I — 
 
 h. H. 
 
 Watches, 
 
 HaUMGAERTNER : 
 
 DEALER IN 
 
 Clocks Jewelry and Diamonds 
 
 Spe( 
 
 DTACLES AND 
 
 ALSO 
 
 Musical Instruments 
 
 
 A. 
 
 West S 
 Pi 
 
 P. 
 
 REPa 
 
 1 J AYES. Practical Jeweler 
 
 iiRiNG Fine 
 
 Watches a Specialty 
 
 All 
 
 Work Done Fully Guaranteed 
 
 DE OF THE 
 
 iBLic Square 
 
 DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
438 
 
 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 Not you, fellow-thinker. "Better a worm, 
 
 And feed on the mulberry leaves 
 Of Daphne, than be a king's guest." So we part, 
 
 So we gather up, sighing, life's sheaves, 
 With the wheat and the tares intermingled therein. 
 
 And holding them fast, trudge along. 
 As purposeless, helpless, as fanciful, vague, 
 
 As the gist of this fanciful song. 
 
 The Following is a List of the Members of Capt. Ed. 
 Blythe's Militia Company sent in Subsequent to 
 Preparation of the Foregoing Material. 
 
 (See page 122.) 
 
 Jas. H. Morrison, 27. 
 Green A. Miller, 23. 
 McMaster, 18. 
 
 Jas. Barberee, 24. 
 W. A. H. Blackburn, 15. 
 Herbert Bailey, 24. 
 Jesse I. Bragg, 19. 
 Robert Brady, 41. 
 John N. Brady, 28. 
 
 Reuben Earp, 15. 
 
 Thomas J, Finley, 22. 
 Edward C. Fullingim, 25- 
 Y. F. Griffin, 19. 
 Wm. Gage, 23. 
 Henry Gorbett, 18. 
 
 Don Alonzo Heath, 30. 
 Johsua N. Harris, 20. 
 J. T. Halsell, 25. 
 Francis J. Hopkins, 22. 
 
 Wm. Jackson, 21. 
 Enos E. Jones, 35. 
 F. R. Kyes, 33. 
 
 Henry McNear, 23. 
 Wm. W. Majors, — 
 
 David Newman, 25. 
 Shepherd Neal, 34. 
 
 Isaac Routh, 17. 
 WuL Rogers, 17. 
 Thomas Rogers, 17. 
 
 Geo. C. Spear, 34. 
 Harrison Smith, 37. 
 Drayton D. Shirey, 31. 
 Wm. Stafford, 20. 
 
 Jas. Sanders, . 
 
 John P. Tate, 38. 
 
 John B. Williams, 38. 
 Miles Wilson, 19. 
 Wm. H. Wilson, 24. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 439 
 
 Local Surgeon 
 Ft. Worth & Denver City Ry. 
 
 J. J. INGRAM 
 
 IPb^stcian an& Surgeon 
 
 DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
 MEMBERS OF CAPT. ED. BLYTHE S MILITIA COMPANY. — CON T 
 
 Jas. H. Yarbrough, 35. 
 
 Wm. M. Colclassier, 23. 
 Daniel Cummins, 27. 
 
 Wm. L. Gates, . 
 
 Thos. H. Cousey, 19. 
 Wm. M. Carroll, 23. 
 Henry L. Collins, 17. 
 Wm. R. Collins, 22. 
 John Cummins, 23. 
 
 Edward A. Blythe, captain, 
 Robert C. Mount, 1st Lt. 
 
 Joel B. Head, 2d Lt.. 24. 
 Robert Earp, 3d Lt., 40. 
 
 Reuben Kelley, 1st Sergt., 44. 
 W. M. Standridge, 2d Sergt., 31. 
 Monroe E. Matthis, 3d Serg-t., 29. 
 Jeremiah Gage, 4th Sergt-., 46. 
 Jas. M. Adkins, 5th Sergt., 30. 
 
 John T. Waggoner, 1st Corp, 31. 
 Thos. King, 2d Corp, 29. 
 Wm. C. McCowan, 3d Corp, 37. 
 32. Benj. P. Russell, 4th Corp, 33. 
 Jas. N. Harris, bugler, 25. 
 
440 PIOXEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY 
 
 LIST OF SUCCEEDING COUNTY OFFICIALS. 
 
 A partial list of succeeding County Officials, beginning with 
 December 3rd, 1869, as indicated by records in Department of 
 State, Austin. List obtained through courtesy of Hon. John J, 
 Terrell, Commissioner of General Land Office, Austin. 
 
 (See first chapters for earliest officials.) 
 
 Granger Salmon : District Clerk. 
 
 G.W.Stevens Sheriff. 
 
 T. L. Stanfield Surveyor. 
 
 Neri Hobson Treasurer. 
 
 J. J. Boyd Registrar. 
 
 Neri Hobson 1 
 
 R. T. Rieger > Board of Appeals. 
 
 M. P. Ball J 
 
 W. J. Brown ^ Registrar, August 24th, 1871. 
 
 R.T. Rieger 
 
 Sewell Brown 
 
 J.J.Boyd 
 
 G. A. Miller 
 
 R. M. Collins Co. Treasurer, Nov. 8, 1872. 
 
 A. G. Crowell Surveyor. 
 
 R. G. Gates Sheriff, December 2, 1873. 
 
 S. M. Gose J. P. Free. No. 1, Dec. 2, 1873. 
 
 T. R. Allen J. P. Free. No. 2, Dec. 2, 1873. 
 
 C. C. Leonard J. P. Free. No. 5, Dec. 2, 1873. 
 
 P. P. R. Collom Surveyor. 
 
 Board of Appeals, 1872. 
 
 February 15, 1876. 
 
 J. W. Patterson County Judge. 
 
 W. W. Brady County Clerk. 
 
 J. W. Colb(>rt District Clerk. 
 
 Lee Newton County Attorney. 
 
 W. A. Anderson County Treasurer. 
 
 A. Devereux County Surveyor. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 441 
 
 1884-1908 
 
 J. Q. QOSE, S. M. QOSE, 
 
 Attorney At Law. Notary Public. 
 
 G05E BROS. 
 
