USA > Texas > Harrison County > Marshall > History Of Marshall Texas > Part 3
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19Miss Anna Smith.
20 Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 21 Dallas Morning News, February 28, 1937.
MARSHALL AND THE CIVIL WAR
Banks of the Union forces, sending him back down the Red River. General Kirby Smith thought Banks was after Shreveport and Taylor thought he was after Marshall. As it turned out, General Taylor was right. If he had not disobeyed orders of General Smith the fortifications at Mar- shall would have been used.22
When news of the Battle of Mansfield reached Marshall, a prayer meeting was called. As the nearby battle raged, Marshallites prayed to GOD to spare the lives of their soldiers. So many of them were participating in that skir- mish !
In those days, the pastors rang a bell when, at any time, they wished to call the people to the church. The Negro slaves were allowed to go to the same church before, during, and after the Civil War, until they were able to have houses of worship of their own. They sat in the seats in the back of the church. 23
The development of the churches during this period offers another interesting view of the city's growth.
The Methodists of the city on March 10, 1860, called a conference and held a meeting to elect a Board of Trustees for the purpose of constructing a church. The Board of Trustees was composed of M. J. Hall, W. P. Hill, Job Taylor, J. H. Johnson, B. Smalley, C. A. Frazier, J. M. Henderson, A. Pope, and Abner A. Cook. They made a contract with Alexander Pope and Billington Smalley. When the brick and foundation were all laid and the four walls nearly up, the west wall suddenly fell to the ground. The Board of Trustees voted to accrue to Alexander Pope $822.00. The contractors took subscriber's notes in settlement for the work and material secured by deed of trust.24 The church was constructed by negro slaves, at a wage scale of fifty cents per day per laborer, and was finished in 1861.25 By the time the church was completed, the Civil War was threatening the county, and the subscriber's notes were never paid. Finally, however, the contractors were paid.26
The Civil War accomplished. one thing in Marshall, or at least speeded its development -,the construction of a railroad. Transportation became so important that more attention was given to it.
22Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 23 A Brief History of the First Baptist Church of Marshall, Texas, 1845-1928
24First Methodist Church, Marshall, Texas, 1845-1945. 25 Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936.
26 First Methodist Church, Marshall, Texas, 1845-1945.
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MARSHALL AND THE CIVIL WAR
The Treasury Department was established with Dr. James H. Starr as Treasurer and the Ordnance Department with Major Alexander as chief. There were other departments under these such as the Shoe, Hat, Harness, and Saddle, Leather, Ammunition, and commissary Departments. Sup- plies were stored in the First Methodist Church and in the Odd Fellows Hall during the war.31
In 1864 Colonel Sprague and Major Bumby of the Federal Army arrived in Marshall to negotiate for the transfer of the Trans-Mississippi Region. Governor Mur- rah of Texas, Allen of Louisiana, Reynolds of Missouri, and Flanagan of Arkansas were present in transferring the Trans-Mississippi Region over to the Federal Army.32
The colorful, vivid days of the war-torn Confederacy have faded; to the casual observer no trace of those painful years exists.
But on the court-house square, facing the rising sun, there stands a slim, courageous figure, his rifle slung over his arm. This statue of a Confederate soldier was erected by the Marshallites and stands as a tribute to the days that are no more, to the bravery and self-sacrifice of a nation, now non-existent, and half-forgotten, and to a community, that is today a city.
31Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 82Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880).
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL
By 1860 Marshall was connected by stage line with Jef- ferson, Daingerfield, Mt. Pleasant, Tyler, Clarksville, and Shreveport, with fares ranging from $2.50 to $14.50. As families settled the rates were lowered. Freight was car- ried by ox-cart lines and followed the lines of the coaches to Jefferson and Shreveport. The roads were often im- passable.
The railroad came within one mile of Marshall, during the Civil War. In 1861 the Southern Pacific needed funds and sold their lines to H. S. Faulkerson of New Orleans. The Directorship consisted almost entirely of men from Marshall. 27
The Vicksburg, Shreveport, and Texas Railway Com- pany was leased on September 11, 1862. The forty-three miles between Shreveport and Marshall could now be trav- elled far more quickly and with much less danger and di's- comfort.
