The Last Claim Of The Republic
By Garland Adair
Among a long list of claims approved
by the 46th Texas legislature on
the closing day of its 162day session
was a claim for $16,943.60 originating
when Texas was a Republic. It has
frequently been referred to as the
Last Claim of the Republic. Here
is the story.
Mentions: Gov. Dan Moody * Gov.
Lee O'Daniel * Sen. Olin Van Zandt
* Reynolds Lowry and Mrs. Mary Nelson
Lowry Nolan * Thomas F. McKinney
* Edwin Waller * Former State Senator
Grady Woodruff * Judge Wilcox *
A Reunion Of The Chisholm Family
By T. U. Taylor, Austin, Texas.
Along with a description of a
great celebration of the reunion
of the Chisholm family, T. U. Taylor
offers some excellent history of
the family lines of Chisholm and
Cooke including the Cherokee, Creek,
and Chickasaw Indian blood-lines.
Mentions: Jesse Chisholm and
William E. Chisholm * Julia McLish
* William Vaughn Cooke * Mary Virginia
Chisholm Cooke * Salt Springs of
Blaine county * Three of William
E. Chisholm's daughters are Mrs.
Mary V. Cooke, Mrs. Stella Ward
of Oklahoma City, and Mrs. Julia
Davenport of Staten Island, New
York * Mrs Stella Ward * William
V. Cooke, and Mary V. Cooke * Mrs.
Blan Bell * Eliza Edwards * Ignatius
Chisholm * James Edwards * Josiah
Gregg * Julia Ann Chisholm * Douglas
H. Johnston * Mrs. Stella Cooke
Ward * Mrs. Levera Cooke Graham
* Mrs. Cleo. Cooke Bagwell * the
Edwards home south of Holdenville
* Spanish Fort in Montague county,
Texas * William Vaughn Cooke * A.
S. Asbury, Edward Asbury, Eula.
Asbury, Geraldine Asbury, Helen
Asbury, Lou Alice Asbury, Max Asbury,
Sybil Asbury, Mrs. Cleo Cooke Bagwell,
Roy Bagwell, James Bagwell, James
Browder, Lubie Browder, Oleta Browder,
Virginia. Ann Browder, Mrs. Mary
V. Cooke, William V. Cooke, Ronald
Lee Fitzgerald, Mrs. Ruth Fitzgerald,
Donald A. Graham, Gay Graham, Mrs.
Levera Cooke Graham, William A.
Graham, Gracie Haney, Barbara Ann
King, Selma Paine, Athol Palmer,
James Dan Palmer, Marjorie Palmer,
William Palmer, Alta Richardson,
Patsy Richardson, Mrs. Edna Pat
Strickland, Royce Strickland, Mrs.
Estelle Chisholm Ward, J. B. Ward,
Mrs. Stella Cooke Ward, Theodosia
Ward, Louise Watson, S. B. Watson
* Ronald Lee Fitzgerald, Mrs. Ruth
Fitzgerald, Donald A. Graham, Gay
Graham, Mrs. Levers Cooke Graham,
William A. Graham. Barbara Ann King,
Dean T. U. Taylor, Mrs. Stella Cooke
Ward, J. B. Ward *
A Historic Monument
By Harry A . Seran
Account describes the significance
and purpose of the unusual stone
monument that sits in the center
of the town of Bandera, TX.
Mentions: County Warrant No.
46 * Mr. Charles Montague, Jr.,
the then County Surveyor * the United
States Government maintains at the
Bureau of Standards in Washington
D.C. *
Elisha A. Briggs Was A Real Pioneer
By B. F. Briggs, Sabinal, Texas.
Lengthy, detailed and excellent
account of Elisha A. Briggs, who
was born at Amhurst, Massachusetts,
August 19, 1819, and as a young
man, arrived at Austin, TX in the
early summer of 1842. He served
valiantly as a lieutenant in the
Ranger service for many years. Following
service in the Rangers, Mr. Briggs
began the breeding of fine horses.
He also farmed and raised livestock.
He served for a number of years
as a justice of the peace and notary
public. In 1874 Mr. Briggs ran true
to the ways of his family and entered
the ministry. He assisted in organizing
the Rio Grande Baptist Association
at old Frio Town in 1880, of which
he became the first moderator. He
continued as both missionary and
as pastor to the churches, preaching
in both Spanish and English as the
occasion might require. In spite
of delicate health throughout his
life, and the many hardships encountered,
he lived to the ripe old age of
86 years, and died on December 29,
1905. Mr. Briggs was the father
of seventeen children. This is a
great story about a great man and
his family.