 Attorneys At Law, 
 
 Real Estate, 
 Loan and Investment Agents. 
 
 Complete set of abstracts of all titles to Wise County 
 land in office. Abstracts of titles furnished on short 
 notice, Loans negotiated on real estate security on long 
 time and low rate of interest, vendors lien notes bought 
 and sold, deeds, mortgages, contracts, liens and other 
 legal papers prepared on short notice. 
 
 Special attention given to the investigation of land 
 titles and probate matters. 
 
442 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 LIST OF SUCCEEDING COUNTY OFFICIALS. — CON T 
 
 G. W. Stevens Sheriff and Collector of Taxes 
 
 J. W. Hogg Assessor of Taxes. 
 
 Lute Renshaw Inspector Hides and Animals. 
 
 J. D. White Co. Commissioner, Prec. No. 1. 
 
 C. J. Vanmeter Co. Commissioner, Prec. No. 2. 
 
 Wm. Mershon Co. Commissioner, Prec. No. 3. 
 
 E. L. Hodges Co. Commissioner, Prec. No. 4. 
 
 James Scarborough J. P. Prec. No. 1. 
 
 E. Farrington J. P. Prec. No. 2. 
 
 Adam Johnson J. P. Prec. No. 3. 
 
 B. F. Banks J. P. Prec. No. 4. 
 
 C. C. Leonard J. P. Prec. No. 5. 
 
 J. J. Marvick J. P. Prec. No. 6. 
 
 H. F. Hawkins J. P. Prec. No. 7. 
 
 November 5, 1878-1880. 
 
 W. H. Bullock County Judge. 
 
 W. W. Brady County Clerk. 
 
 W. D. Gose District Clerk. 
 
 J. W. Patterson. . . . -. County Attorne3^ 
 
 W. A. Anderson Treasurer. 
 
 A. Devereux Surveyor. 
 
 John W. Hogg Sheriff and Col. Taxes. 
 
 C. C. Leonard .Assessor of Taxes. 
 
 W. A. Perrin Inspector, Hide.s and Animals. 
 
 R. H. Beall J. P. Prec. No. 1. 
 
 E. Farrington I. P. Prec. No. 2. 
 
 W. B. Smith J. P. Prec. No. 3. 
 
 Marcus Wilner J. P. Prec. No. 4. 
 
 Amos Finch J. P. Prec. No. f). 
 
 C. W. Clifton J. P. Prec. No. (). 
 
 H. F. Hawkins J. P. Prec. No. 7. 
 
 B. W. Mann J. P. Prec. No. 8. 
 
 J. D. White Co. Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 J. A. Neafus Co. Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 W. B. Austin Co. Connnissioner No. 3. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 443 
 
 pvibc of Decatur'' 
 
 44 
 
 44 
 
 pcvtcction" . . . 
 
 THE two above brands represent 
 the best of the milling art 
 
 in flour 
 
 They are turned out by the un- 
 excelled machinery of our mill, and 
 are made from the best wheat 
 
 obtainable 
 
 Breadmaking of all kinds is an 
 easy and therefore satisfactory process 
 when our flours are used ♦ . . . 
 The superiority of our mill and 
 methods may be depended upon to 
 keep our products up to the standard 
 of best 
 
 Cillard milling Company 
 
 . . . Decatur, Cexa$ . . . 
 
444 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 LIST OF SUCCEEDING COUNTY OFFICIALS. — CON't 
 
 November 2, 1880-1882. 
 
 S. H. Hodges County Judge. 
 
 W. W. Brady County Clerk. 
 
 W. D. Gose District Clerk. 
 
 J. W. Patterson County Attorney. 
 
 W. A. Anderson Treasurer. 
 
 J. J. Terrell Surveyor. 
 
 T. R.Allen Sheriff. 
 
 Geo. W. Stevens Assessor of Taxes. 
 
 Amos Finch Collector of Taxes. 
 
 T. E. Lovelace Inspector Hides and Animals. 
 
 S.S.Cobb J. P. No. 1. 
 
 W. C. Turner J. P. No. 2. 
 
 W. B. Smith J. P. No. 3. 
 
 Wm. Netherland J. P. No. 4. 
 
 J. R.Baker ■ J. P. No. 5. 
 
 S.W.Snyder J. P. No. 6. 
 
 T. Merriman J. P. No. 7. . 
 
 F. M. Strange J. P. No. 8. ' 
 
 W. F. Burton Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 A. Hodges Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 Joel Burrow Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 Joe Stephens Commissioner No. 7. 
 
 November 7, 1882-1884. 
 
 Geo. B. Pickett County Judge. 
 
 John W. Hogg County Clerk. 
 
 John J. Terrell District Clerk. 
 
 Lee Newton County Attorney. 
 
 Fred L. Mershon County Treasurer. 
 
 Geo. C. Wilton Surveyor. 
 
 Thos. R.Allen Sheriff. 
 
 C. C. Leonard Assessor. 
 
 Amos Finch Collector. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 445 
 
 Wise County Messenger 
 
 ESTABLISHED J 880 
 
 The oldest and most widely circulated weekly on 
 Fort Worth and Denver Railroad 
 
 DEMOCRATIC IN PRINCIPLE 
 
 PROGRESSIVE IN SPIRIT 
 
 The Messenger accepts advertising 
 on the guarantee that it has more 
 bona fide circulation among the 
 buying classes in Decatur and Wise 
 County than any other paper pub- 
 lished in this section 
 
 FIRST IN NEWS 
 
 FIRST IN CIRCULATION 
 
 FIRST IN EVERYTHING 
 
 PUBLISHED BY 
 
 COLLINS and SMITH 
 
 DECATUR, TEXAS 
 
446 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 LIST OF SUCCEEDING COUNTY OFFICIALS. — CON't 
 
 Jas. T. Allen Inspector, Hides and Animals. 
 
 S.S.Cobb J. P. No. 1. 
 
 J. T. Johnson J. P. No. 2. 
 
 W. Nethcrland J. P. No. 3. 
 
 M. W. Baker J. P. No. 4. 
 
 L.L.Ward J. P. No. 5. 
 
