A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I, Part 22

Author: Paddock, B. B. (Buckley B.), 1844-1922; Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing co.
Number of Pages: 968

USA > Texas > A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I > Part 22

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fight and occurred between the minutemen and a band of Kiowa Indians. The settlers followed them to the Agency where the -soldiers were stationed-a place in Young county, Texas, and there engaged them in battle. The minutemen were supplied with government guns and ammu- nition and for two hours a hotly contested en- gagement followed and the Rangers fought from behind an old rail fence and frequently rails were struck by the bullets, the splinters flying in all directions, but none of the minutemen were in- jured and after two hours withdrew from the fight. The raids continued with every full moon, it seeming that the Indians always chose that time of the month for their depredations. The next important raid in which Mr. Davis par- ticipated was concluded with the battle of Pease river, where Cynthia Ann Parker was retaken after being held in captivity for thirty-three years by the Comanche Indians, the place of this engagement being in what is now Foard county. Col. Ross in his report to Governor Sam Houston concerning the Pease river raid and the battle which ensued, said that he had forty men in his command with Sergeant Spangler of Camp Cooper in command of twenty cavalry troops be- longing to Company H, and that soon afterward they were joined by Captain Jack Curington with ninety-two citizens or Rangers, who were well trained and were brave soldiers. They took up the march and on the 19th of December, 1860, reached the village, where they had a fight, rout- ing the entire camp and killing twelve Indians with no casualty to the white men. Among the Indians killed was the chief of the Comanche tribe, Peta Nocona, the husband of Cynthia Ann Parker. During the engagement Lieutenant Kelleher saw an Indian mounted on a fleet pony and in advance of all others. He supposed the person to be a warrior bold and started in hot pursuit, eager for a single-handed contest, but after a race of two miles he came up with the person he had been pursuing and was just in the act of firing when a white woman, whose face, however was sunburned red, held up her baby and cried "American." It proved to be Cynthia Ann Parker, who had been taken captive in 1827 at the massacre of Fort Parker in Lime-

stone county, Texas, when eight years of age. She had been reared by the tribe and the chief, Peta Nocona, made her his wife. She had al- most forgotten all of the English that she knew and she was never reconciled to a life among the white people again, although after this she was cared for through her remaining days by an uncle, Isaac Parker. The child in her arms soon afterward died and five years later she passed away, leaving, however, another child, Quanah Parker, who is now chief of the Comanche tribe and resides in Indian Territory, where he is a wealthy and very prominent citizen. The Parker family were honored pioneer settlers of Texas and were leading and influential people there.

Mr. Davis was one of the escorts of Cynthia Ann Parker from the battlefield to Camp Cooper and he and his companions continued their raids and fights until the opening of the rebellion, when he enlisted for service in the Confederate army in Alexander's regiment. He and two other men who had families were detailed to drive and handle beef cattle for the government and this was the duty which engaged his attention until the close of the war. The Indian stealing and the ravages of war left him with all to make and nothing more to lose. It was necessary that he find a source of providing a living for his family, and in the fall of 1865 he removed to Weatherford, where he engaged in trad- ing to some extent, remaining there until 1869 .. In that year he removed to St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked at his trade, but in the fall of the same year he returned to Cooke county, Texas, where he pur- chased a farm and raised two crops. Subse- quently he removed to Paris and later returned to Cooke county, settling on a farm. By this time he had purchased a number of cattle and he in- vested all of his money with the Red River Cattle Company and went to Archer county. Later the company failed and he was again left without re- sources. In 1881 he removed to the town of Montague, where he continued until 1891, when he removed to Nocona, where he engaged in cotton weighing for two years. He then received the appointment of postmaster under President Cleveland and served for four years, at the end

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of which time he engaged in the confectionery business and subsequently was a salesman in a harness and saddlery establishment, where he yet continues. He now has a commodious residence at Nocona and he and his wife are enjoying the fruits of his earnest toil there.

