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 43

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 43
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 43
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 43
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 43
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 43
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 43

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).

This increase is an explanation, some- what, and an assurance, too, of her ability to build a courthouse almost every decade, if she wants to; and her experience has made her want to. It will be interesting to trace her civil career in this and other respects.

Two of the well-known pioneers are re- ferred to in the following sketches:

A. Barry, an honored old citizen of Tehuacana Hills, Limestone county, Texas, is the subject of this sketch. He is of Irish descent, his great-grandfather having been born in Ireland. The latter was a rebel against the English government and on account of political troubles had to leave his native country. He made his escape with his four-year-old boy, came to this country and settled in Newbern, , North Carolina. That four-year-old boy was his son James, and he became the grandfather of our subject, and always lived in North Carolina, near Newbern. There his son, Bryan Buckner Barry, was born and became the father of our subject.

The mother was named Mary Murrill, and both parents lived and died in their native State, North Carolina. They had a num- ber of children, but only four came to Texas: the subject of this notice; " Buck" Barry, who now resides in Bosque county; Claudius, and Bryan, deceased. Our sub- ject was born in Onslow county, North Carolina, April 4, 1820, was reared and resided there until 1848, when he came to Texas.

In 1840 he was married to Miss Susan A. Ambrose, a daughter of Peter Ambrose, a native of North Carolina. He started for Texas with wagons, teams, negroes and goods and progressed on his journey over- land in this way as far as Montgomery, Alabama, where he sold his horses and shipped the remainder of his possessions by boat to New Orleans and from thence to Houston. At the latter city he bought three yoke of oxen, paying $25 for each yoke, including chains. He fixed up a conveyance, and, loading his household goods, implements of husbandry, wife, children and negroes, he struck out for the frontier. He headed for Navarro county, then recently organized (in 1846), and came through as best he could, making roads through the woods, swimming streams and crossing on rude rafts made of poles and grapevines. He set- tled at old Dresden, Navarro county, in April, 1848. At that time there were only about 100 families in the county, these being in settlements at Dresden, Chatfield and Corsicana. He engaged first in farming in the vicinity of Dres- den, and later, in connection with farming, engaged in the mercantile business. In

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

1860 he erected a steam flouring mill on his farm, which he ran for a number of years. He left there in 1870 and removed to where he now lives, at Tehuacana Hills, being attracted to that place ou account of its healthfulness and school advantages, as it is the site of Trinity University. In recent years he has been engaged in farm- ing and lives somewhat in retirement. He is an old Texan and full of reminiscences. He used to trade extensively with the Indians, the Iron Eyes, Anadarkoes and the Caddos-being then stationed at old Fort Graham on the Brazos river, seventy- five miles to the north. They brought their pelts to him and traded for bed-tick- ing and blne calico and trinkets of one kind and another. He was elected justice of the peace for all the territory now em- braced in the counties of Ellis, Johnson, Hill, Tarrant, Parker and the Dresden district of Navarro county, and tried cases of all kinds and from all quarters in this area. He was an important official in those days, and was consulted on all mat- ters of public note and performed all kinds of dnties of an official and semi- official nature. He once went as far as Johnson station, in Tarrant county, to hold a trial in a case of murder growing out of a dispute between a young fellow and an old lady over a pair of ox-bows. The case lasted a week; and the defend- ant, a young man named Robinson, was held over to answer to the district court. All the witnesses at the time were on their way to west Texas and the defendant gave bond for his appearance: but the State's witnesses, being emigrants, moved on and never conld be secured again. Our

subject did considerable collecting busi- ness in those days, and gave a great deal of gratuitous information, legal and other- wise. For sixteen years he was justice of the peace in Navarro county and eight years in Limestone county; was also county commissioner of the former county at an early day and was serving as such when the first frame courthouse of any

$ note was built in that county.

