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 29

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 29
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 29
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 29
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 29
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 29
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 29

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tlie most eastern waters of the Angelina river. Within the bounds here given were many tribes of Indians, to-wit: Cherokee-, Shawnees, Kickapoos, Delawares, Caddoes, Ionis and Anadarcoes. About the year 1830, a gentleman by the name of Prather settled about the center of the above men- tioned territory, at a place then called Bean's Saline, for the purpose of making salt for supplying the Indian trade. About the same time two trading houses were es- tablished at the same point, one by Chates H. Sims, the other by James Hall, with large quantities of goods adapted to the In- dian trade. About the year 1832, an old gentleman by the name of Walker settled near the saline. His family consisted of a wife, three grown daughters and a little boy. In 1833 Dr. E. J. De Bard, who now lives in this city, also settled in the same neighborhood, with his entire family. In 1834 my father, Martin Lacy, bought the salt-works and moved his family there, and about the same time perhaps a dozen other families moved into the same settlement, all within a compass of about six miles. This settlement was about forty miles from any other white settlement and about sev- enty-five miles from Nacogdoches, and in a center, as we might say, of an entire In- dian country, and is about thirty miles northeast from this place, and in the south- west corner of Smith county. In 1834 James Hall moved his stock of goods from the saline to a point on the west side of Trinity river, then called Hall's Blaff (now West Point), thirteen miles west of this place, for the purpose of trading with the prairie Indians, viz., the Comanches, Wa- cos, Tehuacanas and the Kechis. The

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Trinity river at that time was considered a line of demarkation for hostilities between the white and red man. Indeed it was the Rubicon of Texas. I never heard of an outrage by the Indians until after hostili- ties commenced in 1838. In August, 1835, I. W. Burton with four others, I being of the party, started from the saline before spoken of on a surveying tour. We passed through this country, stopping in two vil- ages, the Caddo sand the Kickapoos, for the purpose of buying dried buffalo meat and other articles of food as might be wanted. We crossed the Trinity at Hall's Bluff, stayed with Hall two or three days and then started up the river and commenced our work about eight miles above Hall's Bluff. We made two surveys and were on the third when we were surrounded by about 100 Kechi Indians. We had stopped to get dinner when they came up. They informed us that they had come to kill us; that the Brazos people had come into their village two days before, had killed three of their men, two or three women and a child or two, had burned their town and driven off all their horses, and that we had to pay the penalty! Burton called for the chief, told him that he wanted to talk a little be- fore we were killed; that we were not the Brazos people; that we belonged to Nacog- doches; that we had crossed the river to steal some of that good land that the Brazos people claimed; that we had the land- stealer along with us, pointing to the com- pass. He also explained the use of the chain to measure the land, his field- book to write it all down, the hatchet to mark the trees, and that we had no guns; did not want to hunt any and had just come over

there to steal the land only, and would give Jim Hall as security for the truth of what we then told them. They held a council among themselves for about an hour, which seemed to me much longer. I thought that our time had come, as we could see no possible chance for escape. Finally we were told that we must go with them to Hall, and that if he would tell them that we had told the truth, then we might go. Of course we went, got to the trading-post abont sundown, but were not permitted to see Hall first. Perhaps thirty minutes had elapsed when the chief came to us giving us his hand and the balance of the whole tribe followed suit. Then the chief told us that we were free and could stay with them as long as we pleased, or go. We re- mained two or three days at the trading house and then left for home. We did not want any more land on that side of the river. I mention this particular circnm- stance only to show that at that time there were no hostilities existing between the white and red man within the territory spoken of."

As Mr. Lacy indicates here, the Galves- ton Bay Company had begun its surveys on the Burnett colony tract. A few sur- veys had been made in 1833, but the great mass were in 1835, with one or two the the year before. The grant to Jose Maria Mora, within what isnow Anderson county, was made on October 30, 1833; that to Jose de Jesus Grand on December 17 of the same year; that to Juan N. Acosta on November 21; also that to Mariano R. Palacios; that to Manuel Rivonda on No- vember 26; to Juan Y. Aguilera on the same date, while that of San Simon San-

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

chez was in July -- the tract covering the site of old Magnolia. That to John Durst was the earliest one granted to one bearing a foreign name, one of but two grants in 1834, this one being on April 3, and the other on the day following, to Jose Pineda

