Robert W. FENNER As a surveyor and engineer, Robert W. Fenner has a record of active service and accomplishments extending over forty years, all of which has been passed in southwest Texas, and most of it in Bee county. He was county surveyor of Bee county during the early days, and himself and son have continuously held that office now for more than thirty years. Mr. Fenner represents one of the families which located in southwest Texas during the early fifties, and for sixty years the name has been identified with public spirited citizenship, and worthy activity and honorable position in private life. ' Robert W. Fenner was born in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, in 1848, a son of Sherrod and Louise (Phiol) Fenner. Both families were early established in the state of Louisiana, and that was particularly true of the maternal branch of the family, as the Phiols were of French stock, and had lived in Louisiana since the Spanish reign. In 1852, the Fenner family moved from Louisiana to Texas, locating first in Guadalupe county, and subsequently in 1857 removing to Victoria county, where Robert W. spent his early youth, and grew to manhood. Some of his early schooling was obtained in the old common schools, such as were maintained in this vicinity during the early days, but he was chiefly educated in the old Bastrop Military College, one of the excellent schools of its time, and in its halls he prepared for his preparation of surveyor and civil engineer. He has followed this professional career throughout his life with the exception of a few years, during which he was engaged in teaching school. In 1879 Mr. Fenner located at Beeville in Bee county, where he has since resided. At that date, 1879, the county was very sparsely settled, and Beeville itself was a mere village on the prairie. In 1880, the year following his settlement here, Mr. Fenner was elected to the office of County Surveyor, and each successive election was chosen for that office, until he had given 30 successive years of efficient and faithful service to the office. On his retiring, he was succeeded by his son John S. Fenner, who is also an engineer and surveyor. Thus father and son together have given more than thirty-five years of continuous service in one county office, a record which is probably equaled in only a few instances in the annals of public office in this state. The father and son, under the firm name of Fenner & Fenner, have offices at Beeville, and conduct a general business in surveying and engineering. Their services have been called to numerous commissions throughout southwestern Texas, and through their long standing and known capabilities have always enjoyed a very prosperous patronage. Mr. Robert W. Fenner married Miss Kate Fenner, who stood in the relation of cousin to him, and who is also a native of Louisiana, where the family have been established for so many years. Mr. and Mrs. Fenner are the parents of nine children, six sons and three daughters, whose names are as follows: Henry, John S., Boy, Bolla, Goodrich, Power, Mrs. Mabel Whaley, Miss Ella Fenner, and Miss Anna Fenner. A history of Texas and Texans By Frank White Johnson, Eugene Campbell Barker, Ernest William Winkler Published by American Historical Society, 1914 WILLIAM ROBERT HAYES. COUNTY JUDGE BEE COUNTY. Was born in Hickory county, Missouri, December 30, 1830. His forefathers on his father's side came from England to Virginia, about the first settlement of Jamestown, and afterwards lived in the Carolinas. His grandmother on his mother's side, named Young, came from Emerald Isle. In 1846 his father, Joseph Hayes, sold his farm in Missouri, and started to Texas, but stopped in Seveir county, Arkansas, and remained there, water bound, until 1854, when he moved to Medina county, Texas. The subject of this sketch, by consent, left the parents' roof in March, 1854, and shipped with Jim Sparks, as conductor of a "prairie schooner," with three yoke of oxen, as motive power, from Fort Smith for California. Reaching Salt Lake City, late in August, too late to cross the Sierras, the train went into winter quarters there, and in the spring of 1855, he went with a portion of Colonel Steptoe's government train via Fremont's route to Southern California, and engaged in mining there until December, 1858, having made a trip to Frazier river, in the British possessions, he then came to San Antonio via Tehuantepec and New Orleans. He went to Bee county in April, 1869, bought land and is living on the same place now, engaged in farming and stock rising. He was married in 1861, and now has a family of wife and eight children. He served for three years in Colonel Hobby's regiment, and was then transferred to Edward's company of Pyron's cavalry just before the break up. He was appointed treasurer of Bee county in 1870, and continued to fill that office, being elected, until 1876, when he was elected county judge, and is now serving his seventh term