Major Barry was married, as was stated, in North Carolina, Jannary 4, 1840, and his wife died in 1849, in Navarro county. He married a second time, Mrs. Margaret E. Allen, who was the widow of Sterling B. Allen. This lady was a native of Ten- nessee, but was reared in Greene county, Missouri, where she married and lost her husband. She accompanied her father, Alexander Younger, to Texas in 1846 and settled shortly afterward in Navarro county. Mr. Barry and his present wife have reared fifteen children, four of whom were by his former marriage, two by her first marriage, and nine by their present marriage. The children of his first mar- riage were Ambrose, a farmer and physi- cian now living at Raleigh, Texas; Morrill, a contractor and builder, living at Marlin, Falls county; Victoria, wife of W. L. Church, of Corsicana; and Peter, a jeweler of Meridian, Bosque county. Mrs. Barry's children by ber first marriage were John A. Allen, a physician, residing at Wor- tham, Freestone county, a sketch of whom appears in this work; Sterling B. Allen, cashier of the Farmers & Merchants' National Bank at Cleburne, Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Barry's children are Bryan T., attorney at law, of Dallas; Janie, wife of

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LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

Dr. S. A. Greenwell, of Cleburne, Texas; Rachel, wife of W. A. Chestnut; Lucinda, wife of H. C. Talbut, district clerk of Corsicana, both sisters residing in Corsi- cana; Robert E. Lee, of Montana; David lives in Galveston, Texas: Augusta, wife of Wyatt J. Roseborough, of Marshall, Texas; Luther, telegraph operator at Mexia; and Ford Ernest is still with his parents. To all of these Mr. Barry has given a good education, and as will be seen most of them are filling positions of usefulness.

Mr. Barry is a member of the Masonic order, and in politics is a Democrat.

L. R. Person, a son of one of Limestone county's oldest settlers, was born in Shelby county, Texas, in 1844. His father, B. D. Person, was a native of North Carolina, born in 1820, but when a small boy his father emigrated to Shelby county, Ten- nessee, where he was reared to farm life. About 1838 he located in Shelby county. Texas, and two years later married Amanda, a daughter of W. A. Corder, of North Carolina. In 1851 Mr. Person removed to Navarro county, near Pisgah, and three years later took up his abode near the vil- lage which bears his name in Limestone county, where he died in 1860. No one of the early pioneers of this county was better known or liked than B. D. Person. He was honest, brave and courageous, was in many skirmishes with the Indians, but always came off nnhurt. Upon one occa- sion a squad were trailing a band of In- dians with stolen horses, the theft being made known by a minister, who dreamed that the Indians stole all the horses but eleven belonging to the camp, and that they

were followed, the horses recovered, but he (the minister) was killed. The Indians were overtaken at Parker's bluff, on the Trinity river, the horses recovered, but the preacher was killed by an Indian, who fired from across the river, whither he had been sent to secure the stock after its landing. Mr. Person was not a public man, preferring private life to the emoluments of office. He served a short time in the Mexican war. Mrs. Person died, and was buried in Navarro county, and Mr. Person afterward married Leetha Pickett. The children of the first marriage were: Alfred T., de- ceased; William Franklin, deceased; L. R., our subject; George Ann, deceased; Snsie, wife of Wesley Mckinley, of McLennan county; E. H., deceased; and Martha L., deceased. By the second marriage there were four children, namely: William F., deceased; B. D. was the next in order of birth; R. B., deceased; and Tabitha Leon, wife of Samuel Mckinney.

At the age of seventeen years L. R. Per- son, our subject, enlisted in Colonel Sweet's Fifteenth Texas Cavalry, under Captain Tyas, and the command was taken pris- oners at the fall of Arkansas Post, confined three months at Camp Douglas, Chicago, and were exchanged at City Point, Vir- ginia. They were then placed in the army of Tennessee, and saw some of the hardest fighting of the war, participating in the battles of Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Mis- sionary Ridge, Lookout Mountain, the Atlanta Campaign, then back to Franklin and Nashville, and fought the last general engagement near Raleigh, North Carolina. Mr. Person walked from Greenville, South Carolina, to Greenville, Tennessee, where

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he took train for Texas, but was badly in- jured in a wreck, and was removed to the home of an uncle near by. Three months later he again started for Texas, but did not reach home until Christmas Eve, 1865. Not being able to do farm work, he fol- lowed teaming fifteen months, next drove beef cattle to Alexandria, Louisiana, one year, and then began farming, having only one pony, worth $37. Mr. Person first bought fifty acres of land, to which he has since added until he now owns 604 acres, 200 acres of which is cultivated. He also handles stock in a small way. In politics he is a Democrat, as was his father.

