 |
|
|
|
Early Day History Of Wilbarger County Biographies
"Uncle Charlie" Justin Here Before Vernon
H. C. Justin, better known as "Uncle Charlie," has been around this part of the country since the early 70's and rode over this section long before the town of Vernon was started. A write-up of the life-of this man would rival that of famous characters of the early days in the Southwest.
Mr. Justin was born in Rock County, Wisconsin in 1855. When a boy the family moved to Missouri and when the Civil War came on they moved from place to place, living in Illinois and Kansas. After he left home he lived in Arkansas and the Indian Territory before coming to Texas. He arrived in this state in the summer of 1871, landing at Sherman where he stayed a short time. In August, 1872, he assisted in moving 10,000 head of cattle and 2,600 horses from Grayson County to Montague County.
From 1872 until 1875 Mr. Justin worked through this part of the state as a buffalo killer. This was considered a very good occupation in those days as buffalo hides were sold for big money. He said their territory extended from Beaver Creek to Red River and as far west as Crowell. A buffalo outfit was made up of "killers" and "skinners." Mr. Justin said that once in a while they allowed a "skinner" to try his hand at shooting. Lobo Wolves and deer were also killed and skinned but most of the work was confined to buffalo.
During the first part of his hunting years only bulls were killed. He said that young bulls would drive the old ones out of the herd and some-times they would find from 30 to 100 old fellows in a bunch. When they were found the "killers" would set up their guns and start to work. This was an art within itself. The buffalo on the outskirts of the herd were shot first. A day's killing would run from 30 to 40 buffalo.
After the hides were* taken off the carcasses they were pegged down to dry. Small pegs were made of wood and driven down all around the edge of the hides. Following the curing of the skins they were stacked in racks to cure.
When the hides were dry freighters came out in oxen wagons and hauled them to market. This method of hauling was only used a few years as horse or mule-drawn wagons made much better time.
The guns used by the hunters weighed from 16 to 21 pounds and used a bullet about the size of a .45. Each hunter also used a couple of sticks about thirty inches long and fastened together about three inches from the end. When he got ready to shoot he would get off his horse and use the sticks for a "rest." Mr. Justin said sometimes their guns would get so hot they would have to stop firing until they cooled off unless water was handy. He said he had killed from 30 to 40 buffalo on a spot no larger than a city block. Two spots were always used as a mark, the hunter either trying to hit the heart or break the animal's neck. Bone sights were used on the guns as metal sights would glare when hit by the sun.
Buffalo go largely by smell, according to Mr. Justin. They always grazed facing into the wind and when they smelled "enemies" coming would begin running. A buffalo stampede was a very thrilling sight, he said. A herd would start running and as they moved across the country other herds joined in. A horse could keep up with them for a few miles but the herd would soon out-wind him and leave him far behind. The calves fall out in a stampede but the cows always came back to them. Mr. Justin said he never heard a buffalo cow bellow; when they returned to their calves they always made a grunting sound. He stated that he had seen several thousand buffalo in a stampede at one time.
An interesting thing about buffalo was the way he drank. Mr. Justin said they would not wade out in the water as stock does but would stand on the bank to drink and the rest wait their turn. When the animal finished drinking he would step aside and the next one took its turn. They also used the same system in the buffalo wallow. One would wallow and get up and another would lay down in the same spot.
Once while hunting in this section Mr. Justin and his outfit lost a large number of hides on account of wet weather.
Following his stay in this section of the state he went to Uvalde County where he worked on a ranch. Later he worked with an outfit that made up six herds of cattle to be driven to Caldwell, Kans. In the fall of 1877 he returned to Texas but left again on a trip to Arkansas. Returning to Texas in 1878 he went to work for a Mr. Yarbrough at a place where Nacona is now located. In the fall of that year he went to Sherman where he helped feed a bunch of stock through the winter. In the spring of 1879 he assisted in driving a herd of cattle to the round timbers on the Brazos River. Then he went to Henrietta where he met some cow men who employed him to pilot them through the west with a bunch of cattle. Later returning to Henrietta he worked for the Sanburn Bros., assisting in driving a herd of cattle to Cottle County. He remained with this outfit until 1882 when he came to Eagle Flat, which is now Vernon.
Mr. Justin was tax assessor of Wilbarger County from 1886 to 1892. In 1894 he was appointed deputy United States marshal and worked among the Indians in Oklahoma. In 1898 he returned to Vernon and was a city officer for nine years. He was constable of the Vernon precinct from 1920 to 1928, and justice of the peace since 1928.
Mr. and Mrs. Justin have two living children, Robert Justin of Trinidad, Colo., and Clarence Justin of Vernon.
C. P. DoanDoan Family Among County's Earliest Pioneers (By J. E. Collins)
The pioneer of all pioneer families of Wilbarger County, can rightfully be attributed to that of the Doan family. Arriving In this county in 1878, C. P. Doan. the subject of this sketch was an active citizen for 61 years. Be died in Vernon Jane 1, 1929.
C. F. Doan was born in Wilmington, Ohio, August 9, 1848, and was educated in the public schools of that city. When only a boy he had visions of a great empire to be built in the West, and longed to be one of the builders. He was married October 19, 1871, to Miss Lide E. Whinery of Wilmington and settled down to a business career, but he still felt the call of the West, and in 1874 he, in company with J. Doan who was later elected the first county judge of Wilbarger County, went to Fort Sill, Okla., and spent two years trading with the Indians and buying hides and furs. These hides were freighted to Gainesville and Denison, Texas, and shipped from these points to Eastern markets.
C. F. Doan returned to Ohio in 1876, but Judge Doan remained in the West to prospect for a location.
To one unaccustomed to it, there is something inexpressibly lonely in the solitude of a great prairie. The loneliness of a forest seems nothing to it. There the view is shut in by trees and the imagination is left free to picture a more level scene beyond; but to this hardy pioneer, the immense landscape, without a sign of human existence, without a fence to mar its beauty, covered in grass and flowers and abounding with wild game of all kind was to him a source of wonder, pleasure and inspiration, and after several months spent in traveling over the country, he located and established a trading post at Doans, a village that still bears his name, and is located at the crossing°on Red River, on the trail made famous by Emerson Hough's "North of 36."
Judge Doan early in life lost his wife. He never married again, but the remainder of his life held in reverence the memory of the woman he loved.
In 1878, C. F. Doan came out from Ohio, arriving at Doans October 10, bringing with him his wife and baby (now Mrs. Alex Ross), accompanied by Maje Doan, Mrs. R. R. Wheatley of Amarillo and Mrs. Eva Braziel, children of Judge Doan, and Cal Doan, a brother of Judge Doan. "Uncle Cal," as he was affectionately called by all who knew him, was a fine, upstanding character, a veteran of the Civil War, a typical pioneer, a familiar figure at Doans store for nearly forty years where he was known and loved for his acts of kindness, his generosity and his happy optimistic disposition.
After the arrival of C. F. Doan a temporary house was arranged for his family, and in 1880 the adobe house shown above, was built and is now the oldest house in the county and was the home of C. F- Doan for 51 years.