of that office. Source: Personnel of the Texas state government, with sketches of distinguished Texans, embracing the executive and staff, heads of the departments, United States senators and representatives, members of the Twenty-first Legislature By Lewis E. Daniell Published by Smith, Hicks & Jones, printers, 1889 W. R. Hayes (2nd Bio) Freighting in the Early Sixties W.R. HAYES was a freighter and made many trips to Austin for freight. Later he became judge of Bee county and served in that capacity sixteen years. On August i6, 1806, he left his home on the Aransas, eight miles south of Beeville, for Austin, with a wagon and four yokes of oxen. He also had two saddle ponies. He went by way of Victoria for a load of salt to sell on the trip. He camped the first night on Blanco creek. Mr. Hayes left camp early the next morning, traveling on without lunch in order to reach. Goliad by night, as heavy rains had fallen.' When he reached the San Antonio river, however, the stream was very high and could not be crossed on the ferry, as drift-wood was coming down. Mr. Hayes camped for the night near LaBahia mission, and next morning paid Hugh Tally $1.50 to ferry him across the river. He passed through Goliad, plodding his way through the mud, and when 15 miles out on the prairie a heavy downpour of rain came. The teamster stopped for the night and stayed in an old abandoned house. Although another heavy rain fell Sunday and the prairie was covered with water, he reached Victoria by night, camping near the depot with some other teamsters. The following morning Mr. Hayes found that two of his oxen were missing, and as he had to wait for his supply of salt to be brought up on the cars from the bay, he rode all day in the rain in search of the oxen without finding them. His salt arrived next day. Mr. Hayes paid $2.50 per sack and gave a negro 25 cents to help load it on the wagon.  He was ready to start the following day. With three yokes of oxen the teamster pulled out with eighteen sacks, driving five miles on the Gonzales road to a camp ground. Starting early the following day in search of his oxen, he hunted until 10 o'clock when he decided they had been stolen. He hitched up and traveled on over mud and water. Sunday found him at Peach creek in Gonzales county. The stream was on a rise, so he camped there for two days. Having fallen in with some other freighters he traded off one of his ponies and got an oxen as boot. Mr. Hayes started out again, but after traveling four miles and bogging down once, he camped for the night. With heavy rains all the way the roads were fearful, but he averaged from six to twelve miles a day, selling salt at stores on the way at S4.50 and $5 per sack. One day was so warm one of his oxen gave out when he became over-heated, and the driver was forced to leave him. Making some repairs on his wagon, he traveled on to the river two miles from Austin. The stream was on a big rise and the ferry boat had sunk. There was only one thing to do and that was to go up the river two miles to a shallow ford. The road was very bad but the scenery was beautiful. After crossing the river Mr. Hayes went down to Austin on September 4, where he sold the remainder of his salt, bought a bundle of papers and magazines and drove out to his old camp grounds. Next day he rode around to locate wheat which he bought at $1.50 per bushel. He hauled it to the mill on the river, waiting three days to have it ground into flour. With the heaviest rains he had seen for years, Mr. Hayes' camp became very disagreeable, and the teamster grew impatient and eager to be on his way home. Rut for the newspapers and magazines, he would have found the layover more irksome than it was. Still raining on September 11 and the mill shut down for want of fuel, the driver was forced to remain another day until his wheat was ground. The day was spent in looking for an odd ox, which he found about sunset. A negro was paid 25 cents for helping load the wagon with "3,350 pounds of flour" that night, and with the oxen in the corral everything was in readiness for the next morning, which dawned bright and clear. Leaving the mill homeward bound the freighter passed through Austin, paid $1 for ferrage at the river and Si to some Negroes who helped him up the bank as the roads were in the worst condition they had been in 10 years. He traveled on, reaching Gonzales on September 20, finding the river too high to ford. There was no ferry, so the driver went down the stream 10 miles to Clinton and crossed, camping there. The night was very blustery and quite cold for September. No rain fell after Mr. Hayes left Austin, although the roads were still bad, the mud being just stiff enough to pull heavy. It appeared as if everything had happened to detain him on this trip, despite the fact that he had made every effort to make good time. The trip on to Goliad was made without much delay, except when the bad creek banks had to be climbed. Arriving in