A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens, Part 13

Author:
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 954

USA > Texas > Henderson County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 13
USA > Texas > Freestone County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 13
USA > Texas > Leon County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 13
USA > Texas > Anderson County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 13
USA > Texas > Limestone County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 13
USA > Texas > Navarro County > A memorial and biographical history of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon counties, Texas from the earliest period of its occupancy to the present time, together with glimpses of its prospects; also biographical mention of many of the pioneers and prominent citizens > Part 13

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William Croft, of Corsicana, the oldest practicing attorney of the Navarro county bar, is a native of Mobile, Alabama, born February 9, 1827. His parents, William and Annie Willard Croft, were natives, the father of England and the mother of Penn- sylvania. His father was, for a number of years, a cotton merchant of New Orleans, where he died when the subject of this sketch was an infant. William Croft, of

whom we here write, was reared in New Orleans and received his earlier education in the schools of that city, finishing at Louisville, Kentucky. He read law under the Hon. Isaac T. Preston, of New Or- leans, then attorney-general and afterward judge of the Supreme Court of Louisiana ; came to Texas in 1847 and was admitted to the bar on May 5, 1848, at Richmond, Fort Bend county, before the Hon. Joseph C. Megginson of the First Judicial Dis- trict. He entered the practice at Rich- mond and was engaged at it in Fort Bend and adjoining counties until December, 1849, when he came to Navarro county and took up his residence at Corsicana. He has since been a citizen of Corsicana and has been actively engaged in the prac- tice of his profession at this place except the period covered by the late war, during which time he was in the Confederate States service, and for two years and a half following the war, during which time there was little or no practice for those who had been connected with the Con- federacy.

The first session of the district court which Mr. Croft attended in Navarro county was the spring term of 1850. The county having been organized in 1846, there had been only two or three terins held prior to that term and the machinery of the court had not yet been put in good working order. The presiding judge was Bennett H. Martin; clerk, James M. Riggs; and prosecuting attorney, A. J. Fowler. Court lasted about a week, and there were something like a half dozen cases tried, mostly minor offences. The only case which Mr. Croft can now recall

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with any degree of certainty was a pro- ceeding on indictment against a young fellow who was charged with stealing a bridle at a camp-meeting. The accused was defended by General E. H. Tarrant, and, after considerable sparring between coun- sel and belaboring of the jury on both sides, he was acquitted by a tight squeeze. There were present at that term of the court C. M. Winkler, William F. Hender- son, R. E. Cravens and Sterling C. Cross, who afterward became well known mem- bers of the Navarro county bar. Among the visiting lawyers present, whose names have since become familiar to the public, were General E. H. Tarrant, already men- tioned, Nat M. Burford, now of Dallas, and John H. Reagan, of Palestine. The business of the conrt increased rapidly with the settlement of the country, and Navarro county soon came to rank among the first counties of this section for litiga- tion. There were a number of noted criminal cases which for the time attracted the usual amount of public interest and which afforded the lawyers opportunity for the usual display of oratory and legal acumen. Land titles were also a fruitful source of litigation for a number of years, many tracts which have since become val- uable being the subjects of long and heated contests. Mr. Croft attended all the sit- tings of the district court as well as of the inferior courts from 1850 up to the open- ing of the war, receiving his share of the business, both criminal and civil. He was young, vigorous, well grounded in a knowl- edge of the law, skilled in the manage- ment of cases and pursued his profession with enthusiasm. His success followed as

a matter of course. For twenty-five years he never finally lost a criminal case, and, considering the great number of hard cases which he defended in those years, there are great reasons for believing that many of the verdicts which he secured were rather compliments to his skill and elo- quence than the result of sober reflection on the part of the jury.

