USA > Texas > Tarrant County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Tarrant and Parker counties; containing a concise history of the state, with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named counties, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 64
USA > Texas > Parker County > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of Tarrant and Parker counties; containing a concise history of the state, with portraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named counties, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 64
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Mr. Eastman is the oldest child of Arza and Mercy A. (Harrington) Eastman. Arza Eastman was born in Ontario county, New York, and emigrated from there to Michigan, being among the first settlers of that State. There he opened up a farm, and was for a number of years engaged in the stock busi- ness, making a specialty of sheep and horses. And while in Jackson county he had charge of the county jail, and served as Deputy Sheriff. After losing so much of his stock in Texas during the war, he sold and traded what 'was left and went to Missouri. Later he visited Michigan and Georgia, and about 1875 returned to Texas. From that date until the time of his death, 1886, he made his home with his son, James H. He was a Master Mason. While in Michigan he inarried, and he and his wife were the par- ents of six sons, all of whom grew to man- hood, namely: James H., Charles H., of
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Michigan; John H., in Georgia; William H., who died at Fort Worth, Texas, September 26, 1892; Nathan H., who died in Georgia, October 12, 1869; and George H., who lives in southwestern Texas. The mother died in 1859.
James H. Eastman married Miss Martha J. Simpson, daughter of John and Frances (Hutchison) Simpson, both natives of Ken- tucky. Her parents went to Pettis county, Missouri, in 1839, where they spent the rest of their lives, the mother dying September 13, 1844, and the father passing away in 1854. They had eight children, Mrs. East- man and her sister, Mrs. Sarah Nichols, of Green Ridge, Missouri, being the only surviving members of the family.
. Mr. and Mrs. Eastman have one child, John A., at home. The whole family are members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and Mr. Eastman is identified with the Masonic order. In politics he was for- merly a Democrat, but now supports the Peo- ple's party.
ANIEL C. TRIGG, Enless, Texas. Among the early settlers of Tar- rant county none are more worthy of a place in history than is Daniel C. Trigg.
He was born in middle Tennessee, June 5, 1819, and was reared on a farm and educated in the common schools, remaining with his father until he attained his majority. After his marriage, which event took place
in 1852, he bought a farm and settled down in his native State, and was there engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1858, when he came to Texas, bringing with him his family and slaves, and settling on the farm he has since owned and occupied. Here he bought a section of land. Some few im- provements had been made upon it, and he has since developed it into one of the finest farms in the vicinity. In all these years he has never failed to make a crop of some kind. In 1889 a hail storm destroyed a greater portion of his crops, but he had sufficient to last him through the year. He has for years given considerable attention to the raising of hogs, always finding it a profitable business, and he has also been engaged in raising mules, at one time being .
the owner of a fine jack. From time to time he has purchased other tracts of land and has given farms to his children. In the home place he now has 160 acres under cultivation, one of his sons having charge of the farm.
Mr. Trigg's parents were Hayden and Juda (Worder) Trigg. Grandfather Trigg, also named Hayden, was a native of the Old Dominion, a veteran of the Revolutionary war, and an early settler of Kentucky. He was a member of the Kentucky Legislature for several terms. The father of our sub- ject was born in Virginia, went from there to Kentucky, and thence to Tennessee, where he died in 1856. He was a farmer and slave-owner and a prominent man in his community.
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The paternal grandfather, Joseph Worder, was also a native of Virginia, an early set- tler of Kentucky, and a prominent farmer and slave-holder. His sons grew up to oc- cupy honorable and useful positions in life, three of them, William, Walter, and John, being prominent Baptist ministers, William especially being noted.
The members composing the family of Hayden and Juda Trigg were ten in num- ber. Two died in infancy. A record of the others is as follows: William, who died of cholera at Memphis, Tennessee, leaving a widow and eight children, who have been in Tarrant county, Texas, since 1867; Jo- seph, who died in Tennessee; Daniel C., whose name appears at the head of this article; Ester, wife of Henry Hick, died in Tarrant county, Texas, in 1893, having re- sided here since 1855; Lanson, who died at the age of twenty-three years; Elizabeth, wife of L. Keath, died in Tennessee; Frankie, who died at the age of eighteen years; and John, who came to Texas in 1857, resides on a farm adjoining that of his brother, Daniel C. The mother of this family passed away in 1841. She was a de- voted member of the Baptist Church, and was a true Christian in every sense of the word.