Goliad the freighter sold some of his flour for $7 per cwt. He then went down the river which he loud low, but the banks were so bad the driver paid to be ferried across. The driver proceeded five miles on the Beeville road, camping after dark, "with the usual appearance of rain in the north." At daylight a cold norther and heavy rain came up. Mr. Hayes waited some time, then became impatient and struck out in the downpour. The skies soon cleared away, however, and the freighter reached Hanse McKinney's place at noon, where he ate dinner. At the creek bank he stuck and was forced to partly unload. When he had made his way across the creek he reloaded his wagon and went on to Blanco creek, which he found too high to ford. He was forced to camp for the night. Remembering his ax that he forgot to replace in the wagon when he made the last camp, Mr. Hayes rode back a distance of three miles after it, returning to camp after dark, cold and wet. Next morning he left early on what he thought would be the last day of travel before reaching home. He reached Beeville late in the afternoon, where he delivered some flour.   He traveled on about two miles, but the roads were in such bad condition he turned his oxen out with bells and hobbles on, left his wagon and rode home to spend the night. Next day he went back for his wagon, delivering flour he had bought for the neighbors and finally reaching home at night. '. Due to floods and bad roads it required 42 days to make this trip. After a few days rest and looking after things around his home, Mr. Hayes began hauling rocks and posts at $2.50 per day for Mr. Irvine, a sheep-man who was building a large pasture. The posts were cut in the Besados thicket on Olmos creek. A baby was born to bless Mr. and Mrs. Hayes* home shortly after his return from Austin with, the load of flour. In summing up the work a man had to do on a ranch in those days without a servant, the following is what was accomplished in one day: One had to arise at daylight, make fires, pen calves, help to get breakfast, milk cows, restake horses, clog a mare, doctor two colts, get hired man off to work, do some washing, take hide off of an ox, make a lariat and drive the horses in at night—"a bunch of more than 100 head." The experiences of Mr. Hayes on this trip to Austin and the cutting and hauling of fence posts and rocks are only a few of the privations and hardships our dear fathers and grandfathers endured when they were laying the foundation for the pleasures and comforts we enjoy today. May the memory of their honest toil live long in the minds and hearts of their children. NOTE Source: In this little book, dealing with the early history of Bee and adjoining counties, is enjoyed by the pioneer men and women and their descendants as they read its pages, I shall be happy, indeed. Love and respect prompted me to collect these facts to be preserved for future generations, and I trust each one who reads them will have a deeper feeling of gratitude for the brave men and women who, among savage beasts and still more savage men (Indians and Mexicans), laid the foundation for our present civilization. There are only a few of these pioneers left today, and it has been my pleasure to meet some of them in this work, a number of whom have now passed on. Had it been possible, I would have had a brief sketch of each one who helped in settling these counties, as it is not my desire to be partial in any way. In memory of my dear father and mother, Rev. and Mrs. Reason Reall Thames, this volume is lovingly dedicated. The Author  Beeville, Texas. 1939. During 1934 it was my pleasure to publish serially in The Bee-Picayune a brief history of the early day men, women and events of Bee county, with some sketches about the adjoining counties—Karnes, Goliad, San Patricio, and Live Oak. The material had been gathered by Mrs. I. C. Madray, the daughter of a pioneer minister, Rev. Reason B. Thames, who felt that many dates and details of interesting events of the early days should be recorded. Mrs. Madray spent many months going from home to home, from community to community, and from county to county. Transcribed & submitted by Barbara Ziegenmeyer ALLEN CARTER JONES BEEVILLE.             Captain Allen Carter Jones is one of the best known and most popular men in Texas .  He is, too, a self-made man; like so many of the hardy sons of Texas – having had no advantage in early life.  His success is due to his unaided efforts, a keen business sagacity, and a prompt and decisive way of taking hold of things.             His parents were A. C. and Mary Jane Jones, and his grandfather, Jacob Jones, was a Captain in the revolutionary war, (’76).  He was born in Nacogdaches county in 1830, and reared on the very borders of civilization.  His boyhood was spent among scenes of privation and danger, when every man had to labor and fight.  