 S. W. Snyder J. P. No. 6. 
 
 T. Morriman J. P. No. 7. 
 
 D. P. Newsome J. P. No. 8. 
 
 John Crutchfield Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 J. H. Hanks Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 J. L. Crawford Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 W. A. Killough Commissioner No. 4. 
 
 November 4, 1884-1886. 
 
 W. W. Brady County Judge. 
 
 H. L. Ward County Clerk. 
 
 Will A. Miller Clerk, District Court. ■ 
 
 R, E. Carswell.' County Attorney. 
 
 F. L. Mershon County Treasurer. 
 
 Geo. C. Wilton .' Surveyor. 
 
 A. Dunlap Tax Assessor. 
 
 Amos Finch Tax Collector. 
 
 J. W. Embry J. P. No. 1. 
 
 J. E. Cochran J. P. No. 2. 
 
 A. G. Browning J. P. No. 3. 
 
 J.M.Smith J. P. No. 4. 
 
 T. S. Gardner J. P. No. 5. 
 
 P. W. Minter J. P. No. 6. 
 
 H. F. Hawkins J. P. No. 7. 
 
 D. P. Newsome J. P. No. 8. 
 
 W. P. Russell Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 J. H. Hanks Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 A. E. Barksdale Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 W. H. Mashon Commissioner No. 4. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 447 
 
 T. J. MANN G. W. STEPHENSON J. LEE MANN 
 
 MANN & CO. 
 
 PARADISE, TEXAS 
 
 Dry Goods, Groceries 
 Cigars, Tobacco, Etc. 
 
 COUNTRY PRODUCE BOUGHT AND SOLD 
 
 OUR stock is kept equipped 
 up-to-date. By long resi- 
 dence among you we feel 
 that we appreciate the needs of our 
 customers. We buy to sell, and 
 that means we buy good goods as 
 cheaply as possible and sell them 
 to you the same way. Make 
 our store your headquarters. 
 
448 PIOXEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 list of succeeding county officials. — con t 
 
 November 2, 1886-1888. 
 
 W. W. Braily County Judge. 
 
 H. L. Ward County Clerk. 
 
 W.. A. Miller District Clerk. 
 
 R. E. Carswell .County Attorney. 
 
 L. K. Pounds County Treasurer. 
 
 J. W. Tyler County Surveyor. 
 
 W. J. Mann County Sheriff. 
 
 W. D. Paschall Tax Assessor. 
 
 D. W. Frazer Tax Collector. 
 
 J. W. Embry J. P. No. 1. 
 
 J. A. Hodges J. P. No. 2. 
 
 T. F. Carden J. P. No. 3. 
 
 J.M.Smith'. J. P. No. 4. 
 
 T. S. Gardner J. P. No. 5. 
 
 R.D.Bailey J. P. No. 6. 
 
 H. F. Hawkins J. P. No. 7. 
 
 W. A. Shawn J. P. No. 8. 
 
 W. P. Russell Co. Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 J. J. Gaut Co. Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 A. E. Barksdale Co. Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 Joel Burrow Co. Commissioner No. 4. 
 
 November 6, 1888-1890. 
 
 W. H. Bullock County Judge. 
 
 C. J. Crabb County Clerk. 
 
 S. G. Tankersley District Clerk. 
 
 T. J. McMurray County Attorney. 
 
 L. K. Pounds Treasurer. 
 
 Will H. Price Surveyor. 
 
 W S.Gilbert. Sheriff. 
 
 W. D. Paschall Tax Assessor. 
 
 B. W. Mann Tax Collector. 
 
 H. F. Anderson J. P. No. 1. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 449 
 
 ESTABLISHED 1887 
 
 Published by L. H. MILLER 
 
 The Alvord Budget 
 
 Issued in the best farming section of Wise County 
 
 Subscription price Sl.OO the year 
 
 PE/^T JOP IFMlKITJiQi 
 
 IS OUR HOBBY 
 
 XLhc Chico IRcvicw 
 
 JUNE P. MILLER, Editor and Publisher 
 
 Published at Chico on Rock Island Ry. 
 
 A first-class paper published in 
 an enterprising community 
 
 Democratic in principle. Established J 892 
 
 CIRCULATION 1200 
 
 29 
 
450 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 LIST OF SUCCEEDING COUNTY OFFICIALS. — CON T 
 
 J. M. Spcnerr J. P. No. 2. 
 
 J. T. Litchfield J. P. No. 3. 
 
 W. J. N. Welborn J. P. No. 4. 
 
 A.C.Hill J. P. No. 5. 
 
 J. G. Summers . . J. P. No. 0. 
 
 P. W. Tmmell J. P. No. 7. 
 
 0. M. Hancock J. P. No. 8. 
 
 J. P. Fullingini Co. Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 J. S. Berry Co. Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 Joel BmTOw Co. Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 C. B. Wood Co. Commissioner No. 4. 
 
 November 4, 1890-1892. 
 
 J. T. Johnson County Judge. 
 
 T. W. Brown County Clerk. 
 
 Sam G. Tankersley District Clerk. 
 
 T. J. McMurray County Attorney. 
 
 J. M. Gibbs Treasurer. 
 
 J. E. Boyett "... Surveyor. 
 
 J. L. Rucker Sheriff.' 
 
 J. Wash. Davis Tax Assessor. 
 
 H. F. Hawkins Tax Collector. 
 
 H. F. Anderson J. P. No. 1. 
 
 S.G. Leslie. J. P. No. 2. 
 
 S.F.Green J. P. No. 3. 
 
 W. E. Burrow J. P. No. 4. 
 
 G. W. Watkins J. P. No. 5. 
 
 S. A. Vandiver J. P. No. 6. 
 
 J. T. Buckaloo J. P. No. 7. 
 
 G. W. Walker J. P. No. 8. 
 
 J. P. Fullingim Co. Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 A. G. Henderson Co. Conniiissioner No. 2. 
 
 C. C. Leonard Co. Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 W. A. Shawn Co. Commissioner No. 4. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 451 
 
 JIM B. THOMAS 
 
 " LEADS IN :^r^z^ =r^ 
 
 Dry Goods, Clothing, 
 Boots, Shoes, Etc. 
 