Mrs. Doan left her home in Wilmington, O., where all her life she had been accustomed to the comforts and luxuries of life, surrounded by cultured and refined people. It was no easy task to leave the old home and go into a new country where most of those she came in contact with were Indians and cowboys; but with wonderful tact and judgment, she made friends with everyone she met. An Indian might have been a bad Indian on the range, but in her presence he was always a good Indian. A cowboy might be a "rip-roarin'," "hell raisin," bad hombre in town, but in her presence he was the courtly gentleman, and not one old-time cowboy that ever lived in Wilbarger County but would have cheerfully laid down his life in her defense.
After the country was more thickly settled, she was noted far and wide for her kindness, her charity and her hospitality. No one, regardless of who or what they were, ever left her door hungry..
Mrs. Doan passed on in 1905, but her memory is still with us, and if it be true as the Good Book teaches, that in the presence of humanity we ¦will be judged, when this good woman stands before the All Righteous Judge, a great multitude will come forward, who in this world were the old, the poor, the sick, the lame and the blind, and will say with one accord, "Back in yonder world I was hungry and she gave me food; I was thirsty and she gave me drink; I was naked and she clothed me; I was sick and she visited me."
Mrs. Alex Ross, formerly Miss Bertha Doan, was an infant when her parents came to Wilbarger, and she was the first white child in the county. Her first friends were cowboys and Indians; she was not afraid of these Indians, but rather on very friendly terms with them. She soon learned the Comanche language, and the white papoose talking Comanche was a source of amusement to the red men.
After graduating from the Vernon high school, she spent four years at an Eastern college, completing her education, after which she returned to this county to make her permanent home. Although a very busy woman, she has always found time to take an active part in civic, church and club work, and has taken an active part in all charitable work in the city and county.
Mrs. C. W. Igou, formerly Miss Mabel Doan, another daughter of Mr. and Mrs. C. P. Doan, was born in Wilbarger County. Mable was a chip off the old block and from early childhood was always ready for an adventure. At ten years of age she was thoroughly master of a horse, and a ride of 25 or 30 miles with her father after straying cattle, meant nothing in her young life. Mrs. Igou was educated in the public schools of Vernon, and is an accomplished musician. Several years ago she moved with her husband to Electra, where for many years Mr. Igou was a trusted employee of the Texas Petroleum Company. With her husband they now live at Littlefield, Texas.
Fifty years is not a long space of time; it soon passes but many changes are brought about in that length of time. When the Doan family came to Wilbarger, the nearest railroad was at Gainesville. The nearest telegraph office at the same place. There was no such thing as a telephone. There was not a house or a mile of fence in the county. They got their mail at Henrietta. Their nearest neighbor lived in what is now Wichita County, and Vernon was not even thought of.
In 1880 Judge Doan was taken ill with fever. A covered wagon was sent to Henrietta for a doctor; three days later the doctor reached Doans and finding his patient very sick he stayed with him for three weeks. Even in those days medical men had to have money, and for his services he charged the Judge $25 and his transportation back to Henrietta in the same covered wagon.
Soon after their arrival in this county a strong and lasting friendship was formed between the Doan family and Quanah Parker, the powerful chief "of the Comanches, and Lone Wolf, chief of the Kiowas. These Indians often visited at Doans, where they were always entertained and shown every courtesy due "a heap big Injun."
Fifty years ago the tide of emigration turned westward. What has it brought to us? Men and women with brave hearts, clean minds and strong bodies, who wanted a home of their own and were willing to work for it. Folks who fought on through droughts, sand storms, grass-hoppers and crop failures. Men and women who were still optimistic when buffalo bones, stove wood and pole-cat hides were all they had to offer as legal tender.
And their faith has been rewarded. Words are inadequate and space too limited to describe the glories of Wilbarger. We are recognized today as one of the leading agricultural counties of the state. Our oil fields are proving a source of vast wealth. We are perfecting a great system of paved and graveled roads. We have a city of 10,000 population with practically every line of business represented. We have many miles of paved streets and side-walks, and Vernon is known from Colorado to the Gulf as "The City Beautiful" We have in the county about forty modern school buildings for the education of our boys and girls, and above all a citizenship equal to any in the world.
But in our prosperity let us not fail to remember and honor the sturdy pioneers who paved the way and made all these things possible.
G. W. MearsMears Family Came to County in 1879
G. W. Mears stands towards the top of the list of early day settlers as he came to this county in 1879. He was born in Tennessee August 20, 1845, and came to Texas in 1868, settling in Hill County. Later he came to Wilbarger County in December, 1879.
Mr. Mears settled in Hardeman County, just across the river from Antelope Springs where he had a herd of cattle. In the spring of 1880 he moved over to the springs and put up a grocery store. In 1884, Mr. Mears moved one mile east and within half a mile of what is now known as Rayland where he engaged in both stock raising and farming. The family remained at this place until 1913 when they moved back to his place across the river.
Mr. Mears served in the Confederate army during the Civil War.
In talking of the old days he said that when he first came to this country the settlement around Vernon was known as Eagle Flat and only three people lived here, a Mr. Rutherford and wife, and a Mr. Darby. Mr. Mears tells of a dance held back in the early days where the fiddler only knew one tune, "Cotton Eye Joe." Despite this fact, he says the crowd had a big time and danced all night.
Mr. Mears has nine living children. They are: Mrs. R. L. Jordan, Mrs. Mae Gunn, Mrs. Minnie Jobe and J. E. and T. J. Mears, all of Vernon Route 3; Mrs. R. A. Greenhouse, Vernon; Mrs. W. G. Singleton, Tahoma, Okla.; C. S. Mears, Lefors, Texas, and R. E. Mears.
Mrs. Ella (Creager) JonesWas a Resident of Vernon For Fifty Years
The sun was a burning ball of fire on the .western horizon one Sunday afternoon in September, 1886, when a covered wagon came to a halt in front of the R. F. Jones store in Eagle Flat and a young lady, who a few days previous had been Miss Ella Creager of Grayson County but was now Mrs. R. F. Jones, stepped out and looked over her future home. In 1927 talking of that eventful day, Mrs. Jones says it looked to her like the prairie was afire as the sun slowly disappeared.
For 50 years Mrs, Jones made her home in Vernon and from the small three-house village she watched Vernon grow to a city of over 10,000 population. "Mrs. Jones succumbed to an illness of a month, September 3, 1930.
When she arrived in Vernon, then called Eagle Flat, there were three buildings. The store owned by her husband and located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Main and Pease Streets, a cafe run by a family of Rupperts where the court house stands and another small structure occupied by four men across Main Street west of the cafe. .Mrs. Ruppert and Mrs. Jones were the only ladies in the village.
"We thought we had a big town when C. M. Byars arrived three week*; later," Mrs. Jones said, "and brought his wife and gave us three women in town." The Byars family camped west of the Jones store and Mr. Byars returned to Gainesville to bring lumber to build a house. The old bachelors living nearby were a Mr.-Darby, T. Windsor Robinson, J. A. Nabers and Uel Musick.
Robert Franklin Jones came to Wilbarger County in 1-879 and was known as "Bob" Jones to every citizen in the village up to the time of his death July 24, 1892. Mr. Jones filed on a section of land running from Pease River south to where the center of the city is now located. He later donated half of this section for the town of Vernon, and city additions now bear his name.