When the war came on he responded to the call for volunteers, enlisting in Captain B. D. McKie's company, which was the second raised in the county, Bass' regiment. He had been afflicted with a throat trouble for some time, and the exposure which active service in the field rendered unavoid- able brought on a bad case of bronchitis, which soon necessitated his retiring from active duty, being discharged for disability. Returning home he entered the quarter- master's department where he remained un- til just before the surrender. After the war he attempted to resume the practice of his profession at Corsicana, but on account of the unsettled condition of things there at that time this was impossible. He moved to Houston, where the courts had not been disorganized, and some show was still made of conducting public business according to established forms and usages. He practiced there and in the courts of that locality for about two years and a half, when he returned to Corsicana and took up the practice there, continuing uninter- ruptedly there since. Mr. Croft has devoted his entire life to his profession, and his efforts have been rewarded witlı more than ordinary success. He had accumulated considerable property wlien the war came on, but it was swept away,

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

and he found himself at the close, like thousands of others,-empty-handed and confronted with new conditions which it was not easy to measure in all their rela- tions, nor master when fully measured. But he survived it all and he surveys the past as serenely now as if his whole life had been one long series of triumphs, thus displaying much philosophy and rare good sense. It would be hard to imagine a professional life better lived than his has been.

Mr. Croft has been twice married. I 1851, he married Miss Roxana Elliott, of Navarro county, who died within a few months. He married again in January, 1854, Miss Rebecca A. Lockhart, a daugh- ter of Charles J. C. Lockhart, an early set- tler of the county. Two children now sur- vive this union: Charles W., now his father's law partner, and Earnest T., still in school.

Mr. Croft has been a Mason since 1850, being one of the first members initiated in the mother lodge of Navarro county. He took his first degree in company with A. Seaton, James M. Riggs and B. L. Hand soon after the lodge was organized, General E. H. Tarrant being the presiding officer. He is also a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, and in accordance with his means, a liberal contributor to all worthy purposes. He never voted for any ticket but the Democratic ticket.

To resume the general current of

history :

By the year 1850 there were about four settlements in the county, which, in order of age, were Dresden, Spring Hill, Corsi- cana and Porter's Bluff (Taos). At Dres-

den there were, among the settlers there, Jacob Hartzell, Rev. N. T. Byars, John and Michael Welch, Ethan Melton, and others. At Spring Hill, Dr. Hill, R. Har- vey Mathews (still living), Dr. W. N. Anderson, Mr. Younger, and others. At Porter's Bluff were Robert H. Porter, James T. Lee, G. M. Hogan, Joseph Bart- lett, and others; while at Corsicana, Rev. Hampton McKinney and family, who liad come in 1847, when they owned all three " houses " on the present site of the city and used them for Mckinney's " tavern," the office building being on the present old jail site; Mr. Taylor; J. M. Riggs; the dis- trict clerk; R. M. White, the county clerk; B. L. Han, William Henderson, S. C. Cross, William Dickinson, J. N. Randall, George Petty, Dr. R. S. Tate, the first physician; Clinton M. Winkler, Mr. Rich- ardson, and others, about the courthouse square, chiefly.

Before the '50s closed others came in,- Roger Q. Mills, William Melton, the Meadows family,-so large that it con- trolled elections sometimes,-of whom William Meadow was the head; C. J. C. Lockhart, a very large connection of this family name; S. H. and James Kerr, another large connection; William Rob- erts; the Ingrams, large slave-owners and planters, who, with the Lockharts, were the largest slave-owners of the county. It was a medium county in slave-owner- ship.

Among others who came in the '50s were a father and two sons from southeastern Texas, where they had been involved in one of the terrible feuds of early Texas, and now seemed destined to create a new

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one in Navarro's young settlement. An effort to remove them from the county by a viligance committee, divided the commun- ity, with one of its young attorneys lead- ing those who were for letting civil law take the place of vigilance committee law. This resulted most unfortunately for the county during all that decade.

" From 1850 to 1853," writes an old citizen, " immigration flowed into Navarro continuously, filling up the waste places, and opening up the virgin soil like magic; but in the spring of 1853 occurred one of the most unpleasant disturbances that can ever happen to a new county, which checked the tide of prosperity and sent travel and immigration north and south of Navarro until the late civil war com- menced. A new comer by the name of Joseph Pierce was charged by one Rad Ellis, a notorious character, with an as- sault with intent to kill, a writ was placed in the hands of the sheriff, who sumn- moned about 150 armed men to arrest him, which was done; and they not only ar- rested him, but they arrested his two boys, David and Aquilla, about sixteen and twelve years of age, against whom there were no charges, and carried them all over to Porter's Bluff, on the Trinity, where they intended to have them made way with in Trinity bottom, by his ene- mies, who were sent after in east Texas, or by themselves if this could not be done; and but for the courage of their lawyer, who, failing to get a trial for Pierce, made a speech to the guard, while the leaders were in council at the Bluff, and got about 100 of them to pledge their sacred honor to keep them from harm, and see

