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 49

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 49
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 49
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 49
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 49
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 49
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 49

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).

The soil of the prairie land varies from a black waxy to a sandy loan; that in the river and creek bottoms a rich alluvial and very fertile, and produces abundantly all the cereals commonly grown in the State.

Kennedy (sulphur) Spring, about three miles west of Groesbeck, is a popular re- sort for pleasure-seekers and invalids dur- ing the summer season.

The Houston & Texas Central Railroad passes through the county from the south to the north, having an extent in the county of 34.30 miles. The St. Louis, Arkansas & Texas Railroad crosses the northwestern corner of the county, having an extent of 3.35 miles. The combined extent of these two roads is 37.65 miles, with property assessed at $422,970.

The Methodist, Baptist, Primitive Bap- tist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Catholic and Christian Churches are each represented ' by church organization.

The connty was organized in 1846, and contains an area of 974 square miles.

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LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

Population. - United States census, 1880, 16,246; 1890, 21,678; increase, 5,432.

Number of votes cast for governor in 1890 -- Democratic, 2,416; Republican, 369; Independent, 19; total, 2,804.

Groesbeck is the county seat; popula- tion, 663. The other principal towns in the county are: Mexia, population 1,674; Kosse, population 647; Thornton, popula- tion 466; Frosa, population 109; Tehua- cana, population 268.

Value of Property .-- The assessed value of all property in 1890 was $5,972,481; in 1891, $6,493,040; increase, $520,559.

Lands .-- Improved lands sell for from $5 to $25 per acre; unimproved for from $2 to $10 per acre. The average taxable value of land in the county is $5.61 per acre. Acres State school land in the county, 70.

Banks .-- There are two private banks in the county, with a capital stock of $100,000 and a surplus of $25,000; two national banks, capital stock of $100,000 and a surplus of $15,117.30, making four banks in the county, with a total capital of $200,000.

Marriages .-- Number of marriages in the county during the year, 275; divorces, records burned.

Schools .- The county has a total school population of 4,797, with 34 schoolhouses, and gives employment to 99 teachers. Average wages paid teachers: White --- males, $48.74; females, $38.53; colored- males, $47.22: females, $30.35. Total number of pupils enrolled during the year was 4,320; average attendance, 2,163; and the average length of school term, 4.4

months. The estimated value of school- houses and grounds is $14,020; school ap- paratus, $1,390, making the total value of school property $15,410. Total tuition revenue received from the State, $19,188.

Farm and Crop Statistics .- There were 77 inortgages recorded in the county during the year, the amount of such mortgages being $219,921.04. There were recorded 1,238 chattel mortgages to produce crops, the total amount of such mortgages being $100,000. There are 1,695 farms in the county; 1,211 renters on farms; 724 farm laborers were em- ployed on the farms of the county during the year; average wages paid, $13.74 per month.

The farmers of this county purchased during the year 97,519 pounds of bacon, 19,036 pounds of lard, 24,203 bushels of corn, 21,216 gallons of molasses.

The products and value of the field crops for 1890 were as follows:

Cotton-63,416 acres, 26,021 bales, $1,- 095,436; corn-33,352 acres, 485,480 bushels, $388,384; wheat-35 acres, 275 bushels, $275; oats-2,239 acres, 40,221 bushels, $30,166; rye-3-4 acre, 5 bushels, $5; sweet potatoes-341 acres, 46,945 bushels, $23,473; Irish potatoes-53 acres, 6,153 bushels, $6,153; peas -- 106 acres. 798 bushels, $1,596; beans-1-2 acre, 6 bushels, $18; raised hay-105 acres, 134 tons, $799; prairie hay-1,110 acres, 991 tons, $4,955; millet-586 acres, 613 tons, $4,900; cane syrup-86 acres, 269 barrels, $5.374; sorghum molasses-32 acres, 63 barrels, $1,264; sorghum cane-8 acres, 18 tons, $180; cotton seed-$3,010 tons, $104,080.

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, ETC., COUNTIES.

Fruits and Garden .- Acres in peaches 835; acres in apples 71, value $370; in plums 45 1-2, value $25; in pears 21 1-3, value $105; in melons 40 2-3, value $2,264; in garden 466 3-4, value $58,592; in grapevines 1 3-4, value $145.

