A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 124

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: 972

USA > Texas > A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II > Part 124

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John W. Middleton was born in Tennessee, in 1808, and became a mechanic. He married Miss Mary A. Chalk, a native of North Carolina. Re- moving to Shelby county, Texas, in 1837, he di- vided his time between farming and working at his trade. In 1851 he removed to Van Zandt

county and devoted his whole time to farming, at which he proved very successful. In 1859 he went to Erath county, where he engaged in the cattle business, and in 1868 he exchanged his cattle for horses. The following year he re- moved to Hood county, Texas, where he died in 1898. He reached a ripe old age and was vigor- ous mentally but suffered much physically from five gunshot wounds received during his life. He was waylaid and shot in four different parts of the body by Jim and Henry Stricklin, both of whom were afterward killed during the Regula- tor and Moderator War, in 1842. Two years later, while attempting to arrest Jack Crane for smuggling confiscated goods, Mr. Middleton was shot and terribly mangled, his assailant using slugs of lead for bullets, and so near him that his clothes were set on fire. He did not fall from his horse, but rode two miles to his home, his clothes burning and his arms so badly mangled he could not use them. The story of his life and many deeds of bravery was prominent for a half century among the pathfinders of the plains.

Drewry Landrom Middleton, like the average frontier boy, had few advantages in childhood. He was raised a poor farmer boy, working for his daily bread, securing only a little education while attending the sessions of a school held four miles from his home in a little log cabin, to and from which he walked. He was named for his grandfather, Drewry Middleton, and Colonel Landrom, of Shelby county, Texas, a hero of the Mexican war.

While not a native Texan, having been born at Holly Springs, Mississippi, April 16, 1837, Drewry L. Middleton has spent the greater part of his life on the frontier of this state as a ran- ger and running cattle. In 1856, at the age of nineteen years, he left the old farm and was mar- ried to Miss Mary W. Odell, an orphan who was reared by "Father" Eli Gilliland, her grandsire and one of the first cattlemen of the state. Mr. and Mrs. Middleton began their domestic life in Van Zandt county, near the present site of the town of Wills Point, embarking in the cattle business with a few head of cattle and borrowing money to buy their little home. Prosperity at- tended every business enterprise to which Mr. Middleton gave his attention, and in 1860, find- ing that his constantly increasing herd of cattle needed a larger range, he decided to move farther west and became a resident of Erath county, at which time he owned a large bunch of horses and one thousand head of cattle, which was then con- sidered an extensive herd for northern Texas.

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

There he staked a claim and turned his cattle and ponies out to graze.

A few weeks afterward he crossed the Brazos river into what is now Hood county, Texas, to gather some cattle that had strayed. Returning the next day he camped in the same spot as on the preceding day and was surprised to see there had been two campfires instead of one, while In- dian moccasins told the tale. He abandoned his cattle and, putting spurs to his pony, rode home, where he found his wife and two babies standing in the yard waiting for him. She informed him the Indians had come, killed their nearest neigh- bor, stolen all the ponies in that section and that all the men in the neighborhood were out on the trail. This was enough to warn him of the awful risk of leaving wives and babies unprotected and he immediately yoked up two oxen to his schooner wagon, leaving his cattle on the range, and started with his family to a place of safety. He stopped on Mustang creek, in Tarrant county, remaining there throughout the remainder of the summer and winter, and the following spring lo- cated on Rucker's creek, in Hood county.

This was in 1861 and soon afterward he en- listed in the Confederate army, as a member of Company K, Fifth Texas Mounted Volunteers, commanded by Colonel Tom Green, this being the second regiment in General Sibley's brigade. He has seen active service through various cam- paigns and was a participant in all the trans- Mississippi fighting, which was principally a skirmish warfare. The principal, engagements in which the regiment took part were at Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Marksville Prairie, Moroville and Yellow Bayou. These were a series of engage- ments with only a few days intervening, as they followed up the enemy on their retreat. His brave wife, during that period, unaided and buffeting the dangers and hazards of frontier life, sup- ported herself and her two children and eight others dependent upon her.

