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 53

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 53
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 53
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 53
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 53
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 53
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 53

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Fairfield's site was given by D. H. Love for the purposes of the new county seat of 1851, and before a year various stores were in full operation on each side of the square. George Roller was established on the east side of the square, and Captain Peck held forth on the opposite side, while Dr. Mil- ner on the north and Collit's store on the south, with Moody's & Watson's (then by Oliver) were among the strong stores of those big plantation days. There was the Starr hotel and the present brick hotel, the first one in brick, which was in charge of J. P. Whit. From this time on until the war the increase was very great and many build- ings were erected. These buildings fell largely into decay during the war, so that the present buildings are almost all recent. The effect of the railway lasted for about two years and then a slow re- action took place, that has been gathering increased momentum recently, for in six montlis of 1892 five brick stores were built, and that is not done by a town which has given up in despair of all growthi.

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LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

Fairfield has two fraternities, one of the Masons and one of Knights of Honor.

In the newspaper line the county seat people began well before the war with a live weekly called the Pioneer, and edited by James Colwell. It had one paper before that for a time. Cotton Gin afforded a rival at that time in the Herald. After the war the Ledger, now of Mexia, began at Fairfield, but went to the depot town with the railway exodus of the early '70s. The present weekly is a live newspaper pub- lished by L. D. Lillard and bears the name, The Fairfield Recorder. This is one of the best two papers in the county.

Fairfield is connected with Mexia by a daily hack line, leaving in the morning and returning in the evening; and regular freight trains carry her supplies.

Her situation is very picturesque, and the homes are spread about in full view of the new and interesting courthouse, whose tower-clock counts off the hours, and whose quaint architecture has aroused a new pride in building.

A. M. Miller, of Fairfield, Freestone county, is one of its old and substantial business men, and possessing every talent to ensure success. He was born near Ber- lin, Germany, in 1838, and was educated in America. In 1851 he came to the Uni- ted States with his parents, on the sailing vessel Magnet, and landed at Galveston, Texas. His father, John Miller, was a mechanic and was inspector of the ma- chinery of rolling mills in the old country. This had been very remunerative, and he had been very economical, so that wlien he came to America he brought with him a good deal of money. His life as a German

citizen and soldier in the war of 1848, had not fully prepared him for dealing with the land agents and speculators, whogreeted him so warmly. He bought property in Houston and Galveston, without proper investigation of title, and afterward lost it all by litigation. He resided in Walker county a few years, and came from there to Freestone, in 1857. Mr. Miller married Miss Dora Herdgets, a lady of some dis- tinction in regard to birtlı, being of the blood of the prince of Poland. She was a lady of culture and training, and the trans- mission of her distinction to her grand- children is quite perceptible. The children of this marriage were: Jacob; Deauvaut, who died; subject; J. L., deceased; Carrie, deceased; T. T. lives in Oakland, Oregon; Charles R. lives in Gonzales county, Texas; and Mary, deceased.

When the Civil war broke out our sub- ject volunteered in Captain Wilson's com- pany, Colonel Nelson's regiment, and served in the Trans-Mississippi Department, on detail in the Ordnance Department, sta- tioned at Little Rock and then at Arkadel- phia, and finally at Marshall. Since the war he has followed his trade in Fairfield. In the spring of 1886 he opened a small stock of hardware and farm implements, and his surplus profits have been invested in the business, until now his stock will average $4,000, with an annual business of $10,000. The firm name is now changed to A. M. Miller & Sons, he having taken in his two sons with him.

In 1863 Mr. Miller married Aminda, the daughter of Quincy Schockley, of Geor- gia, and his children are: W. H .; Addie, who is the wife of R. M. Edwards; and J.

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

D., who received his commercial education in Kentucky principally. Mr. Miller and his three children are members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, while the wife and mother still clings to the church of her childhood, the Methodist Church, South. This is a brief sketch of one of the representative families of Texas.

