History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families, Part 34

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895
Number of Pages: 1532

USA > Texas > Harris County > Houston > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 34
USA > Texas > Galveston County > Galveston > History of Texas, together with a biographical history of the cities of Houston and Galveston; containing a concise history of the state, with protraits and biographies of prominent citizens of the above named cities, and personal histories of many of the early settlers and leading families > Part 34

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

had faced cannon in the battle-field, but never did I feel as when facing that bear. I grasped the gun, but the tighter I grasped the worse I trembled. The bear was now less than twenty feet away, walking straight on her hind legs. By moving the gum up and down I finally succeeded in getting in range of her body, but not until the aninml was within ten fret of me did I get an aim upon which I was willing to risk a shot! The bear was in the act of springing when I fired. At the crack of the gun, the bear sprang convulsively to one side and fell. I then re-loaded and killed the cubs."

YELLOW FEVER.

The year 1867 was probably the worst sea- son for yellow fever that Texas ever saw. About thirty interior towns and villages suf- fered an appalling mortality. It first made its appearance at Indianola, early in July,- which was probably the earliest for that year in the United States. Within the first few weeks it proceeded in its devastating march, in turn, to Galveston, Lavaca, Vie- toria, Goliad, Hempstead, Cypress, Navasota, Millican, Brenham, Chapel Hill, La Grange, Bastrop, Alleyton, Long Point, Courtney, Anderson, Huntsville, Liberty, Lynchburg

and many smaller places. It was said to have been successfully excluded from Richmond and Columbus by a rigid quarantine, and also from Brownsville and Anderson till a very late period, though it finally broke out in both of the latter places.

The mortality was very great. In Gal- veston, for example, out of a total of 1,332 deaths reported during the epidemic, 1,134 were froin yellow fever. In Harrisburg and some other towns, considerably more than half the cases were fatal; in other places, half or a little less. Some cases of distress and lack of care were truly heart-rending.

DAWSON AND SIMS.

Frederick Dawson, of Baltimore, Maryland, who helped Texas with money in her early struggles, was a jovial gentleman with huge proportions, and used to come to Austin dur- ing the sessions of the legislature after annexation, to press his claims for settlement with the State of Texas. Ile was a jolly companion, a good liver, very fond of brown stont, and had a laugh which waked the echoes around to a marvelous distance.

In the amplitude of his proportions and the magnitude of his langh Dawson was rivaled by Bart Sims, a resident of the Colo- rado valley. They had never met before the occasion under consideration; consequently their points of resemblance were nnknown to each other. Upon this day, as they chanced to be in town at the same time, the young men of the place conceived the sportive notion of having Dawson and Sims langh for a wager. Drinks for the whole population were staked npon the result, judges were chosen and the cachinnation commenced.

Never before or since has there been anch a merry scene in Texas. For half an hour

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

the log houses within, and the hills around, the seat of government echoed and re-echoed to laughter of the most thundering descrip- tion. Dogs, pigs, chickens and litcle chil- dren ran away terrified; and men, women and the youth who did not know what was the matter poked their heads out of the doors and windows in wonderment. Soon the by- standers became infected with the fun of the thing, joined in the loud smile, and from the head of Congress avenue to its foot the street was one astounding roar.

At one moment the star of Sims would ap- pear to be in the ascendant, but the next instant Dawson would gather himself for a mighty effort and roll ont a peal that would drown ont the neigh of a horse or bray of an ass. The umpires gave their decision in favor of Dawson.

"Well, boys," said Sims, after the result was announced, "he (pointing to Dawson) langhs to the tune of half a million, while I hav'nt got a d -- d cent to langh on." This was a good hit for Sims, as he was not a man of wealth, and the langh now turned in his favor, while his antagonist stood the treat with his usual good nature.

TEXAS VETERAN ASSOCIATION. .

This association is composed of the snr- vivors of the Texas revolution, the men who conquered the armies of Santa Anna and wrested this vast empire from the dominion of Mexico.

Its object is to "perpetuate the memories of inen and measures that secured and main- tained liberty and independence to the Re- public of Texas, and for the promotion of more intimate intercourse and association of the survivors of that memorable struggle."

Its membership is composed: 1st, of all survivors of the old 300 soldiers and seamen of the Republic of Texas who served against Mexicans and Indians from 1820 to 1845; 2d, all citizens appointed by the government or elected to and who discharged positions of trust from 1820 to 1836.

The association meets annually at such time and place as may be designated by the mem . bers.

SUFFRAGE.