Our subject was married in 1867, to Carry E., a daughter of Dr. J. H. Reaves. They have had the following children: L. L., J. J. (deceased), Rosa L., Annie, Alton, Pearl, and five deceased in infancy.

H. A. Boyd, the subject of this sketch, was the son of John Boyd, an old Texan, who was a son of Abram Boyd. The latter was born in South Carolina and went to Tennessee when a young man and settled near Nashville, where he married and later moved to what is now Trigg county, Ken- tucky, when that country was a wilderness, where he subsequently lived and died.

John Boyd, the father of our subject, was born near Nashville, Tennessee, in 1796, and there was partly reared and went with his father to Kentucky when he was a yonth. Returning to Tennessee, he mar- ried, in Maury county, but settled in Trigg county, and resided there nntil 1835, when he came to Texas, reaching Sabine connty, in this State, in October or No- vember of that year.

In 1835, our subject entered the service

of Texas in the war against Mexico, and served in that struggle by which Texas won her independence. He lived in Sabine connty until 1845, when he moved to what was then Robertson county, but now Lime- stone county, having located a claim near Tehuacana Hills, on which he settled, his claim embracing the larger part of the land lying around that picturesque and his- toric spot. He took up his residence on this claim in October, 1845, having visited it in the spring of the previous year, which was the first time he was ever in the county. At that time the only other settlements were near old Fort Parker. The nearest one to the north was at Dresden, in Na- varro county, and the nearest to the west was at Waco, forty miles away. There may have been one or two families living to the east of him between his place and the Trinity river.

Our subject took part in the organiza- tion of the county, being an active, public- spirited citizen. He was too old to enter the late war, but was an ardent States' rights man, and gave the Confederacy his earnest support. During the war he repre- sented his Senatorial district in the State legislature and made an efficient repre- sentative.

In the early days of the Republic he represented the Sabine district (east Texas) in Congress, when the Lone Star was an independent sovereignty. He served in the first session. His pursuits through life were those of a farmer, and having come from a distinguished family he was himself a very able man. He had three brothers, who were men of ability, and two of them were men of note. His oldest

Inosoy de

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brother, Hon. Linn Boyd, was a congress- man for a number of years from Kentucky, and was one of the Speakers of the House of Representatives. Alfred Boyd, another brother, was in public life a long time in Kentucky, serving in both the upper and lower branches of the State legislature. Still another brother, Rufus, was a promi- nent and wealthy planter of western Ken- tucky. All of them were reared in Trigg county, Kentucky, where their father set- tled at an early day.

The wife of Jolin Boyd was Elizabeth McLean, and she was a native of Kentucky, her father being a pioneer of that State and of Tennessee. She died at the old home- stead in 1867, and John Boyd died there in 1873, aged seventy-seven years. He accumulated property during his life, most- ly in lands, and gave a large part of this to the founding of a school at Tehuacana, Trinity University, a denominational in- stitution under the auspices of the Cum- berland Presbyterian Church. This school has grown to be one of the best denomina- tional schools in Texas, and it owes its origin unquestionably to the foresight of John Boyd. He gave to it over 1,100 acres of land, including the beautiful and picturesque site on which the building stands, and as long as he lived he labored earnestly for its success.

John Boyd was the father of nine chil- dren, but only three of them grew to ma- turity: a daughter, Martha, now a widow of Samuel B. Campbell, residing in Tehua- cana, Limestone county; Horace A., whose name heads this sketch; and James Put- namn, who was in the Mexican war (1846- '47) and in the Indian service on the front-

ier of Texas, and died in Limestone county in 1850, while still a young man. John Boyd and his wife were for many years members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Horace A. Boyd was born in Trigg county, Kentucky, July 7, 1823, and was about twelve years old when his father came to Texas. His youth was spent in Sabine county, where his parents first set- tled. He grew up on the frontier and liis first visit to Limestone county was in the fall of 1844, when he accompanied his father to this county to look after this claim, and came with the family to Tehua- cana in 1845. In 1846, he enlisted in Captain Tom I. Smith's company to go to Mexico in the service, but, further recruits not being needed, he entered the frontier service and spent that period covered by the war with Mexico (1846) on the western frontier.