Further Mentions: the old Medina
Baptist church * the Rock Church
* Somerset * older brother, G. A.
Briggs * Levi English, Bill Winans,
Ed Burleson, Joe Tomlinson, and
Bill Cole * Rev. Isaac Briggs *
the Baptist church at Athol * His
grandfather, Elisha Andrews * Templeton
Baptist church * Erastus Andrews,
(father of Hon. Chas. B. Andrews,
Governor of Connecticutt, and Rev.
E. Benjamin, D. D., former president
of Brown's University), * the North
Sunderland Baptist church * Hinsdale,
New Hampshire * Deacon Isaac Briggs,
Jr., * Rev. T. P. Briggs * the House
of Lathrop * Gull Prairie, Michigan,
near Kalamazoo * uncle, Thomas Andrews,
a lawyer of considerable wealth
* Fort Bend on the Brazos river
in Texas * Castroville * Captain
Crump * Mr. Briggs later served
with the noted Jack Hayes and Big
Foot Wallace * camp On the Molina
river * manager of the Vance Cattle
ranch * The old VD brand * Eliza
J. Newton Briggs * Miss Frances
Weber of Castroville * Elm Creek
* the Mike Kaufman pasture * Fitch
Adams * Mustang Prairie * Kathrine
Briggs, Albert Briggs (died in infancy),
Elizabeth Briggs, Emma Briggs, Mary
Briggs, George Briggs, and Fannie
Briggs. * Rev. W. C. Newton, a pioneer
minister of the Methodist denomination
* Florence Briggs, Beverly Briggs,
Pearl Briggs, Albert Briggs, Mark
Briggs, Fred Briggs, Bernard Briggs,
Nora Briggs, Ben Briggs, and Julia
Briggs *
Flowers And Fruits From The Wilderness
Written by Z. N. Morrell, in
1871.
This is a serial article of 10
installments that traces the events
in the life of fiery Baptist frontier
preacher, Z. N. Morrell, who came
to Texas from Tennessee in December,
1835 due to health problems. His
life quickly became intertwined
with many formative events in Texas
history of which he played an important
part. Morrell, besides being a notable
preacher of the Gospel and a true
Texas patriot, was also an excellent
historian and writer.
(Continued from Last Month.)
Mentions: Nacagdoches * the Neches
river * the Trinity, at Robin's
ferry * Falls of the Brazos * the
Houston and Texas Central Railroad
* the present locality of Calvert
* the Creek war * Elm Creek * Cartwell
* Wm. Whitaker and family from Hardiman
county, Tennessee * Natchitoches,
Louisiana * San Felipe * Baylor
University * Jackson's store *
The Diary Of A Frontier Preacher
Account further continues the
diary of Rev. Walter Smith South,
a Methodist preacher on the frontier
of Texas. Story contains more extracts
from his experiences in 1860 an
1861.
Mentions: Tom Stockton * Bro.
Musgraves * Vannoy * Fish Creek
* Tackett * Bro Bower * S. Wright's
in Keechi Valley * Arminine Wright
* Mr. Alexander * Thos. Ferguson
* Stephensville, county seat of
Erath county * Bosque * Fred J.
Cox * J. G. Johnson * Josiah Phillips
* Preston Phillips * Samuel Wright
* Theodore Wright, son of Bro. S.
Wright * Mrs. McClean * Minnie Graves
* Caddo Spring * Col. M. T. Johnson
* Capt. Jack Cuington * a Mr. Lane
* Thos. Gibbin * Bro. Bierman *
J. Magby * Dr. Swindell * Miss Minnie
Graves * J. A. Fain * Bro. Hoover's
on Bear Creek * Weatherford *
Where Roy Bean Held Court
Account included Old photo by
N. H. Rose, the old time photographer
of Judge Roy Bean holding court
on the porch of his saloon building.
In the late 1930's the Texas Legislature
made an appropriation of $8,000
to restore and remodel the old Judge
Roy Bean saloon building at Langtry,
to be converted into a museum, to
be in charge of a Mr. Dodd, a son
of the late Judge W. H. Dodd, who
succeeded old Roy Bean as Justice
of the Peace at Langtry.