After the war, Mr. Middleton returned to his family, whose possessions consisted of good health and a dozen cows, and began the battle of life anew. He engaged in freighting, buying five yoke of oxen on credit, and his first load was salt from East Texas, a commodity that brought ten dollars a sack. He followed freighting and trading two years and then took advantage of the demoralization of the cattle industry, the war having broken up and scattered the herds throughout the state. He bought cattle to the value of thirteen thousand five hundred dollars to be found and gathered wherever possible. Hav- ing no money he gave notes for this amount. In

two years he had paid off all his obligations and branded eight hundred cattle as his profit. At this time he fenced the first pasture ever enclosed in Hood county. With this second start his cat- tle business constantly increased until the agita- tion and legislation concerning the free grass, which checked the whole cattle industry. Mr. Middleton was at one time cattle inspector. His brand is sixty years old, the oldest on record in the state, and his dealings date back to the days when cattlemen gave each other power of attor- ney to look after mutual interests on the ranges all over the plains. Each handled the other's branding iron and branded and disposed of the other's cattle when found on their range, and set- tled once a year at the general round-up-a mark of honesty and trust never found in any other line of trade. As the years advanced Mr. Mid- dleton prospered in his undertakings and is now in a financial position that will enable him to spend the evening of life in ease and comfort, without further recourse to labor. He and his sons have a ranch in Jones county of ten thou- sand acres, on which they carry one thousand stock cattle and one hundred ponies, and they lease pasturage each year in the Creek nation in the Indian Territory, on which they fatten cattle for the market.

Mr. Middleton has been a member of the Ma- sonic fraternity since 1865, taking his first de- grees at Weatherford, Texas. In 1874 he be- came a member of the chapter at Cleburne and was made a Knight Templar in Abilene in 1891.

The children of Mr. and Mrs. Middleton, seven in number, are all living: Elizabeth, the wife of J. M. Daugherty, of Abilene; Martha M., the widow of John A. Wisenhurst; D. H., who re- sides at Abilene; A. C., living in Jones county ; Virginia O., the wife of J. A. Ryburn, who re- sides in Cresson, Hood county, Texas; Tarleton, living in Abilene; and Charles O., also of Abi- lene. The sons are all associated with their father in the cattle industry, except the youngest, who is a traveling salesman.

The life history of Mr. Middleton, if written in detail, would furnish a most interesting and authentic picture of an important epoch in Texas history, and would especially set forth the condi- tions met by the cattleman, as he has braved the dangers of Indian attack and his depredations upon the live stock, also faced the usual hard- ships of frontier life and likewise the trying con- ditions brought on by the war. All this Mr. Mid- dleton knows from actual experience and he is to-day one of the typical men of the southwest, who in the face of obstacles has won fortune.

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

JESSE L. JONES. In the subject of this sketch we find a man who has been closely iden- tified with the history of Haskell, who resided in this locality before the organization of Haskell county, and who has filled many important public positions here.

William C. Jones, the father of Jesse L., was born October 19, 1827, in Clark county, Ala- bama, near the junction of the Tombigbee and Alabama rivers. When a young man he went to Choctaw county, Mississippi, and was there at the time the Civil war came on. Enlisting in the Confederate army, he went into the struggle and proved himself a valiant soldier, enduring many privations incident to army life and participating in numerous hard fought battles. In the siege of Vicksburg he received a wound which neces- sitated the amputation of his left arm. In Choc- taw county he married Miss Deliah Armstrong, eldest daughter of James and Cassie Armstrong. He continued to reside in Mississippi until 1873, and the last two years of his residence there he filled the office of county treasurer of Montgom- ery county, which had been made from a part of Choctaw and Carroll counties. In the spring of 1873 he came to Texas, settling first in Rob- inson county, and in the fall of 1874 moving to Hood county and locating on Rucker's Creek, a mile from the Brazos river. In the autumn of 1876 he bought some land in Stephens county and took up his abode on it, and there he made his home until, advanced in years, he came to Haskell to live with his children. In his family were ten children, five sons and five daughters, of which number all of the sons and the youngest daughter are now living.