General Magruder, whose company was stationed in Marshall during the latter years of the war, had the track removed from Marshall to Swanson's Landing and replaced between Marshall and Shreveport, in order that he might ship, out troops with greater speed. 28
Major William Bradfield ran a line `of stagecoaches from Shreveport to Marshall and on to Crockett. There was" no telegraph communication." The stagecoaches were the only way to get news for four years.' A wagon train arranged between Marshall and Mexico, brought military stores and medicine back after having taken cotton to Mexico. Rev. J. T. Riggs was in charge of it. It consisted of six mule teams, eight or ten yoke of oxen, and a two- wheeled Mexican cart.29
Another boost Marshall received during the war years, which substantially increased her importance to East Texas, and which would eventually insure her of a strategic role in her region, came in 1863. In that year, the Confederacy was split in two. Vicksburg and Port Hudson fell into the hands of the Union forces. All communication with the capital of Richmond, Virginia, was destroyed and thus the Confederacy had to select a place for the Trans-Mississippi Region ; Marshall, Texas was picked as the strategic place. 30 Soon afterwards the Post Office Department was estab- lished with General Hugre as the Postmaster General.
27 Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 28Texas and Pacific Railway, from Ox-Teams to Eagles. 29 Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 30 Dallas Morning News, February, 28, 1937.
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Chapter IV History Since The Civil War
The war years behind, Marshall was submerged in re- construction.
In 1864 Colonel Sprague and Major Bumby of the Fed- eral Army'arrived in Marshall to negotiate for the transfer of the Trans-Mississippi Region. Governor Murrah of Texas, who was a resident of Marshall, Allen of Louisiana, Reynolds of Missouri, and Flanagan of Arkansas were present. The Trans-Mississippi Region was transferred over to the Federal Army. Marshall, got the first taste of reconstruction.1
During the period. that slavery existed at Marshall some of the slaves sold for $2,000 but the average price on a full grown and healthy negro was $350 to $1,200. It was a problem for the farmers to decide what to do after Eman- cipation, when. the slaves were'freed, but would not leave their masters.2 In 1850 it is estimated that there were 6,000 slaves in Harrison County, the county having largest population of any county in Texas. By 1860 there were 8,784 slaves in the county; more slaves than in any other county in Texas,3 Ninety per cent of the farmers of Harri- son County who owned slaves treated them well.4 Most of the slaves that were sold ranged in age from nineteen to thirty years. Colonel W. T. Scott was probably the lar- gest land owner in Harrison County with 25,000 acres.
Colonel Wheaten, head of the Illinois Infantry, took possession of Marshall in June 1865, for the Federal Gov- ernment. The military, controlled the civil functions of the government during the reconstruction period, every- body being under the military authorities. A group of fif- teen persons was appointed and asked to draft a preamble,. which they did before the military' came in 1865.5 The Federal authorities brought two thousand soldiers to Mar- shall. When they came, there was a cannon set upon the public square, where the monument now stands for the Confederate soldiers who fought in the war. The cannon was fired at six o'clock in the morning and in the evening at six o'clock. People who were arrested, and who had no money to pay the fine, had to go and polish the cannon. 6
1Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 2Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936. 3Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). +Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936. 5Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 6Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL
Vacant houses in Marshall were soon filled with negroes freed from their masters. The Freedman's Bureau estab- lished at Marshall did what it could to alleviate the condi- tions of the negroes in this county. The main object of this organization seems to have been to protect the ignorant negro from the unscrupulous white man.7 Lieutenant Stillkammer was in charge of the Freedman's Bureau and held court everyday. Whenever a negro came and made a complaint the white person would be fined $20 to $50 with no appeal. The girls who went to school did not dare to claim one-half of the sidewalk. Men were insulted and thrown into jail and prison for weeks. 8
Negroes held a meeting on a creek near Marshall in August 1865, to decide the rights of the newly liberated negroes and their duties under the new order. The main objection of the whites to the negroes seemed to have been 'due to this new enfranchisement.9
Many negroes loafed on the streets of the city after having gained their freedom, due to the fact that scalawags and carpet baggers led them to believe that the government would give them forty acres and a mule.10
In the middle of 1866 negro troops replaced the white troops. The negro troops conducted themselves with greater propriety than the whites did.
