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 58

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 58
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 58
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 58
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 58
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 58
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 58

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).

In 1890 the old soldiers of the county organized themselves into a Confederate Veterans' Association. Their commander is Captain T. G. Nixon, of Rogers' Prairie.

TOWNS.

If Freestone's town-building, described in the sketch of that county, has been so interestingly varied by its varying means of communication that built them near the Trinity in early years, and tore them down to build them on the other side of the county nearer the Houston & Texas Cen- tral Railroad in later times, the town- making features of Leon connty's career has been characterized by even more at- tractive and curious variety. Indeed it furnishes one of the most unique illustra- tions of a region controlled by three dif-

ferent means of communication in suc- cessive periods, the poorer method giving way to the better. These three means are es- pecially striking, because they approached the county, each from a different side, and thus moved the town-making influences toward those three different sides succes- sively.

The first of these means was the old San Antonio road, the great international wagon highway along Leon's southern border, a road which was the great artery of internal travel over which so much of the early history of Texas was wrought out. This was what first sprinkled Leon's early settlers along that route in the sonth part of the county and built old Fort Boggy, the precursor of Leona-as well as Leona-and Rogers' Prairie settlement, upon which the present village is founded. This held sway from the advent of the first settler so thoroughly that, by means of it, the region was settled sufficiently to be- come an organized county and secure the county seat at Leona, the chief of the southern settlements. It even extended a couple of years beyond that, down to abont 1847, or thereabonts, when Captain Webb came up the Trinity river, on the eastern border, with his steamboat Reliance, and others in its wake thereafter. This was approximately a score of years of leader- ship for the old San Antonio road, if the advent of the first prospectors and survey- ors is included. This is all the more in- teresting because, as will be seen further on, the other two periods were to be ap- proximately of the same length.

The more tireless steam engines of the Trinity assumed the leadership between

461

LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

1847 and 1850, and, to say the very least, divided attention with the old wagon road, if, indeed, it did not usurp it altogether. Population was more rapidly attracted to that quarter, and farther inland. There at once arose the river trading points Cairo, Commerce, Navarro and Brook- field's BInff, most of them mere landing points, to be sure, but even as landing points made possible a more dense popu- lation back of them; but Navarro became something of a town itself and lasted for a considerable time before the war. But, however small a town-maker the Trinity and its steamboats became along its course, it made an inland population that made possible the removal of the county seat to the center of the county, and the creation about it of the largest town the county afforded in that period. This, of course, was Centreville. It must be remembered, too, as has been suggested in the chapter on settlement, that these steamboats were, for the most part, backed by the planters themselves, as stock - holders; and they kept on down to and through the war to the advent, in 1871-'72, of a new and far better mode of communication across the northern border of the county,-this for approximately a score of years, a period badly crippled by the war, however, so that it does not show so great results as it otherwise would have done.

The tortuous course and the uncertain waters of the Trinity, however, almost in- stantly gave way before the rapid wheel over a smooth iron road-bed in the winter of 1871-'72. Indeed the advent of the iron rails thoroughly wiped out the Trin- ity trade; there was no division in it; the

iron rails for iron wheels were complete masters: consequently the International Railway became the greatest town-builder, and that, too, without delay.

" Regular trains are now running on the International road to Marquez, forty miles from Hearne, in Leon county, and they will be running to Jewett, ten miles far- ther, on the first prox. The Experiment is making arrangements to move to Jew- ett, and will issue its paper at that place as soon as trains commence running."

Thus read a local in the Texan of All- derson, in December, 1871, which shows a whole brood of new towns springing up along the new route of trade and travel. There was Jewett; there was Marquez, there was Oakwoods; and a little later on was Buffalo,-nearly all becoming the lead- ing towns in the county, and, for a long time seriously threatening the welfare of the county seat itself. It equalized thie distribution of population through the county also to a greater degree, for it has seven stations along its route.

This new line, which has now become the well known International & Great Northern Railway, with headquarters at Palestine, is so fully described and its story so fully told in the sketch of Pales- tine and town-making in Anderson county in this volume, that there is no occasion for repetition.

With a general view of the towns and town-making periods of Leon county, a more particular account of the larger ones may be given.