Of course, he had but little advantage in the way of education, only such as was afforded by country schools irregularly and imperfectly conducted; and what education he has, is the result of after-study and reflection.             Captain Jones began life as a farmer and stock-raiser, - with a capital of $2500, at the age of 22; and now he has over $100,000 invested in business, lands and cattle.  He removed to Goliad early in life.  In 1858, 1859 and 1860 he served as Sheriff of Goliad county; later, was Treasurer of Bee county, which position he held some six or eight years; was elected to the Legislature, but his friends claim that he was defrauded of his seat by one Thos. A. Blair.  In 1854 he married Miss Margaret L. Whitby, by whom he had three children, Martha M, William W. and Clara F. S.  Their mother died when they were very young, - November 1, 1861.             On the breaking out of the civil war, in 1861, Mr. Jones enlisted as a private soldier, in Company E, Waller’s Battalion, in Gen. Dick Taylor’s command; and after eighteen months of hard service was promoted to a Captaincy.  He was then ordered to report for duty to Col. Santos Benavides in West Texas , but falling in with Jno. S. Ford’s command, on the San Fernandez, he went with them to Rio Grande City , and remained on duty with that command until the last gun of the Confederacy was silenced.  As a soldier, Capt. Jones was noted throughout the army as a popular and influential officer, and held many positions of trust.  The war being over, Mr. Jones retired to his home, and in 1871 began merchandising.  This he followed until 1884, successfully.  In those years he made the greater part of his fortune.  After the death of his wife he remained a widower up to 1871, when he married his present wife, Miss Caroline Jane Fields, of Goliad. She has given him no children.  Capt. Jones attributes much of his success to the advice and wise counsels of his present wife.  It is a matter of pride with the Captain that he was the first man to build a pasture fence in Bee county.  He owns vast tracts of land in that county, and the town of Beeville is surrounded by his pastures.  He takes great interest in stock-raising, and has built many miles of the new style of fence, and consequently, when fence-cutting became an epidemic curse in Texas, and had spread all over the State, even to the borders of Bee county, and was threatening his and his neighbors’ possessions , he took a bold stand in opposition to its further invasion.  In this he was backed by the entire community of intelligent and law-abiding people, and to him Bee county, and adjacent counties, are indebted for the arrest of the plague, on their very borders, without loss to them.  Today he has more than 30,000 acres of fine pastures, around Beeville, stocked with fine graded Durham , and other blooded cattle.  His family residence is in Beeville, and if he is not “monarch of all he surveys.” – he cannot, at least at one view, survey all of which he is lord and master.             Politically, the Captain is, of course, a Democrat, and though never desirous of holding any political office, nevertheless he has not kept altogether free from the contagion engendered in heated political campaigns, and once was so enthused as to “stump” the district (85th) for his favorable candidate.  He is an old Mason, and has taken all the degrees up to the Commandery of Knights Templar.  He takes an active interest in the advancement and development of the State and of his section; and it was due to his influence and exertions that Beeville was made a station on the S. P. R. R. and the Aransas Pass R. R.             The Captain stands six feet in his shoes, and is a man of dignified and commanding appearance.  He has auburn hair and beard, streaked with gray; bright blue eyes, with a kindly light, and not infrequently a merry twinkle, as he recalls some incidents in his varied career; weighs 196 pounds, and is as erect as a young Kentuckian of twenty-five; a good neighbor, a warm friend and a God-fearing and law-abiding citizen. [Source: Types of Successful Men of Texas by Lewis E. Daniell, Publ. 1890. Transcribed by Anna Parks] Robert Marion Prather, M. D.  As a physician and surgeon, Dr. Prather has for five years been one of the leaders of his profession in Bee county, and has acquired a large practice and general recognition for his ability . and standing, both as a physician and a citizen. In 1913 he completed a private hospital located on North St. Mary street in Beeville, a fifteen room structure, which is modern in all its appointments, and affords the best hospital facilities in this part of the state. The plan of the hospital received the indorsement of several of the leading physicians and surgeons of San Antonio, and the entire equipment and organization of the hospital are on a high plane of efficiency. Both as proprietor of this institution, and in his private practice, Dr. Prather has acquired all the marks ot worthy success. Dr. A. B. Wright, a prominent surgeon formerly of