For the 14 years Mr. Jones lived in Vernon, he was a leader in every civic enterprise of any worth and prospered in real estate and live stock business, associated with T. H. Jones, a brother, and R. T. Sitterly. The company also conducted a loan and financial business. Mr. Jones was a charter member of the Vernon Masonic Lodge, No. 655, F. & A. M.. chartered June 15, 1887,
The following quotation about Mr. Jones is taken from a "Tribute of Respect," by the Vernon Lodge and signed by T. J. Youngblood and J. A. Creager, and published in the "Vernon Weekly Guard" of August 25, 1892. "Having been in Wilbarger County about 12 years and was known to almost every citizen of this county, and to know him was to love and respect him. As a citizen he had no superior. He was alive to all enterprises that tend to build up and develop our country. Not only was he liberal when oft demands were made for help, but he was ever ready and a zealous worker. There is hardly an enterprise in the city of Vernon that tends to public good but what we find that Brother R. F. Jones was the instigator and promoter of it. He was loyal to his country and true to his many friends. He was a zealous Christian and true to his convictions; and in him was the true principles of free Masonry, such as was advocated and required by our forefathers (that we must be good men and true). He was honest in his duties to God, his country, his neighbor and himself, and true to his solemn vows as a Mason."
Prior to 1881 the nearest post office to "Eagle Flat" was Henrietta in Clay County of which Wilbarger County was a part. Mail for Vernon was delivered via Doans to Worsham Springs now known as Condon Springs, on Highway No. 5 near the Hillcrest Country Club. The first settlement in the county was made in 1878 by Judge and C. F. Doan, two years before Mr. Jones settled at the present site of Vernon.
Mr. Jones filed on the section mentioned above in '79 and Tim Chowning and family filed on an adjacent section. In 1880 Mr. Jones agreed to donate the south half of his section for the town, provided the other town builders would agree to make certain improvements. Application for a post office was made in '81 and the name Vernon selected. Mr. Jones retained two shares in the twelve townsite shares agreed upon. No date is available but Mr. Jones established the first gin in the county in the north portion of the present town. Cotton begun a bid for popularity as a crop after wheat failures.
At one time Mr. Jones was president of the First National Bank of Vernon and was a stockholder in the bank until the time of his death. Shortly before his death Mr. Jones decided to sell his interest in the bank. He made a trip to his home in Van Alstyne where he died. Later in the same year, 1892, the bank failed and S. W. Lomax, then president, killed himself in his home. Mr. Jones' private papers were missing when his widow called for them and a life insurance policy was found in a waste basket in New York City. Mrs. Jones encountered much trouble in the collection of this policy and most of Mr. Jones' business affairs were never straightened out and were a total loss to the widow and small daughter, Ethel Mae Jones. Mr. Jones was also a trustee of the Vernon school system and the cornerstone of Central School bears his name.
Mr. and Mrs. Jones first made their home in the back end of the store. Later they built a little log house back of the store to use for a kitchen. Mrs. Jones often related to members of her family and friends an incident about the kitchen. She said they never thought of closing the doors and windows, for lots of times when she would return from a visit with some of the neighbors she would find a quarter of beef or a turkey on the kitchen table. One morning she went out to cook breakfast and just as she reached the door two big wolves came dashing out of the kitchen frightening her badly.
Mr. Jones kept groceries and clothing required by cowboys and conducted a general frontier store. Mrs. Jones said she would never forget how she felt when she walked in the little store the afternoon she arrived in Vernon.
Mrs. Jones also told a story about Mrs. Ruppert and her five-months-old baby. She was visiting in the Ruppert cafe when two cowboys came into the cafe and ordered supper. One of the men pulled his six shooter out and leveled it on the baby, who was sleeping. Mrs. Jones said the mother was scared to death and so was she. Mrs. Jones knew the man and told him to put his pistol up as it might go off and kill the baby. The man replied that not a hair on its head would be harmed. She argued with him and finally got the cowboys to leave and she took the baby over to the store where she kept it until Mrs. Ruppert had cooked the supper.
Mrs. Jones said the Indians usually camped on the ground just west of her home when they came to Vernon, and sometimes as many as fifty tepees were pitched there at one time. They were very curious and investigated everything. She said at night they would come over and look in the windows. Anything left laying around the yard would be carried off by them. She said one time Mr. Jones had a pile of Bois D'arc post stacked in the yard* He was gone away and the Indians kept coming over and wanting some of the post. She pretended that she did not know what they wanted. When Mr. Jones came in that night she told him about it, so he called the Indians over and gave them some post. They went back and before long had some very beautiful bows and arrows which they had made out of them.
When the first train arrived in Vernon, in 1886, it was a great day in Vernon. Everyone turned out and went to the depot. Mrs. Jones said there were lots of Indians in town and when the train stopped they took charge. She said they climbed on top of the coaches, under the train and all over the engine to see how the "iron horse" was made. They were so thick the officers had to be called to get them away so the train could be moved.
Mrs. Jones related an episode of a real cowboy welcome of the frontier days. On a return trip from a visit to their home at Van Alstyns, Mr. and Mrs. Jones were accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Creager, one of the founders of the First Methodist Church. It was the first trip west for the Creagers and they were ready to turn back before they reached the village after a welcome at the banks of Paradise Creek southeast of Vernon on the old Fort Worth Trail. The cowboys in town recognized Mr. Jones' team and rode out to meet them with the usual rousing welcome of shooting at the horses feet. Mr. Jones team was used to bullets spattering in the sand at their feet and walked on, taking no notice of the incident.
It was a different story with the Creager team which danced with every shot and threatened a run-away. Mrs. Creager rolled from the waggon seat to the bed of the vehicle arid Begged her husband to turn back to Grayson: County before they were all killed.
Cattle being driven over tie old Chisholm Trail to Abilene; Sans and other northern markets were an added nuisance to the village women, Mrs. Jones said. The cattle could be heard bawling before they got to town and every woman ran and put down her windows and shut the doors. The thundering herds not only stirred up miniature sandstorms but brought large cattle flies with them; The only screens in use were mosquito netting tacked on the windows. Mrs. Jones added that when the cattle reached the village and smelled the water in Pease River they would often stampede in their maddened anxiety to quench long thirsts.
Mrs. Ella J. Jones, as she was known in later years, was always a devout church worker. In the early days services of all denominations were often held in her home and during her lifetime she witnessed the construction of three buildings housing the First Baptist Church of Vernon of which she was a charter member. The first structure was at the north-west corner of the intersection of Marshall and Bowie Streets; the second at the northwest corner of Main and Paradise Streets, and the third at the southeast corner of Fannin and Paradise Streets. One of the greatest thrills in her life came when the latter modern building was dedicated and opened for services.
Throughout her life after the death of Mr. Jones she carried on his ideals of making Vernon greater and each new city structure for business or home, highway completion or new railroad connection was welcomed with delight in her later years. She lived to see construction of the Frisco and Rock Island connections assured in 1930, which delighted her.