Bees .- Stands of bees 1,789; pounds of honey 18,967, value $1,896.

Wool .- Number of sleep sheared 1,489; pounds of wool clipped 8,780, value $1,780.

Live Stock .- Number of horses and mules 14,438, value $509,621; cattle 39,- 734, value $234,190; jacks and jennets 52, value $8,050; sheep 2,081, value $2,081; goats 720, value $814; hogs 11,- 505, value $13,549.

County Finance .- The rate of county tax on the $100 valuation for 1890 was 77 1-2 cents. On December 31, 1890, there was a balance in the county treasury of $4,340.82. The indebtedness on De- cember 31, 1890: Outstanding court-

house bonds $15,500; road and bridge bonds $14,755; total county indebtedness $30,255.

The county expended during the year $9,038 for roads and bridges; $300 for support of paupers; $578 for grand jury; $2,967 for petit jury. Total amount ex- pended for the support of the county gov- ernment $22,719.

Criminal Statistics .- There were in- carcerated in the county jail of the county during the year 97 persons; males 92, fe- males 5; white 27, colored 70, -- on the fol- lowing charges: Murder 6, theft 8, bur- glary 4, forgery 1, assault to murder 7, assault and battery 17, rape 2, all other charges and crimes 52.

Miscellaneous .- There are in the county 22 lawyers, 6 dentists, 114 mercantile es- tablishments, 1 beer dealer, 1 ice factory, 1 fire brick and tile manufactory, 12 re- tail liquor dealers, 1 pottery.

FREESTORE COURTY.

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

HE average reader forgets that the earth's surface is properly rock, and that its soils are mere air-and-water disintegrations from the rocks at that place or from distant rocks and carried there, and, as time went on, became mixed up in various degrees with vegetable matter of one kind and another, and even this in after years was changed back by similar processes into rock again. Air, water, life and heat untangle rock and then work up the results in other forms back into rocks of various kinds again. It is going on yet, all around every person, and so accus- tomed to it has he become that he for- gets it, and some one observes it all over to him, dignifying the operation by a big Greek word, geology, whereupon he makes his obeisance to his old friend in Greek costume, and, nine cases out of ten, holds him at a distance, never allowing the old friendly familiarity.

But removing the Greek costume, and observing this part of the earth called Texas, we might infer from the evidences of the rock that, upon the first cooled crust of the planet, there were overlaid in suc- cessive ages, layers upon layers of various kinds, now sandy rock, now shales, now lime-shell rock, now one kind and now an- other, including coal layers, until the top

layers, becoming disintegrated by the air, water, life and heat, became our soil, which we see being slowly washed off the higher points to the lower lands. But suppose the surface had at first been so high at one point that successive layers showed their edges, radiating off from that point; or suppose in later ages, that some great upheaval pushed the original crust in one region to the top, then the edges of all the layers could be seen for miles around, showing the various layers dipping off in various directions. If all these layers can be seen in a region, or even a large number, it is said to be a rich geological section, because, naturally, it is only the later layers that can be seen in most regions.

Now Texas is rich in this respect, but her riches have not even been fully ex- plored yet. Beginning with the original rock in Burnett and Llano counties, above Austin, the layers of almost every succes- sive age can be seen in various parts of the State. If these layers are divided into thirteen different periods, the Burnettan being the first, according to Texan geolo- gists, and the coast clays belonging to the thirteenth, the rock layers of the Grand prairie that covers Coryell county would be the eleventh. This shows the Burnett region to be immensely more aged than the comparatively youthful limestones or

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

chalks of the prairies of Coryell. The Latin word for chalk being creta, this pe- riod of rock-forming has been called by scientists Cretaceous, our scientists pre- ferring to distinguish systematized infor- mation by a Latin or Greek dress, as an ordinary man, when becoming a soldier, dons a uniformn. So it may be said Coryell connty is only three periods old.