J. B. Chamblee, a prosperous and intel- ligent farmer of Fairfield, Freestone county, Texas, was born in Pendleton district, South Carolina, in 1825. His father, Lewis Chamblee, emigrated to that State from North Carolina, where he was born in 1785. He was an orphan boy, and grew to maturity on a farm. He married at this place Mary Buriss, and became the father of ten children. He became a large and wealthy planter, working 100 slaves, and did military service in the war of 1812. His father was a British immigrant named Isaac Chamblee, who served through the Revolutionary war, and his son Lewis died in 1855, and his family were: Jane married A. Gilmore, and both are deceased; John, deceased; Jacob; Malinda married Strickland, and both are deceased; Eliza- beth married H. Brooks, and both are de- ceased; Marina married Pleasant Morehead, both deceased, and three others are also de- ceased, and our subject.

The latter remained with his father until he had attained his majority. At this time he became a farmer on his own account, and upon the death of his father he man- aged the settlement of the estate to the full · satisfaction of all the heirs. In 1862 he enlisted in the Second Alabama Cavalry, and had for his Colonels at different times, Hunter, Earls and Carpenter. His first

service was in Florida, then he went to Holly Springs, Mississippi, next on the Atlanta campaign, then to Nashville, then to North Carolina, and from there to Geor- gia, where his command surrendered to Sherman.

After the war Mr. Chamblee returned home and began rebuilding his fortunes, having nothing left bnt a three-year-old colt. Things seemed to move very slowly in the old State, and, having a brother-in- law in Texas, our subject concluded to try his fortune here. In 1870 he landed in Freestone county, bought land and pre- pared to make him a home, but just then another misfortune assailed him. In 1871 his wife died, to whom he had been mar- ried in 1847. She was Elizabeth, the daughter of John Cockerell, of Alabama, and her children were: William A., who died; Laura, the wife of Pink Bennett; Marietta, wife of Addison Crockerell, de- ceased; Annie, wife of M. M. Mosteller; Tempy, wife J. W. Weaver; Alice, wife of Monroe Driver; Ophelia, wife of Joseph Burnett, deceased; J. L. and seven others deceased.

Mr. Chamblee owns 159 acres of timber in the county, and since his bereavement he has resided with his children until within the last two years, when, October 8, 1890, he married Mrs. Julia Ann Talley, the widow of Colman Talley, born in Ten- nessee in 1826. Mr. Talley was a son of James Talley, a prosperous farmer and a native of Tennessee, as was his father, Martin Talley. Mr. Talley married Jane Whitehead, by whom he had six children, namely: Henry, Betsy, Mary Ann, Colman, June, Nancy and William. Colman was

Thos Sangho Three

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LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

reared by an aunt, being an orphan. At the age of five he began to support him- self, and made a good living for himself and family, and was in possession of some property when the war came on. He en- listed in the Confederate army and fought through various engagements, but was ta- ken sick and became so very ill that he was left for dead in 1863. His wife heard of it, and taking her own team drove to the hospital and demanded his body, that she might give it proper interment. Owing to the devotion of this good woman, Mr. Talley recovered from his illness, but not sufficiently to return to the army. In 1872 he came to Texas and located in Freestone county, taking up 380 acres, which he improved and added to, until, at his death, in 1888, he owned 1,100. In 1846 he had married Miss Julia Ann Arrand, who was yet a school girl. She was the daughter of Alexander Arrand, of North Carolina, who was the father of nine children, two of whom are yet living. Mr. and Mrs. Colman were the parents of the following children: William; James I; Helen, who is the wife of Isaac Wharton; Hainey; Tom P .; Margaret, deceased. Mr. and Mrs. Talley were both stanch members of the Baptist Church.

WORTHAM.

Wortham's site was chosen by Colonel Wortham, and certainly the line of the Houston & Texas Central railway pre- sents no more beautiful prairie site for a town along its route. Unlike Fairfield, whose old trees give her an old-time look, Wortham's more bare prairie and newer frame houses present a fresh appearance,

such as to a westerner is most familiar. Her main street fronts the railway and depot, and her public buildings stand out in bold prominence on the prairie. This vigorous town has its societies, schools and churches and until recently has had two live newspapers, the Vindicator and Signal, which are now combined.

Wortham's business draws as largely from Navarro connty as from the other counties and covers a very considerable territory off toward the Trinity river.