 THE BARGAIN HOUSE OF ALVORD. ATTRACTIVE 
 OFFERINGS OF SUPERIOR GOODS AT ALL SEASONS 
 OF THE YEAR. COME AND INVESTIGATE .^ j* 
 
 WE ALSO SELL A HIGH-GRADE SEWING MACHINE 
 WHICH YOU SHOULD SEE ^ ^ ^ jt ^ jt jt 
 
 ALVORD - - TEXAS 
 
 ADCOCK and THOMAS 
 
 DEALERS IN STAPLE AND FANCY 
 GROCERIES, FEED, SEED AND 
 SEASONABLE PRODUCE . . . 
 
 WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOUR TRADE AND 
 OFFER HONEST INDUCEMENTS TO GET IT 
 
 ALVORD = = = TEXAS 
 
452 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 LIST OF SUCCEEDING COUNTY OFFICIALS. CON't 
 
 November 8, 1892-1894. 
 
 County Judge, County Clerk, Treasurer, Surveyor, Sheriff, 
 Tax Assessor, Tax Collector, J. P. No. 7, same. 
 
 J. C. Casey District Clerk. 
 
 C. V. Terrell County Attorney. 
 
 J. A. Tankersley J. P. Nc l. 
 
 J. H. Hanks J. P. No. 2. 
 
 R. F. Harbev J. P. No. 3. 
 
 T. L.Taylor J. P. No. 4. 
 
 J. S. Proctor J. P. No. 5. 
 
 T.J. Dillehay J. P. No. (i. 
 
 H. C. Brown J. P. No. 8. 
 
 John H. Wallace Co. Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 W. J. Leach Co. Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 A. B. Russ(41 Co. Connnissioner No. 3. 
 
 W. P. Collier Co. Connnissioner No. 4. 
 
 November (i, 1894-189(). 
 
 R. F. Spencer County Judge. 
 
 M. L. Hamilton County Clerk. 
 
 J. C. Casey District Clerk. 
 
 C. V. Terrell County Attorney. 
 
 J. C. Caldwx'll County Treasurer.- 
 
 J. G. Browi'i Surveyor. 
 
 John Moore Sheriff. 
 
 AVm. Spear Tax Assessor. 
 
 C. B. Gunn Tax Collector. 
 
 J. A. Tankersley : . . J. P. No. 1. 
 
 R. H. Revnolds J. P. No. 2. 
 
 W.H.Harvey J. P. No. 3. 
 
 B.F.Banks J. P. No. 4. 
 
 J. S. Proctor J. P. No. 5. 
 
 T. A. Vandivcr J. P. No. (>. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 453 
 
 Lillard & Johnston 
 
 Wholesale and Retail 
 
 Hardware, 
 Agricultural Implements, 
 
 Saddlery, Harness, 
 
 Queens ware, Tinware, 
 
 Glassware, Etc* 
 
 Awf/naDeca... Mvord, Tcxas 
 
 Wares of all kinds to suit the seasons 
 Implements for all kinds of work 
 Make our store your headquarters 
 
454 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 LIST OF SUCCEEDING COUNTY OFFICIALS. — CON't 
 
 T. Merriman J. P. No. 7. 
 
 H. C. Brown J. P. No. 8. 
 
 John H. Wallace •. . . .Co. Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 J. W. Boone : Co. Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 A. B. Russell Co. Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 S. A. Keen Co. Commissioner No. 4. 
 
 November 3, 1896-1898. 
 
 J. T. Johnson County Judge. 
 
 M. L. Hamilton County Clerk, 
 
 John E. Boyd District Clerk. 
 
 J. T. Buckaloo County Attorney. 
 
 J. C. Caldwell County Treasurer, 
 
 J. A. Elder Surveyor. 
 
 J. W. Moore Sheriff. 
 
 Wm. Spear Tax Assessor. 
 
 C. B. Gunn Tax Collector, 
 
 J. A. Tankersley J. P. No. 1. 
 
 R. H. Reynolds J. P. No. 2. 
 
 H. H. Wells J. P. No. 3. 
 
 J. P. No. 4. 
 
 J. S. Proctor J. P. No. 5. 
 
 T. A. Vandiver J. P. No. 6. 
 
 T. Merriman J. P. No. 7. 
 
 A.L.Boyd J. P. No. 8. 
 
 W. R. Hart Co. Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 Eli Tibbetts Co. Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 W. D. Paschall Co. Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 J. A. Nail Co. Commissioner No. 4. 
 
 November 8, 1898-1900. 
 
 S. G. Tankersley County Judge. 
 
 Guinn Williams County Clerk. 
 
 John E. Boyd District Clerk. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 455 
 
 LIST OF SUCCEEDING COUNTY OFFICIALS.— CON T 
 
 J. T. Biickaloo. . County Attorney. 
 
 A. D. Rogers County Treasurer. 
 
 J. A. Elder County Surveyor. 
 
 T. F. McClurc Sheriff. 
 
 J. D. Allgood Tax Assessor. 
 
 Sam P. Parks Tax Collector. 
 
 H. D. Spencer J. P. No. 1. 
 
 D.W. Purcell J. P. No. 2. 
 
 Jerry McKay J. P. No. 3. 
 
 J. S. Solomon J. P. No. 4. 
 
 J. S. Proctor J. P. No. 5. 
 
 T. A. Vandiver J. P. No. 6. 
 
 W. H. Kirkpatrick. J. P. No. 7. 
 
 A. T. Boyd J. P. No. 8. , 
 
 G. G. Neilson Co. Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 L. E. Tibbetts Co. Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 W. D. Paschall Co. Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 J. D. Hamilton Co. Commissioner No. 4. 
 
 November 6, 1900-1902. 
 
 S. G. Tankersley County Judge. 
 
 Guinn Williams County Clerk. 
 
 Carl Faith District Clerk. 
 
 Frank J. Ford County Attorney. 
 
 A. D. Rogers Treasurer. 
 
 A, Devereux Surveyor. 
 
 T. F. McClure ; . . . .Sheriff. 
 
 E. 0. Lively Tax Assessor. 
 
 Sam Parks Tax Collector. 
 
 H. D. Spencer J. P. No. 1. 
 
 Dan Purcell .J. P. No. 2. 
 