The chalk-period is, of course, subdi- vided for convenience, the earlier series of layers being called locally the Comanche series. "The name prairie," says the State geologist's report of 1889," covers a mul- titude of diverse geographic features in Texas, of which the absence of timber growth is, to the casual observer, the most conspicnons; and hence the fact that west of the Black Prairie region (and its basal Lower Cross Timbers) there is another en- tirely distinct geographic and geologic region, which, until recently, has been confused with it. This is the beautiful prairie country surrounding Fort Worth, which lies between the Cross Timbers. It is the so-called " mountain country" in western Williamson, Travis, Hays, Comal and other counties of the southwest, and it extends across the State immediately west of and parallel to the Black Prairie region. South of Anstin the edge of this plain, which forms an eastwardly facing escarpment, is known as the Balcones. North of the Brazos the Balcones scarp disappears, and the narrow forest region of the Lower Cross Timbers marks the eastern border of the Grand Prairie."

But if the great prairie region is only three periods old, born, so to speak, in the third period back, not counting ours as the

first, the region of the middle Trinity val- ley is still younger by one period. Instead of being born in the Cretaceous, it was created in the next later period, which the old geologists gave the Latin name of the Third or Tertiary period, which was then supposed to contain the third grade of fossil life.

It is on the borders of these two periods, however, where they mix and blend their products, that this county is located, and, interestingly enoughı, this border has been celebrated in the names of this-Freestone -county, and hier Cretaceous sister county -Limestone-on the western side.

"East Texas proper," says Geologist Penrose in 1889, " ¿. e., the region east of the Brazos, is underlaid mostly by Tertiary strata, though to the northwest we come to Cretaceous beds, and on the crests we meet Post-Tertiary clays. The line separating the Tertiary and Cretaceous strata, has not yet been acurately run, but points along it liave been determined and are sufficient to allow a general line to be drawn. This line runs in a general southwest and north- east direction; crosses the Red river west of Texarkana; thence proceeding sonth- west it intersects the Texas & Pacific Rail- way near Elmo, nine miles west of Wills Point, and the Missouri, Kansas & Texas between Corsicana and the Trinity river; it crosses the Brazos in the northeast cor- ner of Milam county; the Colorado ten iniles below Anstin. The up- permost part of the Cretaceous, and the base of the Tertiary strata, are both com- posed of soft clay and sand beds, which succumb readily to the weathering action of the atmosphere, and consequently the

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line of separation is often impossible to locate exactly. The uppermost beds of the Cretaceous in Texas and Arkansas, are composed of sandy and 'glauconitic' strata, sometimes reaching a maximum thickness of 300 feet. These have been termed the 'glauconitic' division by Hill. They vary in composition from beds of pure silicions sand to beds composed eu- tirely. of glauconite, and between these two extremes are to be found all gra- dations in the relative proportions of the two materials."

Farther on he says: "The glauconitic strata have, in east Texas at least, been al- most entirely eroded, and the underlying ' Ponderosa Marls' now form almost every - where in this portion of the State the Up- per Cretaceous division." Again: "The Tertiary deposits of east Texas, overlying these Cretaceous strata, consist of a vast thickness of sand, clay and glauconite beds, in some places characterized by great quan- tities of lignite, and in others by beds of littoral fossils. In fact, the whole series represents a succession of coastal, sub- coastal, or brackish-water deposits, alter- nating with marine deposits of a littoral character, and between these two extremes we find all gradations."

As nothing more definite than this has been prepared by geologists, it will suffice to say that Freestone tends more to the Tertiary, while Limestone is dominated by the Upper Cretaceous, which even spreads a little of its prairie into Freestone's bor- ders.

Freestone is almost entirely drained into the Trinity by the Tehuacana and Keechi creeks, the former in the north doing the

larger part. She has abundance of good spring water, and on her eastern side lias salines that attracted some of her earliest visitors, who also found her rich bottom lands of mixed Cretaceous and tertiary earth a veritable garden, while her mixed uplands, both prairie and woodland, became rich plantations long before the black-waxy belt to the west was deemed fit for anything but Indians and cyclones. It was this very position, high up on the Trinity river's navigation, near the edge of the cool and healthy western prairies, that gave Free- stone an early prestige far beyond that of her prairie sisters, who are so much older as counties.

Freestone is now about forty-three years old, lying on the west bank of the Trinity, surrounded by Navarro, Henderson, Ander- son, Leon and Limestone, her sisters, who are older by four years, thus making her the pet of this family of counties, as she certainly was in ante-bellum days, or, speaking more accurately, in ante-railway days,-although both war and the iron- horse have conspired against her compara- tive glory.