THOMAS LONGBOTHAM of Wortham, Texas .- There are few, if any, of the citi- zens of Freestone county more deserving a place in history than the one whose name stands at the head of this biography, Thomas Longbotham, one of the pioneers of this county. He was born in Bibb county, Alabama, February 21, 1832, the youngest son and sixth child of a family of ten children born to Robert B. and Lucy (Haggard) Longbotham. The elder Long- botham was a native of Durham, England, where he was born December 29, 1797. As Robert grew up he became convinced that his environments were not such as responded happily to his ambitious mind, nor did they meet the necessary conditions to a young man who had a desire to make his own way in the world, and establish a home for himself. With this view of the conditions that surrounded him, he came to the conclusion that there was a better place for him than England, and that place was America. Accordingly he took leave of his parental roof and native soil, and embarked on board of a ship bound for the land of freedom, doing service as a cabin- boy for his passage. Arriving in the

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

United States, he located in South Caro- lina, and was apprenticed to the carpenters' trade, serving three years. After leaving his trade, he worked as a journeyman for a time, when, having improved his fin- ances, he started for the borders of civil- ization, then in Alabama. There he was engaged at his trade and in farming pur- suits. Here he met and married Lucy Haggard, who was the daughter of Rev. Joel Haggard, of Tennessee, a minister of the Baptist church, who had moved to Alabama when Lucy was a young girl.

Mr. Longbotham followed farming and building until he removed to Texas in 1833, locating in Nacogdoches county, where he remained one year, when he re- inoved to what is now Madison county, territory then under the jurisdiction of Montgomery county. Mr. Longbotham had obtained a land certificate for a league and labor and made his location of the labor and settled down to farming. The political affairs of Texas were then in a very unsettled condition, and it was not long before the people were in open rebel- lion against the home government on account of its oppression and the enforce- ment of unjust laws. The people of Texas rose in rebellion to throw off the yoke of tyranny, and Mr. Longbotham was among the first to join the army to free Texas from the misrule of Mexico, and his first service was assisting in the removal of families to the East for safety. Arriving as far as Nacogdoches, they concluded they might as well stop there and take their chances, as there was but little difference between death by the sword or death by famine. 1

After Texas had secured her independ- ence, Mr. Longbotham returned to his home and resumed farming in connection with his trade. At one time he went as far as Houston to obtain work in order to secure a load of corn. Hle was gone six weeks, his family being without bread in the meantime. In 1837 he located a part of his league of land at the present site of Wortham, and the balance on Grindstone creek, near the county seat, then embraced in the territory of Limestone county.

The Mexican troubles had been settled, but other enemies now arose to harass the people: these were the Indians. Mr. Long- botham had built him what was then con- sidered a comfortable log-cabin, and it was a little superior to the ordinary cabin, for it had a floor not of earth but a real puncheon floor. The logs of the cabin be- ing up, the house was finished with timber split and hewed out. Holes were left in the walls, which were closed at night or in cold weather, by solid blinds. Glass panes were a luxury. A fireplace built on the outside of the wall mounted by a chimney, usually built of dirt and sticks, completed the structure. The windows, or port-holes, as the early settlers were wont to call them, served a double purpose, as they were a protection against the arrows and bullets of the stealthy, wily savage. For the bet- ter protection of the community against these dreaded foes, Mr. Longbotham, Rob- ert Rogers, Stephen Rogers, Thomas Lam, Sam Brenbury and other settlers concluded to build a fort, or what they called a block- house, which was erected on Rogers' prai- rie, to which place the families gathered and made their home during those troub-

LIMESTONE, FREESTONE

AND LEON COUNTIES.

425

lous times. There was one family, by the name of Robinett, that did not go in: they regarded themselves too brave to seek such shelter. The fort was not attacked by the Indians at that time, but the settlers had several fights with them. They lived in the fort about twelve months, when the condition seemed more peaceful, and the settlers returned to their respective homes. Mr. Longbotham opened up a part of his land for cultivation, and began work at his trade, getting work at Houston and other small towns, leaving his family in charge of his farm. The Indians, however, began to be very troublesome again, and he was obliged to return home to his family to protect them from the savage foe. He and his wife would stand guard by turns, one guarding while the other slept. An inci- dent occurred here at this time among the settlers worthy of a place in this work. The Robinett family, before mentioned, con- tained among others, tliree sons who stood six and a half feet high. They refused to go into the fort, saying with a good deal of bravado that they could whip all the In- dians that would attack them. The Indians were again about, and an attack was antici- pated. One time these boys practiced all one day shooting at a mark, the result of which was that they concluded that they could hold their hand with the savages; but they had shot away all their amunition and it was too far then to go for more. That night, about 12 o'clock, while Mr. Long. botham was looking out from his port- hole, he saw two persons approaching the house up the road. At first he supposed they were Indians, but they called to him. " Who is that?" he called. " Robinetts,"