Much tribute was paid Mrs. Jones as the woman who had lived longest in the city at the time of the Old Settlers edition of the Vernon Times in 1927. Her daughter recalled that their home was the roof of missionaries of all denominations coming to the city before churches were organized. Mrs. Jones was a Baptist by belief; Mr. Jones was a Christian, and other relatives were Methodists and all creeds were welcomed in the home.
Mrs, Jones' daughter, Ethel Mae, married John Oscar Wright in the Jones home on Peasa Street, April 6, 1901. Mr. Wright came to Vernon in 1899 from West Texas where he went from his home near Troupe, Smith County, in the early '90's. In West Texas he was a cowboy on Hall County ranches and later drove a stage coach on the Wellington route which afforded some thrills from early-day hi-jacking. The coaches were often used for poker and monte card games which were often robbed,
In Vernon Mr. Wright entered the grocery business which he followed since 1905. Two children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Wright, Robert Samuel and Ola Mae. Robert Wright was married to Lora Leverett of Vernon in 1930.
Mrs. Wright recalled one of the biggest frights of her life in the early days when she was returning to Vernon with her parents from a fishing trip in the Navajo Mountains across Red River in the Comanche Indian Territory of Oklahoma. As they were crossing Pease River on the return a headrise struck them with the suddenness which only a West Texas river knows and started their buggy down stream. Mr. Jones team knew how to swim and pulled the buggy safely ashore with, the family perched on the backs of the buggy seats. Mr. Jones then unhitched his team and swam back into the water with his horses and pulled out his brother, T. H. Jones team.
Mrs. Wright also recalled an experience Mr. Jones had with a claim-jumper on a section of land in West Wilbarger County. Mr. Jones had rented the section to a man and decided to dispose of him but the man. insisted he had lived there longer than Mr. Jones and would claim the land. Mrs. Jones and her daughter moved to the farm at once and lived in the barn while Mr. Jones went to Austin and settled the claim, receiving a clear patent title signed by Governor L. S. Ross and Commissioner Ball of the land office. This patent stills remains in the family. The renter could have jumped the title in a few months if Mr. Jones had not decided on the change in renters. Mrs. Wright recalled these days with amusement as she was a youngster at the time and received much pleasure from the daily trips to Vernon from seven miles west of the city in a two-wheeled rig behind a single horse.
At the time this history was compiled in 1931, Mrs. Wright had lived longer in one place in Vernon than any other citizen, occupying the same house for 48 years, since 1883. The house has been changed through the years but the foundation lumber remains the same. Mrs. Wright continues in the teachings of her mother and through her mother's inspiration was a leading worker in the Baptist Church and had been longer in the Baptist Sunday School as student, teacher and primary superintendent than any other citizen.
L. L. IronsIrons Family Came From Ohio to Wilbarger County
Col. L. L. Irons, with bis wife and four children, came to Wilbarger County from Ohio in 1887. They bought land and established a home just a short distance west of the Doans store and lived continuously in that community for over twenty years. From Doans they moved to Dustin, Okla., where all members of this immediate family died with the exception of the oldest son, Freeland Irons, who now lives at Fort Worth. The other children of Mr. and Mrs. Irons were: Beulah, who was Mrs. Richard Head at the time of her death; Poster, a son, and Bethel, the youngest daughter.
D. D. McConnellPioneer Editor Established County Paper in 1889
An interesting bit of history is coupled with the name of D. D. McConnell. He will always be remembered in Vernon and the county as editor and publisher of the "Vernon Weekly Call" He established The Call in 1889 and the paper remained under the supervision of the McConnell family until December. 1918. when it was sold to T. L. Rouse and Charles P. Ross and they changed the name from The Call to the "Vernon Times."
Downs D. McConnell was born December 25, 1851. in Cherokee County, Georgia. His mother's maiden name was Mary J. Brewster. She was the granddaughter of Major Jonathan Downs, who was second in command of the Carolina forces against the British army during the Revolutionary War. She was also a double first cousin of Henry P. Brewster, who when an 18-year-old boy, came from South Carolina in 1836 and joined General Sam Houston's army and participated in the Battle of San Jacinto. General Houston sent for Brewster the next day after the battle as he desired to shake his hand as he had watched Brewster's conduct during the battle. Brewster County was named for him. At Brewster's request before his death his body was buried at sea in Galveston Bay.
Mr. McConnell came to Texas in the fall of 1867. At that time Weatherford and Fort Richardson, now Jacksboro, were the frontier towns of northwest Texas. No white man at that time dared to venture alone as far out as Eagle Flat, where Vernon is now located.
In the spring of 1868 Mr. McConnell assisted Hige Nail in driving the first herd of cattle from Texas to the northern markets. They started with their cattle from Waxahachie Creek in Ellis County. Going north they crossed Red River at Preston Bend and the Arkansas River at Fort Gibson in what was known at that time as the Indian Territory.
About ten years later, Mr. McConnell says, Hige Nail drove the first herd of cattle to Dodge City, Kansas and crossed Red River at Doans.
Mr. McConnell was postmaster at Eastland, Texas, for three years; also justice of the peace there for two years. He witnessed the first train that came into Eastland over the T. & P. R. R. While postmaster at Eastland, he states, a post office was established half way between Eastland and Brownwood and he named it Rising Star.
In April, 1877, Mr. McConnell was granted license to practice law in Texas by the district court at Weatherford. He came to Vernon in April, 1886, and was elected justice of the peace in November, 1886. In this capacity he served two years and furnished his own office as Wilbarger County from 1886 to 1888 had no room for his office.
He says, in 1889 after getting some financial assistance from some friends he decided to start a newspaper in Vernon. These friends, according to Mr. McConnell, desired to see both sides of public questions discussed. The new paper was named the "Vernon Weekly Call." The first issue, a very primitive affair, appeared in February, 1889. The Vernon Call supported J. R. Tolbert for first mayor of Vernon, while the "Vernon Guard," another newspaper, supported J. R. Ralston. Tolbert was elected. The city ordinances were published in The Call and afterwards pasted in an ordinance book.
About this time, Mr. McConnell says, it was the custom to state the burial place as in the Vernon Cemetery. His wife, he says, disliked the idea of "burial in a city cemetery," and requested him to state in funeral notices, "interment in East View Cemetery," and this was how our present cemetery received its name.
Mr. McConnell was married to Miss Sallie W. Hammond of Atlanta, Ga., on November 4, 1875. She died June 14, 1914, in Vernon. Three children of Mr. and Mrs. McConnell died in infancy. A son, Milton H. McConnell, now resides at Dallas. Another son, Amos C. McConnell, died in August, 1922. The four daughters all live in Texas and are; Mrs. Mary E. Thompson of Jacksboro; Mrs. Laura J. Hawkins, of Fort Worth; Mrs. Anne Caroline Thompson, Houston, and Mrs. Julia N. Thompson, of Corpus Christi. AU the McConnell children were reared in a printing office.
For the past five years Mr. McConnell has been traveling for his health, yet, he says, he expects to pass his declining years in Vernon which is still his home. His residence is 2004 Eagle Street. This home was built in 1882, and Mr. McConnell says it was among the first houses built in Vernon.