The rest-a numerous lot indeed -- were laid out and deeded in 1835, the only really successful year of these colonies: that to John Ferguson on Jannary 3; J. Huntington on October 7; Isaac Lindsey on August 10; Joseph Ferguson on Jann- ary 5; J. F. Timmons on October 22: Thomas Goss on October 15; Walter F. Pool on November 7, a tract covering the Indian village; Adolph D. Lattin on July 7; Elizabeth Groce on July 8; James Hall on Jannary 3, a man to be referred to fur- ther on; S. Bowlin on Jannary 9; J. B. MeNealy on January 8; John Little on January 5; William Elliot on January 12; W. E. Kimbro on September 7; S. G. Wells on June 7; J. W. Bryan on July 17; J. Snively on July 25; J. Arthur on June 18; Micam Main on July 6; W. S. McDonald on June 20; Eli A. Bowen on the same date; S. Crist on May 21; A. B. Davis on July 24; William Frost on June 8; Philip Martin on May 26; Jesse Gib- son on June 10; Wash. Lewis on October 22; Jacob Fitch on July 12; William R. Wilson on July 12; John Parker on May 21; Joseph Hertz on May 2; Reuben Brown on May 20: all in the east half of the county's present territory.

In the west half were the surveys of Polly Scritchfield of July 18; George An- ding of the same date; Isaac Simpson of July 3; R. C. McDaniel of July 6; W. K.

Melton of July 18; Bernardo Pantaleon of July 7; A. G. Monroe of September 18; E. C. Harris of January 26; Isaac Barnett of October 16; E. G. Myer of July 13; James Madden of October 13; Daniel Parker of October 14; Edley Ew- ing of October 15; John Adams of Octo- ber 14; John A. Box of May 3, and Rollin W. and S. C. Box on the 12th and 13tlı respectively; Williston Ewing, and finally Joseph Jordan on June 10, 1835, secured a tract a few miles below the present site of Palestine, the home of Senator John A. Reagan, at present, but which was then soon to be the most noted place within its present territory, as the site of one of those early forts-like steps which the mountain- climber cuts for his feet one by one-forts which were the steps, often the bloody steps, of civilization as she reached out to subdue the savage and replace his hunting- grounds with farms, mines, cities and'iron roads. It was to be one of the earliest, too, if not the first fort to be erected after the hero of San Jacinto had decided the fate of Santa Ana's hold on Texas, and consequently it was given his name - Fort Houston. But not to anticipate too much, let Mr. Lacy recount how it was done and some of the events that made it necessary, as well as some of those that flowed from it. Unlike Fort Boggy in Leon county's territory or Fort Parker in that of Limestone, which were family forts, this of Fort Houston was a fortification- one of the earliest-of the young Texas republic as she now turned from the sub- dued Mexicans to their Indian allies, or those others who were her natural enemies.

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It was abandoned as a fort in 1841-'42. Returning to the subject of the Saline settlements, Mr. Lacy goes on :

"In March, 1836, the entire settlement left the Saline country, between thirty and forty persons, men, women and children, passing forty miles through the Cherokee nation before we reached any white settle- ment, which was on the San Antonio road. There we found hundreds of people travel- ing east in every conceivable manner get- ting out of the country and away from Santa Ana's army. This is known and well described as the 'run-away scrape.' When we left the Salive country I know that there was not a white settlement within the bounds of this county. Hence it is reasonable to suppose that the first settlement could not have been made until late in the year 1836. I was not in the country from May, 1836, uutil the army was disbanded in 1837. When I came home I understood that a settlement had been formed at Fort Houston, and that Major J. W. Jewel was ordered there with a company of men to guard this frontier. I cannot give you the names of the first settlers. These you can obtain from Judge Fowler, Daniel Parker, Benjamin Parker, Miles Bennett and the Crist families, that now live in the county and are among the oldest settlers in it."

If Mr. Lacy's certainty about there being no Fort Houston in March when they left the Saline country above, can be relied on, the fort was built some time in April, probably, of 1836, for its part, played in the famous Fort Parker tragedy, was acted in the latter half of May. As the owner of the tract ou which it was

placed was one of the founders of old Fort Houston, it is probable that the fort was built immediately after Sau Jacinto, and may even have been begun by Mr. Jordan and his friends soon after the land was surveyed on June 10, 1835, though on account of the prevalent troubles not com- pleted until later. The succor to the rem- nants of the Parker massacre was proba- bly one of the first duties Major Jewel had to performn.

