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 27

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 27
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 27
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 27
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 27
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 27
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 27

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

and Bredford varieties; while the Wild Goose is the favorite plum, although Mr. Green raises several other varieties equally as good. On this farin of his he has some Jersey cattle and registered Norman-bred horses from good American mares, which mixture secures a very fine light draft and saddle horse, combining the two good qualities of strength and beauty. Mr. Green also has a good steam cotton gin and mill on his farm, which turns out 350 to 500 bales each season, and of this only from twenty-five to forty bales is raised on his own farm, as 'he devotes the greater por- tion of his farm to the raising of stock. He is a man who prides himself on the quality as well as the quantity of his stock. Mr. Green has for several years taken the premium for fruit and fine stock at the connty fair.

His marriage occurred December 13. 1866, to Miss Margaret J. Youngblood, of Alabama, daughter of J. and Sarah (Steele) Youngblood, who were natives of Sonth Carolina. They came to Alabama at an early day, later removed to Arkansas, from there to Texas, where both died many years ago. Three children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Green, namely: E. L., W. W. and Gauda Lona. Mr. Green, wife and family are all members of the Mission- ary Baptist Church, and Mr. Green is a demitted member of A. F. & A. M. from his lodge in Georgia. The family home is one of the prettiest and most artistically arranged of all in this section. It is beautifully furnished, showing the results of cultured taste. The barn is certainly the best in the county and every surrounding is of the most modern and convenient

kind. Mr. Green has been more than or- dinarily successful in all of his business enterprises, in all of which he has been nobly assisted by his wife, who during early married life sacrificed much that they might enjoy peace and plenty in their old age.

ANDREW J. SPEAR,

one of the leading farmers and prominent citizens of Henderson county, Texas, was born in Kemper county, Mississippi, in 1844, and was the fifth child and eldest son born to the union of William and Amanda (Dearden) Spear, natives of Georgia. They were married in that State and came to Mississippi at an early day. William Spear was a farmer by occupation, and his father was named Nathaniel Spear, who was one of the brave men that did much toward the removal of the Indians from Mississippi, and he was in the Indian war of 1836. William has died, but his wife still survives and lives in Mississippi. They were the parents of eleven children, and of these eight lived to be grown, and bear the following names: Emily, the wife of Isaac Con; Elizabeth, the widow of E. A. Williamson, of Mississippi; Marthy A., the wife of Calvin Waddle, of Mississippi; A. J., our subject; Richard, of Mississippi; William (deceased), of Mis- sissippi, and Catherine, who has passed away.

A. J. Spear was reared to farm life and received bnt a limited education. In June, 1862, he joined the company of Captain Thomas, Twenty-first regiment, but not being very strong he soon received a discharge; but after that was a member

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of the State militia under Captain Thomas. After the war was over he engaged in farming on his own land, and continued to farm in Mississippi until 1871, when he came overland to this State. He settled in this county on a league known as the Coleridge Santiago league. Mr. Spear first purchased 255 acres of this league, unim- proved, for which he paid $3 per acre.

This farm Mr. Spear improved and sold in 1884, for $1,500, and then he purchased 406 acres. At present he has 130 acres, upon which he has a steam cotton gin, and also a gristmill, where he grinds 250 bushels a year. Mr. Spear now raises mules and horses as well as cattle of a good breed.

Our subject was married in 1865 to Mrs. Olympia M. Clark, nee Walton, who was a daughter of one of the early settlers from one of the Carolinas. To Mr. and Mrs. Spear have been born four children: Mary E., the wife of Pink H. Russan; Leila, the wife of M. F. Lyon; Nannie J., wife of Richard Yarborough, and Charles A., deceased. Previous to this marriage, Mrs. Spear was the mother of five children: Walton A .; Etta, wife of Anderson Phil- lips; K. W .; Lizzie, wife of Frank French, and Alonzo. She is a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the family is highly esteemed in Henderson county.

ANDERSON COUNTY.