On the last Monday in January 1868, radical recon- struction agitators held a meeting in Marshall. The theme of this meeting dealt with the idea of universal negro suffrage. An election was held in February of this same year. The election was held in order to decide whether to or not to elect candidates for offices at conventions. The pro's won the election with 1,902 votes to 497 votes. Although there were approximately 3,000 negroes in the city at that time, no' disturbance" of any kind occurred. It may be said that Federal troops at Marshall were not as domineering as at some other places.
But in spite of some amiable agreements, all was not, by any means, sweetness and light. Trouble flared now and again with alarming swiftness, as it did on the last Monday, in the month of December 1868, when. Judge Caldwell, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas, and a negro man, named Scipio McKee, attempted to hold
7Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 8Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present.
9Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 10 Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936.
11Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 12Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 13 Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 14Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 15 Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880). 16Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 17 Armstrong, J. C., History of Harrison County, Texas, (1839-1880).
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HISTORY SINCE THE CIVIL WAR
a radical meeting in the county court-house in Marshall. It was broken up by a body of citizens. They tried to get. into the sheriff's room to hold the meeting, but the sheriff would not let them have the keys to unlock the room. They attempted to hold the meeting in the lobby, but a pistol shot was fired into the air, and that frightened the speakers and others away. The negroes were singing a political hymn when the shot was fired, and that ended their reli- gious zeal. Colonel Wood of New Orleans came to investigate the matter and found' Judge Caldwell to blame, accusing him of coming to Marshall in order to arouse passion and to make trouble.
'At this time there were three times as many negroes as white people in the county. On record there is no evi- dence of there being a trial.11
The negro controlled the voting in Harrison County from 1869 to 1878.12 The carpet baggers, when entering office in 1869, as a result of the negro vote, found $12,000 surplus in the Treasury. When they departed in 1878 there was left behind a $450,000 debt.13 During these years of carpet bagger control, the Ku Klux. Klan came into existence in the South and found a way to gain control in local affairs.14 It was organized in Harrison County in 1868 with Theo. P. Hawley, W. W. Heartsill, Clarence Kerby, W. C. Barrett, S. R. Taylor, and T. A. Elgin being the first leaders.15 It was the first organization of its kind west of the Mississippi River.
During this period, when the negroes had the voting' edge in the city, the Bonfoey tragedy occurred.16 Someone entered Mrs. S. B. Bonfoey's house one night. She was almost killed as the result of a severe beating. In 1866 Governor A. J. Hamilton of Texas ordered for an election to be called and Bonfoey was sheriff of Harrison County. Not one-half of the white people went to give the oath or to take the allegiance. The cause of this was the amnesty rule.17
In the election the negroes elected Shack Roberts and' David Abney as Senators. John Woodward, Edmund Brown, and Mitch Kindall were elected to the lower house.
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"HISTORY OF MARSHALL
These negroes were elected by bribery, which is the weapon. of a "rule or ruin" party. 1
But in 1878 the Ku Klux Klan was beginning to function. On election eve of that year, General Walter P. Lane and Major Mienclem gave orders for negroes to remain home, and on the following day no negroes were seen at the polls. And the'carpet baggers had gathered their belongings and departed northward also.
Marshall could now draw a deep breath. Reconstruc-, tion days were over.
The Citizens Party now gained full control over the city and county. The Citizens Party chose the County Commissioners and the election officers. The party vote, increased from 1,500 to 6,000. A special committee, com- posed of twenty-seven members, was appointed to care for the business interest of the party. All of the scalawags and, carpet baggers, who still'remained, were ordered to leave the city. Twelve troublesome negroes were asked to leave the county. All left with the exception of two.18
This Citizens, Party, organized in 1878, was destined to serve the city and county for years to come. Today, in. 1947, the Citizens Party is still in control. The Party at. the time of its organization was composed entirely of white. people, and in 1947, this fact is still true. The only qualifi- cation was that the person had to be white. He could vote, no matter what national party he belonged to, Republican or Democratic. Two completely separate Citizens Parties were organized; one a city organization and one a county organization. The Party is not a part of the Democratic Party and is only local. It elects no district or state offi- cers; only city and county officers. This Party is unique as no other county or city has the organization. It does not elect the State Representative as he is elected on the Democratic Party Ticket.