As Fort Houston and afterward what is now Anderson county was so closely cou- nected with that unfortunate affair, and became the residence of many of them? one of the oldest of whom, now living, is Elder Ben Parker, of Elkhart, it will be well to let him give some inner facts about it that bear somewhat on this county, and are not given in the detailed history of the affair to be found in the sketch of the settlement of Limestone county in this volume:

" I see an article in the Houston Tele- graph," writes Mr. Parker, on May 10, 1875, from Elkhart, Texas, "written by Major John Henry Brown, of Dallas, leaded 'The Parkers of Texas,' and in which he has made some mistakes, which by your permission I wish to correct, as I am well acquainted with Major Brown and am certain he did not misrepresent any- thing wilfully, but was honestly mistaken. I shall adopt the principal part of the Major's sketch, and only attempt to correct errors. His reasons for writing about the Parker family are given in his introduc- tory paragraph, which is as follows: 'The events connected with the present narra- tive possess far more interest from the

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

time and location of the place and the captivity of the unfortunate victims, than from the number of persons massacred on the occasion by the Indians. More per- sons have repeatedly been killed in a sin- gle family on our long-bleeding frontier than fell with the little log fort on the Navasota, twenty days after the battle of San Jacinto. The name of Parker is not only associated with this episode in our history, but through three others of the same family who had no connection with the fort; it is honorably connected with the pioneer and legislative history of the Republic and State; and hence a few words will be devoted to it, prior to its immigration to Texas.'

"Mr. John Parker, the ancestor of all the family that located in Texas, was a native of Virginia, but moved to Georgia at an early day, where the most of his children were born. In 1802 he removed to Tennessee, and in 1818 to Illinois. He was a licensed minister in the old Baptist Church. His son Daniel (who was my father) was a regular ordained minister of the old Baptist Church, and was perhaps the first inan that ever raised, his pen against ' missionism,' as in 1821 he wrote his first article, entitled ' The Baptist Board of Foreign Missions;' and in 1826 he wrote his ' Views on the Two Seeds,' and was perhaps the first that wrote on that sub- ject. But there never was a division of the old Baptists in Illinois on account of the Two-Seed doctrine, as stated by my friend Major Brown; so that Daniel Par- ker never was a leader of any party of Baptists, but lived and died in full fellow- ship with the old Hardshell or Predesti-

narian Baptists; and on his deathı bed, but a few hours before the breath left his mor- tal body, with uplifted eyes, said he was willing to risk eternity on the doctrine he had written and preached.

" In 1833, Daniel Parker, with some of his brothers and friends, concluded to move to Texas; and it being a wilderness country, and no organized old Baptist churches here at that time, they thought best to organize a church, and in August Pilgrim church was constituted in Craw- ford county, Illinois, with Daniel Parker as its pastor; and on the road they would stop, pitch their tents and hold their meet- ings. Several persons joined the church on the road, having fallen in with the little band of pilgrims on their way to Texas; among them was Garrison Greenwood, an ordained minister, and Joseph Jordan, one of the founders of old Fort Houston. They first stopped near where Anderson, in Grimes county, now stands, and in 1834 held their meetings in that neighborhood. In the fall of that year Daniel Parker, with some others of the church, moved to San Pedro bayou, then in the municipality of Nacogdoches, and in 1835 he was elected from there a member of the Provisional Government (consultation) of Texas, but was not a member of the convention that framed the constitution of Texas in 1836; but in 1836 he removed to Shelby county, where he was elected to Congress, but was refused a seat, being an ordained minister of the gospel, and, as stated by Major Brown, : he preferred allegiance to his re- ligious vows to a seat in Congress, re- turned home, cultivated his farm, preached to his people, enjoying general esteem,

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having removed to (the present) Anderson conuty, and died the good man's death in 1844. His remains rest in the cemetery of Pilgrim Church. His son, Benjamin Parker, was elected to the legislature in 1855, 1859 and 1866; was a Confederate soldier, and is now his father's snecessor as pastor of Pilgrim Church, an honest man, and in every sense a valued citizen.'

"J. W. Parker and J. A. Parker (who died in the city of Houston in 1840) had come to Texas in 1832, and in 1833 Isaac Parker and Silas M. Parker also came, first stopping in Grimes county.

" James W. Parker was elected a mem- ber of the Provisional Government, and also to the convention that framed the con- stitution in 1836, from the municipality of Viesca.