In 1856 Mr. Davis was united in marriage to Miss Mildred J. Bourland, who was born in Red River county, in what was then the Republic of Texas; on the 24th day of December, 1839. She is a lady of intelligence and culture, who has been a worthy wife and good helpmate. She is de- scended from an honored pioneer family of the Republic and is a daughter of John M. and Nancy (Hood) Bourland, both of whom are natives of Kentucky, where they were married. On remov- ing from that state in 1838 they took up their abode in the new republic of Texas, securing a large tract of land in Red River county, where the father improved a farm. Three years later he removed to Lamar county, where he pur- chased land and made another farm and eventually he bought land in Fannin county, be- coming the owner of extensive realty holdings there. He also figured prominently in public life, serving as high sheriff of Lamar county. He was a leading Democrat of the community, prom- inent and popular as an official and as a private citizen and he was closely identified with the de- velopment and early history of the Republic. His acquaintance was extensive and he was highly esteemed because of his integrity and hon- or, which were above reproach. His father, Ben- jamin Bourland, was a native of South Carolina, where he was married and some of his children were born, after which he removed to North Carolina and eventually to Kentucky, then called the new Kentucky purchase, for it was shortly after Daniel Boone had made his explorations in that section of the country. There his children grew to manhood or womanhood and he re- mained a resident of that state until he removed to Texas and took up his abode in Fannin county, where his remaining days were passed. He was of Scotch-Irish lineage and displayed many of the sterling traits of the two races in his life work. His two sons had preceded him to Texas,

John M. Bourland becoming a resident of the state in 1838 and James in 1839. Both were actively associated with many events which formed the history of the Republic and of the commonwealth. James Bourland, familiarly known as Colonel Bourland, after arriving at years of maturity was married in Kentucky to Miss Catherine Wells and removed to Weakly county, Tennessee, where he engaged in buying and selling slaves and dealing in horses. He took the latter to Alabama and Mississippi and later he engaged with others in handling race horses but, meeting with financial reverses, he came to Texas in 1839 to recuperate from his losses and make another start. Northern Texas was then settled as far west as Paris and he found two families there, Col. G. W. Wright and Claiborne Chisholm living with their families in that locality. Col. Bourland engaged in survey- ing, acting as deputy and after a year he formed a county south of Honey Grove, where he settled. During his residence there he had many en- counters with the Indians. President Sam Hous- ton made him collector of duties up and down the Red river to the Louisiana line and there he had trouble with the United States govern- ment officials, whereupon they tied him and for- cibly took the goods from his custom house, for which offense the United States government afterward paid to the Republic of Texas twenty- six thousand dollars. Subsequently James K. Polk was elected president and Texas was an- nexed to the United States. When in the Mex- ican war General Taylor asked for aid while fighting near Matamoras. Col. W. C. Young and Col. James Bourland recruited a regiment of a thousand men and marched to San Antonio, where they were mustered into service and all of the troops with the exception of those under command of Col. Bourland went to Matamoras. General Taylor, however, directed him to return to San Antonio, where it was expected that he would find General Wool, and for him to perform service in that locality. Before General Wool arrived, however, Col. Harvey took the regiment and four companies of dragoons and crossed the Rio Grande without orders. General Wool

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ordered him to return and to give up the regi- ment to Col. Young and Col. Bourland. Congress had passed an act that all enlisted- soldiers must join the army for five years or during the war. The officers of the troops became dissatisfied with the management and disbanded, but some re-enlisted, joining other regiments and con- tinued through the war, while the colonels and some of the men returned home. Later Col. Bourland was elected to the state senate and served with distinction, after which he removed to Cooke county and settled a large farm at Delaware Bend, where he remained until the or- dinance of secession was passed by the state. He took a conspicuous part in the proceedings there and in the second year of the war he organized a regiment for the protection of the property, patrolling up and down Red river in order to prevent attacks by Indians upon the homes of the settlers, having many skirmishes with the red men. During those days his regiment was stationed at Gainesville, where great excitement prevailed. Many men were accused of disloyalty and quite a number were hung. Col. Bourland was wrongfully accused of stirring up agitation and his life was threatened. In company with Col. Young he was going on horseback to his farm when from an ambush some one shot at Col. Bourland but hit and killed Col. Young. Subsequent to the close of the war Col. Bourland spent his remaining days upon the old homestead farm in Texas.