 J. M. McKay J. P. No. 3. 
 
 J. S. Soloman J. P. No. 4. 
 
 J. S. Proctor J. P. No. 5. 
 
 T. A. Vandiver J. P. No. 6. 
 
45() PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 LIST OF SUCCEEDING COUNTY OFFICIALS. — CON T 
 
 W. H. Kirkpatrick J. P. No. 7. 
 
 J.W.Walker J. P. No. 8. 
 
 G. G. Neilson Co. Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 J. C. Frazier. . . Co. Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 Ben F. Martin Co. Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 I. J. Hartsell Co. Conmiissioner No. 4. 
 
 November 14, 1902-1904. 
 
 John G. Gose Comity Judge. 
 
 T. J. Dillehay Comity Clerk. 
 
 Carl Faith District Clerk. 
 
 F. J. Ford County Attorney. 
 
 J. R. Davenport County Treasurer. 
 
 A. Devereux Surveyor. 
 
 J. L. Cearley Sheriff. 
 
 E. 0. Lively Tax Assessor. 
 
 R. C. Mount Tax Collector. 
 
 E.M.Allison J. P. No. 1. 
 
 T.Ira Pirtle J. P. No. 2. 
 
 Jerry McKay J. P. No. 3. 
 
 J. B. Banks J. P. No. 4. 
 
 A. A. Brown J. P. No. 5. 
 
 G. B. McCarty J. P. No. 6. 
 
 M. W. Cannon J. P. No. 7. 
 
 J.W.Walker J. P. No. 8. 
 
 A. R. Drake Co. Commissioner No. 1. 
 
 J. C. Frazi(M- Co. Commissioner No. 2. 
 
 I. J. Hartsell Co. Commissioner No. 3. 
 
 B. F. Martin Co. Commissioner No. 4. 
 
 November 8, 1904-190(5. 
 
 County Judge, County Clerk, Sheriff, Tax Collector, County 
 Treasurer, County Surveyor and Justice of Peace, same. 
 
 D. W. Cooper Assessor of Taxes. 
 
 H. D. Spencer County Attorney. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 457 
 
 LIST OF SUCCEEDING COUNTY OFFICIALS. — CON't 
 
 1906-1908. 
 
 C. V. Terrell County Judge. 
 
 H. E. Brady County Clerk. 
 
 Ben Short Co. Supt. Instruction. 
 
 Carl Faith District Clerk. 
 
 H. D. Spencer County Attorney. 
 
 J.M.Branch Sheriff. 
 
 J. Wash. Davis Treasurer. 
 
 C. C. Henderson Tax Collector. 
 
 D. W. Cooper Tax Assessor. 
 
 A. Devereux Surveyor. 
 
 T. L. St. Clair ^ 
 
 I.J. Hartsell 1 
 
 D. R. D. Pruett [ County Connnissioners. 
 
 J. M. Portwood 
 
 J. A. Tankersley J. P. No. 1. 
 
 W. M. Workman Constable. 
 
 FOUNDING OF BRIDGEPORT. 
 
 February 11, 1860, might be termed the -date of the founding 
 of the old town of Bridgeport. On this date Col. Hunt and 
 others of Wise County secured for the West Fork Bridge Co. a 
 charter from the state to put a bridge across West Fork River 
 at a point in i\w neighborhood of the old town of Bridgeport. 
 This was in })ursuance of an agreement which had been entered 
 into by Hunt et al, and the Overland Transcontinental Mail Co., 
 which l^argained to change the route of the mail line to run 
 through Decatur and thence to Bridgeport instead of traversing 
 the northern section of the county as originally it had done. 
 
 Hunt and others agreed also to put a bridge across Sandy 
 Creek as well as the West Fork River, and to open up a travcn- 
 sibla highway from Decatur via Bridgeport to Jack County line. 
 
458 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 The bridge across Sandy Creek was made of logs resting on 
 stone columns with logs split and pegged down for floor. Cotton- 
 wood sleepers were used in the West Fork bridge, which after- 
 wards sprung out of shape and fell into the river. The old site 
 of Bridgeport was soon decorated with a small building in which 
 a typical pioneer saloon — the Buckhoi'ii — was conducted. 
 Another small building was erected and a store started therein. 
 Pierce Woodward, a citizen of the community, then gave the 
 place the name of Bridgeport, to which the town, although 
 changed from the original location, has clung. 
 
 Thus is the first chapter of the founding of Bridgeport — ante 
 helium Bridgeport. But there are other chapters. The war 
 came up and the mail route was abandoned and the bridge 
 became useless. It soon fell into the river. 
 
 Upon the declaration of peace, the United States Government 
 soon as possible took charge again of the frontier garrisons. A 
 large post was built at Jacksboro called Ft. Richardson. Large 
 quantities of supplies were needed for Ft. Richardson, and had 
 to be transported overland from the east. The necessity of 
 another bridge at Bridgeport to facilitate theii* hauling was 
 apparent. Chas. D. Cates was then a merchant at Decatur 
 and saw the commercial value of bridging the river at Bridgeport. 
 In association with J. W. Hale, he secured a second charter 
 from the state and built a second bridge at a cost of $5,500.00, 
 at the former site of the old structure. Additionally, the old 
 town was laid out into streets and lots; a combined saw and 
 grist mill and cotton gin was erected and a store established. A 
 toll of $1.00 for wagon and teams and fifty cents for horsemen 
 was charged for crossing the bridge. Supplies for Ft. Richardson 
 were shipped by railroad to Denison, and thence hauled overland 
 via Bridgeport to Jacksboro. Money was made from the bridge 
 enterprise. Mr. Cates then began to buy up land in the vicinity 
 of Bridgeport and soon had 2,000 acres under control. Coal 
 was then discovered to underlie the land and a pioneer company 
 was organized to develop the mines. In this company were 
 some of the okl time well-known men of Wise County — J. C. 
 Carpenter, J. G. Halsell, J. J. Lang, H. Greathouse, D. Waggoner 
 and C. D. Cates. The mines were worked perfunctorily until the 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 459 
 
 building of the Rock Island Railway into the section, when the 
 plant was expanded and the output became profitable. 
 