T has not yet been the good fortune of many Texas counties to have a thorough study made of their land by expert geologists, but among the few Anderson county lias secured the favor. There is probably no State in the Union in which a knowledge of its geology is so necessary for a complete understanding of it, or any part of it, as in Texas; consequently no better foundation can be laid preliminary to the historical or other considerations of a county than an account of its geology. This is especially true for mineral regions, such as the county under consideration; it would not be so true of the more simple geology of the simple black-waxy region, for instance. It is for this reason that the following comprehensive and exhaus- tive description of the geologic resources of Anderson county, from the able pen of the State geologist of Texas, Mr. E. T. Dumble, is given almost entire, as the best that has been written.

TOPOGRAPHY.

Anderson county comprises the country lying between the Trinity and Neches rivers, bounded by Henderson county on the north and Houston county on the south, -an area of 1,088 square miles.

Of the two rivers the Trinity is the larger, and its drainage system cuts more

deeply into the former plateau than that of the Neches, although the tributaries of the latter stream stretch fully half way across the county in places. This causes the drain- age divide to lie near the center of the county, which it crosses in an almost north and south direction; but the general eleva- tion of the eastern half is somewhat great- er (probably 50 to 100 feet) than that of the west. The county for the most part is generally rolling, but when the ridges of iron-capped hills are reached, they take on all the appearance of mountains, although in fact seldom over 100 feet in height above the surrounding level. This variety of contour is largely due to the combined erosion of the two rivers, and their drainage systems, which has sculp- tured a topography of diversified character from the ancient table land that formerly occupied this region in common with much the greater part of eastern Texas and por- tions of Arkansas and Louisiana. Of this table land a few remnants still remain, forming a rude semicircle of iron-capped hills, which has for its diameter the Neches river. Here, as elsewhere in this region, it is only the highest points on which the iron ore deposits are found, and to its pro- tection their present eminence is due. To the south of Palestine the country becomes lower and the hills more scattering.

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LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

To the east this plateau breaks into small hills extending to the Neches river; and on the west it gradually disappears in the same way in the water-shed of the Trinity. This iron region thus forms the divide be- tween the Neches and Trinity, just as in Cherokee county the Selman range forms the divide between the waters of the An- gelina and the Neches. In this range, as in Cherokee, springs give rise to many creeks, which flow down the steep slopes of the plateau, come together in the low- lands, and finally discharge into the muddy waters of the main rivers.

From the divide a number of streams flow through the county, either southeast- erly to the Neches or southwesterly into the Trinity. Among the principal tribu- taries of the Neches are Caddo, Brushy, Walnut, Hurricane, Still's, and Jones' creeks, while on the Trinity side are Wild- cat, Catfish, Springer, Lata, Keechi, Tour or Saline, Camp, Parker's and Box creeks.

From this it will be seen that the connty is well watered, and has the usual accompani- ment of iron ores of this region; abundant springs are also numerous; consequently there is no scarcity of water anywhere in the county. Well water is secrred in al- most any portion of the county at depths varying from twelve to forty feet.

In 1888 there was less than fifteen per cent. of the total area of the county under cultivation, the leading products being cot- ton, corn, oats, peas, sweet potatoes, fruit, etc.

There are some prairie lands in the north- ern and western parts of the county, ag- gregating in all perhaps one-fifth of its total area. The remainder of the county

is well timbered with short-leaf pine, oak, hickory, etc., the pine greatly predominat- ing in the eastern part of the county.

These prairies doubtless represent the southern extensions of the Basal Clays of the Tertiary and the Ponderosa Marls of the Cretaceous, both of which occur in that region.

GEOLOGY.

The rock formations of Anderson county- comprise representatives of at least three systems: The Cretaceous, Tertiary and Quaternary. The details of the entire stratigraphy of each system have not yet been worked out, but the following broader. characters have been determined: Qua- ternary, the sands and sandstones capping the iron-ore hills; Tertiary, timber-belt beds, the iron ores, the greensands and ac- companying beds of clays and sands; Up- per Cretaceous, saline limestone, Ponderosa marls.