It was in 1845 that Moses Campbell opened a little store north of the present site of Leona. Of course the next year

462

HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

saw this pioneer of Leon's towns a county seat. Then two more stores were opened there, one by Taylor & Tevo, and the other by Dr. Boggs. Leona became quite a county town by 1851, when the county seat was removed, but that was a serious blow to it. Great efforts were made to in- duce them to move over to the new seat of justice, but in vain. They concluded to remain the distributing point for the south part of the county, and they have suc- ceeded at last, although it took long years to recover its strength. It now has one merchant alone, W. L. Rogers, who does a business estimated at $50,000 annually. It is now a village somewhat larger than Rogers' Prairie, neither of which was large enough to receive separate mention in the census of 1890, and this sketch is given because of its importance in the early history of the county, as a represent- ative of the old King's Highway. It was here that the first post office was estab- lished, under the name Leona Mills, on October 1, 1846, with Win. McK. Ball as its first postmaster.

In 1856 Leon county had but four post offices: these were Leona, Kidd's Mill, the new Trinity river town Navarro, and the permanent county seat, Centreville. The only ones that still remain are Centreville and Leona; but there has been a gain of sixteen more since then. These others are Rogers' Prairie, Boggy, Concord, Guy's Store, Harden's Store, Jewett, Marquez, Middleton, Oakwood, Oden, Oneta, Poor, Raymond, Russell and Snow. This makes a total of eighteen,-a good exhibit for a county of less than 14,000 population. Some of these are towns, too, a large proportion.

There is Jewett in the lead, which the last census gave 363 inhabitants, a number much increased since then; then followed Centreville, quoted with 288; next came Oakwood, marked to 231 on the census rolls. These three were quoted separately even in 1880, and in 1890 they were still the only ones given separate notice. But Buffalo and Marquez have taken advanced steps that have led to their being estimated not so far from the figures given for the census towns themselves, which, however, have been doing some growing on their own account likewise. Then come Leona and Rogers' Prairie, already mentioned, and finally Raymond with a couple of stores, Middleton with a store, Boggy with one or more, Guy's Store, Oden and Oneta, each with mills, closing the iist that pro- fess to be more than mere post offices.

Before turning to an account of the oldest of these, Centreville, a glance at the distribution of the county's population will aid in better accounting for these places, and especially those large enough to re- ceive special mention by the census. There are eight precincts in the county. That with largest population in 1890 was No. 2, with 2,341 inhabitants: that had been so large as to make a division of it necessary. Following this came the one including Jewett,-that is, No. 4, with 2,122 people in it. The third in size was Centreville's precinct, No. 1, with 1,926, including the town's 288; and following this precinct No. 5 exhibited 1,780. There was no precinct with less than 1,000. No. 8 had 1,536, and Oakwood precinct, No. 6, showed 1,407, including 231 in the town; No. 3 and No. 7 were nearly of the same

463

LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

size, the former having 1,368 and the latter 1,353. This gave a total in the entire county of 13,841, a gain of a little over 1,000 in ten years, as the census of '80 gave it 12,817. This gain seemed to be quite evenly distributed too, althoughi the far greater part was in the towns, and each town gained considerable. Indeed, if the places not quoted could be given, there is not much doubt that the towns could alone account for all the gain, or a very large proportion of it.

CENTREVILLE.

When Centreville was laid out in 1851, Robert J. Townes and D. C. Carrington each donated 100 acres for the site, the former doing so through his agent, the now venerable Judge William Pruitt. The plat was laid out as a square about the courthouse site. The first house, however, was put up before the plat was laid out, by Thomas H. Garner, who located it down the street southeast of the square, toward Judge Pruitt's present residence. This was rented to W. B. Johnson & Bro., the first merchants of the new town. The

next house erected was William Keig- an's residence, on the site of the Meth . odist parsonage. Gringsby's was the first store placed on the square-the southeast corner,-and several others came in rapid- ly; such as D. M. Barkley, J. Barkley, H. Hanover, H. A. McWhirter, and others. J. W. Capshaw came on before the war, and D. M. Whaley became a druggist. W. R. Saunders built the first hotel, on the northeast corner of the square. Z. Robin- son was another business man.