R. D. RectorRector Family Long-Time Resident of County
The R. D. Rector family moved to Wilbarger County In 1879. Mr. Rector came in the fall of the year and his family arrived on December 24. The family home was located just west of Vernon about where the Country Club house now stands.
Mr. Rector was a native of Kalamazoo, Mich., and came to Texas in 1878, stopping at Sherman. He then came on west to this county. For many years he had a fine farm west of the city.
He was postmaster at Worsham Springs and maintained the office in a dug-out. Eagle Flat or Vernon made application for an office and the post office department turned it down on account of Worsham Springs being so close by. Mr. Rector wrote the department and asked that his office be closed and the application of Vernon be approved. This was done and Vernon was given the post office.
The Commissioners Court named Mr. Rector as a commissioner to fill out an unexpired term and when that term was out he retired, declining to run for the place at the regular election.
His son, R. O. Rector, was born in South Bend, Ind., and came to Vernon with the family in 1879. He grew to manhood in this city and served as deputy United States marshal in the 90's. In 1906 Mr. Rector moved to Portland, Ore., and is at present chief field deputy sheriff of Portland and the county surrounding.
John M. ShelbyAlabamian a Successful Cotton Grower
John M. Shelby, a native of Alabama, came to this county with his family from Smith County, near Tyler, in 1891. He located on a farm near Tolbert and was among the first farmers in Wilbarger County to successfully grow cotton. In addition to farming, Mr. Shelby was also a successful stock raiser. His son, Prof. T. H. Shelby, who is now dean of Division of the Extension Department in the State University at Austin, in speaking of his father's early settlement in this county, says:
"My father saw the country change from a cow country with free grass to a farming section with all land under fence. He went through the struggle between the cowmen and the so-called 'nester' over the possession of the county."
Other children now living of Mr. and Mrs. Shelby's are ? E. Shelby, proprietor of Shelby Dry Goods Co., Austin; Mrs. ____.(Era) Swim, Goldwaithe, Texas; Mrs. T. L. (Lula Mae) Pollard, ____, Texas, and Mrs. Walker (Leona) Yorbrough, Chapel, Texas.
W. C. SearsA Confederate Veteran Came in 1891
W. C. Sears, born in Forsythe County, Georgia, and a Civil War veteran, moved from bis native state to Arkansas and was among the pioneer settlers of that country. In 1891 he answered the call of the West, and with his good wife and children, he moved to Texas, locating near Old Margaret, just across the line from Wilbarger County. The Sears family lived in Foard County until 1896, when they moved near Doans. The last location was their home for a number of years.
Children of Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Sears living now are: Mrs. J. M. Stroud, Childress; Mrs. Joe Schmidt, Vernon; Mrs. J. W. Bell, Crowell; C. E. Sears, Fargo; J. W. Sears, Swearingen; Mrs. Louis Ross, Odell, and Mrs. T. A. Hamilton, Doans.
Christ StreitStreit Family Came to Texas From Switzerland
(By J. E. Collins)
There is not now living, nor has there ever lived in Wilbarger County a family who has added more to the the material prosperity and development of this county than the Streit family.
In 1882, Christ Streit and his wife Anna, in order to give their sons a better opportunity in the New World and to avoid for them compulsory military service, decided to leave the old home in Switzerland and emigrate to Texas. They, with their six sons, Charles, Fred, Albert, Alex, Godfrey and Rudolph, landed in Wilbarger County in 1882, and settled on Section 98, Block 14, in the southwest part of this county.
In February, 1883, Mrs. Streit lost her life in a cyclone but these sturdy pioneers carried bravely on, and for the next few years tried to improve their home, hauling in wagons from Wichita
Falls all lumber and building material including wire for fences. They would make the trip down in one and one-half days, load their wagons and by driving late at night make the return trip in two days.
Christ Streit died in 1897, leaving to his family a rich heritage, not so much in material things, but a heritage of duty well performed, of honesty, sobriety, integrity and piety.
As the Streit boys grew to manhood, Charles, the eldest son, emigrated to Canada, where he soon became prominent as a farmer and stock raiser. He passed away a few years ago, but his family still live in the Dominion. All the other boys made their homes in this county. Fred and Rudolph have passed on, and of the six boys there is now living, Albert, Alex and Godfrey. Albert Streit and his wife have four girls and five boys; the girls are Anna, Alice, Louise and Bertha. The boys, Willie, Henry, Carl, Albert and Edward, all living except Carl, who was killed in action in France during the World War. Mr. and Mrs. Alex Streit have three boys and three girls. Mrs. Chris Schmoker, who lives in this county,, Mrs. Jake Schmoker who lives in South Texas, and Mrs. Lizzie Staub of Portales, New Mexico. The boys are F. A., W. H. and Alex, Jr. In Fred Streit's family there are six boys, Fred Jr., George, John, Albert, Oscar and Ernest, and two girls, Margaret and Emma. Mr. and Mrs. Godfrey Streit have two sons, Luther and Carroll. In the family of Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Streit there is only one child, a daughter, Migg Polly.
The Streit family being primarily farmers and stock raisers, have had an important part in the development of this county. Many years ago, seeing the possibilities of intelligent diversified farming in this western country, they have acquired large holdings of valuable farm lands. As the younger generation of Streits have grown into manhood and woman-hood they have, with few exceptions, established homes for themselves in this county, and without exception they are industrious, intelligent, progressive and loyal citizens.
The resources that have enabled Wilbarger County to become a great farming community and Vernon a splendid town are many. Not the least of them has been the small body of pioneers, loyal and indomitable men and women, ready to grapple with every problem that stood as an obstacle to our progress and development. The Streit family have always stood in the front rank of these developers, and they are today recognized as among our leading farmers and stock men, and loved and respected by a large circle of friends for their neighborly kindness, charity, honesty and good citizenship.
Tom JonesTom Jones Family Arrivals in Fall of 1884
Among: the early settlers of the county who have passed away are Mr. and Mrs. Tom Jones. In an interview with Mrs. Jones in 1927 in connection with the publishing of an old settlers' edition of The Vernon Times, she stated that they came to Wilbarger County from Collin County in the fall of 1884. The family had moved to Texas from Tennessee.
For a number of years Mr. Jones was in business in Vernon. He sold out and went to Oklahoma where he engaged in cattle raising. Mrs. Jones said cattle rustlers and Indians raided his herd many times. Mr. Jones died in 1908.
Mrs. Jones stated that the early days in Vernon were sometimes strenuous and wild ones. She said that at one time there was quite a stir in the town over the activities of a "vigilance committee." A number of the most prominent citizens were placed under arrest, the sheriff being among them. Her husband was appointed as acting sheriff until the trial. Mrs. Jones said that during those days she worried a great deal for fear her husband would be brought home dead.
Surviving Mr. and Mrs. Jones are three daughters, Mrs. Margaret Souders of Montana, Mrs. Edna Newlon of Idaho and Mrs. Hattie Stineman of Elliott.