John N. Bourland was equally public spirited and identified with the early development and history of the state. In his family were thirteen children : Martha; Pauline; James R .; Angeline ; Mary, who died in childhood; Benjamin; Mil- dred, the wife of Mr. Davis; Cynthia M .; William; Nomely ; George ; Reuben ; and Charles.

earnest and interested worker in the church. Mir. Davis is a stalwart Democrat and while in Cooke county filled the office of constable and deputy sheriff. He too is a devoted Methodist and he likewise belongs to the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, in which he has filled all of the chairs and served as a representative to the grand lodge.

JOHN HARDISTY. The history of Tarrant county would scarcely be complete without men- tion of John Hardisty, a veteran of the Confeder- ate army, a pioneer settler of this section of the state and a prominent and successful agricultur- ist who for many years has resided near Bird- ville. His landed possessions are now extensive, his home farm comprising 670 acres devoted to general agricultural pursuits and stock raising, while in addition to this he has other landed in- terests that make his holdings reach the sum of six hundred acres.

Kentucky has furnished to the Lone Star state many of its worthy and representative men, and to this class belongs Mr. Hardisty, whose birth occurred in Henderson county on the 22nd of June, 1840, his parents being James and Julia A. (Kelly) Hardisty, who were likewise natives of the Blue Grass state, the father being of Scotch lineage, while his wife was of Irish de- scent. The maternal grandfather, Frederick Kel- ly, was a leading agriculturist and extensive slave holder of Kentucky. James Hardisty followed farming throughout his entire life and in the year 1854 he removed with his family to Texas, set- tling in Tarrant county, where he operated his farm. His home was near Birdville, the family being among the early settlers of this portion of the state and contributing in substantial measure to pioneer development and later progress and improvement. James Hardisty continued a resi- dent of the county up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1876. He had given his politi- cal allegiance to the Democracy and was at all times a champion of measures and movements for the public good. His wife survived for about three years and of their nine children five are yet living: Charles, who resides in this county ;

To the family of Mr. and Mrs. Davis there came six children : America B., who is now Mrs. Bulkley of Foard county, Texas; John L., re- siding in Custer county, Oklahoma; Scott B., the wife of G. M. Bush of Nocona; Donnie, who died at the age of fifteen years; William, of Fort Smith, Arkansas; and Frederick L., who is asso- ciated with a large wholesale house in St. Louis. Mrs. Davis is a consistent Methodist and an James S., who is living at Fort Worth; John,

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of this review; Elizabeth; and Sarah, whose home is in Fort Worth. The first three members of the family, Susan, Henry and English, and the eighth child, Thomas, have all passed away.

From his youthful days John Hardisty has lived in Tarrant county and was reared to man- hood here. He pursued his education, however, largely in the schools of Kentucky, but practical experience has added greatly to his knowledge and made him a man of good business ability and keen discernment. When a youth he was trained to the labors of the farm and also in- structed concerning the best methods of raising stock and throughout his entire life he has car- ried on general agricultural pursuits and stock- raising. In early manhood, however, he put aside all business and personal considerations in order to become a soldier of the Eighth Lou- isiana Infantry at the time of the Civil War. The regiment was assigned to the army of Virginia. He was in the first battle of Manassas, in all the prominent battles of Virginia and Maryland, and at Gettysburg, being under Hayes and "Stonewall" Jackson, also in several battles with Longstreet, and seeing hard service through- out the whole of the war. He was never wounded, although he was often in the thickest of the fight. At Rappahannock Station he was captured, was carried from there to Washington, and thence to Point Lookout, Maryland, where he was held as a prisoner four months. At the expiration of that time, he, with others, was taken to Richmond for exchange; but terms of exchange not being agreed upon, the Confederate prisoners were paroled for thirty days, or until exchanged. Mr. Hardisty ran the blockade of the Mississippi river and came home at this time, but returned to Virginia. He afterward joined his command again and continued on active duty until the war was over.