Daniel C. Trigg, as above stated, was married in 1852. Mrs. Trigg's maiden name was Martha A. Hall, she being a daughter of Thomas and Celia A. (Whitson) Hall. Her. parents were natives of North Caro- lina, and moved from there to Tennessee,
where they spent the rest of their lives on a farm, the father dying in early life and the mother surviving until 1860. Mr. and Mrs. Trigg have had ten children, one dying in infancy, the others being Thomas E., a farmer and trader of Tarrant county; Ella, wife of Ed Keath, Young county, Texas; Susie, who married her cousin, W. H. Trigg, resides in Hale county, this State; Juda is the wife of George P. Albright, a druggist and farmer of Childress, Texas; Lizzie, wife of William Pilant, Fargo, North Dakota; Hayden and Mattie, at home; and Frankie and Blanchie, who died when about three years of age. Mr. Trigg and his wife and three of their children are members of the Missionary Baptist Church.
His political affiliations are with the Democratic party, and, while he has al- ways taken a commendable interest in pub- lic affairs, he has never aspired to official position.
BOAZ, a rising young farmer and stock man of Tarrant county, Texas, has resided here nearly all his life. He was born in Calloway county, Kentucky, July 13, 1872, and the following year was brought by his parents to Texas, their settlement being near Birdville. He was reared on a farm, was early in life in- ured to hard work, and was dependent upon his own resources for an education, death depriving him of a father's care and support . before reaching manhood. He rendered his
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widowed mother all the assistance he could, and between the ages of sixteen and nine- teen years he spent all he earned for school- ing. In 1893 he purchased 254 acres of land near Benbrook, upon which he is mak- ing payments as they fall due. He has made some improvements on this place and has 100 acres under cultivation, his crops being oats, corn and wheat. He raises some cat- tle and horses for the support of his farm, and he is giving special attention to raising hogs. At this writing he has $600 worth of hogs. From his early boyhood Mr. Boaz has been full of energy and enterprise, and he is starting out with a fair prospect to · attain success in life.
His father, Peter M. Boaz, was a native of Virginia, and went from there to Ken- tucky, where he married, and carried on farming and the manufacture of tobacco. In 1873. as already stated, he came to Texas. From near Birdville, where he first settled, he afterward moved to Clear Fork, where, October 26, 1882, he died, leaving a widow and seven children. Further history of the Boaz family will be found in the biographies of William and Richard Boaz, in this volume. The seven children constituting the family of which our subject is a member are as follows: Olive, wife of R. N. Hatcher; Ex, a farmer of Tarrant county; Edgar, a cattle dealer; Nathan B., who died in 1882; Hiram A., a Methodist minister of Fort Worth; William E., a farmer and stock dealer, and Z. His mother, now Mrs. Benbrook, is a daughter of N. H. Ryan, a Virginia farmer,
who removed to Kentucky, where he died in 1879. Mrs. Benbrook was the fourth born in a family of eight, her brothers and sisters being: William, a resident of Kentucky; John, deceased; Constance, deceased; Mary, wife of William Cain, Kentucky; Edmond, Kentucky; Nancy, wife of Joel Ferguson, Kentucky, and Phillip N., also of Kentucky.
Z. Boaz was married January 10, 1894, to Miss Teck Bishop, who was born in Ten- nessee, October 30, 1874, daughter of S. H. Bishop. Her father is now on a prospect- ing tour in Texas, and will probably locate in Tarrant county. His family consists of the following members: T. L., Joseph, Teck, Horace, and Burr.
Mr. Boaz's political views are Democratic.
J AMES M. BENBROOK is the gentle- man in honor of whom Benbrook Station, on the Texas & Pacific Rail- road, is named. As he is one of the repre- sentative citizens of Tarrant county, we take pleasure in presenting the following sketch of his life in this work:
James M. Benbrook was born in Posey county, Indiana, June 20, 1831 ; was reared on a farm, growing up without any educa- tional advantages. Since he reached man- hood he has, by his own exertions, acquired an education. In 1845 he moved with his parents to Hamilton county, Illinois, and there, in 1850, his father died. He re- mained with his mother until 1852, when he
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married and settled on a farm, and, in con- nection with his farming operations, he ran a steam mill, continuing thus occupied until the outbreak of the civil war. In June, 1861, he became a member of the Fortieth Illinois Volunteer Infantry, and was con- signed to the Army of the Tennessee, under Sherman. He was through all the Ken- tucky and Tennessee campaign in 1862. His feet were worn out from long marching, and he was also wounded in the hip by a piece of shell; was for a long time in hospital at Keokuk, Iowa, and was finally discharged. For six years he walked on crutches. He first enlisted in a cavalry company, of which he was elected First Lieutenant, but the regiment was not received, and he resigned and went home, and in June he became a member of the Fortieth Infantry, as above stated.