The following chisses of persons are pro- hibited from voting in this State: 1, All per- sons under twenty-one years of age; 2, idiots and lunaties; 3, paupers supported by any county; 4, persons convicted of any felony; and 5, soldiers, marines and seamen in the service of the United States.

Every male citizen twenty-one years of age, subject to none of the foregoing disqualifi- cations, who has resided in the State one year next preceding the election and the last six months within the district or connty where he offers to vote, is a qualified elector.

EXEMPTIONS FROM TAXATION.

Farm products in the hands of the pro- ducer and family supplies for home and farm use.

Household and kitchen furniture to the valne of $250, including a sewing machine.

. All annual pensions granted by the State. All public property.

Lands used exclusively for graveyards or grounds for burying the dead, unless held by persons or corporations for profit.

Buildings and lands attached thereto be. longing to charitable or educational institu- tions and used exclusively for charitable or educational purposes.

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

EXEMPTIONS FROM FORCED SALE.

A homestead worth $5,000 exclusive of im- provements, if in a town or city; if in the country, 200 acres, including improvements and crops growing thereon, except for part or all of the purchase money thereof, the taxes due thereon, or for material used in con- structing improvements thereon, and in this last case only when the work and material are contracted for in writing, with the consent of the wife given in the same manner as is required in making a sale and con- veyance of the homestead.

All household and kitchen furniture, and all provision and forage on hand for home consumption.

Any lot or lots in a cemetery for the purpose of sepulture.

All implements of husbandry, and all tools, apparatus and books belonging to any trade.

The family library and all family portraits and pictures.

Five milch cows and their calves, and two yoke of work oxen, with necessary yokes and chains.

One gun, two horses and one wagon, one carriage or buggy, and all saddles, bridles, and harness necessary for the use of the family.

Twenty head of hogs and twenty head of sheep.

All current wages for personal services. .

TEXAS AT THE WORLD'S FAIR OF 1893.

Were it not for an implied inhibition in the present State constitution, made in haste to cover more ground than was probably intended, Texas would have surprised the

world at the great Columbian Exposition at Chicago with exhibits of her vast resources and present stage of development. Possibly she would have surpassed every other State in the Union, if not every country in this wide world, as a favorable section for immi- gration, which she could have easily done had it not been for that fatal clause in her constitution and the political collisions which it occasioned between the granger and anti- granger element of the people.

A tremendous effort was made by a few of the most zealous friends of Texas to have a respectable and worthy exhibit at Chicago, despite the obstacles just mentioned, but all proved abortive except the movement inan- gurated by the two private organizations denominated the Gentlemen's World's Fair Association of Texas and the Texas Women's World's Fair Exhibit Association, all the work being devolved upon the latter, headed by the brave and executive Mrs. Benedette B. Tobin, of Austin, who was elected presi- dent of the board of managers and took charge of the Texas State building at the fair. The career of the enterprise is a long story, but remarkable from the fact that it was successfully carried through by Southern ladies. This was probably the greatest undertaking by women of the South in the history of the whole country. They suc- ceeded in obtaining subscriptions from various parties in the cities and towns throughout the State, until they raised sufficient funds to place upon the fair grounds at Chicago the best arranged State building there, at a final cost of about $28,000; and it was really a magnificent structure, even in comparison with all the other State buildings, whic' were erected under appropriations from respective general State treasuries. architect was J. Riely Gordon, of

S. SHERMAN. Agent 32.

Sidney Sherman.

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

Antonio. Considering that the ladies did not commence work until the August pre- ceding the opening of the fair, the grand success of the enterprise seems still more remarkable.

A splendid oil painting representing a life-sized equestrian statue of General Hous- ton, in the act of giving orders in action on the battle-field at San Jacinto, adorned the wall in the rear of the rostrum of the build- ing.

The officers of the association were: Mrs. Benedette B. Tobin, President; Mrs. J. C. Terrell, Mrs. W. F. Ladd and Mrs. E. A. Fry, Vice Presidents; Miss Mary J. Palin, Secretary; S. J. T. Johnson, Super- intendent of the State building; Board of Directors: Mesdames B. B. Tobin, J. W. Swayne, J. L. Henry, J. M. Burroughs, E. M. House, A. V. Doak, A. D. Hearne, C. F. Drake and Val. C. Giles; Vice Presidents at Large: Mesdames John W. Stayton, R. R. Gaines, John L. Henry, George W. Tyler, George Clark, Ella Scott, Ella Stewart, E. M. House, W. W. Leake, C. F. Drake, J. B. Scruggs, Wm. H. Rice, Mollie M. Davis and Miss Hallie Halbert.