Jesse L. Jones was born in Choctaw county, Mississippi, March 1, 1859, and in his native county passed the first fourteen years of his life, his educational advantages there being limited, and he had no opportunity to attend school after the removal of the family to Texas. In 1878, a few years after his arrival in the "Lone Star State," he went out on the western plains as a member of a hunting expedition, and spent the winter hunting buffalo. On many occasions he saw hundreds of bunches of buffalo ranging, some times as high as a hundred in a bunch. They killed the buffalo for the hide, and often they took the choicest part of the meat. On his return to Stephens county he engaged in the cat- tle business, taking his father's cattle and some belonging to another party, and going to the plains on Duck Creek, in Dickens county, where he remained until the fall of 1881, when the cat- tle were sold. Next we find him working, on a

salary, for a cattle company at Tascosa, on the Canadian river, near the New Mexico line. In January, 1882, he came to what is now Haskell, then called Rice's Springs, and bought a flock of sheep, which he kept there until the organization of Haskell county, in January, 1885. At this time he was elected clerk of the county, also dis- trict clerk, and filled both offices at the same time. In this capacity Mr. Jones has served the county for several years. His first term was a short one. At the general election in the fall of 1886 he was elected for a full term of two years, which he served, and was then out of office for two years. In 1890 he was again elected and he was re- elected in 1892, completing his final term in 1894. In January, 1893, while the incumbent of the clerk's office, he was elected cashier of the Has- kell National Bank, and, leaving the duties in the clerk's office to be attended to by a deputy, he gave the most of his attention to the bank, and he remained in the bank until January, 1901. At this date his partnership with A. C. Foster be- gan, under the firm name of Foster & Jones, dealers in real estate, which association continues up to the present time. Mr. Jones is one of the largest individual land holders in the county. Also he has some land on the plains and some in Stephens county, devoted to stock raising and farming, having at this writing one thousand and two hundred acres under cultivation.

Mr. Jones was married February 14, 1886, to Miss Hallie Martin, daughter of Alonzo and Nanny Martin, and a native of Georgia. In their family were six children, five of whom are liv- ing, two sons and three daughters-Lennis W., Chester, Nell, Francis and Thelmer.

While not a member of any religious organiza- tion, Mr. Jones inclines towards the Primitive Baptist church, to which his parents belong. He took the initial degrees in Masonry in the winter of 1888-9. received the Royal Arch degree in the fall of 1889, and in 1890 was made a Knight Templar. He is also a member of the Woodmen of the World.

BURRELL L. PIERCE represents one of the early families of Texas, and is actively and successfully engaged in farming on Postoak Prairie, in Montague county. He was born in Fannin county, Texas, March 10, 1862, his parents being Sidney and Susan (Brown) Pierce, who were married in Texas, although they were natives of North Carolina and Ken- tucky, respectively. The paternal grand- father, Burrell Pierce, Sr., was a native of North Carolina, where he died after having

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conducted business as a successful planter for many years. In his family were eight chil- dren : George W., Robert, William, Jane, Sid- ney, Helen, Julia and May, all of whom came to Texas.

Sidney Pierce was reared in the state of his nativity, and in early manhood came to the Lone Star state, being one of the early settlers. He was born in 1833, and on reaching Texas took up his abode in Fannin county, where he now resides at the advanced age of seventy- two years. He still owns his first farm, which he improved from a wild and uncultivated tract. In addition to this he likewise owns other farm property, and he resides on a farm nearer town than the one which was his origi- nal location. For many years he has carried on general agricultural pursuits and stock raising, and his prospered in his undertakings, being a self-made man, who, without any special pecuniary or family advantages at the outset of his career, has worked his way stead- ily upward, overcoming all difficulties and ob- stacles in his path by his determined purpose and unfaltering energy. He possesses good ability as a financier, has accumulated a large estate, and is now numbered among the most substantial citizens of Fannin county. In poli- tics he is a Democrat, and in religious faith is connected with the Missionary Baptist church. He has manifested a commendable interest in all that has pertained to the general progress and improvement of the county, along material, intellectual and moral lines. He and his wife are yet in the enjoyment of good health and are enabled to have many of the comforts and luxuries of life as the result of earnest toil in former years. Mrs. Pierce was a daughter of a pioneer settler of Texas, who died leaving his wife and family of young children. The mother kept the children together and care- fully reared them, giving them every oppor- tunity possible. She was a consistent member of the Baptist church. In her household were two sons and two daughters: Green and Carl, both of whom died while serving in the Confed- erate army; Mrs. Susan Pierce and Frances, the wife of J. English.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Pierce were born ten children : Burrell L .; Lee, a Missionary Baptist minister, who, with his family, is now doing missionary work in China; Josie, the wife of W. T. Bibby; Rebecca, the wife of L. G. Bumbarger; Mattie, the wife of T. L. Beckham; John and Walter, who are operat-

ing the old homestead; Christopher, who died in childhood; Carroll C., deceased, and Anna, the wife of R. H. McHale.