After receiving his discharge, Mr. Ben- brook returned home. In 1866 he moved to Missouri, thence to Arkansas, and a year later to Texas. He did not, however, re- main in Texas at that time, but returned to Arkansas. The following eight years he traveled extensively for the benefit of his health, and in 1874 he returned to Texas. After renting land one year in Johnson county, he came to Tarrant county, bought a tract of wild land, developed a farm, and resided on it until 1891. That year he built a commodious residence in the village of Benbrook, and here he has since made his home. He still gives his personal super- vision to his farm, all of which is under cul-
tivation and nicely improved. He has for years made a specialty of raising large quantities of hay, which always finds a ready market.
Mr. Benbrook's parents were James and Sarah (Shadowen) Benbrook. They were born and married in Virginia, moved to Ken- tucky, thence to Indiana, and from there to Illinois, where the father died, as already stated. Ezekiel Benbrook, the grandfather of our subject, was born in England and was one of the early settlers of Virginia. He was a Colonel in the Revolutionary war, served under General Washington, and crossed the Delaware on the ice with him; was in the army seven years, and during his service endured untold hardships. From Virginia he moved out to Kentucky, where he reared his family. He was the progeni- ter of all the Benbrooks in America. The children of James and Sarah Benbrook are as follows: Malinda, wife of Dr. Alford Mc- Carty, Benbrook, Texas; Ezekiel, a member of the Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry, was killed at Duvall's Bluff; Mary J., wife of W. Malone, is deceased; and James M., with whose name we began this sketch.
James M. Benbrook has been twice mar- ried. He first wedded Miss Martha Metcalf, who was born in Illinois in 1833, daughter of W. J. Metcalf, a farmer of that State. The children of this marriage were six, three of whom died in infancy. Of the others we record that Albert L. was a teacher, and that he died and left a widow and two chil- dren; Monroe is engaged in the furniture
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business at Dallas; Ida M. is the wife of Dr. E. W. Snider, a practicing physician of Brownwood, Texas. This wife and mother died in July, 1884. She was a consistent member of the Baptist Church. February 28, 1886, Mr. Benbrook married Mrs. L. A. Boaz, widow of Peter Boaz. Mr. and Mrs. Boaz came to Texas from Kentucky in 1873, and he died on Clear fork October 26, 1882, leaving seven children, viz .: Olive, Ex, Edgar, Nathaniel B., Hiram A., Will- iam E. and Z. Mrs. Benbrook is a daughter of N. H. Ryan, and one of a family of eight children: William, John, Constance, Mrs. Benbrook, Mary, Edmond, Nancy, and Phil- lip N.
Mr. Benbrook has always taken an active interest in public affairs. Until recently he was a Republican, but he now affiliates with the Populist party. While in Illinois he served four years as Constable, and since coming to Texas has filled several minor of- fices, for two terins serving as a Justice of the Peace. He is a member of the I. O. O. F. and the Baptist Church. Mrs. Benbrook is a Methodist.
RANK M. BURKE, a prominent citizen of Tarrant county, Texas, residing on a farm near Benbrook, is a native of Cass county, Missouri. He was born January 30, 1842, and at the age of six years came with his widowed mother and. her family to Texas, settling in Dallas county and remaining there until 1851. In
the meantime his mother had secured a large tract of land on Clear fork, and to it she moved in 1851, they being the outside fam- ily in the frontier settlement and it being two years before there were any settlers west of them. The Indians, however, were plenty and were friendly with the Burke family. Frank M. soon learned their lan- guage, and many happy hours of his childhood were spent with the children of the red man. The Burkes opened up their farm and en- gaged in the cattle business, and, at the time the war broke out, they had a large herd, which they moved west to a larger range. During the war many of their cattle were killed and stolen, and at its close they gath- ered up what were left and sold out, and from that time on have given their attention more to the cultivation of their land.
At the opening of the war the subject of our sketch enlisted in a company of rangers and was soon afterward mustered into the regular army, in which he continued until the conflict was over, most of the time being in the coast service. Among the engage- ments in which he participated were those of Galveston and Lafourche. He entered as a private and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. He was one of four brothers who were in the Confederate ranks, and all reached home in safety except one that died in prison at Rock Island.