When Mr. Hardisty became a member of the army he was engaged in farming in Louisiana and, following the cessation of hostilities, he re- sumed his labors as an agriculturist in that state, but when a year had passed he returned to his father's home in Texas accompanied by his wife, for in the meantime he had married. His pos- sessions in that year were extremely limited. He

owned a wagon and yoke of oxen, while his cash capital consisted of but fifteen dollars. During the first year he worked as a cattle driver for sixty dollars per month and his board, and, sav- ing most of his earnings, he was thus enabled to engage in business on his own account by culti- vating a tract of rented land. His attention has since been given to farming and stock-raising and year by year he has prospered until he is now one of the substantial residents of Tarrant coun- ty. He made his first purchase of land in 1870 and with the exception of a tract of sixty acres received from his father all of his extensive hold- ings have been acquired entirely through his own labors. At one time he owned nine hundred acres but he has since given some of this to his children and upon them has bestowed property in Fort Worth to the value of ten thousand dol- lars. During the early years of his residence here he purchased from the other heirs the interest in the old homestead and has since resided there- on. Here he cultivates various cereals and also raises good grades of stock.

As before stated, Mr. Hardisty was married in Louisiana to Miss Mary Best, a native of that state, and they became the parents of thirteen children, but two died in early life. Other children are: Mrs. Ida Haun, now living in Mexico; Cora, the wife of Isaac Sansberry, a resident farmer of Tarrant county ; Edward, who is living at Fort Worth; Christopher C., also of Fort Worth; John H., of Birdville; Gertrude, the wife of John Naylor of Tarrant county ; Alice, the wife of Herman Dumpk, living in Tarrant county and a veteran of the Spanish American war now in the govern- ment service ; and Frank, who is a member of the United States navy. On the 17th of November, 1889, the mother of these children departed this life. She was a member of the Missionary Bap- tist church and was an earnest Christian woman, devoted to her church, her family and her friends. On the Ist of November, 1891, Mr. Hardisty was again married, his second union being with Miss Annie Wilson, who was born in Ingham county, Michigan, and is a daughter of Isaac Wilson, who removed from that state to Texas with his family about 1885, locating on a farm

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five miles north of Fort Worth. His death oc- curred in August, 1898, while his wife, Mrs. Ada Wilson, now resides about four and a half miles. north of Fort Worth. Unto the second marriage of Mr. Hardisty have been born six children: Thomas W., Lois A., Julia E., Elean- or, Ethel, and one dead, George, who died when about eight months old.

Mr. Hardisty is a member of Grand Prairie lodge, A. F. & A. M. at Smithfield and belongs to R. E. Lee camp of the United Confederate Veterans at Ft. Worth, while his political alle- giance is given to the Democracy. He has a wide and favorable acquaintance in the county where so many years of his life have been passed and where he has so directed his labors as to win and retain the confidence and esteem of his fellow- men.

WILLIAM C. KUTCH, one of the honored old pioneers of Jack county and familiarly known as "Uncle Bill," was born in Maury county, Tennessee, January 21, 1838. In his early life his father, Daniel Kutch, a native of Mercer county, Kentucky, removed with his family to the Republic of Texas, making the journey by river to New Orleans, thence by the Red river to Shreveport and by wagon to Texas. Their first camp in this state was made in Shelby county, where they remained until the following October, when they removed to Montgomery county, and from there in 1848 to Smith county. After a time they took up their abode in Parker county, western Texas, where they both died, the mother passing away in March, 1861, the father surviving until June, 1874, when he, too, was called to the home beyond.

William C. Kutch was married to Miss Narcissus McElroy in December, 1854, and con- tinued to make his home in Smith county until in June, 1855, when with his young wife they stretched their tent near the Keechi, in the south- western part of Jack county, a country then new, wild and unsettled, and the journey thereto was made with a wagon and a yoke of steers. In this county they have ever since continued to reside, and there is not now within its boundaries a person who was here at the time of their arrival.