As Freestone was once the queen of these counties, the Trinity star, whose center is Freestone, and whose five points are Na- varro, Henderson, Anderson, Leon and Limestone, and as she was once one of the seven leading cotton and slave counties of Texas, the counties of this star may pro- duce their cotton record for the past four decades, to show their position in the ban- ner product of the chief cotton State in the nation.

Freestone has 883 square miles of ter- ritory, making her from 100 to 200 square

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

miles less than her other five sister counties.

Take the product of 1859 to begin with. In that year Anderson had the greatest crop of all six counties-7,517 bales; bnt Anderson had over 200 square miles more of territory, and even then Freestone came a close second with 6,913 bales. The only other county that compared with Freestone was Leon, with 6,675 bales, but Leon had 166 square miles more of territory, the third county in area in this Trinity star. The other three counties were scarcely a third of these, or, all three combined did not equal the product of any one of the above counties, as Navarro only bad 2,329 bales; Henderson but 2,105 bales, and Limestone the insignificant number of 1,303 bales.

The year 1869 showed far more of an equality, but Freestone sprang to the front by nearly 2,000 bales more than any one of her five surrounding sisters; her pro- duct was 6,465 bales, Leon came next with 4,877 bales; Navarro with 4,077 bales; Anderson with 4,016 bales; Lime- stone with 3,414 bales, and Henderson with 2,967 bales. Thus the smallest of the coun- ties led the rest by nearly 2,000 bales in 1869.

The year 1879 began to show the stuff the prairies were made of, and how much a railway could do for cotton production. In that year the record was considerably disarranged, but Freestone held well to the front, as a good third, next only to the prairie counties; Navarro took a tremen- dous stride up to 12,958 bales; Limestone began to show signs of her present leader- ship in 9,037 bales; and Freestone gave 8,182 bales. The other three counties-

all much larger than Freestone-ranged below her with 7,548 for Anderson, 7,360 for Leon, and 6,159 for Henderson.

The year 1889 showed the prairies way ahead of the rest, but Freestone showed an equally advanced third position still, with a product of 15,816 bales. Limestone and Navarro had become close rivals -- 27,274 to 27,100 for the latter. The others ranged from Leon with 11,601, and Anderson 10,241, down to Henderson with 7,949. This record was made with Freestone as fourth in population-abont 10,000 less than Navarro, and over 5,000 less than Limestone or Anderson.

It will be of interest to note the history of such a cotton-producing population.

SETTLEMENT.

" The Indian country," wrote an old set- tler of Palestine some years ago in the best account of that period in the middle Trinity valley, with which it deals, " com- prised all of that territory lying east of the Trinity river to the easternmost waters of the Angelina river, the southern bound- ary being considered to be the old San Antonio road to Red river. The northern boundary was considered to be the Sabine river, from its source to a point due north from the most eastern waters of the Ange- lina river. Within the bounds here given were many tribes of Indians, to-wit: Cher- okees, 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 mentioned territory, at a place thien called Bean's Saline, for the purpose of

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LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTES.

making salt for supplying the Indian trade. About the same time two trading houses were established at the same point, one by Chates H. Sims, the other by James Hall, with large quantities of goods adapted to the Indian trade. About the year .1832 an old gentleman by the name of Walker settled near the Saline. His family con- sisted of a wife, three grown daughters and a little boy. In 1833 Dr. E. J. De Bard, that now lives in this city (Palestine when this was written), 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 (Palestine) and in the southwest 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 Bluff (now West Point), thirteen miles west of this place (Palestine) for the purpose of trading with the prairie In- dians, viz .: the Comanches, Wacos, Tehua- canas and the Keechis," the last mentioned of which were the lords of Freestone county, as will be seen farther on.

"The Trinity river," continues Mr. Lacy, " 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 1836."