Mr. Burke is a son of Evan H. and Mary (Overton) Burke, the former a native of North Carolina, and the latter of Howard county, Missouri. Evan H. Burke was a
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prosperous farmer and stock-raiser of Mis- souri. In 1846 he came to Texas. He brought with him a herd of stock, and re- turned to Missouri with the intention of bringing his family back with him and making permanent settlement here. About this time, however, he was afflicted with a cancer, and went to Memphis for the pur- pose of having it treated. On his return home, while going up the Missouri river, he fell overboard and was drowned. Later his widow carried out his plans, and came with her family to Texas, as above stated. She was a daughter of Aaron Overton, a prom- inent pioneer of Texas. Mr. Overton was born in North Carolina, was one of the earliest settlers of Missouri, and in 1844 came to Texas. He built the first mill in Jackson county, Missouri, and the first in Howard county, that State, and was also the pioneer miller in northern Texas, having hauled machinery for his mill with ox teams from Missouri, and his mill, the first in Dallas county, was erected where Oak Cliff now stands. He was interested in merchandis- ing, milling, farming and the stock business, and was well known by all the early pioneers. In 1847 he was joined by his family. His wife, also a native of North Carolina, was by maiden name Miss Rachel Cameron. He died in 1860, and she in 1867. They had a family of twelve children, all of whom grew up to occupy honorable and use- ful positions in life, and some of them are still living. The mother of our subject passed away December 30, .1867. Of her
children we make record as follows: Will- iam E., engaged in farming on the old homestead; Matilda, wife of S. Majors, a Tarrant county farmer, died January 8, 1892, leaving nine children: Aaron, who died in prison at Rock Island; Frank M., whose name heads this article; and J. W. and E. H., both engaged in farming in this county. Until after the death of the mother, the Burke brothers all worked together, their interests being in common, and they still live near each other, the same harmony ex- isiting as before.
Shortly after the war, Frank M. Burke and his cousins, the Wilburn brothers, took some stock to New Mexico and Colorado, where they sold out, and for some time thereafter he led a sort of a rambling life. He married in 1883 and settled down on a portion of the home farm, and since then has been engaged in farming and stock-raising, making a specialty of raising hogs.
Mr. Burke married Miss Etta Kimmins, who was born in Virginia, November 13, 1859, and who was reared in Ohio. She is a daughter of William R. and Mary J. Kim- mins, natives of Pennsylvania, and since 1877 residents of Texas. Mr. Kimmins is now engaged in merchandising at Alvin. Previous to his removal to Texas he lived in Kansas, and while there served as County Judge. He and his wife are the parents of six children, namely: Ervin, who died Feb- ruary, 1890; Zona; Mrs. Burke; Matilda; wife of T. D. Williams of Bonham; and John and Charles, at home. Mr. and Mrs.
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Burke have two children: Roy, born Jan- uary 30, 1884; and Mary F., August 20, 1887.
Mr. Burke is a stanch Democrat, takes an active interest in public affairs, and was a delegate to the State Democratic conven- tion at Dallas in the fall of 1894. Mrs. Burke is a member of the Methodist Episco- pal Church.
EORGE W. GRANT, a prominent farmer of Tarrant county, was born in this county July 10, 1858, a son of George and Sarah W. (Byers) Grant, natives, respectively, of Tennessee and Kentucky. They were married in Tennes- see, about 1840, and the father is now seventy-nine years of age, and the mother seventy-four. They came to Texas in 1857, where Mr. Grant has followed farming and blacksmithing. When they located in this county but little improvement had been made, their cabin floor having been of mother earth, and the bedstead posts put in the ground, with poles fastened to the wall. Indians were plentiful at that time, and had made a few raids, but never reached their locality. The father of Mrs. Grant was a native of Virginia, but moved to Kentucky in an early day, when the Indians were numerous but friendly. He was a farmer by occupation. Mrs. Grant had one sister who came to Texas, Mary A., who was married in Kentucky to John Petty, and after his death she came to this State with her family. She is also now deceased.
George Grant and wife have had eight chil- dren, namely: Martha J. married J. J. In- gram, and died in 1882, leaving seven chil- dren; Mary A. married William King, and both are now deceased, leaving one child; James A., a farmer of Tarrant county; Sarah F., deceased, was the wife of W. T. Allen; Theodosha, wife of W. T. Allen, of this county, and they have three children; George W., the subject of this sketch; and J. R., a Tarrant county farmer.
George W. Grant received his education in a private boarding school, and has spent his entire life on a farm. He remained with his parents until his marriage, when he located on the farm where he now lives.