 But we must return now to date May 1, 1873, when a great 
 celebration took place to dedicate the new bridge. The celebra- 
 tion occurred in the vicinity of the bridge, and was participated 
 in by the elect of the towns of Jacksboro and Decatur. The 
 contingent of the latter town consisted of all the belles and 
 beaux of the place — ^the former in shining white May Day 
 attire; also the more sedate population and a big brass band. 
 The Jacksboro contingent, besides its smartest citizenship, con- 
 sisted of a squad of 150 dress uniformed United States soldiers 
 from Ft. Richardson. Henry Thompson, a well-known citizen 
 of Jacksboro, had charge of the Jacksboro end of the ceremonies. 
 
 May 1st, 1873, arrived. The Decatur and Jacksboro people 
 left for the scene. The whole country was there. When the 
 Decatur people arrived they stopped at their end of the briclge and 
 formed a procession to march across. The band was placed 
 first and the young ladies in dresses of snow came after. 
 The band struck up a martial air and the procession started. 
 A, thrill was in the air. Everybody was prancing and march- 
 ing, when presently a momentary spasm of fear shot through 
 the Decatur folks. They looked to the other end of the 
 bridge and the 150 soldiers were bearing dowji on them 
 with guns. For an instant the crowd shrank away, but 
 then it looked again and smiled. The guns of the gallant 
 soldiers were bottles and in the bottles was the finest of 
 champagne. Another such welcome they never received. 
 The dancing was then begun. Two styles of dancing was en- 
 gaged in — that which may be now called the old, but then the 
 new, which was square dancing. The other was the style just 
 then coming into vogue in high society — waltzing and ractiueting. 
 An itinerant dancing professor had been through the larger 
 pioneer towns and taught the new vogue. The " Committee on 
 Order," composed largely of citizens who knew nothing of the 
 " vogue " called a halt that day on the new style and said it 
 must be stopped, that it lacked something of being perfectly 
 proper. A troublous time ensued, and the adepts of the vogue ' 
 were sorely aggrieved. But finally the believers in the old way 
 
460 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 were convinced, were shown that the " new " had obtained in 
 high society, and yielded their prejudices, and the dance went on. 
 
 The day was a grand celebration to the new convenience to 
 travel. Oratory flowed forth, beeves were killed and barbecued, 
 the band blared constantly and (niergetically, and individual 
 spirits ran high. The occasion is remembeerd as one of the 
 memorable functions of the time. 
 
 Thus was the inception of old Bridgeport. The big, bustling, 
 busy Bri(lge])ort of the present, came to life when the Rock 
 Island Railway was built through that section of the county, 
 upwards of a decade ago. The track was laid perhaps a mile 
 east of th(^ old town, and the old town moved over to it, antl has 
 grown into a large, prosperous place filled with enterprising 
 modern people. The coal mines have been developed to full 
 capacity, bringing in many miners' families and an enterprising 
 commercial pouplation attracted by the large monthly pay roll. 
 The rich natural lands are being developed and small mills and 
 plants started. Bridgeport is one of the best towns on the 
 lower Rock Island Railroad, and no places promise more for the 
 future. Besides its natural advantages it has a hustling array 
 of merchants and a commercial organization — The 5,000 Club — 
 to keep it climbing the path of {)rogress. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 461 
 
 A. B. CONLEY, JR. 
 
 EVERY town of enterprise sports some kind of 
 commercial or [business organization, and at the 
 head of such organization may be looked for the 
 man who best represents the enterprise and progressive 
 spirit of the community. A. B. Conley, Jr., of Bridgeport, 
 is the President of the Bridgeport 5000 Club, and thus 
 stands the personality in whom is identified the action 
 and energy of the town. The present Bridgeport is not 
 an old town, but Mr. Conley wields control over the oldest 
 established concern in the place, which is a large general 
 merchandise store now at the height of its prosperity. 
 
 Mr. Conley is a native of Louisiana, born in Grant 
 Parish, April 7th, 1878, but spent his early years in Ten- 
 nessee, at Milan, where he attended the common schools 
 of the town. He came to Wise County with his parents, 
 Dr. and Mrs. A. B. Conley, of Decatur, in 1888. Dr. Conley 
 was for many years a merchant at Decatur and elsewhere 
 and gave his boy a comprehensive training in the details 
 of buying and selling, to which was added a collegiate 
 education gained at the University of Kentucky. 
 
 At Lexington, Ky., in LS94, Mr. Conley married one 
 of Kentucky's fair daughters, who was Miss Nannie 
 McAndrew. To them have been born six children 
 with names as follows: Ernest, Marion, Elmer, Frances, 
 A. B. Jr., and Virginia. 
 
 Mr. Conley's success in business has been rapid, 
 which is illustrative of the estimation in which he is held 
 by the buying public of Bridgeport and vicinity. Only 
 recently he has turned his attention to investments in 
 Wise County lands and quite singularly enough his first 
 investment was placed in the historical farm where the 
 Babb family was massacred. Soon after he leased part 
 of this property to the Ft. W. & D.C. R'y for a stone or 
 ballast quarry, from which Mr. Conley derives a hand- 
 some revenue. The general business interests of Bridgeport 
 are safe in the hands of the President of the 5000 Club. 
 
462 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 L. D. KIRKPATRICK 
 
 Furniture, 
 Carpets, Mattings 
 and_Undertaker s Goods 
 
 A complete stock of the newest and best goods of the 
 latest designs. Call and look over our store, be convinced 
 of the high quality of our stock and the reasonableness 
 of the prices, at which they are offered. 
 
 BRIDGEPORT, TE XAS. 
 