The marriage of Mr. Boyd took place February 9, 1848: he married Mrs. Sarah A. Dollahite, of Limestone county, whose maiden name was Teague, a daughter of James Teague, who moved from Alabama to Texas at an early day. In the fall of 1861 he entered the Confederate army, en- listing in Captain William Peck's com- pany, and served a short time in that com- pany, when an order was made by the Con- federate government, exempting all men over a certain age from military service, and our subject, being over that age, was released. He returned home, but shortly after he re-enlisted, in Company E, Thirty- fifth Texas Cavalry, with which he served in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, taking part in the series of engagements which

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followed Banks' expedition up the Red river until the close of the war. He was a first lieutenant in his company, and he was in active service until the war closed, and was never either captured or wounded.

Our subject has been a farmer and stock- raiser all of his life. He now lives on a part of the old homestead, where his father settled nearly fifty years ago. He owns only a part of it, having sold the greater portion. He is now serving his second term as county commissioner, but has never been an aspirant for political honors. He assisted his father in select- ing the site for the university and has donated to its support, and for years has served as one of the board of trustees. He is a zealous member of the Presbyterian Church and has been a Mason for years. The death of his wife, March 10, 1892, was deeply felt, and but one child, a daughter, remains to comfort his declin- ing years.

ORGANIC HISTORY.

Land is still measured in not only these counties, but also in the whole State, as the old empresarios or colony contractors measured it back in the '30s, that is, by the vara, or 333 inches; the acre, or 4,840 square yards; the labor, or 177 acres; and the league, or 4,428 acres. But it is meas- ured with a good deal more care for the acre and vara than in those days, when an empresario was given almost carte blanche for indefinite slices of the entire province now the great State of Texas. In 1830 about fourteen or fifteen of these colony contractors covered the greater part of the State.

After the Revolution in 1836 and the State was reorganized, the first county to be organized was Milam, during that year. During 1837 twenty-five counties were re- organized, and in 1838 two more-Fannin and Robertson. Milam and Robertson both began where the old Bexar and Nacogdo- clies road crosses the Brazos, and stretchied far beyond the present limits of the counties bearing these names now, Milam covering nearly all the vast space of land between the courses of the Brazos and Colorado rivers above that road, and Robertson county covering an equally great expanse between the courses of the Brazos and Trinity rivers above that road. Of course that placed all of the counties under con- sideration, except. Anderson and Henderson, in Robertson, and the only signs to be seen on a map of 1841 that look very fa- miliar in this region are the river names.

Not more than seven other counties were organized in the time of the Republic --- Bowie, Galveston, Lamar, Harrison, Brazos, Rusk and Travis. But no sooner had Texas joined the Union as a State than such a flood of population poured in that in the single year of 1846 alone the re- markable number of thirty-one counties were formed, and those now among the wealthiest in the State, chiefly to the north, east and south of Waco, from the Red river even to Lavaca county; and in 1848 eight more were cut out in the same region. Only one was formed in 1849. Old Robert- son county had been well cut up by 1848, and among those counties east of the Brazos was Limestone.

On the 18th day of August, 1846, the bill was passed creating Limestone county,

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and as Freestone and some little more was included in her limits before 1850, it will be seen that she was much larger than her present bounds which are given below.

" Beginning at the east corner of Falls county, thence with the northeast bound- aries of Falls and McLennan counties north 30° west, thirty-eight and one-half miles; thence north 60° east to a point bearing south 30° east from the southwest corner of Ellis county, and continuing the same course three miles to the southwest corner of Navarro county, the southeast corner of Hill county and north corner of Limestone county; thence in a direct line to the west corner of Freestone county; thence with the line of said county south 30° east to the northwest line of Leon county, being south 614° west twenty-nine miles from Trinity river; thence with the line of Leon county south 612° west to the Navasota river; thence up said river to the north corner of Robertson county; thence south 60° west with the northwest bound- ary of Robertson county to the place of be- ginning."