Of course the war crippled Centreville, as it did all other towns of the South, but the hardest stroke was to come on top of that. This was the arrival of the railway across the county's northern border in the winter of 1871-'72. It seemed at first as if the town were to move bodily to Jewett and Buffalo, but it did not do quite as rashly as that; still, the next dozen years or more tested the town's endurance, so that even as early as 1880 there were but 223. This has been changing in the last four or five years, and Centreville is re- covering a great deal of her supply trade by the aid of her two chief general mer- chandise houses, which are the chief feat- ures of her business. Even the census of 1890 gave her 288, and there has been in- crease since that. Centreville supports the oldest newspaper in the county, a vigorous weekly bearing the familiar and descriptive name, The Democrat; T. F. Martin, editor. She also has a flourishing Masonic lodge, and schools and churches.

The daily connection with the railway is by a hack line to Jewett, and regular freight teams. The trip takes all day for going and returning.

The remaining towns to be noticed are those that grew from the International Railway.

Jerry McDaniel, a member of the firm of McDaniel & Stell, of Centreville, Texas, was born in Leon county, in 1855. He is a brother of Dr. McDaniel, whose sketch appears in this work. Our subject received only such educational advantages as were afforded by the old Red Land school, pre- sided over by Captain J. E. Anderson, now of Jewett, this county, and as the op-

464

HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

portunities of a farmer would admit. At twenty-one he engaged as a clerk for his brother, A. G. McDaniel, at a salary of $12.50 a month and remained in this po- sition for four years, when his health gave way and he resigned and went to Lampasas and recruited for a few months. Return- ing to Centreville, he with other members of the firm bought the stock of A. G. McDaniel, their combined money capital being quite small; but their capital of energy and business judgment was abin- 'dant. The firm soon made itself felt and a mammoth trade has been built up. The capital stock has grown many-fold and the real-estate interest of the firm now num- ber several houses and farms and enjoys the implicit confidence of the entire com- munity. Mr. McDaniel has never been a public man, but local politics have some charm for him. He has been a delegate numerous times, and in the gubernatorial canvass of 1892 he was the recognized leader for the Clark forces in Centreville.

He was married in 1885, to Lizzie Gresham, whose family is noticed in the sketch of J. D. Stell, next paragraph. The children of this union are: Katie and Syl- van B. Mr. McDaniel is a Mason, but is connected with no other order.

J. D. Stell, a member of the firm of McDaniel & Stell, of Centreville, Leon county, is the leading merchant in the county. He is a good, all-round financier and excellent gentleman. He came to the county, in 1856, with his grandfather, his father having died a few years before. His name was James Stell, and he was born in Georgia, in 1822, secured a fine educa- tion, was admitted to the bar and becanie

one of the leading lawyers of his county. Death removed him in the midst of his usefulness, and he lies buried at Fayette- ville, in his native State. The grandfather of our subject, J. D. Stell, was a Georgia farmer and assisted in the removal of the Indians from that State to their reserva- tion in the Territory. In 1804 occurred his birth, and he attained some distinction in his native county. He was a member of the Georgia State Senate; he came to Texas in 1856 and served the Confederate government in the Ordinance Department and located at Tyler in the early part of the late " unpleasantness. " He did not live long after this, dying in the fall of 1862, his wife having died the year before. He was a successful business man, and just before the war he sold his property, in Leon county, for $90,000, a large amount of which was lost before the fall of the Confederacy. Mr. Stell's children were: James, Manson, Rufus and Mary. His second marriage was with Mrs. Cox, and from this marriage came Phineas, Emily, Isaac, Dennis, Henry and Leroy. James, the father of our subject, married Eliza- beth, daughter of John Truitt, a Georgia farmer, and by this union there were Ella, who became the wife of W. M. Johnston, of Centreville; and Emma, who became the wife of D. J. Jolinson and J. D. Stell. About ten years after the loss of her hus- band Mrs. Stell married John T. Gresham, who was born in Virginia, in 1816, and went to Alabama in his youth and learned the blacksmith trade, married and remained there until 1855, when he came to Texas and settled in Leon county. His wife, who was a Mrs. Johnston, nee Caufield,

465

LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

died in 1857, leaving no children. Three children are the result of the union of Mr. and Mrs. Gresham, as follows: Lizzie, wife of Jerry McDaniel; L. T. and B. T.