Proof of the Party's popularity is illustrated by the fact that, since its organization, no man or woman, unless a member of the Citizens Party, has held office in this city or county.19
One of the incidents which contributed to the general unrest of the period was the murder of Diamond Bessie Moore. This occurred on the night of January 21, 1877, at Jefferson.
18Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 19Mr. William Caven.
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HISTORY SINCE THE CIVIL WAR
Abe Rothchild was charged with the murder, and was brought to trial. Many witnesses testified that Rothchild killed the girl, and substantial evidence was given in proof of this.
But Rothchild, who offered no defense, was not con- victed. He and a woman, presumably his wife, remained for sometime in Marshall, at the Capitol Hotel.
Another 'shooting incident occurred in Marshall in the early 1870's, this time involving actors in a stage company, which was presenting a Shakespearean drama in the room above Matthewson Drug Store.
During the performance one of the men in the audience, a Jim Currie, was thrown out of the "theater," presumably for unruly conduct.
Currie, angered at this insult, waited on the street, until the play ended and two of the actors, a Porter and Maurice Barrymore, father of John, Ethel, and Lionel, went into a" nearby restaurant to eat.
There Currie killed Porter and badly wounded his partner, Barrymore.
Two versions of the crime are given. One states that Currie came into the restaurant, angered by the recent incident, swearing profanely.
Porter and Barrymore reminded him that ladies were present, but he ignored the warning, and when Porter started to remove his coat, Currie shot, both men.
The other version of the affair is that Currie went into the restaurant, and the two actors, seeing him, began laugh- ing and making fun of the man who had misbehaved during their performance, and Currie shot both of them.
But whatever the truth of the matter was, the fact re- mained that Currie was acquitted of the charges against him.
Murder doesn't appear to have been much of a crime in the 1870's.20
Construction during these years had not been at a stand- still, however, and as the city emerged from carpet bagger control, the people turned with new enthusiasm to the im- provement of their community.
Fire control equipment was one thing the city sorely needed in the 1870's and 1880's, when a large building
20 Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL
caught on fire in 1870, the whole city was threatened with destruction.21 Even in 1885, there were no paid firemen in the city. There were two, volunteer stations, Stonewall and Salamander, and they used hand pumps.22 Marshall, in 1947 has four fire stations to cover the entire city. They are the Central, Texas and Pacific, North Side, and South Side fire stations. 23
In 1912 there was a terrific explosion which razed all of the buildings from Logan and Whaley Company to the Marshall National Bank. It was caused by escaping gas, set off when a cigarette was lighted by Erik P. Littlejohn. No one was killed. Littlejohn, however, was blown across the street. Glass windows were shattered out all around Marshall. It was the most terrific explosion in the history of the city.24
At one time during the city's history a single horse street car ran from the depot to the Capitol Hotel. The horse street car turned around at the corner of Lafayette and East Houston Streets. It would then go back to the depot. The old horse had a bell around its neck. Fares were charged for rides. 25
One of the most exciting events back in 1909 was the arrival of a street car, via the railroad, from Washington, D. C. Tracks had already been laid, and immediately after its arrival, the car began its rounds. It was through the enterprise of Mr. Marvin Turney that Marshall obtained this street car service. Many people called him a fool as they watched the car begin its route. The tracks went from the depot to Capitol Hotel, where the Hotel Marshall now stands. In 1913, Marshall had five street cars on the tracks. It cost five cents each for a ride on the street car. Once when a circus came to town, the street car business took in $400, thus proving that there were around 8,000 people in the city that day. The street car would usually jump the tracks five or six times each day, especially in front of the court-house, until Mr. Turney hired one of the foremen at the Texas and Pacific Railroad Shops to fix it. The business came to an end in 1925, how- ever, when so many automobiles came out.