they cried; "twenty-five shots have been fired at us to-night; Smithy has been shot in the breast, Jimmy in the arm, the old man and Enoch are killed, and we crawled out under the floor, and have come to tell you of the sad news." This was all a mis- take. They had tied their horses close to the house to keep the Indians from steal- ing them. When they made the attack some of the Indians kept np their firing at the door, while others cut the horses loose. During the shooting a splinter struck one of the women on the breast and all the family fell under the bed, each one think- ing the other was killed except himself.

The mills that the settlers used in those days to grind their corn were made of steel, were run by hand, and nearly every family had one. A very sad event hap- pened one day on Rogers' prairie. Mr. Longbotham and a son of Mr. Rogers were out a short distance from the house, and while young Rogers was in bathing the Indians came suddenly upon thein, cnt off the latter's retreat and killed him before he could reach the house, and directly in sight of his mother and sisters. This sad affair cast a gloom over the entire commu- nity, as he was beloved by all who knew him. In 1848, Mr. Longbotham, accom- panied by his sons, went to Limestone, now Freestone, county, and erected two log cabins on his league of land, one 16 x 16 and the other 14 x 16 feet, and the fol- lowing year the family moved in, and thus they began the formation of the settle- ment. When one would put up a log cabin the neighbors would gather in and give their help. The lumber used for flooring, doors and window-shutters was

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HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

gotten out with a whipsaw which was used in the community. The two cabins mentioned made a comfortable home for the whole family. At this time there were eight families within a distance of eight miles, and the nearest mill was five miles away, and the grinding was done by horse power, or rather ox power. Mr. and Mrs. Longbotham were the parents of nine children: Susan, now the widow of Mathew Yarbrough, residing at Wortham ; Dorothy, the wife of J. S. Bays, of Lime- stone county; John, who was inurdercd March 6, 1867, by a gang of out-laws; Mary, the wife of G. N. Green, of Cali- fornia; Jonathan, who died July 4, 1890, aged sixty-two years; Thomas; Hannah, who was married to D. F. Strickland, now deceased; Lucy, who became the wife of C. P. Grizzard, of Limestone county; Mar- garct, the wife of E. D. Crouch, same county.

Mr. and Mrs. Longbotham were active and devout members of the Primitive Baptist Church. The latter died at the age of eighty years. Mr. Longbotham was married the second time, to Louisa Harnes. He cultivated his farm until about the time of his death, which took place Au- gust 6, 1883. He was a man of sterling worth, and inuch respected by all who knew him. To him and men of like metal Texas owes her growth and present devel- opment.

The subject of this memoir, as above stated, came to Texas when about a year old: he was reared at home amid the trials, struggles, hardships and dangers of pio- neer life. His was the training, however, that make sturdy men, men of character

and endurance, on whom the State depends to bring out and develop her resources. The facilities for education in those days were limited, and the days young Thomas spent in the school-room did not probably exceed a year. His hand and brain were needed in labor for the family and to assist in bringing out the resources of the coun- try for future benefits; his school-room was the broad fields and the woods, and nature was his tutor. He remained with his father until he attained his majority, when he settled on 200 acres of land, which he purchased from his father, and began his career as a farmer and stock- raiser. He continued in this occupation until the breaking out of the war, when he enlisted in the Confederate cause and en- tered the Commissary Department and engaged in furnishing the army with beef, which he drove across the Mississippi river. He served in this capacity until the winter of 1864, when he returned home and engaged in the stock business, which he has principally followed sincc. He has, by industry and good manage- ment, acquired a landed estate of 2,300 acres, 2,000 of which is in Navarro county, and mostly in the black belt. Four hun- dred acres of this land is in a high state of cultivation.