Further Mentions: J. I. Phillips,
an itinerant photographer * Del
Rio * Edward Wilbur Mason *
Barbed Wire Has Its Place In
History
Excellent account of the origins
and first use of barbed wire in
Texas.
Mentions: the famous Frying Pan
ranch west of Amarillo * Highway
82, 10 miles west of Sherman * J.
F. Glidden of De Kalb, Ill * I.
L. Ellwood * Henry B. Sanborn *
Sanborn was sent to Texas where
he was thoroughly disliked, but
today there is a Texas village named
Sanborn and a city park in Amarillo
by the same name * the 125,000 acre
Frying Pan ranch, the first major
ranch on the plains to be encircled
by humming barbed wire * Old Tascosa
* Coleman county —near Jim Ned creek
* the greatest amount of barbed
wire ever used on a single acreage
was strung around the 3,000,000
acre XIT ranch the state of Texas
swapped for the capitol building
at Austin * J. M. Shannon of San
Angelo * The King ranch in South
Texas is larger than any other ranch
under fence today, but the Kings
use smooth wire, enough of it to
reach from Brownsville to Chicago
*
The Rare And Valuable Chinchilla
By John Angus Haig
Whenever nature has adorned one
of her creatures with a beautiful
pelt, colourful features or anything
else that lends itself to the commercial
purposes of man, that creature is
usually doomed to extermination.
There is no want of illustrations.
Thus the plight of the chinchilla
and the subject of this account.
Mentions: M. F, Chapman, an American
mining engineer * the Anconda Copper
Company at Potrerillos * the Tehachapi
Mountains * Mrs. R. E. Hughes, of
Idaho Falls, Idaho * M. E. Bairns,
of Afton, Wyoming, and Professor
Henry Peterson of Cache Valley,
Utah * R. E. Chapman * experimental
farm in Big Bear Valley * Dr. Hylan
Keagy * Florence Feuley * Capt.
Roy F. Hall * J. H. Thompson * Wyatt
Heard * Mrs. Mary Black Nunn, born
in Uvalde in 1869 * Emma Kelly Davenport
* INDIANS USED MANY TRICKS.
Indians of Texas reckoned their
wealth in terms of horses, wives
and guns, but they had other custom's
and beliefs which weren't so easily
tolerated. Their admiration for
bravery, for example, went to the
extreme of believing that the heart
of a brave man killed in battle
endowed anyone consuming it with
his valor. There is no well-established
verification, however, that Texas
Indians practiced cannibalism.
Not all Indians were as brave
as Western folklore would indicate.
There are countless stories of a
handful of Texans chasing a band
of marauding Indiana across the
prairie. Sometimes the Indians did
this to bait the pursuers into a
trap, but mostly they were fleeing
for their lives.
If it appeared escape would be
impossible the tricky Indian had
a nice surprise waiting for the
brave posse. He would fall off his
horse and hide in the grass and
then began pulling his arrow staff
across the bow string. No horse,
even under a brave ranger, likes
to hear anything in the grass it
does not understand. It could sound
like a whine of a rattlesnake, but
in neither instance did the horse
wait to investigate. The posse would
find itself out of control in no
time.
The account goes on to describe
other tricks of Indian warfare.CALLED
TEXAS A DESERT.
Mentions: Vicente Filisola *
Edmund Dana, in Geographical Sketches
on the Western Country, Designed
for Immigrants and Settlers (1819),
*
Colonel Thomas A. Stell Passes
On
Account of Col. Thomas M. Stell,
early Texas trail driver, and veteran
DeWitt county official. Thomas M.
Stell was perhaps DeWitt county's
best known citizen, having served
this county as an official for a
span of years covering almost half
a century. No man served more efficiently
nor more faithfully. Here is his
story.
Mentions: the son of Mr and Mrs.
Robert Hamilton Stell * old Covey
college * the Concrete community
* Fredericksbhurg * Marianna. Florida
* He served DeWitt county as sheriff
until 1906 * William Wagner * Miss
Susie Kenedy * Mrs. Irene M. Galle
* the Knights of Pythias lodge *
Mrs. Irene Stell of Cuero, two daughters,
Mrs. W. C. Burton, of Dallas, Mrs.