E. L. WittyWitty Was Teacher In Vernon's First School
E. L. Witty, insurance man of the city, came to Vernon in 1887 to teach school. The faculty at that time was composed of Judge Tolbert, Mrs. J. L. Swartwood and Mr. Witty. The building was a small three-room affair on the spot where the junior high school stands today. The next year Mr. Witty went else-where to teach but returned to Vernon in 1891 and taught the West Vernon school. That school was considered out in the country in those days and the building was a small wooden structure.
He next taught in the city schools under Superintendent W. T. Potter for a number of years. When the county reached the size to be entitled to a county superintendent, the Commissioners Court appointed Mr. Witty to that position, serving one year as appointee and was then elected two terms. After retiring from office he went into the insurance business.
He was elected City Commissioner when the commission form of government was adopted in 1916 and served two terms, resigning a short time before his second term expired on account of moving from the east side of town to the west side.
In discussing the change in Vernon from the time he first came here and today, Mr. Witty said few people who had not lived here in the early days could realize what a difference there was. When he came here the town had a small three-room school building and there were no churches at all. Preachers for the various denominations would come to Vernon and use the school building.
Mr. Witty is a Tennessian by birth. He came to this country from Lebanon, Tenn. His wife's name before her marriage was Miss Stella Stanton and her home was at Greenville, Tenn., before her marriage to Mr. Witty. Three children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Witty, one son and two daughters. Dan, the son, and Hattie and Dorothy, the two daughters. The oldest, Miss Dorothy, died in 1912.
J. E. LutzFrom Ohio to Texas in 1885
(Editor's Note Since J. E. Lutz came to Wilbarger County in 1885 and has been an active citizen in the development of this county from a cowman's range to homes for twenty thousand people or more, at the editors' request he furnished in his own writing what might be termed an autobiographical sketch of his life in Wilbarger County).
"As one of the early settlers I have been asked to give my experiences on the frontier in Wilbarger County. Coming to Texas in 1885, I went into the land department of the Texas & Pacific Railroad under Abrams, the land commissioner at Dallas. Selling land down on the Pecos and Concho Rivers at that time did not look good to me, so I came to Wichita Falls and there met George, Frank and Will Knott, with whom I was reared back in Ohio. They wanted me to stay there with them, but I told them that country did not look like a farming country and that was the kind of country I was looking for.
"Coming to Vernon on the stage I met another man, Tom Linkhart, who lived in Ohio just seven miles from my city, Xenia. Linkhart and T. W. Donahoe were running a blacksmith and wood working shop and I bought a half interest in with them, telling them at the time that I thought this locality was the best I had seen in Texas and would be a great farming country when settled.
"I was appointed assistant road agent for the stage line, Mr. Satterwhite being the road agent, and Mr. Orr the Star route contractor from the government. This stage line also carried the United States mail from Wichita Falls to Fort Elliott and Mobeetie, a distance of 300 miles. The passengers were charged ten cents per mile or $30 to Mobeetie. We had a branch line from Clarendon on Salt Fork, which is about seven miles east of the present city of Clarendon, to Tascosa on the Canadian River, a distance of 135 miles. It was my duty to go over this entire stage line once every three months, and it took me six weeks to make the trip, which kept me on the road six weeks and in Vernon six weeks.
"When I first came to Vernon the first thing I found out was that I would enjoy better health if I attended to my own business and not see too much, which is just the reverse of what they do in this day and time. I came into Vernon on the stage wearing a fifty dollar snit of clothing and a high plug hat. The next morning 'dyked' out in all my finery I proceeded to take in the town, which was against all rules of frontier towns. A young lady at the hotel asked me if I was going out on the street with that hat on, and I told her I was. She proceeded to enlighten me on the etiquette of frontier towns, which was "Thou shalt not wear any hard-boiled hats in this town." She told me the cowboys would not let me wear it but would shoot if off my head and then proceed to shoot it full of holes. Being wise for my tender years, I immediately laid this hat to one side and went across to Kinsey Brothers' store and purchased a regulation cowboy hat which entitled me to all the privileges of the town.
"Vernon, in its early days, was a quiet, peaceful town until some one rubbed the fur the wrong way when it could produce more shooting to the square inch than any town in Texas. I, with old man Capps, who was official grave-digger at that time, have helped to dig many a grave for the unfortunate killed the night before, down where the Frisco depot is today, for that was the grave yard at that time. Mr. Capps dug up and removed the bodies in this grave yard from the north part of Vernon to the present location two miles east of Vernon."
Mr. Lutz was married to Miss Maude Thurmond of Vernon, December 25, 1897. Mrs. Lutz was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alonzo Thurmond, pioneer citizens of Wilbarger County. Mr. and Mrs. Lutz are the parents of seven children: J. E. Lutz, Jr., Robert (R. T.) Lutz, Mrs. Ben (Mary) Leutwyler, Mrs. Eda Cloniger, Charles A. Lutz, James Kenneth Lutz and Ruth Kell Lutz.
T. J. McGillMcGill a Grocery-man Here in 1889
T. J. McGill, who was born and raised near Cameron, Tenn., came to Wilbarger County from Hico, Texas, in 1888. Mrs. McGill, who was a native of Kentucky, did not arrive in the county until 1889.
In an interview with Mr. McGill, he stated that one of his first business ventures after landing in Vernon was to enter the grocery business. He sold groceries to the early-day citizens from 1889 until 1891. The year of 1891 was the big wheat year in Wilbarger County, as many pioneer citizens will recall. Mr. McGill seeing the wonderful possibilities of farming in the county bought a section of land north of Pease River. This land, which is located in the Fargo district, was put into a state of cultivation and the McGill home and farm is still pointed out as one of the first farms in that community.
Mr. and Mrs. McGill are the parents of three children, one son and two daughters, all who reside in this county. Seth McGill, the son, Miss Be vie McGill, the oldest daughter, and Mrs. Bryan Lovelace.
William M. ReedWilliam Reed Landed Here in 1884
Wm M. Reed came to Wilbarger County for the first time in 1884. He moved his family here in 1887 from Cooke County and settled in what is known as the Mack community. Mr. Reed said he was a nestor and cowman and made a fairly good success out of his business. "Every time I got a bunch of steers I sold them and put the money in land. Some of the land cost $1 an acre while some went as high as $3.
Mr. Reed said that in 1886 he drove a bunch of steers to Vernon and sold them to Tom Jones. They tad not been given any water, so he drove them to & water trough on the public square and began pumping water. One old steer got stage frightened and started out across the square. Mr. Reed said if he had not headed him off he guessed he would have gone right through the front of a store.
Mr. and Mrs. Reed have four children, Nathan, Joe and Fred Reed, and Mrs. Viva Cain.
H. A. SamuelMr. and Mrs. Samuel Moved Here in Spring 1889
Mr. and Mrs. H. A. Samuel came to Vernon in the spring of 1889 from Dallas County. Mr. Samuel followed the carpenter's trade for several years and then started in the barber business. This profession was followed until a few years back when he retired from active business. During the early days, Mr. Samuel played the fiddle for cowboy dances over this part of the country. And in later years his barber shop was always the scene of impromptu gatherings of old time fiddlers where old tones were played.