Cincinnati, is associated with Dr. Prather in the operation of the hospital. A native of Manchester, Ohio, where he was born in 1871, Dr. Robert Marion Prather was reared and received his early education at Cincinnati, Ohio. He has been a resident of Texas since 1898, moving to Beeville from Vernon, Wilbarger county, Texas. He later took post graduate work in medicine in the medical department of the University of Fort Worth, where he was graduated in 1908, and in the same year located permanently at Beeville. Dr. Prather is one of the live and progressive members of his profession and by study and observation is constantly keeping pace with the improvement and new knowledge of medicine and surgery. He is a member of the State Medical Association and is ex-president of the Bee County Medical Society. Besides his private practice he is serving as local surgeon for the S. A. & A. P. By. Co. and is examining physician for several life insurance companies. A history of Texas and Texans By Frank White Johnson, Eugene Campbell Barker, Ernest William Winkler Published by American Historical Society, 1914 Beeville's First Merchant GEORGE WALKER McCLANAHAN was born in Craig county, Virginia, in 1824.    He graduated from Emory and Henry College in 1853. The same year he came to Goliad, Texas, to become principal of Paine Female Institute. In 1858 he resigned because of bad health, and with his wife, traveled through the adjoining county, camping out in order to regain his health. In 1859 or 1860 he settled in Beeville, which became a townsite at that time. G. W. McClanahan was one of the first men to settle in Beeville. He came from Virginia and was a young man, capable and dependable in every way, taking an active part in the welfare and development of the town and surrounding country. He owned and operated the first mercantile business in the town. This store was located in the vicinity of where the J. W. Brown home is today.   He owned two blocks of land on which he planted corn and vegetables. Several families of the first residents settled around in this neighborhood, each buying enough land on which to grow some corn and a garden. When the townsite question was finally settled and the move from the Medio to its present location on the Paesta creek was completed, men began to buy land and build homes. Mr. McClanahan bought some lots down on the public square, paying as high as $11 for one lot in a horse trade. He sold it back to the man he bought it from for $16 cash.  In writing to one of his brothers, Mr. McClanahan told him of the different occupations he was engaged in. He was storekeeper, farmer and gardener, deputy clerk in the county clerk's office, doing most of the writing, and sometimes was tavern keeper when anyone chanced to come this way and wanted a night's lodging. He owned a small bunch of cattle that grazed on the open range. In a letter written to his parents on January 29, 1862, this pioneer made mention of the mild, healthy climate, no local sickness, rolling prairies, no river bottoms, no marshes, no dead or decaying timber, and mild winters. Up to that time there had not been sufficient cold to kill sweet potato vines and beans, he said. Grass was green, flowers were blooming on the prairie and volunteer corn was six to eight inches high. So far, this had been the mildest winter since 1829. On account of the blockade during the war, it was impossible for this country to get any kind of seed to plant in the spring of 1862, so in this letter Mr. McClanahan asked his father to send him a small amount of lettuce, tomato, beets, radish and onion seed. Also a handful of beans and a half thimble-full of tobacco seed. Although he loved his native state, this pioneer was loyal to his adopted state. In a letter written to his brother the last of February, 1865, Mr. McClanahan invited his brother to come to Texas and eat a fat wild turkey and breathe the air that had caused the remark, "We have no boys in Texas—all are men." When the post office was moved from Medio Hill to Beeville it was established in the McClanahan store. Henderson Williams was postmaster for a short time. Thomas Martin was appointed and held the office until December, 1872, when he resigned. B. B. Atkins was assistant post-master. In resigning Mr. Martin recommended Mr. McClanahan for the position, stating that he had been doing most of the work in the office "and without pay" for around 12 years. The mail came twice a week when the roads were not bad, and one man could look after both the store and post office. G. W. McClanahan was appointed post-master in January 1873, and held the office until his death. He taught the short sessions of school when he first came to Beeville for the accommodation of the few children who lived there. He was superintendent of Sunday school and was secretary of the Masonic lodge. Viggo Kohler had the contract to build the McClanahan store down on the cast side of the public square in the summer