Besides the above building, a few enter- prising business men and women contributed a small exhibit, notably Mrs. Mary B. Nickels, of Laredo, who had in the Horti- cultural building probably the grandest cactus exhibit ever made in this country.

GENERAL SIDNEY SHERMAN was born in Marlborough, Massachusetts, July 23, 1805. He was descended from Captain John Sher- man, who emigrated from Wales in 1631, and settled in Massachusetts. Roger Sler- man, long the Nestor of the American Con- gress, was a great-grandson of Captain John Sherman, and a great-uncle of the subject

of this sketch. Sidney Sherman was the elder of two sons, and one of a family of six children born to Micah Sherman and his wife. His sisters always remained at the North, but his brother, Dana Sherman, came to Texas and died, on San Jacinto bay, in 1839, his wife dying on the same day, and both being consigned to the same grave. The parents of Sidney died when he was young, and he was thus early thrown on his own resources He entered a mercantile house in Boston at the age of sixteen, and was later engaged in mercantile pursuits for some five years in New York city. In 1831 he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he shortly afterwards united with a company for the manufacture of cotton bagging at Newport, Kentucky, opposite Cincinnati. During the time that he was engaged in this he began individually the manufacture of sheet-lead, and was the first to establish this industry west of the Alleghany mountains. While absorbed with these pursuits, tidings were received, in the fall of 1835, of the contest then going on between the colonists of Texas and the military despotism of Mex- ico. The generous spirit of Sherman kindled with enthusiasm, and he zealously espoused a cause which, contemplated under the most favorable aspect, might have intimidated the boldest heart.

By a happy coincidence Sherman com- manded at the time a volunteer company, by commission from the Governor of Ken- tucky, which afforded him facilities for rais- ing troops for the service of Texas. He or- ganized a company of fifty men, requiring each volunteer to sign stringent articles of subordination before being enrolled. Some flinched from the energy and rigidity of the requirments, while those who signed the military contract discerned in it evidences

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

which gave promise of a sagacious and able commander. Amid the snows of winter he established a regular camp, and enforced discipline as strict as if in the face of the enemy.

On the last day of December, 1835, he embarked on a steamer from Cincinnati. His men were well armed, handsomely uni- formed, and furnished with a full supply of ammunition and provisions. On the day of departure, notwithstanding a violent snow storm, the United States troops at Newport barracks turned out and thousands of citi- zens of all ages and both sexes lined the river banks to honor the occasion, manifest- ing their sympathy in the heroic enterprise by enthusiastic and repeated cheers. Amid tears and touching farewells, waving flags and beating drums the bow of the decorated steamer was turned toward the setting sun and passed down the great river with a company of brave volunteers, whose subse- quent trials and triumphs forin a splendid chapter in the proud history of Texas. Captain Sherman maintained the most exact order on board the steamer during the voy- age. He landed his company at Natchi- toches, Louisiana, and marched at once to Nacogdoches, Texas, and thence to Wash- ington, on the Brazos. There he found the country in great confusion. The Gov- ernor and Lieutenant Governor were at deadly feud; the convention had not assem- bled and the brave Travis and his heroic band, surrounded by an overwhelming force, were calling for aid from the beleaguered walls of the Alamo. The people were en- thusiastic and determined, but without arms or organization, and no one was present to instruct or lead them. Sherman paraded his company and called upon the citizens to volunteer and march on the following day

to the relief of the Alamo, after which serv- ice he declared his intention to return with his company to the United States if the in- dependence of Texas was not speedily de- clared by the convention, then about to as- semble.

On arriving at Gonzales he found about 200 citizen volunteers, -a force totally in- sufficient to justify an attempt to break through the besieging Mexican forces, some 7,000. Fourteen days were consumed in concentrating men and supplies, at the end of which time General Houston arrived and assumed command. On the ensuing day the first regiment of Texas volunteers were organized, and Sherman was nominated for the Colonelcy. This he declined in favor of General Burleson, an old and tried war- rior, while he was elected Lieutenant Col- onel. On the evening of the same day the news was received that the Alamo had fallen and that its brave defenders had been indis- criminately slaughtered.

The army retreated to the Brazos, where the second regiment was organized and Sherman was elected to command it. On the Colorado, being detached from the main body of the army, he endeavored to obtain permission to attack General Sesina, who was camped on the opposite bank of the river, on the spot where the city of Columbus now stands, and thus save Fannin and his comrades from inglorious slaughter. Sherman fell back with the retreating army, which was determined to make a last stand at the first strategic that point should be reached on the line of the march. During the re- treat Colonel Sherman displayed all the soldierly qualities which at such a crisis were necessary to promote enthusiasmn and preserve the army from demoralization. He was equal to every emergency. On the re-

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treat from the Colorado he was ordered to put the army in marching order and by the direction of the Commander-in-Chief per- sonally superintended the dangerous cross- ing of the Brazos. On April the 20th, 1836, he led a squadron of cavalry in an attack upon a detachment of the enemy that occu- pied a position between the hostile camps.