 B. B. POO R K 
 
 Druooist 
 
 BRIDGEPORT, TEXAS 
 
 The growth of our business is satisfactory 
 to us, and reflects that the people of this 
 community have discovered where to find 
 entire satisfaction in buying drugs and 
 other articles of our trade 
 
 WE KEEP ALL STAPLE DRUGS 
 
 AND CAREFULLY FILL PRESCRIPTIONS 
 WE HANDLE PAINTS, OILS AND GLASS 
 
 OUR JEWELRY DEPARTMENT IS COMPLETE 
 VISIT OUR SODA FOUNTAIN 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 
 
 463 
 
 Cbe li)m Coumv Tndex 
 
 The Boyd Index. Established October 3, 1893; 
 
 The Bridgeport Index, Estabhshed July 4, 1902; 
 
 Consolidated November 8, 1907, 
 
 Orion Procter _ _ . Editor; 
 J. S. Procter and Edgar Procter, Associates 
 
 Published Weekly at One Dollar Per Year by 
 
 Index Publisbing Company 
 
 - Bridgeport and Boyd, Cexa« ■ 
 
464 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY 
 
 Z. F. mifBBB 
 
 (KEGISTERKD) 
 
 aroaa^ist 
 
 prescript ioos Frilled at all hours 
 
 Also Optical Goods, Combs, Brushes, Paints, Oils, 
 Wall Paper, Window Glass, Watches, Clocks 
 Jewelry, News Stand, Musical Instruments, School 
 Books, School Supplies, Fine Confectioneries, 
 Stationery and Perfumery, Soda Fountain. In fact 
 everything usually kept in a firstclass drug store 
 
 ;KI©©SP@MT, TBXMS 
 
 POEMS BY BELLE HUNT SHORTRIDGE, 
 MY SISTER. 
 
 (Kate Hunt Cr.\dixk"K.) ! 
 
 I have the sweetest haven 
 
 Of any coast on earth ; 
 Where not a breaker heaveth. 
 
 Nor any wind has birth. 
 The secret? Listen, do not start — 
 My sister's heart ! 
 
 I have the bkiest hea\'eii 
 
 That ever leaned o'er sea ; 
 The cahnest, clearest sky-world 
 
 To bend and smile on nuv 
 Soft! it is too, a great surprise — 
 My sister's eyes ! 
 
advi:rtisements. 465 
 
 I have a lani}) Alladin, 
 
 Most connnoiiplace and small ; 
 You'd see it every day, niO!<t, 
 
 And wonder not at all. 
 Yet it invokes the genii band — 
 My sister's hand ! 
 
 I have the prettiest picture, 
 
 That smiles and frowns and nods. 
 The canvas is — my memory! 
 
 The painter's hand was — God's! 
 It follows me from place to place — 
 My sister's face ! 
 
 There is " another of me 
 
 With all the bad rubbed out." 
 The spirit seems my spirit. 
 
 Yet, it is gird about 
 With light and beauty wonderful ! — 
 My sister-soul! 
 
 PARADISE, TEX. 
 
 Paradise is a thriving little Wise County town located oh the 
 Rock Island Railway, in a rich country in the southwest part of 
 the county. Bill Anderson erected a store on Paradise Prairie 
 in 1873. Charlie Jones put up a blacksmith and wood shop 
 about the same time. This was the beginning of the old town 
 which has since been moved a short distance to the railroad. 
 It is now thickly surrounded with good enterprising people. 
 The town has grown, and good schools, churches, banks and 
 business houses have increased in number. 
 
 30 
 
466 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY, 
 
 J. T. MORTON J. W. WOOD 
 
 MORTON & WOOD 
 
 PARADISE, TEXAS 
 
 DEALERS IN 
 
 Hardwa^'e, Irnple^nents, Buggies. 
 Wagons, Furniture and Coffins 
 
 HONEST GOODS AT HONEST PRICES 
 
 We invite an inspection of our Stock which is season- 
 able at all times. We keep constantly on the lookout 
 for bargains to offer you. 
 
 CALL AND SEE US 
 
 WISE COUNTY'S FIRST NEWSPAPER. 
 
 Taking into account the time, place and manner of starting, 
 the establishment of Wise County's pioneer newspaper, is a 
 testimonial to the genius and enterprise of the conquering race 
 of Americans. Two years before the fierce warwhoop of the 
 savage had died a death of stillness in the quiet forests of this 
 wild county, the song of the printing press had been set up to 
 chant triumphant anthems of praise in behalf of liberty, prog- 
 ress and development, The pioneer editor was Tom Ed. 
 Bomar, a veteran newspaper editor, now living in Sherman, 
 Texas, in retrospective enjoyment of an earnest and well spent 
 hfe. 
 
 Mr. Bomar came out to this frontier from Sherman in the 
 wake of that wave of progress that rolled over the land after 
 civil war had fought to its own extinguishment and after sav- 
 age depredation had somewhat abated. This was in the early 
 seventies. He came across the wild country a horseback in the 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 467 
 
 spring glory of the year, and his description of the grandeur of 
 the scenery that met his gaze has been, in part, quoted in the 
 introduction to this book. 
 
 Touching upon his arrival in Decatur and his subsequent 
 establishment of the ''Advance Guard," the pioneer paper, Mr. 
 Bomar says: 
 
 "Upon my arrival at Decatur I was directed to the Decatur 
 Hotel, a single story, double building, which, if my memory 
 serves me right, was a part frame and part log structure, con- 
 ducted by Captain A. H. Shoemaker, where I was entertained 
 in the most hospitable old-time Texas manner. 
 
 The "Advance Guard." 
 
 After a good night's rest I started out the next morning to 
 interview the citizens of the little frontier town upon the sub- 
 ject of establishing a newspaper, and found them fully awake to 
 the advantages of such an enterprise. Among the first men I 
 met in front of the old Collins and Waggoner store on the west 
 side of the sc^uare, were Charles D. Cates, R. M. (Bob) Collins, 
 and Uncle Sewell Brown, to whom I was presented by Captain 
 Shoemaker. It only took about five minutes to make us 
 friends, and it was agreed that we should see other citizens in 
 company. Among the men I met that clay were those men- 
 tioned, together with Jack Brown, Charles More, Ceph Woods, 
 Col. Bishop, Samuel L. Terrell, J. D. White, John W. Hogg, 
 Granger Salmon, Clabe Cates, Col. Ggorge Pickett, Clay Fer- 
 guson, Dr. T. H. Griffin, Dr. Wm. Renshaw, and quite a num- 
 ber of others who lived in and near Decatur, whose kindness 
 and warm friendships I have never forgotten, and which will 
 last beyond the shores of time. The unanimous verdict was 
 "start the paper." 
 