of 1872. He moved into the building in September of that year. In closing the letter to his brother (in 1865) Mr. McClanahan gave some war-time prices on bread-stuff and other merchandise. Because of a dry spring the previous year there was very little corn raised in Bee county. A good corn crop was harvested on the Colorado and Brazos rivers, but the great distance to freight it to this coast country and the heavy demand from the government for supplies, raised the price to $2 per bushel in the field. After hauling the corn to Goliad and Beeville it was sold for $10 per bushel. At San Antonio it could be bought for $7 because the hauling distance was shorter. At Corpus Christi the price that winter ranged from $10 to $25 per bushel. Flour sold in Beeville at this time for from $25 to I35 per hundred pounds, coffee brought from $2 to $2.50 per pound, tobacco, "good leaf," $3 per pound; plug tobacco, $5 to $6 per pound, $2.50 to $3.00 per plug; calico (cotton print), $1.50 per yard; domestic, $1.50 per yard; spool of thread, 50c to $1; gun powder, $15 to $25 per pound. (At San Antonio powder could be bought for $3 to $5 a pound.) Horses and beef cattle were scarce and very high. A yoke of steers cost $100. The year before they sold for $40. A two-horse wagon that sold for $50 in 1864 brought $140 to $150 in 1865. As corn was the only grain raised in this country for making bread, cornbread was the principal bread used, and with the high price of flour, biscuits were made only once a week, usually on Sunday mornings for breakfast. There was no baking powder or other leavening compounds in those days until soda was brought in, so the pioneer mothers made lovely beaten biscuits from whole-wheat flour ground at the mill. They made up the dough with the other ingredients, placed the dough on a wooden board, or "bread board," then beat it with a wooden pestle, or heavy piece of wood. This dough was folded over and beat, then folded over again and beat until the dough became light and full of air bubbles, when it was baked to a golden brown in a dutch oven. This was fit to set before a king. In 1866, Mr. McClanahan moved to Corpus Christi, where he entered the mercantile business. After the death of his wife in 1867, during a yellow fever epidemic, Mr. McClanahan with his four children, Mary, William, George, and James, returned to Beeville where he opened another store which he conducted up until his death in April, 1874. After the death of their father, the children went to his native state, Virginia, to make their home with an uncle. During the years that followed, the daughter and sons, through love and respect for their parents, made occasional trips back to Beeville, the place of their birth, to visit the town their father loved so well and helped to establish, and also to place flowers on their graves. The father's body lies in the cemetery at Beeville, and the mother at Corpus Christi. Mr. McClanahan's eldest son, William, now living in Oakland, California, was the first white child born in Beeville, which, was in January, 1861. B. P. Stephenson, who is a resident of Beeville, where he has made his home the greater part of his life since his birth on June 14, 1861, was the second white child born there. He is a former mayor of this city and also served as mayor of Yoakum, where he resided many years before returning to Beeville to make his home in 1905. NOTE Source: In this little book, dealing with the early history of Bee and adjoining counties, is enjoyed by the pioneer men and women and their descendants as they read its pages, I shall be happy, indeed. Love and respect prompted me to collect these facts to be preserved for future generations, and I trust each one who reads them will have a deeper feeling of gratitude for the brave men and women who, among savage beasts and still more savage men (Indians and Mexicans), laid the foundation for our present civilization. There are only a few of these pioneers left today, and it has been my pleasure to meet some of them in this work, a number of whom have now passed on. Had it been possible, I would have had a brief sketch of each one who helped in settling these counties, as it is not my desire to be partial in any way. In memory of my dear father and mother, Rev. and Mrs. Reason Reall Thames, this volume is lovingly dedicated. The Author  Beeville, Texas. 1939. During 1934 it was my pleasure to publish serially in The Bee-Picayune a brief history of the early day men, women and events of Bee county, with some sketches about the adjoining counties—Karnes, Goliad, San Patricio, and Live Oak. The material had been gathered by Mrs. I. C. Madray, the daughter of a pioneer minister, Rev. Reason B. Thames, who felt that many dates and details of interesting events of the early days should be recorded. Mrs. Madray spent many months going from home to home, from community to community, and from county to county. Transcribed & submitted by Barbara Ziegenmeyer.