Our subject received a very limited edu- cation. It was obtained in the common school. When he attained his majority he engaged in farming and rented land for several years, and then bought a small place near town, which he worked until 1878, when he disposed of that and engaged in handling stock, at the time serving as Jus- tice of the Peace of precinct No. 1. In 1882 he embarked in merchandising with his present partner, Mr. McDaniel, with a combined capital of $7,500. Their first year's business was about $23,000, and for the year 1891 about $55,000. The stock and real estate belonging to the firm ag- gregates about five times the original capi- tal, which shows a good thrifty growth and demonstrates the ability to conduct a safe business. They handled cotton in the year 1891, showing a record of 1,100 bales passing through their hands. They also do an exchange business for the accommo- dation of their trade, amounting to several thousands annually.

In 1869 Mr. Stell married Alice, daugh- ter of Dr. Cousens, of Virginia, who died young, leaving three children, of whom two are now living. Mr. and Mrs. Stell are the parents of seven children, four of whom are now living, namely: James C., J. D., Jr., Beulah and Ollie.

JEWETT

was laid out in December, 1871, by the International Railway Company, before it bought the Great Northern road. The

płat was made large and lay on the north side of the track, the intention being to locate the shops of the road at this point. It was the road's union with the Great Northern at Palestine that led to their location at the latter point. Several houses were put up at the same time; probably Leavell's store and that of Mr. Hunt were the earliest. Then there was J. S. Monroe, Mr. Pearlstone, Mr. Curtis, the druggist, and forthwith there was a full blown town. It drew from both Freestone and Leon counties and from elsewhere. As an ontlet for Centreville it drew largely from that place, and indeed down to the close of the '70s it made such rapid strides as to assume the position of metropolis of the county. This was largely due to the fact that her position makes her the nearest station to the central part of the county, and an outlet from the county seat, which had itself heretofore held chief place.

The '80s of course did not keep up the boom of the '70s, but inaugurated a more normal growth, at times scarcely percepti- ble, such as its surrounding country could support. But it was growth, nevertheless, as can be seen from the fact that in 1880 the census gave it 227, while in 1890 it scored considerably over a hundred more in 363.

Jewett's business has inclined to spread itself along the street facing the railway depot and tracks. Besides the usual supply stores, especially in general merchandise, which is strong, she has gained some modest factories, such as a broom-factory, tin-shop, mill and gin.

It has been seen that the newspaper fraternity had designs on the town even

466

HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

before it was born. The Experiment, spoken of above, is referred to. Then came the Advance, and later the Independent Farmer, by the Leon County Co-operative Associa- tion. But it remained for 1885 to bring the permanent one, under the name " Mes- senger," which has taken its leading posi- tion under its present publisher, Mr. J. L. Robinson.

In the matter of fraternities Jewett is strong headquarters for both the Alliance and the Grange. The Masons, also, and the Knights of Honor have good lodges.

An indication of Jewett's growthi is the incorporation of it in 1890. The first mayor was N. S. Bateman, who was, in turn, succeeded first by J. W. Waltmon, and then by the present incumbent, Mayor W. T. Ellis. Her population has been estimated by several disinterested persons as about 500; but this is only estimate. No doubt some of this increase has been due to Jewett's well-known schools, whose advantages for children are sought by the movement of parents to the town. Indeed this is a cause of growth, in many towns, of far more moment than has been gen- erally recognized. Any town will gain in · population, of the best kind too, all it may expend in securing good schools.

Captain James E. Anderson, of Leon county, Texas, is a son of Rev. James Anderson, D. D., who was born in 1801, a native of Pennsylvania, who came thence to Ohio, where he grew to manhood and was educated at Washington College, from which he graduated in 1826. Soon after he entered the ministry and was first sta- tioned at West Rushville, Ohio. Later he inade many changes, but finally settled in

Iowa, where he died in 1870. He became well known in the State of Ohio on ac- count of two discussions upon the subject of election. While he was connected with the church there he refused to comply with the Presbyterian General Assembly in offering prayers for the success of the Union army, and he was therefor deposed, and removed to Iowa, where he resumed the ministry.