The representatives of this system in Anderson county are confined to the Pon- derosa clays and the overlying or included masses of limestone, designated as the "glauconitic " beds. In some places it would appear that the limestone occurs as masses in the clays themselves, while at others their extent seems to prove them the remnants of an overlying deposit of limestone. One of the latter is the deposit which surrounds the Saline, six miles west of Palestine. This limestone, as first stated by Dr. Penrose, is found in a ring of hills reaching sixty feet or more above the level of tlie saline, not continuously, but out- cropping in many places on the north, west, and east sides. A few low outcrops were

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

also seen on the south side. In appear- ance it greatly resembles the Austin chalk, except that it contains specks of greensand. On subsequent examination was found just below the top a glanconitic seam with nu- merons shells, among them an oyster, of distinctly peculiar form. The ontcrops are cut irregularly by seams of calcite. These seams vary in width from one-half incli to twelve inches, and many of the fragments which lie scattered over the hillside so closely resemble silicified or agatized wood, that it is readily mistaken for it. Some of the calcite is fibrous, the crystals running at right angles to the crevice. In other instances there is no such regularity of ar- rangement, but one set of crystals is at- tached to the next at various angles.

The saline itself is a flat, irregular de- pression, longest from northi to south, being possibly a mile in length, but not more than one-half mile in width. During the winter months it contains some water, but in the summer it is dry, and there are small patches scattered here and there on whichi an incrustation of salt appears. The soil of the saline has the same appearance as that of the " black waxy " or Ponderosa clay soil. The timber appears to be en- croaching on it gradually. The drainage from the surrounding hills builds delta-like formations further and further outward, and the trees push out to the edges of these.

About six miles north of this the Pon- derosa clays were observed. They are in the northward extension of the valley, in which the saline occurs. Here the soil has its char- acteristic black waxy appearance, and the exposed clays their yellow color. They con- taiued yellow calcareons nodules and many

fine specimens of Exogyra ponderosa, Roemer, accompanied by Gryphoa vesi- cularis, Lamark. The highest beds were found to contain a decided intermixture of limestone in small fragments, below which was an arenaceous bed containing frag- ments of a small thin-shelled oyster of which no specimens could be secured sufficiently perfect for identification.

The clays themselves are yellow on ex- posed surfaces, showing lamination in places. Where they are dug into they are of a slaty blue color. The included lime- stone nodules and bowlders are septarious and semi-crystalline, and often contain fossils. In one place an almost vertical dyke of limestone, some five or six inches in thickness, was observed cutting the clays, and quantities of calcite similar to that occurring in the drift at the Saline were found in the drift at this place also. In addition to this a few fragments of clay ironstone were found. To the north this is overlaid directly by the lignites and clays of the Timber Belt beds in such man- ner as would suggest the existence of this Cretaceous inlier as an elevated land area at the time of their deposition.

With the exception of the ores the high- est bed of the Tertiary which is exposed here is the bed of the greensand imme- diately underlying the iron-ore beds. This varies in thickness from ten to forty feet, and "is composed of glauconitic grains with more or less green clay, the latter often occurring in the form of interbedded seams or lenticular patches. This bed is usually rusted upon the surface from the combined decomposition of the glauconite and iron pyrites which it contains, but the

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interior preserves its green color. It con- tains many fossils of the Claiborne forms, generally as casts, but sometimes well pre- served. Oblong and kidney shaped cal- careous nodules, varying in size from one- half inch to three inches in diameter, are sometimes found, but are somewhat rare." This bed forms the divide between the Trinity and Neches rivers, and occupies some of the highest points in the northern part of the county. Immediately under- lying this bed there is a series consisting of interbedded and interlaminated sand's and clays, often cross-bedded, stained by decomposed iron pyrites, and containing numerous small beds of lignite. "These sands are frequently indurated by a fer- ruginous or siliceous cement into beds of sandstone, varying very much in hardness, color, and thickness. Such beds vary from one to twenty feet in thickness and are of very limited extent. They generally cap knolls and hills, and form a protecting cover which saves the underlying strata from erosion."

At the base of these sands are found purplish and chocolate colored sands, strati- fied horizontally, and containing specks of mica and gray sandy clays with fragments of lignite. Crystals of selenite are found in many parts of thein. These beds are exposed by erosion of the upper greensands and by various wells that have been dug or bored on the east and south, and correspond in their general features very closely with the beds of the same horizon described in other localities of this east Texas region.

One peculiarity worthy of note in the greensand marl is the occurrence of lines of the material in indurated concentric

nodules. These are present in many places, and an analysis shows a much larger per- centage of ferric oxide in them than in the massive material in which they occur, and they are seemingly continuations of the processes by which some of the iron ores have been formed.