Although the county was organized so early, the fact that it has no commission- ers' court record previous to 1874 now in existence will be a little surprising as in- formation to the younger generation, and serve to lead this sketch into one of the most striking features of the history of the "county fathers'" court. The district court has fared well in the preservation of its records, but the county court has not fared so well as that of the district, in pres- ervation of records, by four years; the ear- liest now preserved at Groesbeck is that of 1874: "Police court, January term,

1874. Be it remembered that on this the 26th day of January, A. D. 1874, there was begun and holden a regular term of the Police Court in and for Limestone county, at the courthouse thereof in the town of Groesbeck, where the following proceedings were had. Present, O. Wiley, presiding; B. R. Tyus, Justice of the Peace, precinct No. 1; J. C. Morton, Jus- tice of the Peace, precinct No. 3; J. P. Brown, Justice of the Peace, precinct No. 5; Peyton Parker, Sheriff; J. B. Vallan- dingham, Clerk.

"Whereas the records of this court were burned with the courthouse in October, 1873 (it was on the 24th-Ed.), and whereas the minutes of the court were kept on legal cap paper and are liable to be lost," it was ordered that they be tran- scribed. The records previous to this were destroyed.

The courthouse story runs thus:

Old Springfield was chosen as the county seat and a small temporary plank court- house was built, about 20 feet by 30 feet in size. This was moved off about 1853, it is said, and a good brick structure built, at a cost variously estimated from $10,000 to $15,000., and about a score of years later it was burned, in August, 1873, dur- ing the reconstruction period, in which Limestone had an unusually severe experi- ence. A store building of Captain Tyus was then rented as a temporary seat of justice, and on October 24, 1873, this was burned and the records, as above indicated.

Then the movement of the railway ter- minus northward, and the founding of Groesbeck by that company led to a vote on moving the county seat there. This was

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

a bitter fight and Groesbeck, or Groesbeeck as it was originally spelled, won. Here a store was rented for county purposes un- til about 1877-'78, when a $20,000 court- house was erected, as the first of what may be called the "Groesbeck series " of court- houses. This building lasted several years and was condemned by the county court, and a new one of brick was ordered about 1887 and completed at a cost of probably $24,000. This building was the second of the "Groesbeck series," in which the county, through long practice, was gaining great skill as a builder of seats of justice. This, too, seemed to settle the county seat question in which both Mexia and Thorn- ton bid hard for a chance to be the site of so much courthouse erection. This court- house was destroyed by fire on February 1, 1891.

Experience with all of these courthouses had taught the county some severe lessons, and they at once proceeded to lay plans for a building that should be fire-proof from foundation to weather-vane, that should be large, roomy and convenient, and fitted with all the latest improvements in court- house architecture. These were drawn up by Architect Ulrich, of Dallas, and R. H. Stucky was awarded the contract. The building cost $68,000, and is not only fire- proof in all its parts, fitted with all the latest conveniences, and tastefully, even luxuriously, decorated, but is the most or- namental and striking piece of brick and stone architecture in all the counties under consideration in this volume, and certainly comparing favorably witli any of its style in the entire State. It belongs to the new- est school of courthouse architecture.

The present jail, near by, was erected late in the last decade, at a cost of $13,000.

In 1889 the county issued its first bonds of $12,500 for courthouse purposes and $2,755 for roads and bridges, and in 1890 there was issued for the latter purpose $11,000 more, whereby the conuty now has good bridges, of which four are of iron. In 1891 the new courthouse led to the issue of $50,000 more in bonds and $2,000 more in 1892, giving a grand total of $64,500 in courthouse bouds and $13,- 755 in road and bridge bonds, as the county's present bonded debt, excepting $5,000 of the courthouse bonds redeemed in 1892.

The county valuation is $6,681,160, of which $405,780 is Houston & Texas Central railway property, representing 34.3 miles of track and $12,890 for 1.2 miles of the Cotton Belt Railway in the northwest corner.

Among the county judges, recalled by old citizens, are David Prendergast, L. B. Prendergast, J. M. Davis, A. G. Wood, Mr. Ellis, J. L. Burney, A. G. Moore, John A. Harrington, R. M. Fancher, L. B. Cobb and W. G. Rucker.

The county has furnished three promi- nent citizens for high civil positions: Judge D. M. Prendergast of Mexia as cir- cuit judge; Major L. J. Farrar, a brief ap- pointment to the Supreme Court and a term in the senate of Texas; and Hon. John R. Henry as senator also. Judge Prendergast was also the recent guberna- torial candidate on the Prohibition ticket.

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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