In 1887 he was united in marriage with May A. Alford, born in Bowie county, Texas, April 14, 1861, a daughter of Ed L. and Francesca (Bellatti) Alford. The mother was born in England, February 5, 1835, a daughter of Charles Bellatti, of Italian na- tionality. He came to America in 1850, locating near Jacksonville, Illinois, where he died October 14, 1888, at the age of eighty years. While in England he followed carv- ing and gilding, but after coming to this country engaged in agricultural pursuits. His family consisted of sixteen children, and the mother of Mrs. Grant was the fourth child in order of birth, and the only one of the family to come to Texas. Mrs. Grant's father, E. L. Alford, was born in Wilson county, Tennessee, September 26, 1830. He located in Bowie county, Texas, in 1853, where he was employed as a clerk until the opening
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of the late war. In 1861 he entered Crump's battalion, Andrew's regiment, in which he continued until the close of the struggle, and then returned home and resumed the posi- tion of a clerk. He was married in 1860, and in 1866 located in Fort Worth, where he again followed clerking for three years. Mr. Alford next served two years as Con- stable, and since 1874 has been engaged in general farming and stock-raising. Mr. and Mrs. Alford had six children, -Mary, wife of our subject; Charles and Clarence, farm- ers of Tarrant county; and Fanny P., Anna A., Alta J., at home. Our subject and wife have three children, -Charles F., born August 27, 1888; Vera Winnett, March 16, 1890; and Forrest G., December 20, 1891. Mr. Grant takes an active interest in political affairs, and is a strong advocate of Democracy. Mr. and Mrs. Grant are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
ILLIAM WOODY, one of the oldest pioneers of Parker county, Texas, was born in Roane county, Tennessee, November 16, 1822, the second son of Samuel Woody. Samuel Woody's wife, Hannah, was once a schoolinate of Sam Houston in Tennessee, and heard him say that he would be Governor of that State some day. She was well known throughout Parker county, Texas, as a competent nurse, etc., often taking a physician's place with success.
İn 1846 William Woody emigrated to
Texas, and at first located in Fannin county, where he remained until 1850. That year he was joined by his father and the rest of the family, and together they came on to Parker county and located land, 320 acres to each head of family, they being the first settlers in the county.' As they came first they had their choice of land and selected some of the finest soil in the State, along Ash creek. This was a nice valley, surrounded by tim- ber, and the work of clearing it away and developing farms, making fences and erect- ing buildings involved no small amount of labor; but the Woodys were all industrious, and proved themselves equal to the occa- sion. The country here at that time was full of friendly Indians, who seemed to take an especial liking to these first settlers, re- maining friendly with them even after they became hostile to other settlers. Shortly after the arrival of the Woody family two others,-the Barkers and the Godfreys, - took up their abode here, and still later other settlers came in. The raising of cat- tle and horses was their chief industry. Much of their stock was killed and stolen by the red men, and some of the settlers lost their lives at the hands of the savages. Mr. Woody, too, lost considerable stock, but other than stealing their cattle and horses, the Indians never molested a Woody.
We should mention, by the way, that a man named Lewellyn Murphy was a mem- ber of the family in the early days, continu- ing with them until after the war, and doing most of the surveying in Parker county,
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having been appointed surveyor by Gover- nor E. J. Davis. He came to this State from Georgia in an early day, was a great help to the family, was well posted and was a very honest man in all his public work and dealings with the world. He located land on Denton creek in Denton county, where he died, having remained a single man all his life.
The subject of our sketch was first mar- ried, in 1845, in Tennessee, to Elizabeth Farmer, a native of that State, who died in 1884, leaving seven children, namely : Joseph, a successful farmer of Cottondale, Wise county, Texas; George, who died, leaving, a wife and six children; Martha, wife of Allen Thompson, Silver creek, Parker county, Texas; Samuel, residing on the old homestead; Mary, wife of Mate Morris, Whatcom county, Washington; Mil- lie, wife of Henry Thomas, Parker coun- ty, Texas; and Sallie, wife of William Heffley, Wise county, Texas, -all prosper- ous and respected citizens. Mr. Woody's second marriage was an unfortunate one and resulted in a separation, and about three years afterward he married Miss Dorah Nix, a native of Alabama, born in 1838, daughter of William and Hannah (née Yarbrough) Nix. Her father dying when she was small, she came with her sister to Texas, and they lived with her brothers. Her mother died in west Ten- nessee, September 1, 1875.
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