Mr. and Mrs. Samuel's children are: Mrs. Hugh Davis of Electra, Mrs. L. M. Brown of Sweatwater, Mrs. J. M. Holder, Louie Samuel and Mrs. Ed Gilliland of Vernon, Mrs. B. M. Johnston of Fort Stockton, Barnes Samuel of Pampa, Garner Samuel of Electra and Mrs. George Goetze of Vernon.
W. C. AldermanFrom North Carolina to Wilbarger in 1886
W. C. Alderman came to Wilbarger County on April 10, 1889, from North Carolina. He settled on a farm south of Beaver Creek where he lived for many years before moving to town.
Mr. Alderman was elected county commissioner from that part of the county and served for four years. When asked about the roads at that time he said that there was only one road from Vernon to that part of the county and only two- in his precinct. He received the enormous salary of $80 a year for his services. Mr. Alderman said some of the other commissioners drew larger salaries as they had more roads to look after.
He was treasurer of Wilbarger County for six years. During his stay in that office *the state department often complimented him on the way he kept his books. He always kept them right up to the minute. During his years as county treasurer, he saw many changes in the county. When he first took office there were very few checks issued by the treasurer, but before he left the office it had gotten to where checks were being issued by the hundreds every week, especially after the work of paving and grading of roads over the county started.
Mr. Alderman was married to Miss Ida Bradford of Anderson County, Texas, in 1906. They are the parents of one son, William B. Alderman.
J. B. "Joe" WhiteJ. B. (Joe) White a Citizen Since 1888
J. B. (Joe) White moved with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. White, from Ladonia, in Fannin County, to Wilbarger County in 1888. The White family settled near Harrold and followed farming for a number of years.
In 1893 Mr. White was married to Miss Delia Ray. They are the parents of Ray and Russell White, both well known Vernon boys. A greater portion of Mr. White's life has been spent in Wilbarger County, during which time he has clerked for various business firms that have been in business in Vernon.
R. L. CastleburyCastlebury Family
R. L. Castlebury came to Vernon in December, 1887, from Lamar County. Soon after his arrival here he went to work for the Laurellis Cattle Company, remaining with them until the latter part of 1888, working on the range through the Canadian country and Indian Territory. In 1889 he was in the employ of Dr. Edwards in a drug store. The following year he went to work for Sheriff J. T. Conn and for eight years was a deputy sheriff or some kind of officer.
On November 29, 1891, he was married to Miss Belle Hatchett. Her father, Shem E. Hatchett, moved his family to Vernon in 1889.
Mr. Castlebury has retired from active business in the last few years and looks after his farms. He has land and cattle and some of the Humble producers in the South Vernon field are located on his land.
One of the interesting events of early days related by Mr. Castlebury is that of the death of City Marshal Hammonds. Sheriff Conn and Mr. Castlebury were sleeping on the second floor of the court house and one night Mr. Hammonds came and asked them to go with him to make an arrest. They told him they would dress and meet him down stairs. He left the room and in a few minutes they heard a loud crash. Upon rushing down stairs they found that Mr. Hammonds had fallen over the bannisters and was dead.
Mr. and Mrs. Castlebury have five children: Mrs. Albert G. Walker, Mrs. Claude Hardison, Miss Robbie Castlebury and Brown Castlebury, all of Vernon, and Mrs. George Cooper of St Lonis, Mo.
S. L.. PageA Kentucky Pedagogue Moves to Wilbarger County in 1892
S. L. Page was born near Tompkinsville, Ky., Kay 10, 1872. He came to Wilbarger County in March, 1892.
Mr. Page was one of the county's early rural school teachers, having taught in the rural schools for fifteen years. His services as a teacher were very much in demand as he taught eighteen school sessions during the fifteen years.
Most of his teaching was in the schools located in the northern portion of Wilbarger County, having taught at Pleasant Valley, Jackson Springs, Sherwood, Tolbert, Crescent Cove, and one term at Chillicothe.
He was converted and joined the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, during a revival meeting conducted by Rev. S. T. Griswold at Pleasant Valley school house hi September, 1895. His church membership was transferred from Chillicothe Methodist Church, South, in 1897 to Tolbert Methodist Church, where he has been an official in that church and a teacher in the Sunday School until the present time.
Mr. Page is an ardent fraternalist, being a Mason, a Woodman of the World, a Modern Woodman of America, and a member of the Woodman Circle.
Since he quit teaching school he has continued to manifest much interest in educational affairs, having served as a trustee in his local school district and as a trustee on the county board of education. He is also one of the founders of Southern Methodist University at Dallas.
He has always been a staunch prohibitionist and rendered valiant services in placing Wilbarger County in the prohibition column.
In the year 1895, Mr. Page located two miles north of Tolbert, where he has resided since, and when net teaching has been engaged in farming and stock raising.
Cotton was planted in Wilbarger County for the first time after wheat failures of 1892 and 1893. In 1894 the county produced 800 bales. By 1898 it had reached 1,800 bales for the season.
W. C. McDonaldMcDonald Kept Odd Fellows Lodge on Map in Early Days
W. G. McDonald moved to Wilbarger County from Fannin County, arriving at Harrold on November 15, 1888. He lived there until the fall of 1891 when he went to Amarillo where he remained until 1897 when he moved to Vernon.
Mr. McDonald said he went in the employ of the T. J. Youngblood Furniture store, holding that position until 1902 when he went in the livery stable business. He sold out this business in 1921. During his business life in the city he served the city for four years as alderman. In 1924 he was elected county commissioner, serving until 1928.
The Odd Fellows Lodge of Vernon was one of Mr. McDonald's pet hobbies and during the early days he worked hard to keep it going. When he came to Vernon, W. A. Ish, S. P. Huff and John Mabry were paying in enough dues to hold the charter. Mr. McDonald wanted the men to call a meeting and try to get the lodge going again. They told him it was no use. He kept on until he was told to call the meeting, but Mr. McDonald said he had no authority. Mr. Ish wrote to headquarters to have him appointed deputy district grand master. So Mr. McDonald called a meeting with seven attending. The next time there were ten and the meetings kept growing in attendance.
The lodge held its meetings in a small room in the old court house. It soon outgrew the room and quarters were secured in the Hahn building on the corner of Main and Wilbarger Streets. Mr. McDonald said the lodge got in financial trouble because the dues were not being paid, and some of the members wanted to forfeit the charter as the rent could not be paid. He said he talked the matter over with his wife one night before going to meeting and she suggested they use a down-stairs room in their house. So, at the meeting when a motion was made to drop the charter, Mr. McDonald told how he felt about the lodge and how he had worked to keep it going and that if they could not pay the rent he would furnish a room at his home. He led the way by putting up five dollars and in a few minutes enough money had been raised with which to pay the debt for back rent and also for the rest of the year. From then on the lodge made good progress.
J. A. PuckettPuckett Family Came to Wilbarger in 1891
Coming to this county in 1891 from Travis County, the late J. A. Puckett, with his wife and one daughter at that time, located six miles west of Vernon in what is commonly known now .as the Kincheloe community. The first fifteen years of Mr. Puckett's life in this country was spent on the farm, moving to Vernon in 1905 to enter the wagon yard, coal and feed business.