Burrell L. Pierce was reared in Fannin county, and remained under the parental roof until the time of his marriage, in 1882. He then began farming on the old homestead, where he remained until 1889, when he pur- chased a tract of land, comprising three hun- dred and twenty acres on Postoak Prairie. The soil is a rich, sandy loam, very productive, and the place was partially improved when it came into his possession. He has since re- modeled the farm and house, and has cleared and placed over one hundred acres of land under cultivation. He has over two hundred and fifty acres altogether under cultivation and he carries on general farming, raising such sup- plies as are needed for the farm and stock, and having good crops for sale. He has remodeled the house, made a large addition thereto, and has it piped with water connected with a wind- mill tank. There is also a good cyclone cellar for safety, and the various conveniences and improvements known to a model farm are here found. He has built a large barn and has set out an orchard, which now yields its fruits in season. Mr. Pierce receives some assistance from his father's estate, which he utilizes to the best advantage, but he has found that there has been plenty of hard work in connection with the improvement of his farm. This he has carried on untiringly until success has at- tended his efforts, and he is now one of the prosperous agriculturists of his community.

Mr. Pierce was united in marriage to Miss Anna Embree, who was born in Kentucky in 1863, and is a daughter of Elisha T. and Mary A. (Savage) Embree, both of whom were na- tives of Kentucky, where they were married and settled to farming. In 1868 they came to Texas, establishing their home in Grayson county, where the father purchased land and developed a farm, carrying on general agricul- tural pursuits and stock raising. He also did some trading, and at one time conducted a meat market. He also owned large tracts of land, and became a very prosperous and prom- inent agriculturist of his community. He, how- ever, sold most of his Texas land and made his home among his children and in the Indian Territory. He never desired political honors nor emoluments, but preferred to devote his undivided attention to his business interests. He was a consistent member of the Christian

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

church. His wife was a daughter of John Sav- age, a minister of the Baptist church, and died in Kentucky. The mother of Mrs. Pierce was the eldest in a family of five children, the others being Elizabeth, Margaret, Dica and Lem. The members of the Embree family were: Mrs. Elizabeth McLernan, Mrs. Kate Perkins, Mrs. Sarah Frantz, Colby, John H. and Joshua, all of whom are farming in the Territory ; Anna, now Mrs. Pierce; M. Luther, who is living in Wichita Falls; James S., who died at the age of fourteen years; Thomas and William. All are yet living, with the excep- tion of two. The mother died September IIth, , 1903.

Mr. and Mrs. Pierce have a family of six children : William L., who married Maud Bryan and is engaged in farming; Josie B., the wife of C. Corruth; Grover C., Augustus B., Sidney and Anna M., all at home. The parents are devoted members of the Christian church, and Mr. Pierce is regarded as one of the representative citizens of his community, who, in his farming interests on Postoak Prairie has met with very creditable and grati- fying success.

C. F. McGRADY. The farming and stock- raising interests of Montague county have a worthy representative in C. Frank McGrady, who is living near Saint Jo and who belongs to one of the early families of Montague county. His birth occurred in Fannin county, Texas, on the 28th of October, 1859, and there the days of his boyhood and youth were passed, his education being acquired in the common schools, while in the periods of vaca- tion his attention was given to the work of farming and stock raising upon his father's home place. He is a son of Allen R. and Elizabeth (Cox) McGrady, the former a native of Georgia and the latter of Louisiana. The McGrady family is of Scotch-Irish lineage, and was established in America at an early day, the first representatives of the name settling in the eastern southern states. The paternal grandfather of our subject was a resident of Georgia and followed the occupation of farm- ing, his genuine worth winning him the respect and trust of those with whom he was associ- ated.