The following special sections will serve to illustrate more fully the general strati- graphy of the Tertiary.

The Oil Wells Section .-- Ten miles east of Palestine, in the neighborhood of Still's creek, several borings were made for oil in 1887. The road from Palestine to the wells shows first the greensand bed, under- laid by the white, red, and other lignitic sands and clays. Below these were found purplish and chocolate colored sands, strati- fied horizontally, and containing mica. These are partly indurated by bituminous inatter on the surface, which is present, however, in too small quantity to burn. The deepest well gives a section of 310, feet.

OIL WELL SECTION .- J. L. MAYO.

1, Soil, 15 feet; 2, red sandstone, some oil, 3 feet; 3, chocolate-colored stone, 6 feet; 4, alternate strata of sand and clay, 34 feet; 5, sand impregnated with oil, 14 feet; 6, clay, 6 feet; 7, hard stone, 1 foot; 8, sand, 8 feet; 9, stone, 1 foot; 10, alternating sand and joint clay, 27 feet; 11, quicksand and water, 6 feet; 12, blue lignitic clay, 159 feet; 13, sand, loose and firm, blue color, 30 feet; 14, blue sandstone; total, 310 feet.

The Elkhart Wells Section .- These wells are one mile southeast of Elkhart and thir- teen miles south of Palestine. The sur- rounding country is very flat, and is fully

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

100 feet below the railroad level at Pales- tine. Between the two localities were seen the greensand bed with its underlying sands and clays. Six miles from Pales- tine the descent begins, and beyond that the hills are rare, and seldom rise high enough to be capped with the yellow in- durated greensand. The following section is made from the surrounding exposures and the wells at that place:

ELKHART WELLS SECTION.

1, Brown and black clays, plastic, con- taining iron pebbles, silicified wood, and calcareous nodules, 10 feet; 2, gray and yellow-brown plastic clays in thin laminæ, 5 feet; 3, dark-brown altered greensand fossil casts, 1 foot; 4, gray laminated plastic clay, 3 feet; 5, greensand, hard. for eight to ten inches and full of shells, interbedded with greenish black clay, 4 feet; 6, gray clay like No. 4; 7, gray and mottled clay, 8 feet; 8, gray and light-chocolate lami- nated sand, scales of hardpan, gypsum crystals, coating of sulphur sometimes ap- pearing between laminæ and often in the gypsum, 10 feet; 9, gray clayey sand, fine, 5 feet; 10, dark gray stratified with fine mica, 10 feet; 11, gray sand, fine in tex- ture, with much pyrites, 5 feet; 12, black clayey sand, 12 feet; 13, gray sandy clay, with broken fragments of lignite sometimes making up one-half the mass, 10 feet; total, 83 feet.

These two sections, in connection with the various similar sections of the adjoin- ing counties, give an idea of the rock mna- terials of the region. The Elkhart section represents a part of the upper portion of

the Oil Wells section, No. 8 of the Elkhart section being possibly the No. 3 of the Oil Wells section.

The amount of dip is very small. In places it appears to be as much as three to five degrees, but this is only local and usually dne to sub-erosion. No accurate determination can be made until more de- tailed work is carried on, lines of levels run, and the various separated beds mapped and correlated.

The extent of the Quaternary modifica- tions of the underlying materials and the deposits directly referable to that period have not yet received sufficient study to enable ns to do more than indicate their existence and designate some of the mem- bers. A part of the iron ores are possibly of this period, while the overlying quartzitic aud quartzose sandstone and gray, yellow, or buff-colored sands, together with some of the mottled sands or sandy clays and gravel, certainly belong to it.

The deposits of iron ore in Anderson county, like those of the entire district, are found capping the highest hills, or, in the case of some of the conglomerate ores, along the water courses, either at their present level or more often at that of some time prior to the erosion of its present channel. As has already been stated, these deposits are found cresting a rude semicircle of hills having for its diameter the Neches river, and are in fact the western extension of the deposits of Cherokee county.