Some of this land had been surveyed the year before Hall located (1834), and they surveyed large slices, too, as inde- pendent surveys, although the territory had been granted to the Burnett colony before this, but that colony was not effect- ive until 1835. These surveys, made in 1833, were from Jose de Jesus Grande on December 11; J. N. Acosta and M. R. Palacios, both on November 21; Man. Monda and J. Y. Aquilera, botlı on the day before-the 20th; and Simon Sanchez with several tracts in the east, the earliest being the first of all, on July 12, 1833.

But Hall had not been settled a year when the Burnett colonists began to have their claims laid out, and, as this colony has been described so fully in the settle- ment sketches of Navarro and Anderson counties, repetition will be unnecessary here, as those sketches are instantly acces- sible to the reader. Hall's trading-house was a sort of way station for the surveying companies, and among the followers of the chain and compass was Mr. W. Y. Lacy, above quoted. Let his account be re- sumed :

" In August, 1835, I. W. Burton, with four others, I being of the party, started from the Saline before spoken of on a sur- veying tour. We passed through this (Anderson) county, stopping in two vil- lages, viz., the Caddos and the Kickapoos, for the purpose of buying dried buffalo meat and other articles of food as might be wanted. We crossed the Trinity at HIall's Bluff, stayed with Hall two or three days, and then started up the river aud

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

commenced our work abont eight miles above Hall's Bluff.

" We made two surveys, and were on the third when we were surrounded by about 100 Keechi Indians. We had stopped to get dinner when they came up. They in- formed 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 bnrned their town and driven off all their horses, and that we had to pay the penalty!" This story of the Keechis undoubtedly refers, according to Mr. Karner, of Mexia, to the raids of Colo- nel Coleman, which has been noticed in the Limestone sketch of settlement.

" Burton called for the chief," Mr. Lacy proceeds, " told him that he wanted to talk a little before we were killed; that we were not Brazos people; that we belonged to Nacogdoches; 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 ns, pointing to the compass. He also explained the use of the chain to measure the land, his field- hook to write it all down, the hatchet to mark the trees, and that we had no guns; did not want to hunt any; had just come over there to steal the land only, and would give Jim Hall as security of the truth of what we had 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 that we

might go. Of course we went. got to the trading-post about sun-down, but were not permitted to see Hall tirst. Perhaps thirty minutes had elapsed, when the chief came to us, giving his hand, and the bal- ance 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 remained two or three days at the trading-honse, and then left for our home. We did not waut any more land on that side of the river. I only mention this particular circumstance to show that at that time there were no hos- tilities existing between the white and red man within the territory spoken of."

Very few surveys were made after that, and the most of the Burnett surveys were made during the previous month, July, 1835. In that month were made those of Robert R. Longbotham on the 24th, Sarah McAnalty on the 7th, Willie Curry on the 13th, S. A. Sweet on the 9th, G. W. Price on the 10th, James Sparks on the 8th, Hugh Shepherd on the 19th, W. M. C. Jones on the 17th, W. B. Reed on the 9th, William Skinner on the 13th, J. M. Sanchez on the 16th, J. M. Lyon on the 16th, C. Chainar on the 15th, Jesse Korn on the 23d, Redin Gainer, covering the Fairfield site, on the 9th, I. H. Reed on the 15th, Gertrude Luna on the 25th, and M. de Canturn on the 19th. One, for Isaac Holliman, was made in August- - on the 5th. The rest were in October and comprised only a few: Eli Russel on the 15th, G. B. Brewer on the 26th, D. Avant on the 26th, Henry Avant on the 11th, and Hopson Burleson on the 16th, Octo- ber, 1835.

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LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

" At that time," said Mr. John Karner, the old Indian fighter, now of Mexia, " the Keechis had a large village down near the Trinity, opposite Centerville, a smaller one near Butler, in what is now Freestone. The Tehuacanas, friends of the Keechis, had a good village about the Tehuacana Springs in Limestone, now, with a good council-house, a round place about thirty feet across, made of cedar posts, and thatched with mesquite-grass. These In- dians were friendly with the whites up to this time, and in the early part of 1836 Colonel Coleman came up here and made a raid on them, and that set everything wrong. It was this that started them in re- venge on Fort Parker in May, and they all joined the Mexicans to fight us. That was a bad thing. The Tehuacanas were too cute for Coleman's people, though," and Mr. Karner described the trench fight in his vivid style and quaint German ac- cent that he has never been able to throw off.

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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