them turned loose in Ellis county with their arms and ammunition. For this little service the attorney was ordered by the junta to leave the county forthwith or his life would be forfeited, and this mes- sage was delivered by the sheriff, who was berated by the young attorney for turning his posse into a mob, and told to tell the legislative committee or 'committee of vigilance,' as they styled themselves, to 'go to h-1;' that he intended to stay in the county and practice his profession re- gardless of mobs and vigilance commit- tees; and lie did not leave the Bluff for Corsicana until he had made the entire committee, composed of about ten men, sign a certificate that he had done his duty toward the community and his clients, which certificate he still holds, though most of the signers are dead. It is hor- rible to contemplate the consequences if the old man and his boys had been killed or injured by the mob, but the keeping of him for ten days at the Bluff, in open violation of law, and refusing him an ex- amination, frightened many persons with capital away from the county for years, re- sulting in benefit to adjoining counties. Not only that, but other feuds followed, some of them very exciting, till the war drew its dark veil over the past. When peace with its white wings dispelled the evils incident to reconstruction, she found a united people, cemented by some of the best blood of Navarro's sons, and actuated by a common interest in the future of one of the best counties of the Empire State."

This young attorney was none other than the Nestor of the present Navarro bar, Col. William Croft, and the following ac-

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knowldgment of the vigilance committee at the time is confirmed by forty years of honored life in his chosen profession :

" TAOS, TEXAS, May 2nd, 1853.

"We, the committee of vigilance, ap- pointed by the consent of a meeting of the citizens of Navarro county, at Corsicana, on the 30th April ultimo, in which the county was well represented, do hereby certify that we believe Wm. Croft, Esq., has acted in good faith for the very best in- terests of this community in regard to the case now in hand between the citizens of Navarro county and Messrs. Joseph Pierce, David Pierce and Aquilla Pierce; and we further believe that he has also done the Messrs. Pierce justice as their attorney.

"Given under our hands this day and date above mentioned.

"DAN DONALDSON, Sec. " GEO. M. HOGAN, " JAS. HAMILTON, " BENJ. J. FORTSON, "G. W. BEARD, " I. B. SESSIONS, " R. C. DONALDSON, " WM. HAMILTON, " NAT. HENDERSON, "B. F. HUNT."

Immigration, after the war of 1861-'65 closed, began with the railway's advent, and that will be given proper notice in the sketchi devoted to that subject.

THE CUSTOMS AND INNER LIFE

of those early days are of most interest to the present generation, and they shall be told in the words of pioneers themselves:

An old settler of old Navarro county, of 1844, writes:

" Deer, antelope, buffalo, wild horses, bears, panthers, wolves, Mexican hogs, wild turkeys, etc., were in the greatest abundance. The deer were in great herds, to be seen in any part of the county. They were of the white tailed-species. The antelope were plentiful, but not in such large herds as they are said to be on the plains. The buffalo was the great wonder of the prairies. They came and went like a mighty torrent. They covered the prairies as far as the eye could reach. When moving rapidly the earth trembled under their mighty tread. They always traveled against the wind, even though sleet and snow were being driven by it. They moved by line front and file in depth, making parallel paths as they passed along. They were turned by no ordinary obstacle. Men and wild animals fled before them. One of their favorite haunts was the lower Mustang creek coun- try. There were large pools of clear water in the branches and numerous springs. For a half mile or more on each side of these streams when the buffalo came in, the grass disappeared, and the earth looked like one vast cow-lot. The water in the branches were kept so closely drained through the day as to make it impossible to get a cupful. The buffalo wallows like a horse; where one happens to wallow probably a hundred or more in quick suc- cession would likewise follow.

" The wild horses were seen in droves from two to fifty. They were quite nu- merous on the prairies, but there were more about the edge of the cross-timbers than elsewhere. They were of good size, well built and very fleet, and capable of great

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endurance. Like other horses they were of various colors. The colts could be caught with a lariat; the older horses were caught by following up the herd for days in suc- cession, and when worn down they could often be driven into corrals, wings to which had been extended out to some dis- tance. The stallions of these herds often gathered in the gentler mares and carried them off with the herd.