The first horseless car that was brought to Marshall was owned by a man named John W. Addis. He also owned
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HISTORY SINCE THE CIVIL WAR
the second one brought into the city. When he rode in it down the city streets in early 1900, the noise it made caused. so much commotion that the driver was threatened by many people! Some even advocated that he be shot. But Mr. Addis had enough trouble without the people inflicting any. One day while he was cranking his car, a sudden jolt broke both of his arms. Another day the car jumped back and knocked his son-in-law down against the wall.
The first vehicle to be registered in the County Clerk's office was owned by Addis. Owen Clark was the County Clerk at that time. It was registered on July 20, 1907, the charge being but 50c. Later in the same year, and in 1908, more cars were registered. The car to carry off the honors was a 10 Buick owned by Dr. A. A. Decker, who ran it over all kinds of rough roads. It is claimed he ran the car over 100,000 miles before he traded it in for a new Buick.26"
Agriculture was flourishing as well as business in the years following Reconstruction, as local records prove.
In 1881, the receipts of cotton, since September 1, 1880, were 9,353 bales; wool, 2,000 pounds; cattle, local, 2,000 head; and a little lumber. Of the cotton, over 6,000 bales were shipped to New Orleans via Shreveport, 150 bales to Galveston, none to Houston, and the balance to St. Louis for eastern mills. The hides went to St. 'Louis. Three- fourths of the dry goods and twenty per cent of the drugs were bought'in New York; ten per cent of dry goods and fifteen per cent of drugs were purchased in Galveston, and sixty per cent of hardware in St. Louis. Trade was mostly retail, although there was some jobbing with Panola County. Seventy-five per cent of the sales were on credit, based on crop mortgages, but there had been more cash business previously. 27
Improvements in the city and county government were also carried out during these years.
For one thing, a more adequate county court-house was constructed. There has been, in fact, three court-houses erected in Marshall since it became the seat of justice in Harrison County. The first was completed in 1851 when O. T. Boulware was judge. The second court-house was completed in 1889 when A. H. Cooper was judge. It was razed by fire on June 6, 1899, the fire starting at 5:40 in the afternoon. 28 It was apparently caused by sparks from
21Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 22Mr. E. L. Wells, Jr.
23Sketches Drawn From Marshall and Vicinity, Past and Present. 24Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936. 25Mrs. Frank Resch.
26 Marshall News Messenger, August 23, 1936. 27 Statement of Mr. Isom P. "Bill" Hydrick.
28Mr. J. A. "Joe" Riley. Newspaper clipping.
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HISTORY OF MARSHALL
the tinner's fire pot, operated by Ed Hodgins. The sparks had caught the birds' nest, along the eaves of the building, and had rapidly spread over the roof.
The fire department, across the street from the court- house, hurried to the frantic officers, who were vainly trying to put out the leaping flames. But in the flurry, John Cole, driver of the hook 'and ladder truck, made" a sharp turn and disaster descended. The hose reel fell on him and spectators had to rush to his rescue. They lifted it off, unrolled the hose, and set to work. Everyone lent a hand. There were two hydrants where the hose could be connected, but the pressure was so low that the water would not reach the second floor of the court-house. The old Silsby steamer was brought out and its hose was con- nected at one of the cisterns on the east side of the square, but it was not effective, for it was too late. The frame of the building was soon destroyed and the streams of water were turned on the vaults that held valuable papers and records in the clerk's office. It was several days before" the hot vaults could be opened. The papers and records in the vaults were not harmed, however.
Moffat's Furniture Store and Spelling's Livery stable both caught fire from the sparks that came from the fire of the court-house; in fact, sparks were flying all over Marshall. Buckets of water, carried by volunteers,, pre- vented much damage being done to either one of the build- ings. 29
The present court-house was erected in 1901 as H. T. Lyttleton was judge.30
The first city charter was given to the City of Marshall, when a bill passed the State House of Representatives, 104 to 0, and the State Senate, 31 to 0. After its approval, the bill became a law on February 12, 1909, Marshall changed from the Mayor-Alderman form of Government to the City Commission form. On December 18, 1913, the voters of the city voted six amendments to the charter. It was successful until a superior form of City Government was founded.
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