In the battle of the 21st he commanded the extreme left of the Texas line, and was the first to strike the enemy, sounding at the critical moment the war cry, "Remem- ber Goliad and the Alamo," which was pro- longed in fierce enthusiasm from left to right by the advancing line. It was a day of vengeance and retribution. The victory was overwhelming and complete, and in its consummation Sherman acted a conspicuous and splendid part. But when the perilous battle was over he turned from the triumph to stay the tide of violence and slaugh- ter, which however righteously it may have overtaken the enemy, he mercifully endeav -. ored to prevent. Sherman possessed bold- ness and valor in the crisis of danger, and made humane and vigorous efforts to re- strain excess in the hour of triumph. If he felt that violence was necessary in war, mercy and moderation were not less wise and essential in establishing an enduring peace.

After remaining several months with the army in the West and finding that the enemy did not return, he tendered his resig- nation, which President Burnet refused to accept, but gave him a commission as Colonel in the regular service, with orders to enlist his men in the United States. When about to leave his companions in arms the Secre- tary of War presented him with the stand of colors which he had brought to the coun- try, accompanied with the following note:

"REPUBLIC OF TEXAS, WAR DEPARTMENT, August 6, 1836.

This stand of colors, presented by the ladies of Newport, Kentucky, to Captain Sidney Sherman, is the same which tri- umphantly waved over the memorable bat- tlefield of San Jacinto, and is by the govern- ment presented to the lady of Colonel Sid- ney Sherman as a testimonial of his gallant conduct on that occasion.

A. SOMERVILLE,

Approved: Secretary of War.

DAVID G. BURNET, President.

Colonel Sherman's health was much im- paired by exposure and fatigue in the army, and before reaching Kentucky he was seri- ously ill for many weeks. Notwithstanding his condition he succeeded in sending out some troops and a quantity of clothing for those in the field, who were extremely des- titute.

In January, 1837, he returned to Texas with his family and settled on San Jacinto bay. In 1842 he was elected a Representa- tive to Congress from Harris county and was appointed chairman of the Military Committee. He introduced a bill providing for the election of a major general of militia and the protection of the frontier .. The bill was vetoed by President Houston, but be- came a law by a constitutional majority in both houses of Congress. General Rusk was the first elected to that position. Gen- eral Sherman succeeded hin at the next election by the popular vote, which position he held until the annexation of Texas to the United States.

On his retirement from military service General Sherman lost none of the energies which had characterized him in the field, but displayed in the occupations of private life useful enterprise and creative talants of a valuable order.

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

In 1846 he conceived the idea of rebuild- ing the town of Harrisburg, which had been distroyed by Santa Anna in 1836. With this view he purchased a large interest in the town site and 4,000 acres adjoining it. He then proceeded to Boston where he en- listed capitalists and organized a company to build a railway from Harrisburg west- ward. The difficulties to contend with were neither few nor small. The coun- try was new and but imperfectly known abroad, the population and agricultural pro- ductions were inconsiderable, and labor of every kind difficult to obtain. Yet his un- abated perseverance removed all obstacles and success finally crowned the enterprise, - the rebuilding of the town and the construc- tion of the first railway in Texas. General Sherman was president of the corporation, which was called the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos & Colorado Railway Company. The road was started at Harrisburg and built to Alley- ton and Columbus, and is a part of the Southern Pacific system, one of the great commercial highways of the world, running front New Orleans via San Francisco to Portland, Oregon. The first locomotive ever received in Texas was named the "General Sherman" in his honor, and what is left of it is now in Harrisburg. The shrill whistle of the "General Sherman " was the first glad sound of the loco- inotive that broke upon the solitude of Texas forests and roused to . new life the slumbering energies of the hardy peo- ple. This locomotive was the first that appeared west of the Sabine and the second west of the Mississippi, one having been introduced at St. Louis a few months be- fore. Thus the name of Sherman will be not only remembered as a chivalrous soldier whose best years were spent in the service

of Texas, but as the father of a railroad sys- tem that has conferred inestimable blessings upon the people.