Mr. Puckett served Vernon as one of its aldermen, being one among the last to retire before Vernon took on the commission form of government. During his tenure of office in the capacity of alderman, he was one of the main instigators for the paving of Main Street. He also served the city as a member of the school board.
Since Mr. Puckett was born and reared in Travis County, a section of Texas where numbers of historical events recorded in Texas history took place, he recalled having heard as a boy a peculiar circumstance that took place in his community regarding a Mr. Wilbarger for whom this county was named. On Walnut Creek, about five miles from where Mr. Puckett was raised, Wilbarger and two other men were attacked by Indians. Wilbarger's partners were killed and he was left for dead after being scalped by the red men. The peculiarity of this incident lies in the fact that people in the community were warned, directed and went to the aid of Wilbarger the very same night the men were attacked, by listening to a dream told by an old lady in the neighborhood.
J. A. Puckett died June 5, 1928.
Children, living of Mr. and Mrs. Puckett are Guy, Chauncey, Mrs. Jack Gross and Mrs. Douglas Edwards.
J. A. RandallA Concrete Worker Came to Vernon in 1887
Born in Rack County, Texas, the late J. A. Randall, who died in Vernon in 1918, came to Wilbarger County in 1887. Mr. Randall was married to Miss Laura Lyon in 1894. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Lyon, who came to this county in 1889 and established a home just south of Harrold. Both her parents are dead.
Children born to Mr. and Mrs. Randall include: Ed Randall, who died in Vernon at the age of 17 years; Sam Randall, Mrs. J. E. (Laura) Gookin and Mrs. P. E. (Allie) Doores. AH were born in Wilbarger County.
Mrs. J. A. Randall's second marriage was to C. R. Morgan in 1928. She, with her husband,^now live at Bowie in Montague County.
In referring to J. A. (Joe) Randall, early day citizens of Wilbarger County will recall him as a concrete worker. In the pioneer days of this county he made the first concrete cisterns in this country. For a number of years he was associated with the Kelly Hardware Co. in Vernon as one of the clerks.
J. A. GillilandGillilands Among Early Settlers of County
Among the early settlers of Wilbarger County was J. A. Gilliland. Born in Benton, Tenn., he came to Texas when a young man and lived for a while near Era in Cooke County. In 1886 he came to Vernon, living in and near the city until his death on November 1, 1930. In the spring of 1887 he went to work for Lockett & Rhoads and was with this firm for a number of years. Later he engaged in the dairy business in which he remained for over twenty years, selling out the delivery end of the business, but during the last years of his life he kept a large herd of cattle.
In 1889 he was married to Miss Clemita Elizabeth Sink. Mrs. Gilliland died on January 4, 1929.
Mr. Gilliland was well known over this section of Texas for his church work. He assisted in the organization of the first Baptist Sunday School in Vernon in 1889. A small church had been erected at the site now occupied by the Central Christian Church. In 1887 he had been ordained a deacon in the church. In addition to this work, he was active in the affairs of the Baptists in this part of the state and was moderator of the Red Fork Baptist Association when it was composed of Wichita, Wilbarger, Hardeman, Cottle, Foard and a part of King Counties. After Wilbarger County was settled up the Wilbarger-Foard Baptist Association was formed at Oklaunion and he was elected moderator of the organization, holding that post for many years.
Mr. and Mrs. Gilliland are survived by five children: Mrs. P. D. Downs, J. C. Gilliland, John A. Gilliland, Mrs. George P. Trisler and Ed Gilliland.
C. S. McCollochA Pike County Missourian Comes to Vernon in 1892
(Editor's Note C. S. McColloch of Vernon insurance fame, or (Old Mac) as he is commonly called by those who know him, was asked by the publishers of this book for a brief biography of his life and he gave us the following;):
"Born on the 3rd day of October, 1859, in Clarksville, Pike County, Mo., the county of some notables; for instance, John B. Henderson, Champ Clark, Joe Bowers all the way from Pike), Mark Twain (just over the county line), and others I might mention but modesty forbids.
"Just a few historical facts as to my genealogy. My parents were Isaac Kelly and Elizabeth McColloch. My father was a grandson of Major Sam McColloch of Revolutionary fame. He has a monument erected in his honor at Wheeling, West Virginia, to commemorate a leap he made over a bluff while running from the Indians. It's called McColloch's Leap. (Hope to see it some day). Ebenezer Zane married Sam McColloch's sister. He is grandfather to Zane Grey, so this makes Zane and I fifth cousins. Just a little thin as far as kinship goes and I only mention it to keep the record straight. Never met Zane, but from what I have heard, understand he is just a little "Snoody," so let it go at that.
"I left the old sod in 1885, for Denver, Colo. After a few hectic, (that's a good word), years there I came to Vernon in 1892. Did the heavy sitting around for the Denver Railroad for seven years, then took over the management of the J. S. Mayfield Lumber Co. This I held down for the next seven years. Then I 'busted' into the insurance game and for the past 24 years have been doling out that famous brand of insurance, 'That Old Good Kind.'
"My wife was a Miss Minnie M. Robinson. She was born at Leonard, Texas, (statistics unnecessary). She came to Vernon in 1888 when she was seven years old (so she says). She led rather an uneventful life until she happened to cross my path, then the 'uneventful' part was cut out and things began to happen and happen fast.
"We have two girls, Miss Frances Kathryn and Ruth Kelly. Kathryn is Amanuensis to her illustrious dad in the insurance business. Ruth Kelly is finishing her college education at Denton, Texas. So, that's that.
Politics.
Have always been a dyed-in-the-wool, blown-in-the-bottle Democrat up to now. Cast my first vote for Champ Clark for county attorney of Pike County, in 1880 (and he was elected). I have never aspired to political honors although I have been importuned to run for mayor. Almost a clamor but modestly declined. Was prominently mentioned for the vice presidency of these United States in 1928, but in view of the fact that Jim Reed of Missouri, was also in the running, thought best to withdraw for the good of the party. Even after withdrawing I carried one box for this important office, the Mack box, (Thanks to Old Man Ferebee).
Religiously?
"Not much to say on this score. My folks were all B. B. Presbyterians but as the Methodists were a little more liberal in their views, I took in after them. Tried to make a hand until they went Republican in 1928. Since that time have worshiped 'from afar' so to speak, hoping that some day they would come back to the grand old Democrat way of thinking and I could take my place as of days gone by.
"This brings the story down to date. If you can get any comfort out of it you are welcome to it.
"Yours for the uplift,
Cruse Selby McColloch."
(Old Mac).
Joe HinesRaised First Bale of Cotton North of Pease River
Joe Hines is credited with having raised the first bale of cotton in Wilbarger County north of Pease River. He lived on the farm now known as the Stephens section. Mr. Hines moved to the county from Ellis County in the fall of 1888. He had used cotton seed to pack fruit jars in. The seed were scattered about the yard. They came up and made good stalks and bolls. The next spring he had some five-lock, storm proof seed sent out from his old home and planted an acre. From this he picked about 1,800 pounds of seed cotton. The nearest gin was at Henrietta, so Mr. Hines shipped the cotton there to be ginned.
In 1887 and 1888 Wilbarger County took first place at the Texas State Fair and Dallas Exposition.