" The bears prowled along the thickets and often played havoc with our hogs. The panther's wild scream sent a thrill through our nerves, and the howling of the wolves made night hideous. The wolves of those days were large, and of the species known as ' the loafer.' They in turn gave place to our common little prai- rie wolf, so well known to our people but a few years back. The Mexican hogs were wild then, and poor. Their bristles were almost like quills on the fretful porcupine. They had great tusks in each jaw that crossed like the letter ' x.' You could not strike one with a stick and then get away before the hog would strike it with his tusks. Other animals were and well might be afraid of them.

" Perch and trout, and other fish were very plentiful in the creeks, and also in some of the branches. The creeks and branches did not dry up then as they do now. Wild bees were very plentiful and furnished the early settlers with the great- est abundance of honey, about the only sweetening at that period accessible to the people.

" The rainfall was about the same as now; the creeks were often out of their banks.

"The men and boys wore buckskin pants and hunting shirts, coon-skin caps and moccasins made of buffalo skins. The women's clothing was made of plain, sub- stantial cloth, bought at trading stations, twenty-five, fifty and often a hundred miles distant. Oxen were used almost exclusively for hauling and plowing. We traveled over the country by course and by promi- nent objects, such as lone trees, clusters of trees and points of timber. Our greatest deprivation was caused by the lack of salt. It is a small thing, to be sure; yet only those who have been deprived a long time of the use of that article can realize the suffering of the first settlers."

"To the eye of the beholder," writes an aged minister of the Trinity valley recently in reference to its beautiful landscape in early days, " it presented one vast scene of prairie, for what little timber and brush there was, was confined to the low ground and the bottoms along the streams, hence was not perceptible at a distance, as the high and undulating prairie was above, or at least on a level with the top of the tim- ber. The prairie was covered with the luxuriant grass, bedecked with flowers of all shades of beauty, and in places resem- bled a garden. The grass was from a foot to four feet high, and even higher still when it produced seed, for the seed-stems sometimes attained a height of six or seven feet. This tall grass, bedecked with the myriads of flowers waving in the breeze, resembled a scene at sea at the setting of the sun, its rays shining through the erected waves of foam and the billows, and present- ing all the prismatic colors. The scene

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was not only lovely, but grand and im- posing beyond description.

" In addition to the grand scene pre- sented to' the view, were the vast herds of animals that roamed at will over the prairies, ruminating upon the luxuriant and succulent grasses, both wild and domesticated. Buffalo, cattle, deer and antelope were all fat and sleek as though kept in the stalls of some breeder of fine stock, and when they roam, either in play or from fright, it looked as if the whole surface of the earth was moving, the very ground seemed to tremble with their tread, the sound of their feet being as the sound of 'many horses running to battle,' while the snort of horses and the grunt of cattle and buffalo formed a combina- tion of sounds that were not altogether in harmony, nor calculated to inspire courage either in man or beast; for but few horses would stand in their pathway, especially of the buffalo; and it was well, for the bisons of the plains never turned their course for anything, animate or in- animate, over or through which they could pass, neither branch nor creek. In illus- tration of their habits I will give an in- stance. A herd of buffalo was discovered in a valley near a creek and a number of men determined to have a chase and kill some of them; so they went out, some taking positions at the upper end of the valley, while others ranged themselves on each side; still others went below to bring on the engagement, which they did. The buffalo fled up the valley and the men in the rear following. When they came to the men stationed in the upper end of the valley in the path they supposed the buffalo

would take, but which they did not, they found one of the watchers sitting on the ground at the root of a tree, with arms and legs around the tree, who asked as they came up whether the buffalo had gone, and if they had, that he would come down! Pretty badly scared when he could not tell whether he was up a tree or not! The laugh was on the man for many years afterward, and he was frequently asked to go buffalo hunting.

"On another occasion a party of men went out on a buffalo hunt, and coming upon a large herd were making prepara- tions for the slaughter, but the animals, scenting their enemy, stampeded. One man happened to be in their pathway, and his horse would not stand before thein: he ran off. There was a medium-sized branch in front of the fleeing horseman, and for this he made, hoping to cross and run up stream before the buffalo reached it; but in going down the bank the horse fell and the rider tumbled off. Before he could re- cover, the frightened hierd came dashing toward where he lay and he expected every moment to be trampled to death by a thousand hoofs; but the buffalo, as is their custom, jump all streams. This they did, and the man lay secure as the entire herd passed over him in the air. One failure of the beasts to make the leap would have been instant death. He tried to pray but could not think of anything to say, he was so badly scared.