In chronicling the events in the closing years of his life it is but a record of succes- sive misfortunes. In 1853 he lost a valuable sawmill by fire, and subsequently his dwell- ing at Harrisburg, then one of the finest buildings in the State, was also burned. Be- ing thus rendered homeless he sent his family to Kentucky and removed to the railroad office, which was shortly afterward also burned. His remaining possessions and valuable papers which he had been ac- cumulating for thirty years were distroyed. General Sherman was one of the unfortun- ate passengers on the ill-fated steamer, "Farmer," which exploded her boilers with- in a few miles of Galveston, occasioning the loss of some thirty or forty lives, and seriously injuring inany others. He was thrown from his berth with a portion of the wreck some hundred yards into the water, and, though injured, succeeded in saving himself on the fragments of the wheel- house.

Like most of the soldiers and statesmen who participated in the early struggles of the country, he derived little material benefit from its redemption.

On April 27, 1835, General Sherman married Miss Catherine Isabel Cox, of Frankfort, Kentucky, who was distinguished for great moral worth, intellectual accom- plishments and personal beauty. The chil- dren of this marriage were: Sidney A. Sherman, killed at the battle of Galveston, January 1, 1863; Caroline M. Slierman, now living in Galveston, the wife of J. M. O. Menard; Matilda Belle Sherman, now living in Houston, the wife of Judge William E. Kendall; Susan Florence Sherman, who

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HISTORY OF TEXAS.

was married to George O. Cherry, and died in Galveston, May 16, 1872; Cornelius Fenwick Sherman, who died in infancy, August 8, 1853; Sallie Lennie Sherman, who was married to Hon. John T. Brady, of Houston, and died at Houston, April 22, 1885; Lucy Kate Sherman, who was mar- ried to Louis W. Craig, and now resides in Houston; and David Burnet Sherman, who died in infancy, July 30, 1863.

The death of General, Sherman occurred in Galveston on the ist day of August, 1873. His wife and several of his children, as will be seen from the foregoing, preceded him to the grave. His son, Sidney A., dying with- out issue, General Sherman was the last of his family to bear his name in Texas. But three of his daughters are now living: Mrs. J. M. O. Menard, of Galveston, Mrs. W. E. Kendall, of Houston, and Mrs. L. W. Craig, of Houston.

The remains of General Sherman rest in Lake View cemetery, at Galveston. They repose beside those of his old friend and associate, David G. Burnet, first Presi- dent of the Republic. The Sidney Sher- man Chapter, Daughters of the Republic, an organization of recent date, whose ob- ject is to perpetuate the memory of the illustrious heroes of Texas, have erected a splendid monument over the remains of President Burnet and General Sherman, the unveiling of which took place on March 2, 1894, with due and formal ceremonies.

When the gallant ensign received the flag presented to General Sherman's com- pany at Cincinnati, he asked the fair donor for a gage of battle. She took from her hand a white kid glove and threw it at the feet of the ensign, bidding him guard it well and carry it to glory. The glove was placed upon the flagstaff and carried into 17

the fight at San Jacinto, but in the con- fusion of the battle it was lost. The flag is now in the possession of Mrs. Menard, and is kept in a glass case, having long since crumbled into decay, like the gallant members of the company who followed it. It is the only flag that waved upon the memorable battlefield of San Jacinto, and will be presented to the State of Texas, to be kept in the archives of this historic State.

ANSON JONES, the last President of the Republic of Texas, was the third son of Sol- omon and Sarah (Strong) Jones, born at Great Barrington, Berkshire county, Massa- chusetts, January 20, 1798. Sir John Jones, one of the earliest paternal ances- tors, was a native of North Wales, born at Anglesea in 1580. He was married in 1623 to Catharine Henrietta, daughter of the Hon. Robert Cromwell, and second sister of Oliver Cromwell; he was one of the fifty- two Judges of Charles I. in 1648, a member of Cromwell's House of Lords in 1653, and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1650 to 1659. Upon the restoration of Charles II. he was put to death, October 17, 1660. His son, William Jones, born in 1624, came to America and settled at New Haven the same year that his father was executed. He married Hannah, the youngest daughter of Governor Theophilus Eaton; he was Dep- uty Governor of the colonies of Connecticut and New Haven from 1683 to 1698. Solo- mon Jones, the father of Anson Jones, was the fourth in direct descent from Governor William Jones; he was born in Hartford county, Connecticut, in 1755; he was mar- ried in 1779, to Sarah Strong, daughter of Timothy Strong, of East Windsor, Hartford county, Connecticut. They removed to Berkshire county, Massachusetts, where they died, -she in 1816, and he in 1822.

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Author: Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895 Number of Pages: 1532

Author:
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Chicago, The Lewis publishing co., 1895
Number of Pages: 1532