"In the fall of 1835 Benjamin Parker came with his father, John Parker (who was also the father of those above named), to Texas and went to the fort on the Nava- sota, Benjamin leaving the principal part of his family in Illinois. And I would here state that another son of the old man, to wit, Jolin Parker, was killed by the In- dians in Louisiana in 1817.

" I quote from Major Brown: ' In the fall and winter of 1834-'35 the foundation was laid for the settlement at Parker's fort. This place is two and a half miles north- west of Groesbeck, and about the same distance south west of Springfield, in Lime- stone county. It is at the margin of a prairie, a mile or two from the Navasota creek. In its incipiency, among its first settlers were James W. Parker, Silas M. Parker, and some others. In 1835 the log fort was built.

" In the general breaking up of the set- tlements west of the Trinity during the invasion of Santa Ana, in the spring of 1836, these people, so far removed from the field of operations, remained at home, subject only to Indian hostilities. Some families lived in the fort, with farms near by; others had small farms two or three miles distant, the owners working them only when necessary, while some of their families yet remained in the Houston coun- ty settlements.

" I herewith give a statement of those at and about the fort when it was taken: John Parker and wife; Silas M. Parker, wife and four children; J. W. Parker, wife and four children; Mr. Nixon and wife (daughter of J. W. Parker); L. T. M. Plummer, wife (also a daughter of J. W. Parker) and son; Samuel M. Frost, wife and six children; besides Robert B., G. E. Dwight, wife and child; Benjamin F. Parker, Mrs. Elizabeth Kellogg and David Faulkenberry, who had lived near the fort, but had moved his family to Fort Hous- ton and had returned back with his son Evan to cultivate his farm; and also Abra- ham Anglin had taken his family to Fort Houston and returned to cultivate his farm (he was a son-in-law of Faulkenberry); and Silas Bates, a young man whose father had moved his family to Fort Honston, and Silas had gone back to work out their corn. The four last named stayed in the fort of nights and worked their farms in daytime.

" The above named were all in the fort on the morning of the 19th of May, 1836; but early in the morning J. W. Parker, his son and two sons-in-law, Nixon aud Plummer, went to the farm, about one and

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a half miles from the fort, to work, and had become so careless that they failed to take their guns with them. Faulkenberry and son and Anglin and Bates were work- ing together in a field about four miles from the fort, and had their guns with them. When the Indians made their ap- pearance Mrs. Nixon started to where her husband and father were at work and in- formed them of the fact, when Plummer took the only horse they had at the farm and went in haste to give information to Faulkenberry's party. J. W. Parker and Nixon started immediately for the fort, but had not' proceeded far when they met Parker's family, when he turned back with them to some hiding place, Nixon still going on toward the fort; but before he reached it he met Silas Parker's wife just as the Indians had overtaken her, and she put two of her children, Cynthia Ann and John, up behind the Indians, and she and Nixon took the other two and went with the Indians back to the fort. Nixon went through the fort and saw Frost and his son both dead, and saw that all was lost. As he passed out of the fort, and just as Silas Parker's wife and children were com- ing up, Faulkenberry arrived (having got on Plummer's horse, being old), and, with his gun presented, asked if the Indians were friendly. The savages now having killed all that remained at the fort, were somewhat scattered, and those that were near by fell back behind the fort. Faul- kenberry, having dismounted, told Mrs. Parker to follow him. The Indians made several attempts to charge upon him, but he still reserved his fire and kept calm. At length he saw his boys coming up and

beckoned to them, and they met him, all reserving their fire, and took Mrs. Parker to a safe hiding place in the bottom.

" About dark Abram Anglin and Silas Bates went back near the fort to recon- noiter. They went to old Elisha Anglin's house (which is yet standing) and found the old lady Parker, wife of John Parker, as stated by Major Brown.

"Nixon, being without a gun, left the fort after the Fanlkenberry party came up and went to hunt J. W. Parker and Mrs. Nixon, and fonud G. E. Dwight, who liad left the fort with Mrs. Frost (his mother- in-law) and her family, and told him that all was lost and the fort taken. J. W. Parker, after concealing his family in the Navasota bottom, was returning to the fort when he met Dwight, from whom he heard the sad news of its fall. They then inade their way to the settlements as stated by Major Brown.