" Another source of amusement practiced by the early settlers was the catching of mustangs. There were three methods: the first was to ambush thein, being well mounted and equipped with a good lariat,

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made of raw-hide or horse-hair, and then dash upon them, throwing the noose of the rope over their head or under a foot; but this method, except to the best experts with the lasso, rarely resulted in anything better than the catching of a colt or some old worn-down animal. Occasionally a stallion was caught, as he clung to the rear of the troop and acted as herder or driver. But the lassoist ofteu paid dearly for his catch, and was glad enough to get away with the loss of his lariat. Another method was for a number of men to go into the range of a herd and divide into three or four divisions, one division to give chase for several hours, then another division give chase, and so on, lasting two or three days, thus running the mustangs down. This was exciting and afforded consider- able sport, even if one or more were hurt by the falliug of their horses, as was fre- quently the case. This method, however, was not very profitable, as the horses that were ridden were worsted to a greater ex- tent than what the captured ones were worth. The third method was to build a circular pen, or corral, with an opening to the south and having wings running at some distance. The opening to the south was in consequence of the winds in spring and summer blowing from that direction. The dust created by the moving herds would hide the pen as it preceded the mus- tangs. When once in the pen the real fun commenced, as well as the tug of war with the frightened but not less courageons beasts. The stallions, and even others of the herd, would fight like tigers, driving the men from the pen who would be glad to make their escape. Then a scene of

shooting the poor beasts would begin. Some of the mustangs would be caught and occasionally a good American horse was taken, which had been driven into the herd by the stallions. There were other and more exciting scenes, but not attended with as much sport as catching wild mus- tangs, and that was the chasing of wild Indians, who occasionally passed through the country, ostensibly for hunting, but really for stealing. They ran off stock, frightened women and children, and killed or captured any one who was unfortunate enough to be found alone by the red-skins. The chasing of the Indians was about all the satisfaction the settlers had, for it was such a short distance to the breaks of the mountains, which they could reach by morning, and reaching which they disap- peared as completely as though they had sunk into the earth. In those breaks they left no trail, and when they did and the whites followed, the latter would be am- buscaded, killing and wounding some of them."

"The most exciting of the early days on the frontier, were those when the prairies were on fire, it being generally very dry during the summer, the grass dried up as though it had been mown, and was excel- lent forage for stock. They kept fat on it when they could get plenty of water, which was obtained by digging holes in the ground in the beds of the creeks after they dried up. Sometimes the water had to be drawn for them, which was done by turns by the settlers, or some one was hired by the com- munity to attend to the matter. Fires would break out from camp-fires of travel- ers, or where started by smokers emptying

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their pipes, and occasionally some reckless fellow would set fire to the grass to see it burn. The wind was generally strong at that season of the year, so strong that there were but few days that one could carry an umbrella. And when the fire got head- way, so fearful was its march that it was difficult to keep out of its way. It leaped branches and creeks, and to save our homes and the range for our stock, about the only remedy was to 'fire against it,' as it was termed, which had to be done in time. The feat was accomplished by using plows, wet blankets, etc., and after it was headed in this way the next thing was to drive the stock out of the ring of fire, which was fearful and hazardous, for the flames would be eight and ten feet high if the wind was not strong enough to keep them closer to the ground, and fifty feet or more from rear to front. The fire roared like low, rumbling thunder, weeds and grass stems whirling in the air, rabbits and rats pass- ing, and birds screaming in the air; birds of prey, as thick as buzzards over a car- cass, taking advantage of the terrible sit- uation to catch their prey and seeming to add consternation to the scene; cows low- ing, horses neighing and running hel- ter-skelter. Amid this excitement men well mounted would enter the arena, equipped with spurs and whip, and by hal- looing and snapping their whips would get the stock on a run at full speed, and crowd the rear ones on the front so that when they struck the fire the front ones could not stop, but would be pushed through the fire, and the rear ones and men following altogether at a fast speed, the flames would be pressed to the ground by the herd and

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Author: Publication date: 1893 Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Co. Number of Pages: 954

Author:
Publication date: 1893
Publisher: Chicago, Lewis Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 954