Allen R. McGrady, father of C. Frank Mc- Grady, was born and reared in Georgia, after which he went to Louisiana, where he accepted a position as overseer, being employed in that

capacity for a number of years. It was during that period that he was married, and in 1856 he came to Texas, first settling in Fannin county, where he accepted the position of over- seer with Samuel Howard, whom he thus rep- resented until 1859. In the latter year he came to Montague county, locating on land that bordered Clear creek, about four miles south of the present site of Saint Jo. A long period had elapsed, however, before the town was platted in 1872. Mr. McGrady was the second settler in Clear creek valley, and found the usual pioneer conditions. Game of all kinds was plentiful and wild beasts roamed at will. The settlers gave their attention chiefly to the cattle industry, for the range was free and open, and the business proved a profitable one. Little farming up to that time had been done, and by many it was considered doubtful whether the work could be profitably carried forward. Mr. McGrady, however, located one hundred and sixty acres of land, built a cabin and turned his attention to the cultivation of the fields. He also had a small amount of stock, and hoped to increase his herd as the years passed, but the conditions of life in Texas proved detrimental to business interests for some years to come. The Civil war broke out, and the red men, thinking this an opportunity for license and liberty, became hostile and committed many depredations and deeds of atrocious violence. It became necessary for the citizens to organize in defense of their families and their stock, and later Mr. Mc- Grady joined Captain Bowland's company of frontier rangers, in which he served for four years, and after that company was disbanded he continued in frontier service, his connec- tion with the border warfare covering about seven years. He was very active in driving the red men from the locality, that the work of civilization might be carried forward. No citizen visiting Texas today, and seeing its fine homes and well-developed farms, can realize the conditions which existed at that period. It required men and women of great bravery and fearlessness to face the hardships and dan- gers, but they planted the seeds of civilization that in time have produced happy homes and a splendidly developed region, settled by a contented and prosperous people. Soon after the outbreak of the Indian troubles Mr. Mc- Grady took his family to the head of Elm creek, where they remained about a year, when, realizing that the Indians were not to

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HISTORY OF NORTH AND WEST TEXAS.

be quickly subdued, he made preparations to return to his ranch, erecting a stockade around his cabin with log posts fifteen feet high. He then made port-holes in the house, from which to shoot, and, with his family, he returned to the home, where they remained throughout all those troublous days, which, however, were fraught with much anxiety. The Indians, however, never attempted to destroy the stock- ade or committed their depredations 'within its bounds. They stole horses, however, through- out the country, and the only way an animal could be kept was to have a log chain locked around its neck. The little farming was done with steers. Mr. McGrady participated in many running fights with the Indians, and was a witness of their deeds of atrocity and violence. He has seen cabins burned and their inmates killed, and here and there upon the prairie he has come across the bodies of the victims of the red men. . He, however, never sustained a wound from an Indian bullet or arrow.

When hostilities had ceased Mr. McGrady settled to farming, and was making a good ef- fort to get well started in his cattle raising when, in 1863, all of his stock died from dis- ease save a cow and calf. This was a great blow, but he did not allow himself to become discouraged, and, with resolute purpose, made another start. Fortune was more kindly this time, and as the years passed by he prospered, becoming one of the successful farmers and stock raisers of this part of the country. His attention was given to cattle, horses and hogs, and he sold to dealers, never doing any ship- ping himself. As the years passed by and his financial resources increased he made judicious investment in property until he owned nearly five thousand acres of valuable land. He was an interested witness of the changes that oc- curred in the county, marking its development and improvement, for he located here before the county was organized, court being held at Gainesville at that time. His co-operation was given to many measures for the general good, and his worth as a citizen was widely ac- knowledged. He remained upon the old home- stead until the health of both himself and wife failed, owing to the hardships which they had undergone and the continuous work which they had performed. Financially situated so as to enjoy rest from labor, they removed to Mineral Wells, hoping to be benefited by the change, but in 1899 both passed away, Mr. Mc-

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A twentieth century history and biographical record of north and west Texas, Volume II, Part 124

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: 972

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: 972