G. R. Curtis of Dallas, one son,
Thomas Stell of San Antonio, and
one sister, Miss Nan Stell *
T. C. Richardson On The Trail
T. C. Richardson relates his
own personal reflections on the
Old Red River Station having served
as a drover, freighter, etc and
years of experience in dealing with
"Old Red"
Mentions: Prairie Dog Town Fork
at the mouth of Squaw creek (Hardeman
county) * the Capreek to Atchafalaya
bayou * Fort Sill * Belcherville
* Nocona * Spanish Fort * James
M. Grayson, who had formerly lived
briefly at Spanish Fort, was a blacksmith
* Captain Brunson's company * Colonel
Bourland (Gainesville) Grayson *
Captain Roland * Sivell's Bend *
Rock Crossing * Sohe Love's ford
* Preston * the Shawnee Trail *
G. W. Slaughter, father of C. C.
* Mud creek * Rush Springs * Western
Trail * Fort Griffin * C. F. Doan
* Wilbarger county * Doan's Store
* P. P. Ackley of Elk City,
Okla. * Bill Jackman and Wiley
Fain * Dodge and Ogalalla *
THE EDITOR'S BOX
Mentions: Dr. Z. Fuller * Mrs.
A. S. Toepperwein, of Boerne * Mr.
and Mrs. Wm. H. Morrow of Houston
* Emil Toepperwein of Menard * Mr.
and Mrs. R. E. Sherill and Mr. and
B. C. Chapman, of Haskell, Texas
* Mary Kate Hunter of Palestine,
Texas * Zane Grey, the famous novelist
* H. H. Halsell, of Lubboc * Professor
and Mrs. A. N. McCallum * Mrs. John
Morley, of Austin * Mrs Bessie Shand
of Kerrville * Judge C. L. Patterson
* Gregorio Cortez * C. L.Patterson
* Sheriff Glover of Gonzales county
* Mr. and Mrs. Houston Wade and
daughter, Miss Estelle * TEXAS HEROES.
Texas drew her heroes from all
the 22 existing states during 1835
as well as from foreign countries,
but none surpasses the gallant men
who came from the Southern states.
This was due in part to the proximity
of the Southern states, but more
to the similarity of climate, beliefs
and natures of the two sections.
Because Sam Houston and David
Crockett came from Tennessee that
state has been credited with having
transfused heroic blood into the
pioneer province of Texas at a time
when she needed it most. Tennessee
responded again when William Wharton
and Stephen Austin went North in
1836 to obtain military and financial
support for the revolution.
In matter of numbers, however,
Tennessee sent fewer heroes to Texas
than did North Carolina, for instance.
From this state came J. Pinckney
Henderson who became the first governor
of Texas, James B. Bonham, who died
in the Alamo, Thomas Rusk who led
Texas troops at San Jacinto and
later became United States senator,
and Edward Burleson who fought in
31 battles and never was known to
retreat.
Further Mentions: Ben Milam *
Henry Smith * R. E. B. Baylor *
Benjamin and Hayden Edwards * James
Bowie * Green DeWitt * Moses Austin
and his son, Stephen * Mirabeau
B. Lamar * Peter Hansboro Bell *
Branch T. Archer * Anson Jones of
Massachusetts * David G. Burnet
from New Jersey * Lorenzo De Zavala
* Barron De Bastrop * Wharton and
Austin * Fannin * William Travis
* Big Foot Wallace, Deaf Smith,
Ben McCulloch * James Fannin *
Writes Eulogy On Fogg Coffey
Harry B. Crozier
Eulogy of free hearted, breezy
westerner who loved fun, horses
and his fellow man, Fogg Coffey
who was born in Parker County in
1863 but at the age of three months
came with his father, Rich Coffey,
to the Concho river at Leaday. He
worked for the O. H. Triangle ranch
when Coggins and Parks of Brownwood
owned it, and branded from 10,000
to 13,000 head of cattle a year.
He used to rope wild mules and horses
tying the rope round his body as
the wild ones thundered down the
hill. He tossed the loop, caught
them and then hung on -he had to.
He took no chances of failing -he
risked his own life rather than
fall. "Well I had to catch them,"
he says "we needed them; The Indians
stole the tame horses and we had
to use the wild ones."
Mentions: Uncle Rich and Aunt
Sallie Coffey * Weatherford * Hog
creek