"I will now return to Major Brown's more general narrative of the fall of the fort, says Mr. Parker, and the story is practically the same as given above. He concludes, however, with the following: It is due David Faulkenberry and those brave boys that were with him to say that after they had reached Fort Houston with those whom they had relieved and released, that some time during the next fall he and his son Evan and Abram Anglin and a young man named Columbus Anderson had crossed the Trinity river, perhaps in search of some hogs, and were somewhat bothered in crossing back, the canoe hav- ing been taken away, and while they were under the hill near where Bonner's ferry now is the Indians fired on them while,

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LIMESTONE, FREESTONE

perhaps, they were asleep. But at the firing they all jumped np, but Anderson fell again immediately, exclaiming, ' I'm a dead man!' However, he partially recov- ered and swam the river, and was found dead the next day some two miles this side of the fatal spot. The old man Faulken- berry also swam the river and got out about 300 yards, pulled up grass and made a bed, and was found dead upon it the next day. Evan Faulkenberry was never seen again; it is supposed he was killed and sank in the river. Abram Anglin was the only one that escaped, and he was shot through the thigh. He was shot at again the next spring, at Brown's fort, on the San Pedro bayou, in the pres- ent Houston county, by the Indians, and the hein of his shirt bosom cut off and a hole cut through the arm gusset of his shirt. He and Silas Bates are still living and residing near Groesbeck, as Major Brown says, and honored and esteemed by all who know them."

Another writer has given an account of this Anglin episode as gained front Mr. Anglin himself. It is in almost the exact words of Mr. Anglin, as a comparison with the latter's account given to R. F. Mat- tinson, of Groesbeck, will indicate.

" On the 28th day of January, 1837," says Mr. J. T. De Shields in the United Service Magazine, " Mr. Abram Anglin, accompanied by David and Evans Faulk- enbury, Douthet, Hunter and Anderson, left Fort Houston in Anderson county, for the purpose of gathering up some horses that had strayed. Finding some of them on the east side of the Trinity, they sent them back by Douthet and Hunter, who

promised to return on the following day, and bring a canoe for the purpose of cross- ing the river. Being impatient to accom - plish their mission, the remaining four men constructed a raft of logs and crossed the river. After searching all the after- noon without success, they repaired to the place where they were to meet the parties with the canoe. Arriving at the river, they found no canoe but plenty of Indian sigus, and, supposing the tracks to have been made by friendly Indians, they went near the river where the bank shielded them from the wind and lay down to await the coming of their comrades. Be- ing considerably fatigued by their day's tramp, all now fell asleep, but were soon awakened by the war-whoop and firing of Indians.

" About thirty sneaking red-skins had crept up within five or six yards of them, some armed with guns, who now opened a heavy fire upon the sleeping men. David Faulkenbury received a severe wound, and at once arose with his gun in hand. Anderson had already received a wound, and just as Anglin arose a ball struck him in the thigh, inflicting a se- vere wound. David Faulkenbury now handed Anglin a gun and called out, 'Come on boys: it's time to go,' at the same time throwing his gun into the river and plunging into the water, followed by An- derson. Evans Faulkenbury and Anglin sprang behind an aslı tree, intending to shoot at the Indians, but they had con- cealed themselves behind a bluff; and, knowing it to be folly for two to fight against so many Indians, who now had every advantage, Mr. Anglin jumped into

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the river and swam to the opposite side, leaving poor Faulkenbury to his fate. As Anglin was swimming across the Indians were discharging their arrows in rapid succession at him, and just as he was ınak- iug his way out on the opposite bank, which was steep and difficult of ascent, he received several slight wounds. Weak and exhausted, however, as he was, he finally succeeded in making his way out, where he found David Fanlkenbury too badly wounded to travel. Faulkeubury informed Anglin that he was unable to travel, and that it would be best to leave him and make his way to the fort as soon as possible for assistance.

" Anglin had gone only about 400 yards when he met the man Hunter with the canoe. Leaving the canoe, Hun- ter now took Anglin up behind him on his horse and traveled at a rapid gait toward the fort. They soon overtook Anderson, who, being severely wounded and almost entirely exhausted, insisted on being left until they should return from the fort with assistance. The two men soon reached the fort, where Anglin, whose wounds were paining him considerably, received attention. A company of men went back the same night to look after the remainder of the party, who had been left behind, but did not succeed in finding thiem until the next day. They found the lifeless body of David Faulkenbury near a water hole. He was lying upon a bed of grass, which he had evidently prepared to breath his last upon. Some two miles further on they found the corpse of Ander- son with two arrows sticking through his back. Poor Evans Faulkenbury was never

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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