The mother of our subject was named Laurane Marvin, and slie was a native of Ohio, where she was married in 1831, and died in 18 -. She was a lady of intelli- gence and education, a graduate of Spring- field Seminary in Ohio, became a teacher and finally the principal of a female sem- inary at West Rushville, Ohio. The mar- riage of Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, Sr., took place in 1831, and they became the par- ents of seven children, as follows: Jo- seph M., a physician of Webster, Iowa, who died about 1888; our subject; William W., a minister of the old-school Presby- terian Church, educated at Washington, Pennsylvania, now located at Loudonville, Ohio; Mary L., deceased, the wife of Jolin Laferty, of Ohio; Catherine, deceased, was the wife of Dr. Newsom, of Iowa; Lo- raine, deceased, was the wife of George Carson, a druggist of Williamsburg, Iowa; and Mathew S., a commission merchant and stockman of Chicago.

Our subject was born February 25, 1836, in West Rushville, Ohio, and re- sided there until he was fourteen years of age. He then attended school and later went to live with his uncle, John Ander- son, at Warren, Ohio, and from there went to Washington College, Pennsylvania,

467

LIMESTONE, FREESTONE AND LEON COUNTIES.

where he remained for two years, taking the freshman and sophomore years here and the junior and senior years at Denni- son University, at Granville, Ohio. At this time our subject started out in life for himself, beginning with teaching school at Comargo, Illinois, and later he removed to Leon county, Texas, in the winter of 1858-'59, and took charge of what was then known as the Red Land school, which po- sition he held until 1861. At this time he entered the Confederate service in Com- pany C, Fifth Texas regiment of Hood's brigade in Lee's army. He entered as a lieutenant and came out of the struggle a captain, serving all through, and was at the surrender at Appomattox.

After the war our subject returned to Red Land and again took charge of tlie school he had left and continued to teach at this place until 1874. In 1875 he was made principal of the Jewett schools, and has served as such ever since, with the exception of two years when lie was county surveyor. Since he was fifteen years of age he has had no help, and by his own efforts lie has become the owner of fine property in this State. In Ellis county he owns 340 acres and in Leon county 200 more, besides town property and $3,000 worth of goods. His adopted son is an equal partner in his mercantile business in Jewett.

The marriage of our subject took place February 22, 1867, at Red Land, Texas, to Miss Julia E. Evans, a native of Ala- bama, who came thence to Texas. She is a daughter of Edward and Isabella Evans. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have an adopted son, Edward Lee Evans.

Captain Anderson is a prominent Dem- ocrat in the county and State, and well known in Masonic circles, belonging to the Royal Archi. His social, moral and financial standing is second to none, and these qualifications, with his educational acquirements, make him one of the most respected and highly valned citizens of Jewett.

John W. Waltman, one of the shirewd, progressive, energetic business men of Leon county, Texas, is the subject of this sketch. A man of unquestioned integrity and of unlimited credit, he is one of the prominent men of the town of Jewett.

John was the son of W. H. Waltman, who was born in Lonisiana, October 30, 1810, and removed from there to Missis- sippi when a young man, where he resided until 1857, when he again removed, this time to Smithi connty, but remained there but a year, going thence to Nacogdoches county and in 1860 to Leon county. In 1880 he moved to Jewett, where he died in the following spring. By occupation lie was a farmer, fairly prosperous, and a man of considerable intelligence. In politics he was a Democrat of the Jackson type, was a valued member of the Masonic fra- ternity, and has long followed the teach- ings of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was the son of John and Mary (Hamil- ton) Waltman, natives of Pennsylvania. John Waltman served under General Jack- son at the battle of New Orleans, and after the war came home and settled down to liis occupation as a farmer. The family name is well known in Germany, from which country the ancestors of our subject came. The mother of our subject was named

468

HISTORY OF NAVARRO, HENDERSON, ANDERSON,

Statian (Moody) Waltman, a native of South Carolina. She was the daughter of James and Amy (Roberts) Moody, natives of South Carolina. The parents of John W., our subject, were married in 1842, and from this union were born six children, viz .: The oldest was our subject; Amy, deceased; Emeline, who is the wife of W. S. Deberry, of Coryell county, town of Gatesville; Elizabeth, who is the wife of W. A. Knight, of Waxahachie; Alafair, who is the wife of Rev. S. J. Franks, a Methodist minister now residing in Ellis county; and James W., who resides in Jewett.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

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