Their nearest postoffice and trading point at that time was Birdville, the old county seat of Tarrant county, five miles northeast of the present site of Fort Worth. Mr. Kutch had always despised the name of renter, and his ambition in coming to this new country was to make a home for him- self. Starting here with no means, he pre-empted one hundred and sixty acres of state land and began to accumulate a small bunch of cattle, and as the years passed by he became an extensive stock farmer. He remained on this old place until the 25th of November, 1896, when he was elected county treasurer, and to discharge the duties of that position removed to Jacksboro, which has ever since been the family home, and for six years he continued in that official position. He assisted the surveyors in establishing the lines of the county in 1857, and during the war was one of the county commissioners. He is one of the best known of the old Indian fighters of Jack county, and although he is often reluctant in tell- ing of the horrors of the Indian raids it is known by all that he was one of the most active partici- pants in the forces organized to fight the savages and protect the homes of the settlers. He still bears the wounds of three Indian arrows in his body. The redskins began their depredations about 1858, and from that time until 1874 they were a constant menace in this section of the state. They killed Mr. Kutch's aunt and her husband, Mr. and Mrs. James B. Cambeon, and their three children in May, 1858, the tragedy taking place at their home eighteen miles from Mr. Kutch's, and in those days of horror the latter was known as a bloodhound upon the trail. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Confederate service, becoming a member of Major Quail's regiment, which was stationed here for protection against the Indians. Both Mr. and Mrs. Kutch are members of the Methodist church, and in their family are four children-Mrs. Amanda E. Rather, Daniel Lee (the present sheriff of Col- lingsworth county), Ira B. and Mrs. Emma Ruth.

LAFAYETTE A. WILSON. Among the men who have grown up on Texas soil and achieved a fair measure of success upon the

LAFAYETTE A. WILSON

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grassy sward of its northern and western fron- tier and whose individual trail is like a spider's web over the plains of two territories and as many states in the pursuit of his favorite voca- tion, is LaFayette Abraham Wilson, of Jacks- boro, named in the introduction to this personal review. His life has spanned nearly fifty years of Texas history, and while at times his residence has been briefly without the borders of the state, his interests in the Empire Commonwealth of the west has never lagged and when he finally quit the trail and chose a refuge for his declining years the Lone Star state welcomed him within her hospitable portals, as she does the worthy citizen from whatever clime and treasures them as architects and builders of her future great- ness.

As a citizen of Texas we have to deal with our subject from the year 1857, when his parents with their overland caravan brought their little flock into the state and after a brief' sojourn in Hill county, located on Keechi creek in the northern portion of Palo Pinto county, where their son LaFayette, grew up. They started their westward journey in Washington county, Arkan- sas, where, February 25, 1848, the latter's birth occurred. The father, James R. Wilson, was born in 1814, was reared to vigorous youth in Missouri and probably born in that state. At about sixteen years of age he dropped down into Arkansas, married in Washington county and was 'a farmer there until his departure for the Texas frontier in the prime of an active life.

The life of the senior Wilson was devoted to the stock business for nearly forty years, begin- ning on Keechi creek before the Civil War and ending on a farm on Caney river in Chautauqua county, Kansas, in 1896. His was an humble beginning in Palo Pinto in that early day, a country scourged more or less with Indians until after he abandoned it, yet he made some progress up the ladder of fortune and when he transferred his interests to the Arkansas river country of Colorado, néar where La Junta was subsequently located, he had accumulated a good bunch of cattle. In 1875 he again moved, this time to Adobe Walls, the Panhandle country, and in 1880 he disposed of his holdings and purchased a

farm in Chautauqua county, Kansas, where gen- eral farming and a modest attempt at stock-rais- ing occupied him until his death. As a citizen he was unassuming, without ambition beyond suc- cess in his business venture, aided Democracy in politics and served in the Home Guard during the Secession War.

In his family connections James R. Wilson had no brother and but a single sister, who mar- ried a Ritter and died in Arkansas, on White river, in early life. He was twice married, the first time to Elizabeth Pettigrew, who died in 1852, and the second time to Jane Hughes, who passed away in Texas in 1879, at old Fort Davis. His children by the first wife were: Charles of Roswell, New Mexico; William J. of Lawton, Oklahoma; Nancy, who married Al Anderson, a stockman on the Washita river in Oklahoma ; LaFayette A. of this sketch; James P. of the Washita country, and Emma, wife of John An- derson, who also resides there. The oldest of the second family of children was Sarah, widow of Alfred Polk, of La Junta, Colorado; Henry, of Chautauqua county, Kansas ; likewise John; and Belle, who married Thomas Cabbler and died in Chautauqua county, Kansas.

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume I, Part 22

Author: Paddock, B. B. (Buckley B.), 1844-1922; Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1906 Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing co. Number of Pages: 968

Author: Paddock, B. B. (Buckley B.), 1844-1922; Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: Chicago, New York, The Lewis publishing co.
Number of Pages: 968