Mr. Longbotham was married, Decem- ber 10, 1857, to Miss Mary J., daughter of William and Lucretia (Williams) Ben- nett, who were from Missouri, and who came to Texas in 1855, settling in Lime- stone county. Eleven children were born to this union, six of whom are now living: Robert, a farmer in Freestone county; John, a farmer and stock-raiser in Na-

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varro county; Thomas E., a merchant at Wortham; Townsend, at home; Lucinda, the wife of A. N. Weaver, of Navarro county; and Oscar, at home. The other children died in childhood. The parents are members of the Protestant Methodist Church. In politics, Mr. Longbotham is a Democrat, having been rocked in the cradle of Democracy. He is a member of the Masonic order, and belongs now to the Mexia Chapter, No. 131. Mr. Longbotham is prominent among that class of citizens that do credit to a State. He has reared a large family of children who are now useful men and women and are ornaments to society; he has been a devoted and af- fectionate husband and father, a generous and charitable neighbor, and a public-spir- ited, progressive citizen. Thougli emi- nently successful in his life pursuits, his success has been accomplished by honor- able methods and the strictest integrity. In the evening of his days, Mr. Long- botham, surrounded by his kindred and friends, enjoys that quiet peace and hap- piness which comes from a well spent life, a life devoted to the welfare of his family and to the best interests of his country.

James Cooper, deceased, was born in Mississippi in 1836, upon the 3d of Au- gust, and was the fourth in a family of thirteen children born to Joseph and Win- nie (Dias) Cooper, who were natives of Alabama, and came to Mississippi at an early day. Joseph Cooper was one of the pioneers who assisted in the removal of the Indians from the territory north of Arkan- sas, and assisted in reclaiming Mississippi from a wilderness and making of it the

prosperous State of to-day. In 1848 he removed from that State overland to this and located in Freestone county upon land near to where the town of Bonner now is. At this place he engaged in farming and in handling stock. The country was very lonely at that time, as there were few set- tlers in what is now comprised in Freestone county : probably there were no more than twenty families. These were from ten to twenty miles apart, and all the necessities of life had to be hanled to Houston.

Mr. Cooper had considerable property, consisting of cattle, horses, and a great land interest. His family was as follows: Christopher, whose family resided in Col- orado at the time of his death; Jonathan, also deceased, resided in Navarro county; George, deceased, in this county; James, deceased, the subject; Emily, deceased, was the wife of David Self; Rachel, deceased; Winnie, deceased, was the wife of Tilford Self; Joseph, deceased, died at Cotton Plant, Arkansas, during the war, while in the Confederate army; Cornelins resides in Hamilton county, Texas; and Reu- ben H. resides in Coleman county, Texas. Mr. Cooper himself died in 1850, and his wife in 1852.

The subject of this sketch received only a common-school education, and at the age of twenty-one years began the battle of life for himself as a farmer and a stock- man. He had a few hundred dollars, which he invested in stock and in land, and was in a very prosperous condition at the opening of the war in 1861. At this time our subject joined the company of Cap- tain Wright at Spring Hill, Navarro county, and was attached to General Bur-

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ford's regiment, and served in the command along the Mississippi river, and partici- pated in almost all of the battles fought by Parsons' brigade, principally along the Red river, at Mansfield and Yellow bayou, and for twenty-seven days or longer, in which lie was continuously in danger, Mr. Cooper was neither wounded nor captured. The surrender was made at Moscow, Texas, and after the cessation of hostilities Mr. Cooper returned home and re-engaged in those in- dustries which he had laid down at the call of his country.

The marriage of our subject took place in 1862, when Miss Julia A. Hill became his wife. She was the amiable daughter of W. B. and Margaret J. (Coleman) Hill. (See sketch of W. B. Hill.) After marriage Mr. Cooper lost in the war some valuable cattle which he owned, but in 1865 he purchased some land, consisting of 250 acres, for which he paid $2.50 per acre, being mostly in timber and unimproved. Previous to death, Mr. Cooper owned 1,400 acres of fine land. The 200-acre tract upon which he erected his residence he had paid $1 per acre for. He devoted his time in general to stock-raising, and at this he was very successful; and at his demise he had several hundred head of cattle, and for years had been engaged in shipping to St. Louis and Chicago, and drove cattle to the mouth of Red river and shipped to New Orleans.

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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