 All preliminaries being satisfactorily settled, I returned to 
 Sherman, bought an equipmejit, and in September removed my 
 family to Decatur, and opened up for "great things" in the 
 newspaper line, using the northeast room of the old wooden 
 courthouse for a printing office. Here, on the 5th dsiv of Octo- 
 
468 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 ber, 1872, the first number of the "Advance Guard" was issued, 
 the little room being filled to crowding with friends anxious to 
 witness its "birth." 
 
 The original copy of the paper has been retained by Mr. Bo- 
 mar as a prized possession, but in the following letter he has 
 most generously consigned same to the Old Settlers' Associa- 
 tion of this County for preservation : 
 
 Sherman, Texas, Nov. 27, 190G. 
 Cliff D. Gates, 
 
 Decatur, Texas : 
 
 My Dear Sir — 
 
 Complying with your request I herewith hand you the first 
 newspaper ever pulled from a printing press in Wise County. 
 This relic of my boyhood days I have prized as almost price- 
 less, but since you proffer to give it such care, and to make it 
 a part of the archives of the Early Settlers' Association of Wise 
 County, I cheerfully place.it in your keeping, hoping that the 
 generations of today and of the future may, as they look on its 
 time-soiled pages, be filled with reverence for the noble men 
 and women who were its friends and supporters. 
 
 Your faithful friend, 
 
 Tom Bomar. 
 
 The paper is of date Saturday, October 5, 1872, its appro- 
 priate motto being "Westward the Star of Empire Takes Its 
 Way," its contents being spread out on four pages of six 
 colunms each. The rates of advertising are estimated by 
 squares and columns, one square running for one month cost- 
 ing $3.00, while a half colunm for one month netted S25.00, 
 and for six months, $00.00 It is stated that those who adver- 
 tise by the year will be allowed to change copy quarterly, and 
 that payments are due quarterly in advance; also, that all legal 
 advertisements must be i)aid for in advance. 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 469 
 
 C. C. Hawkins H. F. Hawkins 
 
 Hawkins Brothers 
 
 Dealers in 
 
 Hardware, Btiggies, 
 Wagons, Groceries, 
 Agriculhcral hnplements, 
 Furnittire, Twi7tes, Oils, 
 Pumps, Wind Mills 
 
 Chico - - - Texas 
 
 Agents for J . I . Case Threshing Machine Company 
 
470 PIONEER HISTORY OF WISE COUNTY. 
 
 The title of the paper is ^'The Decatur Advance Guards Be- 
 tween the words Advance and Guard stands or runs a raih'oad 
 passenger train, and above the train are the words "The" and 
 "Decatur." The general make-up of the paper would be credit- 
 able to any town of Wise County today. Its editorials reflect 
 timely topics, and are well written, and the typograpliical ar- 
 rangement is clear, clean and tastefully displayed. Some very 
 interesting things appear on the editorial page; for instance, 
 the paper is printed a month previous to a Presidential elec- 
 tion, and in the announcement column appears the following: 
 
 Come, let us cheer with lusty throat. 
 The man who wears a long white coat, 
 And in November let us vote 
 For honest Horace Greeley. 
 
 It is a "reform" ticket the editor is urging as "the surest 
 thing to beat Grant." Horace Greeley of New York is an- 
 nounced for President; B. Gratz Brown of Missouri, for Vice- 
 President; Roger Q. Mills announces for Congress; Judge Piner 
 of Denton, for District Attorney; the town of Austin for loca- 
 tion of the State Capitol, and R. M. Collins for County Treas- 
 urer of Wise County. 
 
 In a sketch headed "Decatur," the editor says in part: 
 
 "Decatur is situated near the center of Wise County, on one 
 of the highest prairie points in Western Texas. From our pub- 
 lic square, looking to the east, north and south, extends one 
 of the grandest prairie views that ever mortal man was per- 
 mitted to look upon, while to the west is the West Fork Valley, 
 covered with a heavy growth of timber, dotted here and there 
 with beautiful jorairie glades and clearings made by settlers in 
 that nice region of country." 
 
 Further along in the same sketch we detect the following 
 significant statement: 
 
 "We have presented our town in what we deem to be a fair 
 manner, and we ask those who doubt our statements to get 
 aboard of the stage which runs tri-weekly between this and 
 Sherman, and come and see for yourselves, and will wager 
 
ADVERTISEMENTS. 471 
 
 twenty green walnuts that you will be tempted to leave your 
 low, sickly, flat lands and come and take up your abode where 
 God's air can be breathed without the impurities so common in 
 eastern counties. We extend a world-wide invitation to all, 
 regardless of political or religious sect or creed, to come and 
 see the 'city set upon a hill.' " 
 
 Under the head of "Salutatory," the editor greets his new 
 constituency and passes to a discussion of national political 
 questions in which he excoriates the "present administration," 
 and again hoists the name of Greeley for President, "not regard- 
 ing him as a Democrat," the editor says, "but as the nominee 
 of the Democratic party, and as the surest chance to 'beat 
 Grant.'" And, again, announcing what will be the paper's 
 future attitude toward politics and politicians, the editor says: 
 
 "While we expect to make things of a political nature as 
 warm as if heated by an old-fashioned hickory log fire, we will 
 try to deal out the doses of correction to our political opponents 
 in such a manner that it will not deprive them of life to take 
 them. Red hot and no chance for cooling, is exactly what may 
 be expected of us, and if anyone gets a blistered shin, he stands 
 forewarned, and cannot expect anything else if he goes wrong." 
 
 The "Salutatory" is concluded as follows : "Now, we have 
 laid down our lines, and we expect to run it that way, regard- 
 less of old "Spotted Tail, Little Moccasin, or the Bully-Boy- 
 with-a-glass eye, or any other dog-goned 'Ingin' " 
 
 Among the advertising firms found using space in this first 
 issue of the "Advance Guard," are Terrell & Kellum, Dr. Wm. 
 Renshaw, Collins & Waggoner, Decatur House (conducted by 
 Capt. A. H. Shoemaker), Gates & Woods, Shoemaker & Embry, 
 druggists. Carpenter & Brown, Booth & Ferguson, lawyers. Dr. 
 J. M. Embry, Dr. T. H. Griflin, Stanfield & Quigley, lawyers.