" Going north from Palestine the main iron-bearing range is met at about three miles from the town, and extends in a great plateau, often broken up into separate flat-

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topped hills, from here northerly toward Beaver, Brushy creek, Kickapoo, and the Henderson county line.

" The ore found here is continuous over large areas and maintains a very steady thickness of from one to three feet. To the south of Palestine the same ore is found, but here the bed is generally thinner and less continuous, and the ore-bearing hills more scattered." Therefore, the iron range in the great highland region to the north of Palestine comprises most of the ore of the county. What adds still more to its value is its nearness to the pure white limestone in the saline. This is excellently adapted for a flux in smelting iron ore, and on that account of the greatest practical importance.

The ores are of the brown laminated, concretionary and conglomerate varieties found elsewhere in the district, the former greatly predominating. The stratigraphic position of the ores has been described so often as to need no repetition here, where they present no feature differing from those of Cherokee and other counties. The analy- sis will show that the ores of this county are of excellent quality, some of them being adapted even for the manufacture of steel, on account of the small amounts of sulphur and phosphorus contained in them and their high percentage of metallic iron.

Just northwest of Palestine the first of the great range of iron-bearing hills begins. Its longer axis extends nearly northwest, and it has a length of five miles by a width of, about two miles, an area of nearly ten square miles. Its boundary begins in the northern part of the J. Snively survey, runs north through the western part of the

S. G. Wells, crossing into the Wm. Kim- bro, near the northwest corner of the Wells tract. Following a general northwest course through the Kimbro tract it crosses the southwest portion of the S. Hopkins and G. W. Ford surveys into the M. Salisar tract. Its extreme northern limit is near the center of the tract, where it turns south to near the southern boundary of the survey, and then sharply east to the corner of the George Hanks, at which point it again crosses into the Kimbro tract. From here it follows an irregular line, crossing the J. P. Burnet, G. W. Gatewood, and John Shirley tracts, back into the J. Snively and to the place of be- ginning. The ore is of the laminated variety, with some concretionary ore in places.

Just east of this a much smaller area of similar ore is found, beginning in the northeast corner of the W. Kimbro, cross- ing the Peter Hinds and David Faris sur- veys into the southwest corner of the H. Hunks tract. This deposit has a length of about two miles and is not more than one- half mile in width. The ore is similar to that just described (laminated) and has an average thickness of more than two feet.

The third area of high-grade ore lies to the north of the two just described and is more extensive than either. On its eastern side the headwaters of the Mount Prairie creek have deeply cut into it, giving it a very irregular outline. Its southeast cor- ner is about the southwest corner of the John McCrabb survey, and the line bound- ing it passes it northward through the western part of that tract into the J. B. McNealy, of which the deposit covers

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

probably abont one third (the western) part. The line is very irregular here, and crosses into the Elizabeth Grace league, of which it covers an area of about one sqnare mile in the southwestern corner. The line then passes north and northwest through the J. Hendry, F. D. Hanks, and P. O. Lumpkins tracts to its most northern . points, on the John Chase survey. From here it passes south through the Lumpkin tract and the eastern edge of the George Andring league to its sontheast corner, where it turns east through the Levi Hop- kins, Daniel Parker, John Wright, and S. A. Mays tracts to the place of beginning. Its area is nearly fifteen square miles. The ore is similar to that of the other localities mentioned.

Massive iron ore from Anderson county, Texas: Specimen collected by E. T. Dum- ble north of Palestine. Analysis by L. E. Magnenat. Ferric oxide, 69.50; silica, 11.35; alumina, 8.00; phosphoric acid, .55; loss by ignition, 10.50; lime and magnesia, traces. Total, 99.90; metallic iron, 48.65.

Lying to the northeast of this are found two areas, forming divides on the waters of Walnut creek. One of these is on the James Hall survey, the other on the Adolph D. Latlin. The two together may aggre- gate one square mile.

Six miles east we find another series of hills, in the neighborhood of Kickapoo. The largest of these has probably an area of three to three and one-half square miles, lying principally in the Jose Peneda grant, but covering also the southern portion of the Jose Chireno.

South of Kickapoo, on the W. F. Pool survey, is a large hill capped with laminated ore. Northeast of that town are two others on the Goss survey and one on the Tim- inins, and three miles east another hill is found, also on the Goss survey.

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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